20 Weeks....HALF WAY THERE!

Yippee!!! Hit the halfway mark today! So exciting! Feeling pretty good too. I've been working full time now for 2 weeks and I can see how it can really wipe me out by the end of the day. It's so hard to get home and want to cook dinner, so I've been planning things that are on the "easy to prepare" side. I've noticed my feet and legs get tired/sore more quickly while I'm on my feet as well.

On the home front, the boys got their report cards on Friday. Both did extremely well! We are so proud of them and how they are doing with their new school that we let them pick where we would go to dinner as their reward. They picked a place called the Amazing Pizza Machine which is an all-you-can-eat pizza/pasta/salad/dessert buffet plus an arcade/rides/games type of place. They had a blast and won a ton of tickets to buy their prizes.

Friday night Kevin took Harrison to his first NCAA Basketball Tournament games. They saw part of the Perdue vs. St Mary's (Perdue won) and Kansas vs. Detroit (Kansas won). They both had a great time! They decided to leave at halftime of the second game since it was about 10:30pm. Harrison really wanted to stay up and watch the end of the game so he and Kevin finished out the night on the couch. They were in bed around 11:20pm (pretty late for Harrison considering he still goes to bed at 7:30pm!) Kevin said he thanked him at least 5 times for taking him to the games. We are so happy he is as into Carolina basketball and March Madness as we are! Oh and don't worry....Emerson didn't want to go to the games so we had a nice date night consisting of ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery (he chose Cotton Candy Ice Cream with Reese's PB cups and Gummy Bears mixed in....sounds gross to me but he loved it!) and a Red Box Rental (Puss 'N Boots)

We also bought a new basketball hoop for the driveway. When we told the kids we might be moving to Omaha last June, we asked them both what they would like at our new house to make it really exciting to live there. Harrison's answer was a basketball hoop in the driveway. (Em's answer was a hot tub.....we'll have to keep working on that one! lol) Kevin and Harrison spent several hours on Saturday putting the new hoop together. Harrison LOVES it!! He played as long as he could that afternoon and then asked what time he was allowed to go outside in the morning on Sunday to play again. I told him it was okay with me if he went out when he got up and dressed.....so yes, he was up and dressed at 7AM this morning and outside shooting hoops! We can actually hear him dribbling the ball from our bedroom which made me smile despite wanting some more sleep. He was out there for about an hour before he came inside for breakfast. When he came in he asked me if I got his note (which I had missed) on our night stand. It read "I'm shooting hoops. -Harrison" SO CUTE. He's been out playing basketball with any of us that will play with him, and even on his own, off and on for several hours today, before and after church. Talk about money well spent!

Other exciting news of the week, Kevin's brother Skyped us to tell us they are pregnant with #5! Congrats Jason, Karry & Kiddos! The more the merrier!!

Here's a pic of me at week 20....half way to having another sweet little one in our house!!

18 & 19 Weeks

Yup, didn't have time/forgot to post last week so here are my pics for the past 2 weeks. I started my new job this past Monday and it's going really well. Lots to learn and time on my feet has taken me the week to get used to again, but I think it will be well worth it. I did have to switch over to scrub pants with stretchy bands at the top instead of my old scrub bottoms (thank you,growing rump!). The good thing is that I still fit my scrub tops.....at least for now. Once I out grow those, I will just start wearing long or short sleeve t-shirts since we wear embroidered lab jackets on top anyway. I'll try and get a pic of me in my work "get up" and post that some time too. New also this week: realizing that I can't bend completely over and reach very far because of this growing bump. I went to wipe down some metal carts at work the other day and realized I could reach the back of the very bottom shelf. Guess I won't be cleaning these for but another month or so! Lol. Another new development?? I actually felt 2 tiny baby kicks with my hand on my belly last night! I can't wait for them to get a little stronger so the kids can feel it. Kevin already says he feels #3 moving around at night when we are in bed. Love this! I feel movements a lot more now, even though the movements don't all feel like "kicks". Best. Feeling. Ever. Well....here ya have it.....

Week 18


Week 19

16 & 17 weeks

Last weekend was so busy, so I didn't get a chance to post a picture. It was even a 3 day weekend. Lol. We spent all of Saturday out and about town running errands. Sunday was spent cleaning (which takes way longer in 4,000 sq ft than it did in 1000 sq ft!) and we also finished up a lot of things around here that needed to get done....curtains hung, pictures hung, etc. That night we had a few people from Kevin's work, and their families, over for dinner. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it again! On Monday, since we felt guilty for not having had much time to focus on the boys, we decided to drive over to Mahoney State Park to check out the indoor soft playground. The building with the play area was actually closed until 4pm when we got there so we drove through the rest of the park to check it out...we even stopped for some hot cocoa in the lodge. Since we still had a couple of hours to kill until the play area opened, we drove next door and checked out the Strategic Air & Space Museum. The boys, especially Harrison, totally dug the museum! It had 2 hangars packed with various Air Force air craft including a SR-71 Blackbird (famous for being able to go faster than a bullet!) and a B-52 Bomber. They had a section dedicated to space where they learned the difference between meteors and asteroids....Emerson thought this was pretty cool. Once we made it though the museum, it was time to head back to the park. For an entrance fee of $2/person, we all got to go into the soft play area. Of course Kevin and I really just sat and watched the boys, but you couldn't beat the price to allow the kids to run and climb and burn off some pent up energy! They even have a covered ice rink, though we didn't skate this time. Emerson had such a good time that he's declared this is here he wants to have his birthday party next month!

Here's my 16 week picture. Overall feeling good though I think I really overdid it on Sunday.



This week was definitely more low key. No travel for Kevin and not much going on for me. Still no news on the job front, but I'm hoping to hear something not this week but the next. *Crossing fingers* I'm feeling more movements this week, but still nothing Kevin or the boys could feel. Although, Kevin says while I was sleeping one night, he had his hand on my belly and he could feel something going on.....whether that be baby or gas, he wasn't sure. Lol! We started throwing around some more names today. This is going to be much harder this time around! The only names that Kevin & the boys have offered up have either been from cartoon characters (Phineas, Ferb, Perry) or just plain mean (Evil has come up more than once). Needless to say, this I'm thankful we still have another 23 weeks to decide on a "short list"! Anyway, here's my pic from today at 17 weeks. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday afternoon, so I should get to hear that sweet, sweet heartbeat again. I'll fill you in on the appointment with my next weekly update. :)

15 Weeks

Here we are, another week down. Very happy that the hubby is on his way home from being gone for a couple of nights to Raleigh, NC. His best friend and his wife asked Kevin to be the Godfather of their twin girls so he flew down for the Christening. He got to spend a little time getting to know the girls (L&C) and snuggling them. They are about 4 months old and soooo sweet. He even called me to tell me, "I can TOTALLY do girls". Up until now he's claimed that he "only makes boys", but I think he secretly is hoping #3 is a girl! We'll find out in August when he/she arrives!

So nothing too new for this past week. Nausea and fatigue still seem to be under control. Saturday night I did have a pain in my left side from lower in my groin area (sorry) running up to about my belly button. I'm thinking it's just round ligament pain from some stretching that is going on. I had it the day before on the right side, but not as severe or for as long. Today it seems to have disappeared so I'm not worried. I've also noticed that my feet are already bigger. They were about a size bigger when I was pregnant with the boys, but I don't remember it happening this early. :) Yay! Another thing spreading..... Oh, and going along with the "spreading" theme, it seems other areas (to remain nameless, though I'm sure you can see in the picture!) seem to be spreading at the same rate as my belly. Can't wait for Spring to get here so I can get out and do some walking. Oh, and let's not forget the ability to wear flip flops!

Here ya have it....picture of me at week 15....

Turbo Math GRAND CHAMPION!

This week Harrison won his final turbo math ribbon at school. Since we moved here at the start of the new year, he had some catching up to do. He started with addition. I think the way it works is the teacher gives the kids a math worksheet and they have a set amount of (short) time to answer as many problems as they can correctly. You have to earn two ribbons in each category before moving on to the next. He flew through addition and subtraction within the first 2 weeks he started school here. However, since his old school was just beginning multiplication, he needed to learn these skills before he could get his ribbons. If any one knows Harrison, you know that he does NOT like to be behind in anything! He was a bit frustrated at first, but he caught on so quickly. He now has all of his ribbons, including the big yellow Grand Champion ribbon! We are so proud of him and he is just as proud of himself! He is even ahead of some of the kids in his class who have yet to obtain their final ribbons. Great job Harrison!

14 weeks and a funny Emerson moment

Here I am at 14 weeks. Not a huge change, but still feeling like I'm definitely growing! The nausea is even better this week than last but I'm still having trouble trying to eat anything later in the afternoon and night. I never have a problem with sweeets though. And Coke. This baby loves him or her some "pop" as we say in the midwest! I've been limiting myslef to 1 can of caffeine-free coke a day, but that is more than I ever drank before I was pregnant....I usually drink water or watered down juice, not soda. Bizarre.

The Super Bowl was today and we were invited to Kevin's boss' house to watch the game. The boys had a great time with their little one who is about 2 and a half. They even helped take him to the potty twice (he's in week 1 of poty training). It was amazing to see both boys play so nicely with this little guy and I can't wait to see how they are with their new sibling.

One other story to share....so after school this past week Em was sitting on my lap and I was kissing his cheeks, I don't know what it is about his cheeks, but they are simply irresistible to me. Anyway, as I'm smothering this poor kid in kisses I asked him, "Em, where did you get such sweet cheeks?" to which he replied with a sigh, "Mom, you know I got them from you...." I said, "You did!??? How??" With another sigh, as if I'm asking a question that everyone knows the answer to, he says, "you know....when you printed me out!" HUH?? "When I printed you out?" I asked. Rolling his eyes, he says "Yes mom. When you went to the hospital to have me, you PRINTED me out!" So all of a sudden I'm not only a mom, but a printer as well. Who knew?!

13 weeks

As much as I don't want to post a pic of myself when I feel like I'm getting too big, too fast.....I know one day I'll want to be able to look back on these. SO, here's the first pic of what I hope I can continue to take throughout this pregnancy. I am 13 weeks today. Daytime nausea seems to have subsided somewhat and so has the extreme fatigue. I also swear I can feel a little flutter from this peanut moving about, but only every once in a while. I can't wait until they are full blown kicks that Kevin and the boys will be able to feel too!

Em-ism...

So we were watching tv tonight as a family. For those of you who don't know, cable is new to us. When we were living in CT we decided we didn't need to be addicted to any tv shows and we certainly thought there was too much garbage that the kids could "accidentally" happen upon, so we made the decision to turn off the cable. As a side note, we were still able to get the basic channels, ABC, NBC, FOX, so that we could watch some basic programming. Anyway, once we moved to NE, and since it had been several years since we had cable, we decided to get it and see if it would be something we were ready to reintroduce to ourselves. Last night we were sitting on the couch watching a reality show about rescues done by the Coast Guard in Alaska. The Coast Guard had been notified that someone was in trouble by a signal coming from an individual's personal Locator beacon (plb). They were dispatching a helicopter to a remote island to locate the person in trouble. As we are watching this, Emerson begins to voice his opinion....."Mom, that guy is so dumb!" I was pretty surprised and wasn't really sure why he thought the guy needing rescue was "SO dumb". When I asked him why he'd say that he made it clear that the guys would not have gotten lost had he simply remembered to use TRAIL MIX. Yes, trail mix. What in the world??? He said that when you go hiking in the woods, you should always remember trail mix so you can leave yourself a trail to find your way back to where you started. As he's explaining, all I can do is look at Kevin like "are you seriously hearing this??". It only took daddy's reminder that squirrels and other woodland creatures like to eat what?? Yes Em, they like trail mix. He was then able to back track and concede that perhaps it was a good idea that the lost guy decided to wear his plb so he could be found AND just maybe he needed rescuing not because he was lost but because he was too cold to last the night on a remote island of Alaska. Ooohhhhhhh......... Light bulb moment for Emerson.

1st Picture of Peanut #3

Well, it's not exactly the 1st picture of our 3rd addition, but it's the 1st one where he/she is starting to look more like a baby. :) I had an ultrasound in CT at about 5 weeks and the baby was too tiny to see yet. I had one more ultrasound at about 7-8 weeks and you could just barely see a tiny blob with an even tinier flickering heart beat. SWEETEST. BLOB. EVER. The 7 week ultrasound was also in CT so my OB advised that once we get to NE I find a new OB within a week or 2 to continue my prenatal care. So even though this wasn't exactly my 1st appointment for baby #3, this is the appointment that made it seem a little more real. When I got to the appointment, I got to have my 3rd ultrasound (1st in my new office) so that my OB could "confirm" my pregnancy. Let me just say, there is nothing that is music to my ears like the sound of that sweet little heart beat. I felt the need to tell the ultrasound tech that too. I don't care....baby #1 to baby #3, it is still just as exciting with this one! The tech printed me a little keepsake to bring home. Not the best pic of the ultrasound for the day, but a pic just the same. From there I had the whole work-up. Seriously, never got so much from a $35 copay! Blood work, internal exam, PAP, breast exam.....I know, enough with the details. Anyway, when I sat down to get my blood drawn the tech brought me a big bag of baby stuff. For those of you that may have had a baby not so long ago, you might recall being given a diaper bag filled with formula samples, diapers, etc. I got that at this appointment. The look on my face must have made the girls in the lab laugh because they asked me if I was ok. Here I am, not showing at all, having my "first" OB appointment, and now toting a diaper bag. WHOA THERE. I was NOT ready for that! I told the girls that I was still in the "surreal" phase of pregnancy and could you PLEASE give me this later??? The answer was no. So I put my big girl panties on, had my blood drawn, and darted to my car right after the appointment. Once home, I had one of the boys bring it upstairs to the baby's future bedroom and lock it in the closet. It's weird. Had this happened to me when I was preggo with Harrison OR even Emerson for that matter, I think I would have been SO excited! I'm not sure what my problem was. Maybe I just didn't want to jinx anything. Maybe I'm in denial we are having #3. Who knows.....but I know I'll get to the point sooner or later where I feel the sudden urge to fill this house up with baby necessities. I did show the boys the ultrasound of their new sibling. They were both so excited when I told them I had a picture to show them. When Harrison looked at it, I pointed out the face and body. He looked up at me and said, "Mom, I don't get it. Can you show me again??" I'm not sure he really could make everything out (even though he claimed to) so I'm hoping to have a really great picture to show them from our "big ultrasound" around 20 weeks.

Merry Christmas!!

An Early Christmas Surprise!

This is what their M&M's said:
Coming Soon....
Make Way for Baby...
Baby Ladd #3...
Due in August!

Trip to FL

What a special trip we had to see Mommom Nijole and Rawy in Florida this year!! Because we are moving to Nebraska just after Christmas, we felt like it was ok to take the kids out of school a little earlier than normal. We headed to Englewood, FL for a much needed 2 week vacation....time to rest up before the Christmas festivities begin AND the big move! What was even more special about this visit to FL was that we got to see Kevin's brother Jason and his family (wife Karry, kids Aidan (8), Ainsley (6), Hudson (4), and Wilson (2)). We haven't seen Jason et al. since before they moved to Iwakuni, Japan (Jason is a Marine Corps F-18 pilot). Even more interesting, we hadn't met their youngest, Wilson, because he was born while they were stationed there. SO, needless to say, we were thrilled to have some beach time with both Mommom AND the now Phoenix Ladds!! Harrison and Emerson played so well with their 4 Ladd cousins. They spent the days body surfing (which was cool since Ma and Rawy's house doesn't typically have any waves on their beach), boogie boarding, playing in the sand, hunting for sharks teeth, fishing, and of course countless activities that Mommom had all planned out. Oh, and let's not forget the many many warm-up showers in the outdoor shower of the house where Kevin, the kids and I stayed! Thank goodness for that shower! We had a good several days getting reacquainted with the entire family and couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. We certainly hope that we don't go another 4 years without seeing them!





After the Phoenix Ladds hit the road home, we decided on a spur of the moment Disney trip. Emerson happened to see a commercial on tv for Lego Land that had just opened in FL and asked if we could go. When we looked up the location on the map, we realized it was only another 20 minutes to Disney. We gave the kids the choice of which to visit and they chose Disney. Fortunately, Ma is a member of AAA and a resident of FL so she decided to give this as another Christmas gift to us. Amazing!! (Thanks Ma!) The next morning, we woke up bright and early and jumped in the car. The boys and I sat in the back and slept most of the drive. Kevin drove and had some quality "talk time" with his mama. Win-win. We stopped for breakfast just before we got to Orlando so we would all be nice and full. As we got closer and closer to the park, you could feel it....and see it. Even the posts that hold the power lines up in the air were shaped like Mickey Mouse! I'm not sure who was more excited...the adults or the kids! We parked the car, took the tram up to the monorail, and then the monorail right to the front of the park. When you check in, they ask if this is your first visit to Disney. Ma made sure that they knew it was her grand kids' first visit and they gave them each a button to wear that said "My 1st Visit!" I think the walk up to the front of the castle is emotional for anyone. Excitement, happiness, and for me nostalgia. The last time I went to Disney World was with my parents and my little sis. My mom was pregnant with my twin brothers, though we didn't know it yet. I remember making a wish at the ride "It's a Small World" with a coin my dad gave me. I wished for twin boys. Guess I should tell me Dad that the boys were really my fault. LOL! Anyway, as we walked up to the castle the emotions just washed over me. I was fighting back the tears and Kevin knew it! I was so thankful to Kevin that he agreed to take the boys to Disney and that he understood what it meant to me. I was so happy to be back in a place where I had such happy memories from my own childhood. And I was incredibly happy to provide my own children with happy memories of a day at Disney.

We did just about every ride we could that day. Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain (totally not Harrison's favorite since he rode in the very front, by himself, and just after he had downed a bunch of water....yuck.), tea cups, It's a Small World. you name it. We saw some of the shows that Kevin could remember seeing as a kid, but many I didn't remember. We had lunch and Mickey Mouse ice cream treats, and chocolate covered rice krispie Mickey's as we left.

When we were finally getting to our "max steps" for the day (that's what Kevin calls it), we headed back to the front of the park. We went through a couple of shops to grab some small souveniers....for Emerson, a Mickey Mouse Christmas ornament and Phineas and Ferb pins, and for Harrison, a Mickey Mouse Ears hat ornament and a pair of Mickey fleece-lined Crocs (perfect for tired feet!). As we were leaving Main Street, we turned one last time to say "goodbye" to the castle. We turned just in time to see them light it up with thousands of Christmas lights! Spectacular! Again, here came the tears. My sweet hubby just giggled but was sweet and knew it was partially because I was so happy, partially due to new pregnancy hormones, and partially because I was oh so tired! Have I told you lately how much I love that man?!

We stopped for a quick dinner and then headed home. What a fantastic first trip to Disney! I hope the boys remember that day vividly for many, many years.

The day after Disney was a day of recouperation for all of us. I know Ma was tired, and I was too. Kevin and the boys spent much of the day on the beach fishing and looking for sharks teeth. I pretty much laid on the couch. I felt SO tired and SO nauseas. Thank goodness the nausea didn't start until the day AFTER Disney! I was able to get most of our laundry finished and bags packed so we could leave to head home the next day.

Our flight home was uneventful, and we made it home safe and sound. This is surely a trip we will remember for a long time.

Happy Thanksgiving and here come the holidays...

We had a really beautiful Thanksgiving dinner here at home this year. It was my turn to cook for us and the Newsom's, so I spent the few days before Thanksgiving prepping everything for our meal. In addition to our 4 and the Newsom's 4, Amy's mom Rebecca was in town with her boyfriend Riley and his 2 kids Montanna and Cody, so we had a total of 12 for dinner. Here's what the menu looked like:

A Brined 22 lb. Turkey
Italian Sausage Stuffing
Fried Okra
Deviled Eggs
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Pecan Pie
Banana Creme Pie
Ultimate Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

After dinner and dessert, Kevin made a nice warm fire in the fire pit out in the back yard. That night, everyone went to bed with full bellies!

Instead of heading out to tackle Christmas shopping at 12am like we did the last few years, Amy and I decided it would be better to catch a couple z's first. We planned to meet at 5am and head out then, but she texted me at 3:00 am saying "I'm awake and gonna head to Walmart, Wanna go?" I texted her right back since I was laying in bed awake like a kid on Christmas Eve. I got up, got dressed, and picked her up by 3:30! I got ALL of my shopping DONE and was home by noon! Once home, I showered up and Kevin, the kids, and I headed over to the Newsom's for some LSU/Arkanasas football....we showed up bearing leftovers.

On Saturday, we ran out and picked up a $40 fake Christmas tree at Walmart. We decided to go light on the Christmas decorations this year since we will be in FL for almost 2 weeks before Christmas. We spent the evening watching "Christmas Vacation" and decorating the tree. Both boys loved going through their boxes of ornaments they have collected over the past years. Each year I give them both a new ornament. I try to give them one that reflects either something they did or loved for that year. This year Harrison got a fishing lure ornament that I bought for him on our vacation to Idaho. I chose this because of the "big" fishing trip he went on with Kevin while we were there. Emerson's ornament this year was figurines from a show that he loves called Phineas and Ferb. It has Phineas and Ferb in a little roller coaster car...very cute. They both loved decorating the tree so much that Emerson was asking to decorate some more the next morning! I have a feeling this is going to be another amazing Christmas season!

Happy Halloween....in November!

So it decided to snow here in CT a couple days before Halloween. Lots of towns were again without power (Hurricane Irene had also hit us this year leaving many without power for over a week....not us though!). Because of the snow, and the lack of power to areas in Norwalk, the mayor "recommended" that Halloween be observed the Saturday following October 31st on November 5th. This year Harrison was Harry Potter and Emerson decided to be Toad from Super Mario Brothers. Originally, Emerson really wanted to be a character from a show that Daddy likes called "Dr. Who" that plays on the BBC Network. He wanted to be a "Dalek", a mean robot that goes around saying "EXTERMINATE". Let me just tell you how difficult it is to find a costume for a kid from a show that doesn't really play in this country. :) SO, after some convincing, he decided on Toad. The Newsom girls, Jasmyn and Jayda, came over to trick or treat with the boys too. The haul wasn't as big as it usually is, but they still got plenty of candy. Here are a few pics....





Daddy and Emerson carved these pumpkins for Halloween too. Daddy carved "Bowser" from Super Mario Brothers on Harrison's pumpkin and "Boo" from Super Mario Brothers on Emerson's pumpkin. Pretty good job, Daddy!

Where in the world are the Ladd boys????

So sorry to the lack of posting. As it turns out, kids get busier as they get bigger! (Hey, if I'm taking over this blog, that's gonna be my story! lol) So from now on, Mommy is taking over! :) Here are a few peeks at what we've been up to over the past few months (along with my promise to be better at blogging!!)

May 2011, My Graduation from Nursing School
Jessy & Carl came and brought Trey and Riseley
Georgi & Jon came and brought Lexi and Emma
Dad came too!
We had a great New England clam bake in the back yard the afternoon of graduation and then on Saturday we took the kiddos to a Bridgeport Bluefish Baseball game!





In June, Kevin was away for work for a month! The last week of June we decided to head to see him in Omaha, NE. We had a blast! We went to the Omaha Zoo, spent a lot of time at the hotel pool, went to a place called "The Pizza Machine" (kind of like a Chuck-E-Cheese), and we even went to CoCo Keys one afternoon.





I also went to my cousin George's wedding in June. He married Karen, who we just love. It was too bad Kevin couldn't make it since he was in Omaha, but we had fun just the same. Here's a pic of the groom from the reception, the Mother of the Groom (Aunt Lori) with the Best Man (George's son "Little George), and some of the cousins, and Uncle Matt, that were able to make it to the wedding (at a bar afterwards!)





In June, I took, and passed my boards! I'm officially a RN!!!



Once back from NE, we headed to McCall, Idaho for our summer vacation together. What a much needed break for us all! Melissa and Lawson were even able to meet us for the week! It was a beautiful place and one we'd love to return to!







In July, Harrison went to Camp Jewell for a week of sleep away camp. He was so excited to go away by himself for a whole week and had a blast (even though I worried about him being there without knowing anyone). He made lots of new friends and is dying to go back next summer for TWO WEEKS! Emerson is pretty interested in going next summer too. We'll see....





When Harrison got home from camp, it was his birthday! We took Mommom Lenor and Poppop Ladd to a Yankees game! Happy 8th Birthday Harrison! Where does the time go???



August brought me and the kids down to NC for a week and a half. We were invited to stay down at the beach with "Nona" (Kathy Hartenstine), Melissa, Chris & Lawson, Julie, Tim, Kyler & Brady. What a blast we had! The house and company was perfect! Nothing says "summer" like a NC beach! In addition to hitting the beach and pool every day, we went to the Fort Fischer Aquarium. Oh, and Julie and Tim got engaged!! So excited for them! They make a beautiful couple and Kyler and Brady are lucky to get another "Mama" to love them! Congrats Julie and Tim!






We also decided to put our house on the market at the beginning of August because...





Kevin flew back to Omaha in August to be presented with an award for all of his hard work (and a month away from home working 20 hour days/7 days a week!) We are so proud of him and apparently so is InfoGroup!




At the end of August, the boys headed back to school! Emerson is now in 1st grade in Mrs. Kovlakas' class (we <3 her!) and Harrison is in 3rd grade in Ms. Dean's class. Both boys are reading like crazy! Harrison has recently read "A Wrinkle in Time", some of the "Warrior" series books, some of the "How to Train Your Dragon" series books, and he's now reading "Rifles for Watie". He was selected to participate in his school's "Academically Talented" program (he's the only one from his class!) and the Strings program. He just got his violin last week! Emerson just started his 1st year of Cub Scouts. He is a Tiger Scout and LOVES it!! Here are a few pics. I'll have to get a pic of Harrison with his violin and post it soon. He starts his lessons on Monday!




That about sums it up! I promise to be a better blogger....or at least TRY! ;)