Roasted...

Tonight, Jenny and Travis invited us over for a hotdog roast in their backyard, using their firepit. It was such a nice evening! They also invited our friends, Cory and Elizabeth over for dinner. They are first year students as well and we are excited to get to know them better!

With the fire flaming hot, hot, hot, our expert hotdog roasters took their places. :)

The whole meal was SO tasty...THANK YOU TRAV AND JENNY for dinner. :)

Spencer (a.k.a. the daredevil), was FEARLESS with the firepit. Scared the bajeebies out of me.

And a hotdog roast wouldn't be complete without mashmallows, chocolate and graham crackers.

And a new roasting tradition I had never heard of before, Roasted Starbursts. Jenny introduced me to this--and it was pretty darn tasty!

And what post would be complete without a picture of sweet baby Grace?

The guys were too busy chatting, so I just got a picture of Jenny and Elizabeth. Is it just me, or do they look like they could be sisters?

I feel like this week has been a blur...hardly had a chance to really update this neglected blog. :) We were all so sick last weekend, and since then we have recovered and been getting our basement back to normal. All the necessary things have been repaired and we FINALLY no longer have a stream of water all over. It feels SO good!

In a sense, the tossing of our ruined belongings has gotten easier. At this point in the game, it's been so many days since the flood that no matter the sentimental value, it is usually moldy and just plain gross. In a sense it is kind of liberating. I don't know that I could have imagined myself saying that before. As I looked through all our years of pictures (many now glued together) and tried to salvage them, I realized HOW MANY duplicates I was holding onto...pictures that really don't matter...pictures that I don't even remember the people in them. :) Cleaning that stuff out has been much needed...long awaited...and now complete.

And I have several large plastic bins now filled with what is left of the physical evidence of the memories we have made...a lesson learned. :)

Well, I am going to turn in now. I have a big day ahead of me as I continue the sorting and cleaning and getting things back to...good. :)

Night!

Proud!

The months and months of studying came and went...the test taken...and we have been anxiously waiting to hear the results of Brandon's medical boards.

Heard today...

HE PASSED!

We are SO proud of him! He is such a hard worker and dedicated student, father, and husband.

And I am so proud.

THE GOLDEN BIRTHDAY....

Turning 28 on the 28th...the BIG birthday for Brandon, which happened to be TODAY!

Age is a funny thing between us...It was almost a deal breaker for me when I realized how much I liked him...for whatever reason, I had it in my brain that girls just don't marry younger guys. I just couldn't get over that...

But I did. Luckily.

I can't imagine my life without him in it...and sitting here today, I would have no idea that I am older than 28 years old...which I am...I suppose the age thing makes ME feel a little younger. :)

I surprised Brandon by picking him up from studying and wisked him away to Texas Roadhouse for a quick bite to eat before we came home to babysit for Travis and Jenny to go out for their anniversary. It was a fun surprise...because Brandon is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to surprise. :)

I had big plans to have his present here already, but due to some order issues, the company didn't ship it in time and I had to have it canceled. So, starting from scratch--and ordering this week instead. To let him know what was on the way, I made him an edible Ipod.

I can't wait for the non-edible one to get it here and set up for him. :) He has been really waiting patiently to get this.

So Brandon, HOPING YOU HAD A GREAT GOLDEN DAY...I LOVE YOU! Happy Birthday!

Amazing Grace

We have been B-U-S-Y the past few days...I will update about that later. But this post is 100% dedicated to my SWEET niece (and new neighbor), Grace. We got to babysit her tonight, and I got trigger happy...she is so sweet and smiley and we just LOVE having her around.

Jenna's reaction to Grace is CONSTANT. She LOVES to see her numerous times a day...insists on showing her things, "playing" with her, and squeezing on her every chance she gets.

Kaden's reaction to Grace is KISSES. Every single time he sees her, he goes right to her FEET and kisses them and says (with the cuuuuutest voice I have EVER heard, "HI BABY GACE" (and yes...he misses the R in there)

Spencer's reaction to Grace is AWE. Wide eyes, giggles, and adoration abound with this little guy and his Mini American Idol. He thinks he is HOT STUFF when she is around... :)


So this post is dedicated to our loveable little Grace.

p.s. a few of these are from last night...

Lookin' on the bright side

I don't know that I can keep my downer post at the top of my blog for too long. I wrote it when I was feeling super down this morning (it didn't help that 2 kids had been up in the night puking)...things are better this afternoon. Maybe that's because I am not in the basement digging through things. :) jk

I did want to write about some fun we have had over the past few days. On Friday we went to the Little Tikes headquarters to participate in a focus group. This was SUCH a cool experience. Why??

1. FREE CHILDCARE.

2. FREE FOOD

3. The chance to see all sorts of new products that aren't even on shelves yet.

4. The $100 gift certificate we were given as a thanks for participating...

5. Did I mention free child care?? :)

Our friend Crystal participated also...it was nice to have a friend along for the ride!!
We had such a fun time looking online at all the Little Tikes things we could get with our gift certificate...so many choices! But Brandon and I narrowed it down today--and in the end, we are getting a super cute Little Tikes play kitchen, 3 piggy flashlights for the kids, a cute handy hauler Train, and a kids grocery cart. It will be nice to have a few things to replace some of the lost toys from the flood. Our total came to .44 cents!!!

I can't wait to go again...it really was such a fun experience!

After our Little Tikes adventure, we went to a place I have heard nothing but sweet things about...a cupcake place in Hudson, Ohio called Main Street Cupcakes. Absolutely CUTE, CUTE, CUTE little stores and buildings lined the streets and everything was so quaint and fun.

Ad the cupcakes....oh, the cupcakes...TO. DIE. FOR.
We covered a variety of flavors, from sprinkled birthday cake to Chocolate oreo, and from Root Beer float to Half Baked (chocolate chip cookie dough baked inside a cupcake with the most DELICIOUS frosting on top and then topped with a chocolate chip cookie)




Clearly, full faces was the theme. :)

It really was such a great day...

Today I hit up a few garage sales and spent the rest of the day cleaning and organizing things here. We've made some progress. :) I am armed with a gigantic bottle of bleach and am ready to tackle things again as soon as possible. DETERMINED to get this basement rockin' and rollin' again and get over the losses...

That brings me to tonight. A friend who lives here, named Rebecca, is moving away...such a bummer!! So tonight we went to dinner as a girls night--such yummy food. Olive Garden always is. :) I had a really fun time smiling and laughing, and not thinking about all the mess at home.

It was really good for me.
(oh, and picture above....yummy dessert...)
But tonight, I better hit the sack. It's late and I am tired...and I have a feeling we will be up in the night with sick kids again. ;)

Night...

Facing reality

I was doing really good yesterday...felt really optimistic.

And then this morning came.

Jenna asked to go look at the basement. I told her that was fine since it has been sanitized now and we are trying to get things put back and sorted through. BIG MISTAKE.

While down there, she saw the GIANT bags of toys that we have been told to throw away. I had planned on going through them today anyway, hoping to salvage some things--plastic toys and things that can be bleached and cleaned the way some of the other toys were.

I don't know what I thought I was expecting...maybe I was thinking best case scenario....a few toys, mostly junk...ya know? No real loss.

But I was so, so wrong.

Basically all stuffed animals=trash.

Gone. Jenna's super cute barking dog she got for her birthday (which she is SO sad about)...gone.

All the barbies...gone.

My Little Ponies....gone.

ALL of our dress up clothes, purses, baby toys, dolls...all gone.

They are just so gross I don't think I can save any of it at this point.

And my heart feels so sad. So much money gone down the drain (literally). How do I begin to replace the things they really loved?

Sigh. A very heavy sigh.

I am ready to put things back. Get back to some sense of normal down there. But until we get the random raw sewage that has come back into our sump pump out, and get the air conditioner fixed that is now leaking water all over the basement (the condensor pump fried in the flood...) we are just at a stand still. Stuff everywhere...ready to be sorted and put back or cleaned or thrown away...but I can't really move on and get it done when we still have mess to clean up.

And that feels frustrating.

The difference a day makes...

It's been a much better day. For whatever reason, things just seem a lot better today.

Still bummed that so much is ruined. Still bummed that I haven't even gotten to half of it.

But it's OKAY. Things are okay. And now I know how to store things, should we ever flood again. :)

Thank you all for your sweet words...it meant the world to me.

Happy Thursday...and wishing you an even happier Friday.

When life doesn't go as planned...

Yesterday...was it really yesterday???...we went to the park with Jenny and Travis. I have really felt like with all the painting we have done at our landlord's house, the kids have kind of been on the back burner and I really wanted to give them the TIME they deserve.

Jenna and I had been working much of the day on her bike riding skills. She has been too afraid to ride her bike with training wheels and always resorts to her small tricycle. :) But once we got her training wheels adjusted and worked over the way to make the wheels go she was OFF and riding and SO excited!

So, when we went to the park, we took all the bikes. :) Jenny took her roller blades...

SO proud of my big girl!

Spencer was SO jealous of Jenny and her wheels, so he convinced her to let him take them for a spin. :)

See the sunny sky in the picture above? Not long after this picture was taken, we packed up and went home. A few minutes after getting in the car, it started to rain. Then it rained harder...and harder...and the harder the rain fell, the slower the traffic went...and the more nervous I got.

It was POURING so hard when we were approaching our street, that there were cars stuck in the middle of the road and we were forced to take an alternative route. When we got home and in the house (completely drenched) I got busy cleaning up and taking care of things. I heard some things falling in the basement, and so I hurried down to see what was going on.

I was met with a SPLASH at the bottom of the stairs...

Our basement was flooded.

I went into panic mode and started hauling everything I could...and hoping Brandon would come home soon. THANKFULLY Travis and Jenny came over to help and our friend Crystal kept an eye on the kids.

It was such a mess...such a nasty mess. And it was such an EMOTIONAL mess. Boxes and boxes of letters, journals, and pictures...all completely soaked. Toys, food, craft supplies and books...all burried under water. I felt SO sad...even though they are just THINGS, a lot of those THINGS were so sentimental and can't be replaced...

And did I mention we didn't have renters insurance? Ya...I know...kicking myself too.

Ironically enough, we had been going to CELEBRATE being done with our big painting job...and we were going to have a great girls night out...

Instead...we ended up dirty and soaked...

Instead of the early bedtime for the kids, taken care of by Brandon, they were still awake at a quarter to 8 when we ladies finally headed out for a bite to eat. (though, Brandon DID get the kiddos in bed)

Late dinner...but a YUMMY one.

Real Idaho Potatoes...

With funny cooks...

and fresh cut fries...

MMMMMM.......sitting here now and wishing I could go get me some more fries. They were SO delicious!

Philly Cheesesteak sandwhich...my first ever. Humiliating to admit this... :)

And instead of our celebratory evening shopping at fun craft stores, we had to settle for the ghetto mart where smelling shampoos was the highlight of the night. :)

Just a definite change in plans...

So all day today, we dealt with NO hot water, boxes of pictures trying to dry out, and just all sorts of emotional junk. :)

I was TOTALLY digging the shirts the cleaners wore when they came to clean today. I want one of these SO bad! :) jk

I know this probably seems llike such a silly thing to get emotional over. But for me, it has been very real. I sort through boxes. I see reminders of my life...pieces and of paper and pictures that I can not get back again. I see good memories, bad memories, funny memories...and I see all the things that make ME.

I have realized a few things as a result...

1- I have forgotten so many things that I have done in my life

2- I still am not comfortable with pictures of me.

3- I am glad I blog. I am glad many of my pictures from the past 2 years are recorded somewhere that water can't damage...

Sigh...slowly making our way through the mess...but piece by piece we are putting things back together.