Tag

1 : What do you want right this minute?
My kids to get ready for bed.
2 : If you were a boxer, what would your ring name be?
Critter Jean from the Alligator Swamp (Matt calls me this)
3 : What you rather be perfect from the waist up or the waist down?
can't I have both?
4 : Would you rather meet Oprah or Ellen?
I would like to meet Oprah on her favorite things episode. Chicago is only a few hours away!
5 : What do you have planned for the rest of your week?
Cooper starts school this week!! I will have 9 hours this week by myself!!
6 : What does your favorite pair of underwear look like?
white and lacey!
7 : What is one thing you're afraid of?
Head lice and now poison ivy!
8 : If you could be reincarnated as someone/something, who/what would you pick?
a ladybug?
9 : Who is your least favorite actor?
Pamela Anderson
10 : Do you ever have recurring dreams?
I used to dream about going to school naked.
11 : What is your favorite book?
I LOVE to read, so it's hard for me to pick just one. Tuesdays with Morrie, Left to tell.
12 : Do you like reality TV?
Can't stand it.
13 : Are you happy right now?
I will be more so when my kids are asleep!
14 : What you rather have salad or a burger?
Totally depends on the day.
15 : What would you do if you were locked in a room with your worst enemy for 3 days straight?
Hopefully work it out and become great friends.
16 : Were you popular in high school?
I don't know?
17 : What did you want to be when you were little, and did you follow that dream?
I wanted to be a mom and YES.
18 : What's one of your favorite quotes?
If you are not happy you are doing it wrong!
19 : What is one of your weaknesses?
Thrift stores!
20 : Do you see the glass as half empty or half full?
Half full, with ice and a slice of lemon!

Tag...you are it!

LEELOO

I just found out about a great blog background site!!! It is free and it didn't erase anything off my blog!

http://leeloublogs.blogspot.com

Thanks Marin!

Go Hoosiers

Marin, I stole your picture, I forgot my camera! Last night we got to watch the football team practice and take a tour of the stadium. The best part was running barefoot with my kids on the brand new "grass" for 100 yards on the field.

Today we walked to a pond 5 minutes from our house. We saw: 3 snakes, 2 turtles, 2 frogs, 1 bunny, 2 butterflies, crickets and grasshoppers. The most amazing thing was seeing a frog getting devoured by a snake! Yesterday Cooper and I were running in our neighborhood and there was a Doe and a spotted fawn eating grass off of someones lawn!

Bloomington Rocks!!!

August in Indiana!

Lake Monroe is just 10 minutes from our home.  Ruby went hunting for sea shells for the first time in her life.  She also found her first geode.  There are geodes everwhere here.  The kids went on their first official hunt tonight and found 2 bags of them.  They thought it was pretty fun busting them open to find amazing "jewels" inside.
We had some MBA/Church friends over for dinner.  We had an amazing tea party in our lovely costumes.  We celebrate Halloween all year long in the Rich family.
Peterson cousins in Indiana!!   Cathleen, Clara, Abby and their friend spent the day with us.  It felt so good to be with family!!!!

My mountains

   I have forgotten how amazing my mountains were.  Holy cow they are HUGE!  Bloomington has so many beautiful trees around and rolling hills, you can't see that there are no mountains.

School!

School has become a huge part of our lives.  Matt started the "jump start" program on Monday.  Orientation starts Monday and goes for 2 weeks, and then the real thing begins.  I couldn't resist taking his picture as he left for the bus stop.
Ruby started yesterday.  She was such a great sport.  I can't imagine how hard it must have been to walk into a room where she didn't know a single soul.  She was pretty bummed she didn't know anyone at recess.  Last night she prayed that she would make 2 friends today.  She ended up making 4.  Matt told her that was 200% on her return.  The school is amazing.  There is a different specialist for PE, Library, Art, Music, etc.  When I taught, it was all me.  It is really weird having Ruby gone all day.  Cooper and I are having a good time bonding just the 2 of us.

Bloomington is BEAUTIFUL.   We have 3 ponds within a 5 minute walk from our house.  Lots of cool animals: bunnies, frogs, huge cicadas, bright colored birds, and FIREFLIES!!!  The parks are amazing and there are tons of them.  I am amazed at how friendly people are.

My biggest problem is ONE WAY streets!  Seriously, they are all over the place and totally random.  The same street will change names several times within one mile.  I am pretty proud of myself that I have navigated as much as I have.

Our New Home!

There are some of the BIGGEST storms I have ever seen here. I had no idea the clouds could move around so quickly.
This is our cute little house on the left. I love it! We have 2 serious flights of stairs so I get great calf workouts. I have always wanted a covered porch. We even have a balcony in the back. It is 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. There is a huge garage with a storage room attached to it.
We are almost done unpacking. Cooper said, this is like Christmas!! I still have a bunch to do but at least we are close.
The kids love that they have their own bathroom.

I am very impressed with the Bloomington community. I was amazed at how many people came up to us at church. As soon as we made it home I was thinking how wierd it would be to eat dinner just as our little family on Sunday. 2 minutes after thinking that, a cute family called and invited us over for dinner.
The welcome committee came over and brought us an awesome folder with all the info we would need to get around here. One of the girls invited us to go swimming tomorrow and the other invited me to go running with her.
Dinner was awesome (thanks to the Cottams!). Coop was being a turkey and hid in the car during dinner. I followed him out and he said he didn't want to be around all the "little humans". When we got home, there was a welcome packet for the Partners Club (the partners of the MBA students) that someone had brought to our home. Seriously, this is awesome! I am totally loving this experience!
Matt is getting ready for his big day tomorrow. I am so proud of him. This is a huge step we are taking. Way to go Muzz!

We made it!

We traveled with hundreds of bikers on their way to Sturgis!  Rubes was pretty excited to find her own little tavern called the Ruby House.  Isn't that a sweet hog!
We spent Saturday and Sunday in Nauvoo.  The spirit in the temple was amazing.  I had a very interesting perspective doing the pioneer trail backwards.  We also went to Carthage.  I am so thankful that the pioneers were willing to stand up for what they believed in.
We stopped in Hannibal, the birthplace of Mark Twain.  We went on a riverboat cruise on the mighty Mississippi!  Holy crap is it humid!!!  When we first got married we planned on a 10 year anniversary cruise.  I guess we are going to have to count this.

We arrived in Bloomington on Monday and our trailer didn't arrive until yesterday.  The first night we just slept on the carpet.  I love our house.  It is very roomy.  Matt did a great job picking it our.  Our neighbors have been very friendly.  Our friends, the Searles, helped us unpack the trailer.  We will be eternally grateful to them.  I had no idea how much a body can sweat!  The men had sweat from their shoulders to their waist bands.  We have visited the 3 schools that Matt and the kids will be attending.  Matt starts Monday and Ruby will start on Wednesday.  We are up to our eyeballs in boxes to unpack.  It sure is more fun unpacking than packing.  The storms here are huge.  I was positive we were going to die on the 2 "small" storms we had this week.  Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed, or read my blog.  It is nice to know that we are not alone.  So far I am loving this experience.  I will keep you posted!

The Move

Matt was the most amazing packer! He fit everything we have in 10 linear feet! Kudos!
We shed lots of tears before we drove off. We are so blessed to have amazing friends and family.
Martin's Cove was our first stop. I am glad I am driving across the plains!
Devil's tower.
Mt. Rushmore.