The Lily Log

A Great Show

August 29, 2008, 6:32 pm

Nathan had another one of his bright ideas and suggested we go to the circus last night. He threw me for a loop, and I had to consider it for a few minutes. I mean "circus" was not on my calendar. I threw caution to the wind and went along.

Our family enjoyed (of all things) the dogs the best. You might think at a circus we would like the elephants or tigers, but the dogs stole the show. They seemed so happy and excited to do tricks. Lily loved the fluffy white one who wore a dress and rode a scooter. You can't get much better than that...that's America's Funniest Home Video material. What is it with people and dogs?

Here are some pictures of our night:

We fell prey to the outrageously price cotton candy. But check out the oh-so-practical free souvenir hat!

[ 2 comments ] ( 12 views )

River Walk

August 28, 2008, 7:00 am

Yesterday I had a not so great day at work. Nathan suggested going on a walk by the river after dinner. Sometimes he has the best ideas...

I did receive exciting news yesterday. Starting September 7th, I will officially work part-time. I have struggled with working vs. wanting to be at home, and my boss called a meeting with me (quite out of the blue) and offered me a wonderful solution. I will work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (Lily is in preschool those mornings) and have Tuesdays and Thursdays at home. I am so excited to have more time with the people I love.

[ 2 comments ] ( 10 views )

Fox news

August 24, 2008, 4:25 pm

Today was a perfect day for the zoo. Noah was very excited to go with his friend Cade. I've mentioned their dressing up tendencies. Noah and Cade wore some Indiana Jones hats for the zoo trip and were quite a pair.

Every time we go to the zoo, I hope that the fox is awake. We have only seen the fox sleeping. Today the fox was awake and playful. I even got video of her (Hey Huck, what is a female fox called?):

Click for video of the fox

(I would like a fox for Christmas or my birthday. If you're trying to think of a last minute gift for me...)

[ 2 comments ] ( 14 views )

Big Girl

August 24, 2008, 4:18 pm

Lily is really caught up in being a big girl now. She's 4 and she insists that I cannot carry her (which is saving my back). She even walks downstairs in the morning. She also dresses herself and states that she's 4 and she's big and I cannot help her.

Lily likes to point out that she's older than Huck who is merely 3 (it was so long ago when Lily was 3). She received a Lite Brite for her birthday from Uncle Jason, and it's for ages 4 and up. She likes to bring that up a lot.

Lily is very excited to start the 4's program at preschool which meets 3 mornings a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) instead of just 2 mornings a week like last year (when she was small and 3). She needed pencils for school this year, and she's very excited to write her numbers and letters. She's hoping she gets lots of homework like her big brother.

Here's the big girl:

[ 2 comments ] ( 11 views )

Our 2nd Grader

August 19, 2008, 9:22 pm

I almost got Noah 1st Grade school supplies this year. I have a hard time accepting he is now a second grader. Today was Noah's first day of school, and he thinks his teacher, Mrs. Sanchez, is the best teacher ever. Apparently she has secret parties that no other 2nd grade class has.

To celebrate Noah's first day of school, I took him to Michael's Sports World where we played putt putt golf, video games, and bowling. Noah declared that this was the best day ever.

Here is Noah with his buddy Cade. Although they are boys, they are masters of dress up. I believe they are "Germans" in these photos.

[ 2 comments ] ( 14 views )

Lily's REAL birthday

August 19, 2008, 9:18 pm

On August 16th, we woke Lily up at 9:00 am singing Happy Birthday To You, which made Lily very happy. She then opened many presents from her family from all over. She was truly spoiled this year. I think her aunts and Grandmas like to buy girl stuff.

Here is Lily first thing in the morning:

Oh, Aunt Lori!

Then we packed up and went to Cedar Rapids for another birthday party and to prepare for Papa's big race. The Passmans and Hitchmans helped us celebrate along with "the brothers." (That's what Noah calls Preston, Papa, and Jason). We had fun talking on the patio outside, eating pizza and cake, decorating Jell-O (Lily informed everyone that the Jell-O contains animal bones), and swimming.

Lily and Noah loved the hotel. It was the "fanciest" hotel they had ever stayed in, and they wanted to move in. That evening Noah and I stayed up late and went up and down the glass elevator.

The next morning we got up early and cheered Papa on as he completed his first 1/2 Ironman. I've decided that a 6-hour race is perhaps a little long for the kids, but we were all very proud to see Papa complete such an amazing feat.

Cheering section:

Click to see Nathan starting his race

[ 3 comments ] ( 17 views )

She's 4!!!

August 16, 2008, 9:50 am

After many days of counting down, August 16th has finally arrived! Lily is actually still sleeping because the girl loves to sleep in. So as a gift to her, we'll let her sleep.

Yesterday Lily had a Strawberry Shortcake, Dora the Explorer, Diego, Care Bears, Backyardigans birthday party. This is what she requested, so I bought a hodgepodge of birthday decorations. She wanted a strawberry cake "just like last year" and helped me make and decorate her pink cake.

Lily gave out lots of hugs after opening her gifts. She is ready for preschool with a very fashionable wardrobe from the Kruses.

Here are some highlights from yesterday:

Amazingly packaged gift with starbursts spelling out Lily in yellow and the number 4 in pink. Oh Kruses! (Lily absolutely loves starbursts)

Lily and her strawberry cake:

Lily wanted us to dress up for her birthday. She did my hair with a little clip and applied some glittery blue makeup to her face:

Ready for rain in gear from the Power family:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LULU! (Now wake up already!)

[ 2 comments ] ( 17 views )

10 Days in Kansas

August 7, 2008, 3:38 pm

Noah has been very excited for 17 days of adventure away from home. Noah spent 7 days in Colorado on vacation and then went to Kansas with Grandma and Grandpa for 10 days of their full attention.

We call Noah daily, and he sounds so young on the phone. Since Noah is our older child, I think of him as pretty grown up, but man he sounds little! His voice is full of excitement as he tells me about his Kansas adventures.

My Dad has been getting Noah up at 6:00 a.m. to play golf. He tells me that Noah can hit a 100 yard drive which means very little to me, but Grandpa sounds pretty proud. Noah even went golfing with Grandpa and his friends on Monday morning. Noah got to drive the golf cart which was definitely a highlight of his trip. Noah said, "I'd sure like to buy a golf cart, Mom."

Noah has been playing monopoly and Uno a lot with his Grandparents and states he's getting a lot better. He has been reading his new Indiana Jones book to Grandma. Grandma and Grandpa took him to the fair, and today Grandpa is taking him to a rodeo. Grandpa also took him to the new Batman movie which Noah claims is "the best movie ever."

Noah also has spent time with Grandma Tackett. She took him to the movie Wall-e. They also went shopping and out to eat. Noah enjoyed spending the night with Grandma Tackett and is excited to come home with his Papa's old cubs scout shirt.

Last night I talked to Noah and told him how much I miss him and asked if he's ready to come home. He said, "Not really."

Noah also got to spend some extra time with the Schremmers:

And even ran into the Schremmers at the Salina Wal-Mart! (Typical)

Noah will get to see even more family this weekend when Nathan goes to pick him up in KC (Spencers, Chamberlains, and Tacketts). He may not be ready, but we can't wait to have him back! (Hopefully he won't come back expecting golf games at sunrise...)

[ 1 comment ] ( 11 views )

Mountain Time

August 4, 2008, 12:26 pm

We went on (yes, another) vacation in July. (We are out of vacation time and money, but boy have we had fun this summer.) The kids love going on trips and had an absolutely wonderful time in Colorado. They were surrounded by family and took full advantage of all the attention. Noah actually said, "This is the best vacation ever!"

We attended a family reunion for my Grandpa's side of the family at Golden Bell Lodge in Divide, Colorado. Noah met a cousin named Ben who is 10-years-old (and thus infinitely cool) and a cousin named Bryce from Virginia who is just about the same age. Noah enjoyed playing with Ben and Bryce rather than hanging out much with the rest of us.

Lily enjoyed all of her aunts, uncles, Grandma, Grandpa, and cousins. She met a new friend named Nicole and talked her ear off. Our favorite quote from Lily that week was when she asked per Papa, "I like your germs. Do you want some of mine?"

After the reunion, we went to Woodland Park and had more fun swimming, playing games, and looking at the mountains. A highlight for the Hottmans was returning to The North Pole, a Christmas-themed amusement park where there are no lines to ride on the rides. Noah, Lily, and Huck even got to tell Santa what they want next year (The North Pole is also his summer home). My Mom and Dad took us girls to The North Pole years ago, so the trip was very special and brought back great memories.

Here are just a few pictures from the week:

After some Funyaking (Jeni, Megan, JJ, Huck, and Lauren):