Take back the garage!

I took this picture on August 1, and proclaimed August to be Take Back the Garage Month:



I guess that was overly ambitious though, because here we are most of the way through October and only now can we finally fit one car inside:



One day they will both fit in there!

Water hazard

Eddie is obsessed with drinking from our bathtub. Anytime somebody walks in there, he comes running and waits for you to turn on the water for him:

New hair!

It's a small world after all

Mike ran into one of his high-school friends today in Texas:



Patrick is in San Antonio taking a course, and Mike is there for 3 years while he gets his DPT.

Before and after

Here's a picture from a year ago when we closed on our house. Notice how those 2 overgrown shrubs totally block off the side porch:



Fred pulled them out, and I love how much more open everything looks:

Catching up with Tony

Our friend Tony has been in town on business, so Fred and I met up with him after work for drinks and dinner:



I wish Melanie could have been here, too!

Necklace twinsies!

My friend Camille and I came to work today sporting very similar necklaces:

This is where you can find me!

The new pantry opened up at work while I was in Florida! "Pantry" is what we call our breakroom, and it is pretty impressive.

That moment when you realize . . .

. . . you and your dad have the same hairstyle:

Looking for the fountain of youth

Jenny and I went to DeLeon Springs today. We didn't find the fountain of youth, but we did find an enormous spider, a gigantic tree, and pancakes.

Can you guess where I'm going?

Who are the foxes in your neighborhood?

I was walking this morning just a couple blocks away from our house when I was startled to come across this fellow:



That picture is zoomed in quite a bit. This gives a better idea of actual distance:

A very peppy welcome

One of the reasons Annabelle went back to school a week early was to be with the pep band when they played at freshman drop-off. Here she is, rocking her sousaphone:

Happy birthday and goodbye!

We got Annabelle moved into her room on the Music Interest Floor today (her actual birthday) and left her to decorate on her own while we drove home:

Surprise!

Annabelle thought we were going out tonight with our (grown-up) friends here in Rochester. Little did she know that Sam, Christian, and Jamie would also be joining us:



I think it's funny that they wound up dressing in UR colors.

Happy (early) birthday, Annabelle!

Whether she's turning 2 or 20, Annabelle enjoys her cake to the fullest extent possible:

Decorating the man cave

Fred spent the evening creating the "I love me" walls in the man cave. Looking good!

Party like it's 1812

Tonight we went into the city with Christian and his parents to listen to the US Army Band perform the 1812 Overture at the base of the Washington Monument. It was a great show! This video clip will give you a little taste of the rocket section.

We wound up running into JAG friends of ours at the concert:



They are both Rochester grads, and their son will be a freshman there in a few days. Small world all the way around!

Like father, like daughter

Look at Fred and Annabelle, rocking their letters:

Summer is almost over

It's about time for Annabelle and Christian to head back to Rochester. Christian's parents will be arriving tomorrow to visit for a few days and then take him home before school starts. Tonight we went to Mike's American Grill for one last big dinner out.