Truth, Justice, and the American Way!

On our way home Sunday from Kentucky, I just had to take a detour through the Illinois town of Metropolis to get my picture taken with the giant statue of Superman. I had seen a sign about it on the way down and had talked about stopping by on the way home all weekend. We all had our pictures taken with the statue and I spent $20 at the Superman gift shop. Thanks to Rob and Mike for tagging along on our little adventure through Metropolis, the whole visit only took about 30-45 minutes and it was a great photo-op--check them out!

Congratulations, Jeff and Mickey!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you...Jeff and Melissa Davenport! Jeff and Mickey are officially hitched and I did a great job, if I do say so myself. The wedding was a beautiful sunset ceremony at a Gazebo/Jetty on Kentucky Lake. It didn't rain, I didn't forget my words, and no one passed out from the heat, so all it all I would call it a success. Since the wedding was on Friday evening, we had the whole rest of the weekend to play and celebrate. We ate well and drank well and had a great time hanging out with all Jeff and Mickey's friends and families and I think we all got a lot closer as a result. I will post another entry about our Saturday excursion on Kentucky Lake after I get the pics from my waterproof camera developed, but for now here are some pics from the wedding. Congratulations, Jeff and Mickey- we love you both!

What's a Doodlecake?

Many of you may think that this is a picture of a Hostess chocolate cupcake (or its generic equivalent), but in the Lenk house it is known as a Doodlecake. Brady started calling them that since "they have a little doodle on top," and now all of us call them doodlecakes. I thought it was so cute I just had to share.

I hope I don't screw up!

We leave for Kentucky Lake tonight to go to Jeff and Mickey's wedding. Brian is a groomsman and I'm performing the ceremony. I still can't believe I got myself into this and I'm getting more nervous the closer it gets. When I first agreed to do it, I was told it was a small informal ceremony at a Jetty on Kentucky Lake . Three months later, however, there are 7 bridesmaids and they are expecting over 60 people. I'm sure everything will be fine (at least that's what everyone keeps telling me). I have the whole 3-4 hour drive down there to practice, and then the wedding isn't until Friday at 8 pm, so I have most of the day tomorrow as well.
Last weekend was the Bachelor/ Bachelorette parties and the rehearsal/dinner. The bachelor party was at our house and 30-40 drunk well wishers camped out on our property.

The bachelorette party was an 80's themed slumber party, hence the Strawberry Shortcake PJs and the scrunchy (see pic). Everyone had a great time and stayed safe. I will post an update next week about how everything went and some pics from the wedding. Wish me luck!

Bye-Bye Little Gym

Last week was the last day of 3rd grade, this week was Alena's last day of gymnastics class. Alena and I have been taking a mommy and me gymnastics class at The Little Gym since January. The Last day is "show day" where all the kids get to show off their skills to any family or friends that want to come take pictures. Alena learned how to do a somersault, donkey kicks, monkey jumps, and crab walks, just to name a few. At the end of class they all received a metal for all their hard work. We are taking the summer session off, but plan to return for the fall session which begins on August 20, the same day the boys start 4th grade!

The Last Day of Third Grade

Wednesday (5/30) was the boys' last day of the third grade. They worked very hard all year and were very successful! They both had perfect attendance, made the honor roll all 4 quarters, were in the spelling bee, and didn't get in trouble even once. In honor of all these achievements, I took the day off work on Thursday and planned a day of fun to celebrate and kick off summer vacation. Alena went to the babysitter and Alex, Brady and I headed to the Magic House. I didn't tell them much about it other than it was a "fun museum," so they didn't quite know what to expect, but when we got there they were both very pleasantly surprised. We all had a blast and learned a lot too! After the magic house we picked up Brian and Alena and went out to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner and more fun. It was a long, but very fun day. Hopefully, they will do just as well in the 4th grade and we can do it all again next year. Only 80 more days until school starts!

I'm so glad it's over!

I'm very happy American Idol and all the other reality shows I watch are finally over! Idol was a little disappointing this year, although I'm glad Jordin won. I have no doubt that by this time next year I will be singing along to one of her songs on the radio, unlike last year's Idol Taylor Hicks (Chris is the true Idol from last season). The worst part of last night was the end and I'm not talking about the fact that Jordin won. I have school on Wednesday nights and have to TiVo Idol. I got home about 10 and fast forwarded through most of the finale, only stopping at a few performances that peaked my interest. Anyway, after waiting through the two hours of filler, it finally get to the end when they are about to announce the winner and--- the recording stops! Even though they stretched a 10 second show into two hours, they still went five minutes over-- absolutely ridiculous! After all that, I still had to look up who won on the Internet!

We Actually Won!

The Ethical Society's First Annual Trivia Night, I posted about previously, was a complete success! Although we could always use more teams and sponsors for next year--I will let everyone in plenty of time the next time it comes around! Best of all, our team came in first! Thanks to Amy, Brenda, Ron, and our new friends Liz, Chuck, Cindy, and Jim for all their hard work. Out of the 100 questions (10 rounds of 10) we got 77 correct, in categories such as History, Mexico (it honor of it being cinco de mayo), Geography, Sports and Games, and Music. Everyone ate a lot of chips and salsa and had a great time!

The reason it took my so long to post this great news is because Alena had a fever and was kinda pitiful last weekend and when I took her the the doctor on Monday, they diagnosed her with a double ear infection (OUCH!) None of my kids have ever had an ear infection before (thankfully!), so this was a first for me. A few days on antibiotics and she's as good as new. Unfortunately, I also got sick on Monday and when I went to the doctor on Wednesday, they said I had bronchitis. Needless to say, it has been a rough week! Alex and Brian also have the sniffles and have been lazier than usual, but Brady gets First Prize for the best immune system in the house- he has yet to be sick (knock on wood).

I missed work and school all this week since I was sick, so I will be working my butt off this weekend and next week to try to catch up. I am so happy summer is just around the corner!

That's So Gross!

Last week the children and I were eating spaghetti for dinner, when Alena started rubbing her marinara covered hands all over her nose and face and acting strangely. She tends to freak out when she gets messy, so I promptly wiped her off. She was still rubbing her face, she said she was done and I got her out of her chair. I never thought anything about it again until about 4 hours later about 11pm when she was sitting on my lap watching TV. I thought I saw a booger in her nose, but when I went in to retrieve it-- a two inch long piece of spaghetti came out! GROSS, now I was the one freaking out! I guess when she was slurping her spaghetti into her mouth she accidentally also sucked some up her nose. After I pulled it out, she did one of those full body shivers and said "Mama, my nose is better." I guess so!

P.S. I almost took a picture of the piece I pulled out for the blog, but decided that was a bit much, so this picture was taken back in January.

Happy 8th Anniversary!

Eight years ago today (May 1st), Brian & I tied the knot! Its been a long 8 years, but we made it through the 7 year itch-- so that's a good thing! Brian brought me 8 red roses to my work today, they smell wonderful! Thanks, honey! Happy Anniversary to Us! I Love You!

Cinco de Mayo Trivia Night

The Mid Rivers Ethical Society is hosting its first annual trivia night on Cinco de Mayo- Saturday May 5 @ 7 (doors open @ 6:30). I have reserved a table and need about 5 more people to fill it. It's $20 per person and there are door prizes, silent auctions and snacks provided. It is a Mexican theme and has a prize for the best decorated table, so if anyone has any cute ideas please pass them on to me. Also, if anyone/business would like to donate items for the door prizes or silent auctions please let me know ASAP. Also if anyone/business would like to sponsor a round of trivia, it's a $25 tax-deductible donation and you get your business name on the promotional materials and get to put cards/flyers on the tables. Thanks already to Amy at AAA for sponsoring a round! Let me know if anyone wants to go, I'm sure it will be a great time!

Alena's Rough Weekend

On Saturday Alena was suppose to be napping when all of a sudden I heard a thud. I ran back to the boys' room and retrieved my now screaming daughter who had a big red mark, right in the middle of her forehead. I think she probably fell trying to climb up to the top bunk, but no one really knows. Anyway, as the evening went on I noticed her right eye wasn't as open as the left one. It wasn't red and she was acting fine, but I called mom just to be on the safe side.
The next morning Alena's eye still wasn't open as much as the other eye, it looked a little swollen, but still wasn't red or bruised. She played outside all day long while Brian cut the grass. And as if she wasn't suffering enough, she ended up with a little sunburn on her arms.
The next morning (Monday) Alena woke up with a big black eye! I don't know why it took two days to appear, but she looks pretty rough with her black eye, red mark on her forehead, and sunburned arms. I have a feeling it is going to be a very rough summer!

Easter 2007

Easter 2007 was quite cold, but we made the best of it anyway. We started the day with a visit from Kenny to give the kids their Easter cards and then headed off to "church" (see ethical society post). Alex lost a tooth in Sunday school and Alena skinned both of her knees as we were walking in, so I was a little concerned about how the rest of the day was going to go. After church we went to my mom's, ate some great food and watched the baseball game. The crowd at her house was smaller than usual, and mine were the only kids this year, but it was nice to visit with everyone who was there.
After mom's we headed to Brenda's and the kids hunted eggs in their winter coats. They all had a good time finding all 75 eggs we had hidden throughout the yard. After the hunt, Alex and Brady wanted to hide eggs for me and Brian to find. So they hid 30 eggs and Brian and I raced to see who could end up with the most. When we stopped to count, I had 15 and he had 14, which meant there was still one egg to be found. Brian was on a mission since if he found it we would be tied, but if I did I would "win". We probably looked for that one lost egg for another 10 minutes, but in the end I was victorious. It was really fun being a kid again for awhile, I think we have to make it an Easter tradition.

Alena's 2nd Birthday Party

Alena's 2nd birthday party was a success. The weather was great! It was 80 degrees and everyone hung out outside and played in the yard. She had a Care Bears theme and got lots of great stuff, including a new baby doll which didn't hardly leave her side the rest of the day. She even took it out to play on the swing set! Everyone seemed to have a good time and Alena is now officially a toddler. Let the terrible two's begin!

Mid Rivers Ethical Society

Since February, the boys and I have been attending "church" every Sunday. I know what you are thinking-- Rachel is not religious and fears organized religion. All this is true, but we have been attending services at the Mid Rivers Ethical Society, which is not really a church but is a nonprofit organization that has a lecture/service for the adults and a Sunday school for the children. The Ethical Society does not follow any particular religion, their mission statement is "to bring out the best in others and thereby in ourselves." The Sunday school's core values are:
Ethics is my way.
Every person is important and unique.
Every person deserves to be treated fairly and kindly.
I can learn from everyone.
I am part of this earth; I cherish it and all the life upon it.
I learn from the world around me by using my senses, mind, and feelings.
I am a member of the world community which depends on the cooperation of all people for peace and justice.
I can learn from the past to build for the future.
I am free to question.
I am free to choose what I believe.
I accept responsibility for my choices and actions.
I strive to live my values.
Basically, do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not because you will be rewarded in some sort of afterlife. The lectures often discuss current events or political causes, other times they are just inspirational stories that make you think. Everyone that goes there are intelligent, professional people (many are teachers) and it is great have an adult conversation at least once a week.
The Society also does community service projects. Last month the Sunday school collected items for the local no-kill animal shelter. They got to deliver all the items in-person and take a tour of the facility to meet the animals they were helping (see pic). All the kids had a great time and the boys actually look forward to going to "church" every week.

I know, I'm a bad blogger

I apologize for being a lousy blogger as of late. I am currently taking 6 different classes at 3 different schools and my homework load has been insane the past couple weeks. The next month is going to kill me, but it will all be worth it when I graduate in June! I have a little bit of a break this week, so I'm going to try to get caught up on some of the posts I have been planning. I will have pics from Alena's b-day party, Easter and maybe even a few others, so stay tuned!

Happy St. Patty's Day

Hope everyone has a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day. Don't forget to play the lottery to see if you have the luck of the Irish on your side (Powerball jackpot for Sat. 3/17--$183 million!!) Also don't drink too much green beer! Happy St. Patty's Day!

Look who's almost 2!

On March 24, my little baby girl will turn 2. We got her pictures taken this week and they will be back in time for the party on the 25th. She is becoming such a big girl, she can count to 12 and sometimes further, she says most of her ABC's and can carry on a conversation. She even climbed a tree in the backyard the other day all by herself! I can't believe she is almost 2!

Dumbest Bird Ever!

Now I know some birds are smart, parrots can talk and Big Bird teaches my daughter the alphabet on a daily basis; however, as a general rule I believe the term "bird brain" sums it up well. Now everyone has had a bird fly into a clean window from time to time. This morning, Brian was eating his breakfast while surfing myspace when he heard the unmistakable noise of a bird flying into our front dining room picture window. What makes this particular bird dumber than the rest is that he (yes I'm assuming it was a male, who didn't ask for directions) didn't fly into a freshly cleaned, see-thru window--he hit a hasn't been cleaned since we moved in window with a curtain on it! I don't know what he was doing or where he thought he was going, but it scared the crap out of him--literally, see pic (and yes I had to pull the curtain back to take this lovely pic). I guess he survived we didn't see him on the ground anywhere, but I'm sure further brain trauma was inflicted at impact.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day! Unfortunately my husband had to work 13 hours today, so I didn't have much of one. The boys were off school again because of the snow, so we all went out to dinner and then went shopping. Brian bought me a new vacuum cleaner for Valentine's day, but he doesn't actually know that yet. He will find out when he gets home tonight and sees it sitting in the middle of the dining room. Not the most romantic present, but I can't stand the one we have now so it was time for a change! That's enough for now, I think the batteries in my wireless keyboard are going dead, because it keeps skipping letters and it is taking forever to write this. Happy Valentine's Day!!!!