Happy 60th Birthday Gaga Jody!!

Special wishes to my mom on her 60th birthday. She is truly an amazing mother, grandmother, and friend. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect childhood or a better friend and confidant. I LOVE YOU!

Big Girls!

Baby Ryan

What a cutie! We were able to spend the morning with Baby Ryan, what a sweet baby boy. You can follow more updates with the Steele boys by visiting their blog at http://babysteele.blogspot.com/.

What a Day!

We had a pretty eventful Wednesday, with a visit to the elementary school that I worked at full of hugs from students and closing with Adeline petting a turtle to meeting up with some of her cousins for one of the last lazy days of summer and topped off by being pulled around in a box by Andy after tubs. What a day!

The Flood of 2011

Here are some pictures taken last week of the farmland and the interstate (680 by the Mormon Bridge in between Crescent & Omaha) after some of the water from the flood has receded. Absolutely incredible- to think, that was lush, green crops just this May. It doesn't look like Iowa at all! Take a second to vote on when you think the interstate will be open again.

I thought it would be fun to post a picture of Adeline & Scarlet from approximately the same age.

On the MOVE!

Scarlet is on the MOVE! She is crawling everywhere, I mean everywhere! She is even trying to stand in the middle of the room and can pull herself up on objects if they are the right height. As you can see in the picture, her favorite place to crawl is straight to her big sister, Adeline's room. Adeline is not a huge fan of this new skill that Scarlet has mastered- especially when it involves Scarlet trying to get her hands on some of those toys she has been admiring from a distance for the last 7 months. ;0)

Reunion

Each time Adeline gets together with Delaney, Avery, and Burke it is like a little mini reunion because they get so excited to see each other. Avery & Adeline became accustomed to spending so much time together that they just giggle and squeal with they first see each other followed by a lot of chatting and pretend play- especially if it involves anything DORA.

Floods, Hail, & Winds.. OH MY!

Just when we thought the weather around here couldn't get more extreme we were graced with a massive hail storm on Thursday evening- destroying many homes, cars, and crops in the area. We were lucky at our house as the winds were coming 80-90 miles per hour from the north during the hail and we don't have hardly any windows on that side of the house. But many of our friends were not quite so lucky. On the upside, it will keep many people in the service and labor industry extremely busy as many roofs, windows, and vinyl siding will need replaced.

Unfortunately, our dear friends at Old Nelly Farms were not so lucky, as hours upon hours of diligent work in the garden was destroyed in one quick swoop. Please visit their blog at http://oldnellyfarms.blogspot.com/ to read their post.

I posted a couple pictures below of the flood from earlier in the summer and a more recent picture of I-680 and what the waters are doing to our interstate systems. I really have no projection on how long it would take to recover and repair such massive amounts of roads once the water is gone.

BOND Voyage

The Chaput family is near and dear to my heart as I have been truly blessed with lifetime friends- which is not easy to come by. It was a bittersweet farewell as the last Chaput is leaving the CB area. Lauren, Justin, Luca, and Harper are making the voyage to California and I could not be happier for them as they start this new chapter in their lives. I am confident that they are going to love raising their beautiful girls in the California sun. Plus, we know that they will be back to ride the "Bonsai". ;0) But, in one last effort to be overly sappy- Andy, the girls, & I will miss you all terribly. At this point, I believe I should break out into "Friends are Friends Forever" grade school style in a traditional round. Martha, Kumari, and Dana hopefully can reminisce on that one with Ms. Blaine for a moment.