Freebies

As previously mentioned, one thing I love in life is free stuff. Today, Al and I took Mila down the street to Prairieland Feeds and cleaned up on free treats and dog food. Woot! We loved seeing Mila'a reaction to the farm animals...hilarious! She loved them but I'm not sure they loved her back, given the goats' hateful stares and guttural noises...

The best part though, was the tiger! Al and I were captivated by the rescued endangered animal, but Mila, not so much. We're not even sure she noticed the enormous cat!

Bella is Five!

The Hills, Melbys, and Nukus spent a fun-filled afternoon at Chuck-E-Cheese for Bella's fifth birthday party today!

Plenty of pizza was had and tickets were won. My hands were aching after Al forced me into the shaky-hand game multiple times (which I beat, thank you!) 

Al and I enjoyed some quality entertainment put on by Mr. Cheese himself!

Bella and Keira killed it at ski ball!

Afterwards, we all headed back to the Hills home for cake and presents!

Bella's kick-butt cake crafted by her awesome momma, Sarah

Bella's gift from the Melbys

Anna even put on a special birthday dance show, accompanied by the musical genius of the Wiggles!

Al worked on memorizing the presidents with the help of the Hills' president placemats. Above, Sarah and Matt are quizzing him. He aced it! :)

It was a great day with great people. Happy birthday big girl Bella! We love you!

B-day Parties

I left work today and headed directly up to Chicago to celebrate the birthdays of my cousin's, Jack and Elizabeth. My Uncle John and Aunt Jean are both really great cooks, so the food alone was worth the trip!

Happy birthday Jack and Elizabeth! Love you both!

P.S.: I think my uncle's real name may be Rico...?

My Honeybunch

Al loves honey.

And I love Al. :)

Family Reunion(s)

Today, Al and I took a (long) trip up to Michigan to meet up with my mom's side of the family for two family reunions. First, we went into Holland to meet up with my Grandpa Tom and his family. The best part was spending some time looking at our not-so-cute old family photos. I guess when I think about it, we're pretty lucky to have wound up as decent-looking as we did, given the no-neck past of my ancestors.

Mom, Grandpa, and Uncle John

Lineup pose

Me with Grandpa Tom, Mom, and my little-big bro Tyler!

Afterwards, we headed over to my Aunt Linda's for a get-together with my Grandma Michelle's side of the family. The kids worked out downstairs while the adults visited with each other...

We didn't stay long because of the long drive, but we had a nice time looking at more old pictures of my beautiful great-grandma, Ella and other family members. I'm pretty lucky to have such a wonderful family! 

Travel Information

A deposit of $50.00 per person is due by tomorrow, September 15. Our travel agent was supposed to be contacting everyone about this well in advance, so if you've had any issues with not being contacted, please let us know so that we can get that resolved quickly.

We hope to see everyone there!

Illini Game

Al, Jeff, Holly, and I were lucky enough to be gifted with tickets to the Illini game from our awesome friend Alyssa today! I had so much fun tailgating with Al's friends before the game, and then of course watching the game with Holly and Jeff.

Al and I went out to Radio Maria for a drink and some tapas after the game...delicious!