done.

dan and i both graduated high school in 1993,

and we both got an undergraduate degree in 1997.

i went on to get my first job as a labor and delivery nurse.

dan went on to

4 years of medical school,

3 years of internal medicine residency,

3 years of cardiology fellowship, and

2 years of electrophysiology fellowship.

countless hours, long days, on-call weekends,

sleepless nights, missed dinners, little pay.....

all while getting married, and

helping to raise a family.

today, he is done....

an official, board-certified, program completed,

electrophysiologist.

next week, he will start his first (real) job.

the girls don't really understand the importance of

this day, but someday i will help them realize how hard

he worked for this career that he is passionate about.

and i've gotta say.....

he is so happy,

and i am so proud.

18 months!

tess turned 18 months on monday!

she had a check-up and is 26 pounds and 33 1/2 inches

and everything looks wonderful.

she is now saying 2-word sentences, like a very

very sweet "hi mommy!" or "bye daddy!"

she still hesitates to go down stairs but can execute

a perfect somersault.

she still prefers yogurt and peas to most other foods.

this summer she is having so much fun biking and

scootering and going for walks in the stroller.....

she loves parks and adores the swimming pool

(if only she could stop drinking the water!)......

and she is NOISY! this morning dan took her for a

run and kate couldn't figure out why the house was

so quiet!

And, one more thing......about 20 times a day

she says "Mommy? Dee Dee Dee Dee DAH!"

I have no idea what that means.....but she is

very serious about saying it and when I figure it out

it will be a happy day!

the dorm

the sorority sisters have initiated a new member.....

we moved tess upstairs to her new bed, and her new roommates,

last weekend. it has been such a smooth transition.....

this is one relieved mama!

the farm

one big shaggy dog,

two little goats happy to eat grapevines (at all times!),

wild strawberries to turn into jam for toast....

four little girls sleeping in my old bedroom,

lots of grandma's old costumes for dress-up,

a tree house for climbing....

one scrawny grey cat always happy for petting,

lots of old tractors to sit on....

two happy grandparents,

four happy kids.

it was a good trip!

white pines 2011

we had another wonderful family reunion at the white pines this

year. sunny skies, happy kids, lots of long walks and creek wading....

baby raccoons, one big spider, and a marshmallow fight to go down

in the record books.

can't wait until 2012.

hey, summer weather......

we'll take you back.

whenever.

our zoo has a butterfly garden for the summer......

makes for some happy butterfly lovers.

(i took a lot of pictures of erin. she had that expression every time.

i don't know why!)

my sunshine girl

we walked down to grecian fest sunday night, and we ate some really

good gyros and the girls had corn on the cob and their very first taste

of cotton candy.

perspective

annie looooves to give tess her bottle.....

pretty funny, since they are about the same size.

we had our picture taken for the church directory a few weeks ago,

and then came home and took some of our own!

the girlies and the daddy