Jake

Everyone who has known my family and my parents at any point over that last 20yrs, has also known Jake. Jake is my parents dog who has lived to be at least 19yrs old. He was found by my Dad at work and joined our family. Jake has always been full of love, concern, playfulness and loyalty. He has been probably the best dog ever. He was a faithful companion when anyone was sick and at one point or another stood by every member of the family when they just needed a friend. He would lay by their side until all was well again.

This weekend my parents made the tough decision to put Jake to sleep. He has been in so much pain lately that he would rather just stand in one spot than suffer trying to lay down or sit. It was hard to watch him hurt. Yet each time we came over he would muster enough energy to greet us and love us and even play a bit.

I am so thankful for what Jake has meant to my family and to many of my friends who also loved Jake. Our hearts are sad but we are thankful he is not suffering anymore. We love you Jakey!

Easter Weekend

This past weekend we had some wonderful family time. From Egg Hunts and cookouts to pancake breakfast together and a fun Easter dinner with friends, it was so enjoyable.

One thing that I loved watching was my kids egg hunt. Jessica absolutely loved it and got into the groove right away. Though after her bucket was half full she would throw them back out just to collect them again. Ristow was great helping Jess, he is such a great big brother!

I do think it is funny to see the things that I NEVER let Ristow do when he was Jess's age that I totally don't think anything about her doing. Like even simple things like eating candy. Ristow was 2 before he tasted candy. Jessica ate hershey's chocolate, M & Ms, tried her first lollipop and other tasty easter delicacies this past weekend. I do believe that she has My sweet tooth :)
It amazes me on a daily basis how different she is from Ristow yet they both experience the same firsts and the same milestones. It is truly a joy!

A Weekend In Boston

I was fortunate enough to be able to go with Christopher this past weekend to Boston to watch him run the Boston Marathon. We are so thankful for the family and friends that helped out by watching the kids for us making this possible!
So we left Saturday afternoon from Nashville and landing with horrible weather in Baltimore for a layover. 7.5hrs later we finally took off for Boston. Got to our hotel about 12:30am very ready for sleep. The next morning we headed to the lobby and met a great couple who was also there for the race. They were kind enough to give us a ride to the subway station with them and we ended up hanging with them for much of the weekend. It was lots of fun. We went to race registration and the expo then off to Fenway to get our first glimpse of the Green Monster.
What a great ballpark! Such character and atmosphere. We loved watching the game and the Sox even pulled off a huge win!

After the game I thought I would show Christopher around Boston, after all, I had been there once before about 13yrs ago :)
Well, I vaugely remembered seeing some big ships and the Boston Tea Party Museum when I was there last. So we headed for the Harbor. After walking and walking we passed a cemetary and got to see Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adam's tombstones. Finally we get the water and I see a ship. We go over to it and it is a whale watching sailing ship. I ask a lady at the desk about The Boston Tea Party stuff and she laughs and says "It doesn't exist! Unless you want to go look at the water where the boat might have been, been gone for years!"
What?! So the one thing I tried to go show Christopher was a bust.



Luckily on the way to the subway we found a cute little area of Boston and a great little restaurant with Lobster. Yay!




The next morning was Race Day. Lots of energy and cheering. It was awesome to spectate at Boston. Got to see the wheelchair racers, the Elites run by, including Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall. Very cool. I saw some Troops marching the course and many many fast runners. I took a sign that Ristow made that said "I love you Daddy! Now, Go Go Go Go!" Got to see Christopher right before he tackled Heartbreak Hill. He looked fresh and ready to go, and that was mile 20. I was so very proud of him. Click here to read his story.

It was a great experience and lots of fun! We got back Tues around noon and were very glad to see the kiddos.

We've Got Us a Climber!

When Ristow was little we hardly had to baby proof anything at all. He never climbed the stairs or the furniture or got into much of anything at all. Boy were we spoiled. Jessica, on the other hand, gets into EVERYTHING. Stuff that I never would have thought to baby proof, gets messed up and destroyed. If if is not locked down or up high, she considers it hers. Well the up high part has now become hers too. She has figured how to climb up on just about everything!
Yesterday I walked into the living room from the kitchen and found her on TOP of the piano. (and NO I don't have a picture of it) She pulls her little ride on pony in front of the couch and climbs up onto it and from there I discovered she climbs onto the side table. This girl is so adventurous and is not afraid of anything. It is going to drive me crazy! I can barely keep up with her.
Everyday with Jessica is a new challenge and a new joy. Lucky for her she is so stinking cute! :)