Our Family Blog

And now we have a Kindergartner . . .

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:54:46 -0400

It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Last Tuesday, Evelyn stepped on the yellow school bus for the first time and thereby inaugurated our family into the world of school schedules, Parent Councils, take-home folders, and Silly Bandz. We were not at all sure how the transition would go for any of us, but thankfully we have all handled it beautifully. On the second day, Evelyn told us “There’s just one thing about school, Mommy. Sometimes something happens that I want to tell you about, so I say it over and over in my head so I can remember to tell you, but then I also have to listen to the teacher!” She is a sponge, and there is so much to pack into that little head! What a fun time!

Lilly and Grace probably wouldn’t have handled sending big sis off to school if they were not anticipating the promise of preschool starting soon. They’ll be attending Village Nursery School two mornings a week, and they cannot wait! Lilly prays almost every night at dinner, “Thank you for we go to preschool, it is not open yet.” They both have been wearing their backpacks around almost every day, and we are counting down the days until they get their turn for a first day of “school” next week.

I posted some pictures from the first day of school, as well as some of our other late summer fun, in the July & August photo album.

Italy Vacation

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 20:48:08 -0400

In June we got to experience a great adventure. As a celebration of our 10th anniversary, we traveled to Italy! It was a whirlwind trip, 8 days total. In that week we covered three cities in Italy - Venice, Florence, and Rome. We saw all the major sites and really enjoyed the chance to see three very different cities. It’s hard to sum up the whole trip in just a few sentences! In Venice, we slogged through rain for 2 days straight, but we did get to see the famous Grand Canal, tour the glass factory on Murano island, and explore the twisty alleys and narrow streets of the city. We only had one day in Florence, as we took the train in from Venice that morning and headed out for Rome that same evening. But while there we did get to browse the Central Market, climb to the top of the Duomo, and see art and sculptures in some of the key plazas and basilicas. We had the longest stay in Rome (4 full days), so we had a good amount of time to wander various parts of the city. I guess there is a reason the Colosseum and Vatican City are iconic images of Rome; they were probably our two favorite sites! We also enjoyed checking out Trevi Fountain, San Eustacio Cafe, the Spanish Steps, Campo de’ Fiori, the Appian Way, the Roman Forum, and numerous famous piazzas and several of Rome’s dozens of churches. There was so much to experience - so much history, so much fodder for interesting conversation, so much to learn about Italian culture, so many fellow tourists to “people watch.” From departure to arrival back at home, we were very thankful for smooth travels and the time together to have a great adventure and to be grateful for our 10 years of marriage.

We love our kids dearly, but we were not about to haul them along on an overseas trip! Thus, the trip would not have been possible without the loving and willing care of grandparents. Diane’s parents took all three kids for the whole week, which is quite an undertaking. Two very active and independent yet only partially-potty-trained two-year-olds, plus one sweet and energetic big sister, makes for a lot for Grandma and Grandpa to keep up with! But aside from a storm that knocked out their power for 3 days of the weeks, the girls did fine, and they had almost as many adventures to share with us as we did with them.

Check out our photos of the trip!

Evy’s 2nd Flower Girl Gig

Sun, 30 May 2010 16:44:25 -0400

This weekend Evelyn got the chance to be a flower girl for the second time, for our good friends and one of the girls’ favorite babysitting teams, Nick and Erin. Being the experienced flower girl that she is, she pulled off the job with lots of confidence and poise. She partied into the night with the best of them, even cutting a rug with the groom on the dance floor at the reception. Here are some photos of the big day!

Grace and Lilly got to come to the wedding too, all dressed up and intensely curious about what Evy was going to do. The hardest part of the afternoon was when Lilly realized that Evelyn was going to get to throw flowers and she wasn’t. We almost had a temper tantrum when she didn’t get to walk down the aisle with Evy! I explained to the twins that they might get to be flower girls sometime when they are bigger. Lilly contemplated this for a few moments, then raised her arms high over her head and proclaimed, “I bigger, Mommy!” After the ceremony we let her stroll down the aisle and back, and for the rest of the night she was convinced that she was a flower girl too. Visions of grandeur, indeed.