job well done!

sunday morning we all got up and ready for church. it was really fun to be able to go to church with a whole family! they had been to our church once before, when diana and i became members. its always fun to go to church with the kids because bubba is so mature about it, listening so quietly and behaving himself during the service, and tweets just belting along with all the songs, even if she has no idea what the words are!
after church we headed back to our place and tim and jill packed everything back up in the van. we had one last train go by so the kids wanted to run to the backyard and wave to the conductor! by early afternoon they were gone, and diana and i were left with an apartment filled with amazing new carpeting! it was a really fun weekend and everyone had a good time- even tim, though he spent most of the time working, poor guy! diana and i are so grateful for tim's willingness to offer his services- we owe you big time and the place looks amazing!!!
(the finished product!)

railroad dinner

one of the things that diana and i had been planning for the weekend visit with the kids is that we were going to take them to this place called tyler's tender. we had seen an ad for the place and diana had heard that some of the people she works with had taken kids there and that it was pretty neat. it is a train themed restaurant that has a train that goes around and brings meals to the customers, and theres even a mini train inside that place that the kids can ride! we thought that this was right up their alley. we got there and it was a lot smaller than we had expected, but it was still pretty cool. the kids werent so sure about the train ride when we first got there, but they warmed up to it and wanted to go on it a second time by the end of the meal! the food was pretty good and everyone had fun, so it turned out to be a good time. after we finished, mom and papa said their goodbyes and headed back to michigan. the rest of us went back to the house and hung out for the rest of the night.
(more pics)

cabella's again

ah yes, every time the kids come we have to go to cabella's. so after the carpet was laid and things were put back in order at the apartment, we headed off to that famed outdoorsman warehouse. we, as always, wander around and check out all the stuff, knowing full well that we arent going to really buy anything! there are a ton of little areas in there though that the kids love to check out- the place is filled with animal dioramas and little fun things for the kids to check out. they have a shooting gallery and an aquarium that the kids love. they also have a penny cruncher machine which everyone, including yours truly, loves. by the time we finally got out of there we were starving- so it was off to find the place to eat!
(more pics)

timmy's carpet co.

mom and papa arrived bright and early so it was time to get a full day's work in! jill and the kids cleaned up everything they had put in the two bedrooms and threw it in the living room (good thing tim took care of that room the night before- he's so smart!). then came time to pull out the old stuff. as we were pulling it back tim started rolling his eyes- they had used the cheapest stuff ever last time they laid carpet in here, which makes tim so mad! we quickly put the kids to work scrapping off the sticky carpet padding that was left behind after the carpet was pulled out. i tried to help tim as much as possible, but he is so good at this stuff that he can do just about everything by himself. which just leaves me standing in the doorway with my hands in my pockets... well, i knew that wouldnt do, so i tried to find things to do. everyone else was helping to clean too, which was super helpful! papa cleaned up that disgusting bathroom and got it looking pretty good! mom and jill did a bit of wall and surface washing, but they didnt stay long. diana had to work, so jill thought ahead and made hair appointments for the two girls- which they loved!!!
while the girls were getting themselves all pretty, we continued to progress with the carpeting. it was pretty amazing, by about 1:00pm timmy had the whole thing done and ready to rock! the place looks amazing now- its no longer embarrassing to show the place to prospective renters! after tim put the finishing touches on the carpet and we had cleared out all the scraps the girls gave us a call and said they were finishing up. we hopped in the truck and met up with them for some lunch and got to see all the beautiful new haircuts! diana was even able to get out a bit early and come for lunch too!
(more pics)

an evening chat

after the kids when to bed and were fast asleep (except for the occasional waking up from the really loud trains in the backyard...), i went over to hang out with tim an jill. because the apartment was empty they both had to sleep on an air mattress in the living room and i brought over a lamp so that we could actually see each other in the dark! it was a long day, but really cool to be able to have an hour or so of just good old fashioned hanging out and talking, strange spartan furnishings and all! we were able to do this both nights that they stayed, the first night i went over alone and hung out, but on saturday night diana was able to tag along as well and we had some really great discussions! man, i'm still amazed that tim was willing to do all this for us- we are so grateful!!!

the family arrives

the old renters moved out- and everyone rejoiced! the thing about owning a rental place is that sometimes it can backfire and you get terrible renters. well, our lease with them has expired, so off they go! that means that its time to clean the place and get some good renters again. one of the things that needed to be replaced in the rental was the carpet. fortunately for us, i know someone who is a really good carpet layer! its all about who you know- and i know tim! so my sis, tim, and the kids came down for the weekend to get that place in shape- mom and papa even came down for on saturday too!
when the family arrived on friday night they came hungry, so we ordered up some pizza and had a nice fun time playing with them and showing them around. instead of getting a hotel room and paying a ton of money, they just stayed in the rental, which was really handy! before they unpacked what seemed like their entire home, tim wanted to take care of the carpet in the living room so that way we only had two more rooms to take care of on saturday. he took care of it pretty quick and soon the kids were off to bed.
(more pics)

2nd anniversary

wow, i cant believe that its already been two years! ive always heard that being married is really tough, but these two years with diana have been the happiest and easiest years of my life! i guess that means i picked the right girl, huh? we didnt get to do anything real special for our anniversary this year. i felt bad that i couldnt give my gorgeous bride a special gift or vacation, but at least we got to spend the day together. we just went to marrillville and wandered around the mall and the shops for the afternoon. it was a simple day of simply enjoying each other. i guess thats what its really about anyway. that night we pulled out the second piece of wedding cake that we have had in the freezer for the past two years and again got to relive the joy of our wedding day! two years down, forever to go- i cant wait!!! (more pics)

cuts and kids

its one of the most wonderful times of the year for a teacher: spring break! diana and i didnt make any sort of grand plans for spring break this year, instead we went to visit diana's mom and david for one of the days. it felt like forever since we had last been there, so it was really great to get to stop by and see everyone again! there were even a few extra guests there that day: david's daughter and husband, whom we had never met, were there for the weekend and we got to chat with them for a couple hours before they headed back home. diana's hair cutting skills were put to good use as mom, alanna, and miranda all got a little taken off the top. we got to see tavish again- man, that guy is growing up so fast! and what a cutie! (more pics: 1, 2)

IQ aaron

our last visitor during our week of many guests was good ol' aaron! we tried to make it work for the weekend before, but that one didnt quite happen. either way i was thrilled to have him come and visit! ever since aaron started taking classes he hasnt had much free time, so with this being his spring break, he headed on down. now, usually when aaron comes down here he wants to go out, always suggesting 'hey, lets go downtown chicago and go to a club!' but this time he didnt. which i am thankful for- i'm not sure if i've got any 'club' nights left in me, to be honest! he just wanted to chill out and enjoy the night. now that sounds more my style! he arrived saturday afternoon and we got to catch up for a bit. we decided to hit up the video store to watch something funny for the night. it was a great time of doing not much at all. thats the thing, its never the events that matter, its the time with friends, and aaron and i havent had much of that lately (due in large part to the fact that we live two hours apart...) so i really loved it! one thing that made me laugh while he was down here was the fact that we spent an hour or two just downloading different apps and games on his and diana's phones! that reminds me, diana had an IQ test app on her phone and aaron took the test after we had been talking about it. his result? um, lets just say that aaron struggled a bit...