Brianna's Choir Debut!

Brianna and two of her choir buddies


Brianna has joined the Children's Choir at our church and is having a lot of fun! She really enjoyed singing in front of the Church today and wasn't even nervous (she wanted me to mention that!). Below is a video of their performance...I can't wait to see them perform at Easter!

Spring Fun

It has been a while since we have updated you all with any news. We are settling in great and the kids seem to love our new home and area. Brian is VERY happy with his job and the people he works with. They are a crazy group and very close knit. A bunch of the guys got together to have dinner and see Watchmen last night; I am thankful he has some guys to have fun with! Right now I am not working and staying home taking care of my family. It is great to not be rushing around balancing schedules and never seeing either my husband or my kids!

We have a wonderful neighborhood here on Fort Meade. Our street only has one row of 6 townhouses, so it is secluded from traffic and noise (its like living on a culdisac (sp) that is straight instead of a circle) . Our neighbors are all wonderful and we are enjoying their company. We are excited for some warmer weather that will bring BBQs and nights sitting around outdoor fire pits!

(this was last week when we had about 8in of snow!)

Today, we are having a 72 degree day! It was time to buy the kids their first "real" bikes! Riley is a daredevil and took pretty naturally to it. Brianna is a little more cautious and nervous, but she is doing really great! Now we have to find some great riding trails without too many hills for us to go on family rides together. I am loving the ages of the kids; we are able to do so much and have so much fun without having to worry about all the baby gear to lug around.

a video of the kids riding their new bikes

Also, we have a new member of the family! Roxy is a 1 year old kitty that we adopted. She is super sweet and we call her our "love sponge"! Darby was not too sure about her and we had to keep them mostly separated for the first few days. Roxy was very patient and didn't seem to mind all the hissing Darby was doing. Now they seem to like each other and are even playing together!

Parklawn Elementary Memories

(written by Brianna Bender)

I miss my old school a lot. And I miss my friends. It was so fun for my mom to be at my school and I hope they miss me too. All my friends may be a little sad, but wherever they are, I will still remember them. And my teachers too!

Brianna brought cupcakes for her birthday...is was also a time so say goodbye to her class

cupcake face!

best friend Amy

Myra was a good friend!

Frances was really smart

Leonel was a great buddy!

Maya was my best best friend!

Ms Kure was the best teacher...EVER!

my class all signed my Parklawn Panther shirt so I could remember them!

Maya and I drew this best friends picture together

Christmas 2008

I know that it is now January, but I wanted to make sure I get these memories down!

We had a wonderfully quiet Christmas Eve and Day! With our impending move, we were thankful to have a rest and really enjoy our children.

On Christmas Eve, it is our tradition to exchange new tree ornaments with each other. We try to have it represent something significant that year if possible, especially with the kids. Brianna received a school chalkboard to show her first year of Kindergarten, Riley's was a big "digger" bulldozer - he has been especially into the construction stuff this year, Brian's was a "movie buff" clapboard, and mine was a handpainted mini-martini glass (Brian started me on this collectible line last year).

I think the kids didn't really wake up realizing what morning it was! Riley climbed into bed with us like he does each morning when he wakes up, and Brianna soon followed. Neither said anything of presents! Brian asked them to go on out to the living room and we would be right there. We could hear the surprise in their voices when they say the presents and Brianna ran back into our room and said, "We must have been really good! There are a lot of presents out there!" Here are a few of the pictures we took opening presents!

Grandpa Steve and Grandma Jeanne gave them this Nativity kit for the kids to put together


fingerpaints for the bathtub!

Riley got Daddy a book of Batman comics from the 1940s newspapers

Brianna got Riley his own Leapster...mostly so he would stop playing with hers!

a daily crossword calendar for Daddy's desk from Brianna! she knows her dad LOVES to do crosswords!

Littlest Petshop Wii game!

travel Thomas train set from Grandpa Bill and Gramma Lissa!

Riley's own tools from Daddy...mostly so he would stop touching his! (are you seeing a pattern here?!)

Decorating the Tree!

At first, we weren't going to put up any Christmas decorations this year due to our move in January. I tried, I really really tried! It was making me more depressed by the minute not having anything decorated! So, yesterday I got out my green and red Tupperware bins and went to work! I put up some garland around our fireplace and archway to the kitchen, Christmas nicknacks on the mantel, and then the tree. Mommy is in charge of the lights (no exceptions and NO I don't want any help!), and then after dinner Daddy and the kids hung up the ornaments. Each year on Christmas Eve we give each other a new ornament for the tree that has to do with something in the past year. Brian picks out mine, I pick out Brian's, and we choose the kids' and Darby's together. It was fun to look at the dates (some from OUR childhood) and the kids were totally into all the stories. We has Christmas tunes in the background and it was a fun moment together.

As with most of you, we are focusing on the moments we can share together instead of all the physical presents. I hope to hear about the special times and traditions you all with share with your friends and family this Holiday season!

Autumn Fun!

What could be more classic in the Fall, than kids jumping in the leaves? We had a beautiful sunny day today and totally took advantage of getting the kids outside to help with the leaves. The payoff? A HUGE pile to play in of course!

Dewey Beach, DE

Well, its official: summer is over! We took advantage of a couple of amazing "Indian Summer" days and took the kids to the Delaware coast. Brian was just finishing a 10 day leave from work (he totally needed some time off!), and we wanted to make the most of it. Who would have known that we would have 80 degree days in the middle of October?! We packed up the car and after about 2.5 hours arrived at the beach. We found a cute little hotel right on the dunes and were lucky to get a room in front with a view. The kids couldn't get their lunch down fast enough and were begging to get out to the water. How is it that kids have such high endurance for such cold water??? I think it must be the excitement and pure joy that is in them when facing the magnificence of the ocean! They were quite content with their buckets and one shovel for about 3 hours when Daddy announced that he must eat some dinner! I have a feeling they would have stayed out to play on the sand until they fell asleep! I found such a peace sitting in my "mommy chair" watching my children enjoy themselves. The next morning after breakfast we attempted a nice walk, but Riley must have heard me say "beach swim" instead of "walk"!! He just couldn't comprehend that you can actually walk next to the water without going in it!! I pray a beach house is in my future!!

A beautiful horseshoe crab gliding across the sand during out walk!

Riley was never satisfied unless the bucket was completely full to the top!

They never got tired jumping waves!

Brianna is a beach girl in the making! After only one afternoon, her skin was tanner and her hair blonder!

Riley is very serious about his sand castles! He and Daddy built them and then Riley spent a lot of time looking for rocks to put on top of them!

that's Brianna laying in the water in the background!