Fun Friends Catch-Up

There's been quite a few fun hang out sessions this past fall, and I realized that people have sent me all kinds of pictures that I haven't posted. So this is my catch-up post! These are some pictures from the Dolphins game, the Dave Matthews Concert tailgating, and a girls weekend with Shelley, Marlis, and Danielle. I also just had to post a cute picture of our niece, Kaitlyn, dressed as an apple tree. Enjoy!

A Guster Tale

I just have to vent for a second. The other weekend Jeff noticed that Guster, one of my favorite bands of all time, was in Ft. Lauderdale for a show. They never come to South Florida, so of course, we were very excited and went down early to get tickets. Many of you may recall Guster as the band that I was forbidden to listen to while driving b/c I would get so excited and start driving too fast (yes - I definitely got 3 warnings from the Police while at Clemson, but never a ticket). Well....they sold out in like 10 minutes and we didn't get to go! It was a very sad day....go see them for me if you have the chance.

The Birthday Pups!

Hooray! Karma and Zen turn 3 (really 21 in dog years) today! It's very hard to get a nice picture of the two of them together - this was the best I could do after a walk and gardening time this morning. We have been so lucky to have these dogs - you might think I'm being a little over the top - but they bring a lot of joy, laughter, and relaxation into our lives. Happy Birthday to our pups!

Horrible Football Weekend

What happened this past weekend? Clemson lost. The Dolphins lost. And I think the Eagles lost too (Jeff's fave). It was a horrible football weekend I have to say. Our annual Dolphins game was this past weekend and although the tailgating was incredible, the crazy rainstorm and subsequent plummeting by the Raiders put a damper on our moods (that blasted Culpepper!). Here are some pics of the tailgating setup and Jeff and I trying to be spirited as Dol-fans will be. It was a great turnout from the geosyntec family!

Farewell Monty - Hello Silvio!

Well - sniff, sniff - the time has come to say goodbye to my sweet Monty boy, my Montero Sport. It's been coming for a while since Monty's not getting any younger, but Jeff and I bought a new car for me last night - a Prius to be dubbed Silvio! I'm very excited - it will cut our monthly gas bill by a whole lot so that is great! I get to pick it up from the dealer this Thursday! I haven't driven anything but a truck or SUV in a long time, but it's long overdue to walk the walk a little more. Plus, it actually has a ton of space, so I can still carry the pups and make the weekend trips to "the Deep" aka Home Depo just as productive. haha. It's so strange to get a new car - you actually bond with a car over several years and come to know each other, create memories together, and....alright, maybe I'm being dramatic, but Monty was the first car ever that I bought, so this is a big deal. Here are my favorite Monty moments that maybe some of you may remember:

1. Putting the 700 lb armoir on top from SC all the way back to FL!
2. Driving to the Spielhaus with Jeff and Danny screaming "HAUS!" in my ears over and over
3. Jam packing it out on the way to Madison and Chicago to see Galactic and String Cheese for a weekend - some of you may know that this is the weekend that started it all....
4. Driving home from Greenville with my Mom after she helped me make my first adult purchase!
5. The scars, i.e. random stains, from those late night DD moments from Taco Bell to Mallard Drive - you know who you are

Goodbye Monty! It's been a great seven years together! Welcome to the family, Silvio!

The Epitome of Jeff

And if he could talk, he would say, "If you know what I mean...and I think you do." wink, wink.

Props to Girlfriends

The other weekend, my two oldest friends, Ashlee and Cecily, from Seneca days came down for a visit! I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see these amazing ladies and what a great time we had catching up. It's probably been five years since we've actually been together for some quality time so it was much needed girl time. We had some great dinners, beach time, shopping, and coffee breaks. I've known Cecily since 2nd grade and Ashlee since 6th grade, so we had a whole list of hilarious memories to laugh about this weekend. Props to old friends and the ability to not see/talk to someone for so long and then hanging out like you just saw them yesterday. That kind of thing is precious.

Early Male Training

Dad A is teaching our cutie pie nephew, Matthew, to be just like him! You gotta work hard, play hard, sleep hard, and keep the car spotless - all important male Ahrens family traits. Mom had sent these to me a while ago and I meant to post them b/c they are so super cute and funny. Too bad when Jeff was a kid, he got taught to clean the toilet and not a BMW - Matthew lucked out!

Karma the Bear

So here's the latest psychedelic springer painting that I did the other weekend. The two previous ones have been more Zen focused, so I wanted to do one that really showed Karma's personality instead. This is Karma in her favorite position - ready for a tummy rub! The picture isn't as good b/c I had to use a flash but it gets the point across. Enjoy!

Marlins vs. Giants

The other weekend our financial advisor, Michael Kay, had some extra baseball tickets to go see the Marlins play the Giants down in Miami, so we went to check it out. It turned out to be really really fun - it was a great game and surprisingly, they have mini-concerts after the Saturday games so we got to see Blues Traveler as well. Just the other week Jeff and I were wondering what happened to those guys - they're still jamming! We also saw Barry Bonds from San Francisco's team hit like the millionth homerun. Pretty cool.

BBQ for No Reason

A while ago, Jeff and I realized that we haven't had a big party or invited everyone over to our house in a long time and started to feel bad. So, last weekend, we decided to have a random BBQ at our place! It was great fun and lots of co-workers and friends and neighbors came over for some hang out time and good food. We grilled out, played in the yard, and watched the dogs block the traffic areas in the house (they didn't even jump up on the table - I was so proud). Please take special notice of one of my co-worker's, JP, family photo in front of the bay window, which turned out super super cute! I also like the one of my boss, Ed, his wife, Pam, and another co-worker, Aldo, posing at the grill. There was a great HDR showing, I must say! Some of us hung out a bit later with some choco-fondue to end the night off right, per Shelley's suggestion. Yum!

Okeechobee Landscape

I was out helping a co-worker with some field work last week just north of Lake Okeechobee and took some random pictures. The situation is that there are these wetland areas that either flood too much/often and it creates problems with availability of water for cow pastures. So my office was contacted to help explore options for protecting the wetlands while still creating areas where the cows have enough water. Besides the gi-normous-ness of the cows and the skull I found, I just thought the trees and wetlands areas we found were really cool. I know, I know - I'm such a nerd. Maybe I've been in the office a bit too much lately?

Tampa/St. Pete with Jackie and Wari

The other weekend, Jeff and I drove over to Tampa/St. Pete for the weekend b/c Jackie and Wari were in town on vacation. It was also a great opportunity to go to the Salvador Dali museum and Busch Gardens, which we've always said we would do since we've lived in Florida, but haven't. It was great to meet Wari for the first time and catch up on some Jackson time! As you can see, good times were had and Jackie and Wari are super cute together. I'm also going out on a limb here and posting one of the MANY pictures where everyone else looks great but I look drugged/drunk/crazy/problematic with my blinking during pictures. Man - I really have a problem with this (just ask Jim Ahrens) but I didn't have many group shots, thus a sacrifice must be made. By the way, I just want to say that we fully recommend both the Dali museum and Busche Gardens. Comments on these attractions are as follows: 1. Always thought Dali was a bit kooky, but he is Jeff's favorite, and now seeing the paintings up close I seriously appreciate the time and detail this artist had in him. Really talented guy. 2. Busche Gardens is the perfect mix of a bunch of crazy rides with a zoo! Does it get any better?

Florida Rainbows

I don't think I've ever expressed the love for rainbows in Florida. For some reason, I always remember rainbows everywhere else as quarter (90 degree) arcs, but in Florida, they are always full arcs (180 degrees)! I couldn't get it all in the picture, but this one came out over our street after a storm this week and Jeff called from our neighbors house for me to check it out - it was crazy vibrant and reminded me of 1. God's promise and 2. those stickers you get for good grades in elementary school. It was a perfect rainbow.

Geo Picnic!

Last weekend, Jeff's company, geosyntec consultants, had a summer picnic - it was great fun with yummy food, a bounce house, and field day games. Shelley and I got third place on the water ballon toss and Jeff and I won the three-legged race as he screamed at me, "Run like the wind!" Kayla, the Hagar's daugher, stayed in the bounce house until she was so tired she couldn't keep going. Don't you love those bounce clowns? They are both delightfully colorful and scary.

A Cute Eggplant

Jeff took this very artistic photo of one of our cute eggplants from the garden!

Giant Kudos!

Last night was the geosyntec Giants final softball game of this spring/summer season and I just had to post that it was one of the most exciting games ever. Though they lost, as usual, the final score was 12-13 which is a HUGE accomplishment for them! I don't think they've ever gotten 12 runs, so it was very fun. Congratulations team for going out with a bang! This is an old picture of some of the team members and some have changed, but figured it was still valid.

Inspiration a la Tyler Family

Last year, I did a painting for Laura and Matt's daughter, Ana, that was crazy tropical colors and plants with Zen in it. Well, when I gave it to them, Jeff missed it (and I did too) and kept asking me to do another one but with Karma in it too. So a couple of weeks ago, when he was in NC visiting friends, I did a similar one per his request. I think it's going to start a series of similar psychedelic dog paintings that we will hang together. I've been wanting to get back into painting, so it's good to feel inspired! Thanks Tylers!