Grammy and Pawpaw

Grammy and Pawpaw came to visit last week to drop off Noah's remaining birthday presents from the party that wouldn't fit in the car. Now, they don't fit in the house, but that is another issue all together. Noah has really become attached to Pawpaw. If Pawpaw is carrying him, he can't even sit down or Noah starts pouting. It is quite funny.

Pawpaw caught us up on some much needed home maintenance and is on the hunt to get another mole in the backyard. Grammy stocked us up on Costco goods and was able to get her embroidery machine serviced as well. We look forward to seeing them next weekend and celebrating Christmas with the Rodgers clan.

Casey and Doug visit

Well it took about a month, but I figured out what "compress image" means. So now I can post a little faster. We had a nice visit with Aunt Casey and Doug last weekend. There was a lot of playing in the leaves and hanging out. Sunday we took them to Pujols 5 Grill for brunch. Surprisingly, I had not been there yet. It was quite a tasty and bountiful buffet. The greatest surprise was when the waiter dropped off our bill and said they were having an early bird special between 9:30 and 10:30am, since we got there at 10am, he took $40 off our bill. Did I hear him right? Surely he said $4. Oh no, when I opened the bill, there was $40 off our bill. It ended up being less than $6/person!! I think we will be returning to Pujols' place again and see if they do that "special" all the time, especially since the kids are free anyway.

After that we went to the Arch. What a beautiful day to visit. Noah had his first trip up, as did Doug. I think they both enjoyed it. Thanks to Doug and Casey for paying our way on the Arch visit. A fun time was had by all.

The Picture Says It All

Zoo Day

Today we met Perrin and Lia at the zoo. The girls walked around and took turns in the stroller and shared the monkey backpack. Their behavior was just wonderful, and we couldn't have asked for a better day with so few people there. Noah hung out in the stroller and was just as good the entire time. The giraffe exhibit did almost become x-rated as the male giraffe followed one of the females all over the place and was getting a little too close for comfort. I'm guessing the zoo will be welcoming a baby giraffe sometime in the future. Oh, and I will try to post some stuff from our visits with Grammy and Pawpaw and Casey and Doug soon.

Payback would be sweet

It was March 6, 2005. No one expected the undefeated and #1 ranked Fighting Illini to lose to Ohio State. Well, they did, and it still makes me mad when I think about it. Let's just say payback would be soooo sweet if Illinois wins tomorrow!! So everyone out there reading this, be sure to cheer "I-L-L" then "I-N-I" at 2:30pm tomorrow (and don't call during the game;-)

Another Show Off Day

Carlie finished off another session of Littly Bitty Dance at the community center last week. Here are some highlights from her show off night. (In case you are wondering why I am not blogging as much, we got a new camera and it takes over an hour to do one post by the time the photos are uploaded to the computer then to the blogger site. If anyone has suggestions as to how to do this faster, I would greatly appreciate it. )

Happy Birthday Noah!!

I can't believe it has almost been a year since Noah was born. It used to seem that it took forever for my birthday to roll around, and now it comes around all too quickly. Lucky for me, the whole month of February is "Celebrate Rachel" month!!

Back to Noah. We had such a fun time at Grammy and Pawpaw's house celebrating Noah's birthday. It was great to have Grammy Dobbins make it as well. It really helps to have a mom that's a teacher (with deep pockets, hee hee) who knows how to throw a party. Carlie was just beside herself with excitement when she saw the little bounce house with balls, but when the Mega bounce house was blown up she couldn't contain herself. She was screaming and jumping, and it wasn't even her party. Noah had a great time too. I think he likes chocolate cake as you will see.

It was great to see many of our relatives that I haven't seen in awhile. We always say we will get together and never do with our busy lives and schedules. I would have to say though that it is pretty special to have so many family members that have stayed so close for generations. Pretty rare these days. Anyway, a big thanks to the Grammies and Pawpaw for all their hard work in the making of such an awesome party!

Well I have lots of thank you notes to write so I better just post some photos. I will have some other birthday photos on the 24th, his actual birthday.

The Grammies blow up balloons

The Birthday Boy

The Cousins
Let's Get this Party Started...
Pawpaw brings out the food- Yummo!

The Cake
Make a Wish!!









Come on, you can do better than that
Mmmmmm... Caaaaake
Doh!

I would post more pictures but this is taking way too long :-)

Oskee-Wow Wow!!

Chee, Chee Ha, Chee Ha Ha Ha!!! They are not so happy in Happy Valley tonight. For all those who care (and I'm not sure many of you do) Illinois won today against Penn State!! This is the first time they have gone 2-0 in the Big Ten since I was a student (and that was quite a long time ago.) Hopefully this is a turning point in the program, and they can finally start winning again. In other Illini news, basketball starts in 31 days! Another whoo hoo... even though I am uncertain of how good they will be, they do have Michael Jordan's son, Jeffrey, on the team (he walked on.) Anyway, that's my sports blog for the day since there is nothing good to say about the Cardinals.

Welcome Fall

I wish. This was last Saturday, and it was beautiful. Nice crisp fall day. Today as I write this the a/c is back on, and it is 90+ degrees outside. Back to last weekend I spent the day with a friend from MOPS, Ashley, while Mike hung out with the kiddos. Here are some of the shots he got.


Making Daddy proud


Carlie took this

Weeding the garden

Isn't he just the cutest?

We made it to a Ballgame...

But they lost. Mike got tickets from work for last Friday's game against the Cubs. It was a beautiful evening, even if it was on the chilly side. The free buffet and free parking are always nice, but the during game free ballpark food never disappoints. I had nachos (I never pass them up at a game) and popcorn, plus a Diet Coke.

Back to the game... I would have to say that Carlos Zambrano seems like a pretty class act, I guess since the Cards won't be playing in any World Series this year, I may have to cheer for the Cubs. I know, I know it's blasphemy, but the Phillies make me ill, and maybe that guy in the stands who "blew it" for them a few years back can finally come out of hiding.

These pics will be awesome next year when we have our megazoom lens.

I'm getting my hair cut like this girl (the one in the Cubs jersey)

That's Izzy. Probably pitching in his last season with the Redbirds although I hope not since he wants to retire a Cardinal. I'm pretty happy for him since he has had a good season.

A Few of our Latest Adventures

We had a visit last week from yet another one of our friends who has moved away (although I am anxiously awaiting their return move here so I can enjoy some Big n' Tasty's with Christina- they better not be toying with me that they are planning to move back someday). Anyway, this is Noah with their son, Landon. Baby #2 for them should arrive in February. I decided to venture off to St. Charles with the kids last Friday since Carlie didn't have school and it was such a gorgeous day. We had a picnic in the park and then went to several of the shops on Main Street. After several doors I made the decision that the uneven brick/cobblestone streets and steps leading into the doors made for a less-than-stroller-friendly environment. I'll have to go again when the strollers go into storage (at least with the kids). Actually Carlie did fine and couldn't stop talking about all "the prettys" in the stores. She was very gentle with everything she touched. Whew!! Here we are having our picnic at the park. Carlie had a lunchable while I had a double cheeseburger from McD's. Can't remember what Noah had.
Carlie took this picture of me so you can see that I was actually there too.
Noah had his first carousel ride at the zoo. We went there on Sunday since it was nice out again. Although it did get quite hot in the afternoon. Anyway, he really enjoyed banging his head against the brass pole. I think he left a few dents in it.
Carlie helped feed Noah his lunch.

Baby Jade... the latest addition to elephant herd...