summer turns to fall

The leaves were changing already in Grand Rapids.

The weather was wonderful. {but perfect to mosquito's...erg}

We did crafts. Jill & i each sewed a fleece blanket. which we love.{yes i've only sewn once before so this was a feat for me :)}

I decorated a 5...which i love.

We decorated a wood board. sabrina ward harrison style.

Jill (and sage) did a photoshoot of me. they did good.

We went to Lake Michigan...and played on the "beach" it was SO fun!

We ate pizza on the trampoline. {sage & i}

We went to Goodwill distribution center. got a cute purse & frame & sweater vest for 50 cents each.

We hung out & played the wii. {sage & i}

We found home videos jill & jim had taken at our house. it was quite entertaining. and my choir videos.

Sage chose to stay home rather than go to school monday...that was nice. {jill gave her the choice on sunday night and she said...Stay home with Mimi all day!}

We spent a lot of time hanging out, talking, and having fun like the good ol' days when i would spend most of my time at their place when they lived here.

But when it was time to leave...and we were driving to the airport...sage said...but momma i dont want mimi to leave. i changed my mind, i wanna go to school. "but school is already over sage" but i changed my mind, i wanna go to school and then we can take mimi. "i'm sorry sage we are almost to the airport and she has to go byebye." this was followed by screaming and crying.

and yes...i took part in the crying. all the way into the airport. i miss them.

if you recall i spent the first year of her life with her. babysitting, hanging out. i feel closer to her than any other niece/nephew. not that i have very many haha.

THANK YOU JILL AND JIM for letting me come visit. i LOVED IT!

Here's the pics.

beautiful jill at the beach.

sage & i slept on the pull out couch.

first time sewing a blanket.

sage tried on LOTS of shoes. so i did. i want these boots.

she really wanted this winnie the pooh fabric for a blanket like us...so i gave in.

we ate pretzels and cheese like a picnic 2 times.

sage learning to ride a 2 wheeler.

i wanted to show her its really not that scary :)

playing at the beach with sage. i love her.

and of course playing with emerson.

and jill & sage did a photoshoot of me. here's a few.

Photos by sage : i couldn't keep a straight face with her.

all photos in this blog- courtesy of fireflies photography.

i'm leaving.

MICHIGAN... HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


oh you have no idea how thrilled i am.

so freaken excited!!!!


so i'll hopefully post pics while i'm there!!!

friday sept 21 2007

Our first date was one year ago.
yesterday.

mike had our mutual friend call me and see if i would go on a date with him. i said yes. then he called me and covered the details. he said he didn't know what we were gonna do. {he knew}

He asked me for directions & when i told him to go left and then turn right at that stop sign and just go down the street, he was a little surprised that i lived THAT close. we counted 12 houses away. haha. {he had lived here for almost 2 years}

so he pulls up in his big white truck. he's wearing wranglers and a red plaid shirt. and his justin boots. i was wearing jeans and my brown/cream polka dot shirt. we headed over to Petes house.

and thats when i found out we were going to the middle of the desert to watch Arachnaphobia. with pete and steph, jon bevans & his date, and Doug Adamson and Michelle Pulsipher(she was the mutual friend, whose house we chatted at about 2 weeks prior)

So we each drove out there seperate. He brought a blanket that he layed out in the back of his truck so we could sit and watch the movie. So the movie started {this is not a movie i enjoyed when i was younger...as i am still terrified of spiders, and it was pitch black outside} It then started to rain outside...which i didn't care about but the other couples jumped up and all ran under an umbrella. after it kept on raining...mike decided we would join them. once it stopped raining, the movie resumed.

As we were sitting in the back of his truck....it seemed he wanted to hold my hand. i can't explain it in words, but i could tell by the way he was acting. & accidentally hitting my leg. so we ended up sitting against the side of the truck, and he somehow used his trickery and to hold my hand. on the first date. i couldn't believe it. to this day i tell him it was trickery.

i would have never done that on purpose. haha.

saturday night we went to dinner with patrick & kelli. we had to do SOMETHING special.

we were supposed to go to the desert and watch a movie with a lot of people....but the guys had gone camping/fishing friday-sat. and were too wiped out. wimps :)

anyways...yesterday i asked mike why he asked me on a second date...or wanted to continue seeing me...he said well how bout you? I said... You listened, and for some wierd reason i felt like i could talk to you about anything and everything. you made me feel like i had never felt before.

so here's to first dates that lead to forever. {love you mike.}

p.s. this isn't one of those "we are perfect posts"...don't even think it.

just a few things.

i love this song.
it just makes me feel so much emotion.

anywho. life is good. work is great.

since we put that bid on that house last weekend...still haven't found out.

i'm crossing my fingers.

i was thinking of all the reasons i'd be a better wife in a house:
-we'd have our dryer hooked up...i'd do a lot of laundry...oh yay.
-full kitchen, dishwasher, two sided sink...i'd do DISHES.
- and i'd cook more.
- i'd decorate a lot faster than when i moved in with mike.
-it'd be a FRESH clean slate, not a bachelor pad.
-it will be organized.
- i'll have a scrapbook room.
-i can paint.
- we can have friends over for a MEAL- in our HOUSE, not bachelor pad.

ya know. these may be good reasons. and they certainly are to me.

i was thinking about work just now...oh how they make me smile.

Lauren sings disney songs under her breath.
Sterling asks us if we are happy all day long. and sometimes says goodbye lots of times to make us go away.
Quinn likes to say some things he shouldn't. like swear words.
Ian just giggles and says no thank you jokingly all the time.
Connor is quiet and smart. and likes to say the right answer when its everyones turn.
Manuel is a mystery...he is so cute when he laughs though.
{each color of the name very well fits them.}


i come home with energy after work. (except today, we were missing one aid.) and i don't worry about going to work. and i'm not stressed there. and i love it. so much.

and i think to myself...if i can love these kids this much...i can't imagine a mothers love. its amazing.

i hope you all have a peaceful weekend. enjoy. oh and listen to this song too.

p.s. the bed bugs don't prefer eucalyptus spearamint body wash. haleluia.

joy && stress

oh boy. lots is happening in my life. not used to this.

• filing claim about my car getting hit while parked. man coming in the morning to work to look at it and give me an estimate. sent me papers explaining the "accident"- its gonna be a pretty blank paper. just my name and address & address of where it happened.
• still trying to get paid from the nanny family. demanding the money now. again.
• got my jacket in the mail today {see below}
• house hunted again all day saturday. few options we are thinking about seriously.
• last night we got a wedding present that i couldn't wait for. a BIG clock! :) made by Jenny Thompson and her mom. it says Hermann Clock company and established 2008. i love it. can't wait to get a house and have it up!
• amy and i both quit the no sugar bet yesterday. {she quit first-- congrats to kate for winning haha}
• work is still going great and the kids keep me smiling all day. and i come home with ENERGY. man i missed that while i was nannying.
• I am making dinner more frequently. {i hope mike is enjoying that.} i'm happy to be eating spaghetti more often. its my fav.
• Going to MI in 2.5 weeks. can't wait for nicer weather & spending time with the Scripps fam! oh boy!!!!
• Bed bugs. hate em. i'm convinced that is what is eating me at night. any natural remedies for these anyone knows about? The bites don't itch too bad. but is there something i can put on before i go to bed at night that will keep em away? They don't eat mike. just me. i knew i was sweet but UGH. :) jk. They started eating me about 2 months ago.
• our guest house is getting more organized. but still needs some work. but hope we move sooner than later.

this was a long post. sorry for boring you.

p.s. sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. {who knew?!}

red house.

we found a {red} house. in mesa. and we both love it. it has a shop in the back , with a big rv gate. and a large backyard. its cute. it needs a little bit of work. its one of those "it has a lot of potential" houses. haha.



hopefully we can go look at the inside a little better one day this week. looking through the windows just wasn't enough for me. haha. but i already like it.



i started at houston on friday. {perfect timing...i know, just in time for a 3 day wknd}

i love it. i work in the Autism classroom...6 kids. 4 are 1st grade. 1 is 2nd grd & 1 is 3rd grd.

the teacher is super cute and young. i wanted her outfit actually...she was wearing a purple dress with a big black belt and black leggings. haha. and the other two aids are sweet.



anyways... i go to michigan in like 3 1/2 weeks. and i'm KINDA excited. {kinda is a very large understatement!}



i'm so excited i just bought this: {forever 21}





















well friends...enjoy your labor day.

EDIT: the Cute RED house is sold. :(