sold

Our house is sold,
{pending our appraisal}.
Which means that I am about to become a farm girl.
Like, literally, a citizen of Farmer City. And to think I laughed in college when I found out the name of my (then future) husband's hometown.
It looks like we'll soon be calling these wide open spaces

you thrill me

William's and my birthday are only 3 days apart. He was actually due on my birthday, but was born after a scheduled induction on the 19th. Is it rude that I'm kinda glad we each have our own separate birthday? Either way, they're close, so after he opened his birthday gifts at his party, I opened mine.
I was not expecting this. Can you tell?

I knew the box was big and it felt heavy. The card said it was a gift from most everyone; Dan and Sara and family, my mom, Patrick, my Dad and Sandi. I thought, hmmm, maybe something pretty for the house or something nice to wear.
But this? This was so not even on my radar.

This gift thrilled me 6 months ago when I unwrapped it and it continues to thrill me each and every day. This appliance makes me smile. At first I woke up for the sole purpose of of being able to use it. I mean, of course there was much to be thankful for, but those early days I jumped out of bed. Even now when I walk past and I glance over, I smile. I love seeing it sitting there.
So what is this appliance that thrills me so? This most amazing and fabulous birthday gift?

It brews my coffee for me every morning. Always the perfect cup.

A special (from the bottom of my heart) thanks to Sara for finding this Keurig and thinking of me. And thank you to all of you that chipped in to make this Keurig a daily reality for my coffee loving sensibilities. I so love it. Now come on over and have a cup!

10.19.09

In October this little baby,

turned two!

We settled on football for the theme of William's 2nd birthday. He does like sports, or at least playing with different sports' balls. But I took the liberty of choosing the theme based on the fact that he is only two and doesn't request certain themes yet and also since football seemed fitting for his fall birthday. Plus with his chunky little legs and body he looks like he's made to play the sport. So it was settled.

Sara took every one of these pictures from William's party. I am so thankful to have them and feel blessed to have a sister-in-law who is generous and thoughtful and who also has an amazing talent for photography. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sara!

I did almost change the theme about five times before I finally settled on football, mostly I was just feeling uninspired. When I was at Michaels trying to get inspiration for the invitations I found some very adorable ice-cream cone stickers. I frantically called Holly and told her I was having a change of heart, that this might have to be an ice-cream theme party instead. She, as always, was helpful and said with no hesitation (which is something I love about her), ice-cream parties are for summer, stick to football.

So I did and after some searching and some googling and some blogstalking (all of the bonifide research one does for a birthday party) I finally got inspired. Two words: felt and pennants. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought bags full of felt and I started crafting. Now the idea was that to make a felt pennant garland one would cut felt triangles and sew them to the ribbon. I, however, do not sew (someday I think I'd like for this to change, but for now I do not). I am here to tell you that if you are like me and don't know how to thread a bobbin, or anything else about sewing for that matter, you will still be able to be a master of felt pennant garlands. Good news, right? I made many garlands using a hot glue gun. Same result. I was thrilled. So thrilled in fact that I started to get carried away with felt and garlands and pennants. They showed up as hanging decor, on favor bags and on tables. There were large pennants, small ones and itty-bitty ones in cupcakes.



I could decorate all day. That's what I get most excited about when throwing a party. But most people come to a party to eat. So I also have to think about the food. My plan was to keep the food very simple; chips and dip and pizza. And mostly I stuck to it.

tortilla chips, "touchdown taco dip", pita chips, vegetable dip, fresh veggie skewers, popcorn, mini cornbread muffins, cheese/pepperoni/sausage pizza

William loved having the chips and dip right at his level.

But the very best food that people ate, I had absolutely nothing to do with! Last year for William's 1st birthday I wanted to have chili (it was a pumpkin theme, so I wanted the food to be everything that's great about fall). My mom and Dan offered to make the chili and suggested turning it into a competition; a chili cook-off, if you will. It was a success. Fun and friendly competition, a winner, prizes and delicious chili. After the party Erica suggested turning the cook-off into an annual event. Brilliant!
This year there were three entrants: Dan, Rachel and Patrick's mom Mary. Each pot of chili was delicious in its own right and each was also very different from the other. The cooks were kept anonymous until the winner was revealed. This year's winner and current reigning champion is

His chili is ridiculously good. Let me tell you there are some things in there that I would never even think to throw in a pot. Like cocoa. Seriously. And that chili was so delish. I'm making myself hungry; I wish I had a big bowl right now!
For dessert there were chocolate cupcakes and ice-cream

Patrick made this little football cake for William.

Make a wish!

Let's party!

Just weeks before his party, Erica, Bret and Ben moved to New York. We missed having them here with us to celebrate. Erica, it wasn't the same without the three of you here.

I love these that Sara took at sunset from outside. They just feel so cozy.

The football party was a success. It was lots of fun and we loved having our best friends and family with us to celebrate.

Hawaii, part three: the North Shore

The North Shore was pure bliss.

Bright, beautiful, quiet {read: uncrowded}, bliss.

After a few days on Waikiki Beach we were ready for something a bit more serene. Everyone told us to go to the North Shore. We learned we could drive around the entire island in just a few hours. That sounded fun and adventurous. Plus we got to use our rental car, which was bonus fun.
The dual (front/back) sunroofs were all the rage.

Here we are leaving the busy city behind and heading for a more peaceful destination.

We saw Pearl Harbor as we drove out of Honolulu. We opted to see it from afar rather than stop for the grand tour. Patrick and I were interested in the history, but we felt like our 4 and not quite 2-year old wouldn't have been as interested or had the quiet reverence due that place. So we passed from afar and continued on out of the city.
I have such fond memories of this time; this road trip around the island.


The boys did so well. They napped. We sang. We laughed.
We learned that William hated my singing. Every time I'd start this silly song, he'd yell (through his pacifier) "stop". But it was so dramatic. It was more like "stoooooooooooop!!!" Patrick could sing. Henry could sing. But every time I'd start it would be "STOP". We cracked up. I have a video. I'll never forget that.

The scenery was beautiful as we drove.

Rows of pineapples growing in the richest, reddest soil.

We decided to stop when we saw the Dole Plantation. We had no agenda or set itinerary. So a stop at the home of the most delicious pineapple imaginable seemed like a very good idea.

Standing in this very spot in the middle of the "o" is what all of the families seemed to be doing. Looks pretty silly now, but we totally followed suit!

There was a train tour of the plantation,

It rained for most of the tour but blew over shortly after. It was very tropical and didn't last long. I couldn't get over what a deep red color the soil was.

After the tour we ordered the pineapple ice-cream. So good!


And then we got on the road again. By this time we were starting to see the ocean.

The landscape was so pretty. Mountains to the left, pineapple fields in the middle and the ocean straight ahead.

There were several beaches along the way. We stopped and parked and spent the afternoon at this little slice of paradise.






We left there after a few hours and continued on our drive around the island. The boys both took naps while we drove.
First was this pretty beach. William was asleep during this stop.



And then we got back into the car and kept driving. It was way more beautiful than these pictures show. Just mountainous and green and lush and sunny and blue.


And then we stopped here. This time Henry was asleep.

William didn't sleep long and woke up sad. We stopped because of the beautiful mountains. But also because of the meltdown. Note the chocolate chip cookie he's holding.

This place was amazing. These mountains are directly across the street from the ocean. A surfer came over to talk to us. He was a middle aged guy, he told us he moved to Hawaii to live a simple life and surf. He also said these mountains are where many famous movie scenes have been filmed, including Pearl Harbor and Jurassic Park. We asked him about the waves. They seemed small to us and we'd been expecting to see big ones. He said they are the smallest in the summer, the ocean is more like a swimming pool; very flat and calm {which was really best for us and our small boys}. But in the winter months, October thru April, people come from all over the world to surf waves that reach up to 50 feet.

After that stop we got back in the car and drove back to Honolulu and our hotel. The island was beautiful and scenic and serene. It was everything I had imagined when I imagined Hawaii.