Boyle-Odom Fall Visit

Wow - a lot to catch up on - a few new posts below. September was very, very busy for us mostly due to travel for work & play. We are ready for some downtime in October - riiiiight, it is football season which = no downtime!

Mary, Amanda, Noah & Gavin came to visit us this weekend. We really enjoyed spending time with them and watching the cousins play.

Swinging at the park on Friday...

We went to Grant's Farm on Saturday - of course the first cold day of the year. Trying to get a picture of the 3 of them. They are all looking, well, sort of.

Gavin is a smilely baby - we so enjoy getting to know him as he grows.

My hair is a little wind blown in this picture but I couldn't resist posting this great picture of Gavin.

Part of the crew at the zoo on Sunday. The baby elephants were both out and about for us to see.

Noah has a great "shake your bootie" dance. Here he is bustin-a-move at the zoo.

Finally, a picnic after the zoo on Art Hill with the Peach family.

It is very difficult to get a picture with everyone looking at the camera now. I find that the pictures turn out better if I stand beside the person taking the picture and get the side view!

Thanks for coming to visit! We love you and miss you already!

Go Dawgs!

Despite Nate's best efforts with his 2-year old zebra costume and our Georgia Bulldog car flags, the Dawgs could not pull it out against LSU on Saturday...

Impromptu Zoo Visit

Most of our visits to the zoo are impromptu, but I'm always thankful when Nate wakes up from nap and we can decide to go to the zoo. He wanted to ride the carousel this time, he doesn't often want to ride it so I jumped on it.

We adopted the river otter this year and he was nice enough to entertain us personally.

It is hard to get a good picture of him, but I tried!

Lee's Visit

My aunt Lee had a meeting in St. Louis and stopped over to stay with us. We were so glad to have her as our guest and Nate loves spending time with her! Luckily, she was here for our last concert in the park, so we took a picnic and enjoyed dinner and music.

The ultimate...glad we are teaching him good relaxation skills...

Reading Salt & Soap, a book Lee brought back from the Grand Canyon for Nate. It is already a favorite!

We love you Lee!

What Color is your Pet?

On the way home from school today, we were stopped at a red light. I was looking over Nate's lesson plan for the week and noticed that they were going to be asking him to tell the color of his pet. The conversation went something like this...

Me: Nate, what color is your pet?

Nate: Um...mine is white.

Me: Oh, well I guess you are right, we do have one white goldfish. What color is our other pet?

(I hear some rustling in the back seat but do not turn around.)

Nate: Mom, it's white.

Me: Well, really we have 3 pets and they are grey, white, and orange (cat & 2 goldfish)

(More rustling in the back seat)

Nate: Mom, mine are white - see?

I turn around to see Nate with his shirt pulled back to show me that his armPIT is white. I laughed til I cried. What a stress reliever.

City Garden

We visited a new St. Louis attraction today with the Griggs, the City Garden downtown. Excellent statue & fountain park and very kid-friendly. Nate & Peter loved playing in the fountains - I'll bring a change of clothes next time.

I love this shot of Peter - he enjoyed jumping when the water shot up from the ground.

They allow kids to climb on the statues - thankfully for us.

This is about the point where we realized the change of clothes would come in handy.

Baby George slept through the garden trip - but what a sweet sleeper he is.

We should have started with this fountain first - it had less chance of drenching them entirely.

Jane Ellis & Nate peeking through the head statue.

What can I say? Nate had lots of fun.

Off to watch more football - oh, how I do love Saturdays in the fall. Since Missouri already beat Furman, I'll only have to give a Go Dawgs!

Labor Day in New York

We spent Labor Day in upstate New York, where Scott's parents grew up. Grandma Boyle has been renting this same cottage outside of Canandaigua for 21 years and the family, extended family, and friends gather to celebrate the end of summer.

It is the perfect location for kids, with a large yard and a lake right out front. Nate & Noah had a wonderful time playing with each other as well as their cousins.

My little golfer - I even dressed him for the part that day. It was a toss up between gold or red on Saturday to represent the start of college football. I joked that since I picked gold, the Missouri Tigers beat Illinois, but the Georgia Bulldogs were not so lucky against OK State. Oh well, there is always next week!

The prep...

The swing...

The follow-through (really just running to get the ball)...

My sweet nephew, Noah, also likes to play golf.

Nate & Noah loved playing in this kayak - endless pretending and bossing by Nate. Wonder where he gets that from??

Feeding the ducks by the lake

Kevin's cousin Peter is a priest and he says mass for the family inside the cottage on the Sunday before Labor Day every year. How special to have your own private service with family! David, Noah, Nate & Scott before mass. We were relegated to the back of the house in the "nursery" but the kids did pretty well.

My adorable nephew, Gavin with Mimi.

Nate playing on the point...

Our attempt at a family photo - great backdrop for a photo session.

The Odoms

Nate and his shades at lunch on Monday.

Aunt Vicki, Gavin & Grandma Boyle. Grandma turned 90 this year and her sister, Aunt Ruth is 95! They continue to amaze me with how they can get around AND play Scrabble!

We had a great time visiting, laughing, and relaxing at the lake. It is so nice for me to know more about Scott's family and for Nate to see what a wonderful network of support he has in New York. Thanks to all for a wonderful weekend!