It's Fall

On Thursday, my mom and I took the boys on a drive up the canyon to look at the leaves. It was the perfect day to go: 75, blue skies and amazing colors. We oohed and awed through Little Cottonwood and Mill Creek canyons and I thought "Well, here is something I missed while in Virginia - vibrant fall colors, crisp air and the canyons." Uh, huh. That was Thursday! Today is rainy and cold - with a high of 50 and a chance of snow in the SLC valley. Snow?! I think the high in Chesapeake is supposed to be 80. I have a feeling that my first winter back will be an interesting one. The boys are going to love it, though. We went almost to the top of Mill Creek and there were patches of snow, and Gabe was so excited he could hardly stand it! He and my mom had a little snowball fight and cute Dylan kept asking "What's dis, mom?" When I replied that it was snow he said "Huh?", as though he didn't quite get it or believe it. My thoughts exactly, kiddo!

I'm Back!

OK, first of all, I guess I need to start by saying that I am sorry to have been so bad about blogging the past few months! This big move from Virginia to Utah has really been challenging for me in many ways. First off, just leaving my wonderful life there - complete with amazing friends and surrogate family, not to mention just how much I loved Virginia - the history, the scenery, the beach (!!!) - was harder that I could have imagined. I know most people figured that it would be Aaron who would love it there and I would be the one who couldn't wait to move back, but it was quite the opposite. Once we got to Utah I assumed that just seeing my family again would snap me out of my funk and though it did help a lot, it still took me quite a few weeks to get over it. And even now, three months later, I still have my moments. Especially when it's my kids asking to go back. Dylan saw a picture of the two of them on the beach the other day and said "Mommy, I go there, please?" Ouch!

The other aspect of moving that has been hard is quite obvious - just the fact of moving and all that it entails. Lost items, stress and chaos, chaos, chaos! We spent a little over two months living with Aaron's dad, who was gracious enough to have us. And on August 25th we took possession of a little tri-level in Murray. It needed some love and fixing up, which we are doing bit by bit. We have painted and demo-ed (sp?) and worked and worked. It is finally resembling a house we would want to live in! One reason I was waiting to blog is that I was hoping to find the card reader to my camera, so I could post some pictures of the house, but alas, that will have to wait, as I have no idea where it is. The boys are really happy here and are oblivious to all the mess. They love the big backyard and giant Sycamore with a swing, and they are happy to have their own rooms again. Gabe started kindergarten a month ago and is really thriving. Dylan is growing up so fast and talks a blue streak, but yeah - he is still into everything! In one day he managed to draw on the wall with marker, break my glasses, draw on my MacBook with pen, undo all the dental floss and lose the knob to the grill. And that was while Aaron and I were both home!!! He is sure "high energy". I guess that is one thing in my life that has stayed the same...

It really is great to have my family around again. I missed them all so much (and I still miss my sisters in Idaho and Tennessee!). My mom and brothers have been wonderful about helping us and visiting us and Aaron's family is great, too. It is nice to have the boys around them and have them get re-acquinted with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. I still miss my friends in Virginia and I look forward to being able to go back and visit one day (and meet my friend Tricia's new baby!) and see the faces and places I grew to love so much. But right now I will focus on our new life and getting settled. I am so very blessed to have so many people to love and I am grateful for the life I have! Thanks to everyone reading for being part of it!

One of the many places I will miss...The Outer Banks

These were taken at a beach in Kitty Hawk, N.C., a lovely beach in the Outer Banks on May 10. I have some cute ones of Gabe, but they are vertical - does anyone know how to post those? When I try it they are horizontal. Help!

What a month! Or two...

It has been ages and ages since I last posted, but for good reason ( I think!). These past two months have seen us all going non-stop. They have been filled with fun visits and huge, life-changing moments.

Most of April, Aaron was very busy with school and preparing for finals. We also found a couple to buy our home and they put their house on the market. Toward the end of the month, my two awesome brothers, Dave and Peter, flew out to spend a week with us to take in the sights and to help us (read: do it almost all themselves) tile our kitchen. We had so much fun and I enjoyed being able to take them to some of the many places here that are special to me. The week was wild and Aaron was scarce, because it was his last week of school and he was trying to get through finals. During that week we found out that the couple who would be buying our house had sold theirs and we would be closing the middle of June! Exciting, sad and panic-inducing all at once.

Five days after my brothers left, Aaron's dad flew out, followed two days later by Aaron's brother. They were here for the huge event of Aaron's college graduation! Yes, you read that right: my husband has now officially graduated! Yay! I am SO proud of him. Way to go, honey! My "baby" Dylan had his own milestone - he turned two-years-old on May 8th! We celebrated by going to Great Wolf Lodge, a cool family oriented hotel with an indoor water park. Fun! Aaron's brother and dad stayed for a week and we were again able to travel around visiting some more of my favorite places. Another big event took place while they were here and that is that Aaron was offered a job working for some of the same people he had worked for before in SLC. He is now the official Director (!!!) of IT for Naartjie, a company formerly based out of South Africa that makes children's clothes. They have a few stores throughout the West and one at Fashion Place Mall. Congratulations, again, hun! All that misery of working for Dollar Tree and going to school full-time has paid off!

So, now the task at hand is finishing up all our little projects around the house and getting packed and organized and ready to move across the country. Again. And then there is that 6:30 AM flight with the boys to Baltimore and then the 5 hour flight home. Can you say "yikes" with me?! We are just trying to take it one day at a time (and by "we", I mean me, 'cause Aaron is freaking out - ha, ha.) and do what we can. While I am saddened at the thought of leaving behind this wonderful place and the friends we have made here, I am thrilled at the thought of being closer to family and our dear friends. As happy as I was here, that was always the one thing missing. We fly home on June 17th, as Aaron says "I can't think of a better Father's Day present!" 18 days and counting!

Happy Easter from Virginia!

A Typical Conversation with Dylan...

"No! No, no, no, no, no! NO! No! No!!! Nooooooo! No! No."

More About New York...

Three things on my trip made me weep like a child:


My first Monet Waterlilies! Taken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - simply an amazing place.


My first Broadway play - a life-long dream come true! And so good. I couldn't believe it.

The site of the World Trade Center. I obviously cried here for different reasons. The towers would have been been right behind the sign. Sorry the picture isn't the best, but it was hard to capture it all in one shot. It was the only place in the city that was open like that that wasn't a park and it left such a void. All around the fence there were pictures and quotes posted and it broke me down, broke my heart. Even though I expected to feel sad when I went there, I was surprised at just how much I felt. It was hard to fully take in what had happened there.

Ewwww!

So, as truly happy as I am that it is finally Spring, our torrential downpour Friday reminded me of something I do not love about it. BUGS!

There was a slug on the moulding by my door yesterday morning, a potato bug in my bathroom and another potato bug (or should I say "pillbox bug" as they do here) in the middle of my living room floor. The middle of the floor. Wha...?

Just can hardly wait for the ants and mosquitoes to swing into action. To say nothing of the spiders. **shudder**

The warm weather is worth it, the warm weather is worth it, the warm weather is worth it...

Now that's what I call one good week!

Here I am in NYC last Friday...



And then yesterday found the boys and me back at the beach!



Life is GOOD!

Pictures from the Blue Ridge - My Third Attempt

Random!

So, yeah - sorry to be absent for so long. Just have not had much to write about. Or, rather - I just haven't been feeling inspired to. There were a few silly little things buzzing around my head, but then there was that shooting spree at Trolley Square and I just got so sad. I mean, the war is one big godawful mess, but it is in Iraq and I expect to hear bad things. But Trolley Square?! One of my all-time favorite places - a place that, were I living in SLC still, I could have very well been that night. And so could any of my friends.

As time has passed, I am getting back to normal and feeling a bit more chipper. The mere fact that it is no longer February is helping tremendously! I honestly cried out of sheer relief on March 1st! I am just so not a winter/cold weather person. Gee, can't wait to move back to Utah! Ha.

This past weekend was really quite nice. I took the boys to visit some friends of ours in Lynchburg, which is about 200 miles West of where we are. And very close to the Blue Ridge Mtns! I got to see the Blue Ridge Mountains!!! Ahem. I will try to contain myself, but it is a bit of a thrill to be able to say that. Sadly, it being the beginning of March, everything is still quite brown, but there were bits of Spring poking through all over and I am sure by the end of the month it will be completely lush. One funny thing about seeing those mountains, was that the term "Rocky Mountains" finally clicked with me and made perfect sense. "Oh, I guess it's 'cause they're rocky and stuff" I'm a smarty, I know! Okay, I just went through all the pictures I took and I don't have a single good one of the view! Durn it. And I was going to post some cute ones of the boys, but they are now being held hostage by my ignorance and are trapped in my Mac Book. Argh. Guess I'll do as Aaron suggests and go read the manual! Watch for pictures tomorrow!

The WORST movie in YEARS!!!

OK, it is after midnight here and Aaron and I just finished watching "Babel" and even though I should be sleeping, I just had to say that I cannot believe how completely awful that movie was!!! How on earth that movie was nominated for Best Picture is beyond me. One review I just read summed it up perfectly: "It is a pretentious piece of poop and anyone who says they like it are just saying that because they think they are supposed to."

Pretentious. Piece. Of. Poop.

DO NOT see it!!!

How Big of a STUD is my husband?

Aaron has become quite the handyman. First it was new light fixtures, then new faucets and tile. He even built our deck! And now he has gone and built a wall to create a new bedroom for Gabe where our open study used to be. All this whilst working full-time and going to school full-time. The man is amazing. And pretty cute, too.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

And Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day. I just threw that in there since the odds are that I will be slacking then, too. Ha. Seriously, here I've been feeling like such putz for not posting any warm holiday greetings and then I check and none of you have, either! We are all a bunch of putzes! But at least we are in good company. :o)

Since I am here, let me recap the events:
Our Christmas was pretty wonderful. Maybe even the best ever. Yeah, I know. That is saying a lot, but I sure do mean it. We were extra blessed this year to have my sister Tammy and her family with us from Tennessee - hubby John, son Danny and daughters Caitlin and Marissa. Bunch of dolls, all them! It was so nice to have family close and made us feel not so alone and isolated. (And all that extra help with the boys - woo-hoo!) Then there was the fact that we were (amazingly) prepared and were able to get the boys lots of fun things, which was of course, doubly better because they are both at the age to really enjoy this type of thing. Dylan enjoyed the ripping of the paper a bit more than what was actually inside, but he eventually came around and started playing with the toys just as much. Gabe got more Star Wars toys than I knew existed and was overjoyed at that fact. Me, not so much, but hey - maybe Santa can branch out next year. **fingers crossed**

This Christmas was wonderful for me, because I just thrilled to see my sweet hubby so excited and happy - the old twinkle back in his eye. He has just come off a particularly rough semester at school and could not wait for the break and the fun of the holidays. He sure earned it and I am so proud. **sniff** Okay, and I will admit that I was just as excited about my gifts as the kids were about theirs! I am now the proud owner of a beautiful new Mac Book. A gift so cool and hip and sleek, that I never even imagined I would possess one. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I opened the box, which made Aaron grin all the more, as he was probably just as shocked as I was that he managed to keep it a total surprise. Good job on that one, Santa!

Christmas is all good things. Love, joy, the birth of Hope and togetherness. And this year I experienced all of them. It was so lovely. Oh yeah, and we went to the beach on Christmas Eve and that didn't suck! Truly, I hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you the very best New Year.

The Bear Necessities

Today Gabe was listening to 'The Jungle Book' on tape and so, of course, he was later walking throught the house singing Baloo's theme song. So adorable in his off-key voice. But my favorite was him singing the line "forget about your worries and your stripes..." Because, really - who doesn't want to forget about their stripes?!

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?!