Run, Run, Run...as fast as you can!

So Kelsey and Jill ran a half marathon--yes that is 13.something miles, ouch--and they both rocked it...like it was nothing.


See--after running 13 miles they are all smiles and no sweat...Way to go girls!!

Haley and I were the official cheerleaders, and we made signs to keep their spirits up...Haley's was my favorite (and yes, that is what Jill and Kelsey would look like as little green martians).

We had the opportunity to Cheer for the best teams at the race:

Team Kelsey

Team Jill

Way to go girls!

Froggy Fun

We found this cute little frog (toad) in our 'backyard'...


...we began playing with it, then dropped it (and I felt horrible) ...


...and in the end, Phil got a craving for amphibians.

A mighty good time with Andrea and Brad

Phil's sister, who about 6 months pregnant here, and her husband flew to Chicago for the weekend. We were really lucky that we got to see them while they were here...



We ate dinner at Gino's and then showed them around Chicago (since we've been there so much)...


And by some miraculous stroke of luck, we even saw a bit of Egypt while we were there!

(That big chunk of rock came from The Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt. If I remember right, this was the building where the Chicago Tribune is, and there were lots of little pieces of other buildings embedded in the structure.) This piece of pyramid was probably my favorite sight; however, the "Giant Famers" were a close runner-up:)

Packers Fever

Phil got to go to a Packers game with 'the guys' I missed out on the fun, but seeing the absolute glee that came over his face at the prospect of going to Lambeau was good enough for me...

nothing like the 80's

So our sweet friend Kara threw an 80's birthday bash for her husband Steve's 28th birthday...I must say it was pretty much the coolest party I have ever been to. Everyone dressed up, and looked oh so fine in true to 80's style.

Steve and Kara looking 'hot, hot, hot!' Why wasn't I lucky enough to be a teenager in the 80's?

Please take note of the sweet decorations and perfectly themed and executed background made exclusively for this night by the acclaimed artist Kara "da bomb" Pothier. Also note: These pictures were courtesy of Kara, and her rockin' photography skills.

The party only begun with dressing up--it also included twister, bubble-gum blowing contests, batman cupcakes and rings, a sincerely delicious nacho bar, and the original Super Mario brothers...which I tried to compete in like 6 times, and couldn't ever make it beyond half-way: a testimony to my brothers' lack of controller sharing, especially back in the day:) Phil did pretty well in the video-game department--for a while he was in first place--but alas, Steve O'Brian rocked his score by like ten seconds--Props to Steve!

Like I said--it was a GREAT party; a sweet time. Thanks Pothiers! and Happy Birthday Steve--Thanks for getting older so we could have a blast with you guys at your house!

Baby Bedding

The plans for making my own bedding have been postponed, becuase I can't find this fabric...

Our (mostly window-) Shopping Extravaganza!

So, my wonderful husband knows that I have wanted to go on a road trip for quite sometime, why?...

...Perhaps it is my love of maps and navigation; my need to constantly be doing something new/different; my desire to "see the world!"; or a silly attempt to avoid aging? (don't ask where the rationale come from for the last one...I am not sure that there is any; it's just how I feel...)

SO, originally we were going to head to DC, because we both Love American History and the founding fathers--but at long last, we realized that there was no way that was happening this year...so I gave up any hope or idea of a fun vacation before Phil lost any influence as to what he will spend his time doing for the next year.

Well, that lack of hope and excitement was a little premature...Phil surprised me with a getaway to Minneapolis, MN--or more importantly--the Mall of America!!! As most people know, I absolutely LOVE to shop (and buy things, of course) so this was a pretty good second to Washington, DC.


The drive on the way was a lot of fun (at least for the part of it that I was awake!) Phil drove the whole way there...my hero--isn't he cute! (it was like pulling teeth to get him to look at the camera)

While we were in Minnesota, we also saw...

1. The temple,

my cute Phil in front of the temple,

and me in front of the temple...a lot (too much in fact).

Phil wouldn't let me take very many pictures of him, and I am not sure why--he is basically the picture of perfection, and yet he refuses to let me get many pictures of him!

2. Minneapolis,

and cool buildings in Minneapolis...

3. We also drove through St. Paul, and you can probably tell from the pictures, or lack thereof, that we thought St. Paul had a lot less to offer than Minneapolis did, but at least there was this cool bridge! woo. hoo.

The Mall of America was the highlight of the trip (second to the temple of course)...

We saw LOTS of Legos...

Dinos made of legos,

My scary face next to Phil's face, infront of Legos,

Phil's face in front of large lego people made of legos,

and my face in front of pirates' faces made of legos...

We really like Legos!

We also saw the infamous indoor theme park.

Then we got bored with taking pictures, and decided to shop.

We went to so many stores that I actually needed a break from shopping (I never, ever thought that I would see that day). There were lots of stores selling random stuff, and lots of shops I had never been into, and there are still many stores we didn't see...and many, many, many stores at the mall that we never got to go into...on the top of my list were Lacoste and Burberry, which we saw as the mall was closing and I was like--"how'd we miss these?!" I think we only saw about 1/4 of the stores there...hopefully we can go back again:)

On the way home I had a lot of fun...

stalking Philly-poo

loving on Philly-poo
and taking pictures, to amuse my self, while Phil drove...
and enjoyed his blizzard.

Thanks to Phil, it was an incredible vacation! I don't know how he lived through those hours and hours of shopping--but he did it--and he's a champ! Love you kissy:)

hApPy ~quarter of a century~ Haley!

We all went out to celebrate Haley's 25th birthday--the cheesecake was delicious, and as always, the company was a ton of fun...by the time we all leave Milwaukee, I am pretty sure that the girls will have converted me from "cheesecake--yuck" to "cheesecake is my favorite food!" In closing, let's just say that while dinner was a great time, this was not the best photo day for any of us--which is why the picture is so small:)

Oops! It's been a while...

So it is now June 25, 2009--and I am finally getting around to the blog...I have a lot to catch up on! I am changing the dates of my new posts to correspond with when we took the pictures...and my posts will probably be short--but at this point getting up the pictures is all that matters. So here it goes!!!

Blocks of fun...

One fun day Phil and I got to hang out with Hallie and Hunter, they are so much fun! After hunter went to sleep at like six Hallie, Phil and I got to play with some sweet blocks...I think that Phil and I had as much fun as Hallie, because we were amazed to see how tall we could stack the blocks! I think the record was 28 blocks stacked one after the other...Hallie had a lot of fun seeing the blocks crash to the floor--she is a riot!

The First Two Years - Well Done

We have often discussed the shear wealth of information that Phil has absorbed thus far in medical school. Here, Phil holds the notes from his second year classes...his finals this year covered EVERYTHING written, pictured and placed in this mountain of papers! My husband is amazing.

We took this picture just after Phil finished boards and said good bye to that insanely large pile of painful facts...forever. Looking at this picture--I just realized how much he studied for those finals--he looked pretty tired.

Not to get too excited, the studying wasn't over just yet: Next, the beast known as the Boards; USMLE-Step 1, aahck.

a Brewers game

Dave and Kelsey are awesome; they know all the ins and outs of extracurricular fun! They found these great (inexpensive) tickets for a Brewer's game, coordinated the whole outing and even hooked the group up with a free appetizer at dinner before the game--they know how to have fun!

The craziest moment of the night was when Kelsey and I came out of the bathroom and a guy in a wheel chair came up and asked if Kelsey was married; if I was married; if we'd ever smoked pot; (told us we should try it someday) why we wouldn't smoke pot; and on and on. He was definitely mentally impaired--probably smoked mental--and shocked that all three of us hadn't tried pot (his response was hilarious! ----"WHaT" with eyebrows raised, and one eyeball looking off in a completely different direction, doing its own thing). It was a great illustration of why I have never, and will never smoke pot--or anything for that matter. The whole interaction was bizarre, but it was SO funny to see the look on Kelsey's face when he came up to her (I am sure the look on my face was the same:)

The game was a blast, and we all had seats next to each other. We played a little bit of musical chairs, and the game was a sensory experience (I will take earplugs next time; the speakers were LOUD)--there were something like 42,000 people there in the stadium that night--and none of us caught the swine flu!

I must mention that the Brewers players are markedly less attractive than the Mariners, but the game was still a blast (who goes for eye candy anyway;)--thanks Barbers!

The Mariners - Woo Hoo!

Mike, Melissa, Phil and I went to a Mariner's vs. Whitesox game in Chicago - somehow Mike scored 11th row tickets for like $15 a piece...then during the six inning we got to move up to the second or third row...it was amazing. This was the first Major League baseball game I have ever been to, and it was amazing to be so close! We got lots of pictures, and I have a new favorite baseball player; he plays for the Mariners, is a great batter, and his name is Branyan.



Below is the Japanese baseball player Ichiro:



We bundled up because it was one COLD night! Luckily Melissa had both a blanket and an extra coat (that layered over one of Phil's hoodies)...parents know how to be prepared! Melissa saved my bum from completely freezing off :)