5 on Friday

1. We had a fun dinner out with friends followed by hanging out at our place last Friday night. It was a perfect evening.

2. Nick and I had date night with wine and cheese on Saturday night after the girls had gone to bed.  My kind of date!  We had a family night earlier in the evening with cheese, crackers and a little Toy Story.

3. With all of the heat, we have been staying inside a lot.   I makes for wound-up, emotional little girls.   I am hoping for some nicer weather in the near future so we can play outside again.

4. My friend had her baby girl on Monday.   I had the pleasure of visiting them on Tuesday night.  Aggie is a doll, and I loved being able to cuddle with a tiny baby again!  Despite people telling her Mom and Dad that she is a big baby (8 lbs. 5 oz.) she is still smaller than Ellie and Neve were at birth.

5.  I cannot believe it is almost September!  September is busy for us, so I am going to enjoy the relaxing extended weekend before the craziness begins.

5 on Friday

1.  Nick and Ellie had a camp-out in the backyard with the neighbor girl and her dad on Friday night.  They had a little fire, made s'mores, and stayed up late.  They had a great time.   I was shocked that Ellie made it all the way to 5:30 AM before she woke up and wanted to go inside.   Of course she was up for the day at that time.   The girls wanted to camp-out again the next night... the dad's said not for a while.

2. We had a fun group bike ride/dinner/play-time with friends on Saturday afternoon.  The weather was beautiful and it was great to be outside.

3. Ellie started dance class on Wednesday!   She was really excited and looked so cute in her little pink outfit.   She came out of class with a huge smile on her face and has been showing us her first position ever since.

4. I found Hawkeye clothes for the girls!  Pro Image at Valley West Mall.   Lots to choose from.  A little more difficult to find matching clothes in size 18-24 mos. and 5/6.  I was wearing a UNI shirt and the guy behind me at the checkout line commented that I was going to confuse Ellie with the Iowa outfit and my UNI shirt.  I explained that I graduated from both places, but also grew up in Ames where two sets of her grandparents live.  He said that was even more confusing.  

5. Neve's day-care teacher commented that she thought she was going to be a tomboy because she is a little rougher than the other girls and holds her own (or is the pack leader) with the boys.   I agree that she is a feisty, but she also loves wearing dresses/jewelry and playing house with her babies.   It is interesting to see her personality develop.

5 on Friday

1. Back in November, my college roommate's little baby was diagnosed with cancer.   Prayers Requested  On Friday night Bradley lost his battle with cancer.   Please keep Elissa and Ed (and their family) in your prayers.  They need all the prayers can get to get through this difficult time.

2. Saturday morning we hit up the Farmer's Market with Grandma and Grandpa Thorson (Nick's mom and step-dad)!  The girls loved having Grandma and Grandpa join them for the adventure.

3. On Tuesday we participated in Farm Bureau's Day at the Fair.   If you asked Ellie what she was going to do at the fair she would respond, "eat."   And eat she did: cookies, a hot dog and ice cream (along with some of Mommy's fried pickles and Daddy's fried zucchini)!   The girls also petted a horse.

4. Before we hit up the Fair we made a quick stop at "The Bike Shop" aka Rasmussen's Bike Shop in West Des Moines to see "Ellie's Favorite Person" Greg (the owner).   Greg gave Ellie a real treat when she got her very own Rassy's t-shirt.  Just like the ones the shop staff wears and Daddy has.  She told me that the shirt would be dirty because she was going to wear it all the time.   Reason's she is my kid: she likes clothes.  Reason's she is Nick's kid: she likes bike stuff.

5.  On Wednesday the girls and I hit up the mall in search of Dallas Cowboys and Iowa Hawkeye's t-shirts for the girls.   We came up with next to nothing.  I did get the girls Iowa shirts for them to wear to day-care on Friday, but found nothing for Cowboys and nothing matching for them to wear on Saturdays (because I really like it when they match).   Somehow I managed to find Cowboys shirts on-line (from 2 different websites of course) that match and will work (gender neutral so I will put it with a skirt).   Still on the hunt for matching Iowa gear.  My friend gave me a couple leads, so I may check those out this weekend.  There really is an untapped market for Hawkeye gear in size 5-7 for little girls...  and if any of you readers decide to go into business in that area let me know--- I will be your first customer.

5 on Friday

1. On Saturday we visited our friends, the Vodenik's, in Boone.  We were able to see their new house, which is perfect for them, and spend some relaxing (if you can say that with 4 girls 4 and under) with them.  It had been way too long, and as always I love watching the girls play together!

2. On Sunday we had our friends over for dinner!   It was like any other night at our house, playing outside with the neighbors, dinner and playing outside again.   Matt, Angie and Henry fit in perfectly, and I think the kids had fun.  We cannot wait for the end of the month when they add another little one into the mix.

3. We smoked ribs on the smoker on Sunday.  I did the smoker part and Nick did the grilling part.  I was pretty proud of the end result given it was our first time!  Smoked ribs, fresh zucchini muffins, corn on the cob and fruit pasta salad.   Definitely a perfect summer-time dinner!

4. I ordered a little closet system to help me organize Ellie's closet, then purchased a few shelves to install as well.  I am so excited!   Once we figure out if we love Ellie's new closet (and if it is functional for her) we will move onto Neve's.   I just couldn't stand the basic one level wire shelf that came with the house.   Not functional for a small child at all, and everything was getting a little disorganized for me!  Oh how I am enjoying my free time.

5. What a busy week.   Monday night I had "Kara Night" and watched the Bachelorette Finale.  Tuesday night Nick has a CITA board meeting.  Wednesday night Nick biked.  Thursday night I had a work dinner.   We are ready for our day off today, and in need of a little family time... at Adventureland!

5 on Friday

1. We started Saturday off with a trip to the zoo with the Beltman and Steffan families.   The weather was absolutely perfect and we got to the zoo right when it opened so the crowds were minimal.   Ellie was able to ride the camel and Nick and Ellie fed the giraffe!   We had a great time and wrapped it up with a picnic in the parking lot before heading home for nap-time.

2. After nap-time on Saturday we went to the neighborhood block party!  It was a great turnout and the kids loved the firetruck and ice cream truck that stopped by after dinner.   Have I/we told you this week how much I love our neighborhood?  You probably get tired of hearing it, but I/we really lucked out on the people that live near us.

3. On Sunday we made a last minute trip to Bass Pro Shop to buy a smoker!   I have been asking Nick to get one for a while and we finally did!   Nick smoked up some chicken and pork chops on Tuesday night.  We had the chicken last night and the pork chops are on the menu for tonight's dinner.   They were a little dry, but the flavor was amazing.   A little adjustment to the cooking time and we should be perfect.

4. I cannot believe it is August already!  Where has the summer gone?   At least our August is a little less busy than June and July, although it is filling up quickly.

5. I am going to be an aunt again!   My sister is due in January with her second little one!  I think it will be a boy, but am sort of hoping for a girl so I can pass down large amount of baby girl clothes we have.

Results

- 351 hours of studying (this year alone and on top of working full-time)
- thousands of practice question completed (seriously, thousands)
- more notecards than I care to remember (although they were color coordinated by section)
- having to tell Ellie I was studying and could not play with her countless times
- giving up spending time with my husband so I could have a little more time with the girls
- studying over my work lunch hour... every day
- 6 hours of actual testing time
- 120 official test questions
- 1 day
- pass or fail result

And on Tuesday I received an e-mail saying I had passed the Level II CFA exam.

RELIEF. 

SATISFACTION. 

HAPPINESS. 

THANK GOODNESS.

I may be crazy, but I am already signed up for the Level III CFA exam on June 7, 2013.   At least it there are only three exams, so I am 2/3rds of the way through earning the CFA designation.  Wish me luck.

Did I mention the pass rate for the Level II exam was 43%?  I was in the minority.

5 on Friday

1.  This week Neve came down with a severe allergic reaction to the MMR vaccination she received on the 11th.   The reaction usually takes 7-10 days to appear (right on track with our experience).  It was bad enough that we had two doctors looking at her and had to have immediate blood tests.   The doctors prescripted steroids and benedryl and had us monitor her and check in for the next couple of days.   After 6 hours of medicine we could already see a huge improvement.  While the rash is still there, it is on the med and our happy baby has returned.

2. On Saturday we celebrated Liam's 2nd birthday (a day early) with a trip to the zoo.   We have a pass to the zoo, but had yet to make it there.   We had a blast and can not wait to go back (which just to happens to be in the plans for tomorrow).

3. Nick enjoyed two days of riding this week.   Tuesday he joined a couple friends on RAGBRAI and Wednesday he booked 52 miles of gravel riding near town.  The girls and I enjoyed having him home on Wednesday night!

4. On Tuesday I received the results to the CFA Level II exam I took on June 1st.   I passed!  More on that later.

5. Neve has started saying Ellie's name, although it sounds like "Ella."  Either way, she is really proud of herself and it has quickly become her new favorite word!  I just love the relationship those two have with each other.