vacation, part one

Abigail was here for the weekend, and we had tons of fun. She's looking so much like a little girl now...

On the carousel at Miller Park Zoo. Lots of animals to choose from and Abigail chooses the dalmatian (similar to her favorite stuffed animal, named "puppy," that used to be mine)

Making music at the Miller Park playground

Reading "A Squirrel's Tale" at Nan's house

it's hard to be crabby when...

• A friend pays you a wonderful compliment. I got one that made my whole week! It STILL makes me smile days later!
  
• My co-worker's husband makes it home safe and sound from Afghanistan. I don't know how families do it everyday when a loved one is deployed. What a blessing these men and women are.
• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is in town! The lucky family gets selected tomorrow. I'm so excited for them and feel very fortunate to have a roof over my head (even if a bat did get into our house and scare the crap out of us. and we have a leak from our bathroom into our kitchen again...the "joys" of home ownership).
  

I am counting my blessings until my vacation starts in just a few days...

countdown

I unpacked my suitcase this weekend and put it back in the basement. It felt really good since it's been out on our bedroom floor, and off to here/there/everywhere, since April. I don't have another business trip until 8/21 which is also my last day "in the office" until 9/1. I can't wait!

Abigail is coming for a visit the weekend of 8/22 and my list of things to do with her is long (so long I doubt we'll get to half of it). Ben's working the week of 8/24 so I'll do some things around the house we've been neglecting...like tidy the basement which barely consists of a path to the laundry room at the moment. If I get really ambitious I might paint the dining room (light green? still undecided...).

Then we'll do a long weekend getaway ... location TBD. It's been a l.o.n.g summer and a vacation (even if it's a staycation) is just what I need....any stay/va-cation suggestions? Let me know!

ice cream

Preparing to post, but must pause for an ice cream run! Gene's strawberry-lemon twist, here I come!

summer movies

I must admit I've only seen Harry Potter so far this summer, but it isn't for lack of trying. I want see (500) Days of Summer, Away We Go and some others. Unfortunately, few movies I'm excited to see have come to Bloomington-Normal. The Hangover is also on my list, and that is in area theaters so I'm hoping to see it soon. Two movies due out in August are also on my must-see list: Julie and Julia and The Time Traveler's Wife.

The Tribune had an interesting article on the former. The storyline of present day Julie and past day Julia is clever. And the cast is amazing. I haven't seen anything with Amy Adams that I didn't like.

The Time Traveler's Wife also has great stars, but I'm a little reluctant to see it. More so than all the Harry Potter books, I absolutely LOVE Audrey Niffenegger's masterpiece, and I'm afraid seeing the movie will ruin my annual reading. Not to mention the book absolutely wrecks me and I might need to be carted out of the theater. If I do see it, I'll need to do it at a time when I won't need to recover quickly.

Happy movie-going! Let me know your see it or skip it reviews.