I had a lovely trip to the Museum of Science and Industry with my two favorite nerds, my dad and my husband! We didn't get in to see the Seuss exhibit, and it was ridiculously crowded (we waited an hour just to enter), but it was fun nonetheless!

Another lovely trip to one of our favorite places. :)

Anniversary Trip

To celebrate coming up on one year of marriage, Mike and I took a road trip to Kentucky.  The weather was beautiful, the colors were vibrant, and we had a wonderful, quiet, and much needed break.  Our cell phones didn't even work up on the mountain!

Cosmic Cavern

We enjoyed our drive out to Eureka Springs, so we decided to go back and head to the Cosmic Cavern.  It was very cool, and had two cave lakes in it.  It also had different deposits of onxy in it in various places, which were very sparkly when you would shine light on them!

Ripley's Believe it or Not

Photos by Sarah OLeary, Jun 29, 2011

2011 Hiking, Butterflies and Eur Sp

A little later on our trip to MO, we went on a "short" half mile hike that turned out to have 300 some stairs, very old, and kind of crumbly.  It was fun, though! We also took a trip to the butterfly palace, and ended up wandering out to Eureka springs.

2011 Dogwood Canyon

Our Missouri adventure got off to a great start with a trip to Dogwood Canyon.  We took my mom, grandma, and dad on the tram tour, which turned out to be so much more amazing than anticipated! The animals got up close, within distance of being whacked by their big curly horns.  We also took my dad on a short bike ride and to go fishing, which was a lot of fun.  We all said we'd like more time doing that, as it just seemed more exciting to see the fish while fishing.  My dad had a big one on the line, but it slipped away (hence the picture of an empty) but there were even passers by who saw it, no fish tales!  It is quite a cool place.

Anderson Gardens Spring 2011

We were disappointed to see the lovely restaurant at the garden go, but we had a great day even in the sprinkling rain, looking at the beautiful colors.  It really is one of the most peaceful places in the world!

Mike and Sarah's Arizona Trip 2011

Our second trip to Arizona was just as fun as the first! We saw some new sites, and had a lovely time with Alma and Everette.  Of note, we visited the Sonora Desert museum, which was more like a huge botanical garden mixed with a zoo, some fantastic ruins, and Jerome, a city up on a mountain. We also watched the sun set over Sedona, and the red clay mountains there, which was one of the prettiest things I've seen in person!

Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011

A lovely day to stay inside and warm! So much snow came down it was unbelievable!!  Record Breaking even...

Eagle Weekend

We had a great time up at Starved Rock Lodge watching the Eagles. This year there were so many more than before! We saw probably about 50 up in the trees and got to watch them flying over the water.

Update!

Tea Party

His: Jasmine

Hers: Ginger Lemongrass (it tastes like the boozey ginger lemonade from the Japanese garden! Minus the booze)

Tea set: a lovely gift from some friends... thanks gals!

Christmas Eve

Photos by Sarah OLeary, Dec 24, 2010

Icey Day

The fog froze onto just about everything a couple weeks ago, with some beautiful results!

Photos by Sarah OLeary, Dec 22, 2011

Our First Christmas

I have always loved the holidays, and Mike and I have been together around Christmas time for a few years now, but there is definitely something special about the first one after being married.  People keep asking us if we feel any different being married  (and some of the  more bitter divorcees ask if we're still together, shame on them) and while we say not really, the truth is there are subtle differences that are hard to explain... the occasional warm fuzzy feeling when you out of nowhere remember that there's this pretty great person who loves you enough to say he wants to be with you forever, or even the realization that things are, actually, wonderfully familiar.  We knew much of each others quirks and faults along with all the good stuff before we got to the actual ceremony, and there's a real contentedness in knowing someone and having them really know you.

So while we didn't go anywhere exotic (further than the park down the street for a snowy walk and Chicago) or buy extravagant gifts for each other (we donated to the animal shelter and bought smaller gifts instead)  I enjoyed the time I got to spend with Mike, as our new little family, and with both of our extended families...  it has been a lovely holiday to remember!

On Christmas Eve morning, we took a nice walk in the park down the street, it was so peaceful, and quiet, and beautiful! Plus we played in the snow!

Holiday Magic at the Zoo

Photos by Sarah OLeary, Dec 29, 2010 - Complete with lights, otters, and cats! (Plus a preview of many years from now if the husband needs a motorized cart!  And if he does, we will hang festive lights from it!)

Christmas Decorations

For one of our Christmas presents, we got a brand new, shiny, silver tree! It's quite gorgeous, the pictures don't do it justice.  I also put up some of my other decorations and my leopard print black tree... fun!  It's a bit past the holidays now, and I'm still enjoying the glow of the Christmas lights.

We also used our Kitchen Aid mixer (yay!) for the first time to make mass amounts of easy cookies for some of my students.  1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup water, 1 egg, and a box of the cake mix of choice, mix in whatever "toppings" desired, and away we go!  The red velvet with the white chocolate pieces were my favorite by far.