Our Italy trip 2011

As I get organized from our trip, I will be adding more pictures. A big apology to my Facebook friends as this will probably be double-posted. We had a great time - enjoy the pictures!

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My Grandpa....

My Grandpa Conklin will turn 90 while we are traveling. So this little post is a tribute to him:

My Grandpa has helped shape the woman I am today. I grew up doing chores with him, playing baseball in his yard, eating dinner at his table, and generally, being around Grandma and him most of my growing up years. When I was younger, I remember Grandpa as being quiet, but you never wondered where you stood with him. He was a steady and strong influence in my life. Now that I am grown, I enjoy going back to Iowa to visit Grandma and him. I appreciate his love for me, his sense of humor, and his dedication to those he loves, especially Grandma. Most of all, I love how he loves the Lord. His prayers are powerful and I love to be near him when he is praying. Thank you, Grandpa, for loving me. Thank you for praying for me. And have a most wonderful birthday!

Green Eggs and Ham

I will have to say that this was the most fun Dr. Seuss Day for us to date! We began the morning with green eggs and bacon, compliments of Chef Daddy. Alec LOVES his eggs to be colored!
We then spent the entire afternoon at friends' house, doing Dr. Seuss activities and just enjoying time with each other. Even the two oldest guys (10 and 11) completed a Dr. Seuss informational scavenger hunt.....I now know many more interesting facts about Dr. Seuss! Thank you to the D. family for the fun day!

First child in glasses.....

Ann-Marie insisted that I post before and after pictures....so above, before....

and after!

The BIG 1-0!

A fun-filled birthday weekend for a new 10-year-old boy includes:

A Football Cake;

Three friends for sleepover, one friendly neighbor who could stay for dinner, and a younger brother (sis' found a friend to stay with to escape the boys);

fun presents;

and chosen dinner menu of shrimp and angel hair pasta.

Our first child in the double digits....a decade of parenting behind us - fond memories, yet anticipation for what is to come. This ten year old has brought much joy to our family since making us parents for the first time on February 19, 2001! Happy Birthday, Evan.

This is how we roll......

Here is a recap of our very busy weekend....may we not forget how hectic this season of life is sometimes so we can be empathetic to other harried parents even after we become empty nesters!

Saturday morning: Up and out of the house - aim for 7 a.m. but leave closer to 7:30 a.m. - packed in the faithful minivan are three kids, one dog, and all necessary supplies for 24+ hours away from home......off to Evan's last basketball game (one hour drive, we will barely make it in time for the game to start.)

Sit through two back-to-back basketball games, while often going out to the van to check on the dog. Now here comes the unexpected - Ann-Marie hits her head on the bleachers hard enough to draw a LOT OF BLOOD. Enter the athletic trainer, many other caring parents, and our dear friend from home who is a doctor and who just happens to have a son playing in the next game. No stitches required, but a very bloody young lady with a growing goose egg on her head. Since no medical attention was required, onward we went - good parents that we are, we cover Ann-Marie's head with her winter hat and eat lunch at Eat N' Park before heading to our next stop.


Next stop - dropping the kids and dog off at Darrell's sister's house in North Huntington and heading onto Blairsville for New York Life's annual awards dinner. Deep breath - check into the hotel, relax in the hot tub and nap was required after the day we had. Now for fun....we get to get dressed up like "real" adults and head to the dinner.
Here's where I get to talk a little about Darrell - I am so proud of him! This journey in the financial world has not been an easy one for us, but every year he does better. He is persistent, thoughtful, caring and balances providing for us, being a great father, and a wonderful husband. Every year, the awards banquet helps me refocus on what Darrell does and how hard he works. Thank you, honey, I'm proud of you!
Sunday: Sleep in! A luxury for us who are normally up really, really early. On the way back to pick up the kids, we get to sneak in an early Valentine's lunch at a fabulous Indian restaurant in Monroeville, called Udipe Cafe- we love this little place for authentic Indian food! What a treat.

A huge thank you to Toni, Tim, and Mike for watching our kids this weekend. Another big thank you to all who were at Hillcrest Academy and helped with Ann-Marie's head injury. We have wonderful friends and family. And Happy Valentine's day!

Science Fair 2011

Evan and Ann-Marie participated in the Homeschool Coop's science fair this year. I am very proud of both of them because they worked very hard on their projects and we all learned a lot in the process. They both did receive an award in their respective age categories (Evan - 2nd; Ann-Marie; 1st) - however, all of the children who participated had wonderful projects and displays. For us, the awards gave my kids the confidence boost to (hopefully) enjoy science projects more than Darrell or I did growing up. Evan did his project on how camouflage helps animals survive. Ann-Marie did hers on the viscosity of liquids (how thick or thin the liquids are). What a great experience!