CABO!

I can't believe it's tomorrow will be Dec. 1st! This month, Vince took me to Cabo San Lucas for my 30th birthday present! This was our first big trip together alone. On our honeymoon 12 years ago, we went to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for 2 days and most of the time we slept! This time we snorkeled, sunbathed, swam, and played LOTS of ping pong. We also went on a sunset cruise, where we saw a sea lion lying up on a rock. One night we slept with the door open so we could hear the ocean waves. At 3 am, a huge (what we thought to be a bat) came flying in. It ran into the fan a few times and didn't even phase him. Vince was trying to get on more clothes for protection and I was burying myself under the covers yelling "GET IT OUT!" Vince said "Julie, do you want to take care of this?" I wonder what the people next door were thinking... It ended up being a huge moth--about 6 inches long! I had to put a pic of his hamster in there! I love my man!

Cake Decorating 101

For the last 4 weeks Alex and I, along with 2 other mom/daughter families, have been learning how to decorate cakes. Arlene and Kittie are fabulous teachers and we had a blast! Our final project was to ice our cake and Alex divided her cake into 4 things she loves: Legos, softball, fishing, beads and I did a Christmas tree with "Feliz Navidad" written on it. Alex LOVES to cook and I hope this is the first of many classes we take together.

Chase and Megan's Wedding

Our wonderful friends got married on Oct. 15th. I had the honor of being a co-matron of honor, and Vince was an usher. It was held at the Berg in downtown Kansas City and was just beautiful!!! They are now enjoying paradise in the Dominican Republic! Love you guys!!!

Guess Which One?

I found this on the white board this morning. Guess which one did this? I'll give you a hint...I woke up this morning to her singing her little heart out about love, while she was putting the dishes away.

Stupid thing Vince said this week

As we were in the bathroom getting ready for bed the other night, he lovingly put both hands on my face and looked into my eyes. "Julie, you don't need to worry about wrinkles...or your weight."

Seriously, we hadn't talked about either of those issues and all of a sudden I feel old and heavy...Thanks babe for helping me feel good about myself!

Louisburg Apple Farm

This year we decided to try something different. Instead of Shaake's, we went to Louisburg. Over $60 later we had 3 pumpkins and a cracked pumpkin (they are easily breakable if you drop them :) We did get good pictures, cider, cider donuts, and good memories running through the corn maze, but I think next year, we'll be heading back to Shaake's.

Miss My Girls!

My girls are on a cruise with my parents and grandma and won't get back until Wednesday. While I don't miss the bickering and noise level, I do miss seeing them sleep in their beds, holding them, hearing their conversations and seeing their sweet faces. Here are some pics from a long time ago. Time flies...

Married to Mr. Romance

If you know Vince and I a little, you know Vince is very good with the charm towards his wife. The latest "Stupid Thing That Vince Said" happened yesterday. We were in the bathroom and out of his mouth he said "Julie, I am not saying you're fat or anything, but don't you miss working out?"

Other famous words:

As I'm crawling into bed one miserably depressing winter, I asked if I was fat and he said "No baby, that's just your winter coat."

A couple of years ago I tried on a bikini for him to see what his opinion was and his encouraging words came out "I've seen fatter people wear bikinis". And he was seriously trying to be positive :)

I have MANY others, but I'll post them throughout the year. Some of my friends think I should make a book out of them--it would be a hit!

Mr. T

On Tuesday, we cut Tariku's hair--his 1st haircut! He did very well with no tears at all. I started with a 3 and then went to a 2 and then did a one. The girls wanted me to do a mohawk (well, except Haley, who cried huge tears, not wanting Tariku to look like that). Vince thinks we need to throw some gold chains on him and a fake earring and have him be "Mr. T" for Halloween. I don't know if I like the look or not, but with boys, it will grow back fast! What do you think? Honestly...

Titus Tariku Avila

It's official!!! Well, we're one step closer at least, to having him "re-adopted" in the state of Kansas. We officially changed his name to Titus Tariku Avila from Tariku Vicente Avila. There is something that is hurting my heart though, and that is his birthday. It wasn't recorded correctly in Ethiopia, and though we could possibly change it in the state of Kansas, to change it at the Federal level, which affects his Social Security and Visa stuff, is very difficult. We have decided that the best thing is to keep his paper birthdate which is in October. So this year, he gets 2 birthdays! He actually shares his birthday with my cousin Jacqueline, as my daughter Haley shares her day with Jacqueline's dad, Uncle Serrel. Here is a couple of pics we took with the Judge who did our case.

Our Budding Photographer

Tariku LOVES my camera! Here is some of his latest work...

The Next Pro Golfer

This was taken from our friend Chad, who had the privilege of gleaning golf instruction from Vince. :) He golfs once a year at the Westar Golf Tournament. I bet its something to see. Vince said he really started getting in the groove at about hour 3.

Pics from the Wedding

I don't think I ever posted about our wedding renewal we had on August 22, 2009. Honestly, I just downloaded my professional pics a few days ago. So for my out of town friends who couldn't make it, here are a few. On our 10th anniversary, Vince gave me an envelope and in that envelope was a gift certificate from my friend Renate' for some wedding pictures. That was by far the biggest gift, most surprising gift I have ever received! I just held Vince and cried!!! I have always regretted not having pics (well, I had two) but I wasn't the most flattering in my "big white tent" of a dress. Now, of course, Vince had just got me pics, but I couldn't just have pics! We asked Pastor Bill to renew and we had a party afterwards at my parents, complete with DJ's and dancing! In case you were wondering, Vince cried through most of the ceremony!

Grant's Farm

We visited Grant's Farm and saw the Clydesdales, ponies, birds, deer, turtles and many other animals. There was a sprinkler bridge and seeing Titus with his hair all white was quite a site! We saw a bird show and ate snowcones while Vince enjoyed the free beer samples.