Dishwasher - Part Two...

Yup, have owned our new super quiet dishwasher for 5 days now.... and you guessed it... first service call being phoned in this morning.....

UPDATE 9/1/10:  Dishwasher is fixed.  Sounds like we pulled a wire when we pushed the dishwasher in to place and that triggered an error message on the sensor board.... Geesh, anyways, we should be good now!  (fingers crossed)

Priceless

Dishwasher

Cory and I have a history of buying lemon appliances... or maybe appliances are made to be disposable after a couple years?!  Either way, our dishwasher finally died last week and we replaced it last night.  Shockingly we ended up buying the exact same dishwasher as our current one that broke!  We were very hesitant to go with this brand again, but we really loved the layout of the model.  Also, everyone raves about the Kitchenaid dishwashers.  They are supposed to be very good and we are convinced that our first one truly was a lemon.  So, this time we bought the extended 5 year warranty!  Plus we have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee... you better believe I will be running this dishwasher daily for the first 30 days.  I want to make sure that it is worth the money!

* We got our dishwasher and installed it last night.  I am AMAZED at how quiet it is!  The only thing we can here is a tiny sound of running water from time to time.  The motor is completely quiet!  WOW!!!*

Zoo Day with Grandma Sandy

My mom took the kids to the zoo today.  I asked her to take a couple pictures... which she sure did! 

Thanks mom!  :-)

Click here to see more pictures.

Our Family

Ethan and I were playing with potato heads and decided to create "our family"...

Here are a couple more pictures of other fun things:

...shopping at Bass Pro Shop:

...and Ethan playing with his new fishing pole at Uncle Glenn's house.

8th Grade Registration

Yesterday Ethan and I took Mariah to register for 8TH GRADE!!!  She is very excited about 8th grade... and I am a bit nervous!  This will be her last year of Junior High... last year of Elementary School... last year of being a KID... gulp!

Well, at school registration they also take pics of the kids for the yearbook/school pictures.  I think this is really nice instead of squeezing picture taking into the middle of a school day after the kids have eaten lunch and had gym... remember those days?!  Anyways, here is a sneak-peak of Mariah's 8th Grade School Pics.  She had me take a picture of her before we left the house so she could make sure she looked okay.  

Yup, she's my daughter... hee hee!

iphone cool

I am officially iphone-cool. ;-)  My new iphone 4 arrived yesterday!!  We got everything set up last night and even figured out how to download apps, record videos, take awesome pictures, grab wireless internet when it's available, and tons of other cool things!  I am LOVIN' it already! 

Here is the first picture that Cory took of me with my cool new iphone.  The camera was facing the sun, but the pic still turned out pretty good. 

Here are a couple more pictures that I took with it last night.  These are pics from a car show by Georgie Porgie's.  We met our friends Miranda, Kevin, and Lucas for dinner last night at Georgie Porgie's and ate in a tree house!  It was really neat... don't know why I didn't take pics of that?!  Afterwards we went outside and walked around the parking lot because there was a DJ playing music and a nice little car show! 

I also added new pics to July and August on Flickr. 

Have a great week! 

What a Weekend!!

This past weekend was loaded with fun, family, friends and food!  :-) 

On Wednesday night we went to the fair and watched the truck and tractor pull and the combine derby.  Ethan had so much fun watching all the action and Mariah had a blast ditching us to hang out with her friends... ahhh teenagers...  We made her stay with us from 7pm on... too protective... I don't think so! ~wink~

Thursday was another full day.  Mariah had her last day of Dance Camp at the high school.  We went to watch her skit and then went on to the fair.   When we got to the fair, Mariah and her friend rode on rides all day and ate lots of fried foods.  Cory and Ethan walked around and played on the tractors, watched pig races, and tiger shows, and stoped by to visit me from time to time.  I worked at a Pampered Chef booth from 2-6pm and had some awesome sales and met great new contacts.  Afterwards we hung around the fair and ate dinner.  It was another late night. 

Friday we did some things around the house and then went right back to the fair.  Some family members were in town from Tennessee and we heard they were going to the fair.  We didn't want to miss them... and if you ask my cousin Amy she'd tell you that we definitely didn't miss them.... ;-) They let their adopted son from Haiti join us on a couple rides... Well JM had a lot of fun and even ventured on to an upside down ride for the first time.  Mariah helped buckle him in his seat and away they went.  He was all smiles at first... but as the ride went on his smile turned to a look of fear!  He seemed alright after the ride, but told us he wasn't a fan.  We walked around for a little while, stopped at the rest rooms, and then headed to the 4H food stand.  JM told us he was hungry so I bought him a burger.  He had a couple bites and then his parents arrived.  He still seemed fine at this point, but I guess he wasn't feeling as well as he looked.  We were told that he threw up a couple times on the way home from the fair.... guess that's a moment that will never be forgotten.  Love you guys!  :-) 

Saturday was another action packed day.  We went to my sisters house for the 2nd annual Voge family reunion (Christmas in July).  There were 93 people at the party!  It was so nice seeing family that we haven't seen in years!  Family joined us from Minnesota, Illinois, Tennessee, and of course WI.  It was so nice to all be together in one place. 

We also went to our friend's son's 1 year birthday party on Saturday.  Happy Birthday LIAM!  Liam had a great time and his parents threw him an awesome baseball themed birthday party.  So glad we could be a part of it.  Also, while we were there I learned that Ethan knows how to play t-ball.  He walked over to the T, put the ball on it, grabbed the bat, and hit the ball about 10 feet!  Very exciting!  I think our lives will be filled with many sports in the years to come.  (in addition to active Mariah)

Sunday, day of relaxation, ummm nope not this weekend.  We went back over to my sister's to celebrate Leah's 9th birthday!  We spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing.  It was very nice. 

By 7pm on Sunday night we were all sitting and watching a movie (Remember Me).  Ethan was eating popcorn and his little head started nodding forward.  He'd pick up his head, chew his popcorn a little, and then his head would roll forward again.  He was exhausted!  Bed time came early for all of us. 

Here are a couple pictures.  I will post more later. 

Baby Harry

Welcome to the world Baby Harry!!

My step-brother Ben and his wife Sarah welcomed their second precious "short one"! 

Harry Benjamin Oscar Dembroski was born in Scotland on July 25, 2010. 

Congratulations!!!  We can't wait to meet Baby Harry!  xoxo

Baby Harry

and his big sister Edie

Our Niece Charlotte is 1 year old!

Our niece, Charlotte, turned one year old yesterday, July 25!  She is such a precious little girl and loved by all.  Yesterday Ethan left a voice message for her that went something like this: "Happy Birthday Charlotte, Love You!".  Megan says she'll be saving that message forever. :-)

On Saturday Charlotte celebrated her birthday at our house.  There were lots of people, gifts, food, and beautiful weather.  We had a great day and did lots of swimming and playing outside.  We were honored to host her birthday party at our home.

Yesterday Megan and James took Charlotte to have her 1 year pictures taken. 

Here are a couple of the cute pictures.

Mariah's "Little Grandma"

Mariah's Great Grandma on her dad's side passed away last week.  Petra Martinez was known to us as "Little Grandma".  Mariah spent lots of time with Little Grandma over the years and will miss her greatly.  Little Grandma turned 100 years old on July 4, 2010.  What an amazing life!

Here is the article from the newspaper.  Isabel and Reynaldo Rangel are Mariah's Grandparents. 

RACINE - Petra Martinez, 100, passed away Thursday evening, July 15, 2010, in Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints Hospital. She was born July 4, 1910 in Sabinas y Delgo, Mexico the daughter of Juventino and Ricarda (nee: Ruiz) Montoya. Petra married Manuel Martinez in Texas. He preceded her in death. A homemaker, she was a member of Iglesia de Dios Penticostal M.I. Survivors include her children Adelina (Luis) Rivera and their 12 children, Isabel (Reynaldo) Rangel and their two children, Maria Arebalo and her three children, Tito Armando Rodriguez and his six children, and Olga (Kevin) Turner and their 7 children. She is also survived by 41 great-grandchildren, many great- great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends. She was also preceded in death by three sons, Marcelino Martinez, and Alberto and Angel Rodriquez. Funeral services will be Wednesday, July 21, 2010, at 11:30 a.m. in the funeral home Rev.Manuel Lozano officiating. Burial will follow in West Lawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service in the funeral home. STROUF FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES 1001 High Street 632-5101 Online guest book: www.strouf.com

Happy Anniversary to US!

Cory and I have been married for 4 years today!!

Love you honey xoxo

Big Boy Bed - Step 1

On Tuesday I converted Ethan's toddler bed in to a full size BIG BOY BED!!  He absolutely loves it and has been sleeping through the night ever since.  He loves snuggling in to his bed and having lots of room for himself, his "friends", pillows, and blankets.  He also loves when mommy snuggles in by him for a couple minutes each night while tucking him in. :-)  Mommy loves that part too!!  hee hee

Right now we only have a mattress on his bed.  We will pick up a box spring this weekend and complete the set up.  I took this picture this morning after he already got out of bed.  I will take some more nice pics later when everything is completely set up. 

Tons of Pictures!

I have been uploading lots of pictures to flickr. 

Check them out at the links below! :-)

Donny and Molly's Wedding

Some additions to May

June and July

4th of July

Chicago

and 4 new videos

www.lateride.com

Here is a picture taken (by media - not me) from the ride we did on Saturday night/Sunday morning. These groups were behind us.  I have some cool similar pics that I will post later.  Were were in front of them in the VIP section. 

Glasses

Mariah no longer has perfect vision, but she is still pretty close.  She had her first eye exam on Friday and they decided she needed to get a pair of glasses.  She is very lucky and only has to wear them when she is trying to see things far away.  She picked out a trendy pair of frames and should have them in a couple days. 

Chicago, Camping, Wedding, Baptism...

Yes, all of these things took place in one weekend! 

On Saturday morning Mariah left with Uncle Scotty for an over night camping trip in Iola.  They went up to see a car show and hang out with my mom and Harry, and other aunts and uncles.  Mariah had a lot of fun!  She played in the kayak, canoe, swam in mucky water without letting her feet touch the bottom, sat around campfires, and spent lots of time checking out cars at the car show.

Cory, Ethan, and I went to a combined wedding vow renewal and baptism on Saturday.  It was a beautiful day and the setting was very pretty.  It was in a park with large trees (and a great playset that Ethan loved).  Cory and I left from the wedding and headed to Chicago.  Ethan stayed with grandma Linda. 

In Chicago, Cory and I stayed at a beautiful hotel downtown.  We had a 16th story view of the lake, Navy Pier, Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain, shedd aquarium, and many other buildings.  We really enjoyed exploring the streets of Chicago.  We walked all over, ate dinner at a very nice family run Italian restaurant, and then got ready for our big ride!  The festivities started at 10pm and our 25 mile bike ride started at midnight.  We rode straight through and finished the ride around 2:15am.  We were very proud of ourselves for completing the ride and still being able to walk afterwards!  We got back to our hotel around 2:45am, celebrated our success with some mimosa's, and then slept until 9:30am. 

I have a lot of pictures and will put them on flickr within the next couple days!

Together

This post is for my followers.  If you received notices for lots of new posts from me today I would like to let you know that they are actually old posts.  I just merged my "Bartlett Family" and "Love My Little's" blogs together into one blog.  No more bouncing back and forth. :-)  I will be deleting the "Love My Little's" site.
Thanks and Happy Friday!!
Kelly :-)

To Be A Kid Again...

Oh what it would be like to be a kid again:

• Sleep in on summer days
• Worry about little
• Biggest cares are about what to wear, who to invite over, what sports to get involved in, what dog to play catch with, what show to watch on TV, how to style your hair or wear your make-up...

Ahhh... to be a kid again... 

To be an adult:

• Find a partner to share your life with
• Pick a home and neighborhood to raise a family
• Find a job that will pay the bills and allow you to have time for family
• Stay sane while balancing marriage, bills, work, kids, animals, friends, activities, laundry, cleaning, shopping, food planning, exercise
• Research everything to make sure you are feeding your family the right milk, putting the right sunscreen on them, getting them the right shots, taking them to the right dentists, sending them to the right daycare, enrolling them in the right school, allowing them to hang out with the right friends, teaching them the right life lessons

...and the hardest part of all... making sure your partner agrees with everything you do at all times...and somehow trying to keep an emotional bond with your partner at all times through all of life's challenges...trying to find compromises as a couple...trying to make all of life's choices together...

Wouldn't it be nice if just once in a while we could step back and be a kid again... maybe for even just one day?!

Maybe not...

Today is day three in my first class towards my masters degree.  I am already not enjoying it and feeling the loads of extra stress... maybe this isn't the right time to go back.  For the past two years I was dead set on the fact that I was done with school and not going to be a professional person.  I was done with the stress of studying while juggling everything else.  Then within the past month or two something triggered me to go back and give it my best... well... I did just that and am now changing my mind. 

I guess I really need to figure out what I want to do in life.  Do I want to make lots of money and work long hours and be important in the professional world?  OR... do I want to stay where I am and make okay money and have set hours and time for family and friends?  As inviting and challenging as option one sounds... I think that my heart is in option two.  As many know my real dream in life would be to live in Florida, be a stay at home mom, and have five kids.  AND as many know that is not going to happen. :-( So, maybe option two is the best compromise for me. 

Maybe this school thing was a reality check for me, an eye opener, something to make me realize that I am good where I am.  I don't need a challenging career.  I don't want a challenging career.  I just want to work at my secretarial job, have Pampered Chef shows once in a while, and then spend the rest of my time with family and friends.  That fits me better.  Ahhh feeling the stress lessen already...