Oh my goodness. . .

I haven't posted since May 21st? I fail. Perhaps that is a good indicator of how much time my summer job took this past summer. Well, to jump back into the blogging world, let's look back at the Taylor/Davy Siblings trip to Michigan. Ben, Crystal, Melissa, Ben, Amy, Addison, and Nora traveled through the night and were with us for a weekend. Here are some pictures from that time.

(Pool Time!)

 (Fire crackers on the 4th!)

 (Classy guys, classy . . . )

( The Coolest part of the whole playground. Addie got a ride . . . )

 (Nora got a ride. . . )

 (And the adults all made a try at it!)

 (the Taylor sibling method of choice: note the next three pictures)

(This method had more to do with modesty than efficiency)

 I promise to update more soon - there are some big things coming!


(Oh, and that does not mean I am pregnant)

Washington DC

Last week Jay and I decided to make the 20 hour round trip to visit our friend Levi and Courtney out in DC.

I had never been there, so I totally did the tourist thing complete with a tour book and a camera. I am a History Major and the East Coast is a treasure trove for a history buff like myself, so  I felt a little bit like I was meeting someone really famous the whole time.

We left home Thursday night, stayed in fabulous hotel in Youngstown, OH, and made it to Levi and Courtney's Friday afternoon. We got to see where they lived, we ate some yummy Lebanese food and played some vicious Settlers.

The next morning we rode the metro (underground-Yikes!) to the Eastern market for breakfast and some shopping. (Can you tell Jay thought these giraffes were cool?)

 (This is from the most crammed used bookstore I have ever been in. The owner even gave us a warning when we walked in to beware of falling books)

 We bought fruit at the Eastern market to eat the next day, but we then had to carry it around with us all day. The most memorable piece of fruit was our cantaloupe, Wilson. The picture below is the only shot he made it in, so this is Jay, Wilson and myself in front of the Library of Congress (Wilson is wearing the black bag).

 The botanical gardens.

 Awkward shot in front of the Memorial.

 Our wonderful hosts at the end of the mall (it is under contruction right now)

 Drakes, don't forget pillar number 5!

 Courtney and Levi's church meets in the afternoon, so Sunday morning we went for a hike. The day turned hot, but the hike was super fun.

 Jay showing off.

 I have no idea why this creek was orange.

 We took a trail that was technically closed and this is the reason why. The trail was just a little bit flooded.

So the boys decided to forge the river while the girls took the (high and) dry road. But enjoy their wading adventure.

Thanks Drakes for a fantastic weekend!

I'm not handy, but I try.

Ok, I am the first to admit that I am not the handiest girl in the world. I can follow directions, but I just don't have a great sense about how things work. I am making a concerted effort in this new house to figure things out and become more handy.

The first room Jay and I have decided to tackle is our office. We will probably spend as much time in there as we will in our own bedroom. We took an evening trip to Ikea (very dangerous move), and came home with two desks to help launch our office space. Jay put his together in a morning, but I told him that I wanted to put together mine all on my own as part of my home-owners training.

So after work on Wednesday, I settled myself in to tackle this new project.

A mountain of boxed desks.

 My project- The Lasse

 Taking inventory of my pieces (for the record, Jay was mocking my process at this point)

 My desk even included a drawer-Jay didn't have to deal with a drawer.

 An hour and a half in and the book-shelf portion was done. I was not doing well with time at this point.

Well, it took me 3 1/2 hours (and one very smashed finger) to finish, but I did it! Jay only helped once and it was because he insisted on tightening some of my screws. (For some reason, that last statement sounds dirty - it isn't supposed to be).

So here are some concluding pictures:

 Jay and Chango observing the mess of our office before the desks.

 And the "finished" project. I have that word in parenthesis because we are far from finished, but this shows both of the desks put together.

 The view from the other side of the room.

Paint will be the next step in this room. It is all very beige, but that will be a project for another day.

The new house

(Insert Drum Roll here _____________) Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the moment you have all been waiting for. Some (very rough) pictures of our new house. Please Pardon the mess, we are still working on configuring the rooms, but this will give you a good idea of the house.

Here is our great room area. Appreciate the lovely plaid sectional, but don't judge. It was free and it is really comfy:)

 Eating portion of the great room.

 Our room the first couple of nights- there are less piles now, bedside lamps and different curtains.

 This is our extra room/one-day-baby-room. It is just a holding pen right now.

 Our new washer and dryer (insert sigh of happiness here), and the next shot is Jay and I watching them do their thing. It is amazing, I can do an entire week's worth of laundry in one load.

 Here is the guest room. If you come and visit, this will be where you get to stay!

 This is the workout/craft room. It doesn't look much different at this point.

 The guest bathroom.

 Upstairs hallway looking from the bedrooms to the office.

 The office a week ago - we own a lot of books. That is what is in most of the boxes.

The Kitchen.

 First floor powder room.

 Our front room/entryway. Hopefully one day this will be our dining room.

 Jay's man-cave/the basement.

 Looking in from the front room to the great room.

I will post more pictures later.

Florida!

We were blessed to able to go to Florida for 10 DAYS last month! Here are some pictures from the trip.

(The brand new Disney Dream. Several Hundred yards away and it still couldn't all fit in one shot)

 (in the 80's and perfectly sunny everyday of our trip. I have been going to Florida my whole life and never have I experienced weather as great as it was this year)

 (golfing the "Fairways" - it really was just competitive between Mom and Jay. Dad and I were not quite as lucky as them on that particular night)

 (this picture is for Laura - this is where she stayed when she went to Disney to audition for Ariel)

 (Dad and I were made to be in front of the camera. As for the other two . . . )