The Stehling Family

It's been a while? :)

2011-05-19T23:04:00.002-04:00

What can I say...we got busy. Two kids, my 30th birthday, a move, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Sav's 5th birthday, Thirty-One, Easter/Sydney's 1st Birthday, Mother's Day....life. I think a lot of people have given up on me! Sorry about that.

Well, we are thrilled to be back. I am settling into being a stay-at-home mom in a town where I have always worked--definitely a different world. Drew is enjoying his position at work. Savannah is LOVING being close to everyone. Sydney is just growing like crazy and along for the haul! We are so happy to be near family again. You forget how much you lean on people when they are around. :)

It has been a crazy/fun year. The pictures above were taken at Sydney's 1st birthday party. How she is one is absolutely beyond me! She is such a joy and a blessing in our lives. Fun, funny, loving, and FULL of personality. I am happy that we got back in time for her to never miss a moment of our family and friends being a part of her life.

We definitely miss our friends in Michigan, but we are planning to visit this fall.

Savannah is preparing for kindergarten and is SO excited. I think she has had about as much "Mommy" time as she can take!! She is so smart, very funny and just has a fantastic outlook on life. She asked right after we got back "when the trailer would be back". I think she was already looking forward to our next adventure.

Well, it is late and there is a LOT of updating to be done. I will probably go forward and mix in some of the Fall/Winter/Spring posts along the way. Thanks for staying tuned!!! :)

Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls, Canada

2010-09-08T07:29:00.001-04:00

Drew took these pics, and I thought they turned out pretty cool. See for yourself!

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

2010-08-28T21:52:00.002-04:00

One of the things Drew and I have wanted to do while we are up here is to go to Niagara Falls. Well, we finally did it and we did it right! We stayed at a BEAUTIFUL hotel(Sheraton on the Falls) overlooking the Falls. What a view! We opened the door in our room and had the most amazing view. We decided to do things a little differently since we had an infant in tow. Instead of the typical touristy attraction(most of which entail you getting wet), we stayed on land and tried to do all the kid friendly things.

We started our trip taking a nice, leisurely drive through Detroit(we swear Michigan doesn't want you to leave their state! We started to feel trapped!) which took FAR longer than it should have--we are in orange cone season though!. We crossed into Canada at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, MI. Savannah thoroughly enjoyed looking at her Passport and reading all the sayings throughout. Our drive through Canada was relatively uneventful. The countryside is pretty and the towns seem to be very spread out(or "oat" as they say in Canada!). We had lunch at a neat little place called Moose Winooski's in Brantford, Ontario. An hour and a half later(thanks Drew), we arrived in Niagara Falls! Talk about CHAOS! We missed our turn into the hotel parking lot and had to circle around...there were people EVERYWHERE! This kind of freaked me out. I am not a big fan of tons of people and crowded places...it turned out that it was really no big deal. If anything, it made for great people watching! Anyhow, we parked and made our way through registration to our room. As I already mentioned, our view was amazing. All the pictures of the Falls at night were taken from our room. We dropped our stuff and off we went. We walked around the Falls closest to us and visited the "bubble fountain". We also took a spin through the Fun House. I thought the coolest room was the "shipwreck" room where everything was at an angle. Savvy liked the rooms where the blacklight lit up her white polkadots! It was pretty cool...couldn't get a picture of that though! We headed to the Hard Rock Cafe after that and then it was back to our room to take in the light show. The Falls are beautiful during the day, so it was hard to believe that they would look even half as good lit up. Let me tell you, they did! It was so cool to watch them change colors each time. Savvy loved the rainbow colors and I liked the pink and purple ones.

The next day we started out by walking all the way to Table Rock. This is where you would do the "Journey Behind the Falls" and "The Fury of the Falls". Savannah was not too thrilled with getting wet from the mist that was floating up, so we just walked around and enjoyed the shops and the beautiful views while Drew videoed the view. We really liked how the mist from the Falls would literally turn into clouds before your eyes. VERY COOL! We walked back, ate lunch at The Rainforest Cafe, and then Drew and Savannah were off to ride the giant Ferris Wheel(SkyWheel). Savannah wasn't too sure it was such a good idea when the cabin started rocking a little. :) They did enjoy the views and I am sure she would do it again in a heartbeat. We then made our way to the indoor water park right off of the hotel. This was Sydney's first time in the water. I can't say that she absolutely loved it, but I think that was due to the fact that it was her nap time. Savannah LOVED it!!! Drew "helped" her go down the first water slide, and after that, there was NO stopping her! Drew did the majority of them with her, but she did come and recruit me later on. I was shocked at the lack of fear she showed on these things! I was a little scared on a couple of them!! After the water park, we had dinner at the Fallsview Restaurant. Beautiful views, mediocre food(most of the food during the trip was "just ok".). We ended our evening listening to the concert they had going on right outside our room, followed by the fireworks over the Falls.

All in all, it was a fantastic "first" family vacation for us! We tailored it to our family, took it slow and really enjoyed ourselves. We will never forget how beautiful the Falls are...I would go back again in a heartbeat!

Kyra and Sydney's Staring Contest

2010-08-15T13:33:00.001-04:00

Kyra and Sydney had a few staring contests that last weekend we were in Texas...here are a few pictures!

Sydney's Baptism

2010-08-15T13:20:00.003-04:00

We decided to have Sydney baptized while we were in Texas this trip that way everyone could be there for it. She is blessed to have Jeanine as her Godmother and Greg as her Godfather. We had it at Christ Lutheran Church in El Campo since we are all baptized Lutheran and haven't officially joined another church since Covenant Lutheran where Savannah was baptized. It was a wonderful service. You will notice that we aren't in the sanctuary...that is because the A/C went out a couple days before the baptism. Drew, Nolin and Kevin went to the church on Saturday to set everything up for church that Sunday. I thought it all turned out great. We had all of our family, and our El Campo extended family(Palt's, Egmon's, and Emily Dore) there. Pastor Jake did a nice service and we all welcomed Sydney into God's family. Afterwards, Dunae' and Kevin had everyone over to their house for a BBQ dinner and cake. How was Sydney? The sweet baby slept through the WHOLE thing!!!! Thanks to everyone who came and helped!!! We love you all!

Texas Week 2

2010-08-15T13:05:00.002-04:00

We arrived in El Campo, after our trip to Rockport and Victoria, right as Dunae' and Kevin pulled up with Kyra, Molly and Kay. They had all been in the Hill Country for Oma's BBQ. That started off what can only be described as an absolutely CRAZY week. Kyra, Kay and Molly were staying with Omie and Boss all week as were we. Add in Nolin and Jeanine's 3 and we were totally outnumbered! ;) Jeanine, Dunae' and I were constantly switching kids...Jeanine would take 3 with her to her house, while Dunae' would take 3 to a store and I kept a couple at the house...SWITCH! All in all, it was a TON of fun. We had Kay on her actual birthday, so that was a blessing. She is one funny kid. Between Kay and Savannah, I was rolling all week. "What the HECK?", "What are you...CRAZY?", "Who IS she?"...were a few of my favorite quotes. We made pizza, there were sleepovers, presents, swimming, a trip to Mr. Gatti's, dress up, make-up, feeding baby Sydney, a movie for the older ones(courtesy of Boss), you name it! Dunae'(poor thing!) even kept all 8 for a few hours while Jeanine and I had a little "getaway" around EC. On Friday, I went to San Antonio to pick up Drew(and to recharge...those kids wore me out!). Saturday was Kay's princess birthday party. Lots of slip-sliding fun! WHAT A WEEK!

Texas Week 1

2010-08-15T12:47:00.002-04:00

WOW! We had an absolute BLAST on our trip to Texas. I am not sure I could have crammed any more visiting in, but I know we missed a few folks...that will have to be the next trip! Since Savannah had flown in with Omie and Boss, I only had Sydney to take care of. She did fantastic on the flight. She fell asleep right before we boarded and slept until we were getting our bags! What a happy Mommy I was!!! Dunae' and Kevin (with Savannah in tow) met us at the airport in Austin(cheaper than Houston). One of my favorite quotes was Dunae's--"This is Sydney's first breath of Texas air!"--Now those are the words of a True Texan!!! :) After we loaded up, we met my Aunt Demra, Uncle Bobby and cousins, Gigi, Brantley, Erin and Gigi's girls, for lunch at Pappasito's(had to get my Mexican food fix!). YUM! We had a great visit though it was WAY too short. I am waiting on pictures from that visit and will post as soon as I can. They are some beautiful people! Then is was off to El Campo. When we arrived, Sydney was inundated with family(it was great!!!!). Jeanine and Nolin fried fish and all the kids had a blast playing and oohing and ahhing over Baby Sydney. Cade LOVED putting Syd's paci back in her mouth...so sweet! Then is was off to my parents the next day. I got my hair done(finally!) and enjoyed seeing a ton of people in a VERY short time. It was great! Aunt Mary Gail, Jack, Kristin, Justin, Heather, Scott, and crew. Loved it! The weekend we were off to Rockport to stay with Aunt Janice and Uncle Jim at their house. We had a blast swimming and catching up. We also got to see a few more people down there--Neal, Lenzi, Luke and Suzanne Foertsch. On Sunday, we headed to Victoria for lunch with Aunt Elaine (Uncle Kernell was sick), Aunt Joan and Uncle Everette. It was so nice to see everyone and we truly appreciated everyone taking the time to see us! So, as you can see, our first week in Texas FLEW by. Here are a few pictures from that week...

Savvy's Week in Texas July 2010

2010-08-15T12:37:00.002-04:00

Savannah flew back to Texas with Omie and Boss after their trip up here. According to them, she did great. I had worked with her for weeks on answering the security guard's questions when asked since she was not traveling with us. I always take her passport, but it seems they would prefer for the child to answer their questions (i.e. What is your name, Who are these people you are with, etc) instead. If you know my child, you know she is extremely shy and that answering the simplest questions can be painful. Therefore, I did what any good mom would do--I bribed her. If she answered the questions when asked, she got a surprise. :) Seemed to do the trick as she is now the proud owner of a Toy Story 3 Barbie and Ken! Anyhow, she had an absolute blast that week. She stayed with both Omie and Boss, and Granna and Pop. She spent LOTS of time with cousins and was FAR too busy to Skype her parents(much to my dismay!). I was happy she had fun and didn't get homesick. It was awfully quiet around the house with just Sydney!! :) Here are a couple of pictures from her week!

Wineries

2010-08-01T09:24:00.002-04:00

We took Drew's parents to visit two of the wineries on the peninsula. On the way, we had an amazing lunch at the Boathouse and enjoyed some time at the lighthouse. The wineries are famous for their Cherry Wines. Every year around July 4th, Traverse City hosts a Cherry Festival--a HUGE event for the area. We have managed to be in Traverse City the last two years right before the Cherry Festival begins. The vineyards around the wineries are absolutely beautiful. Chateau Chantel was one we had not visited before and was very pretty inside and out. Chateau Grand Traverse is still our favorite family picture spot and has the best wine.

I also got some pretty shots of the sunset from the hotel balcony. We all had a great time in Traverse City!

Old Mission Lighthouse (Traverse City)

2010-08-01T09:20:00.002-04:00

While visiting some wineries(pics to come in the next post) on Traverse City's Peninsula, we decided to see the lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula. As you can see from the pictures, the area around the lighthouse was beautiful. We were also on the 45th parallel--which is halfway between the North Pole and the Equator(though it felt as if we were much farther north than that!).

Cherry Tree Inn Traverse City

2010-07-28T21:44:00.002-04:00

We stayed at the Cherry Tree Inn in Traverse City at the end of June with Drew's parents. Savannah and I stayed there with my mom a year ago and loved it. It is a pretty hotel with a play area for the kids and a VERY long and shallow entry into the bay. The water was COLD(about 66 degrees), but the guys still went in with Savannah. It was overcast that morning, so the pictures don't do the bay justice. Traverse City is such a beautiful place!!!

P.S.--The seagull pics were for Sav, but I was so surprised at how it posed for my pictures!

Fishing Trip Traverse City 2010

2010-07-28T16:49:00.001-04:00

I went with Drew and his dad on a guided fishing trip on the East Bay of Grand Traverse Bay the last weekend in June. It was a lot of fun though we only caught two keepers(had to throw mine back). We fished for Lake Trout and King Salmon, but only caught the trout. Our hotel is the white one in the pictures.

I'm 2 Months Old!!

2010-07-28T16:09:00.001-04:00

Sydney went to the Dr today. She weighs 13 lbs 9.5 oz and is 24 and 3/4" long!! She had to get two shots and one oral vaccine...yuck! She did really good though. Here are a couple of pictures of our sweet two month old!

Mommy loves this picture of me!!

Look how long I am!

Here I am with Savannah!!

Some facts about our Sydney:
*She is now sleeping through the night! YEA!
*She LOVES to smile!
*She has a VERY distinct "hungry dance" and a "poopy face".
*She is very alert and can hold her head up very well.
*She also loves her TV! Not too much, of course!
*She is a REALLY good baby and doesn't fuss too much. We love our Sydney Brynn!

Savannah feeding Sydney

2010-07-28T15:59:00.000-04:00

This was Savannah's first time to give Sydney her bottle. We had to do a little maneveuring to get Sydney on Sav "the way we do it". Note the life jacket propping up her feet! She was quite proud of herself though her arm got tired towards the end and she thought Sydney should hold her own bottle. HA!

Sweet Savannah!

2010-07-28T15:53:00.000-04:00

I LOVE TV

2010-07-28T15:50:00.000-04:00

I guess we never had the TV on kids shows when Savannah was little, because I sure don't remember this. Sydney loves to watch TV! The second one makes me laugh...she is SO into it!

June 2010...almost 2 months old!

2010-07-28T15:44:00.000-04:00

I can SMILE!!! Aren't I a cutie?

Sisterly Love :)

2010-07-28T15:39:00.000-04:00

We love each other through good times...

...and bad! ;)

Look a Likes Take 2

2010-06-07T20:53:00.000-04:00

Savannah--2 months old

Sydney--5 weeks

Three Ladies

2010-06-07T18:21:00.003-04:00

This picture was taken at my friend Jen's Memorial Day Party. We had a great time, and I somehow managed to coordinate my colors with the girls.

Hangin' Out

2010-06-07T17:35:00.002-04:00

Sweet sisters!!

They are both watching TV...

Lovin' each other!!!

Oh no! Baby Acne!!

2010-06-07T17:29:00.001-04:00

I kinda cut out the posting of pics for a while because Sydney had a REALLY bad case of baby acne. Apparently, it is common (though I don't remember Sav having it) and arrives around 3 weeks. Well, Sydney's came on like clock work--3 weeks to the day. :( Boo. We watched as our beautiful baby ended up with ugly red bumps on her face...SO sad! I didn't do her one month old pics until 5-6 weeks because it was still there. I am happy to report that it is now ALL gone. YEA!

Also, note the reddish tint to her hair. How do we end up with all the red heads?? :)

Also, check out the chunky legs!!! She is starting to get the cute little rolls!

Pedicure Fun!!!

2010-06-07T17:18:00.000-04:00

My dear friend Kristin sent a Mary Kay pedicure set as a baby gift to me. Savannah and I had a WONDERFUL time working on each other's feet. She really got into the whole thing. Sydney coorporated by sleeping during our pedi time. I LOVE having girly girls!!!

As a side note, if you need anything from Mary Kay, Kristin is fantastic!!! Let me know and I will send you her info. And, NO, she did not ask me to add this endorsement, I just love her to pieces and would do whatever I can to help her!!

Box TV

2010-06-07T17:13:00.000-04:00

Savannah loves "The Berenstein Bears" and while we were watching one day, she saw them make their box tv. So, Daddy helped her cut it out of the box and make a remote. Here is the result... :)

Savvy in my old dress

2010-06-07T17:07:00.000-04:00

I personally think she looks beautiful in this dress...I may be biased.

Sydney's First Zoo Trip

2010-06-05T22:24:00.002-04:00

These are a few pictures from our trip to the zoo. We had a great time and Sydney enjoyed being out and about. She slept the majority of the visit.

Random Pictures from May 7-10

2010-06-05T22:10:00.000-04:00

Proud Sister

Sweet Baby Girl (about 2 weeks here)

Daddy and Sydney

Sweet Savvy

Sydney's Quilt

2010-05-18T15:58:00.000-04:00

My mom made Sydney this adorable quilt. She handstitched the entire thing! :) I know Sydney will LOVE it!!!

Tummy Time!

2010-05-14T17:59:00.001-04:00

Sydney, unlike Savannah, seems to love tummy time!!! Here are a couple of pictures...

6 Days Old

19 Days Old

Savannah the Bride

2010-05-14T17:53:00.000-04:00

Savannah loves to watch our wedding video and the recent purchase of a "bride" outfit has only intensified this! She now dresses up to watch then proceeds to marry each of us and we all get to dance at our receptions. :) Such a cute age!

16 Days Old Already?!?

2010-05-10T19:03:00.002-04:00

So Sydney is now 16 days old and is still such a joy. She is a great baby--sleeps well, eats well, smiles beautifully, etc. We are really enjoying every minute with her. It is amazing how different it is with the second child. We are much more relaxed, the learning curve is considerably less, and, at least for me, I feel much more maternal this go round. Some of that may be due to age, but I think being a mom just comes more naturally the second time. Don't get me wrong, Savannah was also an easy baby, but we had SO much going on at that time--Drew had just started 60 hour work weeks, we were selling our house, building a house, and our fence had fallen down in the back and the HOA was not being very helpful. I also knew I had to go back to work. It is amazing how that will drag you down during the time you are with your newborn (Oh, I only have 3 more weeks; 3 more days, etc...). SO, I am utterly and completely enjoying the time I have with my family. Here are a few (read: LOTS) of pictures from the last 16 days (this also includes Drew's trip with Savannah to the zoo). I will probably repost some of the pics separately as well. I hope you enjoy our pictures as much as I enjoy looking at them. :)

Look A Likes!

2010-04-29T10:57:00.003-04:00

Savannah Paige
2/2/06

Sydney Brynn

4/28/10

I haven't taken a lot of pictures of Sydney yet, but she looks like a Savannah with dark hair! Sydney is such a great baby and Savannah is just loving every minute of this...."Sydney will be with us forever!". :)

Big Sister Savannah

2010-04-29T10:09:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the World Sydney Brynn!!!

2010-04-25T19:21:00.004-04:00

Apparently all it took for Sydney to come was for me to rant about how frustrated I was on my blog!!! Regardless, we are SOOOOO happy that sweet, little Sydney is here. She came into this world April 24, 2010 at 11:02 a.m. She weighs 7 lbs 11 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. She is beautiful, and completely and totally LOVED by her family!! Savannah just loves her little sister. :) I will add a more detailed accounting of her arrival later, but I wanted to update you on our latest miracle!

38 Weeks 6 Days

2010-04-23T17:16:00.002-04:00

So, I went to the doctor yesterday and have had absolutely NO progress other than she is a little lower than she was. Still 1 cm dilated. Still having contractions (definitely more painful within the last couple of weeks). Yet no progress. This child is in NO hurry to show her face in this world. We are all ready for her.

All along, I was SURE she would arrive early like Savvy did at 36 weeks. Therefore, discussions with the doctor regarding inducing labor were few and far between. I did ask if they did it--Yes, and how far along I had to be in order for it to occur--39 weeks. SO, going into this appt, I thought we might as well get this scheduled so that we can schedule everything else along with it (babysitter for Savvy, plane tickets for family, the schedule for when different people would come up to help, etc...). I brought it up to the doctor(a different one than the one mentioned above since it could be one of three that could deliver this baby)and she told me that they did not like to do "elective inductions" until after 41 weeks...41 WEEKS!!!! Are you freakin' crazy?!? She did say that I would have to have it approved by the doctor who would be on call next week and then I could schedule it.

As it stands today, I am waiting for the doctor to come back from vacation so that I can see if they will "allow" me to induce on Wednesday or Thursday-39 weeks 4 days, and 39 weeks 5 days, respectively.<--I add this part to let you know how VERY close I would already be to my due date and the 40 week mark dictating what should in ALL cases, in my opinion, be the end of a pregnancy. So, as we pray for a healthy baby, we also pray that she decides to come relatively soon as we are ALL ready. This is my update for 38/39 weeks, sarcasm and all.

35 Weeks Today

2010-03-27T14:01:00.002-04:00

I do a fair amount of blog hopping amongst my friend's blogs, and have come across one I love through Kelly Hixson's (my college roommate and one of my dearest, bestest friends) blog. It is their friend, Jill Phillips. Jill has meticulously written about her pregnancy week by week by week. She is also due about the same time as me and it has been fun to see what she is experiencing that I am as well. They also live away from family and I can relate to some of her worries about being so far from home. So, she has basically inspired me to update you about my pregnancy...though you can rest assured that I will not even be able to update weekly (my brain doesn't work that way and I guarantee I will forget!). Also, no pictures will be associated with this post.

I have been super worried about being placed on bed rest throughout my pregnancy due to the fact that I was put there with Savannah. All I could think about was how in the world am I going to keep a busy 4 year old entertained while I lay on the couch and drink water?!? Well, I am now out of the woods on that one. I have been up to the hospital three times since around 32 1/2 weeks (mostly due to contractions and lots of pain associated with it). I know, I know, people get Braxton Hicks contractions throughout pregnancy, but the ones I had yesterday that resulted in a hospital visit were 5-8 minutes apart for 3 hours and were verging on getting painful as they went on. Well, the dr's have said that at this point if I go into true labor, they will let me go ahead and deliver...without stopping labor. And their antidote to the contractions, rest and drink lots of water. Easier said than done. :)

I am definitely bigger than I was when I was pregnant with Savannah. I am still pretty much all belly where the baby is concerned, but my hips and thighs have definitely added on a little weight. I try not to complain about that since I am just SO thrilled to be pregnant in the first place.

I finally have had a craving during this pregnancy (other than Zantac!)--strawberries!!! I have been buying them three cartons at a time since Valentine's Day! I try to mix in a banana to help with the leg cramps I have a lot of mornings...not sure it is working, but it is worth a shot.

We should finish Sydney's room today and I am just SO excited to put the finishing touches on it. I know it is not home, but it is the best we can do with what we have! Since my hospital visit on Tuesday early morning, I have been out buying all the things we will need when this one comes. Diapers, wipes, pacis, thermometers, and some mommy items. It is fun to look at all the neat stuff that they have now that they didn't have when Savannah was born 4 years ago. I even let Savannah pick out the bathtub for Sydney. I will give you one guess what color it is...pink with sparkles!

We have been blessed with some really great friends up here as well. One of the friend's Drew works with, took up a collection in lieu of a shower for us. To say we were shocked by the final amount would be an understatement. We are SO grateful for what they did! I also have friends who have given us a car seat, a swing, baby and maternity clothes, diapers, etc. I am friends with some of the nannies up here as well, and they have been so supportive as well. Lindsey was even willing to pick Savvy up from the hospital last night in the event I ended up having the baby! Another friend, Courtney is going to watch Sav on Monday while I go to the dr and has offered on numerous occasions to come get her from the hospital in the event we need her to. Everyone has been so gracious and helpful.

Okay, enough about all this, but I just wanted to let you know what is going on. OH, and Savannah is BEYOND excited about baby sister Sydney to arrive. She cried all the way home from the hospital last night because Sydney didn't come. :( Poor baby!

Dance Recital March 2010

2010-03-27T10:46:00.002-04:00

Savannah had her dance recital Tuesday. We got all dressed up, took the obligatory adorable pictures prior to, and then off we went to the recital. Apparently though, Savannah was in a very stubborn mood that day and was not happy with the fact that they were dancing to her tap dance and not her ballet dance. We borrowed a video camera, sat through all the other kids, and were SO excited when it was Savannah's turn to dance (thinking it would be like the other two recitals where she progressively got better). Well, she decided to boycott dancing due to the aforementioned issue (tap vs. ballet). So, we watched while Savvy did the first couple of moves only to end up standing there staring out into the audience the rest of the time. Her reasons after were:

1. I don't like tap because people step on my toes.
and
2. When asked if it was because you had to dance like a monkey, I received an "uh-huh" response. Oh my!

Enjoy the pictures. :) I will refrain from posting the video though!

At least she is cute!

Rope Swing

2010-03-27T10:44:00.001-04:00

Savannah has been asking Drew to build her a swing set in the backyard here, but since we have no idea how long we will be here, we really don't want to put the time or effort (much less the money) into it. SO, since we have all these nice big trees in the backyard, we decided a rope swing would work out great for her. She LOVES it!

Silly Savannah

2010-03-27T10:37:00.003-04:00

We had a great visit while Omie was in town. We were able to get a lot of things put in place and organized before Sydney Brynn's arrival. Savannah enjoyed just being her silly self and having an extra audience member to play to! She made silly faces, helped Omie cook dinner (she loves dropping in the bullion cubes), blew bubbles with her "pipe" and the ever popular laundry basket on the head shot! The bubbles pictures were staged after we saw her doing it the first time on her own. It was pretty funny! She has only sucked the bubbles up twice. :) She has such a fun personality and we really enjoy all of her cute antics!

Ann Arbor Hands On Museum (The Bubble Museum)

2010-03-27T10:15:00.005-04:00

Savvy and I had visited the Hands On Museum last summer and had a great time. So when Dunae' came to town and we had nasty weather, we figured this would be a great place to go. Apparently, everyone else in Michigan had the same thought! They had an entire Bob the Builder theme going on, which Savannah really couldn't care less about, but it did add some neat new aspects to the museum. Savannah was running from display to display. She was SO excited to show Daddy and Omie everything! Her favorite things included the bubble areas, the water areas, the dance part and the planting the flowers part. She was really intrigued by the balls and ramps display too. I can tell such a difference in her interest level from this time to last. There is one picture of me in the "skinny mirror"...this may become my facebook profile pic! HA! I tried to get some of Drew looking like he was trying to figure out some of the exhibits, but it didn't really work out. The last picture was the only "Bob the Builder" thing Sav wanted to pose with...she is not real big on the giant, costumed people walking around...also evidenced at her Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party!!!

Been so Long!

2010-03-27T09:28:00.002-04:00

So I have known for a while that I haven't posted recently and just didn't really feel like doing it! Sorry. We have been SOOOO busy lately. We moved from the tiny (1050 sq.ft) apt into a rent house (2400 sq ft) at the end of February and beginning of March. These are the conditions in which Drew had the pleasure of moving us in.

Since I am pregnant, I got out of moving the boxes out of the apt and into the house. It was kind of a blessing and a curse, because Drew did most of the box unpacking and I felt bad that I couldn't help out. BUT, it is all done and we are moved in! Hooray!

Savvy and Drew also got to build a snowman in the backyard (as noted previously, I am SOOOOOOOOOOO over the snow and really had NO interest in doing it. At least Drew is a good sport!) It was probably their best one yet.

I, however, had no problem snapping a few pics on a much sunnier day! These are of Savvy climbing up on the snowman...it reminds me of one of those flip books where you see the progression slowly occurring as you go page by page, but when you go fast, it creates the story.

More to come!!!

Valentine's Day Weekend

2010-02-15T17:40:00.002-05:00

We started packing up this weekend to move into a rental house, so, of course, the boxes were the most appealing thing to Savannah. :) We got a sweet one of her and then we got the next one--her "crazy" face!! One of our friends also gave Drew the idea of putting colored water into spray bottles and spraying the snow with it. What a fun idea!! Drew and Savannah went out to play and I stayed in (for various reasons, but we will go with the following) to fill up the spray bottles as they emptied them. I got pretty good at the different colors and they had a blast spraying the snow! Enjoy!

New Blog Background...

2010-02-15T13:50:00.003-05:00

Yes, I am being a bit hopeful with the Spring background, but I am SOOOOOO hoping it comes soon!!! And, yes, I know the picture of Savvy is in front of a Christmas tree, but that was the only pic I have without her in a heavy jacket! :) Oh Spring, please come soon!!!!!

Snow Storm 2010

2010-02-13T10:03:00.002-05:00

We received the most snow that we have had since we moved up here almost a year ago last week. Strangely enough, Dallas received about twice as much as we did a couple of days later. Savvy and I played for a little while, but the snow was SO fluffy and light that you couldn't really do a whole lot with it. You notice the truck in the background...that was NOT fun to remove all the snow from. :) All in all, it was pretty, but I am SOOOOO ready for Sping and Summer to arrive!! We miss the sun! Enjoy our pictures...

Lake Success

2010-02-13T09:59:00.002-05:00

The lake behind us is completely iced over and even has an ice fishing hut on it. Drew went back there with Savannah one day to take a few pictures...unfortunately, it happened to be a day when the temp was above freezing and the lake had started to thin in a few places. However, Drew did get a few cool pictures.

Princess Dance

2010-02-13T09:46:00.004-05:00

Savannah's dance class had a Princess Dress-up Day last week. We got her all decked out in her Cinderella outfit along with Tinkerbell stick-on earrings, a Tinkerbell ring, lipgloss, leggings and her snow boots! She looked ADORABLE!! So here is our "cold weather Cinderella"!!

From Princess Savannah before Dance

Ice Skating

2010-02-13T09:40:00.002-05:00

Hi all! I am a bit behind on this whole blogging thing, but I do have a few different things to share. Drew took Savannah ice skating at a local ice rink. I think the idea of ice skating was far better than the actual task itself for Savvy. She did great walking to the ice rink on the skates, but apparently, the whole way around the rink she was saying, "Whoa, whoa, oh no!". It was a bit more slippery than she expected. After one trip around, she was done...with NO intention of trying it again!! Here are a few of the pictures I took from it. For the further away ones, Savannah has on the pink jacket and Drew the brown.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain (Vivian Greene)...

2010-01-27T20:56:00.004-05:00

So I have been waiting to post until I had a cute pic of Savannah or we did something exciting, but Drew sent this quote to me today and it sums up how I think he and I are both feeling. It has almost been a year since we moved up here and so much has changed in that time. Among the many, here are a few...I am staying home with Savannah, we are living away from family for the first time ever, we are in an apartment, our dogs are not with us, we are expecting a new baby, etc. Some are sad and at times very hard on all of us, and some are very exciting. We have definitely gotten more homesick in the last month or so, but I really think it is due more to the weather than anything else. Drew works long hours and rarely sees the sun--not that he would anyway as we have had only 3-4 sunny days in the last month. It is cold and we are about to experience the coldest weather either of us has ever been through in the next couple of days. It also adds to the frustration that Texas has had days in the mid 60s lately...I think I would pay money for that up here! BUT, we are trying to make the most out of it. We have done the sledding thing, Drew and Savvy are going ice-skating this weekend, and we are learning the importance of things like indoor play areas and libraries!
We will be moving soon to a larger home that the parents of a friend are renting to us and we are SO excited about that. More space to spread out, a separate room for the baby, and a backyard(for those days we CAN go outside!). We have been through so much change already, and all I can think is that we are only just beginning! I wasn't really sure what this "temporary assignment" to "Detroit" had in store for us when we first began, but I do feel like we have tried and continue to try to make the most of it(learned to dance in the rain, if you will). All I know is that we will most likely have a priceless souvenir from Michigan when we return home to Texas--Sydney Brynn. :)

Savannah's 4th Birthday Party-Numero Dos

2010-01-10T19:56:00.002-05:00

We had a small party for Savannah with a few of her Michigan friends at Chuck E Cheese today. It was a lot of fun, though a bit overwhelming for all of the adults!! Savannah was not a huge fan of Chuck E. As you can see from the pics where he is near her, she is as close to the table as possible and is looking out of the corner of her eye to see if he has left yet!! It was pretty funny! She received lots of fun things and had a great time with her friends. Below are some pictures from the party.

I am stealing this from NaShay's blog, so sorry NaShay, but it is a great idea!

10 Things You Need to Know About Savannah:
1. She loves her dogs.
2. She loves to sing especially songs from The Sound of Music.
3. She loves Ariel, Rosetta and Strawberry Shortcake.
4. She says she likes stars in the sky and when it is dark.
5. She loves to play in the snow, make snow angels and snowmen and go sledding.
6. This 4 year old LOVES to shower!
7. She loves Barbies, Princesses, and Polly Pockets.
8. She loves to play dress up and would wear a dress everyday if she could!
9. She is hilarious and VERY perceptive!!!
10. She loves TX and misses her family back there.

Sledding!!!!

2010-01-07T10:19:00.003-05:00

So, I know this is out of order, but I already have this album uploaded and it is something different! We went sledding the other day and had SO much fun!!!! None of us had ever done it and it was so neat to enjoy it with Drew and Savannah. Sav is just the perfect age to enjoy all of this kind of stuff. Drew did try "snowboarding" on our sled and, well, let's just say he should be thrilled I got the picture I did!!! ;) Drew did crack me up when he said,"We may have to get another sled if Savvy is going to hog this one the whole time!". HA! I went down the hill twice and had a ton of fun too. We are expecting another 2-5 inches today and should be able to go sledding again soon...with fresh snow. What snow snobs we are now! :) Enjoy our fun time!

Meyer Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T14:31:00.004-05:00

After Christmas Eve at the Stehling's, we headed to Richmond for sleep and Santa. The next morning we woke up and enjoyed our Christmas with my parents. Savannah had SO many presents and took what felt like a million years to open everything!! Santa brought Savannah the two things she asked for--Ariel Bath Toy and a Precious Moments Cinderella Figurine. She was thrilled with everything! We had a nice Mexican lunch and then proceeded to play Yahtzee that evening...I think I had the high score of close to 600!! :) It was a lot of fun and we are just trying to figure out how we will fly back with everything we need!!!

Stehling Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T14:13:00.002-05:00

After a crazy airport experience(who knew so many people fly out the Friday morning before at 8 am?!?) of LONG baggage check and security lines, we somehow miraculously made it to our gate on time. Our flight was extra long (around 3 1/2 hours) due to some unknown reason (Drew tells me it was the jet stream, so I will go with that), but we finally made it to Texas! We had a whirlwind weekend that included a Christmas program, a friend's baby's 1st birthday party, last minute shopping, and tons of baby clothes that needed to be sorted. We then headed to El Campo on Sunday for church and to help celebrate Boss' birthday! We spent the majority of the week there and then celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve with everyone. It was a ton of fun and we got lots of great stuff! The kids all had a lot of fun too! It is crazy to think we will have another little one to add to the chaos next year!!! :)

Savannah's 4th Birthday Party...Numero Uno

2009-12-29T14:01:00.002-05:00

We wanted Savannah to have a birthday party where her cousins could come, so we planned a small party for her in El Campo. It was on the 23rd, so it started her 3 day gift extravaganza! She had been asking for a bouncy house for the party for the past 6 or 7 months, so we ordered her a cute Princess one. And, of course, the cake had to be Ariel...her favorite red-headed princess! It was rainy off and on, but cleared off for the large majority of the party itself. She had a great time with everyone and loved the bouncy house. Thanks to everyone for making the party so easy!!! :)

Pics from the Dance Recital

2009-12-29T13:56:00.002-05:00

I am a little late in posting these mainly due to the fact that I forgot I took them. This pregnancy brain thing is definitely causing me some issues!! The first pic is Savannah waving at us in the crowd and the rest are from her dance. The last one is the Wedding Day Barbie that Mr. David and Miss Stephanie gave Savannah for Christmas. She LOVES that doll...now we just need Wedding Day Ken! :) Enjoy!

Savannah's Dance Recital...in December!

2009-12-16T09:56:00.015-05:00

We had Savannah's Dance Recital last night. She has been taking dance through the local Parks and Rec dept and it has really been a great experience. She hasn't had class for a week and a half, so you can imagine my surprise when she gets up and does the dance with no problems! Of course, it isn't perfect, but keep in mind she is 3! The progress I have seen from the last dance recital in June till now is AMAZING!

To say Drew and I were proud would be quite the understatement. Our friends, David and Stephanie, also made it to the show last night, and Savvy was just SO happy to have extra people in the audience for her!! We will be starting her in a regular dance class in January with a "costume recital" in May. She is SUPER excited about getting to dress up in a costume. :) Anyhow, enjoy her little show...

It's A...............................................

2009-12-05T09:02:00.002-05:00

GIRL!!!!!! We are due to have Girl #2 May 1! Talk about shocked to find out it was a girl. I was pretty sure the baby was a boy just because my pregnancy seemed SO different. So far I am 0 for 2 on guessing the sex of my babies!!! :) Savannah wasn't too terribly excited about the news yesterday. She had her heart set on a baby brother. THIS morning, however, the excitement of a new baby had gotten to her too. She wants to go buy the baby(a.k.a. her sister) some clothes and a blanket(I had to talk her down from a new baby swing)! :) What a sweet girl we have! I am really excited to get to reuse Savannah's clothes and I think the Grandparents are ALL excited that this also means we may try for Baby #3 somewhere down the line. HA! I also believe my mother-in-law has a direct connection to God as she said she was praying for a girl for the very reason that we may try to have another baby later. Lord help us!!! :) We are working on names and have narrowed down to a few that we like. The middle names are troublesome as well. I have also gotten great suggestions from family--

Mom and Dunae'--Kathnae...I think we will pass! ;)
Uncle Jack--Jackie...very original
Aunt Elaine and Aunt Joan--Joan Elaine (this was suggested for Savannah and we decided to go a different direction.) :)

Needless to say, we have a lot of work ahead of us in the name department!!!

Thanks for sharing in our wonderful news!!!!!!

Dance and Gymnastics!

2009-11-23T09:17:00.003-05:00

Mom has been with us since Thursday of last week and was able to see Savannah in action in both gymnastics and dancing. Savannah goes back and forth between which one she likes better, but she is really improving in each. I never take my camera, so it was nice to finally have a few pictures of Savvy in both. Enjoy!

They were right after one another on this day hence the same outfit for both!! :)

Progress on Pregnancy

2009-11-19T10:51:00.002-05:00

Well, all is still going well with the new baby on the way. I have switched Dr's up here, and should find out the sex of the baby on December 4th. We are so excited to find out. Savvy and Drew want a boy, but I don't really care either way. I have all the clothes for a girl, but it would be nice to add a little boy to the family. :) I am still nauseous and am still taking the Zofran. I have tried to get off of it, but am not having any luck just yet. All in all, I am feeling better all around. I have more energy which definitely helps when Savannah is being a busy body (which is ALL the time!). We are having a little trouble coming up with a name for a boy, but I guess we still have plenty of time!!! :)

We Will Always Remember

2009-11-17T21:57:00.003-05:00

I just finished watching the Bonfire Remembrance that was held at Reed Arena in College Station tonight. All day long I kept thinking that I was just an observer in the whole event. I knew people who were out there that night working, but they were all okay and I didn't know anyone personally who died or was injured. Just an observer. But then tonight, watching the Remembrance, I realized how relevant those memories were. Just like the student body president said, most of the people at A&M now were ages 8-13 when Bonfire fell. There is a clear separation, not purposeful, but clear between their memories and ours--those of us that were there attending A&M or directly related to A&M at the time. It is as clear a separation to me as when my parents discuss life changing moments--the JFK assassination or the space shuttle Columbia disaster. Sure, I realize they were huge moments in history (and yes, different from the Bonfire collapse), but I do not have a distinct memory of where I was or what I was doing during the space shuttle disaster. I do have an exact memory of the day Bonfire fell. And to me, that time period was profound. I had never experienced any sort of loss on a mass scale that directly influenced me in any way until that day.

I had no intention of ever attending Texas A&M. I was raised a T-Sip and KNEW that was where I was headed for college. Then, all of a sudden, there I am an Aggie...at Fish Camp...learning all things Aggie. I had attended one, maybe two Bonfires prior to my attending A&M and was lucky enough to go to the last one that burned in 1998. For those of you who have never witnessed Bonfire, let me just say that it encompasses all things Aggie. There is a saying at A&M--From the outside looking in you can't understand it and from the inside looking out you can't explain it. This was Bonfire. If you have watched any of the tributes, they all say the same thing--Bonfire was the one thing that brought ALL Aggies together. And not just Aggies, the whole Bryan/College Station area. People talked when they brought in center pole. You could watch the progress of Bonfire being built just by driving by the front of campus or turning on the TV to the live feed they had streaming.

1999 was going to be the year that I attended my first EVER Texas A&M/t.u. game in person. I was SO excited. I had my tickets, I was excited about Bonfire coming up. It was going to be great. Then, my phone rang bright and early November 18th. I didn't answer, sure it was a wrong number. I was living at the Delta Gamma house at the time and had two roommates as well. Around 5 or 5:30, Michelle's phone started ringing. It was her cousin calling to make sure everything was okay because he had heard the news. The message woke us up. We had NO idea what he was talking about. I looked over at my phone and saw the message light was blinking. I hit play and we couldn't believe what we heard. It was my boyfriend at the time calling to say, and I quote, "Bonfire fell. Josh is okay. Call me." Josh was his roommate who was actively working Bonfire as well as my lil' sis in the sorority's boyfriend (now husband). From there on, I remember bits and pieces. I remember walking downstairs and a bunch of us gathering in front of the live stream on tv of what had only a few hours earlier been Bonfire. Now it was a chaotic picture of rescue workers, people (many of who had been working when it collapsed), and darkness. It was stunning. Unbelievable. I remember we watched in disbelief, unable to comprehend the magnitude of what had happened. Later that morning, I made my way to the Bonfire site and proceeded to watch the cranes and people directing where to move logs. It was the most horrific version of a real life pick up sticks. It was painstaking. Each move of a log had to be just so so as not to create another collapse or a shift in the pile of logs. I don't know how long I stayed. I know it was dark when I left. Campus was utterly silent. Everything was. No one really spoke, no one knew what to say. Twelve people had died. On our campus. In one of our most beloved Traditions. The next several days passed in a fog. I know I went out there several more times. It was all too much. I ended up going home earlier than I expected and watched the game on TV.

It really did seem like forever before campus began to function again. The idea of the first anniversary of the collapse was so heavy on all of us, I think it affected us long before it occurred. Drew and I did go back to A&M a couple of years ago and were able to walk around the Memorial. It is incredible. It is moving and tragic all at the same time.

For those of you who are not Aggies, or even those who are who just weren't there, I hope you can grasp some of what this tragedy meant to all of us who were. Like I said, I was just an observer, but I was there and I remember and I will never, ever forget.

Fall Leaves

2009-11-08T17:15:00.002-05:00

I know my previous entry said all the leaves were gone, but I was wrong! Drew took Savannah out both yesterday and today to play in the leaves. They had a blast and the pictures are really pretty cute. We have had some of the nicest weather in Michigan this weekend and tried to take advantage of it. Savvy and I also took Drew to the Cider Mill yesterday. Everyone had fun--the cider was wonderful, the donut was devoured by our little 3 yr old and the ducks were well-fed!! THESE are the weekends I enjoy!

Fall in Michigan...at our Apt.

2009-11-04T18:38:00.002-05:00

We took these pictures right before we came home for a couple of weeks and now that we are back, all the leaves are already gone. Fall really is pretty in Michigan...one of the state's few saving graces. These are our friends Stephanie and David. Savannah ADORES them!! I will post more soon.

A little news.......

2009-10-17T09:02:00.004-04:00

Drew, Savannah and I wanted to share with you that we are expecting a baby sometime at the end of April/beginning of May!!! After 2 long years of trying, we are about 12 weeks along in the pregnancy and had our last OB/Gyn appt yesterday--everything looked great. Until I can get to a scanner, I can't post the ultrasound pics. I DO have the pictures of us telling our parents (Boss/Kevin was dove hunting when we told Dunae', so I don't have one to share). We had Savannah get on and show her Big Sister shirt and showed the ultrasound pictures. This was around 8 weeks.

Had to show this one because of Cade's face!

We told Jeanine early on (she asked me and I felt guilty denying it!), so she helped come up with the idea to get the pictures of everyone on Skype!! Wish I would have had one of her...she cried when I told her! I do have one of Keva, but I cannot get to it on Skype right now...I will update again later. :) We are VERY excited!!!!!!!

Please leave comments! :) You don't have to sign in to an account.

Three Cedars Farm--Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-14T09:56:00.002-04:00

I took Savannah to Three Cedars Farm on Monday for a little outing. It has been cold here and we have both been sick, so we needed a day out! They had a hayride around the pumpkin patch and past the corn maze, some neat shops, and a nice big area for kids to play. They also had some nice "photo ops" set up for picture taking. She really enjoyed it and asked to go back yesterday!

Savannah-isms

2009-10-08T15:28:00.004-04:00

Savvy is just so funny these days. I wish I had a recorder with me every time she says something cute. The last two days she has had a couple of funny remarks. We walked outside yesterday and the first thing she says is, "It's pretty darn cold outside." HA! She said it SO matter-of-factly that it just made me laugh. It sounds exactly like me!

The other comment happened today. Now most of you know I am an only child, but I don't know if you know that I always wanted an older brother. SO, imagine my surprise today when Savvy busts out with, "Mommy, I wish I had a big brother who could play with me!". I really think this is a result of watching the Berenstain Bears on PBS.

She is big on saying what she "wishes" and that she misses so-and-so (insert a family member's name, friend's name, or one of her dogs!). We are excited to be visiting Texas again in about 2 weeks. It has gotten a touch too cold up here for me and I am ready for some of that TX heat! :) I know, I know...wait till the winter, but this is my blog and I can complain if I want! ;)

Here is one of Savvy's latest pictures.

Also, Drew has gotten very interested in Sporting Clays and Skeet shooting as of late. Savvy and I have tagged along on a few occasions and here is a pic of her all decked out in her "protective gear". She really doesn't seem to mind it either!

It is Literally Labor Day Weekend!

2009-09-06T21:13:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to congratulate my cousins Neal and his wife Lenzi, and Melissa and her husband Nick on the birth of their baby boys!!! Neal and Lenzi welcomed Luke Owen on Friday (Neal's B-day!). Melissa and Nick welcomed Zachary Paul today. Two babies in two days!! How exciting!! Strangely enough, last year Drew's family had two babies born in a two day period--Baby Cade and Sweet McCrae! Happy upcoming first birthday to both of them!! Can't wait to meet the new ones!!!!!

Rainy Day Fun!

2009-09-02T13:25:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was kind of yucky. It was rainy and cold and had been that way for a few days. We took Savannah to the mall to play and on the way in she decided to hop into a puddle! Who knew my little girly girl would like that!?! When we got back home, Drew grabbed the camera and took Savannah out to our parking lot to have some fun! The pics are cute and she had an absolute blast jumping in all the puddles!! The only downside--the next day at church we had to stop her right before she splashed in one all dressed in her pretty church clothes!! Oh well. Enjoy her fun!!

The Day She Ate Corn

2009-08-28T20:11:00.002-04:00

For those who have been following our vegetable saga with Savannah, here are some pictures of her eating corn. She now says she LOVES corn...we'll see. She has also been more willing to try other foods since this day. I don't know what changed or why, but I have learned not to question the good things in life! :)

Makin' Cookies!

2009-08-28T20:06:00.002-04:00

On one of our last trips to Greenfield Village, Savannah was given a duck cookie cutter made from a piece of tin. She loved it and immediately wanted to make some cookies. So, here are a couple of pictures from after the cookie making fun! We both ate some of the dough (YUM) and a cookie or two once they were done. BTW, her apron says A.S.A.P--As Southern As Possible. LOVE IT!

Savannah-ism (Prayers)

2009-08-17T09:16:00.002-04:00

Drew took Savvy fishing yesterday behind our apartment. He has been having a hard time catching the fish with his lures, so he thought he would try to use one of the smaller fish in the lake as bait. He caught the little fish and was casting it out when after about three times, it died. He said something to Savvy to the effect of "Oh no, the fish died" and then threw it back. Later that evening, Drew is helping her with her prayers. She gets to the end and, almost as an after thought, she says, "oh...and thank you God for the dead fish Daddy caught today." I laughed so hard when Drew told me about this later.

Little Jenni

2009-08-15T20:39:00.002-04:00

Mom passed on a ton of my old clothes when she found out that Savvy would be a girl...unfortunately for her, and mostly due to my lack of memory, I have not been very diligent about putting Savannah in the clothes. HOWEVER, this last time we were in Texas, I found some of the pieces that I thought would fit Savannah now. Here are a few pictures of Savvy in my old dress. She is also wearing her glitter flip flops and the adorable name clips that Omie bought her!!! To say my mom was excited to see these pictures would be quite an understatement... :)

Stehling Visit and Greenfield Village...again :)

2009-08-12T21:25:00.002-04:00

After Holland, we stopped at a winery on the way back to Northville. While there, a couple of funny things happened. It was still storming pretty badly, and while we were checking out the power went off just long enough for Kevin to yell, "It's FREE!!!". Most of the patrons laughed, however, the winery crew didn't seem quite as amused. The other funny moment was when we asked the cashier what restaurants she would recommend in the area. We had already mentioned we were from Texas and all of us were craving some good Mexican food(not that that is even a possibility in Michigan) when the cashier told us about a Mexican food restaurant that was "great". She said it was "authentic" due to the fact that they were (and I quote) "Real Mexicans...and I can tell you that because you are from Texas." I don't know if I have laughed that hard in a long time!!

On Sunday we went to the Tigers game and had a blast. This was Savannah's first baseball game and she seemed to enjoy it. We got her the "Tiger" paw for her to cheer with and, since it was kid's day at the park, she got a life-sized growth chart with one of the player's pictures on it...this is now hanging in her room and scares the c**p out of me every time I walk in there! Savvy also enjoyed the water that sprayed up into the air after each run was scored and the carousel that had all tigers on it. All in all, a very fun day.

Our last day we went to Greenfield Village. It was Macy's 2nd Monday(this is a kid's thing and Macy's usually offers something for free, the carousel, train, etc) which is always fun. We took them around the Village and took the train ride since it was free of charge. We also went by the glass making area again. Savannah was just as entranced by it this time as she was the last! We also did the pottery area and the tin shop. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Holland, MI

2009-08-11T23:36:00.002-04:00

We drove to Holland after spending the day in Frankenmuth. The weather had turned rainy and drizzly as we arrived. We checked into our lovely hotel that was recommended by the fishing guide(Note to self: Never take the advice of a man who leaves at 5 am to go fishing on where to stay the night.)...to be fair, the beds were comfortable...and then headed out to see where we would be dropping Drew and Kevin off for their guided fishing trip early the next morning. As is the case in most of these towns, the homes along the water were beautiful.

After we found the spot, we decided to go downtown to find a place to eat. Luckily for us, we had packed out windbreakers at the last minute as it had gotten pretty cool with the rainy weather. The guys found a place to eat, but we had a 45 minute wait, so Savannah, Dunae' and I went walking around. We were a bit disappointed with the town itself. I guess after seeing Frankenmuth and loving it's German downtown area, we were expecting much the same of Holland. Holland's downtown was nice, just not Dutch. We expected to see the wooden shoe shops and the hand crafted goods in the downtown area--not so. Our dinner at a little Irish place was excellent, though. After a long day, we headed back to the hotel to catch a few hours of sleep.

5:30 came awfully early the next morning, but the guys were super excited about their fishing trip. I elected to drive since Dunae' had kept Savannah in their room that night. It was drizzly again that morning, and as we were driving I saw a flash of something. I asked Drew if he saw anything, and, of course, he said no. Unfortunately for him and Kevin, the flashing continued and sure enough we realized it was lightning(we were all hoping it was a lighthouse). They went in to meet with the guide while I stayed in the truck and about 10 minutes later, I was driving two sad men back to the motel. The fishing trip had to be canceled due to large storms rolling in over Lake Michigan.

Later that day, we did find the Dutch Village. We were early, but the shops we were interested in were already open. To tour the "Village" you had to pay, so we did the shops and left. We did enjoy trying the shoes on!

Frankenmuth, MI

2009-08-11T23:14:00.004-04:00

Kevin and Dunae' flew in late Thursday evening and early Friday we headed out to Frankenmuth. Frankenmuth is known for it's Christmas store and for being a quaint German(Bavarian) town. Little did we know that the place we planned to spend the least amount of time would soon be our favorite. We started at Bronner's, the World's Largest Christmas Store. I have to admit the place was overwhelming. One could definitely get lost there! You could decorate your tree with absolutely anything you can think of...they had it ALL! Dunae' and I did a little shopping and then we made out way to the Frankenmuth Brewery in downtown Frankenmuth. This place had some absolutely wonderful food...and some dog-gone good beer as well! After lunch, we decided to take a "short" walk "around the corner" to a park for Savannah. She enjoyed playing while we rested for a bit(the hill we had to climb was kind of steep!). Then it was off to downtown Frankenmuth. Now I know I have mentioned the awesome downtown areas that so many of Michigan's towns have to offer, and this was NO different. It was set up like a little Germantown. The shops were neat and there was so much to look at. We walked up and down the streets and took tons of pictures of all the pretty sites. The flowers were absolutely gorgeous(I think Kevin was getting a little tired of waiting for me to take all my flower shots... :))!! I have captioned most of the pictures, so be sure to read them as well. I would recommend Frankenmuth to anyone visiting Michigan. FANTASTIC!!!

Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford

2009-08-11T22:06:00.001-04:00

Savannah and I took Mom and Aunt Mary Gail to Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford. I posted pictures from Greenfield Village back in May when we took Savvy to see Thomas the Train. The more times I come here, the more I absolutely find to love. We took Mom and Aunt Mary G to all the normal places to see...the Parlors and Porches, Edison's labs, etc., however, this time the flowers were blooming and the place looked amazing. We also found the Liberty Craftshop area which houses a glass making factory, tin shop and a pottery making area. We only went to the glass shop, but Savannah fell in love!! She stood and was absolutely mesmerized by the people making the different objects out of the fiery hot glass. Today they were making flowers. I loved to watch the glass change slowly from the hot, glowing orange to the beautiful blue crystal color. Just amazing! We had a great time and I think Mom and Mary Gail really enjoyed it. It was great to get to spend family time together even though we are so far away!!! That evening we met Drew, Jack, Cousin Lane, and Diane for dinner down by site in Melvyndale. Good food and great company!

A little side note...if Savannah had to choose a place to take a picture, she will ALWAYS choose a bench(No idea why.). Lately, though, she has been gravitating towards light poles. You will notice this trend in these pics and the ones to come of our next trip here.

By the pool and at the Castle Park

2009-08-11T22:00:00.003-04:00

We spent Drew's off Friday by the pool. We never have a chance to take pictures, but since Mom was there, she was able to get a few good ones. This is the place we have spent HOURS this summer!! Savvy is a little fish and she is fantastic at swimming.

The Castle Park is about a mile from our apartment. It is one of Savannah's favorite places to play. It has so many neat things to play on as well as the sand areas.

Spicer Orchards

2009-08-11T21:54:00.002-04:00

On the way home from Traverse City, Mom, Savvy and I stopped at Spicer Orchards. It is a U-Pick Farm and Farmer's Market that has EVERYTHING! Cherry season had already ended, but they had plenty of blueberries and raspberries for us to pick. Savannah loved picking the blueberries though we weren't able to get her to eat any. They also had a "hay ride" out to the picking area that Savannah enjoyed. We managed to pick 6 lbs of blueberries and 6 lbs of raspberries.

Traverse City

2009-08-05T10:13:00.005-04:00

Mom came back with us when we left Texas and we have had a jam packed week and a half of fun! We took a two day/one night trip to Traverse City---should have stayed AT LEAST two nights---so I could show her what has become my favorite place in Michigan. The downtown is one of my favorites: great restaurants (The Blue Tractor, yum!), neat stores, and CHERRIES galore! My new favorite store there is the Cherry Republic (www.cherryrepublic.com). If you can think of something to make to eat or drink that contains cherries, these people have done it to perfection. We stayed at the cutest little Inn called the Cherry Tree Inn and Suites. We got a room on the 4th floor over-looking the bay. It was GORGEOUS! There was a small, private beach-front behind the Inn and Savannah enjoyed playing in the sand and water. She had her face painted at one of the cute children's boutiques on Front Street and was just beyond proud of herself! If you are EVER in Michigan, Traverse City is THE place to visit!

The Last Texas Visit

2009-08-05T09:27:00.002-04:00

I didn't realize how few pictures I took this last trip to Texas until I started looking back through them! Oops! As it was, we had a great time. I got to see most of the people I missed on our trip back in May. We had two birthday parties to attend and loved visiting with all of our family. Mom and Dad hosted a couple of great evenings for my friends, as well. The following pictures are from the night Chelsea, Wade, Chris, Lindsay and Olivia came over to Mom and Dad's. Of course I couldn't get everyone to look at the same time, but I LOVED the one where everyone was looking at Olivia with big smiles on their faces. The last couple pictures are of Savannah playing on Mom's baby grand piano. She is very intrigued with it and I look forward to when we can put her in lessons...I think she will be a natural talent! :)

To All Who May Care:

2009-07-29T22:42:00.002-04:00

I have not forgotten about my dear blog and all of my VERY loyal followers--I have just been SO crazy busy. I must admit that I was negligent in my picture taking duties while in Texas...you may only see 20 of Savannah in that post and not the usual 50+. We did have a wonderful time and I am not lying when I say that I LOVED the hot weather! Now for those of you who have been there all summer long, I know you are thinking that I missed all of those 100+ days. While you are correct, I have lived in Texas all of my life and am quite sure that I have "been there, done that" at some point during one of those 27 other summers. :)

We are now back in MUCH cooler weather and Savvy and I are back to being busy as ever. My mom came back with us and we are currently in Traverse City in an absolutely adorable inn on the Traverse Bay. I will post pics of this trip soon since I have already taken my fill of photos of Savvy!! Off to the beach tomorrow, a winery, and hopefully doing a little berry picking as well! Should be fun!!! Posts should be up this week...sometime!

Jenni

Update to June Savannah-ism post...

2009-07-17T09:28:00.003-04:00

I am quite sure the pictures will speak 1000 words and a story is not necessary, but for anyone new I will give you a quick recap. Savvy and I were in Gymboree in June to ask the sales lady a quick question. As we were talking, the lady tells Sav that she has pretty red hair, to which Sav picks up red glitter flip flops, looks at me and says, "Mommy, can I get the pretty red flip flops to go with my pretty red hair?". All of us were left rolling with laughter! Well, look what little Savannah got when she arrived in Texas at Granna and Pop's house!!!

Cranbrook Institute of Science

2009-07-14T21:05:00.003-04:00

Savvy and I went to the Cranbrook Institute of Science last week and had a blast. I think the dinosaurs fell more in Drew's category of knowledge, but I made the most of it! Savannah enjoyed searching for the eggs like a paleontologist with the paint brushes. There was one exhibit that showed what happens when ice/snow builds up and another that shows how the earth rotates around the sun...she just loved running it around in circles! She had her grumpy moments, which I edited out, but I was able to get some decent pictures. She was not thrilled to stand next to the T-Rex (the following two pictures show her running from it!).

On a side note, we are ABSOLUTELY THRILLED to be going to Texas this week!! Savannah is so excited to see everyone, as am I. Like I said in an earlier post, this cool summer has really made me miss Texas...it is just so different up here. We are praying for a safe flight and a great visit! See y'all soon!!!!

July 4th Day 3--Mackinaw Island and Boyne Falls

2009-07-11T09:11:00.002-04:00

Our last sightseeing day was on the 4th of July. It warmed up enough to wear shorts, which was definitely a plus since I had not packed enough warm clothes! We took the long way up to Mackinaw Island through Petoskey and Harbour Springs so that we could see the "Tunnel of Trees". It was absolutely beautiful to follow the bay while driving and getting to see all of the beautiful trees and homes along the way. Even though we are acutely aware of the current economy, it was still hard to believe all the homes in the area that were up for sale. We estimated it to be between 50-60% of the homes on our drive, including two expansive (and beautiful) farms. We enjoyed our drive, but were excited to get to Mackinaw City and get our day started.

Mackinaw is definitely purely a tourist town. It was a completely different experience than our previous two days had been. EVERYTHING in Mackinaw City and on the Island cost money to do. We decided we wanted to go to the Island, so we got our ferry tickets and climbed aboard. It was a double decker boat, and since it was a bit breezy still we decided to sit on the bottom level. Savannah LOVED the trip over! She loved seeing everything and liked seeing the water spray up the sides of the boat. Mackinaw Island does not allow motorized vehicles, so everyone gets around via walking, bikes or horse drawn carriages. We decided to walk around on the main street for a little while. It was pretty and the views were amazing, but I think Drew was a bit shopped out from the last two days. We stayed for about 2 hours and decided that we were exhausted! We did partake in some fudge from one of the 20 shops dedicated specifically to fudge. YUM! On the way back we sat on the top of the ferry...that was not our best decision! Savannah was NOT happy about how windy it was or the fact that the water might possibly splash her (this coming from the girl who swims 5 out of 7 days of the week!). I got some good pictures of the Grand Hotel on the side of the hill and the Mackinaw Bridge. The Mackinaw Bridge basically pinpoints where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. Pretty cool! We went to one little beach in Mackinaw City and decided to head back to Boyne Falls.

The last group of pictures is of us playing with the sparklers we purchased at Target! Who knew these northern states sold fireworks at stores?!? Weird, if you ask me! All in all, we had a great trip. We realize now that we may have tried to do too many things in one weekend, but oh well! Enjoy!

July 4th Trip Day Two--Traverse City, MI

2009-07-05T20:58:00.006-04:00

Drew's friend Chris decided to go with us on the trip to Traverse City. This was BY FAR one of my favorite days! This was an hour trip from Boyne Falls, so we arrived around lunch time. We found a great brewery to eat lunch at and I had my first Reuben EVER! Of course, the brewery was in another great downtown shopping area that backed up to a park and looked out over the Grand Traverse Bay which is an offshoot of Lake Michigan. Apparently, Traverse City is home to the National Cherry Festival and we were there the day before it started. After lunch we walked up and down the main street, visited some kids toy stores, a couple of stores dedicated to cherries and were finishing up our shopping when we heard the flyover. Savvy was terrified of the noise, but the rest of us were so excited we could hardly wait to find a spot to watch! Drew got some good pictures of the F-18 that was practicing for it's shows the next two days at the Cherry Festival. I haven't been to an airshow in years and you forget how absolutely amazing these aircrafts can be! We stayed till the end of "our show", and were off to visit some wineries. Our first winery had more of a pure wine tasting set up. Savannah fell asleep on Drew's shoulder while we were doing the tasting. :) Poor thing was worn out from all the traveling! The first was my favorite for the wine, but the other one was my favorite for the view. The Chateau Grand Traverse is set on a hill with the orchard in the valley and off in the distance are a few more hills and the bay. Breathtaking! This winery had a LONG line to do the tasting, but also had a neat gift shop to look at while you waited. Both were fun, but we missed out on the tours of the grounds because we got there too late. Maybe next time! On the way home, we stopped at a park that also had a beach. Savannah played on both the playground and in the COLD water. All in all, we had a great day!!

The funniest quote of the day was Savannah telling Drew something and he didn't hear her so he asked her repeat it and she responded with "Daddy! I have already told you six times!!" WE WERE ROLLING!!

July 4th Trip Day One--Petoskey, Michigan

2009-07-05T20:31:00.003-04:00

One of Drew's friends, Chris Nelson, from work last summer invited us up to his parents' cabin in Boyne Falls, MI for the weekend. It was a great getaway from the usual scenery around our area and gave us some new places to explore. Boyne Falls is within an hour to most of the towns we are interested in visiting in Michigan. It is also home to a ski resort with an indoor waterpark. We had a cold front come through earlier in the week, so on our way up there, we noticed the temperature dropping quite quickly. When we finally arrived, the temp was 56 degrees and we were READY to get inside and change into some warmer clothes! We decided to visit Petoskey that afternoon to see what was there. I wish I would have taken a picture of the view going into Petoskey down one of their hills--it was amazing! If you can imagine a beautiful downtown village set against the bay and it all opening up before your eyes going down a hill, then you are there! Petoskey was beautiful. It had (like most towns in MI) a great downtown outdoor shopping area right on the bay. Savannah was a bit of a grump from all the traveling (this lasted for most of the weekend!)...this should explain some of the looks in the pictures. We did some shopping and then made our way into the little park area behind all of the shops. That was where we found the bench with the American Flag painted on it, the pretty flowers, the cannon, and the Vietnam Memorial (fitting for the weekend). We weren't aware of the gingerbread houses in the area, but we did manage to drive past them on our drive Saturday. They were amazing! We didn't stay long any of the days because we enjoyed dinner with Chris and his family, but we did have a great time in Petoskey!

Pray for Jaclyn

2009-07-01T20:39:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

I know I mainly post pics and tell cute Savvy stories here, but I also know there are a lot of people who look here that are not on Facebook. I need to update you on my friend Jaclyn. She was in our wedding and is one of my closest sorority sisters. Her father helped Drew get a job when he needed some upward movement and she has all in all been there for me. We have fallen out of touch in the recent months, but neither of us have ever been good at staying in touch...and that never seemed to matter. Jaclyn was diagnosed with Chrons disease in May right after she got married. She was in the hospital then briefly, but was released shortly after being admitted. They prescribed her all kinds of meds which have apparently led to her latest issues. On Friday, her husband took her to the hospital with what could be described as loss of memory and once there she ended up in seizures. Since then, the drs have said that she had a brain aneurysm, and has had two strokes. They did an MRI and found two more clots in her brain. The drs assume it is due to her medications, but my understanding is that they do not know which medication is causing the issues. She is in ICU again and they are having to sedate her relatively frequently. I am asking that all of you please pray for Jaclyn and for a swift recovery. She is going on a week since she was taken to the ER and hasn't shown many signs of improving. Please pray for her family as well. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Love y'all.
Jenni

Michigan Challenge Balloonfest

2009-06-29T08:41:00.002-04:00

One of the events my mom's group had scheduled was the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest. I looked it up on-line and realized that this would be fun for Drew, Savvy and me to go to. We decided to go Saturday afternoon so that we could do everything (the carnival, the family fun tent, medieval shows, the hot air balloon launch, etc). Once Savannah got into the rides, she had a great time! She had her face painted again, although we have no idea what the girl painted!! Oh well, Savvy loved it anyway! We were exhausted from being in the sun all day, and almost left before the balloon launch...thank God we didn't!!! This was by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen. On the slideshow, the first balloon you see was the first one to air up and lift off. I was a little worried about this because it took SO long for this to occur. I couldn't imagine waiting for any more to do this. Luckily, once that first one took off, the challenge began! Out of the blue, we began to see about 7-10 hot air balloons blowing up! By the time they all took off, Drew says he counted about 40 hot air balloons! It was absolutely amazing to watch each and every one of them go up in the air and float away. We were not sitting right at the launch pad, but that turned out to be just fine. We were on the side of a hill and the sun was setting in the background of most of the pics. We are still working on my camera and the settings, so if some of the pics are a little dark, sorry! Savvy's faves were the blue balloons. I liked the purple and dark pink one and Drew liked the "phoenix" one (yellow and black). Some of them flew right over our heads, so I was able to get some cool underneath shots too! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the show!

Strawberry Festival

2009-06-22T08:52:00.003-04:00

We went to the Strawberry Festival in Belleville, MI on Saturday. We got there early (about 10:30 a.m.) so that we would be ready for the parade that was starting at 11. We set up our chairs along the street and then went to explore for a few minutes. Savvy got a balloon bracelet in the shape of a flower. The parade started and lasted about an hour. Savannah was not a fan of the fire trucks when they ran their sirens! She did love standing up and picking up the treats they tossed out to the kiddos along the way. After the parade, she tried out the bounce houses, got her face painted, petted a dog that looked a lot like Ash, had a snow cone, went "fishing", and rode the car merry go round. I was a little disappointed that there weren't more things along the strawberry line, but we still had a good time!

Swim Lessons...

2009-06-22T08:35:00.003-04:00

Swim Lessons were not as big of a hit as the dancing was. Savannah did great, but had a hard time listening for some reason. I think all the leg kicking, arm scoops, and mouth bubbles just wore her out!! We did it everyday last week with Drew joining us on Friday. She was so proud of her Daddy being there to watch her! We only have a couple of pictures from the last day because I had to be in the water with her. She really has progressed unbelievably well! We took her swimming yesterday and she was jumping in without holding our hands and putting her face underwater all by herself(for those concerned, yes, she does wear floaties in our pool!). I asked Savvy on the last day if she wanted to do the next level of swim lessons and her reply was, "I think not, swim lessons are just too hard!". Maybe later this fall we will try again!

Dance Recital Pictures

2009-06-12T10:20:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the pictures we took before, during and after the recital. Some of the pictures may be dark since they didn't turn the lights on until the very end of the show. Enjoy!

Savannah's Dance Recital

2009-06-12T09:39:00.003-04:00

Savvy did such a great job!!!! We worked all week on her dance and talked about watching Miss Erin if she needed help with her steps. She is the one that is 3rd from the left in the black leotard and nude tights. We straightened her hair and she looked BEAUTIFUL. She didn't cry when we left her at the front of the stage with the other dancers and she sat SO still while the other dances were performed. We are SO proud of our little tap dancing ballerina!!!!! She loved her flowers she got at the end of the performance...pictures to come! Don't forget to leave your comments. :)

Rain Boots!

2009-06-12T09:37:00.001-04:00

Savvy got new rainboots over the weekend and who knew she would get to wear them so much!!!! It has rained for most of the week and she has been the first to grab her rainboots and her "brellella"!! Here are a couple of pictures of her in her boots before we left for a very rainy Henry Ford Museum!

Drew's Catch

2009-06-12T08:50:00.003-04:00

We have this lake back behind out apartment building, so we are out fishing ALL the time. Drew will frequently go down there by himself for a while and see what he can catch. Poor guy caught his biggest fish down there a week ago and no one was there to help or to take a picture!!! I did get a picture of this other fish...I thought it was a good picture of Drew even if the fish wasn't very big!!

New Bike!!

2009-06-06T10:17:00.004-04:00

We left Savannah's bike(the Dora one Abbie gave us) in Richmond on accident and, of course, Savannah decides to get interested in riding once we get here! And, being that I am trying to conserve money while I am not working, I didn't want to spend the $40+ that it costs to get a new one (who am I kidding, we all know I am pretty cheap!). Drew told me that they have a "garage sale season" in May and June, so he suggested we try to find one there. So, I loaded Savvy up and off we went last weekend while Drew went fishing. My first stop was supposed to be a bank, because I had about $25 on me. However, before we found one, we saw signs for 3 or 4 different garage sales. I figured what would it hurt to drive past and see if any of these had a bike. I told Savvy what our plan was and that if we didn't happen to find a bike today, that we would buy one for her tomorrow(much to my dismay). So we drove past the first three and didn't see a bike. On our fourth drive-by, we saw 2 bikes out front!! Savvy was BEYOND excited! I was afraid the bike might cost more than what I had on me, so I tried to calm her down and warn her that we may have to come back. Not an easy discussion with an excited 3 year old. We walk up and look at the bike and the excitement level increases 5-fold...it is a BARBIE bike!!! The only downside was that the bike had no training wheels(I figured this could be an easy fix, though). So, I ask the lady how much she is selling it for and when she answered $3, even I was excited!!!! We bought the bike with the warning that we couldn't ride it until we bought training wheels. Later that day, we went to a party on Grosse Ile that one of Drew's co-workers was throwing. As I am relaying this "too good to be true" story to my cousin Lane and his fiance' Diane, they mention that they had a brand new set of training wheels from Diane's daughter's new bike that they would not be using!!!!! Cousin Lane brought them to work on Monday and Monday evening Savannah was helping Drew put them on her bike! We have been riding her bike everyday since then. She LOVES her "new" bike and likes to tell everyone that she got it from the "garage area"! Now when we drive past a garage sale, she is a more than willing participant to stop and look! You never know what you might find!

Savannah-ism

2009-06-03T10:17:00.003-04:00

We were taking a break yesterday from the play area at the mall and decided to stop in at Gymboree. I had a quick question for the sales lady, so I was standing at the counter waiting to ask. Savannah was still "shopping" when the lady answered my question. At the end of her answer, the lady looks at Savannah and says, "What pretty red hair you have!", and Savannah (who is ALWAYS one step ahead of you!) looks at me, pulls out these red glitter flip-flops she was looking at and innocently says, "Mommy, can I get these pretty red flip-flops to go with my pretty red hair?"!!!!!! In case you are not aware, the child is 3! Everyone in the store was laughing as I told her no while trying not to laugh. To see the flip-flops, go to gymboree.com and search shoes...they are pretty cute!

Gross Ile Island Party

2009-06-03T09:55:00.002-04:00

One of Drew's co-workers lives on "the island" aka Gross Ile. It is a beautiful island about 50 minutes from where we live in Michigan. They have HUGE homes with hefty price tags and gorgeous water front views. We didn't take our camera, but ended up with one of my favorite pictures of Savannah and me courtesy of Shri(misspelled, I am sure). Shri used to do photography as a side job and now just does it for fun. The party was fun and the house was beautiful. We loved the basement as well, which was basically the size of the first floor underground...think of all the extra storage space!

As a side note, please feel free to leave any comments on any of my posts. I would love to hear feedback from anyone about whatever! The comments area is at the end of each post... Thanks!

Ann Arbor Hands On Museum

2009-06-01T21:09:00.002-04:00

Savannah and I took a trip to Ann Arbor to visit the Hands On Museum. I was a little worried when we got there, because all the different "stations" seemed to be a bit old for her. However, being that she is an engineer's daughter, she listened to all of my explanations and tried each thing. She loved the "Packet Traffic" one where you put balls into what seemed to resemble a bank tube at the drive thru and sent them through to the other side. They travelled to each location and then made it through in the same order to "deliver your message". She thought it was great! The bubbles were also a hit...shocking! I have to brag a little on Savvy. We do a lot of driving around, just the two of us, and she is a fantastic little traveller. It is so enjoyable to get to spend time with her and share in her everyday joys.

San Antonio Children's Museum

2009-05-28T11:00:00.003-04:00

We stayed at Aunt Freda and Uncle William's home the night before we left Texas. We got up Monday morning thinking we would just hang out there for a couple of hours and then make out way to the airport. Aunt Freda had other plans!!! She decided to take us to the Children's Museum in downtown San Antonio. Cousin Catherine Bermea also joined us for the trip. Savannah liked the museum, but we didn't think we would ever get her to leave when she found the grocery store!!! It was truly a mini-grocery store. You could ring things up and put them in the cupboards at home. Savvy LOVED it!!! We then had lunch at Canyon Cafe with Aunt Freda, Catherine, and Arturo before we left. Thanks Aunt Freda for showing us such a fun morning!!!!

River in Kerrville

2009-05-28T10:40:00.003-04:00

I know this is out of order, but oh well!! We got to Kerrville on Friday and had some time to kill. We all went to the River to eat dinner and feed the ducks. The girls started throwing rocks...not sure the ducks like rocks, but what can you do. :) We had been to the river years ago (before Savannah was born), so it was nice to get to share it with her. It is so beautiful down there.

Dana's Wedding

2009-05-28T10:33:00.003-04:00

The last weekend of our trip to Texas was spent in Kerrville. We had Drew's cousin's wedding to attend. It was held at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas and it was beautiful. We were all a little worried about the bad weather that came through that morning, but the skies held and eventually cleared to make for a perfect night for a wedding. Dana was a beautiful bride and everyone had a ton of fun. Savannah passed out early...I think she was exhausted from the past two weeks of fun!!

Clay's 2nd Birthday Party

2009-05-16T09:27:00.000-04:00