Fall Photos

A few favorite pictures from the past month...

Eric took Eli to his first Rough Riders baseball game this month. Eli loved it. And I love how Eli is looking so adoringly up at Eric in this picture- it is so representative of how Eli feels about his Daddy!



Eli got a new bike this month and has been riding it at every opportunity. I love watching Eric and Eli ride away down the street together, because I know they're both doing something they love so much.



Phil and Eric took Timothy and Eli to a Forney High School football game a couple weeks ago. The boys loved it- all 4 of them! :)



Even though this is not a great pic of either kid, I still like this picture of Eli and CJ. These two really love each other! This picture was taken at the Gentle Zoo, which both boys thoroughly enjoyed a few weeks ago.



Brownie face:



Eli has been going to Awana this fall, and I think I can finally say that he likes it. :) He had a really hard time the first few weeks- I think the huge group of kids just overwhelmed him at first. But after he said his first Bible verses and got his Cubbies vest, he was really motivated! He wore his vest all the time last week- even to sleep. :)



And this week he marched right in and had a great time! I'm proud of my Cubbie!



Happy fall!

Sweet Boy

Eli takes a “little rest time” on days when we are home in the afternoon. He plays with toys and reads books for an hour and knows that he isn’t supposed to call me during that time. We always say, “Eli needs a rest, and Mommy needs a rest!” :)

Yesterday before I went into his room I sneezed several times (allergies!). When I went in there to get him, he said, “I hear Mommy sneeze; I say, ‘Bless you, Mommy!’” My heart smiled- it was so cute to me. He was following the “don’t call Mommy” rule, but he was still being sweet, even behind his closed door. :)

24 Hours Away

On our actual anniversary this year (Thursday), I worked and Eric spent the day with Eli. Then when I got home Eric and Eli went to a football game with Phil and Timothy and I spent the evening cleaning the house. Very romantic. :) But I did get a gorgeous bouquet of roses and a very sweet card!

We were so looking forward to this weekend, though, when we could actually get away to celebrate! We dropped Eli off with my parents at noon yesterday and headed to the Addison Oktoberfest for the afternoon. We had a blast- it was so nice to just walk and talk and enjoy being outside!

After that we went to our hotel in Addison and rested a while and got fixed up for dinner. We went to Chamberlain's Fish Market and Grill, where we had perhaps the best meal we've ever eaten! The restaraunt was fancy and romantic, and the food was incredible. They offer cooking classes there, so I might be asking for that as a birthday gift come December!

We watched "Water for Elephants" in our hotel room with champagne and chocolate cake- an anniversary tradition for us. :) Then we enjoyed sleeping for almost 11 hours straight! We both were in desperate need of rest- it was heavenly!

This morning we went out to brunch and then headed home to get Eli. It was a perfect 24 hours away. I'm so thankful to celebrate four wonderful years with my very favorite person in the world.

4 Years

I knew it then...



And I still know it now...



There is no one else I would rather spend my life with!

You are my favorite person in the whole world, and you have my heart forever. Thank you for loving me so well. Happy Anniversary, Eric!

Vacation Pictures

Alright, here we go... :)

We flew into Boston on Wednesday morning and spent the day walking around the historic part of downtown. We'd never been to Boston before, and we loved it! We ate lunch at the Barking Crab on the water, a "Man vs. Food" place, and it was so good!



From Boston we took the Downeaster train to Portland, Maine. Eli loved the train ride (see his giant smile?)! Grandpop and Grandmom met us in Portland and, after a nice dinner out, took us to their beautiful log home in Denmark, Maine.



The next day (Thursday) we went to the Maine Wildlife Preserve, where Eli saw his first moose! He's been talking about it for months now, so I'm glad we were finally able to make his dream come true. :) There were lots of other neat animals there, too- ones that you don't see in Texas! Eli used up his whole disposable camera taking pictures of the animals there. :)



On Friday we went to the beach at Pine Point. It was the perfect day. The weather was gorgeous, and the tides happened to be timed just right so that we were there at low tide and were able to walk way out on the sand bar, catching tiny little crabs, picking up sea shells, and playing in the shallow, clear water. This day will definitely go down as one of our all-time great memories.







Saturday we went to White Lake in New Hampshire. We all love this place, because the water is so clean and clear, and the setting is just picturesque. Eli had a blast playing on the neat playgrounds they have there, too.



On Sunday we had a taste of Hurricane Irene! By the time it reached us it was just a tropical storm, and it was honestly nice to see some rain after months of drought here in Texas! We lost power for a little over 24 hours, but Grandpop has a generator, so we still had some lights and power, and it was nice to just have a relaxing, rainy day inside. We did take a little walk in the rain, though, which was actually really nice!



And on Monday it was beautiful again! We went to breakfast in the morning, and then Eric and Eli and I hiked up Pleasant Mountain. Eli did great walking for a while, and then when it got steep Eric carried him on his shoulders. Eli's favorite part was "running" down the mountain with Eric- his laughter was echoing down the whole mountain! At one point he tripped and fell face-first in the leaves, and he was laughing so hard he couldn't get up. I'll never forget his pure joy.





We rode Grandpop's boat all around Moose Pond later that afternoon, too- it was so beautiful!





On Tuesday we drove to Boothbay Harbor. It's the cutest, quaintest little harbor town you can imagine. We stopped in a little coffee shop for coffee and cinnamon rolls, did some shopping, and then rode a big boat- the "Bennie Alice"- out to Cabbage Island for a clam bake. The weather couldn't have been prettier, and I think this is one of my favorite days ever. Everyone was just so happy. We couldn't have asked for more.









And then on Wednesday it was time to say goodbye to gorgeous Maine and my wonderful grandparents. We had a big breakfast, talked for a long time, took a walk down to the lake, fished a little more, and then headed back to Texas. The trip was just perfect, and we are so thankful for the opportunity to go! We loved every bit of it and are so grateful to my grandparents for sharing it all with us.

Home Again

We returned last night from a week's vacation in Maine! We had a wonderful time with my grandparents, enjoying the gorgeous weather and scenery, the beach, the lakes, the mountains, etc. It was hard to come back to 105-degree Texas!

But, as always, coming home feels really nice. And I don't know that Eli could have endured one more day of fun- he was absolutely exhausted! :) He fell asleep about thirty minutes before we landed in Dallas, and he didn't wake up at all as we got off the plane, got our luggage, got into the car, drove home, and came into the house. He roused a little when Eric sat him down on his bed. We came back in a second later to get him for a bath, and he was face down on the bed, sound asleep. I've never seen him more tired! :)

He had such a good time- we all did! My dad asked us tonight what were the "high points" of the trip, and our honest answer was, "All of it!" A few things we enjoyed most, though, were...

-stopping in Boston en route to Maine, enjoying seafood and cold beer on the water at the Barking Crab.

-walking out on the sandbar at low tide at the beach, finding tiny little crabs and seashells in the clear, cold water.

-riding a big boat out to a picturesque island for a clam bake.

-enjoying coffee and a giant cinnamon roll in a coffee shop in the cutest little harbor town you can imagine.

-laughing over dominos and dessert with my grandparents late in the night.

-getting up early to run in the 50-degree weather on quiet, wooded roads.

-witnessing Eli's absolute delight in seeing a moose for the first time (at a wildlife preserve)!

-watching my grandparents with Eli and seeing his love for them.

-pork roll and eggs for breakfast!

-zooming across Moose Pond in Grandpop's boat under clear blue skies.

-hiking up Pleasant Mountain with Eric and Eli, hearing Eli's laughter echoing down the mountain.

See what I mean? The whole trip was a "high!" :)

I'll post some pictures soon.

We are so thankful to have had another wonderful summer vacation in Maine!