I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas...

This year was a whirlwind Christmas for us. As usual we put off the Christmas shopping until the last minute and were still out on Christmas Eve finishing up the wish list. But it all came together perfectly and all the presents were wrapped and under the tree with 5 minutes to spare. We headed over to Sandra's parents for our traditional Christmas Eve Tree Trimming celebration and then headed to Kentucky on Christmas Day for our new tradition, the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. It had to be one of the best Christmas Parties ever, I'll let the pictures talk for themselves =)

Bring on the Bling

This year brought a lot of firsts for us; we moved into our first home, we hosted our first Thanksgiving and now we've hosted our first engagement party! Congrats to Bonnie and Chris!!!

Two Hokie grads,
Reunited by the Facebook fad,
Living 64 miles apart
Decided to give it a start.

Dates turned into weekends,
They introduced each other to friends,
Weekends turned into trips
Involving airplanes and big ships.

A year passed
They were having a blast.
He gave her his pin,
She accepted with a grin.

A few months more,
He decided to make it secure.
While sitting on the dock,
He kicked her the rock.

With tears in her eyes,
She squealed at the surprise.
Did you ever hear a story sweeter than this?
So goes the story of Bonnie & Chris.

Turkey Time

We hosted our 1st Thanksgiving and I was actually able to get everything served hot simultaneously, huge success! I channelled my inner housewife and made a killer Thanksgiving meal. I even surprised myself with my domestic abilities =) Although, now my hubby knows my full cooking potential so I might have set expectations to high?!?!


Shaun's parents were in town for Thanksgiving so we got in a lot of quality time with the family. It was the perfect start to the holiday season! We headed to Snickers Tree Farm to cut down our own tree and then finished the night off with Christmas Carols at Town Center. We spent several nights in front of the fire but made it downtown for a tri-fecta birthday celebration at Rays. We had so much fun hanging out with them and can't wait for their next visit!

Sofa City

Move Day went smoothly; 3 movers, 1 truck, 18 miles, all in five hours! Now the unpacking; 2 people, furniture shopping, 100 plus boxes, all accomplished in two weeks. We've even had our first house guests. Meredith and Murphy joined us for a slumber party on night one, hence the post title. Then we properly accomodated our guests for game night last weekend. Did we mention how much we love all this space!!!

Life is Good Today!

Toes in the water
Toes in the sand

Not a worry in the world

Got a cold beer in my hand

Life is good today

This was our theme song for the Key West Getaway, if only this was our everyday! The Three Best Friends that anyone could have (see Hangover) headed south for a little R&R and almost didn't come back. On our adventure we met several tourists that had actually made that decision not to return from vacation. Once you go to Key West you'll understand the temptation. October and 90 degrees, Sunsets, Margaritaville, Scooters, need I really say more?!?!

Dodger Day

I've finally found someone with as much love for LA as I have, Erik Bursch! Ok, so I might love the city and he their baseball team but in the end its all about LALA Land =) We took in two games of the series while the Dodgers were in town but Bursch really out did himself organizing this years Dodger Day event. What could be more fun then open bar, 50 friends, and a rickshaw ride where you have to get out and push...don't ask!

September Surprises

September was an eventful month for us! Sandra got a new job, Shaun's parents came to celebrate his b-day, and we decided to move to the suburbs =) Yes, you heard that right...Suburbs. Some might wonder why we would be willing to give up our wonderful commutes for the Northern Virginia traffic but try sharing one bathroom for your first year of marriage and you might get the picture. We're thrilled to now have four count them four bathrooms, visitors welcome =)

Congrats to the Carlsons!

While Sara was visiting, we packed our schedule full of fun activities, girls outings, and play dates. We included Erika in all our fun plans not expecting her to attend anything with a baby due at any minute. But to our surprise Erika was at the girls night out and baby play date. The new one wanted to give her some last minute fun with her friends, thanks Caroline! And congrats to pround parents and big sis!

Curious Girls go to the Zoo

Alli and Sara were in town for the Labor Day holiday and we toted Alli around to all of the hot spots. Back in the day Madhatters would have been considered our hangout but these days the Zoo seems more fitting. And boy oh boy were we not disappointed! We created our own zoo highlights tour which included the animal farm, tigers, lions, monkeys, and pandas. But we had two ah ha moments on our adventure. One included my National Geographic moment where we saw the latest addition to the zoo, the baby Gorilla. Then the most exciting part of our day was the O-Walk, we actually got to see the Orangutans use the rope swings that hang above the park. They really put on a good show! And to top off the day, we all of got the cutest little lunch bags that resembled our favorite zoo characters.

Sink or Swim

We avoided being shipwrecked on Gilligans Island but boy did I have my fears at the start of our journey! We went down to the boat on Sunday to sail it over to the marina for a makeover but when the motor stalled heading out of the slip I was rethinking if I wanted to be on the boat or chase car that was meeting us on the other end?!?! I survived the high seas and the pay off was great...yummy hard crabs!!!

Hurricane Bill

We didn't let Hurricane Bill dampen our spirits this weekend! We ventured out on Friday night to see Carbon Leaf at Wolf Trap even with the severe thunderstorm warnings in effect. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of going to Wolf Trap it's one of the only places that still allows you to bring your own food and drink into the venue to picnic and enjoy. Yes, this is an outside venue so you can image what the night had in store for us. Miraculously we stayed relatively dry and we owe it all to the worlds largest and greatest tarp! We originally brought it in case the ground was wet but it quickly turned into a tent for protection from the storms. The night was a blast regardless. As you can see the rain didn't prevent us from being groupies =)


After surviving several down pours at Wolf Trap on Friday evening we thought better of going out on Saturday. Instead we stayed home and threw a Hurricane Party. It basically meant a comfy evening staying dry on the couch but accessorized with fun fruity Hurricane drinks. We used the official Pat O'Brien mix and boy oh boy are those suckers strong!!! Cheers to Hurricane Bill!

1000 Islands

We're so ready to retire and just found the perfect place to do just that! We headed up north for Nick and Nancy's wedding in the Thousand Islands and were exposed to all the wonders of River life. The weekend started off with a golf tournament. We so thought we would be the winners since we were paired up with the groom and best man but the locals came in as the ringers. The weekend continued with boat tours and pirates. Yes that's what I said pirates.


It was Pirates Festival down in Alexander Bay and we say all the real life Jack Sparrows. We took a cruise out of the bay that took us into international waters and showed us what Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous looks like. We saw cottages (aka mansions) that were built on their own individual islands. One even had their own bridge connecting their Canadian island to their US island. Maybe one day we'll be so lucky =) Anyways the weekend came to a picture perfect ending when the bride and groom arrived at the reception in style via boat, congrats N&N!

Coast Guard Festival

As Hood family tradition goes, another Coast Guard Festival another excuse to party! Hence why the Johnsons are adoptive kids every August. We headed up to Grand Haven for all the festivites and we're not disappointed. We spent a week with the Bennetts enjoying some sun and fun. Pat (Amy's dad) and Shaun might have gone beer for beer but he certainly schooled Shaun when it came to ladder ball. I think next year we'll call a rematch and bring cornhole with us. Advantage Shaun!

Reagan Rockin the Fohawk!

and making a move for the blue mountains

Wedded Bliss

That's right, yesterday was our 1st Anniversary, boy does time fly! Speaking of fly, that's how we decided to spend our anniversary. We documented our 1st "Paper" Anniversary with a Certificate of Flight. We headed down to Charlottesville, VA for a weekend away and enjoyed a hot air balloon ride, gorgeous scenery and tasty wineries. If we have one recommendation to share with wine lovers it would definitely be to visit Thomas Jefferson's winery. I consider myself a wine snob after living in California and making it my job to hit as many wineries as possible in Santa Barbara, Temecula, Sonoma and Napa and never have I liked all the wines on the tasting menu before. It was just Phenomenal! Maybe I was just loved up on my hubby and anniversary weekend but I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Hollywood's Next Leading Lady

My brother and sister in-law have trained their kids well! Annie is the only one we got on film but all the kids are working on perfecting their lines for future movie roles. Patrick is ready to play ET if they get around to shooting a remake. Our only request is that you thank Aunt Sandra and Uncle Shaun in your acceptance speak for encouraging you at such a young age =)

Family and Fireworks

We traveled down to North Carolina over the holiday weekend to spend some quality time with The Geiger Clan. Our arrival provided man to man coverage, four kids to four adults. Maggie made a move for Shaun stating her intentions to marry him and Patrick had me wrapped around his finger with those charming eyes and smile!

June Gloom

Living in California, June Gloom just stood for the hazy weather but this year it meant the month that followed Paris. I mean how can you top such an amazing trip?!?! Even though we were coming off travel envy we managed to squeeze in a few fun outings.

Shaun got a lot of guy time in this month including a sports tourney and fishing adventure. The bragging rights continue. Shaun won the fishing bet bringing home the largest catch in addition to placing third in the Beer Pong/Cornhole tournament. I think his ego might be getting a little big!

We Louvre Paris!!!

We treated ourselves to an early anniversary trip to Paris and loved every minute of it! I mean what's not to love, people watching is actually acceptable in France =)

We used all methods of transportation while overseas but literally wore our feet out until they couldn't do anymore walking. Our first few days were spent hoofing it all over the city exploring every museum, neighborhood, and cafe. Well not every, we could have used another month to cover all the museums and cafes that Paris holds!

We enjoyed several day trips and activities in and around the city that were the highlights of our trip. The first was Fat Tire Bike Tours; this was one of our favorite trips because it covered so much ground. We were a little disappointed to learn they had no association with Fat Tire beer but that's alright because little did we know our tour guide traveled with five bottles of wine =) The journey started at the Eiffel Tower and ended with a cruise on the Seine, it was the perfect way to kick off our trip!

After a little window shopping along Champs Elysees we decided to head-up the Arc de Triomphe at dusk to see the 360 degree views of Paris. It was really breath taking! Although, Sandra nearly had a panic attack walking up the spiral staircase so I think her fear of heights took her breath away more than the views. Needless to say this was one of the remarkable sights around town and we even had a chance to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle from above. It was a 2 for 1 deal because the Arc was Shaun's favorite and the Eiffel Tower was Sandra's. The fun didn't stop there though, we returned to Champs Elysees to enjoy a late meal at George V. This was our favorite meal in Paris because we enjoyed Escargot and Duck but we also actually felt full afterwards, a first since our arrival just snacking on bread, wine and cheese.

To add a little life into the party we decided to check out a show at Moulin Rouge. It was a great night that included a trip up to Montmartre to check out the cathedral and enjoy a leisurely dinner before the show. We got all decked out but don't have many pictures as that is taboo at a cabaret show.

Later in the week we journeyed out to Champagne Country and toured two of the wineries, Mumm and Moet Chandon. Of course the champagne tastings were our favorite part but we actually learned so much on this tour, that is if you could be patient enough to wait through the four translations necessary for our group; French, Spanish, English and Japanese. Our first stop was in Reims, France where we toured a Cathedral and enjoyed lunch. This was also the inspiration for Shaun's poem/song he wrote. Maybe it will be a future hit on the radio one day, haha. Then we traveled on to the wineries and were able to tour their cellars and learn about the bottling/aging processes. We even saw bottles of Dom Perignon that were worth 1,500 - 6,000 Euros in addition to the top blend signature champagne, 1 bottle created each year, that goes for 25,000 Euros. Talk about high rollers!!!

On the last full day of our trip, we decided to take the train out to Versailles and enjoy life like Royals. This was Sandra's favorite part of the trip outside the Eiffel Tower. We managed to go to the Eiffel Tower everyday and take about 100 pictures each time. It really is just that magnificent!!! But then again so were the Gardens at Versailles. After dodging the thousands of tourists inside the castle we escaped to peace and quiet out in the gardens. Both were marvelous but we were just amazed by the size and beauty outside. After walking around for an hour we discovered golf cart rentals and enjoyed the rest of the trip in luxury. We spent the afternoon in a cafe nearby just soaking it all in before returning one last time to the Eiffel Tower to ride it all the way to the top. We had a glass of champagne up top, helping calm Sandra's nerves before heading back down and braving the stairs down on the final leg. We couldn't have asked for a better finale to our trip!