To Blog or To Clean? I think I'll blog...

It's my day off of work today, so what they hey...I'll put off cleaning for another hour & blog!

Did I ever mention Brendon & I took a trip to Wichita, Kansas? We did a few weeks ago & had so much fun! Wichita is the place we would like to go for the next two years of our lives, but all we can do is write that down & leave the rest to fate. Kansas, Utah, or Arizona...where will we go for our next adventure?!? It (the rotations match) consumes every thought & conversation these days with friends & classmates. We're all talked out about it, yet we all seem to talk more about it with everyone. The anticipation is killing us...all of us. In just over a month, we'll know where we're going & we can go back to regular topics of conversation.

So...Wichita. When we first drove into the city/town, I didn't like it. I didn't think I would be able to pretend I liked it, either. After driving around the next couple days & seeing everything from restaurants (a plenty!) & shopping (galore!) to talking with people at the hospital & church, we both thought Wichita would be a great place for us. One of my favorite things we did was stumble upon the farmers market. It was incredible: live music entertainment, homemade canned goods, kettle popcorn, produce, crafts, & more! There was one stand with flavored homemade pasta. We got some Lemon Chive pasta & made it last week. It was AMAZING! We both loved it! They only sell at farmers markets, art shows, & online (no brick-&-mortar stores). Pappardelle's is the only pasta I would get if I had a lot of disposable income. It sells for $7/pound (I can get regular pasta for $0.65/pound). But sometimes you get what you pay for!

On another note, we've also had an injury. By "we" I mean Brendon. He played in a basketball tournament & his team lost. Brendon stuck around & someone needed another team member, so Brendon jumped on the court, only to get jumbled in a mess under the net. He jumped up (& he jumps HIGH ;)) landed on the side of his foot (impact was hard from his high, high jump) & Brendon came home on crutches. I had been sick with a viral infection & had been sleeping from 6-9 PM. I just happened to be awake eating my bowl of cereal to feed my baby (I wasn't hungry), when Brendon walks in with crutches & tells me we'll find out the following day if it is broken or sprained. Fortunately, it's not broken & Brendon can now get along fine. He's just frustrated now that it's interfering with his volleyball life. To be honest, I feel bad for the guy!

Day 1

Day 3

One of his classmates asked what happened & when he realized it happened while playing basketball, not volleyball, he told Brendon, "You gotta stick to what ya know!" Brendon says he's done with basketball (...at least for a little bit).

Well, I guess I better get to the inevitable...

Just the Two of Us

Next Tuesday, September 22nd, marks our second anniversary. (Happy Anniversary, Love!)

I often look back at the times I was single, tears flowing from my eyes (usually talking on the phone with my dad), wondering if I would ever get married. I was convinced my expectations of a spouse were all wrong. Little did I know, Brendon & I would find each other. We joke now that the key to a happy marriage is low expectations.

The past couple years have had its ups & downs, but I absolutely love this stage of life. Being married has been the best stage yet. I love being able to spend time each day with my best friend to enjoy time together, share frustrations, review goals, vent, cry, & listen to each other laugh. Some of my favorite activities are sleeping in & snuggling, playing games, & going on road-trips together, to name a few. We have definitely enjoyed this stage of life to the fullest.

And now, we move on to the next phase of life. I swear, life just gets more & more exciting! "Just the two of us" is now becoming three. We are going to be parents! A mom & a dad! We are looking forward to bringing a little boy/girl into this world next March to love & to teach. We couldn't be more thrilled!

(Head at the left. I say, "her head." Brendon says, "his head.")

My Cute Hubby

My cute hubby, is...well, always cute. But And these days, he's sporting a mustache. Not just any mustache:

an osteostache.

What is that anyway? At his fine school of osteopathy, the second year medical students (well, those who can), let their facial hair grow & shave to have an "osteostache" for orientation for the first year medical students. I guess some kid started the tradition and it stuck? Whatever. So Brendon has faithfully avoided shaving his cute face for nearly one whole month -- the longest he has ever (and will ever) -- grow his facial hair.*

Here he is...my cute hubby. Pictures are courtesy of an assignment from a classmate to document the shaving process. Enjoy!!! I've never gotten a smile out of this fine man like the smile below.

Serious Brendon featuring a full & half beard

Crazy Brendon

Happy Brendon

*As unsupportive as I may sound, I think it's great that he's having fun and participating in this fun event. I just like my Brendon clean shaven. In fact, one day (before Brendon & I started dating in college) Brendon came to play at our regular volleyball night at the church with a beard. The next time I saw him, he shaved. I said, "Hey Brendon...much better without the facial hair." He's shaved ever since...most of the time.

Special thanks to Brendon for keeping the pictures posted on our blog after realizing (after your comments come in) I posted them. He's such a good sport!

Gotta love him...stache & all!

Family, Food, & Fun

California Highlights

The Beach


Love this picture of my surfer


Family Time


Holding Baby Daphne & Playing with Little Jackson
(nieces & nephews are the best!)


We had a relaxing time in California watching movies, reading, playing games, & enjoying time in the mountains.

Utah Highlights

...no pictures!

Shopping, Eating, Playing with Brooklyn,
& Hanging out with the Fam!

Our summer fun has come to an end &
we are now adjusting to real life.

Where It All Started

Last Saturday we took a trip to Macon (about 30 miles south) to see a small theater production of My Fair Lady. While thinking of what else we could do with our afternoon, I remembered that Marceline was only another 20 miles past Macon. Marceline is Walt Disney's home town, and there is just enough to do there to take up an hour of time. So before the play, we drove past Macon on to Marceline to see what it had to offer.

As we were pulling into town, there were signs telling you where to turn. I turned prematurely and found this:

Stephanie showing us the way.

Trying to work up my imagination by Walt's dreaming tree.

I thought this bit of information was worth posting. :)

Closer view of the barn.


Inside the barn. The cut-outs on the left are supposed to recreate neighborhood kids watching one of Walt's childhood performances. If you look closely at the beam above us, it has been signed by visitors. The barn is covered with thank you's from all those who have been inspired by Walt Disney's story.

The dreaming tree and barn turned out to be the best part of our trip, so we were glad we stumbled upon it. It's quite inspirational to see how a man that has achieved so much came from so little. Walt Disney now strikes me as a man who never let himself grow out of his childhood imagination.

Here are a few more pictures of the town. Main Street USA at Disneyland was inspired by this small-town main street, Kansas Avenue. From doing a little reading, Disneyland's Main Street is in no way a replica of Kansas Avenue, just what Walt Disney wanted to re-create at Disneyland.

Our picture of Kansas Avenue

A better picture of Kansas Avenue that I found on the internet (taken from the other end of the street)


Not sure if Uptown Theater has any significance, we just took the picture because it looked cool and says "Spirit of Mickey."



Holmes Street! (We found it as we were driving to Kansas Ave.)


A very strange window decoration in a house on Holmes Street.

After we left Marceline, we went back to Macon to see My Fair Lady, which was phenomenal. The majority of the actors had graduated from Theater programs at different universities, and it showed. We hope to make it back again sometime this season, maybe for their production of Little Shop of Horrors.

Summer Project #2

After having no kitchen table for a little over a week, it's back! I had to watch the weather closely to know which days were going to be clear so I could put on each coat of lacquer. Our friend Erik McClure was kind enough to share his expertise and answer my many questions. He helped me understand that the whole table and all the chairs would be a big undertaking, but just refinishing the surface to get rid of water damage would be a fun and less complicated project.

The table in the basement, ready for sanding.
(shout out to Joe Orme for letting me use his sander)

Applying the third of four coats of lacquer.
(Russ, you're probably wondering why I have that shirt, but not as much as Stephanie is wondering why I still wear those shorts.)

After a fresh coat.


All finished.

This is the last week that I have to find things to do. There are quite a few people moving in and out this time of year, so that has helped to pass the time. On Saturday, we're flying to California to be with my family for a week. Hope to see many of you soon!

My Summer Lovin' is Lovin' Summer

Brendon is enjoying his last summer...of his life!
{How depressing!}

He keeps busy while I work by going to the gym, laying out by the pool (it's the closest thing to the beach in Kirksville), cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, & the like. It's pretty awesome..for the both of us. I quite enjoy Brendon's breaks from school; each break from school ends up becoming a nice break for me from the daily routine.

He has also been doing a little bit of this...

...a little bit of that...

...& a lot a bit of projects, turning that into this..

...& this into...a better one yet to come.

Because all of the mandatory house chores get done during the day, we get to play every SINGLE night. We've enjoyed so many fun things together & with our friends: dinners, games, Spades, movies, games, walks, & games.

Summer is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Life doesn't get any better than this (until we go to California & Utah...can't wait)!