Catch Up!!!

O.K. O.K. O.K.

It's been a long while since I posted - just got busy, and didn't think much about the blog! I am going to try to post random pictures from the last few months - much has happened!

Lydia and Drew on the beach at Sanibel Island - Spring Break!



Here's Nanny and Poppy with their 3 grandchildren!


Babysitting chicks while friends were on vacation...... when they arrived at our house, they fit in our hands and were fluffy..... By the time they left, they had feathers, and were trying to 'fly'!!!!
We had to make a 'chicken-coop' in our garage!!!


Drew had his last game down at the pee-wee fields at the park -
onto bigger fields at UIS next fall......We LOVE soccer!!!


Lydia and Drew played in their piano recital at the end of May. Drew's first and Lydia's third - both did great!!!

Here is Lydia receiving her first Guild Award. She memorized 4 pieces and performed them in front of a judge.

SUMMER!!!!!!!!


We had a amazing butterfly sighting in our garden - a zebra swallowtail butterfly!!!
Beautiful!!!!

Drew and I made strawberry jam - YUM!!!


And there you have it - everything from beaches to chickens to strawberry jam..... and we are loving life!!!

Drew's lost tooth!

Drew's tooth finally came out! It seems like he has been wiggling it forever. Every day at some point, he would come up to me and say, "Mommy, wiggle my tooth for me!" The tooth finally came out Wednesday evening around 6 o'clock. I am glad that it came out before we left for Florida this weekend, because Drew had told me last week that if you lose a tooth in Florida, you get a 'chicken'. Yup - somehow he thought that the Florida tooth fairies bring live animals to their kids. Who knows where he gets this stuff? He is one creative kid, though, and fills our lives with joy and laughter!

Cute Drew!

Crazy Kitty!

So, I am doing laundry - nothing new about that - I am ALWAYS doing laundry! But this time, when I went back to the bedroom to fold clothes, I found a little surprise in the laundry basket! Sophie, our kitty, LOVES warm clothes, and LOVES to snuggle in them..... It kind of reminds me of our dog Toby when I was a little girl. Toby was an outside hunting dog, but on cold winter nights, we would bring him into the heated garage to sleep. We always put a bunch of beach towels in the dryer, and then put the warm towels in the kennel with Toby. Anyways..... here's Sophie - the laundry cat!

Michigan Fun!

The kids and I spent a recent weekend up in Michigan. Lydia and Drew had a BLAST playing in the snow!

There is a small hill in the backyard of Aunt Barbie and Uncle Eddie's yard.

Lydia and Drew made the most of it!!!

Wrigley kept trying to steal their discs until Uncle Eddie got him his own to play with..... (or tear up).....

There was a lot more snow in Michigan than in central Illinois, so Lydia and Drew were in heaven!!!

We also were able to visit Great-Gram. Debbie, Rob and Baby Elaine came over from Chicago for the day, so Gram was with three of her great- grandchildren. Of course, she wanted to know where the 'other 2' were!!! (Isabel and Grace)

Gram was very aware and lucid on Saturday morning when all the kids were there.
We got some great pictures!!!
Baby Elaine, Gram, Debbie, Robert, Drew, Derrick, Sarah & Lydia

The 2 Elaine's - Precious!!!

Jenga!!!

Getting games for Christmas is always fun, and a sure-fire hit in our family! As you can see by the following pictures, we LOVE Jenga!!!

Who knocked it down??? We don't know!!!! The table got bumped, and that was the end of the Jenga game, but fun was had by all!! (The players and the watchers)

Christmas Eve Pictures with Baby Elaine

On Christmas Eve, we had a wonderful dinner at Church, and took the opportunity to take pictures of Lydia, Drew, and our new baby cousin, little Elaine! O.K., Lydia, here comes Ella....

Here she is..... gently, gently.....

It's o.k., guys, just keep smilin'...... she'll be o.k........

Oh, good, she's calming down...... Drew!! Look at the camera!!!!


Great!!!! This one is close! We're getting there.......

And..... there it is!!! Three beautiful little angels! O.k., I know, I know, Drew is still not looking at the camera, but what can ya do?

Inaugural Flight

Grandpa Joe got Drew a plane with a small motor for Christmas. Here are the results of the first flight!!!

(And, as you can see, I got a flip video for Christmas!!! I LOVE it!!!)