Layla learns to sit.

Ahh. Puppies. They are so stinkin' cute, but we forgot how much work they can be. Here's a video of crazy Layla, who joined us on our recent trip to Iowa. She was a hit with the family... Especially Cole's great-uncle, Dick, who after two days with Layla, was convinced that he and his wife, Elaine, are ready for a new puppy. Pretty much everyone loved her... Everyone except Grandma Betty, who "doesn't like dogs." I think she was more than a little sweet on Layla, but just wouldn't admit it. :)

Okay, so she doesn't actually sit yet... It's a work in progress.

By George, I think we've done it!

We've been meaning to visit Cole's grandparents in George, Iowa for several years now. Each time they're in Kansas we hear the familiar... "You come visit us. Okay?"

Betty and Gordon

Last weekend we finally made the trip to join them for the holiday, and what a fantastic weekend it was! George had great reason to celebrate; 2009 marks the 125th anniversary of the town, which also happens to be the hometown of Cole's grandparents, Arvin Eilders, who now lives near Salina, and Betty (Smid) and Gordon Siebring.

Our stay was packed with activity... We watched the cutest little circus ever, ran a 5k on the town's new bike trail, ate tons of delicious food, watched a parade with more farm equipment than you can ever imagine, toured Siebring Manufacturing and of course, watched the fireworks! The town of only about 1,200 pays for their impressive display each year by auctioning off pies made by local residents... Many sold for over $200!

There is just no better place to celebrate the independence of our great country than small-town USA!

Betty and Cole watching fireworks.

Happy 125th Birthday to George!

My favorite float in the parade... Only in a small town. :)

Introducing...

Layla Lou

She's a sassy thing! We just picked her up this weekend, and Layla will be seven weeks old on Friday... SO tiny! She especially looks small next to Royce, who weighs about 75 pounds. Now that she has gotten to know us, she has really started to show off her personality... Royce was a really low-key puppy, but Layla is certainly not! When she wants to play she jumps around so much that she can barely control her own body. It's actually very funny. Hopefully I can post a video sometime soon.

We're in for a long haul. The last two nights she has woken us up three times to let us know that she needs out... NOW. At least she's not "going" in her kennel! :) Cole thinks this is good practice for babies. I'm pretty sure Cole has another thing coming...

"Listen here, pipsqueak. I'm in charge!"

After assembling the kennel I was pretty sure it would hold her, but Cole and Royce had to prove that it's big enough... For an entire litter!

My first night at 4-H camp!

As a child, I was never involved in 4-H. Some of my friends went to camp each summer... and I was always a little jealous. It sounded like so much fun! As part of my job at Rock Springs, I'm spending this week at camp. It'll give me a chance to better learn our facility and the processes that I'm not usually a part of with my "day job." Last night was my first night at 4-H camp as the administrator on duty. Let's just say it was... exciting. Here are a few highlights:

• Cleaned up vomit.
  
• We were in a tornado watch, and there was quite a thunderstorm, complete with lightning show.
  
• To keep them out of the lightning/rain, we moved campers to our primary storm shelter (which is also an auditorium) and tried to entertain them with movies.
• They 'booed' my movie choice of Robin Hood. I guess I'm old and boring. They preferred Tarzan and Mulan.
  
• Woke up at 4am to L O U D thunder. Storms don't usually wake me, but I was a little on edge. When you're responsible for 359 kids... Yikes!

I'm sure I'll survive the rest of my stay... but I'm exhausted already! Hopefully the weather cooperates for the remainder of the week.

Thought for the day.

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

- George Bernard Shaw

mint.com

Some friends of ours recently told us about this website and I wanted to share - because it's pretty cool. Cole and I had been using Microsoft Money (which we didn't like very well) and then switched Microsoft Excel to track each expense and keep an eye on our budget, but Excel can be so time consuming... After checking it out, we gave mint.com a try, and you should, too! It's FREE. Who doesn't like free?! And it imports all of your financial info into one place... Checking, savings, credit card, auto loan, student loan, mortgage, 401(k), 403(b), Roth IRA, etc. It's an excellent tool for having an overall picture of your net worth and allowing you to clearly focus on eliminating debt or increasing investments...



You don't have to share your SSN or other private information; they'll even alert you of suspicious transactions on your credit card, alert you when you're nearing your budgeted spending in a specific category. There are over one million users, and the site has received multiple awards... I could go on, but you'll have to see for yourself!

So.. why is it free? Because mint.com takes a snapshot of your finances and recommends {enter: advertisements} the 'best' products for you. For example, your current savings account may only earn .03% APY and mint.com might recommend an interest-bearing savings that can earn you 3% APY. Of course, to view these offers, you have to click on them - you can always ignore them if you're happy with whatever system you have going. :)

Hopefully you'll find mint.com to be as handy as we have!

Curb Appeal.

After three years of being homeowners, we have finally finished landscaping our front yard! I sure feel like a 'real' grown-up to be planting bushes and flowers that I actually know the names of. :) It just killed Cole to cover up the "best grass" in our yard, but it was worth it! We originally planned to use steel edging because we just love the way it looks... Have you ever priced steel edging??? Yikes! Instead we opted for a heavy-duty plastic edging. It's actually made for containing stone patios, so you can bend it into practically any shape you choose. It was so convenient and much more affordable than the steel, too. Here are some pictures of our handiwork:

Painted Turtle.

Working at a camp certainly has its perks. Check out this lil' guy found roaming around outside our office yesterday! He's about the size of a quarter...

Yabba-Dabba-Doo!!!

It was so much fun watching all of the creative "entrances" to Winfield High School's prom this year... Some of my personal favorites were the girl riding on a donkey (dressed to look like a unicorn), a couple strapped into one of those giant rolling blow-up balls and of course, the Flintstone-Mobile. :) For me, watching this prom tradition brought back so many fond memories of good ol' WHS.

We're baaack.

Whew! Vacations are fun, but can be exhausting, too. We got home from our Texas trip late Sunday evening - only to drive from Kansas City to Manhattan in a torrential downpour.

Our vacation went too quickly! We started out in San Antonio and finished in Austin. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that we just happened to arrive in San Antonio smack dab in the middle of San Antonio's Fiesta, an annual 11-day party featuring mariachi bands, parades, lots of delicious Tex-Mex and margaritas! Here are photos... many photos. Enjoy!

- San Antonio -

Of course, the real reason for our trip was for Mark and Becky's wedding! What a great time... After looking back at all of our pictures, I'm reminded of what an awesome group of friends we have. Sadly, it seems like weddings and K-State football games are our only excuses to see each other. Soon, we'll all be married.. Then we'll have to start making other excuses to get together. I'm sure we'll be able to come up with something! :)

- Austin -