April was a Blurrr.

So, it's going to be May tomorrow! Where did April go? Well, I know that I worked a couple of Saturdays and evenings here at Bethel and just started my final course of this school year. Unfortunately this course also introduces our "Capstone" for the master's program, which means that a lot of decisions and writing will begin during this course. I am pretty tired these days...being 8 months along now, plus the added hours at work and school. But I'll survive, right?

May is also proving to be a bit insane with at least one thing scheduled each weekend. However, I think it will be fun as we are having some baby showers! I'm looking forward to focusing a little more on the baby and also seeing friends and family this month!

Sorry there are not many pictures or exciting things to post, but there is always next time!

Love you all!

Tulips are popping up!

We promise to get a better picture later, but our Tulips have started to come up.

Yep! It was a Duck!

Our afternoon adventure started by having some photos taken at the Guthrie and near the Stone Arch Bridge. Cami Thomassen took some maternity photos of Erik and me. We can't wait to see how they turned out! Earlier this week they talked about the possibility of some rain showers today. I'm so glad that didn't happen. What a wonderful day for a photo shoot! Thanks Cami!

Then we made some homemade guacamole for a snack and settled in for the afternoon for some time to write our papers that are due this week. I set up shop on our kitchen table and tried to get motivated. As I was flipping through Facebook :-) I kept hearing a shuffling noise. I first I thought it was the dryer downstairs. Then it got louder. It was coming from the chimney! Oh no! We have a bird trapped in our chimney! I yelled for Erik when the noise got really loud. So much for paper writing...we had a bird to catch!

After getting a few ideas online, we decided to just go for it. First, Erik went next door to ask for some 'protective gear.' This is what he came up with!
After opening the flume, we realized that it was a pretty big bird and it looked a lot like a duck! We were a bit concerned that it wasn't going to be able to fit through the slats of the flume. We covered the fireplace just in case it got out on it's own. After trying to coerce it out for a while, we decided just leave it alone and see if it would come out on its own. Yep! It did! It landed in the tupperware bin we put in the fireplace. I yelled for Erik again (because we had both gone back to paper writing). He came and put the lid on the bin as fast as he could. We got a good look at it then....sure enough, it was a duck!
We took him outside and Erik pulled off the lid.
And he flew away! Fly! Be free little duck.
(you can kind of see him flying away in this picture --he's the blob in the branches on the upper right)
Well, now back to writing our papers.

Happy Easter!

We spent the weekend at the cabin with my family. My mom made some Easter Eggs! My dad and I cut and removed some of the floor in order to put in a new sump pump in the basement. It was a lot of work, but it will be really nice when finished! We hope you all have a great holiday!

Brad's a Rockstar!!

So, this weekend Brad came over to help us install a new dryer (new to us, anyway -and it matches the washer) so that it is up to code and not a fire hazard (which is always good). However, all of a sudden he started just doing a bunch of the things on our "To Do List!!" He just kept saying, "What's next?" By mid afternoon we had a properly installed dryer, no gas leak in the water-heater (good thing Brad found that!), a new mail box, painted patched walls in the kitchen (I did that while Erik and Brad were downstairs) and, my favorite, shelves up in our Laundry Room!! Yippee!!

Note: Shiny New Dryer Vent Below

Erik and I also kept up the momentum that Brad brought to finish switching out all of our 'light buttons' to 'light switches,' clearing out the flower beds on the back and side of our house, cleaning the kitchen and clearing out more of the closet in the baby's room. We also enjoyed a walk together to a local coffee shop and finished homework (a week early because it's Easter break!). Overall, it was a very productive weekend. And the weather was great!

Nursery -Steps 3 & 4

Last week I put up the curtains that I shortened (I'll be making the crib skit out of the extra fabric). They are just plain brown, but I think they will look good with everything else.
We also put together the changing table we got from Erik's parents. We are happy to have furniture that is eco friendly in the nursery. The crib and changing table are made from renewable wood and chemical free dye. It's something little, but does feel good to be better to the environment.
Here is our son's nursery so far... more to come as we have the time (and money).

Nursery -Step 2

Ok, so I can't say that these steps are really in order or even what we would recommend, but it is the order we downloaded the photos in. So, Step 2...painting! We picked Herbal Garden from Behr as the color. I think it is a bit brighter in person than in the pictures (more of a leaf green, not sage), but you get the idea. I really like it a lot and can't wait to get the room together. Thank you to our friends who were able to help paint. I was a bit sad that I couldn't join in the fun but was happy to make lunch/dinner for our helpers! Thanks again! We love it. (they also painted the hallway ---I really LOVE that new color too!)

Cleaning the white walls...soon to show some color!

Thanks Carol! ...And Bill, for watching the kids while we stole your wife for the afternoon!

Thanks Carly!

Thanks Amanda!

We hope to put the changing table together tonight. Thanks Sue & Randy!

Nursery -Step 1

We got a crib! That is the first major change to the nursery, but we plan on painting this weekend. It's already making it so much more real...walking by the room and seeing a crib! I'm so excited! Nesting is pretty much in full force and Erik is not excited about it. Oh well! He'll be fine.
P.S. FYI -We don't know that we'll actually be keeping the bumper pad in the crib when the baby comes. It's just for looks right now. We know that it can be a hazard. Just thought I'd add that disclaimer.

Hadley Welcome Party

On Sunday we had friends over to our house to meet the newest addition...Little Miss Hadley! Just six weeks old...she is a blonde cutie! Hadley did great as the whole gang (young and old) came to meet her. We're glad it worked out for most people to come. It was nice to see everyone and have dessert together! Congrats again Brian and Miranda! She's precious!
(sorry we didn't get pics of everyone who was there)

Pizza Night.

Two weekends ago we went down and had pizza night with the Oborns. Shane made some homemade bread for our pizza crust and we all contributed toppings. We had some white sauce pizza and some red sauce. It turned out really good! It was also fun to see their boys and daughter, Raina. She is getting so big!
And since we were in an Italian-mood, we ended up watching our Italy Trip video as well. It was so fun to look back on our trip from two years ago! I can't believe it's been two years...but when I think about it, A LOT has happened during that time!