I forgot to mention something...

I realized after posting yesterday's blog, that I forgot to mention some exciting news...Jessalyn and Sean have set a date for their wedding and found a location...so now the fun and planning begins! So, mark your calendars for August 11, 2007 as that is THEIR big day! Not sure of the time just yet, but stay tuned, more to come on all the details! We hope to see as many there as can make it! The location is called Sander's Mansion and is a 100 year old mansion in the Auburn area and is on the historical sites registry....it's absolutely beautiful and will make for a wonderful location for a wedding.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Greetings family and friends...and a very Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! It's nearly 10 pm here in Virginia and we had a wonderful day with Josh, Miranda and of course, Jayden! We arrived on Tuesday evening...a bit late, but safely and our luggage found it's way as well. It was raining and the wind was blowing, but not too bad compared to what came later that night and the next day. Hmm, we left Seattle on Tuesday morning with a wet and windy drive to the airport...and arrived to the same weather in Virginia. We were fortunate enough (if you call it that) to be here for a record November storm here...they had tropical strength winds and rains for a couple of days and there was quite a bit of flooding on many of the streets...and it wasn't due to the rivers flooding. Thankfully, it's settling down now and tonight when we came back to the hotel, it was not raining...and the forecast is for dry weather the next several day...yeah!

Tomorrow we're planning on doing a bit of shopping, but won't be up with the EARLY birds...we'll get going around mid-morning and just take our time...there are no deals worth fighting the crowds SOOO early in the morning! Saturday we'll do a bit of sightseeing and some family photos for Josh and family...they've found a park that they'd like to go to for those and if it stays dry, we shouldn't have any problems. That night Josh and Miranda are going to a comedy club with some friends and we get to babysit for Jayden...YEAH!!! Needless to say, we are looking forward to the evening! Sunday our plans are to drive to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and we are hopeful that they didn't sustain too much damage during the past couple of days...they got hit pretty good.

We've had a blast getting to know Jayden and seeing how she's changed and grown since we last saw her...she's a little girl now with quite a cute personality! Terri got her to warm up to her pretty quickly and she's now a "grandma's girl" and even helped her cook today. And, "Grandma" got her Jayden's first "pucker kiss" ever...what a treat that was...she's a real sweetie! Rick...alas, Grandpa, is trying to get her to warm up to him, but not having as much luck...she checks him out, but then moves on...though he's not going to give up!

And, they have a new addition to their family...a puppy named Ace. He's about 10 weeks old and is a black lab-German shepherd mix and very cute and sweet (except for when he gets a bit wild and wants to play with his razor sharp puppy teeth! Jayden loves him to death and he is pretty good around her.

Well, we'll sign off and send this out to share with all of you. Of course, there will be a couple of photos attached for you to see. We'll try and get another post before heading home, maybe after we visit the Outer Banks this weekend! We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends...and hope it finds you all having enjoyed a nice day with family as well...and feeling blessed and thankful for many things! Until later!!

A Start of something new...

Hello family and friends...we're starting a blog to share with all of you what we are up to. It seems as though at times we (or Terri!!) are not very good at staying in touch and keeping you up to date as to what we're doing. Life as empty-nesters did not slow down, but don't get us wrong, we are happy and enjoying life to the fullest! So, this is the beginning and we'll post periodically and you are welcome to check in and see what we're doing...and we'd love to hear back from all of you as well. Of course, we will share photos (surprise!) from our shooting or trips!

Next week we are leaving for Virginia to visit Josh, Miranda and Jayden for a week over Thanksgiving. We can't wait to see them and spend a week just hanging out with them. It's been five months since we've seen Jayden and from what we hear and photos we've seen, she is just not the same baby we saw last summer. She's a toddler now and we are looking forward to playing with her during our visit! We're not sure what we'll do while there, but whatever it is, we'll have a good time (oh...I guess we'll be taking a few photos!).

After the first of the year, we'll have to buckle down and start really working on the wedding...Jess and Sean are hoping for an August wedding, but they have yet to find a location, so until they find something, there's no definite date...so stay tuned!!

For now, I'll sign off, but will try and post during our visit to Virginia next week. I hope this finds you all doing well and staying dry and warm (especially if you are in the Pacific Northwest!). The photo is one Terri took of Aussie this week...she's so patient when we photograph her!