family fun

We spent the past weekend in Iowa attending my cousin Matt's wedding. We had such a great time and the wedding was beautiful! It was such fun hanging out with my cousins and talking about the "old days". For those of you who don't know, on my dad's side of the family there are a whole slew of us that are the same age (there are 21 grandkids), so growing up, since we lived not far from each other we spent a tremendous amount of time together. We had BBQs pretty much every Sunday all summer long. So when we get together now it almost seems like old times (except that we can legally drink now! :) Anyway, I had a great time talking to everyone (although they probably were ready for me to leave as I tend to talk a lot...I know...shocking isn't it?) and trying to figure out how we're going to get together more often. :)
Thanks Matt & Ann for including us in your special day...we had so much fun and congratulations!!

While we were at the wedding Brianna (or Bee-a as Braden would say) and Braden spent the day with the Wolfe family and from the sounds of it had a great time as well.

Thanks so much Cathy, Greg, Tyler, Justin, & Nicole for watching Brianna, she loved it!

So, now we're trying to get back into our "normal" routine. We really have nothing planned until the middle of October when we are heading to Galesburg for Knox Homecoming. Can you believe we've been out of college for 5 years already. Yikes...scary thought! Anyway, I think thats about all to report for now. Enjoy the latest pictures!

september 11th

I remember...
As a senior in college, I was working in the Business Office at Knox College when the planes hit the World Trade Center. I forget the details of how we initially heard, but as soon as we heard that the first plane hit, we turned on the radio and listened as they reported the second plane crashing into the World Trade Center. We looked around at each other in shock and horror. Wondering what and how this was happening. I don't think I watched as much news or listened to as much radio in my life as I did on September 11, 2001 and the days following. Yes, we were a long way from New York, but it was the first time in my life where I didn't feel safe. There were students who had family and friends in New York and also students who were from the Middle East who wondered if they were in danger because of their nationality...it was such a strange time. I think we who have grown up in this country have taken for granted the safety we've had here, I know that I have. Six years have passed and still I remember almost every detail of that day, I remember a professor telling one of my classes that Galesburg used to be high atop the "hit list" for other countries during war time, because of its railroad hub. I remember that Bob was on the golf course when he heard about the attacks from Harley. I remember sitting at the Children's Museum where I worked that afternoon listening to the radio. I remember going to a vigil/memorial service the following night and then going to the first Sr. Meeting of the year, just to do something that was "normal". I don't really know what I'm trying to say with this post, after six years it seems like everyone has gone on with their daily lives, like they should, but I guess I just wanted to say, even though today I got up and came to work like every other day...I still remember.
God Bless all of those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001...I hope you have found some peace and know that we still pray for you.
Thank you to those who risk your lives each and every day protect us all; our police officers, firefighters, EMTs...you are true heros.
Finally to our military...I believe you have one of the most thankless jobs...people disagree with the war so they take it out on you...but the only reason they can speak out against the war without fear of persecution is because of you and because of soldiers before you. So, thank you, thank you...for giving of yourselves so selflessly to protect my family. And to your families...thank you for sharing your soldier with all of us. There are lots of us who appreciate every day the sacrifcies you make for us, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and keep you in our prayers. Stay safe, and come home soon!

pictures

I just finished uploading some new pictures that Nancy sent me from the last couple of Brianna's visits to their house. Enjoy!
Thanks for the pictures Nancy! :)

busy, busy, busy

Hello again!

Sorry we haven't been around much lately but things have been busy and to be honest there isn't much to report. Bob and I have both been working a lot, and Brianna is busy with daycare. She moved into the 2-year-old room a couple weeks ago, it was a tough transition for her because she loved her teachers in her old room, but after the first couple of days of crying when I dropped her off she has done pretty well. She is talking like crazy now...she is never quiet anymore...she gets that from her dad I think ;). (As I'm typing this she is insisting that "daddy play!!") She got some new puzzles at a resale we went to and has taken them apart and put them together a million times already.
She spent a few days with Grandma Nancy and Papa Bob last weekend while we attended a wedding for our friend from Knox, Josh (one of Bob's golfing buddies), it was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time. Unfortunately I don't really have any pictures of the wedding (only a few random shots), but when Holly posts her's I'll let you know :). Other than that not too much happening in the Carroll household, Bob is heading to northern Wisconsin on Thursday to have a weekend of golf with his college friends, so Miss Brianna and I will have some mommy/daughter bonding time. We don't have much planned for the weekend, hopefully it'll be somewhat relaxing. :)
Oh...I guess one exciting thing...for me anyway...is that I'm typing this from my brand new laptop! I had ordered one from Dell at the end of July, expecting it to be shipped within 2 weeks, well as of last Tuesday my estimated ship date had been bumped to September 26th!! A full 2 months after ordering, and that was no guarantee that it was actually going to ship then (I was on my 5th estimated ship date). Needless to say I was very bummed, annoyed, angry, etc, so Friday night I was searching the internet and found a HP that had almost exactly the same specs plus a few more bells and whistles for 1/2 the price...so I got my new laptop on Friday and cancelled my Dell order that same night.
Anyway, I think thats about all for now, but I'll leave you with a picture of Brianna in her fairy princess outfit. I will be posting a few more pictures soon mostly of Brianna in this outfit a couple from wedding and some from the flooding outside our house a few weeks ago(like tonight sometime). Hope everyone is doing well and I'll try to post more often (I know I say that all the time, but hey...I have a life too! :)
Have a great week everyone!!

a quick post

Just a quick post since our wireless router has gone down which makes for a pain in the butt right now. So I'm doing this post from work...shhh...don't tell anyone!



Anyway, the 2nd annual Canoe-A-Palooza was wonderful...except for the part of missing a couple of people...(don't worry we drank a couple for you...Jenn & Marty!) The weather was absolutely perfect and we all had a great time. I'm already looking forward to next year! :)

The day after canoe-a-palooza we went to Moline to see Minus Six and to celebrate Alli's birthday. And I must mention that Thursday night before canoe-a-palooza we went to the bar to celebrate Ben's birthday (do you see a pattern for the weekend?). Anyway...it was a great weekend and it was wonderful to see everyone for a while.

We're trying to get back into the swing of things around home, what with all the traveling to different states we're doing!! :) There are a few new pictures up. And just so I don't leave you with a completely Brianna-free post...here you go!

birthday fun

Last weekend we while we were in Iowa for the Relay for Life we had a small birthday party for Brianna with my family (my grandmas and my mom, dad, Angie, & Braden). We had a Dora ice cream cake and Brianna had tons of fun.





Yesterday we had a party at our house for Bob's family and some family friends. Brianna had a blast playing with everyone and was enjoying all of the attention! We had a golfer girl cake (but lots of Dora decorations). Brianna had a great 2nd birthday!:)
We're off to Iowa on Thursday for the 2nd annual Canoe-a-palooza and then we're pretty much done traveling for the summer (as the summer is over anyway!) Hopefully I'll have some pictures from that next week! Have a great week everyone! Check out the rest of the birthday party pictures...there are a few!

birthday wishes...

I’ve been thinking about what I wanted to write to you on your 2nd birthday for a while now, but I couldn’t quite find the right words to say exactly how I was feeling. I’m excited and a little sad, worried, and yet so incredibly proud of you. I’m pretty much every emotion all rolled up in one today. I wish for all those times back that I thought… “I can’t wait until she starts crawling, walking, talking, etc.” They all went too fast…I want them back… to be able to take them in…to cherish those precious moments…to hold on to them just a little longer. But I know I can’t keep you a baby any longer…you are determined to grow into a little girl, and I couldn’t stop you even if I wanted to. I hear a lot more of “no mommy” lately. You want to do everything yourself, and most things you are quite capable of, and while my heart fills with pride and joy over your accomplishments, it also breaks just a tiny bit that you don’t need me as much anymore. I’m always there…watching, waiting…ready to kiss your boo-boos and hug you and give you kisses when you need comfort…I will always be there. No matter how old you are…I will always be there to give you hugs and kisses when you need comfort. I know someday you’ll be horribly embarrassed by this blog and the countless pictures of you, but my hope is that one day you’ll appreciate and maybe even enjoy reading my thoughts about the milestones in your life. As you blow out your candles today…these are the wishes and hopes I have for you.

I wish you compassion…for anyone and everyone who comes into your life.
I wish you kindness…towards those around you, even if they are not kind to you
I wish you understanding and tolerance… of individuals that have ideas different than your own
I wish you courage…to stand up for what you believe in
I wish you love…the kind of love that makes you a better person
I wish you trust…trust yourself, your friends, your family…and your heart
I wish you friendship…the kind of friendship that lessens your sorrow and increases your joy
I wish you dreams…big ones!
I wish you determination…to always continue to strive for those big dreams
I wish you time…to stop and enjoy life
I wish you faith…in God and yourself
I wish you laughter… I hope that you can always find a reason to laugh and that you can even laugh at yourself from time to time
I wish you confidence…to do and say the things you believe in
I wish you childhood…stay my baby just a little longer…OK?
I wish you family…to know where you came from and to know how much you are loved

I hope that you never get your heart broken, but if you do…
I hope you don’t let it stop you from letting others love you.
I hope that the adversities you face are small and that you only grow stronger from them.

I hope you always, always know how much you are loved.
I hope you know how beautiful you are…both inside and out.
I hope you know what a lucky little girl you are to have all 4 of your great-grandmas
I hope you will appreciate the stories about your great-grandpas and know how much they love you without ever meeting you
I hope you know how dearly your grandparents, aunt, uncles, & cousin love you
I hope I’m the mommy that you deserve
I hope I tell you enough every day how much I love you
I hope that even when we disagree, you know I always have your best interest at heart
I hope you know that you can always lean on me
I hope you know how proud I am of you
I hope you’ll forgive me someday for rambling on and on in this post! :)

I used all these words and still couldn’t say everything I wanted to. I will leave you with one last wish I have for you…

I wish for you to be exactly who you are…nothing more… nothing less…because who you are is perfect.


I love you sweet girl!
Happy 2nd Birthday!
Love,
mommy

quickie...

Just a quick note...because I'm running extremely late this morning. I'm in the process of uploading a lot of new pictures...so check it out. There are a couple from Tina & Randy's wedding (stupid camera wouldn't work for me) and there are a bunch from our trip to MN this past weekend. I will try to post more this week/weekend. Have a great Monday everyone!

Congratulations Tina & Randy...the wedding was beautiful!

Thanks again Andrew and Holly for the hospitality...we had a great time, and can't wait to see you guys again!

where has the time gone??

As I looked at Brianna the other day I thought to myself "where did my baby go?" She has been replaced with this sassy, adorable, push-me-to-my-limits little girl. I've seen a lot of people posting about this lately...but I swear I was thinking it first! :) As we approach her 2nd birthday, part of me misses the little baby who used to love to snuggle in my arms and used to rely on me for everything, but as I look at my little girl, I can't help but fall deeper in love every day with the girl she is becoming. She is independent, stubborn (she gets that from her Daddy! ;), funny, clumsy (from her dad also!) and adorable...believe me I could go on and on. Some days she makes me want to run screaming for the hills, but in the next moment she is making me laugh until I cry. I see her and watch her everyday but yet it didn't hit me until the other day that she is growing up in those moments where I wasn't looking. She amazes (and frightens) me everyday with the things she does, and the things she tries to do...really when did all of this happen? I probably don't say this enough...but being a mom is truly such a wonderful thing, there is no greater joy and sadness than realizing your baby has turn from this:




Into this:



Hope you all had a wonderful 4th! We are off to Milwaukee today to spend an extended weekend with the Goodness's, and then next weekend we're off to Iowa for Tina and Randy's wedding, and the following weekend we are off to Minnesota to spend a long weekend with the Isaacson's. So the posts may be few and far between, but hopefully there will be lots of new pictures to share...so stay tuned! Lots of love to all of you! Have a great weekend!! :)

photos

Well our photos have a new home, all 3174 of them! Actually there are more now...I've just uploaded some more into the June 2007 album. Sorry this is short...it was another action packed weekend and I'm ridiculously tired. I'll be back sometime soon though, we've got a weekend home this weekend! Have a great weekend everyone!!

relay for life...

If you know me...you know I hate asking for anything, but a couple times a year I make an exception to that. There are two causes that are near and dear to my heart.

One, is the March of Dimes, in which I point you to Dale and Suzanne's blog (which most of you read anyway!) because they are much more versed and eloquent in speaking of this organization, if you're new to their blog...browse through their archives and you will see just how important your support of the March of Dimes is.

The other is the American Cancer Society, and specifically the Relay for Life. This is my 3rd year participating (although I don't know if you can count the first year because I wasn't really there...having just had my baby girl!)...anyway...not the point. For the last 3 years my family has participated in the Dyersville Area Relay for Life. As most of you know my grandpa passed away from his brief battle with lung cancer 2 years ago. For most of us, cancer has touch our lives in one way or another, and if it hasn't touched your life on a deeply personal level...you are lucky, and I'm asking you to donate to this wonderful cause so that maybe you can live your whole life never having been affected on a personal level. Don't wait until you've lost someone you love to this disease to wake up and start doing something about it, what, I'm ashamed to say, is what it took for me.

I'm asking you all to look inside your hearts and donate or come walk with us on August 3rd, or both. My personal page where you can donate is linked here, but honestly...donate anywhere you want, the important thing is to get money for research...we're all in it for the same reasons.

My love to you all, and thank you to all who choose to donate!

*I'm also creating a link on the sidebar for when you can't see this post anymore*

busy weekend

Hi all! Its been a busy weekend here at the Carroll house. We took off Wednesday night after work for Iowa where we dropped Brianna off at my mom and dad's house. On Thursday morning we headed to Galesburg where Bob was playing in the Harley Knosher Golf Outing.

That's Harley in the picture here with Bob.

He played a practice round on Thursday and while he was doing that, I visited with the Business Office ladies and then worked out in Knox's new fitness center (which is fabulous!). After that Holly and I went to get some much deserved pampering in the form of pedicures. After the boys finished their practice round we had dinner and headed out to enjoy some good company and beer!

We had a great time hanging out with everyone. Friday was the actual tournament so we spent all day on the golf course which was also fun. The team Bob was on (Andrew Isaacson, Jeff Ancelet, John Hawkinson, and Bob) won the low gross score (55), so all in all it was a good day.

On the way back to my parent's we stopped by to visit Alli and Steve and had dinner with Alli, which of course is always a treat! :o)

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing with the family for the most part. Braden, Brianna, and Kelsey got to go swimming and had a blast playing with each other, even if they did get a little cranky towards the end.

It was a fun-filled weekend for us...never a dull moment. Although I think we'll be paying for the action packed weekend for a while with Brianna, because she is definitely out of her routine. Hope you all have a great week! I have a bunch of new pictures, but since Yahoo! photos is shutting down my pictures are not being moved over to Shutterfly, so I won't upload any new ones until I see how this goes. Hopefully I don't lose everything! Keep your fingers crossed!
Our love to all!

aloha...

I guess summer is officially here! We filled up Brianna's pool today and she went "swimming" for the first time. She had a blast. She spent yesterday and part of today at Grandpa & Grandma Carroll's so Bob and I went shopping today to get her some new summer clothes and a new swimsuit. (Bob picked this out) but we thought it was too adorable to not get it. She did not want to get out of the pool, but she was alittle prune by the time we pried her out of there. After she came in and got dressed she still wanted to wear the grass skirt so we put it on over her shorts. Anyway there are a bunch of pictures up of her in her pool. Hope you enjoy! Have a great week everyone! :)

new pictures

There are a few new pictures of Brianna up from Monday at Bob and Nancy's.
Sorry this is short, but I guess I should go get ready for work now! Have a great day everyone!!

it takes more than scarlet fever to slow her down...

Well...its been an interesting week around our house. I got a call on Thursday from Brianna's daycare that she had a fever and they needed me to come get her. At the time they also let me know that one of her little classmates had exposed her to scarlet fever (strep with a rash basically...it sounds much worse than it is). The mom of the other child called as soon as they knew, but obviously all the other kids had been exposed already. The joys of having a kid in daycare :) Anyway, I picked her up and you could tell she didn't feel good, she was pretty mopey and took a nap when we got home. After her Tylenol kicked in she was eating and running around like a crazy person. So we hoped that it was just a fluke that she had a fever. I didn't take her to the doctor right away because she only had a low grade fever and had absolutely no other symptoms. Anyway, when we went to be we checked on her and she was pretty warm so we tried to give her another dose of Tylenol. Well...thats when it hit the fan. She got sick and continued to get sick on and off for the next hour or so. We got very little sleep Thursday night and made a doctor appointment for her for right away Friday morning. By the time we were dressing her for the doctor on Friday the rash had appeared. We got to the doctor's office and he took a quick look at her throat and immediately said that she had strep and a pretty bad case by the looks of it. So scarlet fever it is. She didn't eat much all day Friday, but by today she was practically back to normal. So, we played outside for a little while this afternoon, so she is feeling much better now. Tomorrow we have to spend the day sterilizing all of her toys, blankets, etc...anything she puts in her mouth, so that we can get rid of it. Now as long as Bob and I don't get it...everything should be great! :)

Hope you are all doing well, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Our love to all!

*a few new pictures of us playing outside today in the latest photos*

happy mother's day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and moms-to-be out there! :)
I hope each of you has a very special day today!
Lots of love to our moms and grandmas!! :)

Brianna's feet are much cuter than mine, but I had to show you all what we did yesterday! :)
Oh...and new pictures up finally!

Congrats to Dan & Amanda Felton on the birth of their baby boy, Evan and Beth & Peter Cunico on the birth of their baby boy, Caleb! We can't wait to meet these two little boys!

quickie...

New Easter pictures...you know what to do...click the link! :)

weekend fun...

There are new pictures up...one's I actually took myself. :) We had a good weekend at home, although in all honesty we didn't do much. We went for a walk yesterday, I did some work, we napped, Bob watched basketball...like I said, nothing too exciting. Today we went to church then to get groceries and to get Brianna a new carseat, we had one in Bob's car that someone had given us...but it was no longer working out. We also bought Brianna her Easter dress, which I think is absolutely adorable!! (The pictures of her in it are not very good 'cause she wouldn't hold still).

There are quite a few pictures of the mess Brianna made of herself eating her first cupcake since we found out she's no longer allergic to dairy. She still can't have eggs for a few more months...but I had heard about using a box cake mix and mixing it with a diet pop (instead of the eggs, oil, etc) so I tried it out and they are really good...and Brianna can eat them...and 1/2 the calories! Everyone wins! As you can tell by the pictures she completely enjoyed it!

We spent the last couple hours outside today playing....other than that nothing exciting. Well I guess I should go and pay some bills and then do some more work. Hope everyone had a great weekend! Have a good week! Lots of love!

*Blogger is being a pain and won't let me upload pictures to the post, so click on the link to see them*

more brianna pictures

She's right....everyone does love a brown eyed girl! :)
Thanks for the pictures, Mom!

new brianna pictures

I've added some new brianna pictures. (Thanks Nancy!)

Check them out!