growing up.

I can't believe my nephew Jacob has graduated elementary school and is now a middle schooler - a middle schooler!  I seriously can't get over it. Here are a few photos from his recent "promotion ceremony" - I think Justin Bieber has some competition in the hair category.

Congratulations, Jakey... our favorite skinny jean wearing tween!

My sister-in-law Jess, Baby Jayden, Jacob and my big brother Chris.

Grandpa Schramm aka G-PA congratulating Jacob!

Aunt Heather, Jakey and Uncle Dingers (my lil brother)

While he may be a middle schooler now, he'll always be my little nephew. Danny and I were reminiscing about Jacob and one of Danny's first visits to San Diego when we strapped Jacob's carseat into the car for a trip to the beach and park where Danny carried Jake around on his shoulders. And now, he's in middle school.

With the graduation theme, I thought this photo was too cute and appropriate not to share... Jacob (6 years old) on the way to my graduation from the University of Arizona in May 2005.

Well, the day after graduation (aka the first day of summer break) Jacob fell skateboarding and broke his arm in two places. He must have been thinking of his Aunt Teri when he picked out the color for his cast. Get well soon, Jake! We love and miss you.

Cool kid with the thumbs up!

new frenchie on the block.

We're excited to announce that are dear friends Jenny and Matt are expecting... a French Bulldog puppy! They just adopted him from the same breeder we got Hunter and Syd from and we couldn't be more thrilled to have a new Frenchie in the family. Check out how adorable little Wilbur aka "W" is (Jenny and Matt also went to the University of Arizona)... we can't wait to see him once his bat ears pop-up. He'll make the journey from Alabama to Washington DC at the end of July to meet his new mom and dad.

Congrats! You're no longer a couple... you're a little family! 

handy hubby.

Some of our weekends are fun and relaxing and some are spent getting things done (especially when you remodel a house yourself). This was one of the latter. I did random odds and ends like laundry, organizing the shoe closet and dusting while Danny eh, installed a new range hood and shelf above the stove, climbed into the attic (never mind its probably over 120 degrees up there) to hook-up the hood's ventilation system, rewired some lights, hung new kitchen cabinets and finished up the drywall in the guest house before I had him do some little things like hang shelves in the laundry room.

Crazy, huh? And this is typical for Danny. Weekends like these remind me how very lucky I am to have such a handy hubby. He can honestly do almost anything - diagnose and fix cars, design and remodel a home and do pretty much everything in-between. All you single girls out there... I highly recommend you add "handy" to your list for potential suitors. It really is SO nice (and pretty sexy, too).

For all this hard work he got to pick the dinner spot on Saturday night - we had Mexican. Surprise Surprise.

Our new range hood and shelf above the stove.

The new shelf in my pink laundry room. 

sweet surprises.

I got the sweetest surprise today. Danny called out of the blue to see if I wanted to grab lunch (we very rarely have lunch together during the workweek). We met at one of Danny's favorite spots Pane Bianco for Italian sandwiches, a freshly squeezed lemonade for me and Coca Cola from a glass bottle for him. Too hot to sit outside, we ate next door at Lux Coffee Bar which we both love. Its a very urban spot and the vibe is always great, complete with a live DJ spinning daytime tunes.

This Friday just got a whole lot better. Happy Friday to you! xo

arizona.

Last night, Danny and I met Joe and Vicky (Danny’s parents) halfway between Phoenix and Tucson to pick up Hunter and Sydney. We were in California last weekend for my best friend’s engagement party (details and photos coming soon) so the kids spent the week with Grandma and Grandpa Bockting. Thanks B-Joe & Vickdogg!

We got daily texts and photos about their latest antics which included Hunter catching a baby rabbit and prancing around the yard with it while Syd jumped up to play too. Yuck. Poor bunny.

Hunter using Syd as an arm rest on the mini roadtrip home.

So, just in case I forgot that we live in Arizona, the rest stop we met at was quick to remind me. I walked in and was overwhelmed by all things cliché and Arizona kitschy. Hundreds of dream catchers, Indian and Kachina dolls, rattlesnake statues and more. I contemplated buying the gun-toting Armadillo statue for our mantle but resisted.

iced coffee.

I left for work this morning and my car read 91 degrees. Think I'm lying? Look at the time stamp.

Clearly, a hot cup of coffee is the last thing Danny or I want in the morning, but a morning without coffee just isn't an option.

Bless my mother-in-law Vicky for teaching me an iced coffee trick that we make daily. It takes less than a minute, you get it the way you want, its low-cal, it tastes delicious, saves you money and a trip to Starbucks!

How to make yummy iced coffee:
1. Brew a pot of coffee the night before. (I make it strong)
2. Rinse and empty a milk jug. Recylce!
3. Let coffee cool a bit, pour into jug, place in fridge.
4. In the morning (or when you're ready for your treat)...

1. Fill a cup with ice (we just bought these insulated cups from Costco and we’re obsessed. Three cups for $18 with six reusable straws).
2. Add a Splenda or some flavored creamer of your choice (we use a fat-free, sugar free vanilla creamer and recommend Nestle’s Coffee Mate) and pour the chilled coffee over it.
3. Stir, and wahla! An iced latte to-go in just seconds.

brew a pot of coffee. recycle a jug & chill. add flavored creamer & ice. stir & enjoy.

Happy Blogging!

I love blogs. I really do. It wasn’t until I was planning our wedding that I ever really followed blogs, but now I’m hooked. On a daily basis I read blogs about weddings, photography, fashion, food, frenchies and families.

So, as I (we) join the blogosphere, the primary goal is to share daily thoughts, findings, and happenings with our long-distance friends and family across the country. I don’t really have a plan for how this blog will evolve, so here we go…

We hope by reading this, you’ll feel a little closer to our family despite all the miles between us.

Xo,

T&D

where to begin?

Blog wasn’t even a word in our vocabulary in 2002, but how cool would it be if we’d started blogging way back then? I’d have mine and Danny’s whole story documented through daily thoughts and photos all chronologically ordered in one place (sigh). And it wouldn’t be just the big stuff – it’d be all the daily ups and downs and life’s little celebrations. I feel like I remember it all – the good and the bad – but really, do I? Probably not. And this my friends, is the main reason I’ve decided to do this for us. To document our story – starting today…

To save time, let’s fast-forward through the first six years of our relationship and get to the good stuff – the day that Danny asked me to become a Ting - a Bockting. It was August 30, 2008 and easily one of the best days of my life. This is when you could say the Tale of two Tings became official.