Sunday, February 13, 2011

Yeah, it's been a while...

My life lately-
Well, since it's been a while since my last post, I figured I should get to work on the next installment in an effort to keep on top of this thing more. So, my last post was nearly a year ago so I got a lot of catching up to do...

Danielle and I have been dating for a little over a year now and, other than being 1100 miles away from each other, everything is going very well.  We were able to spend a lot of time over the summer together since she gets the time off from school.  It was great to have the time to just be a couple for once.   It wasn't just a weekend visit.  We didn't really do anything extravagant, we just got to be "us" and it was great!  Her family was here too, so we got to spend some time with them as well.





While she was here, I did rent a convertible and drove us down Skyline Drive for the day.  It was one of the hotter weekends that summer (well over 100°F), but by the time we got up in the mountains the humidity wasn't bad and the temperature had dropped to the mid 80's.  It was a beautiful drive and so great to spend some quality time together.  Probably one of my favorite times with Danielle. 

Danielle and I before our trek to Skyline Drive.

First stop on the drive down.


 Us acting goofy.

 Us after out 1+ mile hike.






We spent a lot more time together other than that, but if I start telling about every little thing I'm going to 1) Forget something & 2) Loose some followers on this blog.  I can't afford to loose any of my 4 followers at this point. 

Last summer we said goodbye to my Grandpa Tom.  It was sad to say goodbye but it was also a nice opportunity to head home for a while and spend some quality time with the family.  While I was back, Danielle lost her grandfather, Andy.  Both men had lived long, fruitful lives and had raised wonderful families.  I felt so blessed that I was able to be there for Danielle and that she was able to be there for me.  

I also got to be a part of my best friend Megan's wedding! It was a blast and I was so happy I could make it home for it!  Here's a few pics:





And Danielle and I got to spend some quality time out in Kenesaw with the Keisers!













I made some modifications to the King Ranch too!  Installed a grill guard and a Flowmaster catback exhaust system.  It's pretty awesome!  If you hadn't heard yet or weren't aware from how excited I am about this, I love my truck!  Probably the best purchase I've ever made.  





Work at WJE is going very well.  I love the company and the people I work with are awesome. The office community here is great; it's like a family.  Being so far away from my actual family is tough, but the tight-knit group we have here in DC is a close second.  Even if people go out for lunch, they bring it back and eat with everyone who brought their lunch.  When I first moved here, it was like my family dinner but at lunch time.  I know it sounds corny, but I still think its cool.  I'm working on several projects right now, the most noteworthy being BRAC 133, the new DoD building on I-395 and Seminary.  I'm there about once a week for about a half a day.  The rest of what I do is probably pretty boring to most of you who may be reading this, so I won't bore you. 

Danielle and I still continue to struggle with decisions on the future (who should move where and when).  I've been told by several very influential people (Megan Glover, Sarah 'Kotan' Friedle, and many others in the Gibbs-Glover wedding party) that if I screw this up, my life will be ended.  I don't plan on causing the end of my life anytime soon, so I guess that means Danielle is stuck with me!

I know there are a lot of people that want me to move back to Omaha and quite frankly, so do I.  If it wasn't for the fact that I absolutely love my job and the people I work with, I'd be back by now.  The fact is, WJE is great.  If only I could combine WJE and Omaha...

But I digress...
My good friend Nicole Lucas invited me back to her home in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving and it was a blast!  I conned her into letting me drive us to Nebraska, PA, a small town about 2 hours away from he home near State College, PA.  Once we got there, this is what we found:
And that's about it.  Not too exciting.  Her family was awesome; almost as awesome as my family!

This past Christmas was a load of fun with all the nieces and the nephew.  I got Leo a four wheeler that lights up and rumbles.  It's pretty awesome.  
Here's a few other pics from over Christmas:

 




Danielle and I got to spend a week together which was great,  but it was filled with so much family and friends time that we got barely anytime to just be us and go on a date or snuggle on the couch.  It didn't help that I had a major cold most of the time I was home and she then contracted my cold and the flu the last few days I was home. She was going to drive me back to KC to fly back to DC, but with her flu, she was unable to.  Both of us were heartbroken that we couldn't spend that last 3 hours together and say goodbye to each other at the airport, but she made a trip to DC several weeks later.  Those two weeks were the longest two weeks I've ever experienced. 

Now I've planned a trip to KC for just after Valentine's Day.  Danielle has conferences so she is off that Friday and following Monday. I plan to get in later on Thursday night and stay through until Monday night.  We're both pretty excited!!!

There's a lot more that happened over the past year, but like I said earlier, too much to cover!

Till next year...JUST KIDDING!  :-P