chowing down at the choo choo

Mom was just in town visiting her grandkids!
While she was here, we all took the train to Des Plaines and met at the choo choo for lunch.



Micah was totally in his element!



In the restaurant, a train loops between the kitchen and the dining tables and provides endless entertainment for kids (and adults)!



It even brought us our food!







We had some really yummy milkshakes.



And mom loved her root beer float!



Micah and Adam goofing around...





and waiting for the train back home...



What a fun day! Let's do it again!
It was great seeing you, Mom. Come back soon!

done with some projects

Remember these?? I finally finished the cushions!!

I think each one got progressively better in quality as a figured out the best way to sew them.

They mostly stay on the red patterned side, but it's nice to know we have options.

I also finished scrapbooking our cruise from last year.

We went to Grand Cayman, Belize, Rotatan, and Costa Maya with our very fun cousins!! It was so fun reliving the memories.

On a whim, I decided I wanted to make a new bedskirt for our bed that went all the way to the floor (i.e. to hide all of the things we store underneath it!!).

It's hard to tell from the picture, but the material is a soft plush brown, slightly reflective finish. I

think it goes pretty well with our new rug.

And lastly, on Thursday we had BME (Biomedical Engineering) Research Day at school where all the graduate students presented a poster on their research. Here was mine:

I'll spare you my little spiel. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. ;)

Next on the agenda:

* Figure out what to do on the kitchen wall above the benches (maybe wainscoating?)

* Work on an album for Adam's Grandma (Scrapbooking weekend @ Lake Geneva in November, here I come!)

* Make curtains for the Living Room

* Finish the PhD... (hahaha!)

I'll keep you posted!

like every other grad student...

FYI, it's best not to ask... :)

Fall-ing!

The smells...



the tastes...



the sites...



the sounds...



I love everything about fall!



And now my home is ready for it.



Happy Autumn!

Matt's aunt!

Happy Birthday Matthew!!



I seriously can't believe you are 8 YEARS OLD! WOW!



I remember I had just started college when you were born.
And now you're in 2nd grade. You are growing up so fast.



This is one of our favorite pictures of you... (You were 5!)



We had lots of fun last March back in Texas. Do you remember making this video?!
Carly filmed us acting out one of your favorite parts of Horton Hears a Who.



I hope you are settling in to your new home, school and neighborhood in Nebraska.



We can't wait to come visit in November!! We miss you lots,
Love, Uncle Adam and Aunt Betsy

mommy for a day!

On Saturday, I got to babysit 4 mo. old Andrew!
It was sooo fun!!

He took his bottle really well...

.

naptime...



playtime...





Wii time with Uncle Adam... they both took it very seriously!



"Come on, Uncle Adam, we can do better than that!"



We had a really fun day!
{hmm, maybe we CAN handle this parenting thing??}

Oh and since my sister doesn't have a blog YET, I just have to post this for her. Look at these adorable photos of all her kids in the same outfit at three months old!! Can you tell who is who??



Thanks for asking us Jon and Robin!! We'll take one at a time, ANYTIME!!


**Update: My sister's family now has a blog!! Check out: http://jonrees.blogspot.com/