M.I.A.

Yes, I know it's been well over 10 days since I have posted.

Yes, I know that I have millions of loyal readers just DYING to know what is going on in my life.

Yes, I know that I owe you like 15 posts to make up for it.

Yes, I know I am on summer break and I should have nothing better to do than blog.

Yes, I even know that I have been a bit emo here lately and probably should pep it up a little bit.

So, because I know all that, here's a little treat for you...

Noelle's First Real Laugh - 7.25.10


...don't say I never gave you anything.

And...yes...I do know my background is gone. I am figuring that one out. I leave blogging one week and look what happens!

Solomon :-)

Finding his voice! 

For your viewing pleasure... :-)

This was taken at Erika and Jason's wedding reception. I just had to post :-)

Luke and I doing a duet to "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill

What the HAIL?

We had a crazy hail storm tonight! The sky was clear and the sun was out, and then it all went black! We heard what sounded like marbles on our roof and windows, but then we realized it was hail! We took some pictures and a video. It was madness!

Yes, it looks like January snow, but this is just the accumulation of hail outside our porch in June!

Hail everywhere!

Renaissance Man!

I have made the comment from time to time that Luke is a true Renaissance Man. He has always had an appreciation for the arts, especially music, and yet he has maintained an athletic reputation and is really good at anything that involves using physical ability. He appreciates musicals and artists and people talented in areas other than sports, but he loves his basketball and other sports teams. 

Well, on Saturday, he got the chance to show off his true Renaissance style as he helped a friend in medical school show off her sewing skills in a fashion show. This was called "Evening of the Arts," which is an annual production that combines medical students with Crispus Attucks High School students (it is a medical magnate school that IUSM works with frequently). The med students at IUSM are really diverse and have a lot of talents, so this is a night for them to show off what they've got. There were Indian dance performances, musical instrument performances, and a couple performances from the high school students. 

The fashion show was part of the Evening of the Arts, and Luke and his friend Taylor wore the Medieval garb made by their friend Katie. She makes Medieval clothes as a hobby. Who knew people did such things?! The fashion show was neat because we saw lots of traditional clothing from a variety of cultures (Chinese, Indian, African, etc). It made me wish I had a rich culture to show off other than my Ball State t shirt and sweats I am wearing right now! :-)

Anyway, check out the pictures and video. I didn't have enough room to get the whole fashion show, but I got Luke's part. I also got the 2nd year med students' Indian dance performance. A very cool and interesting way to spend a Saturday night!

  

Gus & Sol

These boys bring such enjoyment to our lives! 

We had lunch on Sunday at the new Concannon's place for Eric & Lisa's birthdays. Gus was really tired and could no longer stand to be awake, despite the cookie in his hand! 

How sweet is Solomon? He's two months old already!

Ernstberger Fun

We had a really busy weekend, between traveling to Bloomington on Friday night to heading to New Albany on Saturday afternoon, but we enjoyed every minute of seeing some dear friends and family. 

This is a picture of the portrait CeCe drew of me. I am trying to look like it, obviously.

Our hearts  melted as we laid eyes on Solomon for the first time in a few weeks. He was wearing a cute little bear suit that I had bought Gus once upon a time. It's hard to believe that Gus is now 2 years old, and Solomon is already 5 weeks (I can't imagine how Liz feels about her boys growing up so quickly)! I don't want to miss anything in their lives, but the distance makes this inevitable. 

Mary Ruth's (Luke's grandma) 78th birthday was Saturday, so we enjoyed a family dinner at her house complete with rowdy kids and fun conversations. It seems that all the cousins have their own little talents such as dance, musical instruments, jokes, etc...and they always want to put on a show for us when we are all together. It's fun to see joy through their eyes and laugh together as we watch them have fun.

Gus played some piano for us and sang his favorite songs, "Frosty the Snowman" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." 

Sunday was a bridal shower for Luke's cousin Erika, which is fun because I remember doing all the pre-wedding festivities like it was yesterday! It's hard to believe we are an "old married couple" now. We are only months away from our 2 year anniversary!

Anyway, it was a whirlwind trip, but we had a lot of fun together and getting updates on all the people "down South." The closeness of this family truly is a blessing.

Aunt E (or Uncle E-Bone as Gus says) holding Solomon!

Edna's Valentine's Gift

My mom and dad gave the cats this laser pointer toy, and Edna REALLY likes it! Check out these hilarious videos!

Gus the Football Star

While visiting the new baby, Gus was showing off his football skills while the big guys were watching the game. 

Happy New Year!

What a crazy year 2008 was. It had its ups and downs. I always like to reflect back and see how far we've come in 12 months.

We either attended or were a part of five weddings this year. 

We went White Water Rafting in Tennessee, which is something I thought I would never, ever do!

I finished my first year of teaching and Luke finished his first year of med school :-)

We went on our first getaway as a married couple to Chicago and loved every minute of it!

We bought our first home and said goodbye to apartment life forever!

We went to our first Colts game in Lucas Oil Stadium.

We experienced the joy of finding out we were pregnant and the sorrow of losing our first baby.

We shared countless great memories with friends and family...through it all we had a great year! We can't wait for 2009...

We rang in the New Year with a dinner at Champps downtown with friends, and then we headed to Sarah & Ryan Ordo's home for the 2nd year in a row to be with them and Abel & Elizabeth. 

On our way to Champps with friends

E and I waiting for the ball to drop!

A new year's kiss of course!

The following video was too good not to share. We were just a little too excited for the new year... :-) (sorry E!)

Christmas Date (and an ice storm, too)

Luke and I decided to celebrate "our" Christmas together on the 23rd. We wanted to do some fun things together around the city, so we decided to take in a tour of Lucas Oil Stadium! It was a great, hour long tour that took us to the press box, locker room (only the visiting one...boo...), all the terraces, and even the field! The tour guide was LESS than impressive (I think I knew way more about the Colts than he did....), but we had a blast going places that most fans never get to go. It was a great $7 spent.

Us on the field!

My "victory dance"

Luke doing the "Dallas Clark" on the way out of the tunnel

We were hungry after the tour, so we stopped at White Castle. Why White Castle, you ask? Well, I had never had a "slider" before, so we decided I needed the experience. Why not? Gotta say...they were yummy! 

As we got back to our house, we realized there was a LOT of ice on the ground. Traffic was really backed up, and everything was slow moving. As it turns out, Luke's mom and sisters were in Indy having lunch, and it took them nearly 5 hours to get back (which it should have taken 1) because of the ice. 

We stayed close to home for dinner and just went to Ruby Tuesday's...where Luke was denied a beer because he didn't have his ID. What, he doesn't look 21? :-)

When we got back, a funny thing happened. We tried to go up the driveway, but the car couldn't get any traction on the ice! We would get so close to our garage and then start sliding backward. We were nervous we would hit the house, so we parked the car at the end of the driveway and walked up. Walking up the driveway was an adventure, too...documented with this video below. It was a fun, fun day full of laughter and love - a perfect Christmas date!