December 7, 2013

The Great Catch-Up Post of 2013

The past 2+ months have looked like this (and shame on me for letting 2+ months pass by undocumented! I even missed the blog's 5th birthday!)-

 Grandma Donna's birthday


Grandma Donna moved down from Washington mid-September, just in time to celebrate her birthday.  She is really enjoying life in California, and, of course, being near her grandkids.
 
The Great Scramble

25 weeks!






 

 
The town hosts a scramble/obstacle course every September, and Devon was very excited to participate.  The kids and I met him at the park on a Saturday morning, and he had already walked the whole 2 miles of obstacles, including a mud pit, an archery test, a pumpkin pit...
Devon's goal was to be #1 in his age bracket, and sure enough, he led the time for the 40-49 year old men, as well as the 30-39 year old men!  Go Dev!  Next year, Joe and I want to participate too!  But next year, we need a better post-mud run laundry strategy.
 
NESTing :)
 
We love our rental house, and it has been fun making it homey with the help of my mom's store, Nest.  Here are some pics from October of our main living space.

Joe's bathroom and the loft sit above the kitchen, behind Devon and Max


Max's room is the open door upstairs.

The loft has become Joe's video game space

 
 Skateboarding
 
 
 
I often get asked about how Joe is adapting to life in California.  He is doing really, really well!  His grades are better, he seems to have made good friends, he works at my parents' business and makes some money, he enjoys the sunshine....  He asked me to take some pictures of him in front of our house.  He is loving the Cali life!
 
Still Growing...
 
28 weeks, 3rd trimester!!

Max
 

This guy...  he keeps me on my toes, as always,  He is getting so big, and I know that he will seem even bigger after the baby is born. 

First day of preschool

"Wucy"
 
 
Sweet girl, doing well in 1st grade, reading like a champ, getting ready for her performance in The Nutcracker later this month, still missing her two front teeth :)
 
 Halloween Festivities


30 weeks!

Heading off to the Halloween event at Lucy's school


cake walk, no winners :(

Grandma and the kids, ready for trick-or-treating


Our Halloween hosts.  Seth made chili and Carlee transformed their garage/driveway into the perfect trick-or-treat party!


A small portion of the Pettinato family- Davi, Ella, Gigi, and Maria

A couple of Dorothys, not planned!

Max and Brady
 
 


Grace and sweet Beckett




Vegas Baby!
 
Devon's sister Julianne got married in Vegas mid-November, and we were so happy to attend the wedding and make a little getaway out of it!

 we ate a really yummy meal at Gordon Ramsey's BURGR


 we love the show Pawn Stars, so we were thrilled to visit the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop :)  We didn't spot any of the cast members- I guess they stay in the back of the shop when they aren't filming.


Devon and Julianne.  These two are alike in so many ways, so needless to say, I adore JA :)


 Julianne, Dev and Terin

 
Me, my hot date, and my belly



JA and JJ :)

Our new niece, Camilla and Devon's stepmom Nevada.  We wanted to take both of Terin's girls home with us.  We love Lyla and Camilla!!

 After the wedding, the whole party moved to Fremont Street where we heard some great live music and did some fantastic people-watching.  It was such a freak show down there!

 
Hip Hip Hooray for the USA!
 







The first grade classes at Lucy's school had a Veteran's Day concert.  They performed several patriotic songs, and they recognized the Vets in the audience- it was very cool!  Lucy even had a special part in the show, which was a surprise to all of us, her fans!  And not to mention, it was a perfect occasion to wear the 4th of July dress that Aunt Merry gave her two years ago, as well as her ruby slippers from Halloween!
 
Thanksgiving
 
 
It has been 7 years since we celebrated Thanksgiving in California, and we had forgotten how nice and warm the weather is in late November!  Blue skies, temps in the 60s- made for a great Turkey Bowl for the guys!  The littles and I went to the field to watch and play.
 





 




 




Thanksgiving was spent at my parents' house, and everyone was there except for Aaron and Molly.  Seth made all the food and everything was delicious!  The kids loved spending time with their cousins, and there was much to be thankful for!
 
 
Christmas Season Begins!





 
The kids were anxious to get a Christmas tree immediately after Thanksgiving.  We held them off for a few days, but now we are completely in Christmas mode!  Tree, gifts, snow...  and a fire in the wood stove!
I've written before about my Christmas shopping procrastination, and this year I am very proud to say that I'm almost done!!!  I am trying my best to be ready for Christmas, because once the holiday is crossed off the list, it is BABY TIME! 
 
If you have made it this far into this long, overdue blog post, thanks for hangin' in there with me!  I am happy to be caught up now with the events in our lives, and the best is yet to come!
 
Oh, and GO HAWKS!!
 
 
 

2 comments:

Just Me said...

Finally a new blog, love it! You are the official family recorder of memories.

Joan Bailey said...

Good to catch up neighbor!!!!
Love all the pics and am so
excited to see pics of the
new baby boy!!!