Our weekend...

Mom & Dad picked up the girls Friday after work. Amy left work early to go out with some co-workers, and I met up with her at my old haunt, the Tartan Inn. We were out for a few hours, and M&D brought the girls home for us. It was nice to get out, even though we were gone last weekend.
Saturday morning we did breakfast with Amy's grandma at Jane's Ice Box in Dunlap. It's a nice little greasy-spoon type place, and they have ice cream as well, so we had to promise Maddie we'd go back there for ice cream some day. After the girls (and I) took naps, we played around the house until dinner.
After dinner, Maddie & Sam decided to play a little dress up...and then we went to the Ice Cream Shack for our favorite ice cream desserts!
Sunday, Sam & I got to sleep in a bit, and then the four of us went for a walk/ride on the Rock Island Trail. Maddie rode her bike, and Sam was in the stroller. We went about a mile out & back. Then we came home so I could cut the grass. After a bit of lunch, we headed to Mom & Dad's. Sam took a nap while the rest of us played around in the pool. After I got the rotisserie going on our grill, Maddie & I left for Detweiller Park. We had made a deal that after 5 good bed times, I'd take her to a park playground she hadn't been to before, so this is the one I chose. She really enjoyed the play area, and even went for a brief swing.
Hope everyone else had as nice a weekend!

Sam's 1 Year Photos

We took Sam today for her 1 year photos. Just a few weeks past due! She wasn't too cooperative with staying in place or giving us smiles, but we got a few good shots. Click the image to get to the gallery I uploaded.

From Sam's 1 Year ...

New phones

Amy & I got new phones on Monday. Here's a picture I took with her phone. We're both using it as our phone wallpaper. I'm actually sending this post via my new phone. I pretty much love it.

Vacation

So, Amy & I came to St. Charles, MO for a little weekend getaway. We got to town before 1 and were able to check in early. We walked all of South Main street to get to a pub on North Main for lunch. After that, we walked back & hit a few of the shops on our way back. One cool thing I bought was a coat of arms & history for the Hoehne name. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but it says the name goes back to the Swiss area, so that's pretty interesting, considering everything I've heard is we have German/Luxembourg ancestry. Anyway, after a brief nap (naps are so precious anymore), we went to dinner at Dave & Busters & played a bunch of games afterwards. Then we drove back to the hotel, and walked over to the Trailhead Brewery & restaurant for a few beers. We have had a great time so far. Here's hoping the rest of the weekend is as good!

Good night's sleep & another election

So, last night I went with Kevin to the Poision concert. I didn't make it home until around midnight, and I was afraid I'd either come home to a howling dog, or I'd wake him up and he'd start howling. Murphy's howled/whined every night since we brought him home. When I literally tiptoed in, the house was quiet. I think I heard him moving, and I figure he probably heard/saw me, but he didn't make any noise. Amy told me he hadn't made any noise so far, and thank God, he didn't end up making any all night long. He didn't need to go out an no messes in his kennel. I hope it goes so well again tonight.


I went to a HOA board meeting tonight, and mostly because no one else volunteered, I became the HOA President. I hope to get things into shape soon, so we don't have to meet so often. I was able to set a lot of future agenda items and delegate a lot of the leg work for those out to the other board members. I'm on the board for the next 2 years, and will be President for at least the next year. Should be interesting!

Sam soakin'

So we went for Sam's 1 year doctor appointment today (everything went fine), and on the way home I talked to Maddie about cooling off outside. At that point, it seemed like a waste to fill up her little pool, cause I figured it'd be too cold, and wouldn't warm up in time. So I asked if she wanted to use the sprinkler, which she did. She played in it for a while, and then Sam decided she wanted a little fun, clothes & all. She was a little apprehensive at first, just sticking her hand out to get in the water, but after awhile, she was just walking around in the spray getting SOAKED! She had a ball! I'm not sure the pictures & video captured it, but the water was just pouring over the lid of her cap.

Meet Murphy

The four of us piled in my truck and headed off for a 2 hour drive today. We were headed toward Ashkum, IL. The trip there was good; Maddie watched DVDs & Sam slept. We stopped at a breeder's to pick out our new puppy, a silver-gray Weimaraner. They had four males to choose from, and the decision was tough. Maddie wanted to see the cows they had, so we did that, then picked our puppy and headed home. The puppy howled a bit on the way home, but only for a few minutes. Sam, however, didn't fall asleep again, and was fed up being in her car seat. She yelled & screamed a lot of the way home. It was good to get home, and everybody is very happy with our new puppy. A few of the other names we threw around were Jack, Brody, Asher & Cooper, but we all (including Maddie) agreed on Murphy. Murph. :)

Sam riding a zebra!

Sam's taking a ride on one of her new toys she got for her birthday from Papa Bob.

Schemin'!

Maddie's outside most evenings when the weather is nice. Here's a candid shot of her visiting through the fence with Ty, the girl next door. Ty's mom says they were plotting! :)

Sam's 1st Birthday

Sam all dolled up for her first birthday!


She sure had a lot of presents to open...and she had a ball. Maddie was quite jealous.


And, as you can see, she liked her first birthday cake! She was delicate, but soon dug right in. The rest of us had half white/half chocoloate cake. Maddie went right for the frosting.

4th of July

We went to the 4th of July parade in our old stompin' grounds of West Peoria. It's a nice little parade for the kids, and there's plenty of candy thrown out to go around. This year the weather was fantastic, even in the upper 60s just before the parade. As you can see, we had a good time.
After that we had lunch with our friends, and took it easy at home. We lit some fireworks with our neighbors early that evening. It was a blast! ;) Happy (belated) 4th everyone!

Sam's first time swimming

We took the girls swimming at Grandma & Grandpa Hoehne's last weekend. It was Sam's first time in the pool, and she loved it.

Pierced!

Maddie got her ears pierced yesterday. We had made a deal with her to get her ears pierced if she could have 5 good bedtimes in a row. She had a few false starts, but she got it going, and with a bit of forgiveness on some evenings, she got her 5 good bedtimes. Amy had the day off and she & Maddie had a "special day": mini-golf, McDonald's playland, a movie in her room together, getting the ears pierced, which I was able to join for, we had dinner at Olive Garden (Maddie's choice) and capped it off with a family day at Great Grandma Laverne's place. They had clowns, a polka band, ice cream, balloon animals & face painting. Maddie made a bee-line for the ice cream, and ended up with a unicorn painted on her face.
Anyway, back to the ear piercing...after choosing her earrings & changing her mind a few times, she ended up with ruby studs. We made sure the place had 2 people to do both ears at the same time. Maddie had been talking with her friend Savannah (who got her ears pierced) and she & we warned Maddie that it would hurt, but only for a bit. She asked SO many questions about the whole process, and held onto a teddy bear while they did it. I didn't see so well, but Amy said her eyes just popped open wide when they did it. She teared up and wasn't happy, but that only lasted a few minutes, until the lady offered her a sucker. Tears off!