Visit from Gigi and SuSu

Four hours after Johnny dropped my parents off at the air port we were lucky enough to have two new visitors! Mary, Johnny's grandma, and his aunt Susan came to spend a few days with us.

Drake didn't have to wait long to be the center of attention again.

After they spent time in downtown Philly, we took them to one of our regular stops Geno's (or was it Pat's?) for an authentic Philly Cheesesteak.

Then next day, Johnny, Drake and the gals spent the night up in NYC. They were able to see Mary Poppins on Broadway and stop by Good Morning America. It was very wet and cold, but they seemed to have a good time!

Drake remained spoiled. Here he is in his new fireman outfit.

And Bubba never got tired of being held, just tired while being held. He doesn't fall asleep on ANYONE, it looks like Mary's got a special touch.

I never got tired of SuSu getting up with the boys. The last two weeks I've gotten more sleep than the last 7 months!

The beautiful leaves at Washington's Crossing.

We headed to Princeton again to see the fall leaves.

My husband caught me checking him out...

I love this pic

I'm so glad we got to spend time with Susan and Mary. It was so nice talking with them late at night and seeing Drake get to know them. It was hard to see them go, and now I need more visitors!

Birthday Boy

My baby turned two! I can't believe it, time has gone so fast. We kept the celebrations simple. He got a few presents randomly through out the day for the next few days and it was fun to keep surprising him over and over.

That night he had his favorite foods. Macaroni and cheese, french fries, and apple juice.

He loved his Birthday hot fudge sunday

and he was kind enough to share some of the whip cream with his mommy

He gave it two spoons way, way up!

And over all, I think he had a good day.

Visit from the Allbee's

Shortly after we got back from Austin we got a visit from Mimi & Pappa! They were here for a week and we kept them busy. Here are pictures of some of our outings:

We started with breakfast at Shady Maple, of course, our favorite Amish/Mennonite Smörgåsbord. (not that we've eaten at any other amish/mennonite eatery, but I'm sure this one could beat them all)

After that, we drove around Amish country. The open fields are beautiful!

We drove on Hunsiker Road, through a town called Hunseker. My mom's maiden name, Hunsaker, derived from both names. Our ancestors lived in the area in the 1700's so it was fun to see homes that dated back to that time. This is a pic of my favorite.

Friday night, we got a babysitter and the adults went to the Sixers opening pre-season game. We had great seats and enjoyed our hot dogs, philly cheesesteaks, and crab fries while watching them win!

After the game we got to go meet two of the players. They were both super nice (probably 'cause Johnny's friend told them we spent loads of money on their basketball program, allowing us to get pictures with them). My favorite part of this moment was my mom saying, before the picture was taken, "I'm eye level with your nipple!" Why did she have to say nipple and not chest or arm pit or something? I love my mom and her choice of words.

Saturday Johnny and I went up to NYC for the day. My parents took the kids downtown to see Independence Hall and some of the sites.

On Monday we we to Washington's Crossing, where Washington crossed the Delaware River, and my dad took some family pictures. I love Bubba's face in this one, never mind that his hands are blurry.

We also went over to one of my very favorite places, the Princeton University campus, to show my parents how beautiful it is. Again, I love, LOVE Bubba's face in this pic.

It was so fun having them out and it was hard to see them go. Drake loved having his Mimis and Pappas here waiting on him hand and foot and spoiling him rotten, and I loved showing them this beautiful place. Thanks for coming Mom and Dad!

Trip to Austin

At the end of September we spent 6 days in beautiful Austin, TX to see Johnny's sister and her family. It was so fun to spend time with Adrienne and Scott and their two kids. Drake and Hanna actually got along this trip and it was great seeing them play! Bubba and Hayden enjoyed one another's company and discussing all the important issues on the table (haha get it?).

Sunday Walk

Yesterday we went for a walk around Valley Forge. Its such a beautiful National Park, we never get tired of walking along one of the many paths. Here are some pics of our long stroll.

Thanks Drake

Two weeks ago I posted about Drake buying Johnny Phillies tickets for his Birthday. Yesterday was game day, and Johnny and I had so much fun! Even though we tried to sell them, Drake knew we'd have a good time and I'm glad we got to go. (Sadly, when we got the camera out to get some amazing pictures, the battery wasn't in it so these pics were all taken with our cell phones : )

Our seats were right above the Phillies dugout. It was crazy seeing the World Champ players up so close!

The weather couldn't have been better. Not hot, not cold, breezy, and clear skies.

Sitting with my husband, watching a good game, while eating hot dogs & Crab Fries =
HEAVEN

This was the first date we've gone on in months...How did Drake know it would be such a nice break from him and Bubbas?

When we got home, we watched some of the game and saw ourselves on TV!
(Center left, my mouth is wide open in astonishment)

We had a blast! We'd never put down that kind of cash again, but it was so nice of Drake to do that for his Dadda for his Birthday.

Drakie & Bubbas

We replaced my camera Thursday, yay! I celebrated by taking waaaay too many pictures of the boys.

Drake's Birthday Present for Johnny

Today I was online, looking for tickets to a Phillies game for Johnny's birthday. I found two tickets with great seats, but super expensive. I wanted to see what the total would be with the ticket price, service fee, and taxes, so I went through the entire order, stopping at the page where you click to confirm. I left my computer to go ask Johnny if he wanted these tickets for his birthday, pretty much knowing he would say no but asking anyway. Johnny was in his office on a phone call so I sat next to him waiting for him to finish (I'm sure this is one of his pet peeves). The call took forever, so I went back out to my computer to just cancel the order and ask him about it later.

When I got to my computer, it was closed and turned off. I turned the computer back on, opened my email, and discovered a confirmation email - Drake had taken the liberty to order the tickets for me! How sweet, right? Wrong. Although I know he thought he was being helpful (saving me the effort of clicking a button), I'm now stuck with two (non-refundable) tickets. Needless to say, if anyone is looking to by Phillies tickets, I have a couple for sale...

Kidney Stones

It wouldn't be a normal summer without at least one kidney stone. Three weeks ago Johnny and I went through our usual:
"I think I'm passing a stone"

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"
"Not yet, I'll wait and see if it gets worse."
"You always say that and then it gets worse, lets just go now."
"Ok, you are always right and are such a wise and handsome man"
or something like that

Its nice to finally be back to normal and in our usual routine. Johnny did such a good job taking care of the boys for me while I was down and out!

I'm so lucky to live close to a great friend who let Drake live with her family for a few days. Thanks Devon!

Here's of picture of the stones I had when I was pregnant with Drake and the stint that was place since I couldn't pass them - the biggest was an inch in diameter, yikes.