florida trip

We took a quick weekend trip in October to visit Brielle's great grandparents in Tampa, FL. It's nice to make this trip once a year since they aren't able to fly to see us anymore. My grandma will be turning 90 this year (or actually is 90 by the time I post this)!!  They live close to Clearwater Beach so we stay at a hotel there and it makes it feel like a mini vacation.  Ryan dipped Brielle under the water for the first time and she took it like a champ. I, however, was very nervous!

ticonderoga farms

We took the kids to run wild at Ticonderoga farms. We got there as soon as it opened and pretty much had the place to ourselves for awhile. Brielle loved going down the slide at first, but then Ryan tried to take her down one that was a tunnel and she wasn't having it.  This girl is wild and shy & reserved all at the same time.  

first haircut

finally gave in and had brielle get her first haircut. i was expecting a full freak out so I kept putting it off, but my mom had an appointment and asked Brittney (who has done our hair for years) if she could do Brielle's and she said absolutely. i think it helped that my mom (and dad, camera in hand) were there. she did GREAT.

mini chef

making birthday brownies for her daddy, a month late. we (I) may have double the amount of required vegetable oil, but at least I had a cute little helper

ryan's 30th!!

Ryan turned the big 3-0 this year! We first celebrated with the family at a winery and then a couple weekends later was his little surprise party at a small sports bar in Arlington where he partied like it was his 21st birthday ;)

goodbye summer.

It was one HOT summer. We weren't able to enjoy the pool in our neighborhood since it wasn't finished yet, but now that my parents moved closer, we went to their pool a couple of times. It will be nice next summer though when we can just walk down the street to our pool to cool down.

18 months.