It was 10 years ago yesterday that Stephen and I tied the knot. It’s amazing to think about all that we’ve been through as a couple and even more amazing the fact that it has made us stronger as a family. In short, I never thought I could love Stephen more than I did that beautiful fall afternoon a decade ago, but I do. Cheers to all the old married folks out there!

A 22-year-old, long-haired Stephen toasts Rebecca, his 29-year-old, green-dress-wearing bride on October 14, 2000.

Being that Stephen has been working a lot and we have three kids, we didn’t do anything special for our anniversary. But we did head up to Richmond the first weekend in October to stay with Ingrid (my oldest, dearest friend in the world), Peter (Ingrid’s hubby and another old pal of mine), and their three wonderful kids, Quinn and Ellie (13-year-old twins) and Mia (an adorable 10 year old). I know hosting “the zoo” was a huge and completely self-less undertaking for Ingrid and fam, but we all had such an incredible time.

In addition to the hospitality and fun served up at Ingrid’s house, we also got to visit with family at Auntie Lisa’s house while hangin’ in my hometown. Dina, Meredith, David and Kara; Lisa, Albert and Rick; and Gramsey and Papa all went out of their way to spend time with us — not to mention feed us! — and we just appreciate the effort everyone made to make our weekend in Virginia’s capital city a memorable one. Thanks!

Two sets of twins & one singleton (grouchy singleton Houston refused to pose for this pic).

The twins’ sessions with Miss Pat — which are now back-to-back sessions once a week — have been extremely effective. Last week, she said the biggest challenge was to get Zeke to use words instead of sign and Gabe to use words instead of making the sound. So she asked me to jot down all the new stuff they were saying. And the list I gave her this past week included 20-plus words!

Miss Pat, Daddy and I are all hopeful that the twins will soon be talking up a storm soon just like big bro Houston (who recently engaged me in an in-depth conversation about how peculiar it is that Hulk’s pants never tear to shreds when he turns from Bruce Banner into the doctor’s mammoth, raging alter ego … whatta hoot!) And being that Gabriel and Zeke are turning 2 tomorrow, that’s the best birthday present I could want for my “double trouble!”

Cousin Meredith shows an inquisitive Zeke how to blow leaves.

On a sad note, Yoda-fish died. He had been sick for a few weeks, swimming on his side at the top of his tank, while not being able to swim below the surface. After some research, I thought he had swim bladder disease. I treated him with thawed frozen peas, which actually worked for a few days, returning Yoda-fish’s normal buoyancy and swimming patterns, but then he finally passed. At least our aquatic buddy was happy in his last hours. RIP, Yoda-fish.

Reba & Iggy: Richmond gals & great friends for nearly four decades.

You can view a few shots of Houston’s last diaper EVER at the end of the September gallery and some new pics of the kids playing around the house in October. Click the photo of Meredith and Zeke to see the Saturday goings on while in Richmond and the above photo to see the Sunday fun.