blogger slackers

Soooo sorry to anyone who checks this blog at all - it's been way too long since I've updated! The end of our summer when by quickly, between mentor/mentee meetings and the usual professional development before the kids come back to school. Nevertheless, we found time to paint and carpet the nursery (although we are still working on finding a home for all the office stuff that used to occupy the spare bedroom)! Will post pictures later, as I've been using the nursery as "Gift-Wrapping Central" as I try to get the nieces' and nephews' birthday gifts ready to go. Aunt Erica isn't the greatest at getting those things done unless it's all done at once. :) Kevin also escaped a car accident almost completely unscathed, and has since purchased hardwood flooring that he wants to lay in the dining room and kitchen sometime in the next few weeks. Like the thoughtful guy he is, he asked if I'd like to help... seeing as how I can barely bend over to tie my shoes, I politely declined the offer to spend a weekend on my hands and knees installing flooring. :)

Summer Projects

Here's to the end of Kevin's first summer NOT fully employed and/or taking months of classes! He might not feel like he relaxed much, but it was great to get things done around home. Kevin got a yard rake and sprayer, so he's helped me with landscaping (and so has cousin Amy - thanks!) We hired a paint crew to paint the barn and a shed, then Kevin and Brent painted the other shed - all non-sided buildings now have paint! Yay! The paint crew is also coming back to paint some of the tin roofs that have begun to rust.

Kevin also got the cabinetry in the living room to a usable point, and it looks awesome! The only pieces left are to build the drawers and doors. It's hard to believe that all he bought was rough-cut oak, stain, sealer, and a few bits - he literally made all the woodwork himself. He's also made enough mopboards for the entire main floor, and is working on new door and window trim. So whenever we get the front door and windows replaced, we'll have new trim for everything!

Next up - moving the office to the basement (and emptying a desk so Brent can take it to Memphis) then painting and carpeting for the nursery. We seem to be quickly aquiring lots of baby "stuff" and it needs a home! :)

Kiddo's First Pics

OK, grandmas, here you go... the ultrasound pictures! As far as we know, everything looked normal (well, as normal as Kevin's and my child can be!) Sometimes I think I feel movement, but I've been told that in a few weeks there won't be any question - can't wait for that!

We had our first baby shower, courtesy of the Thornton clan - thanks a bunch everyone! And Kevin and I have decided how to decorate the nursery...now to find the time to move the office out and the baby stuff in. We may even have consensus on names, but no, we're not telling you. :)

Enough procrastinating, back to packing for a week and a half in New Mexico! Hope to have some fun stories and pictures to share.

Later -

Las Vegas, here we come!

Kevin and I just returned from a vacation to Las Vegas, and it was awesome! We stayed at a great hotel, ate good food, saw a really funny variety show (and had drinks in those gimmicky plastic glasses with blinking lights), enjoyed the assortment of pools, worked on our tans, and saw the Vegas classics - the fountains at the Bellagio, the pirate show at Treasure Island, the erupting volcano at the Mirage, the show on Fremont St., and we went to the top of the Stratosphere for some great aerial nighttime views of The Strip. Oh, and we managed to donate some money to the Greater Las Vegas Casino fund. :)

The funniest part of the whole trip was our experience on the shuttle from the airport to our hotel. To start, we landed at 11 pm local time (which felt like 1 am). Then, the shuttle line was so long we had to wait for the 3rd bus to arrive before we could finally leave the airport. When we sat down, a group of 3 women sat just in front of, and next to, the four of us (our friends Kara and Jeremy were also on vacation with us). We had just gotten on the highway, when woman #1 exclaimed "Ooh, look at those lights. What hotel do you think that is?" Woman #2 replied, and correctly, "That's the parking ramp of the airport." You see, every structure on or near the Strip in town is adorned with lights of some sort. Then, we passed a billboard for a show called "Thunder Down Under," which was obviously meant for women. Woman #2 saw the billboard and said "Oh, I have that tape!" Well, our group was trying not to laugh at this, as the woman was sitting there with her fanny pack and a pillow covered with snow-skiing polar bears - not the stereotypical strip club attendee. Then, she continued with "...except my tape is just called 'Australia.'" Now we were really struggling to keep the laughter to a minimum. Woman #1 then chimed in to explain, in detail, to Woman #2 just what "thunder down under" means. I don't think I've ever heard anything so funny at 2 am.