We hope you all have had as wonderful a Christmas as we have! It's late, and I really should be getting to bed, but I wanted to post pics of our Christmas fun for all to enjoy... I'll tell you more later.
(Click the pic for the album)
Friday, December 25, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
12 Years and counting
Today is our twelfth anniversary! Wow, a whole dozen! It's funny because I can remember when we were newlyweds and we attended an elder's quorum activity where the longest married couple there had been married 11 years, and that seemed like SO LONG! We're not newlyweds anymore, are we?! So let's see...
- 12 years of marriage
- 11 years of parenthood
- 10 (and a half) years of schooling married - glad that's done and behind us!
- 9 speeding tickets (ha ha, just kidding!)
- 8 bishops
- 7 addresses we have lived at (not counting 4 summer internships)
- 6 states we have lived in (Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas for summers, Arizona, Indiana, Iowa)
- 5 cars we've owned (Infiniti, Mazda, Jetta, Elantra, and our new to us Toyota Sienna)
- 4 homes we have owned (condo, duplex, Mesa house, Iowa house)
- 3 children
- 2 real jobs since graduation (Purdue and ISU)
- 1 Loving, devoted, and wonderful marriage!
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Blizzard '09
My nephew James asked to see our snow, so here it is! Click on the picture to go to the album with snapshots from today.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
My life will never be the same...
First watch this...
**I did try to check the validity of all the people cited as being adopted in the video, and to the best of my research all but two are definitely adopted by one or both parents. The remaining two are questions because I founds sources saying it was true and sources saying it was false. The two in question are JRR Tolkien and Tim McGraw.
(I am not endorsing the organization or the people shown so much as the general message.)**
My life will never be the same because of this... In fact, my life has been changed for the better because of it... I have experienced a multitude of emotions - happiness, sadness, joy, pain, excitement, sorrow, and many, many others - because of this blessing:
Adoption
There have never been words to fully describe my feelings when I speak of adoption and my daughters and their birthparents. This month is National Adoption Month, and I want to share with you my gratitude to those who made the arrival of our daughters possible, their birthparents. They are the ones who found courage to make this choice of love. We are not talking a simple love of the brotherly kind, but an intense love that directs you do to what might be the hardest thing you have ever done in your life, or will ever do in your life because you know it's right and best. They had a love that was willing to listen to the whisperings of the spirit and follow its promptings even though they knew that they would experience pain. In this act, they followed our Savior's example, he willingly accepted the pain and sorrow of all people that the way might be opened for us to progress. Our birthparents sacrificed much because they wanted to give their daughters more, not only in this life, but eternally.
The most memorable experiences of our both of our girls' adoptions have taken place at their placements. Both of our daughters were placed into our arms by their birthparents, and both times the spirit in the room was overwhelming. There is a bitter-sweet feeling in the room during placement, as mother and mother and father and father look to each other and to these sweet little ones with love and hope for the future. These birthparents look to us with trust that we will do our best to raise their girls in righteousness. I often ask myself, as I love, teach, and guide our girls, am I being the mother that their birthfamilies hoped me to be? I will admit that I am not perfect, but I take this great responsibility very seriously because I love their birthparents dearly. I hope to one day stand before them, mostly likely with tears in my eyes, and thank them for the blessed opportunity to be a mother to their little girl.
Why do I share this with you? I hope that for you who have been touched by adoption in some way will express gratitude for that blessing - that includes all of you since you are my friends. I also hope for those of you who may be considering adoption, or may consider adoption in the future, I want you to know that you are about to embark on one amazing journey, and the highs and lows are all worth it because the blessing at the end is absolutely incredible. To you, I say do not fear the unknowns of adoption because I can testify that it is all in the Lord's hands. He is watching over all involved. 
My life has been blessed forever.
**I did try to check the validity of all the people cited as being adopted in the video, and to the best of my research all but two are definitely adopted by one or both parents. The remaining two are questions because I founds sources saying it was true and sources saying it was false. The two in question are JRR Tolkien and Tim McGraw.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Why I don't like leftovers (by Little Robby)
- They don't taste the same.
- They look and feel even worse.
- They smell funky.
- They're cold (usually)
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Arrow of Light!!!!!!
I got my Arrow of Light with only 19 days to go till my birthday!!! After 346 days, I'm done!! (Good thing it can't hurt anyone) ;) Now I can go on to Boy Scouts with no regrets!
WOO HOO!!!
Monday, November 02, 2009
Cool Tip I Want to Share...
The other day I was watching a home improvement show, and I saw this great technique for hanging an arrangement of pictures easily. Now you may already know about this idea, but humor me, it's a new discovery of mine, and it has worked fabulously for hanging pictures in my bedroom this week. (I know I'm still getting stuff hung on my walls five months after moving in -- Abbie, you put me to shame with all of your hard work decorating your apartment within the first month or so of being there.) Anyway, here's what I learned...
1.) Trace an outline of each of your pictures on butcher paper, newspaper, or packing paper (or whatever large paper you have on hand).
2.) Cut out your outline. Then flip your pictures over and line up your cutout with the back of your picture.
3.) When you have it lined up, carefully pull it back till you can see the bracket for the nail. (I know you can't see the bracket in this picture, but it's there.)
Do steps 1-4 for all of your pictures.
1.) Trace an outline of each of your pictures on butcher paper, newspaper, or packing paper (or whatever large paper you have on hand).
2.) Cut out your outline. Then flip your pictures over and line up your cutout with the back of your picture.
3.) When you have it lined up, carefully pull it back till you can see the bracket for the nail. (I know you can't see the bracket in this picture, but it's there.)
4.) Noting the nailing bracket's location, lay the cutout back down, and mark where your nail needs to be. I have been able to feel through the paper the groove for my nail, and I put an arrow head on the paper to mark the spot. (You may also want to label your cutout with which picture it belongs to.)
Do steps 1-4 for all of your pictures.5.) Next lay your pictures out on the ground to experiment with spacing and arrangement.
6.) When you are satisfied with your arrangement, take all of your cutouts and tape them to the wall in the desired arrangement. (I would suggest masking tape, so you don't pull paint off your wall when you remove the cutout.) Shift around your cutouts as needed to make the arrangment look appropriate for your space. Also take your time to make sure that you have gotten your cutouts level.
8.) And finally hang your pictures on your perfectly placed nails! Voila! (Of course, I still need to fill the massive holes left by the previous homeowners on this wall.)
6.) When you are satisfied with your arrangement, take all of your cutouts and tape them to the wall in the desired arrangement. (I would suggest masking tape, so you don't pull paint off your wall when you remove the cutout.) Shift around your cutouts as needed to make the arrangment look appropriate for your space. Also take your time to make sure that you have gotten your cutouts level.
7.) Hammer your nails or picture hangers directly through your cutouts in all of your nail markings. Then pull your cutout off the wall by tearing through the edge around the nail, leaving the nail in the wall exactly where you need it.
8.) And finally hang your pictures on your perfectly placed nails! Voila! (Of course, I still need to fill the massive holes left by the previous homeowners on this wall.)
I have used this to hang several arrangements, and it has worked perfectly! And I have used it to mark nail spots for pictures that have two brackets on the back. For me this has been so much easier than trying to measure and mark and hammer and decide to rearrange and rehammer and rearrange and rehammer and ... you get the picture. My only extra tip is pay special attention if your pictures that have two brackets that are off center that you hang your cutout the right way on the wall.
So there's my latest and greatest discovery! I hope it helps at least one of you!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Halloween Preview
Wednesday night was out trunk-or-treat with our ward, so it was a practice run for the costumes. Unfortunately, Li'l Robby was still sick, so he stayed home with Dad while the girls went to fill their buckets with candy.
And here we have year #3 for princess...
This year I tried my hand out on giving Jenna an up-do to go with her crown.
And here we have year #3 for princess...
This year I tried my hand out on giving Jenna an up-do to go with her crown.
Jenna said she was Belle from Beauty and the Beast, so what does that make Olivia... the Beast?
(Olivia ended up being a lion mostly because that was what I had on hand, and she doesn't care yet what she is. All she wanted was the candy! Or more specifically, the chocolate. You should see that girl light up when she gets a piece of chocolate! Two words she now knows and uses... "bucket" - for halloween candy bucket, and "chocolate.")
(Olivia ended up being a lion mostly because that was what I had on hand, and she doesn't care yet what she is. All she wanted was the candy! Or more specifically, the chocolate. You should see that girl light up when she gets a piece of chocolate! Two words she now knows and uses... "bucket" - for halloween candy bucket, and "chocolate.")
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Primary Program
Today was the primary program in our ward, and most especially, Jenna's first primary program! How is that possible?! If Robby's birthday was a month or two earlier, it might have been his last primary program, but luckily for him he'll get one more year! He'll end up being the last one in his class to graduate from primary, so he'll get one last hoorah in the program which is good since he missed this year's with a 101.5 fever. To document the day, we took pictures after church of our primary goers, and I filmed Jenna saying her part right before bed.
And here is the sick boy. Actually, he wasn't too disappointed to miss the program. He was slated to give a talk which he wasn't too thrilled about. I made sure to arrange with the Primary President to have him get another chance at a talk next year. :)
And here she is reciting her part for you. She did a great job in the program.
And here is the sick boy. Actually, he wasn't too disappointed to miss the program. He was slated to give a talk which he wasn't too thrilled about. I made sure to arrange with the Primary President to have him get another chance at a talk next year. :)Monday, October 19, 2009
Comedy of Errors
Our family was a comedy of errors yesterday morning. Here's how it went.
Sharon
7:30am - S wakes up suddenly after realizing that the alarm was turned off, and we should have gotten up 30 minutes earlier.
7:32am - Robby asks Sharon if she have any meetings today, and she suddenly remembers she's supposed to be at Ward Council this morning. The meeting starts at 7:30am.
7:45am - S is ready and walking out the door. S has Robby's keys and she's going to drive his car because he needs the car seats to get the kids to church. Sharon's keys have the key fob that can undo the alarm on my car so he needs it.
7:46am - There is a thick layer of frost over the whole car. Sharon's grumbling because she's late and she needs to clean the windows off. S sits in the car to turn it on so the heat can help melt the frost, but when S sticks the key in the ignition it bends, or rather twists, so it won't fit in the ignition anymore.
7:48am - More grumbling as S runs back in to get her keys because they have a key to Robby's car.
7:49am - With both keys in her hand, S unlocks her car with the key fob to undo the alarm (or so she thought) and then relock it with his keys. S then runs back in the house to drop his keys off.
8:00am - After scraping the frost of the car (while grumbling) and driving to church, S sheepishly arrives in the middle of Ward Council (of course they are talking about the youth when S arrives - Sharon's the YW Pres.).
8:30am - Ward Council ends, but S can't go home to help Robby get the kids ready for church because she's supposed to practice a song with the YW for the YW's sacrament program today.
9:00am - Church starts... no sign of Robby and the kids.
9:17am - Sacrament passing is over, and still no sign of Robby. So S steps out as the YW sacrament program is starting (S was not speaking) to use the hall phone to call home and see if they are still there. They are, and he is getting their shoes on. He says he will explain later.
9:45-10:10am - S sits in the meeting wondering when Robby and the kids will get here while doing her best to pay attention to the YW sacrament program. S can't leave to call them because it would look bad for the YW President to leave in the middle of the YW sacrament program.
10:12am - The meeting's over, so S borrows someone's cell because hers was dead to call Robby and see where he is. He's still home...
to be continued...
Robby
7:30am - Gets up with Sharon, and inadvertantly reminds her of her Ward Council meeting.
7:33am - Realizing he is going to have to get the family ready for church by himself and everyone is getting a late start, R goes to wake the kids and gets Little Robby to feed the girls while he goes to take a shave and take a shower.
8:02am - R realizes he has no clean white shirts. Picks one out and throws it into washer (after removing the load that never made it into the dryer).
8:21am - Getting girls dressed. Olivia reaches into her crib and pulls the lid off her sippy cup. This postpones dressing routine to get towel to soak up water that's on mattress, in trundle drawer, and in carpet.
8:33am - R back to dressing. Tights for Jenna, but can't find any for O. Poor girl--bare legs with an outdoor temperature of 35 degrees.
8:34am - R realizing he will not have time to run over with the kids to his office on campus to get the laptop Sharon needs to show some video clips for her YW lesson.
8:50am - R trying his best to comb J's hair. It's a tangled mess. Resorts to washing and conditioning her hair in the sink. Does his best to make a decent looking ponytail. Manages to avoid getting her dress wet.
9:03am - R pulls shirt out of the dryer. It is still a little damp, but he puts it on anyway. And finishes getting dressed
9:17am - Sharon calls to check on the family after the passing of the sacrament. R is putting on the girls shoes and about to walk out the door.
9:20am - R has ushered all the kids out the door and goes to stick the key in the ignition only to be greeted with the blaring of the car alarm. He tries to get the alarm to stop by locking and unlocking the car with his key and trying to start the car to no avail. (He has no key fob to undo the alarm because Sharon has it at church).
9:21am - R sends the kids back inside since it's freezing outside. Car alarm is going off and doesn't seem like it is going to stop. Finally it stops.
9:22am - R finally retreats to the house to wait for rescue, and the car alarm starts going off spontaneously again.
9:24am - After going on and off several times, the car alarm finally stops for good.
9:26am - R decides to let the kids watch "Mountain of the Lord" while they wait for Sharon (AKA - Mom) to come to the rescue.
10:12am - Sharon calls and finds her family stranded at the house. She leaves church to go rescue them.
10:17am - Sharon realizes that we still need to print Little Robby's talk that he gave earlier in the year because he has been asked to give it during the Primary Program, and they are having a practice today.
10:19am - Sharon arrives home and runs inside to print LR's talk while R gets the kids in the car.
10:23am - S can't find where LR saved his talk and tries searching various keywords to get it to come up.
10:35am - With R helping, we still can't find the talk, so S goes ahead and leaves for church with the kids.
10:44am - Finally R leaves for church after giving up on retrieving talk. Apparently LR didn't save it! LR will have to wing it today for the practice and write a new one for the PP next week.
10:45am - S is trying to figure out what to do because she planned her lesson in YW around several video clips she downloaded from the church website. She had been planning on using R's laptop, but because of everything he couldn't get it from his office at school. She remembers that one of the brothers in the ward often has his laptop.
10:49am - She finds him in the clerks office and he agrees to let her borrow it.
11:05am - S finally runs over start to YW a little late because it took a little while to get the laptop set up.
11:15am - YW opening exercises finish and she and the Laurels are about to break for class when the bishop walks in and says he is going to sit in on the lesson today.
11:18am - S sits down to teach and is a bit flustered after all the events of the morning. She is a little embarrassed to have the bishop there today of all days. She apologizes to the bishop if her lesson isn't stellar.
12:00pm - Class is over and S is relieved that the bishop came because he had lots of good insights to share throughout the lesson and things turned out great in the end.
Phew! Luckily the rest of our day was uneventful!
If you made it to the end of this post, pat yourself on the back!
(I'll try to take a few pictures before I post again.)
Sharon
7:30am - S wakes up suddenly after realizing that the alarm was turned off, and we should have gotten up 30 minutes earlier.
7:32am - Robby asks Sharon if she have any meetings today, and she suddenly remembers she's supposed to be at Ward Council this morning. The meeting starts at 7:30am.
7:45am - S is ready and walking out the door. S has Robby's keys and she's going to drive his car because he needs the car seats to get the kids to church. Sharon's keys have the key fob that can undo the alarm on my car so he needs it.
7:46am - There is a thick layer of frost over the whole car. Sharon's grumbling because she's late and she needs to clean the windows off. S sits in the car to turn it on so the heat can help melt the frost, but when S sticks the key in the ignition it bends, or rather twists, so it won't fit in the ignition anymore.
7:48am - More grumbling as S runs back in to get her keys because they have a key to Robby's car.
7:49am - With both keys in her hand, S unlocks her car with the key fob to undo the alarm (or so she thought) and then relock it with his keys. S then runs back in the house to drop his keys off.
8:00am - After scraping the frost of the car (while grumbling) and driving to church, S sheepishly arrives in the middle of Ward Council (of course they are talking about the youth when S arrives - Sharon's the YW Pres.).
8:30am - Ward Council ends, but S can't go home to help Robby get the kids ready for church because she's supposed to practice a song with the YW for the YW's sacrament program today.
9:00am - Church starts... no sign of Robby and the kids.
9:17am - Sacrament passing is over, and still no sign of Robby. So S steps out as the YW sacrament program is starting (S was not speaking) to use the hall phone to call home and see if they are still there. They are, and he is getting their shoes on. He says he will explain later.
9:45-10:10am - S sits in the meeting wondering when Robby and the kids will get here while doing her best to pay attention to the YW sacrament program. S can't leave to call them because it would look bad for the YW President to leave in the middle of the YW sacrament program.
10:12am - The meeting's over, so S borrows someone's cell because hers was dead to call Robby and see where he is. He's still home...
to be continued...
Robby
7:30am - Gets up with Sharon, and inadvertantly reminds her of her Ward Council meeting.
7:33am - Realizing he is going to have to get the family ready for church by himself and everyone is getting a late start, R goes to wake the kids and gets Little Robby to feed the girls while he goes to take a shave and take a shower.
8:02am - R realizes he has no clean white shirts. Picks one out and throws it into washer (after removing the load that never made it into the dryer).
8:21am - Getting girls dressed. Olivia reaches into her crib and pulls the lid off her sippy cup. This postpones dressing routine to get towel to soak up water that's on mattress, in trundle drawer, and in carpet.
8:33am - R back to dressing. Tights for Jenna, but can't find any for O. Poor girl--bare legs with an outdoor temperature of 35 degrees.
8:34am - R realizing he will not have time to run over with the kids to his office on campus to get the laptop Sharon needs to show some video clips for her YW lesson.
8:50am - R trying his best to comb J's hair. It's a tangled mess. Resorts to washing and conditioning her hair in the sink. Does his best to make a decent looking ponytail. Manages to avoid getting her dress wet.
9:03am - R pulls shirt out of the dryer. It is still a little damp, but he puts it on anyway. And finishes getting dressed
9:17am - Sharon calls to check on the family after the passing of the sacrament. R is putting on the girls shoes and about to walk out the door.
9:20am - R has ushered all the kids out the door and goes to stick the key in the ignition only to be greeted with the blaring of the car alarm. He tries to get the alarm to stop by locking and unlocking the car with his key and trying to start the car to no avail. (He has no key fob to undo the alarm because Sharon has it at church).
9:21am - R sends the kids back inside since it's freezing outside. Car alarm is going off and doesn't seem like it is going to stop. Finally it stops.
9:22am - R finally retreats to the house to wait for rescue, and the car alarm starts going off spontaneously again.
9:24am - After going on and off several times, the car alarm finally stops for good.
9:26am - R decides to let the kids watch "Mountain of the Lord" while they wait for Sharon (AKA - Mom) to come to the rescue.
10:12am - Sharon calls and finds her family stranded at the house. She leaves church to go rescue them.
10:17am - Sharon realizes that we still need to print Little Robby's talk that he gave earlier in the year because he has been asked to give it during the Primary Program, and they are having a practice today.
10:19am - Sharon arrives home and runs inside to print LR's talk while R gets the kids in the car.
10:23am - S can't find where LR saved his talk and tries searching various keywords to get it to come up.
10:35am - With R helping, we still can't find the talk, so S goes ahead and leaves for church with the kids.
10:44am - Finally R leaves for church after giving up on retrieving talk. Apparently LR didn't save it! LR will have to wing it today for the practice and write a new one for the PP next week.
10:45am - S is trying to figure out what to do because she planned her lesson in YW around several video clips she downloaded from the church website. She had been planning on using R's laptop, but because of everything he couldn't get it from his office at school. She remembers that one of the brothers in the ward often has his laptop.
10:49am - She finds him in the clerks office and he agrees to let her borrow it.
11:05am - S finally runs over start to YW a little late because it took a little while to get the laptop set up.
11:15am - YW opening exercises finish and she and the Laurels are about to break for class when the bishop walks in and says he is going to sit in on the lesson today.
11:18am - S sits down to teach and is a bit flustered after all the events of the morning. She is a little embarrassed to have the bishop there today of all days. She apologizes to the bishop if her lesson isn't stellar.
12:00pm - Class is over and S is relieved that the bishop came because he had lots of good insights to share throughout the lesson and things turned out great in the end.
Phew! Luckily the rest of our day was uneventful!
If you made it to the end of this post, pat yourself on the back!
(I'll try to take a few pictures before I post again.)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
So what's new...
So what's new for us... well, my eardrum ruptured Friday night. Let's just say, I now have a greater appreciation of the pain our children face when they have ear infections. Apparently, I had an ear infection, but was unaware of it until about 9pm Friday when I started feeling a great amount of pressure in my ear. Within an hour the pressure built up enough that my eardrum burst. Yes, I was just about screaming right before the pop. Afterward, I was very grateful that the pain subsided. Now I can't hear anything with my right ear except everything in my head (i.e. swallowing, chewing, jaw bone joint moving, oh, and a constant ringing in my ear). Saturday morning, I had a trip to the doctor where I was told that it was a large rupture, and I might need surgery to repair it. I won't tell you what the surgery entails because after reading about it, I hope the doctor is wrong and my eardrum heals on its own. In the meantime, talk into my left ear, otherwise I might have to ask you to repeat yourself.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Jenna wisdom...
Jenna says, "Guess what! When I eat my broccoli my hair gets bigger and bigger and goes to the ground!"
So I guess that's what we've been missing all along, feeding Olivia more broccoli!
So I guess that's what we've been missing all along, feeding Olivia more broccoli!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
What she will do for ice cream!
Jenna's taking soccer this season for the first time. She's on a team of cute little 4 yr-olds who run around in clumps chasing the ball from one end of the field to the other. The games are played 3-on-3, so there aren't a ton of kids on the field at one time. The first few games, Jenna wasn't very motivated to get after the ball (who would really, when the girls all crowd around it and kick each other in attempt to advance the ball?) Well, Robby, being the nice dad that he is, wanted to motivate her to get out there and go after the ball, so he promised ice cream for a goal. Guess what... It worked!
Here's our little scorer! She managed (very much to my surprise) to get control of the ball at midfield and take it all the way down the field uncontested to score a goal! I must admit that the other parents must have thought I had lost it when I started whooping and hollering. You would have thought Jenna had scored the winning goal at the state championship. Hey, I was proud of my baby! (You would have been too, if you had seen how she went from pansy-picker to one determined little soccer player.) Of course, right after she scored she turned toward me and exclaimed, "I get ice cream!" Unfortunately, dad missed it because he had to be at school that morning!
And here is Jenna's biggest fan!
And of course the celebratory ice cream!
Here's our little scorer! She managed (very much to my surprise) to get control of the ball at midfield and take it all the way down the field uncontested to score a goal! I must admit that the other parents must have thought I had lost it when I started whooping and hollering. You would have thought Jenna had scored the winning goal at the state championship. Hey, I was proud of my baby! (You would have been too, if you had seen how she went from pansy-picker to one determined little soccer player.) Of course, right after she scored she turned toward me and exclaimed, "I get ice cream!" Unfortunately, dad missed it because he had to be at school that morning! And here is Jenna's biggest fan!
And of course the celebratory ice cream!Sunday, August 30, 2009
Methinks a long winter cometh...
...especially after seeing Sharon and Roo take in much of Jenna's first soccer game...
The temperature: 60 degrees with a north wind of 10 mph.
If last year is indicative, we still have 90 degrees (!!) to drop.
Better break out the parkas.
Berry Blast!
The kids and I visited a local berry patch while Sharon was in NYC with family recently. They have many seasonal crops, but this time of year it's mainly blueberries.
The kids consumed so much in picking (you pay by the pound)...
...that I made sure to leave a big tip.
A delicious outing.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Random Moments
Here are some random moments from June...
I finally got a Bosch mixer!!!!! Hoo-ray!!!!
I finally got a Bosch mixer!!!!! Hoo-ray!!!!
Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit.
And we had a great Father's Day! (Or rather, Robby and my Dad - who happen to be visiting - had a great Father's Day!)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Moving In
I must admit that there are still many boxes around our place that are waiting to be unpacked. But here are some of our early unpacking adventures...
Eating seated on the kitchen floor since we didn't have room for our table to be set up with all the boxes around.
Playing on our new playset (or rather new-to-us playset since it came with the house)
Painting a couple rooms (3 more to go)
And enjoying the beautiful plants surrounding our house
There are more pictures for you to enjoy in the...
Moving In Album
(21 pictures - Click on the large picture to go through the slide show, or select a picture from the top menu)
Eating seated on the kitchen floor since we didn't have room for our table to be set up with all the boxes around.
Playing on our new playset (or rather new-to-us playset since it came with the house)
Painting a couple rooms (3 more to go)
And enjoying the beautiful plants surrounding our house
There are more pictures for you to enjoy in the...
Moving In Album
(21 pictures - Click on the large picture to go through the slide show, or select a picture from the top menu)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Our Forced Vacation
As many of you know, the house that we were renting in Indiana sold about a week and a half earlier than we were planning. We agreed to move out early so that our landlords could sell the house since we knew how much they wanted to sell it. Well, we also had about an additional half a week before our new house in Iowa would be available, so we told people we were "homeless" for two weeks. It was also known as our forced vacation. So here's what we did...
We stopped in Michigan on our drive (just so we could say we had been to Michigan).
We stopped at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago two days in a row to check it out.
One of our favorite exhibits was the SmartHouse. A model home that is built with all the latest technologies to make it energy efficient. There was some cool stuff there. Like a prototype for a remote controlled snow shovel! That's my kind of snow shovel! You sit inside sipping your hot cocoa while steering the thing from your window! Too bad it's only a prototype right now.
We checked out the SmartHouse garden...
played in the Museum
and watched some chicks hatch!
And then on the way to Iowa we swung through the very edge of Wisconsin, so we could say we had been there, too.
To see more fun vacation pics click on this album...
Our Forced Vacation Album
(28 Pictures - click on the big picture to flip through each one or select one from the top of the page)
We stopped in Michigan on our drive (just so we could say we had been to Michigan).
We stopped at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago two days in a row to check it out.
One of our favorite exhibits was the SmartHouse. A model home that is built with all the latest technologies to make it energy efficient. There was some cool stuff there. Like a prototype for a remote controlled snow shovel! That's my kind of snow shovel! You sit inside sipping your hot cocoa while steering the thing from your window! Too bad it's only a prototype right now.
We checked out the SmartHouse garden...
played in the Museum
and watched some chicks hatch!
And then on the way to Iowa we swung through the very edge of Wisconsin, so we could say we had been there, too.To see more fun vacation pics click on this album...
Our Forced Vacation Album
(28 Pictures - click on the big picture to flip through each one or select one from the top of the page)
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