Grandma got a new puppy!!

Madeline "Maddy" is a 12 week old golden retriever. So cute and such a playmate for Libby....well, Libby actually thinks she's the momma! Here is a terrible Skype video snapshot!

Sleepover at Grandma's House

Another sleepover at Grandma's house last night. Tom was in Peoria and now in Davenport. He'll be back tomorrow morning. We...okay, I, left my wallet in the curb next to my mother's house today. Yes, the curb. It must have fallen out while I was getting my bags in the car. So, we will be either meeting mom in Sauk or driving to Baraboo again tomorrow! URGH!

Gracie is going to Aunt Nancy's tomorrow night so that Tom and I can visit with one of his best friends, Allen and Erin. Allen was Tom's old college roommate. Should be fun. I can't say that we ever went out with them childless before.

Today...

We called Gracie's Aunt April, who has been home a lot since her elbow reconstructive surgery, to ask her to go to Barnes & Nobel with us today. We just hung out for about an hour or so and looked around the store...well, actually we looked where Gracie "told" us to look. We got some more of the Brain Quest cards. We accidently got the the 5-6 year cards. I think we'll keep them and see how she does with them. The 3-4 year cards were pretty easy for her and the description of the 5-6 year ones seems to be pretty much at her level. We also picked up a phonics booklet.....her "school book" as she like to call them. She loves to play teacher and student. I hope that stays that way until she's 22(-:

That's about the only fun thing we did today...oh, except the fun of grocery shopping....NOT!

A-Z Farm visit today.

Well, Gracie went to A-Z Farm today with her best friend, Allison.
She was able to pet chicks, a rabbit, a pig and some lambs that were
just a few days old. SO cute!

This farm opens every Sunday in March and the goal is to catch a lamb
being born. They must have had close to 50 babes when we were there.
I tried hard not to think about where they would be in 5-6 months)-;
The farm also had ducks, turkeys, horses and baby pigs. It's located
just off of Hwy. 14 on Schuster Rd.

Last year, Allison wouldn't let her parents put her down, she wouldn't
pet anything and her nose was plugged the entire time. This year they
both had fun. Life's always better with a friend!

Tori

-Sent from my iTouch-

A Nice Sunday

So, yesterday we ate breakfast (pancakes) at the Riley Tavern in Verona. They serve breakfast on Sundays, maybe Saturdays, too. They have buttermilk, blueberry, cranberry and chocolate chip pancakes served with O.J. and sausage links. A favorite of Gracie's was the German shepherd, King!


After the Riley Tavern, we traveled to Mineral Point. I had passed by numerous times on my way to Kansas City but never went to the historic downtown area. It is beautiful. There are so many historic site and renovated buildings all located within just a few small blocks. We visited the Leepin' Lizzard toy store, the antique book store and Cafe 4 -

"Good food starts with good ingredients, pure and simple. At Cafe4 we care about what goes into our food. We prefer local, sustainable, all natural, and organic choices, not only because they are better for our health and our environment, but also because they absolutely taste better! Our focus is putting healthy delicious food on your table."

From there we somehow got on to the Stage Coach Trail which travels through Apple River, Warren, Lena and then down to Tom's parent's house in Freeport, IL.

For dinner we went to a great pizza joint called Manny's Pizza. I believe this started in Savanna, IL but now there are two restaurants in Freeport. It's really good, thin crust pizza!!

All-in-all, a great day!

Emily Did It!

Gracie's cousin Emily did a great job on Saturday. She is now a 1st degree black belt!! Way to go Emily. Here is a link to the video that my brother, Tom made and posted to YouTube.

Madtown Twisters today!!

Another day.....another gym! I hoped this trampoline didn't make her sick like the one yesterday did. We took it easy today. Only jumping for a few minutes instead of 20!!

Gracie's cousin, Emily, is going for her blackbelt on Saturday!!

Gracie's cousin, Emily, will be testing for her Black Belt from Karate America on Saturday night. She's only 10!!! I don't know exactly how long she has been working at this but I know it's been YEARS. She's put so much time into this. Emily, Gracie says Good Luck and we'll see you on Saturday night after you have your black belt tied to your waist!


Here is a video clip of Emily from channel 27 last night. She is at about the 50 second mark.

She's asleep and I am studying!

We went to Noodle's and now she's asleep. I get about 2 hours a day...when she naps...to study. It's really working, at least right now. I am registered for 2 classes this semester but my professor is the same for both and is allowing me to complete one (at a fast pace) before I start my new one. Really very cool of her.

Another favorite spot....

Gracie using chopsticks at Chin's.