Tying Up Loose Ends

Hello friends,

I am able to write today, I have been working endlessly it seems on helping Kyle prepare his English portfolio.  Hooray it was due today, so I have time while working to blog.  It seems odd, that this time next week I'll be moving back to Illinois.  I never would have expected to be moving back so soon, but I am truly glad to be doing so.  We've had a nice time in Missouri, but for me there really is no place like home with my family.  I love it, I never in a million years thought I would be so happy to be going back to Delavan, but I am!  I always thought I would prefer the city to the small town and I actually do, but I prefer family to the city, so small town it is.  I think at heart I'll always love the city, but I can always visit and get my fix.  Living close to family is what we want more.  Kyle is even excited about the move, he keeps me updated to the exact number of days until moving day.  I am so glad he's still happy with our decision to move.  I would be so bummed if he was not excited and was regretting it.  He's just so great, I am really blessed to have such a wonderful, sweet hubster.  

Speaking of my super amazing hubby, this Sunday is our 1 year anniversary!  Can you believe it?  I can't, the time went so fast, I can remember stressing over all the details for the wedding like it was yesterday, and it has been a whole year already!  Time goes so fast!  I'm still shocked and it's my own life.  

So, back to moving, it's exciting but there is so much to do too.  Luckily, I started packing up our little apartment early, but I still feel like there's so much more to do.  I thought the packing process would take no time at all, but we have managed to pack our little home full, not hoarders style or anything, but I am not sure how I've filled so many boxes already.  PLUS, where did all the stuff in the boxes come from AND how did it all fit in our tiny home?  Those are my main questions as I pack... I have to be clear though, our house wasn't a messy or out of order home.  It's not cluttered or unorganized.  It was nice and neat, almost always.  This is why I am shocked at the amount of stuff that is in our little place....this is me still talking about something I've already talked about, but that's how it is.  I just don't understand how we have so much stuff!

Well, I think I blogged about how we were able to finish all of our Christmas shopping on Black Friday.  Well, I don't know if this is true anymore.  Actually I know it isn't.  First of all, Cole's gift we bought for him, he got for his birthday, so now Kyle get's it, and we have to find something new for Cole.  Person #1 to re-buy for.  Yesterday, Denetta's gift came in the mail, well online I thought I liked it and we thought she would like it, but now that I'm seeing it in person, I'm just not sure.  So, I'm returning it and that makes Person #2 to re-buy for.  Then I thought we were going to have to re-buy for my mom, but she said not to.  So, the story is, new bathroom towels were on her Christmas list, so that's what we decided to get her.  Well, yesterday she told me that she got new bathroom towels the day before.  Ugh.  After I told her, she then revealed it was only for one bathroom, so she can have new towels in the other bathroom now.  So, person #3 to re-buy for was cancelled, so we only have 2 to buy for again.  But I we're so busy right now preparing for the move that shopping wasn't in my plan for the week before we move.  Now it is, especially since we have Christmas with the Nelsons on Saturday.  Yikes, I better get shopping!  Just not today, maybe tomorrow.

We also had our first sticking snow here in Missouri yesterday.  I believe it snowed more last night too.  Winter is officially here.  I think our days of 70's are gone for now, and we'll have to wait for Spring.

What have you been up to lately?  Is it snowing where you live?  Are you finished with your shopping?

Well,  that's all for now!  Cheers!

Welcome December!

Well, it has been a very long time since the last time I blogged.  Tis' the season...Since the last time SO much has happened!  I cannot even begin to fill in all the lost time, so I'm going to pretend like everyone's all caught up and just focus on the NOW and FUTURE.
December is a great month, full of fun, friends, and family.  I love spending time together and being with people I love.  December is THE month in my opinion.  It's the month I was born, plus Christmas, and my anniversary!  It's going to be a great month, AND on top of all those great things, we are also moving back to Illinois!  I am so excited!  I can't believe it's happening.
Anyways, we have been very busy.  It's been crazy.  I have to touch on this, because it was such a stick out thing for us in November, the week before Thanksgiving Kyle and I babysat for his cousins while they went to LA.  We were pretend parents for 3 whole days.  It was fun, I can definitely see my future looking similar to my 3 days with the kiddos.  I was getting up in the night, putting kids to bed, making dinner with kids playing around me in the kitchen, it was just fun and tiring at the same time.  I'm glad God gives us babies to start out with and then toddlers and not both at the same time :)  But if that's how it was, I would adjust.
So, tonight we are having dinner with our friends Becca, Jon, and Baby Asher.  Tomorrow Kyle has drill, and Sunday is his Army Christmas Party.  Sunday evening we are celebrating his brother, Cody's birthday.  We have a busy weekend ahead of us.  Plus we're packing and cleaning for a move, AND life in general is just crazy this time of year.
Next week is finals week for Kyle and my last week of work.  I can't believe everything is happening so fast! Less than 2 weeks from now and we're moving to Illinois!  I can't wait to get there and get our home out of boxes!
This blog is all over the place, but that's just how my mind is working these days.  Today we had to run some errands like change the oil, Kyle needed a hair cut, and I needed to get stamps.  BUT I forgot the stamps.  We also had to take back our Keurig coffee maker, because it stopped brewing full cups of coffee.  It had been almost a year ago that we bought it, and Macy's took it back no questions asked.  It was the easiest exchange I have ever done.  I was very impressed!
That's all I can think of and have time for now.
Cheers until next time!

I can't think of anything to title this...

Well folks, November is here.  I can't believe how fast time is going!  It's hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner.  So much is going on with us right now, but it's not very interesting. I've been listening to Christmas music since November 1st, BUT all our Christmas radio stations are gone :(  So it's Pandora and cds for this girl.  

Anyways, this Thursday we're going to Illinois to see my family and look at our house we'll be moving to in just over a month!  I am VERY excited!  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I can't wait to live in Delavan again!  I never thought the day would come when I'd be excited to be back....weird huh?  How we change over time, especially ME, leaving the city I've been longing for all my life that I lived in the small town, NOW wanting it again.  Don't get me wrong, I love the city, I just realize that I love my family and friends more than the city.  I can always get my city fixes, but it's better to have my besties and family around all the time!  Needless to say, I am ecstatic! 

When we come back from the weekend in Illinois, we are babysitting for Luke and Alana from Sunday night to Wednesday night.  We're excited, but we are going to go from no babies to 2 babies 2 and under.  Whoa, good thing we have a little practice.  It should be fun though!  It will be like a little glimpse into our could be future.  Like playing house :)

More big events coming up, both of our birthdays are coming up.  Kyle's is November 21st and mine the 24th of December, I know it seems far, but we're celebrating them here in two weeks.  I don't want to hurry my birthday at all, I am feeling old already.  I don't need to get any older, I'll wait for Kyle to catch up or pass me a little perhaps...  We are also approaching the 1 year anniversary of marriage.  I can't believe we've been married close to a year.  This time last year I was going crazy with finishing touches for the wedding.  I am SO glad that is over.  I loved planning my wedding and LOVED the day, but I am VERY thankful to never do that again!  I am looking forward to busting out our delicious cake and sharing it with Kyle, he says hes not a cake guy, so maybe I'll just have to enjoy it all myself :) 

Before Christmas comes, we have to celebrate Thanksgiving.  I feel like it's a little forgotten with all the hype of Christmas, but I do love Thanksgiving.  We're having it at Damara's this year.  It's the first time she's hosting it for the family I guess. I know her desserts sound wonderful, she was telling me about them after she ordered them, apple cider cream pie and some kind of caramel apple cheesecake. YUM!  

Weather wise, we've had a couple of rainy yucky days in a row and I am not loving it.  It makes me tired, especially with the time change.  Whoa darkness always.  Oh well, the forecast says sunny tomorrow through the weekend, so that will be nice.

Side note, we were watching the Bears game last night, and you may not know this about me, but I LOVE the bears.  I may not obsess over them, facebook about them like it's my job, or anything that would clue you in on my love for them, but I do.  I love the Bears, winning or losing.  I also absolutely adore Lovie Smith.

For some reason that man is one of my favorite Bears.

But numero uno is Robbie Gould.  He is just so dependable in the game.

I love him.  He's my favorite.  

  

Ok, that's all for now.  Cheers until next time!

Feeling Fall.

Well Fall is definitely back.  Earlier this week the days were quite warm, in the upper 80s!  Can you believe it?  Now we're back to normal 60ish Fall days.
I had a nice dinner with all the girls on our side of our building.  It was a lot of fun, I made Chicken Florentine and pasta, another girl brought wine, and another brought a delicious pound cake with blackberry filling and lemon butter cream icing.  Yum.  Last night Kyle and I did papa murphys for dinner.  It was delicious!  After dinner I baked cookies and we went to help his friend Alex, who is an RA at Kyle's school, decorate his hallway for Halloween.  He had some of his guys from his floor helping him, but decorations were limited and his guys are definitely not very creative :)
This weekend we're quite busy.  Today, the Sun kids have no school, so Kyle and I have spent our Friday with G and his friend Parker.  Olivia is out with a friend and will be home later.  They still have piano lessons though...they are both sad about it.  Tonight we're going with Kyle's parents and some friends to the comedy club, we've been once before with them and it was fun.  I don't know who is going to be there tonight for entertainment, I whoever it is is funny.  Saturday Kyle works, and Sunday is church.  We are supposed to hang out with the Schillings afterwards, but I'm not sure what we'll be doing.  Monday we are going to Monday Night Football with Kyle's friend Luke and his wife.  We are dressing up, Kyle is going to be a penguin and I am going to be a present.  I've been working on my costume this week, and I think it's going to be pretty cute for a less than $5 costume :)  I am worried about being cold though, it's been getting so cold at night and I am good at being cold.  Next weekend, Kyle has drill, so I'm glad we're going to have a fun weekend this weekend.  Time is going so fast, before we know it it will be time to move!  This week has gone fast!
I guess that's all for now.  Cheers!

Sunday Funday!

Well we sure had a great Sunday.  After church we went to lunch and picked up pumpkins.  We carved them while watching football.  I made seeds, there were tons of them, and also made a yummy dinner and dessert!  This mainly a photo post....so enjoy!

Cutting into our pumpkins!

They were tough

Making progress

Opening up the first pumpkin

Lots of goo

Lots of seeds

Tons actually

getting ready to bake them

Scraping our pumpkins insides...Yuck

Kyle's pumpkin all lit up

both of our pumpkins

They look so scary!

We also got matching shoes over the weekend

I baked apple pie

Kyle ate the apple pie :)

These were all his poses :)

He did enjoy it though

Happy Fall! Cheers until next time!

Lazy Saturday.

I cannot remember the last lazy Saturday we've had.  This is the first in a long time.  We have been in our pjs all morning.  I made breakfast, and we have just been relaxing.  Kyle's been watching all the college games this afternoon, and I've been kind of joining in.  But I've also been doing other things, so I don't feel truly lazy because I made breakfast, have been doing laundry, dishes, and vacuuming, but the fact that I've been in my pjs this long and haven't left my house makes me feel like it's a lazy day.  It's a bit cloudy out and we've been so busy, that it was just what we needed today.  My house is clean, dishes are done, candles are burning, and everything is just done.  I know it's not going to feel like this for long, so I'm enjoying it now.  I also had time to paint my nails. :)  I wish Kyle wasn't leaving for work soon, oh well I guess.  Life.  I hope all of your Saturdays have been as enjoyable!  Spend time with the people who you love!  Cheers until next time!

Boy do I have news for you.

Hello Blog world.  It feels like it's been forever since I've sat down to write anything.  To be honest I can't remember the last time I was on here, but I also am unable to remember what happened last Wednesday....Sooo that's that.  Well, I just checked an the last blog was October 8th.  That's not so long ago, but in my world, it seems like it.

We've been so busy lately, I cannot even explain it.  Since so much has happened since the 8th, I'll try to bring you up to speed on what's going on in our life, and what's going to happen to the best of my knowledge.  Well we are doing great, busier than ever, but things are good.  I am not prego, in case you were thinking that was my news, it's not.  Hopefully someday I will be blogging about that, but not right now.  My wonderful news is that Kyle and I are moving back to Illinois December 15, 2011!  We are so excited!  I cannot wait to be close to my family again!  I am also really excited to be closer to a lot of old friends!  Woo!

Well that's all I really know about that.

Anyways, we went to Illinois for a few days last week/weekend.  It was really nice to be there, but it was just about the most exhausting weekend of my life.  We arrived on Thursday around noon, and didn't stop going until we left on Monday evening.  We had 2 weddings and a funeral.  It was a very emotional weekend, and extremely busy, I can't emphasize it enough.  Thursday we drove up early, then visited with JoAnn's family after her passing away that morning, then I had a hair appointment that evening, plus we shopped for Dad and me.  Then Friday I went to the doctor, mom and I had to run some more errands for I don't even remember, then we had a wedding rehearsal to go to, plus help decorating.  Saturday we ran around like crazy people looking for doughnuts and then at 9 I started working on Amber, Haley, and Sherry's hair and make up for Faith's wedding.  I finished around 1:45 and we were supposed to be at the wedding at 2:30 for the 3 o'clock wedding.  Let's just say I took the fastest shower ever and got ready in record time!  I was there and ready to send people down the isle at the right times.....right after Faith's wedding at 3pm Saturday, we drove across town to Geana's for Shawna's 4om wedding.  It was a beautiful outdoor wedding, and after her wedding we went to Faith's reception, and then back for Shawna's reception, and finally back to Faith's.  Saturday night we also helped clear out the reception hall for Faith's and get the church back in order for Sunday.  Sunday we had church, went to get flowers for JoAnn's visitation/ funeral, and had her visitation Sunday night.  We also set up for the dinner that would be after the funeral on Monday.  Monday Kyle and I had to be in Morton at 8:30 to drop Sophie off with Pam while we were at the funeral, and we had to pick up the chicken for the dinner.  It was supposed to be ready at 9 but it wasn't until 9:15, then we had to drive back to Delavan.  I was worried we would be late, but got there about 10 minutes before hand.  It was a very tearful funeral service, but we know she's in a better place and we'll see her again.  Kyle and I left for home around 5 and it rained continually the whole way back to Missouri.  It seemed like the longest trip ever.  We were so thankful to be home.

Tuesday and today, I've been hanging out with our neighbors.  Last night I enjoyed a nice glass of wine with 3 of the girls that live on our side of the building, and tonight one of them rescued a lost cat...it's been a fun few days.  I'm still so wiped out from the weekend, plus I had to work late tonight.  I'd say it's time for this girl to call it a night.

Until next time, Cheers!

Fall Blooms.

Well the trees are changing and everywhere around us is so pretty.  The drive home from work is always my favorite.  The sun is shinning on all the beautiful trees on both side of the highway I drive home on.  It's so pretty!  I've been trying to figure out this camera, and I've been playing with it a lot more lately.  It isn't the typical pocket, point and shoot digital camera, it's a figure out all the meanings of all the buttons and all the other features kind of camera.  I've been reading blogs to figure it out, but I think I should ultimately take a class. But I like playing with it, and figuring things out.  So I have some pictures of things to post tonight :)

Even though it is Fall and I thought my summer flowers should be dying, they aren't I have had some NEW beautiful flowers bloom this week!

My pretty little flower and another beginning to bloom next to it!

Both flowers, there is another yellow one, but I didn't take a picture of it

I also bought a beautiful mum at the market last week.  It's so pretty and has so many flowers getting ready to bloom, I can't wait!

On Thursday, Kyle and I went to Loose Park, a park down town that is huge and wonderful, so I could try to take pictures of all the Fall happening there.  Kyle was my model :)  He wasn't a cooperative one though.  I need Sophie...She loves getting her picture taken, she's just not the best at making the right faces.

In the car, waiting to pick the kids up from tennis

He hit the tree with a walnut and was celebrating.  It's my favorite from the day.

The trees at the park, they were so pretty!

Kyle wanted to be photographer, but I didn't want my picture taken, so this is the best photo he got that day.  Maybe another time.
Today we ran errands, and ran into the Sun family at HomeGoods/ Marshalls.  They were shopping for a wedding they were going to, but not having luck finding the things they were looking for.  I on the other hand found some great things.  I bought new pie dishes and bread pans, and a really cute reusable owl shopping bag.  I made 2 loaves of homemade zuchinni bread and meatballs for out spaghetti tomorrow.  I'll put the sauce on before we leave for church and it'll be all ready for us when we get home.  That's my favorite kind of meal, the kind that's all done when you get home :)

Cheers until next time!

Welcome to October.

Well, it's October. The weather has be wonderful!  It feels like Fall.  The perfect mix of crisp, cool mornings and beautiful, sunny afternoons.  So Friday, Gregory had another half day of school, but not Olivia.  Kyle and I took him to noodles and co. for lunch and then we strolled around the Plaza.  It's an outdoor mall with great stores, but we only went to the ones G liked.  So we went to Game Stop (both he and Kyle enjoyed this stop a lot), Zoom, and Barnes and Noble.  Zoom is an amazing toy store!  We all loved it.  It was the first time Kyle and I had been there, but it won't be the last time!  From now on, all children's gift we have to buy will come from Zoom!  It has everything and more!  New toys, old toys, unique toys, decorations, accessories, clothes, jewelry, cups, puppets, learning toys. EVERYTHING you could possibly want for a kid.  It was awesome.  If you ever come to visit me, we need to go!  Our whole Friday was very relaxing.  We didn't do much of anything.  Kyle had drill this weekend, so he needed his rest.

Saturday Kyle left early for drill.  Damara and I took the little ones to the market in the morning.  We had a nice time, enjoying our chai tea lattes from latte land and browsing all the goods downtown.  We bought some beautiful mums and pumpkins.  Along with some nice produce, and it was perfect weather out.  In the afternoon I went to Macys for their huge baby sale, and it was VERY successful!  Damara needed winter clothes for Alana, and I was the shopper.  It was so much fun, and I found such adorable clothes for GREAT prices!  Alana is going to be nice and toasty warm this winter.  I also found a super cute outfit for Asher, it says nuts about mommy, and has robots all over it.  That night I was back and Damara's to babysit for them.  They went to see Dana Carvey.  Kyle came and helped out, and left after bedtime, because he had another early morning.

This morning I went to church.  Boy was it crowded.  I've been home getting ready for the week ahead, and tonight we have Kyle's Dad's birthday dinner.  Unfortunately, we're going to have two cars at his parents since he's already there, so we'll have to drive separate.  Well that's all...Cheers!

Another Weekend Comes to an End.

Well, another weekend has come and gone.  We are enjoying what is left of our Sunday, by sitting on the couch.  Kyle is reading in preparation for school tomorrow and I am blogging because I no longer have homework to put off until Sunday night.
I'm going to start with a little pre-weekend info.  On Thursday, I was overcome with the urge to rearrange and clean.  So, I lit my pumpkin spice candle in one room and my cinnamon spice candle in another and got to work.  Because we live in such a small space, there is not a lot I can do with my house, but I changed it a bit.  I put away my summery decorations and tried to make my house seem more fall-ish.  I brought out two cute owl candles I've been waiting to put out, and some brown and deep red tea lights.  I also put out a tray I bought a few months ago at a little boutique.  It's distressed and has a bouquet of flowers on it.  I like it and it looks nice with my candles on it.  All of that is on top of my AWESOME lazy susan that Pam gave me at a shower.  It is made from an old wine barrel, and yes it is as great as it sounds :)  Well Thursday morning all I did was clean and organize and change.  In the afternoon I babysat for the Suns.

This weekend was nice, the weather has been absolutely amazing!  Friday Kyle and I were with Gregory and his friend Parker for most of the day.  The Sun kids had a half day of school, so Olivia went with one of her friends and G had a play date.  Parker talks all the time and VERY loud.  He is a nice boy though.  We took them to lunch at Chipotle and then headed back to the house to wait for the repair man to come.  The boys played Pokemon Cards, swords outside, and what sounded like karaoke in G's room.  It was very entertaining to listen to.  They sang Katy Perry's song Firework at the top of their lungs and also Maroon 5's Misery.  It must have been quite a show up there, because we were downstairs and it sounded like they were right in front of us!  They also played with paper airplanes and were on "missions" to other "bases" (plants in the yard) and kept failing.  Thankfully, no one was hurt. :)  Friday night, Kyle took me on a date to outback, I want to try new places, especially not chains, but I was tired and he really wanted a bloomin' onion PLUS my list of all the places I'd like to try is currently missing.

Saturday morning we went to the Plaza Art Fair.  It was so nice outside, we walked around looking at all the different artist's art.  There were certainly some interesting pieces there.  I felt like heads were a reoccurring theme.  Yes, heads.  Weird right?  Maybe I'm just not "into" art enough to appreciate the heads.  We had lunch at a fun little place called Blanc Burgers & Bottles.  It is a gourmet burger place that has a huge bottled drink list.  Both of us really enjoyed it!  Kyle had the classic--he really liked it and I had the turkey.  Mine was delicious.  It was a turkey burger with baby spinach, avocado, fresh tomato, and a special blanc tangy tomato sauce.  Loved it!  We also shared truffle fries, which were SO good and were served in a small shopping cart.  Too cute, I forgot my phone and camera on Saturday so there are no photos to share.   Kyle worked Saturday night, and I got a lot accomplished at home.  I switched out most of our summer clothes and brought out our winter stuff.  I ironed all the ironing I've been putting off, I also took everything out of our storage space and organized and threw away.  I re-organized our small closet, put our guest room back in welcoming order, finished laundry, did my nails and managed to read.  Saturday seemed like a very productive day!  Oh and I also learned more about my camera and how to use it.  What all the buttons do and even more!  The internet is a wonderful tool.
Sunday.  We went to church and I got to hold Baby Asher for a while after.  Asher is our friend Jon and Becca's new baby.  He's a month and a half I think.  He's a sweet little guy.  Kyle and I came home to watch the games, the Chiefs and the Bears played at the same time, so we switched back and forth but neither of our teams won today.  Bummer.  Oh well, there's always next weekend.  I made shrimp scampi and alfredo for dinner and I also made homemade honey whole wheat bread.  Success!  I felt so productive.  Now poor Kyle has a headache, so I better go take care of him.  Cheers until next time!

Time Flies...No Matter What.

Well I realized Saturday night, that the month of September is already half way over.  Can you believe it?!  I can't.  I feel like it was just yesterday we were celebrating Labor Day at the good ol' Delavan Parade.  Now it's already September 19th.  I am shocked.  I really am, I feel like there are days that are never going to end, but then before I know it, we're starting a new week.  This year has flown by, I've had to adjust to a new life, a new place, and just normal life.  And I've realized that not matter what, time flies.  It used to be that "time flies when you're having fun," but I've realized now, time flies no matter what and there's no stopping it.  As I sit here typing this, I know time is going quickly past me, and what do I do?  I sit here, looking out at the beautiful sun-shiny day.  We've had a lot of rainy, cloudy, not so nice days in a row, and now today and hopefully the next 10 days or so are going to be gloriously beautiful!  I cannot be any happier either!  As time flies by me, I am also thinking about what's coming up next.  Even though October seems so far away, I know its not.  Sophie is coming the first week in October, then we're going back to Illinois, because we have 2 weddings on the same day.  We're also going to a Chiefs football game in October, on Halloween.  As for the rest of September, I'm not even sure.  We may be going to Taylor Swift on Saturday with Kyle's cousins, but it's still not concrete.  Basically, we're fly by the seat of our pants kind of people.  I know what most weekdays will be, but weekends, who knows.  We're usually up for anything or nothing.  Whatever fits with our moods :)  Cheers until next time!

So Long Sweet Summer.

Well, I thought summer had officially ended, but we've had more summer weather.  It was chilly and fallish last week, but gradually it worked its way back into the 90s.  Today is supposed to be in the 90s too.  So I'm not sure what this is.

Well our week was the same as usual, but our weekend was a not-so-predictable weekend.  Friday night, we attended a fundraiser for the Kansas City Heart Foundation.  It was at the zoo and the theme was Africa.  Apparently, we were supposed to dress like we were going on safari.  We didn't get that memo, but Kyle wore khaki pants with a light blue with white pinstripes shirt, and I wore a khaki zebra print dress.  Both of us were dressed casual, but nice too.  We did see people dressed as "marsupials" and a man in a zoo keeper's outfit with a bow tie.  The "marsupials" were too much for me to handle.  2 adults with black eyeliner nose and whiskers drawn on their faces, with homemade ears on their heads, and HUGE tails attached to their jeans.  It was pretty crazy if you ask me.  Anyways, When we arrived, it was pouring down rain.  I instantly was regretting our decision to attend.  It was freezing and wet outside, and the event was being held outdoors.  As we waited for more people to get on the tram, the rain slowed, and finally stopped. We rode the tram to the Africa side of the zoo, and were greeted with safari hats and a photo booth.  The entertainment for our night was African drummers and dancers.  It was very interesting to watch.  We also went on the boat tour, but the animals were already inside for the night, so we went for a short crowded tour to look at some trees.  It was wet and misty on the boat.  Not a favorite of the night, but a good idea initially.   They served African inspired food, and a very tasty "African" cocktail.  We had lucky elephant bookmarks to take home, along with a giraffe mask.  Overall, the night turned out to be much better than I thought it would.  It didn't rain the rest of the evening, but it was quite chilly out.

Saturday, Kyle had drill.  I dropped him off around 7AM, it was a late drill.  Which I appreciated and he did too.  I spent the rest of my day with my friend Sarah.  We met at starbucks and I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the fall.  It was so good!  We talked and eventually ended up shopping for the afternoon.  Pier 1, World Market, Michaels, and Gordmans.  It was a nice day, I picked up some delicious organic hard apple cider from World Market, and a cute little spoon rest from Pier 1.  I thought my day was pretty successful.  I picked Kyle up from drill, and later we went out for chinese.  That night, we taught his mom and dad how to play eurche, but I'm still not sure if they get the game completely.

Sunday was great, I didn't have to take Kyle to drill, so I was able to sleep in until 8!  I got ready and watched a little of the 9/11 memorial service on TV.  I left around 11 to meet my friend Faith, from Illinois, at the Plaza.  The Plaza is a shopping district with nice restaurants and great shops!  We shopped for the afternoon, I got a new butter dish at anthropology, and Faith bought really cute drawer pulls and a spoon rest there.  She also bought some tops at forever 21 that are so her, not cute on anyone else but her kinda tops.  It was so good to see her, and spend time with her!  I had a really nice afternoon.

Sunday was a day remembering 9/11/01, and seemed so sad.  I cannot imagine how hard it would've been to be there.  It was definitely not forgotten and never will be.  When I was in NYC last fall, we went to the memorial museum.  It is a heart breaking place.  The missing persons signs, the videos, the interviews, everything made me so sad.  And yesterday hearing a fraction of the names of people who lost their lives that day was just as sad.  All of them were someone's somebody.

On the other hand, a happier reason to celebrate 9/11/11 was, it was 9 months I've been married!  I can't believe we've been married for 3/4 of a year.  It seems silly to have so many thoughts about being married 9 months, but it's a big deal to us.  The time has gone so fast!  Some days it seems like the days are so slow, and the next thing I know it's a new month.  I don't know how to explain it, but 9 months just seems like a milestone, even though it's not.  I just can't believe it's been that long, it seems like yesterday I was fuming at Jos. A Bank.  :)  Nine months.  Whoa.

Well...lastly, I have to say I wish we were going to Illinois sooner rather than later.  Today is my Mom's Birthday and we're not there to celebrate it with her.  We did last weekend, but it's still not the same.  We have about a month until we get to go back.  It seems like a long time, but I'm sure time will fly by.  We're going in October there are 2 weddings on the same day.  It's going to be a challenge to make it to both, but we're going to try!  Plus we get to spend an extra day in Illinois because Kyle has fall break and doesn't have school on Thursday or Friday.  Hooray!

Cheers until next time!

Labor Day.

As I sit on my couch thinking about what to write about, I am not sure, I don't even know what to call this blog.  I guess I'll write about Labor Day weekend, nothing eventful happened, but it was still wonderful, and still our weekend.

Well, we spent Labor Day weekend in Illinois.  It was so wonderful to be back!  It had been about a month since we'd been back, and when it's home, that is a VERY long time.  Kyle and I both love being there.  We have a great time every single time we're there.  The time always goes way too fast, and we both talk about the day, when we finally get to move back. 

Well, we spent Friday in the car traveling and arrived at Mom and Dad's around 3:30.  It was hot outside, but a nice day.  Kyle and I went for a short bike ride after we got there.  It felt so nice to be doing something after sitting in the car for 5 hours.  The sun on my face, the wind in my hair, and my sweet husband riding beside me.  It was great.  When we got back we went for a swim with the whole fam, except Cole.  He's a party pooper.  We also met my cousin Veronica for the first time, not because she was just born, but because our family is so big it's hard to meet everyone in a timely manner.  Veronica is from Green Bay Wisconsin and visiting my parents for a few weeks.  She is 13 and I couldn't believe it was my first time meeting her.  I guess we don't make it to Green Bay very often.  She loves being at the farm, and seemed to be having a great time so far.  After dinner, the girls and my mom went to the movie at the park, but Kyle and I stayed to visit with Dad.  He always has great stories to tell.  We sat and talked and laughed all night long!  He is so loud and animated, probably the best story teller ever.  I know one day he'll tell my kids stories and they'll love them as much as I do.  

Saturday was a BUSY day.  All the guys go to karate every Saturday, Kyle loves it.  He's already an orange belt, and wants to be ready to test for his purple belt when we visit in October.  They are gone from 7:30 -11AM.  Normally we have a nice brunch when they get back, but this weekend was Delavan's Fall Festival.  The carnival was in town, and ironically, Mom and I were working at the information booth that morning.  From 11-1 we sat at the info booth.  We were there to obviously inform people about things happening at the festival, but we did not know anything.  We were also selling T-shirts and duck numbers for the big race on Monday.  It was very comical to work this booth, no one told us things had been changed for that day's schedule, we were less knowledgeable than the people asking us questions.  My excuse to everyone was, "I'm from Missouri."  Everyone just laughed when I told them.  It was also a lot more fun because Tabytha, Mallory, and Charlie came to hang out with us.  Deb stopped by to visit too.  After we were done at the booth, Mom, Deb, and I went for a much needed pedicure!  It was so relaxing and nice, I didn't want it to end!  It was part of Mom's birthday gift from us, we gave her her gifts a week early since we won't be there on her actual birthday.  I didn't get to see a lot of Kyle, but we both still had a great day.  He ended up going grocery shopping with my Dad and Cole, and they all went to dinner together.  It was a male bonding day for sure.  We ended Saturday with playing BINGO at the festival, none of us won, but it's always an interesting time hanging out in Delavan.

Sunday Funday.  We went to church and after, had a ton of people over for lunch.  As always Mom and Dad had enough food to feed an army!  The day was nice and relaxing, and ended with all of us going to the small firework display in Delavan, but not before we played a couple more rounds of BINGO.  I was 1 away from winning the BIG game, with a $106 prize.  It was fill your card, but 1 away doesn't win the prize.  :)

Monday, Monday.  We had the traditional Labor Day breakfast.  Dad makes every possible breakfast item imaginable.  No one can ever eat everything.  We had pancakes, blueberry pancakes, biscuits and gravy, eggs, breakfast burritos, sausage links and patties, ham, bacon, fruit, juice, milk, chocolate milk, and that's all I can think of right now, but you get the idea.  Milo and Cindi came over, and Dad's sister Dana and her family came too.  After breakfast we had to get ready to go to the parade.  We got LOTS of candy and beads there.  It was a good time for everyone :)  Nothing like Delavan's Labor Day Parade.  It's one of a kind.  After the parade we all went to Aunt Carol's house for our get-together.  Aunt Jac, Aunt Lori, Aunt Dana, Aunt Carol, Aunt Lana, and most of the cousins were there.  We had a nice lunch together, but eventually we were back at the park for one last go at the BINGO tent.  None of us were lucky enough to win this year, but there's always next year!  Kyle and I left Illinois and made it home late Monday night.  It was a great weekend with friends and family, and I cannot wait to have another one sooner rather than later. 

Cheers!

Weekending.

Well after a long summer of being gone, we finally made it back to the city market.  It was so nice.  The sun was shining, parking was easy to find, and the market was full of wonderful home grown produce.  We brought home some delicious tomatoes, peaches, and green beans, just to name a few of the wonderful things we bought there.  I love going to the market, people are all friendly, there's tons of entertainment, and lots of things to look at.  It's a lovely sunny day, and I'm not sure what else there is for us to do, but unfortunately Kyle has to work this afternoon.
At church Sunday we had the installation service for our new pastor, Rick Holland.  It was a huge service.  There were tons of people there and guests from either coast of the states, and I guess all over the country.  So it was a big deal.  The rest of the day I spent cooking, cleaning up, and reading.  I have been reading a book called Little Bee for the last few days and I've flown through it.  I am not a fast reader either, but I think I'll be finished with it today.  That's a record for me, a book in less than a week.  I usually have 2 or 3 books going at one time because I get bored with one book, but this one has a lot going on in it.
Another new thing is Kyle updated my computer to windows 7 over the weekend.  I like it so far.  I was running vista, and now I guess I'm up to date.  It doesn't really matter to me, as long as my computer turns on and I am able to get online, and do what I need to do, I'm fine.  It was a crazy transition though.  We both forgot the password to our internet, so I was internetless for a while.  Then Kyle realized he saved on the information for the internet on his desktop of his computer.  So we fixed that.  I lost all of my internet bookmarks :(  I had to redownload itunes and reload all my music, which is still a work in progress.  So was it worth the trade off?  I'm still not sure.  Right now it seems like a lot of unnecessary work, just to upgrade to windows 7.  Especially when windows 8 is supposed to come out in like a year.  I don't think I'll be going through an upgrade anytime soon.  Cheers!

Life as I know it

Well today I've been thinking about our life, mine and Kyle's that is, and how routine it is.  I like it though, now that we're in the back to school mode, I can pretty much predict what our days will be like.  It allows me to plan, and I like to have a plan.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love to be spontaneous.  Right now we ARE taking advantage of the fact that it is ONLY us (plus our fish Ralph), and we have a lot of freedom, but I like a schedule.  I love my calendars and knowing what the upcoming events in our life are. I love being able to know that next weekend I'll be home in Illinois for the weekend!  I love knowing that Kyle has fall break in October and we will have a school free week of being OFF schedule.  I love knowing that time is going by, and we are finally living our lives together.  My dreams are coming true.  Well I love Sundays, Mondays, and Fridays, because I get to spend the most time with Kyle those days.  He is a busy guy!  Between school, working, and homework, he doesn't have a lot of free time.  Which is different from summer, when he took online classes, and I had him to myself a lot more. (I like it that way)  Once again this is all just ramblings from my head....sorry.  Well anyways, I starting babysitting for the 2 kids I babysat for over the summer again this past week.  It's picking them up from school and hanging out with them until their parents get home from work.  We read, play games, they do their homework (though they haven't had much this week.)  The youngest is 8, close to 9, and he is always bored.  He only likes games they don't have, TV he's not allowed to watch during the week, and computer games he's not allowed to play during the week.  I cannot think of ways to entertain him for the life of  me.  He's crazy, and Oh yeah he does NOT like the piano, he has to practice daily.  Other than that we have a great time.  I like my job, and the kids, and I'm so happy to have something to do daily!  I am also working on getting my substitute certificate.  It's a big paint in the rear end, if I do say so myself, but I love subbing, so I'm working on it.  With the way the dept. of edu. is run here, I'll be lucky to be subbing by January. I'm praying for sooner though.  I really miss being in the classroom.  Tonight we're babysitting for Luke and Alana.  Poor Luke had the mosquitoes get to him last night, and not his ear and his eye are very swollen.  He was a worn out little guy when he went to bed.  Alana on the other hand was bright eyed and ready to party with us!  Until close to 9PM, when she finally passed out.  She so sweet.  I love her smile.  Well it's late, so goodnight!

Lately.

Recently I've been doing quite a bit of cooking and baking.  The past two days to be more exact.  I have made Kyle chinese chicken, green bean casserole, brown rice, and homemade rolls.  I also made dinner last night for our friends Jon and Becca, who had a baby last weekend.  I made chicken enchiladas, santa fe corn, and homemade salsa.  I also made cupcakes for them that said "Welcome Home Baby Asher!"  Their new baby is the sweetest.  He's adorable and wonderfully sweet!  I loved holding him, he smelled so good.  Just like a baby should!  Well anyway, tonight, I made chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter cup inside and homemade peanut butter butter cream frosting.  Here is a photo.  They are quite delicious if I do say so myself.

I also picked up my knitting needles today :)  It felt so good! But now I want to go pick up a bunch of new yarn tomorrow and figure out how to make some super cute stuff.  Hopefully this will keep my attention for a while.  Something to keep me busy until I am ready for something new.
Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the library.  I'm thinking Monday will be a great day for it!  Though today would have been too.  It was raining and the library would have been a nice inside thing to do today.  Oh well, cheers!  Until next time!

Park U Library

Well, I must admit I'm disappointed in the Park University Library.  It is definitely not a place that makes you feel like a you're in a college library.  I thought Trinity's library was a not so up to date library, but this place is ancient.  It definitely does not scream NICE, INVITING, WELCOMING place for students to study.  I L.O.V.E. love Monmouth College library.  It was so so nice and just felt like a place you would really want to spend time and enjoy being there.  This library, first of all it is underground!  Meaning no windows to let the sunshine in.  All they have is artificial lighting, it's cold down here, and very much like a cave.  They have the tiniest book collection, like a small high school library.  It's definitely not a selling point of the college.  I personally feel that the library at any university should be extensive, overwhelmingly large.  A small public library is larger than this place.  They also have computer printed signs EVERYWHERE I can see 3 from where I'm sitting, saying "NO FOOD OR DRINKS ALLOWED IN STUDY AREA"  how do you not allow students to bring drinks into the study area.  Food and drinks are not allowed anywhere in the library.  I can remember spending a whole day in the library.  I know there are reasons for now food and drinks allowed here, but usually there's a place somewhere for you to sit in the library and have a drink or a snack with you.  Monmouth had a cafe in the library.  I was so excited to come to the library today, but I don't think I'll be returning.  It's just not what I was hoping it would be.  I was hoping for a nice chair to sit down in, with a big window behind me--reading my book all day.  I just wanted to enjoy reading in a nice space--feeling the warmth of the sun on me.  BUT instead I'm in a cold cave, not inspired to read or anything.  I'm just looking forward to when we get to leave.  Just a bummer. Hopefully our public library will be nicer, that's my Saturday adventure--find the library and pray it's nice!  Cheers!

Summer is coming to an end & {Oh I wish it wasn't}

Well Kyle's school year has officially started.  Which means his summer is over, but we are still experiencing the 90 degree weather.  I loved the freedom and fun we had over the summer.  We made a lot of wonderful memories.  But with the start of school comes a structured schedule, but I see Kyle less---which I'm not a fan of!  I love being able to spend lots of time with him, he's my prince charming!  Today he and his friend Alex fixed the brakes on the car.  They were quite the handy men.  They are also going to work on the car's air and change the oil next week.  Kyle's working, I'm blogging and watching TV.  I need to find a new hobby.  I'm tired of cleaning all the time, doing laundry, watching TV, so I need a new hobby.  I'm burned out on sewing, maybe I'll start knitting again.  I don't know.  Any suggestions?  Well, tomorrow I'm going to school with Kyle.  He has a couple classes , but we're going to spend the day in the library---he has a lot of homework.  I am going to explore the Park University Library.  I'm excited, it sounds stupid, but I haven't been in a college library since 2009.  I love the library, I spent a lot of time there in college.  It was like my own little oasis for studying and doing homework.  So, back to the library I go tomorrow!  I'm going to take my laptop, books, and a journal.  I'm hoping for inspiration :) This blog is so scatter brained.  Sorry to anyone who may read this.  I love blogs, I don't know or really care if people read them, but they are just a way for me to get all these random things out of my head.  It's so wonderful!  I may even bring crayons to the library :)  Well I'm not really sure what else to say, without rambling on and on. So.........Cheers until next time!

Hello blog world, I'm alive.

Well, hello there.  It's been over a month since my last blog.  SO. SO. SO. much has gone in our lives since my last post.  Kyle and I have been on a missions trip and vacation.  We have had a great summer.  I will do my best to relive the last month of our lives the best I can.
Well, let me start with the beginning.

Wisconsin Mission Trip

Kyle had drill the weekend we left for Wisconsin, so we weren't able to leave to for our trip until Sunday afternoon.  We left Missouri and headed for Illinois.  We made it to Illinois Sunday night, and stayed with my parents.  Monday, before we left, I was able to spend time in the pool with my mom and the Buskirks (Pam, Whitney, Tabytha, Mallory, and Charlie), I know they all aren't Buskirks, but that's how I'm describing them today.  It was so good to see them, but the fun had to end and we had to get back on the road.   Kyle and I arrived in Wisconsin, just in time for the first activities of the week. Campers were making crafts, playing games and swimming.  Later in the week we spent a day at a paint ball park.  Campers were able to play bags, frisbee golf, go on paddle boats and kayaks, and shoot paintball guns.  At the end of the day medals were given out, and the campers loved it!  The trip ended with a great talent show, full of fun and laughs!  Our missions trip was so much fun.  We saw old friends, and met some new ones.  Inspiration Ministries will always hold a special place in our hearts.  We headed back to Illinois on Friday to stay with my parents for the weekend.

Ohio

Well, I got to go on a surprise vaca.  I ended up being able to go on vaca with my family, while Kyle came home and worked and went to school.  I have the greatest hubster EVER!  I went with my family to Ohio to visit some family, we also went to New York to Niagara Falls.  It was just as beautiful as I remembered.  In Ohio we visited my moms sister and her family.  They live in amish country.  We saw amish people and buggies all over.  It was fun seeing family, plus we got to meet my cousins new baby, Thomas.  We also visited more family on our way home.  We had a nice family dinner together.  We went back home, for a day and then off for another week of vaca!

Madison

Well we came back from week 1 of vacation to make sure things on the home front were good.  AND to pick up the loved ones!  On Monday, Kyle and Ashley came to our house and we left for Madison.  It was so nice!  We had so much fun there!  While staying in Madison, we visited a lot of places.  We went to Louisville, KY a lot.  We visited the Louisville Zoo, and it was really nice.  It was just super hot when we went there.  After the zoo, we went to dinner and the mall.  We also visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and the Creation Museum.  We spent some time at Clifty Falls State Park pool.  We walked around downtown Madison, and also checked out some restaurants.  We played games, and relaxed in the wonderful home.  Ah, we had a great time!

Home Sweet Home

Now I've been home for a little over a week.  The first week home I spent nannying full time for Olivia and Gregory.  We had a fun, busy week.  We swam, went out to do things, and played games.  It was such a HOT week!  This week, I'm working on my house, and things I have to do here.  I need to get my sub certificates switched over, so I am able to sub this school year.

Until next time! Cheers!   

Summer is Busy!

Well, I must say, summer is busy and I love it!  I love having things to do, even if it's just going to the pool!  I must admit I especially love going to the pool, it's one of my favorite summer things to do!  Well, I feel like Kyle and I this summer have done a lot and still have a lot to do.  We've visited my parents, he's taking summer classes (I feel like I'm taking them as well), we're making things, I'm sewing here and there, going to Royals baseball games, spending time with friends, being at the pool, and we have travel plans!  Last week we went down town to see The Band Perry for free!  It was awesome, but incredibly hot! I love them!  The entire time they were on stage, it just seemed like they were having fun.  It made the concert really fun! I also nannied for two kids 2 weeks of the summer, and will resume in August.  They are a lot of fun and super nice kids!

-----Break-----

----Kyle's taking me for ice cream----

Well ice cream was great!  We also made a stop at CVS because poor Kyle is suffering from a bad earache.  Poor guy, he doesn't complain about being sick or in pain ever, but this is really bothering him.  We bought some drops and I hope they make him feel better, we've got a lot going on this week and next.  Tomorrow we're babysitting for Luke and Alana!  We haven't seen them all week, it's definitely going to be fun!  Saturday and Sunday Kyle has drill, and Sunday we make our way to Wisco.  We're stopping to stay the night at my parents, and making the rest of the trip Monday.  We are going on a missions trip to Inspiration Ministries with the team from my Dad's church.  It's were Kyle and I met, so it's pretty special. Even if we didn't meet there, it would still be special to us, it's just a great place.  Needless to say we are excited!  After Wisconsin, we're coming home for a week, then vacation time with my family!  I am also VERY excited for that too!  Well I need to take care of my aching hubster, until next time!

A little late...

The past two days (now it's been a while...), I've spent my evenings with Luke and Alana.  More so Luke than Alana.  Yesterday I spent the most time with awake Alana than I ever have.  It was so much fun!  All three of us played, laughed, and had a fun night!  Alana, being the observant baby she is stopped smiling the minute she saw my phone, so there were no smiling photos of her.  Luke on the other hand loves when I get my phone out, he prefers videos to photos.  He loves to watch them back, they are super fun to him! I just can't get the video to upload to my blog...bummer.   I love it, both babies were so happy!  

Alana, checking out my phone.  She was smiling just before--even letting little giggles out!

Weekend Bliss {also could be a photo shrine of Luke}

Kyle and I had a great weekend!  On Saturday we met our friends Jon and Rebecca at the city market for a fun morning.  Kyle and I brought Luke with us, and I think he had a blast too!  He had breakfast in the car on the way down there.  He road around the market in his stroller and he and Kyle also went exploring.  Luke led the way, Kyle let him out of the stroller and followed him all over.  On their way back to finding the rest of us, they found a super entertaining magician.  He pulled a bowling ball out of his floppy hat!  Like always we bought lots of wonderful, yummy produce, and this time I found homemade hummus and all natural organic, locally made whole wheat pita bread! Yum!  Luke also played in a super big puddle and dumped the left over water he had in it to make it bigger.  He was screaming his excited scream and hopping around the puddle!  So cute!  It also happened to be the 6 month marker for Kyle and I being married.  It was a really fun way to spend our day.  Here are the photos from our little trip to the market!

Little Lukester doing his best to share his milk with Kyle

Kyle giving it back ( don't worry, we were waiting for our friends to come, Kyle wasn't driving still)

He's not mad here, just laughing at funny cousin Kyle.

Making silly faces with Kyle

There's the Luke smirk!

The delicious bottle of water and AWESOME straw Luke got.   The straw may have been his favorite part of the day!

The yummy hummus and pita bread.  He couldn't get enough of it.  Great snack!

I don't know how to rotate this photo but more pita goodness.

Oh the beloved straw.  He was also stomping around  in a super fun puddle.  

Looking at all the booths there.

Love this photo.

My flowers from the market!

 After our trip to the market, we took Luke home.  He was a little disappointed.  After dropping him off, the schillings came over to hang out and have lunch!  We had calzones! also yummy!  Saturday night we ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings, it was UFC night.  The Schillings met up with us too.  It was freezing in there!  We watched all the fights and ate until I thought I was going to die.  I also had the new strawberry lime bite mojito.  It was delicious!  Saturday was a very fun day!

Sunday, we went to church.  There was a missionary speaker there who lived in Honduras.  After church we went out to lunch with the Schillings and other people from church.  We met this guy named Joe, I think.  He was so particular.  He vacuumed his carpets perfectly so the lines were symmetric.  No one was allowed to wear shoes or bare feet in him home.  The foot oils are too much for him.  He made everyone wear socks, and there were some rooms no one was allowed in.  He only went in them to clean them.  He was crazy.  I don't know.  Just an interesting guy.  Had his own supply of hospital shoe covers for people too. Whoa.  Extreme.  Anyways we had fun at lunch.  The photo below was the BBQ place we were supposed to go to but they were closed.  This place is attached to a gas station, but supposedly world famous.  Crazy Kansas/ Missourians.  I was willing to try it, but I am not a huge fan of going to eat at the gas station....Cheers until next time!