Quincy Gets Pneumonia, Part 3

Okay....I really think this is what probably pushed her over-the-edge in sickness...but look how much fun she is having! She loves jumping on these things sooo much that Santa is getting her one for Christmas.....

Playing before Cathy's 40th Surprise B'Day party....

Last weekend was our very good friend's, Cathy, surprise B'day party. Prior to the party, the girls took her out for a surprise wine-tasting event while her husband, Dave (Tim's best-friend), prepared their house for the party upon her return (and it was truly a surprise---she had NO idea). While Dave was getting the house ready, Tim was on Quincy-duty (as I was wine-tasting and eating huge amounts of cheese---I love cheese....yummm). Dave and Cathy have a great playgound set up in the back so Quincy was able to enjoy the beautiful day outside....she especially loved the rock wall....

Random pictures from September....

We moved into our new house over a month ago and we are just now feeling settled in. All of us absolutely love, love, love the house! While we were in the rental house, Quincy never once had a good night's sleep. She cried every time she was put down for her naps and for the night. And I mean cried. Hard. However, the night we moved into the new house Quincy was right back to her old self. Now she just lays down and says night-night and then just clicks off for the night. Ahh.....happy baby.

Here we are the day we closed on our new house. Standing with us is Steve, our builder. We had such a great experience with Steve that I felt the need to have him in our first picture at our new house.
If I ever get my act together, the above picture will be the picture on our "We've moved cards". Chances are you'll get a Christmas card from us before I get around to sending out these cards...


Now that we live in the 'burbs, we are finally doing all the things we have never been able to do while we lived downtown, such as going to dinner without being acosted by indigents. The first suburban-activity on our agenda was to go to the Duluth Fall Festival, which I had yet to go to the entire 13 years I have worked at Duluth High School. As you can tell from the above picture, Quincy had fun.....she especially loved the parade!

A couple of weeks after we moved in, Quincy had her first trip to our new dentist ...which is right across the street and we will walk to from here on out. She had a great time in the waiting room....but that's where the fun ended so I am only posting the "happy Quincy at the dentist" picture....
Above is a picture from Quincy's school. With her are her school-BFF, Rebecca on the left (which is not her forever-BFF---that honor will always belong to Lucy and Kali) and her teacher, Daisy, on her right. We love (LOVE!) Daisy....she is just sooo loving and nice. Quincy always gives her a HUGE hug and kiss before she leaves every day....

Cold weather is finally upon us so we all get to go back outside without melting from the heat....

Our New House

It's ready...and we close on Friday, September 19th. We will officially move in on the 22nd. We CAN'T wait.....While we have enjoyed our rental for the summer, we are tired of living out of boxes.

The above picture is of the sitting room in the master bedroom. We have no idea what we are going to do with that much space. But we can't wait to figure it out!
Part of the kitchen looking into the family room (left) and dining room (right).
The front of the house. Typical suburban house with no character...but you can't beat the school district!
The view from the basement door into the backyard. The green area behind our house is protected and will never be developed. Yay! And...we have a blank slate to begin another landscape project...love it!

An Evening at the Park

The day before my birthday, we went to my favorite Italian restaurant for dinner and then to the park next door for dessert. It ended up being a fun lesson in static electricity....

End of Summer Party

One of Tim's co-workers had a back-to-school party the weekend before the kids had to return to school. She had beverages and food for the adults and she rented an inflatable for the kids. As it turned out, after numerous beverages, the adults took over the inflatable and the kids were sent to the swing....

A Day at the Aquarium

The last day before school started back up, we went to the aquarium. The last few times we went (pre-Quincy) it was sooo crowded it was not a pleasant experience. However, this time was different. There were hardly any people...it made for a wonderful first aquarium visit with Q.

Tess

Our former neighbors, Andy and Jenny, invited us over for dinner one summer night. While the food was grilling, Tess and Quincy took the opportunity to take a little dip in the pool....as you can tell, we forgot her bathing suit.

After dinner, Jenny disappeared with the girls. A few minutes later, they reappeared in full fairy costume. Quincy liked it so much I went out and purchased her her own costume the very next day. And I said I wouldn't spoil her....so much for that!

Butterflies

Early in the summer, we took Quincy to the annual butterfly-release at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. It was suggested that the kids dress in bright colors to attract the butterflies. As you can tell from the pictures, we followed their instructions....Quincy looked just like a flower!


Her own butterfly antennae....

A Reunion in St. Louis

While in China, we traveled with several families that we became very close to. Time has passed since our Gotcha Day, but we have all kept up with each other and have become even closer friends over the past year. We made a promise to each other that we would get our girls together at least once a year and so our first reunion was held in St. Louis, midway between us all. It was LOADS of fun....can't wait till next time!

After a long day of sweating at Grant Farm, it was time for the hotel pool.....