Belly pictures, 17 weeks :)

Baby #5 belly at 17 weeks...It's getting noticeable!!

Hurray for #5!

Back in July, we got some very exciting news--we were expecting Baby #5!!! We kept this news under wraps for a while. We had an 8 week ultrasound and saw the heartbeat, followed by another at 12 weeks. At 12 weeks we decided to start spreading the news. Here is a video of when we told the kids :)



I'm now 16 weeks along and due April 6th. Let's see if this little one will be like all 4 siblings and actually be born on the 6th! Wouldn't that be something?! Oh, and we don't plan to find out what we're having, so looking forward to a BIG surprise in the spring!

Liberty homecoming 2011

Every year we have a fall tradition of getting together with our college friends. Dave met Mike, Woody, Al, and Dan during the first week of his freshman year at Liberty, and they've stayed great friends over the years. They've all gotten married and had kids, and we have a great time at our annual get-togethers. Now that our group has grown so much with kids, instead of meeting at someone's house, we meet at Liberty for homecoming.
We decided to make it a day trip this year, so we left home at 7am and arrived in Lynchburg around 10:30. Lisa and Al got there before us and reserved some great spots for tailgating. We ate a bbq lunch for alumni, then hung out in the parking lot for a while. Daniel loved playing football with the big boys, while the moms and other kids did crafts. We made pompoms, decorated visors, and made beaded jewelry. The kids loved it!

Dave and Woody in their matching shirts :) (unplanned)


Emily and Hannah (these 2 are sooo much alike! Hannah reminds me exactly of Emily at age 3, the way she never stops thinking, talking, and asking questions.)


The kids making crafts


Some of the kids with their pompoms


The whole gang (minus Mikey and the Tuckwillers)

After tailgating, we went to see the homecoming parade. The kids were thrilled to get a front row seat and catch gobs of candy :)

After the parade, we walked around the campus a bit. This is Emily, Hannah, and Daniel in front of DeMoss hall.

Next it was time for the football game! Daniel wasn't a big fan of the fireworks that went off with every touchdown, which happened to be pretty frequent since we beat Coastal Carolina by a landslide!

The kids loved cheering with their handmade pompoms!

Emily loved spending time with little Avery. She sure loves babies and is so sweet with them!

Lainey and Lexi

We're already looking forward to homecoming next year, and hoping to see even more friends next time! Go LU!

Blowing Rock, Sept 30-Oct 1, 2011

Last week, we planned a last minute trip to Blowing Rock, NC. Our friends have a cabin that was available, and the weather report was calling for sunny and a high of 60 for this weekend. Sounded perfect! We picked up the kids early from school and arrived at Tweetsie Railroad around 3pm. Dave was in shorts and the weather was gorgeous. However, by 5:30 it was getting VERY cold. We left Tweetsie and headed for a nice warm dinner (where Lainey lost her first tooth!).

Lainey and Emily are the thrillseekers of the bunch :)





These rides are more Lexi and Daniel's speed :)


Lainey as the magician's assistant





Emily and Lexi as assistants


Daniel as the magician's assistant

Saturday morning, we went back to Tweetsie, thinking we would stay the day. By 9:30 when we were on the train, it started SNOWING!!!!! We couldn't believe how hard it was coming down!!! It was so freezing cold, the high for that day had changed from 60 to 40 in the course of the week since we planned the trip. While it was pretty freezing and miserable, it was fun to have some snow. After a couple of hours at Tweetsie, we headed to Panera for some hot chocolate and coffee. Turns out, their machine was broken so they couldn't make hot chocolate! Big bummer! Instead we headed to Mast General Store in downtown Boone and stocked up on candy :) Then we went to Woodlands BBQ for lunch and went back to Tweetsie. By afternoon, the snow had stopped and it was just freezing cold.

Keeping warm with the best hot chocolate we've ever tasted!!!! Made from fudge at the fudgery in Tweetsie.


























Everyone loved the Tilt-a-Whirl!








Elaine's favorite is the fake horses :)


With the can-can dancers


SNOW!!!


The cowboys improvised their show a lot due to the snow. It actually made it a lot funnier!


Daniel doesn't like the gunfire....





Watching the cowboys singing and dancing in the snow to "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" :)





2 deer we saw in the yard




























































**Sorry the pictures are all out of order! Didn't feel like rearranging them :)