Busy Day

We had a really fun and very full day today. Nicole and Kyle were here and we had a good time hanging out together, playing and shopping. The boys started off the morning in their cute matching jammies, eating bananas. As you might guess...or not...Jack ate a banana and a half while Kyle ate a nibble or two. 

After only an only slightly successful attempt at early naps we headed out for Monkey Joe's. The boys had a blast and we had only a few minor injuries. Nicole scratched Jack's head...way to go Nicole. :-) I got a floor burn on my elbow and I almost kicked Kyle in the face when I went down the slide illegally, on my belly instead of my butt. And yes, we did get "yelled" at by the referee people. Below are a bunch of pictures of the boys playing together, which as you know, I love.

I love this picture. They were jumping together and cracking up.

It is super fun to walk down the crocadile's back. They did this over and over and over again.

Kyle on the dragon.

Here's Kyle going down the slide.

This is illegal, but we let him do it anyway.

Woosh!

Jack getting reading to slide.

After Monkey Joe's Kyle had a haircut and Jack had a dr. appointment. Jack's appointment went really well. He weighed in at an astonishing 17 pounds 15 ounces. 3 months ago he was only 15 pounds 13 ounces. So from 12-15 months he only gained 9 ounces but from 15-18 months he gained 2 pounds 2 ounces!!!! Holy cow, that is awesome for him. One of his best weight gains. The doctor and I were super impressed. And he is 29 and 1/4 inches tall. He grew almost 2 inches! So this is all great and you might be thinking wow, he's getting big, surely he's on the charts now. But no, he's still not on the charts, though he did get closer. The rest of the appointment was fine. Jack showed off to the doctor and really turned on the charm and other than the four shots we ended with it was a pretty fun appointment. After that we picked up Kyle with his spiffy new haircut (and Nicole) and did a little shopping. I think that's all for now.  

Tuesday Ramblings

Going to Jack's 18 month dr. appointment tomorrow afternoon. I'm super excited to see if he's gained much weight. I know for sure he's gotten taller again, but with Jack the weight is always questionable. I'm guessing he's around 16 1/2 pounds. So we'll see. Also Nicole and Kyle are coming this afternoon. They'll just be here until tomorrow afternoon, but it will be fun to hang out with them. Not sure what we're doing tomorrow, but I'm sure we'll go out and do something fun. Last night I tried a new recipe for creamy sweet pototoe soup. I wasn't sure what it would be like but the results were far less than satisfactory. I'm hoping something was wrong, because otherwise that is just a bad recipe. I don't often throw food out, but this got dumped down the drain. I'm thinking I just didn't have enough sweet potatoes. Perhaps I'll try it again some other time. Oh yeah, and earlier today Jack was practicing his jumping. I'm happy to report that I could slide a piece of paper under his feet on a few of his attempts. Probably a very few number of times before today has he actually gotten air, but today it was multiple times. He fell a lot too, but he doesn't mind. Like I said,, 18 months and watch out! :-)

Picture Add On to Previous Post

A few pictures from playing at Aunt Nicole and cousin Kyle's house. I told you about this day a few weeks ago in the post Back in Palatine.

Little Architect

Jack built his first true tower today! I am so excited. I have been trying to get him to figure out blocks for a while now, and while I knew he had the ability to place one block on top of another, he was always much more interested in knocking towers down than building them up. But today, for the first time I'm aware of, he actually made a tower of more than two blocks. It stood for about 2 seconds before Jack "The Wrecking Ball" knocked it over, but he did it! And then he did it again and again. You could totally tell that he was putting thought into it too, at least sometimes. I get so proud when he does new things. I think it'll be a lot of fun to see him explore his newfound architectural skills.

Building.

Destroying.

Also, Jack is 18 months old today! (Have you noticed I like exlamation points? I don't always know how else to express my excitement.) I'm not sure what all 18 months means, but I have a feeling the next 6 months will be full of lots of learning. I think I've heard that between 18 and 24 months kids tend to do a lot of changing. So I guess we'll see.

The Past Week

Well our first week of one nap days is over and we survived. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for Jack to get used to this. We had our fair share of sleep related meltdowns and a couple of spontaneous naps while out and about. One day I even spent driving around trying to get him to take the longest nap possible, since he fell asleep early while we were shopping. But overall I'd say we did alright.
In other news this week. Tuesday we had a small group social which was a lot of fun, but really caotic. We had 6 couples there which is the most we've ever had, one of whom we'd never met before. We played a version of the newlywed game and had a lot of good laughs. Thursday I had my first actual small group for my new class, Wife of Noble Character. I think that it will be good, but most likely it will be very convicting which means I have a lot of work ahead of me in the next year. Lord knows I need improvement in wifeliness.  Friday we had swim lessons and Jack continued to do great. His back floating still cracks me up and makes me proud. He always starts off with his feet sticking straight up. But he let his ears get in the water, which is the main goal, and eventually relaxed his legs and looked around with an amusing expression on this face. Friday night Megan and Brad came to visit. Megan was playing viola in a wedding up this way, so they decided to spend the evening and Saturday with us. It was a lot of fun to hang out with them. We introduced them to Settlers of Catan and went down to Frontera Grill with them for lunch today. The chef/owner is Rick Bayless, the winner of last season "Top Chef". I'm not really a huge Mexican fan, but the food was really good and it was a fun little dining experience and of course great time with friends.

Answered Prayer

Evangaline is going home! Thanks for your prayers.

In other news. As you may know from talking to me or checking Facebook, I moved Jack to one nap this week. So far he's doing ok with it, though as expected there is definitly an adjustment period. He's had several random meltdowns this week that I know have to be related to this. Hopefully after a couple weeks he'll have the new routine figured out and hopefully he'll take at least two hour naps each day. But that's probably wishful thinking. I think more likely, I need to figure out how to fill all this new time we have. But I'm sure we'll figure it out.

Anwered Prayer

She's doing better! Here's an update from Evangaline's mommy.
"Last night was big for Evangeline - she went the whole night with a temp of about 99.5 and this morning we think it finally broke as she just temped at 98.1!!!! She also has been eating throughout the night and just finished her strongest feeding! She is off the oxygen which I know she loves because she was starting to pull the tubes out of her nose, and she is down to 5 cc of fluids instead of 20. If she continues feeding and stays healthy after being weaned off fluids we will get to go home today!! She is looking so much better, much like her "old" self and we are just so relieved and thankful, knowing that a newborn beating the flu is no simple thing.

We will keep you updated, especially if she gets to go home today! (Mommy really wants to go home as she hasn't seen the outside of a hospital room in a few days now)

God is good and I am so certain that it has been all of your prayers that has brought her through this. We were in a very desperate situation and knowing that so many were lifting her up was one of the biggest sources of comfort for us. Join us in praising God and hopefully the next and last time I write it will be from our own home.

Jon and Kirsten"

Baby Evangaline

Today I'm taking up a different topic for my blogging. I have a friend who could really use as many prayers as they could get right now. Meghan (a good friend of mine) has a brand new baby niece which is so exciting. However, little Evangaline, who is only a week or so old, is back in the hospital with what seems to be H1N1. Evangaline could really use your prayers as she tries to fight  this virus and her parents could really use your prayers as they are exhausted and frustrated and scared. I can't imagine having my newborn quarantined in a hospital at only 10 days old. Check out Meghan's blog for more details and please say a prayer for this precious life. http://kmcjohnson.blogspot.com/

Grandma & Grandpa Miller's House

While this past weekend was fun of a lot of fun, there was also a little bit of sadness.  We had to say goodbye to a home that is so special to Paul. I don't know how well I can speak for Paul on this, but I will try. Paul's maternal grandparents lived in Groveland for many years. Paul's great-grandfather built a small white house on the land they owned and then later helped Paul's grandfather build a slightly bigger house. The are both still standing on the property. Paul's mom grew up in that red house and on this land and Paul and his brother practically did too. They would go over to their grandparents after school and here they had many adventures and learned many things from their grandparents. I know the boys really treasure this time they had as boys. A little over a year ago Paul's grandfather went to be with the Lord and his grandma has been in a nursing home for years with no hope of leaving. So the past year Paul's parents have spent countless hours cleaning out these family homes. Last week the property and homes were put up for sale and within two days it had three offers and was sold. The closing is next week and this past weekend was our last time to visit. I know it was very sad for Paul to drive away that last time and I'm crying now thinking of all the memories that place holds for Paul and his family. Paul's grandparents were collectors of many things and cleaning out the place was not easy, nor was keeping up with the maintenance and the house itself is not in the greatest shape, but I know that despite all of that, this place will be greatly missed. As Paul's grandma said this weekend when I asked her how she was feeling about the sale "It has to be done, but I'm sad to see it go". Below are a few last snapshots of the place. We wanted to get some of Kyle and Jack in their great-grandparents home, since they will not remember it.

Kelly's Wedding

Here are a few pictures from the wedding we went to. You can see more at my picasa site.

Pumpkin Fest Weekend

I'm back home now and trying to catch up with my blogging. We had a very fun filled weekend and I feel like there is so much to share. Now let's just see if I remember everything. We went to the Pumpkin Festival three days in a row, which was so much fun. Paul got home from his two week trip Friday evening and joined us. Jack was so excited to see his daddy, and I was so excited to have my husband back again. Jack got to ride rides with his cousin Kyle on Thursday night and his cousin Hailey and Aunt Megan on Friday night. He rode the spinning pumpkins, the carousel, the motorcycles, the big slide, the train and his favorite the cars. The first night he was very unsure about it all. He was very serious on the rides and had a few moments of nervousness and also some tears at times. But he persevered and only had to be taken off of one ride, of which he turned around and got right back on. Friday night was better. I think he was more used to the idea of it all and he actual smiled and laughed on the rides. Friday night he ended up riding the cars three times and would cry every time the ride stopped. He was adorably cute and fun to watch. We ate dinner at the P-Fest two night and this too Jack really enjoyed. Perhaps I should have live music every night for dinner. He sat in his chair and danced along while he ate. At the end of every song, without fail, he would set everything down and clap enthusastically. He is a big supporter of musicians. The parade on Saturday was a lot of fun. Jack and Hailey had little candy bags that Nicole made for them. Jack liked to shake his to hear all the candy and then he'd stick his head in and grab a few pieces, hold them a minute and put them back in. He of course enjoyed the tractors and the sucker we let him eat. Saturday afternoon we drove over to Bloomington for a wedding. An old friend of mine from preschool/gradeschool got married and my whole family was invited. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and it was nice to see a few old friends. Jack and Hailey had a blast dancing at the reception. At one point they even danced together, which was seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen. I'm sure there are so many more things I could tell you about our weekend but then this post would go on for pages. One thing I can tell you though, I love seeing Jack play with his cousins, it makes my heart happy.

Here is a slideshow of pictures from the Pumpkin Festival.

Busy Few Days Coming

I think I've finally got all of our orange colored clothing packed. Looking forward to starting up Wife of Noble Character small group tomorrow and then heading down to Morton. Also really looking forward to seeing Paul Friday evening. That plus the Pumpkin Festival, a friends wedding and good family time and this weekend looks to be holding a lot of potential. Hopefully it lives up to my expectations.
And to those of you who expect me to update daily, I might have to take a few days off with all the activity going on, but you can be sure I'll update as soon as I get the chance.

The Pumpkin Festival Is Here

I am so excited for the Pumpkin Festival. It starts today and while I can't make it until tomorrow the excitement it definitly in the air. Yes, even in Palatine there is P-Fest excitement brewing. We're coming, Pete and Hannah will be there, Nate and Tanya, and even our friends Matt and Chanda are bringing their girls down on Saturday for some Pumpkin goodness. And Mortonites all over Facebook are talking about it. All of this causes me to wonder, why exactly do we love the P-Fest so much? It's a pretty darn good festival as festivals go. At least compared to what I've seen up here. But I don't think that's what draws crowds and brings people home every fall. I think it has a lot to do with nostalgia and food. The chance to see old friends and classmates and enjoy more pumpkin flavored foods than you realized existed.  And then of course there is one of the best drinks known to man. The apple cider slushie. So delicious. I even have my Uncle Bud's reusable cup to bring with me this year so I can get a discount on the slushies I'm sure to drink this weekend. It is always enjoyable to walk around the festival grounds with no plans to ride rides or play games but rather hoping to run into old familiar faces. And now as time goes on and families are born it's something special to bring your kids back home to where you grew up and let them enjoy what you once did. Riding the scrambler, going down the big slide, collecting candy from the parade, trying to find your matching MCB bank number, thinking about but never playing the arcade games and eating elephant ears, corn dogs, porkchops, pumpkin pancakes and of course apple cider slushies.

Monkey Joe's

We went to Monkey Joe's today with some friends of ours, Meghan (Caleb & Meredith) and Lisa (Coralyn). I really liked this place and expect to spend plenty of time there over the winter months. Depsite all the cool blow up structures with slides and obstacle courses and fun jumping opportunities, Jack was quite content to spend much of his time in the arcade area looking at the lights on the ski ball and dancing to the music being pumped out of one of the dancing games. With some prodding I got him to go back to the jumping and sliding. He was so cute at the end. He saw me pretend fall and thought it looked fun. So over and over again he would throw himself down on his back and bounce around while he laughed. He thought he was so funny, and he was. As Jack gets bigger, or at least taller this place will be more and more fun because he'll be able to actually climb by himself. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about this down the road.

Back in Palatine

We're back in Palatine now for a few days. Heading back down to Morton on Thursday for what's looking to be a wonderful Pumpkin Fest. We had a great afternoon running around Kevin and Nicole's backyard. It's nice to take advantage of other people's backyards and fun toys. Kyle got to cut his nap short to come out and play in the bounce house Nicole set up. It was a lot of fun just hanging out and watching the boys run around and play together. It was kinda fun to dream a little too. Their next door neighbor's house is for sale so Nicole and I talked about all the stuff we could do if we were neighbors and how fun it would be for the boys to grow up together. So of course once again, I'm all ready to move to Morton. And now I'm sitting here by myself in a quiet house with too much time to let my mind wonder. I think about all the reasons to stay here and all the reasons to move home. I miss Paul like crazy and wish I had some company as I contemplate doing dishes and laundry. Ah well, none of that will probably get done tonight. Instead I'll probably watch the new Jay Leno show while I feel a little sorry for myself even though I couldn't really tell you why and I know I have no good reason to feel that way.

Pictures from Saturday

We Won, I'm Exhausted

What an exhausting day. I played in the Marigold Festival volleyball tournament today. I think this might be my fourth year to play and it's usually a good time. Today was no exception, we got out to the courts around 8:30 and left around 4 or so. We played a lot of games, almost all of which were fun. Kyle and Jack got to check out the crafts with Grandma and Grandpa and the parade. Not surprisingly they enjoyed the tractors and the big trucks in the parade. We had lots of people out helping watch kids and hanging out. That's part of what I love so much about about this sort of thing I guess. Good family and good friends just hanging out, enjoying a beautiful day. The boys got to run around a lot which is fun for them. Jack found a few dirt piles he really liked and loved to look at the security guys sitting in their little cart like vehicles. He told a lot of stories to a lot of people, but no one knows what they were about, except possibly cars with a few jokes thrown in. He would jabber, jabber, jabber and then just giggle like he said the funniest thing. I have the cutest son. I promise I'm not biased or anything. He's just adorable. As for the volleyball playing that took place. I played with Mitch, Brad, Kevin, Pete and Veronica. It was the first time we played sixes in sand, we usually play fours. But after the first few games we figured things out and played much better than expected, most of the time. We won our pool and then after three long, three game matches we won the tournament. Seeing as most of us play volleyball about once a year (at this tournament) we were exhausted and reminded just how out of shape we are and how we aren't as young as we used to be. For the championship game we played a very boisterous team who had a lot of potential and even rowdier fans. They were not much fun to play against and probably the only team we would have been really upset to lose to. For anyone who plays volleyball, isn't it a standard rule that you can't touch the net? I always thought so, but these people weren't aware. They got in the net a lot and got really upset every time they got called on it. Then they claimed this wasn't a rule they used during pool play...huh? How can you play volleyball without using that rule? They also did a lot of lifting and illegal hits that were let slide. But man, they were frustrating. So anyway, we pulled it off and beat them, winning oursleves an oh so fabulous trophy.

Megan holding the hardware. She deserved it, she played well all day. Especially with the kids and she got my son to sleep. I think that deserves a trophy.

photos curtosy of Mr. Goers

So Paul is still my hero, but our computer is not actually fixed. It started going bad again this week while he was gone. So we got a new netbook and called in our friend Matt came to figure out what's wrong with the computer. It's probably a virus and it probably needs to be reformatted. Yuck!Today we spent our morning spinning and swimming at the Y. I really wish I enjoyed cardio excercise more, but that spin class is brutal. After complaining my way through spinning (sorry Chanda!) Jack and I went off to his swim lessons. He thought it was hilarious to splash me in the face. Every week we work on the same skills and it's fun to see him making progress. For the first time today he actually blew bubbles rather than just sticking his mouth in the water and drinking. He also did a really good job floating on his back, with his feet straight in the air of course. But he did let his ears get we which is the whole point of the excercise. Then when we worked on jumping in which he's starting to catch on to better also. He's my little stud.
And now we're in Morton staying with Paul's parents. Got to enjoy a little time with Megan and Nicole at the DQ. Tomorrow is our volleyball tournament so I should probably go and rest up.

I Can't Stop Laughing

We started our babysitting co-op thing yesterday. I am so excited about this and I'm happy to say that at least from my point of view our first attempt was a successful. However, I might have this point of view because I was not the one watching the children. Paul is out of town so we didn't get to have a date night or anything like that but, I did get to go play some sand volleyball which was a lot of fun and much more enjoyable when there are no kids needing to be watched over. Perhaps the best part of all though was when I went to pick up Jack from the Lyon's house. I walked in and Chanda asked if I wanted the good news or the bed news. What a great way to start out :-) Before she could hardly answer Jack walked around the corner wearing one of the girls robes. It was such a hysterical picture. The bad news was that he peed on his clothes after getting a bath and had nothing to wear (no big deal). It was so funny and he reminded me of so many people, namely Hugh Hefner and Moses. You just have to see this for yourself.

Autostitch 2

I gave this another try and used some of Nate and Tanya's pictures too, then I cropped it and did a smidge of editing. I think it's pretty cool, however, I do wish I had taken more pictures while I was there so that this could have been even better. Oh well, you live you learn.

Autostich Program

Paul sent me this link to download a trial of this program called autostitch. I thought it would be really hard, but it's actually really easy. I need to spend a little time on the Hoover Dam pictures to get them right but, aren't these cool? You just take a bunch of pictures from the same vantage point, open this program, select your pictures and whalah it puts them together. I wish I could go back to the Hoover Dam and get some more pictures.

The Tidal Basin in Washington DC, from the Jefferson Memorial

Hoover Dam from the top

Hoover Dam from the Nevada side

Lake Mead from a lookout area

Yay!

Paul's my hero. He fixed the computer. Seems as though I screwed it up somehow. And we finally closed on the refinancing last week. We only started that in March or so (heavy sarcasm). The dude in charge did a terrible job and I could go one for a while about him, but instead I'll just be glad that it's over.

Jack Loves His Daddy

Jack must have some sort of sixth sense to know when Paul is going on a trip soon. He was such a daddy's little boy today which was sweet. At church while I was getting my baby fix holding Kalliah, Paul was holding Jack and talking to Pete. Jack kept getting in Paul's face and Paul kept moving it so he could keep talking. Finally, Jack grabbed Paul's face with both hands and planted a kiss on his lips, pacifier and all! So cute and funny. Lunch was pretty entertaining too. We got Wendy's on our way home from church and my plan was to split my crispy chicken sandwich (yum, I love these!) with Jack. I cut a fourth of it up for him and sat down to eat my portion. Jack set his bowl down and came and picked up my sandwich. Then he took it over to where Paul was sitting and sat down next to him. He proceeded to eat the entire sandwich like a big boy right by daddy. Then he crawled up on Paul's lap and shared his pillow table while they both finished the rest of their lunches. It was so funny to see the two of them with that pillow. Unfortunately, for Jack I don't think the pillow has enough life in it to be around long enough to be Jack's pillow instead of Paul's pillow. 

Later in the afternoon we got to play a little sand volleyball. It was a blast. I wish we could play every weekend. Looking forward to the tournament this weekend!

The Painted Swimmer

I'm happy to report that yesterday was a much better day! Unfortunately, our computer is having some major issues and we can't get online right now. I think it probably has a virus and I'm not sure when it will get fixed. So for now I have Paul's computer, but he leaves Monday for two weeks so hopefully we get it figured out soon! 

Yesterday Jack started swimming lessons at the Y again. He took them in the spring and enjoyed them so we're back. I moved him up to the next age group even though he's not really old enough. In this class they get to wear swim belts to help them gain a little independence. The belt barely gets small enough to stay around him and if he lifts his arms up I get a little nervous he'll fall right through. Other than that he seems to love the older class. He doesn't mind wearing the belt and he even "floated" on his back for a minute (with my help) which he's never done before. I was so proud of him! We're in class with Chanda and Elena which is fun too. In the afternoon I set up a little art studio for Jack on the deck. I covered the deck with tarps and plastic and put out paper and finger paints. I was really excited about it, but I wasn't sure if Jack would be. Here's a picture before we started.

At first he didn't seem to like the weird slimy stuff on his hands, but I showed him what to do and he started getting into it. He walked on the paper after he painted and didn't seem to like the slime on his foot, but once again he sorta got over it. Of course he went to parts of the deck I  hadn't covered and I had to run and get more plastic from the garage. Then I showed him the paintbrush which he liked but instead of painting the paper he painted my right thigh. Then he ran around to my other side and painted my left thigh. All in all I'd call the experience a success. Although we did have to end earlier than I'd wanted because he stuck his very painted hand in his mouth and got very upset. That's why he's upset in the picture.

The Finished Product

Bad Mom Day

So is a blog supposed to be all fun, good and happy things or can I throw in a few frustrated posts along the way? I'll try one out, you let me know if it's a bad idea.

Seems to me that going on a little getaway for a long weekend should be good for my mothering. But apparantly it doesn't matter how long I've been away, one not so great day and I'm ready to ship him back to grandma's. How can I forget so quickly how much I missed him? Only a few days ago I struggled to not speed home in my excitement to see him, why now am I ready to speed away for a little alone time? And where does all the rest, energy and patience go that I thought I built up while I was gone? A few thrown toys, more screaming than I prefer, and one nap refusal later and I feel like all the good vacation did for me is gone already. And here I hoped it would last at least a week. At least it was good for my marriage.

Happy Birthday Tanya!

It ws Tanya's 28th Birthday yesterday. Unfortunately, Nate had to be out of town for work and small group got cancelled at the last minute so she had no plans. Note: Tanya is not a loser with nothing to do on her birthday. It just happened that her plans got cancelled. We had her over for dinner and I made homemade mac 'n cheese (which she happens to really like) and a chocolate cake which turned out really cute. Happy Birthday Tanya! (I did have a picture of Tanya, but she claimed it wasn't very good even though I thought it was fine :-)

Jack's "Las Vegas" Vacation

While Paul and I were in Las Vegas, Jack was having a grand ol' time at my parents house. Amanda came down with Hailey and Micah to help out since mom had to work a little while Jack was there. Friday they went to a children's museum in Bloomington. They said Jack loved it which doesn't suprise me since it seems like he got to do a lot of his favorite things. Saturday afternoon they went to the Peoria Zoo. They also seem to have enjoyed a lot of piano playing and a dance party or two. I'm so thankful for my parents and sister to watch over Jack to give Paul and I a little time to reconnect. And I love that Jack got to spend a lot of time playing with his cousins, aunt and grandparents. Below is a slideshow of some of Jack's adventures.

Vegas Vacation

Paul and I left Jack at my parents house and went with Nate and Tanya on a weekend getaway to Las Vegas. I flew out Thursday and enjoyed some time to myself. Friday morning I enjoyed a relaxing morning in bed reading until about 1, when the other three arrived from Rockford. Nate and I had never been before and Nate came armed with an impressive to do list. We started right away with our first visit to the strip, free poker lessons, and a delicious meal of steak and crab legs. Saturday we were out from 7:30 until almost midnight. We saw Hoover Dam, ate lunch in Boulder City, visited Red Rock Canyon and spent the evening at the north end of the strip seeing hotels and watching the Bellagio fountain shows. Sunday the guys played a little poker while Tanya and I enjoyed the swimming pool. Then we met up to see the rest of the hotels. We ended up watching a new tv show and giving our opinions...apparantly none of us enjoy dogs enough to watch an hour long show about rescuing them from pounds. We really aren't cold hearted, it was just super boring. But we got paid for doing it, so that helped. Sunday evening we watched Mystere, one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. It was awesome, but I still don't know what it was about.
I haven't had a chance to get through pictures yet, but you can be sure some will be posted soon on Picasa.