Grady's 1st Birthday - Part 1

We were fortunate enough to have most of our dearest friends and family with us this weekend as we celebrated Grady's 1st birthday (Thanks to Jen, Caal, Mark, Fran, Nona, & Papa for flying to see us)...whew, what a year it's been?! Here is Part 1 of a few to get you through the weekend's festivities.
We're so thankful for all the people in our lives. Thank you for making Grady's day a special one.

Gradymeister "feeding" Scout


Gradymeister climbing on furniture

Big Brother, Drew, having some fun...Go Yankees!

Grams (Grady's Great Grandma) is now living in Roswell, so she was able to with us celebrate too!

Friends...

The past few weekends have been hectic but fun because we spent them with friends we love. Before our unexpected trip to NY, I had the pleasure of entertaining two of my best friends from college, Heaney (Jill) and Griff (Christine). They made a special trip (from Indiana & Boston) to hang out, and they finally got to meet the boys. We mostly sat around talking & laughing, and we did some drinking too. I'm so thankful I got to see them; although, I always feel sooooo short around them.

This weekend I did the 2-day breast cancer walk in Atlanta with some other girlfriends...Katie, Mandy, Meredith, Michelle, Sydney, Sara, Aubrey, and Katie's parents. Katie's mom is a survivor, and we were honoring our friend, Sara Papp, who lost her fight with this disease in the spring. I also walked in honor of the memory of my friend, Paula Buchanan, who I used to teach with in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. She lost her battle a few years ago. I've been lucky enough to maintain a friendship with her sweet son, Drew. I also walked in honor of the memory of my friend Sara Tallent's mom, Ann Gibson. And I wanted to honor Melanie Salmon (a friend from Northview where I currently teach) and Suzanne Ullery (my mom's dearest friend in Destin). It was such an inspirational weekend, and I'm so thankful that I did it....even though my heels and toes have seen better days.

Dave and Paul made sure the kiddos got to greet us when we made our way into Centennial Park on Sunday around noon. At that point, I had walked about 22 miles between 2 days. The other team members were up to 30 miles...! I was in decent shape for the endurance part, but my feet have never hurt so badly in all my life. It was so worth it though.

Drew, Avery, and Finley waiting on the mommies

Avery...and a cool shot taken by Dave

Drew & me - after our "long" 24 hours apart from each other

An unexpected trip to RochVegas...

Saturday morning we woke up to a phone call from Dave's parents telling us that his grandmother passed away. We quickly booked tickets to join everyone in Rochester on Sunday morning for her service on Monday morning. We were very sad about her passing but relieved that she is no longer suffering from her illness. Cindy and Steve will hopefull get a little rest from the stress of the last few years. Thanks for all the well wishes and messages that you sent to us. We greatly appreciated them all.

Despite the dreariness of Monday, we woke up to a wonderful fall day on Tuesday...thanks to Grandma! The leaves were dancing all over the lawns, and the air was crisp. We were fortunate enough to spend a little time at Powers' Farmer's Market in Pittsford which was all ready for fall and Halloween. We were able to take a few pictures and enjoy some time together before we all headed back home. (PS- Uncle Mark - you own us some pics with the boys...2 weeks!)

More from Soccer Practice

A few pictures from tonight,

getting ready for the first game this Saturday!!

Soccer practice and a parade...

Drew had his first soccer practice this Wednesday at 5 pm. He is playing at Mt. Pisgah which is the same place where he played t-ball in the spring. He asked to play soccer, and he seems really into it. They play 3 on 3; it's hilarious. They have their first game on Saturday, so we'll let you know how it goes.

Grady watching Drew's first soccer practice...in his defense, he had close to a 102 temp when this picture was taken and the beginnings of a nasty viral throat thing. AWFUL!

We also went to the Old Soldier's Day Parade in downtown Alpharetta a few weeks ago with the Burks. This is Drew and Parker waiting on some more candy to come their way.

Drew showing his patriotism

As promised...