the big game

is duke vs. unc, of course! it's on tonight at 9pm, but since that's past Benjamin's bedtime, we put him in his Duke outfit today and had to take some photos.
"Let's go Duke!"

a good book

Today Benjamin was playing with his books, then proceeded to lay on his tummy with one of them right next to me. It about melted my heart! He's such a cute, sweet little boy...

back to normal life

Benjamin and I got back to NC on Sunday night after a long day of traveling. We both did great! :) And it was quite nice to sleep in my own bed, especially after sitting in a cramped airplane seat all day. Click here for trash the dress photos, and here are some photos from Newark:

High five for Laura:
Leah, Benjamin and I:
Benjamin and Ba:
Eating Cheerios:
Photos from mom and dad's party:
the fam:

what, no photos?

Since Tim is back in NC and I'm still in CA, I am without the computer where I keep my photos. Therefore, this post is image-less (which is rather foreign to me...)

Here's what we've been up to in the past week:
*Wednesday we drove from San Diego to Tim's parents' house in Walnut
*We left the next morning for the airport - Tim's destination: RDU; Benjamin's and mine: OAK.
*Since we got back to Newark, Benjamin has been thoroughly enjoying seeing his grandparents again (I think he's going to be sad when we get back to Durham and no more grandparents will be there to greet us at the airport...). On Saturday, my friend Alex, her brother Michael and I went to Memorial Park, Pescadero Beach, and San Gregorio Beach to do true trash-the-dress photos. It was quite fun! And the photos are great (as far as I can tell from my little LCD on the back of my camera...). I can't wait to play with them. That night, my friends Laura and Matt (we went to school with them) came over for pizza and football. It was great to chat.
*Leah was here on Sunday for dinner as well - she got Benjamin these ADORABLE penguin jammies. :)
*Benjamin said his first (two-word) sentence yesterday! He ran to the front door and said "Ba, go!" (Grandpa, go!, meaning that he wanted my dad to take him outside for a walk. It was very cute.)
*Tonight I'm meeting some old church friends Tracy and Brooke for dinner. It should be fun to catch up!
*Other plans for the week: relaxing, finding a babysitter for Benjamin for mom and dad's 60th birthday party Saturday night, getting over the cold I've had for weeks (I'm pretty sure this is actually the third consecutive cold I've had...my ears might explode, my sinuses could potentially burst, and I could go crazy), and flying back to RDU on Sunday morning. Hopefully that will be an easy flight. :)

I'm really looking forward to several things on the horizon this year...including a possible move back to California that I'm really praying hard about. Tim has had some great interviews, and we're really hopeful that one of them will turn into a job offer that will still allow me to be a stay-at-home-mom. I'll keep you posted!

san diego: balboa park fun with nate and christine

My friend Christine and her son Nate came down to play with Benjamin and I this morning! We had so much fun at the playground, with wood chips, and chasing birds. Benjamin says "Nat" for Nate, pretty close I'd say! It was nice to visit with a friend and watch our boys run around.
Some photos...
Nate and Christine going down the slide:"Wait up, Benjamin! Can I play with that ball?"
"Here you go, Nate!"
Nate looking a little distressed, but still adorable!
Nate and Christine on the swing:
Nate giving Benjamin a BIG hug! These boys are too cute!
Going down the slide (the current favorite activity):
Chasing the birds:
Then Benjamin and I met Tim for lunch at Baja Fresh. Benjamin showing how he's a cool dude:

san diego (part one)

We're down in San Diego for a math conference (well, Tim's at the math conference and Benjamin and I are playing!). Yesterday Benjamin and I went to the zoo with our good friends Dave, Sarah, and William:
Benjamin looking (and growling) at the tiger. That was so funny!
Sleepy baby panda Zhen-Zhen. (5 months old!)
Sarah and I on a silver polar bear:
Benjamin and William: Two dudes ready for the zoo!
Today, Benjamin and I did some exploring around our hotel, a little running, some Starbucks for mama, playing with leaves, met Tim for lunch, and had a nap. It was a nice, relaxing day!
more adventures to come...

california, california...

Last Friday we spent the morning with Tim's mom's side of the family (Aunt Christy and cousins Sarah, Missy, and Abby plus several adorable children). We ate a tasty brunch and played at the park nearby. I got lots of photos! Here's one of grandma and grandpa walking Benjamin back from the park:
Yesterday we went to my grandma's for breakfast.
Then we went to see Jen and her son Joey (her husband James had to work) - they're friends from Oxy. It's always nice to see old friends! And Jen makes a mean quesadilla...we scarfed them down!
Then today the five of us went to Victoria Gardens (an outdoor mall), where we walked around, had some Coffee Bean, and Benjamin got to play and ride a train!