December 31, 2011

I went around and woke people up to celebrate the new year--Happy New Year!  Time for bed.

December 30, 2011

Time for the Hawkeye bowl game--the dogs are very excited!  All three of them were playing and wrestling around Joe as he tried to settle in for the kickoff.  It's crazy, wild, loud...no wonder the picture is blurry!

December 29, 2011

Suzi, Emma and Hannah came home from their trip tonight!  It was close to 10pm before they got to the house--which felt like 4am the next morning to them.  Emma headed straight to bed, Hannah stayed up to eat an apple and a little roast beef but Suz must have gotten her second wind because she was up until almost midnight! 

December 28, 2011

I finally got the January page for Mom's calendar finished this morning--now just have to get it packed up and in the mail!  Better start looking for February pictures too.

December 27, 2011

I went to lunch at Panera's today with Kathy Mac.  Well, it started as lunch at 11:00 but ended as coffee at 3:00!  We hadn't gotten together for over two years, so there was a lot to talk about!  I got this cookie with my lunch but saved it for Joe.  It was great getting back in touch with an old friend.  Hopefully it won't be so long before we get together again!

December 26, 2011

It's not a good picture, but I only had my phone along when we went for dinner at Olive Garden.  We had a relaxed meal, sampled a new appetizer and some wine and enjoyed the time together.  It's not the same as when we go out with the kids, but it was nice in a different way. 

December 25, 2011

This morning we took care of the dogs then piled into the car and drove to Heidi and Dave's house for Christmas dinner with their family and Irene.  It was a really nice day for a drive and we had a great visit.  Later Joe made steaks on the grill and we had a nice, late Christmas supper.  We toasted our Christmas with some wine from Dave and cookies from Heidi!

December 24, 2011

Joe and I opened our gifts after going to 7:00 service at church tonight.  We had planned on having a nice dinner, but we had pizza (Papa Murphy's) for a late lunch and then took a big nap, so we just skipped dinner.  After walking the dogs Joe went back to church to usher at the 11:00 service and I settled into the recliner with little guy on my lap.  It was a pretty nice Christmas Eve!

December 23, 2011

This is what's been taking up my day today!  Charlie is a good puppy, but he's a PUPPY!  Like a toddler, you have to keep your eye on them all of the time.

December 22, 2011

Here are the travelers right before they left for the airport.  I'm excited to hear about all of their adventures in London!

December 21, 2011

Ok, it's just as hard to get a family picture with 2 girls and Suz as it is with the 3 girls!  I guess it's just our family.  This is the best one, and Joe is looking a lot like Popeye!  Oh well, between all of us, the dogs, cat and the camera position, we might not have gotten a great picture, but we had some laughs trying!

December 20, 2011

Today I spent a good part of the day in the car, driving from place to place while I got last minute shopping done for Christmas and for the girls' trip.  I had to quit at 4:00 because I needed to be at B&S by 5:00.  Tomorrow I'll need to wrap a couple of gifts and check my list (twice!)

December 19, 2011

Emma, Hannah and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie tonight--and when we got home, this is what we saw!  Joe had put up the Christmas tree after work.  He wanted to see how his new lights looked.  They are pretty bright!

December 18, 2011

Hannah helped me put together the Christmas cards and letters today.  We got them all finished and ready to be mailed tomorrow.  I had hoped to get them out a week ago, but at least it's before Christmas this year!

December 17, 2011

It was a busy day today, Hannah and I were in Lincoln all day at a swim meet, Joe was busy with work and Emma was...well, I'm sure she was busy too!  Tonight Hannah and Joe were part of the Living Nativity at Holy Cross.  Joe was one of the wisemen and Hannah was an angel in the choir. 

December 16, 2011

It was the last day of school today for two weeks.  I got lots of nice gifts from the kiddos.  While I love chocolate and fun mugs, the thank you note inside a card is the most special gift.

December 15, 2011

Our friend, Teresa, always finds the best gifts for Joe--these are a set of four Scooby Doo glasses.  I think I need to go Christmas shopping with her!

December 14, 2011

Emma's home!  Joe drove to Grinnell to pick her up this afternoon.  They got here around 6:00 tonight.  I asked for a quick picture before we left for church tonight and this is what they did!  I already posted it on facebook, but it was so cute that I had to use it for my post tonight too.

December 13, 2011

Burke swam in a meet tonight at Millard South high school.  Here's Hannah's finish in the 200IM...she made her state time!  Woohoo!!

December 12, 2011

I wore my new hat to school today.  I finally found one that fits on my head well.  And it's colorful too!  I wish I had those orange varigated mittens that Auntie Gerry knit for us years ago--they would match it perfectly.  Oh well, they would probably be too small for my hands by now anyway.  But I do like my new hat!

December 11, 2011

I made this picture small on purpose--it's kind of gross.  The dogs killed a possum in the backyard tonight. Poor Joe got the awful job of disposing of it.  Ewwww

December 10, 2011

Hannah really likes these pillow pets at Walmart.  She says that she doesn't want one, but...

December 9, 2011

A little girl in the afternoon class gave me this "mail" today.  It was a picture of me that she had drawn at home.  I love how she gave me glasses.  It made my day!  Somedays my job at Joslyn really does "nourish my soul."

December 8, 2011

Joe went to the Winter Concert tonight at Burke.  I had to work at B&S.  It was a good concert, but the weatherman put too much emphasis on the "winter" part--it was snowing and the roads were pretty slippery, so Joe drove Hannah home afterwards.

December 7, 2011

Hannah's looking pretty tired--she's been up since 4:15 this morning but she's still smiling about her PSAT score at 9:30 tonight when I took this picture.  She got a 213!  Woohoo, way to go smarty pants!

December 6, 2011

Central swam against Burke today in the meet.  Hannah came sooo close to making her cut in the 200IM.  The timing system wasn't working well, so they used the timer's stopwatch as the official time.  The timer had her at 2:22.25, she needs a 2:22.08. 

December 5, 2011

It snowed again today.  Not as much as on Saturday, but any is too much for me!  The only thing good about the snow today was that I got a picture of these perfect snowflakes. 

December 4, 2011

Hannah and I had to go to Walmart on Sunday this week since yesterday was taken up with the meet.  Hannah wanted a fresh pineapple to snack on--this is her cutting it up.  I thought it was so funny that she had to stand on her tippy toes to cut it up.  (She wasn't as amused.)

December 3, 2011

Today was the Burke Invite swim meet.  The boys swam in the morning and the girls in the afternoon.  The girls found ways to amuse themselves before the meet.  Hannah's relay team made a state time, so she'll get a parka to wear for the season.  She needs to drop less than a second from her 200IM to make that time.  I'm sure she'll get it soon.

December 2, 2011

We discovered a new pizza place--Papa Murphy's Take and Bake is awesome.  We got two big pizzas and a dessert pizza for $17!   Since you bake it yourself, it is hot right when you eat it.  We only tried the extra thin crust pizza tonight--really good and crispy.  The dogs liked that too since little pieces of the crust were flying off the island as I sliced the pizza...

December 1, 2011

One of the girls' favorite things to do before Christmas is open the door on the Advent calendar each morning.  Hannah's calendar from Grandma is all for her this year--at least until Emma comes home!

November 30, 2011

Joe just sat down to watch a little football and both of the dogs thought that he needed to give them some attention.  Of course, they got what they wanted--and a walk too!

November 29, 2011

Just a normal day today.  Joe went to work, Hannah went to school and swim practice, I went to work at Joslyn and at B&S.  This is a picture of the classroom this morning before the kids arrived.  The sun was shining and we are all well so I guess "just a normal day" is just fine.

November 28, 2011

I'm making ham and potato chowder with the ham bone from our Thanksgiving dinner.  It turned out really good and the best part is that Joe didn't make ham and bean soup this year!

November 27, 2011

Joe went to watch the Creighton men's soccer team play in the NCAA tournament today.  The day was cold and windy but the Bluejays won!

November 26, 2011

I love Skype!  (Even with the technical problem we sometimes have.)  Becca and Hannah are catching up today. 

November 25, 2011

Hannah isn't feeling too well tonight.  I think it's the long hours of swim practice catching up with her--or maybe it's the Hawkeye loss to the Huskers.  Either way, hopefully she'll feel better after her soup.

November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!  It's obvious that we don't go formal for the holiday!  Irene came to visit this year for Thanksgiving.  We kept it pretty low key, our biggest outting was driving around to see the holiday lights. 

November 23, 2011

I had to "borrow" this picture of Becca from one of her friend's FB posts.  It's such a cute picture of Becca.  I miss her a lot, but I'm so glad that she's getting to have this experience. 

November 22, 2011

Joe and Hannah went to the state football game tonight in Lincoln.  The Bulldogs went in undefeated at 12-0 but that winning streak ended tonight with a loss to Lincoln Southeast.  It was still a great season for the team and fun to see a game at Memorial Stadium.

November 21, 2011

The intrasquad meet for the Burke swim teams was tonight.  Hannah and some of her teammates took time between events to pose for a picture.  Tasha must be worried about that 100 fly?! 

November 20, 2011

I finally got a picture of Hannah at the Humane Society where she walks dogs almost every Sunday.  I wasn't able to get a picture of her with a real dog outside, but this sign pretty much sums it up!

November 19, 2011

The gate is fixed!  Woohoo.  It was a challenge for Joe to find the right parts to fix the gate, but he finally found what he needed.  It's so nice to have that working again. 

November 18, 2011

Sometimes Hannah lets Dexter curl up on her lap.  He's very persistant--and it's cold today!  Poor Dexter, he needs Emma to come home.

November 17, 2011

Too much "relaxation" last night!!  Ok, so maybe this is a little bit dramatic, but I did have a bit of a headache this morning!  I decided to have a second glass of wine while I watched tv last night--I should know better.  Next time I'll switch to Diet Coke if I want a second drink.  I'm such a party animal!

November 16, 2011

It's Wednesday night and I don't have to go anywhere!  I decided to have a glass of wine while I made dinner and then just "relax" afterwards with a rerun of Top Gear.  What a great evening!

November 15, 2011

Poor Hannah, she had late swim pratice tonight, got home at almost 8:00 and has lots of homework to do.  I hope it isn't like this every night during swim season!

November 14, 2011

Joe is such a good sport!  He is usually willing to play tug or run around with Jessie after work.  She is always so happy to play.

November 13, 2011

Hannah swam at the Mac meet this morning at Millard West.  She also swam on Friday night.  She had a pretty good meet, getting new best times in half of her events.  I was most excited when she went under a minute in her 100 freestyle!  High school swim season starts tomorrow.  The first meet is the Burke Invite on December 3rd.

November 12, 2011

Joe and I got up early and left at 5:00am to get to the Iowa-Michigan State game today.  Unlike last week, it was a pretty nice day.  The sun was shining and it wasn't too windy.  But unlike last week, the Hawks didn't win the game.  Rats!  Mom, Dad, Suzi, Gary, Cris, Joe and I still had fun going to the game and visiting for awhile afterwards.  Joe and I arrived back in Omaha at a little after 8:00pm.  What a long day!