3 magical years - the celebration!

Now that you know our story, let me tell you about our celebration.  This year with the impending arrival of our baby boy in just three short months, we decided to stay local for our anniversary celebration and do something relaxing right here in downtown Denver!  Andy's work awarded him a gift card to Maggiano's and we thought Italian food sounded perfect for our night. 

Two years ago when we were preparing to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, we discussed what precedent we wanted to start concerning gifts.  Do we go the traditional route and purchase items for each other based on the traditional gift for that year?  Do we follow the modern route?  Do our own thing?  After much discussion, we decided it would be way more fun for both of us to celebrate our anniversaries not through gifts but through experiences shared together... oh and with personalized cards for each other, too. 

For our first anniversary we were living in Alexandria, VA so we went to this nice local restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, got a couples massage that afternoon, and stayed in a beautiful boutique hotel near the restaurant.  Great experience!   

For our second anniversary we were on our fabulous Europe trip and spent the day visiting Cambridge, England (where Joy studied abroad) and had scones with clotted cream for brunch, toured Kings' College Chapel, went punting on the romantic River Cam, and had a wonderful dinner in the favorite Indian restaurant Joy had frequented 8 years prior.  So incredible!

This year our downtown excursion started early when Andy surprised me by taking a half day off work to spend the afternoon with me!  He walked in with a beautiful card, my favorite peanut butter M&Ms, and later delivered the most exquisite autumn bouquet of roses.  Aren't I the luckiest?!  We then drove downtown to enjoy a delicious meal at Maggiano's (Thanks to Uncle Ray(theon)!) followed by a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride along 16th Street Mall!  It was a magical evening.  The stars were out. The air was crisp with the hint of fall.  Sixteenth Street was alive and well with pianos sitting out at each block for people to play at their leisure.  Outside Maggiano's the shopping area was adorned with white twinkle lights crisscrossed overhead.  Conversation was delightful and the company was perfect! :-)  I love you, Andy Getz!

3 magical years

So on September 29th, Andy and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary.  It was fantastic!  But first, let me explain a little bit about how we met and fell in love...

It all started back in the summer of 2004.  Andy had just graduated from college, started his engineering career at Raytheon, and bought his first love - a shiny black Subaru STI.  Joy had just sold most of her possessions in a yard sale, packed her Jetta full of whatever was left, and driven cross-country with a friend to move from Virginia to Colorado.  We first met in November of that year at Grace Chapel.  Andy wondered who that attractive redhead was sitting next to his brother at church.  Joy wondered who that tall, good-looking guy was who just introduced himself and gave her a tour of the place.  The holidays came and went before Joy and her friend Megan showed up at church again in January.  From that point on, Andy knew he was going to get to know them.  Andy became Joy's first real friend in Colorado.  They hung out all the time whether it be during ultimate frisbee games, camping trips with the church group, or just chill evenings at The Bluffs where Joy and Megan shared an apartment and were always welcoming friends. 

It took several months of friendship before the two started dating, however once they did all their friends said, "It's about time!"

Joy was thrilled to meet Andy's large family and be included on their annual Lake Tahoe vacation the July of 2005.  It was obvious there was something special there in Joy and Andy's relationship and the family was thrilled.

Andy asked Joy out by saying, "You know you're going to marry me someday, Joy, so you might as well date me first" and boy was he right!  A year and a half later, in March of 2007, Andy planned a romantic day in Williamsburg, VA (where Joy went to college and where Joy's dad proposed to her mom) after a business trip and mini visit with Joy's family.  We walked along "DOG" (Duke of Gloucester) Street, taking pictures of Colonialville until they came to the infamous spot where Joy's dad had proposed to her mom - Bruton Parish Church.

Andy popped THE question outside the back corner of the church (bottom right of the above photo) where we had some privacy from tourists, Joy cried, and their love blossomed as they began seriously planning for their future together.

Six months, and many wedding magazines later, we enjoyed a beautiful wedding ceremony in Golden, CO on September 29th, 2007.

Looking back on that day, I can still smell the sweet fragrance of roses and perfume in the air.  I can feel the excitement bubbling within like I felt as I awoke that morning at 7am and bounced on the beds of my bridesmaids to wake them with my joy.  I remember practicing the "Thriller" dance on the hotel patio with Tabitha and Megan after breakfast, trying to stay calm as the girls fixed my make-up and hair, then finally slipping into my gorgeous white, satin gown and feeling as happy and beautiful as a queen.  It was so special seeing my love waiting for me at the end of the church aisle, tears brimming in my eyes as I willed myself not to cry with my happiness and ruin all the nice wedding photos.  I remember the relief when we kissed for the first time as man and wife and proudly exited the church amidst the applause from our dearest family and friends.  The whole affair was magical.  The reception was fun and flew by so quickly I was amazed when the Hawaiian tunes began and we danced our last time before Andy whisked me away to our elaborate honeymoon suite.  The flowers, the candlelight, the bright, smiling faces on the people we loved.  Everything about our wedding was special and beautiful and I'm so thankful that I was the lucky one to marry the man who stands beside me today in preparations for our first child.

ScotFest 2010!

This weekend we went with good friends SL and BL up to Estes Park, CO for the 2010 Scottish Festival. It was a perfect day for it, too! The air was cool. The sun was shining. If you haven't been to Estes Park, Co. you are missing out. It is home to the majestic, white Stanley Hotel (made famous by the movie The Shining), which perches on the edge of Lake Estes amidst the dark and ominous backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. The town is nestled against the mountains and pine trees at the doorway to the Rocky Mountain National Park. The landscape is gorgeous where craggy grey mountains meet green valleys and evergreens. There are purple thistles growing along the central highway running into town. It is the perfect setting for a Scottish festival.
We started off our day with a lovely drive up through Boulder (didn't see any smoke from the fires!) and a quick stop at Starbucks for coffee and a cinnamon roll for me and Brady:-) Then, we headed inside the festival gates and straight towards the dog shepherding show (for lack of a better term). It was so fun watching the dogs herd the sheep this way and that in response to their owner's commands or whistles. Very impressive!

Then, we hit up the food tents for some much needed nourishment:-) While we waited in line, we were serenaded by a bagpipe and drum core playing in the center of the food tents. I loved their cadence and sound! Bagpipes are always so cool when played well.

In addition to enjoying the food, we made sure to include shopping at the Scottish/Irish bazarre under huge white tents. S and I stocked up on cashmere scarves for ourselves and to give as gifts to other deserving ladies. So soft! They had every color you could imagine.

After browsing through all the stands and vendors' merchandise, we headed to the concert tent where we listened to two very talented bands play Scottish tunes and original tunes with the use of electrical instruments, drums, and bagpipes of course! Baby loved feeling the drumbeat pulsing through my tummy and he kicked quite a bit in response to all the noise and music.

Probably the most random citing of the day were the seven DeLoreans parked in a row in front of where I bought a very yummy cherry limeade. Andy loved photographing these cars and we all commented on how we would probably never witness this many DeLoreans in one place ever again. Ahh... how I loved those Back to the Future days of my childhood:-) Good memories!

By the end of the day we were all ready for the shade and rest of the car ride home. We stopped in Lakewood for our favorite Mexican restaurant, Jose O'Shea's, for an early dinner and boy was it good! Baby and I loved us some cream cheese chicken enchiladas - YUM! It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day.

R's Baptism at Cherry Creek State Park!

Andy and I recently discovered the beauty and fun of hanging out at Cherry Creek State Park, thanks to Andy's sister R. She was baptized a few weekends ago in the reservoir there in the park. We went to cheer her on and celebrate her baptism. The church had a special service for the folks who were baptized that day which concluded with a wonderful picnic/cookout by the water. It was a beautiful affair.

Here are a few photos from that fun and special day:

The beautiful venue.Waiting for the ceremony to start.

So excited:-)

Walking down to the river with her group, the song lyrics "When I went down in the river to pray..." kept echoing in my head.

Andy was extremely proud and honored to take part in R's baptism along with their dad. Such special memories!
So sweet!

We enjoyed the park so much that we went back the following week for a picnic and evening swim with Lani. Lani embarrassed us tremendously with her attempts to doggie paddle. If any paw could still touch the bottom, she would touch down where she could and splash about frantically with her front paws. It looked so ridiculous, people were staring. Once we finally got her out deep enough in the water, she evened out and swam normally. Thank goodness!

It's a BOY!!! :-D

Monday of this past week (the 23rd) we got some fabulous, wonderful, oh-so-good news. We're going to have a SON! He's perfectly healthy, very muscular, tall, and his kicks are getting stronger each day. He was just so very nice to see on the ultrasound monitor. Both Andy and I were silent when the nurse showed us what we recognized to be the lower half of our SON! We were so surprised and excited and moved beyond words. I, personally, couldn't hold back the tears. Finding out his gender made him all the more real to us. We now have a SON to look forward to this January!

Here are some of my favorite photos from the ultrasound:

Ten perfect little fingers waving hello! (future musician??)

Our boy's got muscle! (future athlete??)

Profile and cute, little nose.


We just loved seeing our little BOY and are already busy planning his nursery, flipping through lists of boy names, and picking out adorable outfits for the little guy. Andy's been busy researching cloth diapers and this weekend we spent time in Babies 'R Us trying out all the different types of strollers. So many options!!

I'm doing pretty well, although still struggling with "morning" sickness which lasts all day on rough days. My growing pelvis is now pushing on a nerve that causes burning pain in my right thigh when I stand/walk, so I spend more time sitting than I'd like. Being over halfway through the pregnancy, though, has changed my attitude for the better. Seeing our sweet baby boy on the screen and feeling his kicks each day reminds me that this is an overwhelming blessing. I am so very thankful that God has given us this child and if my temporary discomfort will ensure that he is born healthy and happy, it is all worth it! :-)

Thanks for being a part of our journey to parenthood. We are beyond thrilled to meet our son in January!

The Challenge

I have been challenged to a duel - a blogging duel. My dear friend S has started writing a blog once a week and somehow discovered my outdated blog here. She wants me to "keep up" with hers. Well, Ms. S, I accept your challenge!

The new goal is to write once a week about the happenings of our lives. Let me introduce us properly:

ANDY is a software engineer with Raytheon here in Colorado. His job took us on two TDY adventures in the past 2.5 years of our marriage. The first was to Seal Beach, CA (we lived ON the ocean!) and the second was to Alexandria, VA (yeah DC!). He loves, loves, LOVES cars and anything having to do with speed. He currently drives a lovely Subaru STI that he is continuously modifying to his heart's delight. Andy was born in CA but grew up here in CO (almost native) with his six siblings. He attended the CO School of Mines, loves our Vizsla puppy, and is looking forward to the adventures of fatherhood.

JOY is a secondary English teacher who just got her M.Ed. degree and teaching license from George Washington University. She was born and raised in beautiful Virginia where she attended the College of William & Mary in Colonial Williamsburg (gotta love waking up at 8am to the sound of canon fire!). She loves music, writing, teaching, travel, VW's, and anything having to do with the UK. Joy is an only child and loves being a part of the huge Getz clan. She also enjoys playing with the Vizsla puppy and tuxedo cat, and can't wait to become a first-time mom in January!

LANI is our sweet Vizsla puppy. She is 1.5 years-old and still very much thinks she's a puppy. Lani's favorite trick of the moment is to jump through a hoop, which we encourage her to do regularly to use up some of her effusive energy! She loves people and will chase any bird or bunny in sight. We recently took Lani to the lake at Cherry Creek State Park where she learned how to swim. Let's just say it was quite entertaining. She's still trying to win the affections of our dear cat.

SIMPSON is our affectionate tuxedo cat. He is 11 years old and has been on a diet for the past 2.5 years. Simpson's favorite spot to sleep is by the window and he especially loves cool fall days when he can spend afternoons out on the deck. He has slowly warmed to Lani and will tolerate just a bit of her licking. Simpson was Joy's family cat and became hers when she moved out to Colorado. He has loved the change of scenery and is the perfect, cuddly lap cat!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

As I sit here in Virginia, missing my Andy, I also can't wait for what the future holds. I am finishing up my very last class for my master's and technically graduated on Sunday with my M.Ed. degree. Two years has come and gone so quickly and yet not without stress and some struggle. Two years ago I started this journey to enter a field I thought would provide job security and much personal fulfillment. Now, as I wait to hear back from my fourth job interview, I can't help but laugh at the state of our economy and how scarce teaching jobs are.

I have learned a great deal in the process.

Perhaps we'll start a new, grand adventure once this degree is through...