Thanks!

We had a great Thanksgiving in Sacramento last week. This is why:

Visiting the Kool Family; eating at JACK'S; walking next door to Jack's for a pumpkin smash Jamba Juice; shopping at IKEA; bowling; Kennedy playing with her cousins; catching up with 2 college roommates; touring the JELLY BELLY FACTORY; Randy's first trip to In-n-Out; Randy and Troy making an awesome turkey; Going to the NIMBUS FISH HATCHERY (a Sac-town T-day Tradition); Eating an awesome Thanksgiving meal (thanks to Mary's hard work and planning); playing Just Dance on the Wii; making cutie oreo turkeys; getting away for a week.

The amount of calories eaten was certainly worth it, but I could have done without the plane rides (although I realize they were a key element in making our Thanksgiving possible).

A big thanks goes out to both of my sisters- one who got to host us, and the other who got to stay at our house and keep Marley company. Thanks for making our Thanksgiving something to be thankful for!


I heart Ikea


Meeting up with Renee!


In line for our Jelly Belly Tour (did you know the company started in Belleville?!)


Stacie and I!


Funny picture per Stacie's request


Kennedy feeding fish with help from her cousin


Kennedy as a fish egg




Randy and Troy with the Turkey (meaning the bird, not the baby)


The Walkers and the Kools, aka the "Kool Walker Peeps"

Indy

Last weekend I ran a half-marathon in the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. It was a quick and fun girl's weekend with my sister Katie and friend Kathy. We all highly recommend this race! We were able to stay at a hotel one block from the starting line and 2 blocks from the finish. The course was flat, the weather was cool, and Indianapolis had lots of good sights to see. I was happy with my race time, but more importantly, I felt good after the run (unlike this spring in Louisville, where I was ready to pass out). Monumental marathon= Monumental success (so cheesy, but so true).


Carb loading the night before the race at Iaria's Italian Restaurant


Post-race Photo: Happy to be finished!

Family Pictures

We were able to get some really nice family pictures this year, courtesy of our friend, and very talented photographer, Mikol. Here are just a few:

A Scary Halloween Story

Halloween was fun this year (as it pretty much is every year)! First, we enjoyed our church's trunk-or-treat on Saturday. Kennedy was a ladybug, thanks mostly to our friend Keara who made her awesome tutu. Randy and I couldn't decide what to be until the last minute, but we came up with some good "punny" costumes. Randy was a leaf-blower, and I was pumpkin pie (featured also are Aunt Katie, aka Flo, David the monkey, and Aunt Rachel the Zoo Keeper).




On Sunday we enjoyed soup in a pumpkin, made by Katie. It was delicious. Kennedy enjoyed handing candy to Nonnie.



We got back home in time for a few trick-or-treaters to stop by. One group was memorable. Three girls, all around 10 years old came to the door. I was able to guess two of their costumes pretty easily, a Bumblebee and Spiderman. The third girl's outfit looked familiar, and after a minute I said "Oh, you are Rainbow Bright!" She looked at me confused and said, "No, I am Rainbow Cutie." Her friend then rolled her eyes and said, "It's the same thing. Rainbow Bright is what it was called in the olden days." I didn't know that I grew up in the "olden days." Apparently, I did. Now that is Scary!!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Randy! Randy baked his own cakes this year (Mr. Efficency at his best), and they were great. A big thanks to his mom, for saving the awesome cake pan for so many years, and thanks to our friend Jennifer, who helped decorate them.


Kennedy loved the cake (of course!)

10-10-10

10-10-10 is coming! Not only is this day Randy's Birthday, but he is turning 30! How often does one's birthday add up to one's exact age? I am thinking that it must be pretty unique! We don't eat out on Sundays, but Randy found this Houlihan's ad that is great. I am glad that they are giving out props for such a cool day. Numbers 2 and 8 are our favorites.

Look who's one!

Kennedy turned ONE this month! Crazy, but so cool. She had a great birthday and enjoyed a multi-day celebration that included grandparents, a great-grandma, aunts, a cousin, and a great-aunt. Baby K ate her cake and ice cream like a pro- we couldn't be more proud of her!

Be a Billiken!

What is a Billiken, you ask? Well, this is:


And now, this is:



Randy started graduate school at St. Louis University last month, fulfilling his long standing dream of being a Billiken. For the official ruling on what a Bilikan really is, please read the following from SLU's website:

The Billiken is a good-luck figure who represents "things as they ought to be." Designed and manufactured in the early 1900s as a bank and statuette, the Billiken was the national rage for about six months. By 1912, the Billiken and its value as a good luck charm were just memories for all except the loyal fans of Saint Louis University.

How the Billiken became attached to the University remains a matter of debate. It seems to have happened sometime between 1910 and 1911 at the height of Billikenmania.

A St. Louis sports writer decided that SLU football coach John Bender resembled the Billiken. Later, a cartoonist drew a caricature of Bender in the form of a Billiken and posted it in the window of a drugstore. The football team soon became known as Bender's Billikens.

One last point on Billiken luck: To buy a Billiken gives the purchaser luck, but to have one given to you is better luck.

The next 2 years promise to be busy, but hopefully they will be full of good luck now that there is a Billiken in the house!

So long summer!

Hooray- summer and its oppressive heat is mostly gone! Hooray for fall and the cool weather and beautiful colors that this season brings. Still, we did have some good times this summer. Last month we traveled to Colorado for a family reunion to celebrate my (Amy's) grandmother's 90th birthday. We had a great time and loved the mountains.

Here we are enjoying the mountains (Kennedy didn't get much sleep this day so she was super slap happy- it made for some good pics!):


Kennedy with Great Grandma W:

All of the fam:

Summertime

Summer is flying by! At the end of June we enjoyed a family reunion with Randy's family, and we will be heading to attend another one for my side this weekend.




Kennedy has been busy standing on things...




getting into things...




and reading (please note how awesome her hair looks after swimming).

Just call us Gardners...

Summertime is here! I think Midwest summers are hot and humid and awful, but our garden doesn’t seem to mind. Between the plentiful thunderstorms, the perfect plot left by our landlords, Randy’s hard work (with my help), and some Miracle Grow, our garden has taken off! The zucchinis are threatening to take over everything, but the other plants are doing well for themselves nonetheless. Next year I will be smarter and give the squash some more room away from the other vegetables. Besides the zucchini squash, we have tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and okra. We have a few small cucumbers already, and some green tomatoes starting. I’ll post more pictures, but the before and after pics are pretty impressive already.

It's time!

It is time to update the blog! Life continues to march on, as always, and we have some good things to report. First- Randy and I completed our half marathon! Kennedy loved the drive to Louisville because, unlike normally, she was not alone in the backseat of the car. Her Aunt Katie rode with us, and Kennedy made googly eyes and babbled at her the whole time. We had a good time with many of our friends who also ran. One of our friends had recommended taking a cab to the starting line instead of fighting the crowds waiting for shuttles before the start of the race, and it was some of the best advice we have ever taken! The race was long (not that we didn’t expect that), but entertaining nonetheless. I especially enjoyed running through Churchill Downs—it was a neat place to see. Kudos to Randy, who was not a runner a year ago, but is now planning for at least two other races this year! He announced on the way home that if he runs 2 half marathons every year until he is 55, he will have completed 50 races. I wish him good luck…

Kennedy is doing well. We can not believe she is 8 months old already. Besides being a crazy haired kid, she is starting to crawl—it looks like an ugly army crawl, but she can sure get around despite less than perfect form. She and Marley are enjoying each other’s company. Baby K is getting very good and taking his tennis ball and playing with it herself. I think Marley is confused by her, but the two of them seem to get along pretty well.

This last week included our first Cards game of the season and a trip to Ted Drewes. Enjoy the pics!



On our way to the Marathon Expo


Post race with Coach K


Kennedy and Marley


Go Cards!


Hooray for Ted Drewes

Happy _________!

Randy and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary this week! We had a great dinner to celebrate, but later that night Randy got slammed with the stomach flu. Yuck! The Ides of March finally got us, I guess. We have certainly had an eventful two years, and it has sure been fun.



Also, Marley turns 2 this week! We don't have the exact date of his birth, so we picked St. Patrick's Day. He is such a silly dog. He's huge (over 70 pounds), loves people, and scared of many things (fishing poles, vacuums, half-open doors, etc). Marley has a "girlfriend" named Mya, a retriever who lives next door to my mom. They are great playmates, as they have similar energy levels and attention spans. He also has a wrestling buddy named Nikki, a 40 pound terrier who schools him all the time (he fights more like a big giant and she fights smart). We love having Marley around!




One more big event is that Kennedy is turning 6 months old! I can't believe how time has flown. She is growing so fast and is so much fun to watch. Lately she has been making all kinds of noises and practicing different pitches. It is very entertaining to hear. She is doing a great job learning to eat, and especially loves peaches (maybe because that is the only fruit she's had thus far...). She is very attentive to all that is going on around her. She loves Marley and gets super excited every morning when she first sees him sitting at the bottom of the stairs. She also loves chewing on anything (toys, couches, bibs) and playing in her exersaucer.





Hope you all have a Happy ___________ this week too!