Long lost cousins

When I was in 7th grade ceramics class I made a jewelery case in the shape of a turtle. I thought I was so original, something that I had dreamed up all on my own! But no, for the last few months I have been walking by a lady's desk that I don't even know but the other day I had to introduce myself and ask her about a ceramic turtle sitting on her countertop to her office cubicle. Apparently, one her children had made it and given it to her. Her desk at work became a better alternative to store it than displaying it at her home. So the other day I pulled out my turtle from my childhood treasure box to bring it in. At last, the turtles met so here they are....

A Week in Paradise

This last week has been a great break from the office life. Ed and I spent a long weekend at his Dad's place in Key West....thanks Dad and Lori! Then Tuesday to Thursday we were in Miami where I attended all day conferences and Ed continued his vacation on the beach. It was great to take a little time out alone before I can't fly anymore and our little girl joins us. Here are some shots of the good times! The drive to Key West alone the many keys was beautiful. The water was so clear and aqua.

A token photo of Ed and Dad at the Southernmost Point in the Continental USA!Ed chillin' at the pool...Our little friends that were everywhere.Me with some of the Florida Pink Flamingos!This car was a great find! A truly unique way to show off your shell collection, huh?Waiting for the sunset at the pier. It is a tradition that the moment the sun touches the horizon that everyone claps and cheers. Some beautiful sunsets! In Miami, we went out to a fun party one of the vendor's invited me to but unfortunately no bowling for me. It was still a lot of fun.

A Miami beach shot...

Blog Slacker...

That is what Ed has been calling me lately.....and I would have to agree. So to do a quick catch up, this is what we have been up to for the last few weeks...

On Labor Day, we labored at our home, pulling weeds and washing cars. We have been getting so much rain which unfortunately means towering weeds. We just have a 12 x12' patio behind our townhouse so it is too small to mow. After our labors, we did head over to the pool to take one last dip before it closed for the year. That was, by far, the best part of the weekend.

Ed has been traveling to and from Philadelphia and working super hard to complete the opening of the Army Experience Center. You can read about it here-http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/client/e3i4091ce08679099b9660c156258d54d1f

This is just one of the great ideas that he has put into action during his time as the Chief Marketing Officer of the Army. He has also been on film sets for the new commerials, done great things with their website and set in place the first-ever Army marketing plan to check and balance their progress. He truly amazes me in what he is able to accomplish each day.

And we have both been working every night on our 'Mile Long' To Do list as we prepare for this little princess and a new job for Ed. It is still a toss up on which one will come first!

Belated Birthday Post

So of course with all my birthday money I wanted to buy baby things. I promised myself I wouldn't do that but when it comes right down to it, I'm pratical and it is overwhelming to think of the huge list of all the things you have to buy for a first baby and time is running out. Ed and I spent my birthday weekend registering for baby things. He found and liked this stroller and car seat. I really liked it too but my first thought was that it was too female gender oriented and if we ever have a boy, it wouldn't go. Ed didn't agree and said by the time the second one comes around, you don't care too much and so we ended up getting it. The photos are ones from a Craiglist posting but ours is the same model. I love it more and more! PS... I wasn't practical with ALL my birthday $$, I did get some new clothes for me too!

Saturday in DC

We wanted to spend Caleb and Abby's last Saturday with us in DC checking out some sights & museums they hadn't seen before. Of course we had to eat lunch at our favorite restaurant Matchbox so we could eat some mini burgers. They are the best!

Then we headed to the National Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to check out the dinosaurs, rocks, mammals and insects.

Caleb's favorite dinosaur, the Triceratops.

Abby had to take a picture of the Hope Diamond.Look at all those bees!

Abby's Photo Shoot

The other night Abby said she wanted us to take some pictures of her striking a pose. She had so many poses, we could have gone on all night. So here are a few of the best ones. What a ham! And I'm sure you can all guess where she gets it from!

And the doctor says...

It's a Girl!
A few of her bum with her legs out to the right.

A profile shot where she is in her fainting pose again.

That means everyone who voted on our poll was correct!!! That amazes me. I have to admit that the two votes for a boy were from Ed. He wasn't even supposed to vote and he was secretly trying to persuade people to bumb up the boy votes.

Well, we are both very happy, including Ed. Abby is thrilled to have a little sister coming too! Both Caleb and Abby were able to come with us to see the ultrasound, that was a lot of fun. On both sides of our familys we have been blessed with lots of boys so we are super exited to have a girl to help even out the count. Now comes the fun part! I can start making some more of these for every outfit....