Roan Mountain

Ah, Monday...alas the weekend is over. Oh well...5 more days until another one, right?

We had a great weekend...Andy and I were able to go on a much needed date for a couple hours Friday night. Christopher stayed with Andy's sister, Stephanie, while we went to a movie.

On Saturday, we worked on upacking and settig things up around the house. That evening, we took a break for a couple hours and drove up to Roan Mountain for a short hike and picnic. It was a lot of fun. Here's a look at our hike:

Christohper, eating before we take off on the trail.























Aunt Stephanie and Christopher ready to hike.























The hikers: Andy, Christopher, Rachel, and Stephanie at the top of one of the peaks. What a view!


















Christopher liked the back of his eyelids better than the view of the valley. He slept most of the time.


















Picnic time..."I want that, Mommy." "What, son?"

















"The water bottle...I'm thirsty."


















"Aahhh....refreshing."


















Mommy and her boy at the end of the hike. What a fun day.


















On Sunday, we went to a small new church plant downtown. We enjoyed the service and may go back to this one for a second chance...we'll see. Then we grilled BBQ chicken and took some to our neighbor. After lunch, we worked on the house a little and also went and moved all Andy's stuff. He had to switch offices at work, so that took a little while. Overall, we got a lot done and are starting to feel a bit more settled in our townhome.

Christopher sitting...

...in his "bumbo" seat (made in South Africa)...























...watching Nana fold laundry...























...with hands...























...and NO HANDS! (just drool) HE DID IT! We're so proud of him.
























So is Babu.























Great job, Christopher Steven! And right on time - a little over "6 months." PTL!

Quick Update...Movin' on in...

Hey world! Thanks for checking in every day, even though we haven't had a chance to update this in awhile. We've been MIA for the last couple of days, because we finally moved into our own place and we don't have internet there just yet.

Our new pad is really cool, and Rachel, Christopher and I like it a lot. It's a townhome located in central Johnson City that is convenient to just about everywhere. We've decided to rent for the time being, both because we're waiting for our house in Nicholasville to sell and because we're not sure what area of town we'd like to buy in. Fortunately, we got a great deal on the lease which we can break with little consequence if we find a stellar deal on a new house.

In the mean time, this new place is great! It's actually two townhomes that were merged together by the parents of the person who owns the building. That means it has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a bunch of extras, including a sunroom, brick patio, 14 (yes, that's fourteen) closets, and a double attic that is floored and has shelving all over the place. After only living in smallish places since we've been married, we are spreading out ALL OVER and loving it =).

The additional space also comes in handy, because my sister Stephanie moved in with us for the summer (she didn't bring much stuff, though). She's looking for a change of pace and a view of the mountains. Praise the Lord, she already has a job offer as a Nurse Aide at the Johnson City Medical Center (one of the biggest hospitals in the area). Not bad for applying just a few days ago! We're looking forward to having her around.

Christopher is doing great (sorry no pictures because I'm posting this at work =)). He will be 9 months old (~6 months adjusted age) on Saturday! He just keeps learning new stuff faster and faster. I played my first game with him last weekend, which consisted of me giving him a ball, him hitting it onto the floor, and me picking it up and giving it back to him. This went on for about a half hour, and we both loved every minute of it. He's starting to copy things that we do, as well. For the last couple of days, I've been trying to teach him to say the vowel sound "O", and he's started saying it! So cool to see. I've got to post some video of it because his face turns red as he tries so hard to make the right shape with his lips.

Overall, he's sleeping and eating better as well. This move has been much less stressful on him than the original move down to JC, I think mostly because Rachel and I weren't stressed at all. Pretty crazy how kids can pick up on all of that.

My first Father's Day was spent moving boxes and furniture, but Rachel and Christopher still found ways to make it special. Rachel got me (us) a new wrought iron table for our sunroom so that I can eat breakfast out there while reading in the morning. I can't tell you what a blessing that is...so peaceful. Then Christopher and Rachel gave me a really nice card. I love being a dad.

Well, I've got to run. Hopefully we'll get internet soon at home and we'll be able to get some new pictures up to show you. Thanks for checking in!

--Andy

Christopher's First Family Vacation

On Friday, June 1, at 5 pm, Andy, his brother Tony, Christopher and I loaded up the car and headed south for vacation. We drove until 1 am, where we stopped at a hotel in Jacksonville, FL.

Tony and I took turns driving, while Andy played with Christopher in the backseat.

"Thirteen hours? Are you teasing me, Daddy?" We were concerned about how Christopher would travel that far, but he was a trooper and slept most of the way. He probably fussed/cried for a total of 15 minutes.























Saturday morning, we drove to Tampa, FL, where we dropped Tony off at some friends, and then made our way to St. Petersburg to visit the Rehnkes: Uncle Ernie, Aunt Linda and Liz.

That evening, they took us to a major league baseball game at Tropicana Field stadium, where we watched the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play against the Kansas City Royals.

We sat up in the club and ate dinner for the first few innings...Christopher was more interested in looking down on the field rather then eating.

















After we ate, we went down to our seats - three rows up behind home plate!

"Hmm...what's this?" My new favorite of Christopher's many expressions. He's wearing a Devil Rays bandanna that they gave us as we entered the stadium because it was "pirate night."


















Christopher was more interested in watching the game and looking at all the stadium lights rather than smiling for the camera.

















Liz took him down front to ask if he could have a baseball from the game.


















"Can I eat it?"


















"I love it here - so many lights, a pretty girl, and my own baseball!"


















"Um, what's this big blue thing, Mommy?"



















On Sunday, Uncle Ernie flew to Guatemala for a medical missions trip. The rest of us stayed behind to play in the pool. Christopher loved his floaty from Aunt Linda.



















"Can I please have your hat, Mommy?"


















Christopher loved the pool, though he rarely smiled while he was in it because he was too busy focusing on splashing.



















Aunt Linda, Christopher, Rachel and Liz at the mall in Tampa.


















Sunday afternoon, we drove to Kissimmee, FL, where we met Andy's family at Orange Lake Resort. We stayed in the condos there until we left for home on Saturday. It was pretty hot, so Christopher and I stayed inside most of the time, just relaxing, playing with toys and reading. We drove to the beach once. He didn't like the waves and wasn't too impressed with the sand, so since it was an hour away, we stuck to the pools for the rest of the week.

Here's the "mega-fam" in front of the Verizon mural that Little Tony painted. It's hanging on the wall outside the Verizon store in the mall in Tampa. We all drove down to see it on Tuesday and get a family picture with the mural and the artist! =)

Back row: Tony, Mom, Stephanie, Little Tony and Zach.
Front row: Andy, Rachel, Christopher, Nichola, Allison, Megan and Jenny.


















Christopher was enthralled with the hanging advertisement over one of the boutiques. He could watch it spin in circles.

















Crab grass. We had an open field beside our condo. It was fun to fly the kite here. What do you think of the grass, Christopher?
























I don't like it, Mommy.


















Auntie Meg bought matching shirts for herself and Christopher: "I do all my own stunts." She's now in the process of teaching him all his own stunts.


















Family picture at Orange Lake.

















One morning, Andy, Stephanie, Christopher and I went out shopping and found a hotel called "Gaylord Palms." We had a great time touring the hotel which had a large arboretum complete with a full-sized sail boat converted into a restaurant. They served us cigar shrimp ( jumbo shrimp wrapped in lettuce, a wanton wrapper, spices and coconut - served in a glass globe with dry ice beneath it so it was "smoking.") and nachos with pulled pork, black beans, red peppers, cheese and mango salsa. Mmm mmm...hungry yet?! There were waterfalls, ponds with Koi fish and "rivers" with alligators and turtles. This place was huge and Chrisopher never stopped looking all around.

On Thursday, Andy, Tony and Megan went fishing on the "Handler" with captain Dave. They left at 6 pm and fished until 11 pm.

















No, not their catch...this was the bait...SHARK BAIT!!!!!
























See how close they are to shore? Remember this for later.


















Tony catches a baby hammer - head shark.























Megan doesn't know quite what to think of her baby sharp nose shark.























Getting bigger...Megan caught a 3 ft. sharp nose shark.























The saga begins with the hook...

















...starting the fight...

















...the fish went under the boat, so Andy had to lean over the edge so the line wouldn't get cut by the propellers...























...still fighting...in the dark...

















...and still fighting..."argh!!!!!!!!!!!"

















...first sighting..."uh, guys, this looks kind of big..."

















...the catch...check out that mouth!...

















BIG FISH! A 10ft, 270+lbs lemon shark! Remember how close they were to shore?

















Needless to say, they had a lot of fun on this fishing trip.

Saturday evening, Andy, Tony, Christopher and I headed for home. We left after supper at 6:30 and drove straight through the night, arriving home at 6:30 am on Sunday. Again, Christopher was a trooper and slept most of the way. And that's it - our vacation!

P.S. Sorry for the long post...what can I say? It was a busy, fun-filled week.