Seth's Big Accomplishment

After see his two friends jumping off the diving board, Seth decided to try it. Now he LOVES it! Of course he doesn't want to go down too deep, so no diving yet, just jumping in feet first. Thanks Connor & Riley for showing the way.

House Update

Great News! We have accepted an offer on our house. We hope to close on Aug. 18, work on the new house, and move Aug. 28. Now...to jump through all the hoops and use up an entire ink pen signing paperwork.

We welcome all painters, handipersons, packers, movers, etc! There is a lot to do between now and then along with normal life!

A New Home

We decided that our 3 bedroom ranch doesn't hold us all so well any more. Scott & I found a 4 bedroom, 2 story house in Urbandale (just behind the High School) that is going to be a great move for us! I will post pictures later...

Sparkle & Shine

Leah & Seth were invited over to a friend's house tonight for sparklers. Kim was surprised that neither of my kids had much of an idea about what that meant! Her exact words were...that is sad.

They had fun. Seth spend the time burning a pop can. Leah learned about writing her name in the air. I love the photo of her that Kim took!

Adventureland Day

The kids had a great time today at Adventureland. Thanks, Uncle Brett for going along with us. He took Leah on a lot of rides that spun in circles (evidently I can't do that any longer since the Tea Cups were too much for me!). Leah's favorite was the Frog Hopper, and Seth loved the Dragon (an upside down rollercoaster).

Brett got drenched on the Log Ride which made me laugh. I learned a long time ago to not sit on the front of that ride!

It was fun to see both kids try new rides and be adventuresome!

Another Family Gathering

Scott's Great Uncle Walt visited Sunday with two of his children, Ed & Nan. It was wonderful to see them. Walt reminds us both so much of Grandpa Don. We had both been missing Don, so it did our hearts good to spend some time with Uncle Walt.

Time for the Tooth Fairy Again

Seth finalllllly lost his front tooth! Thank goodness! It was twisting and impossible to eat with. He convinced Scott to pay HIM $5 to pull it out. He is quite the businessman already. The new one is already growing in after only a week!

Family Gathering

Saturday we went to Dad's to see my cousins: Andy, Holly & Jeremy. At one time we were respite providers for them. Jeremy could still fit in a toddler bed...but not any more! I thought you might like to see the photos.

From Left to Right: Steven & Brian (Dawn Mae's twins), Travis (Jerry's son), Andy, Jeremy & Holly, Front: Dillon (Dawn Mae's son), Seth, Matthew (Jerry's son) and Leah

Creativity at Archiver's

Most of you know that I create cards for BHG.com's slideshows. My Mother's Day cards are currently there and Father's Day should be showing up soon. Well...my contact just requested 70-80 cards/items for the fall/winter holidays! They are due by June 30, so I will be busy crafting the next few weeks.

Today I went to Archiver's to see what sparked my creativity. I left after 3.5 hours and spent $357! As soon as the graduation cards & Mother's Day cards (personal ones) are done, I can dig into Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years. It is exciting and intimidating at the same time.

So if you don't hear from me for a while...I am in the basement creating cards!

P.S. Thanks Laura for watching Leah during my Archiver's run. It would not have been as productive with her along.

Here's the link for the Father's Day cards:

The Prom 2008

Tonight Scott and I attended the Prom at church. We dressed in our late eighties clothes and headed to church to laugh, dance and eat "decade food" without kids. It was a fun night. Thought you all might like to have a good laugh, too!

It is actually the same dress I wore for prom in 1990! I went to Younkers to have them do my eyes and then spent 45 minutes curling, ratting and spraying my hair. Can't be from the late eighties without BIG hair!

It's a Good Day!

I have been extremely busy with soccer the past few months. Today was so nice to have little to do with soccer since games started this weekend!

I delivered 10 Mother's Day cards and 6 Father's Day cards to Meredith today for the BHG.com website. It is so nice to hear someone say they love the cards I create. When I get the link to the photo shoot, I will let you all have it to see what I came up with. It is always a little nerve racking to make cards for the whole world to see. The perfectionist in me comes out even more (hard to believe!).

I also managed to vacuum, sweep, do a couple loads of laundry, run the dishwasher, call about some insurance issues and get an estimate on re-sanding the hardwood floor in the dining room! Whew! I'm tired!!!

Talk to you all another day. Grandma Ruth & Uncle Brett are both on their way over for a short visit.

It's been a while...

It's been a couple of crazy weeks! I managed to catch some nasty virus (maybe the flu?) and was in bed for 3 days. Thanks to all my friends who took the kids for me. Seth did learn how to fix breakfast. Thank goodness for Eggos!

In the midst of me being sick, Aunt Ashley got engaged and is moving Feb. 22 to Virginia Beach, VA. Since I am staying here & not helping her move out there, I am watching Nora for Alexis & Billy. It should be an interesting 4-5 days with a 10 month old baby that is crawling. I haven't had that age baby around for quite a few years.

Friday Uncle Brett came over to watch the kids so Scott & I could go out for the evening. We enjoyed a relaxing dinner at our favorite restaurant...okay so anything is better than McDonalds...and then went to the mall to wander around. It was nice to not have whining while shopping (or just a little when Scott didn't want to look at my clothes). We were reminded why we don't drive to Jordan Creek to shop. It is just TOO expensive for us. Merle Hay has much better prices! Thanks, Uncle Brett!

It's been snowing here every other day! Church was cancelled yesterday due to the storm. It rained before we received 5.5 inches of snow. Today everything is icy from the heavy wet snow freezing in the cold temperatures. Fun! At least the kids had school. We've already had 2 snow days this year. Very unusual for our school district! They are predicting snow again on Tuesday & Friday. Yuck!!!

Today the kids get to go to the dentist. Seth has decided that he doesn't want cavities, so he won't eat sweets. My sugar baby is much better behaved without candy & desserts! He has a loose tooth that the dentist may decide to pull today. At least I won't have to do it! Hopefully Leah will let the dentist clean her teeth. Last time she refused to open her mouth for anything.

I have been busy with soccer. It is team formation time, so have spent the past couple of weeks meeting with registrars to put the kids where they should be, then assigning coaches, etc. It is hard to believe that soccer starts in 6 weeks!

Yes, I'm still here...

Although it has been a while since I last posted something!

I have been released by the surgeon, so back to the normal stuff. Leah has been very concerned about when I could pick her up, go swimming (like this weather is swimming weather!) and do all the other stuff I did before I had surgery. Well, now I can. I am also back on track working out this week. It feels good. I also made it back to Seth's school to volunteer today. I forgot how much I enjoyed it! There is nothing like a bunch of 2nd & 1st graders glad to see you.

Scott & I both are feeling less stressed. We had a big meeting at church on Sunday which went really well. They approved the proposed budget & the building improvements. We both were involved with both items, so it was good to know that the church wants to move forward, too! I actually stepped out of my comfort zone and was liturgist on Sunday, too. I talked about why I loved my church. I was amazed when I went through the visitor info...we had 37 visiting families there on Sunday! If I had known that, I might have been more nervous.

Leah is still loving preschool. This week the topic has been dinosaurs. It is interesting to hear a 4 yr old's perspective on dinosaurs, so we've had a few laughs.

We also received info about preschool next year. Our options are: Olmstead with all day preschool integrated with the special needs kids that would cost $548/mo and includes before & after school care (no options on this), Rolling Green AM preschool that would be on the alternative calendar or Webster AM preschool that is a 15 minute drive out West daily. The second options are only $225/month. I think we have decided that Leah will go to Rolling Green again this coming year. I can't see spending the money for care that isn't needed or wasting our resources driving so far each day. This does mean that she will begin school on July 24 and have some longer breaks in the fall & spring which DOES NOT match Seth's school schedule. What a difficult decision!

I have been busy with soccer stuff this week. I have found rooms for the competitive teams for the spring/summer tournaments out of town and met with registrars to form Spring rec teams for the U9-U14 players. It has been busy that is for sure! That explains why I haven't had time to call regularly...

It's Over...Yeah!!!

My "green" gallbladder is officially GONE! I survived surgery & recovery and returned home around 7 PM. I did have quite a bit of nausa after the surgery, but feel really good this morning. I haven't even had to take the vicadin!

Thank you to all for your kindness & prayers. Pastor Emily brought me a beautiful prayer shawl made by Alberta Bowler-Keeler. I really appreciated having that to keep me warm yesterday. I could feel the love and prayer wrapped around me.

Seth is off with Aunt Ashley to try snowboarding. After my experience sledding a couple of weeks ago, I am NOT going to try snowboarding. Bonnie Grandma & Leah are playing tea party. I don't feel that good yet!

I will be back at it soon!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! We enjoyed a nice evening with Alexis, Billy, Nora & Ashley. Scott grilled steak & chicken, made focacia bread, smashed garlic potatoes and honey glazed baby carrots. It was all topped off with a Cold Stone chocolate cake (and red twists for those of us not eating ice cream). Yum! I had to have a tiny bit.

Today I met with the surgeon about my gall bladder. Yup...It's coming out! I get an upper GI x-ray on Friday. Once that is ok'd, I have surgery on Jan. 11 in the afternoon. Thanks Mom for agreeing to come down to stay with the kids! It's supposedly the most common surgery performed in the US. The surgeon said he personally did 250 last year! That is a little reassuring...

Thankfully the kids return to school tomorrow. They would otherwise turn into mini TV's I am sure! They did enjoy game time yesterday at church. Seth loves Hyper Dash. He gets to run against his own time and it's a game! They also are enjoying the mini trampoline they received for Christmas. Uncle Billy delivered it Monday (THANKS!!!). It won't fit down the stairs, so it sits in the living room until one of us decides to take it apart and move it. So far Seth's longests jumping stretch was 400 jumps yesterday. They have decided to jump 100 times then let the other have a turn. At least they aren't fighting over it yet...

Here's to the best new year yet!