Part 2 of our Duxbury Visit

Here are the rest of the pictures from our Duxbury trip. Granted, this is an edited bunch-- we took several hundreds of pictures!

Family photo

My Boys

The Duxbury Clan- from left to right- Amy, Betsy, Darryl, me, Matt, Weston, Mimi, Marissa, Remi, Clark, Paul, Nan

A little toss and catch

Giggling with Daddy

Amy and Marissa were feeding Weston and I got a kick out of his face!

Weston was all smiles with his cousin, Remi

We also had a little birthday celebration for Mimi while Paul and Betsy were in town on Sunday

Weston enjoyed playing with Amy's retired cell phone

Going for a morning stroll down the dock at low tide with Daddy

He's just too cute, I couldn't resist!

Amy and Mimi bought Weston these personalized high tops-- they say Weston by the toe!

Mimi and her great-grandson

Taz, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.... he loved Weston... Weston couldn't have cared less about Taz, unless he was watching Taz play catch, in which case, he thought it was the funniest thing EVER!

The three of us drove into the city to see the aquarium and meet a friend of mine for lunch

This tiny Rainbow Painted Turtle was chasing after that fish that's at least as big as the turtle!

They have penguins! This was the couples rock!

See! I do have friends!

This is the front of Amy and Darryl's house -- they have done some remodeling since moving in. The upstairs was renovated so that every bedroom has a view of the water and the "Christmas Tree Room" is the addition on the right side of the house.

This is the back of the house.

This is where we stayed. It was a nice respite away, but we are glad to be back home!

Duxbury, MA visit

Even though we had a short summer this year, everyone-- teachers, students, staff, and I'm sure parents were excited about this first fall break. Matt, having usually taken his long vacation earlier in the year, was more excited than anyone! So we loaded up baby and flew him to our family in Duxbury, MA.

This was little man's first plane ride and also the first time seeing the rest of Matt's side of the family. The week, thus far, has been a very relaxing one!

We waited to feed him once we got on the plane... his bottle was going to have to wait until take off though to help with the ears.

He slept for about half the flight after his bottle and then looked out the window with excitement the rest of the flight.

While we were waiting for the rest of the family to wake up one morning, Matt and I took Weston down the dock.

Getting in some quality snuggle time with cousin Marissa!

Taz, the family's Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is completely zonked!

My boys are the cutest!

I was feeding Weston the other night before dinner and he just thought it'd be nice to throw his foot up on the table! We will be working on manners soon.

It Looks Like a Baby Lives Here

"It looks like a baby lives here," said Matt last night after we installed our first baby gate that now cuts Weston off from the foyer and stairs. We bought two small gates at Wal-Mart (yuck), only to find out that our archway is just bigger than a standard sized doorway, so they were returned and off to Babies R Us we went. Unfortunately, there wasn't a big selection in the size gates we needed-- so we only bought one for now, opting to move the couch to block the passage to the dinning room in the mean time.

Weston has been very content hanging out with all his toys on the floor now that he can crawl and get whatever he wants and go wherever he wants. Ah, the life of a baby!

Anyway, he was being ridiculously cute this morning, so I whipped out my camera and shot away. Many of you have been begging for more Weston pictures, so... here they are... enjoy.

Weston fell asleep on Matt yesterday morning while I was getting ready... this is what I found when I came downstairs!

He loves his stuffed animals and gets a BIG kick out of having one on his head!

This morning he was eying Tungsten on the other side of the gate. He thought it was funny that I was taking pictures of him (he turned and laughed when he saw the flash)

Then he started coming after me...

... mid crawl

he got me! See his two teeth?!

Leela was in the wrong place at the wrong time...

GOTTCHA!!

I can't believe she stayed there as long as she did!

On the Move

I know this is sideways, not really sure yet how to fix it, but here it is anyway...
Weston's first attempts at crawling!



We both came home Friday night and were playing with Weston and he took two little "scoots" on his knees. We had to run an errand and when we came back, we put him back on the floor and this is what he did. He's a mover and a shaker now!

Busy, Busy, Busy Bee... That's ME!!

I don't usually like to make a post without pictures, but I figured it had been way too long since my last post, so I thought I'd fill you in on the Aurand happenings as of late... pictures to follow later.

Since my last post....

School has started back! I am on what's called "extended day" this year. It just means that I don't get a planning period. So I teach 7 periods a day, with two of those periods having two classes in one period (i.e. my first period is Drawing I and II). I see 223 students a day. So far, I am hanging in there. My students are really good and I love what I'm teaching. Right now, my Drawing classes are learning about the Elements of Art and Principles of Design and how to compose a good composition. My Ceramics class is making rattles and whistles using pinch pots. Intro to Art just finished a "What is Art?" unit and began their color unit today. Painting I and II are working on self portraits, while 2D/3D just finished their Stippling projects. I have been learning how to plan, prepare, and grade between, during, and after class. Again, so far, so good.

Though I am also coaching softball this year, which is both exciting and completely exhausting. I have always wanted to coach and that was one of the reasons I became a teacher, so that I could coach. However, after having Weston I was happy with the idea of waiting until he was older to try to coach. Things change, I suppose. The girls played really well in a season kick off tournament and then stalled during their first two games losing ones they shouldn't have. Luckily (for them), they- Varsity and J.V.- beat Hiram last night pretty good. The bats were alive and the defense was good. We still have several things to work on during practice, but doesn't every team?

Also, as you read in one of my summer posts, I am one of the co-sponsors for SGA this year-- I am leading the 10th and 9th graders. Granted, they pretty much lead themselves, I am just a facilitator. The other two sponsors I work with are great, and I am really excited about helping to plan Homecoming this year!

Of course, since I am such an over achiever... I am also on the graduation committee. This will be our first graduating class and a lot of the decisions we make now will be in place for a long time and I am so happy and proud to be a part of that decision making process!

My Boys! Matt and Weston are thriving in my short absence (my schedule will start to clear up by the end of September). Matt is still playing on his indoor adult soccer team with some guys from his work. I took Weston out to see his game this week and they looked great-- killed 'em! Speaking of Weston... our little man has two additions... his bottom front teeth are coming in-- YAY! He is getting so big, so fast, and I love every minute of him.

What the Future Holds... This school year's calendar has a nice gift for teachers in September-- a week off! So we are packing everything up, baby included, of course, and flying to Boston to see Matt's side of the family. We are so anxious for all of Matt's Aunts, Uncles, Cousin, and Grandmother to meet Weston (the sweetest baby in the whole wide world)! Though we are also fairly nervous about flying commercially with him. Wish us luck.

October, which has, traditionally, been a big month for us, will bring Matt's Aunt Amy (hopefully) for a visit, and my step-mother, Carrie also. Don't forget about the afore mentioned homecoming in October too!




Okay, I think this blog has continued for long enough, and I am exhausted... so I will have to sign off now... but I promise pictures soonish.

Yummsville

A few weeks ago, Matt and I went out to dinner at the BBQ joint, Jim n Nicks. It was really good-- Matt had a loaded BBQ potato, and while he loved it, he wished the potato was twice baked. So tonight, we made our own!

Matt slathered a pork butt with BBQ sauce and tossed it in the crock pot this morning. I baked the potatoes this afternoon and then mixed up the innards with butter, milk, and cheese and then baked them again to melt the cheese topper. Once they came out of the over, I topped them with the shredded pork butt and then added more BBQ sauce on top. It was yummsville!

twice baked potato

topped with pulled pork

slathered in BBQ sauce!