Washington DC and NYC

We have found every spare moment is better spent at the Washington Mall, New York City, or one of the countless other experiences this area has to offer (unfortunately many of my pictures are on the Ipad rather than our regular camera). The places we have gone in the first 4 months of living here include: White House, Arlington Cemetery, Holocaust Museum, Mount Vernon, Museum of Nat. History, Lincoln and Washington Monuments, Capitol Building, Baltimore National Aquarium, Udvar Hazy / Air and Space Museums (4 times)............



Here is the actual plane that the Wright Brothers flew!!!


Time Square, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Dyllan's Candy Shop--a fav, and all the little places in between! The best part is, we've only just begun!


Lorin is pretty sure Time Square is her favorite place to be--here is her booty attached to the purple shirt near the end of a row of crazies getting flipped over by an even crazier guy!

We walked the whole bridge--quite the feat! Then ate pizza at a quaint local favorite shop under the bridge.
From the top of the Rockefeller Center--see the Empire State Bldg?

Lady Liberty
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Cory is loving his job, the kids have a great school, and I am...well...pregnant and all over the place...but loving life as well :)

Our Move to Virginia

Picture a Texas summer day at 116 degrees...packing up a moving van from early morning until finally driving away at 4:00...good ol' TX left us something to remember it by! The red cheeks say it all :)

After careful estimation of how much JUNK we had, the movers realized they had under-guessed. Thanks to their mad Tetris skills and hidden van compartments, it all fit.


22 hours of driving, broken up with a nights stay in a hotel and a morning swim, we made it to our new rental home. This perfect climbing tree welcomed us nicely and we instantly loved the place.

All three girls in the same Elementary school--headed off on their first day. The neighborhood bursting with kids to get to know. Life starts anew with blue skies ahead :)

Summer was...forever ago...and SO FUN

How can I choose which shots to show??? Well, here goes...some of my favorite 2011 summer pictures...
PRESENTING...

Beach Bums on the Oregon Coast
Ode to the men in my fam! Gotta love these boys!One of the only King Crab caught!We have this same shot from when they were 1 year olds...wish I had it to post Catching itty-bitty fish in the tide-pool with Aunt Trace
Our get-away in COSTA RICAWe did not plan the 3 different hand signs--still laughing
Lorin Outgrowing Great Grandma Costley
a childhood fav--notice Granny pluggin her ears :)
Lorin and Ali learning to wakeboard at BEAR LAKE
Izzy dumping Aunt KK and CoCoSuch a proud mom!And a tribute to Texas Sun and some of the coolest friends ever found and to finding more in Virginia, our new home.

Graf and Cory share their first birthday together

My baby boy is ONE YEAR OLD!! I can't believe it! Here's what he's been up to the past few months:

Graf started running (not walking) at 11 months. His first words are uh-oh, all done, and da-da. Peekaboo will make him full-on belly laugh every time!

He loves books!! If I am reading a book to anyone, he will come and push them off my lap until he is front and center and pointing at all the pictures.
Daddy and Graf are two peas in a pod. From basketball to soccer to Cory's favorite game of "punch-punch" (sure you can picture that), these two are all boy!
His sisters...well...I can't decide if they spoil him or torment him more...this shot, to Cory's dismay!

He has learned to get what he needs...fourth child syndrome. He eats a lot!

His specialty? Getting into everything!! The shot with the bubbles...this covered half the kitchen floor and he had a good 'ol time sloppin' around in it for the video camera :)already knows when to ham it up for the camera Happy birthday Graf...oh yeah and Cory too :) (don't worry, he got completely spoiled--a daddy well-loved).

Ryan turns 5!!

Ryan is 5!!! Lorin woke up first on Ryan's birthday and had a special breakfast prepared for the birthday girl complete with her favorite bowl of cereal and a happy b-day note...so sweet!

We partied like there was no tomorrow. Queen Ryan got to hide eggs for her guests. They found them and then had to do what the note said--basically entertain the queen in some really funny ways. It was a good 'ol time. By the end of the day (after Chuck E Cheese) she was exhausted!



Some fun tidbits about Ryan: She says things like "Yes, Izzy is a little more distracted than I am" when I asked why she was the only one with her pj's on like I requested. She also catches lizards and HUGE spiders and tells them how cute they are while petting and manipulating. She's a one of a kind. We love her!!

Graf's Blog

Check out Graf's new blog (and get a glimpse of the whole family)! grafcostley.blogspot.com His birth, blessing, 2 month photo shoot and a quick peek into his 8 months of life are all there for your viewing enjoyment :) Thanks for being patient.