The Calm Before the Frankenstorm

So, as you all know, Hurricane Sandy just walloped the east coast. Luckily for us she made her presence known in New Jersey and New York City more than in Maryland. We were spared any damage and we didn't lose power at all. We are counting our blessings. 

We spent the weekend before the storm getting everything ready inside and outside, which meant some great leaf piles for the kids. There's something inherent in all children when it comes to jumping in a pile of leaves. They see it and they don't even have to be coaxed into causing a mess and having fun. You can't fight it, you can only document it! 

Touch-A-Truck and Cousin Seth/"Uncle Kevin"

Here is my TRUCK LOVER boy!  Every time we see a truck of any kind, Tanner gets all excited, until he hears me say, "Don't Touch!"  That is why this event was PERFECT for my T!  It was an event called "Touch-A-Truck."  They had everything under the sun there, from monster trucks to ambulances to limousines.  Tanner was in heaven being able to touch and go inside of whatever he wanted!

Taking the Wheel!

In a police car with Riley

Riley in the Fire Truck

Happy Boy

Tanner informed me that his favorite of all was the helicopter

T with his Papa

Go Ravens!  (Not sure what the Ravens mascot had to do with Trucks, but Tanner was thrilled none-the-less!)

And to top off the weekend, we got to see Cousin Seth!  My cousin was in town for a conference and stayed an extra day to play tennis with Dave.  They got in 7 1/2 sets and had beautiful weather!

And here's T with "Uncle Kevin!"  We were laughing because we told T a million times that his name was Seth, but he insisted on calling him Uncle Kevin.  He kept asking Seth for play dates and sleep overs.  It was really funny.  So I had to get a pic of these bosom buddies!

Fall Festival on Spain Day

We enjoyed a beautiful Fall day today, so we decided to go to the annual Fall Festival in town.  The kids had soccer games all morning, so Dave took Riley home for her nap in the afternoon while I took Lacey and Tanner to the festival.  We had a great time!  I didn't take a ton of pictures, but the highlight of the day was definitely riding horses.  I know Lacey has ridden a horse before, but if I remember correctly, I think this was Tanner's first time and he LOVED it!

Disclaimer - Dave did Lacey's hair this morning while I was at Tanner's soccer game :)  In addition to riding horses, we played lots of games, went through a haunted barn and did a moon bounce slide and obstacle course.  It was a very fun day!

While we were gone, Dave was busy at home with Spain Day preparations.  He makes a mean paella and here is a close up of today's creation!

 Spain holds a very special place in our hearts since Dave served his mission there and because that is where we met.  Just like America has July 4th to celebrate our country, Spain has a similar day on October 12th and we celebrate it every year.   But Dave worked late last night, so we decided to celebrate today.  Here is a picture of the feast!  Paella, spanish olives, Spanish salad and bread.  We invited Dave's parents over to share in the festivities and of course had Spanish music playing.  And note Dave's Spain jersey and hat :)  Happy Spain Day!

USO 2012

Over Labor Day weekend, Dave went on his yearly mancation. He decided to go to the US Open for a couple of days solo. Thanks to friends, he was able to stay in Long Island and drive to the Open both days. He had luck on his side as the weather was perfect both days.

Dave got General Admission tickets which basically means first come first serve to all the matches going on outside of the main stadium. He was always able to get great seats at whatever match he wanted to see. It also didn't hurt that he was a party of one and he didn't have to worry about finding two seats next to each other. 

Here is a collage of the many players that he got to see either in a match, at the practice courts, or just walking around. He was able to see eventual US Open champion Andy Murray play a 4 set thriller, next to some Brits no less, Kim Clijsters' last professional match, one of Andy Roddick's final matches before he retired, ran into friends from out west (McKinnons) and friends from Boston (Cami) and spend at least 12 hours each day enjoying the atmosphere. 

                                                                               Dave even caught sight of the GOAT, Roger Federer. 

                                 And saw celebrities like Brooklyn Decker (Andy Roddick's wife) walking around the grounds. 

All in all, it was a quick but great getaway for Dave - enjoying being outside, kid-free, and watching tennis all day long!

Soccer, Good-byes and Pregnancy...

This is Tanner's first year playing soccer.

 Here he is with his team, the "Green Dragons."  One of his Coaches is named Tanner and he thinks it is very cool that he has a "Coach Tanner."

Goooooo Dragons!!  Now this is the part where I'm supposed to go on and on about how much my son loves soccer and how great it's been and all the goals he's gotten, etc.  Well, that is what I envisioned writing when I first signed him up.  But here is the reality.  He absolutely hates it.  He throws a complete fit every Wednesday (practice) and Saturday (game day) and I have to bribe him every week to get him to go.  I remind myself that he's only 4 years old and that maybe I need to wait a year or two before he really understands sports and have the endurance to really enjoy them.  But he does look very cute in his uniform :)

Lacey's 2nd season

Lacey's Team:  "Green Clovers."  Maybe it's because she's 5 1/2 or maybe it's because it's her 2nd season.  Or maybe it's just different interests and personalities.  But Lacey does in fact love soccer and she's having a great season!

This blog is a little bit of everything because I've been so insanely busy lately that I've gotten behind in terms of blogging on individual events.  One of the (many) reasons I've been busy is because we've been trying to spend as much time as possible with our dear friends Kim and Pete.  Kim and Pete have lived here for 3 years and we have become the best of friends.  We just have so much fun with them as a couple, individually and as families.  They are always coming up with crazy fun ideas and we are always game!  Love this family!  Sadly (for us), they will be moving to Korea in just 6 days.  I wanted to throw them a big party before they left and that is exactly what we did this past Friday.  I made it an Asian-themed party.  Everything was black and red (table cloths, plates, napkins, utensils, etc), we had Korean (Kimshi, sweet rice, etc) food and had fun using chopsticks and eating fortune cookies.  We made it a family friendly party and almost 100 people came, which is a testament to how much this family will be missed!

And last, but not least.... a pregnancy update.  I've had so many questions since my first post announcing this pregnancy and just haven't had the time to follow-up.  So, here it is....  I meant to do a "Half-way" post at 20 weeks, but as I write this, I am 24 weeks.  And that is the story of my life right now -- the best of intentions, but just a few days or weeks behind on everything! I was 21 weeks, 5 days when this picture was taken.  I've had a very typical pregnancy thus far.  I had nausea, vomiting and fatigue during the first trimester and have felt good during the 2nd trimester.  Over the last couple weeks, I've had a lot of hip pain and I feel like my hip/pelvic ligaments are stretched out or something.  I think it's probably normal for each pregnancy to get a little bit harder on the body.  And that on top of being a couple years older.  How some people have 6, 7, 8 or more kids, I'll never know!  But I feel the baby move all the time and that is my favorite part of pregnancy.  I had my main ultrasound a few weeks ago and, like we did with our first three, we did not find out the gender.  I love anticipation and surprise!  The baby wasn't in the right position to get all the pictures they needed, so I go in again tomorrow morning.  But everything so far is looking like the baby is healthy and doing well.  We are very blessed.