Happy Belated Birthday Girl (August 27)

Today, Ella got a surprise package in the mail from Aunt Orsi and Uncle Scott. It was a big box full of belated birthday goodies! She was so excited and had a great time opening all the nicely wrapped goodies. This kid got quite a haul - paper dolls, a Playmobil set, rubber stamps, coloring book, silly spy glass and more. She sure is a spoiled one - I think she got to celebrate her birthday four different times this year!

Video Debut (August 26)

At my new gig, I came in at the tail-end (pun intended) of marketing efforts to promote the opening of the new MU Women's and Children's Hospital in Columbia. There was a series of 5 videos made around Columbia starring T.J. - the Children's Hospital mascot - as he moved from the old Children's Hospital to the new home at the former Columbia Regional Hospital. Just weeks after I started, our office was gearing up to shoot the final video and they needed kids, so naturally I volunteered mine. They were pretty excited when they were asked to hold the banner for T.J. during the video shoot. I think the best part of this picture is Ella holding her ears because Mini Mizzou was playing "too loud" for her ears.

Big Smith (August 25)

This summer, the good folks at The Blue Note, worked hard to put together a fantastic free outdoor summer concert series called 9th Street Summerfest. They brought in some great names, but it seemed like every time there was a show, we had something going on that would prevent us from going. Tonight's show was The Carolina Chocolate Drops. We were so excited because we've been listening to their music quite a bit lately. Even though it was a school night, we packed up the kiddies and went downtown for this family friendly venue. There were two opening acts - this is the second one - Big Smith. They are a whole lot of fun to see at a live show and I highly recommend it. The kids were really impressed with the instruments the band was playing and danced around like crazy people in the streets. Sadly, we severely encroached on bedtime and didn't make it long enough to see The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Maybe next summer, kids!

Ewwww - Boy Feet! (August 24)

My son would go barefoot every day of his life if I let him. During the warmer months, we compromise with flip-flops. He runs in them, plays in them and rides his bike in them. He's blown out 3 pair of flips just this summer. We were sitting outside the other evening and I happened to really take a look at these feet of his. They are probably the grossest things I have ever seen. Yuck!!

Mmmmmmm....Peaches! (August 23)

Oh how I love peaches! Summertime fruit is the very best. I would eat two or three peaches a day if I could...get to them before the kids ate them all. Sometimes I hide them so I can enjoy them by myself without having to share with them. Is that wrong?

Ella Reading to Dad (August 22)

A nightly ritual at our house - the bedtime story. Ella picked one of her favorites, "The Little Pea" and commenced reading it to Marty. I know that she's got it memorized, but it is still so cute. She's actually reading simple words now and this book isn't far from her reach. I'm sure she'll be reading on her own before she starts school next year. Why do they grow up so darn fast?

Scary Face (August 21)

Ella gettin' her scary face on. Not much more to say than that!

Wicked Storm Coming (August 20)

I felt like a storm chaser today - only I was just trying to race to get the kids before the sky ripped open and swallowed us up. I was driving directly into the approaching clouds the whole way to the school. As I herded the kids to the car, we started getting sprinkled on a bit. We no sooner pulled safely into the garage when a huge clap of thunder shook the planet and we all ran screaming into the house. Nothing like a good Midwestern thunderstorm to get the blood pumpin'!

Ready for School? (August 19)

Today's the big, exciting day - school starts again! I got up extra early so I could be sure to get the obligatory first-day-of-school pictures of the kids. They hate that I have to take the first-day-of-school pictures. The fact that they hate it, just makes me want to torture them even more. They try to comply with my requests of "turn this way" or "don't smile like that" but this totally irritates them. This year, I told them to make a silly face to get them to relax. It was the best picture by far. Ten years from now, they will be SOOOO embarrassed by this picture, it will bring a whole new level of satisfaction! I can't wait!!

She's Ready (August 18)

School starts tomorrow, for the big kids anyway. Ella, who turned 4 in July, won't be able to go to Kindergarten until next August. She is ready now, though. She spent the evening trying to convince me that she was ready. She showed me how she draws faces. She showed me how she knows all the colors and shapes. She showed me that she can write her name all by herself. I know you're ready, Kiddo. But the rules are the rules. You'll be so prepared for school next year!

Boone County Back Roads (August 17)

My new office locale has allowed me a completely different route to pick up Ella from the sitter's after work. I have found a nice jaunt through the Boone County black tops to be the most efficient way to get where I need to go and a convenient way to unwind after work. There is not much traffic, the scenery is nice and I typically can let my lead foot down. On this particular day, however, I got stuck behind something I never would have seen on my old way home. I wasn't in much of a hurry, not that I had a choice, but this ol' feller caused me to slow down a bit and appreciate what was around me on this beautiful waning summer day. Thanks, ol' feller!

Toad on the Head (August 16)

"Mom - give me your camera! I have to take a picture of Ella. She looks so cute!" I handed over the camera relunctantly with the usual list of rules and regulations regarding it's unsupervised use. Naturally, I was in the middle of cooking dinner when the frantic request was made. Natalie's enthusiastic search for the camera resulted in this shot. Actually several shots, but this one was the best. In case you can't quite see the detail, there is a toad on Ella Grace's head. You can tell by the look on her face that she's not at all upset by this. If I would allow it, we'd have about 50 toads living in our house at any given moment. I kinda feel sorry for the little buggers. If there is a toad to be found, my kids have found it, dressed it up, forgot it in a bucket on a 90 degree day or dropped it several times from a dizzying height, for a toad that is. Poor, poor little creatures...

Old Friends (August 15)

Okay, this was actually taken on the 14th at my reunion, but I'm using it for today's picture. This is another one of my oldest friends. Lost touch for years, but picked up right where we left off 20 years ago. Those are the best kind of friends.

Still Sassy 20 Years Later (August 14)

My 20th high school reunion was the most fun I have had in a long time! I was excited and a little bit nervous about seeing everyone again, but it seems like even with 20 years gone by, we rekindled friendships in record time. Using Facebook has helped many of us get connected again, but actually getting to hug people and laugh and joke about how cool we were 20 years ago was fantastic. It is still hard for me to believe that I am not 18 anymore, but I am happy to say, I am still sassy 20 years later!

Loaded Cheddar Burger (August 13)

It was just Max and I tonight. Marty had to work late and the girls are at the farm. He helped me unload the van at Liz's house for the garage sale tomorrow and we were starvin' like Marvin. I told him I'd take him out to dinner for being such a good helper and he naturally picked the 63 Diner. Since it's just down the road, we are frequent visitors. I can never resist my favorite burger, the Loaded Cheddar Burger. It's an amazing concoction of beefy, cheesy deliciousness. In fact, just typing this, I am starving for one right now. Yum!

Deck Flowers (August 12)

Even though we have reached record setting high temperatures this August, our hanging baskets on our deck have thrived. Usually in this heat, those are the first to suffer because they can't hold enough water to get through the hot days. These little guys are troopers and both our baskets are going crazy. I guess this summer's conditions are just right for their liking!

Goofy McGoofus (August 11)

Had to get a shot of the standard shampoo mohawk. Max was very proud of this one as he has let his hair grow longer this summer. I kind of cut it off a bit on top. Sorry little dude!

Oh the Webs We Weave (August 10)

I was letting out the pooch after work and found this wonderful spider web. I wasn't sure if I could get a shot of it because my Canon didn't want to focus on the tiny membranes. This actually turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I remember my mom using a water spritzer to get shots of webs when I was a kid, so I ran inside to find one. When I came back out, the dog had stuck his nose unknowingly into the web and ruined it. Boo.

Play-Doh! (August 9)

We busted out the Play-Doh tonight for giggles. I found some brand new cans that hadn't been opened yet and I had to sit down and play, too. I love the smell of Play-Doh - it reminds me of being a kid. One of my favorite toys was the Play-Doh barber shop where you could push the dough through the people and give them funky hair do's. It brought hours of enjoyment for me and my brother. Probably sent my Dad through the roof several times because he'd find pieces of it all over the floor. (I get it now, Dad, trust me!) But still, it has to be one of the best toys ever. And what fun, to grab a hold of that inner child and make something out of that gooshy stuff. Love it!

Sprinkler Time (August 8)

I got tired of telling the kids we weren't going to the pool - too much stuff to do around the house - so I broke out the $3 sprinkler and let them go to town. Ella's face is so funny in this picture. She was really cracking up!

A Rose is a Rose (August 7)

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - Juliet Capulet. One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. The lovely is from Grandma D's garden. Beautiful.

Thanks a Latte! (August 6)

On my first Friday at the new gig, my new boss brought me in a surprise latte! How sweet is that?

Office Decor (August 5)

This little star welcomed me on my first day at my new office this week. It was weird to move into a new cube, but I'm getting used to it. I haven't brought much from home yet to decorate because I had a ton of my junk in my cube at the Chamber. It took me three boxes to collect it all. That might have been a tad too much. So, for now, I have my lucky star hanging on my wall. Might have to bring in some pictures of the kids soon though. People might doubt that I have any...

Baby It's Hot Outside! (August 4)

Forgive this terrible picture which doesn't do much but demonstrate that 1) it's freakin' hot outside and 2) my dash board is filthy. It was too hot to try and take a better picture.

The Outfit (August 3)

Because we have three kids, we must have routines. Routines help keep the children from being pummeled any given morning while getting ready to leave the house for the day. The older kids pretty much have things down, but we're still working with Ms. Ella. One of the parts of the routine is picking out your clothes the night before. For Ella, we put the entire chosen outfit on the floor next to her bed so she can get up and get dressed without any questions. I came upstairs to give out some hugs and goodnight kisses and Ella G had her whole outfit laid out for the next day, including the princess fairy wand. This photo was not staged in the least - this is exactly how I found this. I giggled the rest of the night...