where do i even begin?

wow... has it been that long since i've posted?

in an effort to get back on track... i think a round of the catch-up game is in order.

so... if you dare... grab your coffee and settle in for a trek of tales...

at the end of july...

i ran a marathon... the san francisco marathon... with my bff, meghan!

to put it mildly, it was life-changing, and i'm so glad to have shared that experience with mbt!

there might be another marathon on our list in the near future...

(before)

(love meghan's face in this one... maybe it was when she saw ames from the bachelorette!)

(after... whew! we beat our goal time!)

on july 27th...

my cousin gave birth to the 2 most adorable twins ever! we are pleased to introduce you to our Goddaughter/niece- and nephew-lette... caroline marie and carlton everett!

i changed jobs in late august! paul and i are both technically employed by stanford now... kinda cool! lovin' my new digs and i am learning a TON.

labor day weekend...

we had our first annual girls' weekend! some of my best friends from college came out to the west coast to kick-off the tradition! unfortunately, i did not take any photos (there are some pretty sweet ones on fb)... but trust me, it was fabulous. definitely did my heart some good... can't wait until next year!

in late september...

we participated in our first mechani-crawl in the city with our friend julie (she and paul work in the same lab together)... and it was a good thing that julie joined us because i don't think i could have equally reveled in the engineering amazing-ness to paul's satisfaction, ha!

in october...

we sold our sweet little corolla... with so many drives to and from oakland, that little snowball got me through a lot my first few years out here in california. good thing we sold it to someone who lives on stanford's campus, so we often see it bee-boppin' around town!

in mid-october...

i ran (with my friend, manisha) in the nike women's half marathon. it was crazy fun with crazy crowds... we even received a tiffany's necklace at the end of the race. i loved having my cheering squad there... the hubs and liv! paul has race day down-pat now, he wears brightly-colored clothes so i can spot him and he races through the city to get from viewpoint to viewpoint... how blessed am i to have such amazing support?!

in late october...

paul and i traveled to seattle as a belated birthday gift for me (i turned the big 2-6... i should start looking for my aarp membership in the mail, right?)! we had an absolute BLAST! it was our first plane trip/vacation together where we weren't going back home or visiting family... weird, huh? we felt so grown-up! here are a few photos to give you a taste of the weekend...

in the beginning of november...

peggy and david (paul's parents) came out to visit us and we really had the best time! we drove down the 1 to san luis obispo and then spent some quality time around our stomping grounds up here on the peninsula. it was a wonderful visit and we were so blessed to have them fly across the country to visit us!

in mid-november...

we had fun around campus taking christmas card photos (yes, we are THOSE people... and yes, we brought our cat along with us onto campus... he loved it, and by "loved it" i mean hated it.)

thanksgiving

we celebrated thanksgiving with our friends, the paschals. the next day, we flew to cabo san lucas, mexico with them and had our very first out-of-the-country vacation together! it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip... we are constantly talking about how we want to re-live those days!

(dance-off... 'nuff said.)

(see why we want to go back, asap?!)

christmas

christmas 2011 was the best yet! we were able to [finally] meet sweet caroline and everett, we got to play with our adorable nephews, we caught up with friends, and we were blessed to spend some quality time with family. it's always so tough to leave after a fabulous time at home...

(there were many... MANY... 'just dance' dance-offs at the clarke house)

in january...

we sang sea chanty songs with lindsey and trey on an old boat in the san francisco bay... byom for c ('bring your own mug for cider"... duh.)

too many months to count...

paul grew ridiculously long sideburns (lamb chops, pork chops... whatever you want to call it) in honor of thesis-writing (yes, he is finally at that point now... go paul go!)

in march...

my cousin, jonathan, married one of the most wonderful ladies i know... chrissy! (side note: my sister, erin, and i also accidentally became the world's oldest flower girls... it was hilarious... full story available upon request) it was a lovely weekend and a fantastic celebration of jonathan and chrissy! i'm so happy to have another cousin-in-law!!!

in mid-march...

paul's brother-in-law, jason, came to visit us while on a business trip soon after we returned from our trip to nc... it was great to get to spend some time with him! (and he helped us discover where to find the best vanilla lattes in san francisco...)

march 17th

we celebrated st. patty's day (one of my favorite holidays) in style with the paschals... pups included!

since we last spoke...

we have snuggled a lot with livi-dog.

we have eaten meals of decadence with friends!

we spent some time in one of my favorite san francisco hot spots... the haight (hey, don't hate... ha ha, get it?)... and we found a new band... on a doorstep!

paul saw the sign... and it opened up his eyes, he saw the sign...

and most recently...

we celebrated the marriage of 2 friends with a boat tour around the bay... an absolutely breathtaking opportunity, to say the very least.

... and that pretty much catches you up to the present!

if you've made it this far, you certainly deserve a medal!

right now, we are lovin' the start to spring and beautiful weather in the bay area.

paul is still working hard on finishing up his phd, and i'm still having fun helping kids move better!

here's to hoping it's not months upon months before the next post!