Yes, we're alive!!

Gee, the last time I posted it was a "catch-me-up" post and now I'm at it again! Life has just been crazy for the last month or so and although it doesn't show signs of slowing down, I have a moment to catch up!

Brian and I had the opportunity to drive Josh down to Florida for college. My mom came and stayed with Ian, Ellie, Downey and Bella - bless her heart! (Thanks so much, Mom!!) While we were in Florida we enjoyed a quasi-honeymoon and had a wonderful time.

His college is 9/10 of a mile from the ocean and, as you can see from the pictures, the water is beautiful! So far he is loving college life - but for some reason classes and reading are getting in the way of all his fun! :) He's doing ball room dancing and enjoys it. Although he went as a marine biology major, it sounds like he'll be changing it within the next couple of months.

Ian and I finally started our school year this past Monday and so far things are going pretty well. We're studying American history and we're learning all about the Native Americans. He's a 4th grader this year and a big nine year old. Still active as ever and will be starting hockey again soon. The picture I'm including of Ian was taken last week after a friend's birthday party where they did the tattoos. Well, if you look closely at his hair, you'll see a little "cut-out" in his bangs. He did that unbeknownst to me in order to show off his tattoo better!! Oh, my!

Ellie continues to charm and entertain although this week has been a little rough. I do believe she's finally getting the rest of her teeth and, of course, they all had to come in at once. So, she's cranky, has a runny nose, and did I mention cranky? She has gone pee-pee on the potty quite a few times in the last few days and we're really excited about that. She amazes people all the time with how well she speaks and she comes up with some of the cutest stuff. The other day in the car she was singing "Jesus Loves Me" and it went something like this..."Jesus loves me as far as I know!" She loves to sing and dance around and make you laugh.

Bella. Where do I begin with her? She's now over 4 months old and probably about as big as she's going to get. She's a bundle of energy and just doesn't stop. Still wondering how she's going to cope with the cold. We've taken her to the dog park in town a couple of times and she seems to enjoy it.