Justin's Birthday Weekend

My wonderful husband turned 28 last week...yes, he's a little younger than I :) Some of our family from Sheridan (on his mom's side) came to Cleveland to celebrate and to checkout our new house. We had an awesome time together!

A housewarming gift from Uncle Mike and Aunt Lisa--love it!

Taking a break from our rainy day driving tour to enjoy some lunch at Paninis

The weather finally cleared up and we spent the rest of the day on our deck

Twins--Justin and his dad in matching t-shirts

Uncle Mike and Dad--ready to play our new favorite game: Wits and Wagers

Justin and Aunt Lisa Justin is becoming a pro with the grill
Mom serving oreo ice cream cake to the birthday boy

After our family left we headed to the beach--the temperature was in the 90's and perfect for a swim in the big lake! I felt like a little kid, holding onto Justin as we jumped in the waves--loved every minute of it! Here is Justin as we left the beach--happy birthday, honey!

Weekend Fun

We have had an awesome weekend! My parents came to visit on Friday and we've been busy ever since. Justin has been working an unbelievable amount, but is still in good spirits wanting to hang out when he gets home. On Friday, as soon as Justin got home from work, we headed downtown to catch an Indians/Tigers baseball game. We love going to games and it was fun seeing the Tigers and Indians play against eachother. Justin and I were wearing our Indians shirts and my parents were cheering for the Tigers--the Indians pulled off the win after 13 innings!--we didn't stay for the whole game, we watched the end at home :)Saturday we got to work on the yard while Justin went back to work. My parents were a HUGE help...mowing, trimming trees and helping me decifer between weeds and flowers!

This morning we went to our chuch, Velocity (www.velocitycleveland.com). Our pastor is doing a series on questions that people in our church have about God or the Bible, it was very interesting today! We are making some really great friends at Velocity and we are so thankful for having Christian friends in our new city. As I type, Dad and Justin are finishing putting our new patio furniture together--thanks guys! We'll be glad we have it next weekend--we have our family from Indianapolis coming to visit to see the house and to celebrate Justin's birthday...can't wait :)

Town Hall Meeting with President Obama

Many of you know that I have seen Barack Obama speak before, while he was campaigning in South Carolina. That was awesome, but that was before he was our President. Today I had the unbelievable previledge to attend a town hall meeting with our President, Barack Obama.

I heard on NPR that he would be in the same town I work in at the local high school to speak with people about the proposed healthcare reform. I applied online through the White House website--knowing I had a TINY chance of being choosen through lottery. And what do you know? I was selected! Justin wasn't able to come with me because, of all things we had a plumber scheduled and furniture to be dropped off. I scored 2 tickets so I asked my friend Dawn at school--I was in her office when I applied (she pulled up the site for me).

We got to the high school and it was pouring outside, but honestly, it didn't make a bit of difference. It's once in a lifetime someone gets to see a President and we were just thrilled to be there :) Once inside, we went through airport-like security--except it was the secret service doing the screening. We were seated beside the stage in the second row--literally 20 feet away from the stage! There was so much excitement inside the auditorium...choir members singing, bands playing, secret servicemen stone-facing everyone and other staff members making sure everything was perfect and ready for his arrival. When Mr. Obama arrived he was very relaxed and spoke in a way that common people could understand. He called on audience members himself--it truly was like a town hall meeting. It felt very intimate. After the meeting was finished we went outside and found that the road we parked on had been closed off--we waited awhile and then got the see the President's motorcade leave. It was a complete honor to be there today--an experience I will never forget.

Dawn and I waiting in the pouring rain--still smiling :)

President Obama during his speech above and taking questions from the public below

Just a couple of pictures

Our good friends, the Hines family, came to visit us in Ohio last week. We had an awesome time and miss them already! Sorry I don't have much time to blog...but I thought I'd add a couple of photos. I totally adore this little girl!

This is Dad and I dancing at our wedding celebration. Justin and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family and friends. Sorry this picture is small...we have just a few as samples from our photographer. I promise to add pictures (relatively) soon!

Alright, just one more...couldn't leave my love out of this blog entry <3

Birthday weekend

Last weekend for Tara's birthday, I surprised her with a trip to Chagrin Falls. Chagrin Falls is a quaint little town, with local shops, restaurants, a river and waterfalls running through the middle. We stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Inn of Chagrin. It was our first visit to a bed and breakfast and was quite nice. We had dinner reservations at Jekyll's Kitchen overlooking the Falls

Chagrin Falls - Jekyll's Kitchen in the background

Chagrin Falls Popcorn Shop

Tara at the Inn of Chagrin

Inside the Garfield Room

After dinner we had tickets to the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre to see "The Perfect Wedding". It was a funny show in an old school theatre.

Inside the theatre

On a roll

While Justin is napping...I figured that I may as well post a few more pictures. You know I want to keep Melissa, I mean all of you who follow our blog happy :)

Turns out, Cleveland isn't so bad afterall! I think I could be anywhere with Justin and I'd be happy :) We have enjoyed staying home the past few weekends as it is giving us a chance to explore our new city. Here is a picture of my sweet husband a couple of weeks ago when we were at the Rib Festival downtown Cleveland. We had a great time walking around and tasting some delicious ribs and some fresh squeezed lemonade, bring on SUMMER!! My best friend from college, Tara, and her husband Jayson came down to Cleveland for a visit. We had a great time. This picture was taken downtown before an Indians game.

We see deer daily around our apartment. In fact, when the sun begins to set I start to get nervous...I begin watching for deer as we make our way home from the lake. Many times deer have run out in front of us within 20 or so feet! This is a picture Justin snapped right outside our back door!

North Carolina Picture Update

Last month I made a trip to North Carolina to visit some of my loved ones, while Justin was celebrating the upcoming wedding of a close friend. Here are some pictures from the trip. I am sorry that I didn't get more pictures...some friends and events are missing from these pictures.

I was happy to have some time to visit with Laura, Court and their BEAUTIFUL baby, Emalyn. I miss the LaLone family...friends I've had since high school! Here is a picture of Melissa-my best friend (and one of the sweetest people I've ever known) and her precious baby girl, Molly Grace! Looking forward to them (and Brian!) coming to visit us in Ohio next month :) I had the priviledge of visiting my old school before the year ended. I told my kindergarteners that I'd do my best to come visit them before they were first graders--and I am so glad that I did! I was amazed at how much they had grown, both academically as well as physically...they seemed SO BIG! This is a picture of one little boy that will forever hold a special place in my heart.