Christmas again

Today wii were at the Bauman's for Christmas and wii had a really fun time. Lots of presents, but Dan told mii that his favorite one was realwii special. Wii hope to post pictures of it sooon! :)

December 25th

Christmas Day at the Totmans. We had fun opening gifts and Paul III was again excited to see his Larry Boy DVD that we got him for Christmas. Jacob was all decked out in his "ho ho ho" hat. I was extremely surprised by my gift - a digital piano! Dan and his parents had been researching them at Best Buy, got the big box home, wrapped it and I had no idea what it was. I've been talking about getting one for awhile either electric or a real piano but Dan has always been against moving real piano's so this was a perfect gift. I played for 10 years growing up but haven't played in almost that long! I kept a lot of my old music and will have fun practicing this year. I think I found my new hobby for 2008!

Paul III to Dan: "Hurry up and play Larry Boy!"

Jacob to Aunt Heather: "Ho ho ho!"

Better get practicing....

Never can catch him smiling in a picture, but he is still pretty cute! Look at those eyes.

I think this is as close to a smile as we're going to get! But it makes Aunt Heather so excited she can't center the camera right...
Paul III helping build the snowman but eating snow at the same time!

The snowman!

Sledding!Trying to make a snowball

December 24th

Christmas Eve was a day at the Totmans with the Espensons (Bob, Marsha and Edna) for lunch and then we went to the Bauman Christmas at my aunt and uncles in Farmington. We had a fun time with cousins but missed Amber and Brent in FL.

Cousin Katie, Dan and Heather

Cousins Brent and Jake, Lindsay and her boyfriend Dustin

Grandma and Grandpa opening their piles of gifts with Uncles Doug and Jim and Aunt Sharon looking on. With Grandpa's birthday on the 21st of Dec and Grandma's on Jan 2nd, they get lots of gifts at Christmas!

December 23rd

On Sunday we celebrated Paul III's 2nd birthday and he was very excited to watch our Larry Boy Veggie Tales DVD.

His birthday shirt fit well with the celebrations

Our new newphew Jacob and I matched outfits on Sunday (Monday and Tuesday too!)

Jacob and Uncle Dan (don't worry Jacob, we aren't so scary)

Paul III watching his new movie with Aunt Heather and Grandpa Roger

Early Christmas Present From Dan & Heather

For those of you who do not believe in opening Christmas presents early, do not press play until Tuesday morning. For the rest of you, Merry Christmas!

We're done!

Well, we finished our MBA's! Our presentation went really well and our professor said that our business plan was good enough to take to outside investors now and we'd be able to start this business very easily. He said this was one of the best projects he's even seen both in this class and in the business world. Yea!!!

It is such a nice feeling to be done, so even though I need to get up tomorrow at 4:30 a.m. I think it will be nice not to have school on my mind!

Here is a picture of us in front of our computer, it is hard to see but the page says Congratulations because we are in the last week of the course.

Another Late Night

Yesterday we went out to the lake again to bring the vanity for the downstairs bathroom as well as the microwave for above the stove. Another great job by our Vibe to fit everything in one car load! I was resolving myself to the fact that I'd have to sit in the front seat with this large microwave on my lap from the Buffalo Menards to the lake, but no, it fit in the back with the 48 in vanity!


Dan had a frustrating day with his speakers. The first two went in ok (one in the upstairs hallway and the other outside under one of the dormers), but the last dormer one was a pain. Apparently when he was drilling he hit a stud and so couldn't fit the speaker in the hole he drilled. He's going to have to figure something else out and try again later.

I spent the day finishing the 2nd coat of trim on the last set of trim boards as well as the three interior doors our builder hung. Plus, we took out the four bi-fold doors for the guest bedroom closet and the pocket door and got 2 coats on those as well. I've now used three gallons of that Min-wax smelly stuff and think with one more gallon I'll be able to finish the remaining 7 interior doors plus the big french doors for the office. The tough part isn't doing the finishing itself, it is sanding down the wood between coats. I have a couple slivers in my hands to show for my efforts :(


After Dan got done with the speakers he continued on his quest for a horrible day and started putting together the IKEA cabinets for the wet bar. We'd heard horror stories about those cabinets before, but he did his best. Throughout the day I could hear him muttering to himself about us not getting the parts we needed, and that the pieces we did get were flimsy, and all in all he just felt stupid. After I was done finishing the wood, I came down for moral support. In the end I do think we are missing a few pieces, agree they are flimsy (we need to get some super glue for a piece that broke), and because our builder didn't build the area completely to scale we put together a cabinet that isn't going to fit. Fun times!

We finally got home around 1:30 this morning and luckily we're not going out to the lake again today. Instead, we're going to do errands, wrap presents, and get ready for MBA presentation tonight at 7 ct. They we'll be done! This will be a happy ending to a hard weekend.

Heather's finishing work on the knotty pine interior doors

Dan: "I love IKEA cabinets"

Lots done today

Dan and I both took the day off of work today and went out to the lake to try and "catch" our builder in action. But, alas, he was not working today so we couldn't get some of our questions answered that we've been emailing and calling him about all week. He was going to have the basement ready for us to paint, but I received an email saying that next week he has a crew of people coming out to help him finish mudding and they are also going to paint instead of having us do that. So, while we were ready to have Dan's parents help us tomorrow, not having to paint at all I guess is a better situation! I'm not sure what our builder does, but it always seems like it is less than what he promised at the beginning of the week. I am very thankful that I am no longer stressed about the building process because it would drive me crazy if I felt like I had to plan around his timelines! There is no rhyme or reason to how he's getting this project done, but I am sort of happy to get out of painting the basement because he didn't get it ready for us in time :)

So, instead of painting we finished the LAST pile of trim work and a couple of doors that he hung upstairs. We also finished the pocket door and closet doors for the guest bedroom. I did all of the finishing work while Dan cleaned up after our builder to try and make things a little neater downstairs (the pictures were taken before he started cleaning). Tomorrow we'll go out again, bring the bathroom vanity and do the 2nd coat on the last pile of trim.

On Sunday we give our final presentation for our MBA's!! I think we're really prepared and our group feels good about it. So, by about 8:00 CT Sunday night Dan and I will be done with school forever. Too bad I have to fly to Seattle the next morning on the 7 a.m. flight otherwise I'm sure we would go out to celebrate.

mudding and taping started in the basement guest bedroom

View of the family room/wet bar area in the basement

Basement sheetrocked!

What Christmas Song are you?

What's Your Holiday Theme Song?

My Result: White Christmas

Looks like you might be the sentimentalist in the crowd. You, more than others, revel in the nostalgia of the season. Some may think it's a little bit sappy, but you can't help it if you feel all gushy at the first sight of snow, the scent of evergreens, or the first airing of It's a Wonderful Life.


You're one who picks up on traditions, and you probably like to pass them on, as well. That ornament over there, we bet it has a good story attached to it. Truth is, Santa himself probably couldn't spread as much Christmas spirit as you're capable of. While others are mired in materialism, you keep the holiday's true meaning closer to your heart. So keep on dreaming of a white Christmas with every Christmas card you write. May your days be merry and bright. And may all your Christmases be white.

Take this test >

Bucas!

Our friend Kevin works for Buca's at the corporate offices in Minneapolis and gave Dan and another friend of ours (Jon - the Vanilla Ice superfan) gift cards awhile back. Last night we all went out and enjoyed a yummy meal together at the Buca's in Eden Prairie. I thought we were going to have leftovers, but not with these three guys! The cheesecake was even gone - Jon wanted to lick the rest of the raspberry topping off the plate.

Thanks guys for a fun night. You are all so cute hugging and everything.

What to the holidays mean to you?

What The Holidays Mean to You

For you, the holidays are about emotional connections and bonds. You are happiest being around those you love. You celebrate the holidays in a minimalist style. You are likely to only give one great present and decorate your house with a few special items. During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in. You think the holidays should be comforting and relaxing. You don't like the holiday rush... you just like the simple pleasure of the holidays. Your best holiday memories are warm and intimate. You remember special moments more than gifts or parties.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

Girls Night Out!

Last night the Momentum girls went out to Green Mill and then to Macy's 8th floor to see the Nutcracker display. It was fun to have a night away from the guys and babies (for three of them). Despite not knowing exactly where Green Mill was, we all made it there, ate a yummy dinner (cucumber dill dressing with the bread was the best!), and then drove downtown. We all remembered the 8th floor display seeming a lot larger when we were kids, but it was still a lot of fun. Luckily there was no line so even though we got there at 8:45 we still got to see everything before they closed at 9:00.

Half of the group in the display

The whole group minus Holly outside the Nutcracker

We were talking about how much I keep in my purse and here is an example: leftover pizza from Green Mill since the waitress forgot to give me a box

Afterwards Christina, Kara and I went to pick up our guys and of course they were at Tom's playing on the Wii. I actually think the boxing is pretty fun, but today my arm is a little sore from all those upper-cuts :)

What kind of pie are you?

You Are Pumpkin Pie

You're the perfect combo of uniqueness and quality. You're able to relate to many types of people with many different tastes. But you're by no means generic or ordinary. In fact, you're one of the most original people around. Those who like you are looking for something (someone!) special. You tend confuse people when they first meet you. You're not as complicated as you seem. Even though you have a lot of spice and flavor to you, you're never overpowering. You are a calm and comforting force in people's lives.

What Kind of Pie Are You?

Granite

Yesterday at the lake the granite countertops were installed in the kitchen and the master bathroom. I don't think the two guys who came out to do the installation were expecting to have to carry each slab down our snowy hill, but since we don't park in our driveway we don't shovel it either after it snows. There was a path, but it looked tiring to carry those big pieces! It was fun to watch them work so quickly, install the sinks, and buff out any scratches that happened during delivery.

Dan and I spent the day cleaning up the basement and taking home the cardboard boxes from the siding. The guys that did the exterior took away ALL the scraps so we didn't have to deal with that, just the boxes. They finished up the front steps last week and the railing. We really like the outside.

Our builder had another week of personal issues, but did get everything sheetrocked except for the family room walls and the stairway. We were hoping to have painted this weekend, but since it wasn't done we couldn't - maybe next weekend? Since he hasn't started mudding and taping downstairs I don't think its likely, but we can always hope :)

He did hang three doors upstairs so I spent the day sanding them and getting them ready to finish. Our brushes were a little hard from last weekend - we must not have rinsed them well enough, so I did a top coat on one of the doors and it took forever so we decided to wait on the rest until next weekend. We thought about going out again today to do some more finishing work, but we like to bring a carfull of stuff to leave out there, and since the basement still has so much work to be done we thought bringing more things would just be in the way. Instead we'll go out again next weekend with a load and hopefully more will be done.

This is the last full week of class! We are practicing our presentation this week and proof-reading our paper. Next Sunday the 16th we do our presentation at 7 p.m. and then we are done! I'm so glad we had a good group to work with during this last class. It could have been a lot harder if we didn't have other students that wanted to do a good job.

We had a fun week of Christmas parties; for work, two associations I'm part of, our church Momentum party, and then a birthday party for our friend Jeremy last night. Lots of yummy food!!

Have a good week.

blogging addiction

74%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Wow!! Another Trunk Monkey Video

Late night

After watching the forecast of snow for Saturday, we decided to go out to the lake after Dan got home for work instead of being there Saturday. We got home at 3:30 this morning!! The builders were there when we got out there last night building the front steps and finishing the soffit on front side of the house. They wanted to get a lot of stuff done too since they didn't know how much they would be able to do today either with the snow.


I was able to get the 2nd coat of finishing done on the 3rd pile of trim, so now we just have one pile left (maybe one and a half). Dan spent hours putting the mortar around the fireplace to finish the rock. He used Ziploc bags to put the mortar in and cut a corner off so it was like icing a big cake! The hardest part was making a finished edge around the speakers, fireplace and hearth. I picked up the hearth during the day on Friday and it was REALLY heavy. It was tough to set that at 2 a.m. when we were both exhausted and our muscles weren't working as well as they did earlier in the day :) But, we love the finished product!!



Our builder was having personal problems again this week, but luckily the other guys he hired did such a good job on the exterior and did the front steps for him. He said he'd be out there Monday and we let him know it would be a good idea to have the other guys help him so that the basement gets finished this week. The sheetrocking stage has taken quite a while, and since the other guys may have some time this week due to all the snow (the next job they were going to do was a roofing job.. hard to do in the snow) I think our builder may like the extra help so he can get paid soon. All that has to happen for sure this week is the kitchen island needs to be set because the granite installation is scheduled for Saturday the 8th. But, the guys doing the exterior said if they came out this week we'd be able to paint the basement this weekend. That would be fun to get done!

School is going well, Dan is finishing the finance section this weekend and I'm starting on the powerpoint presentation. Only a few more weeks until we're done!! Even though the cabin may take a little bit longer to get done, that is ok because we'll be done with our MBA! At least having one thing done will be nice :)

Enjoy the pictures in the dark!

Now the fireplace just needs a little scrubbing on the rocks and the TV :)

Trunk Monkey 2

The long awaited and highly anticipated sequel to the Trunk Monkey video is finally here. Have a great day!

Thanksgiving debrief

This Thanksgiving we celebrated at my parents house in Medina. Amber was supposed to work so we couldn't go to my aunt and uncle's lake house with the rest of the Bauman family, but on Thursday morning her shift was cancelled so we got to spend the whole day as the 6 of us (and Bella, their dog.. but she had to stay in the garage. We still visited her a lot!).

It was a fun day of eating appetizers, mixing the cookie dough, reading the paper to find the best deals for Friday's shopping trip, and of course the big Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner we finalized our plans for Friday and Dan headed home (he had to work the next day). On the way he saw Best Buy's parking lot was already FULL of cars ready for them to open at 5 a.m.!! He tipped of my dad and Brent so they weren't disappointed when they went at the planned time of 6 a.m.

The next morning Brent, Amber, and my mom went to Target across the street from my parents house before the doors opened at 6 a.m. but didn't get the tv they were hoping for. I joined them around 6:45 and we stopped at a couple of other home improvement/sports stores and ended the day at the Ridgedale mall. I was very proud of my successful shopping trip and was all done before 10. Brent and my dad were done earlier around 8:30 and my mom and sister wrapped up around 1. That afternoon we were all exhausted and took naps before making cookies. Dan got done with work and we celebrated with a birthday dinner and cake. He was excited to get gift cards from everyone towards a Wii, and a rice cooker. Now if they are ever available in the stores we'll see if he can actually get one!

Brent and Amber bought a projector to use as their tv at their house for Christmas so we tried it out that night on my parents basement wall by watching Oceans 13.

It was a fun Thanksgiving and it was also fun to spend the rest of the weekend with Dan's family. The Vikings game was actually entertaining! Good thing I had a bet with my NY co-workers that the Vikings would cover the spread. It looked like Eli played for our team....

Happy Birthday Dan!

Yesterday was Dan's birthday and he decided he wanted to spend it working at the lake. Dan's parents came up from Mankato to help, and it was a great day of progress. Dan and Roger finally found the right consistency of mortar and the rocks stayed on the fireplace wall! It is completely finished now and looks great. Next weekend we'll put the finishing touches on it, lay the limestone hearth, and clean it up before we post a final picture. Monica and I painted the hallway, master closet and closet in the living room that Becky and I had primed last week. It went very fast so we also got the third stack of trim boards stained and ready for their 2nd coat next weekend.

On the way to Mankato after we finished working yesterday we stopped in Hutchinson for dinner at Pizza Hut and Dan got to sit in the hot tub at his parents house. All in all it was a good day he said.

I love you Dan! Thanks for being a great husband and my best friend :)

Fireplace - watch out for falling rocks!

Yesterday we went out to the lake with our friends Tom and Becky to work on the cabin. Becky and I tackled priming the master closet, hallway and living room closet and then painting the ceilings in those rooms too. Tom and Dan worked on the fireplace and it was a lot of work. Apparently the wire mesh that we put up worked in most areas but there were a few problem spots where there weren't enough studs behind the walls to nail the mesh into. Every so often we heard a crash and a rock that was so beautifully placed on the wall came tumbling down onto the floor. Luckily they didn't hit anyone, but it was still scary and of course a few broke. They ended up getting about 1/2 of it done and put a layer of mortar on the areas that were difficult. We're hoping the next time we go out there it will be hard enough that it will hold the rocks better. I am very impressed with what was done though, I really like the wall.

We were also out at the lake on Friday night and had the carpet guy measure. The sheetrock should have been up before he measured but we didn't find out until Friday morning that our builder hadn't gotten it done yet. The measuring guy was nice so hopefully it wasn't too big of a problem. We got another layer of finishing done on the 2nd pile of trim, so I'm hoping we are 1/2 done with that now. The guys were out there on Friday putting up the soffit along the roof. With the holiday next week they are targeting the end of November to be done with the exterior. There were a few guys working and they stayed pretty late when we were there. It was nice to see the exterior start to look finished!

With Thanksgiving this week and Dan's birthday on Saturday we may take a break from working out at the lake. Or, Dan might have a fun birthday working out there on Saturday :) We'll have to see how we feel a little later on this week.

Our class is going well, and tonight we're debriefing with the professor on the first section and finishing up the second. This week is the finance area so Dan is going to be working hard on that. It feels like we're a little ahead of schedule which is nice. That will make it easier as we get closer to the end if we have to redo anything or spend time on something we weren't expecting.

Downstairs bathroom sheetrocked

Downstairs bedroom sheetrocked (still needs to cut out the rest of the window)

Dan and Tom working on the rocks

Becky priming

Entryway primed and ceiling painted

Fireplace rock 1/2 done