Birthday Party

This is a picture of my uncle Darrell, my Dad, my Aunt Bev, my cousin Marlene and me.
Darrell turned 60 and my aunt, my mom and dad, and I went up to Rochester MN for the birthday party at Marlene's house. The rest of my family didn't come because of the flu! It was a good time and fun to see Marlene and Brent's house.

We got the flu...

So the flu has hit Nora this past week. We came home from Branson on Wednesday and when we stopped to eat lunch Nora got sick. Brian and I both attributed it to the fact that we had eaten JUNK the whole week and Nora was not used to that kind of food. Then she woke up Thursday and was not feeling well. I was so bummed...it was her class picture day at school. She didn't have a temperature but then she started getting sick. I felt so bad for her. She didn't understand at all why she was getting sick.
I told her that she had germs in her tummy that made her sick. She said (after she got sick again)"Mommy, I know why I am throwing up, there is no hole in my tummy to get the germs out." She was sure thinking!
So today is Sunday and we took turns going to church since we don't want to expose anyone. I am away doing some school work. Brian said take a break..it could be a long week. Not that we already didn't have a long weekend! I hope Nora gets better. It is so hard to see your child sick. We pray that this virus doesn't get anyone else in our family!

Fall leaves

When we got home from vacation Grace ran over to our house and Nora and her were wearing the same pants...how funny. The girls started playing in the leaves and had a blast. The top picture is one of my favorites. It was a great fall day to just be out and have fun...we might not have to many more!

Branson Vacation

We went to Branson for a few days with Brian's family. We left here on Friday and stayed in Jefferson City overnight and then made it down to Branson on Saturday around 11 (just in time for the Iowa game). The hotel we stayed in on Saturday had a water park so the girls had fun swimming. There is a picture of us in the big hot tub so that Nora could use her arm floats! On Saturday Jim, Deb, Nora and I went to see Noah's Ark at the Sight and Sound Theater. It was really good..the animals and ark were amazing. Then on Sunday we could get into the condo so we just did some mini golf in Branson. Monday Brian and Jim went golfing and then in the evening Jim, Brian and I went to see Jim Stafford. Tuesday we went on some go karts and then went and rode the ducks. The picture below is of Nora driving the duck. The top picture is a from our condo. The thing I liked most about Branson was how beautiful it was. The tree's were just turning and we had such great weather. We came home on Wednesday..a great trip but nothing beats your own bed. Especially when you where sleeping with a three year old between you and your husband!

homecoming parade

We went downtown Iowa City to see the homecoming parade. It was pretty cold but we had fun. Nora and Molly loved the candy and seeing all the crazy people dressed up. The following day we went to the Michigan game in the evening and it was only 26 degrees when we got back to our car! The hawks are doing great this season and are already 7-0! Hope the winning streak continues!

Grandma's new hobby

My my lost her job about six months ago and has been looking for work since. I have really enjoyed having her able to come see our family and for us to spend more time with her. I know that she is ready to start working again. She has started making these lighted wine bottles. They are really neat and she does a great job. If you want one just let her know!

Congratulations Moncia!

Monica and her husband Jeff had a little boy named Joah Marcus Miller and he was born on August 31st. Monica was the last of our EMU girlfriend's to have a baby. We got together at my mom's house in Goshen to have a small baby shower for her. In the picture are Monica, Melissa, me and Rachel. It was so fun to see the girls again and it brought back many great memories from college. I think that we will always be friends and hopefully someday we can get together with all our kids!

Messy eaters?

This is after supper one night. We made brownies and they both had to lick the spoon clean.

Where is Grace?