California Bridal Shower

Yea, Yea, Yea, long time, no post. I know. Sorry. Things have been busy!

I am back in the states after the most wonderful trip to Germany. I absolutely can't wait to get back there!

Right after I got back from Germany I was off to Southern California (Redlands, to be exact) with my Mom and Sister. Some friends of Matt's mom were throwing a bridal shower for me. It was really a wonderful time and I was just so blown away and grateful for everything, it was amazing and my Mom, Sister, and I loved it! Here are some fun pics to share from the shower!



My sister (Erica) and sister to be (Katie)!!



Yummy food and drink!




My good friend Julie got to join us!!


Opening Gifts!!

Opening a very special gift from future Mom (Susanne), she put together a wedding chest that included everything a bride needs (something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence for my shoe!).

What a fun and special memory. Made even better with my Mom and Sister, it meant so much to me that they were able to be there!

A great visit!

Well, Matt and I's time together is winding down, I'm flying back to the states tomorrow. We have had a wonderful time and I hate to be leaving, but it helps to know that the next time we see each other will be close to the wedding. Both of us are SO READY for that time to get here!

We've been able to get a lot of stuff done over the last couple of weeks. We did some work outside, bought a couple of things for the house, and basically organized stuff. I absolutely love the house! Matt did a wonderful job finding this place, we get to live in a nice spacious place, in an incredibly beautiful town and I am SO HAPPY with it!

The first day I got to Germany, we decided to take a picnic lunch out to the farm lands. It was great we just walked around the corner, down a walking path, and then we were at this cute little picnic spot, and the scenery was beautiful!

We were able to squeeze in a little getaway as well, we drove down to the Black Forest and stayed at a really sweet little hotel right on a beautiful lake, we really only spent one day away but boy did we fill up that day with fun stuff. After a yummy German breakfast we started the morning walking into town and rented a little row boat, then we walked around the town for a little bit, after that we walked back out to our hotel, grabbed our swim suits and spent a couple of hours sitting out in the sun and swimming (the lake was a little to cold for my taste, but there was a pool there as well).

After swimming we jumped into the Porsche and had an awesome drive all through the Black Forest, just imagine winding roads, not to many cars, and beautiful scenery. It was a blast.

Here are some pics from the trip!

Oh yeah!

I meant to share some fun pics from the end of the year banquet for the rowers.

They decided to decorate my car for the trip to MO! Obviously they went with the "wedding" theme!

I had to laugh when they chose black and white to write with. Last year when they "decorated" my car they used blue and red, and you can still see little specks of blue and red on parts of my roof (if you look really hard)! I gave them a hard time about it a lot! But, it is a lovely reminder of my darling girls!

Can you believe it!!

I get to go to Germany.... on Sunday!! Matt saw an opportunity yesterday, so we decided to take it! I CAN'T WAIT!! I honestly was not expecting to be able to see Matt until the week before the wedding, this is just an awesome treat. We will definitely check in with everyone while I'm there. It looks like I'll be there for just over two weeks.

In other news...

Everything went great getting out to Missouri. Total time was 17 hours, and I decided to push it and do it all in one day, I couldn't believe I was able to do it, I was completely awake the ENTIRE drive, no sleepiness at all. Which, if you ask Matt is nothing short of a miracle, since I tend to be a pretty sleepy person in general!

So far Missouri has been great! I've made it out to the golf course twice this week, I had a sleep over with my sister, nephew, and niece once (so much fun!), and I've been able to scope out some good runs in the area. There is one 2 mi loop, one 4.5 mi loop, and one 13 mi loop. I probably won't get to the 13 mi one for a couple more weeks (I still need to get a little more comfortable at higher mileage again); BUT my goal is to get in some of those long loops while I'm out here; I'll let you know how it goes when I run the first long one!

Now I'm off to pack and get ready to head over to beautiful Germany! So excited.

Another move

I've just realized how long it's been since I last posted. Sorry about that friends! Things have been pretty hectic, since I am right smack in the middle of a move! Yep that's right, heading out of Northern Virginia and spending the summer in good ole Missouri! I'll get to be with my parents, and my sister and her kids are out there as well! I can't wait for a summer of spending time with family (and saving money!).

The last week has pretty much been devoted to packing up and moving out, yesterday was the actually moving day (my stuff is basically in storage until it gets shipped overseas after the wedding). Some of my rowers were able to take the time yesterday to come out and help, it made the moving just fly by. Seriously. It took about 3 hours, and all it cost was the price of the rental truck and a pizza party at the end... one of the cheapest and easiest moves ever! A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out and helped!

Today will be my last day in Va. I am planning to go for a last run on my favorite trail around the local lake, then I'll be going to the end of the year banquet for the rowing team, after that I'll spend the night at a friends and start the drive tomorrow morning out to MO!

I'll catch up with everyone again when I get out there!

I'd like to Introduce...

I haven't had the chance yet this season to introduce you guys to the incredible group of athletes that I get to work with every day!

Many of you know that for the past couple of years I have been Head Women's Coach at Gar-Field High School in Northern Virginia. It has been an incredible experience and I have had the chance to work with a great group of coaches and a great group of kids!

Specifically I coach the Women's Varsity 8 (this is an 8 person boat, plus a coxswain). The other coaches on the Womens's side coach a Varsity 4 and a Novice 8.

I need to spend some time and brag about my athletes, they push themselves incredibly hard, have an unbelievable work ethic, and conduct themselves with a maturity that I hardly ever see among teenage girls this day. I personally think that I work with the best group of athletes in our area, and they make me proud every day!


I wanted to share some pics that have been taken of the team throughout the season, we have an alumni's parent that has been coming out to the races and taking pics of all the kids, so he put us together a CD and now I have some FANTASTIC pics to share of this incredible group of kids! There are lots of pics I hope you enjoy them!

Here is their boat...



And here is mine ('lil tinney' I like to call her)...

Discussing strategy...

Gearing up for the race {"push it, push it, to the limit, limit" ("louder!")}...

Heading down to the water (can't you just feel the focus!)...

Giving the "Blessing"...

Pushing them off the dock...

I have to explain their facial expressions in this next pic. After I push them off and they start on their way I usually yell (obnoxiously loud, for everyone to hear) "Have a good time out there. I LIKE YOU GUYS!!" They still think I'm a little wierd with that one (after three years), but it just wouldn't be the same without the line, it's tradition!

My job is done...now it's just time to wait for them to come down the course...

And they're ON THE COURSE!!

Some of the awesome coaches I work with!

And a beautiful shot of the water (you can see some weather coming in, we got pretty soaked that day!)...


Hope you enjoyed all the pics, I'm sure there will be some more. Not so many at one time again though! I just couldn't decide on which ones to share!

As promised...

Here are some pics of the new place! I love, love, love it! It looks like it is so bright and sunny. I don't think Matt was able to get pics of the living room or master bedroom because they were to big to capture, here are the shots he got though...



The Porch leading out the the backyard (Matt has some yard work to do!)


Part of the Kitchen.

One of the guest bedrooms (plenty of room for family and friends!)

The Bathroom. Seriously...

Hope you enjoyed the shots I will add more when Matt gets the chance to take more pics!