Scenes From Rams Training Camp

Yesterday we enjoyed the beautiful weather by heading out to the final day of Rams Training Camp. From the looks of things, it's going to be a long season. Kyle Boller was looking less than crisp considering the season starts in two weeks. I think Noah summed it up best. While we were sitting there watching he said, "I don't like the Rams, I like football." So what exactly were the Rams playing?? (All photos by Mike & Rachel.)

WR Donnie Avery- I question the "fractured foot" claim that will keep him out of the first few games. Both feet look pretty good to me. He's very fast by the way.

Gotta get me one of these

RB Steven Jackson

Nice of Bulger (#10) to make an appearance since he's hurt.

Two words of advice... Hair Product

He's thinking, "I play for such a sorry team."

Getaway Mystery Revealed

In less than 3 weeks we will be off to...




The Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. I have never been to Phoenix before so I am looking forward to it. I am hoping it will become the new Vegas for me. Meaning, my only real attraction to Vegas is the weather. Not that we will be doing much sightseeing since everything is so spread out, and cab rides are pretty pricey. It will be strange to go somewhere and just stay in one place, as I usually play tourist at least part of the time. Relaxation will be key and with 8 swimming pools to choose from, it shouldn't be too much trouble.



As for the clues... Ronald and Nancy Reagan spent their honeymoon at the Biltmore, Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas sitting poolside, and Kurt Warner, obviously, lives in Phoenix.

UE Alumni Event

We just returned home from a UE Alumni event at the Missouri Athletic Club. It was an event to welcome the incoming freshmen from the St. Louis area to the University of Evansville. The guest speaker was Dr. Zimmer who was my favorite Economics professor. His wife, Molly, was also in attendance. She was my Statistics and Computer teacher, then I became her teacher's assistant for both classes.

He gave a brief welcome to the students and spoke on the current economic situation and gave insight into the root cause as well as future predictions. Glad to know my education hasn't left me (and I'm not crazy) since I have been thinking the same things for a while.

My fellow Economics buddy, Scott, was also there. It was great to get back in touch with him. I even ran into another UE grad, Joni (can't remember her last name), who worked in child care during my Bible study this summer with my MOPS group. She said she would be working for MOPS this year too so that was cool.

Hopefully we can get a little more involved with the alumni chapter here. We don't have any extra funds to be giving to the school right now, but I do support the basketball team so that counts for something (and my parents donate, too.)

A lot of genius going on in this photo ;-)

Getaway Guessing Game Clue #2 and #3

Okay, so here are your second and third clues as to where Mike and I will be off to in a few short weeks. It's no exciting, exotic locale, but I am still excited.

Clue #2: Maybe Berlin wasn't such a bad guess after all...


Clue #3: This should give you a pretty good idea of where we are going...

Getaway Guessing Game

One month from today, Mike and I will finally go on our first extended weekend getaway without the kids.  This will be the first time we have done this in over five years.  A little scary, but I know the kids will be in good hands with Grammy and Pawpaw coming to watch them.  I decided to make it fun and see if you could guess where we were going.  (Mike, you can't play.)  

I will give you a clue each week, and you can just put your guess in the comment section.  You have to figure out the exact location though, not just city, state, or country.  Grammy and Pawpaw can play too since they surprisingly haven't even asked where we were going.  Here is your first clue...

A Comedian Lives Here

Last time I was at Costco I picked up some Veggie Straws. The kids were with me and had sampled it, so I figured they would make a good snack (even though they have no nutritional value.) Well, yesterday they were eating the Veggie Straws at lunch and someone decides to be a comedian...  (Please note... he does not get this stuff from me.)

Look at me, Mom!

Huh, Huh, I crack myself up!!

Favorite Kid Pic

This week's blog hop is our favorite kid pic.  It is really hard to pick just one, but as of late this one has to be my favorite.  It was taken on the way home from a Cardinal victory...

Design Star Episode 2

So last week I picked Amy as one of my favorites, well, her "show has been cancelled" as she was eliminated last night. Really she should have been. They were remodeling kitchens, not on a stage, but for real people like you and me. Her team did not get the project finished in the allotted time. Her design idea was fine, but it was her responsibility to see that everything and everyone was doing what they needed to do.

There were cabinet doors hanging on hinges, some hardware left off cabinets, the granite countertops were not level because they failed to level the cabinets when they installed them, no time to accessorize. It was a big mess all the way around. And this was a team of interior designers. Yikes. It's hard to know what these people are capable of until they work on individual projects. I look forward to next week... "the white room challenge." They are given a stark white room and must decorate it with a limited budget with things purchased from a grocery store. That should be good. Anyway, here are the two kitchens (and these are the "after" pics.)

You can see the hardware is missing on the drawers by the refrigerator.  It is hard to tell in this photo how awful the granite looks.  Luckily, HGTV hires a crew to go in and fix things.  Once fixed it will look pretty nice.

This team only won because they finished.  The judges did not like it.  Vern said, "It looks like a rainbow threw up in there."  I don't care for this.  The floor blends in too much with the cabinets and that window treatment doesn't go with anything.

The Week That Was...

... Carlie's Upward Soccer evaluations.

... Breakfast in bed to celebrate Noah's toddler bed conversion.

... Reading Club awards from the library.

... Lots of outdoor play.

Banana Bread Recipe

In the past my banana bread recipes have resulted in being done on the outside but gooey in the middle.  That is so disappointing because I end up throwing it out.  I was telling my dilemma to one of my KD Ladies and she sent me this recipe to try.  It turned out yummy and actually got done in the middle. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mash 3 bananas and 1 cup sugar.  Set aside.

Sift 2 cups flour into separate bowl.

Add 1/2 tsp salt

Add 1 tsp baking soda.

Add a little of this dry mixture and one egg to the banana pulp. Add a little more dry mixture and a second egg to it. Beat well and add remaining flour.

Add 1/2 cup melted butter a little at a time to the mixture.

(I melt mine in the loaf pan while the oven preheats).  

Bake 45-60 minutes at 350 or until finished.

Let the loaf cool in the pan 10 minutes and then remove the loaf to cool on a wire rack.

Our Reading Rainbow

We have been reading so many books this summer.  So, I decided to showcase not only what I was reading, but what the kids are enjoying as well.  You will find Our Reading Rainbow on the right.  The selections will change often as we make weekly trips to the library.  "Becoming" is a magazine-format New Testament Bible.  We started at the beginning of summer and have read it everyday at lunchtime.   We are currently on Colossians.  Carlie and Daddy read the Magic Treehouse series every night, while Noah and Mommy enjoy the Llama Llama series.  

Love This Show

HGTV's Design Star started last night for its 4th season. Thankfully, the rules have been changed up a bit, and the judges will pick the winner instead of America. I say "thankfully" because the last two winners have been complete flops. Last year's winner ended up filming a one-hour long special on painting and a few painting videos for the website.  I don't know if the Higher Ups at HGTV felt America made a mistake picking her, or she just didn't want to have her own show (why tryout?), but whatever the reason she doesn't have a show.

This year's judges are Vern Yip, Genevieve Gorter, and my very favorite, please come and decorate my whole house, Candice Olson. Love her. Glad they got rid of the magazine editor chicks.



Let's get to last night's show. Overall none of the rooms were spectacular or anything I would want in my house, but I guess since they were going for Hollywood Glam, they did okay. So far my favorites are Amy and Torie. Don't really have a reason because so far everything is "team" so it is hard to tell who does what.

Amy

Torie

Here is a look at the rooms each helped with...

Team Amy... don't worry, she was not responsible for the ridiculous pink geese on the wall, although the judges supposedly "loved" that element.  Hmmm...

Team Torie... a little too much brown, in my opinion, would have preferred more muted silvers and whites for the bed coverings with brown accents. 

What do you think?  If you want to see more of the rooms done by other contestants, click on HGTV at the right.  (All photos from hgtv.com)

Friday Fun

I recently viewed this routine on You Tube and decided to share. The performance is by 14 year old Boyanka Angelova at the 2008 Junior European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. This girl is AMAZING! I love the part about 1:05 in where she dribbles the ball in backbend position while hopping on one foot. Seriously, who does that? She does appear to have a substance on the bottom of her feet to help her catch the ball (hope it's a "legal" substance ;-) Now, off to go work on my flexibility.



This video courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4SNTF80-4E

Sleeping Beauty

The other night before bed we went in to check on Carlie and found her zonked out (and wearing my sleep mask.)  Don't know where she found it, but it definitely helps her sleep in a bit more in the morning...

4th of July Pics

Finally got around to uploading the pics from July 4th weekend.  We had a great visit from Grammy and Grandpa D. , Buddy, and the Cheet.  Good thing we decided to attend fireworks on Friday night.  Our plan for attending the parade in St. Charles on the 4th was a bust due to heavy thundershowers, so plan B was the Mills Mall.  Grammy D. blessed the kids with some new clothes and shoes.  She even got a stroller for Lucy which was a highlight for Carlie.    

Some friends of ours, Mr. & Mrs. P., who also live in Lexington stopped by for a visit on their way back home.  The kids had a great time playing with Masters L. and J.  Hope all of you had a wonderful time celebrating!!

Lucy's new ride

The infamous Cheet

Carlie took this photo of us

Our Friends

Fun Friday Freebie (Almost)

We have just returned from our morning of grocery shopping, and I wanted to let you know about the deals I scored at Target. I had store coupons plus manufacturer coupons for Kashi products, and they were on sale. I got all this stuff...

... for $5.26! I was pretty pleased and excited because I am catching on to this coupon stacking thing. Had I not had any coupons, and just bought it at Target's sale prices, it would have cost $19.92.  I didn't "need" cake mix, but with the coupons they were $0.47/box so I picked them up. 

 Besides that I found 2 pairs of shoes for Carlie and 2 pairs of shoes for Noah for less than $20. Yes, 4 pairs of shoes for less than $20! They are all fall/winter shoes too. One final note- Walmart has much better prices on their school supplies (Crayola and Elmer's) than Target.  So, school supply shopping is now complete.

Another Good Movie

We watched Faith Like Potatoes from Netflix last night. I highly recommend it, however, there are a few scenes that are difficult to watch, especially if you have children. It is based on a true story.  We have added older movies to our queue because most of the recent movies just aren't that great.  Confessions of a Shopaholic, I would give 2.5 out of 5.0 stars.  The book is WAY better.  Changeling with Angelina Jolie was pretty good (and based on a true story), but it was graphic and had some disturbing scenes.  It is definitely not a "happy" movie.  

My Latest Volunteer Adventure

A few weeks ago, I volunteered for the Women of Faith conference that was held at Chaifetz Arena. I was glad my friend, Stacey, decided to accompany me. It was a two day event that featured Christian singers and speakers. We were fortunate to see Steven Curtis Chapman. Talk about a tear jerker when he sang "Cinderella." He wrote and recorded the song about his two youngest daughters 3 months prior to his youngest being killed in a tragic accident.

We also got to hear Mandisa from American Idol fame. She really is very talented. Her CD's were flying off the table after her performance. I know this because that was my volunteer position- product sales. When you get a bunch of women together, we have to have a shopping outlet. We just do. The product sales tables did not disappoint these ladies. Our particular table sold the most product of any other table in the Arena. I personally sold at least $10,000 worth of merchandise. This is where it becomes Dave Ramsey's worst nightmare. Most of these were credit card purchases. Aaahhhhh!!!! I think the saddest part was the amount of women who could not buy a t-shirt because there were no Triple-X sizes. Yes, I said Triple-X. It really made me feel bad for them because they were so big.

The highlight was getting to meet and briefly speak with Lisa Whelchel. I have several of her books, not to mention she was my favorite character on "Facts of Life." I highly recommend her "Taking Care of the Me in Mommy" book. It was a fun time, but quite exhausting. Unfortunately, they will not be coming to St. Louis next year so I am searching for my next volunteer opportunity.

Lisa (Blair Warner) and Me.  

Stacey and me

Grammy R. got this book for Noah.  It came with a stuffed mouse and stuffed rat.  Very cute.

The Product Sales Table...

Putting out program bags on every seat in the arena.  This was a chore.