New Arrival

Welcome Caitlynn Elizabeth. Born Monday November 29th at 0748. She weighed 7 pounds and 4 ounces and was 19.7 inches long. Christopher and Stephen were very excited about her arrival. For months they have been giving baby girl hugs and kisses before going to bed at night. It was neat to see the wonder and smiles on their faces when they first saw her. We will see how long it takes for the wonder to wear off. Caitlynn and Mommy came home Thursday Morning and have had several visitors stop by to welcome the little one. A little girl in the house will be a learning experience for us all. I am sure Mommy will post later. Until then, here are some of my favorite pictures.

Beach Vacation - Ocean and Pool - Surfside, SC

The boys had a lot of fun this year at the beach. They weren't too nervous about getting into the water even though the surf was a little rougher than we were used to. The waves weren't very high, but there was a lot of undertow.

Stephen had a lot of fun in the waves, but wasn't quite ready to let go of your hand. (He's smiling, but look at that little fist clenched tight!)

Both boys had a lot of fun "surfing" on the inflatable raft. Christopher and Daddy actually rode some waves in from the deeper water.

After a few hours at the beach, we would be ready to come back and cool off in the pool at the rental house. Stephen really seemed like he wanted to swim, kicking his legs and getting his arms moving. Christopher waited until the last day to remember that he actually LIKED jumping in the water and going under.

Both Boys ended on a high note jumping off the side to Daddy and Pop-pop.

1st February Blizzard - at Grandma's

Michael took time to demonstrate the finer points of plowing a driveway using heavy machinery.

After the plowing, it was time to start playing. Christopher had a lot of fun sledding down Grandma's hill using the snow "boogie mat" that Aunt Amy found. He was moving fast, and spinning around. He slid frontwards, sideways, and sometimes even backwards.

Stephen liked sledding too...He thought that the only way to end a run was to "CRASH!!!" He would get halfway down and then make himself wipe out into the snow.

Mommy even gave it ago...with Stephen riding shotgun. Unfortunately he still tried to crash at the bottom of the hill.

Completed Project

Finally...Pictures of the Completed Play Fort!

Project Complete!!

Sorry there aren't any pics for this post; but I just haven't gotten a chance. The project was completed yesterday morning with Pop-pop & Poppy putting on the two canvas roofs and the steering wheel on the lower deck. They also had time to put up the two new swings over on the old swing beam between the trees.

When I got home from work last night; both Christopher & Stephen were very excited about showing me how everything worked. Here is a blow by blow account of Stephen's demonstration:

• Climb up ladder (rather quickly I might add.)
• Quick stop at steering wheel to spin it as hard as I can
• Run over to slide, but stop 6" short and get down on my bottom and inch out to the top edge.
• Start down the slide; but employ my breaks (shoes) every 2 feet to prevent moving too fast.
• Reach bottom of slide stopping with breaks just short of the end and then inch out until I can reach the ground with my feet.
• Repeat (a lot)

A big hug and a kiss with many thanks to Grandma, Pop-pop, and Poppy for coming up this past weekend for this project. If Michael and I had to do it on our own; it wouldn't have gotten done.

The Big Construction Project - Day Two

Yes, I know. It looks like I am taking a break... But what I am actually doing is holding the boards in place while Poppy screws them down on the far side. This is very hard and technical work. Not everyone is as well prepared as I am to do this. Those boards weren't going anywhere.

NoNoMommy and Poppy worked pretty hard getting
the upper level decking down and the rails up.

This is the almost completed project. The only things

left to be completed is to install the roof and the accessories

on the upper deck. In the future we will also be filling in

beneath and around the base structure with pebbles.

Before getting the final building inspection approval,

we had to have our punch list walk through. Our

head engineer came out and tested all of the installed

pieces of apparatus.

And it appears that we got his seal of approval. Here the

Grade A Number 1 helper is showing his appreciation to

Pop-pop and Poppy for all their hard work.

Here is our site supervisor. Once the project was almost

to substantial completion, he was ready to come out and

test it. He approved of the ladder and the slide.

Here are the happy new owners

of the Frontier Play Fort.

And here is the very tired, but very satisfied work

crew. It was a long hot weekend; but it was worth it.

The Big Construction Project - Day One

Hi there; this is Stephen. I didn't do a whole lot of work on the big project... Which is only natural since I was the site supervisor! I watched them from the swing, from the sand box, from the window in the office. I even kept an eye on them while I was downstairs taking my nap.



Here are some highlights of the day:

Christopher was the big helper of the day again. He carried wood, brought the bolts and screws, and tried to use the tools.

We actually made really good progress in just one day. Daddy, Pop-pop, and Poppy really worked well together...

We got the whole structure up and even started work on the decking of the lower level.

Keep an eye out for the next post; the Big Project Day Two.

Fun with Grandparents

Stephen got to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa and had all sorts of fun. Needless to say he was impossible to deal with once he got back home (just kidding). He had a wonderful time and cannot wait to go back again soon. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for keeping Stephen and taking good care of him.

A Week Full of Events

Congratulations Pop Pop on reaching that special stage in your life... retirement. We know you were looking forward to getting rid of one boss and accepting a new one. We wish you lots of luck and hope to see you up this way more often now.
And Happy Birthday Grandma, we wish you lots of luck with the extra help you will have around the house. We look forward to seeing you two again soon and all of the work that you have accomplished since you will both be home together all day, all the time. Love you!