Thanksgiving in Lawrenceburg!

Hello everyone!

We had such a fun, relaxing weekend when we came back to Ohio for Thanksgiving.  We spent the holiday with Blake's family in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  Oh, it was a trip full of surprises!

Awesome Foursome!

We left after I got off work at 7:30 Wednesday night.  That meant that we got into Lawrenceburg at 4:30am Thursday.  Though we drove throughout the night, we had our good friend Joey carpooling with us.  Between that, Christmas music, and late-night coffee breaks at McDonald's, the trip went faster than we expected. Though it was exciting to be back to see everyone, we wouldn't really get to say hello until a more appropriate morning hour; or so we thought.  My cousin, Angie, surprised us by camping out in the basement to welcome us home. She wasn't supposed to make it back for the holiday at all-- let alone be waiting for us in the middle of the night. I think I woke the house up because I screamed so loud with excitement.  It's the first time in a long time that the four cousins, Blake, Morgan, Angie, and Maria were all home.  Bless Joe for hanging around so much estrogen.

Tater and Joe

Another surprise awaited us with Tater, the new dog that my Aunt Karen and Uncle Don adopted.  We deduced that "Tater" was short for "Couch PoTater" because this dog is literally the biggest cuddle monster ever. If he never left the couch, he'd probably be happy. Cue the cute picture of Joe and Tater snuggling!

 Another fun little surprise, Christmas came early!  Joe and I discussed going out and doing some Black Friday shopping but decided against it, especially after having such a long and stressful drive the night before.  Little did we know that my Uncle Don went out to buy us our Christmas present from himself, Aunt Karen, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Greg: a new flatscreen tv.  I don't know if I can describe the extent of Joe's excitement.  The poor man has been stuck streaming ESPN on his computer for the entire Buckeye season and now that it's over, he has the ability to stream it to our big screen. It's awesome, I'll admit.  But who needs electronics when you can make Christmas cookies?!

Cookie Time with Angie and Morgan!

Last surprise, we were in Columbus on Saturday night to pick up our friend Joey to carpool back to DC when Joe's parents and family invited us for a evening of pizza, chit-chat, and Joe's little nephew Liam having so much fun with his new-found ability to walk and say "Wow", "Mama", and "Cracker". 

 It was great to see so many people on our trip.  It makes us realize that no matter how wonderful this adventure is out here in D.C., there really is no place like home. 

Sisterly Love!

Thank you to everyone who made this an amazing holiday!

Fall Fun!

In order to celebrate our favorite season, fall, we've had a little fun over the past couple of weeks. 

Dinner is Served!

Our friends John and Zach invited us over for an autumnal meal. Joe has dubbed this event "Friendsgiving".  I'm proud to say it our first themed dinner party in D.C.  Basically, it was a group of new friends coming together to give thanks and celebrate all the blessings that life has given us. 


John and Zach invited us over to their apartment where we met our friends Joey, Erin, Micheal, and Kathy. We had refreshing pumpkin beer, scrumptious buffalo chicken dip appetizers, and a deliciously planned meal of mushroom gravy pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, and butternut-squash soup. (Is your mouth watering? Yeah, mine is too.)  Top that all off with pecan pie and vanilla ice cream, and you're bursting at the seams with deliciousness. It. Was. Awesome. We're so thankful for all of these individuals, who coincidentally all attended Ohio State at some time or another, and their friendship.  It has made this big city feel like a little more like home.

John and Zach, our Wonderful Hosts!

If you know Joe, you may know that his holiday specialty is making cinnamon-sugar roasted pecans. In fact, my family literally fights each other for them.  In honor of our upcoming visit to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving, we decided to make a batch and bring them home with us. 







Below are some pictures of our baking adventure.  I'll tell ya what, Christmas music, sipping hot apple cider, and dancing around like a crazy person while baking with the person you love makes some wonderful memories.

Yummy!

Let's get ready to rumble!

We are both so excited to head back to Ohio for the holidays! We hope that we can see as many people as we can while we're there.  Love and miss you all!

Blake and Joe <3

We Survived Sandy!

Hello everyone,

Rooftop Construction

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers this past week.  Sandy, also known as "Frankenstorm", was definitely all that they thought it would be and more for different parts of the East coast.  Luckily, we were hardly affected.  Our hearts go out to all those who fared worse than us.

We had bottled water, canned food, candles, and cards just in case we needed them, though! We had 48 hours of straight rain with wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour. The metro shut down, the federal government closed; the city was seemed practically uninhabited. The most exciting thing that happened was when the small covering to our roof's exit flew off and tumbled across the building.  Joe, valiant as he is, scrambled up the ladder, fetched the hood, nearly got knocked down by a wind gust or two, (Yes, I almost had a heart attack. No, he is not allowed to do that ever again. I can't take the stress.) and then proceeded to screw it into the building so it wouldn't fly off again.

***Side note: Joe's handiness doesn't just stop with roof construction.  He was also brave enough to tackle the clogged bathroom sink.  After literally taking apart the sink's plumbing, we found the cause for the clog: facial cream cleanser, long blonde hair, and brown sludge that was once make-up.  Aka, MY fault. I would say I'd try to be better, but I don't know how! I will try, though.

Hard At Work

Joe's Accusing Face

Anyway, back to Sandy.  I was lucky enough to stay over at the hospital Sunday night and work Monday as extra emergency staff personnel.  No wonder everyone feels like crap in the hospital; it's definitely not conducive to sleep!  I was happy to be home after that 50+ hours straight in the hospital, that way Joe and I could brave the storm together.

It was a rough couple of days but it definitely could have been worse.  Thank you again for all the love and support we received this past week.  It's nice to be loved!

Missing you all!
Blake and Joe