4 generations...

of PERFECTLY manicured hands!

I forgot to post this shot from our trip home. Spent a day with Mom, Nawnee and the girls; ended with manicures (not quite as relaxing as most since the children were there). Recreated this shot that my mom saw on an email from Aunt Joan...lovely.

make-believe, milwaukee, and a museum...oh my!

We had an eventful weekend. Dave got in on the action Friday night by playing Aubrey's "prince". He would kill me if I posted the FULL LENGTH shot of him, but I figured from the waist up is fair...
GROWN man + FEATHER boa = HILARIOUS pictures that might come back to haunt him someday!

Anyway, Aubrey is very sweet.
Example shown:
aubrey: mommy, when can i get married?
mommy: when you're 30.
aubrey: is that a long time?
mommy: yes.
aubrey: well, when i get married, i want to marry someone just like daddy.
mommy (tearing up a little): run quick and tell your daddy what you just told me!

Saturday morning we woke up and started driving. We ended up in Milwaukee. I love it; I love the whole entire state of Wisconsin. I especially love the beach along Lake Michigan.
JEANS+ LONG sleeve shirts = MY kind of beach!
The water was really freakin cold, and we were amazed (more shocked) that people were actually IN the water!

Sunday we drove to Madison; ate at Ella's Deli after addy saw the yee-haw (carousel) outside while we were driving by. It turned out to be an AWESOME place to eat. I got the aloha burger (with teriyaki, pineapple and cheese) and Dave was jealous. Unbelievable if you know my husband. Scored two free tokens for the carousel from a friendly patron, so that was awesome.

Returned late Sunday night; girls went STRAIGHT to bed with no coaxing on our part. They were exhausted little travelers. Who wouldn't be after such a fun-filled weekend. I finally recovered today! :) Pictures follow:

poor dave, surrounded by so much estrogen...

she dressed herself, hair and all...

forget being a princess, i wanna be a rockstar!

if only everyday could be spent barefoot on the beach:


aubrey took this picture of dave and me:




at the Madison Children's MOO-seum:

Correction...

My MOM and I took senior pics of Jessie and Bink. Here are some from HER camera...

All good things must come to an end...

I'm back in Iowa after a two week visit to Texas.  We had tons of fun hanging out with friends and family, but we didn't have time to see everyone we wanted to see.  You realize just how many people you know when you try to squeeze them all into a 13 day period!  HIGHLIGHTS from the trip include:
UNCLE BINK'S HOMECOMING- Clay and his girlfriend, Jessie, were in the homecoming court so we were able to take some pictures before they went on the field.  Aubrey really wanted to take a picture with the girl in the blue dress because she "looked like Cinderella"! 
I think this girl was the "freshman princess", AKA Cinderella:
Mimi, Pops, and Uncle Bink:
Hillary, Hannah, Allison, me, and Addy (it was a bonus running into them at the game, they are friends I've known since ELEMENTARY!):Candice, Kody, me supporting our pick for king:
The girls' shoes:
Uncle Bink with the girls (he'll always be their king!):

TAKING SENIOR PICS- Jessie and Bink wanted fun senior photos without the hefty pricetag, so I offered my amateur services. I think we got some pretty cute ones! There are quite a few, but here are some of my favorites:





ROADTRIP to LUBBOCK- Kody, Candice, the girls, and I headed to Lubbock this past weekend to meet up with some of my old friends from college. Other than a weird rattling noise in Kody's truck and a 1 hour detour on the way there, we had a really smooth trip. My friends that I met up with were some old dorm buddies from freshman year. We all lived on the second floor of Horn Hall, and I still can't believe it was 10 years ago when we met!!
Aunt Candice and me in front of the RV we all rented for tailgating:

Shannon, Marissa, me, Tali, and Sara (inside our old dorm):

The view from outside (Dave and I met right where we're standing in the pic!):

Guns up!


Highlights not pictured:
Aubrey met up with Reaves in Temple, we went to The Bess House for dinner in Belton, I attended a luncheon for a friend who is having twins, I got to see some friends from Louisiana, I found out I have a "gray patch" of hair (more of a shocker than a highlight), Aubrey got to spend countless hours with the family dogs, we ate Mexican more than once, and we got to spend quality time with all the grandparents and my grandma! The only thing that would've made our trip better is if Dave could've been there with us. The girls and I missed him, and we felt a little guilty everytime we ate Mexican food without him!

Addy loves her...

KITTY CAT RAIN BOOTS!



She wore them all last week. One day, she took off the shoes that I put on her and replaced them with her boots. She already has her own sense of style...

Uncle Bink for Homecoming King!

It's official, I am the ultimate dork of the family. The only one NOT in the homecoming court in Pflugerville, TX. It makes sense...Kody, Chad, and Clay are way cooler than I ever was in high school! The girls and I are excited to go home on Wednesday so we can attend Uncle Bink's homecoming football game Friday night. I can't believe my baby brother is already a senior in high school! Go Bink!

Madison, WI

We woke up Monday morning and decided to drive to Madison. It was a really fun trip, and we loved the city. We walked up and down State St, ate some pizza, bought some tie-dyed t-shirts at a hippie store, and, of course, couldn't leave there without the giant cheeseheads...we also spent the afternoon with our friends, Nick and Katie and their baby, Hannah. Katie's mom was also in town and the girls seemed to gravitate toward her at first (they must have grandma radar). Luckily, we are heading to Austin next week so they can get in some quality time with their grandparents!


The girls had a great time making their own pizzas, but they were a little confused...

I kept thinking, why in the world did I put them in white shirts??

Man, we really are CHEESY tourists!


I think the girls have grandma radar...

Katie and Addy...

Aubrey showing Hannah the big cheese...

say chee-ee-ee-se!

So this is what it would be like with three...

An AWESOME playhouse at the little girl's house across the street, handmade by her dad (it it a mini version of their actual house):

Our week with the Wisniewski's

We managed to do a lot in a week, including trips to the Amana Colonies, Kalona, and Chicago. We had a blast! Here are the pictures to prove it: