Friends!

Last week, I was able to have a lot of my friends here over for lunch and a beach day :) Although not all of us actually made it to the beach, we had a great time! It's always fun to chat and catch up with these ladies. I have been friends with them since our time in Newcastle, and it was so wonderful to have them in Grenada and now NY!



Marca, Jodi, me and Kathy



Erin and her sweet little Anabelle and Gracie in the background



Mel and the darling Elle

Pennsylvania Weekend!

Last weekend Todd had the rare privilege of having a 3 day weekend, so on a whim, we decided to get out of town! We decided to head over to Lancaster County, PA to visit Amish country, then down to Gettysburg and over to Hershey before heading home. Friday we set out early and made it to Lancaster in only about 3 hours. J was great in the car! He had plenty of books and snacks and even napped for about an hour which was great. After we settled in to our hotel, we decided to head over to an Amish Farm and take a buggy ride! We went through an Amish farm and bought cookies from a little Amish boy on the side of the road. Then we went to a little Amish market where they sell all of their own goods. It's truly another world there. The people were so kind and helpful and it really was beautiful!



J waiting to go on his first buggy ride!



An amish boy working his farm

On Saturday morning, we headed over to Gettysburg, which was pretty cool because it was the Fourth of July. Now I know it wasn't a revolutionary war site, but to just be on such an important piece of American history was really cool. We actually got to see the final battlefield and walk around for a bit. It was very erie and humbling. It's an experience I know we'll never forget!



Near the actual battlefield



Todd doing his reenactment of the union army :)


After Gettysburg, we drove up north to Hershey and went to the chocolate factory! It was so much fun. We went on the chocolate factory tour, which was more like a ride and even got a free sample at the end! Then we enjoyed some sweet treats from the bakery... it was awesome!



just a glimpse of the store at hershey world



Mmmmmm... hershey's chocolate cupcake with pink frosting!!



All in all, it was a fantastic trip. I love PA and how the people there seem so down to earth :) I hope we can go back!

Coney Island Fun!

About a week and a half a go, we got to go experience the fun of Coney Island. We had such a blast! We met our good friends Jeff and Mel there and their sweet little daughter Elle. First we took Jackson to the aquarium and he had so much seeing the fish, seals and sharks! He really liked the show the sea lions put on. He even learned to say "fish" by the time we were leaving :)

Afterward, we walked up to the boardwalk and explored Coney Island a little bit. It's so cool in the summertime. Just like a carnival! We enjoyed a Nathan's famous hot dog and finished it off with some deep fried oreos!! I had never had any novelty item deep fried before so I was a little nervous, but they were amazing :)

Jackson enjoying the seals


Not too sure about those sharks!


At Coney Island!


Deep fried oreo goodness!

Out and about...

After SEVERAL rainy days in New York... and I do mean several.... the sun came out long enough for us to embark on a little adventure up to Brooklyn to meet our friends at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. It was so beautiful- a little piece of nature in the middle of the big city. We always have a wonderful time seeing our friends, and any day that Jackson can get outside to play is a great day for him! Just look how happy he is :)

We are in NY!

Sorry it's been SO long since I've made a post. Seems to be a common thing for me :) Anyway I am going to make an effort to keep this up now that we are here. We have settled in to our condo in Rockaway Park, NY nicely. Todd is working a full schedule at Coney Island Hospital doing his rotation in surgery. He's gone a lot, but he really seems to be enjoying it so far.

Jackson and I are having fun exploring the neighborhood and meeting new people :) NY sure is different, but I think we're adjusting well. Jackson had a tough time at first adjusting to his new schedule, but now he's doing really well with it. Having the beach and bordwalk right outside our door has been a major bonus!

And the biggest news of all... we are expecting again! Todd and I are expecting another Baby Curtis in January 2010, which puts that baby and Jackson two years apart exactly. I think we timed it pretty well, although we're really going to have to squeeze to make all of the events fit in to the month of Jan!

Here are a few pictures of Jackson playing at the beach! More to come!

The latest and greatest...

So to start you off, here is a recent video of our little guy! I was going through old videos we took of him in Grenada and I can't believe how much he's grown up since then. It made me realize I hadn't taken any recent video of him in a while, so here you go!! :) He's growing in to quite the little man and he has such a fun personality. Todd and I are so blessed to have him in our lives. Jackson has been enjoying himself a lot! He loves to play outside and play with his grandparents, aunts, and uncle. He's been having a great time figuring out different animal sounds, and figuring out how to communicate with us. He still loves music and loves to dance, and is really getting in to sports! He loves throwing the ball around with his dad, and can even kick his soccer ball to hit a target! He also has a great love for animals. We were able to take him to the Spring Puyallup Fair. He ran immediately up to all of the animals and tried to communicate with them in their own language :) Here is a fun pic of him with his animal friends...



Todd took the Step One of the US Medical Licensing Exam in March, and found out he passed several weeks ago! He did a great job on the exam and I'm so proud of him. Since then, we've been able to spend so much quality time as a family going on hikes, walks in the park, and lots of visits with Grandparents. I have been truly cherishing this time as a family, and know we probably won't have another opportunity like this again. It's been wonderful!

We also found out recently that our appeal to go to Michigan was denied, and Todd will be starting his rotations at Coney Island Hospital on May 26. We were pretty disappointed at first, but now we are looking at this as an adventure! NY will be a fun and exciting place to live, and even though it's not what we had in mind, I'm sure it will be great! Anyway, we are heading out there mid May, so I guess that means our time in WA is coming to an end... something I am not quite ready to come to terms with!

Well that's it for now! More blog posts soon, I promise! :)

We are alive!

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything! We are home in the Seattle area safe and sound and we're all so happy to be back before taking off for our next adventure!

SO much has happened! We had a wonderful Christmas with family. It was so nice to just be back with everyone and celebrate.

Todd and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on Jan 3. We got to get away and go to one of our favorite restaurants. It was a wonderful time.

I turned 26 on Jan 19th. That's not very exciting though. haha.

Jackson turned one on January 24th! I can't believe that it's been a whole year. He's grown and changed so much and he's becoming such a smart little guy!

Right now, Todd is studying for the first step of his medical licensing exam. It's a full time job for him, but it's nice because he's able to do it online in the back bedroom of our apartment. He takes the exam on March 5th so we're both really looking forward to having that behind us!

In May we are scheduled to move to New York, but we have put in an appeal to go to Michigan instead. The cost of living is much less, and our little family of SGU people have been placed there, so we'd really love to be able to stay with them.

Anyway, I could ramble on forever, but instead I'll just post some pictures of what's been going on!



Jackson getting his first pair of shoes!



Catching up with my sisters and cousin!


Christmas morning



On his first bday!