Fall 2008

Good thing Haven had her bathing suit on at the beach today!

Jack didn't have a bathing suit on, but that didn't matter

Fall trees in Rhode Island

Jack and Haven at a local farm

Jack, Cole and Ryan on our Sunday hike

Cole, Haven and Jack

We love fall! The only thing missing in Cole's opinion is leaves in our yard. We have a few border trees but not much yet. Cole has tried to make a pile to jump in but it's pretty small. From what I hear we need to drive to upstate New York where Gramma and Grampa Varney have more leaves than they know what to do with! Save us some for when we visit over Thanksgiving! It really has been a beautiful fall. I appreciate it so much more now that we are home. Today was parent teacher conference day and so the kids were off. We spent the day with some friends and ended up at the beach at around 2 PM. It was about 60 degrees. When I told Haven we were going to the beach she insisted on putting on her bathing suit. She didn't understand that we don't swim in the ocean in the fall. I let her wear it under her clothes and she was happy. Needless to say, she went swimming despite the temperature :) Jack ended up in the water too.

The Varney gang is doing great despite one bout of croup and stuffy noses this past week. Tis the season! Cole is doing great in school and making some friends. We went hiking with his new friend Ryan at a beautiful sanctuary this past weekend. Jack has lots of new friends at school and just loves it. We are so glad we decided to give him another year to mature before starting kindergarten. Tonight he was so cute at bedtime. He told me I couldn't buy him anymore stuffed animals for his birthday because he won't know what to name it. If you saw his collection of stuffed animals you'd understand why! Haven is sweet and sour these days, but more sweet than sour of course.

Tom is not very busy at work but it gives him lots of quality time at home. I'm thankful for that. As for me, the kids and Opal keep me busy 24-7. I've enjoyed seeing my family over recent months. Sometimes I think about going back to work and I try to do medical reading here and there so I don't forget everything I learned during my medical training. Right now I'm enjoying my season of motherhood. In the wink of an eye it'll be over. We found a small church less than 5 miles away and I'm thrilled. Well, that's about it.

To all my friends in Guam, you have to laugh at me. I've been complaining for months how hard it is to find a good time to call Guam. I was expressing my frustration to Tom last night and he broke the news to me that I've been calculating Guam time incorrectly since we moved here. My window to call has just increased, so expect to hear from me soon! I miss you all and think about you often.