Ready, Set, GO!

It's been an absolutely spectacular summer so far and I've been absolutely awful at giving updates on what we've been doing so here's a quick run-down:

My beautiful cousin, Summer, got hitched in Detroit, MI to a charming and handsome man, Eric, on May 15.  I attended the wedding stag, of course, but had a hellova time with my family!

Summer & Eric

Dancing with Daddio

Mama gets wild!

I took a trip to the big apple with two of my oldest and dearest girlfriends, Kelly and Amanda over the Memorial Day weekend.  We stayed with my old college roommates Meaghan and Sarah and had an absolute blast! 

Kelly, Amanda and myself in Time Square

Dancing fools

Double-Decker Bus Tour!!

Checking out the Statue of Liberty from the shore

Taking a break after our attempt to go to a Yanks game

I got to attend one of my best friend's baby girl's first birthday in Bridgman, MI in early June. Happy Birthday Emme :)

The night before the birthday party - Cindy, myself, Kylie, and Sam at a wedding reception

Mama with the birthday girl!

Two of my favorite Pauleys!

I successfully reached my June goal of getting out on the water via a boat with some Lousiville friends... simply breathtaking (even though the Ohio River isn't actually so breathtaking).  

Kristen, myself, Staci, and Becky enjoying the open water!

Our sea captain, Dave showing me the ropes

A lovely evening for a boat ride

I roadtripped to the windy city (CHICAGO!) for another beautiful cousin's wedding (and sans Mo again): Jen & Eric got married June 25! The wedding was a blast and so was the family beach day after!

The very handsome couple

First Dance

Cousins

A little wheel-chair racing down in the basement of the reception venue... 

Relaxing at the beach

The girls

Myself with cousins Summer and Jesse

Mo grew a MOhawk! ...and I LOVE IT!

I had the opportunity to partake in an activity that I'd literally not done since I was about 8 years old... SLIP'N'SLIDE baby! Early July on a week night - WHAT A BLAST!

Kristen and I leading the pack!

Our Slip'n'Slide group before we got too wet...

Getting creative with Jared...

D-Ray and his rolling slide...

Show me a group of twenty-somethings having more fun than this!

A little group of baseball wives got together to check out a local wine tasting in Jeffersonville, IN (right across the river from Louisville). We had ourselves quite a nice little evening!

Jonna, Veronica, and Sarah on our first taste!

Wonderful wine

Cheers!

A few players, friends, girlfriends and I attended Louisville's Forecastle Festival in mid-July - a 3 day festival with lots of music, interesting people, activism, and love :)

D-Ray, Jonna, Audrey, and myself enjoying drinks and music

Audrey, Sammy, Jonna, and D-Ray

Watching Grace Potter & the Nocturnals from backstage!

Grace doin' work on the piano!

Got to watch my cousin's band, Foxy Shazam, later in the day - their show was INCREDIBLE!

Smashing Pumpkins late than night

Matt got called up in the beginning of July to make a couple starts for the Reds, including a start against the team he was originally drafted to - the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a nice little surprise for us and he did great work.

Doin' WORK on the mound

It was 102 degrees during his start in NYC against the Mets - whew!

THE ALL-STAR BREAK is our once a summer vacation where we get to relax and do all the fun summer things TOGETHER that we never get to do.  It is one of our favorite times of the year and we've made it a sort of tradition to spend it at a friend of mine's Lake House in Jamestown, OH - about an hour north of Cincinnati.  Matt and I had a blast together! A few friends dropped by to say hello during our stay too.  We relaxed, grilled out, sat on the dock and soaked in some sun, kayaked, explored and mostly just enjoyed one another's company.

The Lake House

Our daily lunch spreads - mmmmmmm

Kelly drove down for the afternoon!

The big guy

Luce and I on the open water

Kayak sesh!

Loving all the alone-time together!

Matthew and his animals :)

During the All-Star Break I got to watch Sam (one of my best friends) get married via the internet! She and David got married in Vegas and because many could not be there, the wedding was streamed live online. It was so cool to see and I'm so glad that I didn't totally miss it!  What a beautiful couple these two are :) Congratulations Sam & David!

And one of the most recent happenings was my trip home - back to Huron, OH - to see my family and some friends.  I spent 5 days enjoying the company of my parents, grandparents, brother, sister, some extended family, and a couple old friends.  I didn't snap too many pictures except for at my Maloney Family Fish-Fry - my last night there.  Lots of Maloneys that I don't get to see very often were there.  Food, beers, beach, talent show, and family :)

Molly and Boston racing before dinner

Daniel (Matt's brother) and Jess fishing at Grandma & Grandpa's 

Grandpa Maloney, my dad, my mom, and Grandpa Maloney

Most of the Maloney Clan! Wish my big guy would have been able to be there

These are just a few of the highlights of my summer thus far.  As you can see, Matt was unable to be a part of most of them because of his work schedule.  Thats definitely been a bummer for me (and for him) - not having my partner in crime by my side for all the fun things I've experienced.  He's always sad to miss weddings, summer BBQs, etc., but I make sure to share pictures and fun stories so that he doesn't feel totally left out.

The summer is just FLYING by and even with the enormous amount of travel we've been doing (we put 2,000 miles on the truck in 2 weeks!), its been one of the best summers yet.  Both Matt and I are incredibly happy.  We have some really great people in our lives to share our experiences with, we get to meet all kinds of new people whom we can always learn something from, and most importantly, we have each other - to lean on, laugh with, enjoy little moments, and really, truly know that no matter where we go or what situation we're in, we'll always be able to find our happiness because we have one another.