Merry Christmas!

It won't be much longer and Christmas will be upon us. Matt and I have enjoyed decorating our house for Christmas. We have cut the tree, hung the lights, and sent the cards. Our mantle is a constant reminder of the joy and true reason of Christmas. We have enjoyed fires in the fireplace and the glow of the lights on the tree. What a magical time of year! We wish you all a safe and wonderful time with family and friends! Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving Weekend Continued

On Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, we went to Kalamazoo to have dinner with my dad and Karen. They live in a super cute loft downtown. Karen tried to culture us by serving clams and muscles for dinner. Although my experience wasn't horrible, I don't think I will be ordering them off a menu anytime soon. :) After dinner, we walked around downtown to look at all the lights. Then ended up at a local bar to play a few rounds of photohunt.

A lot to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving 2008 will go down as a memorable one. This year Matt and I went to Michigan to have Thanksgiving with my side of the family. The past seven weeks had been long and emotionally draining on our family as my mom endured daily radiation and two rounds of chemo for cancer. She had nothing but side effect after side effect taking its toll on her body. Six out of seven weekends were spend in the hospital, as well as the 12 days leading up to Thanksgiving. Through all the pain, heartache, and sometimes tears we were very thankful this Thanksgiving! My mom was able to sell her house and close a week before all this treatment started and has been living with my grandparents. The finical burden and upkeep of a house were not an issue. She was able to take 10 weeks of medical leave and continue to be paid through sick days and the sick bank. Fortunately, she has great insurance and the nightmare of medical bills won't total nearly what they would. Her 13 year old dog, Gabby, who is a little bit of work in her old age has been living with friends or family. Seth, who lives in Orlando, was able to fly home for Thanksgiving. We were thankful that mom was down to the last three days of radiation, then the healing process could begin, both physically and emotionally.

Grandma's cute centerpiece that was sent to my grandparents for their 59th wedding anniversary!

Lion King

Matt surprised me with tickets to The Lion King for finishing my masters. We started out with dinner at Amici's. It's a cute, old, Italian restaurant downtown Indy. Then we headed off to the theater. The show was AMAZING! Although I had seen it before there were so many new things I didn't see the first time. Matt enjoyed his first Lion King experience and didn't stop singing "In the Jungle" for days.

Tuppy Keeps Truckin

Our Honda Element (Tuppy) rolled over 100,000 miles! It's hard to imagine that my first "new" car has that many miles since 2003. Tuppy has traveled 30 states, hauled 3 Christmas trees home, numerous camping trips, baseball games, and dog park visits. We're hoping for at least another 100,000 miles.

If you haven't been inside an Element, the interior flooring is all plastic (no carpet) hence the name Tuppy...like a tupperware container.

Pumpkin Patch

The week before Halloween, Matt and I went to Stony Creek Farm to pick out our pumpkins! We had a great time together, enjoyed the chilly weathers, saw some students, ate an elephant ear, and rode the hay wagon to the patch. I just LOVE the fall!!!

Palin Rally

A few weeks ago my friend Jennifer and I went to the Sarah Palin rally at Deer Creek. A political rally is an amazing experience, no matter the person. It's something everyone should experience for themselves. I couldn't help thinking how this woman's life has drastically changed over the last three months.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow!

10 Years!

This fall, Matt and I both had our 10 year high school reunions!! 10 years! I can't believe it has already been ten years since high school. We did not make the trip north for my reunion. We did however make the trip to New Castle for Matt's reunion. Friday was the New Castle football game! Drew and Melissa (Drew is Matt's best friend from high school) crashed at our house. We had a great time going through the old yearbooks to see how people looked in high school and how they have changed. On Saturday, we attended a dinner at a cute restaurant/bar outside New Castle. Matt and I had a great time catching up with Drew and Melissa. It won't be long...20 will be here before we know it.

A Monster

This is my view down from the dinner table...I think we have created a monster!

Shelby

My friend Jennifer, who teaches across the hall from me, just got a new puppy....Shelby. Wrigley has had Shelby over a few different times to play. Matt and I are very thankful for Shelby, she wears Wrigley out! It won't be long before Shelby is as big as Wrigley!

Playing just wears them both out!

Fishers at The L.O.S.

Fishers high school was invited to play in the Peyback Classic this year at the new Lucas Oil Stadium...or The L.O.S. as Matt is trying get people to call it. It was a little sad to walk past the RCA Dome but Lucas Oil is amazing! Matt worked up in the booth during the game with Anthony Calhoun, I sat with a teacher friend. After the game Matt and I were able to go eat in Fishers High School suite. We were in one of the field suites!!! If only I had the money...that would be the place to sit for Colts games. I'll keep dreaming!
























The roof opening!












The view for FHS suite! The highlight of the night was when Peyton Manning grabbed a bottle of water from our suite as he walked by!!! Awesome! Sorry, didn't have my camera ready.

GO CUBS GO!!

This summer we made our annual trip to Wrigley to watch the Cubbies play ball! We made the trip north with our good friends Jason and Kristin. Matt was a little disappointed that the Cubs didn't win while we were there, he was really looking forward to singing "Go Cubs Go".

Turkey Run

I have finally downloaded our pictures to the computer. So, check the post often I'll be catching you all up on what we have been doing since school started.

The weekend before school started Matt, Wrigley, and I went to Turkey Run State Park for a day of hiking! We had a great time enjoying nature and time together. Wrigley was off her leash most of the day (I think this is against the rules). She LOVED climbing the rocks, running through the water and playing in the river. After four hours of hiking we were all exhausted and ready to head home. We are planning on trying our first overnight camping trip with Wrigley this fall.

Our view of Wrigley most of the day!

Lack of Posts Can Only Mean One Thing...

SCHOOL HAS STARTED!!!!!!

Can you believe it!?!? Matt and I are in our third full week of school! What happen to the days of school being Labor Day to Memorial Day? As soon as I finish learning all my students' names, assessing their reading levels, and emailing their worried parents...I'll add some posts!

Happy Birthday Wrigley

Wrigley turned 1 on July 7th! It's amazing how much she has grown over her first year of life. Matt and I were in New York for her birthday :( but Grandma Babs treated her to a cheeseburger from McDonalds.

Our friend Jason and his dog Delta

Helpful One!

As Matt worked so hard to finish hanging blinds throughout our entire house, Wrigley decided she could be of GREAT assistance!

New House Pictures!!!

Here's what you have all been waiting for...pictures of the new Cherry house. It has taken weeks to get boxes unpacked, appliances installed, and blinds hung. There are still some rooms that we would like to get painted and some landscaping but that's another time after the budget is replenished.

ENJOY!!!

Our new house and Wrigley's big back yard!

Laundry room (love the color!), kitchen with new appliances & living room from kitchen

Living room from entrance

Here are pictures of the future Man Cave...AKA Cubs and Baseball Basement

Pictures of the bedrooms didn't turn out, they were too dark AND who wants to see pictures of bathrooms.

Three Years!!

Yesterday Matt and I celebrated three years of marriage! I can't believe that it was three years ago that we tied the knot on the HOTTEST day in June. I love looking back at our wedding pictures to relive all the fun with family and friends.

No Longer Cherry's on Cherry Blossom

Our old house on Cherry Blossom...it was very sad to sell our first home together!

Memorial day weekend, Matt and I moved into our new house!

It all started around Easter weekend. We weren't looking to buy a new house or move...especially in the middle of baseball season. One of Matt's friends was on a walk when he found a house for sale that had all the requirements of a house we may want in the future. He called Matt to tell him about the new find and how convenient, there was an open house the next day. So after church, Matt and I went to the open house and fell in love! We decided to put our house on the market and see what happened. In the mean time, there were days of negotiating over the price of the new house. To our surprise, a low-ball offer was accepted! Twenty-one days on the market and our Cherry Blossom house sold!

Pictures of the NEW Cherry house are on the way! Stay Tuned!

Indy 500

In May, Matt and I went to the Indy 500! This was my first experience of the 500 and much to my surprise...I LOVED it!!! We sat up high in turn three so we were able to see lots of action both in turn three and turn four. In all our excitement of getting ready for the 500, packing lunches, buying sunscreen, making arrangements for Wrigley...Matt forgot his hat and sunglasses. So, on our way into the track Matt purchased sunglasses and a bandanna for $1.50 from some kid on the corner. Now for all of you wondering...Who buys sunglasses from the kid on the corner? You now know, my husband!

We Survived...Mutt Strut 2008!

It's a Wrigley sandwich...The two Wrigleys and Delta

A few weekends ago, a group of girlfriends & Matt participated in the Mutt Strut. A fundraiser for the Indianapolis Humane Society. It was amazing to see so many dogs, in one place without any barking or fighting. There were dogs of all kinds walking, being pulled in wagons, or being carried around the track. Our dogs were too tough for the wagon and we were too weak to carry. We all survived the 2.5 mile walk about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway! Mark your calendars next years Mutt Strut is April 26th.