More Pumpkin Patch

A few more pictures from Ali's camera. Proof that Anna and I really did make the trip. Oh, and in case you didn't believe me when I said there was a pig race...








Anna was the only one really asleep, but Sarah and Allison sure were comfy!


This is the Allison that so many of you have heard about. She just joined her "forever family" about a month ago. We have been having playdates almost every week and it is amazing to see how fast she is changing! She and Sarah really are becoming great friends, just like Marisa and I hoped they would!

It really bugs me no end that I can't get these pictures evenly spaced. On the preview everything is lined up perfectly, but when I post it, it goes nuts on me. GRRRR!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch today. Everyone had a great time, of course. Even Anna managed to stay awake almost the entire time. Poor kid was SO tired. There was a petting zoo, hay bale maze, pig races, junk food and the hay ride to the actual patch. Sarah was excited about the animals, but it took her a while to warm up to actually feeding them. She and JB had a great time in the maze. We have a great video of that, but it's just too long to post. Sarah said her favorite part was "the pumpkins because we were at the pumpkin patch." Duh, Mom...

We have a busy week ahead with festivities leading up to Halloween. Sarah has a field trip and a Halloween parade, along with Grandma & Grandpa's arrival on Wednesday afternoon. They are barely edging out trick or treating as the big event of the week. More pictures to come!

JB's trip to Malta, Sicily, and Rome

Here are some pictures from my trip to Malta and Italy. I left on 2 October and got back on the 13th. On the way there, I saw Atlanta, Chicago, and Rome. From Rome, we flew to Malta and stayed for two days. After about 27 hours of travel we arrived on a Saturday at 1 pm. Most would go right to the hotel, but we went right into tourist mode and toured Valletta. The first picture is me with Grand Harbor in the background.

Malta was a critical island in the Med during World War II and was heavily bombed. We also used it to stage the invasion of Sicily.

The next picture is me at the air museum in Malta. Not very big but they did have a British Spitfire and a Hurricane. This is the Spitfire. The Germans destroyed many aircraft on the island and the Allies had to continually bring in more aircraft by flying them in from Africa and from carriers.

Here is a picture of Brandon sampling the Gelato in Malta.










Next, we moved on to Sicily. The next picture is from a work in progress. The building is the largest concrete dirigible hangar in the world. It was started in 1917 I think and finished in 1920, too late for WWI. They are trying to restore it now. It stands 37m tall and the front doors are steel. That building was HUGE. There are still fascist billboards on the side.



Next was Rome and a few day trips to locations within driving distances. This is a picture from the Polish Cemetery (no Bujarski's here George) looking up at the Abby at Monte Cassino. Many Polish soldiers fought in Italy while exiled during WWII. Monte Cassino was a bloody battle that ended when the Abby was totally destroyed by Allied bombers (It was believed the Germans were using it as an observation post). The cemetery is up near the Abby so this picture really doesn't do the elevation justice.



The next picture is from a war museum near Rome. I just had to get a shot next to the Jeep! Doc would have loved this place.







Next picture is from Rome at the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II.







Here I am at the Vatican. Bill and I did the quick St. Peter’s Basilica tour. I plan to do the full Vatican tour with Kerry.









Last two pictures are from the Coliseum. We left Rome on Sunday the 12th and didn’t get back to Alabama until 2am on Monday (another 26 hours trip). This time we toured the eastern half of the US by visiting Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta (anyway we can save the taxpayers a buck!).

Jumping Bean & Swinging Queen

JB took the camera with him on his trip, but left me the video. Sarah finally figured out how to pump her legs on the swing and Anna has started jumping in her doorway jump thingy. She's also starting to get up on her elbows and knees. She's just experimenting at this point, lots of up and down and rocking, but I have a feeling she's going to be mobile a lot sooner than Sarah was! Enjoy...

The Rest of the Trip

Not much time to blog this week as I'm on my own while JB galavants around Italy. We're headed home tomorrow and will get back into the usual routine, minus Daddy. Send me positive thoughts!

Here are some pictures from the rest of the trip. Greg, Holly and Papaw came for the weekend. I think Sarah really misses JB, as she was practically attached to Greg's leg the whole time he was here. Dad brought GongGong over for a quick visit and we also got to see Erin and Ethan.

We've had a great time and really don't want to leave!!!

We're having a grand time in Little Rock. The flight over wasn't too bad. Both girls were very well behaved. I even had another passenger tell me he didn't even know there was a baby on the flight! I took it as a well deserved compliment, but I really couldn't have done it without some random lady that was sitting next to Sarah. She kept her totally entertained. Yeah for strangers!

We've been busy since we got here with showers for Cheech, playdates with Baby Frank and shopping. Sarah and I got hair cuts today. It's her first stylish cut. It's short, about to her chin, and stacked in the back. It is incredibly cute.

Here are a few pics of Sarah's new hair and some of Anna Banana. I'll post some others from the trip later.

Anna has discovered her vocal cords. We will be glad when she is done experimenting with this new sound. It is ALL we have been hearing out of her this week!