oh wow, summer is in full swing here. say hello to 115 temperatures. "i love phoenix, i love phoenix, i love phoenix..." what i wouldn't give to go lay out on a glacier in Alaska right now, or join Heidi and Luke at Hurricane Harbor. but what've i got? an apartment pool that is CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR CLEANING! maybe i'll sweat off a few pounds. :) if i had a lawn mower (and grass), this is how i'd be attacking it right now.

home again, home again, jiggity jig. YAY! I'M SO GLAD TO BE BACK AT WORK. riiiight. And Hilary Clinton's feminine. being around my sisters and their darling little boys made me realize that its really time for me to look to the future and start thinking about family and domesticity and all that. so..........Heidi and Kathyrn--have more kids!!! being auntie lolly is the greatest. :) har harhar

our trip to paradise

we took a trip to the Chicago Botanic Gardens today! (more pictures below)

Chicago Botanic Garden

adrenaline rush!!!

today was a busy, tiring, glorious day! we took luke to his favorite park first thing in the morning, and he managed to find the one giant puddle that was about up to his neck...so he came home completely soaked. :) we spent the rest of the day (or what we could stand of it in the heat and humidity) at Six Flags. Luke only lasted about an hour before he got restless with waiting in lines. so he went home with Dave and Heidi and i hit all the death-defying rides we could. now i think we've both got heat stroke; our feet hurt, and our throats are raw from screaming. GLORIOUS! dinner was fun, becuz luke decided to entertain. hugs and kisses to

all!!

lolly's day out

there's the sears tower!

arriving at millenium park...

why do i have this craving for jelly beans...?

we were walking down the street, and i looked to my left and there was the famous chicago theatre district! vwahoo!

we got out of the heat a bit in the Art Institute of Chicago (don't worry kathryn, i got you a souveneir). heidi's blog has more pictures from our trip there...

we went shopping on the Magnificent Mile so heidi could spend her birthday money from mom and dad!

getting reacquainted

mom, luke LOVES his quiet-book! i took a video of him opening it, but its pretty long, because he sits down and reads the whole thing. so i'll send that to you in an email.

easily amused...

i just got in from (TO) the windy city--!

so...chicago's pretty cool. its a fair bit bigger than phoenix, and a bear bit bigger than anchorage (i don't really know what that's supposed to mean...trying for clever). anyhow, it really brings back mission memories, because its just green and lush (and humid) everywhere. i think its beautiful. you know what else is beautiful? that Heidi and Dave and Luke are here. guys, luke has gotten so big. he is a talking fool. his key phrases are: "mmm, that's good" "what is that?"
"wanna see toys?" "where'd it go?" --i even got a "where'd lolly go?" when i walked away from the dinner table. victory!! my work here is done. :)

yesterday we drove around the pretty country side and kind of chilled, since i was kind of jetlagged. today me and heidi hopped onto the train and rode an hour into the heart of the city of Chicagee. cool place man. there are parks everywhere, dotted intermittently between gigantic skyscrapers, and many sculptures and outdoor amphitheaters. we went to an amazing art museum, and saw buckingham fountain and hit some shops on the Magnificent Mile (8 blocks of shopping). kathryn would love it. :) you'll also be happy to know that the largest public library in the world (yes the world; possibly the cosmos) is in downtown Chicago. how bout that? "is this heaven...?"

T-minus 8 hours...

forsoothe, forsoothe--i knew this time would come. i'm down to my last 8 hours with the Mixes. its been so glorious! here are some pics from our drive out to Portage Glacier, and some other stuff. went to the Alaskan Market downtown yesterday and picked up some fun souvenirs. i'm sure gonna miss my little shadow Caleb. :( but...the very very bright spot, is that once i get on the plane, i'm off to see Heidi and Luke!!! okay, enjoy...

ahoy everybody!  hey howdy hey from Alaskee.  kathryn's probably getting tired of me saying, 'look at the mountains!  i can't believe how many mountains there are!  look at the snow on the mountains!'  and all the green, just so so pretty.  so we went on  a pretty scenic drive yesterday, with much 'oohing' and 'ahhing' on my part.  kathryn seems very at home in this environment and caleb has probably walked every square inch of the property by now.  WIND-UP-TOY!  i had my first meal of alaskan king  crab, and buckle up when you're eating that stuff, it made us giddy, it was so good.  today we went to the zoo and planted a bunch of flowers in the front yard.  its fun to be back in a pretty wooded area; reminds me of Timber Ridge.  okay, that's all for now.  it's 10:30 pm, but just as light as if it was noon...so hopefully i can get to bed.   XOXO  (will upload pics as soon as the system works)