Surprises and Road Trips

I'll be honest...right now I can't remember what I did since the last time I updated. I'm sure it will slowly come back to me as I write this but here's what I remember...

Wednesday, we went to Trevor's sister's house to visit her with Ava and his other sister Emilee. After that we ran to the bakery to order Ava's birthday cake. I can't wait to see it and will post pictures after the party. It's going to be so adorable. We dropped Emilee off and headed home. Ava's birthday pictures were scheduled for either Friday or Thursday if Friday was going to rain (the pictures are being taken outside). The photographer said we would go for Friday because it looked good so I checked the weather and saw it was going to rain all day Friday. I didn't want to bother him again so I just let it go and he of course ended up rescheduling. So Thursday night I headed to the mall with Katie to shop for a new dress for my surprise shower. Trevor shakes his head at me and asks how I can shop for a surprise. Basically my plan was to get a dress and anytime I had to go anywhere, even just to my Mom's, I was going to wear the dress. There's a back story to this...

Last August, on a Sunday morning, I woke up and headed to my Grandmom's for breakfast like my family does every Sunday. When I got there, no one was there but that wasn't that unusual so I didn't think much of it. I knew we had to get home to get changed for a lunch date we had with Trevor's family so off we went. While stopped at a light, some lady rear ended us. At this point, I was about 8.5 months pregnant so I was pretty sure we were going to miss lunch because I thought the cops would make me go to the hospital. They didn't so Trevor let his family know we would be a little late to lunch. We ran home, got changed really quick and ran out of the door. For anyone who knows me, they know I don't typically leave home without my makeup done, hair done, and contacts in. This particular day, I didn't have enough time to get everything done so I just did the bare minimum and didn't take time to really pick out my clothes. So we show up at the restaurant and I walk in the door and the entire room (it's a very small restaurant) screamed SURPRISE in my face...it was my baby shower. I had absolutely no idea that it was going to be my shower...the thought never even crossed my mind. With that, I told myself I wouldn't let that happen anymore and for my bridal shower I would try to be prepared.

Now typically, it's hard to surprise me. I ask a lot of questions and I really try to let things be a surprise, but a lot of times, I just start to piece things together until I figure them out. So this Saturday, I knew I had to wake up early and pack because we were going to Cooperstown, NY to meet up with Trevor's Dad who was there for Trevor's stepbrother's baseball tournament. Trevor told me that I needed to dress nicely because we were stopping for dinner before we got to the hotel with his Dad and that the restaurant has a dress code. He even showed me the website for the restaurant when I asked something about it. So I thought nothing of it, packed, and got dressed. He asked me if I was going to wear a dress but I said no because Cooperstown had highs in the 60's and my dresses were all strapless so I knew I would be cold. He tried. We ran to Target to grab a couple things and he said we needed to stop at my brother's house to get something for his Dad. Still, I didn't think much of anything. On the way to my brother's, Trevor started getting giggly which isn't completely out of the ordinary but given I've been harassing him about the shower, I started asking him questions. When it comes to Trevor, he's tricked me so bad in the past that I really don't know what to believe so I know he could be acting or he could be serious. Just in case, I got my makeup out since I hadn't put everything on yet, and quickly finished it up. As we were about to turn onto my brother's street I noticed a silver Lexus that looked like my cousin's and wasn't usually parked there and then the very next car was my Aunt's Outlander which I knew for sure since my cousin's name is on the window. We turned onto the street and I saw cars everywhere and couldn't believe it...he tricked me again! In the driveway, I saw all of my bridesmaid's standing there waving and yelling and acting like lunatics and all I could think was I can't believe he did it again and I better not have packed for nothing (some may remember I really hate packing). Apparently, we were in fact NOT going away that day but he had me pack to throw me off. So I didn't wear my dress to the shower but I was dressed nicely and my hair and makeup were done and the contacts were in so overall, it was a success. I got a lot of things from my registry and lots of gift cards. We had lots of laughs and fun but just as quickly as the shower started it was over. My bridesmaids did a great job putting the whole thing together and I can't thank them enough. We took the gifts to my Mom's house and then went back to my brother's to hang out with my sister-in-law. Busy busy day.

Sunday morning we actually left for Cooperstown and stopped in Paramus along the way to have lunch with Daddy Dan at the Grand Lux Cafe and then we were off to finish the trip. When we arrived, we met up with Trevor's Dad and had dinner at the Yum Yum Shack. It was recommended by tskillz but just looking at it, I didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be an absolutely delicious dinner. We went to Trevor's stepbrother Vincent's game for a bit and then we needed to get Miss Ava back to the hotel. Speaking of the hotel, when we checked in we found out we somehow got upgraded to a two room suite...fabulous! Monday, we were set to go to the Baseball Hall of Fame but I was feeling pretty crappy so Trevor and his Dad took Ava and I stayed home and slept. I was there when I was little, and I know a lot has changed since then, but I really didn't think I'd be able to walk around for hours. When they got back, we headed out to lunch and then to another one of Vincent's games. Around 9, we headed to dinner at some steakhouse and had another pretty good dinner. Today, Trevor and his Dad went golfing and Ava and I stayed home. We didn't get up until they were done golfing (they left early and played a 9 hole course) so when they got back we headed out to the Ommegang Brewery. The tour was pretty cool and then we tasted the beer and some of their mustards and beer cheeses which were all delicious (and I think beer is gross). Trevor and his Dad bought some souvenirs and then we headed over to the Fly Creek Cider Mill. We each had a pot roast sandwich, a slice of pie, and a cup of hard cider. Everything was super delicious except we all agreed the hard cider wasn't that good. After a stop in their store, we headed home and Ava and I took a nap while Trevor and his Dad went to Vincent's game. Tonight we had dinner at a pizza place in town and then came home.

We're headed home tomorrow where we have a busy couple of days ahead of us. We need to get an early start tomorrow because Ava's first birthday pictures are scheduled for tomorrow at 6 pm. It's supposed to be a beautiful day with no rain so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thursday, I need to run around and get things for Ava's party and Friday we need to pick up tables and chairs and set everything up. Thursday is also Ava's first birthday and I can't believe how this first year has flown by. I can't believe she's still not that little tiny newborn I held just minutes after she was born. In pretty exciting news, Ava took 3 steps in a row tonight so she's yet again a little closer to actually walking. It seems that any day now, she's really going to take off. :) I need to get to bed now. Goodnight!

Busy Busy Busy

With the Ava's first birthday and the wedding both rapidly approaching, I've been super busy trying to get things done. That said, I obviously have not been posting new blogs very often but I'm doing my best. It seems that I never have time to stop and take a breath these days so I can't even remember what I've done lately. I have been making notes in my phone's calendar when Ava does something significant so I can mark it on her 1st Year's calendar. So Tuesday, Ava added to her collection of tricks. She's been walking all over the place since she was 9 months old, but only with the help of the couch, tables, or anything else she can grab on. She's also been standing on her own for a while...

but Tuesday, she finally took a step on her own! She's slowly but surely finding her balance and I'm sure within no time she'll be running all over the place. I was really hoping she would walk before her first birthday but that's ok...we'll aim for the wedding now :). Even though she doesn't walk she still manages to get all over the place and into everything. She especially loves to crawl under Trevor's desk when he's playing and behind the vaccum cleaner into the one of the smallest possible places in the apartment. She does however have a new favorite place to play. She has a few baskets from gifts I received for her so I keep her toys in them. Lately, she has been emptying one of the baskets and sitting in it with her aquarium toy. This has happened everyday since last week. Trevor put her in her crib yesterday (8/24) with a different basket of toys and found her a few minutes later inside of that basket.

She cracks us up everyday. So Friday, we had an engagement party to go to about an hour away in Pennsylvania for one of Trevor's childhood friends.

My Mom took Ava for the night but we still left the party fairly early, around 10:30. Trevor and I both had our first drinks in a while because the doctor said I could stop taking that horrible medicine (Cymbalta) since it was clearly making every symptom worse. Saturday morning, Trevor left bright and early to go to New York with his Dad. He bought him tickets to the Phillies/Mets game at the new Mets Stadium so they got an early start and went golfing with Daddy Dan. I got up later and headed over to my Mom's to pick up Ava and ended up hanging out there with my Mom, Stepdad, and stepsister until it was time to go to my Aunt Theresa's house for a BBQ. The weather was terrible - it was ridiculously hot and humid and about to storm constantly. Eventually it did and we all headed inside. Ava, her great Uncle John, and cousin Cole listened to music and watched Cole dance.

Then it was time to go home so we said goodbye to everyone and off we went. Trevor got home around 1 am and it was time for bed. Sunday, I had plans to go to lunch with my friend Nicole. She wanted to take me out for my birthday and we were finally able to get out. We ate at a place called the Corner Bistro in a small town close by. Lunch was pretty good with great company. When I went home, I got Ava's stuff together and the two of us headed out to Babies R Us to get some things for her and then off to my Mom's to pick up some stuff we left the day before. Then, we headed to PF Changs to meet up with the two Katie's for dinner. Again, our meal was delicious and we had great company. I took food home to Trevor because he was home playing all day.

Monday, Trevor let me sleep all day because I was so exhausted. I didn't get myself out of bed until 3 pm :( and then we had to get ready, take Ava to my Aunt's house, and head to Trevor's sister Trinna's house to visit her. At 7, we had a happy hour to attend for Trevor's stepbrother's baseball team. We hung out there until 9 and then headed back to my Aunt's house to pick up Ava. I headed out to the diner with my Aunt and cousin but Trevor wanted to play and Ava's sleep schedule is all screwed up so Lindsey (my cousin) went home with Trevor until we got home. I had to get up early today to greet my sister-in-law and neice because my sister-in-law needed a sitter. I'm pretty sure Ava was not happy with a baby being in the house or she was just mad that I wouldn't let her play with poor little Bella. She's 3 months old and Ava just wants to grab her like she's a doll.

Eventually, we dropped Bella back off with her Mommy and we headed out to run some errands. Trevor won an Outback gift certificate at a golf outing recently so we used that for dinner tonight. We came home and relaxed for the rest of the night and we're heading to bed now. Goodnight!

Annoyed

Picking up where I left off...Sunday Trevor played tournaments all day so eventually I headed over to my Mom's with Ava to look at old pictures. I'm making a slide show of me and Trevor from birth until now for the wedding so I'm trying to gather pictures from our parents. I sat there for hours looking through pictures and all of my memories from school that my Mom held on to. My favorite was a journal I had to write in each day in second grade. My spelling and stories were hilarious...I was hysterically laughing by myself in the nursery my Mom has at her house (she lives in a 4 bedroom house with her boyfriend so she turned one of the empty rooms into a nursey for Ava, my nephew Cole, and neice Bella). It was fun taking a trip down memory lane. When I finally made it through the pictures and picked out the ones I wanted, Ava and I headed to Trevor's Mom's house to help her with her new laptop. We stayed for a bit and she gave me old pictures of Trevor to take home and look through and then we were on our way home. Ava has decided recently that she wants no parts of sleeping when she's at home. Her bedtime is 9 but she won't go to sleep now until 11:30 unless she's staying overnight at one of her grandparents houses. She sleeps 12 hours straight for them (like she used to for us) but at home she wakes up at the butt crack of dawn. But then I look at her little face and I think she can do no wrong :).

Monday, we met up with Trevor's sister Trinna for lunch at Chili's. Then we headed to Target to get some things for Ava and then we were off to Trevor's Dad's because his car was still there. Ava and Trevor stayed there and hung out for a bit while I went to PJ's - the bar I used to work at - to meet up with the 2 Katie's for dinner. I had a salad and it was delicious. I said my goodbyes and headed home. Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment and then afterwards Trevor's Mom stopped by for a bit. We hung out at home all day. Today, Trevor had plans to go golfing in Brigantine with my uncle and cousin so he left the house early and Ava and I hung out all day. I got a lot of cleaning and laundry done and when he got home we got ready, dropped Ava off at Trevor's Dad's and headed to the Phillies game. We finally sat through a game and won. Cliff Lee was pitching and it was a great game...4 homeruns...fabulous.

So why am I annoyed? As we were coming home, there was a car next to us on the bridge that continuously put its brakes on and was almost coming into our lane. We were watching and I noticed it was a girl driving...shocking. As we drove passed her, I looked over and saw that she had her visor down, mirror open, and was holding the visor inspecting herself while driving...in the dark - not like she could see anything anyway. Why do people (mostly females) insist on checking themselves out while driving like it's no big deal? It irks me to no end when I see people driving like complete tools. And where are the cops when this stuff happens? They're busy pulling over the person doing 28 in a 25. PULL OVER THE IDIOTS THAT ARE SWERVING BECAUSE THEY AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION! I also love when some guy driving his Mercedes or better yet his beat down '80 sports car pulls right up onto my bumper when there's cars all around and nowhere for me to go...that's one of my favorites...and when they start flashing their lights like they own the road and I need to get out of the way. I don't drive like a grandmother but I don't drive 300 mph either. If I had a beater and didn't have a baby in the backseat I would really love to slam on my breaks for morons like that. Another person was driving all over on the way home and as we passed him I saw he was on his cell phone. Is it that hard to wait or put the thing on speaker phone and put it on your lap? I'm sure it was an emergency about what his friends were wearing to the club and how they had their hair spiked that night. Ugh...drives me up a wall...

I'm done ranting for now...but stayed tuned for lots more in the future!

Time Flies

So I've been incredibly busy lately and haven't had time to do an update but here I am finally. I've been working on the invitations for our upcoming wedding and had to get them completed and in the mail by the end of the week (which I did) but only after staying up until 4 am for a week straight. A couple of years ago, that would be normal for me but with an 11 month old running around, it's not the best idea. I can't believe how quickly time is passing...I feel like we were just getting engaged and now we're less than 2 months away from the big day (10/10). I'm really blown away at how fast time moves these days. When Trevor and I started dating, time started flying and now that we have Ava, each day seems to be over in a blink of an eye. It's pretty scary if you stop and think about life and what it has in store for us and how quickly it can be taken away. But that's something I probably shouldn't get into because it will most likely send me into a frenzy...one day I'll talk about it but today is not that day.

With this in mind, last Tuesday, August 11th, marked 2 years since Trevor and I got engaged...2 years! I'll never forget that day...it was my college graduation party. Trevor had it all planned out. We were living in Brigantine at the time and he left early on Friday to head to our hometowns. He said he had to meet up with his sister to help her out with some financial aid stuff but really he was heading to my Dad's work to ask him permission to marry me. Obviously, he said yes of course. We went out that night with some friends and later that night...totally joking and truly oblivious to what was going to happen the next day...I told Trevor that he better not be proposing the next day (oops sorry!) but again I was really totally joking. The only reason I even brought it up was because he knew that I always wanted to be proposed to in front of my family and friends and my graduation party was the perfect time and place. In reality though, I didn't think it was possible for him to have bought a ring since we're always together. The next day at the party, he seemed to be acting totally normal to me (he says he was a total nut all day) and at one point during the party my Dad asked for everyone's attention. He gave a little speech about how proud he was of me for graduating from Drexel and the typical Dad speech (my Dad absolutely does not like talking in front of large groups) and then he called me over to him for a hug. After that, he asked if anyone else had anything they wanted to say and Trevor came up to me out of nowhere (really he was standing to my right but I didn't see him) and said "Jody I think you're the most amazing person in the world and I want to spend the rest of my life with you" and then he got down on one knee and said "Will you marry me?" I was totally shocked but I clearly said yes. After all was said and done, I felt terrible about the night before :( but we laughed about it. It's been a long but great ride leading us up to our wedding day and I absolutely cannot wait for it to be here.

I spent the morning today with my Mom and Ava working on things for the wedding. There's not much left to do which is great but definitely still have some loose ends to tie up. I'm looking forward to everything being finished and relaxing until October 10th. After that, Ava and I headed to the shore to meet up with Trevor and family because they played in a golf outing today. There was so much food when I got there - it was crazy. I ate and we hung out for a bit but it was time to head home. Here I am now...falling asleep as I write. I planned for this blog to be ridiculously long and have the entire story of Trevor and I but I'm just too tired to make any sense so here's what you get...a long blog with lots of run on sentences and my jumbled thoughts on a Saturday night...enjoy...I'll write the next one when I've slept :)

Celebrations

There were a ton of birthday's in July and August brought yet more birthdays to celebrate. August 5th was my nephew Cole's 4th birthday and the 6th was Trevor's best friends sister's. Friday we went out to dinner at Aqua, a Malaysian and Thai restaurant. I try to avoid this restaurant as much as possible because I have a nut allergy and Thai food uses peanuts in a lot of their dishes but Trevor's friends love it there. Everyone was going out afterwards but I was feeling pretty terrible so we decided to just head home. My Mom had Ava for the night so I figured I would go right to bed when we got home but that of course did not happen. I spent the next couple hours working on the wedding invitations some more until I finally went to bed at 2 am.

The next morning, I had to get up early to pick up Ava because my Mom told me several hundred times that she had a lot to do on Saturday. Of course, Ava went to bed right on time at 9 pm for my Mom (lately, this rarely happens at home). When I got home, I had major cleaning to do. I may have mentioned it before but we live in a one bedroom apartment until January when we're buying a house. Living in a one bedroom with a baby is not an easy thing to do - there's stuff everywhere with hardly any room to put anything away. The apartment always looks super cluttered and it makes me insane.

Another unfortunate side of apartment living is workers having to come in and out at the complex's convenience. Our apartment was scheduled on Saturday to have all of the electrical switches and outlets replaced. I assumed it was 1 guy doing the job so I figured I would have time to clean up the last little bit in the bedroom before he made it in there. When the doorbell rang, I opened the door to find 4 guys standing on the other side and they came in and swarmed the friggin place...awesome. When all was said and done, Ava's changing table and our bed were in the middle of the floor and there was the plastic coating to wires all over. Anyone who has babies will know the they love to put anything they can get their hands on in their mouths. Ava has reached this stage and I constantly find her sitting on the floor chewing on something. So far the plastic wire coating hasn't made it into her mouth (that I've seen) but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

Anyway - Trevor and I have partial season tickets to the Phillies and we had a game Saturday night. I decided to stay home because I had a lot to do and also because I knew the game would run past Ava's bedtime and we didn't have a babysitter so I told Trevor to take someone else to the game with him. The plan was to get to work as soon as Ava passed out and all was going well until 20 minutes after I put her in her crib...she woke up. Needless to say I got absolutely nothing done except some laundry because Ava refused to go back to sleep until Trevor got home around 11:30 and even then she kept waking up...not fun especially since we had to get up early Sunday morning to go to church. Now, neither one of us are religious and do not attend church but this was a special occasion. Our niece was baptised today so we obviously needed to be there. The baptism was fairly quick and then afterwards, we went to my brother and sister-in-laws house for the Baptism/Birthday party. My niece Bella and nephew Cole are brother and sister so they just had a combined party to make it easy. The rain came but it went by pretty quickly and the sun came out but it was horribly humid. For most of the day, Ava hung out with my Mom because she would cry if anyone else, including me and Trevor, took her away. Trevor's stay at the party was short lived because he had to get home to play a tournament so he said his goodbyes and off he went. I hung around for a while and then a bad storm came rolling in when I was about to leave so I had to stay way longer than expected. The birthday party had ended by that time and only a few people remained - so it of course was time for the adult party to begin so they all played beer pong. Miss Ava was a super tired little baby because she didn't sleep well last night and didn't take a nap at all so we got ready and said our goodbyes and off we went. She passed right out when we got home but has just woken up as I'm typing this...sigh. This weekend went by fast with nothing too exciting to report but it was fun. I must go rock the child back to sleep now.

On the road again...

Saturday was a pretty relaxed day - I went to Bed Bath and Beyond with Ava and my Mom to finish my wedding registry and later on Trevor, Ava, and I went to Pizzeria Uno's for dinner. By the time my meal came, I was so stuffed from soup and the appetizer, I ate two bites of my meal and wrapped the rest up. Ava spent the dinner flirting with every possible person and making people smile and then we waited about 25 minutes for boxes and the check because our waiter was standing at the table across from ours talking to 2 girls the whole time. At first we didn't mind but after a while it got really annoying. When we got home, our crazy neighbor was on a horn rampage, hitting the button about every 15 seconds. Trevor started to reach his breaking point and said that if he hit it one more time he was calling the cops. He ended up giving him a few more times pretending that he didn't hear it but finally that was it. He called the police and talked to the dispatcher about what was going on (it was almost 11:30 pm at this point) and said he knew they were probably busy but was just wondering what our options were. They sent an officer out who came and talked to us and said after 10 pm it's considered and noise complaint and that he was going to come back another day and tell him to stop and if he didn't that we then would have the option to file a complaint. It must have worked because since then, I've heard his horn maybe once.

Moving on...

Traveling with the baby is not easy - there's so much to pack for her but she's always a trooper. She's 11 month's old and has been to 14 states and has spent a lot of time in Atlantic City. We spent most of June there and then two weeks in Vegas right after. Since then, we've been home but it was back to packing on Sunday for at least two days in AC. Trevor had to leave early Sunday morning to get to AC to play a Borgata tournament so I stayed home with Ava and packed. There's almost nothing I hate more than packing but I now have to pack for 3 people instead of just 1 which makes me want to jump out of the window. Also, trying to pack with Ava terrorizing everything obviously makes it a much more difficult task to accomplish. She wanted no parts of a nap and no parts of being stuck in her crib. I finally had to bribe her with Puffs in her high chair so I could get her to sit still long enough to get things done.

When I finally finished packing and loading the car, I had to meet Trevor's sister Trinna at their Mom's house because she was riding down with me. We were headed to Pleasantville, a town not too far from AC, where Trevor's mom and little sister Emilee were vacationing. I hung out there for a bit since Trevor was playing in the tournament. While we were eating dinner I got a call from him saying he was out and was going to come and hang out for a while before we headed to Harrah's for the night.

The next morning, we headed back to where Trevor's Mom was staying and sat by the pool for a couple hours. It was Ava's first real time in the pool and her raft and she LOVED it. She immediately started kicking her feet like she knew what she was doing (of course she did, she's a genius!). One of our son's, Dan, met us at the hotel for a bit and then Trevor's Mom wanted to take us out to dinner for our birthday's so we got ready and headed to Chickie's and Pete's with the two sisters, Mom, and Dan. Eventually, we headed back to Harrah's leaving Ava behind with her Mom-Mom for the night. Originally, we were supposed to go to mur.mur with Dan, AG, and some of my friends, but the girls decided not to book a room until 2 nights before and couldn't get a free one by then. So they decided to back out and stay home. Instead, the four of us ate a late dinner at the Borgata (the Metro) and went back to Harrah's and played slots. I played for a bit but after hitting the bonus round twice and getting the lowest possible number (20 credits - quarter machine) on the wheel both times, I got frustrated and quit. AG came a long and sat at that same machine and hit bonus round after bonus round for 250 credits, 100 credits, 90 credits and every other great thing he could hit. He turned $20 into about $140 and I wanted to smash the machine. I turned my attention away from him to watch all of the drunk trainwrecks walking through Harrah's with Dan (just to clarify - they were not walking through with Dan, we watched together :)) We spent a good part of the night laughing at everyone until finally we headed over to craps to watch AG for a few minutes and then to Three Card Poker. Then, to finalize the evening, we stopped by the roulette tables so AG and Trevor could lose the rest of their money before retiring for the night. I have to say, this was not the first time I met AG but for some reason, I never noticed how much he talked. After this visit, I realize he really doesn't ever stop talking, regardless of what's happening around him. All night long, someone would be in the midst of talking and AG would just start talking about something else as if the room was silent which certainly made for an entertaining evening. But AG, I still don't like you because you told Ava you hate her.

Tuesday...

We packed up our stuff and headed back to pick up Ava and hang out by the pool for a while. Finally it was time to head back home. We packed up, said goodbye and home we went. Trevor and Ava met up with Trevor's best friends Ton and Raj for dinner but I stayed home and slept because I didn't feel that great. After dinner, we hung around home until it was time to go to bed. The next day, we had some running around to do, so we grabbed lunch at Moe's and then off we went to get things done. I was supposed to have dinner with a friend but I had to cancel because again I wasn't feeling great. I spent most of the night working on invitations for Ava's first birthday party and our wedding. Trevor had an online tournament to play in at 9 so I had to get Ava in bed which is not easy. For some reason, she will not go to bed for me. I've tried and tried but usually cannot get her to go to sleep. I finally got her in bed at 11 pm and then headed off to Arby's to get some food for Trevor and then went back to work on the invites. Today, we had more running around to do and then dinner at 6:30 with Trevor's Dad and Stepmom. Ava again was entertaining everyone with her funny faces and laughter and was, like always, a great baby for the whole dinner. Life is good :)

A short story -

On our way out of the door today, the creepy neighbor was standing right outside of it talking to our other neighbor. Just a quick reminder - he cannot have a conversation without mentioning something about the weather, but always the opposite of what it's like outside. As we started to walk towards the car, he said "Watch out for the snow!" Today was in the 80's and sunny...I can't wait to move...

And the diagnosis is...

Tuesday, July 28th, was my 26th birthday. It seemed like a great day for a doctor's appointment (booo) but it was for a rheumatologist and they are not easy to get appointments with so I took what I could get. We woke up and said our goodbyes to Dan and Luke (Trevor was nice enough to accompany me) and we were off to the doctors. My appointment was set for 11 but I didn't get called back until 12...awesome. Then we sat in the room for another 30 minutes. The doctor apologized and said they were really behind...ya think? So there's a story behind why I had to go to a rheumatologist so here's the reason.

When I was 16 I had blood work done because I was always tired. I mean really ridiculously exhausted for a 16 year old. I would come home from school and take a 2 hour nap and then wake up for a few hours and then go back to bed for the night. The blood work showed I had hypothyroidism so I was put on medication to fix the issue. From then on, I never took my medicine the correct way but somehow my blood work always came back normal and I was still exhausted. A few years ago, I stopped taking the medicine altogether and magically my blood work was still normal. I guess miracles do happen because I had an autoimmune disorder that disappeared on its own. I'm still not convinced I ever had the issue in the first place but who knows. So for 10 years now I've gotten blood test after blood test with no answers as to what causes me to feel so tired (and a whole host of other symptoms too). I've learned to live with it because what choice do I have. So I recently changed doctors hoping she would come up with something. Christmas Eve of 2008 I got a phone call from the doctor's office letting me know my blood work was now showing Lyme Disease...great...Merry Christmas to you too lady. I was treated for that and repeated my blood work and everything looked good so she sent me to the rheumatologist.

Here we are on my birthday going through the standard exam. She felt every joint in my body and asked me a thousand questions about my medical history and my family's as well. Because she was a resident, she wanted to consult with the veteran doctor that was working with her. After a few minutes they both came in and let me know their thoughts. They told me they believe I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It's a relief that I was given diagnosis but it also kind of sucks because CFS is a diagnosis of exclusion because there is no test to determine if you have it or not. Anyway, they told me they want me to do two things: 1) do a sleep study because I wake up constantly throughout the night and 2) take Cymbalta to try to help the CFS. Well, Cymbalta is an anti-depressant so I'm not exactly sure how it's supposed to help my problem but I'm listening to the doctor and taking the medication. Cymbalta can cause liver problems if you drink too much so that is why I'm done drinking altogether while I'm on the medicine.

So far, I haven't had the best experience with the medicine. I feel pretty dizzy and just overall disoriented. Also, I've had a major headache since Tuesday night and it doesn't seem to be getting better and add in the nausea...yeah I don't feel too hot. The pharmacist said these symptoms "SHOULD" be fine so that's comforting (that's sarcasm in case anyone didn't pick up on it). I've been told the side effects should subside in about a week so I'm really hoping they do or I'll just go back to living everyday with no energy and deal with it. It would just be nice to have the energy of a 26 year old instead of a 90 year old. After all, I have a baby and a poker playing, traveling fiance to keep up with. :)

So back to the happy stuff. After the doctor, (which took 2 hours total) we went home and I, of course, napped but not before I got a text from Luke. He said Farrah sent him a text that said she was back home while he was sitting in the airport waiting for his flight :( no good. A little later, an old friend, Alicia, and her fiance came over. I haven't seen her since Ava was 1 week old (she'll be 11 months on August 3). It was good to see her and catch up and hopefully, we'll keep our friendship going this time. We were best friends since 7th grade and lived together a couple years ago but we went in separate directions. Dinner plans were set for 8 pm at Applebee's with Alicia and her fiance Joe, Trevor, me, Ava, and Katie P, and Katie K, my friends from PJ's. Dinner was fun and by the time we were done, we were all tired and ready for bed.

Wednesday, we had plans to head up to visit one of Trevor's college friends. I decided to stay home because I had just started taking the medicine and felt horrible. So Trevor and Ava went up without me and had a good time. Ava sat on the sand for the first time and Trevor said she seemed indifferent. Like always, she was super happy all day. She really is the best baby.

On Thursday, we had a lot of running around to do so Trevor's sister Trinna came over and played with Ava so we could get things done. We came home and hung around for a bit and then Ava and I went to Target. She decided that sitting in the seat of the cart was not going to cut it so she kept turning around and standing up. It made for a fun trip around the store. The only way I could get her to sit was to give her my cell phone which he would crack up over and then get bored and throw it on the ground. But she had me laughing so it was fine...she can obviously do no wrong :).

Today, we hung around all day and both Ava and I got 2 hour naps. Some pretty bad storms hit us that knocked down some trees and a lot of tree branches all over the area. We had a Beef and Beer to go to tonight for Trevor's step brother's baseball team and when we arrived, we realized there was no power in the fire hall. So no lights or AC...not fun. We were all sweating and sitting my candlelight but the DJ was nice enough to run his equipment off of his car battery so we at least had something to listen to. Trevor bought about $40 worth of Chinese Auction tickets, 50/50's and whatever else they had but won nothing. Poor Ava went in with straight hair and left with curls all over her head - but it looked adorable. Finally, it was over and we were on our way home, but not before making a quick stop at Taco Bell - my first visit there in over a year probably. Now, I'm exhausted and ready for bed where Trevor already retired to. Hopefully this medicine starts working soon instead of making it worse.

Birthdays Galore

Growing up I never really knew anyone with a birthday in July. Now, there are 5 birthdays back to back. My stepfather Dennis is July 24, my aunt is July 25, Trevor is July 26, his little sister is July 27 and I'm July 28. There was nothing to do for Dennis since he was in St. Maarten with my mom and my aunt lives in Florida, but birthday celebrations began on Saturday.

On Friday, we hung around for most of the day and then we ran to Trevor's mom's to take back her laptop that I fixed and then went to his dad's house to eat and drop off the baby so we could go to the Phillies game. It started pouring pretty early in the game so there was about an hour rain delay. Our seats are under the upper level seats so we didn't have any issues with getting wet, but we left our seats anyway to meet up with some friends for a bit. We didn't stay for the whole game because a) they were losing and b) we were hungry and knew we wouldn't have time after the game since it was delayed and we still had to pick up Ava. We left and headed over to PJ's for some dinner and then picked up Ava and went home.

Saturday was the big day...our birthday celebration. Luke and Dan arrived around 4:30 or so and some friends, Danny and Jackie, stopped by as well because they had some time before a reception. We had to run to Kohl's to get Luke some shoes to wear because he sent his dress shoes home with his Mom not thinking he would need them. The plan was to go out in Philly so he'd definitely need them. Then we headed over to PJ's for a drink and to visit my friend Katie and then we were off to Philly for dinner. We ate at Mixto and it was really good. Pitcher's of mojito's were everywhere and they were delicious - I think they're becoming my new favorite drink (although I'm taking a big break from any drinking at all until closer to the wedding). After dinner we went to Raj's girlfriend Arti's apartment and played Taboo. I felt incredibly dumb playing it because I'm terrible under pressure. I couldn't get any answers out and when it was my turn to do the talking I couldn't explain anything. It was not fun.

In case you don't know how to play here's a quick rundown: there are cards with a word on the top and other words listed below...you have to describe the top word without using any of the listed words and people have to guess what you're describing...if you say one of the words you get buzzed and lose a point...when someone guesses the word you move to the next card and keep going until 1 minute is up.

So anyway, one of the cards was "Matt Damon" and Trevor's friend Timmy had to describe him. It was ridiculous because I'm pretty sure he didn't get much else out except actor, but definitely nothing very descriptive, and Luke says "Matt Damon!" There were like 13 people playing and we all just looked at him like how the hell did you guess that?! It was pretty crazy.

When Taboo ended, we went to The Walnut Room. At first, it sucked pretty bad - it was incredibly hot and crowded. But after a few minutes, we moved down the bar a bit to the end and it was more open, there was a seat, and also a giant fan on the wall so from there it turned into a fabulous night.

Luke asked a girl to dance and she said no but you have to give him credit for trying. I have to say I've never seen a guy be so willing to talk to girls. I admire that about him just because of the way he handles the situations. He doesn't act like a moron like most guys do when they are trying to pick up a girl and if she says no he doesn't get pushy so good for him. Eventually, 2 black girls took him onto the dance floor and he was gone for a while. Overall, it was a great night with great food and great people so thanks everyone who came!

After we left there, we went to the Colonial Diner of course. Luke was hammered and he had his head in his hand and the waitress smacked his hand into his face. It was hilarious. Another funny moment came from Dan of course. He ordered a waffle with strawberries and ice cream on it and she brought him a waffle with cherries and goop (like what they put on top of cherry cheesecake) all over it. When she brought him out the new one she apologized and said the first one had strawberries on it but not how he wanted them (they were CLEARLY cherries) and Dan said "AND CHERRIES!"...something so simple but the way he delivered it had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. By the time we got home it was 4 am and we were all ready to go to sleep.

Sunday was Trevor's actual birthday and my Dad and stepmom wanted to take us out to lunch. We had to meet up with them at my Grandmom's to pick up Ava since they took her for the night and then we headed over to TGI Friday's with our other 2 kids in tow, of course. From there, we came home and hung out for a bit and then Dan and I ran to Target to pick up Trevor's gift which of course they did not have.

My Mom called a little earlier in the day and asked if we wanted to come over for dinner so when we got back from Target we went to her house. She said that she quickly whipped up the meal but she had grilled chicken, 3 racks of ribs, a whole tray of the most perfect looking tomato and mozzarella slices (or as Dan says, MOOTZ-a-rellll), tortellini salad, and corn on the cob. Everything was delicious and my Mom let Luke and Dan know that if my stepdad bought her boobs she would sit at a topless bar in St. Maarten with her shirt off...lovely...thanks Mom. When we left we ran to another store to find Trevor's gift which they had (another 22" monitor) but I had to stand in line for about 30 minutes because of a white trash couple that were trying to buy the entire store and eventually left with nothing...another story for another day. We came home and hung around the rest of the night.

Monday was a busy day. Ava had an appointment to get a shot so I took her over. She took it like a champ and cried for a second and then smiled and clapped for the nurse. When Ava and I got home we (the whole family) headed to Staples for a new desk to accomodate both monitors. Dan mentioned a craving for Houlihan's so Trevor flipped a coin to go to Tapplebee's (Trevor named it that for tails) which was close by or Houlihan's (Heads) which was about 30 mins away. The coin landed on Heads so we were off to Cherry Hill. Lunch was delicious and our waitress caught Luke's soup du jour question and then threw out movie lines herself for the rest of the lunch so they loved her. At first I thought she was going to hate us because when she greeted out table Dan asked her if her earrings were light bulbs but she laughed and agreed. Afterwards, we went back to Staples to pick up and the desk and then Dan and I put it together. Trevor, Luke, and Dan went back to Staples to try to find the right video cards for the dual monitors with no luck.

This is when things went down hill. Naturally I proceeded to drink too many twisted teas since it was almost my birthday. I played Mario Kart with Trevor - he beat me the first time and I beat him the second. Trevor loves to brag, brag, and brag some more which is why Luke posted that I was threatening his life (obviously after he won the first game). I drank and drank and apparently berated Luke every chance I got. Then I guess I lost it a tad because when it was time to go to bed, I said goodnight Dan...Luke you suck at life and gave him then finger. I picked up one of Ava's hard plastic toys and launched it at him, just missing his head.(Trevor would like me to point out that by launch I mean I threw it at full speed, the fastest I could possibly throw it from just a few feet away)..oops...sorry Luke. That probably was not the best decision I've ever made but it didn't hit him thankfully. You'll never hear me say that I don't pick on Luke because I certainly do but he is not innocent either. He makes his fair share of comments as well but hopefully he knows I don't mean anything maliciously. I'm pretty sure he thought I planned on blaming everything on him in this blog but I'm definitely not going to do that...I probably should take it easy on him because I was pretty relentless. I think he knows that he's welcome here anytime he wants.

Since this is the longest blog ever, I'm going to end here so no ones brain explodes. I'll pick up on my birthday next time.

Always on the Go

We've been running around a lot since we got home from Vegas on Thursday. I still haven't had a chance to put everything away that was packed which makes for a messy home that drives me crazy. Monday we picked up my beautiful new car and I was terrified to drive it off of the lot - but I did obviously.

We then ran all over America to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (our first time since Trevor's bet ended), over to the mall to return some things, came home for a bit, and then off to Target to get another car seat for Ava. We got lucky on this one because on Friday, they had two of the car seat I wanted left on clearance for $65 (originally $79.99) and then Monday the last one was reduced to $55 - pretty great. Trevor decided that it would be easier to have 2 car seats rather than moving it from one car to the other. Anyone who does this using a LATCH system will know it's not a simple task.

On Tuesday, I had to wake up early and go to the doctors and then go right to the salon to get my hair done and then pick up my cousin Lindsey so that had me out from 9:30-2 pm. While I was out, Trevor's sister Trinna came over to visit with Ava. Later on we took Lindsey home and headed out to Houlihan's to meet up with Trevor's friends for dinner. Ava is still on Vegas time so she likes to crawl all over until 1 am when Trevor finally rocks her until she has no choice but to pass out.

Today was spent at home until 5:30 when I had to take my nephew to his Rock N Roll Gym class. Ava and I went a few doors down to the pizza place and ate while Cole ran around in his class then we went back to my brother's to wait for Trevor and Todd (my brother) who bonded all day at the Phillies game. Trevor apparently threw a horseshoe and it bounced up into my brother's knee leaving it pretty swollen and bruised. I, of course, found it rather amusing since my (older) brother has tortured me my entire life. We came home and Trevor and Ava hung out so I could get some much needed cleaning done but as always there's still more to do.

Changing topics - we live next to a man with severe OCD. It drives me absolutely insane - probably more so than he is. He has several rituals that Trevor and I watch when we see him. The main one deals with his car. When he gets home, he pulls into the parking space, rolls down the window and sticks his head out and looks at the ground, backs out and pulls back in, and repeats everything about 4 times until he satisfied with his park job (might I add he was straight the first time he pulled in). Then he fumbles around in his car for a minute, gets out shuts the door, presses his alarm button so it beeps, pulls on the door handle to make sure it's definitely locked, and then proceeds to walk around the entire car, carefully examining it, trying to open the trunk to make sure it's locked and looks under the car for God know what reason until finally going inside.

Sometimes he'll go back outside after going in and examine some more. Now his new favorite thing to do is hit the alarm button so the car beeps for him so he knows it's locked and he does it about every 3 minutes - or more sometimes - and he does it all day long. The other night when we got home from Target I could see him in his apartment and he was just pacing around and hitting the alarm button. Tonight, I was so sick of hearing his car I yelled stop hitting the friggin alarm button (just in my apartment). There's a chance he may have heard me (we both live upstairs side by side) because I haven't heard it since. Apparently he also likes to stand outside in his boxers. Fortunately, I haven't seen this yet but Trevor had the pleasure last week. He's in his 40's with fire engine red hair and the strangest man ever.

If Trevor sees him coming, he literally RUNS to his car or the house to avoid him. When he does catch one of us, he always comments on the weather, but he says the opposite of what it's really like outside. So for example, if it's snowing, he'll say "Wow it's really hot out here today isn't

it?" and then smack his forehead with his palm and say "DUH!" We really don't get it but he does it all of the time and he talks really low too so you can barely hear him. The gossip I heard was that his parents support him completely and he's on some kind of medication but if you ask me I think he needs a higher dose or a different medication. All I know is, he makes me want to break down his door, take his car alarm button and smash it into pieces!

I need to go to bed now so that's all for tonight!

Rescued

My 26th birthday is in 9 days. This year, Trevor gave me an unbelievable gift - a brand new 2009 Infiniti G37 - my absolute dream car. Yesterday he handed me a card with a folded piece of paper inside, and when I opened it up there was a picture of the car and it said Pick Me Up Monday at 10:30!! I still can't quite grasp the fact that in less than 12 hours from now, I will be riding around in an Infiniti instead of my beat down little 1999 Corolla. So with this gift in mind, I'll get to the reason for this post's title.

Trevor and I met 7 years ago through a mutual friend. Back then, we were totally different people and a relationship would not have worked but he did make it a point to tell me that I had a crush on him every time I saw him. We were friends but would eventually lose touch for a while until December 2005 when I was hanging out with the same mutual friend as before at a bar and she told me that Trevor was going to be coming up. Admittedly, I was kind of excited and we ended up talking the whole time we were there. But that's where it ended because I had a boyfriend at the time. Eventually, I broke up with the guy because he was 100% wrong for me and by that time, Trevor and I were super close. It was inevitable that we would be together after that.

During the time that we lost touch, I went through some terrible relationships. I know I have no one to blame but myself for staying involved but I will say this - no one understands what it's like unless they've been through it. I was always one for telling people how ridiculous they were for staying with someone who treated them bad and then I went through it myself. It is an unexplainable thing, but it's almost like the person has you hypnotized and you can't break out of it - it's crazy. Eventually, I listened to my head because I knew I shouldn't be with them and it worked out for the best.

Today, I am beyond greatful for everything I have. Saying yes to Trevor started a chain of the most amazing events to take place in my life. I graduated from Drexel University during the start of our relationship and then got a job at the Borgata as a cocktail waitress, moved into our own amazing apartment 5 minutes away from work and 1 block from the beach, got engaged, got a good job using my degree, found out I was pregnant so I moved to a different job much closer to home, moved into our current apartment, got laid off at 8 months pregnant :( and had Ava. Before Trevor, the only major accomplishments I had was graduating high school and getting accepted to Drexel. I will say though, that I used to be super independent and practically took care of the boyfriends I had because they couldn't do it themselves. They didn't have jobs and if they did they didn't make much money and had no motivation in life (I'll give one credit for having money and motivation but the other 2, not so much). I went from being super independent to now where Trevor and I rarely seperate and I wouldn't have it any other way.

It may sound strange but I am thankful for going through all the ridiculousness I did. It's funny how things work out but I'm sure I would not fully understand how lucky I am had I not had those bad experiences. I'm marrying an incredible person and we have the most amazing little daughter in the world. Because of this, I would be happy even if we lived in a cardboard box because everything I need is in them. Trevor has shown me how perfect life can be and there's not a day that goes by that I don't stop and think about how remarkable my life has turned out. With that said - thank you Trevor - for my unbelievable birthday gift and also for rescuing me. Thank you for making my dreams come true. You are and always will be my one and only.

I Hate People

Trevor always tells me that I'm the Player Hater of the Year referencing Dave Chappelles's Player Hater's Ball. I guess you can say that but I just tell it how it is. If I think someone or something is dumb, I'll say it without holding back. I've always been that way and I plan to stay that way. With that said I have something to hate about today.

A little background first -

Trevor and I moved into the apartment we live in March 29, 2008 (I know the exact date because it's my sister-in-law's birthday). We live in my hometown where I've lived my whole life in a quiet apartment complex one street over from my childhood house. When we moved in, the parking policy was that the spots were first come first serve with NO assigned parking and no mention of how many cars per household. Fast forward to about 6 months ago, we get a letter in our mailbox (that was delivered to the entire building) saying that we can have one car per apartment and extra cars would have to park in front of "S"building. Now just so you understand the ridiculousness of this, "S" building is across the street and down an entire building and these buildings are LONG and we live at the far opposite end of the beginning of "S" building. We only get these letters when someone complains about whatever the issue is so obviously someone complained but we figured it was the other end of the building since there's always plenty of spots out front. All of our neighbors live alone and the lady downstairs doesn't drive therefore needs no parking spot.

So today, I was helping the woman that lives below us (we'll call her Melissa - Trevor chose it) get her wireless connection to work (I have a BS in Information Systems) and we talked for a while. During our conversation, she brought up a lady that lives in the building across from us and how she's a drunken nut who comes to visit her sometimes when she's hammered. She said that the drunkard (we'll call her Denise - Drunken Denise) comes in to her apartment around 11 P.M. sometimes and talks so loudly that she's practically screaming. Melissa said that she told Denise to have a little respect because a baby lives upstairs. Denise (who I've seen maybe 3 times and who Trevor has no idea who I'm talking about because he's seen her that much) decides to rant to Melissa about how we have people in and out of here all the time with our "poker parties" and "pot parties."

This is completely laughable for 2 reasons: 1) We live in a one bedroom apartment with just about zero space and recently gave away our kitchen table because we don't use it and it took up too much room and 2) Anyone who knows me at least a little knows that I absolutely LOATHE drugs in general and have never smoked so much as a cigarette in my life and would not be marrying someone who did (and please no one say anything about alcohol being a drug, I know I know blah blah blah I get it but you all know what I mean :)). So apparently, this woman who we've never even spoken to knows all about our life.

Obviously, we always have "pot parties" with our 10.5 month old baby sleeping in the next room. Actually she usually joins in on the fun with us - she's a great poker player and can definitely handle her weed. The woman is a NUT and has nothing better to do other than make up crazy stories about the people who live around her because she's a drunk with nothing better to do. She also claims we park in front of her apartment all of the time and was the one to complain which caused the letter to be sent out. We have parked on that side maybe 4 times ever.

Typically, we don't spend much time at home because we always have something to do whether it's visiting family or traveling so only one car is parked here anyway and often enough, no cars are here because we're out in seperate cars. At this point, I'd really like to park both cars in front of her apartment next time we plan to fly somewhere so they sit there for the length of our stay. She's insane and so are a lot of people which is why I say I hate people. Does anyone have anything better to do? Get a liiiiiiiiiiiiife!

So anyway today was pretty low-key. Trevor's Mom and 2 sisters came over to visit and then we went to Chili's with one of his sisters, Trinna, for lunch. Then it was off to Target to get Ava a new car seat since she's too big for her old one now and some other things and then to Trevor's mom's house to fix her laptop. Then back home to relax and drink so we can meet up with Denise later on and share made up stories. I got a bath ready for Ava but realized the water was too hot so I held her until I got it right. In the meantime, Ava decided it was the perfect time to pee soaking my white shorts down the left side. I'm pretty sure this was just karma because she's done it to Trevor countless times and I always laugh at him.

A quick story from last night -

I woke up in the middle of the night and had absolutely no idea where I was. I could not for the life of me get my barings and finally realized I was at home but then when I tried to walk to the bathroom I walked into a hamper and couldn't figure out where the bathroom was. I had my hand on a door but had no idea where it led (it turned out to be the closet door). Finally I found my way but it took a while (refer to earlier in the post when I mentioned how small my apartment is - the bathroom is not hard to find) Just goes to show how long it's been since I slept in my own bed.

Back to Normal

It's July 17th and I'm finally back home. I left for vacation (for me)/work (for Trevor) on July 4th and it really went by very quick but it's hard to be away from home for 2 weeks with a baby. During the trip Ava got her first tooth and on the way home we realized she had yet another tooth coming in right next to it so that's a pretty big deal since she's almost 11 months old already. She's still trying to figure out how to take her first step but she's pretty much mastered standing on her own. Also, she learned how to feed herself puffs while we were away and now she's a puff eating machine. She went in the pool for the first time too but the water was freezing (confusing since it was 343487 degrees outside) so she didn't like it much but we took her in the warmer pool in San Diego and she didn't seem to mind as much. All in all it was a pretty big 2 weeks in Miss Ava's life thus far.

So about my trip in Vegas...

I have to say that going into the trip I had no idea what to expect since I was going to be staying in a house with some people I just met and others I never met while Trevor was going to be out playing in the World Series. I trust his judgement though, so I wasn't too concerned with having to share a house with strangers (is that bad? and for the record, Trevor knows them). I did ask him if he thought that there was anyone I wouldn't get along with since I'm sure it's no secret that I can be mildly confrontation if necessary. He said no and he was right. Everyone was great and offered to help me out with Ava and changed plans to accomodate her naps and anything else. Basically, we stayed with the best people we could have. Nanny Luke and Daddy Dan were always taking care of Ava and a super special thanks to Luke for babysitting in the Rio so I could watch Trevor play and make it into the money at the WSOP Main Event. I don't want to leave them out so Jay and Ken were also helpful during the time they were there so thank you guys!

Overall, I spent the trip laughing nonstop at all the ridiculousness that ensued - including myself - and spent more than one night awake until 5 am (and woke up a few hours later when Ava got up). I may or may not have drank too much those nights and made fun of people (Dan, Luke, and Ken) mercilessly for not wanting to stay awake and play cards so I ended up playing Go Fish with Jay which was fun - from what I remember. I was also introduced to a lovely new game called 3-5-7 which I could never really explain but it caused commotion one night when I refused to cheat in the game with Trevor. He claims I didn't understand but I just really wanted to win or lose fair and square and I think Jay loved it since he was benefiting from me calling Trevor every time. It was a good time.

Now we're finally home and going to try to get back to normal, whatever that may be. I'm pretty sure we have lots of fun trips in the works in the forseeable future. Ava has been to 14 states already and she's not even 11 months old and the list will continue to grow. It makes it easy to travel with her because she's so happy all of the time so hopefully her demeanor stays the same. We'll at least be at home for a few weeks and I'm happy about that.

On a side note - I've always made fun of Trevor for meeting a lot of the people he talks to now on the internet and while I still kind of laugh at it I will admit that he found the right group of people to befriend over the web. Everyone was great and made the trip really fun. Ken and I had a conversation at the Burger Bar one night about meeting friends through the message boards and while I don't remember details I do remember that he made a lot of sense. I also need to say thanks to Matt and Lindsey for letting us crash at their house and for helping us out with babysitting and the car seat so thank you! I know I left out a ton of details in this post but I haven't really slept since I had to share a bed with a baby who kicked me in the face all night last night and then we flew home today nice and early. Ava finally went to sleep (knock wood) so we're finally free to follow. So if this post is rambling and makes no sense, that's my excuse :)

PS - I have to thank Jay and Trevor for helping me name my new blog...thanks :)