August 30, 2008

Crazy people

Last weekend our framers held an end of summer party at the owner's house. They took one of their lifts (the one we used to move..click here) and used it for a diving platform. They started jumping from 30 feet or so and ended up jumping from over 65. I didn't. Probably because I'm smart???

Here are some pics and video from the evening. It was a lot more crazy live, but hopefully these can paint a picture for you.







Just Back Off

Jared and I decided that we wanted to make a bookshelf for LBJ's nursery. Well, I came up with the idea and with very little persuasion Jared agreed to the carpentry work. Between the two of us we came up with a simple design and went with it. Here are some pictures of the construction from the beginning to the end.





At this point, Jared wanted me to just simply and steadily hold the sides in place while he nailed the shelves into place. Because Jared is very detailed with his work, after each shelf was added he would make sure it was level. Well here is where I thought I could help out even more by offering my view of level. I was quickly informed (only after dropping the level 3 times...and who knew that they are one tool you don't want to drop) to "just back off" and let Jared handle the rest by himself. Side note....Jared wants me to make it quite clear none of this was said in frustration. It was just really funny and we both laughed quite a while about how I kept getting in his way.

This is the finished shelf. I love it and think that Jared did a wonderful job. Now this project is finished he can get started on our bed frame!!!

Geese Poop

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to babysit Jared's cousins Maddie and Haileigh. The night was fun and the girls had an endless supply of energy that resulted with Jared and my exhaustion.

I would have to say that the highlight of the evening took place while we took a walk around the pond behind our house. (SIDE NOTE: Just so ya'll know we have a ton of geese that enjoy the pond and frequently find themselves on the bike trail around the pond.) About 2 minutes into the stroll we came across several, I mean several, Goose droppings. We informed the girls to watch their step so that they wouldn't get it on their shoes and stink. I don't know how it started or why but shortly after we told them it was goose poop, Haileigh, who is 4 and VERY talkative, decided that it was necessary to tell Jared and I in an EXTREMELY LOUD voice every time she saw some poop. Her exact scream was "Geese Poop!" To try and eliminate her yelling geese poop, we suggested that she count how them to see how high she could count but little did we know that when you count goose poop you count like this.... 1 geese poop, 2 geese poop and so on and all of this at the top of your voice.

Thankful that we finished the walk with no geese poop on any of our shoes, we finished the night off with some hide and seek, hangman, memory and 101 Dalmatians. We had a great time, thanks for the fun evening Maddie and Haileigh!


Here is a picture of Jared and the girls trying to see who can balance the stuffed animal on their head the longest.

August 29, 2008

The season begins


ISU kicked off it's football season in Ames last night, thumping the mighty Jackrabbits, yes, Jackrabbits in impressive fashion. Sloppy, yet still a good first game. It makes me excited for the rest of the season.

And just a reminder, this win keeps our chances at a National Championship alive. Go Cyclones!!

August 21, 2008

Ag Leader update

Pictures don't show it all that well, but things are progressing pretty well at Ag Leader. We might even be sheetrocking next week.






Pregnancy and Baby Stats

Here are the latest pregnancy stats and other updates in the Willis home:

- I now have an outie bellybutton.

- I am wearing my first "real" maternity shirt to work today.

- I really need to go shopping and get some clothes that fit....fit is the key word.

- LBJ must be getting bigger because his/her movements are becoming quite violent.

- My belly continues to "measure" right on track. Despite what everyone thinks I am big enough. (My midwife said so!)

- We still have no concrete ideas for names yet...Jared says he works better under pressure. Guess that means we'll be waiting a while.

- I haven't had any discomfort resulting in sleepless nights yet.... I'm saving those for when the baby comes.

- It continues to get harder to bend over and pick things up.

- It takes more effort than I would have ever imagined to get myself from a sitting position to a standing one....this becomes even harder when sitting on the floor.

- I have been craving sweet/sour gummy candies....I will take free handouts.

- We have been working on putting together LBJ's nursery....more pictures and posts to follow.

That is it for now. Like I mentioned hopefully I will get some pictures up soon of the nursery and my ever growing belly. It has been hard with no internet at home. We will do our best though.

August 18, 2008

Silver again

I hope when the olympics are over I can get back to normal bed time. In the mean time, I love staying up to watch the competitions. The late ones last night were women's gymnastics. Iowa's own Shawn Johnson continued to put together great performances only to earn second place. It must be tough for her, but she is always smiling.

I thought this article said it well. Click here to read it.

August 13, 2008

'Whatchu talkin bout Willis' Wednesday

I've never really spent all that much time before watching the Olympics. This year though I have found it somewhat fascinating to keep up with for some reason. I enjoyed the parade of nations at the opening ceremonies - watching people from countries I have never heard of proudly walk in waving their flag. I commented to Allison someone should create a game called "Country or not a country" where you read a name and then guess. Good way to learn geography I say.

Probably the biggest reason I've been keeping up is because of Shawn Johnson. The toast of Iowa girl just has something about her that makes you want to cheer for her and her team. It's been incredible watching Micheal Phelps win the most golds ever in history as well.

Pomp and fanfare aside, it's been fun watching the different countries compete against each other. Different languages, skin color and size, but all in Beijing for the hopes of bringing pride to their country.

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If you look to the right side of our blog, you'll see we are now at week 31! Crazy! Every week that goes by we are continually thankful for the good health of Allison and LBJ.

August 12, 2008

10 Minutes

If you ask me, this is how it should be when you see the doctor. Efficient...no unnecessary babble about this and that. Weigh me, check my blood pressure, make sure there is no protein in my urine, measure my stomach, hear LBJ's heartbeat, tell me if there is anything to be concerned about, ask if I have questions, and tell me when to come back.

That is exactly how my appointment went today. I was only with my midwife for 10 minutes! And let me just say I don't feel ripped off at all. Really! Actually, I feel extremely blessed to have the midwife that we do because her personality is very similar to mine. This is a direct quote from her today, "So, I checked with the doctor to make sure that all these tests that we keep running on you are aboslutely necessary. He said that 'yes' they were because of the shape of your uterus." And as she says this she gives me a smirk and shrugs her shoulders.

I loved it....it is precisely what my reaction was to. Like well, we'll keep doin it cuz you say so overly cautious Doctor. It is pretty reassuring that even your midwife thinks that this is a little bit of an over kill.

Don't get me wrong I know he is having my midwife do what he thinks is best but I think that my midwife and I are on the same page about unneeded pelvic exams. Which makes me appreciate her all the more.

So to finish this really boring post about how much I like my midwife, next week I get to go to the doctor again and this time I know it will take a lot longer than 10 minutes.

All for you LBJ, all for you!

August 11, 2008

This one is for you Jeanne!

Here are some pictures of our beautiful new dining room table.



It is nice to have a table to sit at to eat our meals. We love it!

Weekend Fun!

So I decided to post some pictures from this past weekend.

On Saturday we went to Jared's cousin Bart's wedding. It was great to see the Willis side of the family. As always it was very entertaining to have Drew and Ally around!



On Sunday the Clinkinbeard's (Jared's friends from college) came to visit us. It was a lot of fun catching up with them. They brought along a 6 month old which they had for a few days because they are signed up to be respite care providers for foster families.

Isn't he sweet? And yes that is how his hair is naturally growing in, mohawk and all!

August 5, 2008

Success?

In my quest to become Todd's fan of the week, I got a little overconfident. Leave it to Mr. Schulz to throw me a curveball. Click here.

August 3, 2008

Ag Leader update

I know, work stuff is kinda boring to read about, so I'll let the pics do most of the talking. We poured about 12,000 sq. feet of concrete on the second floor Thursday. The steel guys may be mostly wrapped inside the building this week, so with the stud guys starting Monday as well as several other trades, people will be tripping all over themselves trying to get things done.

Just the way I like it.



Another week down

Every week that goes by without a trip to the hospital makes us feel even more blessed. Allison has been doing very well recently and the hope is to make it to week 35.

Allison is convinced that LBJ is going to turn out to be a soccer player or something because of all the kicking. I've seen it many times, but am still amazed how she can be laying perfectly still and suddenly her skin shoots out, holds briefly, and then goes back to normal. What an incredible thing.

Here are some pictures of both of us at week 28.