Tulips!

Here is what we found when we got home from Florida in our front yard, back yard, under trees, behind bushes, along the garage...pretty much everywhere!

I'm sad they're already done blooming!

Avery's First Valentine's Day...

Happy Valentine's Day, Avery!

What?  It's Valentine's Day?  I had no idea!

Well, in that case, I love you, Mommy and Daddy!

And now, I'm going to go back to chewing on my hand.

My dear little Avery,

I've never been a big celebrator of Valentine's Day in my life.  And then, I married your daddy.

*photo courtesy of Brad Walters Photo

And when that happened, I realized that the love that your daddy and I have for each other is different than any love I have experienced before.

And then, you came along!

And once again, I found out that there was another kind of love that I had never experienced before.

You and your daddy have taken my heart.

I love you both so much and I am so blessed that I get to spend the rest of my life with you!

I'm Working On It...

I am hoping in ythe next day or so, I can get a post or two up.

Parenting is hard work!  I am typing with one hand right now while I hold Baby Bruce in my other hand.

So, check back soon for all the details and pictures!

Tad & Holly's Wedding...

My dear cousin, Tad, who is six months younger than me got married this past weekend in Omaha!

This was a very special wedding to celebrate because Tad has always been in my life. I have so many fun memories with him and my other cousins. There are six of us, all within about 2 1/2 years of each other and we grew up together.

Tad's sisters, Lissa and Jaimie, gave a toast at the reception and shared their "Top 10 Embarrassing Memories" of Tad. I remembered several of them, as I was a part of them, too.

It is so awesome to see Tad so happy with his new beautiful wife, Holly!

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I took very few pictures at the wedding. I wish I had gotten a picture of the happy couple. Take my word for it. They were HAPPY!

At the beginning of the reception, I reminded Gramma how the first thing I saw when we walked into our reception was her standing on a chair!

So, she promptly jumped up on a chair to whoop and holler as Tad and Holly were announced!

I love my Gramma!

And this little girl stole my heart all weekend. My niece, Hannah, is talking so much and has the cutest personality. I wish she (and her parents) lived closer! Hannah is saying my name perfectly. I have to say I was a big hit. This is her dancing with her daddy.

Over the weekend, we learned that Hannah is going to be a big sister! Congrats, Kyle, Alexis, and Hannah!

This is my cousin, Jaimie, and her daughter, Makenna. Both Jaimie and Makenna were in my wedding, as bridesmaid and flower girl. Aren't they both gorgeous?

We also learned that Makenna is going to be a big sister, too! Congratulations Jaimie, Clayton, Taylor, and Makenna!

Babies are in the air!

Here's a picture of my sister Kelsi, and my Aunt Cheryl. Over the weekend, we learned....

Just kidding! Neither one of them is having a baby anytime soon. Ha!

And here is a picture of my handsome Huzz and me. Because my feet were hurting about 5 minutes after I put my shoes on before we left for the wedding, I spent the majority of the evening sitting down. My feet were humongous by the end of the night! I had even gone and bought shoes a whole size bigger just for the wedding.

Shoes are my enemy right now.

Once again, we are just so overjoyed for Tad and Holly! We pray you will have a beautiful life together. Thank you, Holly, for making my cousin so happy!

Two Years Ago Today...

We married each other.

We committed to each other.

We began the rest of our lives together.

I am so blessed that I get to spend the rest of my life with my husband.

I am so thankful God gave me this gift.

I love you, baby!

*Photos courtesy of Brad Walters Photography

Video of a Video...

It's the best I can do. I recorded the ultrasound on the computer screen with my camera. It actually turned out better than I thought it would!

Look for: Kicking of the legs, the heart beating, mouth opening and the hand going in, both sides of the brain, vertebrate of the spine...and just the fact that this little blessing is only the size of your fist!

I love this...

Read this post from BigMama about her Mother's Day. Cracks me up!

Meow!!!

We are letting the cat out of the bag...

NOVEMBER 2009!!!

Heeeeere's Billie!...

On Thursday evening after work, we went with Matt & Sonia to see Rick, Katy, and baby Billie at the hospital.
We were there about 40 minutes and she was wide awake the whole time, looking around. She got passed around a lot and just went with the flow. She cried once and sounded so cute!

Ooh, Stephen is comfy-cozy!

Proud Mommy and Daddy with their new baby!

Congratulations, Rick & Katy!

She is absolutely beautiful!

Spoke Too Soon...

The weather forecast said it was going to be rainy all week ~ typical spring time weather, right?

Last night, I woke up a couple of times, due the noisiness in our bedroom. The rain was so loud on the galvinized overhangs, it sounded like people were running around out there!

When I came out of our apartment building this morning on my way to work, it had just started snowing. Big, huge, wet flakes. Luckily, I was prepared for rain, so I had my umbrella.

Ella, ella...

It is 4 hours later and it has been snowing hard ever since. Still huge, fluffy, wet flakes. I didn't think it would stick because it's so wet, but it has and I think we have about 6 inches! We are talking snowflakes the size of quarters, people. I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera again on the dining room table. I am so forgetful lately!

When I met up with my friends this morning to go to work, I found out that our friend, Katy, went to the hospital this morning because she thought she might be in labor! Very exciting! She was scheduled to have a C-section next Wednesday (been postponed three times, now!) so we're thinking that even if she is having false labor, they might just go ahead and do the C-section. So, we might be going to the hospital after work to visit.

We haven't heard anything yet, so we'll play it by ear. Sooooo excited for Katy and Rick!

My Favorite Thing(s)...

My question is: What is your favorite thing about the Big K.? make a list. Your probably going to say grandma you are nuts. Oh well. from the picture the mountains are beautiful, and some food (adventure). Love you!!! - Gramma

That's my Gramma G. She has a blog that shows how talented of a painter she is. Quite the artist! She is so creative and is always making things....paintings, quilts (for ALL of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - that's 30 quilts, people), cooking, sewing, painting pottery (she painted me a set of pasta bowls that I just LOVE), and knitting. I'm sure there are plenty of other things she is creative with, but you get the idea.

Anyway, to Gramma's question...

Gramma, it is hard to say what is my favorite thing about the big K right now. I suppose one day, my favorite things about here will be some things I despised while I was here! I have to say that right now, my favorite thing has to be the people we have met and come to know during our time here. We know mostly ex-pats, but we have come to know a few locals. At first, the local people here come across as extremely rude. Most of the time, I still think they are rude. They don't smile, they push you out of their way, they are very impatient, and they tend to yell at you in Russian to show their disapproval. Then, when you tell them you don't speak Russian and you don't understand, they continue to yell at you in Russian, expecting you to respond. It's very humbling.

But, once you get to know someone and they realize you are trying to learn Russian and you are trying to live in their culture, they are very warm and hospitable and understanding. It just seems to take a long time to win that chance.

I would not say I love the food here, as it is very meat & potatoey, cabbage-ey, horsey-type food. It's not really my cup of tea. This is not what one would call a culinary capital. It's stick-to-your-ribs, survival food that reminds you that these people have lived through some very difficult times and ate what they had to eat. They continue to eat it because it is all they know. Since the cities are becoming more and more westernized, they are being exposed to the strange foods from far away lands, like Italian. And from what I understand, they love them some pizza.

Good question, Gramma!

Tomorrow, I will answer the next question, which I believe was from my Daddy.

Have a good Monday!

Gobble, gobble...

In four weeks, we will be staying here:
It's the Hotel Alp, in Istanbul, Turkey!

We will be enjoying our breakfast and leisure time up on that veranda that overlooks the ships coming in.

And we'll eat at places like this:

And this:

Yep, I'm just a little bit excited!

So cute...

D to the Dubbs....

Who is the dishwasher in your house?
What's that? You have a dishwasher?

We don't. And we didn't when we lived in NYC, either. I forgot how much I hate not having one.

I despise handwashing dishes. The only time I don't mind doing them is when you have to wash the china.

But I registered for dishwasher safe china, so I will not even have this problem. One day. When I can live in a house with my stuff.

Gotta say: The dishwasher has to be one of the greatest inventions....EVER.

Lucky for me, Huzz is going home soon to do the dishes so I don't have to. Aren't I the luckiest girl, ever?

My, That Floor is Bouncy...

One of the things we did while in Colorado was go to a gymnastics competition. We didn't just go because we randomly enjoy going to things like that. We went because my Hannah was competing.

Here is her gymnastics class, lined up on the balance beam, waiting their turns. Hannah isn't in this picture because she was...
Right here! That's her on the balance beam. She did awesome! (Sorry for the horrible quality of the pictures. The lighting was bad and it is just convincing me that I should get a point-and-shoot camera.)

For instance, this picture below, was supposed to be her with her hands up in the air, but my camera took so long to take the picture, that I got her pushing her hair behind her ears.

She's cute, no matter what, but FRUSTRATING!

And here is a video of her floor routine. I love how confidant she is. She knows exactly what is coming next and I don't know why her coach helped her because in my opinion, she didn't need it.

Hannah, I am so proud of you! You have worked so hard and learned so much. It was fun to watch you.

Sidenote: I have known Hannah since the day she was born. I have cared for her and watched her grow. She is my Hannah. One day, I was going to name my daughter Hannah, after her, but now I have a niece named Hannah! Oh, well. Ha!

Just know that you are very special to me, Hannah. I love you!

Oh, Yeah.....

I'm not really a dessert eater. I mean, I'll have the occasional slice of pie, if someone else has made it. Once in awhile, ice cream sounds good. I really am not a cake eater. When planning the wedding, I wanted a tier of brownies instead of a cake. We ended up getting a cake, which was beautiful. We got two flavors: chocolate with chocolate filling and lemon with lemon filling. When we went to the cake tasting, I absolutely loved the lemon one. I was happy with getting the cake if I got to eat lemon.

Well, Stephen and I cut the cake and fed each other....blah, blah, blah. I gradually made my way back to our seats and there was chocolate cake waiting for me. I asked someone to get me a slice of lemon and they came back and said the lemon was all gone. I wanted to cry.

I was the bride!!! It's a sad story, isn't it?

Anyway, if my husband to be wasn't allergic to all nuts, I probably would've gone for a cake like this one:

That's what I'm talking about, people.

That is a chocolate peanut butter cake.

My two sweet loves, brought together in a lovely combination. Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, topped with a chocolate glaze.

Yes, please.

I would start making some sort of rendition of this cake right now, in the big K, if the love of my life wasn't so stinkin' allergic.

One day, I will secretly make this cake and have to hide it somewhere and gain about 10 pounds, scavenging it over the course of a few days.

If you would like to try to make this yourself, simply click on today's blog title and it will take you to the Smitten Kitchen website. Then, take pictures of what you create and please share with me. For now, I will live vicariously through you.

Hummina-Hummina...

I dare you to tell me this sight does not make your mouth instantly water:

I have been in-depth checking out this website during the past few days, putting the yummiest recipes into my computer so that in the event that we lose internet, I can still have access to recipes on my computer.

This picture shows an amazing combination of my two favorite sweet items: chocolate and peanut butter. I don't crave sweet things too often, but usually when I do, it involves these two trouble-makers.

Also, I try to stay away from nuts, now that I'm married to a nut-allergic. How did that happen? I love nuts! And because I love them so, I have found that I can have them, but just have to be careful that we don't make out right afterwards and I brush my teeth.

Oh, too much information? Sorry about that.

If the above picture piques your interest, click here for the recipe. And let me know how they are. I won't be making them anytime soon, mainly due to my lack of access to baking materials.

June #2

So, after moving out of our apartment, we moved into our treasured friends' place downtown, Nathan and Katrina's. Nathan & Katrina were in my class in high school and they are the lifelong friends that everyone wishes they had in their life. They put up with us for a week and a half! We have been having tons of fun, the four of us. The memories we have been creating will definitely be a huge comfort to Stephen and I when we are missing "home" soon.

Here is an awesome view from Nathan & Katrina's balcony. This is the Brooklyn Bridge!

One of the fun things we did was go to a taping of the Conan O'Brian. Here is a picture of us sporting our awesome wristbands, commemorating the event.

Again, showing them off.

The night before we left for Colorado, we stayed up late playing Catch Phrase. This is Forrest, wondering why we aren't in bed yet.

I figured it out!

No, I am not THIS good at manipulating fonts and colors. I was able to finally get a [FREE] HTML template imported onto my bloggy. I don't know why this time it worked, but it did. I think Blogger is a little temperamental because I did the same thing about 4 times and magically, the last time worked. I don't know.

Anyway, what do you think? I love it.

Box count is up to: 10 KZ boxes; 5 CO boxes so far
Pretty much packed completely for KZ, so it's all about CO today, probably until the wee hours of the night, since the movers come tomorrow.

Oh, by the way, it was in the upper 80's yesterday and it rained during the night, and it's already 73 at 11:00 in the morning. You do the math. It's so humid, I'm pretty sure I saw a little cloud float through the apartment. Great packing weather! I should be nice and sweaty and stinky all day long. Lucky Stephen!

Open to Change...

Have you ever read something, or listened to someone and it changed you? I mean, really changed you. Like changed how you feel or think about something. Or maybe reinforced your thinking about an issue.

I experienced this last night. I am going to blog about it more in a few days. I don't have the time right now to get into it, but I will share with you.

Right now, I have an apartment to pack. The movers come Wednesday! I went to the Triple B again and got more Space Bags today, so once Husband is done taking his practice exam, I will be using the vacuum to suck air out of those things like you wouldn't believe!

Anyway, think about if you have had this changing-type experience before. Maybe it will re-spark the significance that it has had on your life.
I can't wait to share with you!