Christmas

Christmas this year was definitely WHITE - in fact we had loads of snow. It caused a bit of hassel getting downtown on December 23rd for the Nutcracker. But it was still really a fun event. Here is me, mom, Laura, Katie, and Allison.

Now here we all are with a few of the performers. One of the funniest parts of the show was that the clown came down into the audience and was in the row right in front of us. He was danving around and then jumped down in an empty seat and BROKE the seat. I think he was a bit startled but then played it off really well. We all got a kick out of that.

I ran over that evening to see my good friend Sarah from High School who was in town from Indy. Always nice to catch up.

Christmas Eve was spent with the Richards family and our whole family. As always it is such a blessing to be with them. We had a few songs performed by the talented kids and then also sang Christmas carols for quite a while. And talking, eating, and gift exchanges also filled the day.Christmas Day my parents, Allison, and I enjoyed a nice brunch with relaxed conversation and the traditional Belgium waffles with ICE CREAM! Yum. Then we headed over to Laura's house to spend the afternoon and evening with them. By the time we remembered to take this pictures the kids were pretty ready to crash. After they were in bed the adults played GOLF - the card game - super fun!

Then today I was able to see my old neighbor Monique who moved away about 5 years ago. Her husband's family is from this area so it is nice to see them when they come in town. This was the first time I got to meet Emmett - finally! She is such an encouragement to me especially while I am job hunting and trusting the Lord to provide the right opportunity.

Milwaukee Wave Game

I joined Laura, Katie, and David for the indoor soccer game field trip. It was really fun and made me want to play soccer again. David who is usually very loud was quiet as a mouse and was a bit overwhelmed with the loud cheering. Katie enjoyed the game and socializing with her little friends. Laura said "She is growing her bangs out to be like Aunt Sarah" :-)

Pre-Trib Meeting In Dallas

The annual Pre-Trib meeting was again a very encouraging and intellectually stimulating time. The ladies of course also really like the socializing and those of us who stay at Kathleen's have a fun slumber party too.
In the picture: Janice, Jenna Dee, Connie V, Kathleen, Connie W, Me, Vicki, Stephanie, Mom (holding Stephanie's baby Micah).

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year with my family and the Weavers. Clockwise starting with me - Me, Katie, Mike, David, Laura, Stephanie, Annastasia, Dorian, Dad, Mom, Allison, Aleythia.

Scrapbooking with Tara and Rebecca

A last minute but fun weekend scrapbooking. I was pretty excited to finish my college album (only 10 years late) but I still remember it like it was yesterday.

Flowers for my Birthday

Kim and Autumn

My friend Kim and her New baby! What a great lunch date meeting her.

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The Car Dilemma

This post has been in my draft folder since July 24th! I am procrastinating on writing a blog about the car I am procrastinating to buy - seriously that is just ridiculous.

My current car is a 1999 VW Passat and that is honestly the only car I have EVER owned. So this whole car buying thing is quite overwhelming. I am not even sure I NEED a new car since I drive less than 10,000 miles per year. I really don't like driving all that much but if I have to drive I like the car to stick firm to the road . . .

I discovered that when I test drove the Toyota Camry. The car was nice but I HATED the suspension that wags around corners! Even the SE (sport suspension) was not good. And since I can't even buy a manual its off the list.

Honda Accord - I am a slacker I haven't gotten around to test driving this.
Subaru Impreza. I promised my cousin Colleen (who sold her VW Passat to get this) that I would test drive it. And I suppose I will - at least it doesn't have the hole in the hood like the Legacy - I am not sure I could stand that.

I have LOVED my car for the past 9 years so to be fair I need to test drive the new Passat. Who knows maybe I'll be boring and get the same car! But probably not t
I test drove the 2008 Audi A4 and it was nice. The salesman was trying to prove that the awesome 4 wheel drive and all that stuff was worth so much more money . . . blah blah. But it appears they are all sold out and the 2009 will jump in price by $10,000 - that is steep.

The MINI! It is a fun car to drive! But alas I think I would get sick of only being able to buy 1 bag of groceries per trip.

So far my favorite is the Acura TSX. It is a great size and fun to drive. The problem is that I can't find any used ones for any less than $2000 off the sticker price of BRAND NEW one. How is that possible????
Help - what should I do??

A Visit to the United Arab Emirates

Well I am still here but I figured while Amy was making dinner and Brad was playing with Ally I would just go ahead and start this update from the United Arab EmiratesWe found some Crocks that fit Kaitlyn . . . but she only needs one.Here is the adorable Kellogg family in Dubai. Brad is holding Kaitlyn (nicknamed KK by her sister - hmmm she takes after her mother Amy KK!) and Amy is holding Aleksa (called Ally most of the time)This might just be my favorite picture of the trip so far. Ally is a really good eater and pasta is her favorite food. I almost could not eat my own lunch because she was just so cute eating this! (Mitch this is at Madinat Jumeira where you and Jeremiah stayed).This is me skiing - so crazy that there is such a thing as indoor skiing - I was laughing pretty hard when I saw the exit sign at the top of the slope.I was painting with Ally and told her to go wash out her things in the sink. At first I couldn't find her but then realized she has her own special "sink" in UAE.This is me in front of the Emerates Palace (a 7 star hotel) in Abu Dhabi. Amy thought she lost me and I thought she was ignoring me but really it was just a delay in text messaging - phew I am safe.Me and Amy in front of the building where she and Brad lived in Abu Dhabi.Kaitlyn is SOOO CUTE. I love holding her and stealing her from her parents but then I feel bad that I am hogging her - but I can't help it.Ally and I were playing in this indoor Chucky-Cheese-type thing in one of the many malls (seriously there are more malls here than anywhere else in the world).This is me in Bastika - a Cultural Understanding area of Dubai that has been re-created to help visitors learn about the area. It was fun to wander around.Brad and KaitlynAlly and I had popcorn/movie night (while Brad and Amy went to youth group at church).A trip to Oman! This was very fun today. Here is Amy and Kaitlyn.Brad and Ally swimming - the water was cold but felt great.Me climbing through rock.Another cute Kellogg family picture.Ally putting Brad down for a nap . . . some things never change.

Ally's train track

Ally and I like to play with blocks and train tracks!
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My massage controls

I am so excited I got upgraded to business class for my international flight! These are the controls for my massage chair!
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Wine Tasting at Kelly's

My friend Kelly is an amazing hostess - she threw such a fun wine tasting party! I now have a nice list of wines that I like but wouldn't have known otherwise. And she didn't even mind when we dumped out the ones we didn't like. Her guests all got along really well so that was nice. I especially enjoyed talking to her sister Stacie.

Linnea in WI!

I love it that Linnea's parents have a lake house in South Central WI. Not only is a beautiful location it is also really nice to be able to see Linnea and her whole family for their yearly summer reunion.

It was so nice to see Corinne, Sophia, Theo, Mason, Clark, the parents and spend time out on the water. But my FAVORITE ever is catching up with Linnea. Her "And THEN . . ." stories are awesome. And I will say it is encouraging to also hang out with a single female - so refreshing after my case of Elijahitis.

Bike Ride with Erin and Eric

After all the storms cleared up from Friday night Erin, Eric and I headed out for a nice laid back bike ride along the path that traces the south side of Pewaukee and Nashota Lakes. Very nice!
Okay, so maybe it wasn't that laid back. Erin had to be a little dramatic after we got back!

DTW

So today it dawned on me that although I've been through the Detroit airport many times, I had never actually left it ... Until today. Super weird.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of Detroit. One of our taxi drivers was a little wacko and I am pretty sure I would not have ridden anywhere with him if my co-workers weren't with me.

I am glad to be going home!

My Mosaic!

This was an idea from Christian's Blog.

1. My Wild Arts Bridge/Mon Pont des Arts!!! :))), 2. Avacado, 3. Brookfield_Academy_Holiday_program_2003_003, 4. ♫ YO Yo yo, there's no place like a green penthouse... so i told the genie i wanted to be well hung. ^o^ ♫ nah... wildlife from singapore♫, 5. The Pianist, 6. llibreria - bookstore - Amsterdam - HDR, 7. Sunset Wine3　　ice cream float:), 8. For you / Para vosotras (Sant Jordi), 9. Épave*, 10. Giza, 11. Golden Fortress, 12. The Birth of Color

1. What is your first name? Sarah

2. What is your favorite food? avacados

3. What high school did you go to? Brookfield Academy

4. What is your favorite color? green

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jim Brickman (piano player)

6. Something you collect? books

7. Favorite dessert? ice cream

8. Favorite flowers? rose (hey it's my middle name)

9. What do you love most in life? learning new things

10. One Word to describe you. intense

11. Dream vacation? Egypt

12. Your favorite holiday. Passover

Here's how you do it:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions above into Flickr Search.

b. Pick an image you like of the ones that pop up.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.(make sure your mosaic is 3 columns, 4 rows)

d. Right click on your mosaic and save it to photobucket, or your favorite hosting place.e. Share it on your blog! The mosaic maker gives you the html to put under the mosaic on your blog so all of the links will show up.

4th of July in Tennessee

I spent the 4th of July just outside Nashville, TN at a Bible Conference. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet some great new people.

Here is Lyndsey who I stayed with (Mike, Laura, and the kids too).

Here is my whole family that was there. (Me, Dad, Katie, Mom, Mike, David, and Laura)