Bananas & Lillies

Annica Patrick

2009-03-20T16:54:00.001-07:00

Anna's class has been doing as project on race cars. Her teacher has been trying to get a real car in for the kids to see. Last week NASCAR backed out, citing financial reasons. On Friday, IRL came through, saying that they would be able to get a car to the school today, Friday, March 20. It wasn't until the car was pulled up to the parking lot of the school that they found out it was Danika Patrick's car. Wow!

All the kids got to get in the car, play with the steering wheel, press the pedals, etc. Other classes even got in on the fun as the car was made available to the school from 9:00 until noon. And, now we have this great picture of Anna in a very famous car. What a ride!

Personality

2008-04-03T04:39:00.001-07:00

"She looks like a teenager!"

2008-04-03T04:31:00.003-07:00

(She wanted to make a "mad" face but couldn't keep a straight face. Ha!)

With our sincerest apologies...A new post..."Hair Style"

2008-04-02T09:59:00.004-07:00

Hi, all. If you're still checking this, thanks.

With Miss Banana's absolute refusal to wear hair-bobs I have been looking towards the summer with some dismay. She gets a lot of pressure from some people, who shall remain nameless (you know who you are), to either wear something in her hair or get a haircut. And, to no avail. All this pressure does is prompt her to stand strong, proudly sweep her hair off of her face, stick her chin in the air and smile, meaning, "It ain't happenin' people, I'm not going to get a haircut, don't try to get me to wear a ponytail. I can't want to!" Well, we've come to a crossroad.

My friend Heidi's daughter Lucy has a thick head of hair and a stylish haircut that she's had for at least two years. Last week Heidi wisely suggested that I bring Anna with them to watch Lucy get her hair cut. They even postponed their Friday plans that we may go with them. The place where Lucy gets her hair cut has a play area, the kids can choose a movie to watch while getting the cut, afterwards they get a balloon and a sucker (though they were out of suckers on our visit). They get to choose in what chair they want to sit, each one is shaped like a different car, one is a horse. Well, suffice it to say, it worked.

Anna became so interested in the whole process that she eventually declared "I want a haircut too!" Of course, I should mention that this was followed, unprompted only moments later by, "I'm not going to get my hair cut." And then again, "Mommy, I want a haircut." And so on. After a short while of watching Lucy and talking with Heidi, etc. Anna's name was called and she seemed excited, she picked the red car and a CandyLand movie. Her haircut took about two seconds, just long enough for the movie to start playing and me to start crying. And, it was over.

We didn't choose anything drastic, no bangs, and it's a little long than her shoulders. She loves it and proudly asserts, "I got a haircut," to anyone that will listen. I am excited for her for the summer because this will be much easier for her to manage and great for the weather and her refusal to wear hair-bobs. And finally, I am sorry to all of you because this post does not include a picture. But, I promise I will post one as soon as I get one, maybe tonight. Anyone that has seen the haircut and reads this can post their comments about how beautiful it is. (You may think I'm biased.) Anyway, congrats to Anna and I'll post a pic soon!

First Day of School

2008-01-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

The teacher of my History of Television class asked the class if we were glad to be back from break, and if it had been long enough for us.

Uh...yeah, I'd say so.

**Sorry, no picture to go along with this thought :)**

Thank You

2007-12-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you so very much for everything!!!
We had a GREAT family vacation!

Bath Time!

2007-11-11T23:18:00.001-07:00

Heads Up

2007-11-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

Lily's doctor's appointment earlier this month went very well.
She is in the 65% for her length
90% for her weight
and her head circumference is off the charts. Just to give you an idea, here are some photos of Lily wearing a size 6-9 month hat. She is 8 months old.

Bouncin'

2007-10-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Modeling is Tough Work

2007-10-15T18:42:00.001-07:00

Genius

2007-10-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when you first learned how to take pictures of yourself...?

Were you TWO?

Notorious B.A.B.Y.

2007-10-10T14:15:00.001-07:00

Are you still out there?

2007-10-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, all! Here are some photos, not extremely recent but I'll work on some really new ones here within the next week or so. I think that we had a virus or "bug" of some sort that was preventing us from posting and/or preventing you all from viewing our pictures. Mike seems to have fixed that though so we're back on track. Hope you can see these cuties on this post, though. Let us know if you have any problems!

Enjoy!

2007-06-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day, Daddy, Grandpa, and Papa!

Indy 500

2007-06-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Long Awaited Post...LIFE IS GOOD

2007-05-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

Funny how things can just come together and work out so well when you don't even try. We have had long time plans to go to Kings Island for Mike's company picnic this past Sunday. We both had to work on Saturday so we had planned to drive up on Sunday in the early morning.

Many moons ago when Mike first started his job and I was still on my beloved maternity leave, I asked him if he would ever, in life, be getting off work early. He said that this never happens and that the Managers always had to be there at open and at close. He'd be working these 10 and 11 hour days whenever he was working. Flash forward to the Saturday before the company picnic when Mike's boss came out to the front of the shop to say one Manager could go home, Mike and his compadre could flip a coin. Awesome! So, they flipped and Mike won. Mike called me at work on his way home to give me the good news. I also left work about an hour early and so we decided to get on our way that night.

After looking on line that night to see about hotel prices we decided to head up and see what we could find because everything was pretty pricey. We knew that this was really a risk but, by now we could see that things were really going our way and decided to roll with it. Mike's cousin and friends were going to be staying at Great Wolf Lodge, not to be confused with Wolf Creek Lodge, (pay up, Mike!) But it was way too expensive. So, we headed on our way.

Beautiful weather and two lovely ladies in the backseat, one in the front! On our way up Mike got a call from his cousin whom we had told we could meet for dinner but would be leaving to find a hotel. He told us not to worry that he and Mike's GM would be paying for half of our room if we wanted to stay there. WOW! We agreed and what follows are posts with pictures of our awesome adventure!

What a cool hotel!

2007-05-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

The place had a built in Water Park which we never even used but..

...check out the amenities!

When we arrived that night we checked in, relaxed, danced, had a couple of beers and danced danced danced. There was a DJ in the lobby until like 11pm. Anna loved it.

I even called J to brag!

Lily Had Fun too!

2007-05-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

A little hesitant...

2007-05-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

So, once we arrived at the park first thing on Sunday, we met up with Mike's cousin and his family. We quickly realized that B was going to have some trouble with her height. She is not quite 36". She's pretty close, especially with that cute ponytail, but not quite. So, this first ride we tried to put her on was Plankton's Plunge, a super kiddie version of Drop Zone. The kid who was checking heights said he would go ahead and let her ride. As I went over to set her on the ride, she said "No, no, no." She didn't want to ride. I thought this would be how the rest of the day would go for sure. I figured she wouldn't want to do anything, even if I could go with her, which I was going to do on this one.

Here's the picture of Scott and his family next to an empty seat where Miss Anna was going to be.

So, when we got over to this awesome little kids' ride, I was not surprised that she seemed a little hesitant to ride.

But, Dylan, himself an old pro, said he would help Anna by riding with her and WOW did she ever love it!

2007-05-25T09:01:00.001-07:00

As you can see it didn't take long for Anna to become an old pro.

She even rode with her Dad on this big green bus that took them up into the sky, round and round. But it was too boring for our brave little girl so...

...we drove the bumper cars!

2007-05-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe how brave she was! Every time she bumped into someone she'd yell "Bop!" and crack up laughing. And she's so smart too! If she would ever get stuck I would just remind her to keep turning the steering wheel in one direction and she could "unstuck" herself every time!

Here's Anna chasing after Dylan. She means business!

More fun to come!

2007-05-25T08:35:00.001-07:00

After the bumper cars it was time to meet Scooby Doo and go to lunch.

When we went to lunch, which was provided by Mike's company there was a raffle set up in the shelter. Since, everything that we had done so far was free, including lunch, and provided to us by the company, we really felt almost obligated to by raffle tickets. But, with over 750 people in attendance and most of them buying the 5 for $20 ticket bundle, we didn't anticipate getting much from it. They were raffling off backpacks, cash prizes, hotel stays and...tickets to the 500. After so many numbers had been called, and many quite close to our numbers, 9258-9262, we finally just let B play with the tickets.

Then when the 500 tickets were being raffled off, we heard it 9...2...6...0! "That's us!" I calmly said to Mike who jumped up.
"Where are the tickets?" he exclaimed.
"Over there underneath that picnic table." I said trying to point but couldn't because I was feeding the baby. (Anna had long ago lost interest in playing with them.) Once he located them he took them up to claim our prize! I'm able to get out of work and we're going to the 500this weekend. I've never even been!

After this excitement we walked around the park where Mike and I rode a couple of rides alone while the other watched the babies. Anna and I rode on the log ride that does a big drop and Anna really enjoyed it.

2007-05-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

And finally, the last time I went to put B in the bumper cars to show her dad what an awesome driver she is, she just looked up at me as I was setting her inside the car and said so sweetly, "I wanna go home." So, I took her off the track and this was the scene about 3 minutes later.

All in all I'd say we had about as much fun as we could've had.

Happiness is...

2007-05-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

A Garden...

Lunch with Tia at the Market downtown...

(No picture of us with Tia because, even though I took
my camera, I forgot to take any pictures. So,
here's a courtesy picture of Tia. Sorry)

A clean house...

(No pictures of that either but, you know...)

Naptime...

2007-05-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

Can you guess?

2007-05-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Same Person? Twins? Come on people this should be easy!

Anna's First Day at School

2007-04-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Say cheese!

Anna started her first week at her daycare this week.

Whaaaa?

She's such a big girl! Just look at what she's already learned...

She's already reading books to her little sis!

On Wednesday Anna began her new "school" and we are so proud. She behaved really well and had a lot of fun. Her class played ring- around- the- rosie several times (one of Anna's fave songs.) They also learned about the letter Q and made tree pictures with the print of their hands. Most importantly, Anna was welcomed to the classroom. When I dropped her off this morning all of the kids and teachers were very excited to see her again.

Wish her luck during this big transition as Mommy returns to work and Daddy continues to work hard at his new job.

Lily, What Are You So Happy About?

2007-04-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

Maybe you are remembering the great time that you and your sister had at the butterfly gardens and zoo with Mommy, Mama, and Papa!

Yips!

2007-04-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

It seemed innocent enough. "Sure, Anna. You can have some of Tia J's Chapstick..."

Anna says, "Thanks guys, let me just get a little bit more on here."

AHHHH!!

Lily says, "Even I knew that was going to happen!"

To: David Imel (Grandpa)

2007-03-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

We love you and we are all keeping you in our prayers

Mixed Feelings

2007-03-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

Look how happy Jackie is about the arrival of Lily Marie!

I wish we could see that same excitement from

some

others...

Lily Marie Imel 03/11/07

2007-03-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

Lily Marie one last time before she arrives

2007-03-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

(click on the picture to enlarge!)

To: Anna Michelle Imel

2007-03-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

We All Love You So Very Much!
(For those out of town........ Pictures will follow soon!)

FYI

2007-02-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Ham And Cheese

2007-02-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

Will it never end????

2007-02-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

We have 8 inches at the house and it's still coming down hard!!!!!

8 to 15 Inches of SNOW?????

2007-02-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

OH BOY!!!!!!!!!!

(mommy and daddy bought a shovel and some salt..they are not as excited :)

Lily!!!!

2007-02-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

*(Click on the photo for a closer look!)

Guess Who's Got Hairbobs!!!

2007-02-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-11-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Just a quick post with a picture from my sister's camera of Anna in her costume. Slow internet, sorry I don't have more. Hope you enjoy!

We're Here!!

2006-10-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Things are going great here in Indianapolis, we are trying to get used to the weather...but, who ever does?. Sorry to those who are expecting pictures, we went to buy a USB cable for our camera and they started at 35$ . So give us some time to make a little money first. (Dont worry mom I will send some pics to you in the mail).
We will probably not be posting as much while we are staying with the Scanlan's but, hang in there we will back in business in a couple of months. For those not here in Indy...feel free to call anytime!!!

Loading Day!!!!!!!!!!

2006-10-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

WE'LL MISS YOU, MICKIE!!!!!!!!

2006-10-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

YEAH!!!!

2006-10-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

WHAT THE HAIL????

2006-10-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

*Tucson, AZ 7:00am!!!

Warning! This post is not for the weak- stomached.

2006-10-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

"Uh- Oh!"

"I'm warning you...Turn away while you still can!"

AHHHHHHHH!!!!

Bath Poo!

"I tried to tell you guys."

Speaking of...

2006-10-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

'All Request Monday!'

I got a request from the other of my parents for a post on THIS subject. Enjoy!*

*I happen to already have, in the camera, these photos of Anna on her way home from the park with me just last week. I'll get some better quality pictures posted soon!

What's wrong with this picture?

2006-09-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

*Miss Anna has figured out how to get in the bath tub on her own....UH-OH!!!!

CHEEEEESE!

2006-09-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

*What a Fantastic Smile.

Almost Forgot!

2006-09-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

*Anna Loved Playing with "Sausage"(Sasha) and J.J (who started warming up at the end).

We Miss You SOOO Much!!!!

2006-09-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

Magic Kingdom

2006-09-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

More Magic Kingdom

2006-09-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

Animal Kingdom

2006-09-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

More Animal Kingdom

2006-09-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

Anna at Sea World

2006-09-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

*While Mom & Dad Relaxed at Blizzard Beach Water Park.

Florida Pictures!

2006-09-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

Off To Florida!!!

2006-09-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

*We're sure to get some great photos (we know thats what you really want)!

First glimpse of baby Imel # 2

2006-09-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

Doctor visit!

2006-09-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

We went to the dotor today and found out everything was looking good.
The babys heart was beating and it was just the right size.
Also we got some photos but I cant get my dang scanner to work properly.
stay tuned for the photos as soon as I figure it out!

Fantasy Football Time!

2006-09-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

GO ANNAMALS!

We Love You Molly/Mommy!!!!

2006-09-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Oh Well...

2006-08-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

I guess we're not going to make it to the park after all!*

*Picture taken with my phone, excuse the poor condition.

To: Tita and Heidi !!!!!!!!

2006-08-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

J's Vacation

2006-08-23T00:47:00.000-07:00

I had such a great time on this vacation. I will be leaving in about three hours for home. We had such a great time, and I think B liked having me around (probably b/c I look like her mom, and I'm more of a pushover than her folks.) We got to spend some time together at the pool and hanging out at the apartment while mom and dad were at work. We also did other fun things like going to the zoo, the children's museum, two parks, restaurants, Aunt B and Uncle G's house, and just hanging out with one or both of her parents, and her Tia M. I am so glad that I got to visit. B is not only the baby that I think of her as, but a little person with a wonderful, interesting and great personality. She was so fun! And of course I had fun seeing my sisters and Mike, and all of the other family while I was here. There are a million more pictures that I could post, but I should probably get some shut eye. I hope you will enjoy the following picture posts that are posted by me, Tia J.

Silly B

2006-08-23T00:39:00.000-07:00

brushing Mom's hair...

funny face...

being where she is not allowed playing with her lotion...

eating snacks off of the floor...

maybe a little too much cheese...

B loves...

2006-08-23T00:23:00.000-07:00

giving thumbs up...

spending time with family...

holding hands (two hands for B)...

her bear...

and her baby...

B at the park (three posts worth!)

2006-08-23T00:19:00.000-07:00

2006-08-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

B at the park!

2006-08-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

B tried the bucket swing today and liked it for the first time! She had a great time walking around and trying the slides and jungle gyms at the park.

Anna Pics!!

2006-08-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

2006-08-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry!

2006-08-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

I guess the name post was too much for some to handle.........sigh

*(NO COMMENTS PLEASE)

Jackie's Here!!!!

2006-08-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

Vocabulary Lesson

2006-08-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Define the following words.

be be-
babone-
lemmieseat-
dat-
base-
dow-
boon- (hint) multiple definitions
op!-
tang-
dider-

Conversation Between Anna and Mom

2006-08-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Anna asks, "What's for dinner, Mom?"

"Cheeseburgers and fruit," Mom replies.

Anna, "WHAT?! That sounds too good to be true!"

Mom, "Oh, but it is true. You'll see..."

"Yes! It really is cheesburgers and fruit! Nutricious and Delicious!"

Run's House

2006-08-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

Did you see the new episode tonight?
If you havent checked it out, it's a MUST.
It's a very family oriented and so funny. We really love watching it because they are always having so much fun. And no matter if they get stressed or whatever is going on with them they never turn on each other. It's a great example of a cool american family. (of course, they are ridiculously wealthy which helps I'm sure!)

Was This Really A Secret??????

2006-08-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

( now the others can go ahead and come out too:)
*Im Just Sayin'

New Discovery.............

2006-07-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

MARKERS!!!!!!!

Getting Excited?!

2006-07-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

Fun Day!

2006-07-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was an awesome day with the fam. First B and I went to the pool (after she woke up at 10:30!). Then, after our nap, Mike got home and told us that they were having a bowling outing sponsored by his work, free bowling, free food, and a chance to win some cool prizes just by showing up. It would be so fun!

When we first arrived, Mike took on his GM, a notoriously awesome bowler who used to bowl professionally, and won! It was really the only reason why Mike wanted to go in the first place. Not to mention that it is so hot outside, what else are we going to do? Anyway, we bowled a couple of more games, Mike won every time and I broke 100 2 out of 3 times. I was distracted because I was taking care of Anna, too...a-hem. Otherwise I'm sure I would've bowled much better ;). All in all it was a fun outing. Anna started to get tired so we headed home. As we were leaving Mike shook his GM's hand and said, "Let me know if I win that TV. Ha!"

And, to complete our awesome day? Just a few minutes ago we got the call...

Mike's GM- "Mike I?"
Mike- "Yeah?"
Mike's GM- "You won the TV, buddy?! How do you want us to get that to ya?"
Mike- "No way! I'll be right back!"

Now Mike's on his way to the bowling alley to get this new television. Can you believe it? Gotta go back to work tomorrow but, what a fun day!

Remember When....

2006-07-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks, 2 Js!!!!!!!!

2006-07-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

2006-07-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

RAIN!!!!!!!

2006-07-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

*Anna LOVES rain!

Up,Up and Away!

2006-07-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

I'm off to see Superman Returns with Kim(Molly's sis) tonight. I'll let you know what I think.

Saturday Night

2006-07-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

Tia Mickey came by tonight and we all had a big time cooking out burgers and catching up. B is all over the place and talking and talking, too bad we don't speak gibberish. Maybe I'll sign up for a conversational course in my spare time.

Mike hooked up some awesome animation on the blog. Check out the sidebar and all the way at the bottom of the blog. Cool stuff!

Hope everyone's doing great!

Baby Blues

2006-07-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

Waking up to this makes our morning everyday.
Especially when she sleeps until 11:00am!!!!!!!

Texas Was AWESOME!

2006-07-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

2006-07-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

2006-07-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

2006-07-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

2006-07-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

More Pics

2006-07-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Road Trip!!!!!!

2006-06-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

*We will keep you posted with pictures!

Roseola?........WTF!!!

2006-06-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, Molly and I have been stumped for days.
Poor little Anna has been running a fever for a couple of days but, today she broke out in a rash. So, we took her to the doctor praying it wasn't serious. The diagnosis was Roseola. She explained that Roseola is very common in baby's up to 1 year.
Currently Anna Is in stage two, she has broken the fever but now has the rash. Luckily this only happends once!
Pray for Anna. This should all be over by the time vacation starts!!!

*Check Out This Link For More Info!!!

Note to self...

2006-06-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

...dinner before bath.

Bed Head

2006-06-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

Anna just woke up from her short pm nap in these pictures. Can you imagine being so fortunate as to look this beautiful immediately after rolling out of bed?
Also, she's eating one of the peanut butter cookies that she helped make before her nap. Yum!

P.S. B only plays with markers under very close supervision.