Little Orange Girls

I could not think of a better way to end a wonderful week of college reunions with friends, then a trip to SU with my girls to spend time with more friends and enjoy a beautiful summer day on campus. The girls have been visiting Syracuse with us since they were born, but we've never taken a trip with the intention of showing them all around campus and telling them all about mommy and daddy's time there.

That campus is such a huge part of our family history. It's where our story began. It's where the foundation of our spiritual legacy was formed. It's where God started transforming our plans and revealing to both of us together and individually our redirected paths. It's where we really learned our purpose. It's where we started to become adults! It's where we made lifelong friends and lifelong memories. It's where we fell in love. It's where we were married. Without exaggeration, the campus, the people, the experience and the memories we made in our years there are priceless to us.

orange ready

We couldn't do a history tour without stopping at the very first place Joe and I lived together after we got married. That was our little apartment (top floor right hand side). Ohhhh the memories and stories we have from the year we lived there together. As we drove by it and I pointed it out to the girls, Abby exclaimed, "Oh Mommy, that's so cute. Look at that. It even has a little table with two chairs. I bet you and Daddy loved that and sat outside together all the time." My sweet girl. It made me smile and laugh at the same time. I was smiling because our girl knows us well. We did put a little card table on that patio and enjoyed many of my newly learned, home cooked meals on that little balcony. I laughed because I remembered sitting there and having our little "romantic" meals together at a card table over looking a parking lot and a highway as we listened to the neighbors throwing things at each other and shouting obscenities across the parking lot.

We've been brainwashing teaching the girls to love the Orange from birth, but they (Abby mostly) have really started to embrace the school and team as something special to them.  If you could have seen them on campus! Abby was completely delighted with every part of it. She squealed every time she spotted Otto. She almost convinced me to buy her everything "she had to have" in Manny's. She loved relaxing on the quad like a natural with some frozen yogurt. She walked around campus with orange pom poms cheering, "Go Syracuse!" all afternoon. She wanted to see every corner of campus from the places "where I learned", to the chapel where Mommy and Daddy got married,  to the basement of the Schine. She wanted to see it all. She left Marshall Street requesting a long list of Syracuse gear for Christmas and her birthday. As we walked down M-Street, Abby kept asking, "Did Daddy ever take you there on a date?" Ella just took it all in and loved being outside with us.

On Marshall Street with the Sheraton (our wedding reception location) behind us

so excited for our girls day at SU

It was the perfect weather day!

Another special part of our day was spending it with Emily. She was in town all the way from Indiana and met us on campus for the day. We met up with a bunch of friends (Julie, Lauren, BrandiLee and her boys) for lunch at Varsity. So bummed that I forgot to take a picture. So many of my favorite college memories include these girls. 

Everyone wanted to be on Ms. Emily's lap!

We love Ms. Julie (and her fun phone)

After lunch, everyone had to either get back home or back to work, so Emily and I took the girls back up to the quad. We showed them Hendricks Chapel where Mommy and Daddy got married. Seriously people, we went in through the basement and it still smelled exactly the same, like BCM free lunch Mondays and People's Place. Emily and I had all intentions of having pizza with our friends at Varsity, but after walking down Marshall Street, I knew I couldn't leave without a pita from Pita Pit. So, we grabbed our pitas, got the girls some fro-yo and went up to the quad. It was absolutely perfect quad weather, mid-70's and sunny with a breeze.  I could have stayed there all day.

Where Mommy and Daddy got married

I printed this picture and framed it with the picture of Joe and I at the other end of this aisle saying "I do". I love all that is represents.

Before heading home, we dropped in to visit Julie in her office. She works on campus and her office is right on the quad.  The girls loved getting a "Julie Tour" of the iSchool and especially loved shopping through Julie's drawer of orange goodies. They were pretty spoiled in her office. As if Abby wasn't sold on going to Syracuse before, you should know that Julie can convince anyone in less than five minutes of all the reasons Syracuse University is the best and why you should go there. I have no doubt she is one of the reasons my four years at SU were as great as they were!  

Julie's office

By late afternoon, it was time to head home. The only thing that could have made the day better was having Joe there with us and maybe getting to see every person I love from college. It was a great day with great friends. I'm thankful for such a special memory with my girls! Now it's time to plan their first game in the Dome! :)

Marathon Wedding Weekend

The beginning of August was filled with lots of wonderful times with college friends. First, our friend Dan (nicknamed Pastor Dan by our girls) and his girlfriend, Jen, came from Indiana to visit for three days. We had a great time telling stories, laughing and reminiscing about college. Honestly, it made SU and our years there together feel like yesterday! It made me all weepy and nostalgic, but in a good way, not in a "those were the best years of my life I can never get back" way. Those were seriously some of the best years of our lives, but these are great years too!

The girls loved all of the attention they got from new friends who played with them a lot and we are always grateful for friends who love on our kids. We were definitely blessed by their visit. One night, we enjoyed a fire in the backyard and on Friday we spent the day in Lake George together.

It was a beautiful day in Lake George. We started with a picnic, spent the afternoon at the beach, took a walk along the lake through the village, had a delicious pizza dinner and finished the night with a memorable ice cream stand experience!

my family

No one told him the large would be that big!

Proof of a successfully fun day!

Dan and Jen's visit led right into marathon wedding weekend. In just 24 hours, Joe and I attended two weddings. First was the wedding of our college friend, Kim. We got to spend the day with even more of our favorite people and celebrate with Kim and her new husband, Jonathan. It was such a great day. I know I keep saying it, but we love these guys so much!

our hangout in between the ceremony and reception

loved catching up with Adrienne

SU Cru

While we were at Kim's wedding, our girls spent the day with Ms. Kelly and Mr. Rob. There is something about having a date night out without kids that is a treat. Then, as if date night couldn't get any sweeter, there are those times when you leave your babies with your best friends in the world and know how well they will be taken care of. Our girls had the best time playing with their friends, Asher and Taryn. Abby and Asher watched Frozen together while the smaller kids napped. They had pizza in the park for dinner, walked to the duck pond (the same place Joe proposed to me eight years ago) and got ice cream together.  The girls were fast asleep when we got back from the wedding, so we stayed up way past our bedtime, eating chocolate and spending time with our friends. Then, as always, it got really late and the guys had to pull Kelly and I away from each other because we could talk all night!  Once again, we decided it is necessary for our families to start annually vacationing together ASAP! :)

Joe and I sat in this gazebo and called our families after I said "Yes"!

The next morning, we woke early to get to wedding #2 with the girls by ten. Joe's cousin, Charlotte, was getting married. It was a beautiful morning wedding on the Cornell campus, followed by a brunch reception with lots of dancing. The entire extended Cassel side of the family knows how to light up the dance floor no matter what time of day it is.  We had a lot of fun with everyone!

All she wanted was her OJ in a big girl glass...oh and she wanted to get it all by herself. This is the look of success!

Little kids ripping up the dance floor

Charlotte and Joe

Our sweet girl sitting at the big girl table all by herself. She put her napkin right in her lap and got right to it buttering her bread without any help!

For my observant friends, yes...that was the same outfit worn to both weddings. Two weddings (and two different groups of people) in less than 24 hours...made life so much less complicated!

Mary, Charlotte and Joe

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ_I67F4xcI&index=6&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ