I'm the MATRON OF HONOR!!!

WOO HOO! Jess and Justin are engaged and I'm the Matron of Honor...soooooo excited!! More details on this as they develop ; )

MAWAGE.....

"Mawage..." a quote Russ and EVERYONE else remembers from the Princess Bride, except me, that I heard all week. Seems a fitting title for this post. We're married! Russ and I are very excited and keep calling each other husband and wife as nicknames while its still so new and fun. The weekend was gorgeous, couldn't have hoped for better weather. We had a simple waterfront wedding with nine guests and a delicious dinner in the inn of surf and turf followed by the best wedding cake I've ever had! Here are a bunch of pictures from the day.

Russ and Sam before the ceremony:


Russ and I during our ceremony:


Placing the ring on Russ' finger: good shot mom!


You may kiss the bride:


Father, son and grandson:


The girls: Jess, me, and Lauren (in that order ;)


Our little family:


Me and Mom:


Family group shot:


The old wedding rings and flowers shot:


Our cake: top tier, tiramisu; bottom tier, chocolate with raspberry filing. YUMMMM!!


Russ giving the toast at our wedding dinner:


And last but not least...what I thought was a cheesy picture at the time (was Russ' mom's idea) turned out to be my favorite picture from the day:

Jess' Marathon in Burlington

Last weekend we drove to Vermont with the doggies to watch Jess run her marathon. She ran 26 miles in under 5 hours!! The whole time I was waiting for her to cross the finish line I was so full of pride for her I had to hold back tears. Here are the pictures from that rainy day.

Jess coming towards us and the finish line...note how great she looks!!


Jess approaching the finish line:


Jess and I right after she crossed the finish:


After the marathon we went back to Jess and Justin's new house. I wish I had taken some pictures because it is the cutest house I've ever seen! I'm absolutely in love with it! It is rather large and has so much character and charm of an old house, without feeling old...the landscaping around the house just adds to the cuteness. I am so happy for them!

Here are some cute pictures of the puppies sleeping on the long ride home:

More Puppy Pics

Why? Cause he's a puppy and I can't get enough of his cuteness!! Even though he had Russ and I chasing him around our yard for half an hour in a not so fun game of chase, causing Russ to try his hand at being a cattle rancher by creating a lasso of rope and flinging it towards Remy's head (I'm not kidding)...we are still loving him up.

Spring Rocket Dogs

Sunday was the March for the Animals and a good time was had by all. We had a pretty sizable group of people and pups. We saw just about every kind of dog at the walk, and I wish I had taken more pictures of our surroundings. Penny and I went up to the Baltimore Dog Magazine booth to check it out when an event photographer stopped us and asked if he could take Penelope's picture. He said he was only taking pictures of very unique looking dogs. I was flattered..and I'm hoping she ends up online or in the paper.

Once we started our walk it was difficult to take many pictures because I was walking Penny and carrying a portable water bowl so that she could stop and drink often. Russ walked Remy and although he pulled most of the way (and Russ looked kind of miserable and exhausted/frustrated) he did start making progress towards the end of the walk. It was about 80 degrees and the walk around the Druid Hill Reservoir was on blacktop...so the dogs needed a lot of water and got pretty exhausted and hot. Our pack, the Spring Rocket Dogs made over $600 (thanks to everyone who donated and or walked with us). The event raised $316,000 for the shelter. YAY!!!!

Here are my few pictures from the day:

Remy and Russ as we waited for the rest of the "pack" to arrive.


Penelope sprawled out on our complimentary gift bags (trying to keep them all for herself)


And this is why we get stopped everywhere we go...that face is ADORABLE!




And of course Penny's adorable boyfriend Antooooniooooo (sung like song: Hollywood)


The only pic I have of Penny and I walking...thanks Charissa!


Angie, sans dog, but not sans smile.


Part of our pack as we start our march.


Russ walking Remy.


Lili walking Penny...how cute is this picture!!!


And a picture of Remy taken tonight.

REMY!!

Here are pictures of our new puppy, Remy. I'd write the crazy fate-like story of how he seemingly walked into our life, but you all know it already. What you don't know is the update on Remy's first night in the house. We had a bonfire/cookout with friends and family and about 50 (ok 5) kids, and 4 or 5 dogs and Remy loved them all. Everyone was very impressed with how sweet and easy going he was. He made a fast friend in Matt and Maria's one year old dog, Buttercup and I'm excited that he now has a good friend who lives around the corner from us. He slept in his crate without a problem...probably b/c he was exhausted from all the excitement...and we started the morning with a golf cart ride, which he loved. Russ and I are super excited about him and he is definitely a great fit for our family. He has just explored the house and is now laying next to me as I type this. Now, on to the pictures...I will post more after we do the March for the Animals tomorrow.

Ok, how cute is this picture?!? Don't ask me how I got it...sheer luck...

So Long Sir

Yesterday we found Sir a new home. We were going to keep him, because we fell in love with him but every week it was just becoming more and more clear that him and the cats cannot live in harmony. Becuase of this fact, the cats had permanently taken up residence in the basement...creating a refugee camp of sorts, and Sir was forced to either be leashed or crated at all times for fear that he would really hurt our cats. I was discussing this with my friend Elizabeth when she suggested calling her friend who has a Jack Russell named Molly. Turns out her friend was interested in adopting Sir, her name escapes me now...either that or I'm blocking it, as she is his new mom. She has a large fenced in yard, he will have a sister Molly and they will spend everyday with girl's parents while girl is at work, meaning he will have constant excercise and company, which he just loves. We really couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect home for him and I know he will be happier there, but that still didn't prevent me from crying hysterically, as soon as we walked into our neighbors house in front of everyone, not to put too fine a point on it. Despite my sadness at losing yet another dog from my life, I feel confident that I've made the right decision for my three cats, who have already reclaimed their house and seem thrilled to not have to hide out and live in fear. Here they are, all looking more relaxed than they have in a long time.

Sydney



Feely



Samson


Next weekend is the March for the Animals, an event I was looking forward to spending with Penelope and Sir. Hopefully Sir's new mom will join us so that I can still spend the day with him. Last year, Maximus, Penelope and I walked the three miles together alone. It was right before Max was diagnosed with cancer and right before we all moved into our new home with Russ. In my memory it exists as a day where the three of us were happy and healthy and independent. We were so happy that day and I was so proud of my little family...walking with them made me realize how much joy they bring to my life. So much has changed since then...the next six months were spent battling cancer, the six months after that have been spent grieving Max, and in between all of that life has gone on, wonderfully in my new home with Russ. For the walk this year, I assembled a group of friends and their dogs to walk with us...I plan for it to be a new memory burned in my mind symbolizing all of the great friends I now have and that even though life changes drastically from year to year, it doesn't have to be viewed as a bad thing.

Easter Morning

After a pain staking search for the easter basket...it was finally discovered in the living room behind the long curtains. Here are some pictures of our easter morning.


Russ and Sir are snuggling:



Sam is assembling a leggo truck left by the Easter Bunny:

Easter Bunnies Everywhere!

Russ and I went to Target today to make Easter baskets for Sam and his cousin Andrea. Since we have Sam this year for Easter, we ARE the Easter Bunny! So exciting. Target was overrun with parents and the Easter Bunny isles were torn to pieces...easter junk thrown everywhere. We made adorable baskets with minimal candy. Here's a picture of our baskets.



The basket on the left is Sam's and it has a green frog, a leggo truck and some assorted candy. Andrea's is on the right and her's has a pink bunny a littlest pet shop toy, a chocolate bunny and some candy. Russ picked out the cute buckets.

Hopefully the kids will like them as much as we do.

Last Night 's Bonfire

Last night Russ and I had a bonfire at our house. Charissa, CJ, Angie, Donna, Wes, Margy, and our neighbors Mike and Angie came over. Russ and I took the whole day off so we had time to smoke a 17lb. turkey in the smoker my mom gave Russ for Christmas. It was very yummy. I didn't take any pictures last night but Charissa took this of Russ and I, which I JUST stole from her blog. It is very cute. She is a great photographer!
Thanks, Charissa!!

Picture Medley

Russ uploaded a bunch of old pictures to his laptop so I think it's time for a picture medley.

Jess and I in Vermont:






The four of us in Vermont:


Sam holding a snake he found in our yard:



Penny standing on an old dog grave in Max's garden:



Sam swinging on a ladybug tree swing sent by my mom:


Samson enjoying being back home with his fellow cat siblings:




Russ trimming a huge tree in our yard: