Long time, no blog.

I've been told by a few people that I have been neglecting our blog site. I still have pictures to post from Halloween, Thanksgiving and soon enough, Christmas. I enjoy writing on the site but loading pictures is very time consuming process and I think that's why I don't put the time into it that I woud like. I'll try and update you on what's going on with us.

Halloween - much more fun this year because Annie has some understanding of what's going on. She was able to carry her own treat bag and knock on doors. Grammy and Papa came down so Grammy handed out candy here and Papa took Rachel so Scott and I could take Annie up and down the street. Our neighbors had a fake rat on their front door that moved when you walked by. Annie was totally fascinated with it and I'm pretty sure she would have taken it home with us. We also took the girls to a local pumpkin patch and they had pony/horse rides. They both LOVED it and neither one wanted to leave.

Thanksgiving - We had the Strang family at our house again this year. It was a house full but we enjoy hosting it. No Thanksgiving with the Lester side. Scott's sister and her family traveled to Western Iowa for the weekend so we decided to postpone our get together until Xmas.

Rosie - This little cat has consumed most of our extra time. We adore her and their is rarely a moment when someone isn't playing with her or holding her. She has a TON of energy and Ruby doesn't seem to be too impressed with her. But they do tolerate each other.

Right now we are busy getting ready for Christmas. Most of our shopping is done, the baking is finished, Santa's gifts are all wrapped but I gave up on holiday cards. Something had to go this year and those are it. Who knows, you may get a New Years or St Patricks Day card from us this year. We will split our time between Cedar Falls and Cascade this year. Sarah will be back next week and we are very excited to see her!

Wishing you all a safe AND wonderful holiday and all the best in 2010!

Rachel, Annie and Samantha

Who doesn't carve pumpkins in

roller skates?

No pictures please


Rachel & her puppy


Ruby's most favorite place to be

Rosie

Thanks Kim, great idea giving Annie a tub of

Cool Whip right before you leave our house.

Poor cat

I hate all of you

Our Newest Addition

I still have pics to post from the pumpkin patch and Halloween but FIRST I need to post pics of our new kitty. After we put Wheeler down I decided we would be a ONE cat only household. Well that was almost 3 years ago and Rachel has been begging me every Christmas for a new kitten (...I told her Santa can't bring pets, only mom and dad's can do that). So my sister emails me this morning and said her boss has 4 kittens they all need a new home. I thought about it for a few minutes and called Scott to see what his reaction would be. He said he didn't care BUT I had to take over ALL cat duties, including cat liter. I can handle that...for now. Called my sister and said yes, we would gladly take one and surprise Rachel. I figured we'd wait and a few days but Kim said she could meet me right after work and hand her over.

I took Rachel to the store and told her our Ruby needed some new items...like a litterbox made for a kitten, new cat bad, toys and kitten chow. I guess she never really caught on because she was totally surprised when we met Kim and I told her would could keep the kitty. She thanked me about a 100 times on the way home and when we finally got home and Annie saw it...she went totally crazy. Jumping up and down screaming crazy.

Rachel named her Rose and we decided on Rosie May because May is Rachel's bday. She hasn't left Rosie's side since we got home and she's made sure to spread the love to Ruby too. Hopefully this won't be too rough of a transition but I'm not holding my breath!


Ruby senses something isn't right


Rosie May





Awww....kitty.

Are we really back home already???

Five days in Florida and now it's back to reality and FREEZING COLD weather. We spent 5 days in 90 degree weather and we come back to Iowa and it's only in the 30's. Talk about a major shock when we walked off that plane, in flip-flops and light jackets. But we missed Annie so much and we couldn't wait to see her again. Thanks to Grammy & Papa Lester and G&G Strang for taking such awesome care of our little monkey.

We spent most of our time either in the pool or on beach. It was too hot to do anything else and we were totally fine with that. We took Rachel on a pirate ship, the Tampa Aquarium and spent one morning fishing on the ocean, which was my favorite part of the trip. We ate a ton of great seafood, caught up on our sleep and soaked up the sun. All in all it was a wonderful trip and we are already planning a trip for next year but this time Annie WILL join us.

View from our room.

Rachel's first trip to the ocean, just a few hours after we arrived.

Sam, Taylor & Rachel

Scott & Rachel on the pirate ship

The beautiful sunset, we made sure to watch

it each night.

Captain Dane helping Rachel reel

in her first fish.

...and he let her steer the boat back in.

My foot long mackerel.

Sunday Morning

Busy Busy Summer

Back to school!!! I never get tired of saying that! I think we were ALL ready for Rachel to start school again. She needed to be back on a schedule and be around her school friends again. One of her good friends from last year is in her class again this year so that made it much easier for her to go back. It's been difficult getting her back to her early bedtime but I think she realized how important it is to a get a full night of sleep after the first few days back. After the 2nd day she told me that she was "totally exhausted" and "Mom, I asked if we could take a nap after lunch and they said NO!!!" She was shocked, the nerve of those teachers!

Both girls had a very busy summer, especially Rachel. She went to camp earlier in the summer, spent a few days camping with Grandma & Grandpa Strang. Took swimming lessons for two months, went to the Omaha Zoo with her dad, enjoyed the Grand Harbor Water Park twice, went canoeing with our family AND lost her first tooth. Wheew, no wonder she's so tired!

Annie has been busy, running and talking. She still moving around like crazy and her speech is finally catching up with the rest of her. She didn't say much those first two years but now we can't get her to be quiet. It's as if one day a switch just went off in her brain and the words started flowing out. Of course we can only understand about half of what she says and that's OK. I'm prettyI want to know everything she's telling us!

Rachel starts CCD next week and she'll have that every Wednesday night for the rest of the school year. Crazy to think she'll make her first communion next year. We are also going to enroll her in gymnastics or more swim lessons over the winter. She doesn't seem all that interested in sports so we need to find something for her to do during winter, while all the bugs are hybernating.

We are planning a trip to Florida in three weeks. Are neighbors invited us to join them while they are on vacation and we are excited for Rachel to see the ocean for the first time. Sadly Annie will stay behind with her grandparents. We decided she's just not ready yet for a 3.5 hour flight, plus any potential delays at the airport. We've decided to wait another year before we take her on a big trip. Rachel was 3 when she flew the first time and that was the perfect age. Not only did she remember it but she could sit still for an extended amount of time. The grandparents have assured us she will have plenty of fun back in Iowa and I'm sure she won't mind their undivided attention for 5 days.

I posted all of my pics on Shutterfly, must easier and faster then posting them on this blog site. Just clink on the link to view each album. Enjoy!!!!

Links to view Pictures

First Day of School: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AasXDlk0bs2LIQg

Omaha Zoo: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AasXDlk0bs2LIjg

Grand Habor/Dubuque: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AasXDlk0bs2LIYA

Annie's 2nd Birthday: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AasXDlk0bs2LIrA

NEW POSTS COMING SOON!!

I need to find an hour (...or two) to sit down and upload all of our photos from the past month. I have Annie's Birthday, first day of school, Omaha Zoo, Grand Harbor to post so it's going to take some time! Keep checking!

What a great weekend! The girls and I chilled at home on Friday night and watched Mamma Mia for the 26th time. Sat morning I took Rachel to the Downtown Farmers Market. We were there for almost 3 hours and only saw half of the vendors. Rachel enjoyed all the dogs walking around and I picked up a few good deals. Afterwards we stopped by Sonic and picked up lunch. We took it to Jones Park and enjoyed a nice picnic outside by one of the ponds. We spread out a blanket and enjoyed some sunshine and after we ate we walked around the pond and looked for frogs. When we got home we packed our bags and the girls and I went back to Cascade to see Aunt Sarah and Scott went to a concert. Rachel was SO excited to see Aunt Sarah again.

Saturday we slept in, played outside, went to the pool for a few hours and Rachel and I took a gator ride with Grandpa down to the back woods...and almost got stuck. A perfect day! Sunday we met up with Sarah and her nephews, Sam and Ben, and took all of them to the River Museum in Dubuque. Annie went totally crazy the minute we walked in and she saw the huge aquarium. She ran over to the turtles and started screaming. Needless to say the rest of the visit was spent chasing her around from exhibit to exhibit. We stopped by Happy Joes for lunch and ate some much needed BLT & Taco pizza...awesome. Next stop, Grand Harbor Water Park. The kids enjoyed a few hours of swimming before we headed back home. Annie went down a few of the larger slides with me and Rachel was thrilled to have Jena all to herself. Quick stop at DQ for some ice cream and a quiet ride home.

Grandma & Grandpa Strang are going to take Rachel camping later in the week. They have a whole bunch of activities planned for her so I'm sure she'll come home exhausted. She's excited to have a few days with G&G and no little sister around to bug her.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad, hope you enjoyed your day!




River Museum


Grandma's barn quilt


Annie enjoying sweet corn and yelling at
us about something.

Summer

So, I'm pretty sure no one is bothering to even read this blog anymore since I haven't posted in almost 3 months. But, I'll entertain the few of you that might still care and catch you up on our summer so far.

Summer vacation...ahhhh. The girls still have to get up early in the morning and go to daycare but no worrying about homework, lunches, early dismissals. Rachel has enjoyed most of the summer playing outside with Sammy. They spend many nights on Sammy's swingset or looking for bugs. They both went to camp in early June for a week and had a great time. Since this was their first time at a camp, we decided a day-camp would be best. They had an overnight stay on the last night and we decided we'll try more overnight stays next summer. Rachel must of had a great time based on the condition of her clothes each night. I've never seen a kid come home so exhausted and covered in mud from head to toe.

Annie has been a very busy girl this summer. She's in the stage where she runs, the minute you let go of her hand or open the front door...she's gone. But we've enjoyed a couple nice afternoons at the pool and Cherry Hill park. She's turning TWO this month and she's already discovered her independence. She doesn't like the word NO so when she's told it she usually comes right over and puts her finger in your face and says...'YOU STOP!!!" Yep, two years old. We are contemplating if it's time to put away the crib and get out a big girl bed but I'm really dragging my feet. The crib is the one place she can't get out of, yet. She sleeps well in it and she doesn't seem to mind being in it so we might wait a few more months. We even thought about potty training, for a few days. She went potty three days a row at daycare but refused to at home. After awhile she seemed to just forget about. We won't push her. I'm sure it will be a long and exhausting battle and I figure we're better off to just wait until she's ready.

My one goal this summer was to run at least ONE 5k and by the end of summer Ill have ran four. I am by no means the fastest runner out there and I've been beaten by several kids and a few dads with baby strollers but I never thought I could ever run a mile again, especially since I haven't ran one since my senior year in high school. Now, if I can just convince Scott to run with me....hah.

We took a few days off for Cascade's 175th Celebration in June and enjoyed a few days at the farm. The girls slept almost 12 hours each night and they enjoyed countless golf cart rides with Grandpa. It was just the type of vacation we needed. We are planning another mini-vac before school starts again. We are taking the girls to the water park in Waterloo and staying overnight, weather permitting! Rachel will start school in a few short weeks so it's time to buying new supplies and start thinking about fall clothes. Ugh, I dread the thought of trying to get her back into shoes, socks and jeans!!!

I promise I'll TRY and keep my updates more frequent. Just don't hold your breath!

Rachel's bday cupcakes

Happy Birthday Rachel Irene!

Rachel is offically SIX years old today! I thought I would be a mess when she turned 5 but six was actually much worse! I've always taken off her birthday and so we could do something fun and this year she had school so I went to work, and thought about her ALL day. I guess it's the realization that she's getting older and she now has friends to celebrate with, not just Mom and Dad.

We started her celebration last night. I decorated her room after she fell asleep. This morning Scott got up early and picked up dounuts for breakfast, chocolate with sprinkles, her favorite. After school we got Annie's haircut (....oh, that's a story for another day) and picked up Subway, Rachel's choice. We ate dinner, opened presents and had some cake. Sunday is her REAL party at the Play Station. Tonight we enjoyed a more calm celebration!

Happy Birthday to my little monkey that makes me smile EVERY single day!!!
I love you! XOXO, Mommy.


Rachel & Ruby


A whole plate of sugar at 6:30 am. Awesome!

Annie REALLY liked the cake. This is her after

she licked her plate clean.

Best buds, at least for this picture.

Lester Easter

Last Sunday we celebrated Easter with Scott's family at our house. 4 grandkids under the age of 5 makes for a very busy afternoon! We grilled out for lunch and Grammy & Papa put together an Easter egg hunt for the kids. A little bit cooler day but the kids didn't care, they still enjoyed playing outside.


Ella


Trey & Annie

Ella & Lori

Mike w/ Trey & Ella

Strang Easter

We celebrated Easter on the farm last Saturday. What a beautiful day! This was Annie's first "official" Easter egg hunt and it took her awhile to figure out what was going on. She had more fun running around without anyone trying to stop her. The kids took golf cart rides, played on the tire swing and ran around with Grandpa & Grandma's new dog, Benny.


Ahh....soak in that sun.


Rachel & Benny

Katie, Jena & Rachel

Grandma let her sneak some bunny cake