Little Benny got a bike!

Ben sent his dad on a mission to find him the perfect motorcycle, and he came through like always! It's a Suzuki Boulevard s50 and I think Ben is in love! This is our newest addition:

We'll be meeting Ben's parents and siblings at his sister's house in Texas for Christmas, so they'll bring it down for us then. Ben is already plotting ways to get it here sooner...

Isn't it pretty?

Girls Night.

Last night I went out with some friends for Krysta's birthday dinner. It was so much fun, having tasty food and fantastic conversation.

Aren't we a good-looking group of ladies? Happy birthday Krysta!

Buff for the Weekend.

We were so lucky to have Buff the dog stay with us this weekend while her family played at Busch Gardens in Virginia. Lillie was so happy to have a friend around, even if Buff couldn't quite keep up. :)

Bathroom: Before & After

We finally painted our bathroom! We've been wanting to paint the master bath since we moved in. It was a lovely lavender (not my favorite color)...

So the walls were lavender, the floors are a nice blue-ish color, and the vanity counter is green. So I called it our fairytale bathroom. Our master bedroom is dark brown and white, so we went chocolate in the bath.

Amazing how a simple change makes such a BIG difference. What do you think? Like it?

a few pretties.

Come on. You've gotta admit this castle-like monument at Gettysburg is so pretty!

Quigley Vacation - Gettysburg

On our last day in the DC area, we headed a little farther north to Gettysburg. It was beautiful! We climbed the zillion steps to the top of the lookout tower.





Then visited a memorial that looks like a castle. And you get to climb it too!







It was such a fun trip! Thanks again to the Quigleys for coming out and sharing your vacation with us!

Oh, and one last fun picture. Gotta get it in here...

We love you, Steven Colbert!

Quigley Vacation - Iwo Jima

If you've ever met Ben's dad, you know he's a Marine and proud of it. So a major part of our DC trip was seeing the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team perform at the Iwo Jima Memorial, just outside Arlington National Cemetery.

The Commandant's Own (aka Marine Drum & Bugle Corps) performed. AMAZING!

And the Silent Drill Team. They use no commands while throwing their rifles (with attached bayonets!) through the air and flipping them around within inches of each other. Yikes!

See the bugler on the monument? I've heard Taps a hundred times, but this performance was the best ever.

If you've never seen the Silent Drill Team, you've got to google it and watch a video. Your jaw will drop. Its amazing!

Quigley Vacation - Quantico & DC.

We were so excited to have Ben's parents come visit last week! They came August 7-16 and we spent a few of those days sightseeing in the DC area. We started at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.



Then we saw the monuments at the National Mall in DC. It was hot but beautiful. We started at the capital.





Ben and I have been to DC several times since January, but this was the first time that the area right in front of the capital was open to visitors. It was so pretty!






We dropped by the National Archives and saw the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. Then we walked down to the WWII memorial and the Lincoln Monument.









Last stop at the Mall, the White House. Mama Quigley was so excited to see the Obamas' vegetable garden! :)

So much fun!