Happy Valentine's Day

Evan wishes everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!  We did an art and craft project at the house and he created this amazing piece of art.  He actually wrote out all the letters in perfect penmanship.

Evan continues to be very excited for his new brother or sister arriving in early April.  Every time he is asked what he would like, he states "sister".  Liz is not holding her breathe though as she knows it is a boy.  We shall see as we are keeping things under wraps this time around.  However, we do have a little card in an envelope in an "undisclosed location" in the house just in case we freak out and have to know.

Additionally, we were very excited to find out that Ally and Mark are having not one, but two babies, who are scheduled to arrive in May.  This is very exciting news for the family and everyone is thrilled.  The grandkid count will go from 1 of 1 to 1 of 4 in about 2 months.  Liz and Ally are excited that they will be overlapping their maternity leaves this summer.  (Can't you picture it?  R & R and at the pool.)

The weather has finally warmed up here in Omaha and our snow is melting.  I have a feeling that we are in for more snow, as we are technically still in the winter season.  We got outside today and cleaned the cars up and went for a wagon ride that Evan requested.  It was great getting out in the sun and 60 degree weather!

Winter Wonderland

Well, our first big snowfall of 2011.  3 days worth of steady, light, fluffy snow.  It is probably the "prettiest" snow we have seen here.  No wind or commotion, just a nice snowfall fit for a snow globe.  We made it to work/school and back this morning with no major problems.

Evan watched out the window this morning from our bedroom closet and he was absolutely enamored by the snow blowers of our neighbors Mike and Tom.  He enjoyed watching them in hopes of getting out there himself.  After school, Evan wanted to get after it once we got him all bundled up.  He didn't last long, but he really liked moving the snow with his shovel.  All totaled, we got about 8-9 inches of snow. 

Post-Christmas 2010 & Happy 2011!

Finally getting around to getting an update from Christmas and New Year's posted along with pictures.  There have been a lot of things that have happened over the past month so we wanted to make sure we give a quick update.

We were in Colorado for an unexpected trip after getting word that Grandpa Harold Temple passed away on December 7 (obituary: http://bit.ly/faKlhw).  The holidays have been hard this year without Grandpa T around but we know that he and Grandma Joyce Temple are enjoying each others company again and are keeping a close watch on everyone.

Christmas was spent in Colorado this year with the Temple and Cook families.  It was Evan's first actual Christmas in Colorado and of course he loved being with all his great aunts and uncles and cousins.  We were delayed by about 1/2 day in Kearney, Nebraska due to icy roads but we made it safely.  Mike and Sandy were very excited to spend quality time with Evan and spoil him rotten.

We headed back to Omaha in time for the Husker game (no comment on that one) and to celebrate Christmas with Ally and Mark, Rusty and Stephanie, and Joy and Jim.  It was great to be able to be with everyone over the extended break from work and enjoy the holiday's with both our Colorado and Omaha families.

It is now back to work for us and school for Evan.  The other day he showed us his skills by randomly singing the tune "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".  The tune is there, which is impressive, but the words need some work.  We were told today that is a favorite of the kids in his class.  The vocabulary is quickly expanding and we are watching of what we say so it is not repeated.  His memory is amazing as he remembered the cows being just outside the window in Brush and Grandpa Rusty's watch.  Additionally, Liz showed him a pizza place on the way to work on Monday and the last two days have brought us the reminder that "pizza" is right there and that it is "hot".

On a side note, how about those Frogs!  TCU did a great job again this year and sealed the deal with a BIG Rose Bowl win.  And yes, they won that game for the little guys out there (motion fore and middle finger in a bent fashion here). Hopefully moving to the Big East in 2 years will give them more opportunities.  Can we say the same for Nebraska moving to the Big Ten?  After the Big Ten's bowl record this year, the move doesn't look so bad for the Huskers in 2011.

We hope the year 2011 finds you well and that we promise to be more diligent in posting pictures and information.  We are expecting cold temperatures and plenty of opportunities to write since we will be stuck inside.  The pictures below are from the last month.

Busy since Thanksgiving and SNOW?

From Christmas 2009

Ok, does this bring back bad memories?  I thought in honor of the winter solstice, I would remind us of where we were last year.  Yes, this is the snow we had as of Christmas Eve which included Omaha's 88 straight days of at least 1 inch of snow on the ground.  Hard to believe, really.   To put it into perspective, it is 3 feet from the bottom of the tree to the first branch.

We have only had a couple of small snow events this year so I am waiting for the big one.  We are supposed to get snow the day before Christmas Eve (80% chance), but I will believe it when I see it.  This may be wishful thinking because we want to have a normal Christmas without travel headaches this year.

I am working on photos of Evan and have been remiss in getting them posted.  Our late-November and early-December have brought some unexpected changes to our schedule so I will get them posted with plenty of Christmas gifts included.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgving is a time of being thankful for all the things that we are blessed with in our lives.  For us, it is our family, friends and good health.  Having Evan in our lives has been amazing and we are ready for him to have a big brother or sister in April.  We do not know the gender at this point and we may leave it a surprise; the jury is still out but we will keep you posted.

The Cook's this year are staying in Omaha and enjoying Thanksgiving Day with Joy, Jim, Mark and Ally.  On Friday, we will be having turkey and all the fixin's with Rusty and Stephanie, including extended family.  As has become tradition, the Nebraska/Colorado game is held on Friday and we will be attending.  We are hoping for a Husker win and with that in mind, we will be very thankful that it goes our way this week.

Enjoy the holiday season and the rush to get to the stores to complete your holiday shopping to your satisfaction.   I just saw that some stores are actually not closing on Thanksgiving and offering the "Black Friday" specials early.  My solution would be just to offer them year 'round.

Moon and Halloween

Evan has been learning things very quickly and hs vocabulary is expanding each day.  He is recognizing colors and "shapes".  Colors include "lal-yo" or yellow, red,  and green.  His shapes included truck, bus and is mostly related to when we drive to work and school.  He is very observant and Liz claims he is just like his dad; rubber necking all the time.

He remembers people very well and recognizes both sets of grandparents in person and on the phone.  Pa-Pa and Ma-Ma are his recent additions.  Also, blowing kisses and saying bye-bye is a must for everyone driving thorugh our neighborhood or in the grocery store.

But, the most common occurence right now is the moon.  He was introduced to the moon by his Grandma Joy on a recent visit when the full moon was easily seen in the night sky. By standing on the deck, he was able to identify the moon and point it out.  The "moon watching" went on for almost a week; each night having to go on the back deck, check out the moon, point to it, and say "bye-bye" to every car coming and going from the park behind our house.  His star gazing has continued with the cresent moon in the morning in the west sky which he can see when we arrive at school.  The pictures below are of his recent star-gazing experience.

Halloween was fun for Evan.  We visited a few houses in the neighborhood but the best part of the evening for him was playing outside at night and having the other kids come visit him.  He made sure to say "HI" to everyone and hand out candy as the other ghosts and goblins said "Trick or Treat".  His skelton costume was a hit at school and the neighborhood and was perfect for a cool, fall evening.

Way too long......

We have been out to lunch way too long.  We have also been leaving everyone hanging on Facebook about our furniture story and the fact that we bought a brand new bedroom set straight off a semi-truck that pulled up in our neighborhood.  Yes, I know, you are thinking, "Shawn and Liz bought furniture off a truck without really knowing what they were doing?"

Well, you may think we are crazy but this was a steal.  The truck was coming from North Carolina with a load of furniture that was supposed to be sold in a store in Council Bluffs, IA.  Upon arrival, the store was closed and they had to get rid of it to take freight back with them.  So, the guys on the truck got a sales permit from the City of Omaha and literally rang doorbells and drove around neighborhoods, including ours, attempting to get rid of each piece.  Let me tell you, this furniture was nice and pennies on the dollar.  They had pictures to show us so we knew what was available and were willing to unbox most items to get a closer look.

Liz was a little unsure at first but I made her and Evan step into the truck to take a look.  Liz liked the picture of one bedroom set and after some convincing by one of the guys, she allowed them to carry a night stand into our bedroom.  We still could not believe this was happening, but to make a long story short, the entire new set was in our bedroom in less than an hour.  The guys on the truck moved all of our old furniture to the basement and our new bedroom furniture was put together.

Crazy story, but see the pictures below.  Our new mattress, not included in the hardware from the truck, is due to arrive this weekend.  We cannot wait because our queen mattress has been on the king bed set up and Evan is unsure that it is a good long-term solution.

Evan is doing so much better and we have had a few good weeks.  Last week he caught someone's cold but has rebounded nicely over the last couple of days.  Thanks to everyone for being so supportive through emails and Facebook messages to check on Evan in late-September.  Yes, it has been 30 days since somthing has been posted.  Times flies when you are having fun.