Pups to the Beach

After living much of their lives in the midwest, our pups had never seen the ocean or a beach. We spent a couple days before Thanksgiving down in Nags Head and took Nina and Nixon to the beach a few times. We really hoped they both would love it. Our first 10 seconds on the beach were like pure ecstasy to the dogs and then Nina realized that a huge ocean with angry waves was after her and she bolted to the highest dune she could find and refused to budge. Meanwhile, Nixon resumed his obsession with anything that moves and darted after every bird on the beach until it seemed like he was a mile away. So there we were...one dog stuck on the dunes with posted signs all over prohibiting anyone from walking on them for fear of erosion and the other dog running mad down the beach. After we somehow got them both within arms length, we put them on their leashes -- not that it made that much of a difference as Nixon pulled and pulled to go after everything in sight and Nina put on the emergency brake and refused to make a single step. It was cold and windy but we decided to come back a day or two later to take some beach pics hoping for a Christmas card pic...so much for that, but at least we got a family portrait of sorts. Maybe their next trip to the beach will yield better results.

Melou's Baby Shower & 16-Week Update

I am so incredibly blessed to have such amazing friends. My Highrise girls orchestrated a surprise baby shower for our lovely Melissa Coleman (who's due with the first Highrise baby on Christmas Eve) last weekend. We all met in one of Melou's favorite breakfast spots in Harrisonburg and waited for her awesome hubby to bring her to us. We spent the day traveling around the 'burg and sending Melou on a scavenger hunt to gather her baby shower gifts. Our stops included the JMU bookstore (where Melou was to pick out a baby outfit), the farmer's market, and her new house. It was great to see them (Lo and Liss were missed!) and just spend time loving on Melou.

The girls also took a few "bump" photos of me and Melou (see below). I've been getting grief for not posting any bump pictures, but the truth is, I really haven't looked any different until this week. I've gained a little weight (okay, 8 pounds to be exact), but other than that, I'm still fitting into my clothes. From all that I've read, I'm expecting this to change a lot in the next few weeks and I promise to keep you posted.

Melou, we can not wait to meet your new addition! Holls and Erin, thanks for the pics. Love you girls!

Halloween

We hosted a little Halloween costume party for our friends from the team. Nina and Nixon even dressed up, much to their dismay. We enjoyed a ton of food and had a lot of fun as each family and group of friends rolled through the door in increasingly laughable costumes. Present were a safari family, Hugh and his two bunnies, GI Joe, two British rock stars, Alice in Wonderland, and several others. Enjoy our pics!