Ch-ch-changes...

You probably thought I'd given up on BLOGGER. Well, you'd be right to think that. But I'm going to keep the faith and hang on and see what happens...

In the meantime, let me update you:

1. Nick has graduated from law school- woo-hoo!

2. We have moved to Herndon, VA (DC area), and have been here since mid-May.

3. Nick is now studying for the Virginia Bar. He will take it on July 29th. He is convinced (like every semester before), that he will fail. I tend to have more faith in his abilities than that, but please pray for him anyway.

4. In August, to celebrate graduation, his completion of the Bar, and me no longer being a law school widow, we are going to take a vacation to Cocoa Beach, FL. Thomas will stay with Nana and Pop-pop in Pennsylvania while we are away.

5. The day after we return from Florida is Thomas's 2nd birthday!! (Where has the time gone??) We will be celebrating it by going to one of my favorite childhood haunts, IDLEWILD PARK in Ligonier, Pa.

6. The day after Labor Day, Nick will begin his new job at Finnegan Henderson in Reston, VA, where he will work as an Intellectual Property lawyer.

7. We are currently trying to have and asking God for another little one. Please pray as we patiently wait...:)

So, in the words of Mrs. Bennett: "..God has been very, very good to us!"

Slideshow Update

Coming back soon ...

 

A few minutes in the life of ...

Hey folks, the Sgt. Poopy-Pants here. Can't talk much, but I thought I'd give you a couple videos to see me in action.

Alright, here I am demonstrating my latest verbal and equestrian skills.



But ... I'm not always cute and cuddly. Sometimes, I can be a real booger. Here, Mama and Papa are disciplining me by making me sit on Papa's lap until I calm down. Needless to say, I'm not too happy about that.

(the video's a little dark, but the audio is still entertaining)

Well, that's enough for now. Later, folks.

The General 1.0

Yo, yo, yo, everybody! Here's the General coming at you - one of the only dudes able to pull off sporting a binky with sunglasses.

So ..... a lot's happened since I last updated my fan-base. Mama and Papa got a little weird at the end of the summer. For instance, they decided to take a little vacation ... without me! I mean, it's like they weren't thinking straight. So, I went to Nana and Pop-Pop Ball's house, while they went to Italy.



Er ... I mean, Busch Gardens. Yeah, it's got, like, this European theme, so Mama and Papa could pretend to get some culture.











Check out this roller coaster they rode. It's called The Griffin. It's got a 205 foot, vertical (face-first) drop.















Pretty scary stuff ...








After that, they finally picked me up, stuffed me in the car with all our stuff, and moved out of Virginia. But first, we had to stop a few places, so I could visit a few fans.




First, we went up north, and I'm talking way up north, to a Donnelly family reunion near Mackinac island.





And at that family reunion, I finally got to meet none other than my turbo awesome cousin: Super Cole!









Yeah, we hung out, shot the breeze, cut the cheese - you know how it goes.



And, as you might guess from the title of this post, yours truly finally hit the big 1.0. So, just a few days before the big day, Super Cole (0.5 here), gave me a new set of wheels.



Here I am with Mama, doing some repair work on it.












Then, after Super Cole and I had finished perfecting our wrestling moves, Mama, Papa, and I traveled to South Bend, where I used them to take down Pop-Pop Don.




Kiss the carpet, old man!












I also went swimming with Papa in uncle Mike's swimming pool.


Next, we went to Bloomington, where Mama and Papa first fell in love (read: Mama began to tolerate Papa) and got married. We visited Mamaw Carole, and she made me ...






a birthday cake!!!!
(even though it wasn't quite my birthday just yet)










I can assure you, I wasted no time in tackling this important project ... even using my feet for maximum face-stuffing efficiency.








After my whirlwind tour ended, we finally headed back to our house in Tennessee. Ah, my kingdom.




And back home, not only can I sit in the middle of the kitchen in my underwear and throw around pots and pans, but I also have full access to my treasure chest of wonderful, glorious TOYS!













If I could just reach that one book ....









Hey, that works. Think I'll stay in here. I mean what more do I need in life?







Then, finally, my actual birthday came. Mama got me a nice little cupcake.














Take that, you little cupcake! Get in my belly!







Then, we had a backyard BBQ to celebrate moving back to Tennessee and my birthday.








There's my buddy, Ross. Someday I'm gonna be just like him.














And, yes, I got my third birthday cake.










Ooooohhhhhhhh ... the life of a junkie.

The Silence Ends

(posted by Nick)




"So Thomas the Tank Engine brought them all to safety and ..." Oh! Hello, I didn't know you were here. I was just catching up on a little reading, but I'm glad you're here. I have lots to tell you. It's been a busy, busy summer. So busy, in fact, that I haven't been able to keep my fans updated. Well, no more. Sit back, relax, and take a ride on the Thomas Express.


So, papa managed to get a job this summer with a great firm. I'm not really sure how he landed it (maybe they felt sorry for him or something), but he got it. That meant moving to Reston, Virginia.










But first ... a little fun! Papa finally let loose (after months and months of studying) and took me and mama to Dragon Park in Nashville.

Here I am with my big, blue ball.


Here I am going down the slide with Papa ... sorta. Papa got us stuck. I'm like, "uh, where's Mama?"



There she is! Here we are hanging out in the grass together. For all those who remember "Becca in the grass," she's showing me her ways.

So ... after a little play (and a whole lot of packing), we drove to Reston. Now, you may not have heard of Reston. But I'm sure you've heard of ...


D.C.! Yep, Reston is just a suburb of our nation's capital.


















In fact, it's just a hop, skip, and a crawl away. So, we've been downtown I don't know how many times this summer. I'm a regular Washingtonian. Here I am with mama on the mall. Isn't she beautiful?





We've also seen some really cool things in the museums. Here I am with Papa in Museum of Natural History. What's that? Did you say something's behind us?



And, when we weren't in D.C., I was hanging out in my new pad, playing with my dinosaur that Nana bought me.






Recognize this guy? Does the name "Stonewall" ring a bell? Well, not only is Reston near D.C., but because it's in Northern Virginia, it's close to like a jillion historical sites. Here we are at Manassas battlefield, the first major battle of the Civil War. It's the place where Major General Thomas Jackson earned the name "Stonewall."


Here I am in front of the statue. Some day, I'm gonna be just like him.













In fact, I'm not sure you could even tell the difference now, could you?











In addition to riding horses and waging war, I also really (really, really .... really) like the water!


... no matter how big the lake.

Well, that's all for now folks. I've got lots more pictures to show you. But I've gotta take a break now. I'm staying with Nana and Pop-pop in Pennsylvania while Mama and Papa act like little kids and ride roller coasters in Busch Gardens.





But I'll leave you with one last token of cuteness:


So long!

Technical Difficulties

Okay, we forgot to pack the adapter for our digital camera, so I'll be burning the pictures of Thomas on a CD today...check back later. Sorry!

Quick Update

Hello, all. The General's mama here. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a brief update on our goings-on. I'll post some pictures as soon as I figure out this computer (I'm using a different one). We moved from Nashville to Herndon, VA last Thursday so Nick can work at Finnegan Henderson in Reston for the summer. We are in a really neat place, especially for our tastes. Washington DC and all of its history and entertainment is just 20 miles to the east. The Blue Ridge Mountains and all of its trails and spectacular beauty is 45 minutes to the west. About 1 1/2 hours to the north is Gettysburg, which is near and dear to our hearts, since we are Civil War buffs. (well, sort of:) Along with that, there are various Civil War sites within an hour from here. About 1 hour and 10 minutes north and then, 35 minutes south, I have an aunt and uncle from both sides of my family. And the best part of living here this summer, is that the General's Pop-pop and Nana Ball are only about 3 hours and 45 minutes northwest of here. We plan to see them and all the aunts, uncles, and cousins regularly until we go back to Nashville for Nick's final year (yay!!!) of law school in August.

Look for more pics in a day or two....I really mean it this time.