Ohio

We just got home from Ohio...it was such a great trip and it was so nice to see family. Wyatt had a blast, as usual. Grandpa's farm is like heaven for a two-year-old boy. I think we did everything a little boy could dream of doing. Rea was along for the ride too...but she really only wanted some attention and a bottle. I will spare you the recital of every detail of our week, and let the pictures speak for themselves...

Nana

After we got home from Tahoe, we had two days before my mom (aka Nana) came to visit. Me and the kids drove up to San Jose to pick her up...and while we were there, visited one of our favorite stores...

We had such a blast checking out all that they had to offer...and Wyatt had a blast running up and down the aisles with his paper measuring tapes. And yes, we bought a ton of stuff.

Nana stayed with us for four days. While she was here we played a lot, had a CAbi party and ate lots of good food. We were sad to see her go...but we'll see her again soon! ;)

Lake Tahoe, October 8-11

So I'm going to attempt to do a little catching up here...

Josh left at the end of September for Fallon, Nevada (he would be gone a month). Thankfully, we had plans to drive up to Lake Tahoe and meet him a few days later. I loaded up the car with clothes, snacks and babies and drove the six hours up to the mountains. I had never been to Lake Tahoe before, and I knew that it would probably be beautiful...but I just had no idea. It is in my top three of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The pristine lake surrounded by mountains and crisp, clean air. Sigh. Can we go back now?



Anyway, we and four other families rented a huge cabin in South Lake Tahoe. The first night we were there, I sent Josh out to the car to grab some groceries that I had left out there. He walked outside, looked up, and this is what he saw about three feet from his face...

Fortunately, that was our only bear encounter. haha.

We spent four days just hanging out and enjoying our surroundings. The kids also relished in some daddy-time. We managed to spend a couple of hours at the lake one day and got some great shots of the kids...


This trip was entirely too short. I wish we could've stayed forever. Hopefully someday soon, we'll head back up that way...

A quick observation...

Hanford finally gets a drink...

We FINALLY got a light sprinkling of rain yesterday! It has not rained here since late March...maybe early April. Seriously, there have not even been clouds in the sky. This development was so exciting that when I took the kids out in the stroller, Wyatt screamed "Clouds!!!". And so exciting to me, that I had to write a blog post about it.

I grew up in Alabama where almost every afternoon of the summer a thunderstorm blows through. I used to hate that. I hated that you would have to leave the pool early, or that you got stuck in the house for a few hours. This was before I could appreciate a good nap, of course. But now that I've gone without rain for two summers in a row, I miss it like crazy. The sight of little droplets on the pavement brought me more joy than getting to sleep in on a Saturday....although I'm not sure I even remember what that's like. haha.

Sweet Rea turns 9 months

It's hard to believe that my sweet Rea is 9 months old already! It seems like yesterday that she came into our lives. The first few months were a little rocky (thanks, colic), but now this girl is seriously the sweetest thing since cane sugar! It's amazing to see her personality come out day by day. She is completely content 99% of the time and smiles constantly. She's definitely rewarding us for our perseverance in those early days. Every day with Rea is better than the last...while I will miss these precious times we have together now, I'm excited about our future with her and watching her as she grows.

She's crawling everywhere...and is desperate to keep up with her big brother. She goes everywhere that he goes--even to the potty. She is "cruising" around the coffee table, couch and various other furniture and her balance is improving by leaps and bounds every week. I fully expect her to walk early. She is eating squash, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, peaches, apples and bananas now. It won't be long and she'll be eating solid food with her brother.

It feels like I had her, blinked, and here we are at 9 months old. I have a feeling that I'll blink again and she'll be 2.

Alabama v Penn State

Wyatt and Reagan had so much fun watching football this past Saturday...and of course supporting the Tide!

ROLL TIDE!