No Swine Flu ...

But we have plenty of other germs at our house. Rebekah has pneumonia, and Samantha has bronchitis! I've been to the doctors twice and the pharmacy 3 times in the last 24 hours.

Last night Samantha was up coughing and wheezing. She said, "I'm breathing like Darth Vader." But then she re-assured us, "Don't worry. I won't throw up in your new bed." Very thoughtful.

Free ride

Danielle getting a ride from Samantha. Funny girls. I love all the autumn leaves that now cover our back yard.

We Miss Daddy

Gary has been out of town this week, and we sure miss him. A few times a day (at least)Samantha will say, "I really love Daddy" - Samantha is Daddy's best buddy.

Today we took a little trip to the National Zoo. Here's Danielle showing me the zebras. Fun!

Happy Birthday, Sonny

Thursday we had a birthday party for (believe it or not) Rebekah's Webkin, Sonny. The girls sure love their Webkinz, and they have to be reminded that stuffed animals are not real.

Look, no training wheels!

Rebekah wanted her training wheels taken off. So Daddy and Rebekah went out Saturday to practice, and she got it. She's so excited to ride around the neighborhood with her friends!

Home Sweet Home

Some of our favorite house projects:

Gary has worked hard improving the yard over the past few years (and other improvements to the outside of the house). Before ...


And After ...


We love our red couch downstairs:

And I had fun making a bulletin board out of an old window frame:

And we're enjoying our deck more since we had it re-finished. The girls want to make sure everyone knows it's now "cocoa brown" - they're still trying to figure out how the splinters have disappeared.

We love our little town house; however, the girls would love to have more of a yard some day. Rebekah keeps asking, "When are we going to live in a house that's not stuck to other houses?"

Reunion

It was so good to get together with my former (not old) college roommate, Debbie. We had a nice morning at Mount Vernon. Her family is adorable!