The Sandoval Family

Newly Renovated Bathroom

2011-03-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

Couldn't have done it without my dad. Thanks for all your help!!!
Here it is before...

...and after

We replaced 2 light fixtures, vanity, sink, faucet, towel bars, mirror, accessories, towels, shower curtain, rug, as well as repainted everything. Thank goodness for tax refunds!

Go Cubs Go!

2010-06-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ahh...the sweet smell of Wrigleyville. Brian and I were both so excited to take the kids to our favorite ballpark. As many of you know, we visit a different ballpark every year, so to finally take them to our favorite was very exciting for all of us.
It was very hot this day. All 3 ballparks we visited so far were at least 90 degrees out the day we went to the game. Luckily our seats were in the shade this day at Wrigley Field.

Someone gave us passes for the kids to go down on the field during batting practice to meet some players and get some autographs. The Cubs were done batting, so we were only able to meet some St. Louis Cardinals players. Pretty exciting, regardless, to meet Albert Pujolls and Mark MacGwire.

Waiting for the game to being and enjoying our AMAZING seats.

If you didn't hear by now, they lost this game BIG time. Austin and Brian were sporting their rally caps and it didn't help much at all. The most important part was that we had a great family day together. We love that the kids are both very much into baseball and enjoy watching the games. I need to start my scrapbook this summer of each park we have visited so far.

Almost a teenager...

2010-06-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

Austin turned 12 years old this year...YIKES!!! Can't believe this is his last year before becoming a teenager. At the last minute we decided to invite a few of his closest friends over for a cookout the night of his birthday. Of course the day before his birthday I noticed on the weather channel that they were expecting the low to be 92 degrees that day. So several water balloons and super soakers later, the party was a success.
Water balloons always crack me up. They take FOREVER to fill up a bucket full of 30 or so. Then it takes about 2 minutes for them to all be thrown and popped. Love this picture of Madison getting her big brother.

We got Austin tickets to a Cubs game this year for his birthday. He was at Wrigley Filed once when he was so young he can't remember it. So, needless to say, my little sports fanatic was extremely excited about this.

Date Night

2010-04-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

Brian surprised me on Valentine's Day with Carrie Underwood tickets. To say the least...I was SO EXCITED for this concert. I love all of her music, and like most people, have followed her since American Idol.

The concert was down in Indy, so we made an overnight date of it and stayed downtown. We arrived early so we could go out to dinner just the two of us. I love Indy because it is so small that you can walk everywhere. We walked to dinner, then back to our room to freshen up, and then walked to Conseco Fieldhouse for the concert. The concert was even much better than I was expecting. She is so ridiculously talented!!!! We even managed to go out after the concert together. Not something we get to do very often when we have kids. Loved every minute of this date night with Brian. We decided we liked it so much that we are going to make it a tradition to see a concert in Indy every year together. Thanks to my mom and dad for taking the kids for us for the weekend!!

Easter in Tennessee

2010-04-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

How could I not post this adorable picture of Molly???
The kids went to the movies with Brian and Jeremy on Saturday. While they were gone, Sheila and I prepared Easter dinner and hid 100 eggs outside. It didn't take them very long to find all 100 of the eggs.

I'm so glad all the cousins get along so well. Of course, I always wish we lived closer to them, but TN will be a nice vacation spot. :) Besides I'm super excited for them and the church that they are starting down in TN. I'm especially excited that by the next time we visit them, their tornado shelter will be installed and ready to use... if needed.

~Cousins~

Madison and Marissa

MVP Austin

2010-03-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

He shoots...
He scores...

I absolutely love watching Austin play basketball. I hope that he sticks with it for several years. He's been pretty fortunate to be a part of great teams in the last couple years. This year...not so much. But Austin played well, as always. I told him his team can't finish in the top 3 every year.

Recap

2010-02-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

We were pretty lucky to have great weather in Chicago in the middle of Winter for the day my mom and I took Madison downtown to see Annie. We arrived early by train and hung out at Millenium park. I considered taking Madison ice skating there, but it was so unusually warm out that day the ice was melting, and therefore several puddles were all over the ice rink.

We had a mini high school reunion with 6 of the 8 of us able to attend. First, we picked up Melanie from the airport. My stomach was hurting from laughing by the time we got there, and only got worse as the day went on!!!! I love my friends, and feel so blessed to still have all of them in my life. Laughing is what we do best together!!!! After lunch we headed to Alice's new place in Chicago and hung out with her for awhile. She wasn't able to join us that evening, because as you can see, she is very pregnant right now.

After dinner at a cute Italian restaurant, and a free ride from a perfect stranger in his white conversion van with black tinted windows...we headed up to the united center for the Bulls game. (alive) After the game, we walked to all the hot spots near the united center. We even got Melanie to dance a little :) Jaci's husband, Ben, was our bodyguard for the night. He works at the united Center and even got us on the jumbotron again!!! Thanks Ben!

My Grandma was in town a few weekends ago and was able to make it to see Austin play in one of his basketball games. Colin is our cousin, and the kids always say they wish he didn't live so far away :(

Madi, Madi, Madi

2010-01-16T20:18:00.000-08:00

Madison chose TGI Fridays for her birthday dinner with the family. I was surprised to see her actually get embarrassed when they asked her to stand on her chair while they sang "Happy Birthday" to her.
Mom and Dad bought her tickets to see "Annie" in Chicago next weekend. (I get to come too...yay) It was hard for me to keep this secret for so long, because every time she sees the commercial for "Annie" she would BEG me to get her tickets!

Madison used a gift card from one grandma, and some Christmas money from another grandma and grandpa to buy herself this new bike. I was so proud of her for being responsible with her money. Now if Spring would just come soon so she could actually try it out!!!

I bought Madison some 2 pound weights so she could workout with me. She was so excited!!!

Talking to Aunt Sheila on her birthday via skype!

She requested cinnamon rolls for her birthday breakfast. Quick and easy was good since Austin had an early b-ball game today. (We made her hat the night before with a friend that slept over)

WEBKINZ!

Carolyn, this picture is for you! The outfit you got her for Christmas is so cute on her!

Christmas 09

2010-01-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas was extra special this year for a couple reasons. First, I got to host Christmas dinner at our house for the first time ever. I wouldn't have survived it without the help of my mom and sister...thanks Mom and Sheila! There was so much food here that we had to put a lot of it on the back porch to keep cool through out the day since the refrigerator was jam packed. It was also great to have my sister and her family in town for this Christmas. They are moving from Ohio (2ish hours away) to Tennessee (8ish hours away) We know we won't be able to see them as often, so it was nice to have this Christmas together.

Mom and Dad with all their grandkids.

This will be the last letter my kids leave for Santa Clause. Austin has known since last year about Santa. Madison was starting to question it over the past couple months, but still really believed and was excited about Santa. Long story short...while I was in the kitchen getting things ready for Christmas dinner, Madison was snooping in our storage closet. She came across the same wrapping paper that Santa happened to wrap her presents with this year. She asked me about it and I told her the truth. She was a bit sad, and had MANY questions the following days. I asked both of my kids afterwards if they were mad we taught them the story of Santa Clause, and they both replied "No". In fact, Madison said she can't wait to be a mommy someday to tell her kids about it. I'm sure I'll be sad next year when my kids seem so grown up that they aren't talking about going to sleep early so Santa will come. Or leaving reindeer food on the back porch for Rudolph and the gang. Mostly, I'll miss using the "Naughty List" threat during the entire month of December. My kids are always so well behaved during that month. Haha

Good news...there are 351 more days of shopping until Christmas this year!

Chocolates and Wishes

2009-12-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Sarah, brought back some special advent calendars from England on her last trip there. If you have never experienced European chocolate...then you just don't know how good chocolate really can be. Today is December 1st, so the kids dug in right after breakfast.Sarah even bought one for Brian and I to share...but Brian wouldn't let me take a picture of him eating his chocolate this morning. haha

Austin and Madison just discovered that the wish bone from our Thanksgiving turkey was finally dried enough to break in half. Here we go...grab a side...pull!!!!

Can you guess who got the bigger side? She realized after celebrating that she never made a wish beforehand. It was sad to see how the expression on her face changed so quickly. Of course, Austin had a smile on his face.

That's it?

2009-12-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

I've stayed home sick the past couple days from work. Our family has really had bad luck with our health so far this fall/winter season. H1N1, strep, pink eye...you name it, we've had it! Anyway, I decided to gather up enough energy today to post a blog about our Thanksgiving. When I downloaded all the photos from my camera onto the computer, I realized I didn't take even one "family" photo. Or anything, for that matter, besides dogs. Yup, that's right. Spend a wonderful Thanksgiving with my parents and sister's family from Ohio...and all I have to prove it is pictures of their dogs. Oddly enough, there were about 20 pics to choose from, so I chose my favorite of Molly (Sheila's dog above) and Sophie (Parents' dog below) I am, however, thankful for much more than just cute snuggly dogs.
This is as close as it gets to any human in a picture. Of course, the picture was only taken because of how cute sophie was being at the time.

I was trying to clip Sophie's hair out of her eyes. It didn't last too long.

Might as well add some photos of our Christmas decorations. My snowman collection on top of my fireplace keeps growing a little every year. I realized that I forgot to turn the fireplace on before taking this picture. Brian and the kids are always complaining about how hot it is in the house because I always want to have the fireplace going at night while we are spending time in the family room.

I just love Christmas trees! As soon as it is dark enough every night I run to turn on my lights and just sit in the living room to admire it. (It's been up since November 21st)

Bulls Game

2009-11-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

The game started off REALLY bad. At half time the Bulls had only scored 29 points. You can tell they had quite a pep talk in the locker room during half time, because they came back to win it 83-81 by the end of the game.
Madi was obsessed with getting on the jumbo tron that night. Our friend Ben, that works at the United Center, got us the tickets and told us he'd try to get us on the fan cam that night since he was working. We finally were on the fancam towards the end of the game when it was getting really loud and fun in there! Thanks Ben!

We had planned to get Austin a Derrick Rose jersey for Christmas. We decided to get him it early since we were going to the Bulls game.

Our seats were great...3rd row from the court. We sat next to a guy that has owned 2 season tickets seats since Jordan's rookie year. Pretty cool!

Trick or Treat

2009-11-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

Madi was dressed as a baby and Austin was a skeleton. You can't tell in this photo, but Sophie is wearing a pumpkin costume.
We stopped by to visit Grandma Shirley before trick or treating.

Brian was feeling brave to dress up as Minnie Mouse for our costume/poker party friday night. He won first prize.

My costume was my Dad's worst nightmare.

Jack o Lanterns!

Girly Fun

2009-10-28T14:53:00.001-07:00

Don't you love Madison's new artwork my friend Melinda made for her room??
Madi with her 2 friends warming up before gymnastics class.

Too cute!

11 Years

2009-09-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

It's strange how fast 11 years of marriage go by! We celebrated together by going to a new restaurant in Cedar Lake called The Lighthouse! The food and atmosphere was wonderful!! We didn't even mind the hour and a half wait since we were enjoying just having time alone. Mom and dad watched the kids so we could have the night to ourselves. Can you believe we didn't even mention the kids' names for the whole evening??? Wow, what an accomplishment for us.

First Day of School

2009-08-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

Madison and Austin are going to different schools this year since Austin is now...in...gulp...middle school!!! I was able to get a picture of them together before they went their separate ways.
Is she the best brown noser on the first day, or what?? Really we went to the flower shop to get one daisy to give to her teacher, but my friend was working there that day and put together this elaborate bouquet instead. Oh well, never too early to chalk up some brownie points. :)

Madison walks to school with several kids everyday, including her best friend Taylor!

Girls Weekend

2009-08-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

These are 2 off my BFF's from way back in high school. I feel so lucky to still have both of them in my life. As much as phones, e-mails, blogs and facebook help us keep in contact these days, we all decided we needed some face to face quality girl time. Melanie flew in from Texas to meet Melinda and I down in Indy for a fun filled weekend together. Tiffany also met up with us on Saturday. (we missed you Alice, Sumera, Laverne and Jaci)Our first stop was a super healthy dinner at the Indiana State Fair. If you've ever eaten at a fair, you know that it is pretty much impossible to eat healthy food at the fair. I think we started off with deep fried candy bars and cookies. Between six of us we consumed: shish-ka-bobs, BBQ pork, corn dogs, fried taters, ice cream, root bear floats, elephant ears and a couple rounds of fried candy bars. Did I miss anything girls?? Then we were off to the Kelly Clarkson concert right there at the fair. Our seats were great and I was super excited about that because I'm a HUGE fan of Kelly Clarkson. I was actually able to sing along to EVERY song she performed because I love her music.The next day Tiffany met up with us and we visited...er...Melinda's...um...aunt's condo right on a lake that has a nice pool. Ok, so really it is a condo that Melinda is in the process of designing right now and happened to have the key for, so we had access to a pool that made for a great girls afternoon of relaxation and bonding time. Then we spruced ourselves up for dinner at St. Elmo's in the city. Good thing Melinda had a $100 gift card because our total bill was $190 for the 4 of us ~YIKES!!! I must say it was the best Filet Mignon I've ever had. We all had a good sinus clearing too with their famous shrimp cocktail appetizer. When they said fiery cocktail sauce...they weren't kidding!

Our last stop together was catching a showing of "The Time Traveler's Wife" our friend Melanie is a HUGE movie buff. She writes movie reviews on her blog so we told her we wanted to see a movie with her so we could be a part of her blog for this movie. :) You'll have to check it out to see how we rated this movie. (Mel's behind on blogging, so don't check anytime soon)

Anyway, I had a great weekend with my friends and wish it didn't go by so quickly! Love you girls!!!!
xxx

Da Bears Camp!!!!!

2009-08-13T13:23:00.001-07:00

We took Brian to Chicago Bears Training Camp for his birthday this year.

Before~After

2009-08-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

I tried to talk her out of it, but Madison decided she wanted bangs. She looks cute no matter what!

Stop #2 on our Stadium Tour

2009-08-01T19:25:00.001-07:00

Turner Field in Atlanta, GA was a really nice stadium to visit. We were part of the biggest crowd they had there all season. The number was somewhere around 51,000. I was happy our seats were in the shade because it was super hot that day.

I liked being a brave fan for a day. They unfortunately lost the game...but since it wasn't the Cubs I guess I didn't really care too much.

There was a free concert right after the game that we stayed for. All American Rejects aren't exactly a family friendly group, so we didn't stay for the whole concert. Madi kept asking me why that guy was so weird.

More Fun

2009-08-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

We stayed in Kissimmee for a few days when we first arrived in Florida. It's a very tourist type town with tons of stuff for families to do. Our hotel was right next door to a big carnival. So we spent one night there riding go carts and riding the rides. I even enjoyed a funnel cake or two...or three....I don't know, I think I lost count. It was too tempting when it was right outside your hotel door. My friend Karen met us there one night since she lives in the Orlando area.

The go kart tracks were pretty cool.

We spent one day at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Look closely behind the kids and you will see the sight of one of the launch pads located there.

I learned a lot that day about our history in space. Pretty cool stuff!

Weekend Getaway

2009-07-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago I saw that Rascal Flatts was coming in to concert in Chicago at Wrigley Field. We were both pretty excited about it until we realized that the day they were in Chicago was the exact day we were leaving town for our road trip. We eventually figured out that they would be in concert in West Palm Beach while we were in Florida. Brian's mom and sister offered to watch the kids for us so we could have a weekend getaway.

It was an outdoor theater so we were hot...but had SO MUCH FUN!

The concert was better than I expected. Rascal Flatts is, by far, my favorite country group. Darius Rucker opened for them and we liked him a lot too. Didn't realize how many of his songs I actually knew.

The next morning we packed up and went to the beach for some snorkeling. I'm not the best swimmer and have a bit of a fear of deep ocean water. Brian held my hand to get me out to the snorkeling area. WOW...it was AMAZING! Some of the best snorkeling I've ever done. I just felt like I was in a different world when I was under the water.

Air Boat Ride

2009-07-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

The boat went faster than I was expecting! It was so much fun! There were tons of tropical birds and a few gators to look at. I was in awe of the beauty of that area. We would drive through tall grass of the swamp area and just enjoy the scenery.

The kids spotted a giant gator. We were sneaking on him to get a better look.

This gator was 3 years old. His mouth was taped shut so we could hold him.

Don't let my smile fool you, I was a little intimidated to be holding him.

Beach Day

2009-07-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun with our beautiful niece Kylee. We've finally got to the point where we don't have to reintroduce ourselves to her when we visit. She knows who her Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Brian and cousins are now.

Grandma bought all of the kids matching shirts to wear to the beach that day!

Family

2009-07-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

Of course it's always nice to get away for vacation. It's even better when you get to take your vacation visiting family. I'm always sad to say goodbye. We had such a good time with everyone the past 2 weeks!
We celebrated Cassandra's birthday by having dinner at Benihana. It's the type of restaurant where the chef comes to your table and entertains you by cooking the food in front of you. The restaurant was right on the water, and we had a beautiful view of dolphins swimming and the sunset. Not to mention the food was FABULOUS!!! Cassy and Chris are expecting their first baby together in November. We are so excited for them!

We got to play Rock Band at Mike and Nora's one night. It was lots of fun and we decided we should hit the road with our act because we weren't too bad. Madi and Kylee were the background singers/dancers.

Grandma and Grandpa with their 3 grandkids. This place was so beautiful where we were waiting to take our airboat ride.

Aunt Nora and Uncle Michael are expecting their second baby together in just a few short months. It's hard to believe next time we see our family in Florida that we will have 2 new nieces to meet.

Beach Bums!

2009-07-16T22:38:00.000-07:00

Miles could have filled his sand bucket and dumped it out forever that day. He's such a good boy and I love being a part of his life!
Jenny and me!

Jen and Austin playing cornhole.

Brian and the kids!

Henry and Traci!

Friends

2009-07-16T22:24:00.001-07:00

This is my friend, Melinda, with her 2 adorable children. We've known each other since high school and have been through so much together. Mel lives in Indy so we get to have weekend visits with each other from time to time.
I also got to visit with another friend from high school while Melinda was in town, but forgot to take a picture of her. Sorry Sumera! But here are all of our kids together!

I'm always excited when my friend Jenny gets to come in town to visit. She lives in Missouri now and I miss hanging out with her as much as we use to when she lived here. We had a girls trip to Chicago before she flew back home. (see our reflection in the bean?)

This is looking down from the glass balcony at the top of the Sears Tower. Technically it's called the Willis Tower now...but I don't see that catching on anytime soon.

I feel so blessed to have so many close friends in my life!

Grandpa Jerry- June 30, 2009

2009-07-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Jerry went to be with the Lord yesterday. We are sad to be without him here, but are happy to know that he is in Heaven. The kids were wondering yesterday if Grandpa Jerry was already telling Jesus jokes. You see, Jerry always had a joke or two to share every time we got together with him. In fact, before the kids started calling him Grandpa Jerry, they would call him the funny grandpa. He always made us laugh and smile.

He will truly be missed!

Welcome Sophie

2009-06-28T18:49:00.001-07:00

This is the pathetic face Madi throws my way every time we see a dog on the street, tv, pet store...you name it! Followed shortly by, "Mom, can we have one?" Well now my mom and dad have a dog (Sophie) so i told Madison she can visit them whenever she wants to.
We already got to dog sit for them and turned her into a cubs fan...SORRY DAD...couldn't resist!

I love this picture of Sophie crawling on Madison. She's so lovable and TINY!!!!

Colorado Vacation!

2009-06-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

This was the before shot when we climbed 245 stairs up seven waterfalls. The view was absolutely amazing from the top! It was hard work getting to the top and just a bit scary coming down! Our legs were feeling great the next day!
Sarah and I decided to go horse back riding on our first day in Colorado. We took a one hour tour of the Garden of the Gods. Words can't describe how amazing it was to be riding through one the most beautiful places I've ever been on top of a horse. I'll never forget the views I took in that day. Unfortunately, 2 girls on the tour with us fainted WHILE on top of their horses. That part was quite scary. They gave them some water and drove them back to the stables on a 4 wheeler.

Breath taking view of Pikes Peak in the distance while waiting to go horse back riding.

More of Garden of the Gods.

Colorado was much too beautiful to describe in words. The pictures don't even come close to doing it justice. I loved waking up every morning and looking out the hotel window and seeing Pikes Peak!

Of course I did go there primarily on business. The seminars were great as well, and I learned a lot to use not only as a teacher but a parent too!

I have art envy

2009-06-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

So I have this friend named Melinda that has been one of best friends ever since 8th grade. She has always had amazing art skills that make me very jealous. Well, she recently started making these art creations that she calls "Upcycled Art" She basically uses her amazing talents and some recycled vinyl wall coverings to create beautiful pieces. I'm excited to own my very first piece that she designed just for me. She can customize any piece for you with your taste in colors and patterns. She can even duplicate something like bedding you have in a bedroom that needs art pieces to match. So if you're interested in her services, let me know and I can give you her info.

(sorry Mel, there was a glare when I took this pic)

I'd also like to mention that the art is even more amazing in person!

Catching up...

2009-06-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Austin and Madison planted some flowers to bring over to their Grandma and Grandpa. We are praying every night for their Grandpa Jerry as he is fighting cancer right now.
Austin and my dad made me this plant stand for Mother's Day this year. I was so surprised and absolutely love it because I don't have anything that my dad has ever made before. Austin picked some Iris's from my garden to put in this vase for my plant stand.

We had great seats for a Harlem Globetrotters game this year. The kids got to go down and meet several players and get their autographs. One of the players name was "Tiny" and he was 7 feet tall. I had never stood next to someone so tall before.

When we were on the court getting autographs, Brian took advantage of sitting on the Chicago Bulls Bench seats. Pretty neat to be walking on the court where some of the greatest Basketball players have played.

Miss Illinois was there and Madi got to shat with her for a little while.

Coming to a computer near you soon

2009-06-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a very long time since I have created a new post on here. It's not about being lazy or nothing to talk about...it's because our computer has absolutely no space left on there to hold pictures. So, we're in the process of getting an external hard drive to hold all of our pictures so that we have space on our computer again.

In the meantime, the kids are counting down the days until summer vacation - they have 4 left! I, however, have been counting the days OF my summer vacation. That's right, my school was over 2 weeks before the kids, so I have been enjoying time to myself to relax in a quiet house.

Well, hopefully there will be some pictures to post on here sometime this week!

Bulls Game

2009-04-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

We were all pretty excited about going to a Bulls game this year at the United Center. It was the first time the kids and I have ever been there. We had AMAZING seats (thanks J&B) and it was a very exciting game...so we had an awesome time together!
After Austin's team won the championship game we asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate. I meant something like go out for ice cream etc. He said he'd like to go to a Bulls game. Never thought he'd actually get to meet a few players while we were there. 2 players the kids met and got autographs from were no big names...but we did get to meet Joakim Noah.

Waiting patiently for the players to come!!!!

Madison and I even got to meet Benny the Bull. The night we went was Latino night so his name was Benito.

Enjoying the game!!!

Championship Photos

2009-03-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Celtics 38 Spurs 28

2009-03-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pictures to post yet...but I couldn't miss this opportunity to tell you all how good Austin did today in his championship game. Austin's team won by 10 points giving them 1st place in his league! The game started off strong with Austin stealing the ball in the first 15 seconds of the game to take it down for his first 2 points. He was on fire from that point on and ended up scoring 20 points in the game. Way to go Austin!!!! Nana and Papa have been his faithful fans along with Brian, Madison and myself this season. Austin was really excited that Uncle David and Kelly were able to come watch him play today too.

The assistant coach lifted Austin up on his shoulders at the end of the game. I have never seen Austin smile bigger than he did at that point.

We are so proud of Austin for working so hard this season.

Exciting day for Austin

2009-02-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Austin meeting Reed Johnson from the Chicago cubs on Sunday.
Austin was excited to wear his Greg Olsen jersey that nana and papa got him for Christmas when meeting Greg Olsen from the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

David Neville is an Olympic gold medalist from our area. Not very often you can say you met an Olympic gold medalist.
Thanks nana and papa for taking Austin to meet all the athletes!!

2009-02-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

My family has been so good to me since I have been very sick since Saturday. I finally went to the doctor yesterday to find out I have a double ear, sinus and throat infection. I've also had a high fever since Saturday (this is my first day without a fever and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's gone for good)

Austin has been asking me what he can do to help and Madison made me this nice tray full of light snacks. The only thing that sounded good enough to eat yesterday was a frosty from Wendy's that my wonderful hubby hand fed to me. Sounds pitiful... but my fever kicked my butt so bad I couldn't even move. The first frosty felt so good on my throat that my dad stopped by to give me another one. I'm sure the calories in those 2 frostys made up for the fact that I haven't eaten anything in 3 days. My mom is on her way over here right now with Subway for lunch and spaghetti dinner for tonight. I don't know what I'd do without my family around to help when I'm sick.

Flags, Guitar Hero and Superbowl Fun!

2009-02-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

This is the second year that the guys played flag football at Redar Park a few hours before the big game started. They were all good sports when I made them stop playing for a minute so I could take a picture of them. They were all walking funny when they got to our house later and I've heard many of them are sore since that day.Yijie and Dustin rocking it out on guitar hero.

A few more rock stars that day...

The girls were banished to the living room so the guys could watch the superbowl on Brian's new 50 inch plasma in the family room. We soon found out that there was an 8 second delay from our tv to their tv. All the girls thought it would be funny to cheer really loud when the first touchdown was scored. Of course 8 seconds later the guys saw it happen and started cheering. Needless to say, they didn't find it very funny at all. We assured them we did it just to be funny and we weren't planning on watching the whole game.

Happy Birthday Madison!

2009-01-18T08:43:00.001-08:00

Madison was pretty excited when school was cancelled on the day of her birthday due to below zero temperatures around here. She said it was the best birthday present ever! Since we weren't in a rush to get ready for school I was able to make her favorite french toast for her birthday breakfast. The principal of my school makes it for teachers and students a couple times a year and Madison loves it!! (yes, it is covered in sugar so she was pretty wired for an hour or so after eating it)

Since there was no school we headed off to the mall for her annual birthday tradition of going to Build a Bear. We ended up being in the Build a Bear workshop for over an hour because she is so terrible about making decisions. (not sure where she gets that from) There are about 20 animals to choose from and she kept changing her mind even while we were standing in line for the stuffing machine. Finally she chose this adorable bunny, but had a hard time finding the perfect outfit and matching shoes for her. Lastly, you have to think of a name for your animal. She ended up choosing Emily. Then we were off for a little shopping, a stop in the photo booth and some hot chocolate before hitting the cold air again.
Later that night we took Madison and her friend Taylor to the roller rink. Madison was really sad that her cousins and Aunt Sheila weren't able to make it this weekend as planned because of the winter weather. Nana and Papa were there too and took lots of pictures and videos of all of us skating.

I think Madison is better than me at skating.
Then we all came back to the house for tacos and birthday cake! And of course there were gifts! You realize how grown up your daughter is when she gets an IPOD from her nana and papa, a makeup case filled with makeup from her Aunt Sheila and a Miley Cyrus CD from her brother. She use to get excited about the bows on top of her presents or the baby doll gifts. Now her eyes light up when she receives gift cards and cash and runs to go put them in her wallet inside her very own purse. Wow, I don't know where the time has gone... but it's official that my baby is 8 years old now.

Look for Austin on ESPN

2009-01-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

I was able to catch a couple video clips of Austin playing basketball this week!

Science, Sports and Sliders!

2009-01-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

As soon as I got the note home in Austin's folder about this science project I had a sick feeling in my stomach. That is not something me and Brian are very good at helping Austin with. Luckily we have a wonderful friend, Dustin, who recently received his PH.D in biology...BINGO!!! We feel so fortunate to have friends that love our kids enough to invest in their lives with things like science projects. Thanks Dustin!!!!

Austin's project is testing which household cleaner cleans the best. I didn't clean my kitchen counter for a week leading up to the experiment so it was good and gross for the project.

Austin is having a great basketball season with the Celtics. Last game he scored 12 points. He is the point guard in the 2nd and 4th quarter of each game. Wanna come cheer him on?? Give me a call and I'll let you know his upcoming schedule of Saturday games.

It's not a visit with Grandma without going to White Castle!!! Right before this trip to White Castle we visited the Albanese candy factory and had way too much sugar. Mix that with 4 sliders and that equals a very upset stomach. Oh well... I had it coming with that combination.

More Missouri Pictures

2008-12-30T20:19:00.001-08:00

My uncle Harold and cousin Skyler
Me and Grandma!

My uncles discovering a hunting type game on the wii!

We always take a walk with our aunt Pam when we go down to Missouri. She took us up the hill by the old goat house. The kids were climbing on the hay bales so we decided to take a picture.

Austin taking careful aim.

I'm so happy we were able to make it down to Missouri for Christmas this year. You never know what the weather will be like traveling this time of year. Little icy to start out our trip and lots of fog to drive through on our way home. It was worth it to be with everyone together on the farm. I won't lie... it was very tough at times. I know my Grandpa was looking down at all of us. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas with their families. Happy New Year to you all!!!

Christmas on the Farm

2008-12-30T20:03:00.000-08:00

Grandma, Aunt Pam and mom working hard peeling the potatoes for lunch.
Just strolling around the farm and taking lots of pictures.

Christmas 08

2008-12-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

Ummm... do you think he liked the home theatre system we got him for Christmas?
I was pretending to be surprised when I opened this gift because Madison had already told me what it was. That's the last time she gets to help wrap my presents.

He said that gift wasn't fair since my fav scent of his cologne is really for me. hahaha

We set the timer on the camera and took a family picture the night before hitting the road for Missouri. Brian and I decided to open our gifts for each other before leaving for Missouri. We did let the kids pick out a gift each to open that night.

Mr. and Mrs. David Burney

2008-12-30T19:47:00.001-08:00

Kelly and David make such a cute couple.
He's a cop so when it was time to take the garter off the bride's leg you could hear the music "Bad Boys Bad Boys Watcha gonna do" playing as he made her put her hands behind her head. It was too funny!!

Kind of hard to take a self portrait of all 3 of us since David is so tall.

We are so happy for the Newlyweds. Congratulations!!!!

Madi, Madi, Madi

2008-12-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

This... is Madison. Crazy, fun, loving, sweet Madison. I can describe her as 7 going on 17. She always likes to think bigger than what most 7 year olds would think. I realize that in the long run this is going to get her very far in life... but for now I just want her to be 7. The other night as I was about to turn the lights out on the Christmas tree, I noticed a cookie sitting on a plate next to a note on our coffee table. The note read Dear Santa, I left you this snack just in case you are hungry while getting ready for Christmas. Don't forget we will be in Missouri on the farm this year for Christmas. I was also wondering if I'm on the nice list this year. Circle yes or no. Love, Madison Sandoval xoxoxoxoxo

I struggled all night whether or not to circle yes and eat the cookie. (or better yet circle no and leave a piece of coal) But I decided I was going to play by the rules this time and do nothing at all.

She was a little disappointed in the morning when the cookie and note were still there but I explained that Santa must be very busy at the North Pole and that answer seemed to satisfy her.

She's getting very worried about the fact that this winter weather may have to cancel our trip to Missouri after all. She wants to write a letter to Santa and overnight it to the north pole so he knows we'll still be here in Indiana. I told her that I know of an emergency hotline for parents to call in case of location change at the last minute (thanks for the idea Melinda)

A month ago Madison asked me if I was cleaning the storage under our stairs out so that I would have room to hide their presents. (man is she smart) I told her I was just doing it because it needed to be done and she walked away with a smirk on her face like "yeah whatever mom"

Not to mention more than once she has tried to outsmart the tooth fairy. (that white play dough almost fooled me)

Madison keeps me on my toes, that's for sure. I can't imagine life without her.

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

2008-12-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

We got hit with an ice storm the other night. Just north of Chicago received around a foot of snow. We received some snow but mostly just freezing rain. I took the kids for a walk in the woods by our house. Everything was so beautiful covered in ice. The snow was fun to walk on too since it was covered in ice as well. The kids said it looked like a winter wonderland.
All the ice made us lose power from 5:30 am until early afternoon. Then we lost it again for a few hours that evening. Luckily we have a ventless fireplace that warms the house pretty quickly.

Can't play basketball when the net is frozen solid.

So pretty... camera doesn't do it justice.

Of course I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Just not too white since we will be traveling by car down to Missouri to spend Christmas with my family. It's been a long time since I've spent Christmas on the farm. My kids are worried that santa won't know that they are there. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

Poker/potluck party

2008-12-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

We started with a potluck dinner and white elephant gift exchange. The quesadilla maker made yet another appearance. Somehow we ended up with it because it also came with a Pirates of Caribbean DVD, so Brian stole that gift from Lisa and gave up the candles he opened.
Julia and Miles hanging out together with Jessica while the rest of us played poker. Cute couple, don't ya think? Julia even gave Miles a hug before she left that night.

Newly engaged... Kristi and Jason. Congratulations you guys!!!!

Kelly and Tony

Lisa and Carl

John, Jessica and Julia. So glad you guys could join us!!!

Sarah with her invisible husband. Dustin became very ill and had to leave before we even got the party started. We all missed him that night.

Henry and Traci

I know, I know...

2008-12-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I have blogged. Here's a quick over view of some photos that were on our camera.

We took the kids (and Madi's friend) to Pepsi on Saturday for our annual breakfast with Santa and tour of the Pepsi plant. Here are the kids writing their lists to Santa.

Picture with Santa.

These huge containers in front of the pepsi plant hold sugar.

Cousins together on Thanksgiving weekend.

Me and Grandma.

Halloween 08

2008-11-02T17:11:00.001-08:00

Shy Miles dressed up as an adorable Mickey Mouse!
We had a cute clown and a scary werewolf.

Madi didn't wear her clown shoes trick or treating because they were too tough to walk in for long. Her red nose even lit up when it got dark out that night.

Of course we carved pumpkins and roasted the seeds.

Ewww! Pumpkin guts!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween this year!

More Florida Fun

2008-10-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Cousins!
Still gives me chills to see this picture... There was a plane sky writing Sunday morning.
I wish I could just close my eyes, click my heels together and be back here in an instant.
Pete, Carolyn and the kids on the ferry to Magic Kingdom.
Love this picture!

14 hours at the Greatest Place on Earth

2008-10-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Madison and Kylee crashed on the sleeper sofa together after a long night of dancing together at the reception.
That's right, the title says that we spent 14 hours at all 4 Disney parks. We all had a fantastic time and just wanted to get the most out of our park hopper passes. (thanks again Karen) We started the day at The Animal Kingdom and headed straight to the safari adventure. We were so excited to be lucky enough to see the baby giraffe in the road. It was only 6 feet tall.
Everything was SO BEAUTIFUL at this particular park. I could have taken pics all day of the scenery.
Behind us is the ride "Everest" Austin wasn't very fond of this ride, but I must say it was one of my favorite rides because it was so unpredictable.
The kids meeting Chip and Dale. I don't know how they can stand being in the hot 90 degree weather down there.
Next we were off to Epcot. Tons of cool rides and attractions to visit there.
After a few hours at Epcot we headed off to Hollywood Studios.
Madison was wearing down about 12 hours into our day at Disney. Just a quick nap on dad's shoulder while waiting in line for the Toy story ride was all she needed to get her through the rest of the day.

Karen is so lucky she gets to visit the parks whenever she wants. Thanks for helping us plan out what to do at all the parks so we can squeeze them all into one day, Karen!
We finally met Mickey and Minnie at nearly 11pm.
One last pic of the castle before we leave.
The kids with their 3D glasses before getting on a ride.
This Mr. Potato head would move around and sing songs while you were waiting in line for a ride. At one point his eyes looked straight at Madison and he said "hey you in the white mickey mouse shirt" She looked down at her white mickey shirt, looked up at Mr. Potato head and then looked over at me and Karen with a freaked out look on her face. It was so funny I couldn't stop laughing. Then she hid behind Austin and Mr. Potato Head said "don't hide behind your brother" Austin thought there were cameras somewhere but Madi figured it was just part of the magic of Disney.

There really is something magical about that place to get me to stay there for 14 hours after dancing all night in high heels and only getting about 5 hours of sleep.

Cassandra and Christopher Bradley

2008-10-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Family and friends loaded on to the bus to ride to the chapel.
Cassandra was one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen.
Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Bradley
The wedding was beautiful... the reception was a blast!
Welcome to the family, Chris. We are so happy for both of you. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Missouri 2008

2008-09-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

I love my grandma!
Katie the dog is the new addition to the farm. She was so cute and lovable.
Here is my uncle Jimmy trying to amuse me by pretending like he is shorter than me.
Grandma and the kids in front of the barn. Even Bubba came over to the fence to be in the picture.
All the cousins climbing all over Uncle Gaylord's truck when he took us all out to the field. (shhh, aunt Pam don't tell Gaylord)
All the kids visiting their Aunt Sarah's grave. She is buried in the same row as my grandpa. Such a peaceful and beautiful cemetery.
It was funny to my kids, Sheila's kids and my cousins' kids together in Missouri. It use to be us running around together on the farm playing ghosts in the graveyard, picking apples, fishing, taking long walks, playing with the animals and whatever else we could find to explore. Now it's their turn to sit at the kiddie table when we all get together for dinner.
Feeding Bubba an apple. His tongue was really long.
Sheila, Jennifer, me and Jason. (can you tell I missed the tall gene somewhere along the way?)
Me with my VERY favorite Aunt Pam.

Grandpa 1930~2008

2008-09-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

We went to the funeral home, the church, the cemetery, the farm and even the field where the tree had fallen on him...yet it still doesn't seem real. It was so sad sitting there in their family room looking at his empty chair. I love him and miss him so much! I suppose the hardest part is now when you need to get back to your normal routine but you feel like your world is flipped upside down. I'll always cherish the many memories I have of my grandpa.

September 17, 2008

2008-09-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Just going through some old photos and thought I'd post a couple of my favorites. I love the picture of my grandpa with the kids on his farm because I have the same picture of me with him in that same spot when I was a kid.

This picture of my grandma and grandpa is the last photograph I have of them together (everything else is digital since this one was taken) They are standing in front of their church which is next to the cemetery where we will bury him on Saturday.

None of this seems real yet...

Mmmmmm

2008-09-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

With every new season comes a new favorite food for me to enjoy. All I have to say is goodbye to summer and sweet corn.... and HELLO to autumn and taffy apples. YUMMO!!!!

Rain Rain on my face

2008-09-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

The kids had fun playing in my parents' street when it flooded. We were on our way to pick up the kids from their house when they called to tell us that we'd have to park our car and wade through water to get to them because the street was flooded and water was coming up the drain in their garage.
This was what was left of the back part of their yard.
Luckily our house is dry, but down the street the neighbors weren't so lucky. There is a creek that runs through our subdivision so when we get a ton of rain (especially 4 days straight) it floods pretty bad.
Brian and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on Friday by having a weekend getaway at a resort and spa. We had planned to go to the beach where Brian proposed to me and go hiking and go there at night to watch the stars. Obviously NONE of that took place this weekend due to the weather. We did enjoy just getting away and being together. We had a couples massage and ticklish Brian giggled through most of it. Thanks mom and dad for taking the kids for us while we escaped for a few days.

Schererville Couple Olympics 2008

2008-09-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Kelly and Tony took the gold in the strength contest.
Kristi guiding Jason through the obstacle course blindfolded while holding an egg on a spoon.
I wonder what all the neighbors thought as a bunch of 20 and 30 year olds were taking turns pushing each other in the wheel barrow.
Gold Medalists for this year Olympics. I already feel the pressure to keep the title for next year.
The lucky bronze medalists won a quesadilla maker. I have a feeling we might be seeing that again at this year's white elephant gift exchange.

Excellent effort diving for the water balloon, Dustin.
After the first event the Sandovals were sad to be without a medal.
Sarah and Dustin got the silver medal and the back of Dustin's shirt says it all.
Henry and Traci took the gold in the volleyball event.
Lisa and Carl getting ready for the 3 legged race.

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

2008-08-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

Pictures with Grandma before saying goodbye!
We had a great time with Brian's family when they came in town a week ago. We all went to Movies in the park down the street and saw "Wizard of Oz" We also spent a day at the waterpark and car races in the evening. Brian, the kids and his dad spent all day Monday in Chicago. (I had to work) They did a lot of fun stuff at Navy Pier and even went out on a sailboat. Of course they forgot to take the camera with them!
We'll see you all again in October for Cassy and Chris's wedding day in Disney!!!

Is anybody out there???

2008-08-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

I noticed when I wrote my last post that it was number 115 since I started this family blog one year ago. That's a lot of photos to view and a lot of stories to type. So it made me wonder who reads this out there. Many of you I know because you leave comments from time to time. (thanks we all love to read the comments) And them some of you... eh hem... read but never leave comments. So to celebrate the one year anniversary of our family blog... I was wondering if EVERYONE who reads our blog could leave a comment this time just to let me know you're out there.

I hope everyone enjoys checking up on us to see what's happening in the lives of the Sandoval Family.

Thanks for reading!

Let's go GNO!

2008-08-30T10:06:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again where Brian and Austin spend their Friday nights going to prep football games. Madison knows that when they go to football games that means it's Girls Night Out (GNO) for us. We both really look forward to spending those evenings together. We made a list of all the fun things we plan to do this year.
First on the list was to get spa pedicures. This was Madi's first time getting a pedicure. I told her not to get use to being spoiled like that because it is expensive to pay for two pedis. My friend gave me a gift certificate for mine (thanks Sue) and so that helped with the bill. We sat in a massage chair for 15 minutes while we waited for them to start and I think if Madison wasn't there talking to me the whole time I would have fallen asleep.
It was so beautiful and relaxing in the spa. Madison was done before me and she just walked around the spa singing Hannah Montana's song "Girl's Night Out" I kept telling her she needed to stay quiet because people were trying to relax, but they all seemed to be very entertained by her.
I opted for the french tips while Madison chose pink and blue mixed.
Then we went shopping at Old Navy to pick out PJ's for our slumber party together. We planned to make cookies when we got home from our pedis and shopping trip, but we were so tired we just fell asleep watching a movie instead.

Next week we're off to the roller rink!!!!

Uh... what did I do wrong?

2008-08-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

Aren't sunflowers suppose to be at least 6 feet tall? Madison and I were so excited to plant this one in our yard this year. Unfortunately it's only about a foot tall. Very cute, but not what we were expecting.

Back to School

2008-08-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

The kids were a little more excited about going back to school this year since they aren't new to the school anymore.
I can't believe my baby is in second grade this year.
Here's the whole crew walking to school on the first day.
Austin, Jordan, Madison and Taylor!

Happy Birthday Brian!

2008-08-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

The kids were so excited to surprise Brian with the birthday cake they made for him.
This picture was actually taken at 8am right before Brian went to sleep from getting off the midnight shift. Nice healthy breakfast we had that morning.
Make a wish!

New York City

2008-08-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing time on our vacation. There were over 400 pics on my camera so I'll try to keep my posts as brief as possible. This was the view of Manhattan from our hotel room. We did everything from Times Square, Central Park, Chinatown, Statue of Liberty, Yankees game to eating at the largest McDonalds in the world. The kids swam in the hotel pool every night and then we'd crash and wake up the next day and do it all over again.

NYC 2008

2008-08-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

We packed up the van and left our house about 9pm Thursday evening.
The kids were sleeping by 10 pm.
At 3am we made our way to Pennsylvania and stopped for gas and bathroom break.
I woke up around 6ish to this beautiful sunrise. I was so amazed by the beauty of Pennsylvania and New Jersey Mountains. I brought a book and Sudoku puzzle book with me for the car ride but never even opened them. The scenery was breathtaking.
Brian and Austin bunked together this night and I couldn't stop laughing when I woke up that morning and found them sleeping the same way.

NYC Misc.

2008-08-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite sign in Times Square
Madi sightseeing on the top deck of the bus.

Brian and the kids waiting at our bus stop to take us into the city. The bus stop was a 2 minute walk from our hotel and brought us all the way to Manhattan just two blocks from Times Square.
Madison thought it was very cool that a street had her name in the city.

Statue of Liberty

2008-08-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

It was strange to be standing there on Liberty Island looking up at the Statue of Liberty that we've seen so many times in photos or tv etc.

We're waiting to catch our ferry. See her in the background?
Not exactly what you want to see see when you're visiting Liberty Island. 15 police officers and their bomb sniffing dogs came running in while we were eating our lunch on the Island. They actually were on our ferry on the way back to Manhattan so we found out that a man had barricaded himself in the mens restroom. Not something to take lightly.
View of the city in the background.

Ground Zero

2008-08-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

We talked to the kids about 9-11 before leaving for vacation because we knew we wanted to visit the site of Ground Zero. Austin was 4 years old at the time and said he remembered me crying and holding him and Madison in the backyard looking up in the sky for planes. I was shocked that he remembered that from so long ago. Madison has no memory of it at all.
The Freedom Tower is under construction so you can't see very much. It is scheduled to be completed by 2012.
It's strange to be walking around the city with building after building and then you turn a corner and it's just a couple blocks of empty space.
NYC kids made a ceramic tile to represent every person killed in the WTC that day. They are displayed on a fence that surrounds a church in Manhattan.
This is a sphere that was located in the plaza of WTC Towers for 30 years. It was obviously very damaged after that day but they managed to retrieve it and have it on display near Battery Park.

NYC Misc. Pics

2008-08-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

If you watch the David Letterman show then you know who this guy is... Rupert Jee. I wrote down the address to his Hello Deli before we left on vacation hoping to stop there for a sandwich because I figured that would be the most "famous" person we'd meet.
If you watch The Today Show on NBC then you may have saw us in the background either Saturday or Monday morning. It was fun to watch them taping segments and be in the background waving. Brian, Madison and myself were on TV Saturday morning, and Brian and Austin were on TV Monday morning.
We bought a 48 hour pass for Double Decker bus rides that allowed us to hop on and off as much as we wanted to for 48 hours. It worked out perfect that we had that as our transportation for 2 of the days we were in the city, plus we learned a lot of history and fun facts from the tour guides. It seemed like Madison fell asleep everytime we were on the bus for more than 20 minutes. The kids liked sitting on the top deck, but sometimes it was so hot we opted for the air condition of the lower deck.
Interesting how they park vehicles in Manhattan.
We decided not to go up in the The Empire State Building since we've already been there done that with the Sears Tower many times.

Central Park

2008-08-07T13:33:00.001-07:00

Central Park was not at all what we expected.
Beautiful trails, ponds, fountains, playgrounds and even a zoo. We even stopped to watch a street show that two guys were putting on.
We forgot we were in the middle of NYC when we were deep into the trails until we came to this bridge and saw the buildings in the background.
Everything was just beautiful.

Yankee Stadium

2008-08-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yankee fans for a day!
The main reason for our trip to NYC was to watch the Yankees play in Yankee Stadium before it is gone.
Despite the fact that it was 91 degrees outside and we were in the direct sun, it was tons of fun for us all. The Yankees won 14-9. There were several homeruns and one grand slam.
The New Yankee Stadium is almost done.
It was exciting driving up to the Famous Yankee Stadium.
Brian and the kids with our tickets.
We got there early to look around... but before we knew it the bleachers were packed.

Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls

2008-08-07T10:24:00.001-07:00

Clifton Hill is about 3 blocks full of entertainment in Niagara Falls. Everything from arcades, bowling alleys and 3D movies to fun restaurants museums and rides. We chose to visit Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, Wax museum and Thrill Ride.That was my first time in a Wax Museum and it was kind of creepy when some of the people looked so real. I felt like some of them were going to start talking to me.
Here I was chatting with my friend Oprah.
The kids and Jack Sparrow.
SCARY!!!!
The three... I mean the 4 stooges!

Niagara Falls

2008-08-07T10:10:00.001-07:00

When we arrived in Niagara Falls, Ontario it was midnight their time. Everyone was walking back to their hotels from the Falls because they had just turned off the lights that illuminate the falls when it's dark. So we checked into our hotel and were all asleep within 30 minutes. The kids were excited that we were in a different country. We explained to them the next morning about the 7 Wonders of the World and that ONE of the Wonders was in that town we were staying in. We told them to be on the lookout as we walked through the town to see if they can figure out what the Wonder would be. They kept pointing to stuff asking, "is that it?" Then we starting getting a breeze of moisture so I knew we were getting close. When we came to the top of the hill and you can see the Falls in the distance, the kids were amazed and knew they had found it. I was impressed that Austin instantly asked if that was Niagara Falls.

Last leg of the trip

2008-08-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

The last stop on our vacation was in Ohio to visit my sister and her family. Even though it was just an overnight visit we had a great time. The kids played and swam in the pool. We all enjoyed Sheila's cooking and just hanging out. Isn't their dog, Molly, so cute?

Friends

2008-07-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

Last Day of School...almost time to go back!

Beach Day

2008-07-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

Two cuties having fun on the beach together. Marissa & Madison
You can usually find Myah and Makayla following Austin around.
So excited about our day together at the beach.
We made lots of memories together today at the beach....
So many that we conked out before we even hit the highway.

Up and Coming Dance Stars

2008-07-25T14:40:00.001-07:00

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Cousins

2008-07-24T08:55:00.001-07:00

I love this picture of Madison and Marissa.
We've had a lot of fun visiting with my sister and her kids this week. It's so nice that they are all close in age. Even though Austin is the only boy, I think he loves the attention he gets from the girls (especially Makayla and Myah) Tomorrow we are hoping for good weather so we can all go to the beach.

The Guys

2008-07-21T20:34:00.001-07:00

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Start Spreading the News....

2008-07-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Did anyone notice the two newest songs on my playlist? We're in the process of planning a family trip to NYC and I can't get either of them out of my head so I figured I might as well add them to the playlist so they can get stuck in your head too. We are SOOOO excited to take this trip in a few weeks. It all started when Brian said he HAD to see the Yankees play in Yankee Stadium before it was torn down at the end of this year. At first I was annoyed because we have been saving to take a trip together for our 10 year anniversary coming up in the fall. I knew if we went to NYC then the romantic "honeymoon we never had " trip wouldn't be possible. So I agreed to the road trip with our kids instead. Yes, that's right, we're driving there AND we're taking the kids too. I'm super excited about it now though. So anyone out there ever been to NYC and have any suggestions for us? Also PLEASE send me your suggestions for keeping the kids company in the car for 12 hours?!?!?! Any fun road trip games or ideas out there? We're also going to drive up to Niagara Falls after visiting Manhattan for a few days. The kids don't know about that part and we can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see The Falls for the first time.

Murder Mystery

2008-07-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

Chief Breaking Wind was in full costume for the event.
We all decided Carl makes a good looking cowboy.
Here are Carl, Lisa and Sarah reading over their player manual. There are 4 rounds to the game. In each round you read things that you need to reveal about yourself or others that round. There are also a few shocking facts about yourself that you don't have to reveal UNLESS someone asks you about it, then you can't lie. All four rounds made for some interesting conversation and it was funny to see how all 8 characters lives twisted together. But who killed the town judge????? We all made our predictions at the end of the game.
I received many funny looks driving over to the party that night with a cowboy hat on. You don't see those very often around here.
Not all of us were cool enough to get into full costume like the rest of us. Just kidding Kristi and Jason. In case you were wondering... Kristi, er... I mean, Elvira was the killer.

We had a great time with everyone. Who's planning the next one??

Visit with Joanna

2008-07-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

I took a drive out to Elkhart, IN on Thursday to meet my sister half way between our house and hers to drop Madison off. Madison spends a few days in Ohio every summer playing with her cousins. While we were there we had dinner at Pizza Hut and I decided to look up an old friend in the phone book there. Luckily I got a hold of her so after dinner I was able to stop by and visit with her for a little bit. Joanna and her husband Tony have the cutest family. Mom, dad, 3 kids, 3 dogs and 2 cats.
Joanna is Melinda's older sister and I always felt close to them all growing up like I was part of their family. (Tiffany too)

It was so good to see you Jo Jo! One of these days I'll host a Pampered Chef party as an excuse for you to come visit me. In the meantime if any blog readers out there need to order something from Pampered Chef contact my friend Joanna through her blog.

Visit to the Zoo

2008-07-15T08:24:00.001-07:00

Thanks Nana and Papa for taking us to the zoo.

Austin, Madison and Papa petting sting rays and sharks at Stingray Bay.
Do you see the cheetah hiding in the grass?
Austin was tired of taking pictures by this time.

Indy day trip

2008-07-14T19:57:00.001-07:00

Jaci, Sumera and I (2 on the left) made a trip down to indy for Melinda's big birthday bash.
I still remember the day I met you on the bus in 8th grade. Thanks for being a great friend. No we did not plan our matching outfits this day. haha Great minds think alike I guess.

Defacing Property

2008-07-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

Austin and Madison with their best friends Jordan and Taylor. Fun memory! We are so lucky to have such great neighbors.

Welcome to the 30's

2008-07-09T08:36:00.001-07:00

This is my friend Karen that I have known since my freshman year in high school.

Even though she has moved to Florida we still have managed to keep a great friendship over the years.

She came back to Chicago to celebrate turning 30 with me and two other friends. What better way than a shopping day in the city and over to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Miss you already Karen, but I'll see you in October.

Beach Day

2008-07-09T08:15:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we ventured off to our first day at the beach for the summer. Beautiful day to spend at the beach as a family.

Can you tell by the look on Austin's face how cold the water was?????
The kids took turns burying each other in the sand. Madison took advantage of Austin being buried and gave him a few kisses on his cheek.

Austin spent a lot of time digging this hole.

I love this picture of Madison.

Madi showing Austin how to do a hand stand.

4th of July

2008-07-09T07:57:00.001-07:00

Well if you are like us, you had a busy holiday weekend with many parties to attend, fireworks to be seen and food to eat. Thursday we went to a BBQ and watched the Highland parade with our friends.

Miles inherited Austin's old camping chair that he grew out of recently. He's waiting so patiently for the parade to begin.
Gee, do you think Austin is excited about the parade starting soon???

Dustin and Madi having a little fun at the parade.

Then on Friday we went to my parents house for hanging out and some more food. When it got dark we watched their neighbors fireworks show that was pretty good considering they do it from their backyard. I'm amazed at how much money people spend on fireworks.

Before the show started we roasted a few marshmallows with nana and papa. Pay no attention to the shirt my dad is wearing.

Kitchen

2008-07-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

AND AFTER

I love the potential that our kitchen has at our new home. Hopefully in a few years we will be able to knock down the wall that divides the kitchen from the dining room and replace cabinets and countertops etc. But for now adding some brown paint in this bland white kitchen made a big difference. It is the same color brown paint that I used in the canvases that hang over my couch in the living room. I'm also going to use that brown to paint a horizontal stripe around my dining room.

More pictures

2008-07-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

Sumera with her 3 beautiful children!
Alice with her 2 month old baby, Kaden.

Jaci with Nicholas and Hannah

Tiffany with Allie. Her other daughter, Hannah, was a bit camera shy.

Lucas and Lilly belong to their wonderful mommy, Melinda!

Austin and Ali became great buddies.

So much changes in 12 years

2008-07-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

So this was me and 7 of my best friends in high school all dressed up to go to our senior homecoming dance. We were known as the v-8 frogs. I'm not even quite sure how that name started but it did stick over our high school years together.
And this is 12 years later when 6 out of the 8 of us were able to get together with our children. 6 moms, 12 children ranging in age from 2 months old (Kaden) to 10 years old (Austin). Congratulations to Alice, the newest mommy of our group. We missed you and your 4 kids, Melanie!!! You didn't miss much as far as catching up with each other.... we were mostly chasing children around. haha

All day extravaganza

2008-07-01T13:57:00.001-07:00

We decided to invite several of our friends over for an all day extravaganza last Saturday. The excitement started pretty early on when Hank the dog caught the mole that has been living in our backyard. Thanks Hank... way to go! The mole is the little black blob you see laying in the mulch.
Here is the proud dad and his dog Hank. Dustin gave him a whole piece of ham as a reward for catching the mole. 10 minutes later Hank threw up that and then some on our patio. Ahh... good times!!

There was badminton...

throwing bags...

even hillbilly golf.

Of course we did a lot of eating. Thanks Blaine for grilling while Brian was watching the Cubs game.

Girls were enjoying the hammock swing.

When it got too dark to play any more games we took the fun inside for a friendly poker tournament. It came down to Brian and I for the final two. Still can't believe he beat me.

Go Cubs Go!

2008-06-22T10:54:00.001-07:00

This Cubs vs. Sox series has been very exciting. Hopefully our cubbies will win tonight to pull off a sweep of the series! We were lucky enough to have tickets to the first game of the series. It was quite loud at Wrigley when the cubs scored their first run in the very first inning. But we had to wait all the way to the bottom of the 9th to really celebrate when Ramirez hit a home run to win the game.
It started off with a rain delay. Poor bleacher bums got soaked just sitting there in the down pour for 5 minutes. Then it was sunshine for the rest of the game. See Brian and Carl sitting two rows in front of us? That was the highest up I've ever sat in Wrigley and it really wasn't bad at all.

Thanks Carl and Lisa for taking us to the game with you guys! Remember 8 years ago when we went to a Cubs-Sox game with you guys? Time does fly!

Carnival

2008-06-22T10:43:00.001-07:00

The Schererville Fest is located at the park right down the street from us all weekend. We've walked down there almost everyday for either food, rides, fun or music. The second day we went as a group with all of our neighbors and bought wristbands to ride the rides. I realized halfway through the third ride that I rode that I could no longer stomach spinning carnival rides.
The boys enjoying their slushy they created by themselves.

At one point all of us were on the bumper cars at the same time. I pulled out my camera and got quite a few good shots. By the end of it though we all got the giggles and just couldn't stop laughing. It was so much fun!!

Tonight is the last night and sadly I'll probably walk down there for one more elephant ear. (I know I'll be regretting this all when it's time to go to the beach)

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T18:04:00.001-07:00

Well after lunch at Schoops, we all played a few games of boccee ball in the backyard. If you are able to view this picture closer... check out Brian's t-shirt. This is what Austin picked out to give him for father's day. What a good sport to wear it out to lunch in public.
Looks like it was getting a little competitive in this photo.

Madi was posing by our new garden decoration that I call my Madison.

Happy Father's day, Dad. Some of my favorite memories that come to mind... going to work with you, harry scary, teaching me to ride a two wheeler, always beating you at memory at a young age, watching 3 stooges with you, playing catch in the backyard, singing "Ole Ole Ole" instead of "holy holy holy" at church, letting me stay up late to see how high you got on the game pitfall, playing Monopoly with you and Grandpa Olsen. Thanks for always being a great example of how to live your life. It's very comforting to know that there is someone out there that prays for me and my family every single day. Thanks for still loving me even though I married a die hard Cubs fan too.

I love you!

Twisters and roller skating

2008-06-09T14:54:00.001-07:00

My friend Jenny was in town from Missouri this past weekend. Everyone decided to throw me a surprise birthday party while she was in town. Even as I was staring at the birthday banner hung up in the kitchen of my friends house I was wondering "whose birthday is it?" So needless to say I really was surprised. We played outdoors and had a BBQ until the weather got pretty bad that we started scanning the skies for a tornado that we heard had touched down not too far from us. It was really quite scary for awhile. Click here to watch a video I found online that someone shot of the actual tornado. At this point it was about 16 miles away from us. Tornado season has been quite scary this year across the US.

Later my friends took me out to the local roller rink (which ended up being closed due to the tornado warning) so we drove out to another roller rink in Illinois and had a great time. This is a picture of all of us at the end of the night. Amber and Jessica I wish you could have come too!

Landscaping

2008-06-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

So here's my ugly garden that surrounded our apple tree in the backyard before I decided to tackle it as my landscaping job for the beginning of this summer. Part of the edging rocks were broken bricks and some of the decorative edging was piled 2 high and some were piled 3 high. SO after we got that straightened out we had to dig out all the flagstone rocks that were all over in the mess of weeds.

This is what you get after 30 bags of top soil, 8 bags of mulch, lots of sweat and tired muscles, several bottles of drinking water, one bad sunburn and a few plants you pick up at Home Depot. A HUGE thank you to my mom and dad that helped me get all the rocks out and the dirt and landscaping paper in place. I assure you I'll be spending lots of time in my hammock swing that hangs from our apple tree.