3 out of 4 ain't bad

In 2007 there were 4 boys born to the Stevens clan. Milo arrived on the Seattle scene in March (he is also brother to Liam) followed by our guy Luke in June. Little Leo joined them along with his two brothers Henry and Jack in November and Owen rounded out the bunch in December, both born in Saratoga. We're blessed with all boys on both sides of our family. Get-togethers are going to be crazy, loud affairs with all the boys in tow chasing each other, games of whiffleball and touch football to follow. The summer of 2025 (that seems like lightyears away!) will be filled with high school graduation celebrations and 4 very dashing gents to see off at senior proms. If only Seattle wasn't as far away as Seattle is. We missed the Lowry's today and can't wait for the day when all the boys of 2007 along with Liam, Henry, and Jack will meet and play and run around like hooligans.

PS Is Luke a little giant or what?! OMG!















John's sisters Kim (Owen), Hannah (Leo), and moi





























Uncle John with Henry, Luke, and Jack-Jack

Hey, I put some new shoes on and suddenly everythings right...

Ahh. It's amazing what new shoes can do for the sole. HA! I'm feeling a bit cheeky and silly today. Life is changing, things in our little family are better than ever. New jobs (um yeah, it's been hard to contain my excitement on that!), new plans, new goals, Luke is discovering a new world. I feel like I can breathe for once. I haven't seen John so relaxed, happy, and so much at ease since we met 5 years ago (almost to the day, we met on Feb. 12, the date is burned in my memory!) or during our honeymoon. He deserves it all so much, we both do. Are the Universe Gods going to strike us with some tragic news now? Cynical much? Sorry I will do my best to ignore those feelings.

This morning John was getting ready for work and gave me a fashion show of his new darkwash Gap jeans paired with a crisp white dress shirt. Honestly the jeans are pretty sweet, but his confidence and stature is what put the whole package over the top for me. Quite the difference from the banker suits and half-smile he was sporting for the past 3.5 years. It's pretty standard fare for causal-dress, regardless he looked not just handsome, but hot and I told him so. My heart was aflutter.

A few minutes later he says in all seriousness: "Do you think I should change? I think I look too sexy in this outfit..is it too much? Do you really think it's appropriate for work??"

"Umm..." *snicker, snicker* "don't think so highly of yourself!"

OMG it was funny! He has moments of self-doubt like we all do, but this morning apparently he was feeling pretty swanky and uber-sure of himself. We had a good laugh as he planted his feet and ego back on solid ground, I'm certain he is the best looking Traveler today, hopefully he doesn't get warned to tone down the hotness.

I on the other hand am sporting new shoes, literally and figuratively. I'm excited and happy and feel all flush with the wonderment of new beginnings in our career lives as well as our life at home.

and thanks to Paolo Nutini and his New Shoes tune! See I've got fun music in me, not just the sappy, teary country stuff:)

Snow Days

I feel like I haven't been here in awhile. Our ditch-day was wonderful, although we don't recommend watching The Bucket List if you're out for a silly afternoon of unplanned fun and/or if you've lost a loved one to cancer. We were in tears from beginning to end with a few comic-relief quips here and there. Ugh. Maybe it's because Jack Nicholson resembled Jack Stevens in a way, it was just too close to home for us. And then there was the line he uttered as he was in the throws of chemo-induced sickness, "some lucky stiff just died of a heart attack". Ugh, we've been on both sides of the coin and either way it sucks. We walked away holding hands, both knowing what the other was thinking. If only we could protect Luke from death and heart-ache. But we upped the ante and strolled through the beloved Apple store...drool! Then we popped in the iPod, cranked the radio, opened the sunroof and headed for Saratoga. Lunch was yum-tastic, the sky was clear blue, and we didn't want the afternoon to end...as you can see in my classic self-portrait!

















In true upstate winter fashion, the next day was full of slush and snow and apparent ice-inducing temperatures which closed every school in the tri-county region. It wasn't the worst weather day, but I suppose if the temps had dipped further down the thermostat then it would have been nothing but nasty. Needless to say, John volunteered to watch the nephews on his last day of ditching. They love Luke and Luke loves them. They played ping-pong, Wii, and Ninja Turtles. Banged on the piano, entertained Luke, and ate Ramen noodles. The museum closed at 1pm and I was welcomed home to a ransaked house full of joy and shrieks and laughter. How we would miss this if we were to have miles between us, thankfully we only have streets.


















I couldn't resist this...check out his Elvis lip! I can't stand his cuteness, it is too much!