a beautiful wedding

What a beautiful, happy bride!

Earlier this summer, we attended the sweetest wedding in Baltimore. Alyssa is a friend and quasi-roommate from Indiana, and she won a job out here with the Field Band around the same time as Pat. We decided at the last minute to make a mini-vacation out of her wedding and stayed in the hotel. Who can resist a swan-shaped wash cloth? After all, we got a 'partial water front view!'

(Note: We had just gotten our new camera (as in, like two days before), so bear with us as we learn on this blog!)


Isn't that view funny? We really enjoyed staying in a nice hotel room, though. And they had a car service transport us to and from the wedding site! We got to the museum of art in time to enjoy taking some pictures around the sculpture garden with our dear friend Leigh.

IU folks, do you recognize that? Yep, same sculptor. Sort of funny that this statue would be at some IU friends' wedding! After our tour outside, we found a seat and enjoyed the beautiful ceremony, complete with Steelers references in the vows and all. The ceremony was so sweet, and after a quick cocktail hour, we found our way inside the restaurant for an intimate, delicious dinner.


Everyone who toasted Alyssa and Andrew was so happy for them. It really was the sweetest wedding, and I'm only sorry that our pictures aren't any better!



The band was so good that even I danced! And that never, EVER happens.

Best wishes to you, Andrew and Alyssa!

Nats Game

I'm no sports fan, but going to a Nats game is sure fun. I guess it has become a summer tradition for us. Baseball games are great because there are so many activities to participate in. There is the president's race (go Teddy!), having ice cream out of a cap, and even eating a hot dog with a stale bun tastes good at a ball game!

Not to mention we can park at Pat's work and walk just a few blocks to the park. It is nice to save $20 on parking, plus we get to enjoy the nice walk beside the Department of Transportation, where they have added relics such as this old gas pump.

Pat wants for us to one day have season tickets, but since that isn't exactly in the cards for us now, we will have to enjoy getting occasional tickets from our friends who do have them!

School's Out for Summer!

I know, I know. Everyone else is going to Old Navy to take advantage of their back-to-school sale, but I am just starting my vacation. First of all, Northern Virginia schools get out much later than all of my Southern friends - late June in fact - and I worked an additional month at Vienna Band Camp teaching clarinet sectionals to make some extra money. It was also pretty fun, and I had some really great kids. (I also have my share of children-who-think-aliens-are-coming-and-hid-in-a-locker-during-rehearsal but that's neither here nor there). This Monday morning I certainly enjoyed sleeping past 8am this morning!

Here's to a great summer!

Getting Organized Part 1

This July 4 Pat had to work, so I took the time at home to really go through our closets and cabinets and get rid of stuff we don't need! I found some boxes that had not been opened since we moved here - clearly we really didn't need those things! So I filled the station wagon with items to donate, made several trips to the trash, and completely wore myself out by super-organizing everything I could. I still have a few more closets I'd like to finish up, but the kitchen storage is looking great.

You can tell a lot about us by looking at this cabinet. We cover a lot of bases: Indiana, Furman, music (plus a mug from a performance competition Pat did), antique crystal, straight-lined modern, Pat's internet humor. Not to mention the types of glassware we keep in this frequently-used cabinet also tell a story about us. Coffee, tea, beer, and wine - we certainly enjoy it all. And having everything in its place makes me happy when I need to grab a glass.