State Champs!

Woo Hoo!! They did it!! Central Catholic won the state 4A championship on Friday night! Final score was 37 - 28. It was a beautiful night for a football game and it was a battle of two very well matched teams. What a GREAT game. What an awesome end to an incredible season. GO SAINTS!!!

Thanksgiving Greetings

Wishing everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! We celebrated 'turkey day' early since my mom is working today, so we ate our fill of turkey last weekend. Today, we had a delicious, but VERY unconventional Thanksgiving feast, consisting of a variety of appetizers, dips, and snack foods. YUM! Hope you all are enjoying the day!

Headin' to State!

For the second year in a row, the Central Catholic Saints are heading to Memorial Stadium for the 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!! Woo Hoo!!! The big day is next Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). What an awesome season . . . and what a truly special experience for each of the boys on the team. They played an excellent game yesterday and pulled off a 51-28 win. Alex got some playing time toward the end of the game, so that was an added bonus. (Most of the sophomores on the team don't play too much in the playoffs.) The team was HOT yesterday, despite the FREEZING cold temperatures and windy conditions. LOL. Let's hope they play equally as well on Friday. It almost seems surreal that the season is just a week from being over. I won't know what to do when Alex doesn't come dragging in every night at 6:30 - 7:00ish! Seriously, it will be nice to have him 'back' again. It seems like the entire first semester is devoted to football, with the craziness beginning even before school starts in August. Oh, but as hectic as it can be, I do love it that he is part of the team. What great memories he's making, what a ride, what a season!

GO SAINTS!!!

Heading Home . . .

Well, the time here has gone by WAY too fast ... we're headed back to our 'real lives' today! What a great time we've had. Seems that the weather knew exactly when we were planning to leave, as we woke up this morning to a very brisk 49 degrees! We'll spend this morning tidying things up here at the condo, and then head for the airport after lunch. Saying goodbye to this place is always bittersweet -- and this time will be no different. I'm so thankful to have such wonderful friends to spend this precious time with. And again, I'm so thankful for my wonderful family for letting me take this trip year after year. Goodbye Marco Island ... till next time!

Marco Great Escape - Update

We're having a WONDERFUL time!!! We did the 'beach thing' on Thursday and Friday (temps were in the upper 80's!) and today we headed out for our annual 'shop till you drop' excursion. And that is exactly what we did! I've successfully converted both Robin and Jen into avid Stein Mart shoppers. Woo Hoo! Fortunately for us, we happened to be here for their big annual 14- hour sale . . . the bargains we found were unbelievable. Let's just say that we definitely helped the Naples economy today. LOL. It is supposed to be significantly cooler on Sunday with highs only in the 70's, so we are hoping for one more beach day before we head back home on Monday.


Lots of relaxation, laughter, gossip, and good old-fashioned fun going on here at the condo. Each day on this trip is just so precious to us. We're all very blessed to have such supportive hubbies and families who help with kiddos, schedules, meals, etc while we're gone. To all of you, THANK YOU!!! We like to think that it is truly amazing that our families can survive for a few days without us ... LOL. In all honesty, though, we know that everyone in Illinois and Iowa is holding up just fine. :o)

Here are a couple of photos of the 'flip flop girls':

Great Escape 2008

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh . . . this is the life. This is the weekend that I look forward to all year long. Sunning, Shopping, Drinking, Eating ... no one's nose to wipe, no family dinners to prepare, no 'taxi service' with getting kids to/from school and practices and, best of all, no homework headaches . . . for 5 wonderful, relaxing days. This is the weekend of my annual "great escape" with my "flip flop sisters" - Jen, Robin, and Heidi. (Unfortunately, Heidi couldn't join us this year - sniff, sniff.) We're enjoying awesome weather -- it was about 85 degrees today and not a cloud in the sky. Needless to say, we spent the day on the beach AFTER whipping up a variety of dips and appetizers to sustain us for the next several days, and a couple of batches of whiskey sour slushies (which only lasted us a couple of hours). LOL. Ya gotta love a girls' weekend, huh? We love you Marco Island!!!

Halloween Greetings!

Happy Halloween, everyone!!! We celebrated the big day with warm and balmy weather . . . and one little butterfly who didn't feel very well. :o( We still made our rounds through the neighborhood, but I think Carly only managed to mutter "Trick or Treat" at one house. LOL. She woke up from her nap with a fever but nothin' was gonna stop that butterfly from trick or treating, so she donned her costume and off we went. Both big brothers had other plans for the evening - Nick was celebrating with friends and Alex had a football game (Central won which means now they advance to round two of the playoffs!! Woo Hoo!) - so that really created a new dynamic for the evening, since Carly has always trick or treated with her brothers. She came home with quite a haul of candy and goodies, though, so I'll call the evening a success.

She didn't really want her picture taken, but here's Carly in her costume:

And here's a picture of the kids and their jack-o-lanterns:

Hope you all had a safe and festive Halloween!