Weekend at the Lake

I'm so far behind in my personal life!!! Not sure where the time is going, but the weeks are just FLYING right on by! Here we are, rapidly approaching the middle of October already! What happened to September? LOL.

Since my last post, we've been very busy ... as usual! A couple of weeks ago, we managed to escape for a WONDERFUL weekend of adult-only fun in Missouri. Our dear friends invited us to their condo in Osage Beach, Lake of the Ozarks. What a GREAT place! Their condo was awesome, the area (neither Mike nor I had ever been to the Ozarks!) was beautiful and the weather was PERFECT all weekend. We even managed to take a dip in the lake -- a tad chilly when we first got in, but we quickly acclimated. Hmmmm ... might've been those two very TALL "pain in the ass" (seriously - that's what they were called!) drinks we had before the notion of swimming popped into our heads. We had an awesome time. Thank you Tim and Laura!!! :o)

Aside from our little weekend getaway, we've been hustling and bustling from one activity to another -- if it isn't tennis lessons or swimming lessons or gymnastics (all Carly), it is football, football, or football (Nick). Alex is pretty self sufficient these days, so at least we aren't hauling all 3 kids here, there, and everywhere each night of the week. :o) Basketball tryouts are in another week, so keep your fingers crossed that Nick does well. If he makes the team, we'll have about 2 weeks of dual sports to contend with before his football season is over. He's having a great season, by the way! He's scored a couple of touchdowns, has had several good 'runs' with the ball, and his team currently has a 3-1 record. Winning definitely sweetens the pot a bit, making those long nights of practice a bit more bearable. And as for me, well, I just clench my teeth each time he gets the ball and hope he either goes all the way for a touchdown or that he gets tackled "lightly" (is there such a thing?). Alex was a lineman in his 3 years of high school football .... and let me just say that watching the game as the parent of a lineman is quite different from watching the game as the parent of a running back. Two different kinds of stress/worry. :o)

I'm gearing up for my annual GREAT ESCAPE to Marco with Robin, Jen, and Heidi. CANNOT WAIT -- the countdown is less than 2 weeks ... it will be here before we know it. Just get me on that plane .... and then we'll enjoy a week of paradise, shopping, eating, drinking, lounging, sun worshiping, and just plain old fashioned "girl time". Love it!!! And yes, you can count on our annual shopping trip and the subsequent blog post to show off our loot. :o) Coming soon!

Thought I'd post a few pictures from the Ozarks ...

And, a few weeks ago, Nick's football team played Metamora ... so that enabled a "play date" for Carly and Karli -- aren't they adorable???!!!

Birthday Touchdown!

What a GORGEOUS day! Couldn't ask for better weather - it's just beautiful outside!

In addition to celebrating the 25th anniversary of my 21st birthday (but who's counting? LOL), today was also the opening game for the Cougars (Nick's team) football season. I asked Nick before the game if he thought MAYBE he could score a touchdown for me........being that it is my birthday and all. Well, HE DID IT! He ran for a touchdown early in the game, giving the Cougars their first touchdown of the season! Woo Hoo! A great birthday present! I'm gonna have to get used to seeing Nick at the bottom of the pile-ups ... he's playing running back and linebacker, so he will definitely get some "ball carrying" time this season ... GULP. So far, so good ... no injuries today, thank goodness! The season is off to a great start!

The Reunion!

*GUIPING GIRLS FOREVER*

What a wonderful weekend we've had!!! The 5th "Guiping Girls" reunion was held Saturday / Sunday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This is the group of 10 families we traveled to China with -- we affectionately call it the "Guiping Girls" reunion because all 10 of our precious daughters are from Guiping City, in the Guangxi province of China. The girls had a blast - it was awesome to see them all interacting and re-connecting, and it is quite evident that our girls in fact DO share a very special bond. Some of the girls live closer to one another and get to see each other more often than others, but I have to say that as a group of 10, they didn't miss a beat AT ALL. Once everyone arrived on Saturday evening, the partying began and they didn't slow down until we departed for home on Sunday afternoon. :o) Carly was just beaming from all the excitement. She literally counted down the days to this long awaited event -- she was floating on Cloud 9 the entire weekend. Very heartwarming to say the least. Can't wait till the next one!

College Acceptance #1!

It's official! Alex's FIRST college acceptance letter arrived today. I'm proud to say that he's been officially accepted at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI! Woo Hoo for Alex!!! Mind you, that was one school of probably four he will ultimately be applying to . . . stay tuned for the rest of the results!!! We will keep you posted!

WAY TO GO ALEX!!! Great way to start Senior year!!!

NEWSFLASH! Lost Tooth!!

Miss Carly lost her FIRST TOOTH tonight! I helped her get it OUT - it was hanging by a mere thread! LOL! We have a VERY proud little girl! Finally - she has waited a LONG time for this big event! Congratulations to Carly! :o)

A Senior, an 8th Grader, and a 1st Grader . . .

Ready or not, here we go! Off to another school year! Here are a few of the pictures from our annual "first day of school" photo shoot.

I know it won't surprise you when I say that I'm SAD to see summer come to an end. The school year brings new levels of stress, worry, anxiety, and chaos to our already overloaded household. :o) I must say, though, that all 3 kids bounced back with enthusiasm. Alex primarily because he's finally a SENIOR, Nick because this means he'll get to actually SEE all of his friends every day instead of just texting them, and Carly because she is SO EXCITED to be a 1st grader AND she lucked out and got into the same class with one of her very bestest friends (the same little girl she spent all summer with). We'll see how happy all 3 of them are in another couple of weeks. Ha!

18 Years of Wedded Bliss!

We walked down the aisle on August 1, 1992 in beautiful Mission Viejo, California. Our wedding day was PERFECT. Couldn't have asked for anything more. One of the happiest days of my life. Thought it would be fun to share a few photos from that wonderful, awesome day.

Happy Anniversary to us! :o)