Bump Watch

We had visitors from Minnesota this weekend, the Nixon Family. We spent some great time together. While they were here I was a little tired maybe due to the activity, but maybe due to the little growth spurt that seems to have taken place in my belly over just the last week!

Michigan Visitors!

From Tuesday to Friday my Mom and my brother, Michael, came for a whirlwind visit. They brought some baby stuff from Chicago that my Mom has been "collecting" for us and, we were on a quest for some additional pieces. We found a dresser that Brian and Mike refinished over the two days (thanks guys), and a glider that has yet to be redone. We had a great time together and their visit and help was much appreciated. We look forward to their return in early August with Katie to finish cleaning and painting our second floor.
We also had a short but great visit with Giselle on Sunday. She was flying through Detroit on her way between Toledo and San Francisco and stopped for a little two hour visit. It was great to see her and have her see our house and set-up in Michigan. I think she was a little surprised with how much baby stuff we have already, but I guess that's just us. Thanks so much for the visits we LOVED them!

Ann Arbor Art Fair- Not in Detroit Anymore

Last Saturday Brian and I ventured to the Ann Arbor Art fair. It is a nationally recognized fair and about an hour from our house. It was a gorgeous day as most of our summer days have been. We did not make any purchases but certainly enjoyed seeing the different mediums of artistic expression. It also struck us how different the crowd and atmosphere was at this cultural event as oppossed to the Detroit city fest. We took a video to highlight the contrast.

Baby on the Way

The news is officially out. Brian and I are going to have a baby! The due date is January 28th (right around the Bear's upcoming superbowl win.) I am now 13 weeks along and feeling pretty well. We heard the heartbeat at 11 weeks and everything is going well. Our baby is now about the size of a lime and my belly has grown quite a bit to accomodate it comfortably. It is great news and we are so excited. We are probably going to find out if it is a boy or girl in our September doctor's appointment. Thanks for everyone's excitement and support thus far.

Friends' Wedding 2007

For each of the past few summers Brian's close high school friends have "taken turns" getting married. With Chris and Annette's past, the finale of friends' weddings has come and gone and it was quite the final act. Brian's high school friend, Chris, and his beautiful bride, Annette, were married July 13th in the Albany area during a beautiful outdoor ceremony which Brian officiated. The night was capped off by a very fun reception. The personalities of Chris and Annette truly came out through the wedding choices as did their love for each other. It was great to be a part of the evening. The only sad part is that such occasions for us to all get together are coming to a close. I think we'll just have to try a little harder now. Friends Vacation 2008?

Michigan Sunsets

One of the interesting things about living in Michigan is the late and great sunsets we experience. Being this far west in the eastern time zone we still have traces of sunlight even at 10:00pm. Also with the flat farm land, we have big skies which make a great canvass for some great sunsets. The other night was particularly spectacular and Brian got a few pictures of the sun setting over St. Peter. Tomorrow we are off to Albany for Chris Gerber's wedding weekend. I'm sure we'll have a great story to share upon our return.

We're not in Norridge/Delmar any more!

Last night Brian and I went with some friends to the Detroit City Fest. It was kind of like a taste of Detroit with live music. We had a blast! The two couples we went with, we met on vacation in the Dominican Republic. They are life long Michiganders and know everything that's going on in Detroit. We are really glad they invited us it was quite an experience. Detroit is so diverse, and there were booths that had tons of local food from Greek, to Lebanese, to Ethiopian, to Polish, and much more. I had a Gyro, hummus, and Italian Ice and enjoyed all three. Brian who is very careful in making his selections had hummus and BBQ ribs. We passed on the deep-fried Mars bars and the 1 lb "Oh my God" hamburger. We settled in by one of the plazas and listened to a jazz singer and caught up with each other. While we were walking through the stands we encountered the Rap pavilion, and it totally reminded us that we were in D-town and not the homogeneous Norridge or Delmar any longer. Brian took video below to capture the memory, and I'm glad he did it was a really fun night.

Honey-Do-List

We had a great and relaxing fourth of July. Brian and I used the extra day to continue doing work around our house and had our own little barbeque together. We have been doing quite a lot around the parsonage, but the end of major home improvements is in sight. One of the things that has always bothered Brian and I were our dinged up garage doors. Brian painted them recently and what an improvement! I am almost embarrassed to post the before picture because it looks so bad, but I guess it is telling that we had about a year's worth of more pressing matters to get to first. Anyway, we are making progress and this old property is really turning into quite a gem.

Vacation Excursions

While on our family vacation, we went on a couple of excursions. Katie's dream in life was always to be a dolphin trainer so the swim with the dolphins was a no-brainer. Katie, Mike, and Brian got 50 minutes of time in the water with the dolphins who were really friendly and interactive. The boys also chartered a boat and took it 45 minutes south of Cancun where they went deep sea fishing. They caught a barracuda, a sail fish, and a mahi mahi(dolphin fish). The waves were pretty rocky and they got sea sick for a while but ultimately had a great time. The video really tells the stories best. Enjoy!