Welcome Home Sergeant Feit!!

Our neighbor, Matt, has been deployed since June 2006 with the 33rd Military Police Battalion. Today, he and the other 70+ members of his battalion came home in style! Community members donated their convertibles for the guys and gals to ride in in a parade from ISU to the Armory in Bloomington. Jason, Byron (another neighbor), Mel (a friend and c0-worker) and I were standing about half-way through the route and cheered them on. People were everywhere! It was such an awesome feeling!! The parade included a police escort and motorcyclists in between a lot of the soldiers. People had signs, flags and yellow ribbons along the entire route - what an awesome feeling. We even saw one of the soldier (a girl, I might add) with tears in her eyes!

We are SO glad they are home, safe and sound!

Happy Birthday, Janell!!

Today is my college friend, Janell's, birthday! Sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you, but I'm sure you'll have fun anyway! Here's a picture of us from Heather and Jim's wedding in July. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Weekend

On Friday night, I went to the Tri-Valley football game with Karen, Caleb and Caden. The weather was beautiful, but unfortunately they lost! It was their homecoming, too, so that was kind of sad! We watched Kali do flags during halftime and then left not too long afterwards.

Saturday, I went dress shopping for Michelle's wedding... Here they are....the dresses we picked out....

The top one is my dress (in black) and the bottom one is Cara and Nicole's dress (in black and silver).

Jason worked 17 hours - Saturday at 2pm until Sunday at 7am so I ran in the morning - further than the last two times so that was good. My next goal is to do 1 mile either Tuesday or Wednesday night. I went to church and then came home to watch the Cubs and Bears games. At least the Chicago fans got one good win! Now, we just need the Cardinals to beat up on the Brewers this week...(probably the only time you'll ever hear me root for the Cards!).

I'm donating blood after work and then we are headed to Chili's for dinner since they are donating proceeds to St. Jude's tonight!

He's here!!

Hudsyn Richard EllsworthBorn 9/20/07 at 12:47 p.m.
7lbs. 15oz. and 19 1/2 inches long

Congratulations Kristin, Aric and big brother, Zayden!We can't be more excited for you!

(Is this just the cutest picture or what?
I wonder how long this will last! :-))

Not much new...

Not too much has happened, but I have been asked why I haven't updated. So, here goes:

Big Brother 8 - the finale show was on Tuesday which I only wanted to watch to see how everyone reacted when they found out that Eric was America's Player. It was pretty hilarious when they told Dick that the only reason he was still in the house was because America wanted him there. What a mistake! Dick definitely had a different style of game play, but I didn't like it! I thought Daniele deserved the money over Dick, but overall, I thought Eric should have won. How hard it is to play a game when you really don't even know what is expected of you? I mean he had no idea how America was going to vote and then had to match it with his own preferences...yuck! It was an excellent twist. I can't wait to see what they come up with for next year!

Cubs Baseball - My cubbies are still in it...leading the league by one game over Milwaukee! Woo hoo!!! This is so exciting!

5K Training - Jason and I ran last night. Let's just start off by saying that he can easily run the 3.1 miles, where I on the other hand will be having some troubles! I did go further last night than on Sunday morning, not sure if that was just because my body was getting used to it or because I had Jason running beside me. I think Sunday will be the next time I can do it so we'll see. I just hope I can finish in a reasonable amount of time!

Be thinking about my cousin, Kristin, today who went to the hospital to have her 2nd little boy! I'll let you know when I hear how things went and what they have decided to name him!

Coming up...I am going to the Tri-Valley football game tomorrow night with Jason's sister (if the weather cooperates and Caden is feeling better). It's their homecoming, and I think Kali will have a flags routine beforehand which will be nice to see. On Saturday, we are going dress shopping for Michelle's wedding. I'm sure we'll find something - this bridal shop is HUGE! And, no plans for Sunday except to watch some baseball and football. More pictures to come after the weekend!

Also, on Monday, September 24th Chili's restaurants will be donating 100% of their proceeds to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Please eat there if you can. Here's the link...Chili's & St. Jude

Enjoy!

Weekend Recap

Wow, this weekend has gone by quickly as usual. We finally met our new neighbors (well, at least the husband) on Thursday night. They seem very nice and right about the same age as Jason and I, just a few years older. Unfortunately, they are Cardinals and Colts fans so it could make for an interesting sports season!

Also on Thursday night, I took my "little sister" rollerskating! It was a lot of fun, but I can't remember the last time I did that. The roller rink really brought back a lot of memories like hearing Bon Jovi and Def Leppard... instead now it was all the current music. I was really shocked at all of the people there on a Thursday night, but hey, I guess it's better than hanging out on the streets, right?

On Saturday, I babysat Caden all day!! It was so much fun and interesting, too, to see what life would be like if we had a little one in this house. Of course, since I didn't have anything planned but spending time with him it went great. Now, if I had other plans like we usually do, that could make it interesting! I guess at that point some things would have to be given up! I also was pretty impressed with how Kahlua did. She had a few barking spells, but I didn't think it was too bad. Here are just a few pictures:Today, I started my "training" for the 5K. Since I haven't done any kind of running in a long time, I just took my usual route and ran about a 1/4 of the way there, walked a while, and then ran a little way back. My legs weren't doing bad, I just need to figure out this breathing thing! I went to church while Jason was at work and then we watched our two favorite teams win!! Go CUBS and BEARS!! Sorry, Mel, that you couldn't watch your team win today! :-)

One last thing...my cousin, Kristin, and her husband's, Aric, son has his birthday today...

Happy 4th Birthday, Zayden Ellsworth!

It's Official!!!

I am going to run a 5K! Can you believe it? Not me...especially since I haven't run anything since I had to in one of my college classes over 7 years ago! I guess Jason has just given me the bug...

So, I'll be starting to run this weekend! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with Jason since he just ran his half marathon in August. By the way, we'll be running the Town & Gown 5K. This run is linked to ISU Homecoming weekend each year and goes over the parade route. If anyone would like to join us, the link is below.

Town and Gown 5K Run

By the way...my niece made it through the surgery and is home resting. Does anybody read this thing??? Haven't seen many comments!

Congratulations, Jackie and Jonathan!

I know I already mentioned that my good friend, Jackie and her husband had a little baby boy back on September 2nd. Thought you'd like to see a few more photos she's been willing to share! Here's baby Carter with his mom and dad in the hospital and one of Carter by himself. Isn't he soo cute!!! I can't wait to meet him in person!

Also, just a little prayer request. This morning my niece, Nicole, will be having some oral surgery. Hope it goes well, and you recover quickly!

9/11

So, since today is such a memorable day for our generation, people are asking the question, where were you? Well, I had just dropped off my Alero to get an oil change and was headed to work at the Radisson (now Double Tree). When I got to work, we spent most of the day in front of the television not believing what we were seeing. I'm so glad that I didn't know anyone in New York when this happened and feel so sorry for those who had loved ones there.

For those of you wondering about Jason ... he was headed to ISU for class. I can't remember if they ended up watching TV or if they canceled class.

They say this is the Pearl Harbor of our generation...a day I know I'll never forget. Bring our troops home safe!!

Congratulations, Dad!!

I'm not sure about you, but I certainly can't imagine working at the same place for 30 (yes, I said 3-0) years! In fact, I think I just heard about an article that said most people only stay with their place of employment for 5 years!! My how times have changed. This year marks 30 years that my dad has worked with his company, and he is receiving an award today!! Now, I can't even tell you what the name of the company actually is at this moment because it has changed so many times...from Sundstrand to Hamilton Sundstrand to Sauer Sundstrand to Sauer Danfoss or some variation of these...but he has stuck with it!

Congratulations on making it 30 years, dad!

My dad is in the center.

Baby Scott has arrived!!

Jeff, Lisa and Big Brother Trevor welcome a little girl to their family!

Taylor Leigh Scott

9/10/2007 8:04 AM

7 lbs 5 oz 19 inches

This is one of our neighbors...hopefully I'll be able to post a picture soon! Congratulations Jeff & Lisa!

Scrapbooking Galore!

Well, I think this pretty much explains what I did for almost all of my weekend! The house was turned upside down with people, tables, and scrapbooking materials. It's always a good time to get a lot done so it was nice, but man, I am exhausted! We started Friday night, went all day and night on Saturday, and some people even finished up on Sunday. It was a great group...me, my mom, my sister, friends from college (Janell & Heather), some neighbors (Becky & Kelly), a friend from work (Mel) and my mom's friend (Brenda). My sister-in-law, niece, and nephew even came over on Saturday. Jason and I are getting Kali a scrapbook for her birthday which was just a few days ago.











On Sunday, I had to go to a meeting in Chicago for work so mom stayed and cleaned everything up! Jason was gone to the races in Chicago on Saturday and Sunday so he didn't have to stay "locked" in the room the whole weekend. I have to add that Kahlua was great, too! I was pretty impressed with how she didn't really bark or get into stuff all weekend. She was wonderful when Caden was there, too! I wasn't sure how she would do with him, especially when I was holding him. Kahlua just kept smelling his feet...it was actually pretty cute!

Big Brother 8

Okay...so, some of you know that I have been a fan of the CBS show Big Brother since it first aired in the summer of 2000! The first season aired when I was living by myself in the Quad Cities doing an internship to finish my degree from ISU. That season also had a person ("Chicken George") from Rockford on the show so it was definitely fun to watch. I have watched every season since then. If you don't watch the show or have any idea what it is about, let me tell you...a group of people (the numbers haven't been the same each year depending on the twist) move into a house for the summer where they have no contact with the outside world and have to complete challenges and are voted out of the house one by one. This season's show is now down to the final four - Dick, Daniele, Zach, and Jameka - as of tonight! Tonight's show was definitely a whirlwind, but we knew it was coming since the finale is September 18th. I'm not sure that I have a favorite this season, but I really liked Eric. I thought he and Jessica were really cute (now they are in the jury house - basically some fancy place on a beach!), and I definitely thought he had it harder than anyone else in the house due to the America's Player (AP) role. Again, if you don't watch - America's Player was part of this year's twist - CBS picked one person to "represent" what America wanted so each week America could vote on certain tasks they wanted AP to fulfill including who to get nominated and evicted. Out of the final four, I think I'd like to see Daniele win. She has won the most competitions and has also had to have the challenge of being in the house with her dad who she hasn't really talked to in a number of years. Oh yeah, that was the other part of this year's twist. There were three people in the house who had their "worst enemies" in the house with them. One of the enemies (Carol), went home the first week, and Dustin was soon to follow. Dick and Daniele are the last pair. So, there you have it... my opinion on Big Brother 8. Now, I just have to watch the next week and a half to see who gets the money!

Happy Birthday, Kali!

Just a quick note to say Happy 15th Birthday to Kali!!! We're going to her place tonight for cake and ice (and to hold baby Caden, of course) so I'll get some pictures and put them up later tonight! Exactly one year until this girl gets her driver's license...wow!!

I also want to put out a quick prayer request for my friend, Mel. She is suffering from hives and having a reaction to the medication the doctors are giving her. We're not sure what's going on at this point, but are thinking about her.

What a weekend!!!

It was a beautiful weekend here...Jason got home from Chicago on Friday so we just ordered some pizza and hung out. On Saturday, we went to a wedding for Sheila from ISU. She was an intern in our office and now works in the Alumni office. It was a beautiful day for a wedding. Congratulations Sheila and Tony!!!

Here's a picture of the bride and groom & one of the ladies from our office with the bride!

Also on Saturday, my very good friend from jr. high and high school, Jackie, gave birth to a bouncing baby boy...Carter Jonathan Flack was born on 9/2/07 at 2:22am weighing in at 7lbs. 12oz. and 20" long. Congratulations Jonathan & Jackie!!! I can't wait to come visit you and see your new bundle of joy!!

On Sunday, our neighbors, who moved to Bourbonnais about a month ago, came down for the pool party and to visit. It was nice to see them again. I'm really glad they don't live too far away so we can still visit. Hopefully the new couple/family that moves into their house will become great friends, too!