Kalahari 2010

We ended our trip with an overnight to Kalahari...we visited last year and the kids have been begging to go back again. If you visit during the school year and in the middle of the week, you get great prices!






We had a great time on our vacation!

Chicago trip 2010

A trip to Chicago was just what our family needed. We enjoyed staying and spending time with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Lyle. The first day, we were pretty tired so we did two low-key activities in Wheaton, Illinois: Cosley Zoo - free with our FONZ zoo membership and Catigny park. On Sunday, we went to church and just hung out, roasting hot dogs and s'mores with my aunt and uncle. Needless to say, we had GREAT weather in Chicago!

On Monday, we headed into Chicago to visit the Museum and Science and Industry and we had a wonderful time. Highlights include the weather exhibit (40 foot tornado and experiencing 80 mph winds), the body exhibit (giant heart beats in time with your heartbeat), and watching baby chicks hatching. Our Carnegie Museum Pass got us in free, parking is $16.00 and lunch in the museum was plentiful and affordable.

Fall Festival

These pictures are little late, but here they are. I was in Colorado when our church hosted the Fall Festival, so Darrell got to handle the pumpkin carving and dressing up. This was the first year he let Evan wield a knife by himself and carve his own pumpkin. He did a fine job!

Ann-Marie was a cat, Evan was Darth Vadar, and Alec (for the 2nd year in a row) was Spiderman.


Ann-Marie really wanted a picture with Comet.....cat and dog!

Volcanic Ash and Ear Infections

What do volcanic ash and ear infections have in common? Never in my wildest imagination would I believe these two things would completely cancel our twice-planned trip to Italy. In April, we had cleared two weeks of responsibilities to take a stand-by flight (perk of Darrell being retired Air Force) to Italy where we used to live and visit friends that live there. It was the exact time that Europe experienced the volcanic ash incident that grounded hundreds of airplanes. We made it over to the Atlantic Ocean, put our toes in it, and vowed that we would try the trip again in the Fall. So here we are.....cleared another two weeks, preparing for the trip and poor Alec comes down with an ear infection. His first set of tubes, which worked lovely while they stayed in place, had become dislodged earlier in the summer. So when Darrell took him to the ENT on Tuesday, the dr. said NO FLYING! Alec is scheduled for surgery next Thursday. So no trip again. Since we're persistent in this household (note - a kinder word for stubborn), we will try again for Spring 2011. We do believe that everything happens for a reason, and we have peace that this is in God's hands. So no gnashing of teeth and ripping of clothes here in frustration - there is always a plan B, C, D, and sometimes even E. Plan B - heading to Chicago to spend time with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Lyle for five days. I'm sure we'll find plenty of exciting stuff that we haven't done yet there. So off we go in faithful Blueberry (our minivan) on another adventure!

Colorado trip

I have two younger sisters, one of which lives in Iowa and the other lives in Colorado Springs. My brother-in-law blessed my Iowa sister and I with tickets to spend a long weekend in Colorado Springs this past weekend. Neither of us have been out to see where they live. What a GIFT! Here is a sampling of how I spent my time - playing at the penny arcade in Manitou Springs......

touring the Olympic Training Center and Focus on the Family headquarters......

enjoying my nephews and niece......

visiting the breathtaking Garden of the Gods (above, balanced rock)....

kissing camels.....

riding the skyride above the Colorado Springs zoo.....lots of giraffes.....

and mountain goats.....

and most of all, sharing some sister time, which is rare since we all live so far apart.

I am looking forward to visiting again sometime, with my family in tow!

The Versatile Blogger Award

Versatile Blogger Award

I don't win many awards and I don't know what criteria my excellent friend, Anita (It's Fun Being Me) used to nominate me...but here it is!

In order to accept I must blog 7 random things about me:

1. I grew up on a REAL farm in Iowa and actually milked cows for most of my growing up years.

2. I lived in Italy for 5 years.

3. I have two wonderful sisters who live too far away from me - one in Colorado Springs and another in Iowa.

4. I've tried out for one "pageant" (not beauty!) in my life - "Little Miss Squirt" (another dairy reference) and did not win!

5. I am very short - barely grazing the 5'0" line and my husband is very short also - but neither of us seem to realize this fact most of the time unless you point it out to us! :)

6. I grew up in the country but I am really a city girl at heart - put me in a busy downtown area and I am the most content!

7. I do not eat red meat due to some stomach issues and if my family would cooperate, I would make us all vegetarians.

So there you go! In the spirit of passing on the honors, I hereby nominate the following blogs:

Little Bits of Me

Elysia, Geronimo, Aramis, and Arwen....

Aichele's Out West

From More to Less

PACyber field trip - Clydesdale horses in Hermitage

A cool, October Friday afternoon just begs for a hayride pulled by Clydesdale horses,

a corn maze,

fun on some hay bales,

and beautiful Autumn scenery.