"It will save so much gas on my commute . . ."

Here is Dirk on his new motorcycle. He is too cool for pictures, so he wouldn't take off his helmet and pose for me.

Many Changes

This year has been more nuts than usual, and that is saying something. After developing a solid plan to stay in our Maryland townhouse for three more years and use the time to fix it up to sell or re-rent, I am nevertheless writing now from our new house in Virginia.

We are so excited, because we really feel like we have found "it." A house in the country with a little bit of land and great views in every direction. We moved in almost two months ago and we are starting to feel pretty settled in and at home here. I am adjusting to the pros and the cons of not having all my friends and shopping closeby. There will me more posts soon, as I have a lot of catching up to do, and as life settles down I am determined to get it done!

What a Helpful Baby!

My babies have all loved to sit on the counter while I cook and help whenever possible, no one more than Tristan! He is my chief sous-chef and samples everything.

Toothless Wonders

Gigi, Isaac and Gideon showing off their gums.

Gigi lost her first tooth!

Expert Exposition

Every year, Thunder Hill encourages interested kids to participate in its Expert Exposition. The topic on which to become "expert" is completely up to the kids. Gigi was wholly uninterested in doing a project until she really thought about what it meant to choose ANY topic. She chose to learn all about nail polish. Isaac's was about parrots and we created this sculpture and he named it "Skittles." Isaac thought it would be clever to decorate with actual skittles, which proved quite a temptation for Tristan and other little fingers.

Cool House of the Day

We didn't even break into this one. It was a really beautiful Tudor, which had been professionally decorated by several groups as a fundraiser for the BSO. We called the listing agent and went to see it with her. It is far enough out of our price range that we will not be buying it, especially as it needs a whole lot of work, according to the realtor. She seemed to think it would still come down quite a bit in price. However, we did have a great time touring it.

After the realtor left, we were heading out and decided to walk around the grounds a bit. We found an old chicken coup with pens for other animals. It was amazing. I was naming my chickens and picking out my goats. It even had electricity already wired out to it. Unfortunately, I was so captivated by my agricultural fantasies that I didn't notice until too late that I stepped on a nail that was sticking out of a board. It went right through my Uggs and well into my foot. Note to self: must get more appropriate shoes for these activities. We moved our adventure to the urgent care for the rest of the afternoon so I could get a tetanus shot and some x-rays. Even though I have been hobbling around for two days, it was totally worth it. Isn't it gorgeous? Here is the link.

I was listening to a news story about how Baltimore has more housing than people by something like 30 percent. I keep thinking there has got to be an opportunity for a house lover like me there somewhere. If only they were giving them away!

Leaves!