Monday, July 21, 2008

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

She's Finally Here!


I'm a new aunt today...Katherine Elise Finch has finally arrived. She was born today, July 16th at 11:17 am. She weighed 6 lbs 13 ounces and was 22 inches long. She's absolutely perfect.
I think she looks like her Mommy.

Following is one of my favorite photos from today.
New cousins.

Like I said...absolutely perfect.



Love.


Gabby is already in love...

Even little Gracie was excited


Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Summer Lovin'

We've been having a great summer so far! The kids have enjoyed hanging out in Grandma Elaine's little pool. They played in it all day last Thursday and then Chad met us there for dinner. We made burgers and corn on the cob...yum! After dinner, it was back into the pool...even I got in that time. The kids didn't let me relax much, though. I was attacked by little splashing monsters!







We just hung out at home for most of the 4th of July. In the late afternoon we headed out to The Farm. On the way there Gabby spotted a moose along the river! She announced, "I saw a moose!" We didn't really believe her until she described it...then we turned around and drove back to the spot and sure enough, there was a moose! It's the first time I've ever seen a moose in person so I was pretty excited. Of course, Gabby was quite proud of herself for spotting it! Once at The Farm, we then loaded up with Grandma and Grandpa and headed to the little town of Deer Park for the Fireworks. This year is Deer Park's 100th Birthday as well so they had a big cake and lots of apple pie and ice cream! The fireworks were fun and not as scary as in years past. Sometimes it feels like you're walking through a war zone on the 4th of July in Deer Park. I'm always tempted to wear a hard hat! But there wasn't as much flying shrapnel this year.


If you look really closely...you can see the brown spot, which is the moose. You may have to click on these ones for a larger view. I only had my 50mm lens with me.














On Sunday we went to Horse Shoe Lake with the Farm Grandma and Grandpa. They were trying out their new raft things...they wanted to practice on a lake before they attempted a river. Boy! those things are a LOT harder than they look. Chad and I tried them out for a while and my elbows are still hurting! Chad and I took our canoe, which the kids seem to enjoy. We headed across the lake to the waterfall, which the kids loved! Although, they both thought it was too loud. Nicholas climbed all over the place like a little monkey. It was almost impossible to keep up with him. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa managed to keep him pretty close. I think I need to down a bottle of Prozac before we go next time. Just watching him scurry around on those rocks makes my anxiety levels rise! We also hiked up to Devil's Punch Bowl, which is just a big huge hole carved out of rock and filled with stagnant water. Of course, Chad, the geologist, found it fascinating. It just induced nightmares of falling kids for me.
Last night we went on a little bike ride after dinner...just up to the park. I'm going to try riding a little bit at a time and see if my butt eventually gets used to it. Chad bought a soft, gel seat for me but my rear is still a little sore today. The kids just LOVE riding their bikes though and it would be nice to join them more often!
That's about it for now...