For those who don't know him...

I don't know how many of you guys who read this have ever met Mike... so if you haven't here he is...

Pretty foxy guy huh???? ;-) Lucky Me.

We have had a long few days around here. Westin tested positive for Strep on Saturday and as of yesterday(Tuesday) she was still running a fever of 103.3. I took her back to the Dr. who gave a shot of antibiotics (in her thigh!!!--Ouch!) and ordered lab work. Westin, however did not agree with any of these decisions. Her exact words were "Mommy, that Dr. just wants to hurt me!" Dr. Pamulapati told her she was breaking her heart. It was all very dramatic and sad.Poor little thing. The shot worked. Her fever broke and she went to school today. Just in time. She has a birthday party tomorrow at Chuck E. Cheese for a friend from school.

Alayna's big news is that her class gets to participate in an "Museum school" thing where they go to the Grout museum all next week and have school like they did in the old days. She is so excited. Instead of a spelling test they will have a spelling bee, etc. They even get to dress the part. Mike, being the AWESOME dad that he is, is going to help on Tuesday. I'm sad for me yet proud of him to say that He has been on more field trips than me.

Baking with Wes.

So... anyone who knows me knows I don't like messes. Those people will appreciate this posting.

I know that baking with children is beneficial to them and a good learning experience and blah, blah, blah....you can call me a bad parent but I will say out loud what all of us mom's think....."Is the mess really worth it?"

Judging by these pictures the mess was worth it on this day.

But don't get any ideas about the future, it's a day to day thing.

Here it is...

YEAH! The new school is open!!!

Well, here it is Westin's first day of kindergarten. Last night they opened the school up so that everyone could go and tour and find their rooms. This helped the girls and especially me sleep better.

Westin had a blast and happily said she would go back tomorrow!

Needless to say Alayna was very excited to finally have Westin at her school! After seeing the school last night she kept telling Wes that school was going to be so fun. Westin finally said "I know, I know, You've said that like 20 times!" It was kind of funny. Both girls wanted us to just drop them off so that Alayna could walk Westin to her class. It was sweet, but a no-go. I wasn't letting go any sooner than I had to and somehow those 2 minutes seemed rather pivotal.

Goodbye Grandma Char.

Today was a very sad day for all of us. Mike's mother passed away this morning at 2:38am. The cancer was just too much. She fought a brave battle and lived to the fullest to the very end. We are very sad for ourselves but very happy for her, as she is no longer in pain.

Alayna & Westin are taking things in stride. Westin asks questions with the brutal honesty of a 5 yr. old and Alayna is just kind of taking it all in. It's hard for them, but they also know it is good for her. Westin is sure that Grandma Char is up in heaven playing with peanut (deceased hamster) and then taking Gunerr(Josh's Rottweiler in heaven) for a walk.

Mike is doing as well as a son can when losing his mother. He is being wonderful with the girls and making sure they know that whatever they need, no matter what, he is here for them. The next few days are going to be very hard on us all, but we will get through. Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. They are much appreciated.

For those who would like to know...

• VISITATION---Monday August 21 from 4-8pm at The Dahl-VanHove-Schoof Funeral Home in Cedar Falls.
• SERVICE---Tuesday August 22 10:30am at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls.
  

"When I die, she said, I'm coming back as a tree with deep roots & I'll wave
my leaves at the children every morning on their way to school & whisper
tree songs at night in their dreams.

Trees with deep roots know about the
things that children need". ~Brian Andeas "Deep Roots"

4 Things you may not know about me...

My cousin tagged me, so here we go.......

4 Jobs I have had in my Life.....
Chuck E. Cheese (Yes I was really Chuck)
Nurse Aide
Medical receptionist
Pharmacy Technician

4 Movies I would watch over and over......
Bad Boys 2 (I love Will Smith)
Hope Floats
When A Man Loves A Woman
Nothing to Lose

4 Places I have lived.....
Vinton
Marshalltown
Cedar Falls
Mustang, Oklahoma

4 TV Shows I love to watch........
Friends
Mad about You (I love it!!!)
Nip/Tuck (I know I'm not proud of it)
Miami Ink

4 Places I have been on Vacation......
Colorado
California (A LONG time ago)
Don't really travel much. I have great vacation ideas though

4 Websites I visit Daily.....
Blogs
Allrecipes.com
Storypeople.com
My yahoo page

4 of my favorite foods.........
Tacos
Meatloaf (I really do like it!)
Spaghetti
BBQ Ribs

4 places I would like to be right now.......
A bed & breakfast in Vermont
A dude ranch with my kids (I just think it would be fun)
anyplace with my family
COLORADO!

OK, I tag Holle and Josh....go!

With neighbors like these...

So, we have a little war going on with our neoghbors, Joe and Emily. Our weapon? A rather sizeable orange cone. It all started while they were on vacation. Somehow this orange cone appeared in front of their van. It stayed there for a few days after they returned, We joked about it and one night put it on the roof of their van. Joe shimmied up and got it off. We all laughed about it and apparently war was waged. Joe laid low for awhile, Mike and I joked that he must be plotting something good. We thought maybe we would wake up some morning with the cone lying in bed between us. We were close.... I got home from the pool one day last week and found this......

This picture doesn't do justice to just how steep the pitch of our roof is. I believe Joe may have risked life and limb for retaliation definitely raised the bar. Now the question is what do we do in return?

If you have any suggestions e-mail them to me. Joe and Emily read this, and I don't want them to see what's coming.

4th of July...

Thought I would share some 4thof July pics: