Homecoming 2006

What a game! For the first time in seven years, we didn't have to drive 6 1/2 hours to attend a homecoming game at Wisconsin.

Our seats were just as good as we remembered, and the game was even better. Wisconsin maintained possession of the axe for yet another year.

Happy early anniversary, Vern! Hopefully you had as nice of a time as I did.

Shamed into a post

It has been over a month since our last post, and I've just finished an IM chat with my sister-in-law in Singapore. They put us to shame with what a blog should be. Lovely photos, tremendous writing, and frequent posts. Good think we love them dearly, or I'd be teeth knashingly jealous of how...professional their blog is. You'd think they were expats trying to immerse themselves into the culture and loving it, hating it, and escaping it every chance they get. Heh.

So, because of them, I am shamed into this post

We're settling in slowly. Autumn has arrived, although it seems much too soon to be donning jackets and long pants. This seems like the November weather we're used to in St. Louis! But, crisp autumn nights and football of any kind are some of the best days of living one can have.


Erich and Jake had a lovely time at the last Packer outing. Sadly, when this phots was taken, the Packers were not having a lovely outing.

We've decided to concentrate on college football this year. Unless of course my other favorite professional team does well this year. Go Bengals!

Eekgads, the shame of no post is still with me. I must add more.

We received a wonderful note from our friends in Wildwood seeing how we were doing and a great update on their family. Hard to believe Cole has started school. I miss our daily chats with their family and Erich missed his playmates. We often say that had we found them earlier in our stay in St. Louis, we may never have wanted to move back to Wisconsin. It is amazing what friends can do for your outlook on life.

Erich and I had a great day with the digital camera not too long ago. Here is one of the better shots of him (marginal of me, but who cares). Maybe he'll become a model and we can all retire early.

Ok, my shame of no post, and shame of lame post has subsided. More to come, sooner, rather than later.

Cows

I've never seen a barn with a metallic roof! How do they keep in so shiny?


Come on, let's go and play!
Nice bull. Ok, we'll play more next time.

I couldn't have a blog about moooving back to Wisconsin and not have a cow appear at some time. Cheesy, I know. ;-)

It's not the heat, it's the humidity

Summer in Wisconsin and summer in St. Louis. You wouldn't think it, but they are worlds apart. Milwaukee is slated to hit triple digits today, and I say "Bring it on!" St. Louis has already had quite a few triple digit days, and I know that there are many more to come in August.

As I step outside, I see no one else around. Windows are closed and blinds are drawn. I am apparently the only person in my whole neighborhood who relishes this weather. After six and a half years of getting used to 85 F weather at 5:00 a.m., now I find that I need to get used to putting on a sweatshirt in the morning. At least today I can go back to the familiar. Wicking shirts and wicking shorts, and wicking underwear are things I have aplenty. Sweatpants and sweatshirts are harder to come by.

But, you know what they say: "It's not the heat, it's the humidity."

Happy Birthday to us

It seems like a lifetime ago that we were in a hospital in St. Louis, somewhat in shock with the timing of it all, about to have a baby. Erich has come a very long way from that tiny little newborn that we brought home. As we celebrated his second birthday, we reflected on how much our lives have changed in the past two years. Just the past seven months have brought about enough change to last for a while...

To paraphrase a quote from Parenthood: "Life is like a rollercoaster. You can either sit back and enjoy the ride, or you can just hang on and wait for it to finish. " Good thing we happen to like roller coasters.



"I can't wait to ride in my new wagon! Hurry up, Daddy, and put it together."













"Ah, now this is what I'm talking about!"



















"Hmmm, I'm going to be a pro at chopsticks!"

















Happy Birthday, Erich. Looking forward to more.

By popular demand

We've listened to you requests and are finally ready to oblige! Photos are here!

Erich and I are relaxing along the Bark River Trail that is directly across the street from our house. This trail runs right through the city, north to south, along the Bark River. Parks, schools and downtown businesses are all connected through the trailway.
Directly below is Erich (pre-haircut) in his new kitchen. We tried not to get a close-up of the hideous floor, so hopefully his smiling face will distract you all.

Back to the trail...Erich and I discovered a mallard family along the trail. This was actually right in the downtown area of the Bark River Parkway. Momma Duck was quite irritated with us snapping pictures. I'm sure having Dax along had nothing to do with it.

The pirate ship is out of dry dock and has set sail on the patio. Erich was so tired from the boat launch that he needed a milk break.

We'll leave you with a lovely picture of the trail as we see it every morning on our way to get coffee at Senor Tomas Restaurant, Coffee Bar and Art Gallery.

The inside home pictures will have to wait for another post. We've almost unpacked to the point that we're not embarrassed to take picutres.

Today we stood in line at the Wisconsin DMV for an hour and a half to get our driver's licenses. Erich was a trooper and even obliged us with a 30 minute nap in his stroller while we waited in line. The rest of the time he colored or looked at the ceiling and described in detail that the fans were not circulating air and that they needed to be turned on.

We surrendered our Missouri licenses and were rewarded with Wisconsin ones. To our surprise, the licenses are now valid for eight years. I am thrilled to report that my picture on my license is fabulous!!! I hope I get carded! Vern's is pretty good as well, but, wow! My photo is fabulous!!

We're starting to settle in. If only we could get the water softener going...

Happy Anniversary Jim and Venitha!

Still unpacking

I am loathe to admit that we have taken minimal (two) photos of our house now that we've moved in. However, that will change this weekend, I assure you. We've hooked up the family computer and are no longer operating solely from laptops. Downloading our photos will not be too far down the priority list.

Vern and I have put a few pictures on the walls and some plants on the porch and patio. It is amazing what these few things do to make a house feel more like a home. Now if we can only get the house aired out enough to rid it of the previous owners cigarette odors....

As we are still unpacking box after box after box, we laugh at how things were packed. What is the floral arrangement from the butler pantry doing in the same box as the dog food from the untility closet? And, we wonder where some items are, as surely the packers couldn't have made items smaller. I saw the inside of the moving van--it was empty. So where, oh where, can some of our items be?

I remember these dilemmas from our last move, but at least then we had unpackers to do much of the work for us (no, not our family that we schemed to come visit the first two days after we moved into the house in St. Louis--these were actual paid unpackers). Now it would seem that we just have more stuff and less time to unpack. Add in a two year old, and it is amazing that we have anything unpacked other than the electrical outlet covers.

After seeing how much junk we moved, we have decided to implement a new rule. No large purchased items without getting rid of another large item. No new toys without getting rid of toys. No large toy items. Period. This goes for all of us--Vern, Dawn and Erich. I don't want to still be unpacking at Christmas!