The Kidders

St. Patrick's Day Fun!

2010-03-14T21:03:00.002-04:00

This weekend we celebrated St. Patrick's Day by participating in the South Bend St. Patrick's Day Parade! It provided for a wonderful weekend, all centered around our prize winning float, good food, even better beverages (or so I hear), and great friendship!

Special thanks to the Dugard and Cox families for coordinating such a fantastic event. Other notable thank you’s are as follows:

1) Steve and Robert for building such admirable Olympic rings
2) Greg, Michael, Corey, and Scott for building a strong and durable float
3) Michael and Brenda for providing the Bobcat…need we say more!
4) Michael for driving our children to safety
5) Greg for leading us through South Bend by taking the lead in the Bobcat and directing traffic
6) Robert and Theresa for being the best curler (or do I mean “cooler”) team South Bend could have asked for!
7) Mindi for skiing with me through the streets of South Bend
8) Bella for providing such wonderful food at the K of C
9) Patty for teaching the kids (and several of the adults) how to Irish dance
10) Sarah for showing Shannon how to take a shot!
11) All the children for allowing their parents to have such a great time!

And last but perhaps most important…

12) Steve for accepting his mayoral candidacy on such a festive day!

I could go on and on, but you get the point…it was a great time had by all!

I’ve posted the photos to the following link. http://picasaweb.google.com/scottkidder/StPatrickSDayParade2010

Poor Gracie

2009-08-11T15:30:00.004-04:00

Grace broke her collar bone when she fell off a chair at school yesterday.

When we picked her up from school we noticed that she was favoring her left arm quite a bit. She really didn't complain about it but when we asked she just said her arm was sore. She went to bed easily last night and slept pretty good, but this morning she complained of pain when getting dressed so we went to the doctor first thing and the x-rays showed a broken left clavicle. Here is a picture of her and her x-ray.

She did a great job of helping the doctors today and amazingly doesn't seem to be in hardly any pain! We are going to an orthopod tomorrow for a consultation, but it sounds like she'll just have to wear a sling or for a 4-6 weeks.

South Bend Urban Adventure

2009-07-21T09:51:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, Scott Coryn and I participated in the first annual South Bend Urban Adventure. Here is a shot of us racing to the finish line. It was an awesome race and I highly recommend anyone who is interested to participate next year. It included among many other things... running, biking, rock climbing, rafting, ziplining across the river, solving puzzles, and buying fruit and the farmer's market. It was sort of like a scavenger hunt, we were given a map just before the start with 24 check-points all around South Bend, from Notre Dame to Coveleski Stadium. The goal was to complete them in any order and then head to the finish line. We didn't have a camera with us, but here are some media pictures from the event.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=SB&Dato=20090718&Kategori=News&Lopenr=718009997&Ref=PH

Appalachian Trail Hike 2009 - Max Patch to Hot Springs

2009-06-18T10:03:00.001-04:00

I finally uploaded all of the pictures from this year's appalachian trail hike. It was quite an adventure and I am definitly hooked on hiking now! We started the trip at a place called Max Patch. It is basically a huge grassy area on top of a mountain with almost no trees, it provided great views of the surrounding mountians. Jeff Muzik, Todd Young, Scott Berkel, Brad Smith, John Emard, Scott Kidder, and Scott Coryn

View from Max Patch - yes those other mountains are covered in trees

We hiked just over 5 miles the first day, that night it stormed and rained pretty bad all night long. With the rain pelting the tents we didn't even hear the commotion of the bear raiding the camp just up the trail (not kidding - they had to through bottles at it to get it to leave).

Bear alert sign and our food bag hanging to keep it away the bears away from out camp

Day 2 was the longest day, over 10 miles with a lot of elevation changes. We hiked up Walnut Mountain, then to the top of Bluff Mountain and then back down to our campsite at Roaring Fork Shelter.

Here we are at the top of Bluff Mountain. We're happy to be at the top and at this point had no idea how hard going back down was going to be!

On the third day we made it to Hot Springs, NC and headed straight to a little bar for a hot sandwich and a cold beer. It was a nice day so we took a couple hours for a quick raft trip down the French Broad River. With all the rain we had our first night of camping, the river was much higher and muddier than normal.

That night we headed to the cabin where we chef Emard cooked up his world famous gumbo.

The hike was great, and I already can't wait to do another section of the trail next year. Click here to see all of the pictures from the hike.

Pictures from moving day

2009-06-11T00:09:00.004-04:00

We actually moved in late April, but we just now found the pictures on our other camera so here they are. It was a "smooth move" but never the less, I hope it's the last one in a long long time! Dave Snyder and his crews did a wonderful job and we would definitely recommend him for anyone looking to build a house in the future. These pictures are over a month old now so believe it or not that bare yard needs to be mowed for the first time this week!

Disney World!!!!

2009-06-08T08:46:00.004-04:00

Earlier this year we took Grace down to Florida to spend a few days at Papa and Nanny's Florida house and took a day trip over to Disney. Of course, Disney was wonderful and Grace got to meet all of her favorite princesses...

Look at that smile, could she be any happier?

In addition to the day at Disney, we spent some time at a local beach, visited with the manitees and the hippo at the Homosassa wildlife park and spent lots of time enjoying the pool. See the rest of the pictures here.

Catching up...

2009-06-06T10:47:00.002-04:00

It's been a busy, busy 2009 thus far. Here are some snap shots of what has been keeping us busy...

Sesame Street Live in January

Building Snow Kittens

A 70's Party

Chicago Children's Museum

Grace's Third Birthday

Building a Race Car

2009-03-02T09:07:00.004-05:00

Grace had a great weekend. Saturday morning we attended a build and grow kids workshop at Lowes where she built a race car with her friend Eli and cousins Ty and Kesse. Here are more pictures from the event.

Disney World Here We Come...in 21 days!

2009-02-15T20:41:00.004-05:00

Grace is getting so excited to visit Nanny and Papa at their home in Florida. In just 21 days we will not only be visiting Nanny and Papa, but also Cinderella, Mickey, Ariel, Minnie, Snow White, etc. To help her understand we made a chain representing the days until we leave...let the countdown begin!

So How Much is a Trillion Really?

2009-02-06T09:04:00.006-05:00

As we all know, the government is getting ready to spend one trillion dollars to stimulate the economy. We hear the number thrown around all the time now and it barely raises an eyebrow. This morning I heard an economist on TV say, somewhat frustratedly, that the vast majority of people don't understand and frankly can't comprehend how enormous that number is. I was curious, so I googled it.

Obviously I knew a trillion was a huge number, but I still found myself to be quite interested and even astonished by some of the stats.

A trillion = A thousand billion = A million million

A 1 with 12 zeros (1,000,000,000,000)

Some examples I found used time to explain how big the number is.

A million seconds is about 12 days
A billion seconds is about 32 years
A trillion seconds is about 32,000 years

Some examples use stacks of dollar bills.

A thousand $1 bills stacked, not laid end to end, measures 4.3 inches tall
A million = 358 feet (35 stories)
A billion = 358,500 feet (68 miles - well into the atmosphere)
A trillion = 67,866 MILES (1/4 of the way to the moon)

And what about end-to-end? This Site claims it would take a military jet flying at the speed of sound, reeling out dollar bills behind it end-to-end, 14 years before it reeled out a trillion dollars.

And finally, here are some of the best examples to help explain a trillion in terms of spending.

If you spent $1 million every day since the birth of Christ, you still wouldn't have spend $1 trillion (You'd be at roughly $725 billion and have some 734 years to go) - AMAZING!
You could pave the entire US interstate highway system in 24 karat gold according to this site.
And how would you raise $1 trillion? If every man, woman, and child in the US (300 million) each chipped in, they would each pay $3,400. For those of you following the new octupulet babies, that would be $51,000 from their mother who now has 14 children.
If just tax payers chipped in (138 million), they would pay $7,300 each or $14,600 per married couple. Better start saving up! I think the bills go out next year.

www.MINT.com - Try it!

2009-02-02T09:30:00.005-05:00

http://www.mint.com/

We've only been using this site for a couple of weeks, but so far it is one of the easiest and best financial management tools we've used and we love it! It literally takes only a few minutes to set up, and is far less involved than Quicken or Money. Essentially you link your online accounts (bank, credit cards, investments, etc...) and mint brings all your details into one location and automatically assigns your purchases to categories based on the place of purchase.

Once your accounts are linked, you can easily trend your spending, your investments, and set up budgets and goals. You can even compare yourself against national, state, or city averages.

And best of all, it's free! They make their money by suggesting ways for you to save (To lower your mortgage, refinance with...)

Thanks to our friends Corey and Wendy for recommending the site!

Global.....What?

2009-01-16T10:04:00.004-05:00

As usual, Micki and I awoke this morning to two hungry dogs eagerly awaiting their trip outside before breakfast. I threw on a sweatshirt and as I stepped outside with the dogs still half asleep, I was smacked in the face with -19 degree temps. As I stood there freezing and pleading with the dogs to hurry up, I wondered what happened to global warming?

Come on Al Gore, where are the milder winters and gloriously longer and warmer summers you promised? Today, every state in the nation will experience below freezing temperatures and many will shatter all time record lows. Clearly all of our efforts to warm the globe are not working!

Now some experts are warning of Global Cooling. What?

I’m no expert, but it seems pretty clear to me that Mother Nature has proven time and time again that we can’t accurately predict what the weather will be like next month, let alone years from now.

A Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-31T12:36:00.004-05:00

We have now returned from Tell City and had a wonderful Christmas holiday. Grace especially enjoyed time spent with Grandma and Pop, Uncle Matthew, Aunt Vanessa, Great Grandma, Great Grandpa, John, Trevor, Trent, Grandma Mary, Bob, the Hartz family (especially Mason!), and the LeClere family! We are very thankful for such wonderful family and friends. Here are some photos of the Christmas celebrations. There are lots...but I will post separate pictures of our afternoon with the Hartz family and our Tacky Black-Tie Fondue Night!

We hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve and is able to ring in the new year with family and friends!

Grace's Gift for Santa

2008-12-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! Here are some videos of Grace wrapping and then putting out her gift to Santa.

Wrapping the gift...

Putting out the Gift, Milk, and Cookies...

Tomorrow we'll post a video of her waking up.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T11:38:00.002-05:00

We hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Welcome Jackson and Ellie!

2008-12-14T20:09:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to the Nickoloff family!!! They were blessed late Friday evening (birthday of December 12) with the birth of their two beautiful twins...Jackson and Ellie. We visited with them today and all are doing well. Both of the babies are absolutely beautiful, and Sarah and Chris are on cloud 9!! We are so happy for their family and can't wait to share many memories with them in the future. Click here for a few photos of the twins, along with some from the weekend.

We also really enjoyed the rest of the weekend in Chicago. We did a lot of shopping and enjoyed a few nights on the town!! Thanks to Shane, Nicole, Mike, Steve and Becky for a wonderful weekend!!

New Beginnings!!!

2008-12-12T19:23:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since we posted (our apologies...the holiday season seems to have been more hectic than usual!). However, we have exciting news to post today...we are on our way to Chicago to visit with the Nickoloff family! Sarah has been in labor since this morning, and we are hoping for the arrival of the babies this evening. We are so happy for Sarah and Chris and can't wait to meet their little bundles of joy!

Tomorrow Shane, Nicole and Mike will be joining us in Chicago for a fun weekend! We are going to do lots of shopping, eating and enjoying of the holiday season!

Gracie is spending the weekend with Papa Tuff, Grandma Alys, and Buddy. She was SO excited to see them, and will have so much fun! Grace has really been enjoying the holiday season, and especially liked her visit with Santa. She sat on his lap and told him just what she wanted for Christmas. It was too cute!

Another recent and favorite past time has been gymnastics. Grace LOVES it, and it has been a wonderful bonding experience for her and a little friend, Lily. The coach, "Mr. Andy" is fantastic too...here are some additional pictures to enjoy of our little gymnast!

Our Little Princess!!

2008-10-29T22:01:00.006-04:00

Gracie has just recently been interested in princesses and "girly" items. Boy though, now that it's here there is NO stopping her! She just loves dressing up now and playing Cinderella!! Here are a few photos in her dress up clothes...courtesy of Keegan! Very sassy, don't you think?!

Apple Day - Year 27!

2008-10-26T11:08:00.005-04:00

This weekend we gathered for the 27th annual LeClere / Ewing Apple Day! It was by all accounts another huge success! Friday evening we (Scott, Micki and Gracie) shared a fun dinner with Grandma, Pop, Uncle Matthew, Joe and Leanne. We also enjoyed a few nightcaps in the hotel lobby...thanks to some VERY upscale wine glasses courtesy of Leanne :) Saturday morning we were up bright and early...the men all met at 7:00 a.m. to set up the tailgate. The rest of us joined them at 8:00 a.m. to continue the fun! Joe made his famous egg sandwiches, bloody mary's and sausage balls! Grace was ADDICTED to the sausage balls - I guess I'll have to get that recipe! We really enjoyed the rest of the day...it involved lots of friends, family, corn hole, flippy cup, beer pong, food, beverage, and birthday celebration (happy 26th birthday Jenna)! Dad, Matthew and I headed into the game for the second half. It proved to be a lot of fun, and we watched the Hoosiers pull out a big win against # 22 Northwestern! After the football game we watched the Cream/Crimson scrimmage of the basketball team. It was fun to watch them practice and got everyone ready for basketball season!

After a few hours on Kirkwood, we headed to Bw3s to watch the Notre Dame / Washington, Penn State/Ohio State, and Alabama/Tennessee football games. We were all relieved to see the Irish pull out an impressive win, and Penn State prevail in the final minutes versus OSU!

We always enjoy Apple Day and every year are reminded of the wonderful tradition!! It has certainly changed from the days of picking apples, riding mechanical horses, and even picking pumpkins at Huber Winery. I'm anxious to see what the years ahead may bring...future spouses :), children, and who knows what adventures! Regardless, we're guaranteed that it will always result in fun!!! Here are lots of fun pictures from our weekend!

I also would be remissed if I didn't congratulate Matthew and Vanessa. This definitely deserves its own entry (which I will do), but wanted to send them a special congratulations on their engagement!! We are so excited to welcome Vanessa to the family and love her very much!! Congratulations you two!

Fun at the Cabin!

2008-10-23T00:25:00.007-04:00

We spent a great weekend at Kidders Cabin in Baldwin, Michigan. We started our adventure on Friday afternoon with Scott, Micki, Gracie, Sydney and Toby all piled in the truck. After an evening catching up with Tuff, Alys and Buddy, we retired for a wonderful night of sleep (I slept better than I have in MONTHS). Not sure if it was the new mattress, crisp fall air, or silence of the Michigan environment, but I awoke more rested than I have in a very long time! Saturday was filled with long walks around the lake, watching the dogs run and swim, walking through the woods, and observing the beautiful deer. We built a great campfire and played a serious game of scrabble! Gracie also shared her school toys with Papa Tuff and Grandma Alys. The kids take turns washing the toys over the weekend, and it was Gracie's turn this weekend! It was very cute! Sunday we went for a boat ride and explored the Pine River.

It was a wonderful weekend at the cabin, and we hope to go back again very soon! Below are some of my favorite weekend photos, and click here for many, MANY more photos. Enjoy!

Congratulations Sarah and Chris!

2008-10-12T12:51:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we (Micki, Scott, Gracie, Clay and Barbara) traveled to Naperville, IL for a shower in anticipation of the births of the Nickoloff twins! It was so wonderful to visit with Sarah, Chris, and lots of our friends and families! Sarah looks amazing and it was so exciting to hear of the progress the babies are making, and to see and feel them move...independently yet so in sync with each other. We are incredibly happy for them and can't wait to meet little Baby Boy and Baby Girl Nickoloff!

It was great for Gracie to meet and see some of her friends as well...Keegan, Avery, Ethan and Libby! She hopes to see them again soon!

One quick and funny story about the babies...I asked Gracie the other day if her teacher, Ms. Cripe, had a baby insider her (she does). Gracie simply responded, "No Mommy...Cooper has babies inside her!"

Click here to view more pictures from the wonderful shower!

On a separate note, two of our close friends (Heather Glynn and Wendy Angst) are running the Chicago Marathon today. Good luck to both of you - we know you will do great!

New Home Update

2008-09-26T12:40:00.010-04:00

The framing is moving along very quickly, both the first and second floors are almost complete. Here is a picture of the front as well as a picture from the inside looking from the family room to the stairway. Grace was acting up so I sent her to her room and the third picture is her crying in her new room.

We have been very busy making selections for the house. For a color scheme we have chosen a dark greenish siding with a cream colored trim.

For the front door, we selected this craftsman style wood door.

Inside we are going with white trim and this three paneled door.

To keep with the early 20th century craftsman style of the house, we are hoping to incorporate as many vintage features as possible. Here is a sample of the interior door handle we are considering.

Next up we will be working on the kitchen cabinets and hardwood flooring.

Here is a nice video that depicts the type of cabinets and features we are looking for.

The Ryder Cup

2008-09-23T15:46:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, we were fortunate enough to be at the final round of the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla in Louisville, KY and to see the USA win the cup for the first time in nine years. Micki's Dad secured four tickets and took us along with Matthew. It was truly an awesome experience (thanks again Clay!) and unlike any other event in golf. As Matt put it... where else can you cheer with excitement when a European golfer misses an important put!? The crowd was very loud and rowdy!

The tickets were great and included access to the member's pavilion where we could cool off and grab a drink while continuing to watch on one of the many TVs. Unfortunately there are no cameras or cell phones allowed into the event so we have no pictures to share, but here are a few of the memorable moments and some pictures and videos I found...

Boo Weekly riding his driver like a horse - video
Kim not giving Garcia any gimmies
Sergio Garcia's walk of shame after sinking 2 balls in the water on number 7 - video
Local boy Kenny Perry's dad showed up to watch in overalls - Picture
Meeting Fuzzy Zoeller - What a great guy!
Fans of Boo dressed in all camo
Kim's diamond studded USA belt buckle - Picture
Kim's challenge of Garcia's unplayable lie..."Do what you've gotta do" - Picture
Micheal Jordan
The roar when Mahan sunk his 40 foot birdie put on number 17 (We were standing on the edge of the green) - Picture

Home Construction Update

2008-09-18T10:09:00.011-04:00

The framing of the house is now well under way. They have now completed framing the entire first floor and will begin on the second floor soon. It is great to see it taking shape and to actually be able to walk into the rooms we have until now only seen on paper. I was very concerned about the 11 inches of rain we received over the weekend (The most ever in South Bend), but the drainage tiles they installed around the basement swept all of the water away great and by Monday it wasn't even damp in the basement dispite not having a roof over the house.
We still have to finalize the exterior colors and then we move onto the interterior cabinet design.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-16T16:39:00.007-04:00

Grace's Grandma and Pop came to visit over Labor Day Weekend and we all had a great time. Micki, Scott, Clay and Tuff went Kayaking down the Christiana Creek on Saturday while Barbara and Grace spent the day shopping. Then on Sunday, we spend the day in beautiful St. Joe Michigan enjoying the beach-side playground area. Grace got to meet a parrot for the first time... she didn't like it! Monday we took in the Marshall County Blueberry Festival where Micki met this hunky cowboy.

Click here for more pictures from the weekend.

Pletcher Family Vacation

2008-09-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

The 2008 Pletcher family vacation proved to be another fabulous trip to Kiawah Island. As always, it was great to spend time with family and to see Grace play with all of her cousins. The week was filled with fun times. We played at the beach, we played at the pool, we played sing star at night and even spent one day at a great water park in Charleston. Click on the images below for more pictures of this great week.

2008 Pletcher Family Vacation

Fun at the Water Park

Fun at the Beach

Fun at the Pool

Home Construction Update

2008-09-04T15:00:00.006-04:00

The plans for our home were finalized in late July and we officially broke ground in August. They started by clearing the trees and staking out the house. They then dug the basement (shown left) and have since poured the basement walls. Framing is scheduled to begin next week and we are in the process of picking out exterior finishes such as paint, windows, door, shingles, and brick/rock. It has been very time consuming, but we are really enjoying the process so far. Here are the final floor plans and more pictures of the progress.

San Francisco - Shana and Scott's Wedding

2008-09-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

With our good friends Shana and Scott getting married in San Francisco, we decided to take a couple of extra days off work and make a mini-vacation out of the trip. It turned out to be a fantastic weekend...

We spent the day Friday tasting wine in Sonoma. One of the Notre Dame Trustee's Stephanie Gallo surprised us with a fantastic private tour of the Gallo Fei Ranch Vineyard. The tour was amazing, we learned a lot about the wine making process and were evene allowed to theive wine right from barrel and taste it. After the tour, we enjoyed a fantastic gourmet lunch on the patio of winery's tasting room.

When we left Gallo, we found ourselves at Sbragia where the wine maker and the manager (who were huge ND fans) invited us down their cellar to taste right from the vat. As you will see in the pictures, the wine maker even hand blended us a glass of Zinfandel and Syrah. Click here for more pictures.

Saturday we spent the day touring San Fansisco before the wedding. We started with a morning with a boat trip to Alcatraz which was very interesting. Afterwards, we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. To see the bridge in person is amazing. It was hard to see the entire bridge most days because of the fog, but this day was clear so we drove to the top of a mountain and got some amazing picutres. Click here for more pictures.

Saturday night was the main event... the wedding. The setting was amazing: in the middle of a park, on top of a mountain, the sun setting and the fog rolling in. Shana look amazing and Scott cleaned up pretty well as well.
It was a blast! The reception was held right in the park and filled with fun and dancing. Click here for more pictures.

We booked a late flight on Sunday so that we could squeeze in as much additional site seeing time as possible. Sunday morning, we headed out to the Muir Woods to hike and take in the views of the gigantic redwood trees with Heather, Bob, and Keegan. After quite a hike, we headed back to the city to take in a few more sites such as Lombard Street and Postcard Row (pictured here). Click here for more pictures.

It was a great trip! We packed a lot into three days, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

Wow! It's been a busy summer...

2008-08-31T22:23:00.000-04:00

First, an apology is in order for the lack of posting throughout this summer. To say the least it has been a busy summer with a lot of major developments since our last post (Micki's birthday party)... Babies have been born; friends have been married; we sold our home; moved into a rental; travels have included Panama, San Francisco, and South Carolina; Grace has statred a new school; Micki has transitioned to a new job and we started building a new home just to mention a few.

Unfortunately, the blog we started to document life took a back seat to our life for the during this time. But never fear, if there is anyone out there is still checking our blog at this point, stay tuned because we plan to up date you in detail on all events from this past summer with a series of historical blogs.

CELEBRATION

2008-05-19T16:45:00.004-04:00

What a great weekend...Scott planned a fabulous 30th birthday celebration for me Saturday evening. Tons (well, okay 40) of our family and friends gathered for a bus "tour" around the best and most sophisticated establishments in South Bend and Mishawaka. Actually, we visited some dive bars, but they proved to be tons of fun!

It was the best birthday celebration I have had thus far. Thank you so much Scott for organizing a fun night; and a special thanks to all of my friends and family that helped me celebrate!

Click here for pictures of the evening. Also check out the Ditty's blog for a great video from the bus!!!

Thanks again everyone!!!

Congratulations Doctor Ditty!!!

2008-05-14T11:14:00.001-04:00

We want to say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Shane...he found out over the weekend that he passed his oral boards.

Congratulations Shane - we knew you would do great!

SOLD!!!

2008-05-12T12:44:00.002-04:00

I apologize for the lack of posts...between a Trustee meeting, Gracie's birthday and trip to Vegas, we have had a lot going on!!!! We are so excited though that our house sold last Wednesday! After only two weeks on the market, we are happy to report that we sold the home to a couple in their early 60s. They were looking for a ranch with a semi-private backyard, so it worked perfectly!!!

We officially close on June 5th, but because of my travel schedule we have to move out before then. So, we will be moving over Memorial Day weekend!

I just can't believe it...after 5 years in our first home together, we will now be moving out in less than two weeks. It seems crazy, but we also feel very fortunate to have sold the home so quickly!

On the way to Green Lake...boy have things changed!

2008-04-25T16:16:00.002-04:00

We are currently en route to Green Lake for a weekend getaway with the Hunts, Glynns and Berndts! We are very excited to spend a relaxing weekend at the lake with great friends. The trip has been great so far, with me being able to catch up on some emails (thanks to Verizon's tethering capabilities) while Gracie took her nap.

Boy have things changed in a year though...Scott and I were just talking about how one year ago we were headed to Milwaukee for a little weekend getaway. Still at that age, Gracie slept most of the time and was pretty quiet when awake. This trip on the other hand, she has constantly been chatting since she woke from her nap. We have officially entered the "Are we there yet" stage. The worst part, I think this stage lasts for about 15 years! :)

Nevertheless, it's been a great drive so far and we are looking forward to the weekend. We'll be sure to post lots of pictures upon our return!

Anyone in the market?

2008-04-24T13:53:00.003-04:00

It is now official...as of yesterday morning our home is now on the market!! Please keep your fingers crossed, and say a few prayers!!

Check out our virtual tour, and spread the word if you know of anyone looking for a home...http://www.realestateshows.com/show.php?id=281545&code=ceaf0d3d

Good Luck Dr. Ditty!

2008-04-14T23:22:00.001-04:00

We'd like to wish Shane good luck on his oral boards. He takes them tomorrow in Florida. We know he will do GREAT, but please join us in wishing him the best!!

Grace to take classes at Notre Dame?

2008-04-10T19:30:00.004-04:00

Our little Gracie is growing up sooo fast! Just this morning I was changing her diaper, and this evening... Well, this evening we got a letter notifying us that Grace has been accepted and is enrolled to take classes on Notre Dame's campus for the fall semester.

She is officially enrolled at Notre Dame's Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) and will begin classes on August 25th.

We have been very pleased with our experiences and the staff at Friend's School and Daycare, but we feel the ECDC curriculum and staff will provide an even better learning experience for Gracie as she gets older (plus it is right down the road from our new house). The program is one of the best around and enrollment is limited (especially for 2 year olds) so needless to say, we couldn't be happier that she has been accepted.

Little Girl...Monster Ass

2008-04-09T21:58:00.000-04:00

this is one of the funniest you tube videos I've seen! Check out the little girl and her attitude about monsters. I can totally picture Gracie saying this any day now!! :)

The Preliminary Plans are in!

2008-04-08T11:02:00.000-04:00

Our home building project just took a huge step towards becoming a reality! We just recieved the hand drawn preliminary plans from the architect, Len Mysliwiec. In addition to the elevation, Len has drawn two versions of the first and second floors, click here to check out the floor plans. We welcome any and all comments, please let us know which version of each floor you like best.

The real Smith home

2008-03-27T21:45:00.000-04:00

Last week we posted a picture of the "Smith Mansion". Check out the real progress of Brad and Michele's new home at the following link: http://theconstructionofthesmithhome.blogspot.com/.

Welcome to the blogging world...the house looks great!

Foot Faucet

2008-03-25T12:37:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, Scott and I are in the process of building a new home. We have really only just begun and have met with the builder and architect once. Therefore, we are still developing our list of "must-haves" for the home (if you have any ideas...please pass them on!). The other day Alys mentioned that she wished someone would make a faucet for your home that had foot pedals (instead of reaching up with wet/grimy hands and getting the faucet all yucky!). Well, low and behold they do make such a thing...it's the Foot Faucet! It looks pretty cool - and you can even install one in your current home. Wow - what will they think of next!

http://www.footfaucet.net/index.htm

We are leaning towards installing one in the new home, so we'll let you know how well they work (a year from now!)

The Mayor, First Stud and Hillary!

2008-03-21T09:54:00.001-04:00

Mom and Dad attended a rally for Hillary last night in Evansville, IN. Check out the photos...they were right behind the stage!

Here is a link to the story: http://www.courierpress.com/photos/galleries/2008/mar/21/hillary-clinton-campaign/

Smith Mansion

2008-03-21T08:30:00.000-04:00

Our good friends Brad, Michele, Olivia and Jackson Smith are in the process of building a new home. Brad likes to keep us updated on the progress and sent out a photo this week. Check it out...

While there is a lot to do on the inside, they recently finished the exterior. The Smith family is really excited because they've never had a home with this many levels and rooms.

I only hope our new home turns out this nice! :)

Gracie and Max Sitting in a Tree

2008-03-19T14:23:00.000-04:00

Gracie and Max have been boyfriend and girlfriend since their days in the nursery. While they have always been close, she decided today she would take things into her own hands. I think it's time we have a talk with her about being too aggressive with the boys!

Pudding and Pigtails!

2008-03-18T12:20:00.001-04:00

Gracie spent the night with Papa Tuff and Grandma Alys Saturday evening. She had a great time, and particularly liked playing with Kessie and Brittney. We also realized two new things after her stay...she LOVES chocolate pudding and her hair will fit in pigtails! Geez...I never realized either of those!

Tuff also made stilts...which we tried out Sunday afternoon. They are much more difficult to operate than you would think, although Scott and I weren't that shabby!

Here are a few photos of Gracie's fun weekend!

Whew...what a week!

2008-03-14T01:46:00.000-04:00

We hope everyone is having a great week...with the NCAA tournament just around the corner, how can you not?! Although it's been a hectic week at work, I've also been fortunate enough to enjoy a few girls nights out, and a family night with Scott and Gracie today! I went to see "Definitely, Maybe" last night with Patty, Caroline, Ann and Clair. it was really cute - the perfect carefree movie you need mid-week.

Tonight Gracie, Scott and I enjoyed a dinner at Hacienda followed by a trip to Barnes and Noble. A funny thing happened as we were perusing the children's area. We kept picking up various stuffed animals and asked Gracie if she knew what / who they were. She got the usuals correct...Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Dora, Big Bird, Elmo, monkeys. We were shocked though when Scott held up a strange looking thing and said "Alpaca". Grace quickly responded with perfect enunciation..."Alpaca" I'm not sure how she did it...the girls can's say Scott or Grandma or Water correctly, but she sure can pronounce Alpaca!!!

We had a great visit with the Barrons last weekend, celebrating Libby's 1st birthday. Although I forgot my camera (again!), Alison got some great shots of the big celebration. Click here to see the birthday girl! Happy Birthday Libby!!

I love my two Grandpa Kidders!!!

2008-03-06T00:43:00.000-05:00

We had a great family outing at Missy and Brian's house the other night. Gracie spent the entire evening running around with Lauren and Drew. She also enjoyed spending time with Papa Tuff and Great Grandpa Bud! These are two of my favorite pictures...playing basketball with Great Grandpa Bud and then all tuckered out with Papa Tuff. Too cute!

Weekend Fun!

2008-03-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend in Indianapolis...it was the second annual Kidder/Mauck/Elsesser reunion! Scott, Gracie and I drove down early Saturday morning and met Mom and Dad in Broadripple. After a long lunch catching up, we hit a few shops and then parted ways. Mom and Dad took Gracie for the evening and Scott and I headed downtown to meet Sarah, Geoff, Elizabeth and James. We had a great time enjoying the company as well as a few local establishments :) It's always fun to catch up and reminisce about old times!

Yesterday we met Mom and Dad at Barnes & Noble for a while, and then headed back home. Scott and I were EXHAUSTED last night...although we did manage to stay up for two great new shows. Oprah's Big Give was great, as was the Newlywed reality show!

I didn't get many photos in Indianapolis as I forgot my camera in the car. Elizabeth and Sarah got a few though so I'll hopefully post those soon. We did snap a quick photo of the new Colts stadium on our way out of town. It is HUGE and dwarfs the RCA dome. The picture to the left shows the progress made thus far.

I also realized last night that we have lots of winter pictures that I never posted. They are posted at the following link...enjoy!

Well, happy Monday! We hope everyone had a great weekend and wish you a great start to the week!

Fun New Website

2008-02-27T14:56:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how much my love for shopping has diminished. Of course I still enjoy a quick trip to White House Black Market, but I'd rather play with Gracie outside these days than spend a whole day at the mall. As a result, I've turned to any on-line opportunity I can find and my searching led me to a fun new website for handbags and shoes. The site is Endless.com and it was started by Amazon.com. They carry name brand shoes for women, men, and kids! It's fabulous!!! Check it out when you have a moment...and happy shopping!

Blogging Drought...

2008-02-23T02:26:00.000-05:00

Wow - a whole month since we've last posted. Needless to say, it's been a crazy and busy month (although I realize that is really no excuse for not taking two minutes out of my day to post). For those of you that have missed us, here are a few of the highlights over the past month (in no particular order):

1) Kelvin Sampson is officially no longer the IU basketball coach. $750,000 later, Dan Dakich will take over as our new "interim" coach.
2) Our friends Matt and Alison have announced that Baby Hunt will join us in August 2008. Congrats to them!
3) Gracie went sledding for the first time! I have a few photos of this which I will post later this weekend, but she had a great time sledding with Papa Tuff, Grandma Alys, Mommy, Daddy, Great Grandpa and Gram. After two hours of pulling her up the hill, Mommy and Daddy were definitely worn out!
4) I made it through another board meeting. You see, that's what started this ridiculous blogging drought. I promise not to let that happen again :)
5) The Fighting Irish basketball team is on a roll...they are great fun to watch. Harangody for Player of the Year? Or perhaps DJ White?
6) I spoke with Shana the other night and got the update on her wedding plans. As always, Shana was hysterical and made me laugh for a solid 40 minutes. We can't wait to travel to San Fran in June and celebrate with her and Scott!
7) Our friend Joe turned 30 and we celebrated at Club LaSalle. Gosh...turning 30 this year is not going well. Although I still have approximately 90 days, it's really taking a toll on me. Stay tuned to see how I cope with this in May.
8) Happy Anniversary to Scott and Kara Coryn - today is their 5th anniversary!
9) Gracie was able to spend the night with Aunt Missy, Uncle Brian, Lauren and Drew last weekend. She had a great time and was exhausted when we came home. I think Drew chased her around the house about 500 times..thanks Drew! When can she visit again? :)
10) Perry was featured in a local magazine. They did an article about local musicians who make their own instruments. It was a great article that highlighted his gorgeous handmade guitars.
11) I met Bob for lunch yesterday - it was fun to catch up with him. We followed that up with dinner with Patty and Elly...that was even better! (just kidding, Bob!)
12) Gracie had a fabulous Valentine's Day party at school last week with all of her friends, especially her boyfriends Wyatt and Max.
13) Vic and Perry got a new puppy!
14) Oh, and just a few "minor" things that happened this week...our country shot down a toxic spy satellite, the space shuttle landed safely, J. Lo gave birth to twins, tori spelling announced she's pregnant again, and did I mention that Kelvin Sampson was fired?

It's great to be back...we'll post again later this weekend!

Hello Wii...hello fun!!!

2008-01-22T00:21:00.000-05:00

As we previously posted, Grandma Babs came to visit this weekend. While her visit was much too short, she did bring with her a fantastic new gift...a Wii!!!! Scott and I hooked it up tonight and played multiple games of tennis, bowling, golf and baseball. We can't believe how great this thing is, and now understand what all the hype is about. Not only is it great fun to play the various games, but the Wii actually hooks up to our wireless Internet and provides the current weather, forecasts, and all the latest news releases. If any of you have a Wii and want to challenge us to a game of virtual bowling, just let us know! :)

Thank you so much, Mom and Dad! We love our Wii!!!

Happy Birthday Steve!

2008-01-21T00:22:00.000-05:00

Saturday night we celebrated our friend Steve's 50th birthday. We definitely did it in style...complete with early evening appetizers, cruising the town in a Hummer limo, drinks at the Vine, partying with the band "Red Alert", BK bolling, and ending the evening (okay morning) with a Steak n Shake Grilled Cheese! It was a great time, and props to Pam for hosting such a wonderful party. Steve, we are so happy we were able to celebrate with you...Happy Birthday You Old Man (just kidding, of course!). Here are a few photos of the fun evening.

Gracie spent the evening with Grandma. She wasn't feeling well at all, so most of the time was spent cuddling and snuggling. Today Grace felt much better, so the girls ventured out for lunch, a movie and a little shopping. We saw the movie "Mad Money" and Grace did great as she slept through the entire film. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes were all very good; and while it isn't the best movie it was perfect for a girl's day on the town!

Tuesday I'm going to see 27 Dresses with a few friends...stay tuned for a full review of that movie.

Well, we hope everyone had a great weekend. Scott phoned from the Packers game a few minutes ago. Although the wind chill is -24 degrees, he and Coryn are having a great time!!

Kidder Update...the good, the bad and the ugly

2008-01-15T02:02:00.000-05:00

Because of our two week posting draught, we figured it best to provide a complete Kidder update (by category, of course!):

The Good: Well, let's see...Gracie has moved to a big girl bed and is doing GREAT!!! She got to pick out her favorite toddler bed (she went Dora), along with matching sheets, bedspread, blankets, pillows, dolls, etc. Her bedroom has now been taken over by Dora and Boots, but she loves it!! I'm very proud of her for transitioning so well! We also went to see her first live show...Sesame Street Live. The Kidders, Dittys and Bradys all braved the toddler-filled Morris Performing Arts Center. It was fabulous - Grace LOVED the show and kept asking for more after every song and dance!

This weekend we ventured to our first movie with Gracie...the VeggieTales Movie (can't remember the exact name). It was great, and with a little popcorn to the rescue 1/2 way through, Gracie did wonderful!

Scott has a big adventure coming up this week...the Packers/Giants game. He and Coryn will be making the trip...it should prove to be an exciting time!

Grandma Babs is coming for a visit Saturday morning. It will be great to spend a few days with her, and I know Gracie is SO excited!

The Bad: Not much to report here, other than freezing cold and trying to adjust to work. Last week was my first one back since December 21st. It felt like it took forever, and now I'm just as stressed as I was pre-holidays. Oh well - it was a nice break while it lasted!

The Ugly: There are only two words worthy of this category: Colts - Chargers. ugh - it was an awful game on Sunday and I felt sick into the evening. Oh well, I guess there's always next year!! Hopefully Favre or Eli can take care of Tom Brady in the SuperBowl...is anyone else sick of hearing about Brady and the Patriots. Ok, so maybe I'm just a bitter Colts fan...but the media coverage on this guy is ridiculous!! Anyway - go Packers! Go Giants!

Holiday Joy!

2007-12-31T13:18:00.000-05:00

Wow - two whole weeks since we last posted. We apologize for the shortage in posts...we have been enjoying the holidays with friends and family! We spent almost a week in Tell City...it was a relaxing yet fun time spent with many of our closest friends and family. Gracie had a wonderful time with Grandma and Pop, Great Grandma and Grandpa, Grandma Mary and Grandpa Bob, Kay and Bob, the card club clan, and of course the entire LeClere family. As many of you are aware, we have an annual fondue night with the LeClere family. It is a long standing tradition and one of the highlights of the year! We decided to spice it up a bit this year, and I must admit it was a huge hit! Matthew, Vanessa and Lauren proposed a "Tacky Christmas" theme this year, and boy did we embrace it! As you can see from the pictures, we all really got into it. Dad won the "tackiest" costume though with his impersonation of Cousin Eddy from Christmas Vacation. It was absolutely hysterical. Thanks to the Ewing and LeClere families for making this such a wonderful tradition. We truly look forward to this every year and hope it continues for many years to come!

We hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful and blessed holiday season! Happy New Year to you all - enjoy the festivities today! We will be enjoying lobster and fillets with Coley, Patty, Heather, Bob, Anthony, Caroline and all the little kiddos. It should be a wonderful evening! Happy New Year!

Gracie's big day!

2007-12-17T00:37:00.000-05:00

We apologize for not posting last week. It was a hectic week of holiday parties, pink eye (the saga continues), and shopping. We had a wonderful weekend though...Friday evening we hosted supper club at our house. We had so much fun visiting with everyone; we only wish that the Bradys would have been able to join us. Unfortunately Elly was a little under the weather - Gracie sure does hope her friend is feeling better! Grace spent the night with Nanny and Papa on Friday, and had a great time playing with Will and Drew!

Saturday we went to dinner with the Coryns and then back to their place so Gracie and Eli could play. They were so darn cute and really had a great time together. Today was kind of a lazy day, with lots of shopping, playing in the snow and finally doing our Christmas cards! We did have one big event today though...Gracie got her first hair cut. As many of you know, we weren't really sure what to do with Grace's hair. It is VERY thin and blond, a combination which proves to be a little difficult. While her hair was growing rapidly in the back, it's kind of halted on top. So, we decided to get the back cut...while she still looks like a boy at least the mullet is gone! She did very well too...she sat very still and let the nice lady go to work. Of course - this only took about 5 minutes and cost a whopping $5...well worth it!!!

It's Christmas Time!!

2007-12-08T11:25:00.000-05:00

Scott, Grace and I officially kicked off the Christmas season yesterday. While we had decorated the outside of the house and put up one of our trees before now, we just weren't into the spirit yet. Well, that all changed yesterday!!! We picked Grace up from daycare around 2:00 and headed to visit Santa. While Gracie certainly wouldn't sit on Santa's lap alone, she did a lot better than I expected. She kept waving to him and saying, "ho, ho, ho!" It was very cute!! In the end though, we do have a photo of the entire Kidder family sitting on Santa's lap!

After our visit with the big guy, we did a little holiday shopping. While this was fun, it strengthened my opinion that you just cannot do a lot of shopping with a toddler. Rather, we ended up at Build a Bear, where Grace made her first bear, "Bree". She had a great time...picking out her animal, giving it stuffing and a heart, and finally dressing and naming it. Bree is doing wonderful in her Build a Bear box home, where she will stay until Christmas Day!

We stopped for a quick dinner at then proceeded to get our tree. Last year we did the full tree farm and cut down our own. It was very Griswold of us! This year we opted for the "tree farm" on Grape Road...precut trees that took us literally 15 minutes to get from start to finish. It was fabulous! After a quick stop at TJ Maxx to show Grace her favorite Spiderman toy (yes, she is addicted to this Spiderman toy that sings Itsy Bitsy Spider), we headed home to decorate the tree. Grace fell asleep immediately which left Scott and I to enjoy a glass of wine and decorate our tree.

It was a wonderful beginning to "our" holiday season. Now I'm off to Chicago for a weekend of shopping, time with Cooper, and Sunday sushi with the girls. I can't wait!! Cooper - here I come!!!! Oh, and here are more photos of Grace's fun night at Build a Bear!!!

Puppy Love

2007-12-06T20:29:00.000-05:00

Gracie is battling a "potential" case of pink eye, so Scott and I split the duty and stayed home with her today. I got the afternoon, which included lots of dancing, applesauce (the girl is addicted to it), playing with Baby, cartoons (by the way - afternoon cartoons are awful), marching around the house, and playing with the dogs. Gracie just couldn't get enough "doggy hugs" today, as you can see by the photos. Both Sydney and Toby seemed to enjoy it and let her crawl all over them. It was pretty darn cute, if I don't say so myself!

Thank you Papa Tuff and Grandma Alys!

2007-12-03T01:13:00.000-05:00

Scott and I attended the Junior League Holiday Ball Saturday evening, so Gracie was able to spend the night with Papa Tuff and Grandma Alys! She was exhausted today from all the fun...throwing snowballs, playing with Buddy, throwing rocks in the pond, reading books, playing with the alphabet blocks, looking at the beautiful Christmas tree, etc. The list goes on and on!

Tuff and Alys - thank you so much for watching her over night. Gracie always has such a great time at your house! We had a wonderful time at the ball as well; it was fun to get dressed up and enjoy a night out. Thanks again!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2007-11-29T01:22:00.000-05:00

Only three days back from Florida and I've already got the wintertime blues. The 30 degree South Bend weather doesn't help...the cold, the wind, the snow. How many more months of this do we have?

The only upside is that Gracie LOVES playing in the snow. Sunday it snowed really large flakes for a while in the afternoon. Grace had a great time catching it on her tongue! Although Grace experienced snow last year, she wasn't old enough to react and actually play in it. I can't wait to take her sledding soon!!!

Fun in the Sun!!!

2007-11-26T01:07:00.000-05:00

After a week spent at the beach in 80-degree weather, we have now returned to snow-covered South Bend and 30-degree bitterness! We had an amazing vacation and Thanksgiving! Gracie spent every day at the beach or in the pool and loved every minute of it. She had so much fun playing with Pop, Grandma, Uncle Matthew and Vanessa! She also learned several more words this week, including Football, Up, Bee-Bo (Sandra Boynton for belly button), IU, and Pop! She tries very hard to say Grandma, Matt and Vanessa...it's not quite perfected but she is very close!

Marco Island was simply beautiful! The beaches were wonderful and we saw dolphin every day swimming in the nearby waters. We also explored Naples, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, and Fort Myers. In addition to the beaches, we rented a deck boat, attended the Naples Lights Festival, rented wave runners, and ate LOTS of seafood! Matthew and Vanessa treated us to a clam bake for Thanksgiving dinner...including lobster tails, clams, shrimp, potatoes, onions, corn, and amazing key lime pie!

It was a great trip and wonderful way to spend the Thanksgiving holiday. Here are pictures of our great vacation...beware, there are lots of them!

Florida...here we come!!

2007-11-17T03:00:00.000-05:00

In less that five hours we will be heading to the South Bend Regional Airport, about to board our flight to Marco Island, Florida. We cannot wait to relax in the sun this week with Grandma Babs, Pop, Uncle Matthew, and Dr. V! We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We may blog a bit from Florida this week, but in the event that we don't get a chance - we hope you all enjoy the holiday week!!

Now off to bed so that we can get a little rest before the big trip!

Welcome Home Grandpa Bud!

2007-11-11T19:12:00.000-05:00

Grandpa Bud gave us quite a scare this week...he spent a few days in the hospital but was released to come home on his birthday!!! Gracie and Scott spent the afternoon with Gram and Grandpa on Saturday (Mommy was at the AWFUL Notre Dame game!). Grandpa is feeling much better now, but we were all very worried about him.

We are so glad he is back home now. Happy Birthday Grandpa Bud - we love you!!!

Congratulations Grandma Mayor!!!

2007-11-08T01:55:00.000-05:00

Gracie would like to send a BIG congratulations to Grandma Barbara. She was elected Mayor of Tell City yesterday, November 6th! Gracie and I traveled to T.C. Monday evening. After calming Mom's nerves a little Monday evening, we all jumped right to the swing of the campaign Tuesday! We spent the day working the polls, talking to voters, calling citizens to encourage them to vote, and finally reading the results that evening. It was a very exciting evening...a little nerve racking, but amazing in the end! Mom swept every precinct and we could not be more proud of her!!

Here are a few links to her website and the Perry County News. We'll post pictures of the big night very soon!

Again, congratulations Mom...we are so proud of you and now can't wait to relax in Florida in a couple of weeks!

We love you!

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-04T11:52:00.000-05:00

Gracie had a wonderful Halloween! We traveled to Elkhart on Tuesday evening to visit with Gram and Grandpa, Papa Tuff and Grandma Alys, and Nanny and Papa. Gracie got TONS of treats and toys. She especially liked the dancing ghosts and goblins at Gram and Grandpa's. It took her a while to warm up to them; but then she learned that she could make them dance by clapping her hands! It was hysterical! Papa Tuff also gave her a duck that moved across the floor...she loved it! She kept screaming, Duck Duck all night long!

We went to a few doors on Wednesday, but found that Gracie most liked passing out the candy to all the neighborhood kids. We spent the evening with our neighbor Amy...eating chili, drinking a few beers, and watching Grace pass out the candy. It was hysterical to see her react to the costumes!

Here are a few pictures of our little Minnie Mouse!

Elmo, or Melmo?

2007-10-27T10:52:00.000-04:00

Last night we had our traditional Friday night family outing...dinner out followed by a trip to Barnes & Noble. Grace's newest love is books, so she typically gets one new per week. It's an inexpensive and educational "toy" that I don't mind providing! As we were walking through B&N last night, much to our surprise Grace ran up to a Sesame Street book and yelled "Melmo"! We had no idea she even knew who Elmo was.

I never really watched Sesame Street as a child, so I've never encouraged her to jump on the Sesame Street bandwagon. I suppose she's learned at school though, because this morning we turned it on and she went crazy. All morning she's been screaming "Melmo"!!!! So, I suppose Elmo has a new name and Gracie has a new love. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse....move on over!!! A new favorite character is in town!

Where's Waldo?

2007-10-25T02:40:00.000-04:00

I think this is the funniest picture! Gracie's Aunt Vic captured it on Sunday and I just laugh everytime I look at it. Enjoy!

Pick a Pumpkin, Any Pumpkin!!

2007-10-24T01:08:00.000-04:00

Well the Kidder family survived another week of Trustees!!! It was a VERY long week, but after most days lasting from 5:30 a.m. until midnight, we made it through!! After an awful game on Saturday, we enjoyed the end of the week with a family outing to Papa Tuff and Grandma Alys's. It was the perfect fall day...we took a hayride, bobbed for apples, enjoyed wonderful fall food (yum...apple crisp!), and carved lots of pumpkins! Gracie had a great time playing with her cousins too. She was a little tired (and cranky!) upon our arrival (hence the group photo of the kids in their costumes), but warmed up within a few minutes. She LOVED the swing and had lots of fun with Lauren, Drew, Kessie, Britney, Elizabeth and Ty!

The next evening we decorated several more pumpkins and gourds...all straight from Papa Tuff's garden! Gracie really got a kick out of the faces, and laughed at every funny eye, ear, nose, mustache and hat!

Here are several pictures from our fun day at Papa Tuff's!

Poor Baby!

2007-10-13T13:16:00.000-04:00

This face pretty much sums up our week. Poor Gracie was very sick this week...Dr. Meyer confirmed on Thursday that Gracie had a viral infection. She seems much better today, but it was a really difficult week for her (and us!). Although I must admit that I loved all the snuggling!! I really miss those days and it was fun to snuggle and tend to her this week.

On to other topics...it's a big day in the football arena! While I'm not sure the Irish can pull out another victory, we are pulling for the Hoosiers to qualify for a bowl today against the Spartans. Anyone ready to keep our promise and join us at a bowl game if IU qualifies? Fun times!!

Pumpkin Anyone?

2007-10-04T00:14:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry it's been so long since our last post. We have had a rough couple of weeks...not that things are slowing down anytime soon but I will attempt to do better at posting! Since our last post we have had lots of fun times...Scott's 31st birthday, the Bears/Cowboys game at Soldier Field, Niles Apple Festival, and the Pumpkin Patch with the Ditty's. I'll post photos of all the events, but thought we would dedicate this posting to our Fall outing!!

Grace and Lillie had a great time playing together last Sunday. Shortly upon our arrival at the Pumpkin Patch and corn maze, we ventured into the "Storybook Maze." This involved finding various letters written by our favorite storybook characters! Although it was sweltering hot in the corn maze (no wind), we had a great time finding our way through!

The girls then enjoyed the cow hayride, followed by a pony ride. Grace didn't really like the pony ride, but Lillie LOVED it!!! She just giggled and giggled!

We ended our visit with a hayride to the pumpkin patch! Grace, Lillie, Scott and Shane thought it would be fun to throw the smaller pumpkins. Finally we redirected their attention to finding the perfect one.

It was such a fun day...ending with dinner at the Oaken Bucket and watching the Colts score another victory! The cutest thing was that little Emma just slept through most everything. She was such a great baby...extremely cute and very good natured.

Like I've said before, Fall is definitely my favorite season...especially when we spend the days with wonderful friends. Here are more pictures of our fun Fall day! Thanks for spending the day with us Lillie - we can't wait to see you soon!

Our little bully...

2007-09-21T00:03:00.000-04:00

After reading the posts on our blog, you may have the perception that Gracie is a cute, sweet, gentle little princess! Well do I have news for you...it turns out that our little toe-head is somewhat of a bully at school!

While it's been a long time since she has picked on her friends at school, today Gracie received not one, but two, incident reports! It seems she and another friend were fighting over a toy so Grace decided to bite her...then bite her again five minutes later!

The first time Grace bit I was devastated. As a parent, you feel just awful that your child is inflicting pain on others! After a lot of research and discussions with her teachers, I've realized that it's a very normal thing for toddlers and a way that they show frustration prior to speaking. Grace's teachers assure me that the majority of toddlers go through this, and I should not worry. That still doesn't make it feel any better when it happens.

So, our sweet little princess isn't always so sweet. Hopefully we won't receive any incident reports tomorrow...we will just take it one day at a time!

Fun Weekend in Tell City!

2007-09-19T00:43:00.000-04:00

We had a great time in Tell City this weekend! Upon our arrival Friday evening, we visited with Great Grandma Mary and Great Grandpa Bob. Gracie just loved visiting with them and was amazed by the river. She definitely learned to love water this summer! That evening we had a wonderful dinner with the LeClere family. It's always so nice to catch up with such wonderful friends.

Saturday was the big wedding for Ross and Lita Oberhausen! It was a beautiful ceremony and amazing reception. Lita was beautiful and the happy couple was glowing all day and evening! Scott and I had a great time visiting with old friends and family and dancing the night away! Gracie also enjoyed the day, as Great Grandma Ginny and Great Grandpa Dude watched her while we were at the wedding and reception. She had so much fun showing them all of her toys and reading books. It was so nice for her to be able to spend this time with them.

Sunday we all ventured to the Louisville zoo. It was a beautiful fall day and perfect to be outside! It resulted in a long drive home that evening, but was well worth it to spend the day with Pop, Grandma, Uncle Matthew, Vanessa (aka Dr. V!) and Great Grandma and Grandpa. Gracie certainly had her favorite animals, including the gorillas and baby elephant!

It was a wonderful weekend spent with family. We wish we were closer but really enjoyed the time we were able to spend together. Click here for more pictures of the weekend!

Over the river and through the woods...

2007-09-14T00:18:00.000-04:00

to Grandma's house we go! Scott, Gracie and I are headed to Tell City this weekend. We will have an opportunity to visit with family and old friends. Ross Oberhausen gets married on Saturday. The wedding will be held at St. Paul Catholic Church (same as Scott and I!) with the reception to follow at The Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY. I'm looking forward to sharing in this celebration and dancing the night away! Gracie's great-grandparents will be joining us at the hotel and watching her while mommy and daddy enjoy the reception. She is really looking forward to spending time with everyone! We'll definitely post photos upon our return!

Apple Day 2007

2007-09-10T23:24:00.000-04:00

Ever since I can remember my family has had an annual tradition with the LeClere family...Apple Day!!! I have many fond memories of Apple Day over the years, including apple orchards, pumpkin patches, hay rides, picnics, tailgating, and lots of laughter! The scenery has changed over the years, from small apple orchards in Evansville to Huber Winery to tailgating at IU and Notre Dame. Unfortunately, because of travel schedules and campaigning, we are not able to have the Ewing/LeClere Apple Day this year. However, Scott, Gracie and I did not want to skip a year altogether. Therefore, we had our own little Apple Day on Saturday!

We began with apple picking at an orchard in Southern Michigan. We were able to pick some delicious varieties, including Red/Yellow Delicious and Empire. Scott was thrilled that they also had Honey Crisp apples. These are the best apples we have ever eaten! We got hooked on them last year and now it's difficult to convince Scott to eat another variety. If you have never tasted one I would highly recommend it. Just beware - they are addicting!

After lots of apple picking and tasting, we continued on to St. Joe, Michigan (yes, we were there last weekend too). We had a wonderful dinner and then ventured out to the beach and pier on Lake Michigan. Gracie had so much fun playing on the beach playground, and just loved going out to the pier!

We had Tivod the Notre Dame / Penn State game. Little did we know it was a waste of our time to stay up until 12:30 and watch the game. We certainly enjoyed last year's Apple Day game much better, when the Irish trounced the Nittany Lions at Notre Dame Stadium!

Mom, Dad, Matthew, Vanessa and the entire LeClere clan - we definitely missed you this year but we look forward to many more years of Apple Day in the future! We also got a new game that we can play...Shout About TV. Just wait...it's barrels of fun!

Click here for lots of Apple Day 2007 pictures!

What's your favorite season?

2007-09-07T02:52:00.000-04:00

This week has seemed a little odd...in my mind I've already put summer behind me and moved onto fall. However, the 90 degree days have not made this transition entirely easy. It's made me think a lot though about my favorite season. Hands down, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (shout out to Gayle King there) the Fall (or Autumn for you sophisticated blog readers)! Below are just a few of my favorite things about the upcoming season:

1) Crisp (but sunny!) days where you can wear shorts and a sweatshirt. Takes me back to college days walking on North Jordan!

2) Apple Day!

3) Pumpkin Patches

4) My little girl dressed in adorable Halloween costumes!

5) Fruit crisps

6) Organizing after a summer of letting everything get a little messy!

7) Back-to-school shopping (we still get to call it that, don't we?)

8) Freshmen arriving on campus

9) The beautiful colors of leaves

10) FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL!!!

Gracie has already began her love for Fall. Papa Tuff let her carve her name into a pumpkin in his garden. The pumpkin has grown to be VERY large...and Gracie's name keeps growing with it. I can't wait to see the size of this thing on Halloween!

Fun new office tools!

2007-09-04T21:53:00.000-04:00

I am a big fan of the "solutions" pages within Parents magazine. They always highlight fun and interesting products to assist busy moms and dads. One of my favorite products was highlighted in the September issue of Parents...

The mouse pad notepad is perfect for jotting down reminders while on the phone or surfing your favorite website. I love the fun designs as well as great organizing idea! This is offered on seejanework.com, which is actually a wonderful site for working women. I love their products and it helps keep the office somewhat trendy!

Enjoy the products...more to come next month!

Farewell Summer

2007-09-04T00:02:00.000-04:00

Wow - what a weekend we had to close out the summer season. Saturday, Gracie had a fun day with Nanny and Papa while we went to the Notre Dame game (more about that later - we still aren't over it enough to actually write anything). After playing with Nanny and Papa all day Gracie came home to greet her boyfriend, Keegan! Gracie and Keegan played for a while Saturday night and then more Sunday morning. We had a fun time visiting with Heather and Bob - we are always happy when football season arrives because that means we get to see them a lot more :> After a quick (I mean, not so quick) breakfast Sunday morning, the Glynns departed for their return drive to Naperville and Scott, Gracie and I packed up for a day in southwestern Michigan.

We began the afternoon at Deer Forest, a large petting zoo and kiddie amusement park. Scott used to go as a child (tells you how long it's been there), and had fond memories of afternoons there with his Gram and Grandpa. Gracie had a great time feeding the deer, pigs, lamas; riding the ponies; and riding the various amusement park rides. Her favorite was the ferris wheel. I think Scott was a little scared but Gracie had a great time!!!

After a few hours at Deer Forest, we ventured to St. Joseph, Michigan for dinner and a view at the sunset. St. Joseph is a cute little town on both Lake Michigan and the St. Joe River. After dinner we went to Silver Beach to watch the sunset and let Gracie play a little before bedtime. She made a new little friend and had a great time on all the slides!

Monday was spent with Papa Tuff, Grandma Alys, Vic, Perry, Great Gram and Great Grandpa. We played in the kiddie pool, celebrated Gram's birthday, and ate LOTS of great food. Summer picnics at Papa Tuff's are always wonderful because he has tons of fresh fruits and veggies from his garden. Gracie had almost a bushel of corn and baby tomatoes herself (which have already made their way out!).

Aside from the ND game, we had a wonderful weekend. With lots of time at the beach, time spent with wonderful friends and family (click here to see photos of the weekend), it was a wonderful way to bid goodbye to the summer season.

Update: Grandma Barbara for Mayor!

2007-09-03T01:09:00.000-04:00

Well, mom's campaign is going strong. She even has a new website for those interested in learning more about her platform. Visit http://barbformayor.com/ to learn all kinds of fun facts! There is the CUTEST picture of Gracie post on the "Photo Gallery". She is saying, "Vote for my grandma!".

Busy Times...

2007-08-28T20:45:00.000-04:00

We apologize it's been a week since we last posted (sorry, Ditty!). It's been a hectic week that has left little time to journal our various adventures. We have been very busy though visiting with old friends, spending evenings at the park/playground, and even enjoying a fun-filled trip to Lake Michigan!

We had a wonderful weekend, as we traveled yet again to Naperville, IL. We have been there SEVERAL times in the last few weeks; all worth the trips though as we have been able to visit with Gracie's new boyfriend (Keegan) and most recently visit with our good friend Shana. We left bright and early Saturday morning. After multiple detours (80 and 94 were both closed due to flooding), we arrived at the Bottarelli home for a visit with Katherine, Bryan, Julia, Heather, Bob, Keegan, Shana and Scott!!! Gracie had a wonderful time visiting with Julia and Keegan (click here for pictures of their little playdate!) The rest of us had a great time congratulating Shana and Scott on their recent engagement!!!

For those of you that may not be aware, Shana introduced Scott and I in 1999 and has been the best of friends ever since. She moved to San Francisco about 2 years ago and unfortunately we don't get to see her as often as we would like. It was great to visit with her though and hear the wonderful and romantic story of Scott's proposal. We can't wait for the wedding...just let us know the date and location and we'll be on the next flight!! :)

After visiting with the clan we then headed to New Buffalo. Steve and Becky Schuester treated us to a wonderful dinner and evening of great conversation. Gracie especially enjoyed herself the next morning when we went for a walk along the beach. Click here for lots of pictures from our 6:30 a.m. adventure!

Now it's back to the grind and preparing for the big Notre Dame / Georgia Tech game. Let's hope Charlie has some new tricks in Season 3!

Something to think about...

2007-08-22T00:50:00.000-04:00

The Beloit College Mindset List for Class of 2011 was released today. This list identifies the events, technology and trends that have shaped the incoming class of college freshmen. It's published by Beloit College in Wisconsin and is actually pretty interesting! Just think...incoming freshmen have never "rolled down" a car window, have always grown up with bottled water, and have always known Nelson Mandela as a free man. Want to know more? View the entire list at the following link: http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/2011.php

This list prompted Scott and I to brainstorm on the things that could appear when Grace enters college, including the following:
1) She'll never remember anything but high definition television;
2) She won't remember riding in a car without satellite radio (Oprah and Friends!);
3) Navigation systems will be the norm;
4) She will never know what a tube TV is;
5) She'll assume we always had the luxury of DVRs;
6) She will never develop 35mm film;
7) She will never remember Hank Aaron as the home run leader; and
8) She will never know the emptiness of life without Chipotle!

These are just a few...what can you think of?

Happy Birthday Gram!

2007-08-19T20:50:00.000-04:00

We had the BEST weekend!! We celebrated Gram's birthday on Saturday with a wonderful lunch and then LOTS of fun playing in the creek, eating watermelon, blowing bubbles, balloon races, and searching for nickles in the sand pile. Gracie had so much fun playing with her cousins, aunts and uncles, Papa Tuff and Grandma Alys, and Great Gram and Grandpa. Her experience with the 24 inch watermelon was definitely my favorite - her face was hysterical as she bit devoured several pieces! After an afternoon of playing at Great Gram and Grandpa's, Gracie got to spend the night with Papa Tuff and Grandma Alys. She had a wonderful time playing with them, reading books, playing with Buddy, and picking lots of fruits and veggies in Papa Tuff's garden. Click here to see more pictures from our fun day in the creek (warning: there's lots of them)!

Scott and I also enjoyed a kid-free night out with friends - thank you so much Tuff and Alys! Unfortunately we missed Eli Coryn's birthday party, but we headed to the Coryns in the evening for pizza, bon fire, and games. It was great to see everyone!

Homegrown goodness!

2007-08-16T23:43:00.000-04:00

Gracie had her first taste of sweet pepper tonight! We have both sweet and banana peppers growing in our "patio garden". She had a great time picking and tasting them. It was funny to watch her face when she bit into them. It was even more fun to watch the dogs try to take the pepper right out of her hands! Click here for more pictures of Gracie and the dogs!

Vote for Grandma Babs!

2007-08-15T20:34:00.000-04:00

As many of you may be aware, Gracie's Grandma Barbara is running for the mayor of Tell City in November 2007. Gracie showed her support last weekend, in her "Vote Grandma Barbara for Mayor" t-shirt! Mom, we are all so proud of you and think of you every day!!

Children...life's best entertainment

2007-08-14T23:48:00.000-04:00

After an evening of chasing the dogs in the yard, watering the plants (Grace has her own watering can!), playing in the bath, and reading Fancy Nancy, Grace settled in for the night. Once again though, Scott and I were in awe this evening. Grace never ceases to amaze us with her new tricks, facial expressions, and contagious laughter. This is such a fun age and every day we comment on how parenthood keeps getting better and better. Can you blame us though...how could you not get a kick out of those teeth?!

Fun in the Sun!

2007-08-11T19:49:00.000-04:00

Gracie really enjoyed herself today, as we took in both the zoo and water park! The animals were all out today and very active! Gracie and Daddy fed the giant tortoises, and we all got VERY close to the kangaroos. A little too close for comfort at one point!

We then decided to cool off at the McNaughton Water Park. Gracie had so much fun playing with all of the kids and running through the sprinklers!! Our little daredevil LOVED running through the circular sprinklers...as you can see from this photo! The water park is WONDERFUL and we would definitely recommend it to anyone who lives in the Elkhart area.

Click here for more photos from our day of fun in the sun!

Big decision...

2007-08-10T22:05:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know, I have been frustrated with my Treo 650 for the past year. As Verizon does not offer any Treos without "stubs", I had to take the plunge into a completely new phone. Just yesterday I purchased a Motorola Q, which I am really enjoying!! I haven't experienced the complaints that others had with the Q; in fact it is a breath of fresh air in comparison to the good ol Treo. Scott just informed me though of the upcoming Samsung SCH-i760(http://www.intomobile.com/2007/07/13/samsung-sch-i760-spotted-on-verizons-site.html ). It's similar to the Q and AT&T Blackjack, but has a slide out keyboard and stylus/touch screen. Oh, decisions, decisions!!

Welcome Baby Keegan

2007-08-10T01:33:00.000-04:00

Keegan Brian Glynn was born on August 1, 2007 at 4:24 p.m. at Central DuPage Hospital. He weighed 6 lbs. ½ oz. and is 19 ¾ inches long. Grace was fortunate enough to meet her new friend last Sunday. We had a wonderful visit with Keegan, Heather, Bob, and Jim and Ellen Glynn. We are so very happy for the entire Glynn clan and can't wait to spend many great times with them in the years to come. We love you guys!

Fun Facts about the Kidders

2007-08-10T00:54:00.000-04:00

After prodding from our good friends Alison, Matt, Heather, Bob, Shannon and Mike, we have decided to join the blogging frenzy! We were a little hesitant at first, but everyone assures us this is MUCH easier than it appears. So far so good! We hope this serves as a forum to stay in touch with friends and family, especially those of you who are much farther away than we would prefer (e.g., mom and dad; shana!!). We'll try to post daily and provide interesting tidbits about life in South Bend (I know - right now you're thinking that this will be an impossible task!). I suppose the reality of it is that the blog will probably document the life of Gracie! We hope you enjoy and hope to see all of you very soon!