My my my...

How time does fly. I can't believe that summer has pretty much come and gone. We have traveled so much! And I still have not documented my birthday, my trip to Potsdam or even how Brett got called a dickhead in the airport yesterday. True story. But because I am feeling excited, I will post a few pictures that we just got back from our engagement shoot. There are some cute ones, some sappy ones and some fat arm ones. Here is a sampling of the best ones. All photo credits go to Anne and Dan Almasy, Almasy Photo, Inc. Uh, if you need wedding photographers, you pretty much need look no further. They're great! Even if they make us feel old since they're younger than we are.

vacation leg #2

Part 2 of vacation was Wallace Island with Dad and Pat. It was very relaxing, we really just hung out. The highlight for me was Brett holding my step sister's three month old baby! No photographic evidence of that but yes, it did happen. Dad and Pat gave us the royal River treatment: lots of good food, no wake up call and plenty of dock time.

typical dock behavior

I love these plates, they have been around as long as I can remember and were my great grandmother's

Again, the wedding dress diet was on hold, look at this text book cottage lunch: leftover porkloin grilled sandwhich with local cheddar cheese, greasy non-baked chips (the good ones at the bottom of the bag), and Oreos for dessert. Dad swears he only buys this stuff when we visit... do I believe that? Of course, he would never fib.

We had a tiny visitor one afternoon on the dock, Alice the Jack Russel from next door. Dog + baby in one visit? I was loving this.

I really think we need one of these...

Dad found these chairs a few years ago on the side of the road and has refinished and recovered them! Aren't they great? There is a really cool matching couch. I had to give them a shout out because they are the loveliest shade of orange... nice choice, Dad. Okay, maybe Pat had a teeny hand in that :)

I want these on my porch

Other highlights of this trip included a very nice dinner out (thanks again, Dad and Pat), Brett just going for it and diving right in, a crazy low fly-over by dad and his pilot buddy (they did a 360° right over the water, it was awesome) and rediscovering the outdoor shower (I think we're going to need one of those, too. Yes, we live in downtown Atlanta).

Thanks for a great visit to the 1000 Islands! We'll be back.

jcpflyer

see you next summer!

Vacation is over :(

But we still have the memories... We took a week off and went up to visit my family in New York. First stop was my grandparents, and I was on a mission to eat! Wedding dress diet was not being followed during vacation and I had asked my gram to prepare her amazing macaroni, sauce, meatballs and braciole. She did not disappoint. It was amazing right down to the parmesan cheese and good Italian bread that are so hard to find in Atlanta. 

Mmmm... We ate it again the next day for lunch.

the traditional Ryan table shot

We also had fun when Papa brought out his Marine uniform from WWII. Guess who it fit perfectly? Papa showed us his photo album from the service, I love looking at it and hearing his stories. It is amazing how much her remembers after 60+ years when I have trouble remembering college! Gramma kept fussing because there are no pictures of her in that album, but I think she has made up for it the rest of her life! Very photogenic :) Papa even remembered the name of the bulldog that lived with them in the Marines, Lucky 11. Cute name! I'll have to file that one away until we get a dog.

my hero

How many adults does it take to take to use the camera timer?

new running term: nostalgia training

Today I coined a new running term: nostalgia training. If you need to get in a good long run and have been having trouble getting motivated, simply fly back to your childhood home and do it there. You will be so interested to rediscover old haunts and remember what you did where and when that you'll forget all about the distance and keep adding on more! Today I did "Regan Road" (okay, plus 16) which always seemed like a huge feat. I still remember the few people years ago who used to run that far through Potsdam and I thought they were nuts.

Nostalgia training, try it!