A Trip To Mount Greylock

Two summers ago I went on my first ever backpacking trip with my good friend Cary. We hiked the Connecticut part of the Appalachian Trail giving ourselves only 5 days to get through 56 miles with 25lb. packs on our backs! Quite ambitious for my first trip! But I survived and we had such a good time we vowed to do the AT up through New England piece by piece over the years ahead.

On our Connecticut AT trip 2007

After reminiscing about our trip last month we were itching to continue up to Massachusetts to add on to our adventure but with summer flying by and Cary's wedding quickly approaching we only had enough time to squeeze in an overnight. And if only the weather cooperated we would have done that! Instead we had to settle on a day hike up Mount Greylock on Saturday morning (which is where we were headed on the AT anyhow, we just got to hike it 25lb. lighter!)

It was a gorgeous day and we both got exactly what we needed - a day under the trees in good company! And now I can say I've climbed the highest peak in Massachusetts! We climbed the highest peak in Connecticut (Bear Mountain) on our last trip.

Summit loving all the places she could go in for a quick dip!

Thanks Cary and Summit for always being up for any adventure!

Construction of the Man Cave begins

About 6 months ago Dave started talking about getting a Fathead and when I finally made him show me what he was talking about I told him no way! Where on earth were we going to fit a life size Jose Reyes wall sticker?? The bedroom was NOT an option nor was the family room or the living room for that matter! I put up with having framed 8x10's of a sweaty Michael Jordan and Larry Bird in our dinning area of our condo for 3.5 years and at least those I could take down if I needed, this is a permanent thing! So the purchase was vetoed and Fatheads were taken off the discussion table! Until just recently when I needed to come up with some good birthday presents for the big 3-0!

Dave rarely wants anything = hardest person to get presents for. So when he shows interest in something how can I not jump to get it?! So it may not have been a surprise but at least I know he loves it!

Precisely measuring

And I have to admit, even I think it looks pretty sweet!

Goooo Hokies!!!

I can't wait for all the Mets paraphernalia to go up next, then it's really going to look like a Man Cave! In time... we have too many other projects going on that are more important right now.

I'll be posting about Dave's other birthday present in a few more weeks!

We wanna apple!!

Dave and I had the pleasure of going to our third Mets game this season at Citifield with his family.

Mary, Dave, Dad, Mom, Aunt Carole, Jackson, Uncle Gary

We sat in right field at field level. We were one of the few sections in the shade that day and it was a hot one! While I think everyone else (except maybe Mary & Dave) was happy to be in the shade I, of course, was freezing!

We got to see our first win in person in a loooong time! Dave told his cousin Jackson he was a good luck charm because we haven't seen a win in person in probably a season and a half! And we even got to see 2 home runs that the Mets hit (last game we went to we saw 2 home runs that the Philly's hit)!!

The first was hit by Brian Schneider and then second by Fernando Tatis. Unfortunately for Tatis the home run apple didn't go up after he hit his home run! So the whole ball park was chanting, "APP-PLE, APP-LE" and "WE WAN-NA APPLE"! And the inning went on with no apple in site! So we didn't know why Tatis was robbed of his home run apple! We just figured it was malfunctioning because, lets face it, the apple doesn't get much face time the way the Mets have been stinkin' it up! But after the inning the apple finally made it's appearance much to everyone's desire! (Later on we read the apple needs 2.5 minutes to re-set after a home run, which is bizarre to me because isn't that jinxing things?! You never expect to have back to back home runs?? I thought "Ya Gotta Believe"?)

I was just excited because my favorite player, Daniel Murphy, played as well as David Wright! With everyone on the DL you just never know who will be playing on game day! We didn't get to see Dave's favorite player, Jose Reyes, in any of the games we've gone to this year because he's been on and off the DL all season!

Daniel Murphy & David Wright

And there was one sad trade for me a couple days before the game. One of my favorites (yea, I know, I have a lot!), right fielder, Ryan Church was traded to the Atlanta Braves for their right fielder, Jeff Francoeur. They were both having bad seasons so "a change of scenery" trade took place! While it's sad to see him go, better him than Murphy! But as Dave tells me time and time again, as most of my favorite players end up getting traded, "It's not the name on the back of the jersey that matters it's the one on the front!"

Jeff Francoeur

And a game isn't complete without ice cream in a helmet! I was too cold to get one of my own!

It was a fun day with the family at Citifield! We even stayed until the very end of the game (which Mom & Dad don't normally do) and boy did we pay for it with all the traffic! It took us half an hour just to get out of the parking lot (we were parked near the exit) only to get on the highway to sit still some more! It took us 2.5 hours to get home (we got there in 45 min.) One of the bridges was closed due to a fire the day before and just in general Sunday night summer traffic back to CT is horrendous!

Mets fans for life

Girls Night Out, VIP style

Missy, Sarah, Pirrello, Me, & Alex @ Bobo's, NYC

Missy, Sarah, Pirrello, Alex, and I were treated out to a night in NYC, VIP style by one of the billionaire CEO's (JM) of the hedge fund company Pirrello works for. While Pirrello was a bit skeptical of the situation she got herself into (getting roped into going out in NYC with the 61 year old CEO of the company she works for and taking 4 of her 30 year old friends along with her) I was excited! Pirrello, Missy, and I took the train in to meet Sarah, Alex, and JM.

While on the train Pirrello was prepping us about JM so I had this idea of who he was and what I thought he would be like based on the things she told us. So when we met him in the West Village at Bobo's for a cocktail before dinner, I was pleasantly surprised when he turned out to be much different than I'd thought! Conversation wasn't as forced as I thought it was going to be and he seemed like quite a gentleman. He didn't act above us and he didn't send off any creepy vibes (I'll be honest, it crossed my mind that he may have this whole Hugh Hefner wanting to meet The Girls Next Door vibe to him)! Much to my relief that wasn't the case! And he didn't even seem like he was 61 for that matter!

After having a delicious cocktail at Bobo's we headed for dinner a couple of blocks away at Charles. We had a deliciously small dinner! I had "the special" which was 1 scallop, a half dollar sized piece of halibut, & a half dollar sized piece of salmon with a bed of rice that was also half dollar size! Pirrello had 3 scallops which were also half dollar in size - they seem to be big on portion control! I caught her looking to see if there were in fact ONLY 3 since we knew the plate cost $29! Thank goodness we didn't turn down the first course salads! Dinner was full of great conversation that varied from world travels to shopping for shoes to a bathrobe that is so great you'd call in sick to work because you wouldn't want to take it off (and he promised us each one) to The Real Housewives of New Jersey! The wine was flowing and he made us all get dessert! While some of the girls claimed they were SO full from their dinners we all ended up giving in. (I don't know who they were trying to kid! I'm not even sure if I ate everyone's dinner by myself I'd be full!) JM even ordered another bottle of wine for us to have specifically for our desserts.

But time we finished up with dinner it was already 11:30pm and pouring outside. Since Missy and I were heading back to CT that night we had a 1:50am train to catch so JM decided we'd go to Rose Bar which is closer to Grand Central rather than heading to the Meatpacking District. Since he was the only one who came prepared with an umbrella he shuttled us out 2 at a time to catch cabs to Rose Bar. Since this was part of "plan B" we didn't have reservations for Jade Bar which is a private, curtained room in the back of Rose Bar. JM was not happy about that so he sat us all down at the bar and while we were ordering drinks we saw him pulling out $100 bills from his wad of cash! He left us and went back to talk to the bouncer so the 5 of us questioned, "Is he going to try to pay the bouncer off?" Sure enough when he returned from talking to the bouncer he told us, "I offered that guy a lot of cash and he won't budge!" While he was really upset we knew no different and had a fine time drinking our delicious drinks at the bar.

And while I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to go to the Meatpacking District because that is where celebrities typically go out we ended up having a spotting of our own at Rose Bar!!!! Well actually Pirrello did I just confirmed for her! Gerard Butler came in with a friend (luckily it wasn't Jennifer Aniston - I may have passed out)! He was standing directly behind her bar stool! He was so close I could hear his accent before I saw him! And of course neither one of us could say a thing! I'm really disappointed we missed our opportunity! And of course he ended up going into the seclusive Jade Bar (lucky for him we didn't get in) and it was about time for me to leave for my train!

I had a great time on my once in a lifetime VIP night out in NYC! Although I'm secretly hoping JM takes us all out just one more time before he goes off to start his new company!

The Semanchik's 30th Birthday Bash

We'd been planning for the better part of a year to throw ourselves a big party because we were both turning 30 this summer and finally have our own house with a big yard! This gave us the leverage to invite anyone and everyone we wanted! So we decided to have it on 4th of July (Dave's birthday) because what better time - it's a garanteed long weekend and ideally the weather should be perfect, although New England's weather has been tricky to predict this year!

It was a stressful day that went by in a whirlwind, but we had gorgous weather and a great turn out! We invited around 150 people and over 90 came! The day wouldn't have gone so smoothly if it weren't for the help of our family and good friends!

For a lot of people this was also the first time seeing our house so lots of tours were given and many compliments paid! One of the biggest highlights ended up being our toilet seat! All of the little kids loved it! They thought it was their own special potty training seat! My sister's niece even thought I made it just for her! The fish soap dispenser in the bathroom was another big hit! We had a lot of little kids with not a single accident and very clean hands! With all the excitement of the bathroom maybe we didn't need to rent the big bounce!

Our niece Caroline in the bounce

The big train bounce we rented was a hit! The kids didn't want to come out and when they did they were all flushed! The parents loved it because the kids were still exhausted the next day!

Caroline even got Auntie to go in the bounce, thankfully no little kids were harmed!

While the "big kids" also had some fun in the bounce before all the little ones got there we had the beer pong table set up which Dave's friends from work and then my cousins dominated! We really wanted to get a round in to stop their streak but we just didn't get the opportunity.

Dave's friends from work

Meanwhile Beth and Ceppy were the ones to beat at lasso golf! Although we got this information second handed since we were so busy making sure everyone was having a good time! But the pictures tell all!

Tim and Beth gloating???! NEVER!!

The beer and food were plentiful and the tropical summer drinks were enjoyed - such much so that one party-goer could not find her cup to get a new drink, but it was right in her hand!

It ended up being a success! And it was so nice to have everyone over even if we only got to catch up for a few minutes here and there. Those who couldn't make it were missed (and they missed out on quite a party!) Even Roxy had a good time catching up with family and meeting some new friends. A few people wanted to take her home! Oliver on the other hand was NOT happy to have a yard full of people and would not come out to say hi to anyone. He wanted to be left alone in his room.

Roxy making new friends!

Some of Dave's family and some of my family

Caroline

Our nieces Caroline and Emily, how adorable are they??! I don't get to brag too often!

And so it begins...

Just because Myspace, Facebook, and the newest fasination of Twitter (on Dave's end because he would never jump on board the Myspace/Facebook bandwagon, but with his new iPhone, couldn't resist Twitter) isn't enough we decided to keep a blog. I use "we" but I'm sure I'll be doing most of the writing although it will be a collaborative effort. As my friend Cary put it, it's like an online scrapbooking journal and since I'm still trying to get our wedding and honeymoon scrapbook finished (almost 3 years later), I thought that would be a great way to put a blog to use!

So stay tuned for the little adventures that life is bound to take us on!

~ Nic, Dave, Roxy & Ollie