Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Friday, August 22, 2008

I keep trying to think of a new blog to kick out, but time and energy have been elusive. We have had a busy week. Our lifegroup multiplied this week (meaning we are now 2 groups instead of 1). Dave and I will start a new lifegroup on the West Side in 2 weeks. We had a lovely party and it was hard to realize that this was the last one together.

"Mamaw" Yenerich is coming to visit today and we are all really excited. Callie just woke up. She is a rockstar: She slept 8-7:30am, ate and slept until 9:30. Sweet! Now she is awake and giggly and wiggly.

Sometime soon, I'll actually have to sit down and type out a real blog...but for now, there's a mini-update.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

It's been another busy, but good weekend. We took Sara back to Indy (where she would meet up with her friends to take her back to MN). However, first we went to the botanical gardens and the zoo. It was hard to say goodbye, but we had a really nice visit.

After we got back, we headed to our friend Adam's birthday bash. It was great catching up with people we don't see often.

Today, we had church and then have been cleaning, doing laundry, and running errands, and watching the Notebook on ABC Family. The kid's have settled down for the night and Dave and I are looking forward to a relaxing evening.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

A Perfect Day

Friday was one for the memory books. I'm not kidding, it was amazing. It started with Dave making Sara and I biscuits and gravy...yum. Then Sara and I got ready for our spa appointment. We went to a spa called Bliss here in Lafayette. We had a great time. I got a hot rock massage, which I had never had before and it was incredible and VERY relaxing. I came out like jello. Then we had pedicures (which I have also never had). My pedicurist (if that's what you even call them) was a hoot. It was her last day, and she acted like it. It somehow came about that she had taken her cat into the emergency clinic and we think it was Dave that she saw. She really never let Sara and I get a word in edge-wise in her retelling of stepping on her kitten. She at one point referred to me as "motherly". Yes, I am a mom, but still it somewhat stung when they compared me to young, carefree Sara. She made up for it by adding in a leg rub (which wasn't in our package). The highlight for me was when she started telling us about the cat she killed in her dryer when she was younger (on accident). She said that it had come out all stiff. And, god bless Sara, her response was "Didn't you use a dryer sheet?". You could see her trying to grab the words back, but I just laughed until I cried. I couldn't help it. It was priceless. The lady laughed too, so it wasn't too terrible. I can't remember when I have laughed that hard.

We waited around for our friend Melinda to arrive, and when she did, we ate Monicals Pizza. (Another WONDERFUL portion of the day). Then Dave said, "Why don't you guys see Mamma Mia? I'll stay home with the kids." He even set it all up with the times. I married a really good man. So, we went. I was exhausted when we got there (I was SO relaxed from my massage). 2 minutes into the movie...that changed. What a GREAT MOVIE!!! We laughed SO hard. As in, writhing, flailing laughter, tears running down our cheeks. It's just so outlandishly funny. You have to go with the ladies though. I think that made a difference.

When we got home, Dave had a skillet cookie and margaritas waiting. It was awesome. Then he left us girls to our silliness. It was a fantastic night and I greatly appreciated Dave giving us the ability to have it.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

My friend Sara is here visiting, so I am not taking long to blog. We are having a great time catching up and doing "nothing" with fun things inter-mixed. She surprised me with a spa day tomorrow and we are both getting massages and pedicures. I am SOOO excited. I can't wait. Dave has agreed to watch the munchkins(they were in cahoots together). We've been staying up late and the kids are ruthless in the morning. We are both laying here exhausted. Real party animals we are.

I'll blog more later. Peace out.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Let's talk

Our dear three year old friend, Lillie, and Dave (whom she refers to as Beans...long story, but he was dubbed by Lillie's dad) had a conversation while driving in the car to get donuts.

Lillie: Beans, can we talk?
Dave: Sure, Lillie. What do you want to talk about?
Lillie: Let's talk about Jesus.
Dave: Sure.
Lillie: Did you know Jesus lives in our heart and he loves us? And, and he's everywhere...Did you know that Beans?

(The last part went something like that at least. She spent a lot of time talking to Dave about Jesus...he couldn't relay all the particulars.)

I LOVE that at 3, she is so willing to share her heart and talk about Jesus...and be ridiculously cute while she's at it. It made Dave's day...and mine in the retelling.
Not much to blog about. We've managed to stay busy since we've been home, but a lot of it is pretty mundane (laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning the house). I could write about that, but I figure that's rather boring. I missed most of the sermon this morning because Callie needed to eat. However, there was another mom nursing today as well, so I didn't feel as lonely and "banished". We had a lovely chat and a good chance of catching up, so it was nice. We are now back for good and are trying to iron out the routine again, reconnect with friends, and get caught up with house stuff.

My good friend, Sara, is coming on Wednesday. We were college roomies and great friends. She now lives in Minnesota doing deaf ed. (We also had the same major). I'm so excited to see her and catch up on life. We only get to see each other about once a year now and she tends to have to come my way because traveling with two kids makes me shiver. So, anyway, I'm mentally planning all the things we are going to do while she is here. It should be a lot of fun. :-)

Really, that's about it in my world. I wish that I could regale you with hilarious stories of the weekend, but alas it's been (mercifully) low-key.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Day 4-Columbus Zoo


After sleeping in a little bit, we got ourselves ready and headed to the Columbus zoo. Our plan was to meet our friends whom we haven't seen in about 3 years. They have two kids who are close in age to Noah (4 and 19 months-Noah falls right in the middle). It was great seeing them again and Noah had some friends to play with throught the day. It's a pretty neat zoo. There were A LOT of animals there! My favorites perhaps were the aquarium and the manatees. Noah talked about the rhinos a lot. Fortunately, they were out and active today, so he was able to look at them for quite awhile.

We all left EXHAUSTED. Dave and Noah took naps. Callie slept through most of the zoo, so we went swimming instead. She is so chill in the water...a natural water baby. She loved being in it and was smiling quite a bit *relieved sigh*.

We went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then we all went swimming this evening. Now, both kids are snoozing. Dave just ran to the store and came back with a pint of Ben and Jerry's "half baked"...yum. What the heck? It's vacation, right? :-)

Day 3


Yesterday we headed to Newport, Kentucky to the Newport Aquarium. It wasn't that far away from where we stayed. We had a great time looking at all the fish and sharks.

After that, we started our trek back north to Columbus. On the way, Dave made the mistake of mentioning that there were some outlet malls...and we pulled over. :-) An hour and a few bags later, we were on our way again. We checked into our hotel quickly (Which by the way was awesome)

It had a separate bedroom. This shows the kitchen and the "living room".

Then we headed to my aunt and uncles (who live in Columbus) for dinner. We had a great time. They hadn't had a chance to meet Callie yet, and we had never been to their house, so it was nice all the way around. Their kids, Joe and Ellie, played with Noah and held Callie, giving Dave and I a break. My uncle, Jim, coordinated an apple effort, which Noah joined in wholeheartedly. They have an apple tree and every week they need to throw away the fallen, bad apples. Well, Noah had a blast helping Jim and Joe. Later we found ourselves playing in the basement on Joe's drums.
Noah is a natural and LOVES playing whenever he gets a chance. We had a great time and a great meal. It was sad to leave.

The kid's took a long time settling down. Callie (who is normally my rockstar sleeper) woke up 3 different times last night. It was a long night. Dave and I were so exhausted we just crashed on the bed and all slept in until around 8. God bless vacation. :-)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Vacation-Day 2 (Great Wolf Lodge)

Except for my kid's refusing to sleep on Monday night (it was Callie that time), we had a great day 2 as well.
We went swimming, played at the Cub Club (a place designed for kids with a playroom, crafts, and ultimately a break from the pool). We also played in the arcade and Noah got a new ball. Everyone (Dave, Callie, and Noah) took LONG naps and everyone woke up happier and ready to keep playing. We played at the pool again for awhile in the late afternoon, then ordered in pizza and vegged for the rest of the evening. We did hop down to the lobby for the clock show at 8, followed by a bedtime story with Wiley the Fox which Noah also enjoyed. After we got the kids to bed, Dave and I hung out on the balcony for quite a while. You can see King's Island from our room and watch the people ride some of the scarier rides...and hear the screams. The crescent moon was also pretty amazing last night.

Mercifully, the kids both took pity on us and slept through the night last night. Our plans today are to pack up, hit the Newport Aquarium, then drive to Columbus and hang out with my aunt and uncle and their kids for the evening before crashing at our new hotel.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Vacation-Day 1

Well, we tried peeling out of the driveway, but we couldn't get the tires to squeal...so it lost some of its dramatic effect. Nevertheless, here we are at the Great Wolf Lodge near Cincinnati, Ohio. We are having a BLAST!!!

First, let's start with the morning. After waking up at 3, 4, 4:15, 4:45, 5:20, and for good around 6:45, Noah was extremely chatty this morning. Dave and I who had blearily opened our eyes after a night of continuously putting Noah back into bed, stumbled out into the morning light. Noah had commentary for EVERYTHING. "Noie have mommy's water. Noie spill mommy's water. Mommy, help Noie clean up water. Noie clean up water..." This continued for the entire morning. At some point (probably after we had cracked our eyes open further than a millimeter) we found it rather amusing, and were relieved that he was feeling better. We hurried around trying to get things situated, and we were on the road.

Really, having a two year old is a trip. They literally say THE funniest things. For instance, Noah's favorite phrase these days is "right there!". Not sure where he learned it from (Dave, the remote is right there! Just look for it!). :-) Anyway, we were driving and we hear, "Noie toot...right there!" and he pointed at his bottom. It was pretty stinkin amusing.

We started swimming immediately. I am happy to report that we have two water babies. Callie was a champ at swimming. She didn't mind at all being in the water and even seemed to enjoy it at times.

It makes all of us playing together as a family that much easier. I highly recommend this place for families...especially those with young kiddos. They have so much to do. Our room also has a separated "room" for Noah with it's own tv and private space. It's pretty sweet.


Dave and I have looked at each other numerous times today and have said, "This is awesome. I'm so glad we're here." I'm happy to report that the vacation has kicked off to a great start.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Vacation

Well, it's that craziness period just before a vacation where you wonder, "Will we ever get there?" The packing is an all weekend event. The dog has been dropped off at my parents. Dave is finishing up last minute things for the clinic. The kids and myself are partially packed. Dave is all the way packed. Noah is running a fever and has been "out of it" all day. I seriously hope it's a 24 hour bug and that he will be feeling better tomorrow. Yeesh. We had our leadership meeting for church tonight. It was good, but it took up most of our evening. A BIG thanks to Lindsey for watching sick Noah on the fly. Now, both kids are in bed, I'm pausing from packing, and seriously contemplating just waking up early tomorrow to finish.

If you hear tires squealing tomorrow morning, that would be us, peeling out of our driveway SO anxious to get on with this much needed vacation. Love you guys! See you in a week. :-)

Friday, August 1, 2008