Happy Shower, Mariah

Our dear friends Mariah and Vince are expecting their first baby in August. So, to celebrate the occasion, a few of us hosted a baby shower in Mariah's honor. What fun it was to prepare, set-up and throw the shower! I wanted to post a picture of the diaper cake and cupcakes I made for the party. As many of you can relate, I just don't get as much done as I used to now that I have little children in my life, so any opportunity to be creative is cherished. Enjoy these little creations. The cupcakes were in honor of the super-cute cupcake cafe in Wichita called Sugar Sisters. If only they tasted that good...

(Special thank you to my friend Heather for her inspiration of using the "large tip" for the frosting.)

I fooled some party guests... they thought it was edible. :) It's actually made of size-1 Pampers. :)

Best of Friends

Hannah and Lilly in April

It's no secret that Hannah and Lilly are best friends. Hannah lives across the street, and the two spend hours playing. Lately, dress-up is the favorite activity. The other night Hannah was over, and the two of them must have tried on every single dress, purse and pair of shoes that Lilly has in her collection. For Lilly's birthday (and trip back to Kansas) she was given many awesome dress-up toys. This makes great fun for the girls and even more fun for Rob and me to watch them play.

Keep Hannah in your prayers, please, as she continues her battle with cancer. She is so precious to us, and so much fun for the girls. Little Claire loves playing with her also, and we love having her over to play. :)

Playing dress-up

Best Grill in the Universe...

And the winner of "Best Grill in the Universe" goes to Steve and Lisa Loehr... At least Rob thinks it is the coolest home grill anyone we know owns. We enjoyed dinner at the Loehr's home/farm while in Wichita this summer. Steve grilled delicious chicken on his incredibly huge, very impressive, quite functional, homemade grill. Steve, his dad, and brother built this puppy. Throughout the trip, Rob showed almost everyone pictures of this monstrosity, singing its praises and wishing he had one of his own. Rob's secret plan is to ask our Home Owner's Association if he can build one too. Though I can't imagine the neighbors would mind delicious BBQ, they may mind the view of a grill peeking up almost 2 stories over the fence and the massive smoke billowing out the chimney. We can dream... Rob will continue to dream of the amazing brisket he could make on this smokin' grill.
Thanks for a great evening Steve and Lisa!

Here's Lilly and Monica spying on Bernice the Cow... life on the farm is fun!

Lisa, Monica, Steve, Chris and Rob

Degree progress: your questions answered

I am fortunate to possess several talents: one of which is the ability to keep myself busy. So, as you may recall, the summer Lilly was born, I began another degree. It's been a long journey; very rewarding and very challenging, especially with two small children, two dogs, a husband and a job. Many of you have asked me "how's your school?" or "when are you done?" I thought I'd take a minute to outline my doctoral program at Northern Arizona University and let you know where I am along the path...

Program Requirements and Status:
1. Doctoral coursework: DONE
2. Comprehensive exams: DONE
3. Dissertation:
a. Chapter 1- Introduction: DONE
b. Chapter 2- Literature Review: DONE
c. Chapter 3- Methodology: DONE
d. Prospectus hearing with committee: DONE (this gives the approval of chapters 1-3 and the green light for data collection)
e. Data collection: DONE
f. Data analysis: In progress
g. Chapter 4- Data analysis: Not done
h. Chapter 5- Conclusions and recommendations: Not done
i. Dissertation oral defense: Not done until dissertation is complete
4. Graduation: scheduled for December 11, 2009.

I can see the light at the end of this very long tunnel. I'm technically "in candidacy" after completing the prospectus. The goal at the end of this degree: Doctor of Education, emphasis in Higher Education and Leadership

I think I can. I think I can... choo choo. This train keeps moving!

A new favorite...

Every child loves the park, right? Lately, Lilly and Claire are more interested in "how" we get to the park rather than actually being at the park. When our neighbors moved to Florida (we miss them!) they gave us a million fabulous things their children had outgrown, including a green wagon. This wagon has become the favorite mode of transportation for the girls. Claire gleefully rides inside while Lilly either pulls the wagon, also rides inside, or terrorizes Claire while riding inside. The wagon has a super-cool door which the girls love to open and close. Of course, Lilly informs me every time it is not completely closed when the wagon starts to move. It also has two cup-holders, perfect for sippy-cups, and a hidden storage compartment under one of the seats. The wagon is even wide enough to sit two little ones side-by-side. When Emma and Kate visited in March, we even attached the caboose to the back of the wagon, allowing for an extra passenger. So, needless to say, Lilly looks for every opportunity to "take the wagon." Enjoy the photos from our most recent outing.

So cool... you gotta wear shades!

Being big girls
Cutie Claire waiting in the wagon for big sister to join her

Lilly terrorizing Claire on the way home from the park

Summer Project #1... Complete!

My mom made stockings for Amy and me when we were little, and I always thought it was so neat that my stocking was handmade by mom. So, making stockings for my own girls has been a goal floating around in my head ever since they were born. At the end of the semester I began making Claire's stocking - I started on hers first because the Sugar Plum Fairy stocking Lilly chose is quite complex. I figured Claire's would be a good transition into the embroidery world.

It took me about 3 weeks (countless obsessive hours) to create the stocking for Claire, but I think it turned out well and will hopefully give her much joy during future Christmas seasons. For those of you who know me, you know that once I have a "project" I obsess about completing it.

Lilly's stocking kit is coming in the mail anyday, and as expected, she is very excited. Hopefully I will have a finished fairy stocking to post within the month. Until then...

A visit with the Denver cousins

What's more fun than watching children play? -especially cousins who don't have the opportunity to see each other often. For Memorial weekend, Scott, Monica, Andres, Sofi, Lucas and Mia visited from Denver. To the children's delight, we visited Bounce Jungle, swam and played nonstop. Here are a few photos. I will post a slideshow soon. Until then...
The Denver Z and the Arizona Z cousins
Lilly, age 2 1/2
Claire, age 13 mo.
Sofia, age 4

Lucas, age 2 1/2

Mia, age 12mo.