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Great movie! I want to adopt Russell...and Carl. And Doug. And Kevin.

Fernwood

My friend Carrie has talked about Fernwood many time in the years that I've known her. She and her husband were married there. I've seen the pictures. But I did not know. I did not know the beauty of this place. I am so glad we went. I love you Carrie!

Don't forget you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

This awesome sight was the first of many that thrilled us all. The little black dots are this frogs eggs. There were hundreds of them.

This poor guy thinks he's hiding from us. So cute!

My beautiful girls.

I don't have any idea what this was but it was so beautiful. All the leaves on this bush were turning this lovely pink color.

So pretty...

This was definitely the highlight of the day. All of the kids went running into this beautiful gazebo and came to a halting stop. Tucked away, right at their feet was this precious baby deer. They all were able to get a really good look at her before she just jumped up and took off for her mommy. Amazing.

I love the looks on the girls faces here...

The whole gang...

Wow...

What a birthday I've had. Last night we had my mom and dad and brother over for pizza. The girls showered me with home-made gifts...poems copied from Shel Silverstein, beautifully colored pictures of apartment buildings, about 10 different matching bracelet/necklace sets made from plastic beads and rubberish string. But above all, my favorite gift was the one Grace wrapped up for me. It was wrapped up in Christmas paper and then folded inside a picture of us that she drew: 2 tic tacs and a penny. That was so precious to me I could barely stand it.

So the girls have been wanting to get their ears pierced for a few months now. And we didn't have a problem with it so we decided that today after Emily's sewing lessons we would take the girls. I woke up this morning with a mild headache but I took some Motrin and a nap before we went. We got to Claires and here's what happened: Emily was nervous and talked my ear off all morning and the whole way there. She finally stopped when she hopped up into the chair. She handled it so well. I was very proud of her.

Grace was not nervous. She is the braver of the two. She hopped up there and ...

my poor baby cried!!! Oh that dear sweet child. They hurt her little ears!! Yes, I know we were going there so they could poke holes through them but..my baby cried!!

Well, all the excitement (not to mention seeing my babies get holes poked through their ears) got my headache going full blast.

So, I got home and went right to bed. Which was devastating because I had plans to go out with my dear friend and neighbor Traci. We had tickets ($20 tickets) to go see my hero, Dr. Laura in a live broadcast at a local theatre. So, that was a bummer. And of course now, at 10:00 at night I feel great. UGHHhhhh...

I Love This Man

Weko Beach

Well, yesterday was a groundhog day for us. After church Mark and I decided to take the kids up to Silver Beach to fly kites. Of course we got lost. Not lost exactly, just couldn't find St. Joe. But as we traveled up Red Arrow Highway we came across Weko Beach and decided to go there instead. My folks have hosted quite a few fully awesome cookouts up there so we knew it was a good beach so we went in. And I am so glad we did. It was perfect. And as much as I love Silver Beach...I think I like Weko more.

Now, two years ago when we went up in April to do this it was FREEZING!! So of course yesterday I made the girls wear long pants and long sleeve shirts and I packed hats and jackets. Hee Hee. What a goof! It was sooooo beautiful. The air was the perfect temperature. It was a bit cloudy and great wind for flying kites. We had such a great day.

S I C K

So Monday night Grace wakes up around 10 and vomits out about 2 cups of you-know-what. And let me tell you, that stuff wanted out! Then at around 2a.m. she was at it again. Then at 5:30, I woke up with it. And have been sick since. Praise God, I think Grace is done and it doesn't look like Emily is going to get it but man, right now posting this blog is the most energy I'v had in almost 48 hours. Please pray for our family.

Chicago

Well, for those of you waiting on the edge of your seat wondering "did she do it" "did she go"...sorry to disappoint but...she didn't. I simply am not at a place in my life where going to the top of the John Hancock building is feasible. We did however eat at the Cheesecake Factory at the very base of the building and to be honest with you, I could barely concentrate on my company, all I could think about was the fact that there was 95 stories of steel and cement sitting on top of us. It is painful to be me.

The train ride up was dreadful. Sorry to those of you who think the South Shore is the best way to travel but...hated it. Once we got to Chicago we hopped in a cab to our hotel, which was nice. The Millennium Knickerbocker. It was a 4 star on Hotwire. I felt rich.

Then we ventured out, down Michigan Ave. We stumbled upon one huge Disney Store. Emily had been wanting a plush of Bolt for months now and when we walked in it was on sale! Half price! So, she decided to spend some of her $$ on that. It's about the size of her sister. And Gracie got a couple of cute little puppies.

We then got lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Such a pretty building but...well, ya know...

Let's see, then we headed to the Hershey's store and got a HUGE dark chocolate bar, got on a horse drawn carriage and rode around nibbling on it and laughing about just about everything. Note to self: next time you get into a horse drawn carriage, make sure the top is down so you can SEE!

Okay, so then it was off to Millennium Park to check out the big jellybean. Loved It.

Then we planned on eating at the Rain Forest Cafe but when we walked in a HUGE (albeit plastic) snake dropped out of the ceiling too close to Emily and totally freaked her out so we left and went next door to the Hard Rock Cafe. And here is where knowing a bit about Chicago would have paid off lovely. Had we known a better place to go we certainly would have. The Hard Rock was...bad.

The next morning we had a lovely breakfast at Tempo and then sat and waited for 10 am so we could finally go to the store that brought us to Chicago in the first place. American Girl.

Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! What a place! Two stories of pink and red beauty! Everything about this place was over the top. Check out the bathrooms! That is heaven for me. So clean, so pretty.

The girls each got a doll and a couple of outfits. Then we got on the train and headed home. The ride home was so much quicker than the ride up. Grace slept the whole way and Emily brushed doll hair.

Sadly, we were barley a 1/2 mile from the airport when Grace began throwing up. She continued to do so into the night and is now, 2 days later feeling much better.

Thursday Night

Just wanted to share what a nice night our little family had tonight. When Mark got home from work tonight we all went downtown to "Big South Bend" as Emily calls it. We went to the big library so I could grab a book my friend Carrie said I would love. Now, Carrie is a children's librarian and a reading fanatic. I, am not. So whenever I need some good books I go straight to Carrie, and she has never let me down. This however is the first adult book she's told me I must read. Yikes! And, it's fiction. But she called it historical fiction and insisted I give it a try, so I will.

After the library we went to the South Bend Chocolate Company for ice cream by the fire. I had apple pie and Merkle had a muffin. But the girls had ice cream. Then we strolled over the astoturf of the College Football HOF and over to the Marriott to ride the elevators. I whispered to Mark that I wanted to try and prep for this weekends trip to Chicago where I will force myself to ride to the top of the John Hancock building. Which makes me want to throw up. Well, after shooting up 9 stories and swearing that I could feel the building sway, I remained calm and did it all over again. I hated it. Hated. It. What am I going to do on Monday when I'm faced with 95 stories!!! Seriously, you wouldn't believe the thoughts I've had going through my crazy, need to be medicated, head. Maybe someday I'll entertain you with those.

OK, then we came home, read 3 more chapters of "Because of Winn Dixie" and off to bed for the shorties.

Alice
Afterthought: does anyone else LOVE the new Geico song as much as I do? I always feel like, somebody's watching me...