Ahhh, Christmas shopping! An outing to Best Buy and Old Navy turned into a meltdown. What I thought was going to be a quick stop to get some shopping done at an early and crowd free hour ended up being a stressful and tearful start to our day.

Happy Holidays!

Love you all!

Alaska!!!

We have made it safely to Anchorage Alaska. Keegan had a doctor appointment on Monday and he is a perfect two year old boy, rough and tough! He's still not gaining much weight but that could be because he never sits still. I had a doctors appointment my self yesterday and the baby and i are doing well. I have been having contractions over the past few weeks and learned that there is nothing to worry about unless they start becoming more regular. So I'm told to take it easy as much as possible and try to relax during stressful times, good luck on doing that! I also learned that I am far enough along (28 weeks) in the pregnancy to start doing appointments every two weeks instead of every four. This pregnancy is going by fast, before I know it we'll have another beautiful baby boy in our family.

Love you all!

Tonight we are having a party to celebrate... well everything, Josh's birthday, my birthday and us moving. We figure this way we get a chance to see everyone again before we leave in two weeks.

I am very excited to share that we did get an offer on the house. We are currently in negotiations and hopefully we can be in contract soon! Keep everything crossed that it goes well.

I'll let you know as soon as I have more information.

Love you all!

Happy 28th Birthday Josh!

This last week we have had an open house and two very promising showings. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will put in an offer soon. Keeping the house at show quality has been a bit of a struggle for me. My belly has grown a lot in these past few weeks and is making house cleaning more of chore than normal. Plus, an active two year old doesn't get the concept of keeping things clean.

I had a doctors visit on Thursday and the baby is doing well, he's growing big and strong. We did learn of one small issue and will be doing another test in a week to see if things have changed, but until we get those results back we have nothing to stress about. Josh however is someone to stress about. He had a very long trip (from work to Anchorage) to the doctors office to learn that he has kidney stones. He seems to be holding up well at work, but is excited to come home next week.

Love you all!

IT'S A BOY!!!

Josh and I are very pleased to share that we are expecting another boy. I was a little shocked to hear it because this pregnancy has been so different than it was with Keegan. Thankfully I saved all of Keegan's baby clothes, maybe now they'll get worn more then a few times!

Love you all!

Sorry about the lack of new pictures. I've been busy at nap time, but I promise I'll get some new ones up soon.

Love you all!

Josh and I have a secret... We know the gender of our new little baby! We will be sharing this information soon, but are waiting to tell a few close family members first.

There is nothing new on our house. We're looking to hold another open house and reduce the price again, anything to get an offer! Josh and I are getting very anxious and want the house under contract soon. Other then that we've been hanging out at the house enjoying a little down time as a family.

Love you all!

Home again!

After arriving back in Illinois from our trip to Alaska, we enjoyed one day at home and hit the road again. We went to visit Josh's dad and step-mom in Cynthiana, Kentucky (5 1/2 hour drive). We had a wonderful visit and enjoyed seeing Keegan wrestle with the dogs and play with his grandparents.

Last Friday Josh, Keegan and I went to my 20 week doctors appointment. It was wonderful to see the baby from all angles in our ultrasound appointment, the first few minutes Keegan found viewing the baby interesting... but that was short lived.

Love you all!

Update

I am now 18 Weeks pregnant and am feeling little kicks from our growing baby. I am very excited about our up coming doctors appointment where we will get the opportunity to learn the gender of the baby. Keegan is a typical two year old and has no interest in my growing belly or the baby inside of it. On occasion he will give the baby belly kisses, but only on his own terms.

There is nothing new to report on the sale of our house. We've had some very interested people but no offers yet. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it all works out soon.

Love you all!

Enjoying Alaska

Keegan and I have been very busy this first week in Alaska. Almost every day we get together with Amrita and her kids, Patrick and Cassidy, they all play together very well and it gives us moms time to chit chat. Anchorage has opened some very cool play places for kids and we've had lots of fun exploring them. Over the holiday weekend I had the opportunity to spend some alone time with my mom, having Keegan around is wonderful but there is something special about mother daughter alone time. I hope that my children will enjoy spending alone time with me as much as I do with my mom.

Love you all!

Hi Hannah!

Road trip

Wednesday we took off on a road trip to Chicago. Josh did some online research and found this great aquarium in downtown, so away we went to spoil our little fish lover Keegan. Josh loves to laugh at me every time we get near a large city because I just stare out the window in amazement at the architecture. The skyscrapers, the old brick buildings, the churches, it is all just awing to me. Although the weather didn't cooperate with us, we enjoyed the view of lake Michigan from inside the aquarium building. After a good nights rest, we took a little drive around downtown and I got to drool at the high end shopping. but after battling the traffic for thirty minutes we were ready to head back home.

These long drives are getting harder to do with a growing belly, we have to make many more stops which adds to the travel time. All together though the pregnancy has been going well, I am now 15 weeks pregnant and looking the part in almost all maternity clothes.

Love you all!

Expanding family

Josh and I are very excited to share that we are expecting our second child. Our new bundle of joy will be joining us at the end of February. We are thrilled to be expanding our family and look forward to giving Keegan a little brother or sister.

Love you all!

No more pacifier!

I was motivated when hearing from Amrita that she had taken Patrick and Cassidy's pacifiers away and figured it was about time to do the same with Keegan. Keegan's doctor recommended that we wait until we are fully moved back to Alaska, but at this rate it might be a little bit longer than we had been hoping. Keegan and I searched the house and gathered up all of his pacifiers and put them in a bag, then we walked out to the mail box, put up the flag and shipped them off to the babies that needed them. A few minutes later, (after I'd had a chance to sneak the pacifiers out of the mail box and into the trash can), Josh walked Keegan back out to show him that they were all gone. He still asks for his paci every now and then but it's getting easier every day.

Love you all!

With all of Josh's travel to and from work i pay close attention to ticket prices. Last night I was surprised to see that prices had dropped more than $150 in just three days. The good news about that? Keegan and I now have tickets to visit Alaska! We'll be traveling with Josh on his next trip up to Anchorage and while he is off working hard, Keegan and I will be enjoying some much needed time with my family members. I am so excited!

I received a phone call this evening that brought a big smile to my face. There is an article about my mom and Larry in today's paper. I am so proud of them anyways, but to see them recognized in the paper is just a small amount of the attention they deserve. Please look up on www.adn.com "Anchorage duo doubles up on Yukon canoe marathons PADDLE POWER: Forsythe, Seethaler log 1,400 miles in pair of boat races."

Love you all!

Open house Sunday

The open house went... OK. It was a beautiful day outside and that seemed to keep people home to enjoy the sunshine. We did have a few people come through, but no offers yet. For the afternoon Keegan and I drove to Terre Haute Indiana to try and take advantage of the clearance sale at Macy's. To my surprise I couldn't find a single thing worth buying. I guess the credit card is safe for now.

Love you all!

Lazy days...

I'm sorry, I've been a little lazy with Josh home these past weeks. We've been enjoying lots of down time and ignored the to-do list skillfully.

One very fun thing that we did was go to the Indianapolis Zoo. They have this very cool underwater viewing tank for the dolphins, I loved it! Keegan also had the joy of petting a shark! I have many pictures to share but like I said I've been lazy.

We still haven't had any offers on our house, but there is a viewing tomorrow and an open house on Sunday so keep your fingers crossed that someone will want to buy our house.

Love you all!

Happy as can be!

Today was great! Keegan and I enjoyed some outside time in a mild 85 degrees. We kicked the ball around, played with the neighbors dogs and washed the car; it was wonderful to get some of that energy out! Even after nap time Keegan and I were both still wiped out, so the afternoon proved to be fairly lazy.

We are excited to have Josh coming home on Thursday morning. Normally he gets home late at night but i was very happy when I found this flight available. He now arrives at 10:26 am, much better for Keegan and me (I hate driving at night, my eyes have trouble focusing). Plus, this way we get an extra day with him home!

I am also happy to announce that Brenda (mom) and Larry have made it home from the Yukon River Quest! There were a few issues starting out, but they pulled through like the champions they are and did a wonderful job. I don't care what the standings say, they're number one in my book for just accomplishing it! I am so proud of them!

Check out more information on the website: www.yukonriverquest.com.

Love you all!

Pool time

Yesterday afternoon in the 105 degree weather Keegan and I enjoyed some fun in the pool. Our neighbors have been generous enough to offer use of their pool whenever we'd like and it seems as though Keegan is all for it. In this type of heat it's hard to spend much time outside, so we feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity available. Keegan took to the water just like a fish. At first he didn't realize that he could float in his vest on his own, but once that was discovered he ventured out a little bit further. The pool was a big hit with Keegan. The rest of the afternoon he was so exhausted that he almost fell asleep on the couch. Depending on his mood after nap time maybe we'll go back over there today.

Love you all!

Packaging

I don't consider myself overly enthusiastic about saving the world with recycling and organic products, but I do my part. I recycle plastic, aluminum, cardboard and even batteries. What bothered me today is when i was opening a new Tonka truck for Keegan and there wasn't even a mention to recycle the packaging. To most people reading this your laughing out loud or thinking who cares, but for those of you who have experience with kids toys you know that companies go to extremes when it comes to packaging. There is so much cardboard used it's ridiculous, and to hold the product in place there are these huge twist ties or even screws! It sometimes takes fifteen minutes just to open a silly toy. And nothing is more frustrating than having Keegan yelling 'truck please mama' while I'm trying to figure out how in the world to get this thing free.

My entire point behind this, is since kids go through toys so quickly shouldn't we as parents be supporting companies that promote recycled products?

Just something to think about.

Love you all!

Good Luck!

Yesterday, my mom and Larry took off for the Yukon River Quest. This takes place from Whitehorse to Dawson City. For those of you who don't know this is an amazing race. There are not many people who could do a 460 mile race in a canoe. I am extremely proud of them!

Check out the website to learn more www.yukonriverquest.com.

Love you all!

Up late!

For those of you following the weather in the mid-west you'll be happy to know that Keegan and I are doing fine. We're a little shaken, but fine. Like I've said before I am a total Alaska girl and being told that there is a tornado warning in effect for the area had me completely spooked. Thank goodness for our neighbor Theresa. She and i exchanged many phone calls throughout the evening and kept each other up to date on what to do next. Following the tornado warning we endured some heavy thunder storms, and lots of rain! I am in no way used to the weather here and the slightest thunder keeps me awake.

Keegan was thrilled that he got to stay up way past his bed time, but was not so happy when the thunder and lightning prevented him from falling, and staying asleep. He and I cuddled under the blankets all night. He finally fell asleep at 11:30pm and I was out two hours later. I hope to never experience a tornado warning again for the simple fact that I don't like it, but i don't see that happening.

I hope that those that were effected by the tornado's the past few days came out unharmed.

Love you all!

Bed time anyone?

All of the sudden Keegan is refusing to go to bed peacefully. I am currently listening to him scream at the top of his lungs from his doorway. I've tried all that I can to smooth the bedtime transition the past couple of nights and decided tonight I was done. I did our normal routine: bath, books, a kiss goodnight and lights out. So right now I'm a frustrated mommy feeling as though nothing I do is right. We all have those moments. For some they happen once a day, others once a week, but no matter how often it happens, all that it means is that we want our children to be raised right. Otherwise we wouldn't care about stresses like bedtime. All I'm trying to say is to any other moms that read this, know that your not alone. I'm a frustrated mommy every day.

Love you all!

Keegan the great!

Keegan is a magician!
I discovered last night that he can now work the child safety doorknob covers. I put him to bed as normal and settled in myself with my book and a glass of wine, and in comes Keegan. Thinking that I must not have latched the door I put him back in bed, and no more then five minutes later he was back in my room again. At this point I was confused. How in the world could a two year old know how to use the doorknob safety things? I know adults that still have trouble using them.

I have just now put Keegan down for his nap and I'm feeling like a bad mommy. In order to protect him and my much needed down time, I have place a baby gate in front of his door. I just feel like I'm caging him in like an animal. I guess I'll have to get over that feeling until I can come up with another solution. Or until he learns how to climb over it!

Love you all!

Alaska girl.

I learned last night that I do not like tornado warnings. As I am laying in bed completely freaking out all I kept thinking about was that damn commercial that is constantly playing on NBC... I'm an Alaskan get me out of here! Between the thunder, lightning, wind and rain I couldn't relax, let alone fall asleep, (thankfully Keegan wasn't bothered by the noise) but I was a mess. At 1:30 am I finally got to sleep. Just in time for my 5:30 am wake up call from an energetic two year old. Today has been a long day.

Love you all!

No more wisdom!

The past few days have not been the most enjoyable. Josh has been wonderful making sure that I have enough time to rest and cooking me soup when ever the mood strikes me. Keegan has had a lot of daddy time, and to my surprise Keegan has been wanting to be with me in bed as much as we'll allow. He has always been a daddy's boy so I figured that he'd like nothing more than to have Josh all to himself for a couple of days. It brings me delight to know that Keegan actually likes me and misses me when I'm not around. For almost three days now my time has been filled with movies, TV, pain pills, anti-biotics and lots of rest. I think that the most frustrating thing for me is being hungry and not knowing what to eat, soup only sounds appetizing so many meals in a row. Slowly I'm starting to add more things to my diet but my mouth is still very swollen and it's painful to chew many things.

Love you all!

Pain in the....

Another day brings a new adventure. Over the past few days my mouth has been hurting me very badly. I have another wisdom tooth that has broken threw the skin, (this would be number three) the others haven't hurt too much so it was surprising to be in this much pain. I broke down and called the dentist yesterday and went in today for an examination. The end result... the teeth need to go. So I have an appointment with an oral surgeon tomorrow, and Friday I'll be knocked out, getting teeth pulled! All of this just in time for Josh to leave for work on Tuesday.

Along with my mouth pain my wrist has been hurting incredibly bad. I'm not sure what's wrong with it but I have it wrapped up for now. I know that I can deal with wrist pain but mouth pain is way too much for me to put off for later. I love food way too much!

Love you all!

Alaska Visit

We had a wonderful time during visit to Alaska. Almost every day Keegan and I got together with Amrita, Patrick and Cassidy. Amrita and I were extremely ambitious and walked almost every day together. We even got in the habit of a five mile loop that ended at the elementary school play ground, so the kids could get out and stretch their legs a little.

Staying with my Dad and Leslie (bonus mom) was fun as always, we have a great time together and we even got the chance to visit with Nick when he came home from school. My dad seems to have a theory about Keegan that I don't agree with, 'Give him what he wants and he'll be happy'. I guess that's fine as long as it only comes from Grandpa (once in a while). Their favorite thing to do together was get in the truck and take a drive around the block, they're so cute together!

I have more to share but not the time, until then...

Love you all!

Details

We love our home here in Illinois and we will miss our family and friends here, but our hearts are in Alaska. I miss my parents tremendously and have been incredibly homesick. Our house has been on the market for a week now and we've already had interest in it, hopefully we'll sell quickly and be able to move soon.

There are many factors that went into our decision to move, one of them being that Josh is getting tired of all the traveling and I don't blame him. Eight hours of fly time each direction, every three weeks is a lot. The upside of it is that we have enough frequent flyer miles to last us a while. Another factor in our decision is our extensive support system in Alaska. Being alone with Keegan for three weeks at a time can become very stressful for me. That is why it's important for me to have friends like Amrita, who have kids that are Keegan's age and we're able to socialize on a regular (if not daily) basis.

I look forward to our visit to Alaska and seeing my family and friends again.

Love you all!

OUR NEWS!

We're moving back to Alaska!

I'll share details later.

Love you all!

Coming soon...

We have an announcement to make, but we're not telling yet! Check back later to hear the news.

Love you all!

Happy Easter!

We had a very relaxed Sunday. In the morning Josh mowed the lawn while Keegan watched in excitement. Who knew ride on mowers could be so much fun? In the afternoon Josh and I prepared a wonderful Easter dinner together and the three of us sat down for an (almost) peaceful meal.

Love you all!

rain, rain, rain

We have had a tremendous amount of rain over the past three days and today we woke up to find that it is SNOWING! I am keeping a close eye on the water level of the pond, it's getting awfully full.

Love you all!

Doors!

Keegan shows me every day that he is growing into a little man. He is now able to open doors throughout the house including the front door and its deadbolt! I have mixed feelings about Keegan's new found freedom. It's nice because when he gets out of bed in the morning he opens his door, runs to my room and crawls into my bed to watch cartoons while I take my time waking up. On the other hand I can't simply close a door and have it be off limits anymore. Things are always changing. It makes me very thankful that I have the ability to stay at home with Keegan; there are so many families that simply don't have that option and I am lucky to have the support of a wonderful husband.

Love you all!

Deck

We are currently having a deck built. The past two days have been fun watching this structure come to life. Day one they set the posts and day two they built the frame. Seeing the frame complete gives me a good visual of the size the deck will be. The men working on it are very nice and they are both previous residents of Alaska! How strange is that? They even talk with Keegan through the sliding door throughout the day, but who wouldn't? Keegan is adorable. This afternoon has been filled with thunder, lightning and rain. I hope it clears up by morning.

Love you all!

Happy Birthday Georgie!

Changes

I have just put Keegan to bed and cleaned up the kitchen and I'm now sitting in bed at 8:36 pm. I feel old. Thinking back to when Josh and I met four years ago (almost to the day), I had such a different life style then. The things that change when you have a child are never ending. I'm saying this for two friends of mine, one who just found out that she and her husband are expecting a baby (YEAH!) and for another who is trying for her first. I've always been the person that needed at least eight hours of sleep, (ask my mom) any less then that and I wouldn't function correctly. Now I'm lucky if I get six hours of sleep! Thank goodness for coffee in the mornings.

Josh gets home in a little under two weeks and we're thinking about taking another road trip. Not 18 hours to Florida, but a shorter trip to Ohio. Keegan loved seeing all the fish at Sea World and there is an awesome aquarium at the Ohio Zoo. I figure as long as we're living in Illinois we should take advantage of everything around us. Growing up in Alaska was wonderful but I still am amazed at the thought of driving just an hour can put you in another state and time zone. Maybe Josh is right, I've been sheltered.

Love you all!

Happy Birthday Keegan!

Two years ago today our baby was born into this world and made us a family.

Love you all!

Alaska Visit

I have been very home sick these past weeks and have decided to remedy that with a trip to Alaska.

April 28th to May 24th

See you soon!

Love you all!

Bye Loomis

Our home is now back to the two of us. After a lot of talking with Josh we came to the conclusion that Loomis was too much for us to take on right now. Things were starting to get easier with Loomis now being house trained but leaving Keegan alone in the house to take Loomis outside all the time was hard on us all. I was stretching myself way too thin and had no down time to myself. Although we love Loomis very much we think that he deserves a home that can give him all the time and attention that he needs. It was very hard to say goodbye to him today. We are thankful to the breeder who has taken him back in and is finding him the perfect home.

Love you all!

I'm a mess

Life throws things at you on a daily basis to test your strength. This week has been a never ending test in our household. I am overwhelmed, my patients is gone and Keegan's snoring keeps me up at night. Needless to say myself and my house look a mess! I am starting to think that maybe it was a little too soon for a puppy. We will see....

Love you all!

Adjustments

Keegan and I are adjusting to daily life with Loomis. With Josh back at work and me now taking care of two toddlers on my own things have gotten interesting. Loomis doesn't want to potty outside, even with me taking him out every thirty minutes. He was doing so well with Josh that it's very disappointing to see him behave this way. And on top of that Keegan is sick. He has a fever, sore throat and diaper issues (I won't give details). Sounds as though Josh left just in time. Hopefully Keegan will be better soon and Loomis will learn, I just have to give it time.

Love you all!

Moving forward

Forgiveness is something that can be hard to accept, and to say. From the time we are young we are taught to apologize when we are wrong and accept it when someone says it to us. However as time goes on it gets harder to admit when we're wrong especially after time has gone by. The simple little words 'I'm sorry' can mean so much.

I have felt a tremendous relief by saying a long over due apology to a really great person. She was gracious enough to accept my apology and I am thankful to her for being open with me and willing to put things in the past and move forward to a better and stronger relationship.

Love you all!

Alaska Vacation

We are trying to make a trip to Alaska this summer and we are interested in what work work best for our family and friends.

June 9 to July 2

or

July 21 to August 13

(Yes, Amrita that means that we would be there for the kids birthday.)

Keegan and I would travel with Josh when he comes to Anchorage on his way to work and we'd visit for the three weeks he is working, (lucky him) then travel back home with him again. Please let me know if you have a preference.

Love you all!

Tax Time

That wonderful time is upon us, tax season. Many people dread this time of year but Josh and I have come to enjoy it. By our own choice Josh only claims one on his W-2 oppose to the option of three, so tax time for us means refund time. This is much more enjoyable then being told that you owe the government more money. Getting all of the paper work together is time consuming, and especially this year was a little bit of a hassle for us, but if you stay organized from the start of the year it makes it much easier. We had a good laugh will our tax representative when she couldn't figure out how and where she was supposed to record our PFD (that of course was after we explained what a PFD was). Immediately following this I went to a doctors appointment to find out that I have an infection, (never fun news to get) but after being given a weeks worth of antibiotics we were on our way again. We returned to H & R Block to sign our completed tax documents and finally headed home. It was a long day. Tomorrow I hope to have a relaxing and lazy day at home.

Love you all!

Home

We have been home for a week now and are settling in to life with a rambunctious puppy. Loomis is 12 weeks old and much like Keegan has trouble listening. Our two toddlers are starting to play together a little nicer, as long as nobody bites or pulls tails. I am slowly adding more pictures from our trip to our site, but we have so many pictures that it's hard to post all of them.

I'll share lots more when I have a little more down time.

Love you all!

And we're off....

In one hour we will be on our way! The car has been loaded, I've made snacks for the road and Keegan is currently getting clean. I'll have lots to share when we return, we'll be home in a week!

Love you all.

Packing, packing, and packing

Our family is gearing up for our vacation! Today Keegan and I finished a lot of packing. Tomorrow our day is filled with a run to the grocery store (to stock up on food for the trip), loading the car, nap time (for both of us), and of course driving to Indianapolis to pick up Josh from the airport. I am stressed out thinking that I'm going to forget something important, lucky for me I like to make lists. I've made multiple lists from clothing and entertainment, to the order I need to load things into the car, I'm too organized for my own good.

I was very excited today looking at Orlando's forecast for the next week and saw nothing but sun! A few of the days are even supposed to reach the mid--80's! Yeah, warm weather! We are planning on visiting the local amusement parks including Disney World, Sea World and Busch Gardens and also hope to meet up with some friends that live in the area.

Love you all.

Entertainment

Over the past week we have enjoyed seeing about a dozen geese on our pond. Keegan is fascinated with them and it adds a little bit of excitement when the neighborhood dogs try to get to them. The dogs will run full force at the birds until their front paws hit the water, at that point they back off and bark frantically at the waters edge. The dogs remain there until the geese leave for the day, only to return in the morning and do it all over again. Ah the entertainment of small town living.

The rest of our days have been very low key. We leave for Florida in five short days! So, I have been packing and preparing as much as I can, but as soon as the bags are packed Keegan gets ahold of them and has a blast unpacking them. It's a vicious cycle.

Love you all.

More room...

Keegan's crib has been taken down. I've put together and taken down that crib so many times, I could do it with my eyes closed. Now that it is out of Keegan's room he has much more room to play. He has recently discovered jumping on the bed. It is cute to watch him because he doesn't just jump up and down he jumps up and plops down on his butt. He has already learned that jumping on the couch is not allowed because it is easy to fall off, and he has fallen many times.

Love you all.

Comments

Feel free to leave comments.

I enjoy seeing what you have to say.

Love you all.

Our Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend! On Saturday afternoon we picked up cousin Hannah for a sleepover. Sunday we all took a road trip to Clay City Indiana (about an hour and a half away) and saw our new puppy. His name is Loomis, after the fishing brand G-Loomis (Josh's Pick), and he is adorable! Keegan was fascinated by the mom and enjoyed playing with her, seeing them together made me really happy; however, he wanted nothing to do with Loomis. I'm sure that once Loomis is at home with us Keegan won't be able to leave him alone. The breeder is a very nice woman and her family, they are even willing to hold Loomis for us until we get back from our Florida vacation (three weeks from now). We are extremely happy to finally be getting a dog and can't wait to have him home with us.

Love you all.

Growing up fast

Keegan has proven to me once again that he his growing up more and more every day. He has been napping in his big boy bed with no problems and now he is sleeping in it through the night! If he continues to sleep like this until Sunday, then the crib will be coming down. My baby is growing up so fast I can hardly believe that he is almost two years old.

Meet our new baby!

I spoke with a breeder today and we now have a dog!

It's a little boy and he is currently seven weeks old. Keegan and I will be taking a road trip to Indiana to see him on Sunday. The breeder is nice enough to hold him until we get back from Florida, at which he will be 11 weeks old. His name is soon to come, Josh gets the final say on what the name will be but I'm sure that it will be fishing related.

Love you all!

First for me!

Last night I got the fun pleasure of experiencing my first Illinois storm. If the wind and two inches of rain wasn't enough the thunder and lightning made for an interesting night. Still today we have heavy rain and a high wind advisory through tomorrow night. Other then the obvious weather issues our temperatures have been reaching 60 degrees. I hope the rain drys up soon so Keegan and I can play outside.

In other news I have been actively looking for a puppy. Josh and I decided that it's about time for a dog, we've been talking about it for a year now. We settled on getting a West Highland Terrier (Westie) not a bigger dog like we originally wanted but I'm excited. I've found a couple of breeder options near by in Indiana, so if all goes well our family will have another member in four to five weeks!

Love you all!

Being in a new home means many new projects. When Josh is away at work I keep myself busy by fixing up the house in every way that I know how. Patching nail holes, shampooing carpets, and painting, lots of painting! Along with painting each of the bedrooms a color to suit our personalities I have just about repainted the entire house. The "white" that the previous owner used throughout the house is actually a light pink. I didn't notice the odd color until a pure shade of white was next to it to compare.

Today I had the satisfaction of hanging up our new roman shades in our living room. Typically when anything needs a drill in order to be hung I leave that project for Josh when he gets home; however, last time he was home he taught me the basics and now I have desire to drill holes! (At least I know how to properly patch them too).

Another piece of exciting news for us is that we have made our reservations for Florida. This will be our first family VACATION! We will be visiting SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Disney World. Our drive will be just under 15 hours, we hope that Keegan will sleep most of the way.

Something New!

I have been busy making sure to update the pictures on our website on a regular basis and realized that creating a blog would be another great way to keep our family and friends updated.

Love you all!