Summer is Here!!!

Yes, I know - I missed the entire school year!!!  I don't know where the time went.  I kept meaning to post updates throughout the year, but it just never happened.  The boys each had another great year of school and activities.  Jacob finished up the 2nd grade and will be in the gifted program for 3rd grade next year.  He had another good soccer season last Fall and a great baseball season this Spring.  He enjoyed playing a new position this year - catcher!  He loved it!  He has decided to skip soccer this Fall and do Fall Ball instead.

Daniel completed pre-K with flying colors and is off to Kindergarten in the Fall.  He also played soccer and baseball this year and loved them both!  This year has been one full of milestones for him and we couldn't be any prouder.  His speech has improved by leaps and bounds.  We are truly blessed that God put such an amazing speech therapist in our lives.  He also had tons of learning opportunities in Pre-K that he never would have had in preschool.  This year was exactly what he needed and we have no doubts that he will be 100% successful in Kindergarten.

School ended for us last week and as soon as it did, we were off to the beach!  My parents bought a beach house in Nags Head last year and have been working hard on getting it ready for the summer. We spent 9 days down at the beach and will be heading back again soon.  The boys had a blast.  I thought they might get bored being there day after day with just each other to play with, but nope!  They were just happy to be at the beach.  And so was I!  I can't wait to go back.

Jacob's first question about the beach house was if he could have his birthday at the beach. And so we did! I can't believe he is 8 already. 10 more years and he'll be off to college - now that's a scary thought!

Happy 8th Birthday, Jacob!


8 years old and car seat-free!!!

The table all decorated for the party.  Beach-themed, of course!

Even the food was decorated for the occasion.  (Those are little palm tree toothpicks in the burgers.)

The cake.  Again, beach-themed (per the birthday boy's request!)

Daniel wading in the sound.

Daniel and Jacob, waaaayyyy out there.  It didn't matter how far we went out, the water was never past your knees.  I got Daniel to take off his floaties once he saw that it was never deep.

Jacob and Pop-Pop out in the ocean.  Jacob was definitely my fish/beach bum this week.  He never tired of being out in the waves and it didn't matter if he wiped out.  He kept going back in the water for more!

I give up!

I keep waiting to update the family blog for a time when I can upload all the pictures, but that just is not happening and it has been far too long. So, the pictures will just have to come later...

Let's see, things are truckin' right along here in Lynchburg. We've been driving around trying to pick out a few good neighborhoods so that we can look out for houses when they go up for sale. So far, we have found quite a few good prospects. Most of them are older neighborhoods, but they are all pretty well-maintained and seem to be nice and quiet. Most of them are also split-level houses (even the new ones). Back in Midlothian, the only split-levels I ever saw were in neighborhoods that were built in the 70's, but they seem to like them around here. Which I guess is not a bad thing since a lot of square footage usually comes with a split-level. I'm just praying that the interest rates don't go crazy before we can pick out a house.

We don't have any definite plans for moving, but all I know is this renting stuff is for the birds!!! It's quiet here during the day, but there is no yard for the boys to play in and no good parks in this area (except for one in the city). Then, every night when I am trying to go to sleep, the lovely people next door decide it is time for their smoke break on their front porch (which is almost directly below our bedroom window). This also usually involves their dog out there with them barking (probably at all the bats flying around - seriously, what is up with all the bats out here??? Eeewww!!!) And don't even get me started on the girl next door whose fan belt desperately needs to be replaced. (I'm this close to going across the street - that's right - just ACROSS the street - to the Saturn dealership and making an appointment for her car to be fixed.) I know, I sound like a cry-baby, but I guess I just really forgot how much different being a homeowner is from being in a townhouse/apartment. It's doable, but as soon as we can get out of our lease and find a nice house with a nice yard, we are SO out of here!

Dylan will be hired on as a permanent employee as of the 25th (the same day as Jacob's first full day of school.) Everything seems to be falling right into place. I can just feel that this is right where God wants us to be for the moment and I don't think there is a better feeling in the world than that. I'm still very homesick, but I did find a MOPS group to join, so once I meet a few people, I think it will get better. Although, I have really enjoyed this downtime with the boys. No plans, no schedules, just us!

And yes, I will eventually get some pictures up here. We've actually done quite a few fun things with the boys. We took them to a Hillcats game (baseball), putt-putt (no pictures of that, but just thinking of Daniel swinging his golf club around like a hockey stick makes me laugh!) and lots of trips to Mr. Goodies (the best little ice cream stand up the road.)

Ok - it's off to bed now. I'm praying that while I was writing this, Dylan got all of his snoring out of him. :)

The Cure for Depression

Just in case some of you are feeling blue this evening... Take a look into these baby blues and I assure you that you will feel better! =)



And just in case you thought it couldn't get any cuter... think again!!!




And if neifher of those did the trick for you, surely this one will. (At least I know it will for one of my friends reading this - you know who you are!!!)

Bye-bye, baby curls!

Dylan couldn't avoid it, but he had to work late tonight. So, this evening, my Mom and I took Daniel for his very first haircut!!!! He did great! Although, I shouldn't be too surprised by that since he's usually always the picture-perfect baby. =)

A lot of his curls are gone now, but he looks like such a big boy now! Now his haircut matches his size! Ha!

Getting started...


Doing such a good job for Ms. Kim!




Not really sure what's going here...


But, I sure do look handsome!

We're back!!!!

Well, we made it safe and sound back from Georgia. All 894+ miles! The boys did great on the entire trip (well, for the most part.) A lot of thanks to my Mom for catering to their needs during the long drive. I drove the whole way and she handed the boys whatever it was they were asking for. Yes - I probably had the better end of the deal on that one.

The trip on the way home went a little faster than on the way down. Once we figured out that Daniel is capable of drinking his weight in milk, we were sure to keep him well-stocked on the trip back. Man, I have never realized how much that little man can drink until I had to be sure to keep his cup filled for a 7 hour period.

Anyways, on Thursday when I picked up Jacob from preschool, I was greeted with an extra passenger that would be joining us for our trip - Chester, the bear! (Actually, there were two extra passengers since Chester also has a bear of his own, Sunny.) Chester is a bear that his teacher gives to a student to take home each weekend. When they return to school on Tuesday, the student gets to tell the class all about what they did with Chester and where they took him. Little did Chester know just how well-traveled of a bear he was about to become! Here are the pictures that Jacob will be taking in for show and tell tomorrow:


Jacob, with Chester and Sunny, at the SC/NC border.


Jacob and his Great-Grandpa Dobinski.


At the Georgia Welcome Center.


Outside of a rest stop right inside the NC state line.

And for extra cuteness, here are some pictures from Jacob's PJ day at Preschool:


They were doing the letter "P" at school that week, so here he is in his Penguin Pajamas and ready to have a Pizza Party for lunch. Oh, and to add on to that Pop-Pop picked him up from school in his pick-up truck! I know, I know - I'm just too much for myself sometimes, too!




Oh - and here is the final product before we left the house. (Notice in the first pictures that his hair wasn't brushed??? Yeah - I was so focused on it being PJ day that we almost forgot to do his hair that day!)

Georgia... on my mind (& Grandpa, too!)

The boys and I are traveling to Georgia to see this man on Friday and I could not be more excited! I love going to visit my Grandpa and here's why:

1. He loves to call the boys by their initials (J.D. and D.J.) and I love it. But only when he does it.
2. I love that my Grandpa cares enough to give my boys their own special nicknames. It makes ME feel even more special.
3. I love the fact that I can talk to my Grandpa about anything. Well, that is, as long as he has his hearing aids turned up so he can hear me. :)
4. I love riding in his car with him. It makes me laugh nowadays to be a passenger and watch how he drives. Trust me on this one - you would much rather be a passenger in his car than be in a different car for this experience!
5. I also love riding in his car because repeat after me: Grandpa's car = Lifesavers Wintergreen Mints
6. I love going down to my Grandpa's and seeing all the family pictures that my Grandma loved to display in her bookcase and how Grandpa has added to this collection.
7. I love listening to my Grandpa's stories. I love going to see him because I always come home with at least one new story.

There are many more reasons, but it all comes down to this: I love my Grandpa and I always have. As I get older, so does he and so I have learned to cherish every minute that I am blessed to spend with him.

And the countdown continues...

Don't panic. Whatever you do, don't panic. You still have 24 hours to find the perfect gift. Well, ok. I'll give you 48 hours. That will still get the gift here before midnight, so technically you will still be on time. Oh, and in case you are wondering: No - cash is not a tacky gift and is gladly accepted. Just kidding (well, ok, not about the cash part). Just wish me a happy birthday and I will be, well... Happy!!! It just makes me happy when people remember it's my birthday.

Oh, and just so you know, I have successfully trained Jacob for his future girlfriends/wives. They can thank me later. (Mostly because since Jacob is only 4, I'm assuming that the majority of these girls probably don't even know how to talk yet.) Anyways, back to the reason they will be thanking me... Jacob called Dylan after preschool today and after he was done talking to him, he gave the phone to me. Dylan and I were talking and I heard, "Wait, Mommy! I forgot to tell Daddy..." So, I handed Jacob the phone and he says, "Daddy, you need to buy Mommy a cake, a card and a present for her birthday. We need to do that." Keep up the good work, son.