Travel to/from Iowa

Traveling to and from Iowa, our kids experienced some firsts! We love when we discover that they've never done something or remember it from when they were younger. So here are some experiences we had over the weekend!


First time up close to one of these wind mills. We've seen fields of them on our way to Wisconsin every year, but never realized how big they really were until this trip. First time being able to touch the roof of a parking garage! I thought the top of our explorer was going to scrap!

Here we are crossing the Mississippi River. Scott and Annabelle have never been west of Illinois! They could not believe how wide the River was. Impressive bridge too!

Here we are at the World's Largest Truckstop in Davenport, Iowa! We stopped both on the way to Des Moines and on the way home. The kids thought it was amazing. Several restaurants inside to choose from, an arcade, gift shop, quick mart, nicest bathrooms we've ever seen at any stop and of course BP gasoline! We were amazed what a difference a day makes. On Saturday there were not so many people at the stop, but on our way home on Sunday - Wow, we had to wait a while in lines before we could even order our food! There were loads of people and groups of kids.

All in all our trip to DesMoines was a good one. Wish we could of spent more time there. Very nice people and a very clean city.

Dr. Catherine Brackin

We are proud to introduce to you, our niece, Catherine Brackin, PharmD.

Catie with her folks and grandparents after the hooding ceremony. We are so proud of Catie. She spent the last 6 years at Drake University in Iowa, studying hard to be a pharmacist. She's accepted a position in Madison Wisconsin - I believe at a hospital, where she will continue her studies. She must like school! :)

We took the kids with us to Des Moines and they really enjoyed the graduation and the celebrations that followed. This family knows how to party! :D We partied in the hotel before going to dinner and some partied after dinner so more! As for me, I went to bed, I was tired and so were our kids who were falling asleep at the restaurant.

It was a very nice quick ceremony - 1 hour! Who knows maybe Drake in in the future of one of these bright minds! (Okay, maybe not - too much $$$) :)

Who knew addition!

So when the kids cleaned their rooms, they did their closets too! Scott even labeled the drawers under his desk, so he would keep it organized! The kids are at a great age. They are always thinking and sharing their thinking processes. It's neat to experience them a individuals, because they process information very differently and find their own path to the same end result. It's fascinating to me!

Of course, now that I see the two closets in photos, I just realized that Scott still has the access panel to the attic painted like a window from when they were kids and the smaller closet was "Arthur's Tree House". Yes, the area that is now his desk was once a double wide closet like Annabelle's but boys don't need so much closet space so we made it into a desk area. It works out great for homework but especially for Lego building!

Here's our pile of stuff to get ride of. We had hoped to add our things to Aunt Paula's garage sale, but we may not be able to make the date. Looks like we might have to have our own mini-one!

Who knew?

Who knew that an alarm clock and a lamp could result in clean rooms?

It all started actually with Annabelle wanting a new lamp for her room. She use to have a hanging lamp from my childhood room above her desk. Not her taste to say the least. She really wanted this lamp base she saw at Target. I wasn't sold on the idea, so ask her to keep it in mind while we go and look at Lowe's. Yes, I admit I was hoping she would find a different base. I just kept thinking the furniture in her room is black, cream and cherrywood. Yes, it's a hodge pod of hand me downs with one new desk! She was bummed when I said let's look at Lowe's, so I promised her that if they didn't have anything she liked we would return to Target that same day and get her lamp. So we went to Lowe's. Sure enough, not a single lamp base appealed to her, but a shade caught her eye. I agreed and so we bought the shade and went to Target to pick up the base.

So we were home and I said I would love to place this lamp on your desk, however it's covered with your things and I can't walk safely into your room. I would hate to break your new lamp. Clean your room and we will place the lamp inside. With a smile, Annabelle said no problem, will you help me organize? You know me, I was kiddy with excitement and off to work we went. She was awesome. She didn't just pick up her room. She even cleaned out her closet and drawers! (Opps I didn't take pictures of the super organized closet!) This event took a good 4 hours. I was sure to let her sort and I only helped organize and kept the project on track. We had fun! Once we were done, the lamp was placed and to my surprise, it looks great in her room. The fabrics in her room have a golden brown color the same as the lamp! I am so proud of her decorating skills.

So, poor Scott, the following weekend I said it's your turn, Dude, time to clean that room of yours. He agreed only if I would take him to Game Stop and Annabelle would help. We agreed and boy, did she ever a big help. I let the two of them go at it for an hour before I stepped in. I was annoyed that nothing looked done, because Scott was playing with his stuff while Annabelle was trying to sort out the mess. So we were off, three of us sorting Scott's books, Legos (Legos everywhere!), Nerf guns, etc. It took 5 hours. Annabelle dusted everything and then Scott asked if he could get a new alarm clock. I asked why, since he has one. He stated because it's a "Little Tikes" alarm clock! We all busted out laughing and I was in tears. I apologized that I never realized that my 7th grader had his preschool clock still! So sure enough after the promised stop to Game Stop, where Scott and Annabelle spent their own money, we stopped in to Target for a new alarm clock for Scott. We got home and we realized we made a lucky choice with the clock since the digits glow blue which matches his room!

So these pictures where taken this morning. Yes, three weeks after Annabelle cleaned her room and a two weeks after Scott cleaned his. I'm really proud that my kids have a sense of pride to keep their rooms clean and now organized! It's amazing how grown they have become.

Now off to take some pictures of their clean closets and the pile of stuff we got out of their rooms for a garage sale! Might as well make some ching on the mess we worked so hard at getting rid of! :)

Spring!

It's been a while. I've no real excuse other than I've not been blogging lately. So for those interested, I will do a quick update on events.

1. Mark finally has a permanent job with the Village of Bradley, IL. Yay! Again, as a Finance Director/Treasurer. He seems to really like it there, so far.

2. Scott and Annabelle both made first honors the second trimester. :)

3. Scott did great in his first play as Smil'n Bob. A part in "Gumshoe High", where he never smiles!

4. Scott's been very busy with Scholastic Bowl and the Mathletes team. We are so proud.

5. Annabelle started to learn guitar from Dad. Then she stopped two weeks later. :(

6. Scott has signed up for football. (Yes, we sign up for fall sports early around here!)

7. Mojo, still barks and whines at any dog he sees.He has improved some, but needs to work on his listening skills.

8. I'm taking my college placement test Thursday this week. I'm not looking forward to it.

9. I got new tires on my Explorer Truck today!!!!

10. The whole family had the stomach flu last week, but me. They all lost several pounds and I, the one who needed to lose weight, did not get it. I'm bummed.

So spring is here. I've gotten my first dose of fertilizer plus weed killer down and now need to mow the lawn. So my favorite hobby of yard work begins. I like being outside. Must be from all those times my mom would say "Go outside and play". Happy to see green and my magnolia bush blooming again!

Annabelle and Mojo Birthday

Annabelle and Mojo share the same birthday. Annabelle turned 11 and Mojo 2. Annabelle insists that Mojo's birthday be celebrated with hers. She loves her dog. It's fun to have the cousins get together and to see them get so excited about birthday candles. Seth wasn't to sure about the candles, but he sure had a blast playing with Annabelle's toys. No worry, men. He played with a mototcycle and a vet van. He drove them many feet using knee power!

Winter 2010

There are bigger hills around, but this hill works out great for us as parents. It's right behind our home so the kids can go on their own and I can watch from inside a warm house. The kids have fun going and they don't seem to really care that the hill is 4 times shorter than any other hill they could go on in our neighborhood. It's pretty much always available and they swear it's a longer ride than it looks on film!