A few weeks ago my ma and pa were on babysitting duty for the grandkids. Auntie Laura and Auntie Jessie quickly hurried to the rescue, not because the grandparents or the gradkids needed rescuing, but because they're all so darn cute and we just couldn't stand the idea of missing out. We ate Cale's homemade pizza, played baseball, read books, took the kids on a shopping trip (a little purse for Ayla, little bowls to feed the kitties for Cale), to the Cedar Falls waterpark, on a picnic in the front yard, to Ribfest (Jonah can down some rib meat!), and on a special trip to the fire station to visit Uncle Chris. I thought Cale was going to pee his pants as we were walking to the station because of his excitement.

Firefighter Chris showed the kids around the station, helped them climb (one by one) into the drivers seat, showed them the pole, the kitchens, where the firefighters sleep, the ambulance, and all the hoses. It was pretty cute and I was snapping photos all over the place.

Firefighter Cale

Firefighter Ayla

Firefighter Jonah

Where's Ayla?

 Jonah and Ayla explore the back of the ambulance while Cale kicks back in the gurney.

When we asked Cale what his favorite part of the fire station was, he said "the refrigerator".
Sigh... like uncle, like nephew. :)

Please stop spinning so I can update my blog. Thanks.

[world stops spinning and everyone is frozen in time while Jessie (who is not frozen) takes a few minutes to update her blog.]

Geez Louise! If anyone is still out there, yes, I am still alive. Yes, I still do stuff. Still cook and eat food. Still count calories. Still love my hubby. Still blog the blog. These are some of the things we've been up to, just in case you're still out there and just in case you still care. Sorry :(

• We went to an art fair!
• We went to a water park!
• We went to the Ozarks!
• We cooked/baked pork chops, burgers, pizza, this really yummy egg salad, BLTs!, artichoke ravioli, and several cakes (not all in one day). 
• Chris ran a marathon!
• Chris ran a 5K in his firefighter gear that weighs 80 pounds!
• I went to see Toy Story III, then I pulled my teddy bear out from under my bed and let it sleep in the bed until Chris kicked it back out of the bed. He's a toy hater. I'm a toy lover.
• My Ma and Pa both turned 60. They are the most awesomest 60 year olds ever! We planned a gift of "60 Fun Things to Do This Year Because You're 60" for my ma, and we planned a gift of "The Finer Things in Life Because You're so Fine" for my pa. It was fun, fun, fun to plan these things for them!
• I switched my entire dietetics coursework from Iowa State to Kansas State, and I will be able to complete all future classes online. I'm taking two classes this summer, and I'm enjoying them as much as one could possibly enjoy taking class in the summer. I am a purple Wildcat once again. It feels like home.
• Our Christmas gift to the fam this year was planning a special secret date for each couple. We had our first opportunity to do that for JEM (Jason & Em). We sent them on their way with snack bags and a plan to go tour some beautiful gardens in Cedar Rapids, eat dinner at a fancy restaurant, then have dessert of a homemade chocolate cake. Then we planned a secret date for LAM (Laura & Mike) that all takes place in the ped mall in Iowa City. What will we do for LANK (Lorene & Hank)??? Shhhh...
• Our Mom's came to visit and we had a picnic at a winery while listening to acoustic guitar. It was blissful!
• And next week we take off on RAGBRAI!!!

@world. You can resume spinning now. 

Sincerely, Jessie

Not one, but TWO new jobs in the Shafer household. Yes, life is a-changing and we're a-holding on for the ride! I will spare you all the details with this short update. But if you ever want the long version, drop me a note and I'll gladly fill you in :)

Chris is Waterloo's newest, smartest, strongest, safest, best-looking FIREMAN!

Jessie is Meredith's newest, clever, creative, high-heel wearing ASSOCIATE EDITOR at Diabetic Living!

Woo-hoo!!!! We are both thrilled (and thrilled for each other) to begin new jobs for great companies, and we're so excited to learn from smart, talented people.

FYI - Mr. Shafer makes a smokin' hot fireman, if I do say so myself.

Sometimes, life deals us lemons:

• My jeep got broken into; window was torn & unfixable
• I fell down some cement stairs at work and seriously hurt my ankle and wrists (I still have scars)
• We were randomly audited; need to dig up receipts from 2007 so we don't have to pay the IRS $550.00
• My eyesight is getting bad; do you think I need glasses?
• I'm not sleeping well; it puts me in a crappy mood
• The previous two are probably because my schedule has become incredibly crazy for the month of April (juggling heavy work on the 2nd Cuisine Lite book which requires working late nights & weekends, a hectic class schedule with 3 big presentations next week, and 6 tests/finals to take within the next 3 weeks)
• Chris & I had a fun dinner date night virtually ruined by the girl who puked all over her table next to us and on the bench I was sitting on!

But we need to keep making lemonade:

• The sun is starting to shine and I can wear open-toed shoes
• My husband, my family, and my friends are awesome
• I've continued to eat well and exercise during times of stress, which helps me stay sane
• I got to take a mini weekend trip to Chicago to see old teammates, cheer on the 'Cats, and do some shopping on Michigan Ave.
• I got to see my funny and cute nephews and niece over the Easter weekend

Thanks to the groundhog, we have at least another five weeks of winter ahead of us. And we also have a depressing snow record in the works here in Iowa (it's growing every day). For this very reason, Mr. Shaf and I couldn't have been happier about the timing of our miniature mental-health vacay to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

We met up with my college friend Brie, her husband Ryan, plus Ryan's brother, Keith, and his wife Amber. For four wonderful days, the six of us soaked up the sun, ate the local guac, felt the sand on our feet, and let relaxation set in. It was muy bien!

Me and Brie with a guy wearing some scary warrior-type outfit.

All the couples on the downtown Playa beach. We called ourselves the Playas.

Our trip to the Mexican Walmart was quite the experience!

Dinner at our favorite restaurant of the trip - Ajua Maya. We had yummy Mayan barbecue!

And ... there's no place like home?