100th Post

I've just noticed that this will be my 100th post on my blog. I honestly never thought I could stick with it this long. Although the posts get fewer and farther between, I'm still at it.

Anyway, I wanted to post a couple of pictures of Bella taken yesterday at her school. She really doesn't have much to say about the Firefighter's visit, except that when she grows up, she wants to be a firefighter. I guess he made a good impression! She still loves her school, and every time Keith and she leave to go, Luca cries. He wants to go to school, too! I've investigated a couple of two's programs (yes, actually school - not daycare), but there isn't any space for him. I'm actually kind of glad... I'm not ready to let him go just yet! (Although HE seems to be chomping at the bit!)

We're doing pretty well here - the leaves are slow to change in our neck of the woods, and that makes it nice. I'd say they're at their peak right now, and very beautiful. Soon they'll all be on the ground... especially after the wind we've been having here. These winds are COLD (nothing like the warm Santa Ana's we had gotten used to!) We are looking forward to a trip to PA for the weekend. The kids will be happy to get back to Nonna and Pappy's for a few days!

Moving right along....

Well, I'm finally getting a minute to post on our blog. The past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind for our family, but we're settling down and taking a minute to breathe!
It all started last Saturday when our moving truck arrived with all of our things that have been in storage since May 23!
It was a long, hot day, but thanks to the Vesley Bros. crew (who we love, by the way), it all went pretty smoothly. We also had a huge furniture delivery scheduled so that Luca and Keith and I would have a bed to sleep on, but that didn't happen. Oh well... for that to be the only thing that went wrong, we consider ourselves blessed!
It was like Christmas for the kids when we started unpacking things. They hadn't seen their toys for 4 months, so they were very busy and excited.




















My parents and Aunt Lisa were here for 5 days to help with the unpacking and organizing... and I must say - they were GREAT. My dad also did some major projects here, which I will display as soon as I get things all pretty! He's awesome.
We got pretty much everything put away, which is unheard of in 5 days.


We also had a little 33rd birthday thing for me, because my birthday was on Oct. 6. I'm totally quitting counting.
























October 6 was not only my birthday, but also Bella's first day of preschool at Fredericksburg Christian. I can't believe that I just couldn't hold it together! I was a mess, but she did absolutely great. She loves her school as well as her excellent teacher, Mrs. Hoilman. We're so happy and relieved that she's happy!

Well, that about sums it up (the short, painless version, at least)!
We are finally here and extremely happy! We think our new neighborhood (which is mostly trees and big pieces of land) is great, and we are loving that Keith is so close to the office.
The kids can't get enough of riding their quads, digging and exploring in the big back yard. We think that we couldn't have picked a better place to call home!

Thoughts at the Bottom of a Beanstalk

For my cousin Amie and other moms on their first day of school! This is exactly how I felt last year when I tried swallow the lump in my throat on Bella's first day of preschool. I got this from her teacher here, and I thought other moms would like the encouragement!

Thoughts at the Bottom of a Beanstalk

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jack who was about the climb his very first beanstalk. He had a fresh haircut and a brand new book bag. Even though his friends in the neighborhood had climbed this same beanstalk almost every day last ear, this was Jack's first day and he was a little nervous. So was his mother.

Early in the morning she brought him to the foot of the beanstalk. She talked encouragingly to Jack about all the fun he would have that day and how nice his giant would be. She reassured him that she would be back to pick him up at the end of the day. For a moment they stood together, silently holding hands, gazing up at the beanstalk. To Jack it seemed much bigger than it had when his mother had pointed it out on the way to the store last week. His mother thought it looked big, too. She swallowed. Maybe she should've held Jack out a year... Jack's mother straightened his shirt one last time, patted his shoulder, and smiled down at him.

She promised to stay and wave while he started climbing. Jack didn't say a word. He walked forward, grabbed a low growing stem and slowly pulled himself up to the second leaf, then to the third and soon he had vanished into a high tangle of leaves and stems with never a backward glance at his mother. She stood alone at the bottom of the beanstalk, gazing up at the spot where Jack had disappeared. There was no rustle, no movement, no sound to indicate that he was anywhere inside. "Sometimes," she thought, "it's harder to be the one who waves good-bye than it is to be the one who climbs the beanstalk."

She wondered how Jack would do. Would he miss her? How would he behave? Did his giant understand that little boys sometimes acted silly when they felt unsure? She fought down an urge to spring up the stalk after Jack and maybe duck behind a bean to take a peek at how he was doing. "I'd better not. What if he saw me?" She knew Jack was really old enough to handle this on his own. She reminded herself that, after all this was thought to be an excellent beanstalk, and that everyone said his giant was not only kind but had outstanding qualifications.

"It's not so much that I'm worried about him," she thought, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's just that he's growing up and I'm going to miss him." Jack's mother turned to leave. "Jack's going to have lots of bigger beanstalks to climb in his life," she told herself. "Today's the day he starts practicing for them... and today is the day I start practicing something too: cheering him on and waving

good-bye."

Back to School

This was the 2nd year that Bella shared in the excitement of Jilli's first day of preschool. We just happen to still be here in Brownsville, so we enrolled Bella again at Fort Burd Preschool for the month of September.
This year was much different than last year, when Bella was nervous and apprehensive for the first day. This morning the girls ran up to the door and couldn't wait to get started!
Bella had a great day, and said that she "loves Mrs. Popsickle." (Her name is Mrs. VanSickle, and she just happens to be our cousin.) It looks like she will be enjoying her time there until we move at the end of September!

Little Flipper

The kids spent most of Labor Day in the pool. Thanks goodness my dad won't be closing it just yet! I just thought I'd share our little fish, Bella's swimming progress - I took this video after she suprisingly did what she calls a "flip dive" off of the diving board! I thought she did a great job... it won't be too long before she gets all the way around!

You can also hear her negotiating for a popsicle. Oh, well... sometimes bribery gets you videos!

Hooray for Kennywood!

This weekend we decided that we've waited long enough this summer - it's time to take the kids to Kennywood! Keith and I had put it off all summer, because we just didn't want to brave the sweltering heat. This weekend was perfect timing. Although the lines were long (we went on a Saturday), it was certainly worth it. The weather was great - high of only 78!

Bella and I rode the Jack Rabbit (a traditional wooden roller coaster, for those of you who aren't Pittsburgers) first, and to my surprise, she really didn't like it! I thought that we'd be standing in that line at least 4 times this year because she loved it last year. She said that she thought she was going to fly out on the "double-dip!"

Luca was a blast this year, and loved pretty much everything he rode. Both of their favorites were the Whip and the Kangaroo (which just happened to be my favorites when I was a little kid!)

We spent most of the day in Kiddieland, which was okay for us - we really didn't go there to ride the Phantom's Revenge! I was mainly interested in Potato Patch fries and a funnel cake, which we did manage to fit in before we called it a day.

Our Expedition

Luca snoozing during the car ride.



Taking a picture in front of Bella's new preschool - the Stafford campus of Fredericksburg Christian School.
Keith with three of his office staff - Jill, Becky, and Jennifer.
Bella in front of our new home in Stafford, VA. We just love it!



I've not been doing well with the blog lately, and I'm sorry, Mama P! Here are a few pics to get you caught up on our latest expedition.


This past weekend the kids, my mom and dad and I took to the roadways for the 4.5 hour jaunt to Fredericksburg, VA to visit daddy and our new home. This was the first "long" car-ride for the kids, and after they figured out that asking "how many more minutes?" wasn't going to make the trip end any sooner, they settled in and did pretty well.


We all stayed in the Homewood Suites where Keith has been calling home for the 3 days we were there and my lifesavers (a.k.a. my parents) took care of the kids while Keith and I tried to do some furniture shopping for the essentials. (We sold pretty much all of our furniture when we left SD, so we had a lot to do!)


As far as an update on the house, my last trip to VA was to meet with a builder who was going to be building our home. We went over plans and got everything settled. However, we also saw a home that we just couldn't get out of our hearts! We decided that we wouldn't have to build after all and bought a wonderful home in Stafford. We took the kids to see it and they couldn't get enough of the enormous back yard, walking in the woods, picking out their rooms, etc. We also met the very gracious people who live there now and Bella and Luca made fast friends with Natalie and Luke, who will soon be moving to California! (How ironic!)

We are back in town and I spend every spare second shopping on the internet for furniture, rugs, design ideas, etc. This is the second house I get to decorate in 3 years!
We are all very excited to move in at the end of September.

I hope this gets everyone up to date. A lot has happened and changed, but this is the scoop! I'll try to be a better blogger!