And then there were 3...

That's right, we're having another baby! Andrew and Willa are really excited, they like to talk to my belly and "be nice to the baby." Andrew is convinced it's a boy, and Willa is sure it's a girl. I've been sick like I was with Andrew, so maybe he'll get his wish. He's calling it Megatron. The baby is due at the end of January, so time will tell. One of them is right!

Surgery

Poor Andrew has to have a couple of operations this summer -- nothing life-threatening, just normal kid stuff. The first was about a week ago, and he handled it like a champ. He was actually pretty excited about the whole experience, and all the attention he was getting.



I got to walk him into the OR, and hold him while they gave him the gas to put him under. It was pretty funny watching him go under. One minute he was fighting the mask on his face, and the next he was out cold. I think the nurses were a little disturbed by the fact that I wasn't more upset to leave him in the OR, but I've left him there under more desperate circumstances, so this wasn't too bad at all.

He wasn't all all happy waking up from the anesthesia, though.



Until he got the morphine, that is.



He's doing great now, everything went well, his stitches are healing nicely, and he's preparing for the next one, when we get back from California.

4th of July

Andrew is our resident pyro. The minute we got off the plane from Spain (which was the 3rd) he started begging Casey to take him to get fireworks.





Willa is not so thrilled with the fireworks. She watched the show from the safety of our living room.



Once Andrew was done lighting his stash, we packed up and headed into town to watch the big show on the National Mall. The kids had a blast waiting for the fireworks to start, eating snacks and chasing fireflies around the Mall.




And of course fireworks on the Mall come with a fantastic backdrop.



We were lucky that Grammie and Papa were able to stay for the holiday.



But once the fireworks started, Willa grabbed her blanket and buried her head and whimpered until they were over. Poor girl, the things we make her do.

Spain

Casey and I ditched the kids and went to Spain at the end of June. It was our first real vacation since we got married, and it was fantastic. Thanks to Bob and Hilda who came out and stayed with the kids and made it all possible.

We spent most of our time in Seville, where Casey actually had a conference to go to (hence the impromtu trip to Europe). It's beautiful there, so much so that it doesn't seem real. Half the time we felt like we were sitting in a Disneyland or Vegas reproduction, it was so perfectly quaint. Seriously, check this out. Can this possibly be real? And every street in the city looks like this.



One of the most beautiful sights in Seville is the cathedral, which is absolutely huge. Here you can see part of it with the bell tower. The medieval-looking wall in the picture is the outer wall of the royal palace in Seville, which is still used by the royal family today.



Okay, now I'll save you a travelogue of our tour of Spain, and just include a few highlights. Here we are inside the cathedral. I got to sit on the royal family's pew.




Christopher Columbus is buried in Seville, which is where he sailed from on his historic journey to discover the Americas.



And here's our self portrait in the bell tower.



We also got to spend a day in Granada, which was the last Muslim kingdom in Spain. It is also beautiful, of course.




At the end of our trip we spent a day and a half in Madrid. Here we are at the royal palace in Madrid, and the cathedral.




Casey got to fly business class while I was stuck back in coach, which he just loved. And just to rub it in, when we made our connection in Paris the airline wouldn't even let business and coach enter the plane through the same door. But I still had to walk through business to get to my seat, which is just plain mean.



It was a fantastic trip, and so good to be able to spend so much time alone with Casey. You know, when we're not Mom and Dad, we're pretty fun together. Thanks for letting me tag along on your trip, Casey!

Little League Recap

Although it may seem like it, we haven't dropped off the face of the planet, and in fact have been pretty busy. Here's a few of the things we've been up to the past weeks.

Andrew finished his first season of t-ball, and loved every minute of it. He wasn't exactly the star of the team -- okay, so he was the kid that chased butterflies and picked dandelions in the outfield -- but he was always the life of the dugout, and he played with a great group of kids that got along really well. Here's a few highlights from his first season.