Family Visit

Last weekend Mom and Amanda came up for a visit, where they will be moving in a little over two weeks! We strolled downtown on Friday evening, checking out the local galleries and Cool Stuff store since it was Artrageous Friday. Then we had an awesome dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. Saturday we checked out mom's new house and they both loved it. It is really nice and much bigger than what they are in now. Then we drove by the school where Amanda will be attending, followed by the  Library and the mall. We got Amanda a new wardrobe for school and she found some great sales. Saturday night we ate homemade pizza and watched Sweeney Todd. (It's funny and has great music but is extremely gruesome and morbid.) Sunday we lazed around and mom and I got to talk. It was a really great weekend. We concluded Sunday night with some Panera Bread and watched The Bucket List. Thanks for the great weekend, mom and Amanda! We look forward to your moving day!

Dinner with two lovely Chinese women

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting dinner for two English teachers from Chongqing, China. Dinner was Spaghetti with salad, wheat french bread, and dipping sauce. Dessert was Angel Food Cake with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Afterward we sat talking after they showed me how to prepare Chinese green tea. We had such a great time that it was 10pm before we knew it and had to take them back to their Apartment. They leave on August 1 so we are not sure if we will see them again while they are in the US but we hope to meet up with them again someday in China.

Hot weekend

Uncle Jonathan got a great workout throwing both kids in the pool.

Gavyn's first baby tooth.

Hello everyone. We had a nice but very hot weekend. Friday night we had homemade pizza and watched Bourne Ultimatum. Saturday we got up and worked out and ran. I stopped at my first and only yard sale of the year and got an Ann Taylor LOFT skirt for one dollar! I was so excited. We then headed over to KC since the summer is nearly over and the kids were going to be there. We were able to witness Gavyn lose his first tooth and we were so excited for him. I vividly remember the feeling of a wiggly tooth and it brought back fun kid memories. Then we stayed up until nearly 3am talking with Rachel and Jeremy. Good times. Sunday we celebrated a birthday and I got to take Grayson in the pool. He's getting too cute. We had very good timing because Anja received her birthday package from the Van Der Vlists and she shared her licorice and chocolate with us. (Thank you Aunt Wilma!)

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

We love you Rachel!

First Time Blood Donor

Today I donated blood for the first time. Every couple of months the Red Cross comes to my building on campus and runs a blood drive. The last few times they were here, I chickened out. But today I felt spontaneous and went down to "check it out." Well of course I ended up doing it and it wasn't too bad. I feel like it's really about time that I give blood. They say that each donation can save up to three lives.

We had a pretty good weekend, although Jonathan hurt his back and was stuck on the couch most of the weekend. We enjoyed our time at home though and watched some movies. The summer is flying by so quickly and I can't believe that the Fall semester will begin in only 6 weeks. I am trying to enjoy every moment of the beautiful weather. I just love summer.

Happy Birthday Dad!

We would like to wish Dad a very happy birthday today!! We love you!

Independence Day

Happy 4th everyone! We had a great weekend with family and friends. Friday the weather was uncommonly cool and beautiful. We had everyone over at Dad and Anja's house for food and fireworks. We also gave Rachel her birthday present a little early. Family friends Alex and Nora and their three children were there and the house and yard were full of happy kids. Mikaela, Gavyn, and Grayson were as sweet as ever and we were so happy to see them.
Dad, Jonathan, and Jeremy had a boys day out on Saturday while us girls sat at home getting a little R&R. Sunday was girls day out and we had the most wonderful brunch. Bottomless mimosas were my favorite part of the brunch. Then we went shopping and just had a blast. Only low of the whole three day weekend was that it had to end with us arriving home late last night and not getting enough beauty sleep. :)

Jonathan and Rachel after we presented her birthday card and gift.

Dad, Anja, and Grayson.
Gavyn with a sparkler.
Everyone hanging out on the back deck on Friday night.

The kids had a great time with the sparklers before the fireworks began.
Part of the finale. Happy Birthday America!
My sympathies exactly.
The boys surprised Anja with a new computer on Saturday. She was so excited!

Happy holiday to all of our dear family and friends whom we didn't see over the weekend. We hope you all had a safe and wonderful weekend!

New Movie Addiction

Okay, so Jonathan thinks I might be addicted to the Red Box. If you haven't heard of this, it is a DVD dispensing machine now inside our local Walmart but commonly found inside McDonalds. For one dollar, you can choose among a selection of new releases and have it for 24 hours. The real reason I'm addicted, however, is that there are a number of "Promo codes" that one can use to.... get them for free. This is perfectly legal but kind of feels like it shouldn't be. Anyway, over the weekend we watched three new ones and we loved all of them.

"The Bucket List" - This one I would really recommend to anyone. It is funny and moving. It is a must see. The character play between Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson is fantastic.

"Juno" - This is a great comedy but also, as Jonathan says, is very "raw". It does not sugar-coat life and its honest humor would probably not be appreciated by everyone. It's a bit uncouth but the characters are very lovable and real. I really enjoyed it.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" - Wow, this one is phenomenal. If you know the history of King Henry VIII then you will be prepared for what happens. The acting is incredible, the historical details seem spot-on, and the editing was done so well that you can't miss a moment. We both really loved this one.