A Birthday in Naperville

The day after the wedding was our sister-in-law, Erin's birthday. We (meaning my two brothers and our sister-in-laws) met up in Naperville for a fun birthday celebration. The day was filled with warm autumn sunshine, a visit to the local Fall Festival, and a delicious peanut butter ice cream cake. YUM! The night, however, was a big kids night out.

We kicked off the night with a fantastic dinner at Hugo's Frog Bar in downtown Naperville. Here are the ladies right before dinner (the birthday girl is on the right):

We all got gutsy and tried a house specialty: Frog Legs. They actually really do taste like chicken. After a few cocktails, a few entrees, and one delicious bottle of wine from 1987 (compliments of Erin's brother), the staff serenaded Erin with a very staccato Happy Birthday song and a decadent birthday treat:

Let's get another look at that tasty bite:

After we downed dessert we headed over to a bar for a few more beverages and good times. We had an awesome time celebrating Erin's birthday and catching up with some of our most favorite people!

Dearly Beloved

Alison and Kevin's wedding weekend kicked-off our trip to the States. We had a wonderful time at the scrumptious rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's:

(Apologies for the out-of-focus photo, but somehow it's the ONLY photo of B and me from the entire wedding weekend. Sad face. Especially since he looked so freaking ravishing at the wedding.)

The morning of the wedding was a flurry of hair, make-up, and good old fashion girl talk (and golf for B).

Amazingly we (meaning the girls) were ready on time. Woo hoo! We grabbed our beautiful flowers and headed over to the church.



The lovely ceremony lasted about 35 minutes then it was time for pictures. Say "Fromage!" After a few hours of pictures (and what felt like a mile or two of walking in heels...in the heat) we made our way back to the country club for the reception. We had a great time at the reception noshing down on the delicious food and rocking out with our wedding-dance-floor-moves.



A big thanks to Alison and Kevin's parents for a magnificent weekend and gorgeous wedding. And of course, a HUGE congratulations to the legally-bound Mr. & Mrs. Carnie! Thanks for letting us share in your special day. Hope you're having an awesome time on your honeymoon. We love you guys!

The Merritts Are Back in Town

We're back from a whirlwind visit to the States. We managed to pack the following in to 10 days: a wedding in Chicago, house-hunting in Corpus Christi, and visiting with family and friends. Needless to say, we're both a little wiped out. Lots of stories and photos from our fun time in the States to come.

For now though, we want to send out ginormous Happy Birthday wishes to our fabulous niece, Alexa!

This darling little pumpkin turns 3 today. Happy Birthday sweet girl!
We Love You -
Auntie C & Uncle B

Not only that, but we actually missed a birthday on the blog while we were out of town. We'd like to send some belated Happy Birthday wishes to our awesome sister-in-law, Erin!

We're so glad we were able to spend your birthday with you, E. Miss you!
Love - C & B

Toby Thursday

Toby is almost 5 months old...whoa! The little bugger is growing up so fast. Here's what Toby loves:

The Dog Park on Patch Barracks. In particular he loves the mud. Muddy paws and all, he's still pretty stinking cute!

Crunchy leaves (it's leaves not leafs, right?). He loves chasing them, especially when they're blowing around on a busy four-lane road.

Sticks. This one is of the Churchill variety.



He also loves letting me take pictures of his new adult teeth while he naps:



Oh wait...that's right. I love that. He does not. This is the accusatory look I receive after I photographically harass him in his sleep:



We can't believe how quickly our little pup is growing up...pretty soon he'll be driving. Yikes!!

And So It Begins...

Today starts our fun trip to the States for a wedding and house-hunting! Our first stop, Chicago, Illinois to see this cute couple become legally-bound:

I am SO excited for my homegirl, Alison and her fiancé, Kevin. Alison and I have been best friends since our freshman year in high school. Her wedding is bound to be just as fabulous as she is!

Our second stop is Corpus Christi, Texas...our future home!! Brian received his official orders a few weeks ago. We've been scouring the internets for homes and will be down in Corpus on official house-hunting business.

Fear not, even with all of our going-ons, there will still be regular updates...at least that is my hope. Fingers crossed that it works out that way.

Also, we want to send some fun and sweet birthday wishes to Brian's sister, Kate!

Hope you have a wonderful day! We can't wait to celebrate when we see you in Texas.
Happy Birthday!
Love - B & C

I Just Can't Get Enough

Autumn is by FAR my most favorite season. So as you can imagine, I'm in heaven right now. Take a peek:

All I need now is a sip of apple cider and I'll be set!

Apologies...I know this post is frighteningly reminiscent of the previous post, but I just can't get enough of all of these striking fall colors around here.

Photo Essay: Early Autumn in Germany

Happy October!