Caution: Mushy Moment Ahead

I was just sitting home by myself for the second night in a row(last night due to h.s. b-ball games, tonight due to K-State game) and I was thinking about how much I love my husband. I know that is so cheesy, right? Well, I just think that being public about how much you love your spouse is really not such a bad thing. Now, let me clarify: making out in public is bad. But showing subtle affection or talking about your love and respect for your spouse is good. So many times, I won't talk about Dan or will only talk about the negative because I don't want to appear mushy or like we're still young and in love. But... we are still young and in love. And I hope that when we're fifty, people will look at us and see that we're "young" and in love! Dan is my better half. I really mean that. All the things that Dan is are the things I wish I could be. He's patient, giving, carefree, honest, respectful, funny and so much more! Anyway, that is my romantic blog for today. Now if in a week I'm mad a Dan, I'm going to take a look at this blog and remind myself of all the things I love about him. I encourage anyone reading this, whether you've been married one year or 30 years like both of our parents, sit back, relax, and let yourself be ridiculously in love with your spouse.

Family time

Oh my, this weekend was so much fun! In fact, it was so fun that I was ridiculously sad when Terry and Debi left on Sunday. I just hate being so far away from both of our families, but I guess it could be further. Two years ago I wanted to live in New Jersey, which Dan likes to remind me about and laugh every once in a while. I never would have made it being so many states away.

Anyway, Terry and Debi came to P-burg on Friday night and we watched the three basketball games. That really does a number on your back and butt! I've never felt so old. And the JV and varsity lost, so that was a bummer. Then Saturday, we went to Norton to eat chinese food and then took a road trip to Kirwin Lake to at least say we've been there. I'm going to make Dan take me there when it warms up so we can go hiking on the cute little trails they have. Then we watched the K-State game and played Dominoes(I won!). The best part of it was that they brought our new chairs to us and we got to play Dominoes at the kitchen table, all four of us!

Overall, the weekend was fabulous. Coda even finally relaxed enough to enjoy time with her grandma! If you know Coda, she's not the nicest cat, but she loves playing with her grandparents!

Slowing down

Well, things have been very slow around here, which is actually very nice. Dan has been coaching like crazy and teaching, of course. He's had tournaments the last couple of weeks, which seems crazy to me, but he doesn't seem to mind it. I have been doing lots of fun stuff with Big Brothers Big Sisters and of course, still working at the flower shop for the time being. I'm not much of a florist, but it's going pretty well anyway. This coming weekend, Dan's parents are coming to visit and we are getting very excited about that. The downside: it's inevitable that I will have clean the spare bedroom along with the rest of the house at some point this week. Oh well, they're worth it. So that's about it for now. I'll post some pics after Terry and Debi have visited. We always have good pictures when they're here. Bye bye for now!

A New Year

Ok, I have so many cute pictures from Christmas that I'm going to keep the words to a minimum and upload as many pictures as my patience can stand. But first, here's a quick overview of our holiday season. Dan and I spent quite a few days in Topeka with his family for his birthday as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. We had a blast getting to spend so much time with his parents, with Matt and Sarah, and of course, Camdyn!

Camdyn is finally saying Aunt Kieko, which is what my sister's daughter has called me since she was little, so they decided to have her call me that as well. It is, of course, the cutest thing ever when she says it. It comes out more like "Kucko", which I love! I also love that she smiles at me whenever she sees me. It makes me feel so special! She also loves her Uncle Danno. She wouldn't say Dan, but she would say Danno, which made me laugh!

Anyway, we went to my sister's on Christmas day, which is a new thing, but was so much fun! She was a great hostess. We had fun just hanging out, playing a game, eating cookies, etc. Who knows, this might be a new tradition. From there, we stayed with my parents for a couple of days, just relaxing after the Christmas craziness. And then we picked up my niece Jordan to have her stay with us for a few days. My niece Jordan is one of the loves of my life. She is almost eight, crazier than ever, and still steals my heart every moment I spend with her. She is so sweet and it helps that she loves her Aunt Kieko. We had fun playing in the snow, making pancakes, doing each other's hair, and she even got to go to work with me.

That is the last week and half of our lives in a tiny nutshell. We have had a fabulous Christmas season and had a wonderful New Year's Eve. I am excited about the upcoming year, but am already missing 2007. I guess we'll just have to do some really exciting things in 2008 to top the last year! Dan and I are wishing everyone a happy new year filled with God's many blessings! This is me with little Camdyn! Camdyn with her Papa! Debi getting her monogrammed Bible from Terry. So cute! Camdyn unwrapping her presents with her mom. She loved it! Dan and I sitting on our new kitchen chairs from his parents. Matt looks really creepy behind us! Dad unwrapping his instant marinator that Dan and I got him. Hope he likes it! Mom unwrapping the monogrammed coasters we got her. I know she likes those!Jordan making a snow angel in our front yard. She was telling me to hurry up because her butt was freezing. I was laughing so hard! Me and my precious Jordan playing in the snow!

Quick update

A couple of quick interesting things that have happened or are happening...
Dan and I have been pretty busy lately with getting ready for Christmas and ending his first semester of teaching.
We went to Kearney last weekend to see some friends and finish our shopping. It was so relaxing and so much fun.
I started my new job at the flower shop and am getting ready to start my job with Big Brothers Big Sisters any day now.
And this week is Dan's birthday week! He gave me a birthday week, so I'm giving him one. I guess maybe this will be our new tradition. Anyway, we started it off by me giving him his birthday present early. He loved his new wet/dry razor! Now he can shave in the shower! And then yesterday he got a birthday balloon and some jellybeans. And today I'm going to make his birthday cake. We're going to be out of town for his actual birthday, so I figured I better make his cake early so we can actually enjoy it. Plus, it's all part of his birthday week! I love this idea.
So that's all there is to say for now. I don't have any really good pictures right now. I took a couple of us the other day, but I don't feel like putting them on here, so there. I'll update with pictures after Christmas. Dan and I both hope that our families, friends, and all the special people in our lives have a wonderful Christmas season celebrating the birth of Christ.

All Ready for Christmas!

I know, I know, we just finished Thanksgiving, but we already have our tree up and are getting ready for Christmas. But first, I'll show you some really cute pictures from Thanksgiving and from my sister's wedding. This Thanksgiving was exhausting, but so much fun! I'll start from the beginning. Dan and I went to my parent's house Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, relaxed, and watched a movie. Then we got up early Thursday to go to Kansas City where I regretfully did not get any pictures. We spent the day with my mom's family and had a wonderful time with family and of course had a fabulously fattening meal! Friday, we celebrated Dan's Grandma Marilyn's birthday with his family. We got to spend time with Matt and Sarah and Camdyn too, which always makes me happy because we just don't get to see them as often as we would like. That night was my sister's rehearsal dinner at Carlos O'Kellys. I can't believe they actually wore the sombreros for a little while. Anyway, the wedding was the next day and it went very well and they are officially Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson. She was so beautiful! Overall, we just had a great Thanksgiving and as I said before, we're ready for Christmas! Here's just a quick update on everyday life things. Dan's first basketball game is quickly approaching, I'm getting ready for a job change, and our cat has a bacterial infection which apparently makes her not want to go to the bathroom in her litter box. So we're all adjusting to new things right now, some fun and some not so fun! : ) I'll let you know how things go.

Thanksgiving is coming!

I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday because I love being surrounded by friends and family. And this Thanksgiving is going to be extra special because my one and only sister is getting married... finally! We had her bridal shower last weekend and it was a blast! She was so excited and so happy, which is so nice to see.

I had bought my sister the game Mouse Trap for her shower gift because it was our favorite game as kids and as you can tell from the picture, she loved it! Like me, she remembered the fun times we used to have fighting over it. And of course, I loved seeing my niece Jordan. She is growing up so fast. We had so much fun together, just being silly. These are all pictures from the shower and Jordan told me to make a funny face on the last one, so that's what I did. Isn't it just the best picture of me? Anyway, the rest of the weekend was spent with my good friend Nikki and seeing Dan's family, including my niece Camdyn who I haven't seen in such a long time. Dan was at the K-State game in Nebraska, so he didn't get to see them, but he got to spend time with the boys. Even though K-State lost horribly, he still had a good time. So my next post will be after Thanksgiving and I'm very excited about that. We're going to Kansas City for Thanksgiving day, but will be in Topeka for a day and then will be celebrating Tiffany and Perry's wedding! I hope everybody has a fabulous Thanksgiving.