Priceless...

$60 spent at Target for overnight stay items - clothes for following day, undies, tooth brush, etc.

$20 spent on food at airshow

$0 spent on hotel stay because there wasn't a room to be found

What does that equal = a weekend of fun in Sioux Falls spending time with Carissa and Ike.

On Saturday we ventured to Sioux Falls for church with Ike's family, dinner, and possibly a glimpse of the Blue Angels in the sky. Sioux Falls hosts an airshow every 3 years and Charlie was super excited to see the mean machines in action. Much to Charlie's disappointment we didn't get to town in time for the show, so we decided that an impromptu overnight stay was needed so we could attend Sunday's airshow with Carissa and Ike. Little did we know after buying the necessities from Target that no rooms would be found in the area. Luckily Ike's parents graciously offered their air mattress and pack 'n play. Sunday's show proved to be well worth the last minute decision. Though it was a hot and loud we all enjoyed the show.

Here are a couple of pictures demonstrating Lydia's enthusiasm for water slides and the pool.

Happy Anniversary to Us!!!

Last Thursday was our 4th anniversary!! How the time flies :) We were going to spend the evening enjoying a romantic dinner, but Charlie came down with a 24 hour bug. Our disappointment was short lived when our realtor came to us with an offer on the house. We countered, she came back with another offer, and just like that we signed the papers to sell our home. It was exciting, scary, and a little sad. With a closing date of Sept. 11th the house has been inspected and appraised since Thurs. It is amazing how fast things move!! My previous ranting and questioning seem to be for nothing, but still won't it be nice to see the game plans once in a while. We are now in house search mode while traveling with Charlie all week as he has worked on the Eastern and now Western side of the state. We have been enjoying our "vacation" as we ventured to a great little cafe with the best food, enjoyed a great hotel with a kiddie pool, and now spending time with my lovely sister. I will update once we have a faster speed connection with some great pictures of Lydia and her Daddy enjoying the water slides at our hotel in Rochester (Pipestone doesn't offer the quickest Internet service).

Lydia's latest laughable/screamable moments...

• She now says no by sticking her lips out in a pout. I called her duck lips yesterday. Maybe that will be her new nickname.
• She doesn't like wearing a swim suit or anything resembling a swimsuit ie. tank top. Also usually only has just a shirt on or just the bottoms. One friend consoled me by saying this phase isn't so bad because it produces less laundry. Thanks Mandy!!
• As previously mentioned in other postings Lydia loves shoes, but lately she has been sporting a new trend... One shoe! We really think this new fashion will take off :)

Baby January's development...

• Last week for the first time I felt a faint butterfly tickle from within that I thought may be the baby moving. This week the movement has gotten stronger and happens frequently. It is such an amazing, indescribable feeling!!
• I know this isn't really about the baby's development and more about me, but I figure for now that we are one unit. My early nausea has settled down which is such a relief although I definitely still have to eat every 3-4 hours. The fact that I could eat in the beginning (with Lydia I eat very little) and now still seem to need extra nourishment makes me wonder if it is boy since this pregnancy seems different.

The Housing Market

In my previous post I wrote about hoping to get an offer on the house... Well we did, but we had to counter offer and needless to say they didn't like our suggestion for a price. It just doesn't make sense to me why we have had so many lookers but only one offer on our "finished product" home. Everyone tells us "your place is such a good buy because the buyers wouldn't need to do anything". Yeah, because we have spent the last 6 years working for what we've got and now people don't even what to pay enough to cover the bottom line. I don't understand why people these days think they can just offer any old price when we obviously put some thought into our asking price. Obviously this couple was not the right fit for our house, no cross out house because it is our "home". I have been spouting about faith and just believing in the higher power, but I am to the breaking point. I would like to know what God has planned! I realize that it is not about knowing all, but it sure would be nice to get a glimpse of the Charlie and Jessica 6 month plan from his eyes. Currently we are living from week to week knowing where/who Charlie will be working for, but for a highly routine, need for control person I am feeling the stress. Charlie and I were talking the other night and I even brought up the idea to get an RV and he could just service all of the farms with Lydia and I in tow. He looked at me and said "I suggested that months ago and you said I was crazy!!" This is a sure sign that I am going crazy. Today Charlie commented that he never knows what I post on the blog and that it is my sounding board, so though this post has a different mood and obviously no photos, it has felt good to share my feelings, frustrations, and thoughts.

Oh, by the way Lydia is continuing to prove to be Miss Independent as she now likes to sit on an adult chair while eating and even helped put groceries in the cart today at the grocery store. Baby January is also doing well. I was in last week for a prenatal appointment where the heartbeat was in the 150s and I have gained 3 lbs.

It's Been Too Long...

I can't believe that it has already been a month since the last time I blogged. I used to pride myself on writing an entry per week, well I guess my expectations have gone down and once a month may the norm.


We have been so many places and done so much in the last month. Spending much of our time away from home in either Eyota or Pipestone. As you can see from the pictures, Lydia is getting good at entertaining herself in the car!!

While in Pipestone we stayed with my sister and also had our God Daughter Paige visit for a few days. We enjoyed seeing the Pipestone National Monument, swimming at the great aquatic park in Pipestone, and going to a ranch rodeo.

Miss Independent!! "I can do it myself!!"

I love the water!!

Uncle Ike, Your tractor is the best!!

While away from home we have had many house showings and hopefully may even have an offer coming in. Please pray that selling the house will happen sooner than later. I think the longer we stay in town the less we want to move.

Since my last posting we obviously celebrated a great America holiday... For the 4th of July we continued the tradition of traveling to Spicer for the parade, great food, enjoyable company (the Dahms Clan), and a dip in the pool. We really enjoyed seeing family and spending time enjoying the nice weather. In the afternoon we headed back to St.Peter to continue the festivities with friends from town. The food was great, we enjoyed a new game, and even saw some pretty good fire works in the drive way. Thanks to all for making it a great day!!

Last year we didn't even get a family picture on the 4th of July at the parade and once again our attempts were not real successful. This is the best we can do :)

Lydia intently watching the parade

My cousin's girls were great about letting Lydia get a few pieces of candy

Lydia enjoyed blowing bubbles with Grandma

Here are all the Great Grand kids except McKenzie. It took a lot to even get this picture taken :0