Went to Chuck E Cheese Friday. Had a good time until the kids started getting tired. Olivia threw a temper tantrum in the parking lot. She didn't want to get into her car seat & it took about 10 minutes of her screaming at the top of her lungs before they could hog tie her into her seat. We were able to get her to stop crying in the car by telling her she could go to Shawn's house. So, we come back to our house & Shawn proceeds to get mean & start crying b/c Olivia was playing with his trains. No one messes with his trains!! They left & Shawn feel asleep soon after.

Today, we decided to take a trip to Saugatuck, MI which is about a half an hour from here. Really cute town with neat stores. Lucky for us, Shawn decided that half way through he was done cooperating & started throwing crying fits. We were ready to leave him there!! We want to go back & give the town another try & actually go throug the stores. We did buy a neat windsock that is hanging from our deck,

We came back & Tim started to cut down the summer flowers. We then went to Meijer for dog food & diapers. When we came back, Tim & Shawn had a dance party in the basement. Thet were dancing to a bunch of different music, but when I came in, they were listening to the OSU band. Made me want to get in the car & drive to Ohio State!!

Cleaning the house tomorrow!! Fun for me!

High of 68 today. I just finished putting a pot of while chili in the crock pot. That will simmer all day & be ready when Tim comes home.

Tim went golfing on a mini league with people from his office last night. It was a nice night, so Shawn & I were out front. Shawn saw Olivia & went running to her. Shawn & Olivia watered the flowers in Olivia's yard & then they played with chalk on her driveway while Melissa & I sat on their front step & drank a glass of wine. It was fun. The 6 of us are heading to Chuck E Cheese Friday night for dinner & playtime for Shawn & Olivia. Looking forward to that.

It's been a busy week or two. Tim's parents came in town last Friday to spend Labor Day with us. Shawn & Dauber enjoyed getting 100% attention all weekend.

Shawn had his first play date today. He went next door to Olivia's to play & have lunch. He did great up until lunch & then he just started crying & wanted to come home. He came in, sat down at his place at the kitchen table & ate his food. He is use to use routine I guess. Melissa (Olivia's Mom) and I are taking them to the library next Tuesday for story time. We took the kids last week to the Zoo. Had a good time until Olivia got stung by a bee. That cut our lunch short. It has been a blessing having Kirk, Melissa & Olivia next door. The kids get along great & we really like them.

Nothing special planned for the weekend. It is suppose to be cool, so probably just spending time inside cleaning. I leave for Toledo for a week on Wednesday. I will work Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. We are having a birthday party for Mom on Friday, as Marsha, Ray, Steph & Hillary are coming in as well. We may go to the Toledo Zoo on Saturday, depending on the weather. When I get back, it will be time to start getting ready for Disney!!

Well, it's been 2 weeks since my last update. You can see that I'm not so good at this updating thing.

We are going to Disney! We as in Tim & I. Tim has a meeting there September 21 - 24. I am going to drive to Toledo on the 21st & then fly out of Toledo on the 24th. We will fly back on the 28th (Tim to GR & me to Toledo.) I will work in the office on the 29th & then head back to GR that afternoon.

Tim had to fix a big drain problem on the back of our house. The drain goes underground & the pipe that the previous owner had installed was way too small. He put in 50 feet of new drainage pipe. I took pictures, so hopefully he can download them tonight.

Tim had to go to Toledo today for a meeting & back again on Thursday. Why they couldn't do it all in on day or 2 days back to back is beyond me, but he is driving there & back both days. He'll be tired!!

Tims parents are coming in on Friday to spend Labor Day with us. This will be the first that they have seen the house. Nothing planned - Tim & his Dad are going golfing on Saturday.

Working out of the house is going pretty well. My co-workers feel no hesitation to call me. Either my cell or home phone is ringing 2-3 times a day with questions or they are sending email. It helps to break up the day. Shawn loves being at home. He is very good about entertaining himself. Every once in awhile he will ask for help, but overall he is very content. He likes sleeping in until 8 or 8:30 where as when he was going to day care he had to be up at 6:30 or 7am. He is starting to not take naps. He plays all day & crashes around 6pm or 7pm. Last night he fell asleep at 6:15, woke up at 8:30 & went to sleep for the night at 11pm. Not sure what type of schedule that is!!

Dauber is being wierd today. He has not eaten breakfast at this posting, but his stomach is making a lot of noise. He is still following us around. Maybe he just has a touch of the flu.

Tim & I had a really nice night last night. We headed out to the 2 story mall & ate dinner at Kahunaville. Very similiar to the Rainforest Cafe chain. I had a teriaki flank steak meal & Tim had a seafood gumbo. We had great food & good service. It was expensive though. Not your every week type of restaurant. We then walked through both levels of the mall. We got home, changed into comfy clothes & watched Unwrapped. We were asleep by 9:45!

Taking Dauber for a bath today. Going to work a bit & then pack for my trip for Toledo. Not sure what we will do tonight.

Shawn left for Toledo this morning & it is so wierd being in the house without him. It is a first for me & I miss him bothering me so much!!!! It has been nice to work at my own pace & do my own thing, but I got use to that little face always there. I can't wait until I see him on Wednesday.

Tim & I are gping to go out to dinner somewhere tonight. Not sure where yet. We are in the middle of a huge rain storm rignt now. Tornado warnings were issued. We may not be going anywhere!!

I am looking into Shawn & I taking the Amtrak to Chicago for 3 or 4 days - Like a Tuesday - Saturday. I can catch the train out of Kalamzoo or Grand Rapids. Out of Kalazoo into Chicago was $54.00 for the 2 of us. Brad could meet us at the train station & we could spend the day downtown or head back to his place. I'm hoping to do it in September.

Had a nice trip to Toledo. It was so nice to be able to leave Shawn in good hands & head to work, my haircut, errands, etc. & just have a break from him.

Went to the new members night at the Zoo. It was raining, pretty hard at times, so we walked around a bit & then decided to go & see the new baby elephant & then leave. The elephant was worth the trip - he was so cute!! Not a crowd, so we got to stand and watch him for as long as we wanted to.

Tim & I went to dinner & a movie Saturday night & left around 12:00 on Sunday. Overall, we had a good time.

Last night was National Night Out. Not sure how they call it national, as I had never heard about it before coming here, but it is a BIG deal in Grand Rapids. Basically, you are suppose to get together with all of your neighbors to build relationships for block watch's & crime free neighborhoods. The lady at the end of our street planned a cook-out where you bring your meat & a salad or dessert (one half of the street got a salad & the other half got a dessert assignment) and she provided the grill & plates. Tim thought it was sort of stupid & really didn't want to go, thinking no one would show up. Well...the entire street & their kids showed up. We have I think around 20 houses & probably 17 showed. It was a lot of fun & we met almost everyone. It went from 6-8, so it wasn't a long commitment. The weather was perfect & Tim had a good time!!

Our next door neighbors invited us over for dinner tomorrow night, but Tim has stuff going on at work, so we are going to do it when they get back from vacation.

Tim is going to Orlando at the end of September for a meeting. We are tossing around the idea of me meeting him there on Wednesday, when his meeting is over & staying there until Sunday. We would stay at Disney & see what has changed in 8 years. Mom has offered to come here & stay with Shawn & Dauber, so it all depends on if Tim can change the return time on his ticket & if his boss is okay with the plan.