us Kona, on a walk sometimes! We all have to come home and take a nap. The first day I had them, I thought they escaped and I was running around the neighborhood yelling for them. It was terrible! They had just snuck through the fence into the neighbor's yard and were sitting on the back porch when I got home. Wow... that was a long day! Kona Bean is getting used to them, 
but she still reminds them from time to time she is queen bee. Aren't they adorable?!
Southside Chicago all in one day. I am truely surprised Dave agreed to it! We had a nice afternoon visiting with my cousins who live in Washington, IL. It was great spending time with them and visiting with other christian women who are learning to be "keepers at home" as well as great moms! The guys spent time shooting as much ammo as they could across a fie
ld for about 3 hours and this was great fun for them! I sounded like a small battle was going on while we were all chatting! After that we drove to Southside Chicago to see Dave's family at a wedding... a very chilly wedding! It was really great to see Dan and Jo and the little nephews... they are getting so big! We went t
o lunch the next day and Dave and I gave Jed a firetruck for his birthday...he loved that! Then Dave got a surprise from Issac when he went to pick him up by his diaper...ewww....Issac really didn't feel good!
heeeDave tried to throw Mo it and but Steve came to the rescue of his baby doll!
months. He is doll! And boy. does he like Dave! He really had no interest in anyone except Dave and Jake and Steve. So I don't think I really 
got to hold him at all. Steve and I picked him up from the airport, so I spent some time entertaining him the in back seat during the ride home. It was such a nice opportunity and we look forward to seeing him soon! Aren't these pictures so cute? 
es and bring their swim suits. The boys had a great time play endless rounds of pool volleyball and I even got him a deer hunting cake! Of course the first thing 
he noticed was that the hunter was not aiming directly at the deer and so he had to reposition the hunter. good grief. We played some games including, " how well do you know Dave". Many interesting answers were discovered including: some thought Dave and Dan were born 2 years apart, the 'rut' was described as part of a bow, and none were quite sure what Dave was born without. Dave had a great time and appreciated everyone's thoughtful words of encouragment and generous gifts. We even got to shoot one of Dave's bows!
Even the crazy mother's got in on the shooting action. It was a good time and we appreciate everyone who made it out.
ncluding Rob and diddy who enjoyed the 2 mile hike from the train station. sorry! 
My favorite was the stealth bomber as always and everyone else really like the hover craft, or whatever it is called. Some of us took a side trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo and got a glimpse of some hyenas enjoying feeding time. I like the giraffe.
whole park" in like an hour! poor guy. 
y dinner at Five Forks. Of course we forgot to take pictures till we were in the parking lot so here are our vain attempts thanks to go-go gadgit arms! Come back soon!
August 2nd. The weather was perfect for a never-ending game of 'grey-hairs' vs. 'young bucks' pool volleyball in our back yard. I have never seen a volleyball game go on for quite that long! It was great to see everyone and all the 
cousins. I am still learning all their names after 5 years now, but it seems like there is a new one I don't remember meeting each time we gather! I come from family with 3 cousins who I have seen maybe 5 times in my whole life! I am glad everyone had a great time and I look forward to making this a summer tradition.
s nothing short of a miracle that she did move, and so obviously the Lord has some reason to have my mother within walking distance. Dave says...As long as we can't see her yard we will be okay...of course, Kona bean thoroughly enjoys gramzy movi
ng in and practically runs to her house each time we are on a walk.
the story is not over yet, but what a trememdous first step and I believe, a gift to her from the Lord.
So I am always happy to have my good friend Holly and her little boy Landon over for some fun in my pool and living room. He is fascinated with my curtains and enjoys making lovely noises on with my tupperware. He also is a little fishy and doesn't care that our pool is only 79 degrees and enjoys playing motorboat with his mommy! Try as we do, we can never seem to swim on the super hot summer days; we always seem to get the cloudy ones! It was also a special treat this past week to have Holly's sister Sarah visit. They
are both very sweet and came over to encourage me, how nice to have such thoughtful friends!
We kicked off the 4th of July festivities this year with a birthday party for Holly at her house. The next morning, on the 4th, hours before everyone was to arrive, Dave and I ran around to all the home improvement stores shopping for patio furniture! Talk about last minute. We did end up with some great deals, but we definetely exhausted by th
e late afternoon. And then, another 4th of July party at our house! The weather was perfect, although just a bit cool. This didn't stop Olivia from swimming around the pool. We can always count on her to swim no matter how cool it is! No one else was brave enough to don a suit and jump in. We grilled out, sans chicken thighs!, took a walk around the neighborhood, shared thoughts on the importance of this holiday and then later went downtown and sat on the bridge to watch the fireworks. I made a 4th of July ice cream cake I was very proud of and every
one enjoyed!
here are a few pictures showing what we have been up to the past few months. We have been working on the pool, went canoeing on the river with Christie, Rob and Jacob, Dave has been fishing a few times and Kona had her first experience with fish. The yard is coming together and Dave has been doing more of him fantastic landscaping. I am only in charge of weeding. Apparently I am a "random planter" and most of my plants don't live. Oh well, something to work on. We also have a garden this year and have tomatoes
, cucumbers, a pumpkin, a squash and some green peppers. How tasty! I love my husband, but he can kind of be a hill billy... I do not dress him when he wears his river gear.
family and we look forward to seeing them real soon.
This past weekend I sang in the chorus in the RSO's production of Puccini's Tosca. I sang in the chorus for Boheme 2 years ago and was very excited to be chosen to sing again. It is quite the experience to sing with such wonderful, professional opera singers! These singers have performed in opera houses all over the world and it was a great opportunity to have them here in Rockford. We housed a couple from the production staff and 
enjoyed spending time with them again. Here is picture of myself with fellow chorus members Karen and Beth. I also had the pleasure of working with my friend Abbe on the Opera. Ms. Abbe graciously donated her time to be an extra in the show and it was much fun watching her shine in her spotlight performance! Abbe would like to thank me for giving her this opportunity... even if initially she said she would "never speak to me again," I know deep down she loved it. :)
So we had Mother's Day a few days late this year. But we went all out on a dinner for my mom this year. She LOVES lobster and so we decided to cook her a lobster dinner. Rob shipped lobsters all the way from Maine and then cooked them along with other scrumptous sides! It was very tasty and a great time in honor of our wonderful mother. We also sang her a song..."Make Me A Blessing." Although it wasn't our best performance, the thought and the words to that song were much more i
mportant and meaningful. Make me a blessing, make me a blessing. All of my life, may Jesus shine! Make me a blessing, to some one today.
