Autumn in New England

My biggest joys of living in New England is the autumn. I love the 60-70 degree temperatures, the changing of the leaves, and most of all-APPLE PICKING! Last week for my birthday, my only request was to go apple picking with my family. We had a great time riding the wagon out to the orchard,



picking and eating crisp apples,


having a warm cider doughnut, and ending the day with a visit to the pumpkin patch.

Water Adventures

As I sit here watching the rain fall outside my window; and realize that summer is quickly coming to an end I look back on an INCREDIBLE summer!!! It has been full of so much excitement and A LOT of water adventures.

Kathryn and I have been taking this summer to get lots and lots of swimming in. We usually hit the pool about 3-5 times a week, and she even has the farmers tan to prove it!


This past weekend we went for a visit with Gammy and Opa on the lake. Kathryn had tons of fun eating her lunch on the boat.
She especially enjoyed getting a chance to swim at Beaver Lake.


Kathryn is a fan of any body of water! She absolutely loves playing at the ocean, and wishes she could live there all the time.


Video of the swimming coming soon!

Have we Baby Proofed yet?

As Kathryn turned 9 months just a few days ago you realize how much she has changed! Just a few months ago you could put her on the ground and you knew she would stay put. Now I have a shadow who crawls beside me from living room to kitchen or from our bedroom into the bathroom. We have had to baby proof the entire house, but now that she is able to pull herself to her knees, I am realizing there are a few more places we need to proof a bit better.

Just a few months ago we were excited to hear her make raspberries. Now she is "talking" all the time, saying "mama" and "dada", as well as "gigi"-which my mom has adopted as her new name! When I give her a "zerbit" on her belly she giggles with glee, and it is so cute to hear her laughing to herself in the back of the car en route to wherever we may be going. I just love her little personality! She loves being held by virtually anyone and is a huge hit wherever we go(ok that was a little braggine-sorry!) She absolutely loves water and is getting to be quite the little swimmer-this last month she has taken to going under the water and swimming short distances from one parent to the other.

Kathryn also had a new surprise in her mouth that arrived just ten days ago- a tooth!

Chilling out in-between swimming
Working on standing with her new toy, thanks Lori!

My little crawler moving and grooving.

Fourth of July Southern Style

Kathryn loves being a citizen of the great USA!

This Fourth of July we decided to make a trip down to Georgia to visit Paul's sister, Dawn, and her family. We haven't been down there in a couple of years, and we wanted Kathryn to be able to meet her awesome aunt and uncle, as well her cool cousins. It was a great chance to visit with them, as we miss them terribly!!!!! Family is so important and having Kathryn makes me realize it even more!

Kathryn has definitely earned her wings this year!-She has already flown to Hawaii, Georgia, and California twice!

Fun times with Auntie Dawn at the Peach Tree City parade

My wonderful nieces and nephews with Kathryn!(although I just realized Jake is not in the picture-oops!)

Kathryn absolutely loved hanging out with Aunt Dawn at the Georgia Aquarium

I Want to Go Back to My Little Grass Shack in Kealekakua, Hawaii

Loving family time together!!!


For ten days this month we had one of the most relaxing vacations I think I have ever had in my life. We headed to Kona, Hawaii, with my parents and grandparents. It gave us the opportunity to share many firsts:
*Paul and Kathryn's first trip to Hawaii
*Four generations of first-born women on vacation together-My Grandma, My Mom, Kathryn and Myself
*Our first swim with dolphins-we swam alongside them while snorkeling at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau
*Kathryn's first taste of Hawaiian island favorites: purple sweet potatoes and poi. She LOVED them both.
*Kathryn's first swim in the ocean-she absolutely loved it. She is such a cute little "humu"!
*Our first view of an active volcano up-close and personal as we watched the steam come off of Kilauea (there was no lava streaming out of it currently-bummer, NEXT TIME!!)
*Paul and I went parasailing. It was awesome to see the island from 450 feet above ground.

It was a real gift to spend this vacation with my family. I am so blessed to still have both of my Mom's parents around and we just loved sitting and visiting with them. My Grandfather Gregory is 89 and has such wonderful stories to share of his time in the 82nd Airborne and his years of farming. I also loved hearing the stories of my grandparents early years and all of dances they used to go to; I wish we still had events like that for young people!

A special thanks to my parents for sharing their timeshare with us. It was a trip none of us will soon forget!

Kathryn loved spending time with her Great Grandpa

Parasailing with my hubby was a highlight of the trip!

Purple sweet potatoes are now a new favorite of Miss K(too bad we don't have them in Massachusetts)

It was absolutely amazing to snorkel with wild spinner dolphins!!!!!

Kathryn absolutely loves to swim and can't get enough of it.

Kathryn's first full dip in the ocean

Seven Months: Times they are a Changing!

On the 11th of this month our little monkey, Kathryn, turned 7 months old. It is so crazy to think how fast time flies and also all of the amazing changes that are happening with our little girl.

Kathryn love, love, loves the outdoors, especially hiking with Mommy and Daddy, or with our friends Alisha and Dahlia. She absolutely loves exploring and is recently trying to get into any and everything her hands can touch. She is especially fond of grass and loves to look and play with it; in fact she would eat it if we let her! Kathryn is getting quite good at scooting and the last week she has been seen on all fours moving herself under anything she can-including her crib! She is also loves learning how to swim and it is so fun to watch her as she splashes and giggles in the water. It is so fun to see her grow and I can't wait to see what she will do next!!!!


Kathyrn loves reading!

Kathryn adores playing with her cousin, Jeremiah.

Miss Mischievous scooting underneath her crib. Where will she scoot next?

Kathryn loves going on hikes and is especially fond of the closeness she gets to share with her Daddy!

Kathryn absolutely loves swimming and is a star pupil in her class!(OK I may be a little biased seeing as I am her mom)

Fun in the Sun!

Relaxing on Daddy's Lap
Enjoying a little sun!
First taste of yogurt. Kathryn says "YUMMY!"

Well despite a lot of rain this winter, I believe "sprummer" time may finally be upon us! Paul, Kathryn and I have been taking every free chance we have to enjoy the beautiful weather. We have enjoyed having picnics in our courtyard and taking long hikes. For those of you out there who don't know, there are TONS of great places to go on short or long hikes around Massachusetts. Here are just a couple of websites I have used lately to find some incredible hiking spots: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/
http://www.sudburyvalleytrustees.org/

God is richly blessing us in this time to show us how glorious His majesty is and to also remember the importance of the families he has given us.