A Cookie Attempt

I am not a cook. I like to bake. I wanted to make 'double chocolate espresso cookies' that were in our church cookbook.

• The first sign of trouble was that I bought all the ingredients before I had Andrew (well not the eggs... you know what I mean) and just got around to it tonight.
  
• The next sign of trouble came when there was no sugar listed in the ingredients but sugar was discussed in the instructions.
  
• The 3rd sign came when it took 3 phone calls to find out how much sugar to use.... and I quote "well I put a whole basket of correction slips in the church office..." (obviously I don't have one or I wouldn't be calling you!).
  
• The 4th sign of trouble came when beating the eggs and they didn't get "thick and lemon in color".
  
• And the 5th sign came when I tried to take this batch off the cookie sheet...........

(yes that's a pile of undercooked cookies)

This is the second batch which was slightly better than the 1st (cooked 2 minutes longer)...
Overall the cookies taste pretty good but they were almost impossible to get off the cookie sheet (do I need nonstick? more grease?). I'm not sure I'll ever make them again.

In Memory....

Today the memorial garden and walking path were dedicated at the high school. Pastor Raether did most of the presentation and, as always, was fantastic.

Brooke was a member of our church and best friend of Gabe & Andrew's babysitter Sara. She died last year as a result of injuries from a car accident. She would be a junior this year.
BKD = Brooke Dreyer
JRR = Jordan Robinson - he would be a senior this year and passed away shortly after Brooke.
LDD = Lisa Darling - she would be a freshman this year - she passed away last spring - her dad is the superintendent of the Humboldt schools and her mom is a fellow pharmacist.

As part of the memorial garden you could purchase engraved bricks in memory of a child that died or as any kind of memorial you wanted. I decided to have 2 bricks made....

One in memory of the baby we lost....

and the other in memory of the baby my parents lost. Note his birth and death date -- it is the same day as Andrew's birthday. I think I would have given Andrew the same middle name (Lee) had I realized their birthday was the same.

My boys and I in the gazebo at the memorial garden. It was perfect weather for the dedication and everyone who had a brick engraved got a flower and bracelet that says 'Remembering our Angels'. They had a balloon release and Gabe thought that was great. He kept saying "let's go check on the balloons"!

I know this is a depressing post but it is so important to remember those who have gone before us and to never forget!

I LOVE MY BOYS!!!

This evening my boys cuddled in Gabe's bed and told each other stories about the farm.

Actually Gabe got mad that Andrew was in his bed and I had to bribe him with a cookie to get these pictures!

Love it...

Our Weekend....

We had a great weekend relaxing at home in Iowa!

It felt like a weekend I imagined my life would be like when I was younger.... Relaxing time, cooking & eating with my family, playing outside, washing the car, splashing in puddles, playing at the playground, going out for ice cream. And a bit of work mixed in to keep us honest and appreciative of our time together.

My buddy Andrew showing off in his Bumbo seat. About 2 minutes after this his head slumped over to the side and rested there. It's hard work to hold up that noggin! By the way - his sleeper is a size 6 MONTHS!! I hate that! He's supposed to stay little forever.

My baby and I tried to take a rest together today. We didn't get too much sleeping done but he sure is fun to cuddle.

Gabe fell asleep Sunday afternoon on his McQueen couch. The angle of the picture is bad but take my word for it - he looked cute!

The true look-alike

This is who Andrew really looks like:

His Daddy!!!

Look alike?

Many people say that Andrew looks like Gabe. I agree there are some similarities. Here's Gabe on Easter Sunday, 2007. He was approx. the same age as Andrew is now (see pictures below).

Happy Anniversary!

This post is in honor of Jill & Craig's 5th wedding anniversary today!

Happy Anniversary!

Baby Bison

Andrew got dressed up for the big Cyclone-Bison match-up tonight!

Jill's Baby Shower

Jill (Aaron's sister) is having a baby and Holly (Dan's wife) threw her a shower this past weekend. All the family was there (pretty much) and it was a really nice shower!

Jill & Craig made a haul in the gift department. I kept joking that I was going to keep some of it for myself (Jill would never miss any of it, right?)....

Holly went all-out on this awesome cake! Rumor has it she worked for about 5 hours to complete the job.

Not only was it fun to look at but it was also fun to eat! Good job, Holly!

Andrew rolled over from his tummy to his back at Jill's shower. What a good baby!

Ummm, Uncle Jerry bought that dress. We don't even know if it's a girl. Enough said.

And of course, Gramma Mitzi had to "hog the baby" as she is always accused of doing.

More Minnesota fun!

Gabe helped sell the sweet corn he picked. All the customers loved to visit with him.

When he was bored selling the corn he drove his cars in dirt. Then apparently wiped the dirt on his face.

Uncle Mike had a bonfire at his house and Laura made the s'mores. She's pretty much a pro.

Andrew attending his first bonfire. He wasn't too impressed.

Gabe wanted to sit by Heidi - he was SO tired but that didn't stop him from eating marshmallows.

Random pics

This post has some pictures from shortly after Andrew was born through the first week of August.

Gabe with his new McQueen. Aaron and I couldn't resist buying it for him - it's OK to live your dreams through your children, right?

My sis & her hubby

Grandma Di Ann did Gabe's hair in the bathtub.

Our attempt at good pics of the 3 kiddos.

Poor Sydney got harassed by Gabe the whole time they were here.

What a good cousin! Syd helped out a ton with Andrew when she came to stay. She loved to hold him and walk around like the adults!

A goofy picture of my little Andrew

Itty Bitty Andrew

I found some cute pictures of Andrew from when he was about a month old.

I love the contrast of little baby, big couch!

He received this cute little pajama outfit from some church members at Trinity, Deer Creek.

The hat was about to pop off his head.

And..... he wasn't too happy about the photo op.

On the Farm

We are at the farm today for Jill's baby shower (tomorrow). Gabe is taking a nap and should wake up soon.

This picture was taken earlier this summer:

This was Gabe & Uncle Jon this morning when they were picking sweet corn.

Gabe is loading up the sweet corn. They took it into town and it all sold. I would say about 40 dozen.

Smiling Andrew

Here is some video of my adorable boy showing off his smile (I am a little biased)

August thus far

It has been a while since I've posted. I have been busy with my boys and going back to work. Here are a few pictures to tide you over while I get everything up to date.

Gabe wore this shirt for about 48 hours straight until I convinced him we needed to wash it. There is an outline of a church on the back and he says "see the church on mine back?".

A bright-eyed Andrew. Sometimes I call him Drew but mostly it is Andrew.

A half-smile. He is really starting to smile a lot now. He enjoyed a game of peek-a-boo with me tonight.

Gabe opening a package that came in the mail. It contained crayons & M&M's.

Gabe pooped in his diaper in Target and asked me to change his diaper... "change mine diaper, it has poops in it". He then proceeded to lie down in the middle of the floor in the women's clothing section - right by the main aisle.