We're Expecting!!!!

Although we have known for a while, surely none of you are more surprised than we were, trust me.  We were shocked when it was confirmed.  But it is true - we are expecting a little one!  Close your mouths, we are not THAT old, for crying out loud!  We cannot wait to hear the patter of little feet once again on the hardwood floors and we will not mind the middle of the night waking ups at all.  Everyone in our family is excited.  We talk about it all the time, you can imagine.  This is such a good thing for our family. We look forward to how everything will once again be different - our daily routines, our travel plans, our cart's contents at the grocery store, everything!

We just loved our first little girl so very much, right from the first instant, it seemed like a good time to have another.  We didn't think much about the decision once our minds were made up, and we have never looked back.  We talked about names forever and finally came up with one we all agreed on (for the most part, that is; read: no one responded with "I cannot stand that name," which was good enough for us).  The little girl will be named Nicky.

That's right - Zoe will have a little sister soon.  November 5th - mark your calendars!!  We cannot wait. Steven is out right now buying new leashes and toys and blankets.  Nicky is Zoe's younger sister (they have the same parents in Ohio; Steven was randomly looking at Zoe's family's website, saw that a new litter had just been born, and was immediately on the phone with Jo, the kind, generous woman from whom we got Zoe).  Zoe was born in February 2011 and Nicky was born in September.  So add another name to the list of fabulous relatives born in the fall (i.e. Steven and Laura). 

WELL ... did you heart stop for a moment?  Were you surprised?  Did you see the photo too soon and realize what was going?  Isn't she beautiful?  We are counting down the days until we get to see Zoe with her little sister and watch them interact. Zoe will be such a sweet, protective, loving older sister (like Elizabeth is to Michael).

Even more fantastic is the fact that Robin is adopting one of Nicky's brothers, so they will get to grown up together (sort of). We're having a puppy party at Robin's house (with Jo) the day we get to keep the puppies ... one week from today!! Stay tuned for additional photos.

Zoe with Elizabeth and Michael

Okay, so this clip is a couple of months old at this point, but I ran across it on my computer and just love it.  Puppies are so happy and they make others happy.  So make your day happier and watch this sweet little puppy running around.  Then you'll understand why Elizabeth and Michael keep asking for another one and why we sometimes consider their request.  (It's windy outside - I'm not being a creepy heavy breather.)

Random

Elizabeth let me know that it's been two months since I posted something and that is lame.  Apparently if you have a blog, you need to blog.  So here I am, without any major news, just random tidbits of family information.  Michael has had an excellent season of soccer.  Last Saturday he played offense and scored 2 of the team's goals as well as 1 assist to his best friend Stephen during their 6-2 win.  Sunday he switched to defense, and his team won 2-1.  I am thrilled to be able to finally watch him play.  Notice his cool-looking shoes, the result of an away game shopping trip after Michael realized he forgot to pack his cleats ... and shin guards.

Elizabeth is her usual social self and middle school is fabulous (she might not exactly use that term, but I'm sure her description would be close) - she joined the drama team, does a lot with the youth group at church, and last night had her school chorus recital.  $50 for anyone who can spot her in the photo.  She was the family representative and Carola's date for the Catholic Church's 50 year celebration mass last month; the next day, Mom came to Winchester to watch Michael play soccer and then we all ate together.  Only Zoe was missing. 

Steven was excited to finally convince me to get a rain barrel for our yard.  Aesthetically it may leave a lot to be desired, but Steven's joy in going green could not be denied.
I've been presenting material to various groups; this is the part of my job I love. In the past 2 weeks, I presented information to freshmen, to a women's dorm residents, and to students at UK.  Monday I give a presentation to the Women Leaders group on campus (and should be working on it now, but the guilt of no blog postings won over). And oh yeah, I got to see both Robin AND Kathy this week (insert joy and excitement here).

This photo is from Robin's house last year, but it'll stay on the blog until Robin sends me the photo she took this year (no pressure, Robin).

Zoe is as precious as ever.  She could not be more loved by our family.  I'll post a short video of her and Steven playing tug of war.  While I realize it might not be interesting for you to watch, I can't do a post without including her.  Such is the life of a parent, eh?  Okay, no time for the 5-hour loading of a video right now; maybe tomorrow.......check back - you know you want to!!  And now it's here (loaded it at work because apparently my computer at home is not as good as the one at work - who would have EVER thought THAT??).

Wish you were here - if you'd been with us earlier this month, you could have attended the Festival of the Horse Parade - lots of interesting sights and slightly frightening smells.

Lake for the Day

Elizabeth and Michael each invited 2 friends to spend the day with us at Cave Run Lake; Steven and I invited Mom, who brought great food.  The weather could not have been more perfect, and the trip was definitely a highlight of our year.  We rented the double decker pontoon with slide that we used last summer with Laura's family.  The kids entertained themselves all day, alternating between jumping off the boat (I noticed when we were pulling back in to the marina that the rules clearly stated not to jump off the top deck; enormous oops on that one; see video at the end of each child jumping off the top), playing duck-duck-duck goose [a creative game in

the boat (I was exhausted just watching them)], sliding off the slide solo or with another person; steering the boat; swatting horse flies (they enjoyed that); and having water blaster fights (the

adults were unintended? victims).  The biggest hit was when Steven would throw a soaker ball for a child to catch as the child jumped off the top deck (if you put your glasses on and squint, you'll be able to see the ball headed toward Michael's hand in the photo below). Over and over and over (Steven got lots of practice treading water). Everyone got off the boat only when Mom bought everyone ice cream - the rest of the time, we were

out in the water.  Although one of the noodles managed to get stuck under the boat, it eventually was discovered and saved.  The only casualties were my sunglasses and a big beach ball (just like last year's innertube, except this year, we couldn't catch it).  We're going next year, in case anyone wants to join us. 

EJM in NYC

After heading to the West Coast during June, Elizabeth spent 4 days on the East Coast in July.  My high school/college friend Kim Reeder, who lives in California, moderated a tax commissioners' panel at a conference in NYC; the trip coincided with her daughter Ansley's 8th birthday, so Kim told Ansley she could go to NYC with her and invite a friend.  E was the very lucky girl Ansley selected.  They were quite the busy trio during their days in The Big Apple: they went to a Harry Potter exhibit (E has read all the books and seen all the movies); built a bear at Build a Bear (naturally); shopped at FAO Schwartz (yes, they played music on the huge floor keyboard); attended The Lion King (E's very favorite part); toured Times Square; hung out in Battery Park to take in the Statue of Liberty view; enjoyed Tea with Eloise at The Plaza; and of course, got to hear Kim moderate the panel of state tax commissioners during the conference (the girls got a lot of reading done during the panel, but did recall snippets of "tax levy," "property assessment", and "IRS compliance").  Just listing the objective facts of their trip doesn't do justice to just how much fun Elizabeth had during her days with Kim and Ansley. I was thrilled that they stayed with us overnight before their flight as well as for a bit after they returned to
Kentucky.  As before, Elizabeth and Ansley staged a fashion show that included dancing, while modeling casual, funky, and party clothes (I believe those were the categories).  I can't believe I've been close friends with Kim for more than half of my life - a deep, enduring friendship for sure.

More cousins to play with!

We'd known they were coming for a few months and sort of patiently counted down the days.  Finally Bennett, Tiffany, Sam, and Elise were in town!  They made 2 visits to our house and resourceful Elizabeth is travelling to Morehead today to fit in one more during her overnight at Grandma's. 

We'd seen them earlier this year, but the children really had grown physically and developmentally during the past few months.  Sam is so happy all the time (can he teach me how to be that way?) and Elise is quite the athlete.  Everyone got along with everyone else; no troubles (although Michael wanted me to include that Elise did hurt her toe on the concrete and that made us all sad).  Sam and Michael had a lot of strategizing going on with the Nerf blasters (I refuse to write the word 'gun'); there was tag with rules that were made up as they went (see video

below); Elise loved building the puzzles of the Oh Rats! game, which was Elizabeth's favorite game when she was young (yes, that is the only reason we still have a game for 3 year olds); and we got to see Elise's amazing smile over and over again as she disappeared into the closet then came back out, shouting "Hello!".  Elise had fun with a doll house while Sam and Michael played with Michael's friend Riley - a little bit of wii, a little bit of DS, a lot more of the Nerf blasters.  And everyone played with my favorite toy - Fisher-Price!!  Both kids warmed up to Zoe by the end and liked petting her. 

We feel so lucky to have seen the whole family twice this year.  I love talking with Tiffany about all kinds of topics, and all of our fingers are crossed for seeing them at Christmas, too!

 

Go west, young girl!

Elizabeth boarded a plane last month and headed to California.  She had THE BEST TIME, oh, you have no idea!  She stayed with Mary and Mark first - they went to Santa Cruz, where E "accidentally" fell into the ocean and therefore needed her aunt to buy her a new outfit; San Francisco, where E was fascinated by the architecture; and a nearby water park ....  Then she spent the night at Kim Reeder's house to visit Ansley, her partner in fashion shows.  Then she was off to Tiffany and Bennett's house for more laughing, playing, shopping, and volcano erupting until her week in CA was over!

The Top 10 list of highlights from her trip pretty much all involved her cousins: Aaron, Kate, Sam, and Elise.  Elizabeth is completely enamored with all of them - she loved the way Aaron was always laughing (see video of him dancing below), how Kate took care of her fluffy dog (very appropriately) named Fluffy; how Sam always wanted to read and be read to; and how Elise made up clever games with her cars.  I don't think E experienced an iota of homesickness the entire 8 days.  :)  Zoe, however, did miss E - she whined by her empty bed each morning and burned 2000 calories jumping for joy when she returned.