Swim Lessons...

Logan and Carsyn started swimming lessons this week. They go every day, Monday through Friday, for an hour. Their friends from across the street are doing it too. They're having a lot of fun. Logan's doing really well. Carsyn was acting a little afraid of the water at first. She's definitely different since the accident. Everything scares her now. Oh well, I think she will be fine. She likes her teacher and hangs out with her the whole time. I'm sure she'll start to get back to loving the water. Remember how much she's always loved getting in the pool and the ocean? We miss you.

Carsyn, Leo, Logan, & Grace

Super Mario!

We had a really nice time up in Napa. This was our first road trip since the accident, and I must say it was very scary to get behind the wheel again. But, thankfully we had a safe trip. It was a pretty warm weekend up in Napa. It gets pretty hot up there too. Not as hot as here. But then, few places do. The girls were running around like wild animals at the winery. Their little friend wasn't there this time, but they made a new friend. Her name is Lillian and she's a grandmother. Carsyn refused to learn her name and must have called her, "Hey lady" at least a dozen times. Mario was very friendly. We told him that we came all the way from Speedway, Indiana to see him. He was excited to hear that we used to live just six blocks from the track and have been to the race sooo many times. We had him sign a bottle of wine for you. Of course we did a little shopping while we were up there, but I only bought the necessities. You know,

Logan needs new school clothes--I think there are 180 days which means 180 outfits. We can't wait until you're home and we can show you around Napa. You will love it. We love you!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day from you three favorite daughters!

We celebrated Father's Day by going to mass, walking, and going to a cookout/pool party with some other families from 146. The girls had such a blast swimming. They spent most of the time with Olivia and Gabrielle. I was so thankful to them for being there and being so good with Logan and Carsyn. Maren even had a good time. She did not like the pool at all though. Maybe she just wants her Daddy to take her swimming. I think the girls will do well when their swim lessons start next week. Well, it wasn't the same spending Father's Day without you. Hopefully this will be the last time. We love you!

Super Star Makeover Party...

Logan had a blast at Grace's birthday party. They got to dress up like movie stars: shoes, jewelry, accessories, and all. They had makeup put on, hair extensions put in, and nails done! It was a lot of fun. In the meantime, Carsyn went with mom to O.S.H. to find a new lawn bunny and buy some more flowers. Maren hung out with me and was very good. Afterward we had fun eating pizza and cake. It was a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake--I know how that's your favorite. Actually, it's pretty funny...Josh, Grace's dad, hates mint too. It's starting to get pretty hot here. Tomorrow is supposed to be the first 100 degree day--yuck! Everyone is doing well. We have our last appointment (hopefully) at the burn center on Thursday. I'll let you know how that goes. Afterward we're going to the mall and the girls are getting their pictures taken in their matching Ralph Lauren dresses. I've been wanting to do this for almost two months now, but with the accident it never worked out. Let's hope they all behave themselves. We love you!

Barack Obama Rally...

Guess what? This morning before Grace's birthday party, mom and I took the girls to an Obama rally in Hanford. The turn out wasn't that great--I don't think it was advertised very well. But, it was pretty cool. This was Maren's first campaign event. Remember when I took Logan and Carsyn to that John Kerry rally in Indy? We love you.

Mom and Logan...doesn't she look like a women's suffragist?

Mommy and the girls with some fellow Obama supporters...

Logan's last day of Pre-K

today was logan's last day of pre-k at miq. it was kind of sad because we know she won't be returning next year. she really loved it there and i think she learned a lot. plus, i think she was one of all the teacher's favorites. oh, well. we'll just have to go back and visit them next year. i'm sure she'll make tons of friends and be a favorite at her new school. love you!

91st Indy 500

promise me we will NEVER miss the race again. it is definitely not the same watching it on tv. it's sucked all month long not being there...for quals, practice, everything. don't you miss the night before the race, walking over after watching traffic coverage all morning, walking around the evening after, and watching the replay on tv that night? we won't even get to see the award banquet. oh well, i plan on being there next year (for my 25th race) and every year there after. i feel bad that for maren's first race she could only see it on tv. logan's been cheering for tony, of course. she also says that she misses looking for pine cones outside of turn one and dippin' dots. carsyn's funny. she was jumping up and down and tumbling around when the race started. well, hopefully tk can still pull this off. if not, maybe michael, marco, or dario!!! we miss you.

Thanks!

it was so nice having you home the last couple of weeks. of course the circumstances were not desirable, but at least we were able to spend time with you. thank you so much for coming here and taking care of a lot of the car and insurance stuff. it provided much-needed relief for me. this was a horrific event, but we were so very blessed and fortunate to have survived with as little injuries as we had. i love our girls so much and i don't know what i would have done had things turned out a different way. i will thank God everyday for giving us our girls and protecting them. hope you had a safe return. we miss you already. love you!

Dance Recital!

Carsyn "How Much is that Doggy in the Window" Logan

Logan and Carsyn were in their first dance recital tonight (of course you know that because you were home and able to see for yourself). They did surprisingly well. I mean the whole class did. There were lots of young kids and from watching all the classes it turned out really nice. Logan and Carsyn looked so cute in their little tutu's. Thanks for getting them their "opening night" flowers. They really loved them.

dancin' fools...

there's only one more dance class before the big recital. surprisingly, carsyn did rather well today. logan always does well. they only pushed each other a few times today--it should be an interesting show. maren was extremely fussy durring their class. i think she's fed up with having to sit and watch them and not getting to do anything fun. she's asleep now. logan and carsyn both finished dinner and now logan is helping nana bake some cupcakes and carsyn is watching "curious george"--the monkey, not the president. what a disappointing race for tk yesterday. if i were him i'd be super-pissed at that no-talent, danica! she sucks. watching the race yesterday made me realize how very difficult it's going to be for me to miss the 500. i seriously can't imagine not being there and breaking my 23 year run. dude, you owe me big time! on a positive note: i'm feeling almost back to 100%. i was able to walk my normal 4.2 mile walk. i have no idea what was wrong with me, but it was NO fun!!! well, we love and miss you!

LOST night...

can you believe that we finally have a child who: brushes her teeth all by herself, gets in bed, reads a couple of books, turns off her light, and goes to sleep--in her own bed??? i'm so proud of her. unfortunately, carsyn is not following in her footsteps. she's still staying up a little later and annoying the crap out of us--especially mom. maren's fine as long as she can nurse herself to sleep. she will not allow me to watch tv in bed. all lights and tv have to be off or she roll around and giggle. i turn the lights out and she's out. funny kids. well, lost is getting ready to come on. the second half of this season has turned itself around--it's proving to be exciting again. we love you and miss you!

happy birthday...again!

now it's your birthday here. i think we'll go out to dinner to celebrate : ) that would be funny. everyone got up a little early this morning. i don't know why. but, it's raining and it looks like we might not be able to walk. that stinks. this place has the strangest weather. the high today is only in the low 60's, but early next week we're supposed to be in the mid 80's. hopefully this summer won't be as horribly hot, but i'm sure it will. it's global warming. everyone's climate is changing. it's pretty scary. and, you're on a gigantic, floating polluter! we still love you though!

Happy Birthday!

Hi. We just wanted to wish you a happy birthday (it is your birthday there already--isn't it?)! It's the big 30! Hahaha. That's so funny. Logan has really been acting like a big girl lately...going to bed in her own bed, cleaning up her room, and helping with her sisters. She also has made lots of friends in the neighborhood and wants to play outside with them everyday. Carsyn must have allergies. With all this wind, she's had an annoying runny nose and tickle in her throat making her cough at night. Maren is such a big girl now too. She's been sitting at the table with us eating and drinking water out of a sippy cup. She thinks she's a lot bigger than she is. She has gotten to the point where she doesn't really like being held. She'd rather be getting into things that aren't for her. We all love you and miss you! Enjoy your birthday!!!

Long time, No post...

Sorry, it's been way too long since I've updated this. We've all been really good. The girls had a terrific Easter. Of course it would have been better if you were here. We went to three different Easter egg hunts. So, the girls have accumulated way too much candy. We have eaten so much chocolate and sweets in the last few days, it's a wonder that we didn't go into sugar shock. The weather has been really nice, but extremely windy. We are all ready for a world series championship season for the Cubs, or at least an above .500 season. The girls looked so great in their pink Cubs stuff for the Cubs home opener. Too bad the Cubs didn't look that good. It was awfully cold up there. Remember how cold it was when we went in 2004? Logan goes back to school next week. It's been a nice little Spring Break for us even though we didn't get to spend much time at the beach. The girls still had fun. Maren put her feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. The water was pretty cold and she didn't like the squishy sand in her toes. I'm sure she'll do better next time. We also did not get as much cleaning done as I had hoped. That's all for now. I'll try to keep this updated at least once a week. We love you.

Andretti Winery...

some pictures of the girls at the andretti winery...

we went up to the andretti winery this weekend. there was a wine club party, that's why we went. it was very relaxing and peaceful. the girls even had a nice time. logan made a new friend. there was a little girl there about her age. you will love it there. we can't wait 'til you're home and can go with us. it was so beautiful up there. we miss you.

Beverly Hills, 90210...

We are Red Carpet ready...

Well, we are just sooo awesome. We went down to L.A. this weekend and stayed in Beverly Hills. The purpose for this weekend was to take the girls to see My Little Pony Live...at the Kodak Theatre! How cool. So we took the girls around Hollywood. It was fun, but the girls were a little scared of all the "street performers." Also, it just so happened that there was a huge March for Peace right there at Hollywood and Highland that same day. I knew this before-hand, so we went a little early to see if we could spot any cool celebrities like Martin Sheen. He was there, but we never saw him! The show was pretty good. It was so cool to be inside the Kodak Theatre. It seemed a lot smaller in person than it looks on TV. Afterward we met Missy back in Beverly Hills for dinner at--where else? CPK. That was fun. Before we headed home on Sunday, we went to mass at a Catholic church on Santa Monica. Guess who was sitting right in front of us? Vanessa Williams. On the way out of church she was walking right with us and even commented on how cute Maren was! Are we cool or what!

Our new Home Sweet Home...

Your new house...

it's so weird that you will come home to a brand new place. we love being in the house though. it's sooo much better than that apartment. it truly sucked moving in without you though. i will never do that again. i hated every minute of it. but, we're happy here. we especially love having a backyard! can't wait 'til you're home too. love you.

Having fun in the backyard...

happy valentine's day...

what a fantastic valentine's day...NOT! i was home alone w/ all three girls and the movers. what a nightmare. i will never move alone again. i hate moving anyway, but this is one hundred times worse. i still have three more days of this too. we went to disney on ice last weekend for v-day and that was pretty fun. carsyn slept through the entire thing though. here's a picture of them getting ready to go...

we love and miss you.

There's always next year...

Well, Super Bowl Sunday turned out to be a super-let down. Oh, well--next year as we Chicago fans like to say! I'm totally over it. The girls on the other hand look like they're still recovering. Maren's got a scratch on her leg from my ring and little bruise on the bridge of her nose. Carsyn has a knot on the back of her head and a scab on her temple. Logan has a bruise on her cheek bone and a floor burn on her chin. You'd think we had boys. Everyone's trying to get settled down for a huge night of TV. Criminal Minds was continued from last time and LOST is back after its two-month hiatus. I hope the girls fall asleep early so I can concentrate on my shows. Have a good night/day...whatever time it is there. We love you!

Super Bowl XLI

We've got our game-day faces on. We're getting psyched! GO BEARS!!!

day 16

we had a pretty nice saturday. we slept in a little, went for a walk, got valentine's stuff at target, and went to church. the girls have been pretty good all day. they got lots of compliments at church tonight, but not on their behavior. not that they were bad. carsyn slept through mass and the logan and maren were good. we're getting psyched for the game tomorrow. we wore our bears stuff today because we can't wear during the game. hope you get to watch the game--cheer for the bears!!! love you!

day 15

thanks for the nice surprise phone call this morning. logan really enjoyed talking to you. thank goodness it's friday (sat. for you). it's been a long week. the girls are still adjusting to life with you gone, and they've had colds on top of it. hopefully they'll be feeling better and acting better soon. we love and miss you! good night.

day 14

we really are lucky! we have three healthy, beautiful, smart, sweet girls. everyone has been pretty good today. the girls all still have a little bit of a cold, but i think they're almost gone. tonight was a good tv night. it was the initials hat trick: ub, oc, & er. we wish you were here to watch tv with us. love you.

Day 13 PM

I swear, when it's not one it's the other. Last night poor Maren could not get to sleep. She was crying up a storm. I don't know what was wrong with her. She's better today, but boy was I tired this morning! Plus, Carsyn woke up at seven! Logan has been pretty good the last couple of days. See, I think thet take turns. It's much cooler today than it's been lately. But, it's supposed to be 70 this weekend. We love you!

Day 12 PM

She can walk--it's a miracle. Carsyn's knee is fine now. Logan just woke up from a super-long nap. She must be making up for a lot of missed sleep. Maren's beeing clingy and doesn't want me to put her down. Earlier today Logan was playing with an old, broken camera (but the flash and everything still works). When the UPS man came to the door she asked him if she could take his picture. How funny! We love you!

day 12 am

poor carsyn! apparently her knee is still bothering her. she's limping around and whining about it. logan got off to school just fine. she looked super-cute as usual. maren woke up way to early, but fell back asleep. the girls seem to have a slight cold. the sniffling is so annoying! it's really cloudy today and it's supposed to rain. i hope we can get our walk in. have a good day. we love you lots.

day 11

Remeber when Carsyn was born and Logan had the mystereous foot injury that prevented her from walking for three days? Well, we're re-living that but this time it's Carsyn. However, she's either really hurting or she's a much better actress than Logan was. I don't what on earth happend to her, but she's been crying and whining every couple of minutes and she'll only crawl. It's a school night so we're trying to get to bed early. Logan hasn't had a nap today so I'm about to pull my hair out. And, sweet little Maren hasn't let me put her down all day. Today's one of those days when it would really be nice if you were here. Love you.

day 10

Today was a pretty good day. We were able to sleep in a little before going to church. All three girls were very well-behaved. Carsyn was singing a lot and very loudly. Logan saw two of her teachers and several of her friends, including the "milk boy." Maren is sitting up on her own now. She stays up for quite a while before wabbling over. We went for a walk after it stopped raining, did some laundry, and just hung out. The "Suite Life" marathon continued today. I think we've seen every episode now. Only one more week until the Super Bowl. If the Bears win it will be the most awesome thing since the Dems took the House and the Senate! Thanks for calling last night--it was good to talk to you. We miss you a lot. Love you!

day 9 pm

it's raining here. it actually rained this morning, then this afternoon when we walked the sun came out and it was really warm. now it's raining again. hopefully the girls will be going to bed soon. carsyn took a late nap. we were hoping she'd just stay asleep, but no such luck. maren's been drooling like crazy. i keep checking for a tooth, but none so far. logan's just being logan! we miss you.

day 9 am

we all slept in this morning. consequently, we're off to a late start. we are getting ready for a walk now. logan and carsyn have been crazy lately--and not in a good way. logan has been on her worst behavior and carsyn feeds from that. maren has been good as usual, but she's taking notes on her sisters. we'll see in a year or two--she'll probably be just as bad as they are. today and tomorrow are going to be laundry days since i've been putting it off all week. fun stuff, huh? love you.