Like Herding Cats!

Okay you three, look over here! No, right here, at the camera.

Great job, but, OK, now Ellena, look up here and let's do it again.

Uh, no, over here, lookie here! On 3, everyone say cheese-it's!

Alright! Oh, Nolan, don't look at your shoes. Look up here!

Well, Charlotte's looking here, but the other two have taken interest in the ground!

One more time! Right here! And GO!

Ellena!? Over here, Kiddo! Turn around now baby. Last time. Ready, Set, Go!

Forget it.

Nice picture of the fountain, anyway.

Seven Short Years Ago

To My Love,

Thank you for so many things. Among them, listening and supporting me and always being there. Know that I would marry you all over again. Happy Anniversary.

I Love You,
-L

The Cleveland Shower

The New Deal

Even though we haven’t been on here a ton lately, there have been a lot of things going on in the background. A quick summary of the mess:

HAVE happened since last post (list condensed):

· Our Rocketship is at a full-on run almost all the time – usually with a scream as she trots down the hall. Have you ever been behind an annoying driver that was either on the gas or on the brake? Yea, she’s pretty much like that – standing or running.

· We went to the Cider Mill last weekend. E met her girlfriend Emily and the two were quite the pair running around sitting on pumpkins, going down slides, riding ponies and eating sugary donuts (mmmmm!). This is such a tradition here isn’t it? You could tell a LOT of people had the same idea because it was PACKED!

· I have pretty much been sucked in to Facebook. Yes, I know, I know, I put up the largest wall of resistance for the longest time, but remember even the toughest of stone will yield to the constant drip of water – or in this case Facebook. It is EVERYWHERE, is it not? About a year ago a friend commented that she couldn’t live just one day without hearing someone mention the site. This statement is completely true! I have to admit though, and I do it here quietly, FB is pretty interesting. If you can get by the whole “everybody knows everything-ness” of it, it can be very informative.

· E can get into ALL the doors in the house! We have those handles that are like little levers and she is in and out of everything. Funny actually because I can remember exactly we were when we decided to have those handles installed instead of traditional “knobs”. I kick myself now, but it probably would have only bought us a few more months at best.

· Our (read: My) Craigslist addiction is in full swing. Yes, partly responsible for the scarcity of content on this blog lately is the big CL. We have made many purchases this summer. I have also been working to clean out the garage and basement of unwanted items through both CL and eBay (yes, eBay, we are back together…at least until my monthly statement comes due!). We have also been selling quite a bit lately. It must be my personality type, but I just love meeting strangers through this “virtual garage sale”.

HAVE NOT happened since last post:

· Wipeout has NOT called me. Grrr…waiting patiently here!

· I have not had any job offers, yet. I am still at home, for now. There have been some great opportunities though recently and I personally feel as though I am very, very close.

· Christmas shopping (ugh!) has not begun yet even though I have seen decorations out in some stores already (including full Christmas card displays!). As usual, we will wait until there is more panic in the air. Soon the local radio station will begin broadcasting “Wall-to-Wall” Christmas music until December 26th. Last year they started BEFORE Halloween if you can believe it!

Summer is Here: Pontoon Boat Experience

Have I mentioned yet how much I love having an open schedule?

E and I were able to visit a whole gaggle of good friends this week. We met some at the park earlier in the week (J and K shout out!). Then we went to see a new 8-day old little baby (Charlie) that was the 3rd (LwH opinion: YiKeS!) for another set of friends. And finally, the "work" week was capped off for us as we visited one of E's little girlfriends, Emily.

Emily's dad Brian - a friend of mine since high school - had knee surgery earlier in the week, so we stopped by as an excuse to let the girls play together. Emily and Ellena, about 6 months apart, with Emily being older) get along great together.


Emily invited Ellena out of "her" pontoon boat for a few laps on the lake. Now for us, Summer officially begins when we get to go on a boat!

E had only been on a boat one other time (last summer with the Walley's) and she really loved being on the water. She seemed to take to all the running around and looking over the railing that can be had by a child on a pontoon boat.

Hey! What are you doing? You're all OVER the place! And no, you can't drive! Not yet anyways...

Watching Pooh together on television. When the mecca of accurate future prediction, the 8-ball, was cornered and asked "will E&E be BFFs?", the response was "Yes, Definitely".

Halloween Prep II

I know what you must be thinking - you never read about a Halloween Preparation I, right? You are correct, Sir (or Madam...whichever fits)

This is a sequel event to an original event, held spontaneously in 2007. Well, it wasn't that spontaneous, but it might have appeared that way to some of us. (Ahem! Hint: S)

~~~ Flashback ~~~ Flashback ~~~ Flashback ~~~

Several of our friends flew and drove in on a Friday evening to surprise S for her birthday. Needless to say she was surprised - the ultimate goal. Check. Here's where the spontaneity comes in: The next day those who stayed overnight (& ultimately all weekend) drove to a local cider mill and bought pumpkins to carve (shout out to the actual cider and powdered doughnuts!). I believe SOME members of the party had never taken knife to gourd, if you can believe that. In summary, a good time was had by all, so the team decided to repeat the activity in 2008.

~~~~~~~~~ Flash forward to Present ~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some of the many photos taken during the carving contest*, including exclusive shots from the staging area, aka: the garage:

* In which there was no judging and no distributed prize - but just using the word "contest" infuses a sense of competition, mixed with a pinch of holiday sneakery & a sprinkle of suspicion.

Drew; long-time punkin' carving champion from Houston

Claim: Nobody bakes a meaner pumpkin seed than Tony the Seedmaster, from Ohio

Megan babysitting Ellena, in a designated "knife-free" area

Drew & Megan

Tony & Nicole

The final result all aglow

Lights out. Clockwise from the noon position: Megan's Wild Smile Child, Nicole's Feline-in-a-Pumpkin-on-a-Pumpkin, Anime Cat in a Box by Sheri, Loren's the Happy Squinter and Drew's dedication to The Men's Warehouse; a barbershop quartet of ghosts in tuxedos.

Anchors Aweigh!

For the records books, Ellena went on her first ever boat ride about a month ago (I think it was a month ago - hey! Don't blame me - this thing got lost in the system!). Our friends, George & Kim and their son Jacob, took us out on their deck boat, affectionately named the S.S. Ramrod.

There's actually a bit of history on the 'Ole Ramrod as you see the boat is a new addition to the family and George courageously rebuilt the transmission this summer (an unplanned event) eating up valuable sailing weather - hence the push to use the boat longer in the season.

This particular evening, there was a slight chill in the air, but we were blessed with a very beautiful sun down and, hey, it is always nice to be on a boat, right?

Here are a few shots of the voyage:

Kim & Jacob

K&J, deuce

S and E

Elle's really got a healthy set of sea legs and I think she liked the trip! Only time will tell!

Good On Ya, Mate!

Wow, where does an entire long weekend go? It feels like it was just Friday! For the most part, we flew under the radar this weekend. With gas prices soaring and a 12 week old to manage, it proves to be easier sometimes just to stay in!

An exception to this was our Sunday afternoon/evening visit to our favorite local Australian-flavored Pub; Coop's Bar. The event was an early Oktoberfest celebration. Now, I know what you're thinking and the answer is yes, we do celebrate a German festivity in an Australian bar and in the U.S. no doubt. But hey, this is our tradition!

The weather was perfect for a get together fueled by beer, brats and billiards. The three of us had an amazing time and we were able to catch up with several of our old friends. Now, before you report us to the officials, I have to clarify. We did not take our daughter to a real bar (not this time). But let's just say Coop's is about as close as you can get without a cover charge, coat check or any long-winded liquor license paperwork applications.

Later on in the evening "da bubs" (that's Aussie for child) decided to surprise us by exercising her legs a bit. She actually supported her weight for several seconds. It's her new thing actually. She will do squats and you can tell she really wants to stand up! Needless to say this has us a little bit concerned because she isn't even crawling yet! Since early-age walking runs in the family blood (her cousins were up and about straight away!), we are calling it right now. We think she'll be a handful before too much longer!

That was a treat, but the real surprise came later on in the night when she actually had a bit too much to drink (milk, that is) and had to call for a designated driver.

A big Aussie Thank You to the Cooper's for a hosting another great Oktoberfest celebration. Here's looking forward to next year!

What's The Proper Definition For "Hippo-Phobia"?

The other night our friend, Jake, was displaying his displeasure with our stuffed hippo as he's captured here running from his mother, and the hippo of course!

He's a real trooper though and later wanted to become friends with the hippo as his father used a deep voice to pretend the hippo was talking to him.

Run, Jake! The truth is we are all scared of different things at different times! Actually, Jake, we're all scared of that hippo, too!

Keeping It "All American"

In our subtitle, it reads "the all American lifestyle". We added that line because we do feel as though, no matter how hectic and crazy these times become, we remember to take the time to recognize God for allowing us to live in America. There are certainly worse places to live in these times and we try our best t not take that for granted.

One of the best times to renew this feeling inside is around our country's birthday. Even though the 4th of July isn't here yet, it seems that many areas around us celebrate with fireworks earlier than the actual 4th. We happen to live next to a city park that has hosted the annual fireworks display for our township for the last 3 years. We were able to recently enjoy this annual celebration with our daughter. We invited a good couple (and their son) over and we watched it from our backyard. We are very blessed to be able to see this show every year from our own deck! The display is just close enough for us to hear AND feel the explosions from the sky.

God Bless America!