Eyes

Mallory likes to play with sunglasses, or 'eyes' as she calls them. :)

She even puts them on top of her head like I sometimes do.

- becky

Carousel Ride

My parents met up with us in Bowling Green, KY. They brought Shelby and Holly with them, so it was really nice to be able to spend more time with them AND we got to see my dad. YEA! :)

We spent part of the morning wondering around the mall there, and the girls enjoyed a carousel ride.

Mallory and Neena - Yes, my child is barefoot inside the mall. She kept taking her sandals off! We don't usually encourage our children to be without shoes in a public place.

Holly


Shelby

- becky

On the Road Again

We had a three day break between the time my family left, Tim came home, and we were on the road for another round of vacation. (Guess what I spent my time doing those three days...yup, laundry and packing.)

This vacation brought us to Kentucky to visit some of my family - aunt, uncles, cousins - and St. Louis for some just-us-family-time. We ended our week away with an overnighter in Cape Girardeau for Tim's Dad's retirement party.

These pictures are from the beginning of our trip.

Hello, Neena! I'm so glad that you, PawPaw, Shelby, and Holly will be in Kentucky, too! I can't wait to see you! Tell PawPaw hello for me!

Mallory loves, loves, loves to talk on the phone. This is one of my old cell phones that she likes to play with.

Chicago...sigh. Just passing through this time. :-(

Look! Isaiah's in Chicago! He really liked watching the train while we were on the interstate.

We drove by the White Sox stadium. Never seen that before!

Baby Julie (which got her name after this vacation - I'll explain in a later post) was hungry in the car. She couldn't wait until we stopped at White Castle...which was right next door to the Portillo's that Tim and I didn't see until we were done eating! Ugh. I like White Castle, but an Italian beef sandwich would have been oh so much better.

Windmills! Over there! Other side!

This one's for my Booper. He loves to watch the windmills! :-)

- becky

More Cousins!

While my family was in town visiting, the four kids had so much fun playing together. I took these pictures at the kids' play area at Bayshore (while Mom and Jenny made another trip to the Vera store - LOL).

Shelby was such a big help with Mallory! She's going to make a GREAT baby-sitter! I only wish she lived close enough for us to use her baby-sitting services!

A semi-decent picture of the four cousins

Isaiah has really gotten into puzzles and other fun games like this.

I heart Holly's piggies. :)

- becky

Bayshore Shopping!

While Tim was in New Orleans, the kids and I had company! My mom, sister, and two nieces came up to spend the week with us. We had such a fun girls + Isaiah week. :)

On their first full day here, we went shopping in Milwaukee at Bayshore Town Center. What a fabulous shopping center! We liked it so much that we went back again on Sunday!!

Shelby - earring shopping

Holly got her ears pierced! She said afterwards, "It hurted." So cute!

Of course, the highlight of the trip was the Vera Bradley store!!!!!

We looooove us some Vera!

Backseat passengers - we were parked in a parking lot when I took this picture, so don 't worry. Isaiah enjoyed riding in the 3rd row in Tim's car so much that his car seat has remained back there. I think Mallory misses him next to her, though.

Mom's look says it all - I just can't decide! Which new Vera should I buy? There are too many good choices!

I'm usually the one taking pictures, so I had to get myself on my blog somehow. Can you tell that it's snack time in the backseat?

- becky

We Believe!

Every three years, we send Tim off to the National Youth Gathering with the church youth group. The first time I remember doing this was the week before we got married. The last time I remember doing this, Isaiah was 8 months old. Maybe next time the kids and I will get to go, too. (Yeah, right. A girl can dream, right?)

Checking out the bus with Daddy

Isaiah thought the bus was super cool. He cried pitifully we he realized that he wasn't going to actually get to ride on it.

I'm really glad the kids and I woke up early to drop-off Tim. It was helpful for them to understand where he was all week. I would ask Isaiah, "Where's Daddy?" And he would respond with, "Daddy's on the bus!"

That's all I have for pictures. I insisted that my camera stay home because my mom, sister, and nieces were coming for a visit while Tim was gone.

Next youth gathering - San Antonio, TX in 2013.

We Believe!

- becky

The Spark

The Spark

by Chris Downie

In June, I decided it was time to do something about the few extra post-baby pounds that I've been carrying around. I re-discovered a web site called Spark People. I had been considering Weight Watchers, but Spark People is FREE. Easy decision! The only money that I have invested into my Spark People endeavor is what I paid for the book. I bought this one instead of borrowing it from the public library. I'm glad I did, too, because this one will be re-read and probably written in.

The Spark is written by the man who started the web site. The book begins with his story - both his personal life and how he started his business. It talks about the important things one needs in order to be successful and meet goals. Part 2 goes through a 28 day program (my program will be longer; I do things in smaller steps) that ends with a healthy lifestyle.

Deciding to live a healthy life definitely takes a commitment. It takes even more will power. Some days are tougher than others, but I am learning to turn my goof ups at this into something positive and not just another excuse to fall off the wagon, so to speak.

Let me know if you want to join me! We can be SparkFriends! It's kind of like Facebook. It's social networking for healthy living - lol!

- becky

Cutie Pies

Paging Dr. Mallory. Dr. Mallory, you're needed in the playroom stat.






- becky

Here Come the Cousins!

So, I'm really behind on my blogging, but once you see how much I have to blog in the next week or so, you'll understand why. We've been so.super.busy.

Tim's mom, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew came to visit us on 4th of July weekend. Even though it was a quick visit, we had a really nice time. (As an added bonus, we got to see them again at the end of the month, which you will see in a future post.)



Mallory and her Auntie Abby :)



Happy 4th, Hannah!

Tim put on our annual fireworks extravaganza. OK, maybe not an extravaganza, but it was still pretty cool.



Check out the black socks with gym shoes and shorts. Nice.



Paul, bravely holding his sparkler! :)

Before they left, we enjoyed a super-yummy breakfast at The Machine Shed.









Yummy! Check out that pancake!

We had a great visit, even though it was short.

- becky