Summer Dreamin'

With only 14 school days remaining in the school year, I am beginning to mentally prepare myself for summer. I decided to make a little "dream list" of things I'd like to do this summer. I am hoping that by writing it down, it will help keep me accountable. Here's a few ideas that have been on my mind.

• Climb Old Rag Mountain

• Fix up our bikes & begin to go on regular bike rides again
• Day trip to Kings Dominion or Busch Garden

• Visit the National Zoo

• Go to another Orioles game at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD 

• Re-decorate our guest bedroom
• Welcome our first addition to the Saulitis family- a puppy!

28 is Great!

Last Thursday, I officially turned the big 2-8. I have always been a big fan of birthdays... mine in particular :) I can still remember the huge bashes my parents would host growing up. They definitely went all out and spoiled me (nice though, instead of rotten!). This year, I had multiple fun celebrations with friends and family.

On Thursday, the day of my actual birthday, I went to work. My fabulous coworkers threw me a little birthday bash during our common planning time. It was great to celebrate with some delicious treats & enjoy the company of my wonderful teammates without the pressure of having to discuss lesson plans or SOL's!

Birthday Festivities

One of my wonderful teammates, Rebecca

Rockin' my birthday hat from my fabulous co-teacher Cathy

Thursday after work, Andy and I went to a local sports bar for a few celebratory drinks with our good friends Kevin & Carissa. We tend to have Thursday night happy hours with them 2-3 times a month, so I was looking forward to seeing them to celebrate my birthday!

Birthday Happy Hour Group

Friday evening, we celebrated again with dinner at Uncle Julio's in Fairfax Corner. My mom and dad came out to join us for some delicious mexican food and margaritas. Afterwards, we went back to me and Andy's home for presents & cupcakes. My parents and Andy all spoiled me with so many wonderful gifts! I got some great new outfits, gift cards to spend, and a BEAUTIFUL new coach purse!

One of the things on my "30 before 30" list was to go wine tasting with my friends. My 28th was the perfect opportunity to do this! My best girl friends in the world came out early Saturday to head to Quattro Goomba winery in Aldie, VA. My wonderful husband volunteered to chauffeur us. The winery was great! The weather was perfect. We began with a traditional wine tasting and then ordered pizza. Goomba's recently put in several new pizza ovens and they are already getting rave reviews for their delicious homemade pizza! We enjoyed several cheese trays and sipped on frozen sangria. It was a perfect afternoon to catch up with my girls and celebrate 28!

Rachel, Lindsay, Molly, Lara and myself

BFF's since high school

My wonderful hubby & best friend Rachel

Molly's treat of Georgetown Cupcakes- my first time ever having them!

Yummmmmmmmmmmy!

On Sunday, we ended the birthday weekend by going to Nationals Park for the Nats-Orioles game. In my family, we have a bit of a baseball rivalry between these two teams. Growing up, my parents took me to Baltimore to cheer on the Orioles because Washington DC did not have a local team. A few years ago, the Nationals moved to the DC area. My parents (and most of the local fans) immediately became Nats fans and stopped supporting the Orioles. I am one of the few who stayed loyal and true to the orange and black :) So today, my parents cheer for the Nationals and I support the O's. We were again very lucky to have gorgeous weather and it was a great Sunday afternoon ballgame! Unfortunately for the birthday girl, I saw my O's lose  to the Nationals. (But we did win the first 2 games of the series so I guess it was only fair :)) We all had a great time at the game!

McDonald Family Rivalry

The Saulitis'

Mom & Dad- The Traitors :)

My birthdays never cease to remind me how lucky I am to have such great people and opportunities in my life. It always touches me that people go out of their way to make my day so special. I am truly feeling blessed to have such an amazing family, incredibly supportive friends, wonderful coworkers and love, health and happiness for all of us! Here's to hoping 28 is my best year yet! :)

I Love the 80's!

As the title suggests, I LOVE THE 80'S! Seriously. I was born in the 80's and it is by FAR my favorite decade. I mean, who doesn't love a good puffy hair-do, neon leggings and leg warmers?! But above all of that, I am most in love with the music of the 80's. I am obsessed with soft rock and I am not ashamed to admit it!

That being said, there is a GREAT 80's cover band called The Legwarmers that play allover the state of Virginia (in fact, if you get the chance, I say definitely go see them at least once!). They were playing at the State Theatre in Falls Church, VA and I knew I had to go! One of the most fun things about their concerts is that everyone dresses up! For those of you that know me well, you know how much I love a great theme or costume party. So dressing up in 80's gear and rocking out to soft rock jams with my best friends was the perfect combo for a fun spring night out!

Lindsay & Andy rockin' their 80's gear

1983 & 1984 born & bred

We <3 the 80's!

So Fun!

I loved my pink leopard print skirt! I am so hoping we all get the chance to go back for more 80's fun sometime soon! Until then, I'll keep rocking out to my soft rock at home :)

30 Before 30 Update

In honor of my rapidly approaching 28th birthday, I decided to check out my status with my 30 goals. I definitely have to pick up my pace with only 2 years remaining :) Odds are I won't finish this list, but then I guess I can just carry over what isn't accomplished to my "40 before 40" list?!  :)

1. Get married! Goal complete! Andy and I will celebrate our 2 year anniversary this July :)
2. Climb Old Rag mountain
3. Coach a high school sports team, preferably girls soccer or girls volleyball. Complete! I completed my first year of coaching highschool girl's volleyball at Centreville HS last fall.
4. Go camping for a weekend
5. Rent an RV and travel to a Virginia Tech football game- Hopefully accomplishing this goal this upcoming fall as we prepare to head to Clemson, SC with a group of friends for the VT-Clemson football game!
6. Go to Europe for the second time
7. Swim with dolphins. Andy and I got to hang with some dolphins when we went to the Bahamas last summer. We took a boat out to the dolphin reserve on Freeport and got kisses and splashes from the sweet dolphins!
8. Drive across the United States
9. Cut my hair short even though it terrifies me. Done in the fall of 2010 and I am doubting it will ever happen again :)
10. Go to Australia and see the koala bears
11. Eat Sushi for the first time. Complete! I went out to celebrate my best friend Lindsay's 27th birthday at a local sushi restaurant and had my first sushi rolls!
12. Get a dog (or two!) that is me and Andy's pet and not our parents' (although we love you Nittany & Riley!)
13. Watch my friends fall as happily in love as I am and attend their weddings- In progress. Andy and I continue to celebrate the love of our good friends with weddings throughout the years!
14. Watch all of the movies currently in my Netflix queue- I keep adding to my netflix queue without really watching too many of them so.... this could be quite difficult to achieve!
15. Learn to cook well, not just make dinner- I am making good strides in this thanks to pinterest and all the delicious recipes on there!
16. Visit Mikaela in Maine and eat a real Maine lobster
17. Go to an NFL Super Bowl 
18. Go to a National Championship Game in college football
19. Run an official 5k. I completed my first official 5K in May 2011 at my alma mater, Annandale High School. I finished the 3.2 miles in 27:27. Not too shabby for my first official race!
20. Learn how to not kill plants
21. Send a photo Christmas card. Done. Andy 's favvvvvorite thing to help me select each winter- HA!
22. Buy a townhouse or single-family home
23. Save enough money to keep our condo and rent it
24. Buy a new car 
25. Go on a winery tour bus with my best friends- Doing this for my birthday in 2 weeks! Then I can cross it off my list! Yah!
26. Get involved with the Girls On The Run program at the elementary school I work at
27. Give a toast at a special event. I made a brief toast at my Dad's 60th birthday celebration this past February :)
28. Continue to take trips with my amazing parents- Still going strong :) My parents, Andy and myself will be traveling to Key West for our annual vacay in July!
29. Host a formal family dinner at my home
30. Begin the journey of becoming a mom