Merry Christmas

Alllllll Abooooooard!!!

For the second year we've traveled to Strasburg, PA to ride The Santa Train. It's really one of our favorite Christmas things. It just might be a new Christmas tradition.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just because we're not traveling anywhere for Thanksgiving or expecting guest doesn't mean we're skimping on a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Fall Days

Thanksgiving is coming up, the weather is turning cooler, and there's a whole lot of leaves on the ground. Brian, Gabbie, and Weslie are trying to get in just a little more play time. It won't be long until it turns cold and the only thing that will get us outside is a nice snow.

Fort McHenry

Weslie's Girl Scout troop took a trip to Fort McHenry and we tagged along. The kids had a good time exploring the fort and pretending to fire the canons at enemy ships. The battle of Baltimore was a pretty pivotal moment during the War of 1812 and was probably the turning point for US troops after the British burned Washington D.C.

Hanging up the Cleats

Soccer season has come to an end, and not too soon either. Weslie's and Gabbie's last games were quite chilly, and nobody wants to play when it's cold. Overall both girls did great. Now it's time to hang up the cleats and sleep in on those cold and windy Saturday mornings.

Happy Halloween

This year Weslie was a ninja, Gabbie was a vampire (surprise, surprise she wasn't Robin), and Brian was a ghost (really he was a skeleton but he called it a ghost). Our neighborhood is fairly hilly so we thought a hayride would help all the kids make it around without falling apart towards the end and wanting to be carried. Then we went to a Halloween part at a neighbors house.

26.2

I did it. Months of waking up early to run and train have finally paid off with a finish of 4:15:02 in the Baltimore Marathon. It was hard. It was brutal. There were moments I thought I couldn't go any further, not another inch, but I did. I did.

Big Time Rush

We went and saw them preform in New York for the Today Show and we stood in line for hours to get their autographs. We've bought their album and we watch their show. I guess you could saw we're fans of Big Time Rush. Gabbie like Logan and Weslie like Carlos. Even Brian likes them, though he calls them "James".

Happy Birthday Gabbie

This year Gabbie had a Halloween birthday party. She went dressed as a vampire. There was pumpkin painting, mummy wrapping, and a hay ride. Everyone had a lot of fun. Happy birthday Gabbie.

Flying Brian

What can I say... Brian is your typical boy. He loves to run, climb, and epically jump.

We Spell Defense G-A-B-B-I-E

Gabbie seems to have found her calling in life. She is the most awesome defensive player in the history of soccer. Nothing and nobody gets past her. She's a beast. She terrifies the other teams. The other coaches complain and she just laughs and taunts them. She my sweet little girl but a demon in the backfield.

The Charm City 20 Miler

The weather was perfect, the NCR trail was beautiful, the other runners were very helpful and friendly, and I felt great. All of these things lead to a very enjoyable run for this warm-up/test race before the Baltimore Marathon next month. My time was 2:52:55. This put me several minutes ahead of my 3 hour goal. The absolutely best part of the race was seeing Mary and the kids cheering for me as I came down the home stretch. Weslie and Gabbie had even made signs for me.

Time for School

Well, school has started back up and Weslie is headed off to second grade. I was worried that after a summer of sleeping in her new early morning schedule was going to be a problem, but it wasn't. She was very eager to get back to school and see her friends again. Gabbie got ready for school too, but as she told me, "This is just for practice."

Six Flags

We normally always go to Dutch Wonderland towards the end of the summer, but this year we thought we'd give Six Flags a shot. We're really glad we did. There were plenty of rides for the kids, a really good water park, and Brian's favorite - Thomas Town.

Soccer

Soccer season has started again and this time both Weslie and Gabbie are playing. Here is a picture of Gabbie during practice. Weslie's first practice was cancelled due to rain.

Happy Birthday Weslie

Weslie had her 7th birthday party today. She had some of her friends over and they played games and jumped in the moon bounce. Oh, and of course there was cake and ice cream. It's just amazing at how fast she is growing up. It seems like she was just a baby and soon she'll be asking to borrow the car. Time is really just flying by.

Myrtle Beach Wrap-Up

We're finally home. While we've been gone Baltimore has been having record breaking heat wave and an earthquake. Go figure. We're all tired, worn-out, and glad to be home. Here are some photos from our wonderful trip to Myrtle Beach.

Walking on Water

I don't know if you'd exactly call it walking, but it's something. I wish they would have let me do this.

It's a Beach Birthday

Brian turned two here at the beach. Nothing like playing on the beach, then a little swimming at the pool, followed by some birthday cake, and finally settling down for a nap while clutching your new toy truck as a way to spend the first part of your birthday.

At the Beach

Myrtle Beach is the second stop of our whirlwind summer tour. We were here last year but I can already tell this year is going to be better; mainly because Brian likes the beach this time.

Brian Loves the Pool

Just a little video of Brian at the pool. He loves it. He can't get enough of it. I think he would live in the water if he could.

Happy 4th from Mississippi

While Baltimore is experiencing a record breaking heat wave we are enjoying the 4th with friends and family in an unseasonably cool Mississippi. Don't get me wrong it's still hot and we're enjoying Steven and Brandi's pool every chance we can. Danny is still planning to run the Baltimore marathon this fall got some training in with a run from the Dabbs house in Nettleton to the Wade house in Amory, 16.5 miles.

First Day of Summer

There's nothing like officially starting the summer with 90+ degree weather and a Slip-N-Slide.

Gabbie's Ballet Recital 2010

Our tiny dancer hit the big stage for her ballet recital.

Becoming a Brownie

Weslie's Girl Scout Daisy troop had their bridging ceremony where they official moved up and became Brownies.

School is Coming to an End

Weslie doesn't officially get out of school until about mid-June, but as that date draws ever closer the school seems to have more and more special activities. This week's activity was field day. Where the kids got to spend most of the day outside playing games and family members could come and cheer them on. Weslie's not a shy little girl at all. She is very competitive.

Weslie's Field Trip

Weslie's class went on a field trip to the Baltimore Zoo this past Friday, and today her teacher sent home a CD full of pictures. That's "above and beyond" if you ask me. So thanks to Weslie's teacher I'm able to share these picture with you. Enjoy.

Go! Gabbie! Go!

Gabbie is doing very well in T-Ball. She's a good fielder and an excellent hitter but where she really shines is in running the bases. She is by far one of the fastest players on the field at any given game. What really makes her running so fun to watch is the big smile she on her face.

3 in 1

Danny's parents drove up to Baltimore for a visit, and as always we forget to take a lot of pictures. Here is one of the few pictures that we did take. It's Danny chewing on a Fimble while his Dad hold Brian somewhat cautiously while Brian eyes his drink. Three generations of "Wade boys" in one photo.

Gabbie's a Yankee

This weekend was Gabbie's T-ball opening day and first game. Her team is the Yankees and she absolutely loves her uniform. She wears it all the time. Well, that is when she is not wearing her Spider-Man suit. She did very well in her first game and even got a really good hit on her very first swing.

Annie's Playground

I thought that Gabbie and Brian would enjoy going to Annie's Playground this morning, so after getting Weslie off to school we headed out bright and early hoping to beat the heat and the crowds. It turned out to be a good plan. It was nice and cool with plenty of sunshine and for the first 20 minutes or so we had the whole park all to ourselves.

Hooray for Luray

We just got back from our little Spring Break trip to Luray, Va. Luray is a beautiful little historic town in the Shenandoah Valley and framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is the home of the famous Luray Caverns and is also the cabin capital of Virginia. So, I guess it is only fitting that we rented a cabin and enjoyed all the natural beauty that the surrounding area had to offer. Well, Weslie and Gabbie didn't like the natural beauty of the wasp there were in the immediate surrounding area of our cabin.

Spring has Sprung

Spring time is here. The weather is warming up, plants are starting to bloom, and the animals are starting to be a lot more active; saw a fox run across the road just yesterday. We even went on a family bike ride this past weekend. This time Weslie did not want to ride in the little trailer with Gabbie she wanted to ride her bike. So, Brian got to ride with Gabbie in the trailer and Weslie got to ride her bike along side us. She did great and made it the whole way. Spring also brings Spring Break and Easter. Here's a quick preview of our little brood in their Easter attire.

Outside

Even though there is still snow on the ground the weather here lately has been absolutely beautiful. All of a sudden there seems to be more people out and about. The playgrounds and parks are crowded. People seem to be in a better mood. It reminds me of the nature shows when the animals come out of hibernation. We're doing our part too. We've been enjoying the sunshine and the warm weather as much as we can. Here's to the sun.

Isn't She Lovely

Friday night was the Girl Scout's Father/Daughter dance. We had been talking about it and anticipating it for weeks, but nothing could have prepared me for the beautiful young lady that was to be my date.

The Second Snowman of the Snowpocalypse

We've had the most snow that Maryland has ever had this winter. So far we've gotten over 70" of snow. That's more than Buffalo, NY or Green Bay, WI. It just keeps on snowing and snowing and snowing. We've been pretty much trapped in our house for the last six days and there might be signs that cabin fever might be setting in. Thankfully we haven't lost power or run out food or anything. Maybe one day it'll stop snowing and we'll be able to leave the house, but seeing that they're forecasting more snow in the next few days I guess it won't be anytime soon.

The Big Snow

We just got hit by the biggest snow storm this season, and that's saying a lot since we had a storm dump about 18" of snow on us back in December. Some are saying that this is the biggest snow that Baltimore has ever had, but during our very first winter here we got over 30" of snow from a storm. Things were a little different then. We were living in Baltimore then and now we live just outside of the city. We didn't have any kids back then and now we have three. It's because of that last reason that we're enjoying this big snow a lot more than the first, even though now there's a driveway that has to be shoveled.

Me, Mischievous?

Brian just had his 18th month checkup and all is well. He's growing like a weed and healthy as he could be, and he's really starting to come into his own. Brian is hilarious. He's got quite the personality. He loves to dance, especially when Yo Gabba Gabba is on, and then clap for himself. But he's also a little troublemaker, so much so that we call him our little Viking. Another interesting thing about Brian, we think he's a lefty.

Say Hello to Princess Penelope

While we were visiting our families during this past Thanksgiving Weslie and Gabbie were introduced to the magical world of kittens. Ever since then that's all they've talked about. So a week or so before Christmas we went to our local humane society and picked out a kitten. It was awful. Let's just say there were some raised tempers, some harsh words, and some feelings got hurt, but we got the kitten we came for and were lucky enough not to have been dragged into that whole mess. The girls name her Princess Penelope and she's been by their sides ever since.

P.S. If "Princess Penelope" is too much of a mouth full you can always just call her "Poe". I do.

Happy New Year

Whether you're a fan of Twenty-Ten or Two Thousand-Ten today marks not only the beginning of a new year but also a new decade, and ours started with some snow. We spent most of the day outside. Even though we only got a few inches, which is basically nothing compared to our last, it was perfect for snowballs and sledding, and despite Weslie and Gabbie doing their best Ethan Frome recreation everyone had a really good time. Brian even seemed to like it a little better this go around.