Perch

Who needs a 150-plus-dollar cat tree when you have a perfectly good set of shoulders to perch on? That must be Teeni's mentality, because she loves to jump up on our backs and shoulders. Silly kitty.
She particularly likes to do this to Andy when he's in the middle of doing something else. For instance, talking on the phone with his folks.

I suppose that's what you should expect when you're 6 foot 3 inches tall. I'd probably perch up there too if I could get away with it.

Baby Bonanza!

Spring is here; soft gentle breezes, birds chirping, flowers blooming and those dearest to us having babies! What?! Though it is still a bit strange for us to think of our fellow twenty-something friends and family members with new babies, but we're adjusting fast, and we're so happy for and proud of the newest additions to our guest list and our lives. Without further ado, let's meet the babies:
This handsome young man is Owen Curtis Adams, son of Tricia and Dean Adams. Trish and Dean are Andy's best friends from his hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. Owen's birthday is May 5 (that's right, he's a Cinco de Mayo baby!). He decided to make his parents wait a bit, but looking at him in that adorable outfit, he was certainly worth it!

On May 15th my cousin Megan gave birth to their first baby, a little girl named Hazel Lucia Ragozzine. I love that Megan named the baby after her great-grandmother (Hazel) and John's grandmother (Lucia). Such a pretty and unusual name. Unlike baby Owen, Hazel was early so she's just a tiny girl... 6 lbs, 12 oz.

As some of you know, Andy's brother and sister-in-law will be adding to this parade of cuties soon. We can't wait to meet all of the new babies! We are so happy for the new parents. Best of luck to all in this exciting time!

Three!

Today is Nala's third birthday! We know it seems silly to make a big deal out of a cat's birthday, but hey... these furballs are our babies.

Here's a picture of the birthday feline when we first met. I was a lonely grad student in a new town all on my own, and she was 8 weeks old, the last of her brothers and sisters without a home. What a match.Flash forward about 3 years... here is our sweet kitty cat today.

Happy Birthday, Nala! We love you!

May I help you?

The Forest For The Trees

Andy and I decided to take advantage of a beautiful spring day and go out for a beginning-of-the-season warm up hike. We strapped on our packs -- filled with our gear -- and headed to Great Falls Park , about 30 minutes north of Alexandria.

Signs indicated that, on average, seven people drown in Great Falls every year. Beautiful, yet dangerous.
We tried not to feel silly setting out on a 3-mile hike with our overnight gear. Guess it's better to know your new packs' strengths and weaknesses before you wander 60 miles from any form of civilization.

Andy forced me to let him take this picture. He said "Katie, let me take this picture of you or I'll throw you in!" Whatever Andy might tell you, that's exactly how it happened. Hence the unimpressed look.

Pretty water... and that's the very same Potomac that runs by our little Old Town. Sure doesn't look like it.


Our hike wound through some only shanty-town ruins. Apparently there was an unsuccessful venture to canal the river back at the turn of the 19th century. While this venture died out, the canal idea did work. Just on the opposite side of the river.

So tranquil. Hard to believe that the hustle and bustle of Metro DC is only minutes away....

Oh wait. There it is.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

Sweetheart, vegtables is what food eats

For the past few days we've been enjoying our grill and the beautiful weather (if only it'd stay like this throughout the summer!). As you can see, tonight we dinned on grilled turkey burgers, portobellos, eggplant and asparagus (the eggplant and asparagus had a light drizzling of olive oil and sea salt - highly recommend it). Don't tell anyone we said this, but the vegtables were actually quite good.

Life of Leisure

We just wrapped up our big project at work over the weekend -- yes, I was in the office both days! -- so as a reward, we're off today and enjoying a "flexible" schedule for the remainder of the week.

I'm taking advantage of this unexpected time off by doing some housework, working in the yard and reading out on our back patio. For the cats, however, today is business as usual...


This scene reminded me instantly of an Andrew Wyeth painting, Master Bedroom.


Some things never change. And who says that life doesn't imitate art?

Saving the World

Recently, fellow Hamilton alumns started "an alumni organization dedicated to environmental responsibility within the Hamilton College community." The group, called Graduates for a Greener Hamilton (GGH), has already gotten the attention of Hamilton's president and has a membership of over 100 young alumns (yes, we're both part of it). For more information on GGH see http://gghamilton.org/ (I would make this an actual link, but I don't know how).

Environmentally Friendly

Teeni, we know you mean well, but I don't think kitties are accepted by the Alexandria Recycling Program...

If April showers bring May flowers...

Then what do April snow storms bring?


This past Saturday we woke up to about half an inch of snow and were a bit suprised that it actually did do what the weatherfolk predicted (although considering that it was 70 degrees in January, we really shouldn't be suprised by any weather here).

Cherry Blossom Frenzy

Opening Day

**We were able to gain these images through a clandestine source who's identity is a mystery.**

Today was Opening Day for the Washington D.C. Nationals. The season started out well with a strike being thrown for the first pitch (by the Nats); unfortunately it pretty much went downhill from there. The Nats lost 9-2; however, much fun was had by all and it is officially baseball season once again.


First inning. As you can see, the Marlins already have a runner in scoring position (2nd base).


Everyone was given a free Nats hat.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

This past weekend Andy and I headed up to my brother's place in Philly to see the Sox play their last Spring Training game versus the Phillies. As those in Red Sox Nation are already aware, the man of the hour was Daisuke "Dice-K" Matsuzaka, our new 100 million dollar man. The game in Philly marked his first outing in a major league park. Boring to most, thrilling to fanatic Sox fans hungry for an A-list pitching lineup. Dice-K wasn't the only A-lister in attendence, however.


Andrew "El Goon" Magoun. Secret Agent Man and all around good guy.


Katie "KP" Poulin, Michael "Mike" Poulin, and Nate "Poulanium" Poulin. A family of geniuses. What a star-studded event.


Duh. Actually, this sign is ballpark-speak for "You have flipping amazing seats."


Good thing he has a nickname. Spelling/Saying Daisuke Matsuzaka is a real challenge for the kids.


Can you find the ball in this picture?


15 seconds of fame. (Yes, this is a real screenshot from ESPN's Sportcenter broadcast on Sunday morning.)


This totally trumps my iPod's celebrity appearance in Kiplinger's.

Easter Bunny?

Apparently our neighborhood has a very mean-spirited bunny afoot.


Guess we won't expect much on Easter morning.

What's new pussycat?

Sprung

Well, folks... Spring has come to our nation's capitol. Seems like only a few weeks ago that tempuratures were below freezing (about a week ago, in reality!)... Andy and I took advantage of the warm weather this weekend and cleaned/raked/swept our yard. (It's amazing how difficult it can be to clean wet, caked on leaves off a brick patio. Note to self for future home ownership: Clean leaves BEFORE winter hits.) In the coming weeks we're going to celebrate the season with some more "fun" events: Cherry Blossom Festival, Red Sox games, etc.

Furry Neighbor

Lest you think our sign was a joke...

Vino!

This past weekend we went to the Washington, D.C. International Wine & Food Festival. There were over 280 different international wineries and 1,100 wines in all - and just about as many people trying to taste them.



We had a wonderful time, managing to taste wine from a myriad of countries including: France, South Africa, New Zeland, Portugal, Liechtenstein, Germany, Georgia, and of course from all over the United States.



For any of you worried about how we got to and from a wine festival, don't worry, we took Metro.