So I am the worst blogger ever- I forget to post, there haven't been many pictures, and I apologize. I have looked in every last dastardly place for our stinking camera charging cord and still cannot find it. So I guess I'll be buying a new one. And we all know what will happen when I buy a new cord, right? I'll find the other damn one.....
Read more...We have spent this week and little of last week digging river rock out of the landscape of our yard. It was awful! I might exaggerate the work involved on some other projects, but the removal of rock from a garden really stinks. It's heavy, never-ending, and did I mention HEAVY?! Well, we have removed the rock from about a third of our property and finally got to plant this week! It was so exciting, and as luck would have it, everything is on sale since it's nearing the end of the summer season. We got bags of mulch for $1.50 each (which has been fantastic since we've already gone through 10 bags just for the front yard landscape) and were able to get a great deal on hydrangea and peony plants. The house already had hostas growing in a side garden, so we have just been separating and replanting those.
I feel so bad because I can't post pictures of the newest renovations to the house! Somewhere in the move I lost the charger to my camera and have been unable to take pictures since the beginning of July, it really stinks because we've been getting a lot done and I just want to show it off. Oh well, I guess this means I'll either have to scour through the house for the charger or go shopping for one....it may not be such a "horrible" situation after all. :)
Since baseball ended this has pretty much been it for us, working on the house inside and out. Hauling out river rock from the garden, adding to our entertainment center (we have SO much storage now), decorating, etc. So far we have almost all of the rock removed from the front of the house, so I get to plant some flowers and move my hostas finally!! This weekend we have a wedding to attend where we will meet up with all of our friends from college and some other friends that we live near, but life just gets in the way of us seeing each other as much as we'd like to.
On another note, I have a buddy for the rest of the summer. My sister, Amanda, moved out of my parents' place in Sioux City and in with my brother, Tom, in Ames. It's nice because now I have someone to do all the things that Jerod won't do with me: swimming, shopping, movies, I'm loving it. She'll be here until leaving for basic training October 20th, I'm looking forward to spending more time with her until then. Jerod is looking forward to being able to chastise her for any and everything he can until her departure.
Wish me luck and pray to Saint Anthony for me that I find my charger so I can post pics of the house and hopefully the wedding weekend!
I'm not gonna lie, it's been a rough season for the West Marshall Trojans baseball team. Every night they played there was something missing: their hitting and pitching would be on, but they struggled on defense; or their defense was great, hitting was okay, but they couldn't get the ball over the plate. I also noticed that the boys lacked the "spark" and charisma they usually display during games. In the past they had always come up with little antics or inside jokes to help them relax and stay loose during games, but this season the boys just seemed to overthink themselves.
Well I don't know what changed this past week, but someone ate their Wheaties! They lost a close game to Nevada on Thursday night, their last regular season game, but they did not go down without a fight, the game ended 10-9 in the 10th inning. Then, at their first round district game on Saturday, they displayed the same energy and confidence that I witnessed in them at the Nevada game, and it paid off. They played hard, they played well, and they earned a win. Their faces were so bright with smiles and whooping and hollering, it was about time we got our baseball players back. So wish the Trojans luck as they take on AGWSR in their second round game on Tuesday night!
No we did NOT fall off the face of the earth- it turns out our lives are just taken over by baseball the first half of the summer :) We were able to take a mini-vacation this weekend with my in-laws to Pennsylvania for my brother-in-law, Heath's, wedding. There were 9 of us with our baggage and gifts packed into a 15 passenger van, Jerod's other 4 brothers, ourselves, his parents, and his Grandma Carole. Although it was a long drive and I've never heard 5 grown boys complain like little school girls, including my husband, we had plenty of time to visit and made some memories on that trip that I'm sure we'll never forget. The wedding was beautiful and though I don't have pictures of the actual ceremony I have a couple from the venue where it took place. It was at a Community of Christ summer camp where Alice, Heath's wife, spent much time while growing up. It was a very small, intimate wedding where they dared serve hotwings! Gutsy to serve such a messy food on a day when everyone was so dressed up, haha!
On the way back to Iowa Jerod coerced his dad that it would be a great idea to stop in South Bend, Indiana, home to Notre Dame. It was right off of I-80/94 so we took a small detour Sunday morning and walked around by the football stadium before heading back on the road. There are a few pictures of that short jaunt below. While, in the future, we hope Jerod's brothers get married somewhere closer to Iowa, it was a great family trip, and I had a lot of fun hanging out my in-laws. Overall, good times were had by everyone!
The small lake where Heath and Alice were married next to. 
Jerod and I on the bridge leading to the "reception hall", it's right behind us. It was right on the little lake, my favorite part was feeding the fish off the back railing overlooking the lake. I know, I'm such a child :) 
Touchdown Jesus. This building is just to the north of the stadium, but if you're inside the stadium in the top tier, you can still see Touchdown Jesus poking over the top row.
Jerod HAD to get a picture with Lou Holtz. He can't stand Notre Dame, he only wanted to stop to see Touchdown Jesus, but was pleasantly surprised because he forgot there is a statue honoring Lou.
Just to show how big the stadium is, in the pciture I took previous to this one Jerod is giving Notre Dame "the bird", I told you he doesn't like them :)
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My little brother Gabriel just celebrate his first communion this past weekend in Sioux City. My mom and I went shopping to find new pants and a tie for his special occasion. While we were at Kohl's we found the cutest little outfit- long sleeve shirt, tie, vest, and dress pants, and we were looking everywhere for a size 8- but the largest they had was a 7x. So sad, he's all grown up now- I can still remember him crawling down the hallway of my dorm my freshman year of college. Now, he's playing little league ball, in the Siouxland Youth Chorus, and his "big teeth" are growing in (just as crooked as mine were, by the way). I'm sure this is only a smidge of how moms feel about their babies growing up....
Gabe receiving first communion
Gabe outside of the Sacred Heart
Gabe with his Godparents, Uncle Mike and Aunt Hope
17 years and 360 days age difference
It's been forever since we've had a chance to jot anything down on the blog! Here is a little update on the renovations:
-All rooms have now been painted with the exception of the hallway and bathroom.
-We now have a shower that is NOT olive green!!
-We can only take ice cold showers because the 15 year old water heater finally decided to give out.
-We are keeping the cupboards that were built in the kitchen. I started putting away dishes and stuff inside them and then I got attached. It will also save us $2000 dollars, not having to replace them.
-We (and by we I mean my dad) were able to shorten the cupboards over the counter that looks into the living room and they already look SO much better, need hardware and to flip the way some doors open.
-The entry to the house is now tiled courtesy of moi. I love it, and now dirty shoes won't get on our soon-to-be new carpet
-The bedrooms and office now have curtains so that our next door neighbor who is also our backyard neighbor can't see into the rooms at night, and no one else can for that matter.
-We bought new washing machine, still a top loader but with no agitator- I love it.......
-We will have carpet and a new water heater by next weekend!!
We're going to send out postcards anyway, but if anyone needs our mailing address it is:
P.O. Box 154
State Center, IA 50247
