Dog Days of Summer

I've mentioned several times how much Will loves the water. While I was out of town this past weekend, Dave & Will spent time with the fam at the cabin...Will enjoyed playing in the lake with Dad & Grandpa. Although I don't have pics from their time out there, I did attached a few photos below of him in the pool the day before I left for NYC. We often sit in the pool after going for a run...it's a good way to cool off!

Back to life...back to reality....

Hooray! Dave's finally done (Lord-willing) with the CFA! I say, "Lord-willing," because he doesn't actually find out the results until probably sometime late August - ugh! But they say ignorance is bliss, right? Sooooo, let's just assume he passed and we can move on with our life! The test took place all day on Saturday, June 7th. When he came home that evening, of course he was exhausted, but it was funny to watch him later that night...he was pacing around the house not knowing what to do with himself. He had been so programmed to studying every spare minute, that he literally didn't know what to do with his time. It was great being able to go to church on Sunday morning without that stress hanging over his head. We love having a social life again, too. Here's a photo of the boys just minutes after Dave came home from the test.

Dave was so kind to let me plan a reunion with all my college girlfriends. We started planning about 2 months ago. My flight takes off early this Thursday morning (5:45 a.m., to be exact). I'm flying into D.C. and my friend Megan is picking me up. We are going to road-trip it from there to NYC where we are meeting up with the other 6 girls. I absolutely cannot wait...we don't get to see one another near enough because we're spread all over the country (and out of the country). We're there from Thursday through Sunday. I'm certain there will be photos to follow.

Here are a few other random pics I took of Will the other day.

A Week with Gigi

We had so much fun having my mom stay with us this past week! She arrived last Thursday, and left yesterday morning to head home to a far away land called Florida. Although it seemed naps still ruled the schedule, we somehow fit in a lot of fun. We went to Elmwood Park and introduced Will to a fountain...quite possibly his new favoritest thing.

He loves all bodies of water, and I do mean all! He loves his baths and swimming in the pool, but he also gets a kick out of sitting at a sink with the water running and getting us both soaking wet. We met up with Grammy for lunch, and Will kept sticking his hands in our water glasses. Swirling ice cubes around in a glass has become the coolest thing ever.

My mom and I took Will to the zoo for the first time Tuesday afternoon. We didn't stay very long, but it was plenty long for me when trying to keep a very active 9-month old boy entertained! He was more interested in people-watching than the animals. Mr. Will wasn't so sure about the giraffes, but was intrigued by the fish and penguins (shocker, I know!). As you may have guessed, his favorite exhibit was the aquarium (are you sensing a theme here?). When I stood with him in front of the glass tanks, he kept trying to touch the water and then he'd get frustrated when he couldn't feel it. Perhaps we have a future marine biologist on our hands.








































































Come back soon, Gigi...and bring Papaw, too ;-)

Flower shopping with Mom...

Will found this task less than exciting; however, my mom is coming into town today, and we wanted to get out of the house to help pass the time. It's been unusually overcast and rainy the past week, so both Will and I have had cabin fever. We haven't gone on as many stroller rides due to the rain, but we're hoping to dine outdoors tonight at one of our favorite restaurants after my mom lands.

An Eventful Weekend: my first clue should've been...

the Northern Water Snake that Carol & Kristin spotted on our boat lift. I've never been fearful of snakes, but this was the biggest snake I've ever witnessed in the wild...at least in Omaha. This thing was at least 3 feet long and about the width of my forearm - no joke. We borrowed a shovel from our neighbors and they took a good shot at it, but the thing got away too quickly. We didn't think it'd come back, but within 30 seconds it was back on the boat lift. This time they clipped it, and thankfully it didn't show its face again.

That was my second run-in with a snake within a 48 hour period. On Saturday I was picking up sticks in our backyard, and almost picked up a snake thinking it was a stick until it started slithering away! Needless to say that ended my cleanup in the yard...I resorted to reading a magazine safely on our deck instead. Let's hope I've had my fill of snakes for awhile.

Kristin's cat, Peanut seemed spooked all day yesterday. She was hiding under the bed and we couldn't get her to come out...we figured out why when we had a nasty storm roll through last night. I have always loved the thrill of a good storm, but I'll be honest...this one was frightening! We were all outside playing blongo ball, when we noticed some mean-looking clouds approaching from the South. It started raining a bit and we kept playing, but once it started lightning, we packed stuff up and started heading inside. We made it as far as the screened-in porch, but before we could even get into the cottage, the wind started howling. You've heard people say that when a tornado is coming close it sounds light a freight train? That's what it sounded like. It was really freaky, and I couldn't get over how quickly it came...it was peaceful one minute and literally within seconds we were being blasted with tornado-like winds...I have never experienced weather so intense. Apparently there weren't any tornadoes spotted in our area, but wind speeds were easily 70 mph - plus! Surveying the damage looked like tornadic activity...huge trees were completely uprooted, boat lifts were ripped out of the ground and thrown across the lake, large branches were flying through the air, boats were tossed onto shore, some were tipped and started sinking. The scariest part for me, though, was that Dave had just gotten on the road to head home only minutes before the weather got ugly. He wouldn't have left had he known how bad it would've been. We thought he could get ahead of the storm, but it moved too quickly. He said that there were a couple times he felt as if the wind was beginning to lift the vehicle. We just kept praying and praying, and after looking at all the damage and where the majority of it hit (all within our side of the lake), we're convinced that the Lord answered our prayers to keep us (& Dave) in a bubble! Below are a few pics of how things looked after it calmed down.













































Thankfully Will was already fast asleep by the time the storm hit. He always sleeps with a loud fan on for white noise, but we lost electricity during the storm, so I thought for sure he'd wake up to all the booming thunder...miraculously he did not.

I have a feeling we'll never forget Will's first Memorial Day weekend ;-)

It's official...I really am a mom!

It's a strange feeling when it finally sinks in that you're a parent. I think yesterday - Mother's Day - was the first time it truly sank in for me. My first clue was getting a package in the mail from my mom earlier in the week. I couldn't imagine why my mom would be sending me a package, and then it hit me...pretty cool getting a gift from your own mom on Mother's Day! My second clue was when my sister-in-law asked me where I wanted to eat for lunch on Sunday. I thought to myself, "Why are you asking me? You should ask your mom." Then when our pastor had all the moms stand to be prayed for I thought, "Wow - this is weird...I really am a mom."

It was a great day, and I think the best part (as cheesy as it may sound) was getting my first piece of artwork from Will :-) While he was in the nursery, they painted his hands yellow and stamped them on a piece of paper, then drew green stems to make the handprints look like flowers. It's already hung proudly on our refrigerator. Dave also wrote a card to me from Will...I thought that was pretty cute and it gave me a lot of laughs.

Night Out

Dave and I were able to enjoy a date night together to celebrate his birthday, while Grammy babysat. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so we hoped to dine somewhere with outdoor seating; however, being that it was a Sunday and we didn't leave until 7, it posed to be a challenge. We checked out a couple of our favorite spots, but neither were open.

We landed at a restaurant called Passport. It's a place we've always wanted to check out, but never have - so last night was the night. We live close to downtown, and usually opt to eat at the local joints...especially in the summertime because so many restaurants down there have outdoor areas and we love people-watching. It was fun to have a night with my hubby...minus CFA books!!