Sorry...

Wow. Has it really been over a month since I've posted?? Sorry about that, loyal readers. I know there are only a handful of you, but I should treat you better.

So, those few of you that actually read this blog already know that we've been a little busy lately...

Oh, and this:


Yes, baby number 3 is on the way, and we've sold our townhouse. We were already on our way to needing more space, but now it's sort of an emergency. We got lucky in that we were only on the market for 13 days before we had a contract. So far, everything is going fine. As long as nothing goes wrong, we will close on July 27th. What?!?!? That's not very long from now! Where will we go, you ask?

This is a rendering of the house we are building. Except ours won't have brick. And ours will be reversed, with the garage on the left. We are moving back to Prince William County, so that we can afford this beautiful 5 bedroom house, that in fact costs far less than we paid for our townhouse. Location, location, location. While I'm sad to be leaving Fairfax County, the area where we are moving to is really nice and has a tremendous amount to offer. I can truly see us being happy there for a long time to come.

Of course, the house still has to be built, and that takes time. 3-4 months to be exact. So, in the interim, we will be staying with Mitch's parents. Hopefully it won't be too crazy!! We're grateful to have the option, and it will give us the opportunity to save some money as well. The good news is, the house will be ready before the baby is born, so we should have time to settle in before all hell breaks loose!! :)

Well, yesterday was the 4th of July. Here are the boys celebrating with flags and the lawn sprinkler:

And speaking of the lawn, we didn't really used to have one. But in preparation for listing the house for sale, Mitch got motivated to dig everything up and start from scratch with some sod and good old fashioned determination. The result is amazing! It has even required mowing more than once:


Later in the afternoon yesterday, we headed over to Tiffany and Forrester's for a cook-out and some backyard fun.


It was a great afternoon. It wasn't too hot, and there was a nice breeze. We had a lot of fun with some of our favorite people.

So now we have a lot of work ahead of us. I don't look forward to all the packing!! At least this time around we are hiring movers since I'm not in any condition to be helping Mitch hump furniture! :) We've been selling and giving away some things on Craigslist too. This morning someone came to buy our kitchen table (it won't match the new kitchen, plus I hate it). Here are Mitch and Tyler taking it apart for easy transport:


Here's something weird - as I was unhitching the booster seats and cleaning the chairs, I started to cry. All of a sudden. I think it had something to do with the table being one of the first pieces of furniture Mitch and I bought together, and those are the chairs that the high chairs were attached to so I suddenly got very emotional. Oh, and I'm sure the hormones had something to do with it... :)


Did I mention that the latest bundle of joy is going to be a girl?? Guess I'll have to change the name of this blog... Any suggestions??

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, we had a very fun time over the holiday weekend with my visiting family! The boys really enjoyed hanging out with their cousins. Although, poor little Evan risked getting a crick in his neck looking up at his over 6 foot cousin Jordan! Once he got down on the floor though, it was ok!

Here are some pictures documenting the weekend:


Evan made his rounds with the electronics. First with cousin Jared's video game (no idea what the apparatus is), then with Jordan's cell phone - which he played with most of the weekend.




Tyler, surprisingly enough, preferred to play with Jared's ROTC dog tags (and his hat)...

Good sports, those cousins!!!

When Tyler woke up from his Saturday morning nap, everyone had arrived for brunch. He was still sleepy, and feeling a little shy, so mommy got some extremely rare snuggle time!

This NEVER happens. Daddy must have been out of the house at that moment! :)

On Saturday afternoon, all the men/boys - except for little Evan - headed to a water park.


Shield your eyes!!!

This boy's whiter than I am!! :)


Jordan floating.....

and chillin' poolside with studly Uncle Doug....

And here's Tyler doing his thing:

Whilst the men/boys were partaking in water sports, Mimi, Aunt Doake (Kathie), me, and Evan hit the mall. On the way home, Evan appropriated Aunt Doake's sunglasses:

He was quite enamored with them, and didn't want to take them off! So Mimi decided the boys needed their own sunglasses. Here are some shots of them modeling their "Hot Wheels" themed shades:

Cool dudes!!!!

On Saturday evening, Uncle Andy grilled up some burgers and we spent some time on the deck.

Here's Tyler and Evan sharing a chair, and a cupcake:

Mmmmmmm............. chocolate..........

Some other random shots from the weekend:

Evan hangin' with Aunt Doake:

the boys with Daddy and Uncle Andy:

a nice pic of Jared (who was either playing a video game or texting his girlfriend at the time):

the men cleaning up after one of the big brunches/breakfasts:

and Evan relaxing on the deck:

Hmmm... I have no pictures of Mimi from the weekend! I know she won't mind, but it doesn't seem right.

A good time was had by all. The weather held, so we were able to enjoy the outdoors, though it may have been a teensy bit hot for the Vermonters :)! We really enjoyed having everyone visit and look forward to doing it again.

Thanks to Andy and Mimi for sharing their photos!!!

For fun

Ok, I just have to post this video because it's so darned cute. Last evening, after work, we swung by the grocery store (as we often do). I just needed to run in quickly, but I took Tyler in with me. Well, Evan wasn't too happy to be left behind (even though he was with Daddy), and he was screaming pretty loudly while Tyler and I were walking away.

So Mitch got him out of his seat, brought him up front, and gave him the keys to play with. I think that did the trick.

Sometimes it's the simplist things that make them happy.

Tyler Zoomin'

A while ago, I mentioned that I would post some pictures of Tyler at his "Zoom Around the Room" class. Obviously, I never got around to it. I think I took a couple of pictures with my phone, but they weren't that great.

Now that Evan's swim class is over (he graduated with flying colors!), Mitch has taken over Zoom duties while I stay home with Evan. Mitch was much more diligent than I, and captured these great little videos on his Blackberry:

What can we say? The kid likes to Zoom!!!!! Only a couple of more weeks left of that class though, then we'll have to find something else to occupy our Sunday mornings.

No worries this Sunday morning. The Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, and unofficial start to Summer, is upon us. We are expecting visitors. Tyler, who's coming??

Oh, right!! Mimi's coming! And Aunt Doake (Kathie), and Uncle Andy, and Uncle Doug, and cousins Jared and Jordan. Should be fun - and looks like the weather will be nice too, which is always a bonus. I'm sure I'll have plenty to post after the weekend. Enjoy everyone!!

Rainy Days and Mondays...

Ok, I know I haven't posted for a loooooong time and I'm sorry!! Life has been a little... hectic... lately.

Anyway, it's been raining for a couple of days now (makes the weekend a lot of fun!), and it is supposed to keep up for the rest of the week. So here's a cute shot of Evan in his rain gear this morning as we waited for Daddy to pull the car around:

That's all for now!!

Oh! Except for a huge CONGRATULATIONS to my friend Julie, her husband Thomas, and their daughter Estelle, who last week welcomed the newest member of their family - little Lena! Check her out - she's beautiful!!

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