Adventures in Putt-Putt, As Seen Through Patch, Future PGA Master

You know the experience will be good when there's a giant giraffe.

Patch, ready to go. He loves any sport involving balls.

But, on hole 18, he could not find his ball after it went in the hole.


Huh.

Where could it be?

"What are you doing, Patch?"

"Move over. Let me see."


Another arm reaches in.

Trying the club. But no luck! That ball is gone. It's a mystery.

Just go put a diaper on your head. It helps the world make sense.

Road Trip, Part 2

We stayed in South Bend for one special reason: free accommodations. My sister-in-law's brother runs a website called "Gameday Housing," so we stayed in one of his rental properties.

The house was just blocks from Notre Dame University. We spent a day wandering around the campus.

The most anticipated sight on campus: Touchdown Jesus. It's actually a mural painted on the side of the library. It really has nothing to do with football at all.

Mini-me really enjoyed making the "Touchdown!" sign, and continued it, much to the annoyance of Flower.

Flower in front of the stadium. We couldn't go in because it was all locked up. Curly really wanted a peek at the locker room.

Things got a little silly while in South Bend.
We were also a few blocks from a park with a water feature. It was very mild while we were there; it barely made it to 80* while we were there. The kids braved the cold and ran through the water and had a great time.
See you tomorrow when we will discuss the finer points of putt-putt golfing.

Road Trip, Part One

Please enjoy the next few days while I share pictures from our road trip. We went from Maryland to Wisconsin, stopping for a few days in South Bend, Indiana and taking two day trips to Chicagoland.

First stop was church with Grandma and Grandpa, followed by dinner at the Andersons. We had a delicious lasagna, accompanied by some amazing salad. Yum. The girls had fun playing with all the toys, Patch had fun playing with Uncle Doug.

Flower brought her guitar, and sang us a song she wrote, called "That's How Families Are."

While en route to Chicagoland, Curly lost his cell phone. We couldn't find it anywhere, until we realized it had probably dropped on the side of the road while he took a pit stop. After dinner, we drove back to I-55 to the underpass and miraculously found it. Unharmed. A mere 3 feet from the road. I have to admit, I cried a bit.

The second day trip was to spend some time with Great Big Grandpa Neil and Great Grandma Jeanne. He sang the Princeton fight song to Patch, hoping to inspire the next generation of collegiate athletes.

The kids had a blast in Great Grandma Jeanne's toy closet. There is something for everyone in there. We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in Oak Brook Center. Grandma gave the kids some spending money for the mall. Flower bought a stuffed animal and some glasses, Mini-me bought scented nail polish, and Patch bought a Dora doll.

Come back tomorrow to see pictures of Notre Dame and putt-putt golfing!

Road Trippin'

We left Saturday morning for our Summer road trip. Our first stop was South Bend, IN, home of Notre Dame University. We were a mere two hours from my Grandparents and my Aunt and Uncle, so Sunday was spent with them. The only drawback to our trip was that the house in South Bend did not have internet access. As one who is used to checking email several times a day, this was a hardship indeed. I have a new appreciation for the Pioneers.

We are now in Lake Geneva, WI. We have internet access in our rooms, which already makes this the best place ever. Mini-me is not feeling too great. She had a slight fever and was up most of the night coughing. I was up with her. Then Patch woke up way too early. So today, we are laying low. I have been catching up with my internet friends while Mini-me watches movies and drinks juice. Curly took Patch and Flower to the indoor water park. Between that and the internet, Wisconsin is pretty much heaven on earth!

I'm Just Wild About Harry

Last night, we pretended to be young and carefree and went to the Harry Potter midnight movie. I have been looking forward to this movie for so long, I didn't want anyone to tell me about it before I saw it. Lauren and I arrived at about 10 and quickly found our line. It was showing in 15 out of 16 theaters, and was completely sold out. Our plan was to save a place in line, and then our husbands would join us after Lauren's babysitter arrived and Curly got off work. Imagine our blissed-out joy when our theater was the first to be seated at 10:12. During our next 2 hour wait,I got to use the term "Dumbledork" a few times. Pretending to be young is very fun.

Here we are in the theater. It was late, and I can't remember if Lauren said to post this, or not to post it. So, I'm posting it because I look cute. And tan.

Finally the men arrived. We were just about the oldest people in the theater, and definitely the only ones who had to get sitters. I don't look as cute in this one, but Lauren looks adorable. Her husband has freaky red eyes.

On the way home, our friend Colleen (who was in theater 11), sent us a text message saying: "Dumbledore dies?!?! Totally didn't see that coming." It was very funny.

2 Down...

10 to go!

Photo Friday

Baby Quilt

I made this quilt for my friend Starr. She just had her 5th girl. Of course, I chose ultra-girly fabric and made star blocks.

Holiday Hangover

We are all in a bit of a hangover state today. So tired, and not feeling quite our best. But man, what a 4th!

It started with breakfast at the Olson Ranch.

Curly showed up in costume. This year, he was Benjamin Franklin.

The M. Lee's came up for a delicious lunch (if I do say it myself).

PT and Marianne were a little nervous at our house. Why? One word: Gracie.

We then walked to Baker Park, and rode ponies.

We also went in Moon Bounces and climbed up inflatable structures.

Dinner was at the Country O'Kigin's house. It was also delicious.

For dessert, Flag Cake.

Photo Friday

Big Oops, All the Time

I make a lot of mistakes when I'm pregnant. From typos to tripping, I just cannot help myself. I blame the baby. This morning, I thought muffins would be tasty. I had a mix that I got at the store which calls for just 1/2 a cup of milk. Silly me put in 1 1/2 cups. Oops. That doesn't work, and it's a mistake that just needs to be thrown away. Remember my hurt finger? Yeah, I was pregnant then, only I didn't know it. My ankle? Pregnant! Forgetting to wash Patch's clothes last night so he's wearing dirty clothes today? All together now in a sing-songy voice: Preg-nant! The next few months better go fast. I'm getting really tired of all the mistakes!

We are just a few short weeks from our fabulous mid-west getaway. I like to have a little needlework to take with me on the road, even though I rarely get the chance to pull it out. This year, I am taking my block of the month I've been working on. It's called Be Attitudes, and is really fun. I have all 12 blocks sewn together, and I have fused the applique to 2 of them. My machine does not do a blanket stitch, so I am stitching them by hand. It is fun and relaxing, but also very time consuming. My friend and I were supposed to be done with them by September, but that's just not going to happen for me. Maybe by October :)