This makes it official

We went to the doctor's office today to officially get the ball rolling on adding another little Gingerich to the world. Baby Gingerich will be joining us sometime at the end of January.

Shower and Insta-party

Some lovely ladies and I drove down to Nestorville, WV (where is that?) to attend an orange and yellow bridal shower. It was the biggest bridal shower I've ever been to! There were so many ladies there, I was impressed that Danielle knew that many people. But, I must say, I was impressed with the organization. It went smoothly despite all the guests.

The drive down and back up was so lovely with my feminine companions, that we didn't want the fun to end. So we created an insta-party and had a lovely evening out in the yard playing games, listening to music, and munching away. Those are the times that remind me that it's summer.

Photos can be seen at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84276&id=748329888&l=85d7d16f1d

Gpa's 80th

I made a pilgrimage to NY with my mom for my grandpa's 80th birthday party. It was a long drive (took us about 10 hours), but I hadn't been up there since last October so it was good to be back. And, most special of all- ALL of my aunts were able to make it. All six sisters. We were able to hang out, eat, look at old photos, and more-or-less catch up.

T stayed behind in WV and helped out with the church yard sale. I guess there was a TON of stuff and most of the big stuff sold. Sounds like success!

Housewarming in MD

T and I had a long Saturday. We woke up at 4:30am to conduct bird surveys at two sites out in the WV pan handle. We then drove to Baltimore (somehow surviving google maps crazy directions), found our hotel, checked in, and took a much-needed shower.

The party was like a mini-family reunion for us. We had quite an enjoyable time sitting around, talking, laughing, and teasing. The evening was beautiful and when we got back to our hotel at 11pm, we couldn't resist a walk around the harbor.

The next day we explored a bit more and took a water taxi to Fell's Point for a delicious dining experience. Unfornuately, it was then time to leave. Baltimore is such a great place to spend some time though.

Trip to Oregon

After graduation, we headed back in a 4 car caravan by way of eastern Oregon. Our first night we had a gorgeous evening with friends in Lostine, OR amid the cows and birds and twilight.

The next day we toured around Joseph, OR and went to a bronze sculpture gallery and saw how the sculptures were made. Quite a process!

After we returned home, we managed to visit with a bunch of family, take a cruise on the Willamette River, and go to the dentist. It was a relaxing trip and ended too quickly.

Check the link for a ton of gorgeous photos:

Oregon

Whitworth Grad

We traveled from Oregon to Spokane, WA in a 3 car caravan, stopping frequently for potty breaks and snacks. Spokane was not as dinky and desolate as I had imagined. It actually had a quaint, almost hip vibe at times. The graduation was long, but not unenjoyable. It was nice to be a part of it and even better to see where Theran had been spending the last few years. Whitworth itself is tucked off the main road under tall trees. It would be a nice place to study. So glad that we could be a part of it all.

Theran's Grad

T gets a surprise award

Tonight we attended the WVU alumni award dinner. Basically there are a lot of alumni and some alumni, professors, and students get awards. Tonight was a little extra special because Tristan was receiving an award- but he didn't know it until he got there. I was surprise that he didn't piece it together before we got there- he's usually too smart and attentive to detail for me to ever pull on over on him, but this time I managed to surprise him. His professor Dr. Anderson nominated him for the Kevin Kinsley Award for the Outstanding Graduate Student in Division of Forestry. It's an award for the grad student who not only is a good student, but goes above and beyond to help out where he can with other grad students and extra projects. That is definitely Tristan this year.

The ironic thing was that because Tristan has been helping with so many extra projects, the forestry yearbook let him pick the yearbook dedication and he and Ann Anderson wrote a dedication to Dr. Anderson. So, Dr. Anderson was also surprised with an award. neato.

T's surprise award

G's B-day

I love celebration and tradition. That is one reason why my birthday officially begins on April 1st and continues until I'm done celebrating it (somewhere around the third week in April). Unofficially, my birthday begins with the first inklings of spring and may or may not involve a compound Easter celebration. This year, spring, Easter, and April all came at once and melded into a fabulous few weeks of food, cards, gifts, warm wishes, and pastel colored eggs. You've already seen pictures from our BBQ celebration. Here are some pictures from our impromptu gift-opening ceremony- be warned, this was in the midst of a homework session so I don't look so fancy.

04 Apr- b-day 2009

The official b-day will pass quietly, but I'm hoping to squeeze in a trip to the Pittsburgh zoo sometime this month...

April Party

Yesterday T and I hosted a party for friends from church and school.

Last week was so beautiful in terms of weather, but when Monday of this week rolled around- rain, and lots of it. Then Tuesday- snow. Wednesday- snow! Thursday was cold and drizzly and Friday was supposed to be more of the same. But, during our BBQ, we had perfect weather! Pretty amazing.

We had "corn-holer"- one of the most popular WV games, it's like bean-bag toss, Frisbee, and bocce ball.

Food- enchiladas, ham, pizza, crispy hot dogs (I'm out of practice w/ grilling), chicken shish-ka-bobs, pasta side dishes, and CHOCOLATE CAKE! ;)

When it got dark, we came inside and played Guitar Hero and Singstar.

It was a good time.

(Bring on Spring, Bring on Easter!, Yay for April)

April

To see photos, check out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/naturalistg/April?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ7VzKG4maHL5AE&feat=directlink