A Story Worth Sharing

I just got home from a fun day at the zoo with Madelyn, Jonathan, Natalie & JulieAnna. It was a nice cool morning so the animals were super-active and so fun to watch. And for the giant pregnant lady, it was nice to not be sweaty all day long too!
So, I just got Maddy down for her nap and checked my email. This little story was waiting for me (something my aunt forwarded along that I actually decided to read). It's a story that just made me think "we all need to know about this woman and be inspired by her". So, here you go:

Irena Sendler
Nobel Prize Loser
The prize doesn't always go to the most deserving

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' .. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids.) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, ar ms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most of course had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected.
* Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

(Now, I personally really appreciated Gore's passion and educational global warming info. So, this is not a slam on that from my personal opinion. But...it interesting to ponder, none-the-less)

Hope all of you out there are having a great last week of August. Can you believe September is practically here?! Crazy.

Hilton Head...our Wonderful, Relaxing (HOT) Vacation

Well, to say our vacation to Hilton Head was fun and relaxing would be an understatement. We had such a wonderful time, and much of it was to do with the fun company we had all week long. It was a big group of 12 of us (see photos below), and we had the best time swimming, eating, resting and...applying sunscreen nonstop! It was a HOT week (heat index between 107-110 every day!) So thank goodness for the ocean water and big swimming pool right outside our front door. Madelyn absolutely loved the beach (what kid doesn't like digging in the sand?) and she was so brave in the swimming pool. Every morning she woke up saying "I want pool. I want beach!" Well, okay then!!
Gary and I had never been to Hilton Head before, and we just loved it. Such a "family-friendly" vacation spot and hopefully we'll return soon. Maybe even next summer?! Between all 12 of us we took LOTS of photos. Here's a small collection with some highlight moments of the fun week together down south. (August 1st - 9th)

After our dinner at Kingfisher's restaurant.

Funny group photo after dinner. Go Team!

Here's some cute photos of people in our "Party of 12"

My parents: Mark & Lori

My sister and her boyfriend: Natalie & Mike

My brother and his fiance: JulieAnna & Jonathan

JulieAnna's family (flew to meet us from Utah) Maria, Julio, Anna & JA

And here's our little beach-bum...showing off on the beach. Should I contact a modeling agency?

This sand is GREAT fun!

Okay, can you all see where Madelyn gets her hair from? How cute is this?!!

We spent lots of time playing with Maddy in the shallow ocean water. Kept us cool and kept her entertained. More sunscreen please!

She was so brave with swimming. Kicking her legs and really trying to get the hang of it.

Fun group photo in the ocean.

I think Jonathan was the photographer (only one missing from the pic)

So yes, you were seeing correctly from the above photos that I actually mustered up the nerve to wear a 2-piece bathing suit. Ha! I decided that since I get lots of stares regardless to just "let it all hang out" and go "Hollywood Style" (that's what we called it!) Here's me & my little baby boy in our shining glory.

I just loved this photo of my dad and Madelyn. So sweet.

And here's our sweet girl on our long 12-hour journey home. She was such a trooper.

The End.