Maryland

We went out to Baltimore last week to visit Steven's sister, Sadie, her husband Keith and their new baby, Charlotte. It was so wonderful to spend time with those guys and get a glimpse of their life out east. Ivy had her first plane ride and the kids both did surprisingly well after about 14 hours of delays and airport/plane time. We enjoyed a side-trip to Annapolis, where we stayed at a hotel from the 1700's. We loved the beautiful architecture, brick roads and bay full of sailboats. Traveling is our favorite thing to do as a couple (and now as a family of four) and we hadn't gone anywhere together for well over a year. It was nice to experience some new stimuli and have endless hours in each other's presence. After all these years I still love nothing more than simply being with Steven, no matter where we are or what we're doing, and indulging in an entire week with him non-stop was soothing. I could, however, really use a babysitter!

se habla espanol

Here's a little conversation Evelyn and I had a couple days ago.

Evelyn: I drunk all of my juice.
Mommy: You mean you drank all of your juice?
Evelyn: No, I drunk it.
Mommy: You drank it?
Evelyn: No, I DRUNK it! It's SPANISH!

sweetest

Ivy is four months old.

Sunroom Demo

We tore down our sunroom. When we first moved in to the house we really liked it. Well, at least I did. It was winter time and I would spend every afternoon while Evelyn napped out there, drinking hot chocolate and writing in my journal or reading. So pleasant! But after summer came around and I realized that any plant out there shriveled up in the 110+ heat, I liked it less and less. Over time it became a storage/dog room. The biggest problem was that there was nowhere to just sit and look out a window to the great outdoors. We decided to take the plunge and tear it down. The rough edges aren't totally finished, but it's pretty close. We have been LOVING it! We decided to keep the opaque roof intact so now we just have a big covered-patio. It's a huge improvement and we can't wait to have everyone over to enjoy it with us:)

September has been an interesting month so far. Steven's parents (aka Nana and Papa) came out for a visit, which was nice. Evelyn had a blast playing with them non-stop. Hopefully we didn't wear them out for another visit! My best friend since eight grade, Sarah, and her two-year-old Abby came out for four days and I had one of the best times ever. It was so good just to talk and talk and catch up with each other on life. How refreshing is was to have that long of one-on-one time. I feel so blessed to still have her after so many years.
We have been working on taking down our sunroom and in the house a bit, which is really exciting. More light and views have been added and we're loving it!
Ivy just turned four months, which is hard to believe. She's rolling and smiling and being a happy girl. We love her to bits.
Evelyn just started to take her time while coloring instead of scribbling all over the place and is proud of her determination and work. I think she may have a knack for more 3-dimensional creations, though. She has made some pretty cool sculptures. Yesterday we made our family out of play-dough together and she added an umbilical cord to ivy out of wild rice...yeah, maybe a little weird to some, but i thought that was pretty cool! She is so funny and has such a great vocabulary. She now says certain things are "distressing" to her instead of that they bother her. She likes to point out octagons and the names of all sorts of wild sea creatures. Our lives are full with each other and we're thankful.

happy days

We had a great time at frontier days again this year. Evelyn's a cute little cowgirl.
The weeks keep passing by so quickly and suddenly Ivy is three months old today. She is so sweet and easy-going and happy. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful baby.
Steven went to L.A. for a few days and reminded me of how much I absolutely love and need him.
Summer is quickly passing and we're thankful for all the great memories we've been making.