AOS Timeline by: Jorg

Here is my AOS timeline for Permanent residency (CR Greencard) from Conditional

04/17/2008 I-751 (with $545 Check) send to Nebrasca USCIS Service Center (regular mail no return receipt)
04/21/2008 Checks cashed (545$)
04/22/2008 Case got transfered from USCIS Nebraska to USCIS California Service Center
05/16/2008 Biometrical info taken
08/22/2008 Electronic Confirmation that my case has been approved
08/28/2008 Green Card with USCIS Welcome letter received
Total Filling Fees $ 545
Legal Fees $ 0
145 days ahead of regular USCIS schedule for I-751's,
(ask me how to speed up the process without more $)


08/30/2008 California/Mexico here we come!

She's got...

...Personality...and plenty of it...

Here's Rebecca in her car seat
sporting her daddy's sunglasses!She's got one hand in her pocket, and the other one is giving the peace sign!

Click to enlarge:

Prayers

My cousin Katy (Lindsay) Clark's sister-in-law was in a private plane crash with her husband last Saturday night. Both are in critical condition. Their names are Stephanie and Christian Nielson.

The button below is a link to Stephanie's Blog. She's adorable. I have looked her up from time to time to see the creative things she does with her kids.

Updates on their situation are posted on Stephanie's sister's blog. I have been thinking about them constantly since I heard the news on Monday. Please pray for Stephanie and Christian!

Fun at the Farm

Last Saturday we went to the Thanksgiving Point Farm. It's a little petting zoo that was perfect for our animal lover! Rebecca had so much fun petting and feeding the animals. She is screaming with delight in this clip:

It took some practice, but she was pretty good at getting the corn kernels into the animals mouths. She liked feeding the goats the most, because they were down on her level.


She got to ride a little pony!

She was so excited (before the ride):

She shook her head "no" when it was time to get off:


We had such a great time, we will definitely be going back. Also, isn't her little Princess top cute!? Her Omi Birgit made it for her. We like it!

Little Friends

A couple of weeks ago, Rebecca and I met up with Emily and Natalie, Meghan and Mckinlay (in town from Boston), and Aunt Kathy Jo. The little girls were so cute playing in Kathy Jo's ADORABLE play room! She has fun toys. We like it!

Emily had a mini photo shoot with Mckinlay and got some beautiful shots. Mckinlay is SO stinkin' cute!

The Humble Weed Wackers

Sequel to: The Humble Ditch Diggers. We have a wonderful family! Grandpa Jim and Omi Birgit have come down from Brigham City 5 times (driving 4 hours round-trip), spent 5 or so nights at our house, and worked easily 80+ hours on our yard. The Aldrich crew also spent a couple of evenings helping out. Below (taming the jungle) are Jim, Birgit, Papa John, our neighbor Trent, and me & Jorg.

Jim took Rebecca for a tractor ride:



The result: Isn't it pretty? We now have a full sprinkler system, a flat, weed-free yard, and grass sprouting at this very moment!

We always have a great time when Jim and Birgit come down. We eat good food, laugh, talk, and get most entertainment from our silly daughter. I never knew yard work could be so much fun. Thank you, Jim and Birgit, for your labor of love! You amaze us! We are the luckiest!!

Kline Fish!

Rebecca had so much fun at swimming lessons! We like it!

She learned to float on her back and stomach, climb out of the pool, kick her feet, move her arms, and she got used to being under the water.She never cried, even when I had to dunk her. Here she just came out of from under the water. See her smile:And after every "dunk"she gave me huggies. Every time. It was so adorable. I just love her!

JOEL: The Rockstar

My talented little brother tried out for American Idol. He didn't make the cut, but he had a great time. He was on the news, answering a question and singing!

Togatholing in Tahoe!

In July we spent a week in Nevada, visiting Lake Tahoe with the Aldrich side of the family. Our poor cutie came down with a fever that lasted 4 days. We were worried about her and were in correspondence with her doctor. She was so sick she just wanted her parents to hold her. It was like she was three months old again. It was so nice to cuddle with her, but at the same time, we missed our curious and spunky girl. Everyone was happy and relieved when she started feeling better.

Once she started feeling better, the fun could begin! We stayed at David Wally's Resort in Nevada (Wally World). It is built on a hot springs, so there was a nice pool and spa there. We have our feet in the hot springs water here:

We drove to two different beaches around Lake Tahoe. The water was crystal clear and gorgeous! We took out the SeeDo's and swam to "the rocks" where the brave ones jumped from the cliffs. We sunned and played frisbee on the beach. Rebecca like wading in the water. Here is cute cousin Natalie on the beach:

My parents:

Playing on the beach with Uncle Laner:

My dad is hilarious. Before the trip, he kept sending us emails and saying how excited he was about our Family Togatholy. We were all Googling the word to find out what it meant. And kept begging him to tell us what the heck a Togatholy was. A few days into the trip, the suspense was over when he shared with us that he had made up the word. But, just for fun, he broke it down for us and managed to come up with some meaning for it. We used the word the whole trip. Like, when Steph wanted to play frisbee with Jon, she would say, "Jon, would you like to "togathole" with me?" So, here we are "togatholing" in our stylish First Colony Mortgage tee shirts:

Above are Steph and Joel. Below are Emily, Natalie, and Jon.

And here are the Bachmann Three:Thanks for a fun trip, everyone!

The Blue Balloon

Rebecca was playing with this balloon left over from Jorg's birthday and we had a little photo shoot. What a cutie :) I love this pooh bear quote. Isn't it true? Have you ever been uncheered with a balloon? I dare say, you have not...