Andi's World

You've got the cutest little babyface...

2010-05-18T16:37:00.003-05:00

I've been collecting pictures of Jeff and myself as babies and as we were growing up for a digital photo frame to put on the guest book table. I just had to share my favorite one. *swoon*

Lucky boy

2010-03-18T17:43:00.003-05:00

This is our big, sweet, dopey, loving, happy-go-lucky Labrador Lucky. I believe his tail never stops wagging, even in his sleep. He loves swimming, retrieving ducks, keeping watch over the neighborhood, and a good scratch behind the ears. He managed to give us quite a scare this week!
Whenever I eat lunch at home, I'll usually give him a biscuit or treat before I go back to work. Monday when I was home though, he didn't get up, and I immediately knew something was very wrong. He was weak and could barely stand up, and there was upchuck in his kennel. I called Jeff and he came home and we tried for about 20 minutes to get him to perk up, but his poor tail wouldn't even wag. We called the vet and I ended up driving him out and turns out, he had the flu of all things! I had no idea that dogs could get it! The vet said most likely one of the neighbors that comes to visit him had it and transfered it to him. My poor buddy was running a 104.9 temp by the time we made it to the vet's office! They recommended leaving him there overnight so they could start some antibiotics and fluids and hopefully get him feeling better. By Tuesday though, he wasn't any better. He still had a 104.4 temp and had blood in his urine. When she said "possible kidney damage" over the phone I just about lost it. My poor baby was feeling terrible, couldn't understand why, and all he knew was that I had driven him to a strange place and left him. It wasn't a very good rest of the day.
By Wednesday though, our Lucky boy lived up to his name and pulled through! Jeff drove out to get him and though he's still moving a little slow and isn't quite back to 100% yet, his tail is wagging again, and that is the happiest sight in the world to me right now!

French Bread

2010-02-27T11:06:00.003-06:00

Here is my first attempt at French bread. They turned out pretty well, even if they were a little too done. It's hard to tell but they are darker than they look in the picture. I attribute that to using wheat flour instead of white like the recipe called for, since wheat was all I had. I suppose that makes it NOT French bread...oh well. But the overall flavor was pretty good! Not bad for my first try!

CARD BOX

2010-01-23T11:29:00.003-06:00

Well I finally completed the card box last night! I'd say it came out pretty well but I'll let you be the judge of that. First, though, here are a few selections from Etsy to use for comparison.

This first one is the closest to what I had in mind. It was priced at $35.00. Not TOO bad but still a little much to pay for something that just sits on the gift table all night.

This next selection boasted of being covered in silk and hand beaded lace and rang in at...are you ready for this?...$150.00. I am not even kidding. $150.00. For a card box. One hundred and fifty dollars. I'm not even sure what to say about that one...
Last but not least, here is my version. The hat boxes were about $8.00 for both, the fabric was out of that same $6.99 yard I used for the ring pillow, the ribbon and edging around the opening came to about $5.00 all together, and the spray paint for the lids was free from the hardware store (it pays to have connections :). I was hoping to make a nice bow from the green ribbon for the top like the card box in the first picture, but learned last night that my bow-making skills are not up to par, but that's okay, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Stay tuned for my next DIY project: The Unity Candle

Ring Pillow

2010-01-17T12:03:00.002-06:00

In my search for accessories for the wedding, I've found that a lot of the white, floofy versions of things that are more mainstream just aren't ringing my bell. Those are fine and perfect for a white, floofy wedding, but our wedding is most definitely not. I started a list a while back of things that I would need to start gathering, and while I know we are still 8 months out, I thought it would be good to get as much stuff out of the way now, so that way I'm not stressing about it when we're 3 weeks out. The first thing I wanted to tackle was the ring bearer pillow. I searched all of the craft stores in Peoria, and all of the wedding accessory websites and kept coming up with the same white floofy pillows. Occasionally a brown satin version would pop up but it would almost always have crystals and rhinestones bedazzled on it and I'm just not a crystals and rhinestones kind of gal. So I turned to Ebay and the wonderful Etsy. There I found some marvelous examples of what I was going for.

This first one sang to me. Oh, the simplicity of it! The rustic brown, the soft petals of the flower! Lovely! It also rang in at the lovely price of $45.00. Add shipping to that and it was way more than I could justify spending on something that was only going to be featured for a 30 second walk down the aisle.

This one really caught my eye as well. The rich fall colors and the beautiful leaves were perfect! But it rang in at $36.00. Better than the first one, but still more than I was willing to shell out, especially after shipping was added on.

I finally broke down and resolved to make my own. I scoured online for fabric and pillow forms but couldn't find any that were priced well enough to save me very much money. I was getting frustrated until I remembered that UFS had wedding accessories every now and then. I took a gamble and drove downtown and sure enough, they had ring pillows for $5!! I figured I could just cut off the bows and beads and lace and just re-cover it with whatever I liked. So after checking out I drove up to Jo-Ann fabrics and found some beautiful brown and green fabric to use and even better, it was 30% off and came out to $6.99! So I bought a yard of fabric, some gold rope trim that was $1.99, a little package of four tassels for $.99 and a gold button for the center that was $.59!

Behold, my masterpiece!

The shape isn't perfect and the sewing technique I used for the trim is called hot glue gun, but I'm proud of it nonetheless, and it will do for a 30 second trip down the aisle :) All in all, I ended up spending about $15 total, less actually, though, since I used just a fraction of the fabric to cover the pillow. Way better than spending $40-$50.

Added bonus, I found two hat boxes, one for $2.99 and one for $4.99 that I am going to cover with the leftover fabric and glue together to make a card box for the gift table. If all goes well, I will hopefully have another crafty post soon!

Seriously?

2010-01-07T10:55:00.002-06:00

District 150 decides not to have a snow day (which is really no surprise, when I was growing up they were famous for never taking snow days) and really, if people pay attention it's really not hard to maneuver in this amount of snow. But the superintendent then calls in to work due to weather? That's pretty gutsy. I'm sure one of the fine school bus drivers that are driving around in this crud and that are in charge of keeping the kids safe would be happy to drive to his house and pick him up....

Bread!

2010-01-02T16:44:00.002-06:00

I present my first loaves of bread made with my wonderful mixer! They aren't perfectly shaped or rounded on top but man do they ever make up for it in taste. I was eating warm slices slathered in butter last night. This is probably not aiding my mission of losing a few pounds in time for trying on wedding dresses next week, but it was so worth it. I look forward to making many many more loaves.

In other news, my ring came in a whole week earlier than it was supposed to! The woman at Bremer's (her name is Dee-highly recommend her if you need anything jewelry related) called and said the goldsmith was going to be done with it at about 4:30, but Jeff's brother leaves work at 5:00 so I was good & patient and told Jeff we could wait until next week to get it. But his brother offered to stay late until we got back from picking it up so we rushed out to the North end of town and I was able to start the new year off as a properly engaged woman :) So yay! Hope you like it :) (please ignore my dry, cracked, red hands that are sorely in need of a manicure-I conveniently cropped my sad fingernails out of the picture)

So bread and a ring-not a bad start to 2010!

Isn't She Lovely?

2009-12-29T15:27:00.004-06:00

Jeff and I went out a couple of weeks ago and designed and ordered my engagement ring. I told him not to get me anything big for Christmas since the ring was more than enough present for me :) He agreed and told me that he would still get me something to open Christmas morning and I was fine with that as he usually gets me my favorite lotion or a gift certificate every year.

Um, he broke my rule. After he opened his presents and I opened my lotion AND gift certificate he went and got a heavy box and plopped it down in front of me. After my initial protesting and mild chastising for spending more money on me, I tore off the paper to find this beauty.

A gorgeous shiny Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer. I have been dreaming about one of these since I was about ten or so, but because of the price and space limitations, I could never bring myself to splurge on one. It was always on my dream list of items for the future when we had more space/money. Well, I made the space. This thing is AWESOME! I made an initial batch of chocolate chip cookies (those are Jeff's favorite and well, since he got me the mixer, it only seemed right) and the next night I used it to make pizza crust for some awesome homemade pizza! I am most excited about being able to make bread. I am getting arthritis in my hands (yes, at 26. Genetics are fun...) and the few times I have attempted to make bread the kneading has always been painful. I thought about a bread machine but the loaves are always the same and I love the look of hand shaped artisan loaves and having that chewy top crust on every slice. You just don't get that out of a bread machine. I can't wait to slice into my first loaf!

Unfortunately most of my spare time now will be spent getting my mom's new house ready for my sister who will be visiting next week. Not that I'm not ecstatic about my sister (and my precious sweet niece) coming to see us, but my baby will just be sitting there in the kitchen, all alone, quiet, and still. Patiently waiting to cream butter and sugar, or knead some warm dough, or mix up a meringue. Soon, my dear, soon we will be together in all of our baking glory....

Archery Tournament

2009-12-28T16:32:00.001-06:00

Just thought I'd share this picture I took of Jeff shooting in an archery tournament earlier this month. He is third from the left in the bright red Hoyt shirt. They have to shoot x's the size of a dime from (I honestly can't remember how many) yards away. That's hard enough on it's own, much less with a person just a few inches away on either side of you. It's even worse when a left-hander is next in line, because then you are face to face. I don't think I have the concentration required for this hobby.

Changes

2009-12-08T16:43:00.002-06:00

I know I haven't posted in a long time, it just seemed for a while that nothing very noteworthy was happening. Well the month of November sure took care of that! Lots of changes came about and they seemed to come one right after another!
The first change was the addition of my beautiful new niece, Alexandra Grace.

She is so perfect and sweet and wonderful! I was so lucky to spend the first week with her and just enjoy holding her and snuggling her and having her fall asleep in my arms. There is absolutely nothing better in the world than rocking a baby to sleep. I am looking forward to seeing her grow and learn but I hope she stays tiny and snuggly for just a little while longer.

The second big change happened while I was gone visiting Ali. My mom bought a new house! This one will be much better suited to her and her needs. It's a little bittersweet, since it means saying goodbye to my childhood home, and that Mom will have to say goodbye to the home that she and my dad spent 30 years building together, but overall it's a good change, and we'll get through the hard parts together and enjoy the good parts!

Finally, the biggest change is that Jeff and I are ENGAGED!! We went to lunch together the day before Thanksgiving and the topic sort of came up in conversation (okay okay, so I might have brought it up, ever so subtly...) and we ended up deciding that we were going to aim for September. So that set the planning into motion and the official date is now September 18th 2010! I can't wait! We have spent four years building our relationship and it's exciting to take it to the next level and commit our lives to each other.

So lots of changes in November. So far, December has proven to be a little calmer. I am enjoying this time of just being able to enjoy being engaged, because come January things will really kick into high gear. We will begin getting my mom's new house ready for her to move in, and begin getting the old one ready to sell, I'll begin looking for a wedding gown (yay!) and sorting out all of the details that will go into making our day.

Phew, that makes me tired just thinking about it! I'd better go take a nap in preparation..

North Dakota hunting trip

2009-10-19T16:33:00.002-05:00

Jeff was in North Dakota last week on his annual duck hunting trip. This wasn't a record breaking year for them but it was better than the last two years. He came back with some great pictures though (which is clearly the most important thing) so I thought I'd share.

these are a mix of blue geese and snow geese

Jeff, Russ, and Ricky

One Year

2009-10-11T11:03:00.003-05:00

It's been one year. One year since I got a late night phone call. One year since my brother and I drove down to a Springfield hospital. One year since we walked into that hospital to learn that our lives would never be the same again.

We've made it through the first everything. The first Thanksgiving without him. The first Christmas, Easter, Father's day. On my 25th birthday I got a hug from my Dad. On my 26th I didn't. They say that the first everything is the hardest. Does this mean that the second everything will sting a little less?

We have navigated this new territory together as a family, settling into different roles and routines, trying to fill in the incredible void that he left. But we know that it can never be filled completely.

There are still days that I am just desperate for a hug from my Dad. Days that I just NEED to have a conversation with him. About anything, the weather, the Cubs, the fact that the refrigerator is leaking...

This next year will bring new members into our family, through birth and marriage. I so wish that he could be here with us to welcome them, but I know he is watching and smiling.

Dad, we love you and miss you so much.

just like Robin Hood

2009-10-08T16:08:00.002-05:00

well, minus the green tights and feathered hat. And he'd better not have any girlfriends named Marian.

Btw, I just realized it looks like he's aiming at poor Ace. There is a target, it just didn't make it into the picture. You can tell how impressed Ace was with our presence though...

animal control

2009-10-03T17:03:00.001-05:00

Four men using two rakes and an oil dipstick to get a squirrel out of the engine of the van. I don't think any further explanation is necessary.

Right Stone, Wrong Spot

2009-09-16T17:38:00.004-05:00

My Mom and I had the task a few months ago of ordering a headstone for my Dad's grave. She had an idea of what she liked as far as the type of monument and the color of the stone. We went to a company that was recommended to us by the funeral director. This company has been in business in Peoria for a long time and has a very good reputation. Mom had a simple design in mind for what she wanted, both of their names and dates, their wedding date, and a cross with two wedding rings, which was the the topper on their wedding cake. Nothing too elaborate, nothing too complicated...simple and straightforward, like my Dad.
Well, the first proof that came in the mail read as follows:

Stephen Gale Bowman
September 19, 1949
October 11, 2008

Leslie Mower
September 18, 1947

Married August 19, 1949

Take a look at the wedding date, Mom was not quite 2 and Dad wasn't even born yet.

So back to the drawing board it went and they soon mailed a proof with all of the correct information. We waited patiently to hear that the stone had been completed and placed. Fast forward to yesterday, when the letter finally came saying the stone had been placed on September 9th. "That's funny," I told her, " I was just there Sunday and there wasn't any stone..." . So before she called the company I drove to the cemetery to see if maybe they had placed it after they sent the letter. Nope. No stone. So I called and let her know, and as I was driving around the lane to get back to the entrance, I see BOWMAN on the back of a stone. A stone that looks suspiciously like the shape and color that we ordered. A stone that's about two rows and for spaces down from where my Dad actually is. So I called her again and she in turn called the company and they promised to get it in the right spot.
My Dad has to have something to do with this. This is the man who would wrap bricks with Christmas presents, and who would wrap a small present in box, after box, after box. I have a feeling he is keeping us on our toes even from Heaven :)

It's Apple Season!

2009-09-06T17:56:00.002-05:00

Susie, Heather, Miranda, and I had our annual Apple Pie Assembly Party yesterday and it was yet another success. In addition to the four pies in the picture there were even more in the freezer. We assembled regular apple, dutch apple, and even a gluten free version. Looking forward to caramel apples sometime in October!

2009-07-27T11:40:00.002-05:00

The Ryan family and I had our second session yesterday and Nolan was definitely in a much better mood this time :) He was awake for the first half of the session and then he fell asleep and let us pretty much do whatever we wanted after that, pose his feet, have him hold props, etc. Hope you enjoy!

Kisses from Momma

Daddy Time

So Peaceful

Dreaming about the Bears' next superbowl win :)

Afternoon in the Country

2009-07-20T13:29:00.003-05:00

Jeff went out to his Mom & Dad's house to mow yesterday and since they have blackberries growing out behind their house I went along to pick a bunch and make a couple of cobblers later on.
As you can see in the picture below, it wasn't exactly a bumper crop. I'm not sure what has happened but there used to be waaaay more blackberries out there in years past. I just barely scraped together enough to make my cobbler (and even then I had to supplement with some frozen from the grocery store). So what else did I do but run around with my camera taking pictures of anything and everything that caught my eye. All in all, the weather was perfect, there was a nice breeze blowing, and it made for a very relaxing afternoon.

My overload of blackberries

This is Ace, the neighbors' horse. He's pretty much not interested in anyone if they don't have apples or some other treat to feed him.

Here he is looking slightly annoyed that I kept sticking a camera in his face while he was trying to munch on some grass. I did toss him a few blackberries for his time.

I guess the occupants were done with this one.

Kicking back on the front porch. I love the country.

Thunderbirds

2009-07-13T09:37:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we climbed up on the roof of the hardware store to watch the USAF Thunderbirds perform for the air show. V.I.P. seating rocks.

Mr. Nolan

2009-07-02T16:30:00.002-05:00

A few months ago I took maternity pictures for my friend Sonya and her husband Greg. Well their baby boy Nolan finally decided to join the rest of us on the outside last Saturday, the 20th. He was a week and a few days overdue and put his poor mom through two days of labor. But he was well worth the wait. I got to go over last night and take a few pics for his announcements. Unfortunately he wasn't in the greatest of moods but I was able to get a couple of good shots. There will be more to come when we have our next session but here are a few just to introduce the little guy :)

I do not...

2009-06-29T12:25:00.001-05:00

recommend putting a gallon of paint on the paint shaker when the lid is not fully hammered down.

Thank you. That is all.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T11:38:00.001-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all of the great dads out there. I certainly had one of the best :)

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T14:29:00.004-05:00

For Memorial Day we went to the cemetery and put flags on Dad's gravesite. Here are a few pictures.

Happy Memorial Day Dad and thank you for your service to our country.

lunch

2009-05-14T17:15:00.002-05:00

I came back from lunch today with that totally stuffed, I couldn't take another bite feeling. Then I was informed that people from Texas Roadhouse brought in a box of warm rolls and a tub of cinnamon butter. Somehow I squeezed a few rolls in.
My waistline and jeans are not happy with me at the moment.
The End.

Noah is 7!

2009-05-14T10:27:00.002-05:00

Bubba turned 7 years old on Tuesday! (sniffle) When did that happen? It seems like not that long ago we were all gathered up at the hospital straining our ears to hear his first little cries from the delivery room. Time is flying. Especially when you have a 7 going on 30 year old!

He had a baseball cake and I was sure to get him lots of Cubs gear (shirt, tatoos, and a penant)!

The big present of the night was a new scooter! It even has a motor (he can ride it without the motor too) ! He and his buddy Josh can scoot around the neighborhood together now! Happy Birthday Bubba!

Dancing Queen

2009-05-11T14:14:00.006-05:00

McKenna had a dance recital Friday night at Eastlight theater. Her cousins Tristan and Desi were also in it and all three did a fantastic job! McKenna was in two dances, Tristan was in a tumbling routine and Desi danced later on. Great job girls!

This was in the parking lot before she went in. This was her outfit for "A Spoonful of Sugar" (the pink crocs aren't part of the ensemble haha!).

This was after her second dance "I Pledge Allegiance"

"A Spoonful of Sugar"

After with me and my mom, with flowers from her Nana Karen and pink roses from us

My Mom

2009-05-10T12:11:00.003-05:00

Just taking a moment on this Mother's Day to appreciate my Mom. Amazing that someone just 4'11" tall and is 80-some-odd pounds is indeed the strongest person I know. She has overcome more in her life than most of us ever have to face. In fact, if I had been challenged with even a fraction of what she has had thrown at her, I would have buckled under the pressure. But not her.
She dealt with polio at age 5. Then the diagnosis that she would never walk again. Then years of physical therapy and training her legs to walk in a new way, using different muscles. Spent her childhood having surgery after surgery. Had two C-sections. Worked. Only took 1/2 hour lunches, eating a sandwich from home rather than spending money on a restaraunt lunch. Dealt with her daughter's lovely teenage years. Deals with MS with dignity and stubbornness. Handled losing the love of her life. Even though she deals with pain and illness on a daily basis, if I so much as sneeze or mention a headache, she is much more worried about me than herself.
I hope that when I am a mom, I have the same elements of compassion, grace, stubbornness, priorities, and most of all love, that she has.
Happy Mothers Day to my mom and to all of the moms, grandmas, aunts, sisters, and moms-to-be!

It's Morel Season!!!

2009-05-02T15:26:00.002-05:00

It's time for Morel Mushrooms again! This season was delayed a bit by the weather (normally it's long over by May) but the wait was well worth it! Jeff went turkey hunting yesterday morning and decided to look for mushrooms while he was out. He ended up finding about 5 lbs including this whopper in the picture (the quarter is there for size reference). While it's certainly not a record setter it is the biggest one he's ever found. So tonight we feast! Can't wait to get the little gems all breaded and fried... mmmmm.....

Maternity photos with Sonya

2009-03-30T09:41:00.005-05:00

Yesterday my friend Sonya had a maternity photo shoot (photo shoot, that sounds professional doesn't it? Ha ha!) and it was a LOT of fun! Sonya, her husband Greg, and their baby boy are great subjects to work with. It was so easy taking photos of them, I could have snapped pics all day long. Here are just a few of my favorite shots. Enjoy and thanks to Sonya for letting me share!

Jonah is 3!

2009-03-24T09:53:00.002-05:00

Jonah actually turned 3 on the 15th but I kept forgetting to bring my camera in to download pictures until today. He loves dinosaurs and so he had a dinosaur themed party complete with dinosaur decorations and even dinosaur noses that you could wear (that I didn't get a picture of, of course).

Here is the birthday boy with his dinosaur cake!

He got lots of dinosaur gifts! Here is a dinosaur puzzle!

A dinosaur backpack for school!

His very last present was this awesome remote control dinosaur! This guy could do everything!
He could walk around, sit up, roar, eat (he belches after eating..), and sleep (he starts snoring after a minute). It was the hit of the party!

Happy Birthday JoJo! It sure has been a lot of fun being your aunt! Love you bunches!

Photo Tag

2009-03-23T09:36:00.003-05:00

Charity tagged me to do a picture post and since I LOVE taking pictures, this is the best kind of tag! Here are the instructions...

1. Go to Document/pictures
2. Sixth file folder
3. Post sixth picture
4. Blog about it.
5. Tag 6 others.

This was taken at Johnston Lake near Banff, Alberta, Canada. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The glacial water was a gorgeous blue/green and since we were there in October, the aspen trees had started turning a bright, sunny yellow which contrasted with the deep green pine trees. The Canadian Rockies are AMAZING and I hope to be able to visit them again someday.

Since I don't really have a blogging family or community that I belong to I don't really have anyone to tag :( But I hope you enjoyed my photo post. It was nice being able to revisit Johnston Lake for a few moments ;)

Melina is 4!!!

2009-03-10T15:12:00.002-05:00

Sunday was Melina's 4th birthday! A Tinkerbell party fit for a princess was held and we had lots of fun! It has been wonderful watching her grow and learn these past four years. It sure seems like it's flying by!

The Birthday Girl!

Blowing out the #4 candle on her Tinkerbell cake!

Her new princess scooter!

Getting the hang of her new princess roller skates!

Where there's a will...

2009-02-27T10:47:00.003-06:00

Jeff snapped this picture yesterday of a very determined squirrel eating out of my so-called squirrel-proof bird feeder. He is hanging upside down by one back foot which you can see is tightly holding on to the hook. If I had to hang upside down by one back foot for my meals, I think I would starve. I'm just not that talented.

By Day....

2009-02-20T13:58:00.002-06:00

She's known as Bailey Bowman

But when darkness falls.....

It's BATDOG!!!

"hark, is that the batsignal.."

My Goddaughter

2009-02-03T17:20:00.003-06:00

a mere 4 1/2 years ago...

To now...

Oh my heck time is flying by...

Bailey says hi!

2009-01-21T09:35:00.003-06:00

Bailey was getting jealous of all of those posts about my sister's dogs so I promised her I'd show off some of her pictures too. Geez, cousin rivalry.

'Stare deeply into my eyes. You want to get the bag of treats out...'

Ready to play

Do you seriously have to have that camera ALL of the time?

One of my favorite Christmas moments...

2009-01-03T10:06:00.001-06:00

Jeff and Jonah's Rock'em Sock'em Robot tournament.

2008-12-20T14:28:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pictures I took from the ice storm. For as many problems as the ice causes it is nice to be able to stop for a moment and see how pretty it makes everything. Being in the hardware business though those moments are all too fleeting and then we have to get back to the business of dealing with the aftermath.

Oh! Guess who came to visit us at the hardware store today......

IT'S SANTA!!!!!
And our other favorite visitor Melina is sitting on his lap!

Happy Winter and Merry Christmas!

Some warm fuzzies for this very cold day :)

2008-12-15T09:51:00.000-06:00

My sister's dogs again. I think she actually trains them to just be cute. Here Mia and Spencer fell asleep hugging each other. All together now..Awwww!

It's Christmas Program time!

2008-12-11T10:55:00.002-06:00

Last night McKenna and Jonah's preschool had their Christmas program in the Notre Dame auditorium. Jonah's class went first, then there was a class in between, and McKenna's was last. Jonah spotted Noah in the middle of "Away in a Manger" and shouted out "Noah! You're here!". Everybody just chuckled. It was a cute program and the kids did very well.

Jonah saw the flash from my camera and then looked straight at me for this shot. One of the few times you'll see a halo on him :)

Here he's singing "Up on the Housetop".

They asked McKenna to be Mary in the nativity but she wanted to be the cow instead. I guess just like her aunt she'd rather be the backup singer than the lead :)

Here she is with the rest of the manger scene. I love that "Mary" is waving in the middle of the song. Too cute!

dogs again

2008-11-20T09:31:00.002-06:00

the cutest thing I have EVER seen

2008-11-19T14:31:00.001-06:00

My sister Amy's three dogs Brandon, Mia, and Spencer curled up asleep together.
If that doesn't make you smile and give you warm fuzzies then nothing will.

fotos

2008-11-17T16:45:00.004-06:00

I know that I subject you all to my photography sometimes and since I know how much you LOVE them (oh just humor me and say you love them), I am now going to share with you some of my favorite pics that Jeff has taken. I will set aside my snobby pride and admit that he is actually a pretty good photographer (what makes me fume is that it's accidental, he doesn't spend most of his waking moments framing imaginary shots in his mind and then constantly have a camera ready just in case one of those shots presents itself...). Anyway, enjoy.

Some chilly geese

Coming in for a landing

more geese

He took this in Germany. It's probably my favorite picture that he has taken so far.

This is another one of my favorites from Germany.

I'd say he's pretty good with a camera :)

One month

2008-11-11T14:40:00.002-06:00

Today is the one month anniversary of my dad's passing. It is also Veteran's Day. I was always proud of his service to our country and this holiday always held special meaning to me but now it has a little more poignance to it. I prayed last night for strength to help me get through today and wondering how I was going to make it without tearing up at all the little thoughts that run around in my head. Then I got to work and found a beautifully written message from my sister Amy. I won't share all of it but I will share a portion of it. It was exactly what I needed and it made me realize that God has already given me the strength I need to make it through this. He gave it to me in the form of my amazing family. My siblings and I have grown closer and have relied on each other for hope, laughter, remembrance, and reminders of the lessons that he taught all of us. My mom has shown amazing amounts of grace and resilience and has guided us all. One month later, and the memory of his smile and laughter is slowly wiping out the pain and heartache. Thank you all and Happy Veterans' Day.

Here are a few exerpts from my sister's message:

So I was trying to figure out a way that I could get through the day without those little thoughts that bring tears to my eyes......So many times I've wondered how I could hang on for even one more day or even a moment. I just did. There it is, exactly the same thing Aron said at Daddy's funeral. You just do. Something Daddy must have instilled in all of us so deeply that it seems like a natural thing to do. One month ago I wondered how we would get through the pain and continue living life. We just do.

How does Andi get married without Daddy to walk her down the aisle? How does she have children without them ever knowing Daddy? How does Dina enjoy her new marriage and love her new husband without being able to share her happiness with Daddy? How do reunite with my children or not, without having Daddy to share it with or lean on? How do I have another child without Daddy ever holding him or her? How does Aron continue to grow as a family man without Daddy to guide him? How do the grandchildren grow without having a wonderful influence such as Daddy in their lives? How does Leslie find joy and meaning in life again? The answer is, we just do. We do it because that's what he taught us to do. We do because we are the strong people he taught and encouraged us to be.

So instead of being sad, let's honor him by living our lives with joy and passion. Let's do our best at whatever we decide to do. Let's live with dignity. Let's be kind and compassionate like he taught us to be. Let's lean on each other the way he taught us. Let's be strong and courageous like he was. Let's celebrate the good times. Let's love our families and each other. We know that Daddy is with God watching over us all. He wants us to be happy, and yes, he is here with us I know it.

I found a quote that sums it up. "The barn burned down... now I can see the moon." What it means to me is that the "barn burning" is something really bad happening, and at the time it's all you can focus on. But soon your focus changes and you start seeing things differently, your view changes. Now you see the moon, or rather something beautiful you didn't see before. And you may have never seen it if the bad thing didn't happen, or if the barn never burnt down.

Thank you to my dear sister who knew just what I needed just when I needed it. You truly are a blessing.

Daddy and Andi. September 7, 1983

Thanksgiving 1983

a nation of wimps

2008-11-07T15:11:00.002-06:00

That is the title to a book that came out recently about how many parents are setting their kids up to fail because they are over-involved in their lives and are trying to protect them from falling down, getting discouraged, and telling them that they can have as many times as it takes to get it right. I know that at the tender age of 25, I can't exactly sit in my rocker and tsk tsk about kids these days, but I have seen too many examples of kids who are going to never make it because their parents insist on making their lives easy and bailing them out of any unpleasant situation they find themselves in.

I'm not saying I had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow or anything, but something just gets to me when I see 16 year olds with fresh licenses driving around in shiny new Mustangs, Camaros, and trucks. Granted, my dad did buy me my first car, but it was an 83 Oldsmobile with an AM only radio that I had to switch out myself. I had to pay the insurance, and if it needed repaired, I paid the bill or was out in the garage with my dad learning how to fix it.

Case in point: we had a kid that worked here for about a month. He is a high schooler and drives a fairly new Mustang that he does not make a car payment or an insurance payment on. The other night he was just standing around (which was normal for him) so Jeff's brother got irritated and gave him a job to do. He replied by saying that he was getting picked on for no reason, then he said he quit, clocked out and went home. All because Tim expected him to work while he was at work. What a concept.

The other kid that worked for us pretty much shared the same work ethic. He drives a fairly new car as well. He didn't show up to work last night.

Both boys of course showed up today to collect their paychecks. I asked the second kid why he wasn't here last night, he replied that he quit as well. Then they had the nerve to go out to the cash register to get their checks cashed.

Another lady I know has twin boys that are 17. One has a Camaro, the other has a 3000GT. She and her husband bought the cars for them and pay the insurance. One just recently got a ticket. His mom is paying that ticket and paying for him to take the class to get it off of his record. The other one just recently locked his keys in the trunk of his Camaro (don't ask), and you can guess who paid the locksmith to come and get them out.

Is this seriously our future? The kids that worked here and quit will go home to parents who will tell them "that's okay, you were getting picked on" and continue to pay their bills for them. The other kids will be 30 and still having their parents bail them out of problems.

Is this seriously what we want to teach our kids? "Do whatever is most comfortable and if it doesn't work out, we'll fix it for you and help you blame somebody else." Yeah, that's just what we need, more wimps.

Sounds like a winner to me. Okay, okay, I'll get off of my soapbox now.

Oh no she di-in't!

2008-11-03T17:13:00.002-06:00

Oh yes she did. That's right. She's goin' political.

My political activism has always been right at the "have my opinion and let other people have theirs" level. Apparently, not all people keep it at this level.

I'm going to come out and say it.....I'm....a......Republican! Gasp! I can't believe she actually admitted this! Wow, she's brave!

I know it's not the popular thing to be right now and I can almost hear the hisses that will follow me wherever I go.

I am a Republican. I do not, however, believe that Barack Obama is going to eat our children or that he is going to make copies of the keys to the white house and mail them to terrorist organizations. I do not believe that he harbors a secret love for all things communism and gets pointers from Castro and Kim Jong-il. For those of you that do believe this (particularly the man who was just in the hardware store rambling on for about 20 minutes trying his best to convince everyone withing earshot that this is in fact the case), please shut up and go away. You are giving the rest of us a bad name.

I am a Republican. I do not believe that the apocolypse will set upon us should Mr. Obama be elected. I do not feel the need to go out and stock up on assault rifles and canned food and shut myself in a bomb shelter for the duration of his term. (aforementioned nutjobs, please feel free to lock yourselves away, we'll be better off without you).

A quick note to the extreme left-wingers, please stop preaching that the apocolypse will set upon us should Mr. McCain be elected. You are just as annoying as the extreme right-wingers.

Thank you.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T12:24:00.002-06:00

From.....

BATMAN!!!

BATGIRL!!!!

and ROBIN!!!...er...well....

well, they tried to get Jonah to be Robin but he had to be a stubborn Bowman and go with the non-conformist dinosaur costume.

Me: Jo Jo what are you?

Jonah: Dy-soar (dinosaur)

Me: What kind of dinosaur?

Jonah: T-Wex (t-rex)

Me: Are you a cute T-rex?

Jonah: NO! T-Wex Scawy! (t-rex scary)

Me: What does a t-rex say?

Jonah: Rawr!

Who Knew

2008-11-01T11:35:00.001-05:00

You Are the Swedish Chef

"Bork! Bork! Bork!"

Your happy and energetic - with borderline manic tendencies.

No one really gets you. And frankly, you don't even get you.

But, you sure can whip up a great chocolate mousse

The Muppet Personality Test

4 Bowmans

2008-10-30T16:07:00.002-05:00

I wish that there had been a better reason for the 4 of us to be together but, since it doesn't happen that often, I figured I had better post it. I am in front, Aron is standing behind me then Amy, then Dina. I think Aron stood that way on purpose so that my head would hide all of the gray hairs in his beard :)

My Dad

2008-10-22T10:39:00.002-05:00

Warning: this post is a bit of a downer but hopefully writing some of these thoughts down will help me process a little bit. These are just some random thoughts about my Daddy. Things I am working through, things I miss, things I've learned.

It's been 11 days. Feels like it's only been about 2. I have to catch myself and remind myself what day it is. Still having moments of reminding myself that it's real.

Last night Aron brought the kids to the house and Jonah asked "Where's Paw Paw?". I just about lost it.

11 days and it feels like there's been a 50 lb. weight sitting on my chest for all 11 of them. There's this "sadness fog" that just permeates everything. Like an invisible voice that keeps reminding me "he's gone" no matter what I'm doing. Driving to the gas station, watching t.v., everything.

I have moments of angry. My dad was one of the good guys. I know God needs him in Heaven but we need him here too. I need him to randomly call me about gas prices, or asking about something we have at the hardware store. I need to hear him say "Hi Andi-Pandi" when I answer my phone. I want him HERE!

He won't walk me down the aisle. My kids won't get to have him for a Paw Paw.

Most of the time I am at peace. I know he is up there with his parents and friends that have passed before (I am confident that at 6:30 every morning he and Don are sitting on a patio and having a cup of coffee :). He is catching up with his mom who passed away when he was only 6. He is meeting his oldest brother for the first time. He is showing his dad pictures of the grandkids. He is holding his two grandbabies that we never got to meet and singing them songs like "Darling Clementine" and "I've been working on the railroad". He is dozing in a recliner while they are sleeping on his chest.

He is telling me to change the oil in my car soon, and I can hear him saying it's a good thing I bought the "over 3000 miles" oil filter the last time. He is saying "oh geez Andi" because I haven't changed the air filter since I bought it.

He is up there pulling the "train track" joke on somebody.

He was a master mechanic, carpenter, electrician, large bug killer, pancake making coach, copier repairman, slayer of under the bed monsters, you name it.

I was supposed to get the egg lesson at some point. He knew the secret to making eggs any way you like them, something I never could get the hang of. I hope you like them scrambled or over hard. That's about all I can do.

I will play games like elevator (this consisted of him simply saying "going up"/"going down" whenever he would lift me up on top of/down from something but I remember thinking it was the funniest thing) and tugboat(a simple pool game) with my kids because those are burned in my memory forever. Sorry Dad, I can't remember the rules to Uker.

I will teach my kids to make pancakes (the secret's in the bubbles). I will say "goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite" when I tuck them in. I will remember not to over-fertilize my tomato plants. I will attempt at some point to make a pot of bean soup. It'll probably be a while before I get it to taste like his though. I will not pull a piece of paper backwards through a copy machine when there is a jam. I will spin screws backwards at first when putting something plastic together (this starts them right so the threads don't strip).

I whistle just like him. I have his nose. Aron and I eat mayonnaise on everything just like him. Dina, Amy, Aron and I can strike up a conversation with anybody just like him. I call it the "salesman gene". We all got it.

I will always always miss him.

That's all for now. Thanks for listening...

2008-10-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

Stephen Bowman

Stephen Gale Bowman was born in Pigeon, Michigan on September 19, 1949 and passed away on October 11, 2008. He will live forever in our memories and hearts.

Stephen Gale Bowman, 59, of Peoria, Illinois, passed away at 11:42 p.m. on Saturday, October 11, 2008, at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Illinois.

Stephen was born on September 19, 1949 in Pigeon, Michigan, a son of Henry P. and Nellie Ruth (Demming) Bowman. They preceded him in death. He married Leslie L. Mower on June 11, 1977 in Lima, Ohio. She survives.

He is also survived by his daughters, Dina M. (Walt) Deeb of Elyria, Ohio, Amy J. (Mark) Benney of Lima and Andrea L. Bowman of Peoria; son, Stephen Aron (Dawn) Bowman of Peoria; grandchildren, Brittany, Carmelle, Jackson, Victoria, Mackenzie, Noah, McKenna and Jonah; great grandchildren, Miles and James; sisters, Eva, Inez, Grace, Ruth, and Julia; brothers, Neil, Wayne and Bruce; and his devoted companion and shadow, Bailey.

Stephen was a U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran, serving from May 11, 1969 to May 11, 1972. He attained the rank of Sergeant.

After his honorable discharge from the Army, he began his career with Monroe Systems for Business in Lima. He was transferred to Peoria in 1979 and spent the last fourteen years as a service manager for American Business Systems in Peoria.

Stephen was a former member of Zion Lutheran Church in Peoria and a current member and past Council President of Bethel Lutheran Church in Bartonville, Illinois. He was also a past-president and former member, for over twenty-five years, of the Bartonville Lions Club.

He enjoyed listening to Bluegrass music, cheering for the Chicago Cubs, building model trains, camping, fishing and playing with his grandchildren. There is nowhere else he would rather be than at the campground with his grandchildren.

Stephen overcame great adversity early in his life. He was a great father and grandfather and was a fantastic husband. He was everyone’s friend and was always willing to help anyone…and he could fix anything. He will be remembered as a volunteer and a hardworking family man.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, October 17, 2008, at Bethel Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Dr. Philip D. Lund officiating. Visitation will be from 5:30 to 8:30 on Thursday, October 16, 2008, at Clary Funeral Home in Peoria and one hour prior to services at the church on Friday.

Interment will be at Lutheran Cemetery in Peoria, with military honors provided by the U.S. Army.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society or Bethel Lutheran Church.

It's good to be the princess

2008-10-08T15:33:00.002-05:00

I love the fact that even though I have grown up and left "the nest", I can still call my Daddy at a moments notice, do my best imitation of whatever new noise my car is making, and he says stop at the auto parts store, pick up 'insert random auto part here' and bring your car over and I'll fix it for you. Yay for my Dad who's been riding to my rescue since 1983.

p.s. how is it that my car knows that it's almost paid off? Could it at least let me make the last payment before it starts breaking....

my guy

2008-09-29T09:36:00.003-05:00

Okay I know I don't post much about Jeff (he hates having his picture taken so I figured if I talk to much about him and fail to provide proof, you will all be talking about me and clucking your tongues about how sad it is that she has to invent a boyfriend to talk about...) but I just need to write a short post to say that I am indeed thankful for him.
Without going into too much detail I had a moment of pure crazy yesterday that fit right in with every stereotype of "nutjob girlfriend". During my moment of insanity, I was very aware that I was being unreasonable and indeed psycho, but refused to cave out of sheer spite.
Rather than declaring me a looney, he simply gave me a hug(while I was still trying to work out in my head how the situation was HIS fault..) and a kiss and left to work on his duck blind and came home for supper later like nothing happened.
I think I shall bake my man some cookies and/or brownies. And I'll even put frosting on the brownies.

Jeff in the duck blind. His favorite place in the whole wide world.

Autumn Princess and cakes

2008-09-20T14:39:00.002-05:00

Melina came to visit us at the store today and she sat on one of the pumpkins out in the flower shop. She looked so cute I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

On a completely unrelated note, I have discovered the incredibly funny www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com . It is hilarious and I have had tears in my eyes from trying to hold my laughter in (I read it when I'm supposed to be working, and no matter how great my sales pitch was, convincing them that paperwork is laugh out loud funny would be a bit of a stretch, so I am forced to stifle) (although boss lady Carol reads my blog so it appears the secret is out.....) (oh well).

Homecoming Princess

2008-09-19T16:44:00.004-05:00

Today was Limestone's Homecoming Parade. They normally have it on Saturday morning but this year decided to have it on Friday. The route runs right in front of the store and the streets are shut down so we always get a break at the store to enjoy. This year Jeff's niece Melina was on one of the floats with her preschool. Here are some pics.

Here she is with mom Gina right behind her. She had spotted dad Tim and was getting ready to throw a piece of candy to him.

The sun wouldn't let my camera focus at the right time so this snapped a little late but you can see Tim in the black shirt picking up the candy she threw him. She was yelling "Hi Daddy!" at him the whole time!

She may not be on the homecoming court but she's definitely the princess around here!

curse you baked goods!

2008-09-19T14:28:00.001-05:00

Today I decided I needed a small pick-me-up and stopped at the little village bakery that just opened in B-ville last week (had a headache, people were hounding me for paychecks, etc.).

Literally, just last night, after trying on a shirt my mom bought me for my birthday, I vowed that it was time to eat better and start excercising.

Isn't Monday a better day to start stuff like that anyway...

The ABC's of Andi

2008-09-16T15:20:00.002-05:00

I actually got this emailed to me but rather than forward it, I'll throw it on here and if anybody wishes they can read.

A. Attatched or Single- attatched :)

B. Best Friend- My sister Amy, Jeff, Nay, and Susie.

C. Cake or pie- yes please

D. Day- Friday

E. Essential item - face moisturizer...can't stand how my face feels without it

F. Favorite Color- blue and green

G. Gummy bear or worms- worms definitely

H. Hometown- P-Town

I. Indulgences- bubble baths, popsicles, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

J. January or July- January

K. Kids - someday

L. Life would be incomplete without- family, friends, and coffee

M. Marriage date- hopefully soon (sigh...)

N. Number of siblings- 3-Dina, Amy, & Aron.

O. Oranges or apples- depends on the season, summer-oranges, fall-apples

P. Phobias or fears-the usual "something bad happening to someone I love" and a wierd "getting bitten by something poisonous (like a spider) like in the middle of the night and not realizing it until it's too late and my leg falls off.." I watch too much t.v. I think.

Q. Quote - "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"-Abraham Lincoln

R. Reason to smile- Jeff

S. Season- Fall. Apples, leaves falling, I even like the smell of them burning, and pumpkins.

T. Tag- not going to do that(thank me later Charity :)

U. Unknown fact about me-I put potato chips on bologna sandwiches.

V. Vegan or oppressor- I like steak. A lot. So oppressor I guess.

W. Worst habit- procrastinating

X. Xrays or ultrasounds- well, never had an ultrasound. So X-rays I guess? Although, you only get those when something hurts, so ultrasound. The baby kind, not the "we're looking for gall bladder problems" kind.

Y. Your favorite food- all things carbohydrates (potato, bread, pasta, you name it.)

Z. Zodiac Sign- Virgo

Not going to tag anyone because I'm nice like that. Fill it out if you wish.

Go Cubs Go!

2008-09-15T13:02:00.002-05:00

My beloved Cubbies had their first no hitter in 32 years yesterday! WooHoo! Carlos Zambrano was on FIRE!!! And even more amazing he was just coming back from a rotator cuff injury! I'll be the first to admit that when Big Z is having an "off" day I'm one of those crazies yelling at Lou Piniella through the t.v. to get him out of the game but he was all magic yesterday! We're back on the upswing! 7.5 games ahead! Can't wait for October!

Go Cubs Go!

Tag, I'm it

2008-09-13T09:15:00.002-05:00

I have been tagged by Charity to make a post in which I reveal 5 little known facts about myself. I'm sure different people know some of these but maybe you'll learn something new.

1. I am the fourth generation to have the middle name Louise. My mother-Leslie Louise, grandmother-Anna Louisa, and great-grandmother, Freidreka Louisa go before me and if I am blessed with a daughter, she too will be blessed with that middle name (and sisters who think it's funny to call her "wheezy").

2. My first name was going to be Stephanie (after my dad Stephen) until a couple of days before I was born. My dad came home and said "what do you think of the name Andrea?" and so I became Andrea. Had I been a boy I would be Brandt.

3. My ultimate comfort food is spaghetti noodles with a little bit of butter and salt. I didn't like sauce when I was little so this is how I ate spaghetti and I still make it that way when I need some comfort.

4. I have a secret fantasy of being a back-up singer for a local cover band. I have no desire to be in a big famous band, just a hometown one that plays random weekend gigs and sings the songs I love. I could totally be the tambourine girl. Or cowbell. Or both....

5. I'm secretly a bit of a science nerd. Weather and Outer Space are my two science areas of interest. I watch almost every shuttle launch on my computer and check the space station camera during missions and it never fails to amaze me. I am addicted to the weather radar and I like storms and tornados. Not the death/destruction part but the actual science behind them and trying to learn about them and predict them. I want to go on a tornado chase someday.

Ok that's five things. I can't tag anybody because I don't actually know a lot of people with blogs(we're not a blogging family). So it ends with me I suppose.

Protons and Black Holes

2008-09-10T17:30:00.003-05:00

So I read today on CNN that scientists in Europe fired up the largest proton collider ever built in hopes of finding out more about what happens when you smash protons into each other. It's a giant 17 mile circular tunnel underneath the Switzerland/France border.
The article stated that if everything goes to plan, scientists could potentially unlock secrets of how the universe was formed and what materials were present when it was just a baby universe.
However, if something goes wrong, scientists could potentially open up a black hole large enough to swallow the planet.
I'm not sure what worries me more, the possibility of the whole black hole/swallowed planet/end of the world thing, or the fact that I jadedly continued sipping my Cran-Grape juice and clicked on the next headline.

More Fish

2008-09-09T13:20:00.004-05:00

My aquarium got done cycling a couple of weeks ago so I've been adding fish lately. Lost another Molly. I'm down to just one Dalmatian and one Black, plus a bunch of baby Dalmatians.

Got a pretty new betta to replace poor Gil.

The baby fish say "hi!"

Got two of these plecos, they hide most of the time though.

Noah helped pick out these Tiger Barbs

I love these little Cardinal Tetras. They show up so well in the aquarium.

I bought two of these Bosemani Rainbowfish. The blue and gold colors will get brighter as they get older.

I also have two of these Red Rainbows. The red color will be brighter as they get older too.

These little wormie guys are Kuhli Loaches. They hide a lot too, but they sure come out for feeding time.

I have a pair of these Zebra Botia.

I spy

2008-09-06T13:15:00.002-05:00

I had to pick my nephew Noah up from school the other day and whenever I pick him up, we play "I spy" on the way home. Well, let me tell you, the game of "I spy" certainly has changed from when I was little (and yes, I can hear you all groaning because I'm too young to tell those "when I was younger" stories). He introduced me to the new version (I Spy 2.0) in which you get points for answering, but the points decline with each guess (first guess 10, second guess 5 and so on...). Then apparently you redeem these points to buy these things called "power ups". These power ups then allow you to change something in your clue to trick the person guessing. For example if you are describing a tree you could say I spy something blue and tall, etc. And on top of that you can buy a small, medium, or large power up and those govern the number of words that you are allowed to change in your clue. The game that I grew up playing apparently got eaten by some new-fangled (yes, I know I just used new-fangled) video game or something.
By the time he got done explaining all the new rules and tricks to me, we were at his house.

Whatever happened to plain ol' I spy?

Easy as pie!

2008-08-25T13:09:00.006-05:00

It's becoming a tradition to get together at my friend Susie's apartment every year and make apple pies and caramel apples. Last year I missed out on the pies but made sure that I was in attendance this year. We had a sort of pie assembly line going and when we were finished we had 8 pies. The caramel apple party will be some time in September(can't wait!)

Susie in her pie/pi shirt. She's a math nerd.

Miranda and Kristen running the peeler/corer/slicer station.

Me rolling out the crusts

Betsy working on the filling

The finished product(well, not baked yet)!

The domestic goddess club (minus Susie who was taking the picture).

Ohio

2008-08-19T14:48:00.009-05:00

As I wrote earlier, I was in Ohio this past weekend visiting my sister Amy. We always have a blast when we get together and this time was no exception. I got there late Thursday night and came home yesterday(Monday) evening. Friday she had to work but I ended up taking in a birthday cake for one of her co-workers and got to eat lunch with her and then I strolled through the mall in town and then spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool.
Saturday we started out by going to breakfast, then to a bike shop(cycling is her new hobby), then when we got back, my brother-in-law loaded the bikes into the truck and we went for a looooong bike ride (she'll never give up on trying to make me love exercise as much as she does). Then we laid by the pool for a few hours, and then got ready to go to the county fair.
The original plan was to go see the Gretchen Wilson concert at the fair. My brother-in-law Mark is a recruiter for the Army and they set up a tent every year and normally get some free tickets to whatever concert is happening. So we got there and alas, no tickets and we really didn't feel like paying $30 each so we just wandered around the fair for a while.

Funnel Cake!

A slice of beehive for ya

big punkins

Then that night we had a fire in the chiminea on the deck. I bought some stuff that turns the flames pretty colors but it didn't show up in the pictures

Sunday Mark actually had to work at the fair so Amy and I did some shopping in the morning and then decided to go to the fair and hang out. We walked around and pet the horses and decided to stop in the Humane Society tent to see the puppies (we had done this the day before too). Amy has two dogs, a black cocker spaniel named Spencer, and a Cavashon(a King Cavalier Spaniel/Bischon mix) named Brandon.

the boys

Spencer

Brandon & Amy

Well, for some time she had been talking about getting a female dog to balance out things a little and naming it Mia. When we walked into the tent that second day, this adorable little yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy was barking it's head off for some attention so we went right over. Upon further inspection, we determined it was a girl. I just gave Amy a look and she said "let's go get Mark". We brought Mark over to the tent and the lady running the tent took the puppy and handed her to him. As if on cue, she rested her little head on his arm and calmed down immediately.

That was all it took. Amy paid the adoption fee, we ran to Wal-Mart and bought every pink thing we could find, and brought little Mia home that night.

Mia

Meeting her brothers

getting a bath

All clean and dry with a proper pink collar

Monday it was time to say goodbye and head back home :( But we had lots of fun and I am always looking forward to the next visit.

Me and Amy

Yeah, about the fish...

2008-08-19T14:41:00.002-05:00

Well, before one of my dalmatian mollies died(my poor betta Gil was the other fish that was lost), she left me with a gift of 8 (or that's all I've been able to count so far) baby mollies. Wasn't that nice of her... So I went from 5 fish to 3 fish (or so I thought) and back up to 11. It's been a crazy weekend in the fish tank.

fish

2008-08-18T19:32:00.002-05:00

I went to Ohio last Thursday to visit my sister (I'll post a blog about that later) and left Jeff in charge of feeding my fish and my frog. When I left I had 5 fish. When I got home tonight I had 3.

My question is what's going to happen when we have kids....

Insaniquarium!!

2008-08-05T14:33:00.003-05:00

I finally got to set up my big aquarium this weekend! I am pretty excited. Last night I purchased 2 Black Mollies and 2 Dalmatian Mollies to start the cycling process. Now comes the hard part, waiting 6 weeks for the cycle to be complete before I can add any new fish! My patience is definitely going to be tested. It is a work in progress and I will have new pictures to post as I add landscaping and more fish family members. YAY!

The setup

Mollies

McKenna is 4!

2008-07-28T09:15:00.007-05:00

Yesterday we had my niece McKenna's 4th birthday party. She actually isn't 4 until Saturday but she is getting her tonsils taken out Friday and wouldn't have been recovered enough for cake & ice cream so they just had it a week ahead. Here are some pictures (of course Aunt Andi took lots of pictures ;) to share.

It's the birthday girl!..I mean, birthday PRINCESS!

A pretty new dress for school!

She blew out all of the candles on her princess cake in one breath!

playing in the new sprinkler

Her big present was her "twampoline"

Hey, is that McKenna or Hannah Montana?

VBS 2008

2008-07-25T14:43:00.008-05:00

This week was Vacation Bible School at Bethel. My brother was in charge of the games and I was the official photographer. Here are some pics of all of the fun games he had for the kids to play(I took pics of everything else too, not just games, but these just happened to turn out the best!). It was a blast and the kids were great. Looking forward to next year.

Dodgeball!!

Popcorn Races

The infamous Mentos and Diet Coke

The little ones loved Bear in the Air, there was a girls team and a boys team and only the girls figured out how to work together to get their bear way up high

This one started out about Jesus helping Peter be brave enough to walk through the storm, but quickly turned into a plain ol' water fight...

Ava with her science experiment. She is too cute!

Jo Jo's Nose

2008-07-24T16:35:00.003-05:00

Well, it hardly surpises me that Jonah would be the first of my brother's kids to get a broken bone. This kid was born without a sense of fear and an incredible pain tolerance. It was just a matter of time. Aron and Dawn had a new bed and dresser delivered and set up Monday and it took about 30 minutes for Jonah to find the new footboard with his nose. It doesn't show up too well in the picture but you can see the swelling and the black and blue a little bit.

He was born with a daredevil streak like I have never seen (for some reason the older two missed out on it..) so I'm sure this won't be the last trip to the E.R. or the last post about a broken bone for Jo Jo.

Gil and Kermit

2008-07-19T10:38:00.002-05:00

Fish and Frog are now Gil and Kermit. I was looking online and some people come up with some really out there names (Lady Lavender Mackenzie for a fish? It's a fish...). So I just went with plain ol' Gil and Kermit(thanks Charity!).

Fishy and Froggy

2008-07-18T13:20:00.003-05:00

I've been planning for a while to set up a large aquarium and Monday I went out to Petsmart to price some of the equipment and on a whim, bought a betta fish. They were so pretty and I decided right then and there that I wanted one. Last night, I went back to buy a slightly larger aquarium (he was getting the water in the bowl dirty too fast) and on a whim, bought an African Dwarf Frog (can we say impulse buyer?). You can't keep other fish with bettas but you can keep these frogs. He's very tiny, about the size of the tip of my thumb. At first he just stayed glued to the back corner of the tank(as you can see in the picture) but as he got more comfortable he started swimming around some. If anyone has good suggestions for names please let me know. As of now they are called Fish and Frog.

Double rainbow & diplomatic brownies

2008-07-11T21:27:00.002-05:00

Today it only rained for a very short time but nevertheless we were treated to a double rainbow outside of the hardware store.

On another interesting note, Jeff and I both LOVE brownies. However, I like mine with walnuts and no icing, and he prefers his with no walnuts and lots of icing. I had made a peach cobbler for my parents and since you're not supposed to return an empty pan, they made a half and half pan of brownies for us. My parents the peacemakers. I think all of the worlds problems could be solved with some diplomatic brownies :)

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-05T08:33:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day! Hope everybody had a great holiday. We had two nights of fireworks! On the 3rd we went to Glen Oak Park and had a great time watching the Peoria Municipal Band play right up until the first firework went off. Then last night we braved the downtown crowds for the Red, White & Boom fireworks show. They were both great displays. Here are some pics I got. The last few were taken with a longer exposure.

catch up blog- Canada October 2007

2008-07-03T15:30:00.000-05:00

This is sort of a catch-up blog from my trip to Canada in October 2007. (It's also a chance to show off some of my favorite pictures that I took :) I went with my chorus for International Competition. A group of us went early and spent a week in Banff, Alberta, then spent the next week in Calgary, Alberta for competition. The Canadian Rockies are truly breathtaking! I highly recommend going if you ever get the chance.

The Bow River

Taken at Cascade Ponds

Elk eating on the side of the road

The Elk take over the golf course at about 6:00 p.m. every evening. Golf course grass must be extra yummy!

This was taken at Lake Minnewanka

This was taken at sunrise our last morning in Banff. The air current is blowing the snow off the slope of Cascade Mountain.

This is a shot of the Calgary Tower. When you get to the top, there is a glass floor that you can stand on and look down. My stomach did a few flip flops at first but then I was okay. We ate brunch at the revolving restaurant on our last morning in Calgary.

A view from the top of the tower.

Noah's T-Ball game

2008-07-02T09:44:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd share a few pics from my nephew Noah's tee ball game the other night. He did a great job and can hit the ball without using the tee. Enjoy!

In the dugout.

Guarding Third Base

Getting a hit

running home

Jonah says "Go Cubs Go!"

Blogspot

2008-07-01T17:25:00.001-05:00

Well,
I figured it was time to give this whole blogspot thing a try. I have MySpace and Facebook pages but it I like this better because friends and family don't have to have accounts in order to keep in touch. Plus there aren't all of those annoying advertisements to deal with. Hope you all enjoy!