At Last...She Is Back.

AHHH. It's been too long. We are finally moved in and finally have my computer back. We got our wireless installed yesterday, followed by a very frightening moment where we thought my computer was fried. I literally just about had a temper tantrum. The house is starting to come together and actually was to the point yesterday where I started hanging things on the wall. Just DO NOT go in our basement. You may never be seen again. Joe is stressing about the garage. I think it's a guy thing. He just wants to be able to park one car in the garage, and then he can rest easy at night. I'll post pictures soon.

The Long Wait Has Ended.

Well...here it is folks....only in Iowa. Yes, this is our new mailbox. I know what you're thinking. I can't believe it either. You have to REALLY, I mean REALLY, like cows to own a mailbox such as this fine beauty. There has been much discussion as to what to do with this precious piece of crap, I mean craft. When we pull into the driveway I here a little voice in the backseat whispering, "Hi, moo-moo." When we leave the house, "Bye-bye, moo-moo." A certain 2 year old who shall remain nameless votes for it to stay. Certain family members believe it could be useful when checking the weather, as we can look out the window and see which way his tail is blowing. Several people come to mind when we weigh the option of a midnight drop off. Wouldn't it be fun to switch out some poor unsuspecting soul's boring normal mailbox in the middle of the night? Others believe we should hold a baseball bat out the window and drive down our street at 50 mph. I would be willing to entertain other ideas.

No need to get your eyes checked. It does, indeed, have udders.

None of you will sleep well tonight!!!!! MMOOOOUUUUAAAAAA!!!! Only In Iowa...

Beach Baby.

OK. This might just be the cutest thing I've ever seen. This just came in the mail today in a 'very small' box for Lily Margaret. You can't tell from this picture but it is both 'itsy bitsy' and 'teeny weeny'. Thank you Jeff, Amy, Derek, and Noelle! I will of course remind her to wear this while she can because if my genes have anything to say about it, she will unfortunately not be wearing this at 31. The purple shades rock. She loves them.

My Little Messenger.

Noah: Did you know Grandpa Bill is in Heaven?
Me: Yes, I do know that.
Noah:(very theatrically) OH...MY...GOSH...You are never going to believe this!
Me:(with equal enthusiasm) WHAT?
Noah: He can only do one thing in Heaven...only one thing!
Me: What???
Noah: SMILE! Can you believe that mom? He can ONLY SMILE!
Me:Isn't that amazing?
Noah: (to himself) I just can't believe it.

Once again, folks, God uses my children to lovingly kick me in the butt. He is so good....ALL the time!

Dad.

Today is 10 years since dad died. I don't know what to write. Check out Emily's blog entry for today. Is that cheating?

VBS!!!

We had our first day of vacation bible school today. The theme this year is a spy kids kind of thing. I'm doing crafts this year and am working with a bunch of crazy awesome ladies. It is such a fun time. I think we have just under 300 kids signed up this year. I enjoy doing crafts because then I get to see both of my kiddos during the day. Noah's group made a pocket computer out of an empty CD case. Jackson's group made a secret message container. I will say I did get a bit of the blow off from my older son when his class came in, as well as a few eye rolls... I'm starting to not be cool. Noah , on the other hand, greeted me with a big hug, evidently I'll be cool for another couple of years. I won't take it personally.

Party Time!

Yeah, she takes after her mother.
This is exactly why you never share your drink with Ms. Lily. She likes to leave you with floaters, this time, chocolate birthday cake!
Will made a very precious 'bertbay' sign for the bertbay girl.
Lily's new dolly from grandma Connie

These are items from her girlie purse from Dan and Jeannie. It had a cell phone, lipstick that Lily is applying/chewing and other girlie things in it.
Grandma painted a new dolly high chair.

Mortified Mother.

Well, let's just say we had an adventure tonight. I promised the boys they could each pick out a movie at Mr. Movies tonight. So we're headed to North Liberty, and I discover our tank is on empty, so I decide to head to the gas station first. We're headed into town and up ahead we notice the street is blocked off with saw horses and there is a ton of people standing around. I proceed ahead slowly looking for a place to turn around. I notice a police officer move the saw horse and enthusiastically wave us through. I have no idea what's going on. I yell, "Joe! What do I do??!??" (he's in the very back of the van with Noah.) The reply I get is, "do what the man says." So, I follow where the officer is steering us and, lo and behold, we are now participants in the Annual North Liberty Fun Days Parade. We are in a frickin' parade!!! I am mortified. Why, oh, why would he do that? I look down the street ahead of me and the curb on both sides are full of people staring at us. I look around me. We are right in the middle of some lawn mower brigade. Not those fast little zippers that mow commercial lawns, no, we're talking lawn tractors!! The next turn-off is like 3 or 4 blocks, which is a REALLY long time when you're behind 15 lawn mowers (and have an empty gas tank). I'm screaming, "what do I do? what do I do??" My husband is laughing hysterically and says, "just smile and wave". This is right up his alley. I have to add, it was a darn good thing I was driving tonight because he would have laying on his horn and pulling some figure 8's. Jack is in the front seat looking a little red in the face but laughing. Noah is jumping in his seat, yelling "I've always wanted to be in a parade!!!" By the third block, I'm over my embarassment and we are taking a quick inventory of what's in our van that we could throw out instead of candy. We came up with some loose change, a bottle of water, and an umbrella. Oh, well. We made some memories, anyways. FYI: We did make it to the gas station in time.

For Mom.

Ok, mom. What would YOU call that little cut out?????

Imagination At Its Finest.

Today, Jackson and Noah were playing together for a really long time. It's unusual for them to spend an afternoon together and not hear them fighting, so I asked them what they were playing. Jackson said he was a super agent from the future that fights crime. Notice the light sabers and other futuristic accessories. He said that he built a time machine and when he needs reenforcements for a particularly bad criminal, he goes back in time to the Old West and brings Noah the cowboy back into the future to help him. They went on and on about their equipment etc. Noah told me all about his 'home on the range' and all his 'pardners'. He carries dynamite on his horse just in case and he grows cactus in his yard. Every once in a while an owl comes and sits on his cactus and he has to go out and pull 'em loose. I love little boys imaginations. They think of things no one but a little boy would come up with!

My Lovely Girl Is 2.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Lily!

My Ghetto Thank-You.

I'm sure this goes against everything Miss Manners stands for. My thank you notes are all packed away in a storage shed, so I want to thank Jeannie and Dan for my birthday gift certificate to Gordmans (the greatest store known to womankind). I think God looked into my heart and gave me Gordmans. Can I get an amen? Anyways, this is the mirror I picked up with my cute little purple gift card. I love it, I love it, I love it. I think this will fit into the niche above our new fireplace. Now I will ask you both, Jeannie and Dan( the smartest couple in the U.S.), or anyone else who wants to give their two cents worth, do you pronounce that ni-TCH, or
N-eeSH. We seem to have a difference of opinion here. Anyways, thank you so much. Also, thankyou to Jeff and Amy for the cute purple shirt. I love it. It is also packed away in a box in storage somewhere otherwise I would have posted a picture as well. Thank -you all for the presents so much. Turning 31 was almost pain-free.

Life Is Good.

Sorry, for the lack of blogs. I feel like I'm in a constant state of transition and it makes it hard to do the normal things. We're settling in to the in-laws. So far, the kids haven't broke anything, so that's good! The kids are enjoying being at papa and gamma's house and have settled right in, as you can see below...

I hope they realize how good they have it now, and that our new house will NOT have a TV like that! This is where I like to hang out. ahhhhh.......