80 years

Last week my grandmother turned 80 years old! Ya know....I thought she was *old* when I was a kid. Now she's doesn't seem so old, in fact I'd never guess she was reaching this milestone. She looks great! There was a big party/open house for her & grandpa Jack, who also had a birthday a few days later (but he's younger). A good portion of the family was there. My aunt & uncle flew in from Maryland. My sister flew in from Tennesee. Many of my great-aunts came from out of town as well. Of course my day would not be complete without a bunch of pictures. So enjoy!

I was very fortunate to grow up with such a great grandma. My grandma Kathy & I.

The Martin girls, my grandma with 4 of her daughters, Mary, Donna, Mona & Elaine

The Weas girls, my grandma with her 3 remaining sisters, Winnie, Virginia & Janet

The Luna girls, me & my 3 sisters, Chris, Lisa & Blanca

My parents, Jose & Donna, & I

20 years

Last weekend we went to "Chicago" for Jim's 20 year high school reunion. I use the " " marks because we really went no where near the actual city of Chicago, but the suburbs. For years though we've always called it Chicago. Anyway...

We started out the day by going to the homecoming parade. The kids always enjoy a good parade.

After that we stopped by to visit with Jim's parents and also had lunch at Scotty's. If you are ever in Round Lake Beach you MUST stop & eat at Scotty's. They have the best hot dogs!!! Next we went to the homecoming football game. Jim was on the football team his senior year. He wanted to take the kids, mostly John who has an intense interest in football, to where he once spent his time.In the mean time we also stayed at Jim's brother's house. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. Jim & David couldn't resist a good old game of ball themselves. The kids were playing with them too, but I love this picture of the brothers going head to head.

That evening Jim & I went to his reunion. David & Karina were kind enough to watch all the kids so we could enjoy the night. From my perspective I had a nice time, especially considering I had never met any of these people before in my life. I think Jim had a nice time too. He was a tad nervous, wondering if anyone would even remember him. He wasn't exactly Mr. social while growing up. Plenty of people remember him and a few in particular while not sure at first of who he was recognized him once he flashed his smile. We ended up at a table with some very nice people, some of them Jim went to school with for all 13 years! We are glad that we went.

Milestones

It has stuck me that no matter how many children one has it is never a dull moment when it comes to reaching milestones. Here at the zoo, we've had a few milestones reached and I was screaming, yelling, cheering, jumping up and down with sheer excitement over each one.

It is official and I am declaring that Andrew is POTTY TRAINED! Just like with the others it happened so quickly. One day he just made up his mind and within a few days got it down good. We even went out of town the first weekend and even though Jim suggested I put him in diapers just to be safe I said no, no, no....we are on a roll. It takes a lot more of my attention. And if I had a dollar for every time I asked him "do you have to go potty?", I'd be rich. Here we are a week later and we are not having any accidents. We are having small issues of his aim and getting himself wet while on the potty, but no outright accidents of not making it to the potty. Yea! So 5 down and 1 more to go!

Speaking of that one more to go......baby Carmen took her first steps last week! We've known for awhile that she was gonna be an early walker. None of the other kids walked any earlier than the week of their first birthday. Some were much later than that, others in between. But we've seen Carmen get around. She's been movin & crusin for a good 2 months now. She's also mastered going UP the stairs, but not down, and she gets up them mighty quick too. We've also noticed her standing independently a lot more. Just, you know, in the middle of the room, just standing there. So twice last week we caught her taking some steps. The first time only John & I saw her. When I told Jim he gave me the "yeah right" look as if thinking that maybe it was wishful thinking or my eyes playing tricks on me. Then a few minutes later we were all sitting on the floor for family prayer time and we all saw her do it. We held our breath and fell silent as we watched her take 3 steps on her own. Now she's not zooming around and completely taking off yet. But she's starting out with, ya know, baby steps.....yeah, pun intended : ).

Still here

I haven't forgotten about you all. I'm just busy, which is nothing new. But I've been cracking down on my leisurely computer time. Really cracking the whip and getting some stuff done. Which feels great! I really do have A LOT to blog about and will get to it soon. So don't worry, I'm still here (sipping my peppermint mocha coffee too!).

Break a Board for D.A.R.E.

John, Brianna & Jim participated in the Break a Board for D.A.R.E. I'd like to thank those that sponsored them in this event. (Amy, Aunt Elaine, Justin & Angela) Below you will find the video of each of them as they broke their board.

John

Brianna

Jim

Hip Hip Horray!

My Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer made it's yearly debut at the grocery store this week. (yes I am jumping up & down with excitement). I had a little heads up on the situation, thanks to my friend, Kathy. Just the day before she told me she saw the creamer, but that it was not in the regular creamer section and that there was not very many bottles available. So I had my watchful eye out when I went to the store. I was so giddy that I took first picture right there in the store. Then I had to have some fun and line up all the bottles and take a picture. There were only 10 bottles available. What are they thinking?!?!?! Well....you guessed it....all 10 bottles went into my shopping cart. I almost have enough for one bottle a month. Sorry to any Galesburg people if you can't find any bottles to rush out & buy, I have them all!!!!
So once we have them home I have some more fun with my pictures. All, of course, with my blog in mind. I must tell you though that just a few weeks ago I finished off the last of my peppermint mocha from LAST YEAR! Yep, you read that right. Now I didn't have it year around. First off I didn't have nearly as many bottles. I think I had 5, but they were the big bottles. So once there was no supply in the stores I'd use up a bottle and then wait a few months and then crack open another one. They really do freeze well. Every cup tasted just as good as if I had just bought it fresh.
I really think Coffemate should be paying me to be drinking this stuff as much as I love it. But not only do I love it, but I so advertise for them. They might see a huge spike in demand for peppermint mocha and it's only October which will them lead them to make even more! Yeah, they can thank me!!!!
Here is my freezer door full of my bottles. I also have a deep freezer so there is no shortage of storage space. I want to stock up so that I have 12 bottles, one for every month. Then I'll have to have some extra for my friends & family so I can be generous.....I mean those 12 bottles will be just MY supply.
I still have some other favorites. My second favorite it Vanilla Chai....yum, yum! I also picked up Carmel Apple at the store today. I think that is completely new this season and probably seasonal as well. I will have to fix an extra pot of coffee tomorrow morning. We have a very small pot so normally I only have 1 cup each morning and Jim has the other. First I need to try the carmel apple, then I'll have to indulge in my peppermint mocha. So there will be a two cup minimum in the morning. I was tempted to come home tonight and try it out....but I didn't want to go overboard or anything. *giggle*

Welcome October!

Yikes! It's time for another month to start. October is my second favorite month. Mostly for it's cool jeans & sweatshirt tempatures. It also means homecoming & trips to the pumpkin patch. I love watching the trees change colors. So I welcome October with wide open arms.

I haven't posted as much lately. Life is just trucking along. October is full of events though. You can trust that I will be there with camera in hand to find any good blog moments. We'll keep you posted. : )