Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a wonderful day. Ours was very nice - our first time hosting. And we didn't burn a single thing! Yay! We truly did have a wonderful day, full of many things to be thankful for. Not the least of which is my friends and family.

Best Quote of the Day...

"So, Gabe - how do you like being 5?" "I sure like it, mommy. How do you like being 100?"

Yeah, he thinks I'm 100. He was really rather shocked I am only 28...grrreeaat.

Super Gabe turns 5!!!

Happy Birthday, Gabie!

What a day! The celebration started this morning with waffles, went on to a fabulous, fun party at Chuck E. Chesse's with his friends (and lots of gifts), continued with going to see Happy Feet as a family and ended with watching Survivor (his favorite) together, with lots of playing in between! Gabe showed his usual exuberance throughout the day and enjoyed every moment of it. He is such an amazing kid! I could not be more crazy about him. I just can't believe it has already been five years since I brought him home! All big blue eyes and a shock of dark hair. And now I am all weepy just rememering him as a baby. There's no turning back now, though - Gabe is full-throttle ahead as always. I can't wait to see what new adventures he brings us over the next five years. Mommy loves you, Gabe!

Weekend Getaway!

This past weekend, Aaron and I took a much-needed trip by ourselves. We left the kids with our friends Saturday afternoon and headed out to Charlottesville, which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Chesapeake. The drive itself was just beautiful - trees full of color the whole way. Granted, since it was rather flat, we could also have been driving in circles the whole time and been none the wiser! Once we were just outside Charlottesville, the land began to get hilly and the views were gorgeous. We have missed looking down into valleys!

We quickly found our hotel, dropped off our things and drove into town. Charlottesville is a college town, home to the University of Virginia and in keeping with college towns, it was very hip, there were great art galleries and there was so much to do. We explored the historic area downtown, shopped, ate and people-watched - also keeping in the tradition of college towns was the very eclectic mix of folks in any given direction. Quite amusing. The next day we set out for the real destination of our trip - bad weather be damned! - Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Stunning! Amazing! Soo fascinating! I have become quite a history buff since moving out here and I loved learning more about such an important and complicated man.

The best part of the trip, though, was spending alone time with my dear hubby and being reminded just how great he is. He's wonderful! We talked and talked and it was also nice to realize that we are actually pretty smart, interesting people when we are allowed to finish our thoughts and speak in full sentences!

Does anyone else have this problem?

I just spent a good deal of time writing out birthday invitations for Gabe's upcoming 5th (!!!) birthday party. And as I wrote, I noticed I have a real issue writing some letters. I just cannot do it well - the kicker for me was the "Cheese's" in Chuck E. Cheese's. (Yes, we are having the party there, but that is a whole different issue!) Anyway, all those e's - ick. I just can't do them well. And - ugh - I live in Chesapeake - I hate writing that one out, too. It's the same with 5's. They look completely messed up when I write them - and oh, when there is a 5 and an s by each other, like in an address - forget about it! I can't tell you how happy I am that I no longer have to send stuff to my mom at 4705 South!!!

Am I alone in this?!

I Love Fall!

Happy Halloween (two days late...)

I hope everyone had a very festive and fun Halloween! We had a great day. We baked lots of yummy goodies, carved pumpkins, went trick-or-treating and visited with friends. And most importantly the boys had a blast and looked adorable in their costumes. It was a success!



Gabe was Aang from the cartoon Avatar and Dylan was Yoda. Random, I know, but cute nonethess!



You need to see Dylan with the ears to get the full effect!