5.25.2007

why.




not to offend anyone who owns, has owned or will own a chihuahua... but these are the most annoying dogs ever. i am sure there are exceptions. but really.

we have never had issues with neighbor dogs before. of course dogs bark. that is understandable, we have a dog who barks, that is just what dogs do.
but our neighbor's chihuahua is what i hear 90% of the day. it's little yipyip keeps me from reading, keeps finn from enjoying his nap, and keeps us from wanting to go outside. i could do without this breed all together.

5.23.2007

stories

last night, justin mentioned that we should be more creative with finn, more imaginative. he suggested that we start telling him made-up stories or stories about us when we were little. and i thought this was a great idea.

i can remember my mom telling me stories when i was a little girl, about all sorts of things. but i specifically remember one, which is on cassette tape somewhere, about the wicked witch of the west. i don't remember what the story was, exactly... just that the witch was in it. i can also remember my cousin brandon asking for auntie dee (my mom) to tell him a bedtime story, a made-up one... she made up such good, ridiculous stories, no one could resist.

and one of my favorite stories about annabelle, my neice, is when she started her own made-up story with, "one time, when i was a carebear..." and i hope that finn will develop a similar imagination.

all to say, that being a parent is fun, because in certain moments, it's just like being a little kid again, imagination and all.

5.22.2007

cousins

this last weekend, finn got to spend hours playing with his many girlie cousins, and his one boy cousin, who is not really of playing age yet. his cousins are all so sweet to him, and seemed to enjoy having him around...
we are putting a photo book of family members together for finn, so that he can become more familiar with their faces and names... here are some cousin photos that we took over the weekend for the book... such lovelies.

annabelle elizabeth

katherine grace

violet mae

madeline rose

caroline olivia

henry ezra

we love you cousins!!

5.21.2007

hail the conquering graduate!!




cait's done with high school, hooray!

5.17.2007

morning cup



finn loves milk. in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. here he is early this morning enjoying his first cup of the day. also in the last picture, there is a photo of our friends' little boy, ayden, on the floor. finn loves to carry pictures of little kids around.

also he learned how to walk this last week. he gets in a lot more trouble now. and loves to sneak away from supervision to do naughty things.

we are off to illinois this weekend for cait's graduation... yea!! it will be a short visit, but fun, nonetheless.

5.10.2007

wee bunnies

here are two wee bunnies i made for some girlie twins i know... for their birthday, which was in MARCH (yeah, late, i know...) complete with the appropriate initial on the bottom, so they don't get mixed up, of course.
i ended up having to do them by hand... as my sewing machine is not precise and difficult to control its' speed, making most detailed projects looking silly.

5.09.2007

finn moneybags


well, finn's piggy bank was getting too full. to the point where you start thinking, "it would be really sad if someone stole finn's piggy."

so we sped down five blocks to wells fargo; one of my FAVORITE things about nebraska is this bank. i couldn't imagine a service that they don't provide. i love them. anyway, we opened up finn's bank account! it was pretty exciting. he gets a wells fargo buck for every three dollars deposited, and after you save so many, you can buy little gifts or if you save a lot, a savings bond! and there is NO minimum balance necessary! so that was exciting. it will be even more exciting when finn turns eighteen and he is loaded. and hopefully we'll be able to instill in him that it's okay to spend money, but it's also important to save a little.

and that is what we accomplished this morning. that, and i took a shower. oh, and i put the dishes away. what a morning - HA!

5.08.2007

i c u n u r o k

5.07.2007

monday morning



well, there aren't very many pictures of me in existence, as i am ususally behind the lens... so i thought i'd share a few that were snapped this week!














we got guitar hero II this weekend... it is so much fun! i wish there were more well known songs on there... but i am getting pretty good at "heart-shaped box" by nirvana... i can even do it on the hard level! anyway, i am excited to see how family members fair on this game... (caron, cait...) anyway, this video game is loads of fun.

5.03.2007

splashy splashy



finn splashes in his new swimming pool, and justin splashes rudy... it was too cold to actually go in the pool..

5.02.2007

SIXTY!! NO WAY!












a giant happy SIXTIETH birthday to my favorite stepdad, ken... i can't believe you are sixty, ken, you look so youthful! not a day over 28... just like tom cruise. expecially after that cataract surgery!

i have lots of memories with ken... i remember the first time he came over to our house, he helped with some handy work and mom made chocolate chip cookies! a rarity!

i remember before mom and ken were married, and we would go to galena to visit him for an afternoon, ken and i would play "myst" and "x-files" on the computer! this was great, since we didn't have a computer at home...

when mom and ken got married, i transferred to a different high school. mom had to stay in freeport for a few months for her job, so it was just me and ken, roughing it at the log cabin. i'll never forget the kindness he showed to me during this transition... making me feel like i was really his daughter. it wasn't all cell phones and movies, there were rules and work involved too! you have to give in order to get!

and i'll never forget the ford ranger that i crashed just weeks after ken bought it... i thought for sure ken would be mad as a hatter, but ken just gave me a hug and said it was okay, it could be fixed, and it was most important that everyone was safe.

ken's taught me many things - how to drive stick shift, how to bleach a log cabin, how to make the best yellow cake in the world, to watch fox news, always...
but really, ken has taught me to be a responsible person, a person who plans... he has also taught me that doing little things for people can mean the world to them. ken has a habit of doing little, spontaneous things when he's around, that makes us feel really special to him... and i have tried to adopt that.

so here's to you, grandpa ken, we love you so much, and wish we could be in tennessee to spend the day with you. instead finn wore his tennessee jersey today, in honor of you! hope you get a round of golf in! happy birthday!