Another Trip

Chris is on another business trip, this time to Alaska for 2 weeks. I'm afraid they mistook him for game, but I'm looking forward to mounting him on our wall above the mantel.

Indiana visit

We drove 15 hours in 2 days to get to Fort Wayne, Indiana for my baby brother's wedding reception. His lovely bride is named Heather... yes, everyone had lots of fun with that coincidence. From left to right is Heather & Phil (the happy newlyweds), Mike & Heidi (my sister & her hubby), and my mom Annette and Zeke. The boys loved seeing their great-grandma, grandma & grandpa, great-aunts & uncles, aunts & uncles, cousins and 2nd cousins. It was a long drive, but it was a fun time. Even our cat, Chase, did okay with the trip!

Fourth of July

Here's a picture of us enjoying the "Bourne on the Fourth of July" parade. We have friends on both sides of us and had a great time. The next night we kept the boys up past 9:00 pm to watch the Bourne fireworks. They were so exhausted that we only saw the first 15 mintues or so, but it was fun anyway.

Travelling Chris

Chris has been travelling a lot for work. Here is a picture of him at lunch in Tallin, Estonia. If you're trying to find it on a map look up by Denmark and Russia. Then he went to Hawaii. He's also got a trip to Alaska and Canada planned. In case you're wondering... yes, he ate the whole thing! (The menu called it "Divine Leg of Pork")

We're Expecting!!

Yes... I got to hear the very strong heart beat of little Rauch #3 today. He or she is due at the end of January. Chris and I are very excited. Silas is very excited as well, but I don't think Zeke gets it yet. Silas is already playing the part of big brother... he chastises me whenever he thinks I'm working harder than I should. He'll say, "Mommy, you shouldn't move that heavy log, you have a baby in your tummy!" In about 6-8 weeks we should find out what gender the baby is... I'll keep you posted.

New retaining wall

Our old wood retaining wall was falling apart. Here's Chris working hard on putting up a new concrete block wall that's looking very nice. Next summer we hope to put a stone patio over the dirt and have a big BBQ party. You're all invited! :)

BIG BOY!

About a month ago I told Zeke that if he wanted to be in a big boy bed like Silas he had to start talking. I immediately saw an increase in his efforts. These past 2 weeks his vocabulary has exploded, so about a week ago I took the crib apart and put up the toddler bed. Here he is napping in it. He's so excited to be a big boy!