10 years.......

15 years ago, I met the love of my life...I was 13, he was 17...the summer before my freshman year of highschool, the summer before his senior year.

I remember smiling ALOT. I knew he was something special.

Over the next 12 months, we endured alot, (and bickered alot).....he moved 4 hours away for college. NO ONE thought we could make it work.....I KNEW we could.

I remember the $300 phone bills.....worth every penny. Somehow we made it through.

11 years ago, he proposed. I remember smiling ALOT! :)

and

10 years ago, I married the love of my life!

the man who puts up with my constant sarcasm

who understands all of my quirks and craziness

who has always supported me in anything I wanted to do

who has always taken care of me

who has always given me anything that I want

who shares my love of everything Chicago Bears

but most importantly

who gave me my children. The loves of my life.

Rick,

I consider myself so lucky to have you in my life everyday. Thank you for being such a great husband and such a great father......You mean more to me than you will EVER know.

love....

-a

1 decade down....hopefully we have 6 or 7 more to go.

Time Flies........

This summer has FLOWN by. I feel like everything has been going twice as fast as it should.

I am going to miss the kids so much when they go back to school.

I know alot of parents look forward to school starting, but I am not one of them.....

-a

My newest obsession

In my quest to work a little less this summer and spend more time with the kids, I have planned a few outings this summer. One of my favs was heading up to Champaign and painting pottery at The Pottery Place!

You go in and pick your piece(s) and then pick a table and paint (tons of colors to pick from) and then you just get started.........

Heidi chose a teapot and teacupsRJ chose a canister for Snapshots snacksWorking hardWe were there for 6 hours and painted so much stuff.......3 cereal bowls, 2 dog dishes, a dog canister, a teapot, 4 teacups, and a turkey platter (that's what I painted!)Here is RJ's canister. He painted it red and brown and wrote Woof Woof and added some paw print stamps to it. The paint dries chalky and dull and then they fire it in the kiln and it comes out beautiful and shiny!My turkey platter......with the kid's handprints. And they signed their own names......My kids have always called their hand and foot prints, pawprints. ever since they were toddlers....Hence the PawprintsOne of snapshots dishesHeidi's teapotOne of our cereal bowls (with fruitloops on the inside)And a few of the pieces after they were completed!

I LOVE my platter.....seriously, LOVE it!Heidi with her tea setand RJ with his canister.

We've already been back a 2nd time and I suspect it won't be the last!

;)

-a

Zoo Fun

About a month ago, I got an itching to go to the St Louis Zoo. Rick was in Pittsburgh for work and so the kids and I packed a lunch and headed to St Louis with my friend Rebekah and her 3 kids.

After we had a picnic lunch, we headed in to see some animals.But not before everyone had to pose for a picture!The kids (especially Dawson) loved the snakes.There was some guy letting the kids touch crocodile skulls....gotta admit that was pretty cool. RJ and Dawson were super impressed.We bought Safari Passes that allowed us rides on the RailRoad, the sea lion show, a 3-D dinosaur movie etc.....We headed to the Sea Lion show firstI have to say that I loved this show. Not only was it super cool with all the tricks, but also it was a nice chance to feed the kids a snackNotice RJ trying to crash my picture by sticking his finger behind my headGrowing anxious waiting for the train.......Miss Rebekah and Miss Payton on the train......RJ, Cooper and DawsonMe and the HeidsterWaiting to go to the 3-D movie. This was pretty much a favorite of everybodyMy favorite in the whole zoo is the penguin house. (Last year I grabbed a Puffin.....it was just so tempting.) This year I refrained.Cute little Puffin. I wish I would have grabbed itEverybody picked a stuffed animal in the gift shopEveryone except RJ. While we are standing there watching Heidi pick 2 $6 animals.....he just looked at me and said, "Can I just have the 12 bucks?"

Okay, deal. He's his father's son!

:)

-a

Misc Summer

Just posting a few misc. snapshots from our summer.......

watching Ice Age 3 at the Drive-inCounty FairThey always look forward to corn dogs!I have no idea what this one is or why Heidi has something on her face or velvet glovesMy brother and his wife were able to make it home for a few days. Heidi took to him right away.Poor Uncle JerWe had a cookout at mom and dads......here's one of Aunt Tiffany and Uncle JerMy mom has a ton of outside cats. Heidi was in heaven!RJ playing a little wiffle ball with 1 boot and 1 sandleMaking s'mores(I know my brother has been waiting for me to tell this story......)

I would like to say first off that we are a super busy family and don't spend much time on the yard.......we are that house in the neighborhood. It's a goal to make the outside of the house look as good as the inside but it's a work in progress.

So Jer and Tiff come over while they were home and while walking them out while they were leaving, my dad says, "You do know that you have poison ivy growing up your garage right?"....Uh no I was not aware of that.

We head out to look and HOLY FREAKIN COW! This wasn't just any poison ivy, this was the mother of all poison ivy plants!

I may have called Rick "Nature Boy" for allowing poison to grow 2 inches from the house. And then I may have also bitched at him for having a car battery sitting next to the poison ivy plant. pretty sure that the battery is still there......

RJ wrote "NO HEIDI" on his bedroom door in INK! I was livid, but thankfully it came off. He felt bad and asked, "where was I supposed to write it?" I told him if he MUST banish his little sister from his space, then he needed to write it on a paper and tape it to his door.

The next day I walk by and see that he has written "NOT FOR TREE DAYS" on a paper towel and then taped it to his door with medical tape out of the bathroom.

Apparently, she broke one of his lego creations and she was banished for three days!Miss Kaitlin gave us a couple of kittens. Unfortunately, one of them already ran off and we are pretty sure that our neighbor stole the other one. Ah well, the kids had fun playing with them for a couple days.....RJ is brushing up on his golf skills. He had lessons once a week at the golf course. I thought he looked cute with his clubs. (Thanks again Papaw!)RJ has also recently learned the game of chess. It's amazing how quickly he picks up on things. He has already beat both Rick and I at least once. And he won fair and square.We all love the wii fit at our house. Heidi especially loves the ski jump (above) and the 1 person jog.

This picture was one night before bed, she was doing the 1 person run and it told her to put her remote in her pocket....this is what she did. I almost died.School is coming up quickly! Heidi sure is gonna miss him when he's gone all day.

:)

-a

2009 Ballpark Highlights

While I still can't say that I love spending my evenings at the ballpark.....I do have to say that this summer's ball season wasn't half bad! I think the fact that we really only had 1 super hot week played a part in that.

RJ was in Jr league (the Rangers) and Heidi was in t-ball (the Grasshoppers) this year.This was Heidi on her first game of the season with her brand new glove and bat. She HATED her ball pants and ended up wearing a green skirt and random crazy socks for every other game.Heidi LOVED the drinks in the dugout.And when she ran she insisted on staying directly on the chalk lineHanging with Jack after they played each otherHeidi did a really good job this year not having to hit off the tee. She usually hit it when the coach pitched to her.But the thing she managed to do pretty much every game was bend down, play in the chalk and make what looked like gloves on her hands.Couldn't be prouderRJs season went well too. He was on a team with alot of good players and then won almost every, if not every game.RJs favorite position to play was catcher. I thought he looked super cute in his catchers gearBut I think the kids favorite part of the ballpark was the concession stand.On the last day of the season, Heidi's coach handed out cupcakes......RJ's team got a medal

I was a little worried that Heidi would be upset that she didn't get a medal. We weren't in the car for 30 seconds when she starts rubbing it in his face that she got a yummy cupcake and all he got was a silly medal. that's Heidi.

:)

-a

Swimming, Sand, and Slip n Slides

Summer has flown by! (hence my lack of blogging lately!)

I have tried (and I feel succeeded) in spending more time with the kids away from the office this summer, however they did still spend their fair share of time with me at the studio. I tried to make it as fun as I could.......

enter the slip n slide..........if the studio wasn't right on the highway, I would have been right there with them!

I felt like they had finally outgrown their Little Tykes turtle sandbox. Miss Kaitlin's dad built them a new GIGANTIC sandbox with built in seats. This thing is huge! it held a truck bed full of sand.Play-Doh is also a family favorite, so we also added a picnic table and the kids enjoy making me play-doh ice cream sundaes for me!The kids also took 4 weeks of swimming lessons. Which made for super happy kids and super blonde hair.RJ really does swim like a fish now. He needs no help and is fairly confident that he could now survive some sort of shipwreck. Heidi also did much better this summer, although her claim to fame is still floating in the shallow end.And then of course what's better than having a great friend with a pool of her very own? We have spent lots of time at the Kinkade house swimming and having lots of fun! (Look how tan Jack is!)

:)

-a

Snapshot......My Second Favorite

Well....Snapshot is still my second favorite........

Although, she is growing on me a little bit, especially when she looks like this.Heidi still thinks she's too rowdy, but we are adjusting to only having 1 dog instead of 2.

I love making her lay like this and making her ears spread out.While it may seem that Christmas PJs aren't what one would normally wear in the summer, try telling my kids that. Heidi waits to see what RJ puts on and then always runs to get her matching pair. (Is it weird that my kids have tons of matching PJs?)

:)
-a

Day 3 Castaway Cay

Again, time goes so quickly......I can't believe it's taken me so long to post the final pictures from the cruise......
We were all looking so forward to Day 3.......our day on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.

This was the view that I awoke to at 7am on Day 3.....ahhh, paradise.Here we are pulling into Castaway Cay. The pirate ship that you see is the real Flying Dutchman ship that they used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. When they "retired" it, they parked it at Castaway Cay.

My announcing to RJ that I saw a pirate ship definetly got him right out of bed.Rodney enjoyed the view tooRick refused to get up that early on vacation, so the kids and I headed to breakfast alone. We headed to Beach Blanket Buffet and sat outside and watched then tender the boat to shore. The Buffet was amazingAfter breakfast we headed off the boat onto the island. Of course stopping for pictures along the way.I was finally able to get a good shot of the boatHere I've pointed out where our room was.We found Captain Jack himself over by the flying dutchmanWe headed off to the family beachThe kids had so much fun digging and playing in the sand. (notice RJ has underwear on under his swimtrunks....he was so excited to head to the beach that he forgot to take them off.)Rodney relaxing under the umbrellaWe LOVED the hammocks which were all over the island.I was too lazy to move, so this is my hammock pictureThis was the view from one of the hammocksWe did quite a bit of swimming in the ocean as well. Any one who knows me knows this goes against EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING. I HATE the ocean. I hate that there are creatures under the water....creatures that I can't see......creatures that can eat me, sting me, kill me. (shudder)

(the same basic principles go for ponds and lakes too.....I prefer chlorine)

I set aside my completely justified fears and got in with the kids. I figured if something was out there, they would prefer my fat juicy legs over the kids scrawny legs. I was sacrificing myself.This picture cracks me up. The family beach is so long.....it seems at the very entrance of it, everyone sat their stuff down, grabbed a lounge chair and swam. We walked to the end and had no crowds. Sometimes people don't use their heads.This was me, swimming in the ocean.....probably the only time I will. Seconds after this photo, I realized how freaking stupid I was, and got out. As I swam to shore (I was quite aways away from Rick, he just zoomed in), I just knew something was going to grab me and pull me under. (shudder)After I convinced everyone else that they were going to be killed if they swam any longer we headed to Cookies BBQ for lunch. mmmmmmOnce we got back on the ship, we watched Disney Dreams in the Walt Disney Theatre. It was AMAZING.When the kids and I got back from the show, this is where we found Rick. Drinking scotch on the balcony. nice.At least he's wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt.Tonight was the night that formal mickey and minnie were going to be in the lobby, so we had to dress up.We stopped to see Chip and Dale for Heidi firstGoofy was there before Mickey and MinnieThis was one of my favorites from the whole cruise....the whole family. (Even Rodney who's sitting on mickey's head). We really thought it would be hilarious if Rick took one with his glass of scotch in his hand. (of course he did have one) the photographer told him to hide it. At least we know it's in the picture.Tonight we ate at Triton's. (I forgot to take a picture of the sign)

I had escargo (snails) for an appetizer. not bad....not neccessarily good either though.Rick had some sort of tartJust proving I did eat themDinner was fantastic as usualAfter dinner, we went to the Til We Meet Again party.....all of the characters come out to wave goodbye since it was our last night on the ship.


I love this one of Heidi waving at Minnie and her waving back.I just love Daisy and DonaldHeidi made Rick run back to the room to get her stuffed chip and dale dolls when she saw chip and dale. They loved them.Sadly, we headed back to our room.....the next morning it was time to leave and fly home.

We had SO much fun.....seriously SO much fun. I believe cruising is my new vacation of choice.]
I think Rick would agree.

:)

-a

Day 2 on the High Seas

Another few pictures that i forgot to post in the previous post....



They took our pictures as we boarded the shipDay 2 we woke up in the Bahamas. Bathing suits were immediately on and we were out the door.None of us really had much desire to get off the boat at Nassau so we planned for fun on the ship all day.



We started our day off by saying hi to Goofyand Chip and DaleThe Mickey Pool was nearly emptyStopping for a quick fruit snackSoon we headed over to the Goofy pool to watch the Little MermaidMy Favorite! DAISYAfter we saw Daisy, I noticed there was no line for the hair braiding service on the ship. Heidi wanted to get braids all over head. We compromised and got 2. :) They finished them in about 20 seconds.And Heidi LOVED them.The Oceaneers Club was having a cooking school that the kids wanted to attend. We headed up to deck 5 for some bakingI snuck in before it was over to see them making cookiesAnd they got to eat their creationsThen MORE swimmingWe were on the ship when the new Pixar movie UP premEARed so we were able to watch it in 3d on the ship. we got dressed and headed down to the walt disney theatreWe stopped for a quick picture with Russell (from UP) before we headed in.Rick sporting his 3d glasses and his goofy shirt. :)Heidi refused to be photographed in herswaitresses walked around in case we needed anything. A Sunken Treasure. mmmmmmmAfter the movie, we played Bingo while Rick relaxedAnd by relax I mean this. (notice the beer mug on his chest)The Pirates IN the caribbean party was taking place this night so the entire ship was deckd out in pirates. We had to break out our pirate earswith Captain Jack SparrowThe kids were wanting to attend something in the Oceaners Club during our dining room time, so we ordered room serviceand then hit the arcadeBefore Rick and I headed to dinner we had some pictures taken in the lobby. I just love all of these.....(look really close to what Rick is wearing....he had had a bit to drink. I told him to wear something nice. He does. A polo shirt. TUCKED INTO SWIM TRUNKS. nice)After dropping the kids off at the Club for a pirate activity, Rick and I headed to dinner at Parrot CayJust a few minutes into dinner, our pager went off. Heidi wanted to be picked up from the Club. Rick went to pick her up and asked her why, she said that they were wanting her to stand to do stuff and she really was tired of standing.....fair enough. So our waitress brought her dinner too.While we were waiting on the Pirates IN the Caribbean party to start, I just walked around admiring the lobbyThen up to Deck 9 to watch the Party and the fireworks.After the party, it was almost midnight. A little elephant was there to wish us sweet dreams. I think we were all asleep before our heads hit the pillows.

We were all looking forward to our next day of the cruise where we would be visitng Disney's private island.

:)

-a

Our 1st Day on the High Seas......

I forgot to post this video on our post about the terminal. If you listen closely....this is them announcing our family as we entered the lobby. "welcome aboard the lindemann family...."

As soon as we got on board, our room wasn't ready yet, so we headed up to deck 9 for a buffet lunch at the Beach Blanket Buffet.

We opted to sit outside. (It was a little sunny for RJ)Get ready for LOTS of food pictures over the next few posts......

Just a story about the fantastic service aboard the ship. 30 seconds after we sat down, Heidi spilled her pink lemonde all over her tray and in her mac and cheese. 10 seconds after that, the lemonade was cleaned up and a worker had gone back through the buffet to get her more macaroni. FABULOUS service!

Heidi may have spilled her drink 30 seconds after we sat down, but 20 seconds before that, I snagged one of these beauties! A BAHAMA MAMA.mmmmmmmThe desert buffetAfter lunch RJ and Heidi got in the mickey pool (kids only pool)They loved the water slideWe enjoyed a litte ping pongAnd Rick ate againdrying off before heading to our room (which was now ready)We had to get our life vests and head to the mandatory safety drillAs soon as the drill was over, I happened past the lady with a tray of these.....Strawberry Pina ColadasmmmmmmThen it was time for the Sail Away Party on Decks 9 and 10. Heidi and I were front and center and even made the jumbotron a few times. Rick and RJ hung back out of the crowd and took it easy.My favorite....DonaldHeidi's Favorites....chip and dale

After the Sail Away Party, the "When you wish upon a star" horn blew and we were offwe had to have had 40 pounds of fruit while onboardAfter our fruit snack we went swimming in the goofy pool. (the family pool)Lady and the Tramp was playing on the "ariel" view television, so we got to enjoy that while swimmingAfter swimming, Rick took it easy/drank scotch on the verandah while the kids and I played BINGO.He met us for dinner. Our first night's dinner was at Animator's Palate.This dinner was special because the walls start black and white and before dinner is over, all of the walls are in color.A b/w before picture.I have no idea what these are about........More food pictures...........everything tasted fabulousThe walls were gorgeous when they lit up!RJ and Heidi made a quick stop in the Oceaneer's Club before bedtime. Rick and I just went for a walk up on Deck 10Then it was bedtime.....After the kids fell asleep, Rick and I watched "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" on the TV and ordered room service. (because we hadn't just got done eating supper you know......)

Basically, when Rick found out that room service was free, he was taking advantage!

Our first day was fabulous. Day 2 we were docking in Nassau. I couldn't wait for sunrise!

:)

-a

Our Stateroom

On the Disney cruise ships there are 12 different categories of staterooms.



Category 12 being the least expensive and being located on the lowest deck with no window.

Category 1 being the most expensive and only having 2 of the category 1 suites on the entire ship.

Category 9's have a view, but it's a porthole only.



I wanted to have a verendah so I went with a Category 6. We'd have a verendah and it was the middle of the road as far as cost went. I was content with that.



I got a phone call the day before we left. Disney had upgraded us to a Category 4 at no cost! How exciting. Now we were on the Deck 8 in room 8504. We felt no movement and our room was SO much bigger than I expected.When we walked in, I was so excited.....The living area (the couch turns into a bed, and a bed pulls out of the wall.)



Standing in the living room, taking a picture of our sleeping quartersThey had a Bon Voyage banner hanging for usand some super cute decorationsThere was a card from Captain MickeyAnd a tasty cake.....How did captain Mickey know that Heidi LOVES cake? :)The wonderful magnet was on our bathroom doorAnd a Bon Voyage memory box that I latched right on toWe had a split bathroom which was actually 2 bathrooms. One had a tub/shower and a toilet and the other had a sink and toilet. That came in more handy than I would have thought.Our awesome bathroom products. I had to ask for more before we left.We had a closet right across from the bathrooms. It even had a safe to store our passports in.We headed out to enjoy our verandah right away......

(how cute are these matching swimsuits?)

:)

-a

Airplanes, Waffles, and Beaches

We had anxiously been awaiting our Disney Cruise for almost 6 months.

None of us had ever cruised and while I was so excited, I was hesitant too, that it wouldn't be our kind of vacation. Boy was I wrong!

We woke up bright and early on May 27th to head to the airport.

The kids were so excited when I showed them their new passports.We arrived to the Indy airporthad a snack and killed time coloring pictures.Here we are on the shuttle at the Orlando AirportOur cruise didn't leave until the 28th, so we had a whole afternoon to spend doing nothing. (that is rare for our family when everything is planned out to the hour most days).

We decided to head to Cocoa Beach. We have been to the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, but not the Atlantic Ocean, so we wanted to be able to cross that off.The kids were super excited to run and play on the beach. In hindsight, I should have had them put their suits on. They were soaked.RJ made sure to check himself for scratches before getting too deep in the water. He didn't want to get attacked by a shark!RJ was kind enough to take a picture of me and Rick.After our fun on the beach, we headed for supper. At the Waffle House of course! I love that those are everywhere in the South!We headed back to the hotel and got a good night's sleep! Everyone woke up bright and early. I had the kids special outfits made for the occasion.And of course Rodney was excited to wear his new Mickey shirt too.Driving over the bridge, we caught a glimpse of the Disney Wonder.A few pictures from inside the terminalWaiting at the terminal and enjoying some cartoons.I had this awesome bag made for the occasion too! It was the bag that I carried everything in while onboard.I insisited that we had to be AT the terminal at 9:30........yeah, we were the 1st ones there. I thought it was awesome, Rick thought I was crazy. The picture is pretty funny though.I did get my #2 boarding pass. That's the best pass you can get! We were one of the first families on board!We did happen to see two pretty special people while we were waiting.Captain Mickey and his first lady Minnie

coming up: Our stateroom and our first day!

:)

-a

A Sad, Sad Day.......

June 2, 2009 will join only one or two dates in the history of our family that I consider devastating in one way or another.....

Almost 10 years ago, right after Rick and I got married, I went to Terre Haute Humane Society to get a dog. I ended up bringing home a mutt with a little bit of basset hound in her. We named her Lightning and she was so thankful to have been saved.

It took her a LONG time to not be scared of men, but she eventually had no lasting effects of her pre-Lindemann life. She adored me from the moment I brought her home.

Lightning was the most loyal, loving dog I could have ever asked for.

She took her last breath yesterday. 10 years after she was saved from being euthanized.

Rest in Peace little Lightning bug. I will miss you more than I ever thought I would. To add a little bit of humor to the situation, since that's what I do.......

Heidi has been begging for a new "pup" since her friend Lily got one......

We told the kids, I was crying, RJ was crying, even Rick cried. Heidi was crying, then wipes her eyes...and says "Well, at least we can get that pup now."

nice.....I think Heidi got her compassion from me.

:(
-a

Let the Games Begin

RJ has officially had (and won) his first ball game.

Most everyone probably remembers how much I despised the t-ball rules from last year. Well RJ's league is much better know with the rules and you can actually get called out. Much much better.

Heidi is in t-ball so she still has the ridiculous rules.

She plays Saturday, so uniform pictures will follow.

:)

-a