TWO!

K is so excited to tell everyone that she is now two~ here are some pictures from her party a couple of weeks ago and yesterday's events!
Her birthday consisted of the Brookfield Zoo, swimming and Chuck E. Cheese! It was loads of fun for all of us!







And now here is the birthday party...

Happy Fourth of July!

What a crazy week! I'm so glad to be settling down this weekend and just spending time together with just the three of us. We have been on the go and juggling so much lately- we are excited to have some time just together! This long weekend will bring festivals, fireworks and possibly a Ribfest!
Last week we booked tickets to CA for the week of July 19th-27th! We are thrilled to go on a vacation to get away for a little while. It's much needed! It's been a heck of a year dealing with much more than we ever thought. The tickets to go out there were a steal!! Even cheaper than our honeymoon tickets which we thought were possibly going to be the best prices we could ever find- we were wrong! This time K will have her own seat :) That's better for everyone involved!
We are gearing up for her birthday party next weekend as well. Elmo and the gang will all be splattered everywhere as she would request! :)
G and I built bean bag toss boxes-to regulation guidelines, and are hoping to pull that out for the party. It was fun to work on the project- I think G liked using power tools- of course!

Have a safe and festive Fourth of July!

A little update...

We have been busier than we thought at this point. We are staying busy looking for a decent house in the Northern suburbs...not easy with our budget! K and I have been to the zoo another couple of times. We bought a yearly pass so we are taking full advantage of it! :)
It's been fun to go to the pool and watch K become more and more daring. She has little floaties on her arms and with those she just kicks herself all around the pool. Tonight she enjoyed jumping into the pool off the sides- too funny to watch her face.
Last week I drove with my sister to TN to drop her kids off at their grandparents. They are in FL this week taking in all the attactions! Driving down the TN and then back the next day is not highly recommended, in fact, it was rather painful! A funny moment was when I offered my nephew, who is 5, a dollar to shut up for 15 minutes. I extended that 15 minutes to 20 and I gladly handed over the dollar bill. At which point, he stuck his gum he had been chewing for a good two hours right into the middle of that new bill. Nice right? I told him to make sure that he took it with him to the bathroom with him too.
This weekend is my sister's baby shower! I'm very excited for it as she is having a little girl. Her due date is September 14th- very cool since my other sister's birthday is the 13th and her's is the 15th.
We are having some fun planning K's 2nd birthday on the 12th as well. It will be a Sesame Street Theme- she is still very into the whole clan there on Sesame Street. She is also into babies and pushing them in her stroller. Today we went to see some friends and their little girl had several baby dolls and strollers and all things girlie and K was so thrilled to get her little hands on everything!
I'm posting some photos...no particular order...Pool time, father's day at the Zoo and up at Grandpa Lembcke's and picking strawberries & just some fun and goofy ones :)

Beautiful Little Girl

Congratulations to Aunt E and Uncle G on the arrival of their healthy baby girl! Emma Kay was born June 11th @ 5:50 PM and weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz! We hope to have pictures soon!

Splashing FUN

Wow, it's been awhile since we've posted...sorry. I'm hoping this summer I will get better about blogging more often.
We attended an Open house of one of my beloved students...Carly. I will miss her dearly. She graduated with honors and is sure to have a bright future. While there, K took a slpash in their pool. Its funny how much can change in one year...last year she didn't like water too much, now, she can't get enough!
Since moving up to Northbrook, we have had a pool on location. We try to get down there whenever we can-permitting weather of course, which has been a little crazy.
Yesterday we went to Brookfield Zoo with some friends. SO. MUCH. FUN! Her and Emma were quite the pals! K was in awe of each and every animal. She found it especially funny to watch the monkeys swing on ropes and jump from tree to tree.
I hope that everyone is staying relatively dry! :)

Pray for follow thru!

Last week I got an itch to buy K some outdoor toys- so one trip to the store later and we are now the proud owners of a trike, bubble lawn mower, golf set, chalk and a big blue ball. Oh the fun-



Mother's Day was fun and exhausting- we went out for brunch and then up to Shedd Aquarium- one of my favorite palces in Chicago! It was amazing watching K explore and watch the fish. She just thought it was so funny when one would swim past her. She is such a joy!
We are at a point now where G has accepted a job with _v0n in IL and we are set to close on a spec house we built with our builder next week. Both situations are a blessing to us. The house was completed and had just received the occupancy permit, and the following week we had a contract to sell! Exciting-especially in this market. Then G has been interviewing at several places and has had numerous offers and gladly accepted one that was still close to family and has the most incredible relocation package (NO packing or unpacking for me!!) Life is good. However, we need to pray for smooth transitions and follow thru on arrangements!
Here is a quick shot of the new Crocs Aunt Heidi, Cousin courtney and grandma got K...too cute!

The most Special Night all weekend...

Read this article...pictures to come! you have to copy and paste it into the address bar.

http://nwi.com/articles/2008/05/06/news/porter_county/doc66e3e4b6736bd1a286257440005d8405.txt

A Walk to Remember...

Sunday was a beautiful day in the mid-60's so we headed outside for a walk with K. She likes to pick up and collect rocks and now dandilions. For a while now, she also likes to walk Molly herself. She is just a trip and has been such a blessing in our lives!

Prom 2008

What a blast! It couldn't have been better! Although, I could have done without the tornado sirens going off as the students arrived :) The weather eventually broke and most of the kids never even knew there were sirens!
Enjoy the pictures! The theme was "Evening in Paris" colors were gold, silver and black. The night started with a grand march in the gym and then moved to the venue- Expo Center in Valpo. There was a 20' Eiffel tower, a great entrance, a cafe scene and a park scene...it all turned out amazing! The DJ was brought in from out of town and he typically does national events...he was worth every cent we paid him! The (over 800!) students danced most the night and just about everyone stayed until midnight. I'm so happy how things turned out...I don't know that I'd change anything for next year...except the theme of course! :)

From the bottom of my heart...

M has a student in class who is just a riot. Here he made her a heart omelet, the day before he created a story *with pictures* on how one day M's student helper and another student would marry as would he and M!!! What a trip! Students like him are what make teaching so much fun! Thanks Myles!

BRILLIANT!

This deserves a great big A-M-E-N people!!!! What an Ahh Ha! moment for me!
Please read!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23957393/

OK, finally!!

(A fair warning-blogger is having a hiatus and won't let me post photos, so those will come soon!) It's clearly been awhile since I last posted...I'm back on the wagon now. Things have been a little crazy around here. M hosted a Prom Fashion and Expo Show at school with over 40 vendors and 500 in attendance, G is busy at work trying to see where this economy is going to take him, and K has been developing her speech and personality by leaps and bounds. That nursery rhyme "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" is coming back to haunt us as she likes to shake her little finger and say "no, no, no!" It's cute though...she hasn't done it maliciously yet, maybe that's why it is still cute! G turned 29 on the 16th and we found out that a cousin in CA gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! M is still working on plans for prom this year along with her Juni0r class. It has been far more work than our wedding. It's only about a month away- then all the hours will pay off.
For Easter weekend we went up to spend some time with grandpa
L and nana on Saturday. We went out for a delicious dinner and then went to church on Sunday and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast. Then we headed up to great grandmas for a Easter dinner. It was so good to see her and she looked great! K showed off her pretty dress and played until she tuckered herself out! You would think then that she might zonk in the car...oh no! No sleepy, sleepy! We stopped at grandma and grandpa W's too on the way back from WI and there she was wound up again playing with her cousins. She slept really well that night!
This was M's spring break so Mon-Tuesday we went down to Indy to see some friends. K was reunited with her first love- Jakob!
Wed M and her niece and nephews went to Medieval Times! SO MUCH FUN!
Th-Fri Cousin Courtney came over and Saturday and Sunday we all tried to get some R&R!
K had her pictures taken...you'll be getting them soon!
That's all for now!! Hopefully I'll keep you posted more often! :)