Baby on Board!

We've got news!!! For those who haven't heard yet, we are expecting a baby on July 21st. While I've been feeling really yucky, Mike has taken the lead in getting things ready - daycare selected, crib purchased and assembled, crib bedding ordered, labor and delivery classes scheduled...and, due to "pregnancy brain", I'm sure there are several other items I've forgotten to list. I think we will be ahead of the game - six more months to wait!

As we've anticipated this exciting time in our lives, we (okay, me) have often pondered what it would be like to go grocery shopping and be able to park in the expectant mothers parking space that is close to the front - now we can experience that first hand - ha!

Happy (although quite belated) New Year!

We had a great time in Minnesota over the New Year's weekend despite the fact that it was EXTREMELY cold! A high of -18 one day...yes, I said HIGH. We really enjoyed our time with everyone - the weekend went by too fast!

Here are some of the highlights:
* A surprising toast on New Year's Eve (more to come on that in a future blog entry)
* Ringing in the New Year - surrounded by family - at the Brau Haus
* A slumber party at Mom & Dad's on New Year's Eve
* Singing (and dancing) to "Party in the U.S.A." with Addeson
* Transporting the massive doll house to Addeson & Hadley's house
* Homemade soup with dumplings on a chilly day - yummmmmm
* Wii bowling (and beating Mike once)

Merry Christmas!

We're snowed in - 8 inches so far and the wind is howling! We considered going to a movie this afternoon, but decided a board game at home was a safer option.

We had anticipated spending Christmas Eve/Day with Mike's parents, so stocking up on groceries had not been on the top of our 'to do' list. After church last night, we drove by Hy-Vee only to discover they closed at 6:00pm. A quick inventory of our refrigerator/freezer determined that our Christmas feast would consist of hot dogs and mac 'n cheese. Luckily, Wal-Mart pulled through as they were open until 8:00pm. We arrived in time to pick up bananas, a pizza and some chicken nuggets. Yes, so much classier than hot dogs/mac 'n cheese.

We have ignored our blogsite far too long, so I will attempt to hit some highlights from the past month...

My parents came to visit us the weekend before Mike's birthday. My mom attended her first Nebraska football game and we successfully cheered them on to a win.


The Thanksgiving holiday included a trip to Colorado with Mike's family. We helped cheer on the Broncos and Huskers to victories!


Two weeks ago, my travels took me to Erie, Pennsylvania. During a layover in Chicago, my co-worker and I stopped at a restaurant in the airport to eat. We sat at a table next to a young woman dressed in army fatigues. When the waitress came to take her plate at the conclusion of her lunch, she told the young woman that her meal and been paid for by someone who wanted to thank her for her service to our country (he had apparently already left the restaurant). So very cool. Wish I would have thought of it first.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! Travel safe and stay warm!

Take Me Away

It's been one month. I want to go back to Cancun. I came home after work on Friday to find water in our basement AGAIN. One of the joints in the pipe that funnels the groundwater back outside had broken apart and the sump pump was spewing water everywhere. After two inches of rain on Thursday, we were already leery of the sump pump (the fear of what happened four months ago still fresh in our minds) and had been checking it often. In fact, Mike had checked it at 3:30 on Friday afternoon. Amazing what kind of damage can occur in less than two hours. We learned the hard way that a Homeowner's Insurance deductible does not work like a Health Insurance deductible. You pay the deductible PER CLAIM, not per year. Just what we wanted to spend $2,000 on this year.

I worked from home today due to the revolving front door - ServiceMaster technicians, the insurance adjuster and the plumber all paying me a visit. The plumber was 85 years old and I felt bad for the number of times he had to go up and down the stairs. The ServiceMaster guys remembered me and were all curious to hear how my back recovery was coming along. For as often as I've seen these guys this year, they'll probably be added to my Christmas correspondence list.

Since I miss Cancun so much, I figured I would post some more pictures. One of which is the Magician that looked much like a Vampire (check out his teeth). Another is of a waiter that looked like Danny DeVito's clone. Ahhhh, it was such a fun trip!!!!!

Ann's 30th Birthday Celebration - Cancun Style

My lovely sister Ann turned the big 3-0 on August 26th. Since we weren't able to celebrate with her in Minnesota, and because her actual birthday fell on a weekday night (Ann needs to be in bed by 10:00), we decided it would be wise to have a "celebrate Ann's 30th Birthday" theme night in Cancun, especially since Addeson and Hadley were in the good care of Grandma Nancy and Papa Ron, so Ann was guaranteed a full night's sleep after a few glasses of wine.

The selected restaurant was "Maria's". The three-man band providing musical entertainment at Maria's even serenaded Ann with the Mexican version of the Happy Birthday song. Ann also received a tasty dessert treat with "Happy 30th Birthday" written in gel frosting around the edge of the plate. She even shared a bite with all of us, while we toasted her with some champagne. So much fun!!! Probably my favorite night in Cancun!

Unbelievable Surprise!!!!!!

In late July, when Mike asked if I thought I might be ready to accompany him on a work trip at the end of September that would require travel by airplane, I wasn't so sure. At that time, I was still on crutches and disappointed with the slowness of my post-surgery recovery. But, trying to think positively, I agreed. His only stipulation was that I NOT know the destination. His only hint - "Think Warm". About two weeks later, I sat down in front of the laptop to check my email. I noticed there was an active internet session, but it was minimized on the screen. Instead of opening up a new session, I thought I would just use the existing one because, of course, I figured Mike just forgot to close out an ESPN website or something. When I pulled up the browser window, I discovered a magical picture of a hotel on a beach - not just any beach, but on Coronado Island in San Diego. Ah-ha! I had figured out the secret without even trying! I figured Mike would be really disappointed to find out that he accidentally spilled the beans, so I pretended not to know. What I wasn't aware of is that my sneaky husband "planted" the internet site and he knew that I would think that I found a pot of gold. What I didn't know is that there was nothing "work-related" about this trip and California was not the destination. I realized Cancun, Mexico, was the destination when we arrived at the airport on Thursday morning. Though I thought nothing could top that surprise, I turned around at the gate in the Dallas airport (where we had a layover) to see my sister and brother-in-law coming my way. Absolutely, incredibly, unbelievable. I was stunned beyond belief. I made Mike pinch me to make sure I hadn't drifted to sleep and come up with a crazy dream. So, so, so awesome!!! My wonderful husband (and everyone else that knew) pulled off the surprise of all surprises. I had NO idea. We had a great time in Cancun - which I will share in some future posts (too many pictures to post all at once). For now, here's a video of my reaction to seeing my sister at the airport... P.S. I thought Mike was just video taping random footage - had no idea what was about to happen.

Huskers, Movie Date and a few more pics of St. Louis

Yesterday was the long awaited first game for the Huskers 2009 season. When we got to our seats in Memorial Stadium, a guy a few rows in front of us told his wife he had "goosebumps" from the anticipation and excitement.

My back/foot held out well, although I did have an increase in numbness as the game wore on. I got a great Christmas gift last year - my very own Husker stadium seat! It was very comfortable...well, as comfortable as a bleacher seat can be. Thank goodness for lots of scoring, so that I could stand up and stretch!

Before we left for the game, I spent the morning doing a bunch of touch-up painting around the house. It had been on my list for awhile; however, as you can imagine, not a high priority the past few months. I had went to Sherwin Williams to have them mix a fresh gallon to match exactly to the existing paint. Well, after 24 hours of drying, we determined it was definitely NOT the same color. Oh, great. So, Mike and I headed back to Sherwin Williams this afternoon to complain. The teenie bopper that mixed the paint 2 weeks ago had apparently screwed up the mixture. After a competent employee's intervention, our paint was re-mixed and we appear to have a much better match. My Labor Day weekend fun will include repainting my touch-up work.

After good luck at Sherwin Williams, we decided to go to a late matinee movie - The Proposal. Sandra Bullock is one of my favorite actresses. It was a cute movie. Mike even liked it.

We had a lot of good pictures from our St. Louis trip last weekend...too many for the last blog posting, so I've added a few more here.