Jam-Packed

I've been wanting to post more frequently; however, not many new or exciting things have been going on. I suspect that in the next month and a half I will have much to talk about and many pictures to post, as our schedule is rather busy.

This Thursday my mom and sister are coming down to visit for a little vacation. Jeremiah and I are very excited to have them and to explore Richmond together. We're especially looking forward to experiencing 4th of July festivities around here. Andria informed me that she made six different kinds of cupcakes, and that she is bringing one of each flavor for each us. You do the math. I am getting six cupcakes all to myself. They are only here until Tuesday morning, which leaves only five evenings. Bring it on. We'll do a bit of shopping, go to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, check out Maymont and Byrd Park for the 4th, and perhaps enjoy wine tasting at a local winery. I'm just hoping it's a relaxing and enjoyable time for them. Cameron and Dad, we'll miss you!

The day my family leaves, Jeremiah's family is coming into town. They will be staying with his aunt and uncle until Saturday, when they leave for vacation down in Topsail, NC. We'll actually be going with them; however, we have a friend's wedding in Williamsburg Saturday night, so we won't head down until Sunday morning. We'll spend a week together and head home the next weekend. That's a whole lot of family time!

That next week our friends from college, Kristy and Matt, will be here visiting Kristy's family, so we hope to see them while they're in town.

August 1st is Audrey's wedding (one of my roommates from college), and if all goes well with my asking off of work, Jeremiah and I will head up to Pennsylvania for that. We will then stay the rest of the week, as Jeremiah and Cameron have purchased tickets to attend an entire Phillies series. It's on Jeremiah's bucket list. 

We'll then finish off the week at a 'friends vacation' with a bunch of Jeremiah's group of friends from college for the weekend. That brings us almost to mid-August to enjoy the last bit of summer.

Phew.

Hope to post pictures of all events as they come up!

Birthday in the Mail!

I know, I know. Far too long since I've updated. I'm sure at this point even my Mom and brother are only making an occasional visit due to my inconsistency. Hey you two!

Well it's officially summertime for Jeremiah and me, as school ended this past Friday. Thank the good Lord! We are both ready for a break, even though I will be babysitting 2-3 days a week and Jeremiah will be teaching summer school for a handful of weeks. I think we'll manage.

Another excitement is my 24th birthday tomorrow. Woo hoo! I've been rather nostalgic, as this is my first birthday not celebrated in Sellersville with my family. It was inevitable, if not after getting married, but especially due to the move down south.

It hasn't been such a bad gig, as I have gotten something in the mail each day, which has been a fun treat. Most notably was what I received Tuesday morning via UPS from my sister, Chef Andria Koehler. Even miles away, I am still able to enjoy her culinary confections. She mailed all the ingredients to build a most delectable birthday cake! She even included candles and sugar decorations. It made me feel so special. I was, however, a bit intimidated after reading the detailed instructions spanning the front and back of a piece of paper. Luckily, they were so detailed that there was little room for error. And just as the instructions said to do, my dear husband sang Happy Birthday to me and I proceeded to blow out the 24 candles atop the cake. As you see below, I have created a photo journal for you of my day putting this package together. It was an orange cake with layers of chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream, iced on the outside with more chocolate buttercream and then doused with chocolate glaze. My sister speaks right to my very being with this gift.

HOT HOT HOT

Summer has come many months too early in Richmond, Virginia--that is, according to this Pennsylvania native. Brace yourself for this weekend weather recap...

TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 90s!!

And brace yourself yet again for the current and upcoming weather...

TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 90s!!

Almost disgusting. The only thing keeping me from packing my things and heading north is the minimal humidity and my desperation for a tan. I seriously am not understanding this heat in April. My dear friend Shep, who shares with me a dislike for the summer months (strictly based on weather), warned me today of the reality of Virginia heat. He thinks I don't know what hot feels like, being that I'm not from the south. I hesitated to disagree with him, as I cannot remember ever experiencing such heat so early in the year.

But anyway, I'll get over it, as the forecast shows high 70s in our future.

Here's hoping you're experiencing actual springlike weather.

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband! Today he turned the big 2-3, although we all think he seems a whole lot older than 23. The Link side of the family came into town for the big event, which has been great fun. We've been extremely lucky to have beautiful weather and we definitely made the most of it today. 

We went to Maymont Park this afternoon to see the pretty gardens and check out all of the animals. Our faves were the huge, colorful fish, and of course the bears. We also became nostalgic of our childhood as we cooled off with some snow cones. 

For birthday dinner we ventured to Famous Dave's BBQ, which was quite delicious. Jeremiah and his dad ate way too much meat for any one human being and we shockingly all were able to walk out of the restaurant on our own (as opposed to having to be rolled out). 

The rest of the extended fam came over for birthday cake and ice cream--an enjoyable time for all. Screwdriver cake for Jeremiah and deep dark chocolate cake for Chuckles (his birthday is the 22nd). Delectable. 

Enjoy the wonderful tulip photos courtesy of the birthday boy. Yay for gorgeous weather and comfort food.

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter. The weather in Richmond was sunny and spring-like, which made the day just lovely. We headed off to church this morning and then went to brunch at the Salisbury Country Club. Kristy and Matt invited us to come with their family and a couple other families--something that has been their Easter day tradition for years. We had a great time and were thankful for the invite. The food was delicious (buffet style), but the desserts were divine. SO good! Combine the country club fare with the Easter goodies my mom and sister sent up, and let's just say we had quite the gluttonous weekend. 

Lucky for our arteries we made a stop to purchase tennis rackets and balls after brunch so that we can start playing here at our apartment and with Chrissie and Dave. We just got in from our first go-round at it, and boy was it interesting. By the end we had gotten the hang of it, but I clearly need a lot of practice before I try to compete with anyone other than my husband (who loves me for better or for worse).

Barf. Tomorrow we go back to work. How depressing. Two months to go til summer!

Friends In Town

How sweet it was to be reunited with great friends, even if for only a little under two hours. Last night Matt and Kristy Landis and Jordan Stone came to visit Jeremiah and me. Kristy and Jordan are two of my best friends and college roommates. Jordan grew up in Midlothian and Kristy lived in Midlothian since high school. Both of their families still live ten minutes away from our apartment, so they were all in for Easter. What a blessing it was to be able to see them! Matt and Kristy now live in Central Bucks area and Jordan is on staff with Cru at WVU, so we don't see much of each other--we hadn't seen the Landis' since Labor Day! We all had a great time laughing and telling stories. Lucky for me, Jordan will be moving back home mid-May to begin raising support to join staff with Cru. I cannot wait to have a close friend nearby!!!

SPRING BREAK

Alas, it is here! After a typically depressing winter (gloomy skies, colder weather, lack of vitamin D) Jeremiah and I are hoping to get a boost of spring energy after our much needed break. We debated doing a number of things to celebrate our time off, but ended up staying here in Richmond for the week. It hasn't been such a bad gig, as we've had our fair share of fun excursions balanced out with some productive time at home. 

We kicked off our break with a day trip to Williamsburg--primarily for the outlets. First though, we stopped at The Cheese Shop for a delicious sandwich and then headed to Wythe Candy shop for a sweet treat. Both of these places are downtown right next to Colonial Williamsburg at Merchants Square. I had eaten at both while at the women's retreat for our church and just had to let Jeremiah in on the experience.

Sunday we had an Opening Night cookout planned at Chrissie and Dave's (Jeremiah's cousin, her husband, and their daughter Ruby). As pictured, Jeremiah and I showed up in our Phillies garb ready for a sweet victory over the Braves; however, we all know how THAT turned out. Ridiculous. ((if you'd love to read more about the Phillies, check out Cameron's blog repeat09.blogspot.com)) We still had plenty of pre-game fun, especially during our Wii homerun derby tournament. Unfortunately, neither of us won, although I did have 9 homers in a row during our first practice round. Here are some more pictures of our festive evening.

Monday, we continued our adventures with a journey to Wakefield, VA to dine at the famous Virginia Diner. If you've seen Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri on the Food Network you might know what I'm talking about. Guy visited this diner during one of his episodes and Jeremiah has been anticipating some good southern diner food ever since. This place was in the middle of nowhere and rather interesting. Think time warp. Jeremiah feasted on collard greens, mac and cheese, BBQ pork, and fried chicken. Can you tell he's not a native northerner? Enjoy this photo of him in all his glory.

Tonight we're off to Chrissie and Dave's for our weekly Lost viewing. We cannot wait to delve into all that is Benjamin Linus and his sheer evil.