Odds and Ends

A couple of the things going on right now- I am studying for my oral exams for my PhD, and I'm scheduled to take that exam early September so that I can get them done before baby Eli comes.  I can't wait to have that weight off of my shoulders.  So far I have a draft written for my exams, I'm waiting for feedback and I'm working on my presentation of it.

On the bright side, I had a vet appointment for Cali today, and I was told she was the most lean and fit dog they have seen in a long time :) :) :) :)  I'm so proud.  It shows everyone that I'm doing things right, feeding her the right amount, giving her exercise and healthy vegetable treats :)

So those are the current things on my mind.  We also got the nursery furniture in this week and Matt got that all put together, and Matt and his family put together our new shed last week.  Those pictures to come when I get some more of the house 

Vacation 2013

We were lucky to go on vacation to the beach again this year.  This year, Kristin and Ryan were unable to join the family, so my parents were invited down to the beach.  So we had a really enjoyable time.  Matt was able to go jetskiing, but with me being pregnant this year, I skipped that.  I did make sure to take a few walks and one run on the beach but not nearly as much as I did last year.  And we happened to find out Nate and Andrea Molteni were in Duck, NC at the same time as us, so we were able to meet up with them for a lunch which was nice, it had been since their wedding since we had seen them.  The few things we did do while we were there, my parents and I attended the 4th of July parade, it was quite hot but it was a short parade and would definitely be fun with kids.  We also did a lot of playing in the water with the dogs, and went for a jeep tour of the beach to go wild horse spotting!  We saw probably 30-40 horses and the herd size is close to 100.  We even saw a colt.

Cali playing fetch in the ocean

4th of July parade

4th of July parade

Corolla horse!

Corolla horse on tour

Corolla horses :)

Corolla horses

 

My parents walking on the beach of Duck

Matt's dad getting ready to hop back in the jeep

Our jeep on the tour

Matt's fancy scallop dinner at the brewery

4th of July parade

Me running on the beach with my babies

Also in July- about a week or two after the beach trip, we traveled up to St. Marys, PA for Matt's cousin Marie's wedding.  We had a nice visit with everyone and got some great pictures.

New home, 2013

We closed at the end of May on our house.  And thanks to the help of Matt's parents for the painting, and my parents for the moving, we were able to re-carpet and repaint the whole house.  We moved in mid- June and have been slowly unpacking since then.  I have a few before and some after pictures.  More after pictures will come soon as we finish unpacking a few things.

We now live in Durham in a little neighborhood on .2 acres with a fenced in yard, 3 bedrooms, a living room/dining room, den, and 2 1/2 baths.

View of the front of the house before we bought it

My flowers I planted in the front

Before:  Master bedroom

After:  Master bedroom with new carpet and paint

After:  Guest room with new paint/carpet and bunkbeds

Before: Master bath

Before:  Kids' room

Before: Kid bathroom

Before: Den

Before: Kitchen

Before: Kitchen

Before: Living Room

Project 1: Carpet ripping up

Project 2: Paint

Beautiful new carpet on our stairs

Beautiful new carpet and paint in the hall

Another view of guest bedroom

Babies nursery painted, new carpet

After: Kitchen

More pictures to follow as we finish each room but at least that is a bunch of the rooms for now.  Things are coming along nicely, and it is nice not to worry about how loud the dogs are running around.

Beginning of 2013

So 2013 has been a whirlwind of a year so far.  We knew we were planning on buying a house this year so we started talking to realtors in January and February.  So our beginning of the year was preoccupied with house shopping and marathon training.  I had enjoyed my half marathon in november so much I tried to tackle a marathon by mid march- but it was too short of a time frame, as well as I found out we were expecting Eli just briefly before my marathon, so I ended up dropping out at mile 16 as I was having quite a few pregnancy related symptoms that were making it difficult to keep going.  Soooo I will have to try and tackle the marathon a different time.  But at least I've tried which is more than most people.  So we placed our offer on the house all at this same time, in March and negotiated for a week or so.  We had a contract by April and closed in May. 

In the midst of this my step grandmother passed away and I traveled up to Maryland/Pennsylvania for the funeral and was able to give the family a bit of good news at the funeral that Eli was on his way. 

Snyder boys with Grandpappy

The Snyder grandkids that were onsite

Snyder boys with theirs spouses

 Memorial Day, Matt and I traveled to Maryland to my grandparents to meet up with my parents for my mom's 50th birthday. We suprised mom by getting all of her semi-local siblings to show up.  We had a nice time being able to see all of the Dodson family. 

 While on our way home from Memorial Day, we didn't have the dogs since we were picking up a bunch of baby items from my aunt and uncle, so we were finally able to briefly visit the Marine Corps Museum for Matt.  Although it a very brief trip, we did do a whirlwind tour of the great facility, and we hope to be able to make it back at some point.

Christmas 2012

So apparently I haven't blogged since last December!!! And that blog entry was about thanksgiving.... So I have a lot of catching up to do.  So we spent Thanksgiving in St. Marys with Matt's side of the family and had a good time.  And I made my gravy for them for the second year now :) I am now the maker of the gravy at his family gatherings.  By Thanksgiving we also realized that the gluten free diet was definitely helping Matt feel better so since then we've kept our house gluten free.

Christmas 2012 we spent up in Saratoga with my side of the family.   We had a nice visit and got to meet my brothers girlfriend, Kristine for the first time. 

Snyder family Christmas 2012

With us both being in school we were doing christmas on a budget so here are a bunch of the items I made as gifts for everyone.

Above: My first baby hat for our friends daughter Emily.  First flower.  Pink beanie with ivory 5 point flower

Granny square baby blanket I made for Colleens second child.

Matt's christmas scarf in a desert color

Mom's red and white scarf- her's is the least well done because I started it so much earlier then all the others that I didn't get in the groove yet.

Colorful scarf for Missy

Another view of colorful scarf

Matching floppy hat for colorful scarf

Floppy hat

Hat/scarf set

My favorite scarf of the season, lovely laced piece in a purple family

Showing the lattice on the lace thin dress scarf

One more view of lattice scarf

Gingerbread table runner I sewed

I still need to  find pictures of the fingerless gloves I made to match the lattice scarf, and then I had one more box laced scarf with a matching purse that turned out really well.  Matt ended up with 2 crates full of gluten free beers to try, some from my brother David, and some from his sister, Kristin, and her fiance. Ryan.  I also received many cooking items to help me with a lot of the homemade food I am making- such as all the tools I needed to try making homemade pasta.  I can't wait to try it.