We Bought our First House!

We are Officially Homeowners!

It's been a turbulent process of house shopping, offering, countering, and negotiating...but we've survived and close in less than two weeks! The house is a great location; close to Jon's Dad's clinic where we take Lola each day, a short walk or drive from Jordan Creek and West Glen, and close to many running and biking paths. We have plans to renovate the kitchen shortly after moving in to provide Jon with the dream kitchen he's always wanted, but here's a glimpse of the "before" photos(these were taken by the sellers). The house is truly wonderful and could very easily be lived in for many years "as is"...but we plan to re-decorate, remodel, and finish off several areas making it "ours"!


Jon and I are always anxious for new projects and exciting ventures to keep us busy...as if our year wasn't crazy enough - we've decided to add more and can't WAIT! More photos and stories to come!

A Rhodesian Photo Shoot

Our Rhodesian Ridgeback Lola has recently celebrated her first birthday! We acquired Lola from a breeder in South Dakota after weeks of research about her breed and purchasing options. We made the 8 hour trip to bring her home last April where we would meet the Amish family that raised she and her brothers and sisters. The father and daughter met us a local park and brought us our Lola ("Serene" at the time). The daughter explained that Lola was her favorite of the litter because of her calm, gentle, and loyal personality. It only took about a week before we realized those first two traits were no where to be found in our puppy!

Lola in her first year with us has caused us several pairs of shoes, scarves, pieces of furniture, and throw pillows - but most importantly she has brought us laughs, a running partner, cuddles, licks, hugs, and many, many stories to share!

We have found her to be one of our favorite subjects to take photos of. Whether it be capturing her chasing squires and sticks in the backyard or cuddling on the couch, her little face is sure to bring us a smile even in the worst of days. We've inquired with Lola's Breeder parents about their next litter. There isn't a new batch of ridgies in their future yet...but we're on the list for when that time comes!

A Double Diamond Vacation

Most of you know that both of us have a passion for all things skiing! It started out early for each of us as kids and has progressed into our favorite activity to do together. We've decided at least one trip a year is an annual requirement. Our trip last year to Breckenridge with Sarah's sister, Katie and boyfriend was going to be hard to top - but after pairing up for the '09 excursion with our great friends Brian and Kerry we knew we were in for a blast!

Wednesday after work the four of us loaded up the Honda Pilot; men navigating in the front, women with the DVD player and GPS in the back and we were off! We drove strait through to Denver where we arrived somewhere around 1 or 2 in the morning and crashed at the hotel in preparation for our last hour of the drive the next morning.

We reserved a condo at the base of the mountain and close to the village. We skied hard three days and were fortunate enough to have warm, sunny weather! The trip lacked fresh powder - but certainly no lack of adventure. We spent a few nights out dining and shopping and stumbled upon a new favorite restaurant in Breckenridge called Mother Loaded. The place is small, so arrive early - but in the event your apres ski goes long, it's well worth the wait!

The trip ended with a Sunday full of driving. We all had a wonderful time, but were glad to have our own beds to come home to, to rest our sore legs!

Did cupid get a shot at you?

Happy Valentine's Day!

That's a Wrap!

Matching outfits? Check
Wonderful photographer? Check
Enthusiastic attitudes? Well, Half Check.

Leaving with several dozen posed pictures? Not exactly priceless.

Engagement photos were included in our wedding photography package, so we set the date and made the treck to Iowa City for our session with Michael Kreiser. It was clear after our initial meeting, Michael was the perfect photographer for us. After Jon finally caught his breathe from the multi screen, large panel computer system he used to display his photos - we both fell in love with his offguard, casual style. His pictures were beautiful, yet natural and we found ourselves saying several times - "We want that pose!".

Neither of us like posed photos, so the engagement shoot was something of a chore, but we are relatively pleased with the outcome. We won't be using the photos for our Save the Date cards...but they will probably make an appearance at the wedding reception.

You can see more of Michael's photos on his website at www.michaelkreiser.com

Ringing in the New Year

2009 marks an exciting and eventful time in our lives! We'd like to invite you to join us in the next year as we work, play, laugh, love, and most importantly...plan for our wedding!

Join Jon, Sarah, and Lola on our adventure as we begin to create our lives together!