Labor Day Weekend.....it's LONG overdue, I know

So, it's October.....a whole month since Labor Day weekend, and I hang my head in shame for my procrastination! I have no excuse! But I do want to be sure to blog about this because it was such a wonderful weekend!

Christy and Ben decided to come out for the weekend, and in the process of planning everything, we decided to try to get the whole gang together. So I called up Aimee and Becca to see if that weekend was free, and Bec gave me a thumbs up, and Aimee had to play at a wedding, so she said she couldn't come. I was very sad.

So I picked up Ben and Christy at the airport on Saturday evening, and we went to Sat. night church service, then out to eat. It was so nice catching up with them, and we just had the nicest time. Sunday morning we slept in, and actually watched Becca sing at her chruch via the internet, which was very cool. Later that day Christy and I went shopping (of course!), and when we came home we had a VERY wonderful surprise!! Aimee and Shane!!! YAY! It was so great to have them come! Bec and Denis were the last to arrive, and we all just chatted until bedtime.


On Monday, the fun began!!! We watched the boys play bocce ball (which was quite ammusing), and then played a crazy game of baseball. We decided to play against spouses, so the teams were me, Shane, Christy, and Denis, and the other team was Bec, Ben, Aimee, and Mike. their team was totally stacked!!!!!! Christy and I should never be allowed to be on the same team EVER cuz we both get bored easy, and poor Shane had to pick up the slack for the two of us while Denis just ran around the outfield. Needless to say, we LOST! So we went inside to sing! All us girls sing together, so Mike and Denis recorded us, and it was so much fun!

The eight of us had the most wonderful weekend, and I am so grateful for the friendship that I have with all of those people!!! Here are some pics to enjoy!

Just Another Day at the Beach

Becca and Dave are close friends of mine from Pittsburgh, and I was so excited to go down to Texas to shoot their wedding. They were so much fun, and I loved taking them out on the beach. Aren't they so cute!

Tiffany and Josh

Tiffany and Josh were the first bride and groom that I've photographed without knowing them before the day of their wedding. i was a little nervous about it, but my fears were lifted the moment I met them... they are the kindest couple, and I feel in love with both them and their families. I had a blast shooting this wedding, and I know they will have a blessed marriage.

Ceremony Shots

I wanted to take their son home with me.... he was TOO CUTE!!!!

Fairytale Wedding

Tiff and Josh were so wonderful, and I was so honored to be a part of their big day. It was truly a fairytale wedding!.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

The one goal I always have when shooting a wedding is taking pictures that allows someone to feel like they can feel the emotion that is going on. The chaos of getting the bride ready in the cramped quarters of the bathroom, the excitement of saying "I Do", and the curiosity of a camera. It's so rewarding to be a part of such a happy day.

Details, Details

Some of my favorite shots to take at weddings are the details. Becca actually took the shot of the sunglasses, and I think it's awesome. I also love the look of the smoke coming off the candles while the bride a groom walk away. Very symbolic.

One Big Happy Family

The couple's son was the hit of the wedding. I could have photographed him all night! They were a beautiful couple, and they made it so easy to get gorgeous pictures.

I was good to Vermont, but it wasn't very good to me.....

Road Trip 2006 started out well.

At 7:55 on Thursday morning, I was waiting outside on my porch waiting for Jaime to come pick me up. We were heading to Vermont for the weekend for a wedding. To stay on schedule, we need to be on the road at 8:00. No problem. Jaime and I got some "us" time before we picked up Becca and the madness began.

We grabbed some caffeine from Tim Horton's, and off we went! The trip absolutely sailed by.... 8 hours felt like 2. We caught up, sang loudly, played games, laughed, ate, reminisced about high school, planned Jaime's future wedding, and much much more. We have all the highlights of the trip on tape- it's quite hilarious if you ask me!

We pulled into Vermont at about 6ish. It was cold and rainy, but we didn't care. We were just so excited to be there to see Missy (one of our best friends from High School) get married. We settled into our room and got ready to get some food at the local tavern. The wedding was out in the middle of nowhere at a Ski Academy, so we didn't have many choices on where to eat. My dad warned me before I left that there was nothing in Vermont, and he was totally right.

This is where Vermont began to hate me.

It all started with a sore throat and a tiny headache. I just thought it was from being in a dry, air-conditioned car for so long. I got through dinner, though I got tired real quick. Missy and the wedding party showed up at 8, and we finally go to spend some time with her. She looked awesome, and her now husband is so nice, and very handsome! Good work, Missy! We got to see her parents, who we hadn't seen in almost 7 years, and it was so great to catch up.

We got back to the dorms that we were staying in at around 10ish, and I was in bed soon after we walked in the door. But that didn't last long. All of a sudden was totally congested, my stomach was cramped, and my head was pounding. After a couple trips to the bathroom, I knew that I needed medicine if I was ever going to sleep. Jaime and Becca were such troopers, and they got up with me to take me to the store. We found a little gas station open, and I grabbed some medicine to knock me out. I took some as soon as I got in the car, but sadly it now lies on the side of the road somewhere in East Burke, VT, along with dinner.....if you know what I mean. Sorry about the sweat pants, Jaim......

I rolled out of bed at 1:00 the next day, still not feeling great, but determined to go to the wedding. It started at 4:30. We took out time getting ready, and after making a stop at Dunkin Donughts for some hot tea, we went to the wedding. No lie, people, we could see our breath, it was so cold. She wanted to have an outdoor wedding, but that obiviously didn't turn out since it was POURING out. So she had the ceremony inside the tent where the reception would be. I still felt so awful, and now I was freezing. I felt like such a baby. Becca and Jaime were so good to me, offering me their coats, and letting me know that we didn't need to stay late. I love Missy, and I was glad I was there to see her get married, but I just wanted to be home! The ceremony was only 15 min. long, and Missy was SO beautiful- tho we didn't see her face at all during the entire ceremony. All we saw was the groom's back the entire time.

We didn't stay long, needless to say. We ate the dinner that Missy paid for us to have, and we talked to Missy and Jim, and let them know that we were heading out earlier than planned, and she was so understanding about it, and I was so thankful. Our plan was to stop and stay the night in Albany, then drive the rest of the way back on Sunday. But at 10:00 when we hit Albany, we decided to go all the way back to Rochester- save us money by not having to get a hotel room, and it allowed us to be able to sleep in. I was happy about it because that only meant that I had to drive for 5 1/2 hours instead of 9.

But even with feeling so lousy, the trip home went by so fast, and I was so thankful! I had GREAT company.

Jaime and I got to Allegany at 2:30ish, and I was back on the road at 3:30. Home at 7ish, and in bed at 8:30. Poor Mike was so looking forward to spending time together, and hearing about my trip, but I was just too sick and tired to stay up. I have the late shift at work this week, and I was thankful because I could get more sleep. Wrong. It's now Wednesday, and I still haven't slept hardly at all. I'm up all night coughing, stuffy, achy, and I'm fed up. Mike has been sleeping in the guest bedroom because the coughing was keeping him from sleeping too. He's also fed up. The first thing he said to me this morning was "You need to call the doctor". I agreed.

I called at 9:30 this morning, and they said they only had an appt. for 9:45, so I Okayed it with my boss, and left work. An hour later I came back to work letting them know that I had a sinus infection, and throat infection, an ear infection, and the beginnings of bronchitis. I have 3 different prescriptions to take, and I'm not allowed to go back to work until Friday. No fun.


No fun at all.

As I right this I hear Christy saying...."oh Rachie...." because she always sympathizes with me. She may not agree, but she is going to make a great mom.

I see Kurt shaking his head because he knows that I don't take good enough care of myself. I'm just waiting for an email that starts out by saying "this is your doctor speaking...."

I see Becca yelling at the screen saying, "See Mike, she really was sick!" (I got no sympathy from Mike when I called him Friday night to pout about being sick)

I hear Jaime saying, "Well, I guess we're not taking a road trip to Vermont again any time soon..."

You got that right, Jaime....

You got that right.

John and Amy at the bottom of the incline. John's smiling cuz it's all over!

Too cute!

Movie night in our comfy clothes!

Our annual visit from Spoofer and Doofer La

Those are the pet names John and Amy use for one another, and I find them so funny! They're prolly gonna kill me for calling them that on my blog, but they love me enough to get over it. :-)

John and Amy came for a long weekend, and it was so awesome! We hadn't spent time with just the four of us since Becca left us stranded at John's (soon to be Amy's too) apartment. That was Christmas time! Too long ago! We were suppose to go to a baseball game Friday night, but they hit bad weather, and by the time they got here, it was too late to go. Instead we caught up on eachother's lives over some Max n' Erma's. We pretty much take every guest we have to that place, and Mike's pretty sick of it. He was still trying to talk us out of going there as we were pulling in to the parking lot. He sucked it up though and appeased Amy and I. We pretty much wanted to go for the cookies.

We acually ate out quite a bit over the course of 4 days. I only had to cook once, and I was obiviously a little rusty because I made the smoke alarms go off in our house. No wonder my daddy calls it the cookin' alarm- no Freer can cook without it going off! But as I was saying, we ate out a lot. on Sunday night we took them into the city and up one of the inclines to go to a resturant that overlooks the cityscape. John was not so excited about this since I acidentally used the words "old" and "rickity" to describe the incline train. I'm pretty sure he was holding Amy's hand mighty tight, and he was DEFINATLY the first one off the train when it stopped. Widdle Jonny was a widdle nervous! I'm hate the incline too, but I actually didn't mind it too much since I was so amused my John. But it was all worth it to see the view of the city. We relaxed for a few hours, and stuffed our faces as we watched the sun set over the city.

After we got home we got in our comfy clothes and retired to the basement for movie time! This was the other event that occured as much as our food outings. Amy and I snacked while John and Mike made fun of whatever movie we watched. It's really really scary how much Mike and John are alike. Hope you're prepared, Amy!

When we weren't watching movies, or eating, we played Phase 10. John's already shaking his head because he know's what's comin....yes, people, I won both times we played, and it was a sweet, sweet victory! I love playing with John because he takes it just as serious as me. Mike isn't a game player, so he's pretty passive about it all. And Amy is passive too, but at least she amused us. :-) Mike put more effort into beating me up than he did winning.



It was a wonderful weekend full of relaxation and laughter. Even though I'm pretty sure they only used us to shop at our IKEA, I was so happy to have them come down. You guys are the best!

"Yeah, Like baby fish mouth is sweeping the nation..."

I can't even tell you how excited I am that Mike and I are going on vacation this next week. Life has been too crazy to handle, and I'm looking forward to sleeping in, laying out, shopping, and actually seeing my husband! Every year since we've been married, we make an annual trip down to NC with our good friends Aimee and Shane to see Shane's brother and sister-in-law. It all started out as a trip to get away from the awful winters in Buffalo, and to let the boys ride their motorcycles. But now it's evolved to a golfing trip for the boys, and a catch up time for me and Aimee. So fun. Can't wait.


I'm finally into the rhythm of getting up early for work. I look forward to going to see my kids. Their all so funny. I have a little boy who HATES when I sing. This has never happened to me before. I've had people prefer other voices to mine, and that's totally okay, but I've never had anyone all out hate it when I sing. We always have music playing in the room, and ya'll know me- I can't listen to music and NOT sing, so I do. And this little boy will stop what he's doing to come over to me, scowl, and say, "no" every two seconds until I stop. He will follow me around to make sure I hear him say no. The kid isn't even two! And once I stop, he'll go back to eating/playing/whatever he was doing at the time I started to sing. I took offense to it at first (which is REALLY sad, I know), but now I just do it to annoy him. I'm so mean. But it's hilarious, you have to admit.

I have another girl who has a creepier quirk. She sleeps with one eye open. Literally. It freaks me out. At nap time I can't even look at her. I've never seen anything like it. Now does anyone sleep with an eye open? I thought it was just a figment of speech! Totally freeky. Totally.


So I need to have a little chat with J.J. Abrams... why does he feel the need to kill off some of my favorite characters in his shows? My annoyance with the man all started when he "killed" Vaughn in Alias, but now he kills of Nadia after being in a coma for a year. Annoying. Then on lost he kills Anna Lucia AND Libby, who I was hoping would get together with Hurley. Annoying. Why is he getting rid of such great characters? Why does America like to see good people go. Why Paris, on American Idol? And more importantly, WHY was Elliot in the bottom two! ANNOYING! I'm done with having anxiety attacks while watching my shows! All that has to be done is put Elliot and Kathrine in the final two, and I shall be content. I love them both equally, and I don't care who wins out of the two. That's all I need, America. It's not too much to ask.

Loving the New Place!

I'm hoping that there are still some of you out there that will still read this! Yes, I know it's been too long, but my life is slowly returning to normal, so now I'll have more time to write.

Where to begin....

I have a new job, and the kids I work with are my pride and joy. I was thinking about posting some pictures, but I thought that the parents of my kids wouldn't be too thrilled to have their child's picture online for all the world to see, so I axed that idea. I have 7 kids on my roster, though I usually only have 5 a day. I have 4 that come every day, and the other 3 only come once or twice a week. I'm finding it easier to get up in the mornings, though I know I'll never enjoy it. My days go by rather quick, which I like, but Mike and I are both adjusting to my new, earlier bedtime. We're night owls- well used to be that is, so he's all sad that I can't watch late night TV with him anymore. He'll live. :-)


So it was my birthday on Easter, and I was so excited that my mom and my older sis decided to pay me a visit, and help with getting the house ready to move into. But I was very sad that it was yet another birthday that i didn't spend with Becca- I actually cried when I blew out my birthday candles because Becca wasn't there to blow them out with me!!!! I miss you girl! But it was so nice to have mom and Allison here. They did some packing and some painting, and I am SOO grateful because I was feeling so overwhelmed about it all. Thanks so much guys! You're the best!

So we moved in on Saturday, and we're about 80% unpacked, and I LOVE our new house! I can't believe that this is our place! I come home from work and I just thank the Lord for his provision! Mike and I are slowly furnishing the place- we actually had our downstairs sofa delivered today at 6:45 in the morning. How unhappy was I!!!

I'm sorry this blog isn't as exciting as I wanted it to be, but I'll write again soon. I wanted to show ya'll some pics of our new place. Check it out!

Ps- the fist pic is the basement that Mike and I (but mostly Mike) finished! Didn't he do such a great job!

Too Busy!!!

I feel like I'm always apoligizing at the start of all my blogs for not writing as frequently as i should, but this time I have a really good excuse!!!

1. We're moving in a week, and all my free time is spent getting the new house ready and the old house packed.
2. I started a new job, and it's the first time i've worked 40 hours a week in years. Yes, it's sad but true. So needless to say I'm always tired!
3. we have 14 Easter services at the church, and on any given night in the past week I've either had rehersals or services, and I don't get home till 10 at night. Bedtime.
4. My computer is on the fritz, so i have to use Mike's and he is always working, so internet access has been limited.
5. It's my birthday tomorrow, so you can't be mad.

We move Saturday, and shortly after that my life will resume to normalness. So be patient, and still love me!

So Much to Tell!

I finally have some time to sit down and catch up on my blogging.... I know what your thinking. How is it that someone who has no job and no kids NOT have time to write. Well, the answer is simple, really: We own a home. As I've mentioned a few times before, we closed last Friday, and since that day Mike and I have become absorbed in getting the house ready so we can move in. We are literally out at the house morning, noon, and night trying to get as much done as possible on the main floor and second floor, so we can concentrate on the getting the basement finished in the coming weeks. The couple who lived there before us were very eccentric in their colors, so we have spent most of our time painting all the rooms- a task that I thought would take weeks, but has actually gone pretty fast. The entire main floor is done: the living room, the entry way, the kitchen, and the dining room. Mike and I spent hours trying to find the perfect colors to paint the rooms, and eventually called up a friend of ours to come over and help because we were getting no where. She had such a good eye for it, and we are really happy with the outcome. We've been so blessed because we've had so many people come out and help us with the painting. Almost every night someone has been over, and it has made it so much fun, and so much easier!

I'll be sure to post pictures soon of the progress!


But on to other news.... it's been so long since I've posted, I just have so much to tell!



The most important and exciting news first.

Yours truly (that's me) is a bonified LIMBO CHAMP. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Champ. Not honorable mention, not second place, but CHAMP. When I went up to Rochester for the wedding a few weekends ago, I got the chance to go to a party at my old stomping grounds at Pearce 4 Kids. It was a staff party, and although I'm not a staff person anymore, I got to go as Becca's date. We ate, played games, found out that Oklahoma and Tennessee are two very different states (it's a long, embarrassing story that I care not to tell), we built castles (John and mine's group won, thank you very much), and played Limbo. Now I'd like to mention that there were kids playing also. Kids who were much shorter than me, and I STILL beat them. Just ask Becca, John, and Amy-you would have thought I won the lottery! I was so excited! I never win anything! After the party I called up my friend Rich and told him, and you know what he said!?! "I thought you were like, the most uncoordinated person ever." WHAT!?! I would like to know who exactly told him that so I could challenge them to a duel. A LIMBO duel, and then we'll see who's callin' who uncoordinated! Foolishness I say!


On to more substantial news...and let's just face it- MUCH more exciting than my last news!

I'm a kinda sorta-very distantly an AUNT! Woo hoo! My cousins Jamin and Sara had a beautiful baby girl named Naomi Elizabeth Barret, and she is PERFECT! I'm very glad that Sara is a fellow blogger, and faithful in keeping us updated on how she is doing. I can't wait to hold her, and shower her with kisses!!!! Miss you, Sara!!!


Now this is one of the more adorable tidbits of information that I found out when I went to Rochester. John- Mr. Like a Rock, never shows emotion, cried at my wedding! AWWWW! Amy told me when Becca and I went out to dinner with her, and I thought it was so adorable! He's TOTALLY going to kill me for writing this on my blog, but he'll get over it and love me anyway! I kept bringing it up at dinner, wanting to know all the details- were there tears, when in the ceremony did he cry, I wanted to know everything!! So adorable! And I promise John, in return I will be sure to cry at your wedding. For sure.


Mike and I have decided that we aren't going to move in to our house until the weekend after Easter because Mike is just way too swamped at work to be living out of boxes at the new place. We have 14 services at Crossroads that weekend, and Mike has to oversee it all. I can't even IMAGINE how hectic life will be for him. But it's awesome that we'll have so many people coming through the church doors, hearing the gospel! It will be crazy, but exciting!


Mike just came home with a new DVD player and surround sound system because the one we have right now is AWFUL. We have to beat the DVD player to get it to work. I'm not kidding. We literally have to hit it for it to work. That's a sure sign that we need a new one.

Time to have date night with my man!

Pics from the weekend

Wedding picture time!!! This past weekend Becca and I took pictures for Laura and Noel (otherwise known as Ken and Barbie because they are way too pretty for their own good). I posted a few for you to see. And hopefully Becca will post some of her own because I truly think she got better shots than me!!! She really has an eye for it! We both have very different ways of capturing the same shot, and I thought we made a great team! Enjoy!



This is one of the first shots of the day (they got bride and groom shots before the wedding), and they were still a bit shy of the camera. But honestly no shot is bad if these two are in it!




Becca and I had a system where she would run ahead of the couple and take pictures from there, and I would follow them. Hense the many butt shots that I have! but I thought that this one was very simple and touching.




The property that we took pictures on was AMAZING, and I loved all the bare trees around. I thought it added a lot of depth and creativity to the pictures.




This tree was so georgeous, and I had to get a picture of it. I had enough close up pictures of the couple, and I thought I would bring some of the surroundings into the shot.




During the lighting of the unity candle, Jennifer Hopper sang a beautiful song that she wrote. I actually didn't take many shots while she sang because I was so focused on the words Jenny was singing. She did an AMAZING job, and I just had to capture the words in a photo.




I had a blast at this wedding, and I was so glad to be there, and be part of Laura and Noel's day. I know God is going to bless their marriage in so many ways!

Alright, Alright, I'll Write, I'll Write

Before I get chastised by all my friends and family, I better write something new! All I've got to say before I move on is that ya'll are pushy! Becca writes about as often as she cooks, and she doesn't get any lip! Come on, people!

Moving on....

So I have some interesting news. It has come to my attention that I have a blog stalker. I've traced this back to a town in New Jersey where a certain former bridesmaid of mine resides with her hubby. The situation is this: she oh so frequently checks blogs (mine being one of them....obiviously) and never takes the time to comment. Now she is a very smart and clever girl, and is very capable of witty remarks, but yet chooses not to.... I wonder why? So this goes out to my beautiful blog stalker, and to anyone else out there who may be stalking me.... let me know you're there!


Now I know that I've seen my fair share of crappy movies (as John so lovingly pointed out). Movies such as Zathura, The Pink Panther, The Brothers Grimm, and some may disagree with me, but I dare even say that Munich is on that list (way too bloody for me). BUT, I have redeemed myself, for I have seen one of the most enchanting and magical movies I have ever seen since Sleepless in Seattle. And all of you (and I mean all you men too) HAVE to see it! Pride and Prejudice is the movie I am speaking of, and it is amazing. I've read the book, but I think that anyone who hasn't can still appreciate the movie. I now want to change my future son's name from Kemper to Darcy, because he is by far the best character to ever grace the pages of a book, and the big screen. AND I'll get no lip from all you Kemper-haters!



So I have a favor to ask of all of you. I want to start my own photography business, and I need a name. I don't want to be boring and just use my name (plus after all the fiascos I've had to deal with because of my name, I find it wise not to do so), so I have to be creative. I want the name to be elegant, not cheesy or overly modern. It will primarily be wedding photography, but I hope to snag some studio space from a friend of mine, to do some senior pictures and engagement pics. So the name can't solely be about weddings. I would love to hear some of your ideas!



My entire family LOVES the show 24. I felt very left out, so this January I decided to start watching the show, and now I'm just as addicted to it as the rest of them. Here's the thing- I have small group for my church on Monday's, and it lasts till 9, so I've had to start taping it. It's not as much fun because I can't call my parents during commercials and chat about the show. At first I just called them on my way home from small group so they can catch me up on the first 20 minutes, but was still missing out on half the show. So last night there was a 2 hour special, and I TOTALLY forgot to tape the first half! I'm so DENSE! So mom, please call me and tell me about the first half of the show so I can watch the second half!!! THANKS!



Two weekends ago my sister and I, along with our best friend, Jaime took our annual trip to Circle C Ranch for the weekend. We've been doing this since college, and I look forward to it every year. But this year was a little different, for a couple of reasons. First, is that we didn't actually work. Every one who helps out for the weekend gets put on a schedule, and you have different jobs all weekend. You help out with things such as preparing meals, serving at meals, cleaning, working the counter at Miss Kate's Place (and so John can't make an obscene joke here, working the counter means selling candy, popcorn, drinks, etc at the game room). But this year we didn't pinpoint down a weekend in time to make it onto the schedule, therefore making the weekend more of a hangout time for all of us. And this actually worked out because there we a lot of friends there that Jaime and I had worked with the summer we were counselors. So we were able to spend more time with them...that and we didn't have to get up early to toast 300 slices of toast...big plus.
But I tell ya, it was like I was transported back to the summer of 2001, and we all spent hours and hours just reminiscing about old times, and it was just so much fun. It was also quite amusing that Becca new almost nothing about what we were talking about...take that Miss. I've been in 11 zillion weddings! Ok, enough razzing on Bec... but the weekend was awesome, and I'll be sure to post some pics of the weekend soon. And Rich, if you're out there, don't be a blog stalker, and comment!



I'm heading up to Rochester to shoot another wedding this weekend, and I'm so excited because I get to see all my Ra Cha Cha friends again, and it's been way too long since I've seen them. And Amy- we'll have to get in plenty of wedding chat so i feel in the loop. So watch out Rochester, the good twin is coming to your town! (Sorry Bec, had to put that last jab in!) You love me!

Blessings to you all....and Sara- could you please have that baby already!

Home Sweet Home...on March 17th

In fear of losing my "favorite daughter" status with my mother, I am posting some pictures of our new house!! We had our inspection last week, so Mike and I took a ton of pictures to get a feel of what rooms we want to change or not change, and I'm posting just a few of those pictures.




This is the master bedroom with an on suite bath AND three, yes three, closets! Woo hoo! PLUS, there is a walk-in closet in the hallway- I don't know what I'm going to do with all the space- guess I'll have to go shopping!


This is the living room that will be our "reading room" because the basement with be the TV room. The kitchen and dining room are to the left of this picture.


This is the quest room where all our friend will lay their heads when they come to visit. I love the yellow, but I'm pretty sure that we are going to make this room a navy and white room, and give it a nautical feel.


And last, but not least, is our dining room with the deck right off it- which is great because we're gonna get a BBQ, and it's convenient to have it right there. Now all I need to do is learn how to barbecue!

So all the bedrooms are upstairs (there is another bedroom that is just like the guest room shown), along with another full bath for guests, and the living room/dining room/kitchen are on the main floor along with a half bath. And downstairs is the basement that we're going to finish, and there is also a place for another half bath, but we're not sure if we want to finish that just yet. Our closing date is March 17th, but the people who live there now won't be moving out till the next day. But it's all good because we prolly won't move in till after Easter because we have the apartment till the end of April.

We are so excited about our first house, and Mike is especially excited about decorating the place, and making it our own. He is OBSESSED with watching HGTV (you must be so proud, mom!), and for date nights we walk through Lowes and Home Depot and just dream! Can't wait for ya'll to come down to visit (and help us paint?! Doesn't that sound fun?)

Updates from the Artist Formally known as Freer

Aren't we so cute!? This is Mike and I at the resort that we went to this past weekend with our friends, Ashley and Ryan (not the Kirnans, but just as fun to be around). They treated us to a weekend away at this five star spa and resort, and we were SPOILED silly. It was two days full of massages, facials, amazing food, and tons of fun. The place is just a little south of here called Nemacolin, and if any of you get a chance to go, you won't regret it!




This is the room we had at the Falling Rocks Hotel. The bed was the most comfortable bed I've ever been in! If you opened the curtains, you over look the golf course where they play the 84 Lumber Classic (that's where really good golfers play....Sorry John!)


This is the four of us getting ready to go to the hot tub. We had the BEST butler (his name was Billy, but we called him Billy the Kid), and he brought us wine and hot towels to use. We just had the most amazing time there, and we were so sad to leave!

_________________________________________

So my cousins are having a baby, and I'm so excited for them. I can't wait to shower that baby with affection when I see him/her (I'm betting it's a girl). But I'm having a bit of a dilemma.... what relation is this baby to me? Is it my second cousin? Will the baby call me Aunt Rachel? Or am I not really related? Explain this to me, people!

_________________________________________

Speaking of babies, a good friend of mine, Marcy, is expecting her own bundle of joy (again, I think it's a girl!). I find it rather amusing because her husband, Jeremy, is 100% sure that they're having a boy, and he refuses to even think about a name for a girl because he is so sure. But I beg to differ. When I've had other friends who were pregnant, they dreampt about the baby, and whatever sex the baby is in the dream ends up actually being the sex of the baby. Low and behold, she has had 2 dreams about the baby, and it's been a girl in both! Could I be on to something? Is this really the way to find out the sex of the baby? You're thoughts on the subject?

_________________________________________

Though I am not expecting a baby, nor do I have baby fever, but what I do have is doggie fever! One big reason why I can't wait to move into the house is so I can get a dog! I want one so bad, and I'm really hoping that Mike will get me one for my birthday. He isn't too thrilled about the idea, but hopefully a little batting of the eye lashes, and some heavy whining will change his mind. I've already decided that I want an American Bull Dog ( just like Amy and Shane's), and I want a girl so I can name her Sydney in honor and in memory of Sydney Bristow from Alias (the TV show, which sadly is not going to be on anymore). And no, if I get a boy dog, I WILL NOT name him Kemper, because that will be MY SON'S NAME!

_________________________________________

Mike and I are so proud because between the two of us, we've lot over 10 pounds since the new year! YAY US!!! I never realized how hard it is to stick to a workout plan, AND change what you eat! But it's been so much easier to do it together, because we keep eachother motivated! Just like Becca, I too want to lose a few pounds this year, and I just gotta stick to it!

WE DID IT!!! YAY STEELERS!

Greetings from the Steeler Nation!! I'm so proud of my Steelers, and if you ask my dad (whom I called many many times during the game), I took the whole Super Bowl thing WAY too seriously. Becca (whom I also called quite a bit) reminded me that my life would go on if they lost, and that Jesus would still love me the next day. So wise, sis....
But luckily I didn't have to go to bed with disappointment because THEY WON!!!! But to be honest- I'm kinda glad it's all over because this town has been turned upside down for the last month. John touched on some of the insanity in his blog (and by the way, that woman who induced labor so she wouldn't miss the Super Bowl named her child after Steelers players- they're JUST a football team!), and it got crazier after they won. Downtown was taken over by drunk fans parading in the streets and burning park benches, screaming, and setting off fireworks. Then on Tuesday we had a huge parade in honor of the players, and almost a quarter of a million people flocked to the city streets to catch a glimpse of the team. Schools were actually closed so students and teachers could go to the parade. MENTAL! It got so out of control that the police couldn't hold people back, and they were mobbing the players...even the reporters who were just trying to do their job we're getting run over! I'm glad the season is over, and the city can go back to normal until next year.

Anyhoo- enough of that.

Life has been pretty uneventful these past few weeks. We're just trying to get all the paperwork done for the mortgage, and it's all just one big headache. I can't wait until it's all over and we can just enjoy the house!! We had our home inspection on Monday, and there is nothing major that needs to be fixed, and that's what we thought since the house isn't that old. We close on March 17th, and we can't wait to get started on decorating the place.