Brad Paisley

Friday, Rebecca and I spent our first night apart. I went to a Brad Paisley concert in Cincinnati with some friends, John stayed at home and hung out with some guys and Mom and Dad watched Rebecca.

The concert was a blast! Not only do I love Brad Paisley's music (OK... and his looks too), I loved seeing my friends! To my surprise, another extra bonus was hearing Jewel open the show!

The following yellow speck you see on your screen is Jewel...she yodeled.

Here is a picture of the concert...as you can see, we were pretty far back on the lawn.

Here are some pics of the concert crew...
...and the best...a Cable kiss. (These kids will be celebrating their second anniversary very soon!!)


After the concert, my friend Sarah and I went back to my friend Amy V.'s house while the rest of the crew went out. Like the old fogies that we are, we watched FOX news and then went to bed.

The next morning, the crew had breakfast together before Sarah and I shopped at the GAP clearance store. We both made out with great bargains before heading home!

My mom and dad had a blast watching Rebecca - but I understand she did not sleep well.

The night away was needed and great - but it was wonderful to see my fresh-faced cutie once again. Her lovely little face (and my husband's handsome face) beats Brad Paisley's any day!

To my hubby and little girl I sing, "But to me.....baby you are the world." (For those of you non-Brad-Paisley-listeners, it's a line from his aptly titled "The World" song.)

Posh Organic

FYI: A gal in my playgroup created a new on-line business called Posh Organic. She sells all sorts of organic gear and garb for mommies, daddies and babies. Be sure to check out her site in my favorite links!

Minnesota memories

We spent a good portion of June visiting family in Minnesota. We had a great time!

We decided to drive, because - believe it or not, it was much cheaper than flying. We broke up the drive over two days. On the first day, travel went well. On the second day, we got caught up for over 5 hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic near the Wisconsin dells. The interstate was closed as a result of recent flooding and we (along with all the other interstate traffic) were re-routed onto a county road. To say the least, it was miserable.

My suffering in the car was so minute compared to the suffering the people in the Midwest have endured as a result of these floods. Please continue to lift up those people in your prayers. Even though the waters have receded, there will be no quick fix.

The first night we were in Minnesota, we attended John's great-uncle Buck's retirement party. We were entertained by tunes performed by all of John's great uncles, John's dad, John's brother and John himself! The food was great and the company - top notch! While there, Rebecca became fascinated with a young lady named Stephanie. Here are some pics of Rebecca and Stephanie - courtesy of Stephanie's mom, Ann.



She was also entertained by a very awesome young man, named Cole (I believe.) Here are some pics of Rebecca and Cole and of the guys entertaining the group.




What a first evening!

The rest of our visit consisted of visiting John's Grandma and Grandpa Carlson, visiting with Great-Uncle Charlie - who was in from California, spending some time with Aunt Carol, seeing John's Aunt Loreen, hanging out with Michelle (Wyatt's fiance,) and celebrating Uncle Bill's birthday in and around Hastings (Twin City area.)

Here's Rebecca and her great-aunt, Carol - AKA "Tuff."

A few days after we arrived, John, his father and brother departed for their annual hunting trip to Wyoming. While Rebecca, Jean (John's mom) and I spent an entire weekend visiting family in St. Cloud. While there, Rebecca and I stayed with John's grandma, Dolores. We visited with Rebecca's great-aunts, Paula and Kathy, and Kathy's friend, Mary. We were also able to see Rebecca's great-great-aunts, Lenore and Pat. Lenore brought yummy sunfish, she caught, for us to feast upon.

We traveled a short distance to St. Martin to attend a very unique, very cool polka mass. I had never been to anything like it in my life!! It was sooo cool. The bishop presided over the service and even pointed to Rebecca during his homily - saying we need to look to bring up new Christian leaders!

The men returned from the West with stories, jewelry for the ladies (Black Hills gold earrings for me - yay!) and a broken truck (transmission trouble - they had to drive back only using second and third gears.)

We wrapped up our travels relaxing at John's parents' home before embarking on our trip back to Kentucky.

Here's a picture of Rebecca playing with some toys at the St. Cloud Catholic Charities office. (Aunt Kathy heads up the food bank and we visited her at work.) It is followed by a picture of Rebecca and Kath. Rebecca looks tired, but it's a good one of Kathy.


Rebecca and Nana......

Rebecca, Granny and Nana

Just a couple cute pics of Rebecca playing with cardboard rings...

Jogger Stroller

In later high school and college, I ran. I ran for fitness, I ran for fun, I ran for relaxation. Soon after I married, I stopped. I didn't stop all at once, but my running bursts have become less and less frequent.

Since I've watched many of my friends run 5Ks, minis and marathons recently, I became inspired to try again. So, I bought a "new" used stroller. I found it in the local classified ads for $65. I pounced on the deal and came home with this:


It's a little bulky, but all-in-all, I'm pleased. It even plays mp3's from my player over speakers so both Rebecca and I can enjoy the tunes! I've only taken it out a couple times. I bought it just before we made our over 2-week trip to Minnesota and haven't taken it out since we've been home (just over 1 week.) I intend to take it out in the next couple days. Wish me luck in developing a routine!!

The times I have taken it out, I felt like I was going to die....

Illness, a new tooth and first steps

It started on Tuesday, after Memorial Day. Rebecca woke up with what my friend Becky calls, "goopy eyes."

They looked a little runny, so I applied cool compresses all day.

Wednesday it got worse. Yellow "goop" gathered in the corners of her eyes and they began to swell. She didn't feel well either. Her nose ran and she sounded extremely congested. I gave doses of Tylenol to combat a fever. I called my doctor to schedule a Thursday appointment.

By Wed. night, I knew she wouldn't sleep. She was miserable and looked like she had been beat up. I decided to take her to the emergency room. After a two-hour wait, the doctor diagnosed an "impressive" case of conjunctivitis.

We went to see our pediatrician on Thurs. and he also diagnosed an ear infection.

After a round of oral antibiotics and antibiotic eye ointment, she appeared better until a couple days ago when her eyes got "goopy" again.

I don't know the root of the problem, (I've sanitized toys and have changed her sheets every night) but this second round of opthalmic antibiotics/steroids seem to be doing the trick! Poor baby.

In addition to the illness, Rebecca has also been teething. A new top tooth emerged a few days after Memorial Day. She is still salivating heavily and I think another top tooth is on its way!

On a more positive note, Rebecca is taking steps! On May 29, she took 5-6 toward my brother. She had taken a couple steps here and there before, but now, the steps are much more frequent. Just today, she walked 3-4 steps to various places multiple times. She may have been motivated by the twin 12-month old boys who were playing with her at play group. We hosted the group in our home.

The following pictures are totally unrelated to my blog topic, but here are some pictures of Rebecca in her "big girl" car seat, watching TV, "helping" me with laundry and of Daddy and Rebecca snoozing. She's cute - enjoy!

Memorial Day Weekend

Over Memorial Day weekend, we visited with our Floridian friends Josh, Jessica and their son, Trey, who were in visiting family and friends over the holiday. It was so great to spend time with them!
Our visit consisted of a visit to the Louisville Zoo on Saturday, church and a cook-out with the Rosackers on Sunday afternoon and dinner at Jail House Pizza in Brandenburg, Kentucky on Sunday evening. Monday, we rested at home.
Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo!

Birthday Fun

Welcome to our blog!
Rebecca, our little socialite daughter, just turned one year old. Here are some pictures from her party. I am also including a picture of Rebecca with our nephews, PJ and Thomas. They joined us, along with John's sister and parents, for Rebecca's birthday!
So, our daughter's first birthday marks the birth of our blog. Please check back for family updates and adventures!