Wow, nearly 14 years since the last blog post! Facebook may have killed the baby blog but
fortunately the internet never forgets.
All the old posts are still here.
And browsing through them, I’m reminded of so many little things I had
forgotten. Most of all, I remember the excitement
of being a first-time parent. I
guess there’s a lot to update…
Two just wasn't enough, so on November 7, 2011 we added Garrett Tiley Moody to the mix. Garrett is in sixth grade now and enjoys soccer, snow skiing, anything watersports, and football (to name a few). His club soccer team went undefeated this season and he's looking forward to playing in middle school. Garrett makes friends easily and does very well in school. He can also be the most stubborn person in the house – he makes the bulldog seem cooperative! But he’s the youngest and has to deal with two older brothers, so maybe that’s understandable. He holds his own around here just fine.
Ethan is in eighth grade now and will go to high school next year. Soccer has been his ‘thing’ pretty much from the time he could walk but he also loves American football. He played starting linebacker and kicker for his middle school team (what a combination!). He hopes to somehow play both sports in high school even though the seasons overlap. We'll see. Ethan also loves snow skiing, wakeboarding, and of course playing video games. And like Garrett, Ethan has always done very well in school. I REALLY regret not keeping this blog up when Ethan was little. His imagination - and impulsiveness - would have made for some great content!
Baby Parker is now a 16-year-old high school sophomore Parker...and driving! He's on the high school lacrosse and wrestling teams and pretty good at both. From a very early age, Parker displayed a knack for any sport involving a board (surfing, skating, snowboarding) and he's kind of impressive on a mountain bike. Unfortunately - and this is our fault - Parker also has a taste for fine food. He'll eat just about anything as long as it's expensive! Looking back at the old photos, I can't believe how fast the time has gone. He's a young man now and as tall as I am (maybe taller). But I can still see the same little determined face pulling my hands to stand up.
Roxy & Mr. Willis have gone on together to Doggy Heaven. That was a VERY sad day in our house, but they lived long, happy lives and I’m just grateful they were with us long enough for all the boys to remember them. Soon after, we adopted a full-grown bulldog named Max and he was a very good boy but sadly wasn’t with us for long. And now we have Vegas & Diego! She’s an intelligent, mischievous boxer and he’s a typical lazy bulldog. They’re very much a part of the family and the boys love them. Something about having a boy and girl dog in the house – now and then – just brings Roxy & Willis to my mind.
The boys love traveling in general and especially like visiting San Diego.
As for me and Brooke, we're mostly youth sports spectators and taxi drivers these days. We've stayed in touch with most of our friends from the San Diego days and we both still work in the same industry, although Brooke owns her own consulting business now. Our life pretty much revolves around the kids but we do get out now and then...
Someone once told me, "The days are long, but the years are short", and that's true enough. I'm just grateful we've been able to spend the last 14 years in a good community. We've sadly lost some loved ones but we've gained new ones as well. We've made new lifelong friends - while keeping up with old ones - and the boys have grown up knowing their grandparents and family, which is all I could have asked for when we moved back to NC with Baby Parker.
I could say much more but I guess that’s enough for now. Until next time…
