A Sad Farewell....

I went to Chicago to see Nazym on her way back to Kazakhstan. I was able to go in a day early and spend it with her at another friend's house. It was great to finally meet Jean and little Emma! I had so much fun with them! We helped Nazym do a little lat minute shopping for her family and we spend the rest of the time just hanging out! While we were at the mall, Nazym and Emma rode the carousel. Look how cute they are!

I will miss Nazym so much! We were talking almost everyday and at least 2-3 times per week. we will keep in touch through email and she plans to return next fall on a student visa. I held it together pretty well until she let for her gate. We said our goodbyes and I excused myself to the restroom for a very ugly cry. (You know the snorting whiny kind...) Once I composed myself I hugged Jean and Emma and made the trip home. I have since received an email from her telling me she arrived safely. Please keep her return in your prayers. :)

NHRA Drag Races....

We attended the NHRA Drag Races agien this year. I was really excited to see Ashley Force! We have been watching their new show called Driving Force and this was my first chance to watch her race. This is her car-and her mom holding her ears! :)
Peyton Manning was also checking out the races, however, he was right on the track at the starting line!

Car Show

We went to Evansville for the weekend to attend the Frog Follies Car show with my mom and Nazym came to meet us! It was great to see her again. We all had a great time looking at the cars and deciding which ones we would like to own! Hahaha! Nazym really liked this one!

Caitlin's First Football Game!

This was Caiti's first 'official' outing as a Northside Middle School Cheerleader! It was a great game against Bloomington North. Northside won in a close and exciting game. It was alot of fun.

Everytime NMS made a touchdown the cheerleaders had to do 6 push-ups for the 6 points scored! haha! Check out her push up form! :)

Here is Caitlin with her best friend M laughing it up at half time!

CHICAGO!!!

We took a trip to Chicago this week! It was so much fun. Here the girls ar on the city bus! Wer were heading to the Field Museum to see the King Tut exhibit. It was awesome. I was hoping to actually see King Tut himself, but the artifacts we saw were unbelievable. It was definately worth the trip!

Here we are at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was cool. The kids enjoyed seeing all of the various exhibits. The body sections were weird though! We got an 'Old Time' Photo of us in black and white, It's hillarious! See...???

Here the girls are trying to fit into the quarters of the Navy men on board U-505. We got to see the actual submarine that was captured in WWII. It was amazing. I could not believe how wonderful the exhibit was and all the information they provided. It was like we were there while all of this was happening. The boiys enjoyed steering and we all got a chance to do some code breaking. It was neat!

The coolest part was seeing the New York Yankees play the White Sox. It was an Awesome game and The Yankees won. It was back and forth though and a real nail biter!

We also visited a huge Lego Store and the American Girl Place. We went to Shed's Aquarium and walked the Navy Pier and from our hotel to Wrigley Field! It was an Awesome trip and one we would love to do again! :)

Seminar!

Gavin and I just got back from Dallas, TX. We attended the Mary Kay annual Seminar. It was amazing! We get to hear all the stats from the previous year and get a sneak peek at the products coming out for fall and Christmas! We also get recognition for achieving our goals. I was the Queen of Sharing for our unit (out of 80 people) and I was #2 in My Senior Director's area for Sharing(out of like 250-300+ people). It was great! I was also the most improved consultant in our area, with a 501% increase over last year! COOL! This is a picture of the car that I am in qualifications to earn for FREE!

Build-a-Bear-Workshop...

Thane and Seth have been dying to go to Build-a-Bear workshop to make a bear. They finally got their wish!





Here they are adding love, friendship and kindness into the stuffing of their bears.













They choose the hearts for their bears.













Now to add a secret wish to the heart!













Time to give them an air bath to fluff their fur!













Let's get them dressed! (with a little help) :)












Ta-Da! Thane was to tickled to finally get his bear! He hasn't put it down since we go it! He is already talking about needing to get his bear a backpack and an outfit for school this fall!

Thane named his bear Toby and Seth named his Taffy.

I'm glad they had this memory making fun time!

Another Day with Nazym.....

We had the chance to see Nazym again this week and it was alot of fun! We also got to meet our friends the Sapp family (Chris, Michelle, Mateo and Natalia). We have been emailing each other for over a year now, bnut had never met until now. It was great to finally see them and their beautiful children! They adopted their kids from the same baby house in Ust-Kamenogorsk that Mia si from. We completed our adoption just before they did. We also got to hang out with Zane. He is the little boy that Nazym is staying with in Illinois. He is from Taraz, Kazakhstan. Here is a picture of Nazym wioth all three children. What a special moment.

We decided to meet at the zoo in Evansville, IN. It was a great day! All of the children had a great time together! There is also a picture of the whole group together. The only ones missing are Gavin and Caitlin. Gavin was working and Caitlin was at Holiday World with a friend. I hope we can see the Sapp family again real soon. Michelle and I seemed to have alot in common. I am glad that Mia will have friends nearby that share the same heritage that she does! :)

After our trip to the zoo, we hung out with Nazym at the mall and went to dinner. We had to ride the carousel at the mall and ate at The Olive Garden. It was a blast! I miss hanging out with her so much!

Happy 4th of July!!

What a blessing it is to share the 4th of July with Mia this year! We appreciate so much our freedoms in this country! Especially after our travels last summer. We saw lots of people less fortunate than we, and it really puts things into perspective. I am so glad that Mia will grow up here with all the freedoms and opportunities that this country has to offer.


We attend a yearly party at our friend's house not too far from here. It is always so much fun. Mia had a great time running around in the grass and then falling down to roll in it. This is a big step, given that she tried not to touch it at all cosst just a few months ago! haha :)675

Lovin' our pool... :)

The kids are enjoying the summer days hanging outside in our pool! It beats the heat! Mia was leary at first, but now she's quite the daredevil! She loves it!