Friday, July 30, 2010

A Before and After (Kids)

 

Marta Steve first real date

In 2000.
We were young and carefree.
I had very few wrinkles and Steve had a head full of hair.

 

000_0120

But after having tiny Mia Adeleigh in 2004….

100_1169

Sophia Grace in 2006….

and Grazia Marie in 2006….

marta and steve 31st birthday 2010

this is what you get in 2010.

Two very happy parents.
(Knowing we are months away from NEVER buying a diaper again!!!)
With less hair and more wrinkles.
Just the way it’s supposed to be.

Happy a happy weekend!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

My Birthday Getaway Photos

 

clubhouse

On Saturday morning, we dropped our three girls off at my parent’s house, drove two hours,
and then pulled up here.

100_0522

We grabbed some lunch under here, a pavilion that is decked out with ceiling fans & an outdoor fireplace.

100_0523

The boys were ready to head out to play a round of golf.

cape meade golfing

Meade warming up.

100_0525

Haley and Maggie, after lunch, were ready to head to the spa for our mani-pedi-massage day!

100_0526

Here is a picture of Maggie getting her nails done “Gaga” style.

lace nails

Here is what Maggie did. So fun! And so Gaga.

100_0538

Our trademarked “sister star” with our new nails.

After getting all dolled up, it was time for dinner!

cape adie and meade

  Adie and Meade

cape maggie and austin

Maggie and Austin

cape haley and jimmy

Haley and Jimmy

100_0550

Me and my hubby, Steve

 cape trip boys

The boys.

 100_0548

The girls.

And now, a fun before and after with the four sisters…..

100_0533

Before.

100_0544

After.

Amazing what some makeup and my new flat iron can do for us :)

100_0553

Haley in front of her luxurious cabin.

cape austin saki

At dinner, some of us got a Saki blast.
I just love Maggie’s face as her boyfriend Austin got up to a 20 second count on his turn.

cape steve and marta

CHEESE!

cape group shot

A group shot. 

Thank you to my sisters & brother-in-laws for making this the best birthday this thirty-one year old could ever dream of!!!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Thirty-One

 

It’s official….. I am a thirty-something. 
Saturday I turned thirty-one.

clubhouse

I spent the last 24 hours here.
 
Massages, pedicures, manicures and dinner were involved
while I was surrounded by my husband, my three best friends (my sisters) and their two spouses & one spousal equivalent.

clubhouse 3

How cool is this sign?

clubhouse 2  
Thanks to my sister Haley’s husband Jimmy, we spent the day, and night, without kids,
at his Country Club.

 

clubhouse 4

While we were getting pampered, the boys were playing golf here.
They may or may not have been dripping with sweat, as it climbed to 97 degrees.

But don’t you worry, because my sisters and I were nice and cool inside a little place we like to call a Spa.

Here is a sneak peek at tomorrow’s post…

cape trip sisters

cape trip boys

cape trip fall

cape trip wave

Can you tell it was my best birthday yet?
Happy Monday to all!

Friday, July 23, 2010

California Girls

 

Once upon a time, I met five fantastic California Girls.
All whom I would have never known if not for my blog.

mel p320

heather m p320

 

heather g p320

julie p320

erin p320

 

 

Mel, Heather M., Heather G., Julie, Erin and I met up in California last December
to put Julie’s amazing idea into effect.




To say
Project 320 was a tremendous success, is quite an understatement,
as we raised enough money to fund, not one, but two wells in Ethiopia.

I am blessed to have been a part of something so incredible, but also to have met
five fantastic Mommies that are so much like me, yet live hundreds of miles away.

I often find myself wishing that I lived closer and thinking of all the play dates and
sewing parties we would have.
Not to mention the random get togethers where we would inhale several pounds
of
this, this and these

And just to tell you how WONDERFUL these women are, I wanted to share part of an email
that Mel wrote to my husband Steve, without me knowing!
 

Hi Steve-

It's Mel (Marta's friend from California, we did Project 320 together).
I am writing because we are having a HOLLA/Project 320 reunion at my house in Northern California on Aug 9-11. All the other girls are from Cali except Marta. The weekend won't be the same without her here! We want her to come!  All 5 of us will chip in to get her a ticket as a birthday present & surprise her with the ticket for her birthday. So, my questions are:
1. Would she be able to come out those days (Monday Aug 9-Wed Aug 11)
2. Can you keep it a surprise until her birthday?

Thanks Steve!!!

Can you believe it?!
The kindness.
The crazy California kindness.
I was so touched that they would offer to do this for me.
They are so thoughtful and made this Missouri girl smile ear to ear.  
And even though I won’t be able to join them this time,  I am hoping to plan another trip
out there to visit my favorite California girls.

So tomorrow, as I turn the big 31 and officially enter my 30’s,
I can realize all I have
accomplished and gained in the past few years since the start of
Haus of Girls.
What started out as a promise to myself to document my life in a way that can be cherished by many,
has turned into gaining
five fabulous friends for life
.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Before “Bumpits”


I had to share this hilarious picture.
It’s one of my all time faves, from the 80’s, in the house I grew up in. 
It is a fun shot of my twin sisters, (who are wearing each other’s overalls if you can read the names!)
my cousin Shelene, and I. 

This photo will give you a little insight into my randomness.
I frequently spiced things up to be different.
And it was not cute.  Even though I sure thought it was at the time
.

marta headband

Apparently, I’ve always had a little Snookie in me.
Look at my headband!!!
It was pre-“Bumpits”, so I developed my own way to get a little volume back there. Seriously?!

And the funny thing is, I can remember doing this headband trick like
it was yesterday.
Because wearing it like all the normal girls just didn’t cut it.
That’s how I roll.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Proud, Yet Again

(Here is some of the recent article about my sister Maggie from our local newspaper, The Suburban Journal.
Written by Bill Hester.)

The University of Michigan has a All-American room at their softball complex with photos of all of the All-Americans in the school's history.
Former Eureka High School standout
Maggie Viefhaus will have her photo there after a stellar collegiate career and spectacular senior season.
But Wolverine coach Carol Hutchins has her personal wall of fame. And Viefhaus has earned a spot there as well.


"My wall of fame has more to do with character than softball ability and trust me, Maggie will be there forever," said Hutchins, who has coached at Michigan for 26 years. "There is not enough space in your column when it comes to talking about Maggie. She always has a smile on her face and I will miss that a lot. She is the kind of kid you look forward to seeing every day. She was a great representative of the University of Michigan."

 

maggie sub journal


And a great softball player as well as she was named Big Ten Conference co-Player of the Year (with teammate Nikki Nemitz) for the Wolverines, who won the Big 10 for the third year in a row this spring.

Viefhaus was a fixture in the Wolverine lineup since her freshman season in 2007. In fact, she played in all 236 games for Michigan the last four years and started every one of them at third base.
"When you combine Maggie's talent and her work ethic you have something special," Hutchins said. "She excelled from the middle of her junior year until the end of her senior season. She played at an All-American level."


Viefhaus had solid offensive numbers her first three years, hitting .277 as a freshman, .306 as a sophomore and .313 as a junior. But she saved her best for last with some mighty impressive statistics as a senior. She hit .381 and had 20 home runs and 60 RBI in 57 games. That helped her earn NFCA All-Great Lakes Region first team and NFCA All-America second team honors. She was especially effective in Big 10 play, leading all players in the league with a .478 average in league play.


Her best game came in the regional finals in a 12-2 win against Notre Dame.
"I had two home runs in my first two at-bats," said Viefhaus, who was subsequently walked three times by Irish pitchers.
That helped the second-ranked Wolverines make it to the sub-regionals where their season and Viefhaus' collegiate career came to an end with two losses to Tennessee.


"All of my hard work paid off," said the left-handed hitting Viefhaus, who played in the College World Series last year.
She had plenty of offers coming off a spectacular high school career with Eureka, where she was a three-time all-state selection. She knows now that it is over that she made the right choice in Michigan.


Viefhaus is taking one class this summer at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and will student teach in Ann Arbor in the fall. She is in line to graduate in December.
Her major is in physical education and coaching could well be in her future.

She is giving hitting and fielding lessons this summer and is also an unofficial coach to her six nieces and nephews (her older sisters Marta, Adie and Haley all played at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale).

"My niece, Mia, is six and she loves to play," Viefhaus said. "I got her a softball bat for her sixth birthday and, yes, I am teaching her to hit left-handed."

________________________________________________________________________


Pretty awesome, right?
Mia especially loved that her name was mentioned.
She walked around smiling from ear to ear after reading the last paragraph.
She is so proud to be Maggie’s niece!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Here’s What: Random Tidbits

Andy Cohen, if you don’t know, is the host all of the Real Housewives Reunion shows
on Bravo, but he also hosts a show called “Watch What Happens Live!” 
He is hilarious and he’s from St. Louis, the best city on Earth, which makes
me like him even more. 

Andy has a segment on his show called “Here’s What” where he talks about
the latest drama topics on his mind.

Lately, whenever I observe something annoying or find a particular situation
memorable, for any reason
, I find myself talking to myself.
For example I may or may not say something like,
“Here’s What. How about we use that thing we call a blinker when you randomly
decide you want to change lanes, while texting your friends, and cutting me off.”

So today, I give you some random tidbits on what’s on my mind these days.
My very own version of “Here’s What,” if you will.

*My girls and I have eaten 24 bags of microwave popcorn in the past week.
It’s getting out of hand. Here’s what, someone help!

*Steve has gotten our three girls addicted to McDonald’s ice cream cones.
They literally ask us every night if we can go and get one.

*I started taking my dogs with me on my walk/runs in the morning and at night.
They are hilarious and since it’s been so cool out(98!) they pant and drool like rabid raccoons.
One night Gussie simply decided she was done walking and  laid down in the middle of the road.  

*We just got back from our second trip to the Lake this month.  The girls are totally
obsessed with boats, jet skis, swimming and all the things that Lake life brings.
I now have three platinum blondes with some major tan lines.

*Gracie’s wearing big girl undies only during the days. No more pull-ups or diapers.
And let me just say that I am hoping that she really LOVES 
my brainwashing Potty Fairy concept….
My back is aching from wiping up her accidents.

*I really hate when I take my girls to the park at night and three middle school
aged boys take over the entire playground and start throwing the mini rocks at
each other, forcing me to be the old had who has to say, “Hey guys, can you please
stop throwing rocks. I would hate for one of my girls to go blind from a pelt
to the eye tonight.”

*Today was Steve’s first day, since school got out in May, that he had nowhere to go,
and was home with me ALL DAY.
After teaching summer school in June and then doing a baseball camp, he is finally all mine!
Today, during naptime, he helped me clean out the horrid laundry room closet,
our pantry, and some of our kitchen cabinets.
There is nothing better than feeling organized, or a hubby that helps out so much around the house!

*My 31st birthday is this Saturday.
I’m not gonna lie, I’m a bit sad.
Not because I am going to be 31, but because it’s so sad how fast a year has gone by. 
Crazy fast. 
I heard that time goes by a bit faster every year as you age and now I
can truly say that I agree.
I’m officially old mature.

*Speaking of my 31st Birthday, Steve and I are taking a little trip, without kids,
(which if you know me is RARE and awfully sad and difficult for me)
with my three sisters and their husbands/boyfriend.
Just the eight of us.
We are going to my sister Haley’s husband Jimmy’s Country Club for the day.
While the boys golf, we will be getting massages, pedicures and manicures,
(which, if you know me, is also very RARE.
The last time I had any one of those three things was over a year ago!) 
followed by a nice dinner and then staying in cabins.
It will be a fabulous day with my favorite people in the world.

Hope you all have a happy week!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Lake Life

 

100_0287

A few weeks ago we packed up the girls, something we are now quite exceptional at,
and headed to the Lake for the first time this summer.

100_0296

100_0299

A shot of Gracie practicing for our upcoming 4th of July parade in a sparkly top hat  
and the big girls posing at the pool.

100_0309

Dressed in her fun new 4th of July outfit I made her, Gracie developed a new smile.
I named it the “Popeye Face.”
She is hysterical!
 

100_0330

100_0331

A Sophie & Gracie pose.                                         A Mia & Gracie pose.

100_0332

100_0334

All three patriotic girls.                                             A flag wave.

 

100_0328

A “hands on the hip" pose in their new dresses  that I made  using this fun tutorial.
I cut off old tank tops and used some fun red, white & blue fabric.
So simple, yet very cute!

100_0344

100_0346

Our parade in action.
Gracie drummed & Papa played music.                    Sophie scooted.

100_0355

100_0357

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More drumming action.                                         The girls post-parade with their cousin Abigail.

100_0369

Time for a boat ride!

100_0361

100_0370

A layover at a fun restaurant which was a deck right on the lake.
(There may or may not have been several happy carp with bellies full of French fries
after we got done eating there.)

100_0368

Back at the condo, Nana and Gracie relaxed on the swimming dock.
 

100_0359

Gracie couldn’t get enough of the boats.
Every time one zoomed by us, she shouted “BOAT!”

100_0360

Sophie and Mia waiting for the jet ski.

100_0364

100_0361

Riding on the crazy waves!

100_0379

All the boats anchored and ready for the fireworks.

100_0373

Thank you Nana & Papa for a wonderful 4th of July weekend!
It was definitely one of the best trips yet.

Hope you all had a fun and memorable 4th of July weekend!

 

© 2011. All Rights Reserved. | Custom Blog Design By Penny Lane Designs