Coldplay...AMAZING!!!

A few weeks ago we went to the Coldplay concert in Atlanta. Jon and I both love them and we were super excited to have tickets! The Friday before the concert(the concert was on Tues.) we got a phone call on our land line. It was really strange that we answered, since I usually have that hooked up to the my fax for work. Anyway, the guy on the other end offered us passes to a meet and greet with the band before the concert!!! We were blown away. We couldn't believe our luck! We were going with some friends and wanted to be sure they could go with us, so the guy signed us up for 6 passes. We went to the meet and greet...we got to go to the soundcheck before the concert and then meet the band. We only got a few minutes to shake the band members hands and got a group picture, but it was more than I could've asked for! Ashley and I were in heaven:) Anyway, here are some pictures from the soundcheck and then the actual concert. If you like them and get a chance to buy tix, I definately recommend it. It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen...and we got of a lot of them:)

Chris Martin at soundcheck





Actual concert...

The Otto's come to ATL!

Our friends Jarrett and Dana came to visit us in Atlanta at the end of October. We had so much fun!!! It was great having them see where we live and what our life down here is all about. Our first full day was rainy so we decided to go to large arcade with go carts...I wish we could have video taped it! Jarrett and Jon's competitive streak definitely came out:) We played a lot of Euchre, which none of our "southern" friends know how to play, so Jon and I needed our fix!

We also went to our first Nascar race! Jarrett and Dana are old pros at these so they showed us the ropes. We got up early and got to the track and did some serious tailgating!



It was really cool to be there in person. It is unbelievable how loud it is!!! I can't even describe it.



We were sad to see our good friends leave, but were so grateful they made the trip. It meant a lot to us.

Thank you Otto's!!!!

P.S. For some reason I can't get anymore pictures to post. Hopefully, I will get more up soon!

NYC...Here we come!

Jon and I were lucky enough to go on another vacation. We went to New York City for 5 days in September. We went that particular weekend to attend an event hosted by one of Jon's vendors from work MD&D. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and met up with Auntie MK and Uncle Joe. They were in town from Cali to attend the same event. We walked around Times Square, went to dinner and then went to my first Broadway show! We saw Young Frankenstein. It was FABULOUS!!! It is a Mel Brooks production...so obviously it was filled with humor and wit. We loved it!

On Friday, Jon went into the NYC office and did some work and I got to go play with MK and Joe. We went to all the fun stores on 5Th avenue, including Tiffany's:) I girl can't pass up an opportunity like that!


Then we attended the Annual MD&D Boat Ride. Oh, what a time we had!!! Our friends from ATL, Hollie and Travis, were there too! It was amazing, everyone took a bus from the hotel to the boat dock and we boarded a beautiful boat. We were greeted with a glass of wine:) There was all the food and booze anyone could ask for. Our favorite part was the view. The boat went around Manhattan and then came back and circled the Statue of Liberty. It was truly a breathtaking view. Our camera doesn't do it justice...


On Saturday it rained on and off...but that didn't stop us!!! We went on a pub crawl in the village with some guys from Jon's work and their wives. They have been doing this for years and normally they stop at about 15 pubs!!! Since it was raining I think we only went to 4 or 5. We had so much fun! It was really fun to see a side of NYC that we probably wouldn't have without our local friends:) The atmosphere was great and the company was even better.

Sunday we spent the day together and did all the fun touristy stuff. We went to FAO Schwartz and played on the big piano, Central Park and took a carriage ride, the 30 Rock building, Grand Central Station, Times Square...the whole shabang!


Jon playing a tune:)


The 30 Rock Buidling. We were hoping to see Tina Fey...no luck!


Sort of cheesy...but we couldn't resist!

We also went to Bryant Park, for those of you who don't know, that is where NY Fashion Week is held and guess what!!!! IT WAS NY FASHION WEEK!!! We saw several famous people coming in and out of the tent and then a lot of people who thought they were pretty hot stuff, but no one knew who they were...we won't tell them though:) Then we went to dinner and another Broadway show! This time we saw Mama Mia, it was really good too!


During our trip to NY we walked a lot and became regulars on the subway, it was really fun to get around the way the locals do it. All in all, we had a great time! We can't wait to go again next year:)

Right now we are back home and cheering for the PACK!!! Love, Emily and Jon

It has been awhile...

We have been very busy traveling and celebrating various events lately. I haven't had time to post our comings and goings so now I am going to flood you with them to catch up:) It had been an absolute thrill, but exhausting! We are looking forward to spending this weekend at home...our first one in 7 weeks!!! The first major celebration of our festivities was my grandmother's 90th birthday! We had family in town and had so much fun. I still can't believe she is 90, I just hope I look and feel as good as she does when I am 90!

Then we went to WI for almost 2 weeks. We had a lot of fun, but as usual we hardly had time to breath. We always feel like we need a vacation from our vacation:)We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family members, but we have a hard time making the rounds when we are in WI. If we missed you this time, we'll try to catch you at Christmas. During our trip to WI, we went to my 10 year high school reunion.

We had so much fun! It was so good to see all of my old friends. I still can't believe it has been 10 years, but I guess we won't talk about that:)

We also got spend time with our nephew, Emmitt, who just turned 1!!! He is growing so fast and acting like such a Big Boy!

We took Geri and Addison to the zoo. We had a lot of fun looking at the animals, playing on the playground, riding the train and riding the merry go-round!



We also got to go to a Badger game while we were home. We went downtown with Abby and Erik early that morning and were drinking by 9:30AM! It brought back lots of memories. The Badgers won, so all was good:)

It was so good to see our friends and family. After we were home for 2 days, we were off the NYC for a long weekend! I will tell you all about that in the next blog...I figure this one is already long enough. Talk to you soon!!!

Jon's Birthday Extravaganza!!!!

Jon celebrated his 31st Birthday on July 21st. In our family, we don't just celebrate birthdays for one day... we take as long as needed to get the full effect. It is usually at least a week, sometimes longer if we are feeling lively:) Anyway, we started Jon's Birthday festivities the Friday before. Sarah and Taylor came down to ATL for the weekend. We went out for dinner and then to a comedy show. The headliner for the comedy show was Judah Friedlander, he stars in the show 30 Rock. He was great! Saturday, we had a birthday party at our house with friends, food and booze. What else could a guy ask for on his birthday...don't answer that:) We had a intense game of bocce ball, which I must add that I dominated the game. I know, I should have taken it easy on the old man...what can I say. Then we played some darts and pool and then decided it would be best for all involved to go to bed.

Then we continued the Birthday festivities in Savannah. Taylor and Sarah came down too...they are dedicated birthday celebrators! We stayed Mon-Thurs and we had a blast! Over our many trips to Savannah this year we have had some of the best food. There are tons of restaurants and most of them have unbelievable food. Jon and Taylor both had to work during the days:( Sarah and I decided to take this opportunity to go to the beach!!! I know that hardly seems fair, since it is Jon's birthday, but what are two girls so close to the ocean to do:) We only stayed for a few hours each day because during this time of year dogs aren't allowed on the beach and I didn't want to leave Stella alone for too long. Here are a few pictures from the Extravaganza...but be sure to check out the links to the left!

Go Braves!!!

We have had a busy Holiday weekend! Jon golfed on Friday with Travis, Bryan and Kevin. I spent the day making sure the pool was in proper condition. Then we went to a 4TH of July Festival with Hollie and Travis and some of their family. It was at Atlanta National Country Club. It was set up like a Carnival, so Hollie's niece and nephew kept us very busy running from booth to booth. There were lots of activities, lots of food and lots of fireworks. We had a blast! Yesterday we spent the day helping Travis and Hollie work on building an "outdoor kitchen". It is just at the beginning stages, but I think it will look amazing when they are done. Jon worked very hard during the day and was ready for some fun when they got done. Good thing we had tickets to the Braves game! We went to the game last night with Ashley, Bryan and Ashley's dad. Despite the fact that the Braves got creamed, we had a great time there too! I think Ashley and I did more talking then watching:) (but that is nothing new). For more pictures check out the links on the left!


The Girls

Em, B-RYE and Smashley

The Fellas

Kirkwood Wine Stroll

Last weekend we ventured out to the 2nd Annual Kirkwood Wine Stroll with Sarah and Taylor. Kirkwood is a neighborhood close to downtown Atlanta. All the local shops have a selection of wine for you to taste, most had two (a red and a white). Now, if you take your wine tasting seriously you can write down comments about each wine, if you just like to drink wine in a fun social setting, that is ok too. It is for all palates. Here is how we do it...The girls get all cute, the boys are cute too:), then we head on downtown and begin to stroll. When we arrive we act very sophisticated and act like we are really analyzing the wine with each sip. We may take some notes on the wines we particularly like. About the time we are approaching stop 5, (there are 14) Taylor suggests that we stop in a bar (which also happens to be one of the stops) to get a full glass of wine, since the pours are so small:) He doesn't have to twist our arms very hard. So, we do this...as if we really need it, with 9 more stops. At this point we are all doing pretty well so, we continue on our jaunt through downtown Kirkwood... with each stop, we taste more wine, get more talkative, get louder and take more pictures. When the wine stroll was over we stopped for dinner. All, I can say about that is the company was the best part. When we got home the fun continued. Sarah thought she was a football player and decided to play full contact football with me. Oh, I forgot to mention that I didn't know she had decided to play this game until I was lying flat on my back in our living room! Taylor thought it would be fun to dump a full glass of wine into our end table drawer. Apparently, he didn't need that glass of wine anyway:) As you can imagine, we had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures documenting our afternoon/evening. Oh, for anyone wondering, Jon was kind enough to only taste a few of the wine selections so that he could drive us all home safely. Thank you for that Jon:)

The night begins...

The famous self portrait!

The night is still young!

There is no sibling rivalry here :)

The drive home...

It has been a good night!

Anyone want to go swimming???

Movin' on up...

Jon and I finally decided to become one of the cool kids and create our own blog. We thought this would be a great way of keeping everyone in the loop of our comings and goings. Living so far from most of our family and lots of our friends makes it hard to keep everyone up to date...so hear goes. Jon is working as an insurance adjuster and has been very busy the last several months traveling back and forth from Atlanta to Savannah, GA (about 4 hours away). I am very fortunate to have a flexible job that allows me to pack up and go with him every few weeks. We are making the most of it and having lots of fun on our "mini" vacations. I am still working with Taylor and my dad at Skyline, trying to build it into a booming business:) I have a wonderful job and am very grateful for it. We have 4 wonderful children....Ziggy, Marley, Luna and Stella. One day we will expand, but right now it is all we can do to manage and keep up with our fur family!

There it is, our first blog. I know a lot of you know all of this so, from now on it will be all current stuff:)