Patch of Pumpkins

Our first trip to a real pumpkin patch!  The field was huge and what I thought would be an easy task (picking out one pumpkin to take home) was not at all easy.  I tend to have a hard time making a decision when 7 different options are placed in front of me so how in the world was I supposed to decide when 1,782 options are placed in front of me?!?!

However, we did eventually walk away with not just one pumpkin, but three!  And, Clay even washed them all for me in the bathtub when we got home :). 

Hope you all have enjoyed Fall as much as we have up here! 

Un-hitch the Trailer!

Dear Dad,

I'm still making you proud.  I may not be in the top-ten for doubles anymore, but still trying to do my best.

Enjoy :)

Love,

Kristi (Rain Delay)

oh the memories..

Snapshots of Summer

Here comes another long post of pictures: it's our summer in review!  I have to admit I was hesitant to want to do this post because pictures can take so long to load...but then all the memories came back and I'm excited to share them!

So here it is..our snapshots of summer!


Clay and me at the Staff Appreciation Dinner in June.  Each summer my work hosts a staff appreciation dinner at some fancy schmancy restaurant.  It's fun to get dressed up and go out for free.  We also get a gift every year.  Last year it was multi-colored bud vases;  this year it was a little crystal flower from that Schwartzscoffy's place.  It's not that I'm ungrateful, but my flower is in the closet because I'm just not sure what to do with it...

 I think I'm cool because I put a braid in my hair.  We went up to the closest part of the Adirondacks for a day and found this nice water.

 I also think I'm cool because I wear this glowing tank.  It reminds me of those glow-worms from childhood (my tank doesn't actually glow).

Clay and Stu out golfing.  I think this is a sweet picture :)..one of those that will get printed and just sit out and eventually get worn because it gets picked up and looked at and brings back good memories.

 A sunset at Onondaga Lake Parkway..also what we refer to as our backyard since our real backyard is two interstates.  Clay and I had nothing to do one night so I put on my pistachio colored dress and we went to dinner and then got sherbert and raced to the park to watch the sunset.  It was romantic and fun and reminded me of college.

 Another view of the sunset..compliments of Clay's picture-taking skills.

 Our yam.  I was convinced I would one day cook the thing.  Sometimes I have a hard time throwing things away.  I know you're judging me right now but I don't care.  It started out as just a yam but then it would make us laugh when Clay would threaten to throw it away if I didn't use it and then buds started appearing and then sprouts and then longer sprouts and it basically became a bush in our kitchen.  It was a bit of a space-taker but I liked the memories it was making.  I finally threw it away in October (this picture was long before October).  This makes me smile just thinking about how absurd it is.

Clay on his birthday in July..isn't he just a cutie patootie?!  I think so!  He had 5 candles on his cake since he was turning 25 :)

 Stu found these t-shirts in a magazine to personalize with our name.  I think Clay is embarrassed to wear it in public but I wear mine with pride.  However, we are nervous about labeled clothes continuing..

 Us in Pennsylvania at a park near Pittsburgh.  We made it work out to visit with Kevin and Jenny on our way back from our trip in July to Illinois.  Oh the summer tans..how quickly it turns into pasty white as I type this in early November..

Finally, a video to cap it all off.  And this is how we probably spent the majority of summer:

We truly are blessed.  I know I often wonder why the Lord has us where He has us rather than elsewhere, but how can I not see the goodness of Him in our lives even in these few brief snapshots?  We have absolutely beautiful summers (my hair even stays straight up here), we have two great jobs that allow us to do fun things, we have families that take time, money, and energy to invest in us and visit us, and we have each other (just to mention a few).  God is so so good. 

Fireworks and Fish

I can't believe I haven't posted since July.  I don't even want to pretend like I'm writing this from the date when it actually all happened..which would be approximately 4 months ago (almost to the day).  Oh well..here we go! 

Clay and I traveled to Illinois for the 4th of July this year.  Let me just say: I LOVE the 4th of July.  It's probably just behind Christmas in the list of favorite holidays.  I love America, and I love fireworks.  It's just so fun and so many people and the epitomy of summer and summer celebrations!  We took the whole week off and spent it mostly in Dunlap with a day trip up to Chicago.  I'm going to keep the words on this entry brief but enjoy the pictures and commentary below!

Fireworks downtown in Peoria!

We all piled into the family van for our trip up to Chicago! 

A view of Chi-town.

Waiting in line for tickets to the Aquarium!  We didn't really have to stand in line in a single row, but I found it amusing.  Mom asked if she should get tickets ahead of time but I told her I didnt think it would be a big deal to walk in and get them at the door.  Little did we know...

Clay and me at the 3D show inside the aquarium!

Check out those moves!

..with Mom and Dad outside the aquarium :)

..with Mom in front of Buckingham Fountain :)

Clay's artsy picture of the Bean.

..at Navy Pier..

..another view from Navy Pier..goodbye Chicago!

And finally, a video of Clay's favorite family activity:

We had a great time visiting!  It's so fun to get to be a part of things just for a few days.  Even though we don't get to go very often, I'm so thankful we have a family to look forward to seeing.   Our next visit will be for Thanksgiving so our July trip had to last us for a while. 

The only downside of being gone so long?  Coming home to dead herbs...



Getting Sweeter

6/5/2010..what can I say??  Our wedding day was just strange.   Don't get me wrong, I am happily married to my best friend and wouldn't change that for the world..and as much as I try to want the same for our wedding day (meaning I wouldn't change it for the world either), I just can't say that's honestly how I feel :).  Maybe sometime I'll reflect back on our wedding day..but not today.  However, I will say that I have never felt so humbled by the outpouring of love and service from a variety of people than on our wedding day and the week leading up to it..what a picture of Christ and the church that I will never forget!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, the one year anniversary, Clay and I wanted to do something fun!  Although several people told us to splurge since your one-year only happens once, we went the middle road and headed to Hershey, PA, for a weekend away.  Obviously this trip may have been geared a little more toward me with my love for almost anything chocolate, but we both had a great time and the weather could not have been better!

We arrived into Hershey late Friday evening  to a room with a king size bed (highlight #1..which is more than we can say for our honeymoon room..still not sure how that mix-up happened) and awoke to a complimentary breakfast that included a pancake maker (highlight #2)!  I think we were the only ones treating this hotel as a resort for the weekend but we then proceeded to take advantage of the gated pool (if I were going to continue 'highlighting' aspects of our trip, this would be #3). 

Anyway, our trip consisted of Chocolate World (which included a tour of the factory, a trolley ride around the town of Hershey, and a chocolate tasting class), Hershey Park (amusement park), and Hershey Gardens.  Enjoy some pictures below!

Lamp posts in Hershey with wrapped and unwrapped Hershey kisses!

The singing cows on the tour of the chocolate factory!

I graduated from Hershey University after our chocolate tasting class :)!

Inside Chocolate World where you can find just about any Hershey product.

One Year and Getting Sweeter..this was our souvenir :)  If anyone goes to Chocolate World, look for us as a display product!

Outside Chocolate World..always ask Asians to take your picture..they're the best.

Clay ready for the one roller coaster he had to ride alone..I felt so bad for him but I just couldn't do it!!  Isn't he just the cutest?!?

At Hershey Gardens..so pretty!

Us together at Hershey Gardens..we had great weather!

So, to end this I figured I would give you a quick peek into our life together and share a few things we've learned over the past year:

One of us...

-likes to hog the bed

-doesn't like to finish something off if a new one is there (ex: milk, toothepaste, etc)

-doesn't always enjoy cooking as much as expected

-steals covers

-loves to take care of our love plant

-doesnt enjoy using a filing cabinet

-often refuses to use a glass when (s)he can drink from the juice container

-does laundry only when low on underwear

-likes the pillows to be in their spot on the couch

-snoozes at least 3 times before getting up

-has an obsession with dessert that has now become both of us

-has difficulty throwing things away (ex: cards, ribbons from presents, etc)

-has no difficult throwing things away (ex: cards, ribbons from presents, etc) when the other person isn't around

-is always willing to take the trash out!

I'm sure there are others but just a few off the top of my head :)  I can honestly say though that I love Clay more now than I did a year ago..can't wait for the many more years ahead!!

we love each other

Just a quick post to show one of my favorite crafts so far!!!  I made this a while ago for our bedroom and just haven't gotten around to showing it.  Back in January I discovered a little quilt shop about 35 minutes from where we live that carries Amy Butler fabric in the store (if you aren't familiar with Amy Butler..this is a fabric line you can't find at Joanne's so finding a store that carries her is a big deal!!!).  I had wanted to instantly buy some of the fabric just because it's so pretty and girly and fun but decided to hold off until I had a reason for some..which brings me to this project :)

Don't laugh at the way the bed is made:

This is a close-up of my favorite letter in the sign.  I just like the way it turned out with the pattern on the fabric:

This was easier to make than expected.  I got the idea from this pattern on Amy Butler's website but I modified it quite a bit.  In a nutshell: I cut out the letters from computer paper, pinned them onto the (freshly ironed) fabric, cut around the letter the best I could, sewed the letters onto the background fabric (used a neutral color for the L,V, and E, and a bright pink around the O), layed the fabric onto a canvas, glued the edges, tucked the corners in neatly and glued those down as well.  Walah!

vacay in may

May meant it was time for Savannah and Hilton Head!  The plan was to spend a long weekend in Hilton Head with Clay's family all to the credit of Patty and Stu signing up for one of those 'listen to us try to get you to sign up for a vacation plan and we'll give you a place to stay.'  Rather than flying into Savannah, Georgia, on Friday with the the rest of the fam, Clay and I headed down to Savannah Thursday afternoon to meet up with my cousins Tausha and Chris who live nearby on Wilmington Island. 

Knowing what its like to live far from family, we definitely wanted to make the effort to see Tausha and Chris and their two boys.  We had a great time catching up and eating lots of lasagna and waffles.  The boys were so sweet..although somehow I didn't take any pictures with them.  Tausha showed Clay and me around Wilmington Island Friday morning and we even got a quick peek at Paula Deen's house :).  Below are a couple pictures of us on Tybee Island:

Friday afternoon Patty, Stu, Nick and Kristin got into Savannah where we met up with them.  We had lunch at a favorite local restaurant and then took a trolley to cover the city's history.  I have to admit I'm not much into historical pictures so I'm only showing two..the rest will be people-oriented pictures.  Below is a large catholic church that was very ornate.  To be honest, I don't really remember the details and I'm not even sure why I'm including it because I don't really have any association with the catholic church but I think I feel obligated to show some history:

And the second historical monument: the Forsythe fountain?  I'm not even sure if that's what its called but I think it is.  Patty and Stu are there with the fountain and then the bicycle taxi is on the left:

Friday evening we all headed up to Hilton Head in the family (rented) mini-van.  Clay and I had the pleasure of sitting in the very back seat continuously..I guess it just comes with being the (nicest?) youngest siblings :).  We didn't take a lot of pictures here either but below is definitely one of our best photo op's.  This was in Sea Pines out by the lighthouse one evening before dinner: 

I had thrown around the idea of a coordinated family picture but didn't follow through on it.  You can see that is part of the reason in couples pictures rather than a group picture. Maybe sometime we'll get a big family picture and Stu can submit it and give an update on the fam to the Air Force?  We'll try to make it happen..

On our last full day, we rented some bikes to take out on the beach.  I think Hilton Head is one of my favorite beaches.  I had never been on a beach where the sand was hard enough to ride a bike.  It's also one of those remote-ish beaches that doesn't have a boardwalk.  I prefer the more remote beaches to those that are right on the edge of town.  Anyway, so we took the bikes out one morning and then Clay and I went back out in the evening. 

Look how cute he is riding along :)

 Us using self-timer out on our bike ride:

Me trailing Clay as he made a game out of how many jelly fish he could run over.  The jelly fish were everywhere.  I had never seen so many (well, actually, I'd never seen jelly fish).  All of those little bumps in the sand are actually jelly fish.  How many times can you use 'jelly fish' in one picture description?

Here's a close up:

That about wraps up our mini family vacay.  Thanks Patty and Stu!!! 

Easter Basket Weekend

For Easter weekend we headed down to Delaware!  In the Spring when everywhere seems to be getting warmer and New York just seems to be hovering in the not-quite-warm-yet, we always welcome a trip just a few hours south :).  And this year it meant getting to see a couple of Clay's cousins from California!!

Friday afternoon we headed down and spent some family time hanging around.  I think some people played cards but I just remember falling asleep on the couch (Friday evenings are not quite what they used to be for me..).  Saturday was a beautiful day: the guys played golf and us girls got to spend the day walking around the shops on the boardwalk at the beach and getting to know this little guy better..meet Van (not Nick..we already know him)!

Everyone met up for dinner and of course we took advantage of the photo-op out back of the restaurant!  Almost everyone..Joe and Breanne are on the right..so glad we got to meet you both!!

Cousins!

Kind-of Siblings (shout out to the leg pop):

Patty and Stu..so happy :) Patty loved having us all there:

me and clay :)

Easter weekend definitely holds special meaning for us..sometimes I wish we made as big of a deal out of Easter as we do for Christmas.  I have to admit I like getting to pick out an Easter dress and filling Easter baskets but how can I not be overwhelmed when I realize the love that was shown from the Cross.  Christ gave everything..withheld nothing.  He sacrificed on the cross so that we could gain eternal life through Him.  I don't like to even let myself think about the pain that Jesus went through on the cross, and He actually experienced it.  I'm so thankful to have a husband that leads me in Christ and a family that shares in our belief in Christ. 

Here is a pic from Easter morning and then a quick one of our first Easter baskets married :)