She's been creamed!

I know that I have really been blog slacking, but there hasn't been a whole lot to post about, especially when I don't have any pictures. I had a wonderful trip to visit Michael and Amy and we were able to go to Amy's baby shower. That was a lot of fun and so nice to be kid free for a few days! Matt took Rachel to a few parks in my absence as you can see in the pictures below. We had the Rhine side of the family over for Thanksgiving and it was great. Rachel enjoyed all of the attention her family gives her and Matt's brothers broke out some old Nintendo games on the Wii. I understand since I spent more than a few hours at Michael and Amy's playing Donkey Kong on the Super Nintendo! We had family pictures taken with a lady from our church. We went to a garden in Lakeland and Rachel was a bit of a pain. She wouldn't look at the camera and smile at the same time. I know she got some good pictures somewhere in that hour. Hopefully we will get them soon and I can start sending them out to family. The two videos at the end are really funny and completely Matt's idea. We all felt bad afterwards, but we laughed really hard.

Awesome Park in Lakeland!

Matt has been wanting to take Rachel and I out to this park in Lakeland that he claimed was really neat. I was thinking that it would be bigger and nicer than the ones in our area, but I had no idea it would be so cool. I would describe it as a mini-theme park for a wide age range that you could spend hours at. There were so many different things to do and it never felt crowded even though there were a lot of people. The place was so nicely landscaped, had fake grass or that rubbery kind of floor that was a little bouncy. There was no mulch or dirt, so she actually stayed clean. I really wish we had a park like this around here.

Halloween and other fun stuff!

Starting off with this awesome car Katie and Josiah got to borrow:

We went out to eat and down the highway and Katie and I decided that it was enough because our hair was so tangled after that. It was one of those cars where you were kind of afraid to do anything because it was so nice and not yours.

Trunk or treat at Bell Shoals: Rachel (Tinkerbell) liked the candy a lot, but some of the lines were really slow going. She really preferred to dance when the music was on.






Bathroom Progress! My shower curtain is finally up and I still like it just as much as the day I bought it!










I just love going to Kirkland's these days and I got this decoration with another place in mind. However it didn't work there and I just liked it so much that I found somewhere else instead of taking it back.


This wall used to have this outdated, dusty shelf on it and I got Matt to help me take it down. I have plans to build a new shelf, something simple and modern looking. However, I lack those wood working skills so it might take me a while to actually get one up there. I did buy some wall art for this area, which are pictured below. Hanging them is going to require some extra help, including Matt and a few ladders. I have gotten really good at hanging all my decorations and shelving now that I know how to use a drill. Unfortunately, there are still some things I cannot do by myself.


Rachel is doing great and I would consider it day time potty trained. She still has to wear a diaper at night, but it is less wet each week, so I think we will be there soon. We are currently working on her table manners and not making such a mess at meal time. Who knew that kids could be so much work? On that note, I cannot wait for my little mini vacation to Chicago in a few weeks and a chance to see some family. School is going well and we only have 5 more weeks left! Matt and I have talked about going camping at Disney and then using up another one of our days. November is looking kind of full though, so we shall see.