Amy - 53/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

The boys bonded today: Chad, Logan, & the temperamental, overheated Jeep :) Several of Chad's work friends met up for a day of four wheeling. Logan was very excited to go and had a great time with his Daddy! The Jeep survived, but I foresee some improvements in it's future, so it can reach it's fullest potential.

nancy - 52/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 11

For years we've tried to grow basil in the summer. By mid-June it always becomes apparent that the basil is dying. We thought the problem was the heat. Surprise, surprise we tried again this year because we're stubborn. By late last week it appeared that we epically FAILED.

Then I had an idea. Why don't we change our approach. Every year we put the basil in a pot and stick it on the patio where it may, or may not, get watered on a consistent basis. And it's subject to the sun's punishing rays all day long. My brilliant idea was to stick the pot under the tree where'd it have a break from the midday sun and water from the sprinkler system.

Guess what?

In one week we have pretty, pretty dark green basil.

AMAZING.

All I did was change our approach and just look at the outcome. Perhaps I need to apply this to other elements of my life.

Amy - 52/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

I rarely shop and today took the "day off" to hit the shops with Kristy. It was a great time and she helped me load up on Australian souvenirs for the trip home next month. To be honest, I really felt that I didn't want to mess with bringing stuff over; however, the giver in me won out :) I spent so much, the guy gave me this giant shopping bag for free - LOL!!! I don't want to spoil the surprise of all the goodies, so this is just sneak peek...

nancy - 51/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 10

With 29 days to go until vacation, it seemed time to begin the countdown. I thought a countdown chain was in order so I asked Jana to work on one with John this morning. I came back from the shop and was blown away with the amazingness of this project. The chain included questions, pictures of things we'll see on vacation, and little thoughts about our trip. As usual, Jana outdid herself. So very excited to see this chain get shorter and shorter.

In other news, look what I found on my camera courtesy of Jana.

nancy - 50/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

june 9

today I'm grateful...

that the car started slowly enough that I knew I had an almost dead battery

that Bob could replace my battery AND my oil in a mere 45 minutes

that I randomly had two jars of owen's food in my bag since it was lunchtime

that there was a slight breeze making the walk from Bob's to lunch bearable

that our playdate was just delayed and not cancelled

that the boys so thoroughly enjoyed playing in the cold water

that Jeff went to get Pei Wei for dinner and picked up a book at the library for me

so, so thankful.

YUMMY:

Amy - 51/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Today, I had a decision to make: gym for me or gym for the kids. Guess it's obvious which option won?!? We met up with some of Logan's Kindy friends at Jungle Gym for the their Open Gym time. The kids had a blast and I had a blast watching (and photographing) them ;)~ We'll definitely go again!

nancy - 49/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 8

It was one of those days where you feel woefully behind on everything. You cross one thing off the list and add ten. Tonight I'm attempting to pay bills for the month, balance the checkbook and file. Keeping it real here on Robin Road.

Amy - 50/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

In my opinion, one area of weakness that my photography has is my lack of attention to lighting. When I upload my pics to the computer, I am usually disappointed. Sooooooooo, today I practiced using natural light (at suggested angles from one of the pointer books I'm reading) with my willing model and first baby! She is so helpful and loves posing for me! Even when I was done, she kept offering to do more ... gotta love that girl :)

Amy - 49/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Kids of all ages in our house are addicted to the educational games on the CoolMath4Kids website. Last night, Lynsie had a huge meltdown, because she couldn't figure out the Bloxorz Stage 7 puzzle. I tried to calm her and stop her, "I'm an idiot!" self-hate by discussing how the puzzles are supposed to get harder with each level. "If they were easy, you wouldn't be exercising your brain muscles and helping them grow stronger ... which makes you become smarter!" She didn't buy it and the meltdown continued for awhile :(

Above: Lynsie and her best friend, Wil, after school - trying to complete the stage, again!

Say it with me: "What's gonna work?" "TEAMWORK!"

PHOTO DATE: Tuesday, June 8, 2010

ALL CAUGHT UP ... for now ;)~ xox

Amy - 48/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

STRESS! STRESS! STRESS! The trip home to America has to be more fun and relaxing than the planning process, right?!? It seems like it would be easy to figure all this out, but it is NOT! Our family lives in nine different states ... seriously! Though, you would think that we would not be expected to visit everyone, we still need to visit the four states of each parent: IL, KS, OH, TX Oh, how must sweeter and simpler would life be if these states were closer? HEAPS ;)~

The "To Do" list just keeps growing!

+ Rental Car Reservations: ORD to IAH, CMH, MCO, ORD (?)

+ Accommodations: Galveston Beach House, Houston Hotel (Chad), Ohio, Orlando (all timeshare?)

+ Airline tickets: IAH to CMH, CMH to MCO, MCO to HOU (Chad), MCO to IAH (Amy + kids)

+ Timeshare exchange: ORLANDO! We deserve a real vacation out of this trip!

+ Buy sporting tickets: Browns & Ohio State (Chad), Cubs (Amy)

+ Work with Chad's sister to find a babysitter for Browns game

+ Not to mention trying to manage and fit in all the "dates" we'll have to catch-up with people

PHOTO DATE: Monday, June 7, 2010

nancy - 48/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 7

Proofing more wedding photos today. I love this part of a shoot, even though it's the most tedious.

Thoughts I've had repeatedly while proofing these photos:

• What beautiful people
• What a beautiful day
• Wow! I nailed this shot
• Thank God Jana came with me
• Isn't Davelene beautiful?
• Gee, Doug looks alot like Jeff
• I'm so glad D&D agreed to pull over and photograph in front of this apparently abandoned building
• Why didn't I hire someone decent to photograph my wedding? I wonder what the photos would've looked like.
• I love people who are so totally in love
• Wow, I took alot of photos. So did Jana.
• I'm so glad that Davelene is family now. How'd we get so lucky?

Amy - 47/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This weekend, I was lucky enough to see two movies on the big screen - woo hoo!!!

Iron Man 2 - Saturday "Date Night" with Chad, even though he was still not feeling well, he "sucked it up" and treated me to dinner with a movie :)

Sex in the City 2 - Sunday night a friend from our company that I was communicating with via Facebook (about how we both want to see it) called to meet up ... so great!

YES! If you notice the tickets prices ... they are very expensive in Australia.

PHOTO DATE: Sunday, June 6, 2010

nancy - 47/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 6

We call him toothie.

Eight teeth in all. Four on top. Four on the bottom.

I love to see them all, especially when he squawks and squeals. When he wants to make any big noise, he gets real serious. Then he cracks a slight smile. Slowly the face crinkles up, the eyes close and SQUAWK!

Nancy - 46/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 5

Checking on him before I head to bed. My firstborn no longer smells like a baby, but a full fledged boy. Even after his tubby. A sprinkle of dirt, a cup of sweat, a dash of soap and dollop of sunscreen. I'm trying to memorize the smell.

nancy - 45/365 - Orlando, Florida USA

June 4

His latest Highlights Magazine just arrived in the mail. In a matter of days we've read it at least 25 times. He enjoys thumbing through it alone. This is a new thing for him. I imagine he's reciting the stories in his head as he looks at each page (by now he knows them by heart I'm sure). So sweet my red headed boy.