June 25th, RIP Michael Jackson, King of Pop and Farrah Fawcett

Oh man, what a shock the world was in this day. I know I was. These 2 icons are a part of my childhood. Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' album was my very first. I had Michael's posters throughout my bedroom, along with the doll. My sister had Elvis. :) I guess time will tell to see if my mom kept all of these items after we moved out of the house...I hope she did!

He will never be forgotten. I will never forget where I was when I heard the news. Linda, Braeden and I were waiting for Rob to meet us at Tony's Pizza for dinner. Rob sat down and said that he heard on the radio TMZ confirmed he died of cardiac arrest, 50 years old. I chuckled and said, 'WHAT?' I still can't believe he is gone. So sad.

I have kept the 'People' magazine for Braeden to have one day. Once he gets older, we will be making sure that he hears all of his music and pray he enjoys it as much as his mother did.

Farrah Fawcett was in a movie 'Small Sacrifices' when I was in middle/high school. We taped it from the TV movie. I am not exaggerating when I say I have watched this movie 75 times. It was a great movie! I would like to one day read the book, too.


RIP, Michael and Farrah...
*Alana*

Summer Time!!

July has been pretty uneventful-and it's only half way through! Our friends Matt and Xenia from Chicago came for a visit. Matt is a friend of Rob's (and my step-brother, Matt) from high school. He is the one who contacted Rob letting him know I was looking for him, via myspace...we can never be thankful enough for that. Matt was one of our groomsmen in our wedding, and then Rob was one in his wedding in Cleveland, OH (a super FUN wedding!). We adore them!

Friday night, we had a bbq. Our friends Matt and Jess came over, and our neighbor. It was alot of fun! Saturday, July 4th, we contemplated going to DC or hanging around here. We really wanted to take them since they were here and all. However, it is a big, exhausting day spending down in DC on the 4th with a million people. We went last year and was down there all day, lots of walking, and sweating, yuck! About 5:30 we headed down there. Arista watched Braeden and we didn't run into any traffic, which was unbelievable! We sat at the mall, and enjoyed the amazing fireworks! On the way back, we got a hot dog-a must! On Sunday, we took them to Tim's River Shore, a great seafood shack on the Potomac. We all had shrimp, crab legs, and hush puppies! Here are some pics from the weekend.

Rob and I got Braeden this pool. I set it up. He has been in it several times, but the water is pretty cold. But, he loves the water pouring down from the top!

Braeden and I met up with my friend, Stephanie (who lives here now and I actually worked with her for several years in KS, isn't that crazy?). At her sub division, they have 3 beaches. She took us there with her 3 kids and Braeden had a blast playing in the sand and in the water. Last year, we had this blow up boat and I felt very comfortable with him in it. This year, he wants nothing to do with it! ugh! He scares me with wanting to be independent! He's too small still! :)



So, I bought some (3) books to help me teach/deal with Braeden's terrible twos. He's pretty good overall, but we don't want him to be 'that child.' I have learned some easy tips that I am putting to test right now.

Here are a few pics of Braeden at a local pool with a very fun baby pool with a slide! This was his first time going down one in the pool. He LOVED it! And, couldn't get him to anything but the slide.




So, I come home from the pool, to find a few small pieces of foil and crumbs on the floor. It took me a few minutes to realize what this was. Marley at a whole loaf of home-made bread ....along with the foil that was in it! UGH! That's gonna hurt coming out!

We went out to dinner with Linda. She has been spending day and night at the hospital with her sisters for the last 2.5 weeks. One of their sisters have been in ICU. They are not sure what is wrong with her, still. The Dr.s have run every test possible and they all come back negative. One day, she just started getting confused and is now (and has been) talking 'crazy talk' with cussing, and like a 3-4 year old. Very concerning. So, we haven't seen much of her. It was a good time and he loves his Grammy.


The tank hood is coming along very well! Rob and our neighbor got this all done in one day, not bad! We are still very anxious to get it done! With our busy schedule, we are hoping it will be complete and ready for the sand and water next month.

Lastly, we got our trips booked to VA Beach, Vegas, and Jamaica! Whoo hoo!

*Alana*

Father's Day

This was Rob's 2nd Father's Day. I know this has to be a bitter-sweet day for him, with him not having his dad, yet being a dad now. I had a 'brilliant' moment one day in February and started researching portrait artists. I wanted a portrait of Rob, Ron, and Braeden. I called this lady, Lisa and we talked about what I had envisioned. She thought this was a great idea and that she would like to meet.

So, I drove to meet her and brought her some pictures. After contacting 3 of Linda's sisters about getting Ron's pictures (he was not a fan of getting his picture taken), I finally got them and she worked with what I could get. I think she did an excellent job! This will be passed down to Braeden and his kids.

It was extremely hard not to tell or show Rob before, but I am so proud of myself-I didn't! I really CAN wait! So, on the morning of Father's Day, I made Rob a big breakfast, and brought up his framed portrait. He was shocked and was pretty speechless. It is hanging by our front door.

I just realized that I didn't get a picture of Rob and Braeden on this day. Darn it! I'm still learning!

*Alana*