The Stick That Was...

Update on the front yard garden - so - we planted this Royal Poincienta tree in our front yard back in February and it was literally a stick with no leaves. After finally getting some rain and lovin' (yes - we talk to our plants) - it has made it! We are so excited about this tree b/c one day it will bloom fire orange and be beautiful shade in our yard.

Famous Jeff

Jeff made the local paper today - click on the title link above to see the article. I just love a man that knows how to sample soils.

Vote for Judy's "Grandma" Name!

My mom is having a bit of trouble deciding which name to use for Fetus Jones or "FJ" as we like to call it, so I thought I would enlist the blog community to help out. I found the following "Grandma" names online, so vote for your favorite in the comments to help Judy out! If no one votes, you might subject her to the default name of "Goobers" haha.

Mommom, Mammaw, Grammy, Gigi, Nonny, Oma, G Ma Ma, Grandma, Grandmother, Nana, Ninny, Noni, Grandee, Granny, Nanny, Honey, Noonie, Moe, Meems, Nonnie, Mojo, Gran, Grandmama, Grandcine, Mamaw, Nandy, Bube, Boo, Momall, BoBo, Sukie, Nuna, Bella, GG, Mimi, Mama Tyndell, Mama G, Darlin, Granddame, Bridie, Mam, MaDonna, Madame, Gannie, Yaya, Gamie, "Ba" Babushka, Memaw, Izzie, Gran Jan, Nonna, Magy, Boppy, Dear, DeeDee, Grams, Momo, Grancie, Nama, Naunie, Granna, GamZ, Miney, Mia, MayMay, MawMaw, Monni, Gamma, Toto, Gambo, VaVa, Granana, Nannie, Nona, Granci, Nan, Amah, Lolli, Sugamama, Nini, Ammijan, LaLa, Maja, Anya (Hungarian), Goobers, Nanaw, ReeRee, Momma Ree, Bebo, and Maz.

Love you Mom - hope you like some of these suggestions.

SC Weekend Visit

This past weekend - I went up to SC and saw some family and great girlfriends! I flew into Myrtle Beach, where my parents picked me up and we went to see my aunt and uncle and Nana. I even got this great shot of my parents with Nana. Then - they graciously drove me from the coast to Greenville to spend the weekend with my Clemson roommates for a girls weekend. It was so good to see everyone and be back in the Carolinas for a few days. It was absolutely beautiful and we went up to Pisgah National Forest on Saturday for a quick hike and amazing mountain views as you can see. It was so fun to say the least. I miss you girls (Laura, Jackie, Olivia, and Allison - you are the best)!

14 Weeks Pregnant!

Well - the news is out that Jeff and I are expecting our first baby! Hooray! We are so excited and this week marks "Week 14 officially" so I stole this fun picture of what the baby looks like from another website. It's been such a crazy and fun thing to experience thus far. I've actually been really lucky in that I have been feeling relatively good - I was only really sick for a few weeks right after we found out. Hopefully, we will find out the gender next month sometime and we can start planning for the big event to happen in January! I always thought I would hate the process of being pregnant, but it really hasn't been that bad. The best part is seeing Jeff's face during the ultrasounds!

Father's Day Weekend

Over Father's Day weekend - Jeff and I went up to Orlando to see my parents, aunt, and uncle while they were staying at my parents timeshare condo. It was great to see everyone and we even went for an airboat ride while we were there. It was super cool and we even got to see an Everglades Snail Kite, which is a really endangered, rare bird in Florida.

Hilarious!

For some reason - I think this picture is so hilarous. Our friend Keith took it at the wedding the other weekend. Anyway - it will be good for laughs one day and shows the great humor of Jeff.

B&B Wedding Weekend

During Memorial Day weekend, Jeff and I, along with several Florida friends (Keith & Tammy, Marlis & Bob, Bryan & Keri-Ann, Helen, and Bonnie), went up to DC to see Brennan and Beth get married. It was great to see the B&B since they moved away from our street and their wedding was incredible - beautiful, fun, and full of good people. The other great thing about visiting DC was that we got to see some other friends in the area which we haven't seen in a long time - Jason from Peace Corps and Danny (and Diane) from our Michigan Tech days. When we arrived in DC Friday night, Jason picked us up at the airport and we got to hang out a bit before going to our hotel. The next morning, Danny picked us up and we had breakfast in downtown Bethesda, MD, and walked around before the wedding that night. Brennan and Beth looked amazing and their ceremony was perfect for them - very romantic and at sunset at Congressional Country Club. The band, food, cake (hello - the best I've ever had!), and dancing was a good time. The next day we visited the monuments and downtown Alexandria, VA (Jeff reminisced with Marlis and Helen on schnooner sized beers!) and then on Memorial Day, we went hiking at Great Falls before our flights left. We got to stay with Marlis' gracious parents, who live in the area, and hang out with them for a bit as well. It was a great and beautiful weekend! We miss you B&B but congratulations!

The Decision Making Room

Before we had the going away party at our house - we figured it was a great time to do some home improvements. It worked out well b/c Jeff gave me some new, fun furniture for our anniversary back in April, and along with the painting my parents sent, some new houseplants, and a coat of paint - voila! We have the "decision making room!" Here Jasmine models before the party begins...our house is officially very green. We can't seem to pick out any paint colors other than green. Oh well - it's Florida - you can get away with lime green walls.

Goodbye Good Friends!

A couple of weekends ago, we had to say some goodbyes to good friends, Wayne & Danielle, and Annette & Jeffrey - both very cool couples that we know through Jeff's work. We threw a party for them and the office to spend some time with everyone before they moved off. We had a great time chilling outside (we even had a bounce house for the kids!) and eating lots and lots, including Dave Hagar's famous rice krispie treat mold! We'll miss you guys! Hope you are enjoying Ann Arbor and Portland!

Just another day...

At work! This is me and Tessie, one of the other staff at the construction site I work at, just hanging out in my office. The electricians like to take pictures all the time so this is one they sent me, so I thought it was cute enough to post.

The Other Ahrens' and Their Chicks

Our cousin's family have been fostering some chicks! I couldn't resist posting these super cute pictures...how cool!

HDR did the Corporate 5K!

South Florida has several "Corporate 5K" events in which companies from all around compete against each other - it's pretty big for consultants and lawyers. Anyway - our office, West Palm Beach, teamed with our Miami Lakes office to participate in Ft. Lauderdale one a few weeks ago. I stole these pictures that someone took!