Welcome FALL!

Aahhh...we think Fall is finally here to stay a while! When fall arrives, I can't help but get in the mood for apples, stew and chili, pumpkins, sweaters, warm candles - all the cozy things in life. We had Liz & Mary over Saturday night for chicken chili and apple crisp...it was a perfect end to a cold, breezy day. It's been several months since they've been over so we had a good time catching up. Madelyn entertained her Aunts as usual...and when bedtime came, she said "i wuv u ma-ay" and "i wuv u iz" -- all in one line!

Sunday the fam headed to Ruffin Mill farm for the pumpkin patch and hayride. Madelyn fed the goats, chickens and rabbits...she was bundled up in her warm hat, which stayed on the whole time! She actually liked it!





SOO excited over an airplane!


Hi neighbor!

We'll be heading back to the pumpkin patch Wednesday with our friends Erica and Peyton because my camera battery died while there! Can't go to the pumpkin patch without getting LOTS of pictures...you know ME!!! Thursday we're going to visit our friend Heather who had a baby boy, Cameron, in August...Friday - a doctors appointment for me, 16 weeks along now...Saturday - we may go to the Celtic Festival, and my brother may come down for a visit...Sunday - who knows yet, I'm sure something will find us. Never a dull day anymore :)

Home from the Midwest

Well, Madelyn and I are home from Missouri. We went to Maryville to visit my Grandparents and other family there. We flew out with my Mom last week and got back in Tuesday evening. We had a wonderful time but we're happy to be back home with Ben! It was great to see everyone, and for Madelyn to visit her Great Grandparents, to meet her Great Aunt Betty & Uncle Tim, her second cousin Rachel ...and her GREAT GREAT Aunt Katharine.

I think we'll be sticking around home for a while -- no plane rides in our near future! For any parents thinking of flying with their little one or preparing for a trip, have patience! Bring along some new toys they haven't seen before, that worked for us. Madelyn had her own seat, so we brought along her car seat to sit in - I would've lost an eye if she sat on my lap for 2 hours.

We had a nice time visiting with everyone. My cousin Rachel was in town for the weekend from Kansas City, it was great to see her and meet her boyfriend, Lucas. He's a great guy and I think Rachel may have some competition now because Madelyn adored him! Grandma made delicous food, as usual, and I came home with lots of yummy recipes and motivation to start cooking again. Lately it's been quick sandwiches or whatever leftovers there are so I'm excited to start cooking and baking. Grandma made red velvet cake one night, Mom's request for her birthday. After we gave Madelyn a few bites, the cake wasn't the only thing that came out red!! Whoa! What a shock that was!

It was a nice week, we missed Ben though and we were happy to get home to him again. Here are some pictures of our family:


Baby bouncing on Great Grandpa's knee


Yummy red velvet cake


Aunt Betty


Rachel, Madelyn & Lucas




Grandma's garden


Chillin' in the swing


Great Aunt Katharine

A SPARK of light...

We had an exciting day Sunday...well I did anyway. Ben & Madelyn were along for the ride, just to see me swoon over my favorite author, Nicholas Sparks. He was at a book signing at Borders in Richmond. I read his latest book, The Lucky One, Friday night - I started around 7 or 7:30 and finished around 1 AM! I couldn't put it down. Each time I read one of Nicks stories, I'm refreshed and the true meaning of our marriage comes back into the picture. Not that we are struggling or anything....just that sometimes we let it fall to the back seat with all the things going on around us, it's easy to do! So we had a pretty neat day meeting Nicholas, he spoke a bit about his family and other books that are coming up. He seems like a really good, down to Earth guy.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Short Pump mall - it was a beatiful day out. Madelyn is still a little sick, so we headed home for a restful evening before bath and bedtime. Tomorrow Madelyn and I are heading up to Stafford to stay the night with my Mom. Then we fly out Wednesday to Missouri, we're looking forward to that visit.


Here are some pictures of Nicholas:

Our weekend in Luray

We spent last weekend in Luray...at The Barn at Evermore. It was fabulous! The weather didn't keep us from enjoying ourselves, we headed up there to meet Grammy, Grandpa and Haylie. The Barn is a restored Civil War era barn - with living areas added later - the atmosphere was rustic and relaxing. About 100 yards off the back porch is the Shenandoah River, Dad and Ben spent a lot of time fishing off the dock and took out the canoe also. No luck though...the fish weren't bitin'!

Our weekend was restful and relaxing - gave us a quick refresher for the week ahead. Madelyn was sick before we went, and it figures a day after we return...we're fighting the same cold again. I don't understand how this nasty goop can come out of such a cute little nose! Hopefully this will go away quickly...our next adventure is ANOTHER plane ride! Next week we're flying with Nana to visit Madelyn's Great Grandparents in Maryville, MO. They have flown to Virginia twice since Madelyn was born, and we owe it to them to go there this time. They aren't getting any younger and we figured we'll take her out there now while it'll be easier to travel with ONE child!!

Here are some favorite pictures:

Pulling up to The Barn

The river frontage

Fun and games inside

Back of The Barn

Madelyn & Grandpa on the tractor

The three of us

Dad & Ben on the canoe

Grammy & the horse

Kona, keeping watch

Thursday

Whew...its been a busy few weeks! Last week we had some sort of appointment every day, except Tuesday - which we kept our friend Peyton because Erica had an appointment! Petyon and Madelyn get along great. We played lots outside and had a yummy snack before Erica made it back.

Madelyn had her 18 month appointment last Wednesday. She checked out fine, Dr. Campbell was happy with all of her new words. She's 22 lbs and 30" tall - on the small side, but she's healthy.... it's not like her Mommy and Daddy are tall people!!

We've been waiting for a LONG time for our friends Kim & Kyle to have their baby boy - Carter finally arrived last Thursday. He just didn't want to get out of that cozy little home he had! Kyle, Kim and Carter made it home Sunday - and we surprised them with balloons to welcome the new family. I made a fun wreath with lots of necessities they'll need for little Carter, I love that sort of stuff :) Tonight we're taking dinner over for them...just a little something to help out the new parents!!

This past Saturday we went to a birthday party with Grammy and Haylie. It was Dylan's first birthday...Dylan is the grandson of one of Kathy's co-workers. It was a fun day -- lots of yummy food and Madelyn had fun playing with balloons, she also played corn-hole with the big kids! She loved that :) Although it was VERY hot, we still had a fun time with Grammy and Aunt Haylie.

We had our friend Ellie over Sunday afternoon, and her brother Tommy was here later also. We love Ellie and Tommy...their parents are Ami & Andy - very good friends of ours. I've known Ami for about 15 years now! Ellie is such a fun little girl -

Not so busy this week...trying to fight of a cold and enjoy the awesome weather. I think maybe FALL is near! WOOHOO! We have a fun day planned for Saturday...Brian, Erica and Peyton are coming over, Brian and Ben will stay home with the girls while Erica and I head out for some much needed pampering! Nana will head down Saturday evening for a quick overnight stay. Next week is pretty busy again...appointments and then we'll get ready for our weekend trip to The Barn at Evermore with Grammy, Grandpa, Aunt Haylie and Aunt Amanda!! Can't wait for that! We found this awesome place to stay in Luray - http://www.thebarnatevermore.com/
We'll have plenty of pictures to share I know!

Slacking a little!

I haven't done so well "keeping up with the Joneses"!! I thought I'd do better at this blogging thing, but lately have let it slip my mind. Between this and facebook and myspace, whew - I can't keep up!

Anyway...we had a pretty busy weekend. Saturday Hanna blew through with buckets of rain that fell all day. We headed out early to Romp n' Roll for a fun open house celebration. WOW! We could hardly get through the door! They were packed, I guess ALL the other parents were thinking the same thing we were. I think I've mentioned them before...I can't say enough great things about the place! This is Madelyn's FOURTH session, she's really grown up there -- her two favorite instructors, Miss Kali and Miss Maggie, have watched her sit up, scoot, then crawl, then knee walk, now running and talking! We love it!

We floated home in the rain storm and later that evening we had a visit from Grammy, Grandpa and Haylie. They stayed for pizza and Madelyn showed off her "car" skills in her Daddy's firebird - she was generously given these skills by her Grandpa and Daddy! While shifting gears, we're pretty certain she called the shifter a "shit-ball"!




Ellie & Ami

Sunday was a fun day - we went to Ellie's first birthday at Romp n' Roll. Ellie is the daughter of one of my very best friends, Ami. I can't believe she's a year old already, she's a beautiful little princess! A few days before, we practiced singing Happy Birthday with Madelyn -- her version for Ellie went like this: "happy tu-tu, happy tu-tu". Which was perfect because Ellie wore her adorable pink tutu for her first birthday! (Which has inspired me, I think I found my next project!!)


Ellie

Madelyn & Ellie -- Happy Tutu Ellie!

LOVED Avon

Our week at the beach went by way to fast. Seems like just as we were settled and relaxed, we packed up to head home. It was nice to get home though...it has taken a few days to adjust back to our routine. We stayed in Avon this year on Hatteras Island, about 50 miles south of Nags Head...only about 5 mintues from the Hatteras Lighthouse. Last time I was there, they hadn't moved the lighthouse yet...so it was cool to see it in it's new location away from the surf. It's amazing that they were able to "lift" it up and move it so far.





Avon is also just south of Rodanthe...which is the setting of Nicholas Sparks' book - "Nights in Rodanthe". It has been made into a movie and is coming out in Sept. I can't wait for that! The house is there, its huge and right on the water.


The weather coudn't have been better, I think the highest it got was 86 or so. The beginning of the week the water was cool and pretty calm. By the end of the week it was much warmer but really rough - the waves were at least 6' high. The guys had fun body surfing though.





My Mom and I enjoy our time together just laying by the water's edge, watching the birds and dolphins. It's so peaceful. Ben doesn't understand how we can just lay there and fall asleep, he gets restless if he's not doing something.


Madelyn needed a little coaxing to enjoy herself! She liked sitting in the sand and digging her toes in it, but didn't care so much for the water. When it was warmer, we finally kept her in and she liked it. I think more than anything she liked to lick her salty hands!





And KONA...oh my - I've never seen this dog more at peace in my life! I'm so glad we took him, he deserved a break too. He swam and chased the birds and CRABS! He was fun to watch.





We're looking forward to next year...then we'll have a 2 year old AND a newborn...whoa! That'll be fun!