Happy Anniversary Abby

Okay so I am a little behind in my posting duties, but I wanted to wish Abby a happy anniversary. This past Friday was our fifth wedding anniversary. It sounds scripted and canned, but these last five years really have gone by so fast. We have had so many great experiences and grown as individuals and as partners. We have grown our little family from 2 (Abby and I) to 4 (Abby, Fenny, Bennett and I). I look forward to all life brings us in the years to come. Please see the slideshow on the right sidebar of this webpage for a retrospective glance at our last five years together.

Time really does fly!

5 years ago today Zach and I said "I Do!" I think we have experienced and learned much in these first five years...from a broken home sewage system (twice!) to traveling the streets of Paris and now as rookie parents. We are so thankful to have the lives we do - great family and friends. I love you, Z! Looking forward to 65 more...

Pumpkins, Apples and Fishing

This past weekend was packed full of "all things nature"...we are enjoying introducing Bennett to the change of seasons. We started our weekend by attending the Flower Show, an event put on by the Garden Club of Indianapolis. Linda Ford, Grams to Bennett, was in charge of the Show and we enjoyed our visit!

Taken with my phone, this is Bennett when I let him hold the pumpkin at the Flower Show. Very proud!

Saturday was a trip to Anderson's Orchard where we enjoyed a picnic and picked apples and raspberries -- all with our neighbors and their little girl, Catie. Above, Bennett is chewing on a freshly picked apple.

...And now on to the raspberries.

...more picking and eating by Bennett and Catie.

After finishing at the Orchard, we continued on to Bloomington to walk the campus and have dinner. The kiddos thought it was fun to grab hands while in the car...so cute!

Taking a rest just inside Sample Gates at IU. The campus looked gorgeous and the weather was perfect!

And now for the portion of the post that applies to the "fishing" part of the blog title...

I don't even know what to say...Zach calls Bennett "bait" and this was his ultimate "fishing" success. For the one or two of you who read the blog and attended IU - this is outside the house called "Roache Motel" on the corner of 7th and Indiana Ave. We were on our way to Yogi's when we stumbled across the party. The girls wanted to see Bennett and Zach wanted to see the girls...

We had such a wonderful weekend...spending Sunday relaxing. Bennett had raspberries at breakfast and we all had apple slices at lunch. My parents came down for a visit and dinner, which was a great way to end the day.

Little Friends

These are some random pictures from the summer where Bennett was able to play with some little friends. It is fun to see the progression of his interactions with other small children...he loves watching other children playing around him.

Cooper and Bennett playing on my parents deck - they were watching their dads (not pictured) play corn hole. I think they were quite proud to be vertical on their own.

Bennett and I made a trip to Kokomo one afternoon to see a friend from high school who now lives in California, but was home with her husband and children visiting her family. Rachel and Kirk have 27-month-old twins (Wyatt and Olivia) and a 9-month-old boy (Hunter)...they are the definition of BUSY!! We had a nice time catching up.

Bennett and Hunter.

Rachel, Hunter, Olivia (look at those curls!), Wyatt and Bennett.

Jake Hahn. At the pool. Anna and I would sometimes go and the boys would play wonderfully in the baby pool (meaning we could hang out and enjoy adult conversation) and other days we weren't so lucky - one or the other (or both!) would have a different idea for the day.

Jake pushing Bennett in the baby boat. With the pool closed for the year, we are already anticipating the fun next year will bring with the boys and swimming.

Dog Bowl

Much to Fenny's despair, Bennett has discovered her dog bowls recently. He loves to splash the water and remove them from the stand. Wish I had captured the look on Fenny's face -- it really says it all about their relationship (a bit rocky on her end).

IHM & FFFL

Last weekend we started gearing up for fall by attending our church - Immaculate Heart of Mary - Fall Kick-off Festival on Saturday, and Sunday we hosted some fantasy football GM's for the annual FFFL draft. It was a fun weekend and great weather!! I think we went on walks morning and evening both days...a favorite weekend activity for Fenny.

Bennett watching the "Cake Walk" with Molly - one of our basketball players we coached last year. It is fun to see our past players - Zach and I start practice next week for our fourth straight year of coaching CYO 5/6 basketball.

Amber doesn't think we need to obey the drinking age. She is trying to feed Bennett beer...claiming isn't that what all catholics do??

Bennett sported his Tuxedo (thanks Aaron and Lindsey!) and zebra socks for his Draft Day attire on Sunday. He kept mommy and daddy very busy while also trying to track the draft.

Helping dad pick his team.

Brandon, Wojo and Kevin acting quickly between draft picks. I might be biased, but I am pretty sure my team is going to win the league (finally...). I drafted Tony Romo and Reggie Bush because their girlfriends are in my favorite tabloid magazines...kidding. I did some research, first.