Still Unpacking

We've been in our house for one week now (6 days since our stuff arrived) and we're making a lot of progress with the boxes. But there are always more. :-) I'm taking a break to add some other pictures of our trip from DC to TX. We left IL on Saturday (last Saturday, I mean) and went to St. Louis with Grandma and Grandpa Koch and Aunt Krista and Uncle Nate. We spent a few hours at Grant's Farm then went down by the Arch to eat at the Spaghetti Factory. Yum! We drove a little bit then stopped for the night before finishing our "move" to Dallas the next day. Garrett did really really well. He slept and played and only got cranky at the end of the 9-hour driving day. (At which point, we were nearing cranky ourselves!)Anyway, since then we've unpacked a LOT, spent time with Nana and Papa and Lucy (who Garrett is thrilled to have around again!), went to the American Idol concert for our anniversary (surprise to me and pics to come later!), and met a couple of neighbors. Phew! I'm tired just rereading the stuff we've done the last week. Anyway, here are some pics like I promised. Then back to those boxes...

Aunt Krista is helping Garrett check out his Great-Aunt Carol's daisies.

Grandpa and Garrett check out the Clydesdales at Grant's Farm.

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa had fun spending time with Garrett (and us!).

Our little cowboy. He loves the horse (Dale) that Grandma bought him.

This happened A LOT during our visit. :-) Can't you tell that Garrett just hates hugs??

Look how far we've come...Happy 3rd Anniversary Russ!!

Well, we're all moved into our "new" place in Texas. I say "new" because this house is actually the oldest that we've lived in during our 3 years of marriage and it's not without its complications. :-) But we've gotten a bit of the unpacking done and explored the local Walmart. Garrett is helping by taking occasional naps and smiling a lot. He's THISCLOSE to crawling...he's even started pushing himself backwards when he gets antsy to go. Anway, this post is mostly to say Happy Anniversary to Russ. I love you and I'm so blessed to have you as my husband.





This picture was taken in my parents' backyard in Illinois. He loooved the swing so it looks like we'll have to figure out how to put one up for ourselves.

It runs in the family...

It really does. :) Here are all of our "men" hard at work on their laptops and/or blackberries.

Garrett Goes to Tremont

We arrived in Tremont late Friday night and were welcomed by Garrett's grandparents, Aunt Krista and Uncle Nate, and Uncle Bobby. This was Uncle Bobby's first time meeting his nephew. They hit it off really well! Saturday was spent hanging out with family and walking up to the local ice cream shop after dinner. Sunday we went to church with my parents then prepared for the abundance of family and friends who were coming over for a cookout that afternoon. Garrett did fabulously being passed from person to person and he succeeded at charming everyone he met. :) I'm going to post as many pictures here as I can. It was a terrific day and we appreciate everybody coming over to meet Garrett and spend some quality time as a family.


Chillin with Uncle Bobby



Playing on the lion that Grandma got for me--whee!



At church...Mommy put me to sleep then Grandma got ahold of me.



En Fuego (aka Lindy, me, Laura and Mo) with Garrett



Great Grandma and Garrett

On the Road Again...

We left Virginia on Thursday afternoon, drove until we were nearly in Ohio, stopped for the night then carried on the next morning. We took a much needed break to visit with our friends Josh and Shaela up near Chicago before driving the final 3 hours to my parents' house in central Illinois. It's been a loooong time since we've seen them and their girls. Who gave those girls permission to grow up?? Here are a few pics from our much-too-quick visit. It was wonderful seeing you guys again Josh, Shaela, Kirsten, Kennedy and Kayleigh!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Ok . . . so I'm actually doing this post on the 12th of July. But immediately after the holiday we were busy packing up our house in Virginia, saying goodbye to special friends, and getting on the road for our week long family trip to Iliinois. So, we're finally catching up on posts! We didn't do much for the holiday. We were a little worn out. That morning we said goodbye to Lucy for a few weeks as my grandparents took her and our car to Texas early to help us out. We then went to the Lorton parade. It was really nice! Enjoy these pics and video of Garrett at his first 4th of July parade.

Five Months!!

Yes, our baby is 5 months old today. Wow. As cliche as it sounds, time really does fly by! I never updated with his 4 month stats so I guess I'll do that now. These measurements were taken a few weeks ago. Height: 26 1/4 inches Weight: 14 lbs 7oz And I never remember the whole head circumference details. I guess his noggin is just the right size. :) We're all VERY VERY excited to be visiting our family and friends in Illinois in just one more week so he can show everyone how much he's grown. The big move is getting closer all the time!

Nana and Papa's visit

We enjoyed having Nana and Papa with us since Wednesday, when they flew in from San Antonio, Texas. They were here for a few reasons. #1: To see Garrett. #2: To take my car back to Texas with them. #3: To temporarily adopt our Lucy until we get to Texas. The packing/moving/driving will be much smoother without our sweet puppy underfoot. THANK YOU!! We will miss her though.

While they were here, they were able to tour the INSCOM building where Russ worked this past year. Russ's coworkers also threw him a Farewell Lunch so we all went to a Japanese Steakhouse to watch him get his going away gift. He was also awarded the Meritorious Service Medal ( I am very proud of my husband). Here are a few pictures from our few days together and the Farewell Lunch. See y'all (ha!) in a few weeks!!!

Garrett LOVED grabbing for Papa's glasses!

The Three Amigos outside of the INSCOM building

Russ and his boss Joe after he got his award



Garrett is checking out Daddy's shiny new medal

Yum...everything goes in the mouth these days.

New Trick by Garrett

My son has a gift :)

Other Fun Family Outings

We only have a couple more weeks in the Washington DC / Northern Virginia area and we are trying take advantage of our time. Over the last year we have seen and done many exciting things. We're pretty busy getting ready for the Texas move, but still have found time for a few more family outings. Still on the plate . . . dinner down in Alexandria and something fun for the 4th of July.

On the evening of our DC trip, we went out into the Shenandoah area to a drive-in movie. Yes, it was Garrett's first movie theater experience! We saw Star Trek. It was a great getaway.

This last weekend we visited Harper's Ferry. This national park is the point where the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers meet. It's famous for John Brown's raid but is also an Appalachian Trail location, Civil War battlefield, and just a neat place to walk around.

Father's Day in DC

Garrett decided that he wanted to go see downtown Washington DC with Dad on Father's Day. Because of our Dallas trip (and to avoid weekend crowds) we went on Tuesday. Garrett may not be able to appreciate these for a while, but I'm really glad that we were able to get his picture at some of these incredible national monuments.

Happy (Belated) Father's Day Russ!!

Russ, you are an awesome Daddy to Garrett and I'm excited to see how you two continue to bond over the years. Thank you for being so willing to get up in the middle of the night, change diapers and love on your son. I love you and so does he. :-)

Father's Day this year was very low-key even though it was our first. We got back from Dallas LATE on Saturday night and were all exhausted the next day. Garrett gave Russ the presents "he" had gotten him: a cute little baseball-style onesie for himself that said Wells 09 on the back and a baseball-style tshirt for Daddy that said Wells 78 on the back. Yes, they match--cheesy but oh SO cute! We went to our outdoor church service (perfect weather!) and the cookout afterwards. Then we went home and relaxed the rest of the day. We went into DC on Tuesday and had our official Father's Day time. I'll let Russ blog about that later. Next year Garrett and I will be more prepared and we won't be traveling right before Father's Day.

At the Father's Day church service visiting with Melissa

Daddy and Son

Poor little guy is tuckered out from all the traveling and outdoor fun.