Atlantic Ocean

This past weekend we went on a short trip to the coast, via Cape Ann.

We drove through Manchester by the sea and Gloucester and Rockport.

It was beautiful.

We got out at Halibut Point State Park



and walk along the trail past the old granite rock quarry

and over into some rocks where we all got to put our feet into the Atlantic (for three of us it was a first).



It was a gorgeous drive and a lot of fun to get away on the first of many family adventures on the east coast.


For more pictures of our trip check out our Flickr account!!!

We are Official

(Massachusetts state flower - Mayflower)

We went down to the RMV today and got our new driver's licenses and registered the sable,

so now we are officially Massachusetts residents. (We reside in Essex county)

Oh, and we also can vote, which should be interesting to see how those on the east coast go about their ballots, etc.

Boy, will it be strange to vote for President from this side of the country, so close to the action.

The girls

Ellie's teething. Top front. Ouch.

Lizzie is growing I think. This morning she ate a whole piece of toast and a bowl of applesauce for breakfast.

-- UPDATE --

Ellie had her first bit of bread tonight. Good stuff; she likes it.

Lizzie had her first chili dog (homemade, of course). She's all-American now.

Ah-nah

For a long time Lizzie has tried to say Ellie and it always comes out Eyie (can't quite get those "L" sounds). She typically has resorted to calling her sissy, but just yesterday she made a new discovery. Since we have been using Ellie's full name more often (as she seems to be finding trouble more frequently with her recently discovered mobility of arming crawling), Lizzie has heard "Eliana" enough now to realize that she isn't just Ellie and Sissy, but also Eliana. Being the creative/smart little girl that she is, she skipped trying to call her Eliana, since she new that wouldn't happen, and now calls her Ana. And that my friends is how people get their life long nicknames, but at least this one makes sense.

So, if you haven't met her yet...here's Ana!

Girls

Today, Lizzie changed an Ellie diaper with a little help from Mommy. Lizzie loves her sissy and takes very good care of her.

Tonight, Ellie tried to play peek-a-boo. But the hilarious part was her pulling the blanket up to her chin, not up above her eyes. Ellie still thought the whole process was hilarious and giggled the whole time.

Greek reader

Lizzie stole my Greek book, wouldn't let me have it back and then proceeded to sit down in her own chair and read...

Homestead

Just posted some photos of the new homestead for those that are curious.

http://flickr.com/photos/familyhutch

Exams and Sleep

So Allen's exam went well, but the sleep, not so good!
We still would love to hear peoples ideas, and comments, so please feel free, and in the mean time we will keep plugging along trying new things as others fail, until we succeed. Thanks to those that have been praying, and keep on praying for us.

Road Stats

Finally got around to adding up all the gas info from our trip. While not exhaustive (I’m sure we missed a receipt or two), here’s the numbers:

* Average price per gallon: $3.20
* Gallons used: at least 158
* Total cost of gas: at least $505
* Total miles: at least 4,000 (Google Maps puts the trip at roughly 4,000)
* Average miles/gallon: 26.6 (not bad for a sedan with 4 humans and a full trunk)

Funny observation: there wasn’t one stand out section of the country for low cost gas. It was hit and miss from one state to the next. Example: expensive in SD, cheap in MN, expensive in WI, medium in IN, cheap in OH. But gas was definitely cheaper on the east coast versus the west coast. Still is.

Praise-the-Lord-observation: 4,000 miles, not one mechanical (or otherwise) problem with the car.

4 Little Monkeys in a Bed, 1 fell off and...

So we have struggled since Lizzie was born to get her to sleep, that is no secret...but now it is the littlest monkey's turn. Maybe teething, maybe her digestive system adjusting to new foods (namely solids in general), maybe getting used to yet another "home"/place/people/routine.... don't know, and at this point don't care as long as we can figure it out and address the issue. She has been up every four hours morning, noon and night to eat despite our best efforts and is keeping all of us up.


The worst of it is that Lizzie can't cope with it at all. Every time sissy lets out a cry, Lizzie comes unglued and begins an even longer session of whimpering, crying and even waling, just in case Daddy and Mommy missed Ellie's "little cry".

In fact often if we just let them go Ellie will cry for sometime and then stop (even go to sleep at times) and Lizzie will still be going until finally she wakes her sister back up and they begin again. This happens with them in separate rooms, the same room, with Daddy and Mommy trying to comfort them both down while they are still in bed, with one being held while the other is in bed, doesn't seem to matter.

Today Allen has his first exam, so last night we did all we could to get whatever sleep we could salvage. At the end of the day Lizzie ended up in bed with us, and we "only" had to get up at midnight, 3am and 7am for Ellie. Please pray for us. Allen and I are going to sit down this afternoon and prayerfully decide our next plan of action (since this plan has failed as have others). If you have any advice/thoughts/questions/comments/personal stories/you get the point, please leave them we will take what we can get at this point.
Thanks
Momma Monkey

PS I wish our monkeys would start sleeping again, they look so cute and peaceful when they do :-)