I have broken my record.....

...Of how long it has been since I have written ANYTHING!! I am over a year behind...I am ashamed. What inspired me to get back up to date?? My friend Jessica who has a blog of her own. She was behind on writing (not nearly as much as I am ) and did an update. So thanks Jessica for inspiring me to catch up! Now lets see how long it takes me to actually write everything and post it....cause I am sure I won't do it all in one day...

May 2010

We had a lot of fun times and travel this month. We started out the month with a trip to Vermont with our "Boston Gang" which was wonderful! The house we stayed in was actually on the border of Canada... and I mean ACTUALLY the border. The border crossing was just past the driveway and the fence in the yard was LITERALLY marking the border of Canada and US. We had a great time being on the lake and spent an afternoon going to some wineries in Canada.

Our next trip was more of a business trip. We came to NC for me to interview for my job and to find a place to live. We had a busy 3 days of house hunting but in the end were able to make a decision and put an offer on our house.

Our last trip was our longest and most exhausting trip. But, it was great also!! We went to Disney with my parents, sister and her family. Except for Matt and I, this was everyone else's first trip to Disney. My sister and I had tried when we were younger to convince my dad to take us but we never could. So...we used Lena this time as bait to get him to take all of us!!!! (Plus we found some REALLY good deals on hotel and tickets which helped..) My 3 favorite thing from this trip were: 1) swimming with Lena and Davis 2) Seeing Lena meet all the princesses at the Princess breakfast. 3) The moment when Lena saw the castle at Disney she turned around to me and said "Amy! Its like my cake you made me!" (background for this: I had made Lena a castle cake for her 4th Birthday this year...)

In between our trips was another great day for me. My last day of work!! I was REALLY looking forward to have a 2 month break from work!

Princess Breakfast

June 2010

This was another busy month for us. We celebrated Matt's graduation with his parents and our friends. It was an exciting day but also a sad day. Matt had worked so hard for the past two years to earn his two degrees. Yet, we also knew it was time to say goodbye to all the amazing people we had met. I have to say that we LOVED our time in Boston and I am so glad that we had the opportunity to go there!

We also celebrated our 5th anniversary with a trip to the Dominican Republic. We had a blast being lazy and taking in all the gorgeous scenery!

It was a good thing that we had some time to be lazy this month...cause it was time to move! However, since we had over half of our stuff already boxed in a storage unit, it wasn't too bad! We left Boston late on the same day we had our stuff loaded and shipped off. As we drove out of Boston I looked out the car window and cried!!! I was REALLY gonna miss that place and the people. Who would have thought that I was really a Northern city girl at heart! (my mom was for sure surprised!)

"Boston Gang" after graduation

So long Boston...

July 2010

Before we headed to our new home in NC. we spent a few weeks in AL with the family. We celebrated 4th of July with Matt's family and a GREAT neighborhood fireworks show! We also celebrated my Dad's and Davis's Birthdays, and got to spend an afternoon with my friend Jessica and her children. However, the highlight of these few weeks was skydiving!! Matt's parents had gone skydiving last year and Matt couldn't believe that his parents went before he did. After watching their video Matt turned to me and said "We are SO doing this!" My response to him was "We are so NOT doing this!" Well... turns out I decided to suck it up and do it....for Matt. So, that's what I got Matt for our anniversary, skydiving together. Matt's dad jumped also. It was great! I am glad I did it but I'm not sure if I have the guts to do it again. The funniest moment for me was as I was getting connected to the guy I was jumping with. He had hooked the harnesses together and was tightening the connections. I commented "Wow, I didn't think it would be THAT tight." Then the guy laughed and said, "Honey, this thing is gonna be so tight you are gonna think I should have bought you dinner first." He then quickly realized what he had said and apologized. I laughed and reassured him that I took no offense and thought it to be quite funny!

So then we headed to NC and moved into our new house and both started at our new jobs. The move went well and we only had a few insignificant broken items.

August 2010

Now we really started to learn what home ownership was about this month. Lets just say we went to Lowe's about every other day for a few weeks. Since the house was new there weren't any repairs to be done but we didn't have the basic house tools. I said to my sister one day "I thought we had all of the kind of stuff we would need." Her response was "No dear, you had all the APARTMENT stuff you need but not the HOUSE stuff."

October 2010

Julie and her family were coming to visit so we did some early celebrating for my 30th Birthday while they were here. We also celebrated Julie's Birthday as well. We had planned to have friends over for BBQ at the house...but Matt had a surprise for me. He had talked to my girlfriends and arranged a surprise visit! Two of my friends from Boston just showed up at the house the night before the BBQ. It was a great treat for me to have them there to celebrate.

Our annual picture with the Birthday banner!

December 2010

I took a trip to Pittsburgh to visit Britany and Jordan. Britany and I had been trying for several months to find a time for me to come visit and we finally were able to match up our schedules!! Britany is also a nurse and has an even crazier schedule than I do, so unfortunately it wasn't a very long visit. Even though I would have liked to stay longer I really did enjoy the time we had together!!

February 2011

This was another busy month for us. We traveled to Alabama for Lena's 5th Birthday! (we can't believe she is 5 now!!) She had a superhero themed party with games and a bounce house. I made her cake again this year (with a little help from Lena) but it was so much easier than the castle cake from last year!!

Later in the month we went on a Disney Cruise with another couple and their children. Let me tell you, if you have kids....a Disney Cruise is the way to go!!! However, being on a ship with soooo many people does have its frustrations. We decided that all the adults/parents on the ship were actually more annoying than the kids!! Regardless, we had a great time and would do it again. An added bonus from this trip is before the ship left port we were able to watch the final launch of Discovery! It was a great moment for this former Space Camp Counselor/Nerd!

This is how Kelly and I like to cruise!

March 2011

Our friends Steph and Mike who still live in Boston had welcomed their first child in January, so we took a trip to meet little Miss Maggie! We were also lucky enough to get to see several other friends on our visit. We had a great time being back in the city, but it made us miss it so much!!

PJ party!! Kelly's husband Paul was entertaining us!