Our weekend continued

On Friday John and I took Tizita to the zoo and park across the street from their house. We hadn't been to the zoo with her since last year, not once during the summer so we were happy to head over there and have her show us around.Tiz brought George-Jo along in her stroller.Tiz insisted that Grandpa buy food and feed the sheep, but she wanted nothing to do with getting any closer to them than this. They were making lots of loud baaing sounds.Putting on a show for us while standing on tope of a big rock pile.Let me share a little with you here. Here is the food machine at the zoo-put in your quarter and get your food pellets to feed the goats, sheep, or other assorted animals. These machines have been around since I was a little girl, but of course, in this day and age of washing our hands and being fearful of any little germ the zoos now have to install one of these:So no need to fear, you can wash your hands while at the zoo! What is wrong with this picture? I personally think that washing hands is highly overated and when taken to the extreme can cause more problems than it actually cures! Okay, I will get off my soapbox now!

After a fun day at the zoo and the park, we returned to Tizita's house where she proceeded to read us some books.

What a fun weekend!

A recap of the weekend

John and I headed up to Oshkosh last Thursday night and got our weekend started early which is always a fun thing to do, heh? We started out by listening to Paul's band, Spin Spin Coupling play at the New Moon Coffee House. It was the first time that Tizita had heard her Papa's band play and she loved it. She was out there directing all of us and dancing with the best of them. She certainly has a love for music and wonderful sense of rhythm which she did not get from me!
After the gig which ended about 9:00 John and I took Tizita over to our motel to spend the night with us while mama and papa continued their evening with another gig at Becket's.
Tizita enjoyed blow drying her hair. She must have done this for a half hour straight and then she had to dry my hair and grandpa's, too. This is the cute skirt that Courtney bought for her dancing debut.Tizita also liked the vending machines. She and grandpa made a few trips to get Famous Amos cookies. This is the next morning just before we were leaving for the Van Auken home. Yep, we had to return her.Enjoying those cookies!Since Tizita doesn't watch TV at home she was pretty fascinated with the TV, but after a few minutes she asked us to turn it off.
Our weekend also included a trip to the zoo and the park on Friday and Saturday. I will post those pictures in my next post. I need to pay attention to the results of dancing with the stars.

Old memories revisted...

Today was my Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary. Here is a picture of them celebrating their 59th anniversary at our house. The year is about 1984, I think, so that would make this their 83rd anniversary or thereabouts. My Grandma insisted on celebrating with a big party every five years since their 45th anniversary always sure it would be their last one. They never did make it to their 60th because grandpa died sometime in the year after this picture, but I just know they are celebrating big today with all their friends up in heaven!

Mallory went to homecoming last night. Her first big dance with a date! When she came over today to visit I asked her the usual nosy questions that I used to ask my girls. She answered a few and then said, "Boy, Sherri, you ask a lot of questions." I asked her how she thought I got all my information. That stuff does not come naturally without some prying!

I also dug out my old Homecoming pictures from the year that I was a junior in High School-16 years old, just like her and here I am with my first dance date, Duffy Neubauer looking very excited, a little nervous and oh, so cute! As soon as I get her permission and a picture I will post one of her and Levi. I think they will look a whee more sophisticated than we did back in 1969.

A first trip to McDonalds

On Saturday after our Tiziversary party John and I had some Grandparent/Tizita time. We took her to the a new (to her anyway) park in Watertown. Here we are having a race down the slide. I had to hold on to Tizita until I was situated and ready to go or she would take off and win the race!Then it was time to crawl through one of the caged tubes at the park. I did not follow her in here, I may never have gotten out of there!Tizita enjoyed climbing up all the different ladders, rock walls, and steps at the playground. She is really good at climbing. Her little legs are very strong!
And what is happening in this picture, you ask... Well, Tizita wanted me to try swinging this way. Again it worked well for her, but I was not so good at swinging this way! Being a grown up is hard sometimes!After the park we took Tizita to McDonald's for supper. It was her first trip to the famous restaurant. We ordered a hamburger kid's meal and chicken nuggets so she could try them both. Well, unlike every other kid in America she did not like either of the choices! She did enjoy the apple slices and caramel sauce. She eventually dipped the apples in catsup and honey mustard, too. So, the food was not a big hit, but she loved the play area. Here she is way up high waving to us! A few of the kids befriended her and helped her find her way around the structure and she was off with them. Anywhere Tizita goes she seems to find friends or rather they find her. She is just so darn likeable!And, well, what trip to McDonald's is complete without an ice cream cone? I am not sure her parents appreciated us introducing her to McDonald's, but it had to be done!

Our first Tiziversary celebration!

Today we celebrated our first Tiziversary. We had an awesome party and I know that Tizita enjoyed the celebration of her joining our family very much. My theme was Curious George since he also came from Africa.

John and I bought the yellow construction hat and decorated it for her since that is the same kind of hat she picked out for her dog from build a bear. We decided she would wear it at every Tiziversary that we celebrate in the years to come.
And, of course, we had to have a Curious George cake to complete the celebration. Tizita was thrilled with the cake.

Here is our little Ethiopian Princess in a dress that her mama and papa bought for her when they were in Ethiopia! She sure is a beauty!

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since Tizita joined our family, the year has gone by so quickly yet in some ways it feels like she has been here forever!
We plan on celebrating Happy Tiziversary Day every year!

Celebrating Lynne's Birthday

My friiend, Lynne had a birthday yesterday, September 15 which was also my grandma's birthday and is my neice's birthday, many special people celebrate their birthdays on that day.
Today after Preschool Lynne came over for lunch with the boys, Calvin and Jacob. We enjoyed subs and salads from PJ's and a cake. Originally I thought we could go out to Upper Crust for lunch with the kids in tow, but when I realized that Tizita would be joining us, I decided that a lunch here at home would be in our best interests and I think it was a wise decision. Tizita really enjoys playing with the twins and they are such nice boys. We tried to get a few pictures but it was difficult to get all three of them to look at the camera at the same time.
After lunch we went outside and kicked the balls up and down the hill in the backyard. I think they could have done that for hours, but alas, naptime was calling all three of them, so Happy Birthday, Lynne, hope you enjoyed your lunch as much as we did.

One week down, lots more to go

Well, my first week of school is officially over since we started last Tuesday. I must say it has been going well so far with more positives than negatives which is how I measure the success of these first few days. The kids are really getting into the routine and rules of the classroom.
The creation story and the story of Adam and Eve have gone so well except the usual misconception that God used play dough to make Adam. They assume this because I use play dough to make the man figure because I cannot make a figure out of the dirt I bring in. It takes a while to set them straight but then they finally get it.
We talked about circles this week and we got to bring out the biggest circle of all which is our parachute. If anything didn't go well on those days it was all forgotten as we played with the parachute and the beach balls. The kids' laughter is such music to my heart and I know for a fact they all ended their days on a very happy note.
Tomorrow Tizita comes to school again. We have chapel tomorrow with 19 little ones. I am hoping that all goes well. Stay posted to find out how it goes...

Unibrows, toilets and chandeliers

On Saturday we met up with Alissa and my college roommate, Joan for a night of good food, drinks, conversation, and more than a few laughs.

We began our evening with a drink at The High Hat on Brady St. Prime area for people watching. John had this big Schlitz beer, kind of like his own personal pitcher! We were laughing when it arrived, never expected it to be soooooo big and all for just $5.00!

Three Amigas enjoying margaritas at the Mexican Restaurant on Brady St. I am not fond of Mexican food because I do not like cheese on everything, but I found out that really good Mexican food doesn't always have cheese on it. I had shrimp tacos that were so yummy! And needless to say these margaritas were yummy, too. I found it rather funny to see the similarities between Alissa and Joan. They both find humor in any situation and they both enjoy people watching and Brady St. is quite the place to people watch! I should probably say People laughing because mostly they laugh at people!

I cannot begin to tell you all the times that the three of us have been together during and since our college years. No matter how much time passes between visits we can all just pick up where we left off which to me is the sign of a very good friendship. There were years when our lives were going in such different directions that we would go years without a visit, luckily we remedied that and we see one another every few months.

The bathroom was a one holer, so when I went in I left my camera with Alissa and Joan who were waiting their turn. This is what they snapped when I came out of the bathroom. I call it big, man hands, but I must say it makes the rest of me look smaller. How these next few pictures happened I cannot begin to figure out. I think Joan took the camera in the bathroom with her and documented the decor in there!

Sign on Ladies bathroom door.

Picture in the bathroom which we lovingly referred to as the "Unibrow."

This is a lovely flower arrangement in the Ladies room.

And this would be the toilet. And just let me tell you, this is not the only toilet that figured into our night. Somehow a brochure was floating in Joan's toilet. Huh...

After our yummy dinner, we headed over to Joan's to have a few more drinks. Alissa really liked this beer glass that Joan had purchased in Germany. She couldn't stop talking about it.

and Alissa really liked Joan's chandelier. It was a very fun night, lots of laughs and good conversation, and some pretty goofy pictures!

One year ago today

After a rather restless night in our motel, this is the face that greeted us in the morning when we arrived at Courtney and Paul's house to get to know our little Tizita! She was and is just precious.

And this is what greeted me on Wed, Sept. 9, 2009, on Tizita's first day in Preschool. Oh what difference a year makes!

One year ago today

One year ago today, we were waiting anxiously at the Appleton Airport for the arrival of our granddaughter from Ethiopia. We thought a few beers would take care of some of the nerves but the beers didn't really help. The plane was delayed in Chicago so that added to our stress level plus Courtney, Paul and Tizita were the absolute last people to depart the plane even the flight crew was off before they were! I remember asking some passangers if there was a little girl on the plane and they said, "Yes, and she is beautiful." The sight we saw next was a sight for sore eyes!

One year ago today, we saw Tizita walking hand in hand with her mama as she got off the plane. It was the most beautiful sight. Here was the granddaughter that we had dreamed about for months finally in the flesh and she was even more beautiful than we ever imagined. While most grandparents await the arrival of a grandchild from the womb, we awaited her arrival from the terminal of the Appleton Airport. Even after hours and hours and hours on different planes Tizita was wide eyed and ready to meet us.

One year ao today, we sat across from Tizita in the Appleton airport and just took in her beauty. She was exploring the balloon we bought for her. I wondered if she had ever seen a balloon before and then I thought about all the other new things she was about to discover!

One year ago today, we saw this beautiful face for the first time. Tizita is clutching a little Mimi (her word for doll) that I had bought for her long before I even knew her name. My prayer at this point was, "Please, Lord let us do right by this lovely little girl."

One year ago today,Tizita was just checking out the balloon we had brought for her. Look at those big eyes and just try and imagine what was going through her little mind at this moment. She had just left the only home she had ever known and was about to begin a new life with a new family in a new country! Wow, it is a lot to take in!

One year ago today, we watched our little Tizita still clutching her Mimi walk out of the airport and into her new life with her mama and papa. It was a wonderful moment. We went out to dinner with Paul's parents, toasted our new granddaughter, and checked into our motel where we tried to sleep. We were very excited because the next morning we were going to see our Tizita again and begin the bonding process.

It has been a wonderful year and as I have stated on here numerous times, Tizita has exceeded our wildest dreams. She is beautiful, smart, and full of spit and vinegar!

One year ago today, we became Grandparents for the first time, so Happy Grandparents Day to us and Happy Tiziversary to us, too.

Check out tomorrow's post for our first real visit with Tizita at her new home.

Couldn't you just eat her up

I was just rereading and relooking at my last post and all I have to say is, "Couldn't you just eat her up!" Even in my wildest dreams I did not imagine our little grandchild to be the cutest, smartest, and funniest child this side of heaven! She is definitely heaven sent! Watch for my post on Sept. 12, our (John and mine) one year Tiziversary!

Tizita and Grandma together in Preschool for the first time

I was thrilled when Courtney asked me if Tizita could come to my Preschool about once a week. What excitement for a grandma to be able to have their child in their classroom! I was Courtney and Alissa's Preschool teacher and I was Mallory's Preschool teacher so the tradition continues. Tizita walked right into the classroom today and got busy playing and having fun. Here are a few pictures to commemorate the day.This is the way Tizita looked as she walked into the classroom. Look at that cute outfit that she and mama picked out at Target. The shoes are from Grandpa and I.And here is Tizita as a cute little giraffe while we sang our Creation song.Making muscles to sing, "My God is so Great." Tizita really enjoys the singing.Tizita had fun playing with the play dough with her little friend, Cooper.A favorite place for Tizita and everyone else is always the sensory table which is filled with beans right now.I asked all the kids to sit down on a circle after clean up time. When I went to check on them, Tizita was on my chair taking control of the class! And she is, finally sitting on a circle. I did have to bribe her with a skittle though!Tizita enjoyed a yummy birthday treat from a little boy. I cannot believe she ate the whole chocolate cupcake with lots of yellow frosting on it and she didn't even mess herself up too badly.Here is Tizita playing a fun circle game. She loves to hold hands with children, so she did very well with this game.
All in all, it was a very fun morning and I am one proud grandma for having such a well behaved granddaughter who is ready for school!We celebrated our first day of Preschool together with lunch and ice cream at Mullen's. Yum!Proud grandma teacher and happy student granddaughter!