hair cuts and bug bites

alex was feeling bad that everyone else's wives cut their husband's hair, so i gave it a shot. it turned out pretty well, if i may say so myself. though i do need something better than dull paper cutting scissors if i am going to keep doing this in the future.

 on labor day we went camping (again!), this time closer to home... along the c&o canal there are great little free camping sites. it was gorgeous. we ate banana boats and s'mores. listened to some great guitar (thanks to chad!), and had a great time. 

 pretty, right?

alex, me, lauren, tyler, chad, randi

 but i got a million bug bites. never again will i go camping without wearing pants. and sock and shoes.

happy birthday weekend to alex...

for alex's birthday we headed over the bay bridge to the ocean!

we found a great camp spot.

hummus and crackers, while looking out at the ocean. starting off the weekend right.

sunrises instead of sunsets on the water. interesting being on the east coast. 

we literally  had the place to ourselves for a morning run on the beach.

after our run we played in the waves. whose towel is dried faster do you think?

it didn't take long to find the wild ponies!!!

they were all over! this is the "marsh" on assateague.

the "forest" on assateague

rehoboth beach... WAY more crowded than our previous beach. 

people for miles. 

after our day at the beach we took a quick cat nap in a park, then went to a Legwarmers concert.
Best 80's cover band ever!

presents for alex

he was really excited about new water bottles. thanks meg and clay!

also very excited about new sunglasses for cycling.  thanks kate and em!

birthday brownies

happy birthday my love.

memorial day weekend at spruce knob

had a great time with bree, kevin, and louie. we have yet to get together and share pics, so most likely the ones they took with their SLR are better. and they were the only ones to take pics while climbing... but here's a few to document the weekend. 

after a great afternoon of climbing/driving in the sunshine, we arrived at our destination to find our campspot snagged, and then the sky unloaded sheets of rain...

(checking Louie for ticks)

 but finally the sun came out, just in time to set.

 and we had a lovely misty walk around the lake before it got dark.

back at camp, we borrowed a crazy looking axe from our awesome straightupwestvirginian neighbors...

 to make a fire and tin foil dinners and...

 banana boats!!!!

and the next morning the sunrise was gorgeous!

and we went on a hike to a waterfall all day... 

(i love him so much i didn't mind that he was soaking my pants with muddy water in this picture)

our final morning we checked out Spruce Knob itself, and the views were amazing.

clearly this was a CAR camping, not a backpacking two-day trip... haha.

 after unloading the car, we went to the Wax Museum to make all my birthday dreams come true. (meaning, only as a birthday present that was about to expire would Alex do something so cheesy as go to the wax museum. i loved seeing the presidents in real life. plus, they had gummy strawberries at the end.)

 same height, not the same weight...

 good times.