The Summer in Review: Vacation! (Part 2)

My favorite memories from this summer are when I shared things from my childhood with my kids. Like Uncle Bill's farm on July 4. So a big part of our vacation was spending time with my Grandparents (the kids' Great-Grandparents).

The right start for every stay at Ma & Granddad's: pretzels!


And then a trip to Alfano's. I've lived/worked a lot of places: DC, West Palm, Chicago, etc. But never- let me repeat, NEVER- have I eaten pizza as good as this. If you are ever in the Rockford area and want to try to best pizza in the world, send me a message and I will send you directions!


Moses didn't eat the pizza (*sigh*), but he did have fun with Granddad.


And after Alfano's: Mix Park!


My cautious little boy has grown up so much this year!




And after a good bath, the kids had fun spending time in the family room with Ma & Granddad:


And then... MA'S BROWNIES!!!


Hosanna didn't get brownies, but she did get to play in the nursery where so many grandbabies have played before!


Of course, we had a delicious breakfast by Ma the next morning. Hosanna wanted to share her breakfast with Ma:


We've been wanting to take our little cowboy on a Wild West vacation, and fortunately there was a special festival that weekend at one of the state parks. Here the kids try out one of numerous teepees:


One of the highlights was a real Native American dance circle:


It got Hosanna's attention!


Moses wasn't too keen on the noise, but ZuZu really got into the "Indian dancing":


Another highlight: getting to go INSIDE the Blackhawk statute!




My little Indians:




And what would a trip to Ma & Granddad's be without...

Visiting the store...


and Aunt Cherri's pool!


It was truly a vacation we will remember forever. The kids were good and so joyful. The perfect trip!

We're still alive!

I've been terrible at blogging lately. You can't really even call this a blog, it's been so sporadic...

I had a bunch of cute pics of Moses from Thanksgiving (we went to my aunt's lakehouse for Thanksgiving; it was WONDERFUL! AND, we hit a GIANT outlet mall-- with me in a wheelchair-- talk about DEALS! Let's just say ZuZu will be well-clothed through next September....). But somehow it just seems a little late to post them. Maybe it's because I am too far into the Christmas spirit at this point!

We decorated our house a little after Moses went to bed on Monday night. I've greatly cut down on the amount of decor this year. I think I have 12 rubbermaid tubs of Christmas stuff that I get out on a yearly basis (I am not kidding). But just like when I was pregnant with Moses, the thought of having to put it all away after Christmas, while being even MORE pregnant*, inhibited me a little. Then there was the thought of flying projectiles from the hand of a two year old that made me think better of putting out the crystal nativity or my Hummels. So we are keeping it simple this year.

[*Just as an aside: when I say "while being even MORE pregnant," what I really mean is "looking/feeling even more like a beached whale." I am REALLY big this time around. I mean, I was big with Moses, but this is ridiculous. I'll post a picture when I am brave enough. But for now, just picture this: we are waiting to be seated in a restaurant on Sunday. A complete stranger asks when I am due. When I say "March," his reaction is "Holy Tamoley!" No joke.]

But anyway, back to Moses. We decorated after he went to bed, and surprised him in the morning. A few "decorations" went over really well with him-- like the Little People and Veggie Tales nativities. And a Snoopy house that plays music. It was like a preview of Christmas morning. Now I really can't wait.

But you can see for yourself:






Isn't he just the cutest?!

We've been telling Moses that this is Uncle Jarrett & Aunt Emily...

... on the streets of NYC.

You guys sing and dance as you walk along, right?

For those of you that don't know them:

Re-living my childhood through my son

The other day in a post, I asked "I wonder how many times...?" I had done something when I was little that my son is repeating now in his life. And then going through my pictures from the weekend with my grandparents, that same thought kept coming to mind...

Like, I wonder how many times..

I rustled through Granddad's papers...


or walked this path to Black Hawk...


or climbed these stairs...


or ate fudge on that bench...


or had a bath in that tub...

or "helped" Granddad out in the yard...


or put my hands in the bird bath (okay, I don't recall that one ever happening; he IS a boy, after all)...


or typed on that typewriter...


or sat in that chair...


or wished so badly to go tromping around in those woods...

or walked through the apples (I can smell them even as I type!)...

or looked back remorsefully as my parents led me to the car to leave...

and then frantically waved good-bye?

Ode to a Fabulous State Park (alternative title: Another Example of Crooked Illinois Politics)

The pictures above were taken last weekend at beautiful Lowden State Park outside of Oregon, Illinois. It it truly one of the prettiest parks in Illinois. In addition, it is the host site for the magnificent "Black Hawk" statue (also known as "The Eternal Indian") crafted by famous scultor Lorado Taft:

(view from across the Rock River).

And it is soon to be closed. For good.

You see, in a "brilliant" budget move, our [ahem, Democrat] governor has decided to close a number of state parks. A few things of note here: Most Illinois citizens (including a good many Dems) think that Govenor Blagojevich is an idiot. Second, most of the parks closed were in Republican territory. Third, Blagojevich has never actually visited any of the parks he closed. And finally, the closures didn't even make fiscal sense. Take Lowden State Park: it costs $45,000 to operate each year. But it BRINGS IN $90,000 a year from campers, etc.

Yes, you read that right. In order to "fix" our state budget, our brilliant governor actually closed a MONEY-MAKING state park.

But alas, here I am in political territory again. That all being said, we visited the park for one last time with Moses this weekend. It was his first (and last) real trip there, and he definitely enjoyed it:

And so, this is my "ode" to a state park that has brought pleasure to thousands of families over the decades. It was always a favorite place to go when we visited my grandparents. The Black Hawk statue has attracted people from across the nation for years. And on a more personal note, it was the last place we had a family picnic with my 92-year-old great-grandma before she passed away.

I always thought the Black Hawk statute looked a little sad. The Lowden website reads, "Legend has it that Chief Black Hawk, as he left the area after the Black Hawk War, talked of the beauty of the area and admonished his captors to care for the land as he and his people had."

Now he looks even sadder to me.

So, Governor Blagojevich, if you don't want the land-- why don't you give it back?

A visit with "O-Dad" at his store

We hadn't been to my grandparents since last Christmas, so everything was "new" to Moses again. I call my grandparents "Ma" and "Granddad," but Moses came up with his own version-- they are now "Hey-Mom" and "O-Dad." It was pretty cute!

On Saturday we went out to my Granddad's furniture store. Moses very much enjoyed it! Here's some trivia for you--

How do you know Moses has been in a furniture store?

Answer: All of the chairs have been reclined. :)

Back in August, I mentioned that K had given me the best anniversary present ever, but I never got a chance to blog about it. Well, here it is:

He had my Granddad design and his men build a china cabinet for our dining room. I LOVE IT. The wood is pine, and it is just gorgeous. I LOVE the different streaks of color in the wood! I can't wait to get it home. And as if that weren't enough, K bought a recliner while we were there for the new baby-- one that rocks, reclines, AND swivels!

And just a couple more pics to please MaMa, of "O-Dad" and Moses hanging out in the store:

I wonder how many times I myself got into the orange "sale" cardstock? :)

The weekend was so much fun-- I wish we could do it more often!

And now on to some fun stuff!

Now that I've expounded all I possible can on why Obama is the worst candidate EVER :) , I think it is time to move on to some lighter subjects! We were away all weekend-- starting with a Gala on Thursday night in Chicago. Pics to come later-- I forgot to have someone take a picture of K and me, so I will have to wait until we get one from the professional photographer at the event. So we'll move on to the rest of the weekend-- time spent with family in one of the most beautiful towns in Illinois.

K actually had a Sunday off this weekend (and if you are a pastor or the wife of a pastor, you KNOW how exciting and rare that is!), so we spent some time with my grandparents in Oregon, Illinois. I'm going to be posting some pics over the next few days. I'm going to start with a couple cute Moses pics, of course!

My parents kept Moses while K and I were in Chicago, so we met my mom at a Burger King along the way to get him. I think he liked the experience:

Here he is with a stick he found at a park we visited. When he refused to leave it behind, K actually loaded it up in the car with us:

And last but not least, something that has kept K and me laughing for days. We watched my cousin's kids play soccer on Saturday. Moses was really into the game for a time, cheering the kids to "go go go!" And then, well, you can see for yourself:

After that, he and Daddy went to play in the dirt far, far away from the field. :)