Go America!

I made Jay walk down the clearance aisle at Walmart tonight. As any fine citizens would do, we picked out a hypothetical object that we would most like to purchase from that fine aisle if we could afford to buy something at such a high-class store. This is what we found. Go America.

Mustard

A lot has changed since we drove away from our little house on 2812 E. 18th St. I'm horrible with this blog business when we've actually got a lot going on, so here's another ketchup blog.


I had my last day at Pleasant View and said goodbye to my crazy class of 5th graders. By the end of the year, I'm usually ready to send them on to summer vacation, but despite their usual nutso behavior, I was feeling a little extra sentimental that day.

We had our final faculty get together, and I had to say goodbye to the wonderful staff of teachers I've worked with the past 3 years. I learned so much in my years teaching in Pleasant Valley and I know I will always remember those years fondly. I will miss my guhls SO MUCH.


Kaylen hosted a little goodbye get-together in which we drank some kool-aid, swapped stories, and did a lot of laughing. This picture is just one sampling of the evening...

The next morning, I drove away from the Quad Cities (single tear), and arrived in Cedar Falls.

Dottie was waiting at the front door for my arrival. Our 1/4 of a year's worth of long distance was over. For me, it was time to get the house settled and find a job. For Jay, he had to deal with the overwhelming joy that came with seeing his wife everyday. (As you can see below, he dealt with that joy by playing Punch-Out.)

Here are a few shots of the new digs:
View from the front door

Our little dining room area


The master bedroom is currently a work in progress. As you can see, it's lacking in the furniture area. We did decide after one night in the house that we needed to upgrade to a King sized bed, though. : )
Classic toilet shot (Master bath)

If you ever come to visit us, this is more than likely where you'll stay. Visitors are always welcome! This is the 3rd bedroom and what we currently use as an office


Another classic toilet shot - (hallway bath)

Our laundry room - not at all an exciting picture - but I got a new washer and dryer (the buyer of our old house wanted my old mismatched set) and I LOVE these things. They are dummy proof, use very little water, and kind of make laundry a little bit of fun. By "fun" I mean that I've done laundry more in this house so far than I think I did in 2 years at the old place.


I hit the job hunt hard once I arrived in Cedar Falls. I'll spare you the unnecessarily stressful moments and big time praying that came with this process, and get to the end result. I found a job as a 3rd grade teacher at Southdale Elementary (dubbed by Jay "the Genius Factory"). I am so excited to be a part of the Cedar Falls schools, and I think 3rd grade will be a fun change! Follow this link for proof: "I don't believe Kelsey's a teacher, so I'll click here..."


Just one day before our 1st anniversary, the best gift ever arrived. SOD!! First off, sod is just downright cool. Have you ever seen the stuff installed? At 8:00 AM our yard was dirt, by 3PM, GREEN! For any of you who have dogs and have ever experienced a yard with nothing but mud, you'd understand my excitement. This last week I've become a slave to the sprinklers, but I'm loving every minute of it.


Speaking of our anniversary, Jay and I celebrated one year of wedded bliss with an impromptu get-together with our families. We grilled out, drank celebratory beverages, played lawn games, and watched fireworks from our driveway. I've often heard the first year of marriage is the hardest. In our case, I doubt that's true. I think we both would describe our first year of marriage as eventful, but crazy wonderful. Jay has now made it over a year without throwing his wedding ring in the garbage again. : )

Miss Rachael Sue, one of my best buds, will be getting married this weekend, and I've been anxiously awaiting her wedding all summer! We celebrated her bachelorette party in Clear Lake about a month ago, and just the right amount of fun! I cannot describe how much this girl has meant to me over the years, and am going to try to seriously not be a blabbering fool at her wedding.



Last, but not least, an update on Dottie. Didn't think I'd get through a whole blog and mention her so little - did you? Since arriving in Cedar Falls, Dottie has enjoyed exploring her new house and neighborhood, getting her feet incredibly muddy, and spending time with her new BFF Maggie.
Ok peeps, hope you've enjoyed the lengthy update on our lives. I vow to continue to stay on top of blogs....until I get busy again.

ER...Waterloo Where's Waldo?

After the movers left today, Jay and I decided to play an old fashioned game of Where's Waldo? I have to admit, we had WAY too much fun with this after an exhausting day of moving. And by exhausting, I mean we sat around and did nothing.

Let's start with an easy one. Can you see Jay and I in this moving truck? (If you answered "no" to the previous question, this game is too hard for you. Oh and Jay says you're a dumba**!)

With Jay's man room all packed, he had to sulk somewhere.... can you find him?

It's a hutch. Seriously. Who can be witty about a hutch?

We never knew big red was quite THAT big.

Our garage looks like a college dorm room. Yep, that's foamy the 15 year old couch.

Scrub a dub-dub.

Uh, here's the kitchen. It has never been this clean.

I'm watching you...

Welcome, guests.

We have to sleep in this bedroom tonight. Nothing left but a bed.

And creepy people hiding.


We think we saved the best for last. Let me know if you find "Waldo" in this one.

We hope you enjoyed our version of Where's Waldo. Jay says you need to now go back through each picture to look for the secret items in each. Apparently, he was a bigger Waldo enthusiast than I was as a kid...

Schmitz out.

They're here....

The calm before the storm

It's Sunday night and the house is...silent.

Jay is gone, the dog is gone, and I'm left with just myself.

Inside, everything is cleaned, organized, and stored.

Outside, the lawn is mowed, our WELCOME is down, and in it's place... a SALE PENDING.

The house is ready, the house is dark, the house is quiet.

It's strange, the calm before the storm.

You know something's coming, but can never quite predict what chaos is on its way.

In 48 hours, it will have all blown through, leaving behind nothing.

So, yes, for now, I'm going to sit in my little house, and just enjoy the calm.

Sneak Peak...

T-minus 2 weeks until the big move-in day. (What does "T-minus" actually mean anyway?)

The Mayflower truck will pull up in Cedar Falls two weeks from tomorrow to drop off all of our belongings at our new home.

In the meantime, I'll be in Davenport, teaching kids, going to parties, and writing blogs.

In Jay's meantime, he'll be doing a little...errr...a LOT of painting. Here is a sneak peak at his progress. Isn't he a rockstar?

(Photos courtesy of mom-in-law Vick)

I have actually yet to see this in person myself, so you are lucky to share in the preview. To be honest, I don't like it when people know surprises ahead of me...so you are actually VERY lucky you're getting to see this nearly the same time as me. I'm not sure what I'll think of this all in person, so cross your fingers it looks okay!