The French Open

The tennis has been great. I am exhausted but wanted to get a picture in. Here's me with the main court (Court Philippe Chatrier). Unfortunately my boy James Blake lost in the 2nd round but Robby Ginepri is moving on and the Bryan brothers won their first match today. Of course, there's still plenty of other great players still in the game...I'll just miss Blake while I watch the rest of the them...

A Sunny Day in Paris

Yesterday the sun FINALLY made an appearance and Rachel & I decided to make the best of it and see the city sites.

We went to Notre Dame , which was beautiful. I have to admit some parts were a little creepy. There was one "scene" that had what I thought was men helping each other but one of the "men" had a skelton's face. I guess I don't know the Bible very well because that was a little strange.

Afterward we met up with my co-worker Jeremy and his friend Jordan to climb the Arc de Triomphe, which is pictured to the right. This was taken before we made the trek to the top.

After basically running up 283 steps we had the most magnificent views of the city...

The Louvre is straight back in the picture below...

Rachel and I with the Eiffel Tower in the background. We still need to go there but we need another sunny day...

Jeremy and Jordan...

Bonjour!

Well, I'm here. It's raining - go figure! So far I like Paris. It is beautiful and the people are much friendlier than I thought they would be.


I got here Friday and of course, my Blackberry didn't work. I finally got a SIM card for my travel phone but here it is Tuesday and I STILL don't have my Blackberry working correctly. UGH!


Yesterday I got home from the tennis and my cousin Rachel was here. I was very excited to see her. I had a dinner with clients so I took her along. It was at the oldest restaurant in Paris so it was very cool. Today the tennis really didn't happen due to the rain but Rachel and I ventured out and about. We went to the Louvre - but didn't go in. It's closed on Tuesdays. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow night we'll venture over to see the Mona Lisa. The place is HUGE - half a mile long with approximately 10 miles of galleries. CRAZY!!!

Well, I've taken almost 300 pictures - granted MOST of clients and stuff for work - but here's a few for your immediate enjoyment. :)

Jetting off again...

Well, tomorrow I'm off to Paris. I will try to be good about posting pics but no promises - who knows what my Internet situation will be like over there. I cannot stand that Europe has not adapted to offering complimentary Internet access like smart American hotels! And what makes it worse, they usually charge a fortune. I know, I'm spoiled but I like to check my emails, stay in touch and post pictures - especially if I'm stuck with TV stations that only broadcast in French. That will SO be my luck! Well, my fingers are crossed. I'll send love from Paris at some point...I promise!! :)

The Traveling Cousins

I can't believe I'm posting these because neither one is a great picture but OH WELL. Next week my cousin Rachel is meeting me in Paris!!! Below are are two pics of she and I....

1) I was in high school and Rachel's family came to visit.2) This is us last March in South Africa.

Hopefully we can take a flattering picture of both of us in Paris. Maybe with the Eiffel Tower in the background or something. That is my mission. :)

A good baby day!

Today was Abby's surprise baby shower. Since she missed her first one due to going into labor, it was so nice of her mom and aunt to throw this one. She was so surprised - it was awesome to see the shock on her face. I think everyone was excited to get to share a baby shower experience with her! :)

Before and after the shower Steph came over with Kaelani. She has gotten so big in 4.5 months! And she's such a good baby. During the shower she sat with Abby's grandma and was passed around to a couple different people. She was so good - smiling and laughing with everyone. After the shower we came back to my house. Shaun was home and we tested Kaelani's feelings for him again. The first time she cried and got upset. After a diaper change and a feeding, she was in a good mood so we tried again. This time she was all smiles. I think Shaun finally felt that Kaelani likes him! :)

Babies/kids are awesome and in November we'll have 3 little ones - Anna (3), Kaelani (11 months) and Abby's new baby boy (approx 4 months) - all within 2 miles of us! Woo hoo!

Congratulations, Kamila & Marcus!

Last night I married some friends, Kamila & Marcus. I was honored to officiate the I DOs on the Stowe bike path with Mt. Mansfield in the background - it was beautiful despite the chilly weather. After having the honor of pronouncing them husband and wife, I got to take the camera from Shaun and play photographer. It was so much fun! Here are my two favorites...

Hanging with the Hoppes

It's so great living so close to friends! I love that Abby, Dave & Anna and Shaun & I can easily walk back and forth between our homes. On Saturday the Hoppes came over to visit and Anna wanted to play the Sleeping Game. Abby, Dave and I had to lay down and close our eyes while Anna sang us to sleep with her sweet rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It was really cute.

Afterward I walked back to their house and visited with Abby while Anna napped and Dave went shopping. I can't remember the last time we sat for 2 hours and just chatted away. It was awesome.

That night Shaun and I joined Abby and Dave at a comedy show. The comedian was not as funny as last time (according to A&D) but it was fun nonetheless. :)

I can't wait for Steph, Jay and Kaelani to move up this way so we can all hang out together more often. Dinner once a month or two just isn't enough!

It's been awhile

Last night I had a visit from an old friend that I haven't seen in such a long time. Meghan was shooting a wedding nearby and stopped by afterward. She's gotten married and is now preggers! She and her hubby, Nate, are expecting a little boy. I'm so excited for them. I look forward to hopefully meeting her husband and her little guy soon.

Meghan, it was good to see you!

A Day with Amy

Last night Amy Beeman called and asked about doing breakfast. I was so excited to show her our house and of course, see her! Last time I saw her she didn't look pregnant but she did today! She looks so cute preggers - I wish I would have taken a picture of her. She brought some yummy pastries from a local bakery - they were so good!

After breakfast we looked at her baby registeries. We decided it would be easier to go to a store and look at car seats, strollers, etc in person. It was so much fun to look at everything. We both learned a bunch and I think Amy actually found something she likes. :)

My Handymen!

My dad came up to help us pack, move, unpack and get some things done at the house. At the old condo he helped me fix the bathroom sink and at the new house, he and Shaun did some handiwork before he jetted back to North Carolina. He's probably glad to be gone after we worked him so hard.

Thanks, Dad for all your help!

We're In!

Welcome to 77 Laurel Drive!

We hope that you're all able to visit us and see the house yourselves but until then, here's a virtual tour of our new home. Enjoy!!

House Tour - Master Bedroom

Our bedroom is so much larger than our last house - we definitely have more space than we know what to with. Our bed seems so dwarfed with all the space - I laugh to myself every time I walk into the room.

As you walk into the room, the walk-in closet is to the left and the master bathroom is to the right. I'm standing between the two when I took this picture.

House Tour - Master Bathroom

The master bathroom is fantastic - it's got his and her sinks, a nice soaking tub and a shower. The door at the end is where the toilet is - in it's on little closet - LOL!

My dad and Shaun hung some hand towel holders for us and replaced the towel bar with one that holds two towels. Now we're in good shape!

House Tour - Master Closet

Here is our HUGE walk-in closet. I LOVE it. I have not even begun to tackle organizing it yet.

House Tour - Guest Bedroom/Office

This is the Guest Bedroom/Office.

House Tour - Bathroom

This is the bathroom shared by the 2 other bedrooms. Dad and Shaun put in the rounded shower curtain - it makes the shower look and feel so much bigger. :)

House Tour - Big Bedroom

This is the big bedroom in the front of the house. Eventually this will be the baby's (no I'm not pregnant...yet) room.

House Tour - Laundry Room

This is our massive laundry room. I love that there is a sink in there! :)

House Tour - Downstairs Hallway

This is the hallway downstairs. I took this standing in the doorway of the small bathroom. To the right is the kitchen. The door on the right is a closet. The entry after the door is the sitting room. The door on the left goes down to the basement. The area after the door on the right goes to the front entryway.

House Tour - Sitting Room

This is the formal sitting room. We were hoping to put the living room set and TV in here (because I wanted to be able to watch TV by the fireplace!) but it didn't fit. Right now it's an empty room - I joke that we have our own dancefloor. :)

House Tour - Kitchen and Living Room

Our kitchen rocks - it's huge and has room for everything - I love it! The living room is on the other side of the half wall. So far, these are the only two rooms that are unpacked.

House Tour - Small Bathroom

When you walk in from the garage, this bathroom is off to the left.

House Tour - Garage

The two-car garage.