Vacation Update!

Vacation!
So, here are some of the photos that I took while in Florida. I didn't get as many as I wanted to because my battery died and I didn't bring the charger, but I got some really good ones. I'm so glad that I was able to get a few group shots. See below for the photos and comments!

This photo was taken in Tennessee. Kentucky, Tennessee & Colorado are the most beautiful states I have ever been too. In about 10 hours, you can make it from where I live in IL, to Tennessee. It's a wonderful drive!

Here's a picture of the windshield. Look closely and you can see all the bug guts ;0) Ha, ha... it's so gross. It is really cool to see the rock wall on one side and all the greenery on the other side. The drive down was awesome. We made it in 18 hours!!

Picture of my Dad ;0) I think the 4 of us girls drove him crazy!! Ha, ha... poor guy!!!

My Step-Mom Janet reading the map & watching a movie.


Jackie is the I-Pod THIEF (j/k)!!! Ha, ha... we listened to my I-Pod at first, and then I just gave it to her (or she took it over, not sure which, LOL) but I could only listen to so many oldies, and Jackie is an oldies junkie! LOL!! She did really, really good. I think my parents are going to get her an I-Pod after this trip. She really loved that thing and it kept her so busy.

Me & Bean (Kelly, isn't she adorable?). This was taken on day number 2 in the van. We're almost there! Yeah!!

Before we met up with the rest of the family, we made a detour stop at Typhoon Lagoon. It is a water park located inside Disney, but seperate from Disney World. It was so much fun, this photo was taken after we got back in the van and we were heading back to our hotel.

Above is the resort we stayed at for a week. It's a time share that my parents have along with my uncle, he has one too. This is the view from my parents balacony. You can see the pool and the ocean behind it. We were told that they caught a 9 foot shark about 1 month ago right outside this hotel, so I only went in the ocean 2 times.

Here is the whole family ;0) Most of the time we cooked dinner at the resort. Each of the rooms had a full kitchen, so we grocery shopped and cooked right in our rooms. This night however, we went out to Gators. We go here every year.

This is all of my cousins (well minus Kelly, Jackie & Lisa because they are under 21). Monday night we all went to the bar that is down the street. They had a jukebox that had any type of music you could imagine. We sat there and listened/danced to music all night. It was so fun ;0) Trish & Brooke, if you look close, I'm having BOLIVES!!!! LOL!!!!

Another photo of all of us from that night. Me, my cousins: Steph, Missy behind her, Jeff in the blue & Justin in the red.

The 3 girls! This was taken right before we left to go back to the hotel at about 1:30am.

This man is a state volunteer to rescue baby sea turtles. He goes to the beach in the morning and the late afternoon to dig up nests that have already hatched to see if he can find anymore baby turtles that were not strong enough to make it on their own. He does this only by volunteer.

Once he finds the turtles, he puts them in a bucket and lets them go in the evening (after dark). On average there are between 80-100 eggs per nest. The nests are about 3-4 feet under the sand. They have the cutest flippers and were climbing all over each other. Very adorable!!

Here's the whole tribe: (front sitting L-R) Aunt Karen, Uncle Bob, Aunt Kathy & Uncle Milan
(back sitting L-R) Sister Kelly, Mom Janet
(standing L-R) Cousin Steph, Sister Jackie, Me, Cousin Lisa, Cousin Melissa, Cousin Jeff, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Chuck, Cousin Justin and Dad Kurt.
That's everyone!!

I had to save this photo for last. This is Jackie showing her gangsta face!!! LOL!!! She has "tude" and knows how to use it ;0) Ha, ha...

So much fun!!! Thank you so much again Mom & Dad for inviting me and paying for everything! It was awesome!!!

I'm Baaa...aaack.

Hi Ya'll!!!
I'm back (just got in this evening), but exhausted. I have a bunch to tell you and I can't wait... but I really, really, really need sleep. Here's a picture to tie you over. I had SO MUCH FUN!!! It was a blast. I promise to post more later.

Here is a photo of everyone that was at West Palm Beach, FL.

Oh... and I have read everyones blogs... love it... love it... everyone has posted so much!!! I didn't have a chance to respond yet... I'm SO sorry. I promise to in a few days. I have a lot of catching up to do... I really enjoyed reading them all though!!

Love you guys!!

Vacation...

I will be in sunny Florida for two weeks. We leave tomorrow morning (Sunday). Steve has to stay behind :*( I wish he could come, but starting a new job... he couldn't get the time off. I hope he's going to be ok, with his back going out and all, but he's been a lot better the last couple of days. He's sooo awesome about me going. I would hate it if the situations were reversed. Although I would do the same for him, he's been really cool about it. He's very supportive. It's basically a free vacation for me, because my parents drive, and I'm just tagging along. It's really nice!

Above is what I have been doing for last couple of weeks. We have one wall to still finish (and it's really, really high) painting and then we are done with the whole downstairs. I wanted to get the kitchen finished before I left for FL, it came out beautiful! I really like the colors. We did a pale peanut color for majority of the down stairs, and for the kitchen and one accent wall we did a "southern wood" color. That's the actual name. LOL.

Ok, I'll see you guys in 2 weeks!

Hmm...

So... we had a fun day today!

Steve threw out his back this morning by walking... and we had to go to the hospital (so he could get his back scanned). His boss kinda demanded it, so that's a very good thing!

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Well, ever since this morning, Steve has been in excruciating pain. The doctors told us that he pinched a nerve and would be better after a few days. He is off of work until Monday. He goes back to the doctor then and we will find out if he can go back to work or not. He is in an awful lot of pain for just a slipped disk. I don't know if it's supposed to be this painful, but I know Steve can take a lot of pain, and he's hurting right now. If this means anything, the Viacidin that they perscribed isn't helping.

Other than that, we are watching the movie "National Treasure". If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It is very good. I'm not sure if the history is correct (like the markings on a $100 bill), but I like it.

This is just a funny picture of my sister Jackie. This was when we first moved into our house and she spent the night, the night before. She doesn't sleep over at other peoples houses very well, so when Steve woke up really early to start getting stuff done, Jackie got up with him. She & Steve spent the whole morning (from 5:30am on) unloading the garage. Kelly & I got up a little later. This is a picture of that afternoon when she feel asleep on the couch because she was so exhuasted. I thought it was so cute!!! Thank you to Jackster & Kelly Bean for all your help!! Dad & Mom too. You guys were all such a big, big help!!!

Ok, have a good night!

Illinois...

I just wanted to make a quick comment and let you know (incase you have lived here and didn't know or forgot what it was like) or to let you know incase you haven't lived in Illinois before that the tempertature today was a wonderful summer temperature of 85 degrees.

Now you might ask why this might be something so special to make a whole post about it.... well, let me finish my post by saying...

IT WAS 100% HUMIDTY!!! Holy moly!!!

Just thought I would share with you ;0)

New House!

Here are the pictures of our new house. We moved in just a little over a week ago. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom w/ a basement.

The Front

Kitchen

Living/Family Room

Living Room w/ Dining Room Behind it. The dining room is right next to the kitchen.

Downstairs Bathroom

Basement: The puddle is from when we had the water softner installed.

Laundry Room: It's on the first floor, right next to the den & downstairs bathroom.

Den: Soon to be computer room.

Garage: Very messy, to go along with our messy house. Ha, ha...

Master Bedroom: We still need to get the corner hutch back from my Mom's. She is storing it for us.

Upstairs Bathroom: Rubber Ducky ;0)
This bathroom is upstairs between the 2 spare bedrooms. It's a jack-&-jill bathroom.

Another Picture of 2nd Bathroom: Here you can see through, I'm standing in one bedroom, looking through to the other bedroom, through the bathroom.

Back Yard: Standing at the side of our house.

Back of House: The back of our house.

Ok, I think that is everything ;0) I hope you can come visit soon, we would love to have you over!!

Drive-In!

Hi!
So, we just went to the drive-in with Kelly & Jack and saw Cars and then following that we say X-Men 3. It started to rain when we first got there, but cleared up by the time the first movie started.

Cars was really cute! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. You were right Amy, Larry The Cable Guy does totally steal the show! He was hillarious.

Now, I'm not normally a sequials fan, and I know that I really liked X-Men 2 when it came out, so I wasn't expecting much for X-Men 3. I do have to say that I did enjoy it very much! I would recommend this one too.

I love going to the drive-in and here is why:
- You get to bring all the snacks & drinks you want.
- You get to see 2 movies for less than the price of one in a normal theatre.
- You have more privacy, so if you are with someone that likes to talk through movies, you are not really disturbing anyone around you.
- They are usually later on in the evening and you get to wear you PJ's.

It's a really fun time!

Hair Cut Photo

Here's a recent picture of my hair cut. Kelly & I were playing around with my Mom's camera and this is one of the pictures we took. Just thought I would post it so you could see what it looks like.

Jackster... The Laundry Police!!

I'm trying to do laundry, and Jackie is taking over! She won't let me do one load of laundry or fold it by myself. I just folded 3 shirts and was going to put them away, when she went refolded them, and put them away before I could do it. If the dryer goes off, she is standing at the door waiting. She when I go to get the laundry out, she is staring at me like I don't know what I am doing.

It's very funny!!

Bought A House!!

So... we finalized the paperwork today and bought a house! It's in Plainfield, IL (yes, where they have all the tornadoes) and is really starting to grow (the town that is). It's a two story home, with a family room, kitchen, dining room, den and three bedrooms. It's brand new, which is nice because it's a blank slate that we can do anything to. Steve was hoping for something he could fix up (he has been really wanting to do this), but this was just too good to pass up. I feel a little bad for him, because I think the home projects would be really fun to do together, and he was hoping to learn how to do them.

Let me know anytime you would like to come and stay, you are more than welcome!!! I would love it if you could come!!! :)

Here's a picture of the outside.

Chop ... Chop ... More Chop ...

I haven't had a chance to take a photo yet, but here is how my hair now looks. It's kinda short, really cute & super duper easy to do! I love it!!!

I was able to stay away from my Mom for over 2 weeks, but she got ahold of me today ;0) It was really fun! Ha, ha, thanks so much Mom for doing my hair today!!!

Ok, Ok... they're comming...

Graduations!! Here are the pictures you have been asking about from last weekend.

Jackie's Graduation!!!
Was on Saturday at her high school. It was a very awesome morning, becuase it was cloudy and cool. Here are the pics.

Jackie as she was walking back from the ceremony.


Grandpa Graetz waiting for Jackie & all of us to finish our photos. He had a special attachment to Jackie's Hat ;0)


My Parents with Jackie (Janet, Jackie & my Dad)


My Grandparents (Janets Parents: Grandpa, Jacker & Grandma)


Me & the Jackster!


Close up of the cuttie patootie!


DONIKA'S GRADUATION!!
Nika graduated on Sunday, her ceremony was at the high school as well and was in the middle of the afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny/hot day, and I nearly died ;0) I don't know how the seniors did it in those hot gowns. It was about 98 degrees and very humid. Here are her photos.


Throwing of the hats.


Nika right after the ceremony.


Right before we went out to dinner. (Nika, Me, my Mom & my Aunt Helma).


During dinner. We ate at Oakbrooke, a restaurant called Anti-pasto. (Mom, Aunt Helma & Me).


Scuba Steve, Me & Nika!


Ok, that's the photos. Love you guys! Post again soon! We are busy house hunting, there is a lot to look at, so I apologize in advance for neglecting. I have a lot of calls to return and I am SO, SO sorry!!!!!!

Updates ...

So... we have been in IL for just over a week now. Here is what we have been up to.

We finally, after a 39 hour drive (straight through) arrived at my Dad's house Monday at 1:30am. We went straight to be because we were both exhausted. After we slept for a few hours, we got up and started to unload the moving truck. That was all unloaded (with the help from some of my family members) by about 4pm. That was so nice to have it all unpacked and done, it was such a relief. Steve also got a call from his IL boss asking him if he could start work on Tuesday because they were so behind, and they would give him Friday off to get himself moved from Missouri. So, the very next morning (Tuesday) Steve got up and went to his new job in Joliet, IL for the very first time. He was nervous, but he really liked working there better. The people he worked with were much more "chicago-ized" as Steve says. He says the guys that he works with are very much like his uncles (say CUBS & DA-BULLS) etc.

Wednesday, I went and visited with my Mom and saw her for a little bit. We didn't do much, just relaxed and spent time together. We went to lunch at Chilis also. I took her out for Mother's Day.

Thursday, I went over to my Mom's a little bit again, we ended up running some errands and my Mom gave Jackie a hair cut. Thursday evening, Steve & I left after he got off of work, and drove to St. Louis, MO to pack up his things he had in his apartment. We pretty much drove down there on Thursday, and went straight to bed. I was tired from driving and Steve was working all day, plus tired from me nagging him to stay awake!

Friday, Steve had to finish up his paperwork at his MO IGT job and I had to go find a vacuume (since mine broke in NV right when we were leaving). I then picked Steve up from work and we drove to his brothers house (2 hours south of St. Louis). He lives in a really cool area called Marble Hill. He has about 10 acres, a pond and a really cool race track. It's really neat. He was storing the trailer and quad while Steve lived in the apartment. We picked that up and drove the 2 more hours north to pack up the apartment. We didn't end up getting that done until 11:30pm Friday night.

Saturday, we got in about 4:30am and slept a few hours, until I got up to attend Jackie's graduation. Let me say that again... she graduated HIGH SCHOOL!! I can't believe how BIG she is... it's amazing. She did really good, she got her "certificate" because she needs to finish out her schooling at E.C.C. before she can get her diploma. It's just that her program at Streamwood High ended for as far as Jackie could go there. She will be attending summer school this year, just like always and then start college in the fall. After the graduation, we went to Applebeas and had a graduation lunch where Jackie proceeded to hug the door greater... she was so excited. Later on Saturday night, Anna, Tash & Nicole came over to visit for a bit. I almost feel asleep (due to the 3 hours of sleep) and went to bed early.

Sunday, I traveled to Bellwood, IL to pick up my Aunt Helma so we could all attend the graduation of my other sister Donika. That was really fun too, it was just really hot. She looked beautiful! After the incredibley hot ceremony, we went to dinner at some italian place in Oakbrooke that I couldn't pronounce if I tried. It was really, really good. Drove everyone home and started to organize the basement after we got back home.

Monday (Happy Memorial Day), Steve & I stayed in and organized the basement a little. We were tired of not being able to find anything. We had clothes & dishes all put in one box, so we redid all that and put a lot of things away. It was nice to finally be able to find my PJ's again. LOL.

That's pretty much all that has happened the past week. It's been very busy, so I apologize if I have not been good about keeping you up to date. Hopefully in the next few weeks it will slow down. This week & next we will be house hunting around the Joliet area. If you are reading this from NV, I miss you tons and I hope to hear from you soon! If you are reading this from IL, I miss you tons and I hope to see you soon ;0)

With Love,
Sara

PS - I promised you pictures, but they are still in my camera, I promise to post them very soon. There were some really cute ones!

Surprise...

So, my all of my friends threw me a suprise going away party, well tried to make it a surprise... sorry about that again. It was so much fun (even though I found out before hand) I had a BLAST!! Here are some pictures from the party. It was Hawaiian themed. Some of the activities included (but not limited to): eating, drinking, talking, lots of laughing, hula hooping, limboing, pictionary and sharades. It was fun! Thank you SO much to everyone that helped out and a special thanks to Brooke & Trish for planning & hosting it! I wish I had more pictures to share, my camera messed up some of them.

I know that I don't update my blog that often, but I am going to try really hard to keep it up. Here's the catch, I won't be able to update it for about a week. I have to take apart the computer tomorrow and then we leave on Saturday. So I should be able to update mid next week. I'll post and let you know how the move went. I'll talk to you soon!

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Love,
Sara

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NOTE: So my computer won't let me upload anymore pictures. So I am going to put it on a new post. This is so weird why it's acting this way... dumb computer...