Houses!

Last Tuesday we signed a contract on our West Lafayette house...

After a quick trip to Colorado last weekend, this Tuesday, we signed a contract on our new home in Fort Collins...

We are so excited and so hopeful that everything goes through! We'll have plenty of space for visitors :-)

A weekend of family

Despite a sad reason for our trip to Iowa, the entire Williams family took it as a time to celebrate the life of Grandpa and Grandma Williams and to do what they taught us to do--enjoy time with family. Here are some pics from our trip.

On our way to Sac City we stopped in a small town in Iowa where we were able to cash in some Hilton Honors points at a Hampton Inn. We chose the hotel because it had a pool for Grace. When we got there we headed to dinner at a pizza place that was like a mini Chuckee Cheese. Grace loved it!



Grace loved playing in the hotel room and having a "slumber party" with mommy and daddy. We woke up in the morning, went down for breakfast in our PJs, and then hit the pool. Grandma Applebee had got Grace a new bathing suit the weekend before and Grace loved it. She kept dancing in front of the mirror with it on.



She was slow to warm up to the pool but once she got going, she didn't want to quit!






We then got on the road and arrived in Sac City in time to get dressed and head to the Friday night visitation. I didn't get a great pic of Grace in her outfit but notice the headband--she's now asking to wear them!

While this isn't exactly how you're supposed to act at church, I know everyone enjoyed a bit of laughter and we know it would make both Grandpa and Grandma smile to see these two having so much fun together!

Dinner at the Cattleman

The Williams' cousins at the "Place on State"

Grace lining up her "babies"

We tried to get a good shot of the family after the funeral on Saturday...not so successful :-)

Playing at the park with Caleb

Grace loves cousin Brian! The whole way home she kept asking us where he was.

My two sleeping beauties--Saturday night was a rough night. Tornadoes touched down about 5 miles away from where we were so we spent quite some time in the basement. All the excitement wore these two out!

Saying goodbye

Mark's grandfather, Graff Williams, passed away on March 27th. We are so saddened to lose such a wonderful man but so thankful for all of the time we had to spend with him. He was one of the most principled men I have ever met.

His funeral was in Iowa on April 9th and was a true testament to the type of man Grandpa Williams was. It was his wish to have music as his service and he even chose the music that was played--The Star Spangled Banner, Rhapsody in Blue, 2nd Movement of Dvorak's 9th Symphony, Moonlight Sonata, and Hallelujah Chorus. Grandpa chose to have music for his service because he believed, "Music cuts across all divisions of ethnicity and other differences and is a true unifying force."

He will be missed!

Michigan Trip

Three weekends ago we headed up to Michigan. Mark attended the initiation ceremony for his Fraternity, Sigma Chi, and stayed in Alma for a guys weekend.

Ryan, Chris, and Mark

Meanwhile, Grace and I headed to Saginaw to spend some time with the grandparents. We had a fun Saturday morning shopping with my mom and then while Grace took her nap I went and picked up my dad and brought him back to my mom's. We had so much fun watching Grace play, skyping with cousin Aly, and having a nice dinner together. It was such a relaxing day!

Barrettes (they didn't last long!)

Riding the "roller coaster" at the mall

Playing with papa

Helping herself at Mama's

On our way home we swung thru Indianapolis and spent some time with Mark's parents. It was a gorgeous day and we spent a few hours out in the yard playing. Grace even instructed Nana and I on doing exercises.

"Go Shopping"

Almost every night Grace asks me to go "get dressed" with her. When I ask her where we are going, she replies, "go shopping!" Of course...I always wear this when I go shopping!

Girls' Weekend

Two weekends ago I met three of my favorite ladies up near Fort Wayne, Indiana. We rented a cabin for the weekend, caught up, giggled a lot, and created even more memories. I'm so excited for our move to Colorado but it makes me so sad that it won't be as easy to get together with these special women!

Jessica, Meredith, Sarah, and me

You may be wondering, "What did Grace do while you were enjoying your time with the girls?" Well, she had a fun weekend of her own. Friday night she stayed the night with Aunt Amy, Uncle Greg, and Anna while daddy went and had some time with the boys. They reported that she was a great guest--even putting herself to bed when she got tired! Grace loved her time with the Borliks and has been asking when she'll get to see them next.

The next day, Mark joined them and they took a long walk, went to lunch, and then Grace and Mark headed home for some quality time together. Of course Grace had to spend some time "working."

A fun weekend for everyone!

Poncho!