Update, Halloween, anything else?

Despite strongest desires to keep better in touch with all of you, I feel like more and more time goes by without seeing/talking to you. [sigh] Am I living the cliche of "Well, we got married and had kids and then ten years went by!" I don't want that! I console myself with the thought that we are so busy that at least I don't run the risk of ever being bored. And while it is a consolation, it does not correct the fact that I have not touched base with so many people that I love and care about. So please, to all of you out there, accept this is a placeholder of my love and affection and know that I am clambering my way toward a visit or a phone call!

In our world, we are thankful to still be employed; however, with the economy like it is, the company is trying to do more with less, which means that much of our personal time gets pulled into making more of their less. David continues to work long hours. Fortunately, my work schedule is decent, though my long-houred project finished just as David's was gearing up, so for our family, it's been 2.5 years of unpaid overtime. We are ready for a break!

We continue to make trips to Pittsburgh as frequently as we can. There never seems to be enough time to help out as much as we'd like or to visit as long as we'd want, but at least we are not prohibitively far away. We tend to piggy back trips to Pittsburgh with visits to my mom in Butler or to the farm if my dad happens to be in town. We're still not sure what we're doing for Thanksgiving. I think it will ultimately be dictated by David's work demands.

Both Ada and Breyten are doing great. Ada is walking and talking up a storm. I don't know if I just blocked out all my memories of Breyten at this age or if Ada's "toddlerness" surpasses what I experienced with him, but recently she has been channeling a two year old, or perhaps even a 16 year old. Not sure which, but boy does she have an opinion about how her life ought to be and she is not at all shy of sharing it. Breyten is really enjoying second grade. He absolutely adores his sister and make a GREAT big brother. He entertains and watches over her, valiently defending himself from her hair pulling and pinching. Breyten is a wealth of Pokemon information, and literally tutors neighborhood kids on how to play and win games on the Wii. Lately he's been learning how to play with three two friends at a time as opposed to just one, which is a totally different dynamic. Usually he does well at being the peace maker/moderator of this new three-boy dynamic. It's hard as a mom to figure out how much to intervene in these high-stakes neighborhood negotiations, but so far, we seem to be navigating it all well.

That's about it for us. We hope you are doing well and that we see you soon!

Love,
A, D, B and a

Breyten as Luke Skywalker (and Dingo as a squirrel)

This Ewok wears maryjanes

When Ada gets to dress herself, she usually chooses pink glitter shoes, a necklace, and nothing else