lizandan

Welcome Baby M!!

2011-09-30T21:46:00.000-04:00

Just over 2 weeks ago on September 14, 2011, Dan and I welcomed our son, Braydon Andrew into the world! He weighed 8 lbs, 14 oz and measured 22.5 in long. He definitely made me work to meet him - we checked in on Monday night to be induced due to hypertension and he didn't come out until 2:59am Wednesday morning. He is absolutely perfect and Dan and I couldn't be happier to have him here!

Enjoy some pictures! (more to come!)

Happy Belated 1st Birthday, Lily!!

2011-09-09T19:50:00.002-04:00

Lily turned 1 a couple of weeks ago... the same day as the earthquake that hit the east coast. Her birthday party was scheduled for the day Hurricane Irene decided to make an appearance. Poor little Lily had to wait to have her party!! No wonder she was so upset when her cake finally came out!

Week 38

2011-09-08T16:49:00.003-04:00

Wow, skipping those couple of weeks really missed a lot of growth! I feel huge! And rightfully so, this baby is getting bigger every day! We had an ultrasound around 37 weeks and found out that lil buddy was most likely over 8 lbs already. Check out the chubby cheeks!!!

This thing just keeps getting bigger!

2011-07-17T16:07:00.003-04:00

My belly that is...

I'm feeling great, and down to bi-weekly appointments at the doctor. Lil Buddy is moving along right on schedule, great heartbeat every time, and still training for karate or kickboxing or something... now if he/she could just learn that my ribs are not punching bags, we'd be all set!

Baby Shower and Nursery Progress

2011-07-17T15:13:00.014-04:00

Ahhh!! Only 10 more weeks til Lil Buddy's due date! Here's what Dan and I have been up to:

Nursery - Pre-paint

Nursery - Painted:

Nursery - with furniture:

Nursery - after my amazing baby shower last weekend! (including the sign-in sheet that had people guess the sex, birth date and weight of Lil Buddy! Can't wait to see who wins!)
Jill has some great photos from the shower on her blog, so check that out!

Some of the baby gear is getting put together:

I can't believe how close it is! Dan and I are getting more excited as the days go by and tick off the calendar! Thank you to everyone for my shower, it really helped us get ready for Lil Buddy's arrival! I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did, too!

More belly shots...

2011-05-30T20:07:00.005-04:00

Here are some more pics as my belly gets bigger! Lil buddy is doing great, right on schedule! He/She is kicking away, and Dan has been able to feel a couple of kicks outside!

Time is flying - we're working on getting the nursery ready, so here are some pics of that as well. We finally got the trim put in with a ton of help from Dan's stepdad, Jeff, last weekend. This weekend we painted it, and in a couple of weeks we're going to get the walls painted! Then we'll be ready for furniture delivery (the blue tape was to help me make sure the furniture would fit!)... I can't believe we're only a couple of weeks away from that!

Baby progress

2011-05-05T20:39:00.004-04:00

So, here are some belly shots... things are progressing as they should be, according to the doc! The next ultrasound appt is Monday morning and we are super excited to see the baby again!

I've been able to feel some movement lately, which is also very exciting. I can't wait until Dan can feel the moves, too! So far, I'm thinking soccer player or boxer! (It's hard to tell if it's legs or arms, haha!)

We ordered the baby furniture this past Sunday and then went and started our registries at Babies R Us and Target. As we were discussing the pros and cons of a whirlpool tub for the baby (ok, we weren't, but that is seriously an option!), it suddenly dawned on me that we were going to be parents! I guess because I've been in and out of baby stores so much over the last 6 years that part didn't seem weird to me. But actually picking out items that we would be using in our house? With our baby? That was surreal. Amazing and exciting and thrilling and overwhelming and intimidating and nerve-racking. But mostly amazing and exciting!

We started the project of refinishing the floors in the back bedroom, so while that's going on, not much can be done in what-will-soon-be the nursery. Soon though, we'll be able to tape out where the furniture is going to go and paint everything and make it cute with little baby animals everywhere. I'll post pics along the way. Or try to anyway.

Easter 2011

2011-05-05T20:33:00.002-04:00

Dan and I dyed eggs for Easter this year! Enjoy the pics!

Maddie girl waiting patiently while we finish up dying...

Our personalized eggs - L to R: Dan, Liz, Lil Buddy, Maddie

Close up of Lil Buddy's - Half blue, half pink

All of the eggs together.

Big News!

2011-03-29T21:08:00.004-04:00

It's official! Baby M is in the making!

Dan and I are pregnant! Little buddy is due September 21st, which puts me at just about 15 weeks. We are very excited and can't wait to meet him/her! We can, however, wait to find out if it's a boy or girl... at least I can. Dan's pretty sure he's going to crack under pressure and ask at the next ultrasound.

This ultrasound was early, and we weren't even supposed to get one until 20 weeks. But... I had some bleeding on Saturday night. Let me tell you - after finding out you're pregnant, the last thing you want to see is blood. So as much fun as this weekend was, waiting until Monday for the ultrasound and running through all the possibilities, I'd rather not have to go through that ever again! Turns out that mommy and baby are healthy, just an isolated incident and neither my doctor nor the ultrasound doctor could see anything that would indicate anything was wrong, thankfully!

Now, it's back to getting Maddie ready for the baby and getting ourselves and the house ready, too! Good thing we refinished those floors last summer!

Belated Happy's!

2010-11-28T00:23:00.003-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband and best friend, Dan! (November 8)

Happy Birthday to my grandmother! (November 15)

Happy Birthday to me! (November 20)

Still to come - Thanksgiving and tree cutting... Christmas, here we come!!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-28T00:12:00.005-05:00

Since I'm basically just bulk posting, here are the pictures from Halloween. There's no real story here, just office Halloween contest, pumpkin picking with Maddie, pumpkin carving, and Halloween with the kids! Enjoy!

Our new best friend...

2010-11-28T00:04:00.004-05:00

Maddie!

On October 9th, 2010 (the weekend after Martha's Vineyard), Dan and I adopted a 3.5 month old beagle/rat terrier puppy named China. Since we agreed that China was a silly name for a puppy, we picked Maddie to be her new name! Without further adieu, here are some pics from the last month and a half!

Lily's Christening

2010-11-27T23:56:00.004-05:00

Here are some photos from Lily's Christening...
Dan has the honor of being our newest niece's godfather!

Martha's Vineyard

2010-11-02T23:03:00.009-04:00

This was our little vacation to ourselves. Dan and I booked this shortly after we moved into our house, when we knew we would need a few days of just us. A few days to kick back, relax, catch up on sleep and not worry about what needed to get done or where we had to be. I have a hard time relaxing at home. Even when I manage to sit for a bit at night, I'm always thinking about what needs to be done. So this was our housewarming gift to ourselves. And, let me tell you, highly recommended. We had never been to The Vineyard, but we will definitely try to get back. It is beautiful.

The view from the ferry out on Friday... a little foggy to say the least.

The view from our room on Saturday morning... quite the opposite of Friday.

The resort from the sign below. Our room was in that part in the middle, if I remember correctly.

The resort from the beach.

The path.

Blue crab in the creek along the beach path.

Getting ready for our bike ride on Sunday.

State beach, a.k.a. the beach where Jaws was filmed.

Ginger bread houses in Oak Bluffs (the destination of the 9 mile bike ride).

Wind surfers in the bay - perfect day for it!
(a.k.a. the bay that Jaws swam under the bridge into.
Seriously, that's how the locals explained the landmarks,
according to the Jaws movie)

Hardwood floors!

2010-09-07T21:48:00.007-04:00

Taking a cue from C.J. and Jill, Dan and I decided we'd give refinishing floors a shot. We decided to start small with the middle bedroom, since it's only about 90 sq. feet.

Friday night we moved out the furniture and tore up the carpet. We found some adhesive looking stuff under the padding, but figured it would come up with the sander. Sanders get everything, right? (that's what they call foreshadowing, ladies and gents)

Saturday morning, it was straight to Home Depot to set about renting the orbital sander. What a beast that thing is! Not that I would know much about it, as Dan did all the heavy lifting and all the sanding with it. But it looked intense. After a few passes, we started to become concerned since we weren't seeing much progress and the sand paper pads were caked in brown gunk.

This is after like 4 passes or so. Very little progress.

See the gunk?

Back to Home Depot we go, only to find out that there is most likely a wax build up along with the adhesive and the heat from the sander is causing both to melt and stick to the pads. Best bet is to keep sanding, according to the talkative and informative Home Depot employee.

After a few more passes, we really started to see some progress... but was it going to be enough to make the floors in this room match the floors in the rest of the house? No time on Saturday to find out. I think we called it quits and went out to the porch to share a few beers around 10:30.

Finally!

Sunday was a jam packed day in the Lehigh Valley, so nothing even got started until 10pm. At that point, I remembered some school work and left Dan to do some hand sanding while I finished that up.

Monday is when it really got interesting... It was time to clean it all up and get to the polyurethane. This was the test. Fingers crossed that a couple of coats of poly and we'd be done. Thankfully, it worked out beautifully, and Dan and I couldn't be happier with the results!

After coat 1. Looking good.

Super wet shot of coat 2.

Dry coat later Monday night.

We still need to get the base trim and put the radiator cover back in and the doors back on, but we are pretty satisfied. The floors were still a little tacky when I took the above photos, so I wasn't able to get a shot of where the bedroom meets the hallway, but, trust me, they could not be closer!

Time to catch up again...

2010-09-07T20:46:00.012-04:00

Ok, so this is going to be a picture heavy post, since it's been, oh, 5 months? since my last post. Here's some pictures of things that have happened... Enjoy!

First, house warming party

Second, 80s party, obviously

3rd, family vacation in OCNJ.

The story behind this picture is great, but you've probably heard it by now... this is the lifeguard!

Dad-dad took Travis to the bathroom. He came out looking like this, with his shirt tucked in.

Jorja and I went for a pedicure, which resulted in sand pedicures for the rest of the week! Gotta love the imagination!

Travis wanted to wear Daddy's shoes! Too cute.

Christine and her boyfriend Mike came to visit. We went black-light mini-golfing. We had the place to ourselves, so there are quite a few pictures like this.

I had crab legs for the first time and am completely hooked!

Jorja conquered her fear of the gorilla, but Travis most certainly did not.

This picture is really only funny because of the close up below... the look on Travis' face is priceless!

A night out in West Chester when we get back from vacation.

A Phillies/Mets game with fantastic seats, even though it felt like 1000 degrees.

And probably the most important event of the last 4 months... Baby Lily Catherine Quirk joined us on 8/24/10!

NEW HOUSE!!!

2010-05-04T23:04:00.006-04:00

Ok, ok, so I've been slacking if you look at this thing... but that's just because I've been so busy elsewhere!

On Valentine's Day (Sunday), Dan and I went out looking for houses. We saw about 10 that day. The third house we saw, we loooooved. I mean, we compared all of the other houses to it. We stood in the kitchen and looked at each other and said, "this is it." We went back to look at it again the next day, made an offer, had it accepted and were under contract by Wednesday. We had a settlement date of March 24th. Just 5 weeks to get all the paperwork in order and inspections done and final negotiations complete.

Once we had the keys, it was off to Lowes we went. Luckily, the house was pretty much move in ready, we just needed to get a few rooms painted and clean everything up. Mom and Dad Q came and pitched in with the cleaning and some repairs. New washer and dryer were delivered, new bedroom and dining furniture arrived (all courtesy of my wonderful parents and my fantastic in-laws) it was a busy time! Dan and I spent pretty much every night like this... get home from work, eat dinner, go to the house, paint for a few hours, back to the apartment to sleep and do it all over again the next day. It was all worth come April 10, when we had our official move-in day!

Anyway, enough talk, I'm sure you all just want to see pictures... Here are what before and after's I have...

Living room - 1/2 way

Dan's giant feet knocked over the paint can... a full gallon. this is from about 4ft up the stairs

Other side of the living room

Dining room before - one of the delivery guys thought this was a nice color and couldn't figure out why I would paint over it!

Dining room after - I'd love to have the same delivery guy come and see which he thinks is better!

Dining room with furniture, from the living room... kitchen is behind that.

Little guy 1/2 bath in the dining room. Seriously little, but seriously fantastic to have!

Appliance caddy... pretty much one of my favorite things about the house - sits in the kitchen wall, just off the dining room.

Kitchen cabinet stocked with dishes... I don't have a full pic of the kitchen. Not sure why I didn't just take one now, but it's getting late. Yes, my dishes get stocked like that when I empty the dishwasher. I like it.

Bedroom before - like a marigold color

Dan is very excited about the new wall color...

And so am I! Our bedroom, with walls painted and furniture in place.

Full bathroom upstairs w/sliding shower doors

In the process of removing the sliding doors...

And the doors are off!! It feels so much bigger and cleaner now!

So there you have it. We've been very busy as you can see, and have spent most any and all free time here at our new house, doing things to make it pretty and comfortable and ours! Last weekend was a big gardening weekend... I'll post those pictures as soon as I'm sure the flowers we planted aren't dead. Neither Dan nor I have a very green thumb.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T22:49:00.003-05:00

So, for the last couple of years, Dan and I have gone away for Valentine's Day. This year, with the possibility of buying a house close on the horizon, we decided to stay home and save some money. We've gone to Cooperstown and the Poconos, places with things to do during the day, but not much to do at night and every year, the NBA all star game is on V-day weekend, so we end up ordering pizza and having some drinks while watching from our hotel room. This year, we made our own pizza, made our own drinks and watched from our couch. The pizza was delicious!!! The slam dunk contest, however, left much to be desired...

We followed that fun night up by house hunting today (stay tuned for more on that later!), and then another delicious meal tonight - my mom's onion potatoes, Rachel Ray's steak (thank you snow day morning TV) and Caesar salad. All tasted amazing while we watch Couples Retreat.

What a great weekend! Who needs a restaurant when you have 2 great cooks like us! Okay, so "great" might be an overstatement... but we think we're pretty good! Happy Valentine's Day!

Guess what....

2010-02-03T23:01:00.002-05:00

WE'RE HOUSE HUNTING!!

Ok, so I already looked up if it was possible to get on any of the HGTV shows, and it isn't. So, please offer any and all words of wisdom and advice. Well, it is, but apparently you have to already be buying a house to be featured on it. Weird.

I'll keep you posted! Wish us luck!

(I'm quickly learning how very, very impatient I am, by the way)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2009-12-21T21:32:00.002-05:00

It's Christmas Time!

All that snow gave me time to get all of our presents wrapped... don't they look beautiful under the tree??

2 feet of SNOW!!!

2009-12-21T21:20:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning, I woke up around 8:30. After trying to figure out why I was up so early on the weekend, I realized that it was supposed to SNOW! I jumped out of bed and ran to the window... we already had a couple of inches!! So exciting!!

Pics from Saturday night... our 2nd or 3rd shoveling job of the day.

Ok, so maybe it wasn't that deep... but it was a lot of snow at that point!

Sunday morning, trying to clean off the cars...

Dan's car was like the Where's Waldo of the day. Funny thing is, I had cleaned off part of the trunk the night before... can you see where?

Some of this is from the plows, but that only happened once in the middle of day on Saturday, so... That's mostly fallen snow.

Happy 1st Anniversary to us!!

2009-11-11T21:26:00.007-05:00

Dan and I went to Cleveland, Ohio for our 1st anniversary. Our kids are either going to think we are really cool or really lame. We went primarily to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... here it is from our hotel window.

We were not allowed to take pictures in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, hence all of the outside pictures. Very disappointing, there is some really awesome stuff in there!

We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner... this is same chain is where we celebrated after Dan proposed in Rome. No one said I went to Italy for the cuisine.

Then we met up with Dan's cousin who lived nearby. While we were waiting we enjoyed 32 oz Miller Lites. They were deceiving. And huge.

The next day, we woke up and drove to Canton, Oh. for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Like I said, really cool or really lame.

All of the Hall of Famers have busts of their heads made. OJ was the first one I recognized. I have pictures of about 6, including John Madden who looks remarkably like John Candy. Just figured you didn't a bunch of pictures of peoples' heads.

This was a neat hologram of the Hall of Fame Ring. It was encased below the glass top, but the light made it appear to be sitting out in the open.

They let you design your own Super Bowl ring, which was pretty neat. I'm almost positive it was for little kids, and that Dan and I monopolized it for waaaaaaaaaay too long, but whatever, it was our anniversary. Dan's is first.

Coming soon...

2009-11-09T18:04:00.000-05:00

An update will be posted soon... I promise!

Family Vacation 2009

2009-08-26T20:47:00.008-04:00

Dan and I were lucky enough to spend part of last week down the shore with my family! Enjoy!

Just for comparison's sake. Here's C.J. with both Travis and Jorja, this year. Below is is C.J. with just Jorja, 2006.

CJ's 30th Birthday

2009-08-10T21:59:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday, CJ!!

WOOT WOOT!!

2009-07-15T17:25:00.003-04:00

As some of you may know, I was laid off in April.

Well... as of today... I HAVE A JOB!!! I'm going to start working on Monday morning for a marketing company in Wayne.

WOO HOO!!

Busy Weekend!

2009-07-13T14:30:00.010-04:00

On Friday, my mom, dad and I took Jorja and Travis to Dutch Wonderland! It was a ton of fun and I can't wait to take them again!

And then on Saturday, was Dan's graduation party at his mom and Jeff's.

Oh, and Dan got a new car!! It's a 2007 Ford Fusion SE. It's awesome, we love it! I haven't taken of pictures of him with it, yet, but it's black with tan leather interior. It's so nice to have 2 cars!

Wildlife in Drexel Hill

2009-06-09T23:50:00.003-04:00

Lately, Dan and I have noticed some pretty cool (or weird) wildlife in our front yard.

Here's a little froggy

And here's the little froggy jumping away.

A little celebrity action... Mr. Slowsky.

There are also opossums, skunks, and raccoons. I'm not adventurous enough to take pictures of those things though. I usually just run away.

Long overdue...

2009-06-03T22:15:00.007-04:00

I've been procrastinating writing this because I haven't been sure what to say or how to say it.

On May 20, 2009, we said goodbye to the strongest woman I have or will ever know. My Mom-mom fought a ton of battles throughout her life, but the hardest by far was her life after her stroke. On Easter Sunday of 2008, just about 2 weeks after moving into an assisted living facility, Mom-mom suffered a stroke. Until that point, she had lived by herself in South Philly. The stroke forced her movement into Little Flower Manor in Upper Darby, where she lived for over a year. (Some of you may recall that Dan and I made a donation there in lieu of wedding gifts) On May 18, 2009, Mom-mom got tired of fighting. I can't blame her... I remember her making fun of "all the little old ladies with walkers and wheelchairs" in the assisted living facility, and for the last year, she was wheelchair bound herself, and could not even communicate with her family. Her family that meant so much to her. Here are some photos of her.

In loving memory...

I was wearing her earrings... I love this picture.

On the road again...

2009-05-07T13:14:00.019-04:00

Lately, it seems as though Dan and I are always getting ready for the next thing... This time it was a road trip to Kansas City for his cousin's wedding. The night before we left, we went to the "last" Bruce Springsteen concert at the Spectrum before it gets torn down. (It's rumored that he may be coming back as part of the last 5 concerts, but for now, we were at the last one!)

Then came Thursday, and we were off. First stop - St. Louis! We traveled through West Virginia first. Who knew the slogan was "Wild and Wonderful"? Let me tell you, there was nothing wild and wonderful about it, though we were only in it for about 20 minutes. And it was probably around 11pm.

The rest of the drive was pretty boring, except for the random rainstorm, which is the reason the rest of the state sign photos were taken on the way back. I-70 is basically a truck highway lined with farms and periodic rest areas and gas stations. We drove straight through the night, arriving somewhere near St. Louis around 6:30 am. We stopped at a gas station and as I got out of the car, I saw this...

The sunrise was breathtaking. But then it was back on the road to see the arch. Along the way, I noticed that the roadside farms were covered in fog. It was so neat looking because the road was clear for the most part, and the sun was coming up behind us, but to the left and right was fog for as far as the eye could see.

Please excuse the dead bugs here. Causality of a long trip, I guess.

Finally... St. Louis. I was dying to get to The Arch. It's HUGE. And the view from the top is amazing! You take this tiny little elevator to the top where there's a landing with windows all the way across to look out on both sides. Now, bear in mind while looking at these pictures, that Dan and I had been on the road for about 14 hours, both getting about an hour of sleep along the way. It was completely worth it, though!

Back on the road for the remaining 3 or so hours to Kansas City. We crashed immediately after our celebratory drink. We obviously had to toast that we had arrived safe and sound. The next day it was off to the church for the reason we had made the drive... Dan's cousin Angela's wedding.

Dan's cousins, Jay and Bree, walking Grammy Maron up the aisle.

Aunt Toni bustin' a move all by herself.

Grammy and Pete cutting a rug.

How pretty does she look!?

Haha! I caught Dan dancing with his mom... and it wasn't even his song!

Appropriately, this the last picture of the night... at the bar, after the reception. We decided it would be a good idea to do jagerbombs. I don't think we need photos after this. The rest of the night included a stop at the casino where neither Dan nor I made any money and then bed.

The next morning, we went to a brunch hosted by Dan's Aunt Laura for all of the family which was greatly appreciated! Dan and I stuffed our faces and hit the road. It was nice to have daylight in the states that were pitch black on our way out. But it was still incredibly boring for the most part.

I'm pretty sure that says Mississippi River. Taking pictures from a moving vehicle is hard.

This is where I spent most of the trip. Dan is not a distance driver, that's for sure.

That says Indiana. Again, excuse the bugs. Yes, that is what those marks are, it wasn't raining. YET.

Somewhere in there is the Ohio state sign. Dan was sleeping and I tried to take the picture myself.

Next came West Virginia, which we already had, followed by PA. Dan was driving and I think I was looking for something. Either way, we didn't get the PA sign. Which is disappointing looking back, because PA was by far the most interesting part of the drive. After the first tunnel, I took back over driving, and that was when the bad weather started. It was a wall of fog for about 15 miles. The remaining tunnels were a major relief from the rain and fog, and I've never been happier to see a hint of sun. We finally made it home around 8am and did nothing but sleep and watch tv for the rest of the day. All in all, it was a great trip, the wedding was beautiful, but I think next time, we'll fly!

Casey and Erick's Wedding 04.18.08

2009-04-20T15:38:00.001-04:00

Saturday, we celebrated with the new Mr. and Mrs. Fryer!

Congratulations, you two! We had a blast!

Phillies Game, Easter Eggs and Easter Dinner

2009-04-14T14:21:00.005-04:00

Alright, so here's what's been going on the last week or so.

First, Dan and I went to the 2nd Phillies game of the season. The final score wasn't great, and neither was the weather (it was brrrrrrr cold out there!), but it was fun to go to a game! For the last couple of years, Dan and I have been trying to get to the opening night or opening day games... it's usually cold, but it's worth it!

Here are Dan and I bundled up like we're at an Eagles game, and wearing our free "CHAMPS" t-shirts!

The wind just wouldn't cooperate with me, and everytime I went to take a picture of the 2008 banner, it would switch directions. Here's one attempt. What a sight!

On Good Friday night, as I mentioned in my last post, Dan and I headed over to Mom and Dad's to dye some Easter Eggs! This was Dan's first time dying eggs with me. I'm not completely sure I won him over, but I guess we'll see next year!

Then on Saturday night, after going out with some friends, I decided it was time to put our Easter baskets out. (There are no other Easter decorations... apparently, I dropped the ball on that one, and didn't really think about it)
Please... someone, anyone, show me this picture next year, when I want to open Easter baskets after a few beers. Seriously. Well, I had a pretty good idea of what one item in there was and I wanted to be able to wear it all day Sunday. I was right! Dan got me 2 new charms for my bracelet. This one and this one. So pretty!

On Easter Sunday, Mom, Dad, Dan and I went to church with Mom-Mom.

Then it was Easter Dinner. Everyone gathered at Mom and Dad's for some delicious ham and turkey with all the fixings!

Jorja and Travis got a fun new toy from Dad-dad.

Uncle Dan and Travis. (They kind of match)

Me playing catch with the kiddies.

Jorja in her pretty Easter dress!

Jorja and Andrew hunting for eggs

I hope everyone had a great Easter! I know we definitely did!

2009-04-10T14:55:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter to everyone! Tonight, I'm headed over to Mom and Dad's to help Mom dye Easter Eggs.

Happy Birthday, Jorja! (Continued)

2009-04-06T21:32:00.005-04:00

Saturday was Jorja's 4th birthday party!

Here, Lana is helping Jorja open her presents.

Travis is very interested as he looks on from his special chair.

Then it was time for some cake. Travis wanted nothing more than to stick his fingers in that icing.

Jorja ended the night with a little concert for us all... something about how talking with a full mouth is rude. Look at all of her admiring fans!

Thanks for such a great party, Jorja! Uncle Dan and I had a great time! We hope you enjoy all of your presents and had a wonderful day!

Happy Friday!

2009-04-03T11:42:00.002-04:00

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Happy Birthday, Jorja!

2009-04-01T19:41:00.005-04:00

Uncle Dan and I hope you have a great 4th birthday, and can't wait to celebrate with you on Saturday! We love you!

*Check out Jorja's mommy's blog for some birthday pics!*

Hail Storm?

2009-03-30T19:20:00.005-04:00

So, Dan and I were sitting here yesterday wondering what the hell happened to the big thunderstorms that were predicted when we noticed the sky out front was a bit brighter than the sky out back. We checked the weather channel and found out that a storm was to pass through in about 10 minutes with 60 mph winds and possibly hail. As we were outside watching the sky grow darker and bringing in the trashcans so that they didn't end up at Maggie O'Neill's down the street, it started to rain. Then it started to POUR. Inside we ran, and I took a seat in front of the window to watch. I love thunderstorms. This is what I saw instead:

That's hail. Dan and I have never see hail before. It was crazy. You could watch it bounce off of everything, or hit the street and explode.

It only lasted a few minutes, so then we went to inspect it. Little tiny balls of ice covered our front lawn, and within a 1/2 hour, they were completely gone. Like it never happened.

Until round 2 that is. Thinking the storm had passed, we were watching tv and heard a (now) familiar noise. This round was even shorter than the first, but just as cool!

Well, that's all for now! Apparently, only my weekends are interesting, so check back next Monday!

More Baseball

2009-03-30T18:59:00.004-04:00

In order to prepare for the upcoming Phillies season, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Greg hosted a Phillies Preseason Party. It turned into a bit of a Villanova party, due to March Madness - by the way, since they won, I catapulted into first place in my work pool! (ok, tied... but still) I didn't even realize it! GO NOVA!!

Dan and I back in the day. I mean, seriously, we look like we are maybe 16. Maybe.

Some of these photos are courtesy of my Aunt Debbie. I took about 3 pictures. Yes, that's my dad in the Phillies uni. He played, oh, about 6 years ago for a baseball team, and somehow still fit into the pants. Oh, and there were definitely people there that weren't my mom, dad, husband, aunt and uncle. Like I said, I took about 3 pictures, and given that they are my aunt's friends, I figured I wouldn't steal pictures of them. T-minus 8 days till Dan and I go to our first game!

Baseball Season is almost here...

2009-03-26T19:53:00.005-04:00

And tonight, Dan and I got to meet the Philly Phanatic! Thanks to my work, I was invited to a "Swing into Spring" event at the Radisson in Valley Forge, with special guest, The Philly Phanatic!

And Dan didn't want his picture taken. The Phanatic didn't care.

I, on the other hand, was all over it! He even borrowed my purse for the picture.

Just hanging out.

What a great way to get pumped for baseball season! Next up... Aunt B's party. Stay tuned for what should be a very interesting night.

Casey's Bachelorette Party

2009-03-23T14:16:00.006-04:00

This past Saturday was Casey's Bachelorette Party! It was officially 3 weeks before the wedding, and 12 of us piled into a bus and headed off to Manayunk for the night.

I don't have too many pictures. Or any really good ones for that matter. Guess I was too busy having a good time! Casey - it was a blast and Dan and I can't wait for the wedding!!

Parade Day in Scranton

2009-03-23T13:24:00.007-04:00

Will this be the last one? Who really knows? Are we now too old for this nonsense? I have to say, I'm glad we made it up there for one last time, if so. Even if I did pass out at 4:30 in the afternoon. And even if I never made it to the party at the train station. All in all, it was a good weekend, with good friends, good beer and good times. Enjoy the photos!

Hanging with some friends the night before.

Bar number 1.

Bar number 2.

Because every St. Patrick's Day Parade needs a horse-drawn Yuengling carriage.

Bar number 3

Dan and Frank were finally happy at Farley's because they could watch the game. After Dan took us on a tour of Scranton, which included going around the block, just to end up down the street.

Then we ran into this guy! And by ran into, I mean I'm pretty sure I texted him every 5 minutes asking where he was.

Dan was trying to prove that he wasn't "old and married." I don't think it worked.

I guess it's been a while

2009-02-25T21:48:00.013-05:00

Let me bring you up to speed.

We went to a couple of weddings...

Dan's friends Kenny and Tasha in Allentown:
and Dan's step-brother, Nick's in California:

Then was my bachelorette party:
(Yes, that's my brother. He wanted to send his little sister off right, and I partially blame him for my not being able to get in to the Continental or remember most of the evening. Thanks, C.J.!!)

(That is also my Aunt Debbie. She pretty much rocks for hanging with us for most of the night!)

Then was Dan's bachelor party. I think I'm glad that I don't have any pictures from that night. All I know is that they went to Atlantic City.

Then well, this happened:
Practicing for the big day...
I can't promise that I didn't make that face at all the next day.

Look at that color coordination. Who was obsessed with burnt orange and brown for well over a month? Not me, not me at all.

And then on November 8, 2008, Dan and I were married.

We dance, we partied, we had an absolutely amazing day!And then we went here!

Here we are being nerds on our first day.

Here is the view from one of 2, count 'em 2, balconies.
Here's a pretty lighthouse...
And then we met this guy. Luckily I had my jersey, since Dan's cousin gave us tickets to the game the night after our wedding. I mean, the photo just wouldn't be the same without the jersey.
And then we met these guys. This is probably the coolest experience I've had so far in my life. Okay, it might be tied with skydiving. But it was definitely awesome! And we have the whole thing on video!
Then... well, then we came home. Neither one of us feels like we've stopped since Dan proposed in Italy in 2007. We've been married now for almost 4 months, and sometimes it feels like it was yesterday. Other days (most days) it feels like it was forever ago. It's true what they say... it goes by too fast. I'll try to keep this blog updated more often now that things are starting to slow down. We'll see.

Pictures, pictures and more pictures...

2008-08-02T18:52:00.004-04:00

As promised, here are some pictures of our apartment, pre-painting and after.

First is moving in our couch (Thank God for a large bedroom window, and a first floor apartment, or else I don't think we'd have a couch!) That's Mom inside, and Dan outside holding up the couch in the bushes. I think I was supposed to be helping bring it in, but I couldn't resist documenting this feat. It was our second couch attempt - first was Mom-mom's couch that didn't fit through the door - and the first time we tried the window.

The unpainted living room:

The painted living room:

Dan, slacking off as usual (just kidding, Dan, you did a great job painting!!):

(I swear the wall Dan is standing next to is the same color as the other walls, we only have one lamp.)

The unpainted dining room:

Dining room wall into kitchen:

We finished painting the dining room, it's the same color as the living room. The wall that separates them is a lighter color. The space is kind of small, so we didn't want to overdo it with colors (we also have to repaint when we move out), but we wanted it to feel warm and fuzzy when you walk in.

We also painted the master bedroom, but I don't have pictures of that before. I think I just wanted to get it done! That is a almost a lime-y shade of green, that I'm crossing my fingers goes with the bedding we registered for, but for right now, it looks awesome with the bedroom furniture!

We're taking a break from painting now, and have kind of relaxed about the whole apartment in general. There are definitely things that still need to be done, but for now we have a month of weddings (3 of them in 5 weekends), so our weekends are kind of busy.

That's it for now!!

Moving

2008-06-27T09:32:00.002-04:00

Well, Dan and I are moving this week. Given our incredibly busy schedule lately, this may be a little hard, but we are doing our best. We were lucky enough to be able to snag the apartment on the first floor of where I currently live - no movers necessary! So far, we've really just been cleaning (trust me, it was WAY more than necessary!). Mom has been nice enough to lend her window washing skills, Dan and I tackled the bathroom and kitchen and last night we wiped down the walls and woodwork. We also stripped the baby wallpaper in the second bedroom, which I have named Dan's room until we get married. It's coming along nicely. Now we just have to find some people to help us paint... oh, yeah, and get furniture!!

More updates/pics to come!

Catch ya up

2008-06-18T10:38:00.004-04:00

So - I'll try to catch you up on what has been going on in our lives since November, some wedding related, some not-so-much.

First things first, Dan and I decided on a fall wedding, so we booked the church and went from there. We booked a reception location. Then we booked our photographer, whom I love, our videographer and DJ. Then we had to book another location for the reception, which is a really long story that I won't bore you with. Then we told all of our people that we had to change everything. Oh, I forgot, we had also booked a hotel to go along with the original location, so I had to book another hotel, too. That was a fun process. At some point in all of that, I sort of hit a wedding planning wall. I couldn't get excited about much and didn't really want to deal with much wedding related. Also at some point in all of that, I bought my dress!!

The beginning...

2008-06-16T10:35:00.000-04:00

I figure that's a good place to start, right?

Dan proposed on November 6, 2007, in front of Trevi Fountain in Italy. I could not have dreamed a better proposal! We spent the rest of the night calling family and friends (and running up my international phone bill!) and sharing our excitement with them. The next morning, I woke up planning. I woke Dan and said something to effect of "Now we can start looking at places and flowers and invitations and save-the-dates and tuxes and dresses and asking people to be in the bridal party and tons of other fun stuff!!!" For those of you that know Dan well, you can imagine the look on his face while I rambled on my *fun* list, followed by his response of "We haven't even been engaged 12 hours yet, Liz, calm down. Can we get home first?"

I have been planning ever since, so I thought a blog would be a good place to keep everyone up to date with what's going on and hopefully keep myself a little sane.

Hope you enjoy!!