We'll show this one to his wife in a few decades.

We have company!!

Friday evening Momma D got to our house. She flew into Philadelphia and we picked her up at the airport. We love having her here with us. It's been a fun-packed visit so far with even more fun to come. Saturday morning we woke up early and drove to Port Clinton, PA and caught a train to Jim Thorpe, PA. It was beautiful. The colors were amazing. Love the Fall. Today we had a lazy day. We had Jamie's Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast. You should give them a try. Twelve very enthusiastic thumbs up from the Gerlt House and Momma D. You can find the recipe here. Yum. After breakfast we drove to Lancaster to visit the Amish Country. It was incredible to see their farms and ponder living as simply as they do. This evening Chad and I got to go on a date for the first time in months and it was so nice. We knew that the kids were in good hands and having a wonderful time getting "The Momma D Treatment". That freed us up to enjoy a movie and coffee. Aaahhh. In the morning Momma D, the kids and I are heading for Washington, DC to see all that we can see. We're making the most out of our time together!
I promise to post pictures when all the excitement dies down.

Quote of the Day

Anna Kate (after wondering around in the living room after I asked her to pick up some of the clutter on the living room floor): I'm a ballerina. Ballerinas can't bend over.

Huh. Nice try.

Dr. Pepper Head

Jake was helping me clean out the fridge last night. To brighten up an otherwise dull task, we decided to have some fun. He was a good sport. Chad and I were laughing on the floor.

Just one drop?

Turns out I'm not the only one who likes iced coffee. Jake worked at least 20 minutes today trying to get something out of this empty cup. He knows it's yummy. He drank about a third of mine the other day when I wasn't looking.

Aaahhhhh...

Kids in bed,
warm shower,
fuzzy pants on.
Sitting down
in the silence
for a treat.

Thoughts swirling in my head (in no particular order of importance)

1.) I like Pennsylvania.
2.) I really like naptime. Especially this afternoon.
3.) McDonald's has redeemed themselves by introducing Iced Coffee.
4.) I just ranted to Chad last week about what a waste of time iced coffee is and how much I hate it.
5.) Hmmmm. I rant too much.
6.) Chad and I have discovered all sorts of good music lately, thanks to his fancy rental car having Sirius satellite radio. (Hooray for Coffee House)
7.) Prior to this month I've never really listened to music radio, just talk. I don't like wading through the terrible music to get to a good song. I would rather listen to the silence.
8.) I'm glad I brought my sewing machine to PA.
9.) Pick-Up-Sticks is crazy fun. The kids and I play all the time now.
10.) We have tried for 4 weeks to go to church and have not made it yet. (1st week we got hopelessly lost, 2nd week Anna Kate was covered from head to toe in hives, 3rd week our car died on the way and had to be towed home, 4th week I was sick)
11.) We are craving fellowship with other Believers and, Lord willing, we will be at Trinity Church in Allentown tomorrow morning.
12.) We now own a Magellan GPS and a Honda Odyssey due to the events mentioned in #10.
13.) My love for John Denver and Willie Nelson has been rekindled.
14.) Jake says lots of words now. He says his own little version of bite, thank you, peek-a-boo, Daddy, Momma, ball and tweet-tweet. The boy loves birds. And balls. And he can eat an entire grilled cheese sandwich.
15.) My mom is coming in two weeks. Papa and Granna are coming in November and Jamie and Dustin are coming for Thanksgiving. We are SOOOO excited.
16.) The leaves are starting to change. It's gorgeous.
17.) The Atlantic Ocean is the most amazing color.

Lest you think that I left my camera in Texas, here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately:

We went to New Jersey to car shop (I know, it's crazy) and while we were there we went to the Shore. It was incredible. The kids had never seen the ocean before and they loved it.



And here are a few pictures of our new surroundings.

Tiny Dancer

Anna Kate now lives for Thursdays. It's her very special day. Chad found a dance class for her to attend and it just happens to be in the mall where he works. Each Thursday morning she wakes up early and puts on her dancing clothes. She rides to work next to Daddy and they have breakfast together in his office. A little before 9:30 Daddy walks her over to her class where she dances her heart out. At 10:30 Daddy picks her up and learns all her new moves and then the boys and I join them for lunch. We love Thursdays...or "Thursdates" as we call them.