I want to ride my bicycle...

This is long overdue! For my birthday, my mom and dad got me a gift card to get a new bicycle. I was so excited! Mascoutah is the perfect town to do some biking and I knew I would get a lot of use out of a new bike. Then, they gave Tim a gift card also so we could both have new bikes. Once the craziness of school got over, we went to the store and were fitted and ordered new bikes. It took a week or so for them to come in, but by early June we had them. We also wanted to get a trailer for Hannah so we can take family bike rides. Unfortunately, the craziness then the heat of summer got the best of us and we haven't used them yet...until tonight! I knew I wanted to get the rest of what we needed soon since the weather is starting to cool off. We went last night to get a trailer, put it together today and took all of it for a test drive after dinner! We had a nice time and can't wait for more family rides this fall!
I promise Hannah is in there too! She smiled and laughed the whole way!!

School's in Session

Well, summer is offically coming to a close. We have had a summer that wasn't always what we expected, but when I look back it was so fabulous. Once again, we loved watching Hannah grow and change over the last few months. There are so many things she accomplished during the summer and she really is getting to be such a big girl. We had lots of family time and friend time and made many great memories. But all good things must come to an end. I headed back to school today and as we start a new year, I am always excited and anxious to get a new year going. I remember always taking a picture on my first day of school so I thought I'd take one with Hannah today. Happy Back-to-School!

A Grandmother's Love

I just wanted to take a moment and honor Hannah's grandmas. I think that Hannah has the best grandma's ever! Don't get me wrong, grandpa's are pretty special too, but there is just something extra special about a grandma--especially to a little girl. Both of our mom's are wonderful mom's and have already turned into even more wonderful grandmas. They each love Hannah unconditionally & I know they have so much they want to show, teach and do with Hannah as she grows older. What an awesome relationship God blesses through grandmas!

Gwannie & Nana - I love you very much!

A Summer Blessing

One of the highlights of our summer has been spending time with amazing college friends on a variety of occasions. Last night & today has been no exception to that! After going to the Mascoutah homecoming parade, Hannah and I took off to Dwight to stay the night with the Windham's. Once again, Sarah and I stayed up late visiting. Today, the main event occurred. Our dear friend Erin and her beautiful daughter Elle, who live in North Carolina, were back home (Rockford, IL) for the weekend and came down to visit for a few hours. Kristina also joined us and we had a fantastic time catching up with each other's lives as well as refereeing our kids (5 there that day). It was awesome! This group of girls has been a part of my life from the very beginning of college, when Kristina & I met in biology to the bond we made through all of us being a part of CSC, to road trips (Alabama, baby!) to graduating, getting married and having kids (a total of 6 between us). What awesome relationships God has given us. I love these girls so much and am so thankful that we have maintained such strong bonds over the last nine (yes, nine!) years. Praise Him for girlfriends who share my beliefs and values and who have been there with me through so much. Although we all live away from each other, when we talk on the phone or get together it's like nothing has changed. There have been many times when I wished to "re-create" these relationships with other people in other circumstances. I've come to realize that the friendships I have with these girls are irereplacable, and that is exactly the way I want it! I have amazing friends at school where I work, in my neighborhood and through church, but no one will replace what I have with these girls. I know that no matter what happens, we will always be able to lean on each other and no matter how often or little we can visit or talk, nothing will change what we have with each other. Thank you, girls, for being such an integral part of my life. I love you all!The kids (minus Sadie) -- Elle, Macey, Kinnick, Hannah & Whittaker.The moms -- Kristina, Erin, Sarah and me.
The kids & the moms (not an easy shot - but the best we could do...on a timer by the way!)

80 Years Strong

This past weekend we headed up for a quick trip to the northwoods to celebrate Tim's grandpa's 80th birthday! It was also Delaine's birthday so it was really nice that we got to celebrate both. We got in on Friday and settled in for the night. Saturday morning we went to help get the house ready as well as visit the other set of grandparents for the afternoon. Even though it was a short time at each place, it was really great for all the grandparent's to get to spend a little time with Hannah.

When we left, we stopped about halfway to Ken & Delaine's for Godfather's pizza to celebrate Delaine's birthday. I won't go into the details, but we shared a lot of laughs over our two hour....yes, I said TWO HOUR adventure of eating pizza. It was quite the memorable experience! :-)

Sunday after church we stopped briefly at the big party to take a family picture since everyone was in town. It's a great shot of the whole family!

Although it was a short weekend, it was so nice to be around to visit with family and especially to help celebrate the birthdays. Happy Birthday Grandpa Hoff & Delaine!