New Baby in the Family!

Elaina Hope Wallace was born on Tuesday July 28. She is the fifth child of my husband's brother, Mark and his wife Karen. She is a sweet and precious little gal. Here is picture of her that I "borrowed" from my mother in law's blog. When we stopped in to visit, she was soundly sleeping so we didn't get any pics.

Purdue Weekend

As part of our 15th anniversary, Matt surprised me with the idea of going to Purdue for the weekend. This was the perfect gift! We've haven't been to Purdue as a family and Matt & I haven't been there together for years. (We both have been separately for Professional Development - but not for pleasure.) One asks why go to Purdue for your anniversary? Why not some place romantic? Purdue is where our life together began 15 years ago. After getting married, we packed up and went back to school. (I was technically finishing my BS Degree and Matt was starting a BS degree.) I'm sure we have many people that thought our marriage would never make it, let alone going to school...but we worked our butts off and had the time of our life. Going away to Purdue was probably the best thing for our marriage. It only seemed fitting to go visit and share the place with our children.

Lunch at Noodle & Company

Upon arriving in West Lafayette on Friday at noon, we ate lunch at Noodle & Company in the village. It's new - well at least new since we've been there.....the village has really changed. We explored the village and bought tons o' Purdue stuff to bring home.

Checking into the Union Club Hotel

After our shopping experience, we decided to check into our room. Matt booked us a room at the Union Club Hotel. We got what is called a "family room". It was neat. There were 3 beds! One full size bed in a room with a door, then the main part of the room had a twin bed and another full bed. Yep you read correctly, full size beds! Matt & I got to relive sleeping together in a full size bed. We mainly got the room so the kids could each have their own beds. Abby thinks the world is going to end because she has to share a queen sized bed with her brother on trips. So this seemed like the perfect answer.

As you can see in the picture - the kids had to play like the Suite Life of Zack & Cody and ride the luggage cart.

Upon checking in, we went on a driving tour of Purdue. The kids were already whining about all the walking - man they had not see anything yet.

We showed the kids the main parts of Purdue via the car, then headed to see our old apartment. Can you imagine our sadness when we discovered that 125 Marshall Drive does not exist??? Don't get me wrong, I'm more than thrilled to see that Purdue is prospering and new buildings (tons of them) are being built...but why our apartment ????? It was a sad sad moment! Matt and I both felt like a piece of us was gone. But maybe it's a symbol to move forward......

To take away the sadness....we went on a search for the VET buildings.....

Vet School

The vet school was found! We took Abby to see the school. She was thrilled- it is her dream to become a vet. The neat sculpture in front of the school was a great place for pictures. Abby & Owen were surprised that we could just walk into the buildings. They both were unsure about going into a classroom, but we assured them, it was okay! People come and study in classrooms all the time!

I hope Abby's dream comes true! My vet bills are high! I could use some free service!

15 Years!!

Fifteen years ago, I married my best friend. Twenty years ago, Matt and I met and started dating. We've been together for more than half our lives. I can't imagine live without him. I think things work for us so well because we are such great friends. We have similar tastes, likes, and dislikes. Don't get me wrong, the past 15 years haven't been all candy and roses, but it's that journey that has made us into who we are. Not only do we have a great life together, but we also have two wonderful kids that have made the journey all the more worthwhile!

At the Wedding....

Abby plays at the Wedding

Abby played Minuet 1, 2, and 3 as people were seated. She is accompanied by her teacher, Ms. Sarah

Saturday July 11, 2009

Today former students, Whitney Selby and Jon Ziebell were married. When Whitney was in my class during high school, she was my teacher's aid. I was able to get to know her really well. She liked Chemistry, we soon discovered we had our similar interests. I was sad to see her graduate high school, but was so proud of her when she went to Rose Hulman and majored in Chemical Engineering. She started dating Jon (another former student) recently after both started college. Four years later, the two joined their lives together. I don't know Jon very well...but I do remember making the comment to Whitney in HS about how Jon would make a great husband. He appeared to be devout in his beliefs and dedicated to the things he loved. I am so glad to see they found each other early in life and got married. I hope they have a wonderful life together.

Fun At Gammas & Papas!