Where the Wild Things Are

Bell Boys Update (Doug's Post)

One of Bode and Keegen's favorite things these days is to play the "Smashing Pillow Game". That is man-talk for pillow fight. It is so fun. We get three pillows (one for each boy) and hit each other with them and then when someone goes down you smash them with your pillow. When I get Bode or Keegen down, I unleash the SUPER SMASH, which involves lifting the pillow way up over my head, screaming "SUPER SMASH" as I bring it down to gently smash them. Then I lay the pillow on them and smack it repeatedly to pummel them into the floor. Bode will swing his pillow in a very short arc and I kind of have to lean into it for him to hit me, then I go flying across the room and fall flat on the floor. Then Bode runs over and jumps on me with his pillow yelling "super smash". Keegen struggles with all his might to lift the pillow off the floor (the bottom of the pillow never actually leaves the carpet) and hobbles towards me (frequently tripping on the pillow case) and when he gets close he falls forward saying "bonk" and I have to quickly get myself under the falling pillow. Then Keegen goes into wrestle-mode, which for him involves him putting his head down, burrowing into you and then flopping over on his back (kind of like a dog waiting to have it's tummy rubbed) and waits for you to get him. Sometimes we get a dad-pile, where Bode has jumped on me and then Keegen comes over and tries to jump on Bode (pretty much he leans on the pile) until I can get a hand around to lift him up on top. Everyone giggles and laughs until I gently roll them off and finish them with a "Super Smash" or a Steamroller.

Bode's Favorite Thing: riding his Tricycyle. He loves to ride his tricycle on the new sidewalk that goes from the garage to the back patio. He loves to ride his tricycle home from the sitters. He loves to ride his tricycle in the driveway and chase me on my roller blades. Bode often says t hings like "Look how fast I'm going", "I am the fastest" and "I can peddle all by myself".

Keegen's Favorite Thing: ice . . . he loves to munch on ice. Whenever I get a glass of water, he comes running up and says "ice" or "ice pease". He never gets enough either, because ice isn't very filling. You should have seen his face the other day when I set him in his high-chair and gave him his own bowl of crushed ice. I think we are going to have to start making ice-cheese cubes and ice-meat cubes and some kind of ice-vegetable cubes in order to get him to eat.

Summertime Wrap-up

I guess it's officially fall now. Our weather has turned crisp in the mornings (35-40 degrees) but warms up nicely to the 70's. I wish it would stay like that for a long time...

We had a nice summer. Pretty uneventful, really. I started working in March and the new hospital opened the end of April, so I worked my two days a week. I like what I'm doing very much--outpatient surgery. I get patients ready for surgery and recover them and send them home afterwards, so i see lots of knee and shoulder scopes, gyn surgeries, appys and the like.

Doug's been busy with his job, which he's very happy with, too. Likes who he works with and what he's doing. He ran a work off-site conference in San Diego. It was a huge success. People enjoyed themselves and got a lot out of the training. I was able to go with him for the weekend prior to the conference, which was a nice getaway in the name of our TENTH (gasp!) anniversary. Yes, Doug has put up with me for over 10 years now.

The boys had a nice, mellow summer. Playdates and barbecues. They spend the two days that I work with a friend down the street who has a 2- and 4-year old, so they have a blast. Keegen very quickly learned "NO!" and "MIIIIIIINE!" no doubt learning quickly to defend himself. The 4-year old, Zeke, is Bode's "best friend" so it's nice for me to be able to drop them off at a place where they are so happy.

The boys and I went to my parents' house in Virginia for a week in August and spent time visiting friends in Maryland. Per tradition, we saved our vacation for the end of summer and our annual beach trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I crave this trip all year long. It's such a relaxing place to be. The Outer Banks are still sort of left alone and non-commercialized. There's still a lot of open space, a wild horse preserve and parts of the beach that are only accessible by 4x4 (we miss our Jeep very much!). Erin and her family went with us and the kids had a blast from sun-up to sundown. Just click on the pictures in the sidebar and it will take you to our photo album on Flickr.

Welcome!

I (ashlee) thought it would be nice to start blogging about the happenings in our little family. We are all so far-flung that I feel very much out of touch with some of you. So i'm hoping that by posting pictures and events in our lives, we can decrease that distance somewhat. I can't promise anything action-packed. Some posts will probably be downright mundane. But it's all about us and the boys, and we promise to post lots of pictures, so please enjoy. And please feel free to comment. Actually, I might make that mandatory...It certainly makes it more fun to know you've been here!