Brianna's 27th birthday, January 2010

Spencer sent me flowers at work for my birthday. It was the most beautiful bouquet that I have ever received. This is a picture with my phone at work.




Spencer got me a really nice camera for my birthday. I always wanted a professional camera that I could change lenses on and do neat things with. I love this camera.



Here are pictures with my new camera. I was so excited with my camera's quality pictures.



Gerber daisies are such fun flowers. I had them at my wedding shower.




I love yellow roses with pink tips.

I love lillies. They smell divine. They were one of my wedding flowers.

Spencer got me a cake from Butterwood, a fancy dessert restaurant in western New York. The night of my birthday, we went to a Sabre's game. It was a really great game! It went into overtime and they won in a shoot out.

Spencer worked really hard to make my birthday special, and it was wonderful. He is such a sweetheart. I just love that man!

Buffalo Bills, Fall 2009

Here is Spencer's official name tag.



This is a picture of a huge lizard that Spencer saw a the hotel he stayed at in Miami last year at an away game. Isn't it ginormous?



I think that it is neat that Spencer gets to go to all of these neat places.

He also has the opportunity to meet some interesting people. Here he is with Jim Kelly (on the right), the star quarterback for the Buffalo Bills in their glory days in the 80's. On the left is Matt Hamil. He is a UFC fighter. I think that his story is neat. He was born deaf and has still been able to achieve his dreams in mixed martial arts. Spencer and I love to watch UFC. We have a lot of red-neck and white trash in us. We embrace it.

Fall 2009

Last fall was very very busy for us. Spencer and I were both working full time and attending school full time. We were so busy and that is why we weren't blogging. Sorry! Although I think that only 1 or 2 people even look at our blog. I have been back-blogging just so that I have it recorded for us. I am trying to catch up because school starts again on Monday.

This is Brady. He is such a good companion. He loyally follows me everywhere. He is watching me study in this picture.



Here are my cute puppies hanging out at the foot of the stairs.



Brady is all curled up in a ball with his head resting on his back feet. It is adorable.



When Brady and Mia play, Mia will pull her feet under her body so that Brady can't bite them. We call her a Mia-Worm.




This is a picture from Christmas. Spencer got coal. And a new electric razor and a nice jacket. Spencer spoiled me rotten. He got me a laptop computer so that I would quit using his for school. We also got some great gifts from family and friends. Thank you all!

We both had to work on Christmas. It kinda sucks to work on Christmas, but at least we are both working and we don't have kids, so it's better for me to work than someone who has little kids.

Sorry these pictures aren't great. Again, we only had pictures from our phone because our camera broke.

Another Game, Fall 2009

These are pictures from a game last fall. I went with my friend Cortney. She loves to tailgate. We play tailgate golf and grill burgers. It's tons of fun. I really do love that girl. Here I am in my Freddie Jackson jersey. This is an authentic jersey. I felt special because they don't sell the white ones. Freddie Jackson is a running back for the Buffalo Bills. He is a really great guy. He has had to work really hard to get where he is. It wasn't easy like it is for a lot of players. He is also a family man. So I see him as a real role model. This picture is from my phone, so it isn't very good quality.




At this game, Bruce Smith was honored. He was a defensive end for the Bills. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year. Ralph Wilson, Jr. the owner of the Buffalo Bills was also inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.

At this game, my camera got smashed by the crazy fans. So we didn't have anymore pictures until Spencer got me a camera for my birthday. It was sad to lose that camera. It was a good little camera. We bought it with gift certificates from our wedding.

Football, Fall 2009

These are pictures from football games last fall. We had a rough season. The head coach Dick Jaron got fired and at the end of the season, most of the coaches and staff also lost their jobs. It was a scary time. But Spencer still has a job with the Buffalo Bills. I am so very proud of him. He loves his job and he is good at it. He does a good job at everything he does.

Here are some pictures. He is wearing white with a white had and his cool shades, of course! He is just so handsome!







You can see T.O. in this picture. He was a lot of fun to work with. He isn't back this year, thank goodness.

The Gorge, September 2009

Last fall, I went on a little hike with my friend Cortney. Since there are no mountains here, the hikes are backwards. You hike down first. This is The Gorge. You hike down to the Niagara River and then walk along it. And then hike back up. These pictures are by the whirlpool which is downstream from Niagara Falls.

Here is Cortney. She is one of my best friends in Buffalo. We met at orientation for the hospital that I work at, ECMC. She works night shift in the trauma unit. We don't really work together much because I work days, but we make time to go out to dinner and shop and so on. She is a really good friend. And isn't she gorgeous?! Such a skinny little thing.



And here is me in all of my frumpy glory.

I have been very lucky to find good friends in the places that I have lived.

Wing Fest, September 2009

Last year, we had some Mormon friends move in to our apartment complex. Their names are Courtney and Pete. They were really cute and really fun. I invited them to go to the Buffalo Wing Festival with me. Spencer couldn't go because he had to work. :(

Here they are.



And here I am with Courtney. My hair was really red at the time.



The Wing Festival is always a fun time. There are so many different styles of wings and wing sauce. It is fun to go around and try them all. I have become a big fan of hot honey BBQ wings. I was more familiar with wings this time around. The year before I had just moved to Buffalo and hadn't really eaten wings before. I got tricked into eating some really hot wings. You can look back in my log to see my post about this the year before.


We had a lot of fun with Courtney and Pete. They actually moved away a few months ago. It was really sad for us. They were such a cute couple. They are living in Minnesota now. We might go visit them when the Bills go there to play Spencer's favorite team.

Pretty In Punk, August 2009

Last year, I got to go to the Blink 182 concert. Fall Out Boy (my favorite!) and Panic at the Disco also played at this concert. It was awesome!!! One of the best concerts that I have ever been to.

We had bought the tickets, but then Spencer couldn't go because he had to travel to an away preseason football game. So I went with my Canadian friend from work, Karen, and her daughter and her daughter's friend. We had a really good time.

Blink 182 was very nostalgic for me. They were big when I was in junior high and high school. And of course I loved Fall Out Boy. They really put on an awesome performance. PATD also was great. They played my favorite songs. FOB sang Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. Awesome!

I did my nails for the concert. I did my fingernails black with red tips.

And my toenails red with black tips.

I have really ugly fingers and toes. They have been crushed a few too many times by horses. Sorry to have to subject you to their hideousness.

So I haven't been able to see Fall Out Boy since this concert...they broke up... Isn't that so sad?! I have been in mourning. I heard that Patrick Stump (who is my favorite member) is doing a solo project where he does all of the instruments and singing, etc.

Training Camp, August 2009

Every year, at the end of July through August, Spencer has to go to Rochester for training camp for the Bills. It is about 1 1/2 hours away. It is really hard to be without him. The house is so empty and it is miserable.



Sometimes, I drive up to visit him. I watch the practice from the family tent. It is nice and covered and has free food. I kind of feel out of place when I am there, but I really enjoy watching Spencer at work.



Here are some pictures.

Here is Spencer in the striped shirt and white hat.

T.O. was on our team last year. He was all sorts of drama. Here are some pictures of him.

Here is Spencer with the running backs. Running backs is Spencer's specialty. Marshawn Lynch is 23. He is always getting into trouble and getting arrested.

Spencer is pitching the ball.

I am so proud of my sweetheart. He has accomplished so much. And I am proud that he has followed his dreams and has been successful. I know that because of who he is and the character traits he possesses that he will continue to be successful throughout his life. I am excited to see what he will do next and I am so excited that we get to go through life together.

After practice, we went out to dinner at the Dinosaur BBQ. It is a delicious restaurant in Rochester. Then we went to a double-feature drive in movie. I am not allowed to stay with Spencer in his dorm room, so going to the drive in we can be together longer and cuddle. Besides, drive in movies are so much fun!!

Niagara Falls, July 2009

While my mom was visiting last year, we took her to Niagara Falls. Along the walk from the car was this tree.




It looks like a Truffula Tree from The Lorax by Dr. Suess. They are colorful woolly trees that supported the life of various creatures like the Bar-ba-Loots and Swomee Swans and Humming Fish. The Lorax speaks for the trees, as the trees have no tongues. It is a great book...



Just before the falls is this mini fall that reminds me of Idaho Falls. It is how they generate power from the falls.



These are some brave birds. The water runs at 25-68 mph!




This is the edge. It's a 188 feet down.

Here is my momma. It feels like it is raining because there is so much mist from the tumultuous water.

6 million cubic feet of water go over the crestline of the falls every minute!

The current rate of recession is 1 foot per year. It used to be 1.5 meters per year. It has been greatly reduced due to flow control and diversion for the hydro-power generation. They stop the falls from flowing during the night.

We did a tour of the falls called Behind the Falls. You get to go right next to them and then in through a cave and behind them. It is amazing how powerful the flow of water is.

This is the boat Maid of the Mist.

And it is misty!

12 million tourists visit Niagara Falls each year.

Thank goodness for ponchos!

It was really fun to go to Niagara Falls with my mom. Of all of the people that I have gone there with, she took the most time to really enjoy it to its fullest.