The life and times of the Dicksons

D's Music program

2009-05-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I updated this...mostly because our camera has been broken for months, so we really haven't taken any pictures and I always like to add a picture to the blog when I write it. Well, good news, Aaron got me a new video camera for Mother's Day and gave it to me a little early!

So, now for the update: The kid's music program was last night at school. It was titled "Jungle Dance" and all the kids were supposed to dress up like jungle animals. He wanted to dress up like a gorilla, but I really couldn't figure out a good but simple costume for him. So after a bit of discussion, we agreed on a monkey. I found a cute monkey hat at Michael's and a kit to make a monkey necklace. I also sewed him a brown tail with a wire in it to make a curly monkey tail. It turned out really well!

The program itself is probably what you would expect from a music program of first and second graders. It was cute and the kiddo was one of three students from his class that had a speaking role. After the program, D's "special friend" ran up and asked if she could take a picture with him (she was dressed as a cheetah):

Hopefully the new camera will help me keep this updated more often!

We visted Santa!

2008-12-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

This morning, we went to the Cherry Creek mall in Denver because we heard there was a neat Polar Express train display with huge snow globes inside. We also heard Santa would be there. We got there and the line to see Santa was two hours long--Santa had a lunch break in there too to go feed the Reindeer. But, when we finally got to see Santa, he and little man had a really good conversation. We forgot to bring his letter (see the last post), but D was able to remember it all and Donovan came away from it very happy. He kept saying "I can't stop smiling".

They also took a family picture "on the back of the Polar Express caboose". A little cheesy, I admit...but still cute. Don't be surprised if this one shows up as our Christmas cards!

Christmas time in CO!

2008-12-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

This past week, it snowed about 8 inches here. It's so beautiful! The snow on the foothills is breathtaking. With all the snow on the ground, it's beginning to feel like Christmas time to me. We've started listening to Christmas music at work, and it's really putting me in the Christmas spirit (and driving my coworkers nuts!).

The kiddo wrote his letter to Santa today:

It reads "Dear Santa, I have tried to be a good boy this year. Can I please have: Star Wars Figures, a plastic motorized train diesel 10, Pictionary, Jenga, Mouse Trap, I Spy Eagle Eye, Insaniquarium Deluxe. I will leave cookies and milk. Love, Donovan". We've been doing a family game night, so I think that's why he's asking for so many board games. He's tired of the same old same old.

We're looking forward to Christmas!

Back from Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T05:25:00.000-08:00

We traveled to Missouri for Thanksgiving. A friend of mine got married in St. Louis, so we thought this was a good excuse for a road trip. Overall, the trip was great! The wedding was beautiful (here's a picture):

We spent a few days in SEMO with Aaron's side of the family, then we headed to SWMO to see mine. We ended in COMO and visited with friends. By the end of the week, we were all ready to go home and sleep in our own beds.

Clone Commander Rex goes Trick-or-Treating

2008-11-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

The kiddo dressed up like Clone Commander Rex for Halloween. For those of you who don't know who that is, it's one of the clone troopers from Star Wars. That's two Star Wars costumes in a row for us (he was Darth Vader last year). Here's a couple pictures:

We started trick-or-treating about 6:30pm. We trick-or-treated down one side of our street to the street of one of his friends. There was a haunted house on that block that we walked through (and it was SCARY, but they toned it down for the kiddo and there were no nightmares last night). We went down that block and came back towards our block.

About halfway home he decided he should start doing a "trick" for his treat. Grandpa has been teaching him jokes and he decided that would be a good trick. So, he started telling two knock-knock jokes--one was "Boo...Boo who?...whatcha crying for" the other was "Ice Cream Soda...Ice cream soda who?...Icecreamsoda whole neighborhood can hear me!" and the other was "why did the clown go to the doctor? 'Cause he was feeling kinda funny". Those were the only ones we could remember. Anyway, in general the people answering the doors thought they were funny.

We quit trick-or-treating around 7:30. Kiddo wasn't feeling well and I think he was just exhauted. He had a blast handing out candy to kids at the door. We ran out of candy a little after 8pm and he was having so much fun, he wanted to give out his own candy (which he didn't have much of considering we didn't trick-or-treat long).

Overall, a fun night!

Halloween, DICKSON style

2008-10-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

We carved some pumpkins for Halloween. We had a BLAST doing it too! D-man did a skull and cross bones, hubby did darth vader and I did John Mccain and Barack Obama. We're having a hard time getting a good photo of them all lit up. We'll keep trying and post when we get a good one. Until then, here's the kiddo with the pumpkins on the front porch:

Here's a shot of the pumpkins along with the spider web on the wall and the lights in the front window:

Happy Halloween, ya'll!

Little Man, Karate Master

2008-10-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

The hubby and I decided that the little man needed some more physical activity, an additional way to make friends and an opportunity to learn self-control and discipline. So, we enrolled him in Taekwondo. It's really close to our house and there are a few kids from his school there that he already knew. Thursday was his first day.

His "nice" look.

His "mean" look.

He had a blast in the class and was eager to come home and practice. Needless to say, Friday morning, he was very sore. When it was time to go back to class today, he was a little upset that he would be sore again. I promised him that it wouldn't happen this time. Here's hoping he doesn't wake up tomorrow and prove me a liar!

I love you Thomas!

2008-09-20T21:05:00.001-07:00

Last week I bought tickets for the fam to go to the "Day out with Thomas" in Golden. They have a life-size Thomas train that pulls cars you can ride on and lots of activities for the kiddos to do. We went to one in Branson several years ago and the kid loved it. We decided not to tell the kid what we were doing, just that we had a surprise for him.

We got up early this morning and headed down to Golden (about an hour drive) and got there around 8am. The kid's getting too smart because after we parked, he read a sign that said "Bus to Thomas" and he put two and two together and FREAKED OUT.

We rode Thomas (the scenery was beautiful from the open car):

They also had several large electric train tracks set up that the kid liked.

We met Sir Topam Hat:

And since this was at the Train museum, they had LOTS of old trains that we could climb around and on:

And now for the title of this post. The kiddo kept saying, "This is the best day of my life!", which I thought was really sweet. But, at one point Thomas drove by:

and the kid screamed "I love you Thomas!".

He had a wonderful day and we had a great day watching him enjoy it.

1st day of 1st grade

2008-08-26T21:38:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday was the kid's first day of first grade. He was very excited. Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma all walked with him to the bus stop, where he posed for some pictures. One showing his book bag:

And a closeup (with Dad in the background):

And then the bus came around the corner and he got one and was gone:

He had a GREAT day. He loves his teacher and had made lots of friends.

Beautiful rainbow--and can you name that fruit?

2008-08-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, a storm front moved through Colorado. There was VERY heavy rain and hail. Then as quickly as it started, the storm ended. I went outside to take pictures of our mystery tree (read on below) and found this:

It was the most beautiful and most complete double rainbow I've ever seen. This picture doesn't do it justice. In fact, you can hardly see the second rainbow just below the first. There was even another rainbow to the left. The kiddo thought it was pretty cool too.

So on to our mystery tree. We have a cute little tree in front yard:

Last week the tree started producing tiny little fruit.

Dad arrived this week and said it probably was a peach tree. However, our neighbors had a peach tree in their front yard and it had already produced fruit and the leaves don't look the same. Then he suggested it might be a nectarine. I'm not sure. I think it may be some plum variant. But, it has a little point on the end. Anyone have any suggestions?

We heart Visitors!

2008-08-08T08:06:00.001-07:00

A while ago, Aaron's sister and daughter came through Colorado on their way to Oregon. They got to spend the night and D was very excited about seeing his cousin! He loves her!

We really enjoyed getting to spend a little time with them!

Then this past weekend, one of Aaron's closest friends called out of the blue on Sunday morning. His friend's father and son were in the area and wanted to visit. D and his friend's son are friends too. They stopped by for a visit and the boys got to swim together and have dinner together.

We're looking forward to spending some time with Dad and Kathy while they're here too!

Horesetooth "Falls" Hike

2008-07-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we decided to go for a hike up horsetooth mountain. My boss had mentioned that there was a short hike there that was appropriate for little legs. The weather was hot, but because of the low humidity, it wasn't that bad. The skies had a few clouds, but otherwise a beautiful day. The hike was a little difficult, considering I carried a 50 pound kid halfway (his asthma is working up again and he couldn't go very far without getting exhausted). We finally made it up to the falls...and it was a joke. We were expecting MUCH more water. There was a trickle coming down. I don't know if you can see it in the first picture, but the second is of me and the kid sticking our hands in the "falls". That was literally all the water that was coming down.

We also walked up to the top of the falls, where the mountains kept on going and going and going. Beautiful!

Rafting is FUN!

2008-07-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

This morning, our lab went on a rafting trip on the Poudre (pronounced pooter) River. It was such a beautiful day! I swear the sky is a different shade of blue in Colorado. The part of the river we rafted goes through the Poudre canyon. There were beautiful rocky mountains surrounding us through the trip. Here's a great picture looking up the river.

The trip was a little more dangerous than I thought it would be. We went over some class 3 rapids, and there was one point that I was almost bucked out (actually shortly after this bridge), had I not had my proper foothold, I would've been in the drink.

What an AWESOME DAY!

And more pics from MO

2008-07-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

And for those of you who didn't know, we left for the CO on the kiddo's birthday. So, on the Wednesday before we left, we threw him a birthday party. It was a GREAT success.

And on the day we left, we surprised him with a Ninetendo DS. He LOVED it!

Pics from Missouri

2008-07-07T20:23:00.001-07:00

Before we left for the CO, we went to the STL zoo, where we took some silly pictures on the train:

and we saw the Sea Lion show:

More Colorado pics!

2008-07-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Today (after we got our cable, phone and internet installed), we went downtown to ride the streetcar. It's a beautiful streetcar that's been restored to how it looked in 1919. It runs about 1.5 miles from downtown to city park.

Once we got to city park, we got off the streetcar and rode the train in city park.

Overall, it was a fun day!

We're settled in!

2008-07-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

We've made it to Colorado and love it so far. The weather is beautiful! It's been in the low 90's, but since there isn't any humidity, we've left the windows open. There's a beautiful park just up the road from us and we've taken a few walks up there. We went up there last night to watch the fireworks, as there's a hill with a great view of the town. We got to watch the fireworks in our town and several different surrounding towns.

We've both started our jobs and they're going pretty well. Since we both work on campus and the kiddo's going to a sports camp on campus, we're all riding in together. We're saving a ton of gas since Aaron's not commuting anymore.

I've attached pictures of the house for all to see. The pictures were taken when we were still unpacking, so it's a bit of a mess. Hope everyone can come visit and see for themselves!

This is the master bedroom.
This is the kiddo's bathroom-he wanted to make it like the ocean.
This is what we're using as the living room. It's just off the kitchen.

This is a view of the back of the house.

This is us at the front of the house.
This is the study/sitting room that's as you enter the front door.
This is a view of the kitchen/dining room from upstairs.

And the kid's room.

FightSMA

2008-05-23T11:53:00.001-07:00

Here's a link to a video about the disease I currently research.

This video talks about drug discovery for SMA therapies and briefly mentions gene therapy for the disease. That's kind of what I research. Gene therapy techniques have great promise for this particular disease as well as several other diseases.

However, another area of great promise for a therapy for SMA is embryonic stem cells. I know this is a hot topic for some people, but after attending a meeting for SMA researchers that patients and families also attended and seeing these beautiful, dying children, I must support any means to cure this terrible disease that robs these children of their future.

Just wanted to share a little about my research!

Graduation and Family Pictures

2008-05-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of CRAZY weeks! Everything's going by so quickly!

Tomorrow, family starts arriving for graduation. Dad and Kathy and Aaron's Dad and his wife get here tomorrow, then everyone else arrives on Friday. Graduation is Friday night. After a bit of a mess regarding who was walking me through graduation (in graduate school, your mentor walks with you), I've found someone to walk me. So, GAME ON!

We went and got family pics taken last night. Here's some of my favorites:

The next one is one of my favorites because you can see my GRADUATION GIFT from Aaron! He got me a journey necklace with 7 stones because it took me 7 years. It's BEAUTIFUL! It almost looks like a strand of DNA, so I love it. Good husband!

Phinally Done!!

2008-04-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

I did it! It wasn't all that bad, really. The seminar was a little rough because I was so nervous and not feeling well, but I got through it. I then had my committee meeting and started getting a migraine, which I haven't had in YEARS. I actually saw flashing light that covered one of my committee member's faces. After the committee meeting, we went back to work and they planned a little party for me with champagne and cake and food. Unfortunately, I got too sick to stay and had to leave early. I felt like a jerk! Oh well, it's all over. One of my friends took some pictures:

The awesome cake--I had some today...it's good.

I really didn't feel good. Look how pale and sweaty I am. Ugh.

This was taken AFTER I got sick. I wasn't feeling well at all.

Defense today!

2008-04-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

2pm today--pray for me!

Dissertation turned in.

2008-04-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

I turned in my dissertation today. I feel a little sick to my stomach. I also feel a little out-of-body. Weird. Here's the announcement that was sent around campus today:

Keep praying for us! It works!

House is sold!!

2008-04-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

What a crazy week! We started by interviewing agents for our seller's agent. Here's how the nights went this week:

Tuesday we interviewed the agent that sold us our house in 2002.

Wednesday we interviewed an agent that's a friend of mine from church.

Thursday I had a meeting with some Missouri state legislators.

Friday, the agent from Tuesday came back with another agent. The other agent immediately called one of his clients. She came over and within 15 minutes, they called me and asked if they could come back at 5:30pm. I said yes. At 6:30pm, we interviewed another agent, who's a friend of a friend. At 7:30pm, the agent from Monday called and said we'd have an offer on Saturday.

Saturday (today), we got an offer on the house--for MORE THAN WE ASKED FOR!! Amazing! And it's a couple just like us--he's a PhD student and they have a family. I'm so thrilled for both of us. I really think God answered our prayers on this.

So, we close on the house on June 20th (D's 6th birthday). We'll be moving to Colorado on that day!

HOORAY!

Sending another draft of my dissertation to my boss today. Have to turn it in on Monday! Keep praying--He's obviously listening!

Still working on the last chapter.

2008-04-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

One last chapter. Seriously. Ugh. I'm staying at work tonight until it gets done, regardless of the time. Yesterday was a rough day. My USB drive that had a lot of data on it broke. I nearly passed out. I've gotta get it done.

Aaron's working on getting a job. He's got several prospects. Hopefully, he'll have some interviews scheduled in May so we can go, he can have interviews and we can find a place to live.

I have some pictures to post. They might have to wait until after the defense.

One chapter left AND WE DECIDED TO MOVE TO COLORADO

2008-04-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

So, I've only got one chapter left on my dissertation. It looks like I will be finished with my first draft by Friday. Hallelujah! That gives me an entire week (plus a weekend) to revise, revise, revise. I won't say it's my BEST work at this point, but I'm pretty proud of it. Hey, at least it's almost finished.

AND FOR THE BIG NEWS: we've decided to move to Colorado. Last night during the NCAA final game, we talked it over. It's a beautiful location, a good job with a great lab and will really further my education by leaps and bounds. It's scary moving to an area without family, but I think we'll be fine. SO, anyone up for Christmas in Colorado this year? :)

Fixed the dryer (again)

2008-04-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Our dryer has been something of a pain lately.

A year ago or so, the heating element went out in it. The dryer would turn on, but never get hot. Aaron and I spent the better part of a day taking the thing apart and replacing the element ourselves. I remember feeling so proud of doing it ourselves and saving so much money.

A month ago, our dryer broke again with the same symptoms. We assumed it was the heating element again. We took it apart and put in a new heating element and it still wouldn't work. Turned out it was a couple fuses, which my step-father helped me replace. The dryer worked for a couple weeks.

The dryer broke again, but this time it wouldn't even turn on. This time, it was the "hot dog" fuse. Rick again helped me replace it, and the guy at the parts store told me to check our dryer vent, which I did and it seemed fine. The dryer worked for a week.

Broke again, same symptoms. I'm getting frustrated at this point. I got a new fuse and talked to the parts guy at some length (btw, they're great. If you live in Columbia and need appliance parts, go to Maytag Direct on Paris). I took apart the dryer last night and cleaned out the fan. I'm sure that's why it was breaking. It was FULL of junk.

HERE'S MY SUGGESTIONS OF THE DAY (if you read nothing else on this blog, read this):

1. Did you know you need to clean out your dryer vent at least once a year? I didn't. Find out where your dryer vents to the outside and clean it out. This is one of the number one causes of house fires.

2. Have you ever taken apart your dryer and cleaned out the insides? I hadn't. I think this is something that should be done once a year, maybe once every other year. You wouldn't believe the pile of gunk I pulled out of ours--probably six cups worth of lint and hair and sand (still not sure how sand got in there). It probably had never been cleaned out (I know we never cleaned it out and we've owned it for seven years).

Anyway, off my soap box for the day. Goal for this weekend: at least one more chapter of the dissertation done. Wish me luck!

Beautiful new carpet!

2008-04-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

We got our new carpet from Lowe's installed yesterday in the master bedroom and D's room. The old carpet from our bedroom was DARK blue and very worn. The carpet in D's room wasn't too bad, but it had been installed poorly and was bumpy. SO, new carpet in and some new pictures: This is a view from my master bedroom door, you can see the new carpet, the new wall color and the way we rearranged the furniture.
This is the new bedspread/pillows Mom got for me for my birthday/christmas present. Very luxurious.

Writing...writing...writing...

2008-04-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Not too much new to report.

I've been writing on my dissertation a ton lately. I've got two chapters down, three more to go. I'm working on these last three all at the same time. I'll work on one for a couple hours, get bored and switch to another. With each day that passes, I'm more convinced I'll actually finish.

Aaron and I painted the kitchen cabinets and installed new hardware. I'll have to get a picture. It looks great. We also have a sliding glass door on the back that had lost its seal and gotten condensation between the glass panes. We figured out (with help from a great neighbor) that a local glass company can come out and simply replace the glass, which will save us about $700 by not replacing the entire door. We are getting new carpet installed in our room and Donovan's room on Thursday too. Busy, busy, busy.

Colorizations with photoshop

2008-03-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

I just learned how to "colorize" photos with photoshop. I used this website. It was relatively easy and turned out well, especially considering this was my first time.

D and Dad made it home Saturday. It was so great to have him back. We missed him terribly. This morning, as I was getting ready for work, he told me I had to close my eyes and then he led me to the refrigerator. We have magnetic words on there and he had spelled out "Mom is beautiful". It was so sweet! Later he spelled out "Mom is my best friend always". Awwww...he's so cute I can hardly stand it.

Just a pic...

2008-03-28T06:58:00.001-07:00

Back to the grindstone.

Got about half of my introduction chapter to my dissertation done yesterday. So, one and a half done. Two and a half more to go.

Also got the Toyota sold yesterday. And the framed starry starry night print. Only a little more work to do before the house goes on the market. On tap for this weekend: yard work.

Spoke to big D last night. He caught EVEN MORE fish. He's becoming a great fisherman. Can't wait for him to come home.

Clara Leola (Sutherland) Garrison

2008-03-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I just got back from Sikeston and attending his maternal Grandmother's funeral. Here's a link to her obituary.

What a wonderful woman she was! There are two words that come to mind when I think of Grandma Garrison: Faith and Family. She had lots of both! I wish I could have known her better. Although it was a difficult time for Aaron's family, I am grateful for knowing Grandma and for being able to meet so many of Aaron's extended family. Each one of them were touched by Clara and carry on her memory.

I added a link to the side there for the Garrison family--it should be up and running in the next few months. Be sure to check on it! It should be a great way for this LARGE family to keep up with each other!

House work update

2008-03-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

I also wanted to add some pictures to update everyone on all the house work. The first picture is of the "brick" wall we have in our kitchen (in mid-paint) We painted it "prarie dance" from Valspar. It looks great (now that it's done)
The second set of pictures is of Aaron doing the texture on the ceiling in the bathroom. He did a great job!

The last picture is of the texturizing I did on the walls. I took joint compound, diluted it down and brushed it on the walls. It looks a bit like stucco/plaster. We painted it "mousse moose" from Valspar.
ALMOST DONE!

Yard Sale's over

2008-03-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

We had a HUGE yard sale this weekend. It was GREAT to get rid of stuff--although I had to say good bye to some items I was a little attached to. Several cute outfits from D's baby days. D's baby bedding, etc., etc., etc. I wanted to attach a picture to give you an idea of how much stuff we had:
This was the "bedding table", which we set up on Friday night. The only thing that's leftover is the two sets of Thomas bedding.

These were the tables we set up in our living room. It was PACKED! Everything sold except for the couch, the desk and a few other minor items. We've begun the re-arrangement process. Hopefully we'll be done soon!

RCAF success!

2008-03-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

The presentation I did on Saturday was for a competition. Surprisingly, I won! I was surprised because one of the judges told me I didn't know how to write an abstract after my presentation. Other than that, the other judges were very nice and had only positive things to say.

We also got a lot done around the house this weekend. Two new closet organizers. Several boxes of stuff packed. The wallpaper border in the kitchen torn down. The bedroom painted. Carpet people to come and measure for new carpet for bedrooms. Dryer fixed (again). Yadda. Yadda. Yadda.

Goals for this weekend: Kitchen painted, bathroom walls/ceiling painted, purchase flooring for kitchen. Yard work too. I'll be posting pictures soon with all the changes.

Donovan's better after a bout with a virus. Back at school today several pounds lighter.

Yet another

2008-03-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

This is another busy weekend. The boys are leaving tonight for SEMO. Seems like I haven't spent ANY time with them this week. I got back Wednesday night, we went to dinner and that was it. Last night, I went to Hairspray (GREAT show, if you get a chance, see it!) and tonight they're leaving!
Mom and Rick are coming into town again this weekend to help fix up the house. I have a party planned for a couple girlfriends tonight. We're going to have makeovers (girly, I know) and then go for a couple drinks. Tomorrow AM I have a presentation, then in the PM I have an awards ceremony. In between the presentation and the dinner, I'll be buying new carpet and helping pack stuff up.
Wanted to share a couple cute D pics:

CSU trip

2008-03-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

Just got back from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. I'm interesting in a lab there for a postdoctoral position (which, in case you're wondering is basically a glorified graduate student--a little more money and a lot more independence). I loved it there. The location is GORGEOUS. The laboratory personnel seem really friendly and a lot like the lab here. The research is very interesting. I could very easily see myself working on any of the projects there. AND, New Belgium brewery is located there. It's good beer.

I'll have another month or so to make my decision on where I'd like to go. I think Aaron should visit wherever we decide to go before we make our final decision as well. But, Donovan seems to be on board for Colorado. I told him there's real working steam trains in the mountains and there's a race track not far from Fort Collins--he was pretty much sold after that.

Nerves are kicking in

2008-02-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

I practiced my interview talk for the lab today. I'm usually at least a decent public speaker (this I'm sure I got from Dad), but I was very nervous. I have new data that I haven't presented before and I'm presenting another lab member's data, so I didn't explain myself well. Ugh. I'll be ready for Tuesday (which is the day of my talk), but I've got a lot of work to do. I still need to read up on the lab's work too. Too much to do, not much time.

This evening is busy too. Volunteering at bookfair from 3-5:30pm. Parent-Teacher conference at 6:15pm. MaryKay party at 7pm. Workout after that. Tomorrow Donovan's off school and I think I won't be coming to work much. Give me a couple minutes to breathe.

I heart my crockpot

2008-02-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight is yet another night that I won't be home until late. There's a career fair on campus for graduate students from 5pm-7pm tonight that I'm going to check out.

So, this morning I started dinner in the crockpot. We cook in the crockpot at least once a week. Today, I browned some lean ground beef and put that along with 2 cans of rotel chili fixins, 1 can diced tomatoes, and 2 cans red kidney beans into the crockpot. Donovan even said it smelled so good he'd try it.

On Monday we did a pork tenderloin seasoned with cajun seasonings, and then shredded it. It was yummy too.

I thought I'd share my most recent crockpot find with you. It's FABULOUS and pretty healthy as well:

Slowcooker Meatloaf with Mushroom-Tomato Sauce

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ ounce dried porcini mushrooms, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef (7% or less fat)
¼ cup couscous
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
¾ cup water

Directions:
Place tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, ¼ teaspoon of the salt and pepper in a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker; mix well. Combine the beef, couscous, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, thyme, rosemary and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt in large bowl, mix well. For into a 4x11 inch loaf.

Spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the meatloaf and cook, turning occasionally until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer meatloaf to slow cooker. Stir water into the skillet, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Pour into slow cooker.

Cover and cook until the meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, 4-5 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low. Transfer to a cutting board, cut into 8 slices. Serve with sauce.

Lost Tooth and other updates

2008-02-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Donovan lost his first tooth. It's been loose a couple weeks now, but after church we were on our way to lunch and Donovan yelled "Mom!" and it was out. After he took it out, he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. It bled a little, which freaked him out. But after it stopped, he was fine. The tooth fairy gave him a dollar, which he promptly announced he would never spend because "It's the first dollar I've earned."

Next Monday I leave for my first on-site interview. This one's in Fort Collins, Colorado. I've got to give a talk, which I'm a little nervous about. Wish me luck! I think this location would probably the best for the family, as it's a similar size and make-up to Columbia. I still need to check into the schools there, but I think Donovan would like it. And I'd love to teach him to ski.

This weekend my mother and step-father are coming to help us start getting the house ready for sale. YIKES!

A little Christmas update

2008-01-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

I don't have much time, but I wanted to write and say our Christmas was WONDERFUL. But, I am glad to be back in a routine.

We spent the weekend before Christmas at my Mom's house in Springfield. We spent Christmas day at Aaron's parents in Southeast Missouri. Then my father's family came to our house for a few days after Christmas. And our family spent New Year's/our anniversary at home alone.

The pic below is from southeast Missouri:

I've got a ton more pictures I'll add when I get a chance.

And another update: Donovan will be starting first grade reading on Monday! He'll go across the hall once a day to get some challenge in reading. We're SUPER excited for him. I've been saying he's a genius since day one....now it's confirmed. :)

It looks a lot like Christmas

2007-12-05T07:23:00.001-08:00

Aaron and I went to a Christmas party this weekend and had a great time! It was on the same night as the Big 12 championship (boo-hoo Tigers), so they set up large screens in every room so we could watch the game. Who can beat good food, good friends, and football?!?!

Did I mention there were CHOCOLATE desserts??

This morning, a cold front moved into mid-Missouri. At around 5AM, we heard a CRACK--BANG. I knew immediately our sick tree in the backyard fell. I checked that we had power and knew we were okay...I knew the tree needed to come down, but we were hoping to have someone do it because it was close to the house and the way it would fall might hit the power line to our house. Luckily, it fell such that it didn't do any real damage. The second picture is with Donovan so you can get a feel for how GINORMOUS the tree is. Anyone have a chainsaw we can borrow this weekend? :)

Bathroom renovation-almost done! And Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T10:25:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was at my house this year. Mom brought a big table so we could all fit around it. We had a delicous brunch and then the boys worked on the bathroom until Thanksgiving dinner. The pictures are from the brunch.

The boys pretty much finished the bathroom this weekend. Aaron and I need to re-mud the walls and sand them. Then we need to paint. We also need to finish the pipes for the double vanity. We're pretty much done! HOORAY! I'll put up more pictures when we're done!

28!

2007-11-26T10:21:00.000-08:00

So I turned 28 last week. I had a wonderful birthday! Donovan gave me a birthday card that he and Daddy made themselves. It brought me to tears. It had a drawing of all three of us and he wrote "We are a happy family" on it. So sweet!

On Tuesday night Aaron told me we were going out and I needed to dress up, but wouldn't tell me where we were going. He had arranged for a babysitter and everything. We went to a really nice local restaurant. It was great! We had appetizers and drinks and felt like adults.

Then on Wednesday (my actual birthday) my Mom, stepfather Rick and brother Mat came up to Columbia. We went to another local restaurant and had an excellent dinner. After dinner, we came home and had cake, which was also quite good. Overall, really fun!

Another weekend...

2007-11-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

...come and gone!
Friday, I went to a concert with Kristen. Dierks Bentley. I had never heard of him before, but she got free tickets. I'm always up for a free concert!

Saturday was football! Mizzou versus Texas A&M. What a great game! We had a blast!

Sunday we had church, lunch, then spent more money at Lowe's than I've ever spent before (except for the purchase of my house and Aaron's car). But, we got pretty much everything for the bathroom! Aaron's spending today (Monday) working on the bathroom so when Mom and Rick get here this weekend we can install the new bathtub/surround and vanity. It'll be so nice to have a sink in the bathroom again!

I'll post more pictures of the bathroom when we get them!

Bathroom rennovation, part one

2007-11-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we began our bathroom/laundry room demolition. It was my first time ripping down dry wall. What a workout! I woke up Monday morning with swollen fingers and sore triceps from swinging that hammer. We got the laundry room demolished on Sunday. On Monday, the workers came to move the toilet, move the washer/drier hookups, move the baseboard heater and set up for a double vanity.

These last three pictures are how the bathroom currently looks. I really don't think you get the full effect of how HORRIBLE it is. It's like going potty in an outhouse! There are several LARGE holes in the floor, through which bugs are now entering the house! We've temporarily put wood over the holes to try and block the bugs. The floor is partially vinyl flooring and partially wood.

In addition to that, the toilet is now in what was the hallway between our bedroom and the laundry room--basically the toilet is right next to our bedroom. Ugh.

One minor difficulty encountered: the washer/drier won't fit through the bathroom door. We ended up lifting them over the toilet into place-BUT, if they ever break, they're STUCK. So, we're going to save money and get a bigger door put in. Also, we didn't think about the window-basically, it can't be where it is right now because it's halfway in the "laundry closet". We've got to save money to have that moved too.

The work that has to be done this weekend includes: buying all the stuff from Lowe's (including new shower/surround, new flooring, new vanity, new linen closet, etc, etc, etc) a bunch of work under the house putting up insulation around the new pipes, ripping up the old flooring, and Aaron's going to start putting up dry wall behind the washer/drier.

It's a mess now, but can't wait until it's done! Should be done the weekend after Thanksgiving. Everyone start planning your visits for then!

Heidi's Wedding

2007-11-08T14:16:00.000-08:00

Yet another weekend, yet another wedding. This one was a friend that Aaron had worked with at Boyce and Bynum, who turned into my buddy--Heidi Jo! We had a great time. Donovan behaved very well and ran some of his cars on Jamie's head during the reception. He also took a bunch of pictures (see the close-up of Donovan and I--he took that). He used both our camera and the cameras that were on the tables for us to use (he used them a lot--sorry about the silly pictures Heidi!). We ended up leaving the reception a little early. Donovan and I were tired. We went home and watched the end of the stomping of Colorado by Mizzou. GO MISSOURI!

Trick-or-Treating, Donovan style

2007-11-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Halloween. Donovan was SO PUMPED to go Trick-or-Treating. He was so excited, he forgot his lines. He forgot to say "trick or treat" when people opened the door.

Luckily, no one asked for a trick. He had one prepared too. His new favorite joke: Knock-knock. Who's there? The interrupting cow. The interrupting cow--MOO!!. This actually isn't one of paw-paw's jokes (he's the one teaching Donovan all his jokes). This is actually a Dad joke.

Every Halloween, I get a little reminiscent of childhood. I would trick or treat with the neighbors, the Hatchmans. Those memories are some of the best memories I have. The past several Halloweens, Mrs H has emailed me to say hi. So funny how someone can have such an impact on a child's life. Makes me think of what impact I'm having on the lives of the children in my life. I know I impact Donovan--good and bad. I've already started saving for his psychiatry bills because of the things I've done that I had no idea impacted him. But, I'd also like to think I impact other children in my life (for the good, of course). One book I really enjoyed reading was The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell. I think I'll have to continue to read the book at each stage of Donovan's life.

Now on to November (already)...which should be busy for us! Bathroom remodel, my birthday (28, not 27), Thanksgiving at our house....and who knows what else?!

Pumpkin carving

2007-10-31T06:44:00.001-07:00

We carved our pumpkins last night. I did the Nemo pumpkin and the spider pumpkin. Aaron did the Shrek pumpkin and the mummy/vampire pumpkin. Aaron's definitely the artist in the family. He's much more patient and thorough. I just want to get it done as quickly as possible. Oh well, I think they all look great! Donovan's pumped for trick-or-treating, and we should have great weather!

Kristen's wedding...and senility.

2007-10-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Donovan and I went to a friend's wedding this weekend. I couldn't resist sharing the picture.

Every time I go to a wedding, I get all emotional. The weirdest part is, I can tell you exactly what was said at this weekend's wedding. I can't remember what was said at our wedding. Of course, it has been six years ago. I still can't believe it's been that long ago.

That reminds me. Aaron mentioned last night how he'll be turning 30 in May. I said, "No you're not. I'm only 26, about to turn 27. You can't be turning 30. You're only 28." Then Aaron kindly reminded me I'm about to turn 28. Senility is already setting in.

Halloween Party!

2007-10-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

Aaron, Donovan and I went to a Halloween party this weekend. Aaron (and his friends) dressed as the Insane Clown Posse. Donovan was Darth Vader (Dark Vader in his words). And I was Miss Teen South Carolina (the beauty queen that couldn't answer the question during the pageant)-the picture of me is with our friend dressed as Dog the Bounty Hunter. We had a blast!

Spooky Gingerbread

2007-10-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

Donovan and I tried our hands at Haunted Gingerbread house making. I think it turned out well. Donovan still (sometimes) claims he wants to be an architect. I think he may have a chance at decorating, at the least.

I broke down...

2007-10-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

and started a blog. As if I don't have enough to do already. I was really inspired by my step-sister's blog.