52 degrees and gorgeous!

I don't know what is going on with our weather, but I am certainly not complaining. This morning it is 52 degrees, and it is already after 10am! I hope that this continues through our move (to help keep everyone cool while lifting, etc.,) and after so we can enjoy breakfast outside on our new covered deck!

Speaking of the new house, Kevin and I drove by yesterday to look at it. We didn't ask for a key this time, but we were able to see that it is FINISHED! The yard is finally graded (we will be planting grass seed as soon as we get possession of it), the appliances are in (except for the fridge, which they do the day of closing for some reason), and the house has been cleaned! There are no longer stickers on the windows. We have our final walk through with the builder on Thursday, and we simply CAN NOT wait! The thing we can wait on: packing. UGH! We are finally working on it, but having to do this so soon after getting into our apartment (just over three months) just feels too soon! However, the excitement that we are moving into our very own HOUSE makes it worth it!

2 weeks...

In two weeks...we close on our first home! We are so excited! We went by Hollywood (the nickname I gave our home. Kevin just smiles and rolls his eyes when I say it :) ), and the tile has been installed. The carpet wasn't in yet, but I could tell the floor had been cleaned (no more nails, etc., on the floor), so I'm guessing it will be done very soon. The carpet we picked out is a frieze monotone carpet in taupe. It's really soft, and it will be even softer with the specialty pad we picked out. I'm thinking it was rubber, but I'm not entirely sure. It's supposed to be really good (I'm not a carpet pad expert, obviously. So many decisions!). The tile is taupe with tan variegation. We are currently picking out ceiling fans, and that is taking awhile. I think we finally have them picked out, but this seems to be the one area where Kevin and I disagree on the kind we like. Surprisingly, he really likes very modern fans, and I'm more interested in chandelier style. I guess it's good that the rest of the decisions were easier. Today, I'm setting up all of our utilities. It finally seems real!

Benton Bradley: Lake Dog

Benton and I enjoyed time in Council Grove and Manhattan with my Grandma and sister on Thursday. When we first got to the lake, I took him for a walk. He was a happy camper! He stayed in my parents' house in his crate while Grandma and I saw Julie and Julia and later had dinner with my sister. As soon as I got back, I took him on another walk before going to bed. The next morning before we left, we explored even more. He decided that lake trips are now mandatory! He made friends with all the permanent neighbors. He was a little sad to go home. :(

Ouch!

Thursday morning after Kevin left for work, Benton and I were getting ready to head to CG and Manhattan for an overnight to see my sister and Grandma. I was taking him on a walk, and we were walking across our apartment complex's parking lot when a car (in a hurry to get to work likely) came barreling around the corner towards us. Benton and I ran to avoid him (and did), but unfortunately the pavement was wet and I was wearing flip flops. SPLAT! I fell onto the grate just to the side of the racing vehicle. The man still went quickly on his way. My knee, foot, and wrist were (and still are) pretty banged up. It took awhile to get my knee especially to stop bleeding and get glass, rock, etc. out. Needless to say, it slowed us down a bit to get to CG.

Office Surprise

This afternoon, I made Kevin's office cinnamon struesel bread. I thought it would be nice for all of his coworkers to have a snack tomorrow since they have SEAKM (Structural Engineers Association of Kansas and Missouri) meetings. It's not considered brown nosing if he loves his job, right? :)Benton is doing great. I think he is getting used to being spoiled. :) We finally found him a toy he likes to play with. It is a green weiner dog from Target. HE LOVES IT! I'm so happy we found him a toy that he actually enjoys!The only real problem is that he loves it SO MUCH! He has already taken the stuffing out of his first one :( So, I'm thinking that we will have to budget for a new one every month or so...

Another interesting surprise: he really likes to hang out in his kennel if he knows that he isn't going to be left or it is time for bed. If he has a hunch we are leaving, it's a different story!What a snuggly pooch!

Weekend Fun

Friday night, Kevin and I tested our culinary skills by making scallops and red pepper risotto. It turned out beautifully, and we had a great time in the kitchen together. We are happy, though, that our kitchen in our new house will have much more room! It can get a bit crowded. We enjoyed a glass of white wine (that was also part of the scallop recipe), and we relaxed and watched shows that had been DVR'd from the past week as we had been pretty busy. It was a very nice evening.

Today (Saturday), we went to lunch with some of Kevin's extended family (his Grandma, Aunt Julie, Aunt Cindy, and Cousin Stephanie) and then ventured to see Julie and Julia. WOW! I loved that movie, and I think Kevin enjoyed it too, although maybe not as much as all the girls. He said that he needed a break from all the estrogen when we got home, though, so he played a bit of video games. :)

Tonight, Kevin is making a tuna casserole with basil and sun-dried tomatoes with a side of Parmesan puff bread (gluten-free, of course!). I can't wait!

Kevin's New Ride

This past weekend, we went to Olathe to spend some time with Kevin's family. We took our pup and hit the road on Friday after Kevin got home from work. Benton did SO well on the 3-hour journey. We put him in his crate, and he slept pretty much most of the way. He enjoyed meeting Kevin's family (his brother was at a fraternity event and one of the twins was at camp).

Saturday, we made an unexpected trip to KC, MO. Kevin has been searching for a barely-used Jetta TDI (diesel model) for several weeks now. It gets around 45 miles per gallon, and he likes it because it can still accelerate comparably to a non-fuel-efficient vehicle. They are available, but the problem is that they sell SO fast. We have called dealerships that just posted them before to find out that they had already sold. Kevin's dad had seen an add for a VW dealer, and we called to make sure it was still available. It was, but they said it had several appointments already. We raced to the dealer. We had to wait for one couple to stop looking at it. As soon as they walked away, our dealer had us RUN to the car and get inside. We took it on a test drive, and Kevin loved it. We had very little time to decide for sure if we wanted it, but thankfully we had already discussed pricing and decided that if one came available we would get it if he liked it. An hour later, we were driving back to Kevin's parents' house. It is a 2006 Jetta TDI, and it is a great dark blue color exterior with a mid-gray leather interior. We weren't planning to buy anything this weekend, so we had driven up in my car. We plan to sell Kev's car soon (either advertise it or trade it in at a local dealer). If you would be interested in a reasonable 1999 Saturn with just under 100k miles that runs GREAT, let us know!

Here's a picture of Kevin's new ride!
Saturday night, we were able to get ice cream with Tina and Ryan. It was so great to see them again! They are getting married the first weekend in September, and it was fun to hear all about the details.

We left Sunday to come back home, and Benton has been adjusting well. I think he was ready for a little R&R.