Getting into the spirit!

Last night was pumpkin carving night. Ralph had a "mouse house" pumpkin idea in mind that he saw in a magazine, and I, as usual was Mrs. Traditional. Sadie, as it turns out, loves to eat pumpkin guts. But I don't know what that surprises me because this is a dog that will eat lettuce if I give it to her. Anyway, we had a blast and are looking forward to all the Trick-or-Treaters tonight!

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween Party

It has been a few years since I dressed up for Halloween, so when Ralph and I got invited to a Halloween party this year, I only had one costume in mind....a Newsie, because that was what I was back in 2006. I told you before, I'm not very creative! Only I didn't really want to be a Newsie again! I mean, how many times do you get to go to Halloween parties? Okay, maybe YOU do, but we don't! Anyway, Ralph jumped at the chance to get away with an easy, in-house costume, so he was the Newsie. I copied some co-worker's ideas from that Halloween in 2006 and chose to be a Mobster. It was hard getting my pin striped mobster slacks to button up over my ever-growing pregnant belly, and I had to borrow one of Ralph's white shirts to be able to button it up over these giant pregnant boobies! But it all worked out and we had fun getting out and hanging out with the living---or in this case, the dead! (It was Halloween, get it??? Okay I'll stop typing now.)

Mom and Me go to D.C.

I was so lucky to be able to have my mom come out and visit Ralph and I here at our home in Roanoke. She came all the way from San Diego! Anyway, we had so much fun together and it was so nice to have someone to talk to every day (no offense, Sadie). We shopped, cooked, joked and just did all kinds of mom and daughter stuff.

Anyway, on one of the days that she was here, we drove out to visit my brother Dan and his wife Merianne at their house in Washington, D.C. Since my brother works in government (top secret job!) he was able to get us "backstage passes" to the Capital building and our own private tour. Since 9/11, the public can take guided tours through but we got our own little tour courtesy of Dan.

Here are some pictures of our day at the Capital:

This next one was taken right in the center of the Capital, and Dan the tour guide pointed out that this spot also marks the very center of Washington D.C.

Dan, Mom and me inside the dome:

What that beautiful dome looks like from the inside:

I'm in love!

Yes, of course I'm in love with my dear hubby but I was referring to the unborn in this case. We had our 12 week ultrasound a few days ago and got to see the little one moving and sticking out it's tongue. The ultrasound tech said in this picture she thought the baby was sucking its thumb. Anyway, it was so nice to have my mom come with along with Ralph to the ultrasound since she was in town these past few days (more pictures and entries to come on that later!)

Baby Bump - 11 Weeks

A few people have asked me to post updates on my baby bump every month or so. For those of you that don't know, this baby took almost 2 years to create. We are so excited and happy, but are cautious at the same time. We feel truly blessed with this baby and Ralph and I are eagerly awaiting December when we will find out which of our guest bedrooms (We have one currently painted rose pink, and one painted baby blue-- we did that last year when we moved in) will be transformed into the nursery. Stay tuned....

Our House- In the Middle of the Street

...okay so it's not exactly in the middle of the street. But someone suggested I post a picture of our house since we live so far away from everyone and no one had been here before (are you now starting to get that we don't have much going on in our lives right now??) But actually now that I think about it, my entire family has been out to visit. (except YOU Andrew!) Anyway, the house is a 1890's Victorian with 4 beds and 4 baths. The crazy part is, it cost just about the same as our house in Salt Lake City, that had 2 beds and 1 bath!! Soooo, without further adieu...here is our home on the 4th of July in the great Commonwealth of Virginia.

SLC Wedding

Ralph and I just got back from a trip to Salt Lake City (weird that we now vacation there, I know). Anyway, one of my best friends, Andrea, got married. She looked beautiful and it was great seeing old friends again. This is my friend Kristy with her baby, Eva, Andrea and me.

Congratulations, Andrea!

My co-worker

So most people know that I work from my home office here in Virginia. But what they don't know is that I have my very own assistant and co-worker. Just like a regular co-worker, Sadie is here offering interruption after interruption and needing attention. She doesn't quite do my filing or faxing for me, but hey, she's a German Shepherd.

Finally

Okay so I'm not the most creative person in the world, but I figured it was time to start a blog for the fam. Don't expect glitter and glamour, because that's not me, but I will try to update as much as possible-even though our lives often include sitting in front of the TV for hours on end!