I really need to stop bragging

Every time I brag on here that my computer gets fixed, it hears me and plots an evil revenge. I went to bed after writing about my Super, Awesome Husband (who, by the way, still carries that title) feeling excited that my computer was finally working and I was headed for a great weekend. Well, I woke up Friday morning to find that it was once again not working. Nothing happened, the wireless just stopped working. So I am back to giving a quick update from Curt's work computer. I am not sure when I will be able to get a real post with pics up. Hopefully before I turn 40.

Until then, please don't give up on me! I promise I will get back to sharing my super duper ooper schmooper life with you all. (Thanks "Sid, the Science Kid). I hope that you don't become too desperate before then.

Super Awesome Husband...

That is Curt's new official title. Yes folks, I am posting from my own computer! He decided that he would tear my computer apart and fix it himself. Who cares that he has no real knowledge of the inner workings of computers.

I have to admit that I was a doubter. Although I don't take full responsibility for my lack of faith in his skills. After all, he was sitting at the dining room table with computer innards spread out all over and mumbling things like "Shoot!", "Oh no!" and "You're going to need a new computer."

But by the time I put a load of laundry in the wash and came back upstairs he was sitting with a smirk on his face and a puffed up chest. He had fixed it and successfully put it back together. What a hunk!

I am so looking forward to our date tomorrow night. I even have a new outfit. What else could I ask for? A super awesome husband, a date night and new clothes. I think thirty is going to be just fine.

I did not conquer

Alas, I actually did not conquer over my evil non-working wireless problem. I am posting this from Curt's work computer so that you all will know that I am still alive. I am currently chatting with an HP rep who is supposed to be able to tell me how to fix this. I am a little skeptical considering we have been chatting for almost an hour and he is just now emailing a list of troubleshooting tips.

*sigh*

Hopefully I will be back tomorrow with some sort of awesomeness to post about. :)


UPDATE: Well, there is apparently an actual physical problem with the wireless card or something. Whatever it is, my computer needs to be taken apart, fixed and put back together. I figures that this would happen the week my warranty expired.

We are leaving tomorrow for Indiana to visit my family for my birthday. I am excited to see them and to go on a date with my husband tomorrow night. If Curt remembers to bring his computer home for me Monday night (or if I get to it Sunday night) I will hopefully be able to post about our trip. Until then, wish me luck getting through Saturday! As the big birthday gets closer, I am actually starting to feel better about it. After all 30 is just one day from 29. What does it really matter? Have a great weekend!

Good weekend and busy week

I am happy to say I had another great weekend. That is totally a credit to my hunky husband! :) We are going to be visiting my parents this coming weekend for my birthday (30 -yikes!). So Curt gave me my birthday present early. Friday night he came home with a bouquet of roses and a sweet birthday card...full of money. My real gift from him though, was that he kept the kids all day Saturday so I could go shopping with my stash of cash and out to dinner with my dear friend Jessica. What more could a girl want?! I got so many great things including pants, tops, sweaters, shoes and jewelry. Awesome!

I was a little worried about how Chloe would do without me for that long. Up until Saturday I had never left her for more than about 45 minutes and I ended up being gone for about 8 hours. However, Curt proved once again what a great dad he is and everything went really well. When I got home that night Colby was playing happily and Chloe was curled up on the couch with Curt fast asleep. Of course I missed my babies, but the break was definitely needed and very much appreciated!

Now we are trying to get into the swing of a busy week. Today included a trip to the chiropractor, the grocery store and the post office. Tomorrow I am going to get my hair cut. Wednesday will include another trip to the chiro. Thursday will be spent packing and preparing for our weekend trip to Indiana. Friday will be spent driving, visiting my mom's office, visiting my grandma and going on a date with my hubby. Oh and did I mention that we are having a gospel meeting this week? So that means attending worship every night as well. I will be surprised if we are able to stand by the end of the week!

Hopefully I will get the new pics of the kids posted later (or tomorrow). No promises, but I will try. Okay I have to go sleep now.

Computer Woes and Wildlife

I feel like I have been away from my blog for such a long time! My laptop decided it didn't like me any more and refused to connect to our wireless router. Well, I decided two could play at that game. I would just take it down to the basement and physically plug it into the router old school. "Hah!" my computer exclaimed. "That won't work either!" Do you hear the evil laughter in the background? It was seriously mocking me. Anyway, this morning I was randomly exploring it's inner workings and stumbled upon a fix for the wireless assistant that had been hiding from me. So I conquered over evil and can now go about bringing you all up to date on our week. I can hear you sighing with relief...

Tuesday was a super fun day with our friends! We took a trip to Wildlife Prairie Park! Even though we have lived in Peoria for almost 4 years, we had never been to this park. It is a conservation area with all sorts of animals and hiking trails. Colby loved all of the animals and being able to run around in the woods with his buddies. Chloe always enjoys being outside, but I was wishing I had a more rugged stroller for the muddy, mulchy trails.

One of the first animals we came upon was the cougar. Very cool. You should have seen the size of it's paws!

Colby checking out the black bear.

Along the way there was a nice little playground with some open grassy area. Chloe got out of the stroller to stretch her legs for a bit. Lily decided Chloe needed some companionship!

We saw some domestic horses. We all thought they were some sort of cross breed because they were so short! Colby thought he had found a way in to play with them.

Checking out the chickens...

Awesome bald eagles!

Once we got out of the woods we came upon the open range (well as open as you get in a conservation park in the middle of Illinois). This area was full of bison and elk. They were so cool to watch. At one point one the bison and one of the elk got into a bit of a tussle over one of the watering holes. I guess they had to defend their turf.

Our next stop was the reptile house. This included turtles, frogs and snakes. Chloe liked the turtles so much she pulled her pacifier out in excitement. Here is Colby checking out the skins that had been shed by some of the snakes.

After the last exhibit had been explored, it was time for a ride on the train. I have to admit that it was a little on the boring side, but little boys think it is awesome!

As you can see, Chloe wasn't too impressed either.

So that was our trip to Wildlife Prairie Park. We will be going back in December when the train turns into the Polar Express...complete with hot chocolate!

My Perfect Weekend

If it is possible to have a "perfect" weekend, we had one this past weekend! We didn't do anything fancy or extravagant, but it doesn't really get any better than spending an entire day as a family. Well, I already told you about our good day on Friday, including lunch with Curt, a trip to the park and having friends over for dinner. That was a great way to kick of the weekend.

Saturday morning began with our tradition of pancakes and coffee. Breakfast was followed by some play time, nap time for Chloe and just general lounging. Then we decided to go to a park across the river from our house that has a really nice walking trail that runs along the water. We looked at the boats in the marina, dreaming of the fun things we would do if one of them was ours. Then Curt helped Colby with one of his favorite activities, throwing rocks in the water.

We then spent time playing at the playground and taking silly pictures.

It was a l o n g walk back to the car, so Daddy gave Colby a lift!

After our trip to the park we all went home to eat lunch and have a nice long nap. Once we all woke up refreshed and ready to go, we headed out to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. I hadn't been there in a really long time. It is down on the waterfront and has great views of the river, the bridge and the sights on the Riverfront.

Colby enjoyed the sea creatures hanging from the ceiling, but his favorite part (of course) was the playground at the restaurant.

When our yummy dinner was over we walked around for a little bit and decided to take a carriage ride through downtown. It was so much fun! Both kids really seemed to enjoy it and our driver was nice enough to take a family picture for us (just pretend I don't have awful hair and crazy eyes!).

We finished off our wonderful day with the perfect thing...6-layer Chocolate Cake. That's right, six layers of chocolate cake and icing! Colby loves chocolate as much as I do, so it was just the right finishing touch.

Sunday morning was spent worshipping God! Afterwards we attended a friend's first birthday party at yet another park. If you have been keeping track, that makes four playgrounds in three days. What more could a two-year old boy ask for?! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful little family and entire weekends spent having fun with them. (Too bad Curt's homework didn't get done!)

Ode to Chloe and Her First 6 Months

Okay, so this isn't really an "ode." Just a celebration of Chloe turning 6 months old today with a bunch of pictures and random words about her.

Birthday!

One month

Two months

Three months

Four months

Five months

Six months

daughter SWEETNESS stubborn cute Mama's girl SMILEY squeal non-stop feet persistent CHEEKS sister spitter strong GROWING slobber inquisitive HUGS
.

Another beautiful day!

Well, today was another gorgeous October day! It was completely sunny with temps in the mid 70s and a warm breeze! We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather!

We enjoyed a special treat today...lunch with Daddy and his co-workers. We met Curt, his boss and four of his group members at a local Italian restaurant and enjoyed lots of gushing over the cuteness of our kids and some really good pizza. Do you ever get tired of hearing other people tell you how adorable and perfect your children are?

We had some time to kill after lunch before my chiropractor appointment, so we took advantage of the fair weather and spent an hour at our favorite park. There was only one other family there and they had a little boy Colby's age and a baby girl close in age to Chloe. The boys had a good time playing together, but most of our time was spent doing Colby's favorite thing...swinging. I swear that boy would swing for hours if I was up for pushing him that long!

Then this evening our good friends, the Barr family, came over for dinner and hanging out. After dinner, the Dads went to a movie and us moms enjoyed some quiet time when the kids went to bed. I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends!

We are off to enjoy a weekend of spending time as a family. Curt has been gone a lot this week with work and school so we have all been missing Daddy terribly! Thank goodness for weekends at home...what could be better?!

Fall Fun

Today has been a day spent enjoying the beautiful fall weather. What an amazing time of year! The trees are gorgeous, the air is crisp and the sun is shining. Awesome!

We were all feeling a little cooped up, so we decided to throw on our sweatshirts and go for a walk. We are lucky to live in a neighborhood that is great for taking walks. So I put the kids in the stroller and off we went.

However, Colby didn't last long in the stroller. He wanted to walk and since there is almost zero traffic in our neighborhood I gave in. Boy did he have fun! Our little stroll turned into more of a nature walk. We talked about the Fall season, the changing leaves and the cooler weather. We decided to gather some of the prettiest leaves and take them home to create a fall project. He loved that idea!

Along the way we enjoyed seeing all of the fall foliage in bloom. The colors are amazing! We were also joined on our walk by a friendly little Monarch.

The weather was so pleasant that we decided to have a picnic lunch in the back yard. Chloe wasn't able to join us though. She was too busy visiting dreamland in her crib.

After lunch we made our "project." I think that is Colby's new favorite word! I printed the letters f-a-l-l on cardstock, then we glued the best leaves to the pages. It went pretty well considering Colby is only 2 and this was first experience with liquid glue!

I hope everyone is enjoying this awesome time of year. I really love fall! (despite the upcoming birthday) ... Now if someone could just get my kids to take a nap!