Out of Focus

As of today we are officially a one car family!  This change has been in the works for a while now, and thankfully today it's all done.  

Jen and I realized a month or so back that because of my work schedule and Jen no longer working full time, we could very easily get by with one car instead of two.  This was made all the more appealing by the ever increasing price of gas, and by the idea of having one less vehicle to maintain/ insure/ stress over.  

After our initial realization  it didn't take long for the wheels to get rolling.  And now a couple of weeks later, thanks to Craigslist and some girl from Lancaster named Marie, it's complete. Adios Focus, you served me well- good luck in the land of the Amish.  (Look out for those buggies!)

Dancing

Earlier today I was perusing some of the blogs that I usually read and I stumbled across this video.  I don't know who this guy is, or how he pulled this off but I thought that it was worth passing along.  

The video is about 5 minutes long, but if you take the time to watch it it may very well be the most inspirational/ funny/ thought-provoking and just downright joyful thing that you do today.

If the video starts to stutter at all just pause it, count to 20 then push play again...

Where is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Loving every minute...

So, I've been meaning to do this for a while now- a compilation of video clips and pictures of Aiden from his day 1, right up until today.  It's on the longer side, but I hope you enjoy it.

1,095 Days

Last weekend Jen and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary.  

We've experienced some significant changes since we walked down the aisle.  Just in this last year we moved into our first house, I graduated from school and started working as a nurse, and Jen was pregnant and gave birth to our first child!  Whew, it's been a busy year!

 

To celebrate the start of another year of marriage (and to give us a chance to reflect on our first three years) Jen and I spent the weekend visiting places that have been significant to us in the past.  We started the weekend by having dinner at the restaurant where we went for our very first date.  It may not be 4 stars but you gotta start somewhere, and this is where it started for us.

After dinner we went to a nearby park.  This was a place where we used to come for picnics when were dating.  This time we hung out and had a little dessert, Ben & Jerry's style.

The next morning we spent a few minutes opening the anniversary presents that we got for each other.  Unbeknownst to each other we had both done a little research and found out that gifts  for the third year anniversary are supposed to be "Leather" themed.  

Hmmmmm...

SO, I got Jen a purse, and she got me a great scrapbook with mementos from way back when we started dating.  Jen saved everything from those days: letters, cards, ticket stubs, even receipts. It was great to look through it all and remember fun times together.

Later that morning we went to a special breakfast spot.  When Jen and I lived in West Chester we used to walk to a nearby coffee shop called 'America's Cup' for coffee and breakfast.  So we decided to revisit our place for an anniversary breakfast.  Sadly though when we got there we found that America's Cup was gone, replaced by a fancy tea house.  Gah!

We stayed though, and the coffee wasn't bad and the scones were pretty tasty.  Breakfast was salvaged!

After breakfast we did a quick drive-by of our old apartment.  We lived there for two years and our first memories as a married couple were right there.  Looking good South Walnut Street!

The big adventure of the day was going back to visit the place were it really all started.  We got married three years ago at Ridley Creek State Park, and it was great to go back to walk the grounds and remember our big day.  Things at the park look pretty much the same.  It doesn't seem like three years ago that we were all there- dressed for a wedding and ready to party.  

Take Me out to the Ballgame: Take 2

Another visit to the Reading Phillies, another beautiful day o' baseball.  This time we went with Grandma and Grandpa Jones, Aunt Gwyn and Bethany, and Uncle Aaron.  As I mentioned before I've been a little video-crazed lately, so this is the result of a day at the ball park:

Old Yeller

Lately Aiden has become more interested in our dog Bailey.  He's finally able to really follow him with his eyes, and he's starting to find his goofiness funny.  On the other side of things, Bailey has just started to realize that Aiden has toys that rattle and squeak, and look suspiciously like his doggy toys.  So the result of these changes is that Aiden and Bailey are interacting a bit more.  Usually it's pretty cute, like it was yesterday morning when I took these pictures...

Video Ridiculousness: Parts I and II

We've been taking more little video clips with our camera lately.  Eventually I suppose we'll get a real video camera to record life's big moments: holidays, birthdays, vacations etc. -but right now our little digital will have to do.  These video bits and pieces aren't of anything special, but thats kind of what makes them special.  It's nice to have little snapshots of life while we're just doing nothing in particular.

This first one is from just this morning.  For a few minutes before the day really began (while Mom was very deservedly getting to sleep in a bit) Aiden and Bailey and I were downstairs in the living room hanging out, it was nice.

Ok, now this video of Aiden has "Summer Blockbuster" written all over it.  You may not think that cuddly babies and the action/adventure genre go hand in hand, but you are so, so wrong. Action has rarely been as 'pulse pounding' or 'jaw dropping' as it is in this clip.  Hold on tight for this incontinence inducing thrill ride.

Dad's Day

We had a great time over the weekend celebrating Father's Day.  The new picnic table and grill were called into service and helped (along with some beautiful June weather) to give us the perfect day for a party.  Thanks to everyone for coming over and celebrating this day with us.  Enjoy the pictures! 

A snapshot of our week in video form...

First of Many

There are lots of important "firsts" in the life of a growing baby.  For example, there is the first tooth... the first steps... the first word... and the one I consider at least on par with any other major milestone: the first baseball game.

This day of days occurred for Aiden on friday night when we went to a Reading Phillies game with Mimi and Pop-pop Weidner.  While not a true major league game, in terms of a baseball watching experience I would take the R-Phils any day.  Pound for pound (and dollar for dollar) it's at least as good as seeing a game down at Citizens Bank Park.  

Although following the Phillies is one of my favorite pastimes, watching the Reading Phillies play is  just a breath of fresh baseball scented air.  You don't know the players, you don't really care if they win our lose, so you can just sit back and enjoy a great game of baseball.   Ahhhhhh....

These first pictures are of our pre-game preparation, as we were getting all our Phillies gear on at home.  Aiden is clearly beside himself in joyous anticipation of the experience to come.  Me too buddy!

A warm breeze is blowing, the stadium lights are on- it's a perfect baseball night.

Go Phillies!

I love this picture.  Just a great family photo of us and our adopted son Cole Hamels.

It was a great first game for Aiden, and a great night all around.  We'll be back soon...

Yard Workin'

I was out in the yard on saturday, working on a picnic table project, and Aiden came out to hang in the shade and distract me with his adorable antics.  The weather has been much nicer the last few days ( it seems the heat wave is over-  whew!) so it was nice just to be out in the sun for a while.  As you'll see I even got Aiden to pitch in, and lend a (tiny) hand with the table building.

 Jen came outside too- causing me to be further distracted and requiring me to take about a million ridiculously cute pictures.