And welcome baby Sydney! We can't wait to meet you, all 7lbs, 4oz, 19" (although I'm sure that's changed already).
October 2007 Archives
And welcome baby Sydney! We can't wait to meet you, all 7lbs, 4oz, 19" (although I'm sure that's changed already).
Today Jake was giving the girls a bath while I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. I ran the garbage disposal and Sophie said "Dad, do you hear that? It's a$$ thunder!" Then she dove down into the water to hide herself. Jake thinks she was trying to say something before she thought of "thunder" but who knows. That is definitely not a phrase that circulates around our house and I don't think she would even know what an a$$ is. After they went to bed we got a really good laugh.
So we took the girls to Paneera for dinner and hit Lowes on the way home, using our gift card from Jennifer and Kelly to get a brand-new Price-Phister faucet. Saturday morning my dad helped me remove the old faucet and I installed the new one (twice, because I forgot a part the first time).
It's really made a huge difference in our daily kitchen experience, since it's probably the item we use most. Having the sprayer built right into the faucet is especially nice. Thanks Jennifer & Kelly, we plan to get the faucet engraved at some point with your names.
Our friends Clint, Dawn & Lily left for home today, and we are all sad. Apparently right after we left for the airport, Sophie saw an airplane fly overhead and said, "Look Mama! Lily knew I was sad and came back to say goodbye." (I won't tell you what Eula did to protest their departure, but it was pretty gross.)
They arrived Saturday afternoon and caught the leaves at their peak, and we couldn't have asked for better weather during their stay. We had a blast catching up with our old friends (these are the folks that introduced us almost nine years ago, in case you forgot) and managed to do a lot. Here are some highlights:
Joey's Pizza, the new cigar bar in Endicott (the owner has a plantation in the Dominican Republic and only sells his own), The Brackney Inn, breakfast and apple picking at Apple Hills, Wegmans, spiedies, pumpkin pancakes, Iron Kettle pumpkin farm, Chuck E. Cheese, Lampy's, Cider Mill, Invisible Ink at the Art Mission, Lost Dog Cafe, and the Discovery Center.
Thanks again for making the trip up to see us guys, we can't wait to come visit you again in Austin!
After visiting us here in upstate NY, my brother and his boyfriend Dan headed to Manhattan. Today after a carriage ride around Central Park, Dan proposed to Jesse and Jesse said yes! We are so happy for the two of you!
Uncle Dan also took some great pictures that we downloaded off his camera before he left for Manhattan: I added them to the same folder with our pics, starting on page 4. Enjoy!
Brandie also updated our site with some new fall colors, we hope you like those too.
We were very honored to have "the Uncles" stay with us this past weekend. They made the trek in from Reno over Wednesday night/Thursday morning and after one day to recuperate, they made it to our place (with one speeding ticket under their belts) by Friday afternoon. The girls were giddy with anticipation. Sophie fell asleep probably 20 minutes before they got here. She just couldn't quite make it.
We toured them up to Apple Hills the back way from our house which is beautiful this time of year. Then, after a huge breakfast we headed home for the girls naps. Uncle Jesse wanted to go to Toys R Us to look at doll houses (Sophie has been mildly obsessed with them since seeing one at Target). "The Uncles" and I loaded up and headed over the big toy store. It was such a different experience going with adults rather than with kids! Actually, the guys I took were kind of like big kids with money! We were all disappointed in the doll house selection and turned our attention to the kitchen area. Now the girls love to cook and we have been debating getting them a kitchen eventually but they are pricey and there are so many varieties. Of course, the biggest one is what draws the attention of "The Uncles". It's a walk in kitchen with 6' of granite looking counter top. I remembered they were selling it at Sam's, called for a price check and indeed it was $60 cheaper over at Sam's Club. So off we went.
While at Sam's we loaded up the cart and headed for the door. But what was that? A Balloon Time kit? I had no idea what this thing was but apparently the girls couldn't live without it and "The Uncles" threw it on the cart. For those of you wondering, Balloon Time is a kit that has a helium tank and 15 mylar balloons. When I asked what it was for, "The Grand Opening of the kitchen of course!" Hahaha, why didn't I have uncles like this?
Uncle Dan spent all afternoon putting the kitchen together with plenty of help from the girls. It was a huge hit! The girls served up all sorts of things for us and even took custom orders!
We toured them up to Apple Hills the back way from our house which is beautiful this time of year. Then, after a huge breakfast we headed home for the girls naps. Uncle Jesse wanted to go to Toys R Us to look at doll houses (Sophie has been mildly obsessed with them since seeing one at Target). "The Uncles" and I loaded up and headed over the big toy store. It was such a different experience going with adults rather than with kids! Actually, the guys I took were kind of like big kids with money! We were all disappointed in the doll house selection and turned our attention to the kitchen area. Now the girls love to cook and we have been debating getting them a kitchen eventually but they are pricey and there are so many varieties. Of course, the biggest one is what draws the attention of "The Uncles". It's a walk in kitchen with 6' of granite looking counter top. I remembered they were selling it at Sam's, called for a price check and indeed it was $60 cheaper over at Sam's Club. So off we went.
While at Sam's we loaded up the cart and headed for the door. But what was that? A Balloon Time kit? I had no idea what this thing was but apparently the girls couldn't live without it and "The Uncles" threw it on the cart. For those of you wondering, Balloon Time is a kit that has a helium tank and 15 mylar balloons. When I asked what it was for, "The Grand Opening of the kitchen of course!" Hahaha, why didn't I have uncles like this?
Uncle Dan spent all afternoon putting the kitchen together with plenty of help from the girls. It was a huge hit! The girls served up all sorts of things for us and even took custom orders!
Regrettably, our long-lost camera still hasn't been found but we broke down and bought a new one in anticipation of all our October guests. We stuck with tradition and bought a Canon Digital Elph (SD1000). It has a lot of nice new features, but the default image settings are quite high so we'll have to tune them down for future pics.
Uncle Jesse & Uncle Dan left for Manhattan this morning after a great visit, and we bid farewell to Chris on the streets of Ithaca yesterday. It is sad to see them all go, but we're grateful they made their journeys to see us!
Good news for Clint, Dawn & Lily - thankfully the leaves have been very compliant to our wishes this year and still haven't peaked yet! Also we have an exciting and huge new play kitchen compliments of Uncles Jesse & Dan. Thanks everyone, we had a blast!
I had to step over my broken heart to start writing this post. I am still just devastated about the fact that we lost our camera and all of it's contents on our return trip. Most of my sorrow has to do with all of the "firsts" of the girls that were captured on there. I am realizing it doesn't erase the memory.
First Room Service
We were stuck overnight in Phoenix and the girls got to experience their first room service. Cheese burgers, fries and milk in bed at 1 am! Mom and Dad each got a beer to go along with this fine meal. We were famished but the girls thought it was such a novelty that it made it fun for all of us to be chowing down in bed. Plus, it was delicious!
First Play with Mommy's Friends Kids
We stayed overnight with my friend Cathy and she had her beautiful granddaughters staying with her. These granddaughters also happen to be my high school best friends' children. It was so bizarre to see mini me's playing with mini Katie's. The girls all got along and it was wonderful seeing Cathy and the girls.
First Visit with Great Grandma Zella
My grandmothers house always meant love, fun, warmth and food. It was such a pleasure to see my kids interacting with my grandmother. She was tickled to see them and kept them busy reading to them, singing to them and playing games with them. Her love and bag of tricks seem to be endless. The girls were truly spoiled seeing so much family and playing with their second cousins. There was a revolving door at my grandmothers house, she must have sent out a memo to the family. It was flattering that everyone would want to come and see us. I was proud to show off my family and proud to have my girls there for my grandma to show off.
First Visit to the Shack
This was true not only for the girls but also for Jake. The Shack is my dad's hunting cabin near Sun Valley. Sitting at 7400 feet in the Sawtooth Mountains it is a beautiful place to visit and just unwind. Shack time moves very slowly and there is lots of running around outside and exploring. We visited the horse pasture next door. Learned the difference between horse poop and cow poop, one is flat and squishy and one is round. Visited the outhouse, it's a two seater! Threw rocks in the stream and played in piles of dirt.
First Fish
This is a big one, Grandpa Denny bought Sophie her very own Disney Princess fishing pole so he could take her for her very first fishing trip at the Shack. What a novelty that she gets to fly across the country for her first fishing trip in Idaho! Anyhow, my dad was great with her and we got many lovely (now mental) pictures of them walking hand in hand, each with a pole over there shoulders through the brilliant yellow willows. The two of them got all settled in and within one minute of putting her pole in Sophie had her first bite. By the end of the hour, she had reeled in a rainbow trout and a brook trout. I couldn't really tell who was more pleased, Sophie or Grandpa.
First Visit with Cooper and Paige
Two of my girlfriends from high school and college live in Boise and each had babies this past year. The girls got to visit with the new little one's and imagine what it would be like to have a little sibling (hmmm, crazy house anyone?). Kelly and Jennifer both look great and their babies are just beautiful.
Thanks to everyone for making our visit such a special one. We tried to squeeze in as much as we could and every bit of it was wonderful.
First Room Service
We were stuck overnight in Phoenix and the girls got to experience their first room service. Cheese burgers, fries and milk in bed at 1 am! Mom and Dad each got a beer to go along with this fine meal. We were famished but the girls thought it was such a novelty that it made it fun for all of us to be chowing down in bed. Plus, it was delicious!
First Play with Mommy's Friends Kids
We stayed overnight with my friend Cathy and she had her beautiful granddaughters staying with her. These granddaughters also happen to be my high school best friends' children. It was so bizarre to see mini me's playing with mini Katie's. The girls all got along and it was wonderful seeing Cathy and the girls.
First Visit with Great Grandma Zella
My grandmothers house always meant love, fun, warmth and food. It was such a pleasure to see my kids interacting with my grandmother. She was tickled to see them and kept them busy reading to them, singing to them and playing games with them. Her love and bag of tricks seem to be endless. The girls were truly spoiled seeing so much family and playing with their second cousins. There was a revolving door at my grandmothers house, she must have sent out a memo to the family. It was flattering that everyone would want to come and see us. I was proud to show off my family and proud to have my girls there for my grandma to show off.
First Visit to the Shack
This was true not only for the girls but also for Jake. The Shack is my dad's hunting cabin near Sun Valley. Sitting at 7400 feet in the Sawtooth Mountains it is a beautiful place to visit and just unwind. Shack time moves very slowly and there is lots of running around outside and exploring. We visited the horse pasture next door. Learned the difference between horse poop and cow poop, one is flat and squishy and one is round. Visited the outhouse, it's a two seater! Threw rocks in the stream and played in piles of dirt.
First Fish
This is a big one, Grandpa Denny bought Sophie her very own Disney Princess fishing pole so he could take her for her very first fishing trip at the Shack. What a novelty that she gets to fly across the country for her first fishing trip in Idaho! Anyhow, my dad was great with her and we got many lovely (now mental) pictures of them walking hand in hand, each with a pole over there shoulders through the brilliant yellow willows. The two of them got all settled in and within one minute of putting her pole in Sophie had her first bite. By the end of the hour, she had reeled in a rainbow trout and a brook trout. I couldn't really tell who was more pleased, Sophie or Grandpa.
First Visit with Cooper and Paige
Two of my girlfriends from high school and college live in Boise and each had babies this past year. The girls got to visit with the new little one's and imagine what it would be like to have a little sibling (hmmm, crazy house anyone?). Kelly and Jennifer both look great and their babies are just beautiful.
Thanks to everyone for making our visit such a special one. We tried to squeeze in as much as we could and every bit of it was wonderful.
