Nate is wanting to start school this fall to become a graphic designer. He is a natural at it! I spent all of 30 minutes one day to show him some basic ideas and he's been running with it since. He does everything from the most simple touches to the complicated. Here's one he put together in a couple hours. With a closer look, this picture represents everything in life that Nate wants...of course all materialistic things.

Isn't she cute?!

Well, you probably guessed by now...here's a picture of me :) I am either 3 or 4 in this picture. Can you believe there was a day when I really was skinny?!

Summertime cooking

For those of you who like to grill outside, I thought you might like to see this idea with Uppercase Living. The ladies said to warn you because now their husbands all want a new grill! I wonder if we put our husband's name on it, if they'll be happy to do ALL of the cooking?!

Here's another idea I really love! It really adds a sense of class to the curb appeal.

What causes grey hair?!

Here's the answer...my two teenagers! Some days you just gotta love them and other days I think to myself, "why wasn't this in the baby manual?!"

Nate LOVES taking pictures of everything, including himself. I guess that's the thing with teens today. Today, he has brown hair, which is his natural color, but who knows what the color will be next week. I'm waiting for him to fall in love with a rich woman so she can pay his bills.Here's Jessica. We were at the park last weekend for the Helmick family reunion. If anyone was wondering why we kept walking off, I thought it was a pretty place to take pictures! Jess normally wears colored contacts to make her eyes more aqua but on this day, she is wearing clear, which shows her beautiful blue eyes.

My babies

Although I do have two teenagers, these two characters are my real babies, Oreo and Suzy-Q. Oreo is the lazy one of the two. Aren't they adorable?!

Suzy-Q found the cushy part of the couch! You know how they say pets look like their owners? Well Suzy-Q really does! Her head starts out normal, she has belly buldge and then the hips just get superwide - just like her momma!

More Nature

Here's a few pictures Chris took.

This one here was taken in the parking lot at Great River Medical Center. The Killdeer bird is known for nesting close to humans. The eggs are almost undetectable and blend in with the rocks.

Chris also took these pictures on the way home. He didn't realize until he got closer that it the fox was a mommy.

The baby's so cute!

Nature - the prettier side

After seeing all of the devastation from the flood, take a moment to see the a prettier side of nature. Jessica and I went to the Evan's farm just outside of Stronghurst to see the horses and the new spring colt. Nothing eases your mind like the countryside!

Here is Doc (the paint) and Ringo just hanging by the fence waiting for a snack.

Here's Jet, running along with her son, Jag.
This is the perfect tree for the cats! The tree is hollow and they've been running through the tunnels.
Doc is just relaxing and grazing in the pasture.



The sun just sparkles on Rowdy's beautiful red coat.
Jag is hanging out with his mom!
"Catch me if you can!"This is Elle. Elle and Jag are great buddies and they especially enjoy running together!

Carman Road Closed

Do Not Pass - How ironic is that?! I thought it would help to show just how deep this area is.

I'm not one to break the rules...but we did want to see how bad the Carman Blacktop was. Of course Chris was driving as I wouldn't have been able to drive past the road block. We are standing on the creek overpass looking towards the south. The top picture is the same area. We just backed up a little, looking south east.

Have FUN and make MONEY

How often do you get the chance to have fun and earn some extra money at the same time?? If you want fun, new and exciting, now's the time to get involved. Uppercase is offering a $25-50 discount off of the demonstrator kits.

They are also benefits that will help you get started on your new adventures. They have added an incentive that will earn you an extra $10 for every hundred dollars you sell!