The Summer of Tyson and Ashley!!

Summer is about to come to an end for us. We've tried really hard to make this the "summer of Tyson and Ashley" as much as we could. Knowing that we would both be incredibly busy once the end of August hit, kept us busy doing fun things all summer. This summer has been so jam-packed with activities that looking back I'm amazed that we fit everything in! The first few weeks of summer I was busy in summer school and planning Amy's Bridal Shower and Tyson was busy working with various professors at the University. He did, however, have time to squeeze in a short but sweet trip up to Bass Lake to visit with a couple of his old college roommates, Nick Sowards and Brad Kennington. So, we stayed pretty focused the first month of summer but everything after that is a whirlwind.
First of all, Tyson got a new job! He was hired on by Target to head up the assets protection for a new store opening in Visalia. Tyson will hire his own team and manage all aspects of assets protection for the store. So far, he loves it and enjoys the Criminology side to his work. On top of this job, he will also be teaching in the Criminology Department over at Fresno State. So, I've already pretty much said goodbye to Tyson for the rest of the semester. His schedule is crazy!

But, back to what we did this summer...As soon as summer school got out Tyson and I went on a trip to Washington D.C. and New York!! This was one of the coolest trips I have ever been on! There was so much to do and see.
While in D.C. we went all over the Capital. We had connections to the White House and we were able to get a tour of the East Wing....and toward the end of our tour, our guide, who is the father of one of Tyson's closest friends, offered to give us a private V.I.P. tour of the West Wing the following night. The cool thing about being able to see the West Wing is that it is closed to the public! And he allowed us to bring our cameras! It was a really neat experience.
Another neat experience we had right after our tour was across the street from the White House at the Hay Adams Hotel. Again, we were just lucky to have some good "connections"...Steve and Sarah Lopez came with us on our trip and one of Sarah's best friends is a caterer/ wedding planner for the Hay Adams Hotel. So, Sarah's friend, Beatrice let us in for a tour of this gorgeous, historic, old Hotel. Beatrice took us up to the rooftop of the Hotel so that we could see the view of the entire Capital. We could see the Temple, Washington Monument, the White House, just everything. Bea told us that the view from the Hay Adams is by far the best in all of D.C. It was amazing! Afterward, she took us to the gorgeous, classy dining room/ restaurant of the Hotel and we had a fancy lunch. It was really cool, we felt so lucky to be there.:)
Also, while in D.C. we went all over the Capital Mall, to museums, and all sorts of Historic sites. We also had the opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetery. Another highlight was a trip to the Washington D.C. Temple. It was so beautiful inside and out!

After D.C. we took our rental car through the East Coast and stopped in Philadelphia before our final destination in New York City!!!
We decided that on the way to New York we had to stop in Philadelphia for authentic Philly cheese steaks! We went to the famous Geno's and got the most divine cheese steaks ever...mmmm...they were well worth the trip!
So, our next stop was New York! After checking into our Hotel, we met up with Tyson's old college roommate Nick Sowards, who lives and works in New York. Nick took us out for some real New York Pizza at Patsy's. It was delicious and fun to see Nick and catch up with him a little. Later that night, Tyson and I realized that our hotel was walking distance from Times Square! We decided to stroll down and check it out..all lit up! It was a sight to see There were hoards of people and cars, and the buildings just tower all around you. The billboards and blinking lights are ridiculous. It was fun to see how fashionable everyone was, too. We were so excited we didn't even notice that it was early in the morning by the time we went back to the hotel to sleep.
We did all sorts of things while we were there. We went to the David Letterman Show. We walked down Broadway and saw Phantom of the Opera one night. We went all over Central Park and watched people...New York people are fascinating to watch. We went out to eat at all sort of interesting restaurants. The top of the Empire State Building was incredible...it made me feel so small. And of course, we hit the streets of New York shopping!!!
It was such a fun trip!! We packed so many things into this trip that it felt like we were on the road for a month, it probably didn't help that we barely slept. It was all so worth it though!

Once we were back home in Fresno...it was moving day. We literally came home around 2am, we slept for a few hours, and then we woke up and started packing. By the way, we love our new place!
So, we moved...then it was Amy's wedding!

What a fun event! There was so much to do the week of Amy's wedding! We had to finish moving, help set everything up in Tyson's parents backyard for the reception, and there was so much family in town to visit with! The wedding turned out gorgeous! The yard looked amazing! Every little detail was carefully planned, and thought out, and it showed.

Following Amy's wedding, Tyson and I packed our bags again. This time we were off to Cambria. My parents rented a house on the beach for all of the family to come together! We had a blast. The weather was so beautiful...we loved the chilly air. While there, we toured Hearst Castle with my two younger brothers, Mark and John. Tyson and I went cycling on the bike paths in Cambria and enjoyed climbing down to the water and exploring the rocks, and pools. Lastly, we visit Pismo and walked the pier and got clam chowder bowls at the Splash Cafe(my favorite). It was such a nice, relaxing trip to end the summer with.

Now, we are all moved in and settled into our new place. School just started for me, and Tyson started his vigorous training for Target..he has a lot to learn to prepare to open a new store just before the Christmas shopping season. With his free time Tyson has been creating power points and lectures for his class that starts next week. I will begin teaching preschool in about a week and I am thrilled to be able to work with cute little three- year- olds :) So, we are busy, busy this semester but excited about all of the new changes in our lives!