Pizza Night

Every few weeks, we try to get together with our best couples friends and have a pizza night - think friends, food, and chaotic kid play. We figured, we just make the get together simple - everyone brings something and we let the kids run amuck so that no one feels the pressure to get babysitters all the time but we still get to see each other. We hosted the last one at our place and here are some fun photos of the night. The only thing I missed was Jeff setting up the cornholes for nighttime play...

Proud Moment

Through the Master's program that I was involved in at Michigan Technological University, I met and was priviledged to work with one of the coolest advisors ever - Jim Mihelcic. He and his wife fall into that category of rare people you meet that you want to be like because you see the incredible influence they have had - they are inspiring and make you want to work hard to make the world a better place. When I think of people that have truly influenced me in my life - I personally have had two teachers that particularly come to mind and Jim is one of the two of them (the other being one of my elementary school teachers).

Well - it has been his vision for a long time to take all the lessons learned from the Peace Corps students and compile them into a field guide textbook - and it's finally complete! If you click on the title link above you can get your own copy of this awesome resource. I am so excited about it because there is nothing like it out there - it really helps to describe sustainable engineering approaches in the developing world for water and sanitation problems. Obviously - I am passionate about water issues because that is what Jeff and I did when we were in Mali and several of the problems and solutions we encountered are described in this textbook...and may I mention that I am credited as a contributor to two chapters (sorry for the plug but I am excited)! Anyway - the wonderful part is that people don't have to recreate the wheel in this context anymore and it will help facilitate faster, better solutions to people of real need. I am so proud of Jim and all that he has facilitated and really excited to have been a part of this project.

I'll find a nice picture of us with Jim and add to this post soon....

Holy Cornhole!

I only lightly mentoned the cornholes in the Dolphins post below, but I think some special attention is needed for this one...Jeff, with the help of our friend Bryan, have been exploring making cornholes as a little side business. Well - Jeff finished the first one last weekend (with the help our our brother-in-law Chris, as you see in the background). It was, of course, Dolphins-themed for the game. And honestly - as much as I hate the name of the game and am not a very good player, Jeff did a great job painting them and making them very festive. And - don't forget that they meet all ACA (American Cornhole Association) standards. I believe there are two more sets in the making in our malespace, oops, I mean the garage, for some other friends. After that - I believe he will be taking orders! Cornhole, anyone?!

Baby Halloween Party

This past weekend, our friends Aaron and Shelley had a baby Halloween party, i.e. excuse to get together and take pictures of our kids in funny costumes that are too hot to actually wear outside. It was great and I didn't get that many pictures but here are a few of the kids - Tyndell was a Clemson tiger of course! And here is Tyndell with her BFF, Madelyn, trying to take her toys...yes, Tyndell is going rogue on us! Madelyn was a flower and Samantha (we are in LOVE with this child - so fun!) was a fairy witch and our new friend, Maddock, was an astronaut - so cute. There were a few more kids but this was the only group shot I managed. I'm sure you parents out there understand!

First Dolphins Game

This past weekend, Jeff organized the annual Dolphins game outing with his office and it was extra fun this year b/c Tyndell went and it was her first game and also Chris and Debbie came down for the weekend. We tailgated like champs and Jeff got to break in his inaugural cornhole games that he made - with full-fledged Dolphins stripes and logos! Unfortunately - the Dolphins lost to the Saints but it was a great game. And...surprisingly...Tyndell made it through the whole game! What a trooper!

In the Trenches

This is pretty much the scene for me lately as I have been studying
for my PE (Professional Engineer) license exam, which is this Friday.
I am pretty freaked out about it but have been feeling really blessed
by all the awesome prayers going out to keep me calm (well, and these
protective ninjas which guard my study space...I love you, Amy!).
Wish me luck!! Thanks everyone!

Happy 10 Months!

Yesterday was a big day for us! Not only did Tyndell turn 10 Months old yesterday, but she started crawling! She literally went from not moving to crawling across the house which was so awesome. You could tell she was just so pleased to be able to get somewhere instead of waiting to be placed somewhere. We are so excited. I took some time to go out in the backyard to get a few shots of our girl in her little chair. This was my chair when I was little and now Tyndell gets to sit in it, which is pretty fun.

The Skele-Tyndell

Shelley gave us these super awesome pajamas! I just love them and they are just in time to be festive for Halloween! I posted a similar one on Facebook but got a better shot with the good camera with some of our conveniently matching decor.

Camera Catchup

I so rarely check out the random photos I take with the good camera as opposed to the way too convenient camera phone, but found these nice photos from the past month.

Tyndell's First School Pictures

You may have noticed Tyndell's new profile picture - this came from her recent first school pictures. We don't typically like such posed shots but these turned out pretty good and we figured - they are the first ones so we kinda have to get a couple of them...ya know, for the baby book (it's all about documentation, right?). Her teachers said she was easy to photograph EXCEPT she wouldn't stop clapping haha.

New Look

I thought it was time again for a new look so I found this cool template to change things up here on the blog. I really liked the last one but it forced the font and pictures to be smaller and didn't use the screen space well. Anyway - let me know what you think!

Also - here's a fun picture of Tyndell's new look - meaning she has been spending a lot of time getting down on her tum-tum and seeing the world from a new perspective more. So it may mean movement will be coming soon? Who knows. Check out my sweet block barn I built in the background....toys are fun, right?

Evening Antics

Can you tell whose happier about the situation in the first picture?!
I thought that was funny...actually Karma has been really sweet to
Tyndell - she lets her pull and grab all she wants! And Zen is even
warming up to our evening antics. Tyndell totally loves her evening
walks and puppy time so we try and do both after school everyday.

Happy Nine Months!

Our little T-Monster is growing FAST. She just turned 9 months yesterday and her current stats are 16.6 lbs and 26.5 inches. It seems like she grew so much more than that since her last appointment at six months, but I think it might be just because clothes are starting to fit better and she has become so sturdy so it seems like it's more. We can already tell she is going to be such a character - her personality is hilarous. Tyndell loves to be busy all the time - she's not just going to sit there, so she's constantly playing with toys, bouncing, trying to move in new ways, so we can only imagine what it's going to be like when she's actually walking. People seem to get so sad when they see their kids growing up, but Jeff and I are really enjoying every phase and liking each phase more and more. We get so excited to see her progress, discover new things, and try to challenge herself to do more. She is doing really well at school, and when we get home, we have been trying lots of new foods to self-feed (cheese, crackers, berries, soft veggies, pasta) and we try to go for a walk everyday. We've also been trying to read before bed each night, but it usually just entails Tyndell ninja fighting the pages. I don't know if that means she hates books or if she just knows that the last bottle is coming soon so she wants to get on with it (I think it's safe to say that she acquired the Ahrens family level of patience...we're trying to work on that). Anyway - we are having a blast and we literally ask ourselves each day how we got so lucky to get such a happy, generally chill kid. We feel blessed.