big news...

That's right, a baby is on the way! I have had lots of time to process this news since we found out the week of Thanksgiving and the best way to describe my feelings is to say that I am cautiously excited. The due date is August 10 and we are welcoming all prayers.

The night that changed my life...

Okay so Gymnastics Superstars. It was awesome, life changing really. I was up close to Shawn, Nastia, and most importantly all of the men from the team, including Blaine Wilson. Those men look small and funny in their unitards on TV, but in real life and wearing nothing but cargo shorts and rippling muscles, doing all of their tricks...life changing (or at least drool inspiring.) The men did all of their routines together, which was cool because at one point there were 4 of them on one pommel horse. It was amazing. The girls did their routines individually and when Nastia was on the bars she was literally like 10 feet away from where my Grandma and I sat. It was really cool. Now for the bad news, my camera battery died about 20 minutes into the show and cameras were allowed so I could have gotten some great pictures. I only got two and the one of Shawn on the beam wasn't very good because the beam was the farthest from our seats.
It was awesome and I had a great time with my grandma, although we were both complaining about the band (they were called KSM) that played in between routines. It was composed of 5 girls under the age of 17 who all thought they were Avril Lavigne. It was absolutely horrific (my Grandma complained that the bass and strobe lights were giving her heart palpitations)! If any of you with young daughters get wind of this band I would recommend banning them from your home. It was really that bad.

update coming...

I know I have been a negligent blogger lately, but I promise I will get an update out in the next day or so to let you all know what we have been up to. I finally have new camera batteries too so I will post pictures. Talk to you soon...

cold and cozy night

We love using our fireplace in our new house. It appears that Harvey is a fan too.

p.s. tonight I am going to the Gymnastics Superstars tour with my Grandma. We have floor seats and I am so excited to see Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin that I couldn't sleep last night. I'm pretty sure they won't allow cameras, but I'll try to sneak one in so that I can blog.

Go Hawkeyes!

Yesterday we went to the Iowa vs. Penn St. game where the Hawkeyes beat the undefeated, 3rd ranked team in the country. It was freezing cold (high was 33) and there were snow flurries for most of the day, but thanks to a fantastic heater and the power of a few beers we stayed warm and toasty during the tailgate and only froze during the game. We had a great time.

Here are some pictures.

The final score, Go Hawks!

The field after the game when all of the fans rushed down.
Made me kind of clausterphobic to look at, I stayed in the stands.

Melissa and I trying to stay warm during the game.

Nikki, Mike, Me, Herky the Hawkeye, Melissa and Trent

Melissa, Nikki and I

maybe you should all get my autograph now...

So a few weeks ago I let Mike talk me into getting the game Rock Band. Now I'm not sure how many of you know about this game, but basically it is like Karoke, except for there are drums, a lead guitar, a bass guitar and vocals. You play along to a variety of songs and can form your own band and the better you play the more fans you get and then the more gigs (that's right, I said gigs, some people were just born to rock) you can play. I am pretty sure that this game was designed and marketed to people much younger than Mike and I but we are sort of addicted. We have come to learn our strengths as musicians (I am a phenomenal bass guitarist and couldn't play the drums to save my life and Mike is pretty much good at all of them). Sometimes I worry that our neighbors will see into our windows at night and see us jamming out on fake guitars and dancing around and have us committed. But, it is a really great distraction from real life and it is kind of fun to unleash your inner rock star.
ROCK ON!

rocking chair

We got a call last week that the rocking chair we ordered from Babies R Us in early July was in, ouch! Mike went and picked it up tonight and we are going to put it up in the baby's room. I am supposed to be rocking a baby in that chair and not sitting in it with empty arms. I know God will bless me someday with a baby to rock in this chair, but right now it just seems to be a cruel piece of furniture that is mocking me. Is that a bit dramatic?
p.s. Thanks to the Rozeboom/Criddle clan for letting me crash your party this weekend. It was great to see all of you and to get to love on Lulu for a few minutes!