Cherry Blossoms from DC to Japan.

Happy cherry blossom season!  Even though Leslie and I are living in different parts of the world - recently we have been able to enjoy the same things - cherry blossoms!  

Cherry blossoms in Japan.
Growing up in the DC area, I always loved this time of year.  We would rent row boats at the Tidal Basin, go to the Cherry Blossom festival, and unofficially kick off spring.  

With our move scheduled during peak time, we were not able to make it to any festivals.  They are held annually all over Japan and it made me sad that we weren’t able to get to any of them.  Then I realized, I don’t need a festival to enjoy the cherry blossoms, I just need to walk out my front door.

Here are some pictures of my street.    

It is snowing cherry blossoms!

Cherry Blossoms make everything look pretty - even the concrete stairs.

Cherry blossoms in Washington DC.

Although I have lived in DC in the past, this is the first year I walked the Tidal Basin and enjoyed the Cherry Blossom trees.  It seemed like a great thing to do as a family!  We went twice - last weekend when the "peak blooming" started and then yesterday when the trees were in full boom. There was a huge difference in the weather in just a few days!  A 30 degree swing really made the trees flower.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is very unique to DC and really highlights the beauty of this city.  The trees line the Tidal Basin and Reflecting Pool with the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial along the main path.  Everywhere you look you see green grass, beautiful, huge landmarks, and pink trees. It's really quite a scene.

Last weekend we took the metro into the city, fought through the crowds (massive amounts of people), walked the tidal basin, and visited a bunch of monuments. The blooms weren't out yet, but it was a sunny day and it was neat to see the monuments up close.   Yesterday I picked Nick up during his lunch hour and we had a picnic in the shade of the trees!   The trees were in full bloom and all the pinkish-white flowers were so beautiful. We stayed for a bit, but it was HOT, there was a ton of traffic, and people everywhere...not the best situation for a lunch "hour" picnic. Regardless, I'm glad we enjoyed this D.C. event while living here!

Visit #1

just starting to bloom

Washington Monument in the backdrop

Family photo with the Jefferson Memorial behind us

some of the few trees in bloom around the Martin Luther King Memorial

Visit #2

picnic under the trees!

Tidal Basin

Washington Monument with the Cherry Blossoms

Blooms with the Jefferson Memorial in the backdrop

she would not smile for pictures this day....

best I could get...ha.

NEWS FLASH

Big News!  We're moving....AGAIN.

The Guptas are moving back to good old Virginia!  We are so excited that this is official!

About a month ago, Nick interviewed with an engineering consulting firm in Washington DC and got a great job offer.  Everything with the offer got finalized a little later and we made the decision to move back to Virginia!

They want Nick to start on a project very quickly...actually wanted him to start November 12th, but he was able to push it back 2 weeks.  Still a very quick turn around.  So we are currently looking for a place to live and plan to be living there by December 1st!

This move is what we wanted...we want to be back in Virginia closer to friends and family.  We want to settle in Northern Virgina and hope to buy a house in 2013. However it does come with some mixed feelings...we are sad to be farther from my brother and his family in Boston.  We're a 4 hour drive now, so now 8 hours...but at least its not different coasts!  Also sad to be far from our favorite city, New York.  I cried when we moved out and part of me still achingly misses it.  If Nick and I were rich and could have a huge apartment (big enough for multiple kids, a dog and every one's stuff), we never would've left.  Our pipe dream is to have a condo there as a second home...in the west village of course.

my niece Caroline, the bunny for Halloween.  How cute is she!?!?!  to die for.

ahhh...the west village, nyc.

And actually....New Jersey has grown on me.  I really like the area we live in and we have made a couple good, supportive friends.  We also have great neighbors and a great pediatrician...just a good support system overall which is hard to leave.

Also...I had to leave Boston Beer Company after 5 1/2 years.  I am ready to move on after having a really good 5+ years and getting great experience, but it's still weird to make the change.  It is a GREAT company...very good vision, direction, products, training, and support to employees.  That I will miss and know is rare.  I gave them my notice a little while ago and it couldn't have gone smoother...I am thankful they understood and were happy for this change for our family!  I may not get free beer anymore, but I still have connections ;)

when I first started in 2007...celebrating 4th of July in DC

receiving my 5 year award in Jan 2012 from owner-founder-brewer Jim Koch

This fall has brought many changes to us...new baby, new job, new location...but change is something that Nick and I do well, so it will be good even if I have a few crisis' in the meantime. I'm excited to spend Christmas in Virginia again!

What a week!

Last week was one of those weeks...a full blown roller coaster.  Luckily we were strapped in tight and rode it out.

I'll start with the not so sweet moments since it's always nice to have a happy ending.

For starters I came home from Virginia with a solid start to the cold Nick had the previous week.  Sore throat, cough...yuck.  I blamed Nick for my miserable state all week...poor guy, but hey, I'm pregnant so I get to blame someone else!  This progressively got worse as the week went on, but I called the drs office on Tuesday to see what meds I was allowed to take...mucinex, cough drops, and vitamin C tablets were my defenses.  Then I had an appointment on Thursday and my Dr was nice enough to tell me that I could take Robitussin...praise be...it's what finally got rid of my congested cough and sore throat!  Gotta love a laid back doctor who allows you to take some meds since you're miserable and in your 3rd trimester!

I am now caught up on sleep and feeling so much better :)

Secondly Cole fell sick...if anyone knows what it's like to have a sick dog...or be "sick as a dog"...its no joke.  Starting Monday evening and going into Thursday we had to take him outside every 2 hours like clockwork...that means Monday and Tuesday night were dreadful.  He must have really wanted to prep us for the new baby.  He couldn't keep anything down or in...too much detail??  So sad...and normally I can pinpoint a cause but for the life of me could not figure out what he could've eaten.  No toys were missing or destroyed, nothing in the house was awry...I walked him Monday and never saw him eat anything outside.  Finally a vet visit was made on Wednesday which proved inconclusive so it seems he just caught a bug.  I felt so bad for him, but since I was feeling sick too, it was really Nick who took the brunt of it.

Cole recovered around Thursday / Friday in time for us to drop him off in Delaware with my mother in law for the weekend.

Lastly my car was sick.  The AC broke and I got it fixed, but came home with a LOUD squeaky rattle. Never good to come home from the shop and have to take it back in again.  PLUS a small crack caused by a rock turned into a huge long crack...I would love to be the winner of a new car right now.  Know any contests?  The rattle got repaired free of charge (booyah!) today and the windshield is being replaced Friday...sigh.

Now amongst all this...we were leaving town for a long weekend for a wedding of some of our close friends...this is where the good things start...

One of my best friends had her baby girl on her due date, Monday June 4th!  Sophie Lynn Peddicord arrived pretty smoothly and is just a precious little bundle.  Great job Tray - congrats again to you guys :)

Tuesday was our 2nd year anniversary!  Somehow I put my cough away and we got a neighbor to let out Cole so that we could keep our plans to celebrate in NYC for the night.  We've been wanting to try Mario Batali's restaurant in the West Village, Babbo since we moved to NY, but it is one hard reservation to get!  They only take reservations a month in advance and even if you call (like Nick did) exactly a month in advance there are people who have called before you so times are limited!  crazy.  But we got a table and loved it.  I really want to go back when I can drink wine because they had a tasting menu with a different wine pairing for each course....uhhh, awesome!  In the meantime delicious bread, pasta and veggies did the trick :)

buffalo mozzarella with squash and zucchini

nick had black spaghetti! risky.

happy...in the West Village at Babbo!

That night Nick surprised me with tickets to see Wicked on Broadway too!  I've been dying to see it and he really wanted to see it too...so he splurged.  It is a FABULOUS show...singing is amazing, dancing is fantastic, the set is phenomenal and so are the costumes.  We both said it was the best Broadway show we've seen.  The main character, the Wicked Witch was amazing...her voice was impeccable.  The set was so cool and the costumes and dancing were just fantastic.  I also really loved how they tied in the story Oz, but didn't show any part of the "Wizard of the Oz".  Such great writing.

cool set.

Wicked!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

29 weeks in Times Square!

Finally the end of the week came and we made it down to Washington DC to see our friends Natalie and Trace get married!  They are such great friends of ours...Trace and Nick were friends at Virginia Tech and Natalie and I LOVE hanging out together. We've taken trips together and try to visit whenever possible. One day we plan to all live in the same neighborhood...don't disappoint, Nat!  ;)  They are truly one of those couples that everyone was so happy to see get married...they were best friends in high school, started dating between VT and JMU in college and now live in Boston...their relationship spans 14 years!  Their wedding was a blast...Nick was a groomsmen and looked handsome, I put together my best maternity wear and we had a great weekend.  It was so fun to see a lot of friends we hadn't seen in a while and to be in DC....Baby G and I danced the whole reception with a few breaks for water and the candy bar...obviously.  Congrats again to Trace and Natalie!

yay!  Natalie was a GORGEOUS bride.

Bridal party flash mob...awesome. Here is the video

wish this was a full length shot b/c I had navy blue snakeskin 3" heels on!  They lasted a while...till flip flops :)

Summer Ends...

hello readers!  Before the much awaited post from me and Casey on my trip to San Diego...I thought I'd share a few random items as Summer 2011 comes to a close.

we took a roadtrip to the Washington DC area and had a great time seeing lots of friends.  Sitting around drinking beers with the guys, lunch with a good friend of mine from college, pool time, dinner and going out in DC, and a tour of the west wing of the White House!


Are we there yet?



Josh and his girlfriend, Amanda hangin at the pool

  

West Wing tour



our longtime friend Adam who works in the White House and took us on the tour

President Obama came to our neighborhood for a fundraising dinner one night and we stood on our sidewalk just in time to catch a glimpse of him and get a wave!  Pretty cool.



Presidential Tank.

Saw an outdoor yoga class that looked awesome

A dog food truck parked on our street and the dogs lined up to get treats...the things I see in NYC never cease to amaze me.

While visiting Casey, sadie helped me make the bed one day, she loved getting tangled in the sheets....crazy girl :)

This song will always remind me of my time in California... :)

My good friend from college, Allison is getting married in less than a month, so my college girlfriends spent a weekend in Dewey Beach, DE for her bachelorette party!  So much fun being together!




me, Colleen, Allison, Melissa (and her twin boy and girl!), and Jamie

NYC was quiet on September 11th and while Cole and I strolled along the Hudson River for his evening walk, I saw One World Trade Center lit up...and many people sitting and gazing at it...remembering the victims of that day and the families affected.  I can't wait to see the memorial.

not my picture, but it is my view from our regular walk route along the Hudson River Park

Love from the City!