Lambeau

Puppies!
Mom
Willie
Our 2 boys!
Lambeau and Daddy!


We drove to College Station today to pick out our new addition to the family! We got there at 9am sharp and they started bringing in the puppies! They started with the pups that had rottweiler markings...we eliminated some and then they brought in more. We then had them bring in all the male puppies, since we were pretty certain we wanted another boy. Some of them were playful, some were sleeping, some were feisty as can be! We decided on 3...Waylon, Willie and Cash. We based our decision on personality and looks. Waylon and Cash look like rottweilers, while Willie had a lot of muted catahoula markings. Cash was the most active of the group, while the others were more laid back. They were all getting tired, so we left for breakfast and then came back and was introduced to mom along with our top 3 choices. Mom was amazing! She is incredibly sweet and beautiful! She couldn't get enough attention! She was wonderful! So, then we took her out of the room and brought in Fenway! We wanted him to make the final decision! Everyone was a bit nervous...it was a long drive for Fenway and he was crated while we looked at the other pups and this was the first time any of the pups had met a dog other than their mother. Waylon was not having it! He barked at Fenway the whole time, so we took him out of the mix. We then decided to go in one of the yards, so they would all feel more comfortable. Fenway opened up immediately and he started interacting with the pups much more. Willie desperately wanted to play, but didn't seem to be as brave as Cash. Cash was all over Fenway and Fenway definitely gravitated towards him too! So, in the ens Fenway chose our new puppy...Cash, or should I say "Lambeau"??!!

Mandy and Tyson's wedding

At the end of our trip to Milwaukee we went to our friend's wedding! We've known Mandy and Tyson for about 2 1/2 -3 years now. I met Mandy when we worked together at the Houston Zoo. Tyson is actually from Wisconsin, so we hit it off with him right away! We were very happy we were able to make it to their wedding! We drove down to Galesburg, Illinois on friday and left early Sunday morning. We met lots of their families and friends and went out in the booming (sarcastic) town of Galesburg! Actually, it was quite a nice place. Congrats Mandy and Tyson!!! We love you!

Home

When we were gone we asked to get updates on the house. During that week, they put in the security system and the carpeting! We stopped by on our way home from the airport, but couldn't get in because the house was all locked up! By peeking in the window, we couldn't see any changes. No appliances yet, no sod or landscaping and general touch-ups still need to be done! But, we did see that our address was up and obviously since it was locked, it means that all the knobs/locks were out on! We'll stop by later to see if any other changes are present!

Family

This trip back home was all about family! We spent very little time with friends; in fact we hardly told anyone we were in town. It was important to us to spend quality time with our parents, siblings and especially our niece and nephew! I never spend as much time as I want with them, but every moment was precious! They pretty much know who I am now, which is so cool! I love being called "Aunt Laura"! It's amazing how much we miss them when we're not there! Maybe one day we'll be closer again, but for now, we have to just cherish each visit to Milwaukee! And maybe Lynn and the kids can visit us in Houston soon!!!!!! :)

Anniversary

It's crazy that it has been a year since Dave and I got married! It went so quickly! I couldn't be happier with the life that we chose! I love Dave more than anything and can't wait to spend dozens more anniversaries together!
We spent the day in Milwaukee this year. We had a nice quiet dinner and then went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Red Sox game and have some drinks! Which by the way, was my idea...Dave is just lucky he married a pretty simple girl who loves sports! Anyway, we already had our nice dinner! :) It was a great day!

Mom's 60th

We surprised Mom good! Her birthday is on June 18th, but my Uncle decided to have a family reunion/birthday party for her on the 15th. She didn't know that my brother or I would be in town that day! She looked at me 3 times before realizing who I was!!! It was a great time! My brother made a wonderful slideshow for mom with pictures from when she was a baby to present day. She of course loved it! My uncle Fran wrote her a song and played the guitar and sang the song for her! It turned out to be a beautiful day and although all of us are much older now, it still had the feel of our annual family reunions at my Uncle Joe's that we had when I was a kid!

Our new home...Lowe's

It's amazing how fun a home improvement store is when you actually have a home! Dave and I have gone to Lowe's more times in the last week than we've ever gone there! We traded in our "thank you points" that we get by using our debit card with Citi bank for a $110 Lowe's gift card. There were a million things we considered getting, but we found a work bench on clearance for only $74! We decided to get that and an extension cord for our edger/trimmer. Due to a coupon we had, we ended up with $20 bucks remaining on the gift card. Soooo, what did we do a couple days later...we were back at Lowe's. This time we bought a rake and some gardening tools and still have $6 on the gift card! Not bad! The only bad thing about all this is that we have lots more to move now that we've been shopping. Although, I think in the end, we'll be happy that we've spread our purchases out a bit and have a lot of the things we'll need right away. We still want tons of new furniture, since we're going from a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment to a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house! We need bathroom supplies, a new couch, tables, decorations, a new t.v......yeah, I know...all in good time! :)

"He's going too damn fast"

Not to break away from the house updates, but seeing as how there is a very good chance of seeing the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years, I thought you should all know who one of my heroes is. No joking, this video brings me to tears when I watch it. Take the 10 minutes and watch...you'll understand what I'm talking about when it's done.

Big Changes

Dave taking picture of me in far corner of yard while standing on the patio

From that same corner looking towards the house

Kitchen flooring (it's the same in the bathrooms)

View from spare bedroom upstairs. There's a large ditch behind our house, then a field, then the freeway. Rumor has it, that the leveled dirt in the distance will be the new practice facility for the Houston Dynamo Soccer Team.


We were very happy to see all that was done over the course of one day!!! The fence was completely finished, the air conditioning unit installed, the tile around the master tub put in and all the laminate flooring was laid (all 3 bathrooms, entry and kitchen). They got some really big things taken care of, so it seems as if the construction manager was right...it'll be done by the end of the month! Although, we've heard so many dates that we are not getting our hopes up until we actually have the keys in our hands!!!

New Puppy

Mom with puppies

Dave's first choice

My first choice


Some of you may know our plan was to get another puppy when we got into the house, and for others it may be a surprise! Fenway is incredibly active and loves to play with other dogs and with our new big back yard it seems like the perfect fit. DAve and I have both always loved Rottweilers and knowing how wonderful "Candy" (Jenny and Don's rott) is, we knew it was the breed we were going to get. We didn't care if it was a full blooded rott or a mix, we just wanted the coloration and size of a rottweiler! I've been looking for about a month now on petfinder.com. It's a great website to go to to see all of the animals, from chickens to dogs to horses, that are up for adoption in your area. We adopted Fenway through a rescue center that posted on the site and we obviously feel great about that decision. We could have went to a breeder and found one right away, but we both agree that adoption is the only way to go! There are way too many homeless animals!!! Anyway, I was looking a few days ago and found Rottweiler/Catahoula mixes! They are only about 4 weeks old now and won't be ready to go for another 4-6 weeks, which will hopefully be around the time that we are in our new house. Oh, yeah by the way, we talked to our construction manager yesterday and he thinks the house will in fact be done by the end of this month!!! The lady in the sales center is the one that said the end of July. I hope this is the last time we get conflicting dates! Anyway, the mom was a recuse that was brought into the center starving and very pregnant. She had 12 puppies 3 days later! Half of them look like Catahoulas and the other half like Rottweilers. Our application was officially accepted yesterday and we will be going right after our vacation to pick out our new baby boy!!! There are 4 boys that have the coloration of a Rottweiler and we will get the first pick of those 4. We're sooo excited for........."Lambeau" to come home!!!

A Few Updates

We went to the house yesterday to find a couple of new additions. The front and side yards have been leveled, the bathroom counter tops are in, the lighting was put in throughout the house, the light switches and outlet plates have been installed and the smoke alarms are in! Unfortunately, we were told that as for now they are keeping our closing date as late July. It may change as time goes on, but they don't want to change it now because they have several houses that are closing in the next couple weeks. Dave and I were disappointed, but at the same time, it's probably better. We don't want to have to rush when we move and we want to do some painting before we're all the way moved in. So, I think we are ok with it! It also gives us more time to slowly get more of the things we need. We recently bought a lawnmower and Dave went shopping yesterday and got some gardening gloves, a saw and a stud finder/laser leveler! He's pretty excited about the last 2 purchases, although I'm not sure what he's going to saw in a new house! :)
So, as far as I know this is what they have left to do:
-gutters
-sod
-finish fence
-all the flooring
-install appliances
-install mirrors in bathrooms
-tile in master bath
-toilets
-front landscaping
-general paint touch-ups, etc throughout house

Slow progress

We are getting so close to the house being done that we are just hoping and expecting significant progress everyday, but unfortunately not a whole lot was done over the weekend. Several days ago, the counter tops were put in the kitchen, which does look really nice, although you can't really tell from the picture since they are covered. The following day the tile was put up around the spare bathroom tub and we got our water heater installed. And yesterday a few vents were put up and it looks like they are preparing to level the front yard. I guess it does sound like a lot now that I am typing it out, but it really isn't compared to progress they have made over past weekends. We have been following up with the sales center and our realtor for an updated closing date and were told we should get one this week. In preparation for the move coming quickly after our vacation to Milwaukee, we have started packing. We're hoping that if it is ready in June, we can get out of the apartment quick enough to not have to pay rent for July!

House

Not too much has been done over the last couple days. The interior of the whole house is painted and we figure they didn't do anything yesterday in order to allow it to dry properly. The walls and ceilings are a light tan color, while the baseboards, window sills, etc are all bright white. We did see a note in the bathroom that had info on the counter tops, which made it look like they will be installed on the 4th of June. We still don't have an updated closing date, but we're hoping for the end of this month! :)

Trip to Lowes

Dave and I took advantage of the Memorial Day sales and went shopping at Lowes yesterday!!! Texas also had a tax free weekend on all energy efficient products, so we benefited from that by getting a ceiling fan for our bedroom. Here's what we got:
-ceiling fan
-trimmer/edger
-100 foot hose for the back yard
-50 foot hose for the front yard
-holders for both
-nozzles for both
-sprinkler
-shovel
-lawn fertilizer dispenser thing
-palm tree
We started with a lot of stuff for the yard for a couple reasons. It will be a new lawn, so we'll have to really care for it. And we're both really excited about having a yard!!! We're going to visit the house tonight, so hopefully we'll have another update!

More additions!

We went back to the house tonight and we're pleased to see all the work that was done during the day today! Among the things that have been completed...
-window sills are in
-all interior doors installed
-shelfing in most closets up
-railing going up the stairs in
-attic pull-down stairs installed
-all cabinets (kitchen, master bath and second bath) are in
-back yard is leveled
It's getting even more fun now that the details are starting!

Garage Door

We went to the house this morning before the workers got there and there are a few new additions! First, and most noticeable, we have a garage door! They also have texturized all the walls in the house (oh yeah...all the dry wall was put up last week) and all the interior doors are in the house, but not installed yet. The fence line in the back has been started and is actually about 12 feet further back than we thought it was going to be, which gives us a huge chunk of extra land!!!! We figure the next couple things will be installation of the interior doors, painting inside and more work on the fence! We'll take more pictures soon!

Sweeney Todd

I generally keep the movie reviews up to my brother (I even copied the image from his blog), but I had to comment on this one. Dave and I both wanted to see Sweeney Todd, but I knew very little about it and wanted to see it mainly because of the hype and my own curiosity. I am glad I did! It was probably the "darkest" movies I have ever seen, both in actual color and in content. However, it was highly entertaining, suspenseful and unpredictable (at least for me since I never saw the play). The movie was very bloody, but in a different sort of way...the graphics were not realistic, instead I would just simply call them artistic. You can interpret that how you want to, but I think you will understand once you've seen the movie. I was hooked right from the beginning and did not mind at all that it was a musical, which I sometimes get incredibly annoyed at! I think my favorite part (stop reading if you haven't seen it) may have actually been the less than happy ending. Every movie nowadays ends perfect...they break up and then get back together...the good guys overcome the evil...blah, blah, blah. This is one I think we will add to our collection! Another words...go see it as soon as you can!

Mario Kart

So, I've always enjoyed video games, but it seems that Dave has truly changed me to a video game nerd! I think the fact that I am blogging about it proves my point. Thanks sweetie. Anyway, we have another new addition to our Wii system!!! Over the weekend Dave and I purchased Mario Kart! We've played it throughout the weekend and have had a blast! It comes with cordless steering wheels that are actually the controllers for the game! It makes the game much more interactive and a lot like arcade racing games, however, if you are afraid to try a new controller, you can use a GameCube controller, the Classic Wii controller or the Wii remote and nunchuk! The game includes both old and new races! One of the coolest things you can do (which we have yet to try) is play against your friends that have a Wii while they are at their own house! We'll report back when we try that!

In other news...we visited our house yesterday and all the insulation has been completed! I'm pretty sure drywall is next! It's getting more and more exciting by the day! Hotel Koch will be booking up fast, so all of you better make your reservations! We expect to see ya'll in Houston real soon!

Walk Through

We had the walk through with the construction manager yesterday and it went really well! One mistake was caught and will be taken care of, but other than that, everything was perfect! They will be starting the drywall next week and after that it is only 6 weeks til closing!!! It appears that we will be moving in earlier than the expected late July. He thinks the house may be done as early as late June!!!!
The latest progress is that the driveway and front walk have been poured! But, of course, we will be visiting tonight to see any other progress!

Cinco De Mayo

My birthday was wonderful this year! Dave surprised me with a party!!! I honestly had no idea that he was planning anything. In fact, he made me think we were having a couple friends over the next day and that's all I thought we were doing. I was quite wrong! I went to the mall with a friend (which was a trick) and when I came home all my friends were here and the whole apartment was decorated with birthday and Cinco De Mayo decorations! Dave made some wonderful fajitas...we had a pinata...margaritas...and I even got a special Cinco De Mayo t-shirt and a sombrero! It was a great time!!! He also surprised me with tickets to the Brewers/Astros game the next day as well as tickets to see our favorite band (Less Than Jake) in July!!!
Thanks so much honey! I love you!