Matt's 30th Birthday!

A couple of weeks ago, my beloved hubby turned 30!!!  I wanted to plan something very special and memorable for his big 3-0 and spent quite some time deliberating over what to do.  After tossing around some different ideas, I finally decided on a nice romantic get-away for just the two of us!

So, Saturday, May 1st (May Day!) we headed out of the city, up to a beautiful country region of Massachusetts called the Berkshires.  We have a couple of friends who own houses up there, so we've been up a couple of times, but this was the first time we were "flying solo."  I had the whole weekend planned out, starting with swinging by Golfsmith in NYC to pick up Matt's birthday present....new golf clubs!!  Of course nothing is ever as smooth as you plan it to be, so our quick 5 minute stop turned into a 45 minute wait while the guys at the store searched the stock room for the set that I had bought and had shipped there.  I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself for not blowing my top, but I did get close when the woman at the register asked me not once, but twice if I was sure I had them shipped to the correct store....um, yeah! I believe there is only 1 Golfsmith on 53rd and Lex in New York City lady!!!

After we finally got  that squared away, we were on our way!  We sailed up to the Berkshires on the gorgeous 80 degree, sunny day without hitting one bit of traffic! We stopped off in a cute little country restaurant called "Moms" for lunch and then headed to the Egremont Country Club.  Now, Matt doesn't exactly know how to play a full game of golf, but let me tell you, he has a mean swing at the driving range!  He was so excited to test out his new clubs, so we spent a couple of hours there, him hitting and me watching!  It was so peaceful and relaxing.  There were some other guys there that couldn't believe I was his wife, just sitting there watching him swing, not complaining one bit!  ;-)  At one point I did get up and had my try at a swing, but Matt's a lefty and his club felt all wacky in my hands and when I went to hit the ball I nearly whacked the girl standing next to us.  After that I stuck to spectating.

Two buckets of balls and many blisters later, we left the driving range and headed to our Bed and Breakfast.  It was the absolute, most adorable place ran by an even more adorable couple, the Baldwin Hill Farm B & B.  After chatting it up with Richard (the owner - who just so happened to grow up in the very house that we stayed in...it's been in his family for more than 100 years!!) for about an hour and a half, we settled into our cozy "bay window room" and took a 2 hour nap!  Later that evening, we had an amazing candlelit dinner at the fabulous Old Inn on the Green and then had one of the most quiet and restful sleeps I think that either of us has gotten since we moved to NYC. ;-)

The next morning we woke up bright and early and fully rested to a delicious breakfast, care of Priscilla (Richard's wife).  Since we were the only guests staying at the B & B that weekend, we got extra special treatment at the breakfast table.  We chatted with the two of them for a couple of hours over "toad in the holes" and amazing homemade muffins, and then got ready to head out.  Before making our way back to the city, we made a little stop at the Dotsons house to, what else....EAT!  They had a wonderful spread for Matt's birthday and the kids had plenty of "birthday" games they were ready to play with him. ;-)

Happy 30th Matt!!

The Golfer and his cheerleader

Look at that swing!

My handsome Birthday Boy!!

:)

Isn't it charming?!!

You can't find this kind of view in the city!

This big tree is famous in the area....can't remember why, but thought I should post it anyway ;-)

Hanging out by the barn before dinner

The fabulous birthday cake made by Amanda Dotson....yuuummm!

The kids were just "a little" excited to celebrate with Matt! ;-)

Overall I have to say it was an amazing weekend.  Relaxing, rejuvinating....just what two crazy city folks need!!  Happy Birthday my love!!!  Looking forward to spending many, MANY more together!!

Til next time....

April....

Hello my faithful followers!

So sorry I have not had any updates in the last month, but things are busy, busy as usual!  Anyway, I have to do another "Hendricks Month in review" since April flew by so fast, I hardly knew it was here. :)  Ok, here goes...

The month started out with an awesome trip to Dover (sans Hubby) for a total girl Easter weekend!  My mom and I flew out to Ohio to help celebrate Bexleigh's first Easter with Jenny and her mom (Wendy or Momma Mullet, as I like to call her)....we had sooo much fun!

Hanging out with the little munchkin!

Such a happy baby!  And not high maintenance at all ;-)

We absolutely had to do a fashion show that included the awesome sunglasses my mom got for Bex!

I just loved my little "wake-up call" all weekend....no alarms needed :)

Even with all the girl time relaxation, we managed to get in a Zumba class AND those little sneaks surprised me with a mini birthday celebration!  Plus, they got me a Shake Weight!  So awesome!!!

Bexleigh loved her baths...

and her bedtime stories!

Bex and her "Granny Ben" (aka my mom)

Me and Jenn....I LOVE this girl!!!

The girls!!

My mom and Wendy had a pretty intense egg-coloring session

Easter Morning!!!

:)

The next weekend Matt and I spent a little time with our old neighbors from the BPC!  We love these two and always have a blast when we go out with them!  She is a fellow blogger who likes to go by the alias "Tizzy," so that is what I shall call her.  After our fun night out, I even got a new nickname :) Tizzy is much quicker on the blogging front, so I'll let her fill you in on our great night out!  Check this out!

"Hotcakes," Matt and "Tizzy"

The next weekend, Matt, Jen and I headed down to Philly to spread our philanthropic wings and run in a race for donor awareness.  Jen has a good friend from high school that had a kidney transplant a year and   a half ago (she's doing GREAT, FYI), so it has become our tradition to go down and run the race every year.  This year was number 2 and we had a great time!  Matt and Jen ran the 5K and I decided to be a little bit of an over-acheiver this year and run the 10K.  Don't we look ready and raring to go!!!

Matt and Jen

Me and Nick (another one of Jen's HS friends)

So, that is pretty much what April looked like....all summed up.  Hopefully I'll be a little better at updating as things happen in our exciting and fast paced life here in NYC....I can't make any promises though ;-).  Until the next blog.....

:)

Only in NYC!

Since I'm on a bit of a blogging spree today, I figured I'd share yet another "only in NYC" moment with all of you....

Even though we have a lot more space in our new apt, we still have a bit of a storage issue....

Hey, we may have lost a shower, but we gained a closet!!  2 bathrooms in NYC is way overrated anyway. ;-)

Just a normal Saturday afternoon with the Hendricks'

Saturday afternoon Matt and I went to a rockclimbing birthday party for my Marathon Buddy Nancy, she always picks a fun activity to do to celebrate her special day.  It was so much fun!!!  

The birthday girl leading the pack.

Gettin' ready to head up!

A successful first climb!

Matt making it look easy...

Checking out this much harder wall...doesn't my butt look awesome in that harness?!? ;-)

Matt showing off his skills!

I have a feeling we'll be spending some extra time in Chatham, NJ working on our rockclimbing technique!  

First Road trip of 2010!

Last weekend (well I guess it's 2 weekends ago now), Matt and I made our annual trip to Columbus. This year we decided to give ourselves a little break and took 2 whole days off from work so that we could A) not have to drive through the night and be dead for 2 days (ie most of the weekend) and B) so we could first make a stop in Dover, Ohio to visit the Klopfers!  

So, early Thursday morning, we loaded up the car (Jenny D included, "she" partook in the weekend festivities as well, of course!) and headed out. 

 We made great timing, and 480 miles later, we were in Dover!!  It was so much fun hanging out with Brian and Jenn, and of course little Bex!  We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up and snuggling with Bexleigh.  And of course Jenn and I had to get in a 3 1/2 mile run...because why wouldn't you want to go for a run after sitting in a car for 8 hours! ;-)

Say "hi" to your Uncle Matt, Bex! :)

"Where are you Auntie Jen?"

Friday afternoon we all piled into our cars and headed to Columbus!  The 2 hour drive felt like nothing compared to what we had done the day before.  Jenn and I spent the first 45 minutes of the trip texting back and forth since we didn't get to ride together and couldn't bear the thought of spending 2 hours without contact.  Once we got into town, Matt headed off to the office to be the over-acheiver that he is, and Briko (Jenn's hubby Brian), Jenn, Bex and I checked into our "uber-cool" hotel....The Lofts!  

Jen wanted to take a load off on our comfy bed too!

After relaxing in the room for a bit, we decided to head on over to Easton to meet up with Matt and do some shopping and grab a bite to eat.  We made it to DSW, got our shoe fix taken care of and then realized we were all starving.  Well, a trip to Columbus definitely wouldn't be complete without a visit to Champps (notice the 2 P's, we like to pronounce it Champ-p's).  This was a good pick since the boys could watch the game and we could watch Bex!

Briko's brother, Billy, and new girlfriend, Morgan, also met up with us at Champ-p's.  She works for the Limited as well and we soon found out that she and Matt knew all of the same people!  Small world, I tell ya!

Later that night, we decided just to take it easy and hang out at the hotel so that Brian and Matt could watch more basketball and us girls could relax. Erica (my roomie and BFF all 4 years at OSU) came by for a visit and we had a blast catching up with her.

Bex's fabulous new skirt from her fashionable Auntie Er Pear!

The Gamma Gallo Girls (just missing 1)

Bex, ready for some shopping in her adorable outfit from us!

The next day we headed back to Easton to do some real shopping!  Matt's parents drove in to town and we met up with them there to walk around the outdoor mall and eat at our fave, PF Changs.  After lunch, we parted ways with Jenn and Brian for a bit to go on a little driving tour of Hilliard, the town Matt grew up in.  It was so much fun (for me, but especially all of them) seeing all of their old houses and hang outs.  Matt pointed out all the places he used to rollerblade and play roller hockey as a kid.  It was a great trip down memory lane.

That night, we went out to dinner with Matt's high school friends, James and Mike, and their girlfriends, Jen and Jessica, and Erica and her new (well, new to us :)) boyfriend, Tony.  It was so much fun! We went to this great new sushi restaurant in the Short North where the sushi was good but all the other stuff was AMAZING!!!  Rock shrimp, calamari, filet mignon, truffle mac-n-cheese...we tried it all!  After dinner we met up with some of Matt's work friends that moved to Columbus from NYC this summer.  It was a great night and we got a chance to see everyone on our "list."

Matt's Limited friends Ramit and Amy

Me and James 

Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks

Sunday morning we had one of the BEST brunches ever with Brian, Jenn, Bex, Billy, Morgan, James, Jen and Mike.  It was a great meal to set us off on our long journey home. :)

When we got home, we picked up our little Maggie Lu from her Auntie Jen's and saw a little project Jen had been working on over the weekend...

It's the Bexleigh/Puppy Sandwich!!!