The Banet Family

Strawberry Shortcake

2010-04-01T05:51:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Libby's favorite toy/cartoon/character is Strawberry Shortcake. Those of us who grew up in the 80's remember how Strawberry, Blueberry Muffin, Apple Dumpling and the rest of the gang smelled like! Libby & I spent the afternoon at Nonna & Pop's house...where Libby helped Nonna make her very own Strawberry Shortcake (with no eggs!)

Here's Libby rolling out the shortcake. Quite the little chef.

Finished product...ready for the oven! We had a great time, Nonna!

My baby and her baby

2010-03-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

Libby with her American Girl Bitty Baby (still without a name after almost 2 years!) and their matching PJ's. I really lucked into this nightgown (which retails for like $30 at americangirl.com) for $8 at a new children's consignment shop in Floyds Knobs....that's just the way I roll.

An apology post

2010-03-13T05:26:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010! So, I'm only a few months behind....what do you expect, I've been swamped.

How about a quick glance at what I've been doing for the last few months....starting with January:

I went on our Jamaican girl's trip (see next post) for a trip that we couldn't forget!
Got "conditionally" accepted to a Master's program at Bellarmine, pending my GRE scores
Began my first Master's level class in the Nursing program at Bellarmine..."Healthcare Policy"
Began studying for my GRE (slotted to take in early February)
Received a letter from The Joint Commission stating that our "Primary Stroke Certification" was going to be February 12th, 2010.

Spent basically every waking moment, and many 12 hour days, at work with Michelle and Kristin working on this HUGE projectFebruary was a blur....
Took my GRE
Got "unconditionally" accepted to the MSN program at Bellaremine
Spent Tuesday nights in class learning more about Health Policy then anyone should know
Lived through a "hell week" at work preparing for the biggest Certification to hit Norton Healthcare for in a LONG time
Impressed the socks off of the Joint Commission surveyors and received the first ever disease specific certification at Norton Downtown!

Now...we are into March. I can't promise I'll do better blogging, but I'm going to give it a shot. Thanks for your patience!

Jamaica me Crazy, Mon'!

2010-03-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I realize that I have not blogged in over 3 months....so let's just get past that, and work on some updates with my crazy life. In January, Mom, Nancy, Shena and I started the new year with a bang, and a trip to Jamaica! We had an amazing time!

This picture pretty much sums up our trip...lots of lazy days spent on the beach and in the pool....mostly with a cool drink in our hand.

One of the highlights of the trip was our zipline tour. It was so amazing the "fly" though the jungle over Montigo Bay. This was an afternoon that I will NEVER forget!

The resort that we stayed in was out of this world...we enjoyed delicious dinners and lots of yummy adult drinks. This was certainly a girl's trip that I will never forget. I love these girls!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2009-12-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

'Twas the night before Christmas and Libby did pose

In front of the presents all covered in bows Just her and her doggie under the lights

Hopeful that Santa would make it tonight She put out the cookies and said "bye" to the elf

The one she named "Elliot" that sat on the Shelf.

Just when we thought it was all safe to leave

Santa's Little Helpers had something up their sleeve Santa did come, in spite of the rain!

The amount of the presents was simply insane!!

We heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight

"Those damn dogs ate my cookies, now we will fight!"

Gingerbread house

2009-12-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

We decided to spend this cold, lazy, Sunday afternoon making our first ever Banet Gingerbread house. Libby was so excited to get started! She rushed back to her room to get her Strawberry Shortcake apron for the project! It was actually a lot harder than I expected it to be. The tubes of icing that came with the kit were not easy to use, so we used some piping icing that I had from Thanksgiving.It was a team effort, but here is the finished product! Libby's favorite part was decorating the snowmen and making it "snow" with powdered sugar.
So proud of the house!

I think we have discovered a new family tradition! Too bad Libby can't eat the gingerbread cookies, but luckily she ate her weight in sprinkles, gumdrops and icing!

Santa Claus came to town....

2009-12-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

Libby was beside herself with excitement when I told her that we were going to go to the hospital to eat breakfast with Santa! Libby & Sophia enjoyed breakfast with the big man in red.

When it came Sophia's turn to meet Santa, she did great...told him what she wanted and smiled! Isaac did the same!

Libby's turn did not go over so well. She started crying when I put her down on Santa's lap. As long as I held her, she did fine, telling him that she wanted twin baby dolls that she is going to name "Max and Ruby". After we saw Santa, we headed up to my units so Libby could help me hand out Christmas gifts to my weekend staff.

Christmas Cookie Day

2009-12-13T14:54:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is baking cookies with my mother. I can remember being Libby's age and standing with her (like Libby is pictured above) and helping her roll out dough (eating more raw dough than cooked), cut shapes and bake cookies. As Philip and I got older, we were deemed the "decorators of the sugar cookies". We typically make about 10 different sugar cookie designs...trees, wreaths, candy canes, etc. Here, Libby helped me put the sprinkles on the Christmas trees (you may note another tradition here...this is the 3rd year in a row that I wore this shirt for cookie day!)

Here, Libby, Nonna & I proudly sport our hard work...over 15 different kinds of cookies...all part of the tradition that I know as Christmas Cookie Day!

A Star is Born

2009-12-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight was Libby's first dance recital. Gary and I were so nervous since we had no idea how she'd do on stage. She walked on, smiled, and did her routine, just like she had practiced.

Following her teacher as they danced to a Christmas song that I'd never heard of before.
Doesn't she look like a natural?

Loving this on-stage thing!

And a bow at the end....great job Libby & Sophia!

Nonna & Pop brought Libby roses, just as every dancer deserves! When we asked her what was her favorite part about the recital she responded, "When I got to go on stage". Wow...I think you all know who she's going to take after!

So, you think you can dance?

2009-11-11T06:32:00.001-08:00

Last night was Libby and Sophia's "Parent Night" at DanceWorks. Overall, we were really impressed how well that they did during their lesson. Here, Libby waits outside of the studio and watches the "big girls" do their dance moves. I loved this. When it was time to go into the studio, the girls dropped mine and Amy's hands and grabbed each other's hands. How sweet!I hate how my camera does not take very good indoor photos, but love this posed photo of the girls. At one point during the class, a little girl on the side watching them said, "Look Mommy, there are twins in this class".

Painting pretty things in the sky.

Come'on, ride the train...

Doing her heel tap. Daddy helping her put on her ballet shoes.
Doing her graceful swan walk across the floor.
Okay, so turns out the 50 minute class got a little boring at the end. Check out Libby laying on the floor waiting for the other girls to do their moves.

Tap and Ballet Class

2009-11-05T11:08:00.001-08:00

This week Libby and Sophia started their first dance lessons at DanceWorks. It's funny that at the age of 3, these girls have done every "First" lesson together...Swim, Gymnastics and now Dance! Above, Libby can hardly contain her excitement! I was a little disappointed that the studio is a "closed" studio, so parents cannot watch the lessons...just on "Parent Observation Night" which is next week.

Amy and I think WAY too much alike...down to our taste in leos! Libby & Sophia were so adorable when they realized that they had on matching outfits! Their little tap and ballet shoes are adorable and I really think they had a great time! Libby's been showing us her new "dance moves"...and all I can say is..."Look out Dancing with the stars!"

Boo to You!

2009-10-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

Every year since Libby was born we have gone over to Gary's mom's house on Halloween for a party and so the kids can trick-or-treat around the neighborhood. This year, she was Cinderella.

Libby and Carly get ready to head out to find some candy.

Me as the devil...really, do you have to ask?

Nonna and Pop take a second to pose before we all headed up the street to hunt down some more candy!

After we hit a few houses, Libby said that she wanted to go back to get her car. It was pretty apparent why she thought that the car was a necessity for Trick-or-Treating.... Princess Sleeping Beauty 2008
Libby as Minnie Mouse 2007

We all had a great time! I know her eyes are almost closed in this one, but I liked that it showed her blue eyeshadow! Libby loved handing out the candy just as much as she loved going up to the houses and getting the candy!

Pirates, Pumpkins and Penguins

2009-10-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

It looked like it was going to be a cold Saturday morning, so Gary and I took Libby to the Newport Aquarium for their Halloween party. We enjoyed the morning...which included a viewing of an underwater pirate sword fight, pumpkin decorating and treasure hunting.

Princess Libby was not too scared to touch the slimy creatures (and later even a SHARK!)Mommy & Libby took a minute to find Dory, Nemo and all of our other fish friends.Along the way through the aquarium, we found treasures and got to do a crayon rubbing to find the secret treasure at the end. Trying to see how our little Cinderella measures up the to the size of an actual shark!And what does the Aquarium do with the pumpkins that the divers were carving underwater? Yup, they let the fish eat them...who would have known!?Picking her own pumpkin in the penguin area. The aquarium thought of everything and we really did have a great day!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

This is the first year that we decided to carve our pumpkin. It was quite a task with a 3 year old, but the results were worth it!Gary took over trying to carve the top off of the pumpkin. Libby was not into what the inside "guts" of the pumpkin looked, felt and smelled like. Check out her face...a forced smile...doing anything she could to get away from my hand filled with the pumpkin goo.

The finished product.

Spooky.

Time Out for the Kitty!

2009-10-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, Libby's favorite stuffed animal is her Cat in the Hat. Gary and I missed what happened, but Libby got very upset with him and put him in time-out. Poor thing. Hope he learned his lesson.

After Cat in the Hat told Libby that he was sorry for whatever it was that earned him time on the "naughty wall", she scooped him up and went back to talking on the phone. I wonder who she learned that from?

How Tall this Fall?

2009-10-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

Today we headed to Huber's Pumpkin Patch to find the perfect pumpkin for Libby. Her cousin Ally has spent the weekend with us, so we were so lucky that she, Evan, Brittany and Cheryl (also known as Mimi II) got to come with us.
Libby and I posing by the pumpkin patch.

How tall this fall? On the left is the picture that I took last year. Libby has the same shirt on and pigtails (she loves wearing her hair in braided pigtails). As you can see, she has grown so much in 1 short year!
Libby and Gary. She looks like she is making a funny face because I told them to smile and say "pumpkin" and I snapped the picture when she saying the "pu" part. I was trying to see if I grew any taller since last year....I'm afraid I didn't. Picking her very own (she liked the ones with the bumps on them).

Again, searching high and low for the one that she wants.

Libby and Mimi II picking a pumpkin. Libby is so blessed to have so many grandparents that love her so much!

Kayla's 5th Birthday Princess Party

2009-09-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here ye, Here ye! All of the royal princesses were invited to the Seng's Castle for Kayla's 5th birthday party tea. Libby loved that we got to dress up in a princess dress! She wore the dress that she wore in Shena's wedding, nearly a year ago. She looked just like a little princess! Princess Libby and Princess Kayla talk about a prince before the royal tea party begins. JP and Jill made an adorable cut-out carriage for royal photo-ops! Libby and I pose for a quick picture.

After eating princess shaped sandwiches with all of the royal fixings, we headed out to the garage for some crafts. Luckily, Mama Sandy made all of the girls aprons so they didn't get paint on their dresses as they painted princess wands, purses and crowns.

After crafts, all of the princesses lined up for a game of "Pin the Tiara on the Princess". Here, Jill helps spin Libby around 3 times before her turn. All of the princesses...Libby, Kayla, Abby, Shae, Ashlyn, Lilly, Allie & Brooklyn. Aren't they precious?After we lined all of the girls up, we decided that the mommies needed a picture behind the carriage. We laughed so hard when we saw 8 little princesses telling us to "say cheese". It was not so straight, but not bad for a 3 year old! We all had a great time! Thanks for everything, Jill, Kayla and Mama Sandy!

An apple a day

2009-09-13T11:34:00.001-07:00

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday, so we decided to run to Huber's for a few hours. We sat outside on the deck and ate our lunch and then took the wagon ride out to the apple orchard.

Libby picking some Golden Delicious.

Showing off the "fruits" of our labor. What a fun afternoon!

Beach Beauties

2009-08-24T18:58:00.001-07:00

For our Christmas gift this year, Philip and Amanda hired a photographer to come to the beach and take a family picture with all 9 of the Beanblossom's. Before the photographer arrived, we snapped some candid photos. I have a feeling that these are going to turn out better then the ones that he took since the girls were all getting grumpy and hungry.

Nonna, Pop and their girls. You'll notice that Emeline had a big bump on her head because just moments before, she fell on the boardwalk and landed forehead first. Poor thing!

Nonna and Libby Grace. My lovely parents. What a sweet couple...married 40 years in June.

Libby striking a pose.

First weekend on our new boat

2009-08-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Gary and I have been wanting a faster boat for a while. We finally found the perfect boat for us this week and was able to take it out this weekend. The name of this boat is still in negotiation ("Power of Attorney", "Law and Order" and "Trust Me" are currently our top 3 choices). Here we are just pulling away from the ramp.

Ahh...I love ice cream on a hot day!

Don't drip that on the new boat!

Me taking my turn as the captain. I was a little scared since I am not used to driving a boat this size, but after about 20 minutes, began feeling a little more comfortable.Busted...sucking her thumb!I put this picture in here for my mom and dad. Does this look like a blast from the past? I can remember eating many lunches on our boat growing up in that very same spot, with a Capri-Sun in hand! Trying my glasses on for size.

First day of Pre-School

2009-08-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that every mother remembers vividly. Every mother can relate to the mixed emotions that I had today when we took Libby to her first day of pre-school. Libby was excited about her new venture, but was a little scared. As you know, Mema (Gary's grandmother) has kept Libby for us since she was 6 weeks old. For almost 3 years, she had free reign on her daily activities and the thought of structured school was enough to make any mother scared. Check her out...so excited! A little tired....but so excited to go. Gary and I both took her to school today. On the ride there, we had a conversation about what the day would be like, all of the new friends she'd meet and how this was the beginning of an exciting new adventure for her.

Libby: "I wonder what we'll have for lunch"
Mommy: "I'm not sure, but you'll have breakfast, lunch and two snacks there"

Libby: "Mema always has pickles...I lover her pickles"

Mommy: "Yeah, Mema makes good pickles"
At the school, Gary, Libby and I were sitting on tiny chairs with the director of the school, going over final paperwork and sharing her possible egg allergy. Just then, Libby crossed her legs, leaned back in her chair and interrupted Ms. Dena with a serious question:
Libby: "Do you all have pickles here??"
That story just goes to show that she'll adjust just fine to her new journey. Even if they don't have pickles.We have called Libby "Monka" since she was a baby...our made-up word indicating that she was a monkey. Only fitting that she had a monkey backpack.Here is the scanned picture of her artwork for the day. Not great, I admit, but she really said she had a good day, made some friends (she told me that she couldn't remember one of her friend's name but calls her Ally) and is ready for tomorrow!

God is great, beer is good and people are crazy!

2009-08-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend, some of our friends headed down to the camp with us to enjoy the perfect weather. The lake water was so warm and we all had a really great time riding on the boat and relaxing around the campfire. Kayla and Libby enjoying their ice cream sandwiches at the dock in Peter's Cove. Now, that's heaven....an Oreo ice cream sandwich on the boat dock.

Sarah and her baby. Me and my babyJill and her baby
Check out Kayla's face. What this poor child must have been thinking....

The boys decided that it'd be a good idea to try some dives off of the boat (hence the title of the blog entry!) JP on his way to a perfect "Belly Flop".Shawn's attempt for the biggest splash on record at Rough River. I think he might have had it.
Justin showing them all how it was done. He made a back flip look effortless. Ahh, to be young again.... Back at the camp, we blew up the jumper so the girls could burn the last bit of their energy before heading to bed. What a great weekend! Thanks for coming down, guys!

Fish Face

2009-08-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

After a much needed nap, we headed to Bass Pro Shop to look at some boats. Libby enjoyed looking at the fish. This is her best impression of a fish.

Kitchen Nightmares

2009-08-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you all who had never seen my "old" kitchen, these pictures might not impress you so much! My old kitchen was right out of the 1970's...complete with green cabinets and a stained glass window. Luckily, when we moved into our house, 4 year ago, we painted the cabinets, but left everything else just the same. Our counters were white with green and gold specks and like I mentioned, there was an orange, green, blue and yellow stained glass window covering. Very retro. I am pleased to report the transformation!I spent one entire weekend painting the cabinets, re-finishing all of the hardware (as you can see, that's a lot!) and painting the walls. With a new counter top, a new pantry door, a new light fixture (bye-bye 1980's mirrored light) our kitchen looks like it finally belongs in this decade! We still need a few "finishing touches", but are proud of the finished product!

Libby's Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

2009-07-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Ever since we got back from Disney World, Libby has wanted a Mickey Mouse Birthday party (which was highly encouraged by Mommy and Daddy who couldn't stomach the thought of a Dora the Explorer party!). She was so excited and was really into her birthday this year. I just image it getting more exciting each year!

Most of you all who know me, know that I have a tendency to go overboard for parties. Here is the cake table, complete with a Mickey cake, cookies and a personalized banner.

The highlight of my food this year was a edible arrangement fruit basket. I had priced something very similar for over $60, so decided that I could make it for less than $25. If the nursing thing ever falls through, I'm thinking of starting a business! Look hard to find the Mickey, flower, fruit and moon shaped fruit.

And what would a Mickey Mouse party be without Mickey shaped Rice Krispie Treats dipped in chocolate?

My centerpieces...M&M filled vases. Yummy and cute!
The food spread...thanks to Nonna, Pop, Mimi and Mema for pitching in! We had delicious BBQ, Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Potatoes, Green Beans, Slaw, homemade salsa...and...well, you get the idea.

Before the party started, Libby got one of her first presents from Nonna & Pop. A few weeks ago when Libby spent the weekend at their house, she "rode" Grace's cane like a horse. Nonna & Pop searched high and low to find her a stick horse...she loved it (and thanks, Nonna! We almost had to bring it to gymnastics with us last night!) Above, Pop and Libby take it for a ride around the house.

Getting ready to blow out her candles.

Libby did a great job opening her presents (with a little help from her friends). This was an absolute work of art....Libby would open the present, Ally would read the card and Sophia would clean up the wrapping paper. What's going to work? Teamwork!
Thanks to everyone for coming and for her awesome gifts! She is so lucky to have you all in her lives! We love you all!

Happy Birthday, Dear Libby!

2009-07-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today was Libby's 3rd Birthday! It is absolutely amazing to me how fast time flies. It almost takes my breath away when I think about how grown up she is and how much she is changing into a little girl each day. I think I heard it said best today when a friend of mine said, "It's so exciting and so sad at the same time".

Today I woke her up singing "Happy Birthday". She got so excited and exclaimed, "I'm three today!" She started to lay back down into her bed and put her thumb in her mouth when she said, "Oh, I'm three today and can't suck my thumb". So far, so good!

After work, we headed to gymnastics with an entire cheering section, Nonna, Pop, Mimi and Pop joined the normal on-lookers. Above, it's easy to see where Libby gets her balance.

Nonna, Pop, Mimi and Pop were all pretty impressed with her gymnastic skills. She would do her task and then look up in the stands and make sure that everyone saw her! She even did a flip into the "cheese pit" like she said she would (she previously stated that she couldn't do it until she was three!)

After SIGS, we headed to "The Yellow Cactus" for dinner and a few presents. Even though her party isn't until Sunday, we thought it would be rude to make her wait until then to open anything...so we let her open her gifts from her grandparents and some from us.

Check out that awesome homemade cake from Cousin Dana! It looks like something out of a magazine and was delicious! I love this look (to Pop) while we were singing "Happy Birthday" to her!

Blowing out her "3" (dumb me didn't turn it around for the picture!)As you may know, we are currently going through some testing to determine if she has an egg allergy. After one bite of something with eggs, she wipes off her tongue and says, "it's yucky" or "this has eggs in it". She has had a few pretty bad spells, breaking out and swelling up. Needless to say, she was not able to enjoy her cake, but ate the whip cream icing from Nonna's cake and a Popsicle.

Happy Birthday, Monka!

Show us those pearly whites!

2009-07-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Today we took Libby Grace to the dentist for her first ever check-up. I had very low expectations, and actually told myself that if she sat in the chair and didn't scream that I'd be impressed! Luckily, we had been reading "Dora goes to the Dentist" for about a week, preparing for the big moment! Libby could even name some of the equiptment (like an "Explorer") that she learned from the book. It made it a lot less scary for her!

Our good friend, Rikki is the office manager of the office we went to. I think it helped that she saw a familiar face. Here she is getting geared up for the cleaning. Look how serious she is!Ready to open up and say "ahh".

These pictures turned out sort of dark because of the lighting, but nonetheless, it shows off how cooperative that Libby Grace was being. She has 10 teeth on the top and 10 on the bottom.

The dentist said that she wasn't worried about the thumb-sucking (but we are!). Libby told her that when she's three, next week, that she'll quit. I still say we might need a 12-step program!

They were so great with her--let her pick out tons of toys (thanks, Rikki!) and really made this a good first experience. If anyone wants information about this great pediatric dentist, let me know.

SIGS

2009-07-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

In a few weeks, Libby will no longer be in the "Parent/Tot" class at SIGS! After almost 2 years of tumbling, obstacle courses, jumps and "play time" with us by her side, she is going to graduate to the bigger class...where she'll go out all by herself. I don't know who's more excited...Libby Grace or Momma & Daddy (now we can sit out and visit with our friends!)

We think it's pretty apparent that Libby is going to be a "teacher's pet"...which makes us confident that she'll do well in the next session without parents. Here she is with Miss Chris, practicing her "bigs and littles".

After class, we went to Big Boy for soup and salad. Our little girl wanted to meet the Big Boy!

May the 4th Be With You!

2009-07-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

4th of July weekend, Shawn, Sarah, Justin, Gary, Libby and I headed down to the lake for a soggy weekend. We took full advantage of the warm and sunny weather on Friday and went out on the boat. The water was amazingly warm and it was not too crowded out on the lake, especially for a holiday weekend.

All of that swimming makes a gal hungry. She was double fisting pretzels and twizlers.This was the first year that we let Libby have sparklers (Daddy was a nervous wreck!) We spent most of the 4th under the lovely tarp-porch handcrafted by yours truly. Between rain showers we went on go-cart, 4-wheeler and golf-cart rides, ate, drank and laughed our butts off. We sure did miss having JP around, though....he is always good for a laugh (or someone to make fun of!)

J-Dog and Libby Grace on the 4-wheeler.

What a soggy, but fun long weekend!

Three Year Photos

2009-06-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we headed to CLICK Portraits to get Libby's 3 Year pictures taken. There is one thing to say about that place...they are fast and cheap (I guess that's 2 things). Say so-long to the days that you drug your kids to JC Penny's for photos in October so that you'd have your prints back by Christmas!
Anyway, Libby was not terribly into her photo shoot. We got 2 shots that we liked---both that we thought "looked like" Libby. Lately, she's been making a cheesy crooked smile that (even though we think is adorable) does not look great in "Portrait Style".

We loved this Sepia-Tone. Wish you could tell how cute her pink and brown shoes match her pink and brown dress!

The Cousin Crew

2009-06-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend Philip and Amanda came into town for a visit and for Philip's 15 year high school reunion. Libby loves to visit with Lucia and Eme when they are in! They really play so well together...well, usually until the last day when they get tired of each other! We are SO looking forward to our beach house getaway/family vacation in August so the girls can hang out for longer then just a few days! My beautiful niece, Eme!

Going Wild at the Zoo

2009-06-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

We picked the hottest day of the year to decide to head to the Louisville Zoo to meet Dora and Boots. Luckily, we made it to the zoo and in line before it got too hot and before the other bazillion mothers and kids got into line. Libby was so excited to meet her hero, Dora!

We were so glad that Ally went with us! She is truly like a big sister to Libby, since they have both gone to Mema's since they were born.

But, as you can see...Ally is so much bigger (but not as big as the big Gorilla. Most of the animals were not out and about today, since it was so hot. We enjoyed our time in the herb-aquarium, where the air was cool and the snakes were behind glass. As you probably know, I am horrified of snakes, so to see Libby touching one freaked me out.....

On such a hot day, it was great to cool off at Glacier Run...a cute water park for the kiddos. The water felt great and Gary and I even got our feet wet to cool off. Action shot of Libby Grace going down the slide.

Holding hands going down the slide! What a great day!

Rooting for the Reds!

2009-06-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Friday after work, we boarded a chartered bus from Gary's office to the Cincinnati Reds game. Gary's firm knows how to put on an event--complete with a rented out "Party Deck" overlooking the game, all of the hot dogs, beer, popcorn and all of the other ball-park fixin's that one could want!
Root, Root, Root for the home team...if they don't win it's a shame...for it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ball game!

Libby sported her Red cheer leading outfit in true-fan style! She was an absolute angel the entire time...from the bus ride up, though the game, past the fireworks and the entire way home. I was actually nervous bring her around all of Gary's co-workers...on a bus...but she really did amazing! Heading to the party deck.
Future star.

As a treat, Libby got to Build-A-Bear at the stadium. She picked out a bear (that she later named Rosie), put a heart in it and picked out an outfit for it.

Here she is...still going strong and watching the fireworks...long past her bedtime.

Take me out to the ball game

2009-06-14T19:48:00.001-07:00

Today we went to Carson's 1st tourney game of the season. As we watched him play, I watched Libby down a bag of popcorn, two fruit roll-ups and a bag of Fruit Loops and wondered, "What else could she possibly eat?".
The answer to my question....a blueberry ring pop. Here she shows off her tongue. She thought it was pretty funny that it matched Keaton's shirt!

After a very close game, Coach Chris took her to the dugout so she could congratulate the team! She absolutely loves her Uncle Chris who is, by the way, the only person on this earth that calls her "Elisabeth".

We all Scream for Ice Cream

2009-06-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Libby Grace and Sophia Grace enjoy their chocolate baby cone from Berry Twist.

Bathing Beauty

2009-06-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

We headed down to the lake this weekend for Libby's first trip out on the boat for the season. She looks like she's "in her element", don't you think?

The two best friends in their matching life jackets (we didn't plan that...it's just the their Mommies shop at the same stores!)

Libby driving the boat with her daddy.

Berry Twist

2009-06-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

Libby showing off her chocolate ice cream cone from Berry Twist. Every time we pass the famous Floyds Knobs ice cream joint, she points and says, "That's where we get ice cream".

Flower Power

2009-06-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

After the winter ice storm, we lost our landscape lights along the driveway. We took this opportunity to have Uncle Mark install new landscape lights and planted flowers around them. Libby has been helping me (almost every night) go out and water our newly planted landscaping. Thanks to her (and her Finding Nemo watering can) I just might have flowers that grow this year!

What a big help!

Dog Days of Summer

2009-05-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we headed to the Georgetown Drive-In for "The Dog Days of Summer" event. This is the only time of the year that dogs are allowed at the drive-in, as a fundraiser for the Floyd County Humane Society. The Bubble Bus was there, along with jumpers and events for doggies.

Here, Kayla and Libby snack on some popcorn in the back of JP's truck, waiting for the movie, Disney's "Up", to start.

Tucker enjoyed one of the specialized dog treats. What would a trip to the drive-in be without a bacon and egg flavored slushy??

2009-05-24T07:56:00.001-07:00

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

Memorial weekend, we headed down to "the filed" for some go-cart riding and for an opportunity to play in the creek. I love this picture that Clay took--the little girls talking and playing while the big girls do the same!How artsy-fartsy is this? Libby and Kayla's chair vacant while they are busy playing. JP with the kiddos.
Mommy and Libby riding around and around the track. At one point, Libby started screaming! I stopped to hear what she was crying about...turns out she was crying "Go Faster, Go Faster".

Time is "Zoo"ming by

2009-05-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

With Gary out of town, I decided that it would be nice for Libby and I to have some quality "Mommy and Me" time...so we headed to the zoo. Apparently, every other Mother/Daughter/Daddy/Son/Grandma/Grandpa/etc in the Metro Louisville area had the same idea. That place was packed!

Here, Libby takes a break on the elephant trunk.

Striking a pose!

She told me that "Seeing the elephant" was her favorite part of our trip.

Libby really wanted to ride the train, but just as I mentioned above, that place was packed! The line to the train was too long...so I talked her into a Carousel ride instead. With no cash in hand, I had to dig out 6 quarters to get her aboard...but listening to her laugh made it worth every cent.

If you remember from last year, this is a turtle sculpture that one of Gary's partners, Mark, made and donated to the Louisville Zoo. Just like the title of this blog entry suggests, time is "Zoo"ming by. Look at this baby last year....

...and look at this little girl this year!

Happy Birthday, Gary!

2009-05-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

For Gary's birthday weekend, we headed down to the lake. Since this was the first trip we had had down all year, we spent most of Saturday working outside...pulling weeds, burning brush and laying mulch. Even though we worked our tails off, we had a good time (even if I got poison ivy!). Here, Libby and her cousins, Keaton and Carson take a second to pose outside of the "Lodge". We ate so much that we were just about sick at this time!

Wow--check out this blast from the past. This is Baby Libby last year at the Lodge....

Here is Big-Girl-Libby this year! I just love to look back and see how much she's grown in 1 year! So amazing!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T07:57:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day--we headed out to Ray and Betsy's house for lunch. I made a "Three Generations" Mac and Cheese, which was my mom's delicious recipe in my grandma's dish. It made me miss Grandma Hoehn so bad--She would have loved to get to meet Libby Grace!

Libby posing next to the tree. Let the records show that I didn't tell her to put her hand in her pocket...she did that herself. Very Senior picture pose, if you ask me!

Keaton, Carson and Libby Grace

After lunch, we headed to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We had a blast; eating and shooting guns. Libby and her daddy both enjoy their new guns. I am very disappointed that I didn't take any pictures of Libby with her Nonna or Pop on Mother's day. Sorry guys!

Girl Power

2009-05-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

Libby and her friends, Allie and Kayla playing dress-up at Kayla's house.

The super girls tie blankets on themselves for "capes". I love these girl's imaginations!

Tumble Time

2009-05-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to see the progress that Libby has made at SIGS. When we first started, a year or so ago, she was scared to touch the bar. Now, look at her go!Even during a hard practice, Libby finds time to goof off.

Let's get a little mud on the tires...

2009-04-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

We spent a beautiful Saturday afternoon down at JP's Dad's land. It was perfect go-cart weather....I got so muddy that I had to throw my clothes away, though.Libby wanted to make sure that she didn't get any mud in her eyes. Luckily, when Gary took Lucia and Libby for a ride, they didn't go in the muddy wooded path.
Uncle Shawn shoes Libby the right way to hold a bat....I think she might be on our co-ed league this summer.

Let's go fly a kite...

2009-04-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty swamped lately with work, gymnastics, life and my new found love for "Facebook". I apologize for all of my followers for my pitiful postings lately. Let me try to catch you all up....

A few weeks ago, my brother, Philip, and Lucia came home from Baltimore for a long weekend. It was one of those beautiful weekends! Nonna and Pop got the girls kites, which they couldn't wait to try out. Here, Libby and Lucia pose with the kites.

Pop with 2 of his 3 girls. I laugh when I look at this picture because I think about Dad's story from the week before (when we were in Vegas). Libby was on the swing and Dad was pushing her...she was saying "weee". Always knowing what she wants, Libby then turned to Dad and said, "Now, I'll push you and you say weeee". I laugh out loud every time I picture my dad with his hands in the air screaming "Weeee!" just to appease her. What a great Pop!

Speaking of great Pops, check out the ride he gave the girls on the tractor! Lucia was scared and asked him to stop, but Libby kept on going. She loved it when he lifted the bucket up and down. What a little Tom Girl!

It was a great day for kite flying, as Pop showed the girls.

And the wind made it easy to blow bubbles!

Vegas, Baby!

2009-04-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

For my 31st birthday, we headed to Vegas for a long weekend. Gary and I had never been, so we were looking forward to a little get away!

We stayed at the Paris, which was so beautiful!
The first day, we just walked around the strip and tried to take it all in! We tried to hit a few of the casinos, mainly just to see the attractions! Here were are at Caesars' Palace.

Day 2 was much of the same...walking around, seeing the sights, shopping, eating and drinking! The time change was pretty hard for us to manage, staying up until 12 Vegas time, was pushing it for us old folks (it was 3am our time!) We did manage to get a few naps in so we could actually party! We met up with an old high school friend of mine, Pappy, who runs lights for the Elvis show. It was great to catch up and reminisce about my theatre days.
As day 2 came to a close, headed to see"Jersey Boys". It was such an awesome show! It made me want to drop my nursing career and head back on stage! After the show, we went for a walk, enjoyed the lights and fountains and headed back to the Paris, where we found the best piano bar! Cute, huh?
What would a trip to Vegas be without an old lady bus tour to the Hoover Dam? (or the Damn Dam, as we kept calling it!) It was really actually so very cool to see that place! It was breath taking! They are building a bridge next to the dam and when it is complete, cars will no longer be allowed to cross over the damn dam. I found it pretty facinating!
Our last night we treated ourselves to an amazing dinner in the Eiffle Tower Resturant in the Paris.After enjoying a few drinks at the Paris' bar, we sat down for an amazing dinner! It was worth every penny...and the sights (overlooking the fountain) were amazing!

The Banets take over gymnastics...

2009-04-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight Libby was thrilled to see that one of her favorite cousins, Will, joined her gymnastics class! They spend many afternoons together at Mema's playing together, so it was quite the treat for Libby (or "Bibby" as Will calls her) was going to get to tumble with her!

Check out that stance! Looks like a pro, don't ya think?

Libby and Will marching around the circle.

Classic "Libby Surfing" pose (or so I am told).
Having fun in the climber.A forward roll like a pro. Check out that form....

Libby with her cousins Will and Harrison.

Looking like she was just told to "walk the plank", Libby gets ready for a very calculated jump into the rings.

Her first taste of Sushi

2009-04-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

After a much needed nap, we headed to dinner at Kansai Japanese Steakhouse. Gary was in the mood for Sushi (and I can always eat a California Roll!)...so we thought we'd let Libby give it a try. She loved the salad and was instantly a pro at the chopsticks (okay, so they were modified with a rubber band and a rolled up piece of paper, but she still did great!)
Showing the other kids in the restaurant how it was done. We will know for next time to sit where she can watch the Japanese Chefs. She asked over and over when they were going to come to our table.

Here was her first attempt at Sushi. Check out that face...I think she didn't like them before she even tried it! Lucky for her, Mommy and Daddy polished off the plate without her help.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

Libby sporting her Easter dress getting ready to hunt eggs at Nonna & Pop's house. It was such a beautiful day and Libby was very into finding the eggs!Me, Gary & Libby
Nonna & Pop with their little girl.
Not a very lady-like pose, but here she is getting ready for the hunt....

Finding her first egg.

She loved walking around the yard. The Easter Bunny didn't hide them too hard (except for the 2 with money it them for Mommy & Daddy!) Ahhh...here's one.
After finding all of the eggs, we headed inside for the traditional Easter brunch...ham, eggs and the best Cinnamon rolls on earth! I love these rolls and still don't know why Nonna just makes them once a year...I could eat them every day!
After breakfast, we headed outside for the rest of the afternoon, playing with the Frisbee that Nonna & Pop got Libby Grace. Pop must have thrown that thing 100 times to Libby.

Finally, he began helping her catch it. She closed her eyes every time, so he'd catch it and put it in her hands just in time for her to think that she caught it herself...sneaky, sneaky, sneaky!

"Hoppy" Easter

2009-04-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Since Gary and I will be out of town next Sunday on Easter, we celebrated a week early. Libby woke up to find her basket filled with lots of goodies...coloring books, dress up shoes, sidewalk chalk and Peeps (her favorite!)

Peeps for breakfast?

Showing off her sidewalk chalk.

An Egg-cellent job coloring eggs

2009-04-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

After our much needed nap, we decided to go ahead and color our Easter eggs. Since Gary and I are leaving on Thursday to go to Vegas for my birthday, we have sent the Easter Bunny an email and asked him to come this week, not next week. He was so happy, since he has so many other houses to go to and he said it gets tiresome to hide all of those eggs in one day. Daddy and Libby coloring the eggs.

Libby loved coloring the eggs. She tasted the water (licked it off of her finger) and said, "well, it looked like juice, but it doesn't taste like juice".
Stirring the water, getting it ready for the eggs.

Coloring the eggs prior to dipping them was her favorite part of the day. She did an egg-celent job!

Slumber Party

2009-04-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

For the last few years, my girlfriends and I have been having "girl's night out" every few months or so. This month, since Mark was going to be out of town, Dena offered to host "girl's night in" at her house. Six adults plus 11 children under the age of 4, no boys and a few drinks was without a doubt the formula for a great time! Above, Libby with one of her best friends, Kayla. They are sporting their matching "Best Friend" shirts....in true "slumber party" style!

I am that I know what most of you are thinking right now:

"How on earth did you all deal with that many kids all night long?? You all are crazy!"

Really, the kids were awesome! They all ate well together, played well together and even went to sleep without too much problem.

Here we are...the whole crew in our PJ's. The challenge was not getting the kids to sit for this photo op...it was getting the mommies to figure out the timers on their cameras!

From left to right:

Gracie, Ally, Kayla, Brooklyn, Ashlyn, Addie, Lilly, Libby, TJ, Carson and Stella.

Finally, the moment we all had been waiting for...Bedtime! (okay, maybe not all of us, but most certainly the mommies!) Nine character sleeping bags, chocolate milks, 14 trips upstairs to go pee, a "Go Diego Go" video and a "Barney" video later, the kids were finally asleep! Now it was time for the big girls to play!

Anyone that grew up in the 80's knows the above game, "Girl Talk". This was the game to play at slumber parties in grade school. Back then, we'd all put on our PJ's and spin the wheel, answer the questions and laugh our heads off at the "zits" that you had to wear when you didn't answer a question.

It was very comforting to know that some things never change!!

Joni, Sarah and Dena modeling the game. This as you can tell was "pre-zit"!

The next morning, we all got up...ate about 3 bags of donuts and headed home...most of us still wearing our PJ's. We already have our next slumber party planned for June! What a great time! Thanks for having us, Dena!

SIGS

2009-04-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Libby has been so enthusiastic about gymnastics this session. It's hard to believe that the same little girl that was scared to touch the bar during the first couple of sessions could possibly be the same girl pictured above.

Here Libby is doing the "bear crawl". Sadly enough, this is something that I am doing at "Boot Camp". I am not nearly as graceful as Libby, though!
Walking on the green crayon balance beam. Look at that concentration!

Rain, Rain go away!

2009-03-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Come again another day!

Libby's "CrackBerry"

2009-03-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Ever since Libby was very little, she has known the difference between a BlackBerry and a Cell phone (mainly because her Mom and Dad are obsessed with them). When getting Libby changed out of her PJ's, she found her Dad's BlackBerry and clipped it onto her diaper! What a crazy girl! Brings a whole new meaning to the term, "CrackBerry".

Dinner & A Movie

2009-03-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

We took Libby to the dollar movies to see "Bolt". It's safe to say that she ate almost this entire bag of popcorn! She was a really good girl and was really into the movie (saying things like, "I hope they find Penny"). Just like all motion pictures, it was about 10 minutes too long for a 2 year old...so after we couldn't entertain her anymore (and the popcorn was all gone), we slid out. I guess I'll have wait until it's on TV to see how it ends...

Plan B

2009-03-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

After getting so excited about gymnastics, we got to SIGS right on time to discover a few stray cars in the parking lot. After saying a few choice words, I dried Libby's tears and talked her into spending the evening with me at the park.

Playing on the jungle gym.

Libby loved to go down the slide.....

....can you tell?

We had such an excellent day! I'm actually sort of glad that gymnastics was cancelled so she and I could spend some one on one time together.

Look out Mary Lou Retton

2009-03-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

Libby began back at SIGS last night. She was so excited to go--and did an outstanding job following directions!

Look at that big belly hanging over the bar!

On the balance beam.

Swinging on the bar...she said, "I'm a monkey!"
She is already looking forward to next week's class.

A good day for a camp-fire!

2009-03-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

After the beautiful weather last weekend, we all decided to go down to the Seng Campground for a weekend of camping and go-cart riding. It was cold and rainy, but we still decided to brave the weather for a while.

As usual, the girls had their own rides.....

....but the wet ground made them get stuck frequently.

Libby and Livy take a spin in the princess car.

Livy, Kayla and Libby went through about 35 bags of Cheetos...thanks to their Uncle Shawn!

After it started to warm up, Jill, Kayla and Libby played a little ball.

Coach Jill shows her how to swing.

Here, Uncle Shawn gives Libby a "driving lesson". For those who know Shawn, this is a common practice of his.

It's Potty Time!

2009-02-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Libby has been really been on a roll with her potty skills over the past few days. She got a "Potty Time" chart for Valentine's day that I hung in the bathtub. After she goes on the potty, she gets to put a sticker on the chart and get a piece of candy.

We told Libby that after she earned a row of stickers (which was 20) that we would take her to the store and let her pick out whatever toy (gulp!) that she wanted. Last night, she finished the challenge....and as promised, we headed to Target this morning to claim her prize.

After much debate, she decided on a baby doll that she named "Molly". It's so sad to see my little baby grow up into such a big girl before my eyes...but so exciting to anticipate what lies ahead.

Anything for charity....

2009-02-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night, my cousins and I participated in the 4th annual "Mardi Gras Lip Sync" at St. Joseph's Church. This was the 3rd time in 4 years that I had participated in this fundraiser. Last night, some of my cousins joined together for an act we called, "Night at the Movies". This 8 minute act contained clips from movies such as Little Orphan Annie, Mrs. Doubtfire, Farris Bueller's Day off and Shirley Temple. Above, Diane and I pose before going on stage.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll get rid of this wig, tomorrow, it's only a day away.

How do you solve a problem like Maria?? I'm the nun second from the left. Don't I look holy?

Mike as Mrs. Doubtfire...this dude did look like a lady!

The final scene from Farris Bueller's Day Off was amazing. We did a great job (if I must say so myself) and looked like Broadway stars! We earned aver $500 on our act, alone!

Me with my oh-so-handsome Godson, Todd. Isn't he adorable?

Gary did his best to entertain himself.

Snow Bunnies

2009-02-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we headed to the Banet's hill with about 25 other people to go sledding. Libby was crazy about the snow! She threw snowballs, made snow angels, ate it (thanks to Uncle Shawn) and went down the hill many times.

Taking her turn on the bobsled.

No, she's not napping. She's making a snow angel.
Ally, Kayla and Libby making snow angels (they look like their mommies do after too many drinks).
JP broke his sled going down the big hill. You'll be glad to know that he didn't spill his beer when he wiped out.

Gary drinking a beer to stay warm. Sledding makes a girl hungry...for donuts and milk.
Libby mastered the "bunny slopes".

Sarah and I made about 10 trips up and down this treacherous hill. Here she is on one of her solo rides.

This was the funniest wipe-out of the day. We all got very comfortable going down tandem on a tube. In order to do so, we had to run and jump on it at the exact same time. This particular time, Gary and JP missed the tube when they jumped on it...leaving Gary face-first in the snow and JP like this.........hanging on for dear life. Lucky, their girls had more coordination then they do. Kayla and Libby show them how it's done. Lanie and Libby

Ice and Wind and Snow....Oh my!

2009-01-31T08:29:00.000-08:00

The winter storm hit us hard, leaving us without power, with many down trees and limbs and with a mess to clean up! I hate to admit it, but the ice and snow hanging from the tree limbs is a beautiful sight!

On Monday, we were hit with several inches of snow, and I spent a long day at the hospital trying to have crews pick up nurses, nursing support and physicians so we could try to run business as usual. After an exhausting day, I came home to watch the news. We had heard that we were expecting an ice storm, so I finally opted to head back into work about 11P.M. to spend the night. I knew that missing work was not an option for me, and new that with the hill and road that I live on, that making it downtown early the next morning might be impossible. I spent the night at work, but was up most of the night talking to staff, arranging rides, and simply trying my best to hold my part of the hospital together. Gary called about 6:00 AM to tell me that he heard a tree fall on the house and that he and Libby were going to the basement. Not long after, we discovered that our power was out, and other long day at the hospital awaited me.

We were so fortunate that Ray & Betsy had power, and spent Wednesday and Thursday night with them. Friday, while at work, we were thrilled to hear that our power was back on! We were really lucky to not have more damage than we did, looking at our property, the amount of trees on houses, cars and debris everywhere! Here is the limb-covered side of our house.

This is the other limb-covered side of the house.The trees down on and around our fence.All and all, we have a mess to clean up, but we were lucky. I am looking forward to actually getting to spend some time playing in the snow!

Disney--Day 4

2009-01-30T19:03:00.000-08:00

On day 4, we went to Magic Kingdom again to do the things that we didn't have time for on day 1. The weather much warmer, but the lines were longer. We did find time to wait in line for Libby's first ever roller-coaster ride. She was just tall enough to ride it...and loved it! I think we are going to have an enthusiast on our hands!

She was equally as thrilled on the Aladdin ride. What a fun day!

Disney Trip---Day 3

2009-01-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

We started the morning out on Day 3 visiting Hollywood Studios. This place was right up Libby's alley...completely full of characters from the shows that she watches every day on The Disney Channel. We went to see a show starring Handy Manny, Tigger & Pooh, Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She was standing up, dancing, singing, jumping and laughing the entire time. We went into the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground where she took a ride on an ant, slid down a leaf and played with lots of over sized everyday items. Betsy and Gary waiting in line to audition for American Idol, but Paula and Randy threw them out before they even got to meet Simon.
It was not long before the character spoting began again. We walked up to a few Power Rangers, but Libby was not too excited about meeting them. She was thrilled to meet Handy Manny, though! She was so sweet, hugging him, kissing him and giving him high-5's, that a couple in line behind us were taking her picture, too.
I must admit that I am not that familiar with Jo-Jo's Circus (but Gary was--go figure), but again, Libby was star-struck. Finally, she got to touch Rocket from The Little Einsteins! She was singing the intro to the show while we waited to meet a few of the stars. She thought it was pretty cool.
We rode a few rides, watched a funny Monster's, Inc. interactive show and enjoyed the warmer weather. We got to meet Mike Wazowski from Monster's, Inc. Libby was not so sure about walking up to him on her own...do you blame her? I was excited about meeting Woody from Toy Story, but Libby has never seen it, and was not that thrilled about them. I guess Buzz Lightyear can be a little overwhelming if you've never seen him before.
After a short nap on the bus, we went back to Epcot in hopes to spot a princess or two. Also, we knew that we needed to take the tram to dinner with Chef Mickey, so we figured it'd be a good spot to spend the rest of the day.

We ran into Princess Jasmine, Aladdin and the Jeanie right away. We saw Belle (Libby's Daddy was glad to meet her), but Libby was scared of the Beast. He stood behind her for this cute photo-op.Dinner at Chef Mickey's

Chef Mickey was a lot of fun! We got to meet all of our friends again (Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy). Betsy said she heard Libby tell Donald, "You are my favorite" again.

Disney Trip--Day 2

2009-01-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

We got up early on day 2 to go to the Animal Kingdom for breakfast with Donald, Goofy, Daisy and Micky. Just as we had discovered the day before, Libby was in love with the characters! She has small toys of each of the characters, so she had to show it to each of them (note the Donald Duck in her hand!) Mimi, Libby, Gary & Goofy. Gary's the one on the far right. Hugging Daisy Duck.

As we were getting ready to leave breakfast, they started the parade--which Libby joined in. She marched around (Yes, in her winter coat!) shaking her instrument with Goofy. It was so much fun to see this through her eyes! After leaving the restaurant, we went to Animal Kingdom, where we had more character sightings.

It warmed up enough for us to enjoy an awesome safari--getting to see lots of cool animals up close!

Libby decided to take a nap as we ran into more friends---We parked her next to Pluto for a photo-op.

After her nice long nap, we took the bus to Epcot.

One of our first stops was the "Finding Nemo" ride. It was so cute and Libby loved it (plus we didn't have to wait!)Here she is looking for Nemo...thanks to Libby, we found him!

She also found some of Nemo's friends.

We waiting in line for a few minutes to see Mickey and his friends. She had been doing really good with the characters up to this point, but were still unsure if she'd walk up to them herself.

She saw Pluto again (this time while she was awake).

She loved Minnie Mouse!

We got to see Donald Duck again. I had to go up and get her from him, since she was hugging all over him! When we were walking away from him, she told him, "You are my favorite". My heart melted! What a long and awesome day we had Day 2! Literally, the only time Libby cried was that morning when I put her hair in pigtails! What a trooper!

Disney Trip--Day 1

2009-01-26T17:26:00.000-08:00

Due to the weather conditions and the long hours I have been spending at the hospital, I am just now getting around to adding more photos of our Disney trip. Let's start from the beginning...here Libby is watching Dora on the plane trip to Orlando. She was such a great girl!

Self-portrait as we enjoyed the plane.

Once we arrived in Florida on Wednesday afternoon, we headed right onto Magic Kingdom. I love this photo that I snapped while Gary was showing Libby the castle.

We ran into a few characters and enjoyed the short lines before heading to dinner.

Libby loved the tea-cups (she called them the hiccups). Yes, it was pretty cold our first few days!

After we rode some of the "classic" rides (The Teacups, Dumbo, It's a Small World) we went to have dinner with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. We were all a little scared about how she'd react to the characters...but we were so pleasantly surprised by her reaction!

The Banets with Eeyore. After dinner, we went to our hotel to gear up for Day 2. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which was awesome...complete with a view of animals from our balcony!

Disney

2009-01-22T14:44:00.001-08:00

We headed to Disney for Libby's first trip on Wednesday. She did amazingly well on the airplane and at Magic Kingdom. After a visiting the castle, riding Dumbo, The Teacups and It's a Small World (more photos to be posted later), we went to have dinner with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. We were so afraid that Libby was going to freak out when she saw the characters (you all remember our visit with Santa), but she absolutely loved them! She wanted to hug and talk to them.

For any of you who knew Gary when he was little, you may remember that his nickname was Piglet. Here, Libby and I posed with the two Piglets.

We got up early this morning (it was freezing!) and headed to Animal Kingdom for our breakfast with Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. Again, Libby was so sweet and excited to see her favorite "friends".

On our way out, we ran into Pluto. Libby was sound asleep by then, but Pluto waved us over for a photo-op. She'd be sad that she missed it (lucky for us, we ran into him again while she was awake at Epcot).

After a short nap and a trip back to the room to re-group, Libby was going strong so we decided to head over to Epcot. Awesome photo-op.

We waited in line for a few minutes to see Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Libby's favorite, Donald. I am absolutely in love with this photo! Libby with Donald. Over the past few days, she has become obsessed with Donald. After she hugged him, she told him, "Donald, you're my favorite". I almost teared up! I'll be posting more photos later! Stay tuned.........

Day of Beauty

2009-01-20T18:40:00.001-08:00

As you know, we are going to Disney in the morning, so we headed to Betsy's shop on Saturday so that we all could get haircuts before we left. While we were waiting for the lady that was ahead of us, Rosie volunteered to paint Libby's nails for Mickey. She sat so patiently and quietly as she filed and painted each nail. She looks so grown up!

Checking out the color that she picked.Now it's time to dry....

Playdate

2009-01-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

Last night after dinner, Pat, Rikki, Brayden, Lilly, Sarah, Shawn, Justin, Jill, Kayla, Goober, Shannon, Ally & Gracie came over to play. Libby was thrilled about this group shot of Me, Rikki and Lilly, can't you tell? Sarah & new baby Gracie

It took the kids about 10 minutes to completely destroy the playroom! Here, Kayla, Ally, Brayden and Libby demonstrate how it's done.

Poor Rikki looks overwhelmed as she looks at the mess that the kids created. I think it's so funny that there is not a toy on the shelf below 3 feet.

Think of the all of money that Rikki is going to save on hair cuts, now that Brayden knows how to cut hair!

Pat teaching Brayden to shoot pool.

Colts Eggroll Party

2009-01-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

Philip and Amanda are heading back to Baltimore tomorrow, so we all went out to the Beanblossom's for one of our favorite meals--homemade egg rolls! Here, the girls all pose in their vests.
Lucia and Emeline

You all know how much I always talk about Libby loving to play with "Little People". Mom and Dad went though the basement and found a ton of Little People that Philip and I had growing up. This camper set was one of my favorites! This set has a picnic table, fire, grill and all of the needed camping supplies. Nonna got us mini-marshmallows and put them on pretzel sticks so we could roast them.

Libby enjoys her roasted marshmallow! Libby, Eme and Dolly take turns sharing the Little People. Mom and I finished rolling all of the egg rolls. Pop frying them out on the deck (it's a joint effort).

Me and the girls get ready for kick-off. Libby was so funny trying to cheer! Nonna taught her to kick her leg in the air when she cheered, "Go Colts!". Here, so was trying to hard to clap her hands over her head.
Really into the game....

Nonna with all of her grand babies.

Denise, Philip, Derek and Dolly

Tyler, Albin (Mark & Denise's exchange student), Libby and me. For those of you keeping track, yes, this was Libby's 3rd wardrobe change of the night.

Happy New Year, 2009!

2009-01-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

We began our New Year Eve's celebration by going out to dinner at Beef's prior to going to Brent's party.

Shawn & Sarah JP & JillThe three hot momma's wait for the party to begin...check out those boots!
Jill, Sarah and I dominated the dance floor! Here, Jill and I take a break from getting down to pose for a photo.
JP & Gary look like Gangsters in those hats!
So does Jill....
Me and Sarah ringing in the new year.
Shawn and Sarah...the cute couple. Dancin' Queens

Me and Jill
After the dance, we headed over to Danielle & Bill's house. I saw "Drunk Clay" who I am not sure I remember ever meeting before (in the 9 years I have known this man). He was pretty funny! Those involved in this event are glad to see that I edited out the questionable photos and saved those for posting on "Facebook"!

Hoehn Cousin Party

2008-12-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

Saturday was our 5th Annual Hoehn Cousin Party. This gathering was developed at the funeral of my grandmother, when my brother and a few cousins feared that her passing would mark the end of the large family get togethers that once took place. My mom is one of 12 children, making up a total of 33 first cousins on the Hoehn side. Only those who have graduated from high school are invited to this competition, complete with games, brackets and the convented Hoehn Cup! We had a record turn out this year, with 14 first cousins (and spouses).

Me, Ashley and Shena Drawing number to see who was going to fall into which bracket. This year, the games were Euchre, Golden Tee, Pool and Jenga. Jenga got harder as the night went on, especially after drinking the Hoehn Hooch. Above, Scott, Jeremy and Gibby. Me and Jill's boyfriend battled it out...setting the first record of the night of 31 pieces. Gibby, Lucas and our 31 block tall tower (I was secretly hoping Gibby would knock it down during this photo so it wouldn't be my turn). Me and Laura played pool.......she won (even though she was picking balls up and putting them into the pockets!)
After many hours of playing, Jason won the coveted Hoehn Cup! Gary had won it for the previous 2 years, and hated to part with it, but happily handed it over to one of the newest additions to the Hoehn family.

Nonna & Pop's House

2008-12-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

We are going to be celebrating Christmas with Mom and Dad on Saturday when Philip and

Amanda get into town, but after our much needed afternoon nap, we ran out to Mom and Dad's for dinner and a visit. Libby Grace and Nonna made me a present!

While we were in the living room watching "A Christmas Story", Nonna and Libby were in the kitchen planting me an Amaryllis flower.

She even wrapped it for me!Libby's patience was getting the best of her when she asked Pop if she could have a present that was under the tree. In Libby's defense, she had opened over 50 presents for the day and didn't understand why we had to wait until Saturday to open more! Nonna let her open one of her stocking stuffers! The whistle was a hit! Good thing we left it at Nonna and Pop's house! Libby gets her noodle eating abilities from her Momma who can eat a bowl of Nonna's noodles for every meal! Libby licked the bowl clean, man, Nonna makes great noodles!

Christmas Afternoon at the Stiller's

2008-12-25T18:34:00.000-08:00

After we enjoyed playing with Libby's toys, we headed to the Stiller's for more gift giving and lunch. By this time, Libby was getting faster at opening her presents and was tearing through them as fast as we could hand them to her. This change in pace was a good thing, since you can see all of Libby's presents surrounding her Daddy!

Libby got tons of awesome things...a Dora Movie, a Princess outfit, a pony set, Dora Book, a retro toaster, a huge monkey and tons of other great toys! She won't know what to play with first! Christmas is about giving, too! Libby thought it was so much fun to help Carson hand out the gifts to the family.

Oscar loves to kiss Libby right on the face! She just cracks up. Libby and her Crimson Cousins Keaton and Carson both got IU warm-up suit pants and tons of other IU gear. Libby Grace couldn't be left out! Libby and her Mimi Carson had been such a good boy this year that Santa brought him a new dirt bike! Libby thinks she needs one next year to ride down at the track!

Thanks to everyone for a great Christmas!

Christmas Morning

2008-12-25T06:15:00.001-08:00

Libby woke up early this morning, around 7:00am. We knew that she was excited about Santa coming, but I think Gary and I were both a little surprised that she woke up so early. I think we all can remember how hard it was to fall asleep on Christmas Eve and how our eyes flew wide open on Christmas morning before we went to see what Santa brought.

Libby didn't have any "big ticket" items that she wanted this year for Christmas. When asked, she would just say that she wanted "People" from the big guy. Libby got lots of great toys....everything mostly Princess or Mickey, in preparation for our upcoming Walt Disney World trip.

As I mentioned before, Libby is a slow-poke when it comes to opening presents. Our video disk was only 30 minutes long, and shortly after the opening began, Gary began to wonder if we should not record the whole thing so we'd have tape left for the rest of the day.

Her favorite present? It's hard to tell--she really seemed to love them all (with the exception of socks, PJ's and anything clothes related). She was most excited about the race track, the Wonder Pets movie and of course the Little People.

Daddy was most excited about the race track...no doubt about that!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-12-24T06:02:00.000-08:00

Libby, Killians and Tucker get Santa's milk and cookies ready for his visit.

Libby decided that she wanted to draw Santa a picture to leave next to the milk and cookies. Gary and I cracked up when we heard her start by saying, "Dear Santa...." Such a grown up little girl!

Libby had to sample one of Santa's cookies. So did Killians.

We ended the evening the way we have every Christmas Eve since Libby was born. She sat on her Daddy's lap as he read "The Night Before Christmas" to her. We put her to bed early since we know what a long and busy day tomorrow will bring. Here Killians pose next to the presents that Santa just brought. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Christmas Eve at Mimi & Pop's

2008-12-24T05:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve afternoon, we headed over to Mimi and Pop's house for a yummy dinner and to visit for a while. Here Libby poses next to Mimi's Christmas Tree.

Momma, Daddy and their tired little girl.
Opening a present that is bigger than she is!

Helping her Pop pump up the new sleeping bag that she got. He was really being a good sport!

Testing out her new air mattress/sleeping bag from Dana and Billy. She loves it!
Libby is a painfully slow present-opener! She tears each tiny piece, hands it to the closest adult and says, "here you go" each time. Christmas morning should be fun. Scott and Jill tell Santa thanks for their I-Phones that he brought them for Christmas!

Killians Klaus

2008-12-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

Libby & one of her best friends, Killians, pose next to the tree. Tucker was hiding and wanted nothing to do with a Christmas photo op.
Lovin' on her favorite doggie.
This afternoon she was coloring a picture and I heard her tell her daddy, "I'm going to give this to Santa". I also caught (and videoed) her singing "Santa Claus is coming to Town" in the bathtub tonight. I cannot wait for Thursday! She is going to be so much fun!
Shaking with Killians (he is always such a good sport).

Dear Santa,

2008-12-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

All I want for Christmas this year is to not be paged on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day!

On our way out to our Manager Christmas party at Buck's yesterday, Kristin and our assistant nurse manager, Sally ran into Santa in the hall! I told him I have been a good girl this year, so I am hoping that he'll bring me what I ask for!

Wedding Proofs

2008-12-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

Shena got her professional wedding photos back last week and brought them over tonight to share them with us. Thanks to modern technology (AKA; my scanner), I "borrowed" a few of these pictures to share with you all until our order comes in. Here is our little princess. Doesn't she look like an angel? Libby & I pose with the Gibsons

The BanetsMe with the beautiful bride I loved this picture of Libby looking up at Shena!

Libby giving Shena kisses!

Walking up the isle with her momma.

Cookie Monster

2008-12-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Libby and I went out to Nonna and Pop's house for a little cookie baking. We made a total of 14 different types of Christmas Cookies (Christmas Sugar Cookies, Jelly Filled, Raspberry Ribbons, Raisin Cookies, Wreaths, Pecan Tassies, Neapolitans, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Turtle Pockets, German Chocolate Cookies, Coconut Cookies, Apricot Shortbread and Santa's Whiskers).
Libby did amazingly well icing the cookies....
Putting Sprinkles on the cookies.... And of course, eating the cookies!
She had to make sure that everyone tasted her delicious creations, too.
Libby is crazy about her Aunt Grace! Here, the two of them took the foil off of Hersey Kisses so that we could put them on the Peanut Butter Blossoms. And yes, that is a whole table of cookies you see! Grace caught Libby licking the just-opened Kisses and putting them back on the plate!! We had to have her eat the ones that she licked.

Nonna let Libby help smash the Kisses on the cookies.

While Nonna was teaching Libby the skill of cookie-making, Pop was teaching Libby a skill of his own! He taught her how to lick her finger and dip it into a bowl of sprinkles!

With all of that sugar coursing through her veins, Pop and Libby burned off some energy by dancing in the living room!

Libby and Gracie color a beautiful photo! What a fun day! Thanks, Nonna & Pop!

Breakfast with Santa

2008-12-06T10:11:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Gary, Libby and I got up early to go to Beech Grove to have breakfast with Santa and exchange Christmas presents with his Dad and Stepmother.

Here we are at the Beech Grove High School, enjoying our breakfast waiting to meet the big guy.

While we were waiting for Santa, Libby and her cousin, Raena, took a moment out of their breakfast to meet Mrs. Claus. We think we got a taste of how Libby's going to react next month when she sees the characters at Disney World! She never cried, but hid her head in her daddy's chest, covering her eyes and saying "I'm hiding from Santa". She was not too sure of him! She was so unsure that Daddy even had to hold her when they went to meet him! Sitting on his lap? You must be out of your mind! Daddy and Papa help Libby make her Rudolph magnet at the craft corner. After we finished the crafts, we went to an adorable puppet show in the auditorium. Libby sat on Papa's lap and sang and danced. She had a really great time!After the morning was over, we went back to Papa and Donna's house so we could open presents with the Heaths, Youngs and Banets. Libby had been wanting this "Little People" princess castle forever! She was so excited when she ripped the paper off and saw it!

Papa with two of his little girls, Josie and Libby.

Decorating Diva

2008-11-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

For the first time in about 7 years, Libby and I put the Christmas Tree up by ourselves. It had become a tradition that Shena comes over to help, but she got out of it this year because she had to work this weekend. I guess she can get out of it for one year since I made her put up 2 last year! Libby Grace
Libby sorting out the lights.
Trying to decide where these ornaments were going to go.Ever since I was born, my parents have gotten me an angel ornament for our tree. When Gary and I got married, I took all 25 ornaments to put on our tree. Since then, Gary gets an ornament with a dog on it each year, and now Libby gets one with a Fairy on it. It really makes for an interesting Hodge-podge tree, but I love all that sentimental stuff! Libby really got the hang of decorating the tree. Her IU shirt with her IU ornament.

The finished product

One of "Those" Parents

2008-11-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today when we put up the tree, we had to take down the TV that we keep in the front room. Gary decided to try it out in Libby's room for a bit. As you can image, it looked pretty much like this all day (with Dora on it). We'll have to be careful that she does not get addicted, but for today it worked out great so we could have her upstairs with us while we were watching all of the games today.

Thirty-Something

2008-11-30T14:13:00.000-08:00

Last night, we went out to celebrate Jill's birthday (which is today--Happy Birthday, Jill!) We went to "TOMO" (formerly Tran) for dinner and then headed to the Chicken House to hear The Rumors. As always, it was a great night hanging out with our friends (minus Shawn's Boo). Libby & I before we left to take her to Chris and Carrie's for the night (Thanks so much for keeping her!!)

The volcano is my favorite part of this dinner. We thought it was so funny that our server's name was Jesus (I didn't know this was a Mexican place).

You can dress her up, but you can't take JP's sister, Sonya, anywhere! Here, she tries to show Jesus that the spatula-spinning is as easy as it looks.Gary and I waiting for our California RollsShawn & Sarah

The girls at the Chicken House. Sarah and her new boots. You can't tell from this picture, but they really do what they are intended to do! Right, Shawn?

It's a Jeep Thing...

2008-11-30T14:07:00.000-08:00

I know for those of you who do not have Jeeps, you despise the saying, "It's a Jeep Thing, You Wouldn't understand". Gary sold his BMW and got this a few weeks ago. For those of you who are keeping count, this is the 4th Jeep that Gary and I have had since we have been married. I guess you wouldn't understand.

Thanksgiving Dinner

2008-11-28T19:19:00.001-08:00

This evening, Gary and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house as we have in the past 4 years. It has become a tradition for us to cook the day after Thanksgiving for my parents, his parents and our siblings. Since nobody likes turkey 2 days in a row, we always make something other than the traditional Thanksgiving feast. This year we made 2 different kinds of Lasagna (White and Traditional) and Spaghetti and Meatballs. It was delish. Here Libby & I enjoy a few minutes of silence before the company arrives.
Nonna and Libby in their matching leaf shirts.

Mimi & Pop with their little girl (yes, she has shoes on her hands!)

Mimi with her favorite grand kids (Carson, Keaton and Libby).
Libby and her two grandmothers (Nonna & Mimi).

Libby & Keaton acting goofy--using the napkin rings from dinner as glasses!
What's Thanksgiving without football? Check out this action shot! We decided that between playing with cars and footballs tonight, Libby Grace might be a Tom-Boy.
Libby and her Unca-Chris

After Libby got her Jimmy-Jommers on, she and Carson decided to end the evening with a lovely duet.

Christmas Photos

2008-11-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

We took Libby to CLICK today to have her Christmas photos taken. The family shots did not turn out great...but we did get lots of great shots of Libby. Above is going to be our Christmas card photo.

I loved this one...I think she looks so much like her Daddy!

What's a Christmas photo session without a picture of a kid holding a huge ornament? I liked the look on her face in this one. That is her "typical" face.

My sweet little girl!

Shena and Gibby's Wedding

2008-11-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

Shena & Gibby finally said "I DO" on Saturday! I am so blessed and honored that I got to be such an intricate part of the wedding--serving as the wedding planner and the matron of honor! Everything went perfect, with no flaws or errors the entire day! Shena looked amazing and Libby Grace was the best flower girl that I have ever seen!

Libby and her proud Momma (she was not too sure about the wedding at first, but she soon warmed up and danced the night away!) I cannot wait to get the professional photos back since Libby was such a ham during so many of the shots!

Me and the Happy Groom

Gary and the beautiful bride!

Wedding Preperations

2008-11-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Being this beautiful does not happen overnight! It takes some work! Here we are the night before getting our manicures and pedicures done. After Shena treated us to this, we headed to dinner and then home for a relaxing evening prior to the big day. The "before" photo of us prior to the wedding. Note that we are drinking mimosas as we wait to get our hair done!

Getting my hair done. I think I am going to start having this girl come to my house before work each day to do my hair and make-up.

Shena's Du Lunch at "Heavenly Ham" before we headed off to the hotel to get dressed.Somehow, Nancy got out of having to lace up Shena's dress and I was stuck, I mean....blessed...with the honor. It took about 15 minutes to get this thing on...but man, it was worth it! Look how beautiful she looks!

Me and the handsome husband-to-be. I think the Budweiser in his hand makes him look calmer than he really was.

Rehearsal Dinner

2008-11-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

Rehearsal went off without a hitch. A few small arguments between the in-laws and out-laws, but nothing worth repeating. After our practice, we headed to Rocky's on the River for dinner. As you can tell, Libby was crazy about her Pa-ske-etti.

Libby, as you know from other posts, loves Little People. Shena found her the perfect gift for being in the wedding...a Little People wedding set....complete with the cake, the bride, groom and little flower girls/ring bearer. Here we practice how she's going to walk down the isle. After dinner, several of us pitched in to rent another party bus that took us to some bars for Shena and Gibby's last night on the town as single folks. Don't they look happy?

The Girls

2008-11-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

Philip brought his family into town for the wedding. We were so excited because this was the first time that many of us had a chance to meet their newest daughter Emeline (or Eme). Here, Libby and Lucia get a second to love on this sweet little bundle. What a cutie!

3rd Annual TFWINWTTOTB

2008-11-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, we left for our 3rd Annual TFWINWTTOTB. For those of you who don't know what the acronym stands for, don't worry, you are not missing much. This weekend became a prime opportunity for Shawn, Sarah, Jean-Paul, Jill, Gary and I to hang out and to make some stead-fast rules for next year. Above, is rule number 7: All Bears must wear hats.
Gary and I enjoying our beautiful view of the mountains. This was just before we wrote rule number 8: Angie is not to drink "Pirate Punch".
Last year, we found a pet...named Ricky the Racoon. This year, he was referred to as Barocky Racoon. I think he was friends with our eiberneighs.

Jill, Sarah and me take a second for a photo op. Our fridge in the chalet looked like it belonged in a frat house! All it had was beer and cheese.
I posted this picture of Shawn and Sarah as a reminder of rule number 10: Shawn cannot take pictures of Christmas Lights. Rule number 13: No Freaking GMC's (Yes, that is my car pulling out Shawn's truck with a garden hose!) The Jimmy is working great now, and it was just a fluke that it would not go in 4 wheel drive for a moment.

This is the group (minus me, of course) shopping downtown. This photo of Shawn reminds me of rules number 5, 6, and 7. Shawn is not to hold little baskets, have wings or say "Hi" to a guy.JP and Gary were pumped about the Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum.
While the girls spent MANY hours shopping, the guys spent most of their day like this---at the "Hogs and Honey's" Bar, sitting at the bar overlooking the strip, and people watching. It was there that they decided that the 3 girls needed a pair of furry boots. Before dinner
Me, Jill and Barocky

After dinner, we went to play Putt-Putt (what is a trip to Gatlinburg without a game of golf?) Sarah and Jill look like the Goonies finding One Eyed Willie's Treasure. Jill even quoted the awesome movie!
I danced with some scary guy.
So did Sarah.
Our annual "end of the weekend" photo. We had a great time and had lots of good weather. Thanks, guys!

Having a Field Day

2008-11-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

Today we took advantage of the beautiful day and went down to JP's dad's field to ride our go-carts. Here, Libby & Kayla strike a pose. Turns out, they were really auditioning for a White Snake video--sitting on the hood of Kayla's car!

Libby in her Jeep. She loves that thing--she's just not too good at the steering, yet.Neither is Goober! Here is a shot taken just a second before Goob lost control of his cart and slammed into Gary's. Luckily all that was hurt was Gary's rim.This is where we spent our afternoon....note the outhouse on the left! We had such a great time! It was such an amazingly warm day for November! Oh yeah, Happy Birthday, Goober!

Ally driving Kayla and Libby around in Kayla's princess car.

Trick-or-Treat!

2008-11-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Last night, Gary and I left work a little early so we could get our little princess ready for Trick-or-Treating! As we have for the last 3 years, we went out to Ray and Betsy's house for dinner and then took Libby Grace Trick-or-Treating around in The Oaks. Nonna & Pop came out for the evening, as well. It was so nice for Libby that she got to spend the night with all of her grandparents. Momma and her Princess LibbyPop with his Libby Grace. We thought that Pop looked like a Prince with Libby's crown on.The Princess' chariot

Blast from the past---Libby Grace (as Minnie Mouse) last year. It's amazing what a difference a year makes!

Libby looks so upset in this picture. I would be too if I walked all of the way up the driveway to a house that just gave her a Fun-Size Snickers bar!

Extreme Rake-Over: Home Edition

2008-10-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

After dinner and a stop by the Sengs to pick up a few things, we headed home. Libby loves to pick up the leaves and throw them...so since I had my camera nearby, I decided to snap some pictures (are you surprised, really?)Throwing the leaves.
Crunching them (her favorite thing to do).
We love fall!