Greetings from Illinois!

Our saga continues! We're visiting family in Chicago right now. We've had some good weather (cooler that is). We've seen some rain which is nice as we don't get to see very much in Vegas.

Melissa is flying into O'Hare airport this afternoon. She has been attending a Tastefully Simple Convention in Minneapolis since Thursday. I drove her to the Detroit airport on the 14th where she flew to MSP via ORD. She has had a great time from what I have been able to get from her on the phone. She talks briefly when we are on the phone. I am looking forward to her coming back. It has given me a new profound appreciation for what she does to take care of the kids.

I had to drive all 4 kids the 6 hour drive (does not include stops for gas/potty/DVD change). I thought that crossing the border would have been harder without my wife present. The agent didn't even ask for the notarized letter that we drafted up giving permission for me to take the kids across the border without both parents present.

I'll try to upload some pictures of the car ride across the river on the ferry! Normally we don't take the ferry across but the border crossing by bridge and tunnel were really backed up. See ya! Enjoy your Sunday!

Greetings from Canada!

Well, for those who didn't know, our family is on vacation from August 9th-24th. We flew into Detroit on the 9th. The flight itself was smooth sailing but Kyla had a rough time getting to sleep. We took a red eye flight so our system was out of wack on Saturday. It is cool and rainy. In fact I got up this morning and it was 49 degrees outside. Yesterday it must have only got up to 70. So, no swimming for our kids when it is that cool.

I am at the hospital today having taken my dad in for an angioplasty (spelling?) Just waiting around. I thought I would bring Melissa's laptop in the chance that I would be able to gain access to the Internet. Melissa is having an internet withdrawl at my parents house as they do not have access. So for those of you who are not getting a quick response from Melisa, give her a little slack. She is trying to logon whenever possible.

Melissa flies out to Minneapolis MN on Thursday for a Tastefully Simple Conference. She doesn't want to leave the family but she is also looking forward to learning new things and being pumped up in order to go home and rock her business.

We have some pictures. When we have time, we will upload some pictures from our camera and post them here. Stay tuned. For those in Vegas - stay cool! We'll try to send some cooler weather your way.

Melissa did a wonderful job!

I thought I would jump in quickly to say "Way to go Melissa" for figuring out how to post video's and pictures. I have to give it a try. I guess I should take some pictures first.

We're trying to pack up and get ready for the trip. We leave Friday night at midnight. I sure am not looking forward to doing a red eye flight with the kids but it was the cheapest way to go. Having to purchase 5 tickets (next time will be 6 tickets) for the family, any savings is appreciated.

I helped pack the electronics last night (i.e. travel DVD, GPS). We keep setting up the suitcases on our bed as a reminder to pack clothes as they are ready. The last thing we want to do is pack up the day or night of especially since it is Jenna's birthday.

Melissa had a Tasetfully Simple party tonight (she is a consultant). She came home excited but tired. She is asleep right now (at 10 pm) on the couch. She is doing great with her business. I am so proud of her.

Another day down, more ahead.

Jump...jump...jump

I hope I'm doing this blogging thing right so far. I'm loving it, but feel completely clueless. So why not add to it by trying a video. So here goes.

Last night, Jenna taught Kyla the word "JUMP" and the action that goes with it. And Kyla was running around the living room saying "Jump...jump...jump" and trying so hard to get off the ground. It was so adorable and we got some video to go with it.

She's been saying all kinds of new words lately. Some of her newest words include: AWESOME! and Choo Choo, All Aboard. She seriously says all four of those words together. Anyway, these are all words she's learned from her big 4-year-old brother.

My First Tag...

This is a picture tag from one of my dear friends Kendra!! The rules are...you have to take 10 pictures of the following things, right away, without straightening or cleaning anything up. I tried to keep mine in the same order as my buddies Kendra and Ragan (because they know more than I do about how to post on here)...so here I go...

1. The closet...not terribly messy, but we do have too many clothes. We definitely need to declutter our wardrobe. And you probably noticed the suitcases ready to be packed. I didn't finish the packing on Saturday, but the laundry is almost done...hopefully making packing that much easier.

2. The toilet...there were no rules about whether it should be opened. It's actually not that bad, but I'm so not putting it on display to be judged. :c) This is our Master Bath. I love having a bathroom in my bedroom. I know most everyone does...but I really appreciate it.
3. What your kids are doing right now? Well, the first moment I got to work on this picture tag was after the kids were in bed. However, as you can see not everyone was asleep. SO that was a surprise to me.

• Kyla - laying in her crib trying to go to sleep despite the camera being flashed in her eyes!

• Weston - I had to crop this one, so as not to show the spiderman underoos! He's such a cutie! Also, can I just say I love the fact that 3 of my 4 kids are potty-trained! It might not sound like a big deal, but at one point I did have 3 in diapers.
  

• Jenna - she sleeps on the top bunk. So this is the best shot I could get of her. I especially loved the hand hanging over the edge. She's such a sweetheart! And CANNOT wait for her birthday!

• Megan - she absolutely cracked me up sleeping with her arms straight above her head.
  
  

4. Self portrait - fairly accurate seeing as we're both the contributors on this blog. I held the camera and Wes snapped the picture.
5. The fridge... I guess I shouldn't have taken it when it was dark in the kitchen. But it's really not that bad. However, we're trying to empty it before our vacation.
6. The kitchen sink - thank goodness Wes had gotten the dishes loaded in the dishwasher before I got my camera out. I know...I'm one lucky lady to have a guy who doesn't mind helping with dishes.
7. The laundry room. I really like my laundry room. It took me a few months to realize I could use the shelf to hang clothes up as they come out of the dryer. I'm a little on the ditzy side. :) And I really like my side-load washer because my kids can help out with the laundry. However, I have to share a quick story about my kids at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Grandpa Paul was doing laundry and the kids wanted to watch. Grandpa later said "You'd have thought they had never seen anyone do laundry before". We realized that was because they can't ever remember having a top-load washer in our home. My mom was not laughing at the prospect of having an "old-fashioned" washer.
8. My favorite room in the house. This is probably because it's summer. But I LOVE my bedroom, because it is my sanctuary. And at the end of the day, it is the coolest room in the house and I'm thrilled to climb into my cool, crisp bed. And I like that when I'm disciplined enough to work out I can do it in the comfort of my own bedroom (the machine in the front of the room is a gazelle). However, I still need to decorate all the rooms in my home.
9. My favorite pair of shoes...I have loved these shoes since my mom bought them. And had always wished I had gotten the same pair as her when she bought them. However, I went with a diff pair. Well, I got lucky and she handed them down to me and she had only worn them a couple times. And the pedicure is from Jenna. She's been begging to give me a pedi for the past few weeks. I finally gave into her the other night. 10. A picture of my dream vacation. This is a picture in Hawaii of the Kaanapali Beach on Maui. I'm kind of boring. I've been there before, but I'd love to go again. Go snokeling again and this time wear sunscreen. Also, take the Road to Hana and enjoy the Seven Pools. We didn't do that on our honeymoon. Also, (and I totally copied this from Kendra) I would just sit on the beach or swim in a perfectly aqua blue ocean and relax all day.
Okay so I will tag Melissa S., Nancy A., Michelle C., Becky B., and Teri M. As usual, I will not be offended if you don't have the time! Also, anyone else who is interested is welcome to tag themselves with this one! Have a fabulous day!!

It's the Weekend!

Since Melissa allowed me to be a co-administrator on this blog, I thought I would make my presence known. It sure is nice to relax. It has been a crazy week with many ups and downs. Melissa is out and about with Jenna and Weston this morning. I've got Kyla and Megan and they have been good girls.

We are gearing up for our trip back to Canada. We sure miss the family there! We sure won't miss the Vegas heat while we are gone but we aren't ready for the humidity.

I spent last night looking up old friends and acquaintences on Facebook last night. I came accross a childhood friend I hadn't heard from in over 20 years. Cool or what. This internet thing sure has made it easier to meet up with old friends.

Well, better get back to cleaning. Melissa' wants to begin packing for the trip (7 days from now). If she begins, that will be the earliest time we ever got ready for a trip. Go Melissa Go!

Cute Baby:

My cute friend Ragan has been offering to get me started in the blog world for months. I really needed her help because I'm very new to this whole blog world. One of the few things she asked for was pics. Well, I finally had some I was proud to share. And I think once I got over my initial phobia of venturing into blogdom, I can see the possibilities. I love the idea that I can preserve my families heritage. And I can flip back and see how my children have grown. And on the day that my dear friend Ragan built my blog, she watched my baby Kyla and snapped these cute shots of her. Thanks to all my friends for their support and sweet comments! I love you guys and look forward to hearing more from each of you! Ragan I bet you're so proud of me for FINALLY posting! Yay...me!