Not only were these flowers arranged by my hand, they were also grown in my own backyard.  They were just so beautiful I decided to go out and cut some to share with a friend.

Wilton Tent Sale--Oh ya!

Question:  What is the benefit of having Wilton Industries headquartered nearby? 

Answer:  The annual Tent Sale, where practically every product that Wilton makes from pans, to cake decorating supplies, to scrapbooking & wedding stuff, to just about every kitchen gadget and utensil is on sale for 50-75 percent off.

I have been saving up and waiting all year to replace some old kitchen items we have had since we were married 14 years ago

COOKIE MONDAY

This summer I have decided to institute Cookie Monday at our house.  This means that every Monday we are home, we are going to make a batch of cookies.  Hey, it's summer time and someone always wants a snack, plus we are going to try out a bunch of new recipes.

Last week, Aunt Katie started us off with the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Can't beat oatmeal and grated chocolate bars!

Today, was the Snickerdoodle.  Paige was a big fan of rolling the cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar and she did a mighty fine job.

Family Fun Day

Our family just spent a whole Saturday with no must-dos or obligations (except mowing the grass--good job Dave!) and so we decided to go out and have some fun.

We started at the movie theater to see Prince of Persia.  Paige has been requesting this movie since it came out.  I'm not sure how or why this movie got on her radar but her wish was granted today.  I actually liked this movie much better than I thought I would.   Maybe it was all the handsome Persian Princes?

After the movie, we came home made pizza for lunch and just hung out for a few hours.  Then we headed out again to watch 4 hours of the Illinois High School Girls Soccer State Championship Tournament.  Having played in a few State tourneys myself it was fun to reminisce.  Ashley was very interested and had a great time as well.  We got to endure thunderstorms, a rain delay, see a PK shoot-out in one game and in another game watch a local high school, Waubonsie Valley, win the State Championship.  After the game at 9:30 pm, we ate dinner at Five Guys.

Long day, but very fun.

Sticking to the Bright Side

Okay, how annoying that I have blogged more about preparing for our trip to Thailand than I probably will about the actual trip.  I guess that's what happens when something causes you much consternation and basically consumes your life for a while.  I've had to think a lot about Thailand and hence it shows up in my blog way too much.

So here are my latest and hopefully last thoughts before we actually leave:  This definitely has not been an easy process, there have been lots of bumps in the road but I have decided to just look on the bright side:

I AM GOING TO THAILAND!  My family, including my dad, gets to go with me.  My daughters will get to meet their 96 year-old great-grandmother for the first time.  We will get to learn more about and experience first-hand our cultural heritage and we get to share that with my dad.  We are going to eat lots of fresh fruit and seafood.  We will be playing on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  We are going to ride elephants.  The US State Department has officially lifted the travel warning.  We were more than lucky to find Dave a good-priced ticket to Thailand and I don't have to worry about any harm coming to him in India or worry that my garden will die while unattended for over a month.  I am very excited!  Now get packing and no more worries.

A Birthday in Chicago

On Sunday, we were delighted to have Megan and Katie come to church with us.  As this was my first Sunday at church after being released as Primary President, it was nice to have some company with me as I went to the "adult meetings."

After church, we decided to celebrate Megan's 9th birthday because we knew we wouldn't be home on her actual birthday (Monday.)  Dave grilled/charred hamburgers and Katie made a delicious chocolate/Skor candy bar cake.  After, Megan opened presents, the girls were all thrilled with the Flip camcorder.

On Memorial Day we all went downtown for a little sightseeing and to celebrate Megan's birthday.  We started early because we were expecting crowds on a holiday, but to our delight the foot traffic every where we went was very light.  Everyone must have been at home planning on family barbecues or something. 

We started out at the Shedd Aquarium.

We saw all the exhibits, including the new Fantasea dolphin and whale show.  Ashley even dared to touch a starfish.

The highlight may have been the body art.  A very good artist painted a dolphin, a shark and a turtle on the girls' arms.

After the aquarium, we scrapped our plans for Millenium Park because there was a huge thunderstorm, so Katie and Megan went to Sears Tower to try out the ledge, while our family went across the street to hangout in Dave's office.  The girls kept busy writing on the whiteboard, etc.

We then met up again for dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe.  Yummy as always including the cheesecake and New Orleans beignets for dessert.

Summer Vacation

It's summer vacation around here but technically it's not our vacation, my girls are still in school for one more day.  The vacationers around our house are Katie and Megan Wahlquist.  Katie is Dave's sister and Megan is her 9 year old daughter.  They came on a girl's getaway (they left the boys of their family at home) to spend Memorial Day weekend with us.  Memorial Day also happens to be Megan's birthday so we got to celebrate that as well.  Ashley and Paige were thrilled to have Megan to play with and of course, who doesn't love birthdays?

Fortunately, their trip corresponded with some hot Chicago temperatures and the opening of our pool for the season so....

The girls have had so much fun playing with their Cousin Megan.  In addition to swimming, they have spent the last few days playing the piano, playing dress-up, playing games, and recording themselves on video. 

Megan is a very sweet girl and has been a perfect companion for both Paige and Ashley.  It has also been great to have Aunt Katie, especially because we have had someone who can play the piano for the girls as they sing-along

and MAKE COOKIES!

(Aunt Katie makes the best cookies, she's an expert!)