New Outdoor Pets

All this week we have been greeted every morning by these creatures in our backyard. The number grows each day, and we are now up to five. I guess they like snacking on all the crabapples that have fallen to ground. So, since they eat all of our food and mark their territory everywhere in our yard, I have decided to adopt them as our pets. If money gets tighter, I will happily auction them off to the highest bidder.





I just came in from taking a few shots of Noah before putting him down for his "rest time." I decided not to retouch all the cookie crumbs on his face. The ones of him with his UE purple shirt on were taken a few weeks ago with a soft focus filter that I bought after taking a portrait photography class. I'm still practicing with it, but I think they look pretty good. Do you like them better With or Without the filter?
Without...


With...

First Soccer Game

Carlie had her first Upward soccer game on Saturday. Mike is coaching. This has got to be one of the funniest things I've seen. Although some kids know a bit about soccer and have some grasp of what to do, most of them just surround the ball. Carlie's team did win the game, but they don't keep score. Good thing because one boy on her team scored at least 10 goals. I lost count after that. She got bumped in the face by someone and ended up with a nose bleed. That didn't stop her from going back in the game, but I do think non-contact sports may be in her future.

Battle Wound

Notice who made sure he was part of the post-game snack time

Tuesday Afternoon Quarterback

It's official. I, Rusty's Beef-A-Reeno, lost my first fantasy football game in the Festivus league. What's with the name? Well, if you watch Seinfeld at all, you will know where most league names came from. T-bone, my hubby, also lost despite putting up an obnoxious amount of points. All is good as long as he goes down... buwahahahaha!!

I have Quarterback issues, and it is only week 2. My QB, Houston Texan Matt Schaub, has an "ankle injury" but is still playing (if that is what they call it.) He got a whopping 4 points for me. (Most QB's that are decent score at least 20 if you were wondering.) Should I bench him for Eli Manning, who is also lousy?? Should I pick up Brady Quinn? Mark Sanchez? Such a dilemma.



I will probably be cutting 3 people on my bench and benching some under-producers before next week's games start. Hopefully I will get another primo performance from RB Adrian Peterson. The only person of value I have on my team. If he gets injured, I am so done.



Here are some things to hope for this week when you are watching Sunday's games:

*That Adrian Peterson scores at least 4 TD's against the Lions.

*That the Steelers run the football all day (meaning RB Willie Parker scores big), and that QB Ben Roethlisberger throws a few picks and no TD passes.

*That WR Calvin Johnson catches at least 1 TD pass against the Vikings.

*That the NY Giants shut out whoever they are playing.

*That Fox Sports stops worshiping at the alter of Brett Favre.

*GO Cowboys!!!

While We Were Away

While in Phoenix the kids had an awesome time with Grammy and Pawpaw. A birthday party at Monkey Joes was just the start of an exciting long weekend. They took the kids to see Disney on Ice where Pawpaw claims a box of popcorn was $6. I'm surprised it wasn't more. I think the highlight was going to Red Lobster. Their biscuits have now surpassed O'Charley's as "the best ever", according to Carlie. Grammy stocked our refrigerator and learned that you can get $50 worth of groceries for $20 when using coupons. Pawpaw caught another mole. They are really no match for him, but I think the squirrels are starting to recognize his scent.

Phoenix Highlights

We returned from Phoenix last week. What a beautiful place the Arizona Biltmore is. A return visit is definitely in our future. One thing we have to make sure of is that the Hell City Tattoo Festival is not taking place on the grounds again. I have never seen so much ink in one place. They didn't cause any kind of ruckus, so I can't complain. We stayed at the Ocatilla Club because it was too good of a deal to pass up. The Club had breakfast every morning as well as snacks and drinks free throughout the day. It also had its own private pool. One thing I found odd was that the hotel promoted they were "environmentally friendly" and "green", but yet the Diet Cokes provided were in glass bottles, and there was not a recycle bin on the entire premises. Maybe they hire someone to go through the trash like they do on cruise ships. Whatever.














The weather was fabulous. It was raining and overcast when we arrived, but cleared up overnight. The rain apparently brought a cool spell while we were there, as the temperature stayed in the high 90's. The local weathermen were reporting how "cool" Labor Day weekend would be.

Night Sprite

The private Ocatilla Club pool

Every president since Hoover has stayed at the Biltmore when in Phoenix. According to our shuttle driver, Obama will be staying at a different hotel for his upcoming visit. Apparently, he prefers hotels with a "European" flair.

The food was fabulous. It was all included in our package so we filled up on appetizers, entrees, and desserts. I certainly wasn't going to let any of voucher go to waste. Fried calamari, prime rib, giant chocolate chip cookies, fried chicken, and the best mac and cheese I have ever had!

Tableside S'mores

Fried Chicken and the BEST mac 'n cheese EVER!!

Sooo Good!

This is definitely a great place for a girls getaway. Be warned though. Once there, you are there. Unless you rent a car, you won't be going anywhere. There is nothing within walking distance-- which is part of what makes this place so great for chillaxin poolside. Any of you ladies out there want to join me for a return visit??

Football Friday

With football season right around the corner, and the draft for the fantasy football league I will be competing in quickly approaching, I decided to share my top 5 favorite football movies. You do not have to "like" football to enjoy these movies.

1. Facing the Giants... "Coach, I weigh 160." That's from one of my favorite scenes. I've included the clip from youtube below. You have to watch the whole thing to hear the line.

2. The Replacements... Keanu Reeves at his dumb jock best.

3. We Are Marshall... Matthew McConaughey-- enough said. Oh, and it's based on a true story.

4. Remember the Titans... Can you believe that girl is Hayden Panettiere??

5. Brian's Song... Be sure to have at least one box of Kleenex when watching this movie. Based on a true story (and get the original starring a much younger James Caan.)

Thursday Thoughts

Yesterday I was checking out some of the blogs that I keep up with and decided to see what The Thrifty Chick was up to since she recently had a baby in July, and I figured she probably wouldn't be posting for a while. Sadly, when I clicked on her site, there was a message from her sister that Stacey, The Thrifty Chick, had passed away from a stroke just weeks after the birth of her fourth child.

I didn't know Stacey personally, but I did follow her blog being the thrifty person I am, and always found so much inspiration from her ideas. She dabbled in a lot of things, like photography, sewing, crafts, scrapbooking, recycling thrift store finds, however, unlike my at least 80% left brained self, she actually was great at all of it. There were many of her ideas I had yet to attempt so I hope her family keeps her blog up in her memory.

Anyway, please keep her husband and their children in your prayers. Thanks.

The Government Can

This is Tim Hawkins' latest song parody. It is definitely one of his best. If you are not familiar with Tim Hawkins, he is a Christian comedian from the St. Louis area. We have seen him twice, and he brought us to tears with laughter both times. He will be appearing on a Disney cruise in 2010. For more info. on Tim visit www.timhawkins.net and enjoy the video.

Kindergarten Carlie

So excited to be eating lunch at school

We have survived Carlie's first week of kindergarten. So far she really likes it. Her favorite thing is climbing on the dome monkey bars at recess and hanging upside down. It puts a frightening picture in my head, so I just pray for her safety. I will probably sign up for Room Mom again because I like to know all the kids in her class and who she is hanging out with, especially once all the birthday party invitations start up.

Her own desk

Noah and I are adjusting well. I try to plan my days so all of our errands can be done after we drop Carlie off, and we aren't going back and forth to the house. (This allows us to reduce the carbon emissions we are putting into the atmosphere.) We spent this morning at the Y, then headed to the library and picked out some new books. It was nice to just hang out there a while and look at magazines as well.

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...