House Warming Party

So after finally getting our basement furnished, we decided to throw a house warming party. Unfortunately, my computer takes forever to upload pics to the blog, so I can't post many of them. But I thought I'd start off with this shot of our family sign in our flower bed.

40 of our closest friends from work came to celebrate with us and check out our new digs. In return, I cooked a feast... bbq pulled pork, macaroni salad, fruit salad placed in a watermelon bowl I cut myself, two batches of cookies and my fabulous queso with chili. Brian grilled brats, and we bought very delicious deviled egg potato salad from our local grocery store. Here's a pic of the table... which also included filipino treats my mom made, which were a hit!
Here's our friend, Harvey, enjoying the buffet... giving it a thumbs up! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of everyone at the house, things got a little hectic with the house tours and of course, all the eating and drinking.
Brian and I at the end of the night... happy we survived our first big shindig at the new house!

Presents from Auntie Jennifer

Aileen's sister, Jennifer, bought Bailey and Maggie gifts when she and Vince were visiting his mom in Ohio over the 4th of July holiday weekend. Here's Bailey in her very cute dress,we've dubbed her "Olympics" dress since we work at NBC and we air the Olympics. The dress is a little big, but I hope to shrink it in the washer and dryer.

Love this picture. Check out how big Bailey's eyes are as her sister, Maggie, approaches to smell her behind. I mean wouldn't your eyes get that big, too, if someone was doing that to you???

Here's Maggie playing with the toy Auntie Jennifer got her. You can't really see it, but it's a yellow mouse with a tail made out of multiple ribbons. We keep trying to keep it away from Bailey, because just like a little sister, she wants everything her big sis has.

Here's Bailey in her tennis dress. Brian and I took Bailey to a dog boutique in Wichita called Uptown Paws. They had a sale on most of their doggie clothes, and we picked up this dress. Brian was very happy because it wasn't pink!
Since this post is just about the girls, I thought I'd also post a picture of them eating together. It's cute! The bowl in the middle is filled with water, one they share.

Aileen's 30th Birthday!

Or as she calls it, "Turning 29 for the 2nd time!" Brian knowing exactly how Aileen feels about the Big 3-0, got her a tiara that said "29 Forever." You can kinda see it here, as Aileen poses with Krystle and Anne (work friends) to celebrate her birthday.

The weekend before her birthday, Aileen and Brian went to Dallas to celebrate with some college friends -- Laura & Roland, Paige & Clint, Cindy & Todd. We ate sushi and then had mojitos at Cuba Libre. Yummy!

The following day, we went to Amy & Brodie's for a nice St. Patty's Day Brunch. It was also the first time we got to meet their daughter, Hazen. What a cutie!!

It's always the way I want to spend my birthday, with family and friends. Can't wait to see what next year brings!

Melissa & Andy's Wedding

In March, we went to New Orleans to celebrate Melissa and Andy's nuptials. It was so much fun being in the Big Easy. Since you can drink on the streets (with beverages in plastic containers), many of us consumed lots and nicknamed the trip, Spring Break '08.

Mom's Retirement Party

We drove 8 1/2 hours overnight, after work in Wichita to Houston to surprise Aileen's mom at her retirement party. She was so surprised, it brought tears to her eyes. So worth the drive!

Jami & Jon's Wedding

We went to Philly in June for Jami and Jon's wedding. It was a lot of fun, even though we were in the middle of a heat wave! Aileen's sister, Jen, and her boyfriend, Vince and Brian's best friend, Finnigan, all came down to visit while we were in the area.

Our New Home

We've been in our new home since March. Many of you have wanted to see pics, and now you can! We're very excited about our new place. It's a four bedroom, three bath ranch with a finished basement, including wet bar!

We have plenty of room for visitors, so let us know when you want to see what Wichita has to offer!