7 Random Things!

Tonya tagged me for "7 random things about myself" almost a month ago, and I am finally getting around to putting this together! I had no idea what to put, so hope you'll find it enjoying! For those of you who know me, you probably won't be suprised by these!

1. I am obsessed about saving money!! Every time Jason and I get a raise, I automatically put it in our savings account. Even with the economic stimulus package, I want to put it in savings. Now, it's not because I don't like to spend money to get new things or travel, but I like to feel secure if something were to ever happen to one of us or our jobs.

2. I LOVE to travel! My goal before my time is up on earth is to travel to all 50 states! I'm doing pretty good...there are only 16 left. And, I plan to visit two of them next year - Nebraska (We have friends moving there.) and Massachusetts (I have a conference in Boston.)! Life wouldn't be the same if we couldn't go on a vacation every year! I'm especially getting used to being away from work for 2 weeks! Those are the best trips!

3. I LOVE babies!!! They are so innocent and cuddly when they are little. I like to hold all babies, doesn't matter if I know them well or not! Just ask my husband - he found me holding my sister's husband's cousin's baby (if you can follow that!) at their rehearsal. Now, I had met him once before (the cousin), but I didn't know the wife. Guess this is also why I volunteer in the nursery at church (even though I don't get to hold babies (I'm with the 2 year olds - they like to be held sometimes, too!)...maybe one day I will!).

4. I can scrapbook for a whole weekend and not think anything of it! My mom got me into this (along with my sister and sister-in-law). We take lots of pictures - always have a camera in my hand (my husband loves this!) - so we've got to do something with the pictures.

5. I'm a big "sister". Yes, those of you who know me personally know that I have a younger biological sister, but I also volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. My little sister is 10 years old and is on the tumbling team (what a great fit!). We have been matched since June last year. I always knew I wanted to do this. My mom's friend, Dovie, and her husband were matched with two boys when I was younger, and I thought it was the neatest thing. What a great way to give back to the community. They just love spending time with you!

6. My 5-year wedding anniversary is coming up in just over two weeks!! The time has gone so quickly! I can't believe it's been that long already.

7. We have GREAT neighbors!! I can't say enough about the neighborhood we live in and the people that surround us. They are great friends for life! (Can you tell I had no clue what to put? The last two are pretty short.)

Now, I am supposed to tag 7 people...so, I tag Melissa, Heather, Jackie, Nicole, Jill, Katie, and Tiffany (if you have time). Have fun ladies!!

Girls Night Out!

This weekend, we celebrated my friend, Terri's, upcoming wedding! We had a great time during our spa day (Terri's first massage!!), dinner, drinks, and dancing!Laura, Terri, me, Dorrie, Amy, Ginelle, & Jennifer

Our guest of honor...her favorite color is PINK!

Terri & I

Bridal Party minus one ... Brandy couldn't join us :-(

Needless to say, after this night out, I spent all day Sunday on the couch sleeping!! I can't remember the last time I was up until 3:30am! Good thing we didn't have anything planned on Sunday.

10 months old!

Today, Caden is 10 months old!! I just love this kid so much and take advantage of every opportunity I have to be around him. He is such a good baby...I won't be able to say that for long!

This one's kind of blurry, but it's still cute!

Caden with Uncle Jason

Caden with Mommy!

Caden with Aunt Amber

Garage Sale & Happy 60th Birthday, Ernie!

It's been pretty busy this past week! I had a couple after-hours work functions last week, had a garage sale with my friend, Melissa, did some scrapbooking, and celebrated Jason's dad's 60th birthday!

The garage sale went great even though the weather wasn't so nice. It stormed off and on Friday morning then got pretty nice in the afternoon, and I guess Saturday was fairly nice, but pretty cold. We had a few big things to get rid of so we ended up making almost $300! What a nice weekend! I left Friday night to go to Springfield with my mom for a 24-hour scrapbooking event. We got quite a bit done there so that was nice, but I felt bad leaving my friend to man the sale. Guess I'll just have to repay the favor next time! :-) My dad, brother-in-law, his friend, and Jason went to the Cubs/Cards game on Saturday in St. Louis. What a beautiful day for baseball!! It made it even better that the Cubbies won!! So, we had a houseful on Saturday night!

On Sunday, Jason and I spent the whole morning at church working the nursery/security and then went to the service. In the afternoon, we celebrated Jason's dad's 60th birthday! Here are a few pictures from the afternoon. Ernie hanging out with some of his friends.

Caden with Grandpa

Grandpa, Karen, Caden, & Jason

Happy 60th Birthday, Ernie!!!

P.S. I just found out that my friend, Patty, welcomed her baby boy into this world last Thursday!! Congratulations Patty & Kurt!! Welcome Zavier!! I can't wait to meet you!

Celebrations!!!

There is a lot to be celebrating...

Happy Belated Birthday to my niece, Nicole!!!

She turned 13 on Saturday! I can't believe she is a teenager! Sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate with you.

Happy Belated Anniversary to my friend, Amy & her husband, Nate!!!

They were married 5 years on Saturday and just had their little girl, Lydia, earlier this year. We need to get together soon! It's been way too long!

Happy Anniversary to my friend, Melissa & her husband, Rich!!!

They have been married seven years today! Congratulations!

Happy Birthday to my friend, Amy!!!

Yep, this is the same one as above. She turns the big 3-0 today! Don't worry, girl, it's not too bad!! :-)

I will try to get some pictures up tonight, but I'm not sure what I have at home. Hope everyone is able to celebrate big!!

Babies, babies, babies!!

I traveled to Rockford on Wednesday night to spend the day with my friend, Janell, and meet her new baby, Hudson. We had a great time visiting, and I even got to hold him in NICU! He is tiny, but so cute and doing great!! He is off the feeding tube and maintaining his body temperature. They were probably going to be moving him into an open air crib yesterday. Now, they are just waiting for him to gain some weight to be able to come home (he has to be over 4 pounds).

After I left Rockford, I headed a little further North to spend the day with my friend, Jackie, and her seven month old, Carter. We were planning on going to the zoo in Madison, but it was storming when we got up so we just hung out in Fort. By the afternoon, we had just enough nice weather that Jackie and I were able to get out for a walk to get ice cream! Carter is getting so big already!! He'll be a year old before we know it.

Gamma Phi Circus

Last night a group of 10 of us went to see the Gamma Phi Circus. If you aren't familiar, Gamma Phi is one of only two collegiate circuses (the other being at Florida State University) and very much gymnastics based with no animals. I first heard about it when I was taking tumbling classes as a kid (my coach was an alumni) and then I became a member when I attended ISU. It has changed so much since I was in it. The show was awesome - the first time they performed the flying trapeze ever!

Freeman's & Mundhenke's
Teeterboard
The boys and Maren going for t-shirts!
German WheelMe and Maren