New House!

Here are pictures of the house for those of you that have been asking. There are a lot more pictures on the slide show if you really like details. We have enjoyed setting up our new home.

For those of you that didn't know, we bought the house on Craigslist (how perfect is that) and we bought it fully furnished. We were very blessed to buy from a great couple with very good taste and were thankful not to have to start furnishing from scratch. Since we moved from California, we didn't bring much furniture (we still brought plenty of stuff as those that helped us pack can attest).

The row house is three bedrooms and two baths and has two stories as well as a basement. It is also the only one in our neighborhood that has a two car garage. For you trivia fans, we back up to the longest alley in Baltimore. You can use that one next time you play Trivial Pursuit Charm City edition. The house is in a historic neighborhood called Original Northwood. It was build in 1941 which means that it has a lot of the "old house charm" that we loved about the Farm. We also have great neighbors, we were invited to two neighborhood events our first weekend here. We have not replaced Peyton, but we have two neighbor cats that like to come by often. One of the cats is in many of the pictures, because she follows me around the house.

The house has plenty of room so please come a visit. We look forward to hosting your Washington D.C. vacations.
The slide show has captions if you want to know more about the pictures.

A Week with Family!

We were blessed to have my family come for the week. Lauren and my mom were already here for the birthday. My older sister, Rahime, and her husband, 'Chung stopped by on their 4-week cross country trip documented here. They brought Brembo, their 110-pound Great Dane "puppy" with them.

Audrey is really interested in helping cook, especially with Auntie Lauren
(she takes quite a few bites during the process).

Here are our pictures hanging out at the Fort McHenry Park:

Audrey learning to walk Brembo.


We did the DC tour.

Audrey took to riding Brembo.

On Friday, we drove through Richmond (sorry Alisa it was too short of a trip to see you)
to visit my Aunt Karen and Eugene, and my Grandma Deans.

Saturday, we spent in Hampton/Williamsburg for my cousin's wedding.

My Uncle Scott and cousin April.

Rahime and I
Eric and Audrey

Couple Pictures:Cousin Christy and her boyfriend Jason

Uncle Scott and Laura

Rahime and 'Chung
Eric and I

April and Eric (the newly weds)

Audrey Pictures:

We had a fabulous week and wedding weekend. My family all left on Sunday morning. Eric and I took the scenic route home. Eric was excited to drive across the 20 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. It has a steep $12 toll, but is worth it if you like long tunnels and bridges.

Happy Birthday Audrey!

Audrey turned two years old of 4th of July. We can hardly believe it has been two years since we had her. We got to break in our new house and host our first party, two weeks after moving. My mom (Gogo as Audrey calls her) and my little sister, Lauren came
from California to celebrate with us.

She was singing "Happy Birthday" to herself all week and
was delighted with all the attention she got.
She really grasped the opening up presents this year and
was actually very interested in her birthday cards.

The boots and gardening tools from Auntie Lauren were Audrey's favorite.
She has already put them to good use.

Wee Squeak

So, I guess I don't pay enough attention to what I am doing... I bought these shoes at a consignment store thinking they were cute, good quality, and cheap ($4.50)- my favorite combination. I learned later that the Wee Squeak shoes are actually squeaky shoes. She loves
her Wee Squeaks. My sister's Great Dane, Brembo was very interested in them. She thought Audrey was a walking squeaky toy. The down side is they are annoying after awhile; the plus side is you can hear where she is in the house when she is wearing them.

California Trip

I had a great trip to California. We mainly went for Susan's (Eric's step-sister) wedding in San Francisco. The wedding was beautiful. Eric and his sister Stefanie were in the wedding. We got to be up there before the wedding to help out with some planning and decorations too.

Susan & Tom at the Rehearsal DinnerSusan & Tom before the slide show.

Thanks 'Chung for the great pictures!

The Hopkins Family.
One of Audrey's highlights was getting to see Brembo, my sister Rahime's Great Dane. Audrey meet her for Christmas, but she only was 40 pounds then; she is now over 100 (that's four times Audrey's size) and still growing. We video chat with Rahime (and Brembo) a few times a month, to keep up. Brembo is very well behaved (better than Audrey) and Audrey loves dogs, so they got along well. Audrey even tried to boss her around.

Three sisters at the dog park (the biggest off-leash dog park in the country with 23 acres!)
It made me want a dog.

"Downward facing dog"- Audrey's favorite Yoga pose performed at the dog park-
how appropriate.

Lauren, my younger sister and Brembo.

Audrey and I got to extend our stay to see some family and friends. We had fun in LA.

Audrey loved the carousel this time around. It had been about a month since her first encounter; last time on the Mall, she did not smile once. She could not stop beaming during this ride(s). Grandpa took her on a second ride since she loved it so much. Trying to tear her away from it was another issue, I think she could have rode it all day long if we and our wallets let her.

We also got to go the "Duck Park" in Fullerton with Lidia. Lidia and I have been going to this park for about ten years. It used to be better, but since they renovated it, there are fewer ducks. Audrey loved seeing the ducks and playing in the dirt. It took us 2 hours to walk around it with all the distractions a toddler has (it normally would take 15-20 minutes.)


We also got to spend some time with our favorite twins and their parents. Wow, trying to take a picture with two babies and a toddler looking at the camera is impossible.

The last day I was there, I helped organize a reunion for our Biola nursing class (2004, it's been five years!) We were blessed to have had it at Paddison Farm.
It was fun to be back at the place I lived and loved for five years.

Lidia's wonderful strawberry cake.

Melissa and Alyssa my former neighbors.
Another former neighbor. Thanks Sarah for hosting the party.
And another former neighbors.

Audrey loved the dirt a little too much. I think it's better we are not still on the Farm.
Her love for dirt would drive me crazy.

I was a wonderful trip. It will probably always feel too short and like home. But, I was excited to head back to Maryland and get ready to move.