up up and away, southern california here we come!

killing some time between flights

they even had lyle lyle the crocodile, one of our favorites

breaking into the goodie bags on the plane is always fun

all the excitement was just too much for this little traveler

look who we bumped into...

after our long day of travel we dropped off our bags and made our way straight to the pool

Last Thursday we woke the kids at 445 am and started on our way. They both woke excited and full of energy. We flew from Asheville to Charlotte, made a quick stop in the club room where the kids ate their weight in muffins and filled their pockets full of complimentary mints. It was proud moment for Pete and I…

and then we boarded our 5 hour flight to Los Angeles. The longest flight to date for the kids. The kids were amazing and could not have been better behaved. Kate was delighted to find a new pack of crayons and a couple of work books in our customary travel goodie bag and trey was just thrilled to have his own seat.

In LA we met up with Mika picked up our rental car and set off for New Port. We weren’t in our room but a minute and Kate had already striped down and was asking for her bathing suit. So off we went.

happy, happy, HAPPY...

3rd to the marvelous little MOO!

just wish we were there to celebrate with you.

know that we love you and that we are thinking about you~

happy st. patrick's day 2008

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

talk about a gazillion kids...

keeley, reagan, britney, buddy and jessica.

the photo above all belong to my long-long, life-long friend danielle.

always missing you~

when is rome....

heather with a few of the kiddos

our curious little on-lookers

the Tennessee cloggers

the dads take their turn on the floor with the kids

do as the romans...

we are all familiar with this age old adage. and so... when in the south do as the southerns would. and that we did!

last night we met friends at the fiddlin' pig to celebrate heather's birthday. what do you do with a slew of kids and an adult birthday to celebrate. head to the fiddlin' pig and surround yourself with good music, good food and good people.

happy birthday dear heather. may you have many many more!

spring has sprung

such an exciting and refreshing time of year. the crocus have reared their beautiful little heads, the daffodils and forsythia are blooming and the tulips are 3 inches high.

poppa frank & ms. janine; to know them is to love them..

for years frank and pete have been doing business together and as of late we've been privy to a little more personal time with both he and janine as they hunt from a home in the asheville area.

saturday night we had them over dinner. kabobs, a tasty black rice saute and a fresh spinach salad and a whole lot of craziness!!!

these two... total sports. frank and janine totally embraced our ciaos and completely dazzled the kids. a little dancing followed dinner, then a movie and some good snuggling in front of our cozy little fire.

thanks for a great time. we'll see you again soon.

this is my family~

Fridays are one of our favorite days of the week to begin with...

and one of the Friday moments that i love the most is when Kate comes home from school and shares her work with us. i am amazed as i witness so many of her skills sharpen with each week. hers little eyes fill with excitement as she explains each and every assignment to me. wanting nothing more then to please. it is so genuine and so incredibly amazing to be a part of. what a gift our kater is to us. she is indeed making this world a more beautiful place.

celebrating like super heroes!

this past week 2 of three little gast super heroes celebrated birthdays. miles turned two and alex turned 4. so on friday alex and all of his little super hero buddies gathered at chuck e. cheese’s for some good food and whole lot of fun! happy birthday boys, we adore you!

our poor pets~

they are both given fresh food and water and least twice and day and still... this is what they prefer. for the record that is water digger is drinking. trey has learned the drill. if digger goes into the bathroom trey fills him up.

after...

an oldie but a goodie...

pete passed on a treasure from his childhood to kate when she was two and just this morning while unpacking some more boxes in the the basement (YES we still have boxes to unpack) trey staked his claim to it.

before...

a family affair;
the whole family helped out this past weekend as we got started on “our attempt” at an outer space mural for trey’s room. trey tired quickly and had far more fun playing on the ladder. kate quickly realized there is nothing romantic about painting a wall. i think the poor thing was a bit disappointed that we were not singing and twirling all about. hope to finish soon. will post after pics.

broadway in asheville

That’s right! Annie is coming to town. March 19th at the Thomas Wolfe Theater. A 730pm show could be a struggle for Kate but with it being on the eve of our trip to California Pete and I are hoping it may work to our advantage. Sure wish the Nason girls could join us!!!

I am so excited – I am such a Mom!

mark your calendars blister sisters ~

BLISTER SISTER'S COCKTAIL PARTY REUNION

Saturday March 29th

5 PM

my house

food, fun & libations

california here we come!

tickets are booked, our accommodations have been made and mika's on board and as the take-along sitter. sea world and the san diego zoo are all that we have planned. we hope to spend the better part of our week relaxing poolside, romping on the beach and hanging with fam.

thursday march 20th through wednesday march 26th. mark your calendars uncle john and aunt allyson, we hope to see a lot of you both.

our latest indulgence...

i've called a few of them long before pete was ready to give them a chance; arrested development, flight of the concords, dexter, nip tuck, Americas funniest home videos. but this one pete can take full credit for. after catching a few episodes while on the road we splurged and picked up the first season at B&N yesterday. 2 days in and we've got 5 episodes down. minnie driver; can't say as though she had ever really impressed me all that much before, but let me tell you she shines in this series.

oh those sweet little lips~

it's hard to belive that this little man is already five weeks old. kate and i took advantage of a snow day and shot over to mooresville so she could meet baby andrew. melanie looks amazing, as i knew she would and andrew, well see for yourself.

what is a sunday without the funnies?

The miracle of reading has opened yet another door for Kate - the Sunday funny pages. The joys of the Peanuts, Dagwood and Dennis the Menace are now unfolding before her eyes. Oh to be able to read Beetle Bailey again for the first time!

2 slow and snowy days

with just a light dusting of snow school was canceled for two days this past week. we didn't even have enough snow to force a sled down the front lawn but we're not complaining. we enjoyed a slower pace of life. sleeping in, staying in our pajamas until mid day, coloring and brushing up on our sentence making. life is good.