Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Happy 5th Birthday, Andrew!

The first thing you said this morning was, "I'm five, just like Grayson!"

A little bit of everything you love ~ Spiderman, Batman, Army men, pirates, and a chocolate covered doughnut with sprinkles (that you were too excited to eat!)! You have such a special place in our hearts ~ we love you to Pluto and back!

Happy Birthday to my sweet daddy, who turned sixty three today! We had fun trading birthday wishes on FaceTime this morning! We're excited for more birthday celebrations!

A Rainy Fourth

" Rain, rain, go away, 

Come again another day!"

This is how we felt for most of the Fourth of July weekend, but we made the most of the breaks in the rain and even saw a few rays of sunshine!

 We were so happy Anthony, Jenny, and Dixie could spend the weekend with us!

 Our very handsome boat driver...

 Lauren and her Grandpa are always smiling... and mischievous!

 Swimming in the rain ~ I just love the goggles!

Getting to spend so much time at the lake with their grandparents makes summer so much fun!

 Enjoying some snacks ~ in the SUNSHINE!! I think we caught about a one hour window of no rain that afternoon.

 Jonathan managed to have quite a bit of fun, despite the rain!

The fireworks were rescheduled because of rain, then they were "cut short" due to the threat of a major thunderstorm. The few we got to see were beautiful, and we were able to make it back home just before the storm rolled in! I loved being able to see the fireworks on the water ~ it's such a special treat ~ even if there were just a few!

Family Fun in Ohio

 The last weekend of June was sooo much fun! Joe took some much needed time off from work, and we traveled to Ohio to spend some time with family. Joe's sister, Carol, and her husband, Paul, made sure we had a relaxing and very enjoyable weekend! It was a treat to also see Joe's dad and sister, Jackie, as they were visiting, too. We spent the majority of the weekend enjoying their pool ~ of which I am quite envious!

Andrew was quite the swimmer ~ he was putting his face in the water, even swimming on his back! I love that Lauren was able to convince him to swim to her. It was so exciting!

Lauren and Jonathan practically live in the water all summer long ~ they love it!

My favorite part of the weekend was meeting sweet Olivia Ann ~ Carol and Paul's first granddaughter. She is such a sweet baby ~ Jimmy and Katie are so blessed!

She is just sooo beautiful! I love, love, love the bow!

We all took turns holding her, and she never woke up ~ she just snuggled right up next to us, with her tiny arm close to her face. My heart just melted watching Joe love on her.

Lauren enjoyed the sweet baby cuddles.

One morning we took a ride over to Blacklick Woods Park and Nature Center. We all loved watching the animals ~ the deer, a woodpecker, and an albino squirrel were among our favorites. We also took a walk on the nature trail.

Andrew's favorite part of the weekend was playing with all the animals ~ they have two dogs and two cats ~ he absolutely loved them ~ especially Po Bear.

And... a weekend with Aunt Carol would not be complete unless we played a few games! She taught us how to play "Nutsy", and it is now one of our favorite card games! 

I just love this photo ~ three generations of Zavaglias ~ such a blessing!

Carol and Paul ~ thank you soooo much for such a wonderful weekend! Meghan ~ we sure did miss seeing you, but we are so happy you enjoyed theater camp!

Spring Break

We were all so excited about Spring Break! A few warm and sunny weekends had given us Spring Fever, so we were hoping to spend lots of time outside! We were also looking forward to our first trip to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta ~ Lauren and I had even convinced the guys to do a little shopping while we were there! We all had to laugh when we saw the forecast for the week...

Snow!!! Three days in a row! I have to admit that I really didn't believe it, because we have had very little snow this year, but we had more snow than we have had all winter. It only flurried here, but the counties around us had anywhere from 5-10 inches. Our plans for playing outside in the sunshine came to a screeching halt. It didn't keep us from having fun, though!
The first day was lots of fun! After spending the morning playing racquetball, the guys spent the afternoon constructing a volcano.

Jonathan could hardly wait for it to dry!

We all enjoyed watching the volcano erupt! Thank you Uncle Anthony and Aunt Jenny for the great gift!

Lauren, Andrew and I enjoyed a little shopping in the morning. While we were out, Lauren picked up some sewing accessories, and she spent the afternoon making a tote. It is SO cute ~ I just love it!! She loves to sew, and everything she makes is awesome!

We had enjoyed our snowy days, and we were all ready to head to Atlanta on Wednesday morning, until....Lauren woke up with a fever. It all went downhill from there. Joe and Andrew were already fighting colds, which were manageable. But, later that afternoon, Joe started feeling sick, and the next day, it hit me! Lauren is the only one who had a fever, but all three of us have had flu-like symptoms. As I am typing this, Joe and Lauren have taken Andrew to the doctor ~ he has been crying with his ears, and we are afraid to wait until tomorrow. I just hope Jonathan remains well!!

So, needless to say, the last three days of Spring Break required lots of this...

The kids did get outside yesterday with Joe. I opened the windows in my bedroom, and the fresh air, along with their sweet voices and laughter, helped me to feel a tiny bit better. I am just hoping we all get to enjoy our church's Easter service, along with our family get together tomorrow!

Skiing Sugar Mountain

We have had very little snow this year, but we decided we couldn't wait any longer for snow skiing! Our friends, the Newtons, met us at Sugar Mountain, in Banner Elk, and we made the most of it!! These are all iPhone pictures, and we were skiing at night, so they are not great ~ but at least we have the memories!!

 The Newton family ~ love them!!!

Our family minus the little guy!

I posted this to Instagram ~ it is my favorite photo of the evening!! Love these sweet kids!!!

Jonathan was too hard to video! He never would let me get in front of him!! I am so proud of Lauren ~ she gets better and better with each trip!

I had not been on snow skis since Andrew was born! Oh, how I have missed it!! Joe took Jonathan back up to Sugar a couple of weeks later, and it was covered in snow ~ even the parking lot!! Lauren was really, really sick that weekend, or we would have been there with them!! Thank you Grammy and Grandpa for taking such good care of our little guy! Next year we hope to take him with us!!

Visiting Papaw

A few weeks ago, the kids were out of school for a Teacher Workday, so we decided to visit Papaw. It worked out great because it was on a Wednesday ~ his social schedule at the assisted living home is quite busy, so usually that is the best day for us to visit! I love that he is so busy!! We met Daddy for lunch at a local diner, The Black Bear Cafe, and he joined us for our visit!

We really enjoyed our afternoon with Papaw! He was in the best mood! He told us lots of stories about his childhood ~ his eyes would just light up and his laugh was contagious! We love him so much!!! He is such a blessing to all of us!!!