Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Stephanie is 30!

Stephanie turned 29 again on Monday, July 28! I think overall she had an excellent birthday.

Saturday, I threw her a surprise party with a little help from her friends. Turns out she was, well...surprised! Her party featured some fun beach-themed decorations, including a cardboard cutout and palm trees. There was also a pool which got very little use but looked excellent in the back yard. I think maybe I'll dig a giant hole, line it with some tarps, fill it with water and enjoy the rest of the summer lounging around in it. I don't think the HOA will have much to say about that. Her party also featured some delicious Goodcents sandwiches and a party bus. There was a great time had by all and an excellent way to bring in her third decade.

Sunday night, since we had the 'day off' from Jack n Bella, we enjoyed a fantastic meal of food at Olive Garden. We also took in a movie on Sunday afternoon.

We both took Monday off (I worked in the morning) and went to Holton to pick up the kiddos. It seems like every time we leave them they change so much, even if it's for a couple of days!

I will post some pictures of Stephanie and the kids when I have them. Thank you to all who made Stephanie's birthday one to remember!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Jack and Bella's Baptism


Jack and Bella were baptized in the Greek Orthodox church today. It was such a beautiful and special day for our family. A lot of our family was able to make it to town although we did miss those out east and wish they could have been here as well! We started out the day at the church for the service by Father Nick. The service lasted about 45 minutes and was such a beautiful service. Following the service everyone came back to our house where we all dug into a lot of authentic Greek food. We had Greek salad, gyros, spanakopita, Greek chicken and potatoes, baklava and galatoboureko. Delicious! We were also lucky enough to have several friends join us back at the house to enjoy the Greek feast as well. I think when all was said and done there were about 35 of us celebrating the big day inside since it was the hottest day of the year so far and the new deck was just toooooo hot!

We had a photographer there taking pictures but haven't gotten those yet. When we get them I will be sure to post some here so that everyone can see the ceremony. At least we snagged this family picture when we got back to the house. Bella is in a dress that was handmade in Greece and also worn by her cousin Samantha for her baptism 13 years ago. Jack got a brand new outfit all for himself. It was fun to see them so dressed up! Aunt Katina and Uncle Dave are the Nouna and Nouno (Godparents) to both. We're so glad to have them be such an important part of their lives.

Thank you to everyone who came to be part of such a special day. You all really made it so wonderful! More pictures to come!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

3 years of wedded bliss!!!

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary so for fun we took a picture with the kiddos and I thought along with that I would add some other fun photos like the first photo ever taken of Nathaniel and I and pictures from our wedding day. Happy Anniversary Nathaniel! I love you!



















































Saturday, July 5, 2008

Happy 4th!!!

What a day! Jack and Bella were in the neighborhood parade today. All of the neighborhood kids meet at the pool in decorated wagons, strollers, lawn mowers and pretty much anything else you can think of and they walk a loop around the neighborhood while all the neighbors sit on their lawns and cheer them on. It was a lot of fun and a good way for Jack and Bella to meet other kids from the neighborhood. At the end they each got their first taste of Pop-Ice. I think they like it! That evening we went over to our soon-to-be Uncle Jake's parents house for some BBQ and other delicious food. Jake's parents have a beautiful pool so the babies got to swim. Bella wasn't having any of it, but Jack loved swimming with Aunt Kaisha. Uncle Zach also came down to visit so they got to hang out with him too. Bella spent most of the evening in his lap. When all was said and done it was a great day full of fun activities and the babies were so tired that they didn't wake up once when people started setting off fireworks. Tonight the babies are spending the night at home with Kaisha and Jake and Nathaniel and I are going to spend the evening on The Plaza to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary. Hard to believe that we've already been married for 3 years. Time flies!