Showering

32 weeks and still smiling!

Fondue GOOD!!!

     215 was filled with activity over the Memorial Day weekend. Wendy hosted a baby shower for the projected July 21st delivery. Family and friends began filling the homestead Thursday and left Monday.
     The weekend was filled with great food including 3 types of cheese fondue! Cheddar, Fontina, and traditional Swiss cheese fondues were thoroughly enjoyed by all. A wonderfully lazy time on the couches was enjoyed soon afterward.

Autumn chillax'n after getting ready.

       All scavenged for breakfast on Saturday. Then the kitchen was filled with energy and the living room was prepped for the shower. Balloons were blown up, cupcakes baked, tables were prepped, fruits cut, and all sorts of tasks completed. People came! Sara, Ben, Emily, Wendy, Beth, Bill and myself set up camp in living room.

Ben enjoying lunch!

      The shower started with fun and games organized by Wendy. A word search was begun and the winner - WENDY! She got to choose from the prize shelf. Then the men-folk left to do manly things - i.e. reinforcing our new dresser for the nursery - while the women-folk continued to celebrate.

     What follows is Abby enjoying the festivities:

     The shower wrapped up with many very full participants, a lot of great things, and home designed onesies for the expected kiddo.

     We thank all who attended, sent wishes and gifts, and continues to send us blessings! We'll keep you updated with the happenings! Thank you!

Sam says - Abby's funny!

Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes

Abby and I spent a lazy Saturday morning working in the garden and yard. It was a beautiful cool morning, perfect for getting our hands a little dirty.

So while I mowed the lawn, Abby worked on our future bounty of tomatoes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, onions, and so much more! I bagged the grass and periodically brought it for use in the garden.

Rumor has it that laying grass down helps keeps the weeds down and moisture in! We got that advice from a very experienced gardener who we absolutely trust on these matters - since I readily admit to having a not-too-green thumb.

I decided to add a hummingbird feeder after watching dozens of bees use it instead of hummingbirds. I figure (probably wrongly - but I've no idea) that bees will help plants grow and germinate - or something like that.

We also have blackberry bushes growing. I look forward to getting some fresh berries later this Summer. And on the side of the house we have hot jalapenos and more tomatoes growing. I am VERY EXCITED for all those tomatoes!

Following a tradition started in the previous post - Autumn and Sam say "sup?"

The Campbell Crest

     The first Highland Games of the season were hosted locally. Abby and I attended and were witnesses to some incredible athletes and were surrounded by the Scottish culture.

     There were several different clans being represented at the games. I got Abby to pose with her familial crest. It was like she was surrounded by family!
     The Highland Games had many activities. We watched men throwing cabers. These are 400 pound pieces of wood that are ~20 feet long. HUGE! These guys were kicking butt!
     Men were throwing 40 pound rocks shot-put style, heaving bales of hay over a bar 30 feet in the air, and throwing a loose version of a kettleball for height and distance.
     It also included a sword demonstration and Highland animals. We learned about Highland cattle and how the Queen of England keeps a herd at Balmoral castle. We also met a Clydesdale!

     There was a short parade that included bag-pipers. There were eight of them, of which five were women. They were incredible!

     After a lunch of what was called Scottish food - but left us wondering what type of food it really was - we enjoyed watching a shepherding dog demonstration. The shepherd demonstrated with three different dogs that he had trained. He then spent some time with us answering questions and letting us meet one of his dogs.
     It was a very interesting day! I got to understand quite a bit about Abby's Scottish heritage.

Weekend with Ma and Pa

Ma and Pa came up from the Kansas homestead to visit for the weekend. They got here late on Friday because they stopped in Leavenworth for a wedding.  We got some cake out of the deal, it was homemade and gorgeous (and also delicious). 

Ma is a little bit exciting about the grandchild.  She brought the following:  5 quilts, 6 blankets, 7 crib sheets and two crocheted blankets.

She also made and brought me three new maternity shirts.  Thanks Mom!

On Saturday we went to Kansas City to see the just built Mormon Temple.  Normally only recommended members are allowed in, but before it is dedicated they have tours for anyone to see the inside.  We waited in line for a while (Matt and I had sunburned scalps), but it was awesome to see.  They put booties on us so that we didn't mess up their new carpet.  This was a wise idea- last Saturday they had over 7,000 visitors and yesterday they were expecting to exceed that number.  It was interesting to learn about and see everything.

After the tour we took Ma and Pa to Costco to get things for dinner.  Again we didn't escape with only the items we went in for.  Oops.

We got home around 3:30 and Matt, Ma and I went out to the garden.  We used some "homemade" (with the help from lots of worms and rolly polys and other bugs) compost to add organic material so our new plants will grow.  Ma also brought us more than thirty seedlings to plant.  We planted 7 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of eggplant, 7 kinds of peppers, basil, thyme, dill, chives, summer savory, broccoli and brussel sprouts.  It was hard work getting the ground ready and everything in.  Matt even started a new growing spot on the side of the house.  I think my mom wound up doing most of the work, but I'm still sore today!  Matt put up a fence today so the dogs can't get into the garden and walk on the plants.  I'll be excited when we get to enjoy the vegetables of our labor. 

Matt and Pa put together the crib and stroller in the nursery today.  The crib is a loan from Matt's boss.  The stroller is a gift from Matt's sister that we got about two days after we told people we were expecting.  Thank you Liz! 

Pa hung the new curtains, also sewn by my mom, and the room is identifiable as a nursery now.  We are still looking for some items, but the important things are done.

Unfortunately, Ma and Pa had to leave today, but this was a very productive weekend.  I think I might need another weekend starting now to recover.  Luckily, neither Matt nor I have anything planned for tonight.

Autumn says, "'Sup."

Now the room is c-l-o-s-e-r to halfway there.....

     What a nice SSS-LLL-OOO-WWW Sunday after a hectic Friday and Saturday. Abby and I both worked all day on Friday then left town at 5:00 PM to attend the Hospitality Management Department Travel and Dining Auction in Manhattan, Kansas. We arrived shortly before 8:00 - just in time for me to win a couple items and to enjoy seeing so many people I miss.

     I had a great evening and got to speak with so many great friends at the auction! Abby hung out with her best friend. We then went to Willys Bar and enjoyed beverages and the best burger I've had in a while!
     Driving home Saturday was an ordeal! Some seriously foul weather was expected in central Kansas so we took off after enjoying breakfast with my major professor and lunch with Abby's friends! It was SSS-OOO windy that it was difficult staying in our lane on I-70. The wind finally died down around Kansas City and we had a pleasurable trip home. My mom was happy. She pleaded with us to get the heck out of Kansas before the poop hit the fan!
     We took to the basement today and cleaned that up! The dehumidifier we bought last week has done a wonderful job and the basement finally feels like it did prior to the waterworks of Thanksgiving!

     We pulled a bunch of furniture out of the room, setting up the bed in our newly cleaned basement. We have a mostly blank slate in the nursery - of course we already have some Kansas State University gear in the room - like the pillow in the picture above that we picked up in Manhattan on Friday night.

     That's pretty much all for now. We'll get new pictures of the "refreshed" basement and the more firmly finished nursery.

More than halfway there!

Matt and I are slowly getting ready for Baby V in July.  Mostly that means when his very generous family offers us baby things they don't need any more, we say, "yes please". 

My parents are coming to visit in two weeks and the nursery will get worked on more than it has to date.  My mom is bringing curtains and my dad and Matt are moving the bed into the basement (we haven't told my dad this yet...)  Here's some before pictures:

 We painted the room from a dark green when we moved in.  We didn't find out the gender of the baby, but decided blue is a good color either way (also I have no desire to paint for a while). 

I think the rocking chair is the only thing in these pictures that's staying.

Here is a picture of our other project in progress:

25 weeks down, 15 or so to go!

Happy Thanksgiving....

..... Christmas, New Years, MLK Day, Presidents weekend - JEEZ - what is today?

     98 days after the hot water pipe under our sink exploded we finally have our kitchen and living room put back together!

     Here are two pictures of our clean, newly arranged living room showing off our lighter pine colored floors!

     To get ready for the moment involved a lot of preparation beyond the floors being installed (early last week). We had to wait for the weekend to get the rest of the prep done. You see, we had to sweep and clean them very well since Sam was in heat and decided to leave drops of blood on them. Luckily that was easy to clean up. (Thank you Method!)
     Both dogs received bathes and multiple brushings (Autumn is shedding like mad with this warm winter). Finally, stage approval was a requirement from Abby. She approved everything with no changes! (Either I got really lucky or I might actually have a design bone in my body.)

     Here is a view of the updated kitchen:

     We've got a lot of open space that we're still trying to figure out, but the flow feels so much better now that everything that was there before is now available for use.

     We're looking for a nicer cabinet to take the place of the rack (with the toaster oven) and might ask my brother for some opinions!

     I know you've heard it already - but DANG it is nice to have a living room and kitchen that we can fully use and finally enjoy! 98 days is a long time to wait for everything to get put back together!

     We'll get pics of the family room and basement up when we have those rooms finished. We're shuffling most rooms in the house in order to get a nursery ready! (YAY!)

     Much love to friends and family!

   ~ Matt