Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Two of my loves

Abby and Claire! It was such a blessing to see them in Virginia! We last saw them when we visited my sister in Texas in April, and both girls have grown so much. Abby is talking up a storm, and learning new sounds and words every day. Claire has gained many rolls of chub since we saw her last, and still smiles almost constantly. Both girls are a joy to be near, and I am so thankful for them!

Below, Abby and Uncle Austin playing "Birthday Party." SO fun to see, especially as Abby has been a little shy/scared of Austin the past few times we've seen her :)



Abby, age 2.5



Claire, age 7 months. LOVE the chubby legs :)



Sisters!



Auntie Sara and Claire, the most smiley baby I've ever met!

Summertime!

I think my first few posts all had to do with my longing for springtime to come (it happened very late in Boston this year!) and now it's hard to believe summer is almost over!

One of my favorite parts of spring/summer in Boston are the vibrant colors the flowers bloom in.



One of the things that I was most sad about this summer was not being able to go to Virginia to visit family (we hadn't been back since last summer!). However, when we got back from India I learned I had more vacation time than I expected, so we quickly bought cheap tickets (yea for Jet Blue!) and flew down to Virginia for a long weekend. We had a great time visiting our nieces and my sister at my parents house. In Charlottesville we also got to see Chris and Cara, and their brand new house!!

The rest of our time was spent in Centreville, where we got to meet Christopher Brenon, our friends Kyle and Sarah's new baby. We spent time with Ted, and as always, went to a baseball game (Orioles) with Leslie. We also had the (pleasurable?) experience of letting Amy drive us around. She's only a few months away from getting her license, and while she's a great driver, I've already decided that Austin will teach our children to drive one day :)

The other really exciting thing about this summer was the visits of two of my girlfriends! Meredith took advantage of her school paying for her to come to a conference in Boston, and after she worked hard for a few days, she spent the weekend with us. We had a great time, and below is a picture of us in Rockport, a very cute artsy beach town.



Our other visitor for the summer was a BIG surprise to me. Austin and Catherine plotted behind my back and she flew up for a weekend visit. Apparently, Austin got the idea to have her come up as a surprise when we thought we wouldn't be able to go to Virginia this summer. HUGE thanks to both of them for loving me so well!




Austin and I in front of "Motif 1" apparently one of the most photographed/painted buildings in the US.