Update on 4 stooges and other stuff

Hello all! Happy Labor Day weekend! We have enjoyed our time so far and look forward to celebrating Jonathan's grandpa's 80th birthday this evening....have done lots of celebration since it's such a momentous birthday! Well, all of our "stooges" are now in what is called the pupae stage...in their cocoon waiting to become a beautiful butterfly. We were lucky enough to see one of them shed their skin and morph into it's present state...it was soooo cool!! Here's some pictures: The first one is of #1 getting all scrunched up and ready to morph

This one is of #1 in is pupae stage, #2 and #3 getting ready to morph and #4 walking around, pooping and eating lots!!

Below is two videos I captured of #4 actually shedding his skin...SOOO cool!!!

Alana started gymnastics class this past Monday and had a blast. We arrived a tad bit late after my van needed to get jumped....yah, the DVD player got left on (long story). Here is a couple pictures of her in her leotard. The teacher has already noted how strong she is! (She couldn't hold still long enough for me to get an unblurry picture!)

The last pic is of Alana before church yesterday. I straightened her hair for the first time. She just looks like a completely different little girl! Beautiful as always. Elliott thought she should act more grown up and be really good since her hair was straight?!? Silly boy. Also, pic of the kids together...aren't they adorable? Oh, and after church we went and had a picnic at a park and watch all the geese and fed them too. It was fun!


Take care and God Bless!!

The three, er, four stooges...

Well, as Elliott and I were inspecting our garden the other day, we noticed a ton of caterpillars on the stalks of our carrots. We thought they were cute...until we realized they were actually eating all the stalks off them! So, yesterday we took the big, fat four and put them in the kids' bucket with some leaves. This morning, two were still in the bucket and two had become our "escapees". Luckily for them, I found them before the kids or Earnie stepped on them (or ate them-Earnie that is!!) We decided it would be a really cool experience for the kids to see them make their coccoons and become beautiful butterflies! They have watched the Little Einsteins movie a ton where a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, so they are excited. We transitioned them from a temporary home to their new little crate we got at Wal-Mart, along with parsley and some sticks. They are quite the little pigs! We have decided that their names are Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp. ha ha We hope to have some lovely pictures of their metamorphosis. Oh, and my other tidbit is the AWESOME deal I got at Hy-Vee this week. They had a deal where you bought 6 boxes of GM cereal and got $10 off and then a $6 coupon for your next purchase. Well, lucky for me that the day I went, their machine was broken, so they were unable to print the coupons so they had to give everyone the $10 plus the $6 off immediately. On top of that, I had manufacturer coupons. My first trip I bought $19.92 worth of cereal, got $16 off automatically and had $3.50 of my own coupons. My second trip I bought $20.74 worth of cereal, got the $16 off plus $3 of my own. Grand total of 2.16, which was .18 PER BOX!!!! I ROCK!!! And now, don't have to buy cereal for a good long while. I LOVE great deals!!!!!!
Take care and God Bless!

The kids and their new "pets"
The "four" stooges and their buffet

Elliott's first day of school!

I still can't believe that my baby boy has started Kindergarten! It seems like just yesterday, I was holding him in my arms.

Elliott at 3 days old

His first day was yesterday and they always do an early release, so he was done at 1:30. He had a good day and I really surprised myself by how emotional I got! I didn't think I would cry but I did! He had no issues with me leaving and for that I'm glad. He's my little social butterfly-don't know where he gets that from!! Today was his first full day and he said he got 3 recesses and one time in the gym! WOW! So far, he is listening to me about what to take and what not to take for lunch, so I'm proud of him! He was definitely tired by supper time tonight. He fell asleep on the way out to church.

Alana really hasn't had time to get used to Elliott being gone yet as we've had stuff going on the morning and then she naps in the afternoon. She and I will start gymnastics next Monday and she is sooo excited! It will be a fun time.

Well, besides my allergies being HORRIBLE (Ok, they were worse in Nebraska, but I'm really hating having them at all!) there is nothing else new right now. It has been sooo nice the past few days and I absolutely refuse to have the windows closed. I'm sure I'll have to shut them by the weekend as it's supposed to be mid 80's again.

Thanks for checking in. Take care and God Bless. Enjoy the pics!

Daddy and Elliott on their "first day"
Our big boy with his Star Wars "Clone Wars" backpack ready to go!
In front of Coolidge Elementary School

In front of his "cubby"

Elliott can ride his bike-NO TRAINING WHEELS!!

Hooray for Elliott! On only his third time out, he is riding without his training wheels!! We are so proud of him. He is doing really well-just has to master getting started and turning right. He must be watching too much NASCAR with us...ha!! Here is video from the adventure we call "learning to ride a bike!" Enjoy!!!!



Here is a video from MN. The kids, two of the big boys and two of the dogs are riding the merry go round at the park. It's cute. You will notice I tell Jonathan Earnie is eating sand. At least he didn't poop pure sand the next day...as far as we know!


And, lastly, a picture from our visit to Lincoln. We went to the bookstore to buy "Big 10, We're In" shirts & the kids and Jonathan had to model some of the fan gear. It's cute!

Take care and God Bless!!

Ummm...over a year???

I'm not even sure who even checks my blog anymore. But, I am going to try and start updating again a little more regularly!
We are all settled in our house in our new town. It's so nice to have Jonathan's family around. There was a time over the winter and early spring when we really didn't see each other all that often, but we have gotten together quite a few times since summer started.
Ahhh, summer! We ARE enjoying it! Elliott is in his second session of swimming lessons and is in Level 2! He has learned a lot and is going under water and getting very brave! We're so proud of him! Alana and daddy are taking the "Puddlejumpers" class. She really has NO fear of the water, which can be a bad thing and a good thing! She does love the water but is having a hard time listening and doing what the teacher asks of her!
We spent a week up in MN with my family. We had a great time. The kids finally got to meet their cousin, Logan. I can't believe he'll be one already next month. We celebrated my parent's 40th wedding anniversary while we were there and hosted a party for them. They had a great time! The guys did their normal "fishing day" and also added a golf day to the mix. We, of course, went to the yummy Mexican restaurant in town. It's always sooo good! And, of course, us girls (and Logan!) got in some shopping and coffee!
Elliott is also working on riding his bike without training wheels. A few more outings and he'll have it down. Next, tying shoes and working more on reading!!
Jonathan heads back to school on the 17th and Mr. Elliott will start Kindergarten the following week! How can it be?? It seems like just yesterday I was holding this little tiny baby in my arms! Oh, babies...it seems as though everyone we know is having a baby!! A lot of our friends are expecting #3...hmmmmm
I will add some pics here, but they are all on Jonathan's computer. So, they'll be on momentarily.
Take care and God Bless!!!!

Kids in the backyard waiting for a popsicle
The kids at the playground-Logan's first time!
Movie night while the "big boys" take in a baseball game
One of my absolute favorites of my babies!
Me with my precious, one and only nephew!
Monica, Chad, me, Logan, Jonathan and Alana!!
Earn-dog tired after our long trip

A new chapter is about to begin...

If you would have told me 6 weeks ago that we would be leaving Lincoln, I would have told you that you were crazy. Today, however, I must tell you that it is true. Jonathan has been dealing all year with the possibility of a pay cut for the 2009-10 school year (it's all based on a technicality in the extra standard pay policy). His co-teacher and administrators at the school have been fighting with the district to see that this wouldn't happen. But, around May 18th, the door was pretty much slammed in their faces...meaning the pay cut would happen. The same day we got this news, Jonathan got a call from the director at his high school in Iowa saying there was a job opening and his name had been brought up as a possible candidate. So, within a week, he applied and an interview was set up for June 1st. He was offered the job on Friday, and after one last ditch effort by his principal to reverse the pay cut, he accepted the job in Iowa.

Everything is in hyperdrive now. We've made another trip back to look at houses while frantically getting ours ready to sell. We are officially moving the last week in July. The whole situation is so bittersweet. We're excited to be near family-Jonathan's whole family lives in Iowa. The kids have never lived near their grandparents before and they will have their cousins to grow up and play with. However, Lincoln has become our home. We love it. We love our church and all that it has brought to our spiritual life and growth. We love Jonathan's school. He has built such a successful choral program in five short years....nothing like leaving while it's still growing! Just a week before this all started I said, I could live in Lincoln forever...words I NEVER thought I would say. This is my home and I'm not ready to leave it.

But, I will go, with a lot of tears, but nevertheless a cheerful attitude and try to look forward and not back. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is exactly what God has planned for us. Great things are in store. His hand has been in this every step of the way. I think the transition for me will be more difficult. Jonathan is going back to something he knows very, very well...his high school and hometown. I am going back to where I went to college and spent 4 years of my life.

Five weeks left here and I am going to love every second of it. I wish I could take all I have here and pack it up and bring it with me. But, alas, my friends, our church, my bible study groups, E Free MOPS, worship ministries and Resonance and Ambience must stay in Lincoln and I'll find a way to make it through.

If you think of it, say a prayer for us...that our house will sell quickly, that the kids will transition easily (we will be living with Jonathan's folks for about 2 months), that Jonathan's job transition will be smooth and my heart will not be anxious.

Sorry so somber...I will try and post some pics before we leave town of the kids.
Take care and God Bless.

DisneyWorld!

One of my favorite pics of my silly son...nice face, huh?

Jonathan, Elliott and I recently returned from a week-long trip to sunny Florida. We took 2 charter buses down with about 45 of Jonathan's choir students and 20 family members. The bus ride took 24 hours each way...very interesting! We watched lots of movies and thought it wasn't going too bad until about 3 am when the bus driver pulled over in rural Georgia because of a blown tire!!! We sat at shady gas station for 3 hours waiting for someone to come and fix it! This delayed our arrival time at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). But, it ended up that we still had a decent amount of time there.

Posing with Mickey!

Pic with Quincy and June from the Little Einsteins

We didn't check into our hotel until after our first day was nearly over to allow as much time as possible at Hollywood Studios. We stayed at Lake Buena Vista Embassy Suites, which was the same hotel Jonathan and I stayed at for our honeymoon...awww...!

Tuesday was the Magic Kingdom. It was so fun and exciting to see Elliott react to seeing the castle and all the surroundings. He was a bit skeptical to go on some of the rides and meet the characters, but we did convince him to go on Thunder Mountain which is a pretty fast train/coaster. He says now that he had fun, but he did cry some while on the ride! Jonathan's choir performed at downtown Disney that evening and then we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks.

Elliott posing in front of the castle with his silly Mickey sunglasses!

Elliott and daddy driving a racecar!
Meeting Mickey and Minnie (notice his scared face-are you kidding me?!?)

Wednesday was Animal Kingdom where we saw the Finding Nemo show and a show about bugs, which was really cool. There was a huge coaster called Everest there but the line was too long and we didn't have time to ride it...bummer. That evening we went to a Pirates dinner theater. It was pretty cool and Elliott only cried once, during the fake gunshot.

Getting ready to watch the bug show with the 3-D glasses on!

Us at the Pirates dinner theater.

Thursday and Friday were Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We got more of a chance to go on rides we wanted to go on as Jonathan's co-teacher took Elliott part of Friday afternoon. Thursday morning we went down the coast and did airboat rides and saw an alligator and I got to hold a baby alligator! Their skin feels like a marshmallow! Elliott was, of course, too scared to hold it! Friday morning we went down to Cocoa Beach to see the ocean and shop at Ron Jon's surf shop! That was pretty cool even though Elliott was pretty scared of the water-I think it was just so big he didn't know what to think. That is always a breath-taking view!
Daddy and Elliott posing with Jr's car at the NASCAR cafe on Universal Studios Citywalk
(Above) on the airboats
(Below)Me holding the little alligator with his owner standing by (who looks a lot like my cousin, Curt, I might add!)

The ocean as our background-beautiful!
Before we went on the ET ride, Elliott and daddy with ET looking on!

We really had a great time and couldn't have asked for better weather...about 80 all week with the perfect mix of clouds and sun and NO RAIN! It rained the whole next week after we left!

Our trip back was interesting. We got delayed for one hour (dead-stop) in Georgia (it was almost the exact same spot as we blew the tire) because of a fatality accident. It rained pretty much the entire way through Georgia. We were hoping to get through Tennessee and/or Kentucky to see the beautiful landscape, but it was too late. On the way to Florida, we saw a TON of trees that had been destroyed by all of the ice they had down there earlier in the winter. What devastation it was...miles and miles. We ended up going through Illinois and Iowa to try and avoid the huge snowstorm moving through MO and KS. When I woke up around 6 am and saw the bus driver white-knuckling it on the unplowed interstate with snow blowing sideways, I thought it would be best to just close my eyes and go back to sleep!

We finally made it home around 2:15 (4 hours later than originally planned), but nevertheless home safe! My mom and dad had to leave to go back home before we could see them so that was disappointing (they kept Alana for the week).

Enjoy the pics! Take care and God Bless!