Busy Times...

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...

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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...

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

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

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!