Riley + Soccer

We went and watched Riley play soccer at the Iowa Games. His team ended up winning the gold! It was fun to watch as the Gold Medal game was full of action. As a side note 7 days after this picture was taken Riley says to me "Is Mom's name Marce or Marc (not pronounced like the boys name Mark), people call her both" That kept Ashley and I laughing for quite some time!

Homemade dishwasher detergent

so this week I decided to experiment and try my own homemade version of dishwashing detergent. I LOVE it. Not only does it do just as good of a job as store bought brands, it is SOO easy to make. Here is the recipe if you are interested

Mix:
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon borax

Each dishwasher load needs 2 tablespoons. I bought a big jar and probably have 50 loads on hand now! I know, i'm a geek! :-)

8 weeks to go!

here is what little squirt looks like after 32 weeks. Ashley had a good doctor's appointment this week and each time they comment on how "active" our little one is. We still have NO clue if it's a boy or girl. The heartbeat counts have been anywhere from 130-162. Ashley is starting to feel a little uncomfortable and tired, but is doing really well overall. We are getting excited to meet our new son or daughter very soon. We find ourselves daydreaming about what the future will hold. Who will it look like, what personality traits it'll have and many more little fun things! Only time will tell. Please continue to pray for Ashley & squirts health as we end in the last eight weeks!

Our California Video

Here is a video from our Trip to California. We went and visited Carly for a few days. Haley and her friend Jen were able to visit as well. The video is in 2 parts both of which are below. Let us know what you think!

Ryan's New Favorite Blog

I'm not one for reading many blogs but this one caught my eye. Check it out.

http://thereifixedit.com

I included a picture to give you a taste of what to expect!

New pop of choice!

This is currently Ryan's favorite pop! I think there is a hidden meaning!

a BIG THANK YOU!!

Last Saturday was moving day and we were BLESSED with lots of help. I think start to finish it took us two hours to move! How cool is that?!? a BIG thank you to:
MOM
DAD
RILEY
HALEY
JON
MARK
ADRIANA
KATHY
TIM
JESSICA
BRANDON
TREY
LARS
AMANDA

We can't tell you enough how much help that was! THANKS AGAIN! We took a couple of pictures so hopefully i'll be able to get them on here sometime soon.

Movin' Right Along

Moving week! This coming Saturday we'll have a new address. It'll be
630 Garnet Drive still in Ames.

I can honestly say I'm looking forward to moving and actually starting putting together the baby room! This week will be really busy packing and more packing. However, 4 other families in our church are moving thatg day as well so I think we're all teaming up with one another to help move...looking forward to this challenge!

It's been amazing to me how much "free time" I thought i'd have quitting hickory park. ha! but, its been alot of fun stuff. Ryan jokes that he saw me more when I was working! :-) I'd better get to packin' now. goodbye for now!

Catch up!

Squirt:
This week I am in my 27th week, and boy, is it going fast! I am overall still feeling great. I've noticed my energy level going down a little bit, but nothing terrible yet. Sleeping is become more of a science --trying to find the right position and all! :-) Yesterday I had a check-up and everything is still looking good. Although, were starting to think we might have a little boy in there...time will tell!! I think secretly Ryan is REALLY excited about!

Moving:
Next Saturday we move (again!) to South Ames at our duplex on Garnet. So with packing we've got to do and getting ready for the move we've been staying really busy! We are planning to move there for a couple of reasons 1. more space 2. we can refinance for a better interest rate & lower our payments 3. remodel the upstairs.

Midwest Appraisals:
Business has been booming (all thanks to God!) which we are so greatful for. Ryan's been working alot of hours, somedays 6:30 a.m. til midnight. however, he is just starting to get a good rhythm so hopefully those hours won't be like that for long. i've been his little helper, and having a great time with that! In the next few weeks I'm hoping to learn more of his software and be able to help even more.

Not working at Hickory Park has been amazing. I now smile everytime I drive by. have i mentioned how excited i am to be done?!? :-)

thats it for now!

Garage Sale!

this past friday my mom & I went to Nevada's City wide Garage Sales! We started @ 8:00 and went to 3:30 straight. (although, my mom could of went MUCH longer! :-) ) we got a TON of great stuff for squirt! Although, i must admit the only time i "want" to know the sex of the baby is at garage sales because you can get such great clothing for so cheap!! Since i'm going to be a stay at home mom i'm trying to utilize each penny and stretch it far as i can! I was very pleasantly surprised with the condition of everything we got! God really blessed our frugalness that day!! However, i quickly learned my mom knew EVERYONE in town!!! :-)

two of my friends have babies...on the same day!!

Two of my good friends Molly & Rachel had babies on the same day! Last friday afternoon I was getting ready to head to Mary Greely to see my friends Rachel's baby Adam James when Ryan got a call that Red & Molly had ALSO had their baby, Elijah Flint. So we both headed to the hospital to check out these new babes! The baby on the left is Adam, who is a happy, healthy beautiful little boy! We are so excited for our friends!
The baby on the right is Elijiah, who has had a little tougher go-around. That Friday night he was born, he was taken down to blank Childrens hopsital in Des Moines. He is a little cutie too!! He was born @ 4 lb. 13 ounces. We were able to go down to the hospital today and last sunday. Even from last week he looks SO much stronger! His parents and doctors and hoping he'll be able to go home sometime this week.
So excited for you guys!!

Day trip to MN!

On Saturday we headed up to Minnesota with our small group, to Ikea/Mall of America! It was a quick trip left @ 8:00 a.m. and were back by 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning. It was a really good time for fellowship and fun. Since I knew we'd be doing alot of walking we hit up a movie that afternoon. Movie we saw:

Night at the Museum

which was a great movie! That evening for dinner we ate at Matt's Bar ( a big shout out to our friend Paul Klemme who introduced us to it!) where we got juicy lucys! YUM!! I think everyone enjoyed the experience!

Carly's 24 hour visit!

This past thursday Carly came back to Iowa for a interview near the Cedar Rapids area. Thursday night we had a family dinner and Friday morning Carly & I headed out at 6:30 AM for Cedar Rapids for the interview. Her interview was at 9:00 and didn't get over til 11:30! I was able to scoop out the town and hit a couple of garage sales! After the interview we saw a possible place she could live and then headed to the des moines airport. It was a short trip, but WELL worth it. Saturday morning she was told the job was hers if she wanted!! This school seems like it'd be a perfect fit for her gifts! WAY TO GO CARLY!!

Last day at hickory Park!

Last friday may 29th was my LAST day at hickory park! To say I was excited was an understatement. :-) Here are a few pictures from that day. The picture above is a cake Ryan got me...said "HP FREE WOMAN"