A taste of home.
In the form of the Braves! We originally planned to attend all three games, but Ohio foiled us with its weather and turned out ridiculous temperatures over the past couple weeks (insert iPhone photo of my car reading 102 degrees - too lazy to upload).
We did tough/sweat it out and attend Friday night's game. The Reds have a super nice stadium that has great views of the Ohio River and parts of downtown.
See that tall building in the front? That's where my hubby goes to work each day. Also conveniently located 1 block from the Reds and Bengal's stadiums.
We wore our Braves gear (which in full disclosure were purchased sort of recently - do we really have to move to Ohio to feel compelled to spend the money required to show our loyalty? Apparently so.), but secondary to the crazy amounts of sweating that went on during our 4 hours in the stadium, I will show you a photo of them sans sweaty bodies.
Despite the heat and humidity, we did make one attempt to photograph ourselves in the stadium. A nice gentleman offered to take the photo for us, and after taking several shots whilst exclaiming "beautiful! you guys are naturals!", he took a peak at the following photos and proudly handed us back our camera.
To be fair, he was probably a few 24 oz. beers in (yes, they sell those in Ohio), and it was my fault that the settings weren't properly adjusted prior to handing over the camera. I did the best I could and ended up with this.
(Just so our parents can see we are alive and smiling.)
Wall of Travel.
I have been meaning to get our travel photos developed (anyone else have problems with getting digital photos off the computer and in print?), and decided to take use that inspiration to decorate a big blank wall in our bedroom. 18 frames from the Dollar Tree, 1 $3 wooden "F" from Michael's, a $4.50 can of spray paint from Lowe's, and ~$8 in developing fees later, voila!
Hubby's initial response to the idea went something like "Isn't that a lot of pictures of just me and you?", to which I responded "It's in our bedroom. How many people spend a lot of time in there? Won't it be fun to have all those wonderful memories for us to see on a regular basis?". He agreed, as it is certainly true that some of our most fun moments of marriage have come through our travel adventures and exploring beautiful and exciting parts of the country together. I also reminded him that this entire wall of decor cost a mere $32ish dollars. His budget-loving self loves a good deal, and he has now given me his seal of approval.
Bossypants.
(Insert iPhone photo of me reading it on my iPad. And yes, rereading that sentence makes me realize what an Apple snob I am.) Walker has been out of town the past couple weeks, so to make up for some extra solo time in the evenings, I purchased my first iBook.
1. the book itself = Oh. my. hilarious. Quick read. Laugh out loud funny. Love love love Tina Fey.
2. reading an iBook = Surprisingly enjoyable. I had resisted initially because I love a good hardback for leisurely reading (and then using as decor). However, the fact that I decided I wanted to read Bossypants, had purchased and downloaded it all within about 30 seconds helped me come around. So convenient and easy. I just might be sold.
Deer in my backyard.
(Insert iPhone photo of large doe in my backyard, then again the next morning in my neighbors front yard.) Hilarious. Just for kicks (and before I really thought it through), I let Bella out in our yard to chase it. Thankfully the very large deer bolted over the back fence instead of preparing for a fight. Walker is less than 10 minutes from work (remember the big building in the photo above?), and I am less than 10 minutes from an enormous medical complex. I promise me live in urbanity.
Sushi.
(Insert iPhone photo of a platter of homemade sushi made last night at our friends Matt and Kate's.) Prior to last night I had tried sushi all of 1 times. Lessons learned:
1. Sushi is hard to make. Props to chefs who make it look so easy. And to Matt and Kate who are quite good at making it look pretty.
2. It was confirmed that I pretty much like crab, cream cheese, and rice dunked in a vat of soy sauce. Most things in life are better after dunked in a vat of soy sauce.
That's a lot of typing with little substance and minimal photos. My apologies. We are busy but happy. Making tons of new friends. Already thankful for the challenges our adventure is providing. Taking life a week at a time (I would say a day at a time because that sounds better, but let's be honest, we are born planners and thus far have only been able to shrink it down to weeks.).
To close, this weekend we have VISITORS! And of the best variety. We can't wait!
Since the last time we saw her at the beach, this little one has blossomed into quite the mover and shaker.
She was seriously a champ during this trip. We totally messed with her typical schedule and she took it all in stride. It was pretty sad coming home from work Tuesday to an empty home. She is an adorable bundle of energy that can't help but keep you smiling. We miss her already, can you tell?
Monday we celebrated Sissy's (Walker's mom) birthday. We grilled out, drank delicious sangria, and ate maybe the most amazing cake I've ever tasted (the opera cream cake from Cincinnati's famous BonBonerie). If you come to Cincinnati for your birthday I will buy a cake for you too. And it just may be worth the price of your flight up here.
Sharing our new city with family was so wonderful. We shopped, ate delicious meals, enjoyed conversation on our front porch, and explored some of the great parts of Cincinnati that we have come to love. It was fun. And easy. And so not stressful. I seriously have the best family-in-law around. 
Come back soon guys - we miss you already!!! (Check out Lele's blog for more from their visit!)
