just a few favorites from the day!
more to come soon!
a 2B anniversary January 16, 2011
back on october 3, 2010, we celebrated our very first anniversary! i surprised ray with a little weekend getaway to dc. he got an invitation every day starting 10 days before the trip with clues as to where we would be going and what we would be doing. i made sure i chose clues that he would never be able to put together, because i really didn’t want him to figure it out! in the mean time, he was giving his own clues about my gift…which i couldn’t figure out either. it was good fun!
we started our big day with a trip to our favorite place for breakfast – Mary’s! so delicious! as we scarfed down undoubtedly the greatest breakfast in virginia beach, i revealed the plan for the weekend. once filled with fluffy pancakes and extra crispy bacon, we hopped into the civic and were on our way! ray only knew that we were going to dc, he had no idea yet where we would be staying. it was so hard to keep it all in, i felt like i could of burst at any moment.
we arrived at the beautiful (dog-friendly) hotel palomar near dupont circle in the early afternoon. we were immediately greeted by the friendliest people who seemed not only excited to meet us, but our pups as well. this is not one of those hotels that just “accepts” dogs, they truly seem to love them. the hotel was gorgeous and although i only booked a standard room, we couldn’t wait to see it.
as we made our way to the front desk, people were taking our bags and treating maggie and bruno to some apparently delicious bones. as i gave the woman at the front desk our last name and before i could even finish greeting her, the hotel manager came around and congratulated us on our anniversary. he then told us the most amazing news…our room was being upgraded! okay, so i did put a note on our reservation that it was our anniversary…in the hopes that maybe we might get upgraded…who wouldn’t? so i thought ooh cool, a king size bed instead of a queen! no, what came out of this man’s mouth next put me into a brief state of shock – “we’ve upgraded you to the presidential suite…it’s the biggest room in the hotel!” i’m sure i had a dumbfounded look on my face for quite some time and as i picked my jaw up off the floor, he handed us the keys. we’d never been given an upgrade of any kind, so as i took the keys the only thing that was running through my mind was, “is this going to show up on our bill when we check out?”
i quickly got over my fears and as we headed toward the elevator the manager stopped us and i thought for sure he was going to start laughing and say, “ha ha, just kidding”. instead he informed us that he would have someone bring up our champagne and chocolate covered strawberries as well as some beds and bowls for the dogs. i was trying so hard to keep my cool, but as soon as we entered the elevator and the doors closed behind us, i had to do a little happy dance. you know…that dance you do when you hear great news that you weren’t expecting. most people keep this little dance to themselves and “dance on the inside”, but not me. i go all out – the kind of dance you do when you’re sure that no one is looking. ray’s seen this dance before, so i wasn’t afraid to share it with him or the dogs. they know how crazy i am and have come to terms with it. but, right in the middle of my dance, the elevator doors opened. we had reached our floor and of course someone was waiting to get in. i quickly put on my “cool” face, exited the elevator and headed toward the presidential suite like we owned it.
this place was without a doubt the coolest hotel we’ve ever stayed in and the rooms (that’s right, i said rooms…with an s) were amazing. not only did we have a separate bedroom with a king size bed, it had a full living room and dining room, guest bathroom, and a master bathroom with a huge whirlpool tub. i can totally see why the president (and his dog) would want to stay here 
. we got all dressed up that night and headed out to dinner after a little walk around the city and then finished up the weekend with a picnic in alexandria. we had an amazing time and can’t wait for the number 2!!!
Mary's!
decisions, decisions...
discussing something very important...
picture time!
so cute!
maggie enjoying the life of luxury
and there's the sad eyes
just look at that face
it's time for a montage!
on walk-a-bout in alexandria
strawberries and champagne AND breakfast in bed!
time for the best cake on the whole damn planet!
that's right...we each had a quarter of that cake...don't judge
lego man takes on mt. trashmore! October 31, 2010
i was taking a stroll at mt. trashmore on this beautiful halloween day when i spotted a man with a large yellow head making the treacherous climb up the side of the mountain. i moved in for a closer look only to discover that it was none other than lego man! i invited him over to my place for dinner – i think i’m going to keep him. happy halloween!!!
the beginning
going strong
taking a breather
victory!
this calls for the lego robot dance
i am good, no?
he parties with Tiger...and the ladies
glamour shot
ooh you make me giggle
on top of the world
falling up the mountain - not as easy as it looks
ready to rock
going down...
back off ladies...he's married
even lego man gets a nose boogie every now and then
can you find lego man in this photo?
oh, there he is
playing hard to get
camouflage - fail
he's shy...
sam + brandon: engaged! teaser September 21, 2010
sam + brandon are getting married! i had the opportunity to spend some time at the beach with this too cute couple on sunday. good times. more to come soon!
ben: graduated! September 18, 2010
more from ben’s graduation! after we got the formal stuff out of the way, we enjoyed the rest of the weekend just relaxing, eating lots of food and sharing some good laughs. we took a farewell tour/photo shoot of full sail and even got to poke around the studio’s backlot. we had a fantastic weekend! look out pixar – here comes the best animator you’ve ever seen! congrats ben!
contemplating life
you see, what's gonna happen is, he's gonna walk across that stage, they're gonna hand him a piece of paper, and then we're all gonna clap, okay?
proud papa bear
love from the momma
another proud moment
the face of scholars
this is how we get our brains to work
clearly, dad's the only one who heard "give me your best mug shot face" - he wins
be afraid...be very afraid...ben's devising an escape route
three thumbs up is soooo much better than two
the old stomping grounds
ooooh...ahhhhh
jealous? you should be
i'm starting with the man in the mirror...
the backlot getaway bikes
doing the big fig newton! only one got it right...
won't someone hire this man?
please?!?!?!
ain't too proud to beg
storm's a brewing
let’s go to the zoo September 18, 2010
something tells me it’s all happening at the zoo…these photos are from several months back when we took a field trip to the virginia zoo in norfolk. i came across them recently and just thought i would share. enjoy!
all these butterflies make up a huge elephant sculpture at the main entrance
peacocks roaming the grounds
entering the petting zoo
the goats were hamming it up
showing off those pearly whites
pretty snake...only because it was in a glass box (like they put those mimes in)
bad hair day
warning: this may seem a bit cruel to some...but those of you with children will understand just how useful it could be...
one of the best exhibits at the zoo
just "lion" around...bet ya never saw that one coming
camera one
camera two
tried to strike up a conversation with this giraffe...
apparently he didn't like what i had to say
i was hiding in the bushes on an african safari when i shot this one...i wish
ben: graduated! teaser September 15, 2010
here’s just a quick peak from ben’s graduation from full sail!!! lots more to come soon!
megan + casey: married! September 13, 2010
finally some more from megan + casey’s cancun wedding! b-e-a-utiful! fasten your seat belts kids…it’s gonna be a long one…
fun at ECSC August 29, 2010
we had the chance to hang out at the 48th annual ECSC (East Coast Surfing Championship) this weekend. in addition to watching some amateur and pro surfers catch some killer waves, we got to see the pros challenge each other on the vert ramp and stood in the middle of the action during a few motocross exhibitions. we even rocked out with a few of the bands. here are some highlights!
amateur & pro surfers at ECSC
kicking off the Battle at the Jetty Vert Ramp Challenge
getting some air on the vert ramp
waiting for a turn to show off their skills
motocross exhibition riders
preparing to rock out
BLORR (Bastard Lovechild of Rock & Roll) performs
one of the many sponsors of ECSC
Bruno Jackson showing some guitar love
the Joe Gosman Band gets friendly with the photog
