Gabby is 11 months old today!!!

and she's trying to walk....

It may be a while before she's fully on her feet, but she's sure giving it a try.

She also started saying "Mama" yesterday.

Two very happy boys!

Gavin and Zachary have been counting down the days while waiting for their new bedroom furniture. Several months ago they decided they wanted to share a room. We tried to convince them to share Gavin's room because it has a queen size bed, but for some reason they prefer the smaller of the two rooms.

After several months of them sharing a twin bed we decided to order them new furniture. We even let them pick it out and of course they wanted the bed with stairs.

It arrived today and they couldn't be happier.

I grew up in a bunk bed and although I never got hurt, I'm still a little anxious about it. It was probably against my better nursing judgement and I don't know that I'll sleep very well for a while. However, when doing my research, I discovered that most bunk-bed injuries actually occur during waking/playing hours so for now I've taken all the toys out of the room and I'm going to keep the door shut during the day.

They love the stairs and the drawers make them very practical.

Zachary is just as happy to have the larger bottom bunk.



However, he said he's a little sad that Gavin won't be sleeping next to him anymore. Gavin was very sweet and offered to hang out with him on the bottom bunk until he got tired.

The bed also includes a dresser/armoire. I haven't had a chance to put the clothes in it yet, but it seem quite roomy.

as for Gabby....

She'll sleep anywhere.

In fact, she fell asleep in her high chair again tonight!

Our Italian Weekend.... between Rome and Pisa

No, we didn't actually board a leer jet and dart off to Europe. Our fun little beach town had an Italian Festival this weekend.

Here we are behind a Roman ruin somewhere between the Colosseum in Rome and the Leaning Tower in Pisa.

I believe at this moment our husbands were all trying to pretend they didn't know us.

The kids ate well, but they mostly enjoyed the treats.

Gavin also enjoyed the props. I hope that when my kids are older we'll be able to take them to Europe.

Here's a few pictures from my European Adventures during college. I spent three summers there.

Yes, I actually posed for this cheesy picture below... (Holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa!)

So, back to our weekend....

Our original Saturday night plan was to watch a band play at the beach, but since it continued to rain, we came back to my house and played a few games of billiards. Nothing like a last minute back up plan!

Sam and I were good hosts and let Bill and Vanessa win quite a few games. Meanwhile the kids watched The Little Mermaid.

Sunday the weather cleared up so after church we went to a restaurant on the bay.

I was so bummed to discover that I had forgotten my camera at home. I tried to get Sam to turn around so I could get it but needless to say, he wouldn't.

The boys were so intrigued by a few fisherman on the dock. One of them had a whole bucket of crabs and the boys were having so much fun watching them.

When we got home I tried to get a few pictures of them all together. As you can see, Gabby was initially very unhappy with them, but within minutes she was happily playing peek-a-boo.

Poor Gabby.... I can't imagine what her life is going to be like having two big brothers around.

Friends of the Road...

This was written by Paula Spencer and was published in Reader's Digest the year that I graduated from Nursing school. My Aunt Jeanne included it in my graduation card and I've cherished it for as long as I've had it. I've also shared it with many others over the past 11 years and since it just came up in conversation yesterday, I thought I'd post it here too. Now that I'm living in a town where many people come and go, I'm sure many of you can appreciate these thoughts....



Friends of the Road by Paula Spencer


Why do friendships come and go? How does a once-bosom pal wind up erased from your address book? Is a friendship that fades away necessarily a bad thing?


My first inkling that some friendships are meant to be fleeting came in the spring of my senior year in college. My friendships there had been especially intense. We'd bonded instantly and tightly, with meandering all-hours conversations about everything from the meaning of life to "What will we wear tonight?" Once I came across a line that seemed to express my 21-year-old angst. It was from James Michener's novel Centennial: ''God, he wished he could ride forever with these men ... but it could not be. Trails end, and companies of men fall apart.''


Of course! Some friendships are meant to be transitory. Like cowboys who had ridden herd together for vast distances, sharing dusty perils and round-the-campfire coffee, my college friends and I had come to the natural end of our path together. It was time to move on. Absurdly obvious, the idea was nevertheless enormously comforting. It had once seemed like a failure to me, to build a friendship only to have it squelched by sudden distance, either physical or emotional. You move across the country and struggle to replicate daily long walks with phone calls or letters. Or one of you has a baby, and the minutiae of changing diapers transforms the bicycle built-for-two into a lop-sided three-legged stool.


And that's OK. Because in addition to our friends of the heart -- the traditional, everlasting ideal -- life is rich with friends of the road who, like Michener's cowpokes, herd with you for a particular stretch and no farther. These brief friendships are equally intense, equally necessary, equally worth treasuring as any other, and for the duration of the ride, you can't survive without them.


-- Paula Spencer in Aspire, and Reader's Digest 1997 January p 122

A morning at Gymnastics...

This morning Amanda and I took our kids to open play at the gym.

The kids had a great time and ran off tons of energy.

Gabby spent most of the time in my arms, but as people started to leave I felt more comfortable letting her down to play.

The kids actually broke a sweat so we added in a few water breaks.

I'm still trying to figure out how this picture didn't end up blurry. Not a single picture I took of the boys jumping turned out this clear.

I love these pictures of Zachary. He's getting easier to manage and very affectionate these days. He's growing up and calming down considerably.

and finally... one more picture of my future little gymnast... (in less than a year she should be ready for a mom and tot class if she shows and interest.)

The Beach, a break, then Tae Kwan Do

Our day started early at the beach with a birthday celebration for Angela.

It was 4 moms and 10 kids so we were definitely out-numbered!

Gabby and Tucker seem to really be hitting it off these days.

Gavin and Zachary weren't too excited about leaving and they were trying to bargain with me.

However, when I reminded them that Cassidy was coming to play with them today, they were all smiles!

While they were waiting for Cassidy to arrive they amused themselves with this new rolling cart that I bought for Gabby's toys. It was probably not my most well thought out purchase. I never considered it would turn into a wagon.

While Cassidy was here I managed to get some housework done as well as some reading.

Later we went to Gavin's first Tae Kwon Do class. He's been very excited about it and he can finally remember what it's called. Until today, he was calling it "Wonton Dough."

He looked absolutely adorable in that cute little outfit. He had a little bit of trouble paying attention, but I'm hoping that will improve over time. He'll be going twice a week.

Here's a video of his first kick...

Savannah's comment..... "Not bad!"