Family Visit

My family came out to visit this last week. It was the perfect vacation. The week was full of places to see, with everything from roller coaster rides, to touring the White House. We loved every minute we had with them. It was so hard to have to leave. Abby had a blast hanging with the family. Thanks for a wonderful time! We love you and miss you! We're excited to see you in a month for Dave's wedding. Love you!

We survived the Griffin Roller Coaster...barely. The boys had us sitting on the front with our feet dangling off the cliff...literally. Yikes. Good times.

The picture below is Dad after he won the 'Wac a Mole' competition against everyone in the family. He always wins. This time he got a prize. It now sits with Abby in her crib. Thanks Dad.

Abby and Pops at Virginia Beach

Surfer Girl!

Suppy getting ready to catch some waves.

Building Sandcastles...

Bonding with Uncle Dave

Lunch with Elmo. Pops and Abby were having the time of their life. Abby was afraid at first, but once she got comfortable, she had a blast. The whole event proved to be one of the favorites for everyone. :) Mac n' cheese for all! Thanks for a great birthday Pops and Nana.

The cupcakes were Abby's favorite.

Can you tell she enjoyed every bite?

Pops and Oscar bonded.

Brett posing for the picture...Abby not so thrilled to be held back from her cupcake.

Cookie/Cupcake Monsters

Me and 'Sup da Pup'

Gotta have a Wawa. Here's Dave showin' us how to eat a Wawa sandwich. The way to do it is eating in the parking lot, off the trunk. Awesome. Very sophisticated.

Abby walking up to the White House.

At the White House.

Inside the Capitol Rotunda

Dad tired to go find a secret passageway to the underground tunnel at Mount Vernon. Instead of finding it, he got covered in burs. Poor guy.

Don't ask

Video#1...Pops having a great time with Oscar.

Video #2...Seven man bike ride by the ocean. Mom got off and jogged along side after a while.

Video #3...Chacha with Elmo and friends...we're behind Bert.

Eggplant Goodness

We decided to branch out today and try a new recipe, so we made eggplant. It was so delicious AND nutritious. We're nerds and read up on the nutrition facts of eggplant...this stuff is loaded with goodness. Yum! We will definitely be eating this more often. Plus, Abby loved it! Awesome.

General Information

Eggplant is:

• Low in Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Cholesterol
• High in Dietary Fiber, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper

The nutritional value and health benefits of eggplant makes it ideal for:

• Maintaining optimum health
• Weight loss

Don't include too many eggplants in your diet if you're interested in:

• Weight gain

Eggplant Parmesan II

SUBMITTED BY: DOERY PHOTO BY: mermaid369

"This is a no fry variation of this popular dish, and is just as delicious!"

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

An Amazing Beginning-Happy Anniversary

Today, Emily and I celebrate our Three Year Anniversary and I must say that I am truly living in a life that has been blessed! Three years ago, I held the hand of the sweetest, most caring and most beautiful woman I have ever meet and we took our fist steps together as husband and wife. Since that moment, I have learned, laughed, grown and smiled more and more with every passing day. It has been an amazing beginning to an Eternity of Memories and I look forward to every future step we get to take together. I want to thank Emily for being a light in my life. You are and will always be my angel! I love you!

-Brett

Congrats Dave and Alissa!!

Dave and Alissa are officially engaged!! She came to visit Dave out East and he proposed in Central Park. I must say he had the perfect setting...a boat on the pond, birds chirping...just like the movies.

We are so excited! We wanted to see them and celebrate so we met them in Gettysburg later in the week. Abby loved spending time with her uncle and future aunt. :) It was a great day, complete with gourmet sandwiches from the gas station. Doesn't get much better than that. :)

We love you Dave and Alissa! Congrats on your engagement! You two are perfect for each other. We can't wait to be there for the big day...October 1st! We're on countdown.

Posing with the gorgeous rock she is now wearing!

Enjoying a walk through the cemetery.

Walking through the battlefields of Gettysburg.

Fun with Uncle Dave.

24 Hour Vacation to North Carolina!

Last week we decided to be adventurous and go camping on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We packed up all the gear and headed out the door at 4am. The day actually went perfectly, other than that is was a bit hot. We enjoyed the ocean, saw sting rays in the wild, toured a lighthouse, rode a free ferry, saw ponies, and even took a nice jog on the island. After watching the sunset over the island in what we considered the perfect day, we headed for the campsite. Little did we know, that was just the beginning of a VERY long night that never ended in sleep. :) Abby screamed all night! We would get her to sleep, and she would wake up, see us, peer over the crib and say 'hi'. When we would try to ignore her so she would sleep, she would start screaming. Our neighbors must have hated us. I'm glad we never had to see them face to face. Finally, we decided at 2:00am that it was hopeless. Even if she went to bed at that point, she would be grumpy all day and make the trip miserable. All the hotels were way too expensive, so we packed up all the camping stuff and started to drive home. I was sad we weren't able to visit the Wright Brother's Museum of Flight, so we took a quick picture at 2:30am in front of the place. We made it home just in time to beat DC traffic at 7:00am. What an adventure! We are definitely learning with this parenting stuff! We love camping, but have now sworn off it until ALL our children are older. Any tips on camping with kids??

Visiting the Cape Hatteras Light House.

Abby enjoying the view.

Views from the top of the lighthouse...beautiful.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

Riding the free ferry across the ocean.

Checking out the birds.

Abby loved peering at the ponies.

Jogging on the boardwalk...

Standing outside the Wright Brother's Memorial at 2:30am. This is where the first airplane ever lifted off the ground.