Visits and Visitors

Hello, hello!

You might have noticed that we haven't posted recently and that's because that we've had many visitors with us lately!

Playtime with our nephew, Liam!

First, Joe and Blake made a quick weekend trip to visit Ohio.  We had some wedding appointments we had to make-- including the florist (Blake's favorite) and the food tasting (Joe's favorite)-- and we had some major catching up to do! It had been several weeks since we had seen Joe's nephew, Liam.  Boy, is he growing fast! We spent Friday evening playing with him and reading him to sleep. Afterwards, we visited with a few college friends, Joe's brother, Brett, and his partner, Tyler.  On Saturday we headed down to Lawrenceburg, IN to visit Blake's family.  We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving! On Sunday we were in Cincinnati to visit Blake's Dad, who we hadn't seen since before we moved to D.C. Like I said, we had some major catching up to do! After an all-too-brief visit, it was back to the District. We can't wait to go back again, soon.

Megan and Blake

A week after that, Blake's best friend Megan came down from Boston to pay her a trip for her birthday!  We had already seen most of the sites from her last visit, so we spent a lot of time catching up like best friends do.  Of course, the one thing Megan wanted to see-- the Holocaust museum-- we weren't able to get in! It's a free museum, but they have limited tickets available to the public.  We didn't think they would run out of tickets two days in a row, but they did.  Better luck next time! Instead, we spent some time experiencing the exquisite tastes of the city! We tried out Cantina Marina, a bar that's literally sits on a dock of the Potomac River; Old Ebbitt Grill and their happy hour specials; and a German Hofbrauhaus on H street.  Here's a picture of us enjoy a couple of .5 liters.  Next week, I'll be headed to Boston for another visit!

Joe, Blake, Taylor, and Dan

A couple weeks later, a few friends from Ohio State came down for a weekend visit. Our friend Rachel lives near D.C. and she brought down a couple of our friends that Joe and I made through BuckeyeThon, Dan and Taylor.  Dan is one of Joe's groomsmen whom he met through his fraternity at Ohio State and Taylor and Blake go all the way back to high school Young Life.  Taylor and Dan stayed with us in our apartment while Rachel spent some quality time with her family.  We all met up on Saturday to have a DELICIOUS fish fry at Rachel's parents' house.  Afterwards, we showed Dan and Taylor some of the city sites.  It was a great weekend full of wonderful friends and good times!

Blake and Morgan- Quality sister time!

The day after Dan and Taylor left, Blake's sister Morgan came out to visit. She was here from Monday until Friday morning.  On Tuesday, we took a long bike ride down the National Mall to see the monuments, tidal basin, and the White House.  On Wednesday, we paid a visit to both the Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. On Thursday, we took a walking tour through the Library of Congress and got a professional tour through the Capitol building. All in all, a pretty successful trip! On Friday, it was a bittersweet goodbye. We're so different, but sisters through and through. We can't wait for her to come back for another visit!

It's been a whirlwind the past few weeks, but it's only going to get busier.  Blake's got a visit to Boston, then her bridal shower/bachelorette party in Cincinnati.  After that, we're going on a white water rafting camping trip with Joe's family, then Joe will be off for his bachelor party weekend shortly after that.  Not to mention wedding festivities later this summer. Stay tuned, it's going to be a wild ride!

Love and miss you all,
Blake and Joe