And the apologies just keep on coming....

Okay guys, Ann Marie has finally threatened me enough to get on the new PC (Apple Powerbook) and post some news about what is happening in the Kennedy family these days.

First off, for those of you who didn't know this, I moved back to the factory for John Deere to limit the amount of travel that I was doing for the company. Ann Marie's travel has picked up due to a big project she is on at work so we decided that it would be in Savannah's best interest not to have two parents jetting out each week. Ann Marie has already made one trip to the UK and has more in store. Savannah and I may tag along for some vacationing next time around!

Ann Marie's brother and sister-in-law came into town in late January with their new addition Dylan Maynard! Mom, Dad and Dylan are doing great and it was a joy to see how Savannah loved the newest member of the family!

Savannah made her first trip to the Ringling Brothers Circus in February compliments of John Deere. We thought she may be a bit young and opted to wait one more year, but I was given a set of 4 tickets for the 4th row so we just had to go! Since Savannah got in free we took my two teenage nieces along with us to help corral Savannah which worked like a dream! Savannah really enjoyed all the movement and colors in the show, but two hours is just too long for a 2 year old to sit still so Ann Marie had to walk the concourse for the last third of the show, but it was still a great time! Be sure and ask us about R.I.P. the Elephant if you see us!

Chinese New Year was next on our list for must attend events. Savannah was very excited to see our friends the Stultz's, but due to a little bug Emma and Mom Stultz had to stay home, but Dean and Molly partook of the festive atmosphere with us. We also got to see Charlotte Dadd and her parents Chris and Karen for the first time in a couple of weeks! Charlotte is growing like a weed and is already chattering like a talking machine! Good luck getting her off the phone in a few years! We also ran into one of the families from our initial adoption class at CAS and have included their photo for the enjoyment of our fellow CAS families (Keith, Susan, Chris and Heidi especially!). Roger and his wife send their best to all!

We are still in recovery mode due to a visit from our friends, the Marcus's, from New York. Who knew that three kids in one house could make four grown adults abuse alcohol! HAHAHAHA! Just kidding! Paul, Katherine, Gracie and Zoe arrived on Saturday night after an eventful trip down on US Scare (US Air for those of you who do not fly very often). We spent several days just tooling around Raleigh shopping and golfing, took in a Carolina Hurricanes game, and spent some time at the lake due to the 70 degree weather we had shipped in for our friends from the snowy north. On Wednesday we loaded the van and headed for Asheville, NC and a visited the Biltmore Estate, home of George Vanderbilt and the largest private residence in the United States. The night we arrived we went out for a quick tour of downtown and some dinner which we had at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company. This place was GREAT and we recommend it if you ever get into Asheville! The girls loved the game room and they had plenty of room to run
after eating. We watched as they played and drank some of the most excellent micro-brews (See Ann Maries photo below!) The next day we left for the Biltmore after torturing everyone at the Marriott breakfast restaurant and watching Zoe eat her second breakfast of the morning! Gracie enjoyed visiting the castle and after a short stop for Ann Marie's annual wine purchase (only one case this year due to a lack of storage space in the van!) we headed back home as the flight back to Rochester left Raleigh around 6:30 am the next morning! The girls almost made the trip event free except for a small melt down about 20 miles from home. I will let all of you who know the Marcus's ask them about the trip home as it is a story unto itself!


Since the return to the working world we have pretty much gotten back into our old routines, work, travel and wishing the weekends would last a little bit longer. We had several firsts in the past few weeks, the most important was Savannah spending her first night away from home with good old Mom and Dad! The first was due to Ann Marie's mother getting trapped in Houston overnight due to the ever incompetent (insert you favorite air carrier here) airlines. My mom watched Savannah during the day and kept her overnight to save on travel to and from home. It was a wonderful night of sleep for me all alone at home....but I did miss my Little Miss Magic! The second night came a few days later (hey, when you get a good thing abuse it, it may not last forever!) when Ann Marie and I had our first "Date Night" since that fateful day we returned home with our precious daughter! We took in a Billy Joel concert with friends after a wonderful dinner at Champas and the songs and wine flowed free all night long! I will stop the story of the night right there, but if you want more just ask Ann Marie!

Like someone once told me, you have to stop sometimes and just enjoy everything that is around you, for tomorrow it will all change. As Savannah gets taller, learns more words and finds more and more ways to trip our proverbial triggers we feel more like the parents we have always wanted to be. Well, before I wax poetic too much longer I will call it a night. I leave tomorrow for Greeneville, TN for a few days and Ann Marie gets to be a single mom, but I promise I will not let the blog stray this long again! Till then.....we are outta here!

Mike "I am a slacker", Ann Marie "Did someone say shoes?" and Savannah "When do we go back to the playland at Chic-Fil-A?" Kennedy

Guess who you guys???

Thank for for my Valentines Day card Grandma Kennedy!

We have finally mastered the slide at Chick-Fil-A!!

Wanna dance kid?

"I'm talking about some place to eat dinner, where the girls are can play and the beer flows like honey. I'm talking about a little place called...ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWERING COMPANY"
Modified quote from Dumb and Dumber.....Thanks for readying and this Brews for you!