Going for a walk...

Well, we took our baby for a walk in her stroller...good times! We met up with T'Zorro, our neighbor dog, a GIANT black poodle! Then we walked for a while more picking up leaves every so often..."oh wook, mommy! Oh so pwetty!" Then we met up with an ant that Elena had some majorly mixed feelings about...first it was "Ick, Bug! Go away! You go away, ant!" which turned into "Ok, Mr. Ant, you come with us. Walk with me Ant! C'mon, you can do it!" When she saw it was "following" us. Then anger, as she realized Mr. Ant was going his own way. "Bad Mr. Ant! You come here! I tell you! Come here now!"...needless to say, Mr. Ant went his way, and we went ours. Then, more picking of leaves, a polite addressing of the "mail man" who was actually the AT&T guy...hehe. So enjoy. It was a good walk, finished with massive picking of dandelions...

"Dizzy and Belle"

Auntie Meg stopped by with her daughter Isabelle on their way to a weekend with her sister, so Elena got to play with "her baby". She has a picture of Izzi that she took from one of the letters that Megan sent and put it up in her"kitchen" in her room like we do in the house and says "my baby". Very cute. So anyway she and Izzi played for a while, and Elena kept calling her "Dizzy" which was too funny. And instead of calling Megan "Auntie Meg" she called her Belle. I am not sure if it's because of Isabelle's full name, or if she believes Megan is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She does look like her, so I can see that. Enjoy some photos of them in Elena's room. :)

More Painting...

Now that the inside of the house is beginning to come together, there's a few things we need to get started outside before the weather turns. So here's some shots of our house! Love the new fresh color! That's the original, by the way!

Salad...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhCvNqHm0nY

No, not my sister's nickname...I figure we better have a salad with the bacon.

Bacon...

Ok - they took away the bacon video on youtube...so here's one that has some things from the bacon skit...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxwCy69_YcQ

For all of you out there with a great sense of humor, and a love for breakfast foods...this is for you. Bacon IS that good...

3...2...1...Ignition!

Seriously, she says ignition! HAHAHA!

Meet MaryAnne

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MaryAnne is a volunteer I met this year working at the Breast Cancer 3-Day, Susan G. Komen Chicagoland Affiliate. She is a two time breast cancer survivor having endured 2 different forms of cancer, once in 1992 and again in 1998, and makes it a point to use her strength and story for the benefit of others. Quite an inspiration!


For me, these opportunities have been and are for the following: DiAnne, Grandma, Megan, and of course, Elena. To God be the Glory, for the good of others.



Philippians 2:2-4, "Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (NIV)


Galatians 6:10"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (NIV)

Baby Oscar

We took care of Oscar Meyers for an extended period so Jim and Lily could do some traveling. Elena much enjoyed their time together and took full advantage of her playmate. Oscar was even her "baby" for a while. Here's shots of Elena and "baby" and a special thank you shot for Jim and Lily for her T-shirt from Paris! Too Cute!

Chicken! For Eric...

Eric thinks chickens are cool...he grew up with them, and well, they are really funny birds to watch and listen to. I grew up with them at Grandma and Grandpa Z's in NE...although dreaded them because when Grandma sent you out for eggs, Lord help you in the hen house! Those chickens would peck at you and let you know only Grandma was welcome in the nest area. But OH! did we ever love it when chicks came, because Grandma or Grandpa would herd them up so each of us could hold and pet those sweet, yellow fuzzies...so here's a picture of Roxy, Janice and Rick's chicken that runs about their farm. Seriously, the chicken hangs out with their dogs Kohn (as in Ghengis Kohn, he is THAT big) and Joey, and the cats...wild!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ztnxG6PGlU

Still cathcing up...more photos of the farm, etc.

I have some more photos...Food at Grandpa's...Kirb thought we should show Eric that he was missing out on a traditional Zajicek shrimp plate gathering, Sal with the boys, my cousin Bri finishing up preparation of all the food she brought for everyone (and testing it as she went), and my nephew Jonathan in flight...

On my way to Nebraska when visiting...

My Dad and brother Jon felt that we should make a Harley Davidson pit stop at a shop en route to home after picking me up from the airport going to Crete. And to my surprise, there was a little nugget of pageant pride right there on the wall. A picture of Mrs. America, 1953 Evelyn Joyce Schenk, on a Harley in a parade in 1954. Who knew Mrs. America was that cool!! ;) Here's photos from the bike shop, and a photo of Evelyn crowning her successor...I thought it was kinda neat.

Meerkats...I think I want one!

More Zoo Pics

Going to the ZOO!

Elena and I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago with some friends I met at Mrs. Illinois, Heather, Jessica and their kids (and Jessica's sister, too!). We had a lot of fun watching the kids play in the water - there's a play area where water shoots out of the cement ground and they can cool off that way - and run about through the exhibits. Elena decided to hang onto Heather's son's hand right off the bat...nope, still no shyness. :) They all REALLY loved the Meerkats and the polar bears that kept swimming up to the glass and banging their noses against it! Here's a couple shots of that day...

Big Shoes to Fill...

Personally, I think she does it quite well. These are just some cute photos of Elena wearing Mommy's shoes around. :)