ALASKA or BUST!!!

Yep, you read that right! Mark and I are headed to Alaska!!! I have been meaning to blog about it for weeks now. Maybe months. But somehow my cutie girls keep taking priority:)
Now the tickets are bought and paid for , and cutie girls or not, my even cuter husband and I are going on a 10 day date.
Yep, you read that right, too:)
Jason and Shari Huffey are moving in for the next 10 days to have a rockin' good time with Isabella and Lisi.
And we are SO grateful for them! They have done this for us before, and now the girls beg for Mark and I to go on vacation:) Shari takes the week off work and does the whole stay at home Mom/ Mom's Group thing, and the 2 of them just play with the girls non-stop. Jason and Shari say they have a great time, and they keep coming back, so I have to say that it is a win-win-win for us all:)
You can check out our itinerary here.
And if the Internet connection is good, I will keep current with my blog. If not, I'll catch up with everyone mid-July!

Birthday Hint

I am just going to be bold, well, because this is my blog and I can! I just finished helping Pastor Lori get ready for Jordan Creek Family Church Backyard Adventures for KIDS by cutting out 90 circles for a craft project. You know how I love doing things like that. My spiritual gift IS in paper:) And thankfully I had my handy-dandy Sizzix machine. But now there is this super-cool Cricut machine that will even doing the cutting. It is just so cool. And Isabella is going into Kindergarten in the Fall, and I have wanted to be a homeroom mom and do all of the fun cutting and crafting since she was born:)
This this is my big birthday hint: I would love $$$ toward buying a Cricut machine:)
And I promise that I will share it with all my friends!!!

Good-Bye, Good Friends

Wasn't that the title of a post just a couple of weeks ago??? Same title, different good friends. Winston and his Mom, Jen, are officially headed to Colorado. Winston has been staying with us again while Jen did her final packing, cleaning, and loading up of possessions from here and Illinois. She and her parents came over this afternoon, with U Haul and car ready to go!, got Winston, and they were off. I tried to kidnap Winston with no ransom, but it did not work. Jen was not about to let him stay behind. It was been our pleasure getting to know both of you! We will miss you, but wish you all the best in Colorado!!!


Jen getting ready to go


Winston getting ready to go


Final good byes for Isabella and Lisi

PLANTY

This post makes me think of Mr Randy. Isabella's naming system for stuffed animals, imaginary pets, and, well, plants, gives him a chuckle. And honestly, I love seeing Mr Randy get a chuckle:) But this post is about "Planty", the sunflower that Isabella planted as a seed in a plastic cup in pre-school this year. When Planty had clearly outgrown his cup, Grammy added him to the beautiful plants she gave me for Mother's Day in our outdoor planters.


Planty is in this planter, in the front corner closest to Lisi and I.

We decided on the best place to re-plant Planty so we could continue to watch him grow. (Wintston has been with us again this weekend. He goes home Monday morning...and when I say 'home', I mean his and Jen's NEW home in Colorado. Man are we going to miss both of them!!!)

You can see how Planty has thrived among the other plants!

Isabella with Planty in his new home. The little patch of grass next to planty is Lisi's 'hairy' that she planted in her pre-school class. Amazingly, both have flourished up to this point!

St Louis in photos

dinner @ Eddie & Lisa's home...delicious, as always!

"Little P von D" & Isabella 'voguing' for the camera

Lisi & "Big Guy" as Lisi has taken to calling Logan

Lisi & Isabella asleep in the bed that we ALL share (by their choice)

Lisi totally happy playing in the sand @ The Magic House

more photos

The Greats, Lisi & Isabella on their 62nd Wedding Anniversary

Grandma, Amy & Grandpa (Isabella took this picture)

Lisa, Grandpa, Grandma, & Kah @ dinner on The Hill

and while we dined, ALL the kids slept @ Lisa & Eddie's

Paige & Isabella @ The Magic House sand castles

Lisi

This morning, as I am frantically packing up the Suburban to drive back home, Lisi says, "God told me that when ice melts it turns to water. Yep, that is what God told me right after he made me."

Amazing the Blessings

Just a bunch of miscellaneous updates:
*Jill continues to do really well! Yesterday she was sitting up, and was able to carry on a conversation. After I left the hospital I realized that any time I have seen her for the past 5 years, the girls have been with me. It was really nice to just have time to chat with her. Amazing the blessings of modern medicine.
*If Mark were here, I think the girls could move to St Louis. They are having SUCH a great time! Yesterday they went to The Magic House with Lisa, Will, Annie and Paige. Lisa took pix that I will post when we are home. Isabella is still not believing that I went to The Magic House when I was a kid:) Amazing the blessings of making memories.
*Auntie Kah's house is BEAUTIFUL! Amazing the blessings that can come out of a flood:)
*Tyler likes his new job laying floors...and the new muscles that come with hammering out the old concrete. Amazing the blessings that come out of manual labor (hee,hee,hee)
*The Greats have been married for 62 years + 2 days. And I am not sure they have ever gone an entire day with only the 2 of them in their home. Amazing the blessings that come from family.
*The girls are awake and asking to go to "The Bagel Shop". Amazing the blessings of traditions...like going to Einstein Bagels on Manchester in our pajamas. We have even made friends with the 'regulars'!
*Today we are going home. Amazing the blessings of a wonderful husband and dad who trumps all St Louis blessings!!!

words to live by

"BE CAREFUL HOW YOU LIVE. YOU MAY BE THE ONLY BIBLE SOME PEOPLE WILL EVER READ!"

Happy Anniversary to The Greats!

Today is my Grandparent's 62nd Wedding Anniversary. How cool is THAT??? I will post a picture when I am home and back on my own computer. They are both so amazing, and at the top of the list of why I love coming to St Louis.
Happy Anniversary Great Grandma Dinosaur and Great Grandpa Lowe~ we love you!!!

Prayer

Thank you for all of your prayers. They have been answered, and my step-mom, Jill, is doing very well. She did have major surgery, but all went 'best case scenario', and her recovery should go without incident.

St Louis or BUST!

Well, it is 8am, and the girls and I (and by that, I mean "I") are packing our bags, and the car, and getting ready to head to St Louis. Those of you who know me at all know that I love being there, but this time it is out of necessity. My step-mom, Jill, is having surgery tomorrow. I will have more details then. Please pray for her. She has several extenuating circumstances that make surgery more risky than usual. When I called to tell her that the girls and I would be there to see her before surgery, and would be staying for the week, she sounded so happy. Today is also her birthday. The girls wanted to pick their own gifts for her. Because Jill has a passion for building and furnishing doll houses, the girls decided on pets for the doll house community. Isabella picked out a lovely sheep.
Lisi got her a monkey.
Enough saidY

Pony Pix

When we started this 'horse experience' a few weeks ago, I clearly said to Megan, the instructor, (and myself) that there was no showing a horse or buying a horse in our future. And Megan and I were both good with that! ...until I saw Isabella ride. Oh my goodness. This is a fun experience for Lisi, and for that I am thrilled. My "don't let that animal (dog, cat, bird, horse) get close to me" girl is totally comfortable atop a horse, and even getting good with the barn cats that wander around. And that is such a good thing. But Isabella. Oh my goodness. She looks more comfortable and at ease on that horse than she does on her own two legs. Can you tell that I am a proud Momma???
My dear friend, Melinda, who is herself an 'equine mom', gave me full disclosure of what our future WOULD hold. She did not say, "if Isabella likes it, you might someday own a horse and go to an occasional show". What she said was You will eventually have to buy, house and feed at least one animal, along with vet bills and farriers. You will be driving back and forth to the barn a lot - daily, if you have her take care of her own animal, in lieu of paying the boarder to handle it for you. There might be a horse trailer in your future or even your own barn (and all the stuff that goes along with that). It has been wonderful for Maddie - don't get me wrong - but I just want you to be fully aware of what you might be getting yourself in to. (18 May 2007) Now, in all fairness, she did also recommend that we start by having a cat in our family before we bring in a horse. But you get the idea.
I especially love the picture of Isabella taking the lead with Lisi on Frisky. So totally at ease.

Good-Bye, Good Friends

As quickly as Rhys, Lindsay and Michael moved into our lives, they are moving out. Literally. Moving to Omaha.
Who moves to Omaha??? Guess someone who is from there:)
And I know that their family and friends from back home are SO glad to be getting them back. Our loss is definitely Omaha's gain. But man, oh, man, are we going to MISS them!!! All I can say is to keep the pictures and the stories coming, and know that you are welcome any time!!! Oh, and that I will gladly drive to Omaha to pick up Rhys and keep her for as long as you likeY

Things I Have Learned From Favorite Cousin Heather

• Saran Wrap is not an appropriate food cover in the oven
• Kung Fu Fighting is a great song to dance to
• IQ goes up by 50% when blonde haircolor decreases (this was Mark's addition, not mine!)
• Barry Manilow IS why someone should go to VEGAS!
• "If you want to go to Italy, GO."
• jicama is in her recipes, but not found at Dahl's Grocery in West Des Moines
• pink is her signature color
• friends stand behind friends when they boycott Target & Wal Mart (am I forgetting any???)
  
• "Booger" can be used as a term of endearment for your stinkin' cute daughter
• it is good to marry 'tall, dark and handsome'
  
• water towers are not for climbing
• flags of a foreign country are not appropriate evening attire
• if you don't ask Heather to be a bridesmaid, watch out!
• "not so much"
• it is possible to be related, and great friends
• a good MIL will spend a day and stand in line to buy you an "I'm Not A Plastic Bag"
  
• it is good to be a great gift giver (hint, hint...my favorite cousin who is 1 month and 1 day older than me!)
• everything is worth photographing...especially if her name is "Booger" (hee,hee,hee)

But most importantly, and this is Isabella's addition to Heather's birthday blog,
"Happy Birthday Favorite Cousin Heather!!!"

Free Stuff!!!

I love a good deal, but free stuff is even better...and today I got these shoes for FREE!!! I just cannot even begin to tell you how that rocked my world!!! (As Dara said, she is glad to know that people really do win in the 'store drawings'.) I am not exactly sure what I am doing to be living so right, but I am going to figure it out, and keep it up!!!

KIDS!

I love this Mom-gig. And this summer just keeps going up on the fun factor. The girls and I picked up Rhys this morning, and then the Cecil clan joined us for hours of playing...ride on toys, horses and Dora, a picnic lunch, and swings and the 'rocket slide'. And as if it could get any better...the weather was in the mid 70s with a slight breeze. Simply lovely.

This Weekend Has Been Too Much Fun

Isabella's Game~ Ultimate Frisbee!!!

When Alex stopped by last night, he took out his frisbee to give the girls a little lesson. And much to our surprise, and delight!, Isabella is a natural at FRISBEE!!! Alex is captain of his summer ultimate frisbee team, and he said that Isabella is better than 90% of the people he plays with ~ way to go, Idaho! Isabella is usually content to sit on the couch and watch TV. So when she showed such a clear passion for horses, we took her to learn about horses. And having Winston here for a few days has been GREAT, and Isabella is all excited to take him for walks. Love That! But frisbee?!? Would have never guessed that one! She has an excellent flick of the wrist, and even got pretty good at catching. Can you tell that we are just super proud of her?!? So last night I asked her where she was going to go to college, and she said, "with Herky"! And then I asked her what she was going to do at college, and she said, "play frisbee"! Just what every parent wants to hear:)

ALEX

Alex is spending this summer in Iowa City, and we are NOT getting to see enough of him. But he did stop by for a few minutes last night, and it was just fun. But isn't it always with Alex???