Yesterday we had quite a full day. Isaac had preschool in the morning, and Timothy and I went to the mall with Jessica Manetta while he was at school. Then we ate lunch with Mary and the girls, Audrey and Sidney, at Cam's (best pizza in the universe!). After that we went to the zoo. The tiger cubs are getting so big, as is the baby wallaby. We've been to the zoo so often this summer we've really been able to watch the animals grow. One of the elephants is due to have a baby in the Spring. Can't wait for that! I had to teach last night, and Maurice had rehearsal. Shelby watched the boys for us. She's great! You just have to love babysitters who do the dishes for you! We tend to eat and run on Wednesday evenings, and it's great to come home to a clean kitchen. Kudos to Shelby!

I've been experimenting with black and white photos on our digital camera. Here is Isaac playing in our front yard. Last week the weather was very nice, and we got to play a lot outdoors (Unlike today, which is very rainy. Can't complain, though). The trees are starting to change colors, and Isaac is very excited about the prospect of seeing snow in the next few months. Whose kid is he?
The Chubster is VERY mobile now. I have difficulty getting him to sit still for anything, even a picture.
It's getting harder to get pictures of Isaac these days, too. He would rather play than sit still. But every now and then he allows me to take his picture.
Isaac loves riding his trike in the driveway. Pretty soon he'll be riding a big bike!
I'm very lucky that the boys get along so well. They love to play with each other. Isaac likes to give hugs and kisses to Timmy, and Timmy loves to sit on Isaac's head! I love boys!

This past weekend the Sr. High youth from church went on its Fall retreat to Pennsylvania. I am a youth leader for the Sophomore girls. We had tons of fun! Here I am with some of the girls right before we went horseback riding.
We got to go trail riding the way it was meant to be (except for the goofy helmets. I know, they're for our safety and protection. But they give me helmet hair!) We rode along trails through the woods and meadows near the place where we were staying.
Here's a group photo of the Sophomore girls that went on the retreat along with me and Jessica, the other leader for our group.
And here's Lindsey, Julia, Lindsay, Kristen, and Chrissie "voguing" for the camera. The weekend was great fun...besides the horseback riding we went on an army truck ride up the side of a small mountain, played ultimate frisbee with a squid, had a bonfire, and ate tons of delicious food served up by Three Springs Ministries.

Yesterday was Isaac's first day of Preschool! He had a short day - only 45 minutes - and I got to stay with him during that time. He had so much fun! He met his teachers and classmates and got to play with all the toys.

Isaac played with trucks and puzzles and magnets....I want to go to preschool! Tomorrow he goes by himself for 1 1/2 hours, then starts the full 2 1/2 hours on Monday. Isaac decided he likes preschool. After Isaac was through with class, we visited Maurice at his office.

Today was such a full day! Isaac, Timmy and I got to spend a good part of the day with Mary and her twins. We ate lunch and walked the mall. It was so good to see them! Then we were off to Wegman's for a meeting with Susie, Jess, and Theresa. It's cool because we can just put the kids in the playplace (except for Timmy and Susie's two older ones). Then we can chat and discuss our top secret important matters without having to chase the kids. It was nice to have some "grown-up" time with the other ladies.

Look out, World......Timmy is crawling! No place is safe now. Timmy actually started crawling a little bit last week, but just these past few days has figured out that he can crawl to get anywhere he wants. Before he would only crawl as much as absolutely necessary to get a toy out of reach. He has four teeth now (all in the past 3 weeks), can pull himself up and "cruises" on the furniture. He and Isaac are a bit at odds these days.......Isaac doesn't like the fact that Timmy can now get into his stuff. Timmy is a beast and sometimes takes things away from Isaac, like his food and toys. Maurice and I try not to laugh, but it is funny! It's not like Isaac is a tiny boy, either...he is tall for his age and weighs like 45 pounds. Isaac starts preschool this week. He's really looking forward to it. He already knows a few of the kids from his Sunday school class, so it shouldn't be that bad of a transition for him. He's doing great with the potty training...he's staying dry most nights now! Only occasionally does he have an accident in the night. My baby's growing up! I just started teaching last week at a music studio in Fairport. The students seem nice, and I really like the environment of the studio. Very friendly.

Here are some photos from my trip to Tampa last weekend. Actually, it was two weekends ago now that I think about it. Anyway, I had so much fun hanging out with my Mom, Grace, Rachel, and Norm (and Adam and Anna). My mom and I started out the weekend with a day at the beach. It was so nice just to lay out and soak up the sun. Here we are at Indian Rocks Beach.On Saturday we took Mom to dinner (actually, she took US to dinner!) in Ybor City. After dinner Rachel and I took mom back to our hotel and then we kids went out on the town.

Above, from left to right: Grace, Sarah, Rachel and Mom. And Norm is the good looking guy below with the rest of us girls.
Oh, yeah, here are my very happy tootsies on the beach again. Mom and I decided that since my plane didn't leave until 2:30 we had enough time to fit in one more beach stop. You can never get enough beach time (or Mommy time, for that matter!).
All I have to say is that the Rivers familyis just really, really, really good looking!

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted! I went to Tampa last weekend to see my mom, sisters and brother Norm. We had a great time; hopefully I'll get the pictures up soon. Today Timmy, Isaac and I went to the zoo with Maddie, Pam and Chloe. The weather was perfect and we wanted to enjoy being outdoors. Unfortunately, we never know how many more good days we'll have weather wise (sniff,sniff). I am holding on to summer with all I've got!