What Brad and Al do

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2011-06-26T03:10:00.001-07:00

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2011-06-26T03:08:00.001-07:00

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2011-06-26T03:07:00.001-07:00

Our last fling with youth

2011-04-16T02:55:00.000-07:00

This picture is old and is getting some play now to help illustrate the awesomeness that was Brad's 30th birthday. If I don't get some sort of award for being the Best Wife, it will be a shame. FIRST OF ALL: There was the suprise party at McCourts a few weeks before the birthday. Super fun and I think it was actually a suprise. If it wasn't, Brad will never let on because it will prove snoopiness. He seemed suprised and we got to spend the evening with such a great group of people. SECONDLY: Which actually happened the week before, but Brad got to go snowboarding. This wasn't my doing but I'm including it in the birthday list. THIRDLY: On the day of his birth, April 6th, I took the dude and the Willa out for lobster. That is what he wants every year on his birthday. Willa was really into all the types of seafood, she especially liked to play with the crab legs. THE BEST PART OF ALL: Was our weekend trip to St. Louis. There was a slight mix up with the hotel situation which could have been disasterous, but turned out to be just fine...Saturday night, we went to the Supercross race and saw all of Brad's favorite dirtbike riders. A big win for James Stewart!

Sunday, we did some shopping and some eating and drinking and walking. Then we went to the Lil' Wayne, Travis Barker, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj concert and WOW was it impressive! I realize that not everyone is into rap or hip-hop music, but Travis Barker has got to be one of the best musicians alive. Watching him play the drums and seeing his passion and energy for the music is mezmerizing. And Lil' Wayne, well, the guy is just fun. Even if you don't care for the music, the ticket price would probably have been worth it just for the people watching. There were some very unique individuals present, some of them very scantily dressed. After the show, thanks to Twitter, we spent some time at the same bar as Travis Barker. He of course had his own VIP balcony, but it was still fun just to be there. What was also fun was watching Brad try to get pizza delivered to our hotel room at 3:00 in the morning. He was not successful. Monday morning we took a long walk to the arch and to have sushi near the arch, then we drove home. Boy, did we miss Willa! That was the longest I had been away from her, and the longest she had been away from both of us at the same time. She didn't care, of course because she was with Grandma and Grandpa.

The weekend was kind of a splurge for us, but now we are both officially old and there probably won't be many more weekends of its kind so we took advantage of it.

Don't you think my birthday treats deserve an award???

(And kind of a bummer that we didn't stay in St. Louis an extra day, becuase I realized when we got back that Dean Karnazes, you know, the Ultra Marathon Man, ran through and stopped at the Arch on his run across the US the next day!!)

Told ya!

2011-04-04T18:59:00.001-07:00

Here is the picture of Willa, Allison, and super-vegan, Isa Chandra Moskowitz! We got the yummiest treats...I think my favorite were the tiny coffee-filled donuts and the ginger blueberry muffins. And then we went to happy hour at Blue where we sampled 5 different sushi rolls and 4 types of martinis. This was the first time that Willa ate the sushi and she really gobbled it right up! Normally she just sucks on the edamame. Mama is very proud:) Thanks to Brant and Joy for the great meal and fun day! When we got home, we watched Marmaduke for the 198th time while we ate some more of our treats.

I picked up a copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and had it autographed, so if I come over to your house with a plate of cookies in the next few weeks, you'll know why.

More early morning thinking

2011-04-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

Once again, it is approaching Lincoln Marathon time. And once again, I feel unprepared. I do this to myself every time. I set these goals, that for me are possibly a smidge too big. I start out all gung-ho and then just sort of fizzle out. I initially had planned to run the full marathon this year. When registration time came, I was doing a pretty good job of following the training schedule but I chickened out and registered for the half. Which is still a big undertaking, don't get me wrong. Then all the stuff with the house-selling started happening and I allowed myself to make all kinds of excuses. Plus, the weather has been less than optimal for someone like me, who is a VERY fair-weather runner. More excuses. I registered for the State Farm 10 mile run to give myself a kick in the pants, which worked for awhile. I'm actually shocked that I even ran the race, as it was super cold and snowing heavily by the end of the race, but it was fun. Brad took a picture of me crossing the finish line (which I don't plan to share) and I look like I was walking and my face is all contorted weirdly, as it was frozen. So were my hands and they looked like dinosaur claws. My time was significantly slower than I would have liked it to be, but I'm just glad I finished. So at the start of this week, I was feeling kind of proud of myself and I thought maybe I should take a few days of rest before really hitting the marathon training schedule hard again. Well, that was 6 days ago and I have yet to work out in any way. DANG IT!!!!! I am going to take the advice of all of the self-help/improvement blogs that I frequent and make a public commitment to a goal for accountability...I AM GOING TO RUN EVERY DAY FROM NOW UNTIL THE MARATHON. That means starting April 3 and not taking a day off until May 2nd. Scratch that. I will at least go for a long walk on May 2nd and then see about taking this goal up again. Even if my every day runs are only a mile or 2, I will run daily. Got it?!?

I get to meet one of my heroes today. Heros? I suck at spelling.

2011-04-03T01:54:00.000-07:00

It's 4:00am and I am at work and I am bored and its past the point in the night where I can sit and read without nodding off so I am thinking about what we get to do later today. We are going to a Vegan Bake Sale in Omaha! This would be pretty exciting all by itself but the kicker is that Isa Moskowitz will be there, selling her baked goods and autographing her cookbooks and giving all the proceeds to the relief efforts in Japan! It gives me goosebumps and makes my mouth water to think that I can drive to Omaha and buy and eat something that Isa has made. According to her twitter feed, she is doing a lot of pies and that is fine with me! I'm hoping to score maybe some cupcakes, too or something that we can have on Wednesday for Brad's birthday. Sunday to Wednesday is a long time to ask a baked good to NOT go in my mouth though so we'll see...After the bake sale, I think we will hit happy hour at Blue. This day will be heaven for my mouth. And as if the day needed any more bonuses, Brant and Joy are coming with us! Maybe one of my next few posts will be a picture of Isa, Willa and I...

Buying Houses Makes Me Crabby

2011-04-02T01:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the picture quality, as its night time and the canon bit the dust a few weeks ago. So we are relying solely upon the blackberries and the cameras of others now. BUT...Our house sold! After 2 months on the market, much thanks to our awesome real estate agent. If anyone ever needs a referral to an agent, Elizabeth Katt is fantastic! There are still some inspections pending, and we need to replace the roof but our little home has found its new owners. It might sound weird, but it makes me sad to think about moving out of this house. Logically, it is too small for us and has almost no yard and an inadequate garage for a mechanic, but it has been such a good little house to come home to after a wedding, with new foster dogs, to start a business in, and to bring a new baby home to. There are definitely things about the old little house that I will want to carry over into the new home (even though the buyers are taking, well, pretty much everything that is in any way attached to the house.) I predict that I will shed many tears on April 27th, when we hand over the keys to our first home. HOWEVER...

We have purchased a new home! There will be about a month gap in between closing on the old house and the new one, so we will be living with Mama Cindy and Grandpa Pete for awhile. The new house just needs to pass a well water test (please, no nitrates...please, no nitrates!) and a few other things and then it can be ours! Assuming all goes as planned, we will move in at the end of May to the home which is located a few miles outside of Lincoln on N. 14th St. Our new address will actually be in Raymond but it is just a very short drive out of town. Still very close to Grandma and Grandpa and to Star City Motorsports. We will have an acre of land with 4 GARAGE STALLS, a very large garden, some fruit trees, and from what I hear there is room for a nice play structure and maybe some sort of dirtbike something-or-other. The house is an older, split-level style home that I am going to very much enjoy decorating. All of our fingers and toes are crossed that nothing goes wrong that could potentially go wrong and the homes all change hands smoothly now. If anyone has any boxes, or better yet a desire to help shingle the old house, do let me know!!! I will leave you with this picture that Mama Cindy sent me tonight when she took Pete out to see the house. I believe this is the view from the driveway, across 14th St. Pretty!

1720 Lariat Lane

2011-03-18T01:03:00.000-07:00

While I was in Grand Island for the weekend, I went for a run in Capitol Heights. There are so many places that trigger so many memories. I snapped this picture of our old house as I was running past. Notice its not blurry at all. What does that say about my speed??? Its like the camera was on the back of a tortoise.

70 beautiful years

2011-03-17T01:03:00.000-07:00

The weekend before Valentine's Day, the Christensen family celebrated something very special...The 70th anniversary of my grandparents Ray and Rhoda Christensen. 70 years! These two people are the most amazing example of love, patience, and generosity you will ever meet. The weekend was so much fun, starting with a Cousin's Night Out in Grand Island. Happy hour at the martini bar and then drinks and dancing at the hotel bar. On Saturday we had lots of family time, including taking Willa swimming. That girl is turning into quite the little fish! We also presented Grandma and Grandpa with a gift called a Voice Quilt which was very cool. It is a box that plays a recording of all of us wishing them well or sharing a story and some of their favorite songs. Sunday was the big reception and dance, hundreds of people came to be a part of the wonderful occasion. You can read more about Grandma and Grandpa in The Independent, as they were featured on Valentine's Day!

The offices of Purely Maid

2011-03-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

Check out those snazzy curtains! Very few people have seen the inside of the Purely Maid office in the Apothocary Building in Lincoln's Haymarket. So here is a little taste...Mama Cindy made the curtains for us.

Business is positively booming, and we now have one employee! Her name is Tara and she is a busy mom of 3 young boys. She helps us out once or twice a week and she does a terrific job. I'm not sure what we would do without her.

Don't be surprised if you hear in the coming weeks/days that Purely Maid is branching out into a new area of business...Tosha and I can never seem to find enough to do. An initial planning meeting is taking place later tonight so we'll see what happens!

Willa stories to spark a smile or two

2011-03-16T01:04:00.000-07:00

-Willa has had a few time outs in her 19 months on earth. They have mostly stemmed from pounding on the computer keyboard or hitting poor old Luther. These time outs consist of me walking her to the corner of the living room and asking her to look at the wall, while I bite my lower lip to keep from laughing out loud. The last time she took one of these "time outs", when it was all over and I had explained to her why she had a time out, she looked me right in the face and licked me. How can you be upset with someone who will lick your face???

-in the above picture, Willa was attempting to put a pair of her pajama pants on both Luther's front and hind legs. She was unsuccessful.

-Willa's piggy bank is in the form of a ceramic owl. So she calls any form of money "owl." Or anything that you put money into, like a parking meter, atm, billfold, etc. Anything associated with money is "owl." She is very good at getting people to give her "owl." We find wadded up, green "owl" all over the place. Lots of times when I put my shoes on, there is some form of "owl" in my shoes.

-some of Willa's favorites: shopping carts, broccoli, na-nee (candy, usually suckers), soy milk, orange juice, her stuffed dog Arf-Arf, her LeapFrog phonics video, apples, plums, peanut butter, any person that you put the word Auntie or Uncle in front of, Target, Shrek, Fox and the Hound, Toy Story, her belly button and tootsies, the word "babies" (although she seemed terrified when she met an actual baby at book club), her cousin Abbey, barking, hats, headphones, ba's (baths), jumping on the bed.

Apologies for the lame cell phone pictures

2011-03-15T01:02:00.000-07:00

I keep putting off any blog updates, as our computer at home is on the fritz and I have been shying away from downloading any pictures to it. But my blog is just getting so sad and I am so bored at work that I decided I would just go ahead with the cell phone pictures and a few little tidbits on the lives of the Van Boenings.

The biggest thing going on in our lives is the selling of our house. It has been on the market for a little over a month, we have had a few open houses. We have a very kind and helpful real estate agent named Elizabeth who listed our home and has taken us to look at lots of places to consider for our next abode. Right now we have our hearts set on a small acreage just outside of the Lincoln city limits. It has amazing potential for flowers, vegetable gardens, chickens, play structures and MAYBE even a small dirtbike track. Fingers crossed that our house sells in time to snag this one!!!

Other goings-on: Brad's newest band, Chasing the Sun, has been playing a lot all over town and in Omaha, I am training for the half marathon again (and I am actually registered for it this year), Willa is still into hoarding stuff and carrying it around the house in various bags/baskets/purses, lots of fun things coming up to include St. Patty's Day, a snowboarding trip, Brad's 30th, a road trip to St. Louis, all jam-packed into the next few weeks!

NO idea how to rotate a picture

2011-03-14T01:02:00.000-07:00

If you would all just kindly pick up your computer screens and turn them in a counter-clockwise fashion. There! Now you can see our Willa, sitting on the toilet! Before you go thinking she is some super-genius-baby and that she is potty trained, she only sits there. She has produced nothing on the toilet. And, I made the mistake of using my hair dryer to warm up the seat the first time I put her on it so that the coldness of the seat wouldn't turn her completely off to the idea of the potty. Now, she expects me to warm the seat each time. One of these days, she will understand why she is sitting on that seat, I'm just sure...

The best part of turning 30 is

2010-09-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

The fantastic friends I have made over the last 30 years!

My beautiful family.
Jodi, Brent, and Andrea
Kalika, Brent, and I: the best employees Bryan LGH ever had.

Tosha and Mandy
Chris, brooke, Brad and Brian

Some more amazing Bryan workers:)

Maggie, Sam, Tosha, Hillary and I.

I think there should be a party like this for every year that I am in my 30s. Possibly even 40s. We'll see how I feel when I get there! I thought turning 30 might be tough, but so far so good. I couldn't imagine a much better situation than what I have (well, unless I owned a summer home somewhere tropical and had the money to fly there whenever the mood struck me.) Here's to a great decade!

Pondering an upcoming holiday

2010-08-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

Right off the bat, I DID NOT make these cupcakes...Yet. But, I am making plans to do so on September 21st, as it will be International Day of Peace and also World Gratitude Day. Brainstorming other ways to celebrate a day that sounds like it has so much potential! Maybe a trip to the Humane Society to walk dogs? A litter pick-up walk? Take food to Matt Talbot? Get a tattoo of a dove? Looking forward to September 21st!!!

Mary Jane for babies?

2010-08-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

Willa got her first pair of vegan, hemp shoes!!! So cute and comfy. They are Isa Booties and we found them at CircleMe.

So many chances to help St. Monica's!

2010-08-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends and family! Want to give you all an update on an awesome fundraiser that I get the opportunity to be a part of this September. It is called the Amazing Chase and it benefits St. Monica's behavioral health treatment organization. I am part of a team with three other girls (brooke petermann, Melanie Nebesniak, and Amber Smith) and we will compete against 30 other teams in a great big puzzle-type race that takes place all over Lincoln on Saturday, September 18. The goal of the whole group is to raise $60,000 to help out the women that the organization serves. Last year, the top fundraising team raised over $9,000. I would LOVE to see our team break $10,000! (Not to mention that the prizes are super-sweet, like a trip to the Dominican Republic and Las Vegas). The more money we raise, the earlier our start time will be for the race and the better chance we have of winning. Here is the website for St. Monica's, in case you are interested to learn more about their life-changing services or about the race: http://www.stmonicas.com/

We have a few projects in the works to help out with our fundraising efforts, and a few others that we are still cooking up so I will keep everyone up to date on ways they can help out.
On August 19, 20, and 21 we are holding a garage sale at the home of brooke petermann (8800 Garland St) and all the proceeds will go to St. Monica's. We invite you all to come and pick up some great deals! But prior to attending the garage sale, we are looking for anyone who has a few things in their garage/basement/spare bedroom that are collecting dust or stubbing your toes when you enter the room. Anything that you would like to be rid of and that could bring in a few dollars/cents when the right person comes across it. If you have anything of the sort, please contact me and I will come and pick it up! You will never have to see it again! Yay! You can call me, text me, email me, tell my husband and we will run on over and get it. My number is 402.890.1737 and my email address is allisonvanboening34@gmail.com. It would be best if we could get it by next Wednesday evening, as the sale starts on Thursday, late afternoon.

Another really awesome deal that I would like to extend to anyone wishing to donate corresponds with my cleaning business, Purely Maid. I would like to offer to anyone donating $50 or more, a deep cleaning of all of their bathrooms. And, if you are really feeling charitable (or really not liking to clean) I will clean your whole home for a donation of $150 or more. OR if you would like to make the donation and give the cleaning as a gift to a friend, loved one, day care provider, boss...we can certainly work that out. All I ask is that the donation be made by September 15 and that the cleaning be scheduled by the end of this calender year. Monetary donations can be made directly to our fundraising site: GI Gals or a check can be written to me to be donated at the end of the collection period. Please feel free to share this information and the cleaning offer with anyone you feel would be interested! We are really motivated to WIN THIS RACE and to do great things for the women at St. Monica's. Please check back, as we have a few more FUN ideas in the works...Thank you for your time!

A project is underway.

2010-07-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

New flooring has been purchased for the porch! I would say to look for before and after photos in the coming weeks but I don't think we took a before photo and now its not really "before" anymore. If you haven't seen our porch, picture a stuffy, storage place for recycling. That kind of smelled funny.

Magical

2010-07-29T03:40:00.001-07:00

I am so very glad that brooke chose Roald Dahl for book club. Normally I can't read during my night shifts, as it makes me too tired. But I am very motivated to stay awake for reading this book! And, because I can't NOT throw a little Willa in, she accompanied me to the library for the first time today to pick up the books. She loved it!!!

Sending our love to Baby Sam

2010-07-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I posted very briefly about Baby Sam Bennett. With a very heavy heart, I share with you all that she was fitted for her angel wings last Tuesday, at 9 months of age. Such a HUGE message of love, hope, and strength in such a TINY package. There has not been a moment in my life the past week that I did not think of the Bennett family and of Baby Sam and of heaven and of angels. There was an article in the Journal Star today about Baby Sam's friend, Baby Morgan, who also passed away from the same genetic disorder, spinal muscular atrophy. Baby Morgan's parent's were quoted saying that they treated every day with Morgan as if it were Christmas or her birthday, as they knew that time with her was so precious and so limited. It makes me wonder why we don't all treat all of our days this way? With our babies, our older children, our spouses, our parents, our pets, our friends...? So that is what I learned from Sam and Morgan, and that is my new goal in life. God bless their families and friends who sill stay on this earth awhile longer to spread their message of love a little further.

I wanted to share a link to the blog posting that contains pictures of the pink balloon release that was held Friday evening, in honor of Sam. The photographers, Holly and Jared of The Moment It Clicks Photography, donated their time and talents to capture these beautiful moments for the Bennett family. We were so glad to be a part of it.
the moment it clicks photography
If you meander your way a bit further down their blog, you will also find a little snippet from the pictures they took at brooke and Brian's wedding! They do amazing work.

ps. sorry, I realize a blog post with no pictures is boring, but I got a little wrapped up in trying out new backgrounds and now its late and I'm yawning. But rest assured that had there been a picture, it would have been of Willa.

Baby sign language story...

2010-06-26T00:03:00.000-07:00

I have a story to tell that only a mom or a friend of Willa will appreciate. So if you are neither of those things, it might bore you. But first is this darling picture of Brad and Willa taken on Father's Day in the Haymarket. We went to Buzzard Billy's for dinner when Brad got off work. We sat on the patio there and watched the hail come down!

Now for my story...Ever since Willa was about 4 months old and started having small amounts of rice cereal, I tried to teach her the 2 little baby sign language phrases I knew. I learned them from a coworker. They were "all done" and "more". I would show her both as we were eating the cereal and she would look at me like I was loony. Then as she got a little older, she would just laugh when I would do them. Never once did she imitate my actions or indicate that she was remembering or trying them. So probably about a month ago or so I just stopped showing them to her. I figured she would just learn to talk and we could skip the signing. When she is "all done" she just presses her lips together and grunts at me. Good enough, right??? Well, a few nights ago I had a little bowl of mashed avocado that I was feeding her with a spoon, and then a little bowl of black beans that I gave her a few of and she was feeding them to herself. She had eaten all the beans on her tray, so I tried another bite of the avocado and she did the lip thing and turned her head. I said "are you finished eating?" and she looked at the avocado bowl and did the sign for "all done!" Completely out of the blue! I thought it must be a coincidence. How on earth would she remember that from months ago??? So then I asked her if she wanted more beans and first she clapped a few times and then it turned into the sign for "more." I was just amazed! It was like we were having our first conversation! And she seemed SO proud of herself! All of the sudden, she seemed so grown up that it was almost eerie. On that same evening, she also gave me a big hug when I asked for a hug, and she pointed at the flowers in the book we were reading when I asked her to point at the flowers. It was the most fun to watch the learning process take place!
I know, that story probably seems lame to everyone but me, but its my new favorite:)

Putting babies in wagons too small and eliminating dairy

2010-04-18T02:38:00.000-07:00

If you happen to be a friend of me elsewhere, besides the blog, then I am sure you already saw this picture more than once. But it seriously cracks me up. It makes Willa look huge! If there were nothing in the background to reference her size to, you would think she was about ready to take over the world!

And good news! I just now re-remembered how to send pictures from my phone to the blog! Now, I can post from work, instead of doing actual work. Night shifts are for the birds. To make this particular post a little more zesty, I thought I might just ramble about my recent delve into the world of veganism.

On the advice of a good friend, I purchased Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet, a few months ago. I still haven't actually read it, cover to cover, but I have tried a few of the recipes and glaced at a few sections. And I have been reading her blog weekly. She has come a long way from playing Cher in Clueless! She is living a completely vegan lifestyle and has a very non-intimidating way of writing about it. Since becoming a vegetarian a few years ago, I have always toyed with the idea of giving up the dairy products, so after reading Eating Animals and Alicia's blog, I gave it a little trial run. I did a pretty good job of it for about 2 weeks and it felt GREAT! I am not even kidding, my energy level quadrupled, at least. I loved what I was eating, I had fun cooking it, I lost several pounds. In 2 weeks. It was amazing. So you might be wondering why, with all these benefits, I didn't just keep it up??? I am wondering that too, now that I am writing about it and talking myself through it. Here are the troubles I had with it (and that I need to find ways to overcome).

1) Living in Lincoln, it is inconvenient to eat healthfully AND vegan anywhere but your own home. There are not very many restaraunts in a decent price range that offer healthy vegan options. Pasta is an option, but unless I can substitute whole wheat noodles, I don't want to eat too much of it. Sandwich places are a good option, just hold the cheese and mayo. And of course, Yia Yia's has a vegan pizza with soy cheese and veggies and it is super yummy. I think a good plan of attack for this setback (since no one seems to think I should move to New York City or Los Angeles just for the food) is to explore a few places that I don't normally eat, instead of eating at the normal fast food type places. Maybe Maggie's Wraps, The Cup, that Greatful Bread place...And also work on just not eating out so much.

2) It is a little bit more expensive to eat healthfully and veganly. Especially since my other half won't touch most of my new recipes. We have to pretty much buy 2 sets of groceries. And, since its just me eating the veggies and tofu, some of it tends to spoil before I get around to using it. The answer? Go to the grocery store more frequenly, but buy smaller amounts. And, really utilize the farmer's market this spring/summer.

3) My lack of will power. Sometimes in my personal life, I can be pretty darn lazy. Not usually at work, just at home. So sometimes even though I have the tasty, healthy supplies at home, I just decide we should get a pizza. Or, we go to a get-together and I don't prepare a vegan dish to take along. And the big one, that gets me every time, is baked goods. I have such a sweet tooth and when I am offered a cookie, a muffin, ice cream...I don't turn them down. Ever. This is where I really need to do some work and overcome my own personal shortcomings. And also, buy a vegan dessert cookbook:)

I think I am ready to dive back in, even if veganism is only something I do in big spurts. I just loved the way it made me feel! I realize that in our Nebraska farming culture, it is going to be impossible to eat this way 100% of the time, and I would never expect that others would cater to my new eating desires (it is nice enough that people provide me with vegetarian foods!) but you may see me eating a lot of vegetables in the future. Or toting around tupperwares of funky soups. But I don't plan to give up my quarterly sushi meals. A few times a year, some fish may have to die. Gosh, that sounds horrible. We'll see.

Maybe during my next bout of night shifts, you can learn something about Brad?!?

Look a little blurry?

2010-04-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

It's probably because Willa stole your glasses!

Loving the porch swing

2010-04-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

After we played with the bubble gun, and everyone in the Van Boening family (dogs included) had naps, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Luth's for Easter dinner. It was so tasty, my mom always does a great job of feeding this vegetarian:) Willa got a few more gifts, and then we sat on the porch and enjoyed the beautiful Nebraska weather. Thanks, mom and dad!

The bubble gun

2010-04-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

Scoring big with the Easter bunny

2010-04-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

While we were away at church, watching Papa Brad make beautiful Easter music on his drums, the Easter bunny hid a few eggs at our house, and stuffed Willa's basket full of fun summer clothes, some books, a bubble gun, and a giraffe that plays a lullaby. For some reason, Willa always looks like she is about to take someones face off with her two little teeth, when I think she has the best intentions to give kisses.

A true ladies' man

2010-04-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

I thought this picture of Willa with Great Grandpa Christensen deserved its very own post. Willa has a touch of "stranger fear" sometimes and since she doesn't get to see her great grandparents as much as we would like, I thought she might be a little fearful of him. I was wrong! She sat quietly on his lap for a long time. When I mentioned this, Grandpa said something about always having this effect on the ladies.

Now you will know all about my favorite holiday

2010-04-09T20:35:00.001-07:00

I adore Easter. I always have. I'm not even sure what I like best about it. I love the church service, the music, the Starburst jelly beans, the yummy meal, the weather...It is just my favorite holiday! So it won't come as a surprise that we celebrated big this year with Willa. Case in point, I bought "several" (okay, 5) different outfits that were suitable to wear to Easter church. I might have gone overboard a bit.

The day before Easter, my mom and I took Willa to Grand Island to an Easter egg hunt at my cousin Jackie's house. It was quite the celebration! There were over a hundred little ones there, and nearly a thousand eggs! Willa also got to pet a pony and touch a baby duck, goat, and kitten. She was thrilled! Right after the picture was taken with the duck, she tried to eat its bill. Or maybe she was giving it love, I'm not sure. Many, many thanks to the Gellatly family for the lovely day!

I Stole This

2010-03-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

This is probably totally against blog etiquette, but I am in love with this video...http://bandbpetermann.blogspot.com/2010/03/one-baby-band.html

2010-03-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

Willa's new big girl seat! It even has a cup holder. That means she is growing up WAAAAY to fast.

A visit with our favorite people

2010-03-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to Grand Island to celebrate Grandma's birthday, and Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary - 69 years! That is an amazing love story.

So many giggles

2010-03-07T21:09:00.000-08:00

Willa has a nightly ritual of playing peek-a-boo with the pj's that she is about to wear to bed. I think it is just her way of stalling bedtime but it is so cute that we let her get away with it.

Nuptual treats

2010-03-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

This was prototype #1 for brooke and Brian's wedding dessert. Vanilla/almond. They were a hit! I may have to see a dentist after all the "testing" I did though. Very sweet.

Dear blog readers, this is very important

2010-03-05T23:38:00.000-08:00

Please take a moment today, and each day in the month of March, to visit this website and vote to provide a year of funding for research into a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

http://www.refresheverything.com/stopsma

I believe the website does a better job of explaining the disease than I can. The reason I ask that you do this is because of Baby Sam Bennett. I came across her story on facebook, through mutual friends of her family. Her papa, Zach, went to Hastings College at the same time as I did. I didn't know him well but it breaks my heart to hear of a story about a tiny human, so close in age and appearance to my own little muffin, who will only be on this earth for a very short time. Baby Sam's mom, Laura, has a blog here: http://babyhomepages.net/ourbabybennett/index.php. Please also keep this beautiful family in your thoughts and prayers. I cannot begin to imagine the strength that it must take them to get though each day. God bless them, and all other families affected by illness and loss.

Amigos!

2010-03-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

Look at Willa with Kael and Borne! She looks huge (and like she might feast on them at any moment:) They are each about 2 months apart, with Willa being the oldest. It won't be long and they will catch up with her, she better pick on them while she can!

Did I say Michael Phelps? I meant Michael Jordan.

2010-03-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

I think our little lady is unnaturally good at rolling a ball around. Really! She has aim and can catch and everything! She is kind of a ball hog, but she will fit in just fine with the rest of the Lakers, right???

Weiners in shirts

2010-03-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

Our washing machine did something goofy to this cute onesie of Willa's. So Bailey wears it to the office on casual Fridays.

Happy Heart Day!

2010-03-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

The original plan for Valentine's Day was to spend it in Grand Island with Brad's family and my grandparents but the oh-so-familiar Nebraska snow had other plans for us. So, we had a very nice dinner at my parents house, and they had some gifts for Willa. Brad and I gave each other gifts too, but we must have forgotten to photograph them. They were shirts.

The following post is not suitable for children

2010-03-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

A gruesome, violent crime was committed in our home, involving Mr. Frog. The suspect IS in custody.

Look out, Michael Phelps!

2010-03-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we took Willa swimming for the first time! She loves her bathtime so much, we thought swimming would be right up her ally. It was great fun. She seemed a little apprehensive at first, but warmed up to the pool quickly! The fun did come to an end when a little boy jumped in near her and made a big splash. She did NOT like that surprise:) We look forward to this summer, when we can go swimming all the time!

Shall We Go???

2010-02-20T00:30:00.000-08:00

http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/2010/02/random-things-of-note.html

Who is up for a trip to Seattle? I adore reading about Little Olive and used dog and the Mossy Shed. To hear this woman speak for 3 days would be just the best...

Imperative

2010-02-07T00:22:00.000-08:00

I used to think of myself as quite the avid reader. Then I had a baby. I started reading "Eating Animals" waaaaay back in December and I just finished it on my long Saturday night shift. It is the first "must read" of 2010. Like, seriously, you must read it. Now. I will loan it to you. And while you are at it, read Jonathan's other books, too.

A New Best Friend

2010-01-23T18:06:00.000-08:00

This little furry fella was one of the purchases we made on our big "funish the nursery" trip to Ikea last May. I believe he cost about $3. Willa adores him. He has that long, rat tail that she just LOVES to suck on. Yay for plush rodents!

2010-01-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

Have to share this little treat I bought for myself from Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=23900214 Why, oh why do I love chairs so much?

ROY G BIV

2010-01-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

What a perfect party outfit! This little number came from Brant and Joy at Christmas time and looked fantastic! Much thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Luth, Uncle Chris, Auntie brooke and Uncle Brian, and Cousin Sarah for helping Willa celebrate. And congrats to Brad and I for keeping this little one on the right track for six months:) We have both done a LOT of growing up in the last half year.

Balloons!

2010-01-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

Six days later, these are still super fun! You'd never guess, till you play with a 6 month old, that a balloon can induce so many giggles.

The swag

2010-01-19T21:05:00.000-08:00

I scored big at Once Upon A Child (a used clothing store for little ones)! Willa LOVES to wear clothes with wiener dogs on them. She is outgrowing her first wiener shirt, so I picked up the lovely shirt/hoodie combo. Also, this teeny, tiny bikini for a soon-to-come first trip to the YMCA pool! Shopping used is so great, not only because its cheap and they only sell clothes that look like new, but it also keeps the clothes in play for longer and out of landfills.

Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Pete brought over some things as well. A very funny book for mom and dad to read, a toy, an owl piggy bank, and this inspirational onesie. Man, it was like Christmas all over again! (Lots more wrapping paper eating)

Half Birthday Extraveganza!!!

2010-01-18T20:51:00.000-08:00

The trusty 'ole blog has gotten a little stale, for which I apologize (if anyone is kind enough to still look at it:) So.....in several installments, I present to you...Willa's 6 month birthday! I made quite a fuss over it, as I have been on this kick to really live life present in every moment (also because I really like to make cupcakes). She loved every bit of her celebration! And, in case you are curious, the peanut had her 6 month dr. appointment today and she has a massive head! She also weighs 16lb, 6oz and is 25 1/8 inches long. Short and skinny, just like her pop. She was very brave when she got all 4 SHOTS!!! Geez! Her squishy thighs look like swiss cheese tonight!

Here are the tasty treats! You just can't go wrong with cream cheese frosting.

2009 is coming to a close...

2009-12-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays, friends and family! There are a few things that I spaced off as a new mom, such as taking Willa to sit on Santa's lap, cleaning my kitchen, and sending out a holiday card. Ooops! So on this crazy, snowy, not-leaving-the-house Christmas day, I am making a bloggy holiday card and I cleaned the kitchen! Not sure what to do about the picture with Santa, maybe Photoshop?!?
Wasn't 2009 great? It seems like it just FLEW by! I spent the first 7 months of it growing Willa, and Brad spent those months catering to all my weirdnesses. On July 14th, Willa came to join our little family and she is just the most fun! We also grew our family by a tiny bit at the beginning of 2009 by adopting our foster wiener, Bailey. If anyone is looking for a wonderful new pet this year, or a group to get involved with for volunteering or donating, the Nebraska Dachshund Rescue is an amazing organization (www.nebraskadachshundrescue.org).
Willa and the dogs are such buddies. Bailey is a little cautious around her, but Luther is just his big oafish self, and seems not to mind too much when Willa pulls on his wrinkles and pokes him in the eyes. We have had Luther now for 6 1/2 years! Such an old man:)

Brad is working at Star City Motorsports for his 7th year and still enjoying his work as a mechanic. He also plays the drums at our church, Southpointe Christian and plays drums for a group called Beatmix Sessions (catch them at Duffy's on New Years Eve!) When asked for some input on the family Christmas letter, he said "I enjoyed my first Christmas with my little bean!"

I decided to cut back my hours that I work at the hospital, where I have been employed for 7 years and focus more on the cleaning business that I own with my friend Tosha. And when Willa was born, cut back even further! I work a few shifts a week there, and clean a few days a week and usually have a day or two just to spend time with Willa. Our cleaning business, Purely Maid, is just booming! We love being self employed and enjoying the benefits of our hard work. We don't have any employees (yet) but we keep VERY busy! We have some really great regular customers and we like taking good care of their homes. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of Tosha and I cleaning. While Brad and I are working, Willa is in the wonderful hands of my mom and dad, who are the world's greatest babysitters! They are so kind to rearrange their own schedules to accomodate our strange ones. Willa adores them both.

Some other excitement this year included my bestest friend, brooke benson, becoming engaged to our new friend Brian Petermann! So, we have a very fun wedding to look forward to in '10. I had the opportunity to get together with cousins that I don't get to see very often which was great! Brad got to go on the annual Star City Trail Ride in Taylor Park, Colorado for several days of intense dirtbike riding. We also try to make regular trips to Grand Island to visit with Brad's family (that is what we would be doing today, if it weren't for this darn snow). We love getting together with Brant and Joy every once in a while. Hopefully, as Willa gets a little older in this next year, we can do a little traveling, maybe some camping and trips to the lake.

To conclude the Van Boening family holiday letter, I'd like to wish you all a fantastic time in the new year. I hope that it brings love, happiness and prosperity. I also hope that we get to see you, whoever you may be, in the next year! Following are some pictures of Willa last night and today, she was a present opening MONSTER!

Do you ever want to just squeeze babies till they pop and baby juice comes out of them???

2009-12-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

According to Facebook, this is a pretty popular picture of Peanut Van Boening. And some people (eh hem...Amy) don't have a Facebook account. Those are the people who actually get things done in their free time:) So here she is! At the moment this picture was taken by papa, she was very amused by the fact that he was late for work. Again. She has quite the sense of humor for an almost-five-month old!

Gobble, Gobble!

2009-11-29T01:43:00.000-08:00

Look at that GROWN UP baby!!! Willa is 4 and a half months old! (If you thought I was talking about Brad or I, we are 28 and 29 years old, respectively.) Her hobbies include putting her toes in her mouth, petting Luther's ears, and licking beverage containers when they are cold and wet. Some of her favorite things are toys that vibrate, her grandparents, Thirsties diaper covers and chewing gum. In all seriousness, Willa just may be the most laid back, easy to care for baby on earth. We also think she is the cutest and the smartest but I'm sure there are a few of you out there with the same claims on your own tiny tots. She is growing like a stinkin' weed! At her 4 month check up, she was 26 inches and very close to 14 pounds! I have had to pack away so many adorable outfits with the tags still on them, as there aren't enough days in each size to wear them all!

Much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving...The addition to the family, our fantastic health, amazing friends, having income in the challenged economy, and the tasty leftovers that Grandma Cindy sent us home with:)

2009-08-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Willa was one month old on Friday, August 14!

Years in the making and it was great!

2009-08-18T05:18:00.000-07:00

These aren't the greatest pictures, but its all the blackberry could do (and Al wasn't in the mood to smuggle her camera in between her buttcheeks). Its Travis, Mark, and Tom. That's right, Brad and Al finally got to see Blink 182 together! Beautiful...Front row, too:)

Brad and Al did somethin' big! (in a little package)

2009-07-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

After 9 long months of whining, gagging, growing, stretching, dilating, contracting, and becoming stronger people, Willa is here!!! She came into the world quickly on July 14 at 9:34am. It was very possible the snappiest, and maybe easiest labor ever. (Thank you very much Willa, Dr. Gibbens, and BryanLGH nurses!) She is so excited to meet you all and loves very much the family and friends whom she has already met. Rest assured, this blog will now be overtaken by Willa-ness. But she's so cute that its better than anything else we ever had pictures of. Yes, even the tiny puppies.

Foster Weenie

2009-05-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

The Nebraska Dachshund Rescue let Brad and Al hold onto this little pumpkin for about a week while she healed up from her alteration surgery. How cute is she? Her name is Lucy and she came from a home in Kansas where a woman was hoarding dogs (she had, like, 30 of them!) Of course, she was snatched up by an adoptive family after only a few days and Brad and Al were very happy for her, as she went to live with a very nice family in Kansas City. Puppies sure are a lot of work! Hopefully babies are a little easier, at least in the fact that they wear diapers to contain their "accidents":) Good luck to Lucy and to the Nebraska Dachshund Rescue in their continued effort to find good homes for good dogs.

Its been such a long time...

2009-04-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Since not much goes on in the life of Brad and Al these days, here's a little glimpse of the rennovations that have occured inside the room that used to be storage/gym/gift wrapping station/craft area/place to put stuff when people come over/spare bedroom.

The progression of the pictures is obviously backwards, but Al is too lazy at this time to change it. At this point, the walls went from white to Robin's Nest blue, the wood floors are refinished, the baseboards are new, and the room is empty except for a TON of baby clothes crammed in the closet! In the next week or two, look for the room to acquire its furniture, and some very "tweet" curtains. All of these renovations thanks to Luther, Mabel, Grandma Cindy, and Auntie brooke.

All girls need these things...

2009-03-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

Fancy shoes from Grandma, cute dresses, favorite aunties...Brad and Al are having a girl!

Brad Jr or Al Jr?

2009-02-26T05:10:00.000-08:00

Monday is the big day to find out the sex of Baby Van! Its quite an exciting time, as this is definitely the biggest mystery the couple has ever been a part of. After finding out the sex, there are so many things that can be decided and so many things that can be planned for and decorated:) If you'd like to make a prediction, here are a few hints from old pregnancy wives tales:
-According to the Mayan age @ conception: girl
-Having dry hands: boy
-Not eating heels of bread loaves: girl
-Pencil on a string test: 2 out of 3 times boy
-Cravings being sweet or salty: completely unsure...at the beginning it was all salty, now Al will eat anything!
-If dad gains weight along with mom its a boy: boy
-Being nauseous: girl
-Higher heart rate of baby: girl
-Prefer sleeping on left side: boy
-Being moody: girl

You're guess is as good as Brad and Al's! It seems to be about 50/50.

As for other pregnancy related news, Al is feeling much better now that she has reached 5 months but those first four months were No Fun! She is also expanding. This is obviously to be expected but Al does have some size issues. She also has issues with maternity clothes, namely that she thinks they are disgusting and that the expense of such a limited-use wardrobe is ridiculous. She did finally break down and order some comfy looking yoga pants and tank tops so that she can begin exercising again. She also thinks that last night was the Last Night for wearing her jeans. The old ponytail holder trick was no longer comfortable.

Brad has been most helpful throughout these first five months, indulging Al when she wants to eat Subway six days in a row and most recently he went along on a Purely Maid cleaning trip to help Al and Tosha clean! What a trooper!

As for movements of the tiny one, the verdict is still out on that one...Veteran mothers say they feel like tiny flutters or gas bubbles but this mother-to-be isn't sure that those tiny feelings aren't just that - gas bubbles! Hopefully these movements will become more pronounced in the next few weeks to clear up any confusion.

There are big plans in the works for the room that will be the nursery. It started out as the spare bedroom/craft room/dress clothes storage/home gym room but it is now mostly empty, except for the treadmill and bed. The next step will be to choose a wall color and paint, then refinish the wood floors, replace the floorboards and light fixture. Then in May comes the really fun part which is the trip to Ikea for furniture! Al is taking trusted friend (with great interior design sense) brooke along for advice and guidance.

Brad and Al are still accepting all name suggestions, as there are no clear cut leaders. It may become more obvious once the sex is determined. A big thanks to those who regularly send name ideas. Brad does need to keep in mind that Al will probably not go along with any name that can be confused with a common noun. So when she asks him for name ideas, it does NOT do any good to look around a room and start naming things that he sees:)

In other news...not much, really! Brad and Al did finally decide to adopt one of their wieners, Bailey. Coco was adopted by a kind family in Council Bluffs and is doing extremely well there with their other two dogs. Bailey is doing great and Luther is tolerating her permanency.

Both Brad and Al stay very busy with their full time jobs. Brad has been playing his drums at different venues across town on the weekends and seems to enjoy this very much. Al has been staying at home most of those evenings, as bars are not much fun when you're bursting out of your pants and vodka is a no-no.
Al's cleaning business, Purely Maid, is booming right now! The state of the economy apparently doesn't affect how much people dislike cleaning their own homes:) Fingers crossed that this will not change! If any of you readers DO like to clean, PM may be looking for helper elves in the near future, so...stay tuned!

Now that you're all caught up, remember to check back to see if Baby Van will be a Timmy or a Sally! (or maybe a Skeletor?)

Is anyone tired of seeing pictures of this dog sleeping yet?

2009-01-23T20:34:00.001-08:00

Luther just may be one of the sweetest dogs ever to waddle on this earth. The other night, he took turns sleeping on the back of the couch with his face resting on either Brad or Al, moving back and forth so as not to have anyone feeling left out. One can tell the great influence he has had on the foster dogs, aside from the amount of time that they spend lounging and sleeping by listening to the noises they make. When Luther is just entering the land of sleep, he often makes these long, drawn out, old man-ish groaning noises when he really gets comfortable. Coco has been overheard making her own small versions of this sound lately when she is getting into the sleeping position. It cracks Brad and Al up.

The perfect cup 'o tea

2009-01-23T20:30:00.001-08:00

This tea pot rocks, if you're looking for a rockin' teapot. Thanks so much to Brant and Joy!

Gotta love Etsy!

2009-01-22T01:49:00.001-08:00

This is the first (and so far only) purchase that Brad and Al have made for the yet-to-be-sexed bun. It looks a little boy-ish but if the bambino turns out to be a girl, picture it with some pink tights. Or little pink DCs. And if that pencil on a string test is to be believed at all, then expect a girl.

2009-01-22T01:48:00.003-08:00

Inauguration Day!

2009-01-22T01:48:00.002-08:00

Al seems to have forgotten to take any pictures of the festivities of the day, so here are pictures of the Luther, Coco and Bailey all settled in for bed that night. Don't they look hopeful for the direction our country is moving toward? They are. They most certainly are.

2009-01-22T01:48:00.000-08:00

What is with the Nebesniak's and their torturous games?

2009-01-10T21:47:00.002-08:00

2009-01-10T21:47:00.001-08:00

Tonight, Brad and Al had dinner at Pat and Amy's along with Mel, Chris, brooke, Brian, and Amber. The dinner was yummy: soup and breadbowls, Momma Cindy's shrimp dip from back in the day, and 2 desserts. After dinner, games were played starting with that horrible thing in the first picture that shocks its players. An evil game. But next the group played Tripoley, which Al remembers playing at her grandparent's house as a youngster. This game was definitely a hit and will have to be played at future dinner parties. There was some talk of traveling to Papillion next month for fondue...

The coolest thing to happen in the kitchen in 2009

2009-01-10T21:46:00.001-08:00

Meet the Liddle Griddle. It was a gift to Brad and Al from the Svendsen family and it has already been used numerous times to cook their favorite things, such as egg, cheese, and veggie sausage mcmuffins and grilled cheese (I'll trade you my shirt for a grilled cheese:) Much thanks to Tosha for the stellar gift idea, and its so small that it fits with the "clutter is yucky" thing the Van Boening household tries to hold onto.

Brad and Al's family Christmas

2008-12-25T07:31:00.001-08:00

Al has been wanting an explodingdog print ever since she first laid eyes on http://www.explodingdog.com/. And here it is! The title is "If you do good things, it will pay off" Brad did good:)

2008-12-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

Brad got something cushy for his tushy. Al did good:)

2008-12-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

Then, as the family money had been spent on the fab gifts, the two ate some suprisingly delicious noodles. Total cost: $0.38.

Baby Van

2008-12-23T19:11:00.001-08:00

Here is Brad and Al's first picture of the bambino! Not exactly sure what all we're looking at here, but to Al it totally looks like the little one is kicked back and relaxed, perfectly at home for the next six months! Too soon to tell the sex or see any other organs, according to the ultrasound nurse, but March 2nd will be the date to find out if its a Brad Jr or an Al Jr. If you have better names than Brad, Al, or Uder, please post them in the comment section.

2008-12-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here is Momma Cindy with her copy of the baby pic! What a proud grandma:) She couldn't even put them down long enough to order her lunch!

What have our lives been reduced to?!?

2008-12-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

There is no picture to go along with this post yet, since Brad and Al just really need to buy a new computer BUT Al needs for something besides a urine pregnancy test to show up at the top of the screen when she logs into the blog!

In looking back through the past posts, it seems that Brad and Al used to actually do things together, out in public. They also did a lot of drinking. Since that fateful Thursday morning over a month ago when they found out that indeed the bun was in the oven, they haven't done many noteworthy things together. This is not to say that life has been dull or boring or in any way bad. On the contrary, the two spend many nice evenings at home together and are becoming even better friends than they had been in the past. Its just that Al can't really keep her eyes open past 8:00 at night, and Brad is quite the night owl.

So in comparison with the past month, this weekend was darn eventful! Starting with the cookie baking get-together at Melanie and Chris's on Saturday afternoon. Al spent quality time with brooke, Amber, Amy, and Melanie, whipping up many, many batches of holiday treats! Then at dinner time they were joined by Brad, Pat, Chris, Ian, and Deni for a very tasty Ukranian meal.

Sunday morning, Al finally got to join Brad at church as her night shift was mysteriously (and wonderfully) cancelled! It was a great service, with many traditional Christmas carols being sung and a nice sermon from Pastor Craig concerning joy and a Cleveland Browns Huffy bicycle. On a side note about church, Brad will be debuting his bongo skills next week at the 10:30 service, if anyone would like to stop by Southpointe Christian!

After church, Brad and Al picked up brooke and went to Omaha to do a tad bit of Christmas shopping. They also met Amber at Whole Foods for lunch. It was a nice little road trip, resulting in some great purchases. For dinner, the couple was invited to Momma Cindy's for taco soup and homemade bread. It was a great weekend, food-wise! If only Al didn't have this persistent, nagging feeling of "I'm-going-to-vomit-ish-ness." Please let that be done in the next couple of weeks!!!

At the current time, Al is getting in a few hours at the hospital during the best time to be here - while all the kiddos are sleeping and angelic-looking. Brad is out with a friend for a 21st birthday celebration (because the male of the parenting couple still gets to indulge in alcoholic beverages. And late nights. And fried food. And sports involving impact. And the occasional cigarette. And size small shirts. Oooops, Al seems to be ranting again about the unfairness of women having to birth the children. It happens with increasing frequency, just ask Brad)

(Hopefully) The only picture you'll ever see of something Al peed on

2008-11-22T06:04:00.000-08:00

Here it is folks, Brad and Al are having a baby! Probably sometime in July. And really, they swear they will never put a picture this gross on the blog again but so far, its the only evidence. Well, this and the constant feeling of having to vomit, pee, sleep, eat...Al is NOT a tough cookie.

Hold on to your hats! Its time for Halloween pictures!

2008-11-15T00:29:00.000-08:00

Killigan's Show Friday night @ Duffy's. Shawn, Brad, and Sarah Palin? (Al not pictured because she was at work. She was a little disappointed in her husband, being photographed with a Republican. Ha!)

Saturday night - preparing to leave for the 3rd Annual Halloween Party @ Chris and Mel's. Mama Cindy took some pictures of the Flinstone costumes she so expertly crafted. And of the "guys" from Strange Brew:)

Brad and Liz Hoffman

Melanie and Chris Nebesniak...Had something to do with the movie Kingpen? It would probably help Al understand if she had seen it, but Chris did look a lot like the guy on the movie cover!

Bert and Ernie. They look like such good friends!

Poor baby Ian. Look what happens when you give his mom a dry erase marker and some vodka!

Do you wonder a little bit if Zach and Shawn are wearing costumes? Well, they are!

Fred, Ernie and Bert

Blimey! Its the crocodile hunter and his favorite prey!

Sucking straight from the bottle and the...tupperware?!? Prehistoric drinking methods.

Al seemed to be passing around shots in about two-thirds of the Halloween pictures. How generous:)

Favorite Winter Dinner

2008-11-11T08:09:00.002-08:00

Here is Brad, browning soy crumbles for the best ever cold-weather meal of chili soup and Grands. It was the first time the couple made the meal this season, but certainly won't be the last! Leftovers to be enjoyed today:)

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Obama Night @ Brad and Al's!

2008-11-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

Here is Adah, the smallest Obama supporter at the Election Night Party. She and her brother, Xander, helped Al color a map of the United States, making most of the states blue...maybe they are a tad psychic???

2008-11-11T08:08:00.001-08:00

Patriotic Jello shots!

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

They found a new love on the final day in Chicago...

2008-11-02T22:14:00.001-08:00

On the way out of town, Brad and Al stumbled upon an Ikea or two! Someone really needs to explain to Allison how it is fair that the city of Chicago gets two Ikeas, but there isn't an Ikea within a five hour radius of Lincoln.

They spent about four hours in the heaven...whoops, Ikea. There is even a restaraunt where they enjoyed Swedish veggies and meatballs!

Here's the loot!

And here's how it looks, all set up in Brad and Al's home!

How long do you think it will be before Al talks Brad into another trip to Chicago? They need new bedding, a new dining room table, a good reading chair.....

Chicago - Day 3

2008-11-02T21:56:00.001-08:00

When Brad and Al finally got up and were able to move and re-hydrate on Sunday, they did a little shopping in the Lincoln Square area. Very cute little shops! Mama Cindy had sent them on a mission to find a very specific type of "Go Obama" pin, which they never found but had a nice time looking. Lunch was at a yummy sandwich shop (@ about 4:00 in the afternoon:)

Next, they decided to drive down to Lake Michigan and the Navy Pier area. Parking was a bit expensive, so they took a few pictures of the Pier from the moving vehicle.

Just off of Lake Shore Drive, there was some FREE PARKING! So Brad and Al got out and strolled the lake, checked out the boats and the views of the city. What a sight! Brad liked the idea of jet skiing in Lake Michigan.

When the sun went down and it started to get a bit too chilly, the couple joined Justin and Amy and a few of the other wedding guests at a fun little Irish Pub in the downtown area for some drinks.

On the way back to the car, Brad decided he needed to have a Chicago style hotdog, so they made a pit stop at the Weiner Circle for a weiner and a veggie burger and some excellent customer service. They took said weiner and burger back to the hotel and ate them in bed, while taking advantage of having free cable.

Chicago - Day Two - Wedding!

2008-11-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Brad and Al spent the day bumming around town. They found a most delicious pizza place (that came highly recommended by several friends) called Giordano's. They also viewed some really fun art at the Museum of Contemporary Arts. Then in the evening, it was on to the Kitsch'N River North for Justin Wolta and Amy Guth's wedding reception. What a great time! The reception site was perfect and had a very retro-cool atmosphere. The bar was open and the newlyweds had fun family members and friends that got everyone on the dance floor! Allison's memory becomes fuzzy after about the twelfth trip to the bar and that's about when the pictures stop, too...

Here is Allison with Thad Wolta, who in her mind should still have been about 13 years old. It was great to see some members of the Wolta family again...

Here is Brad, looking positively stunning in his new suit!

It was a late night when the couple returned to the hotel and you'll see that activities on Sunday definitely did NOT start until in the afternoon:)

Trip to Chicago - Day 1

2008-10-31T01:55:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, Brad and Al took an eight hour road trip to Chicago to attend the wedding reception of an old friend. (Not old as in, the friend is old but old as in hadn't seen for quite some time:) The trip was also kind of an extended celebration of their 2nd anniversary back in September.
The plan was to get up early and get on the road but if you know either Brad or Al, you KNOW that didn't happen! So, Friday consisted of lots of driving (thank goodness it was a nice drive as far as road trips go!). Once in Chicago, the hunt for the hotel was a bit long but the couple was never lost, just on the wrong path for awhile. After the hotel was found, Brad and Al ventured out into the downtown area for a taste of the nightlife.

Drinks were enjoyed at the Signature Lounge in the Hancock Tower. The bar was on the 96th floor of the building so needless to say, the views were amazing. Rumor has it that on a clear day, you can see into like, four different states from this height! Since it was not daytime, Brad and Al spent time looking at the pretty lights and drinking pretty martinis.

Before retiring to the hotel room for a well deserved night of rest, Brad and Al walked some of the downtown streets and patronized another pub, taking full advantage of the parking fee. It was somewhat of a "culture shock" that bars in Chicago can remain open until 5 am! The pair was in bed long before 5 am but not before deciding that they already loved the city:) Stay tuned for scenes from Saturday...

Wacky Weinies!

2008-10-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

These two hot dogs are HARD to get pictures of! Coco is on the right, in the pink collar and Bailey is on the left. Brad and Al's foster dogs are doing grrrreat! They live to cuddle and cuddle to live but they've also become very playful. The two weinie pumpkins have been living with Brad and Al since May and they don't need to go anywhere anytime too soon! Luther's jealousy has subsided a bit but the three canines definitely compete for attention and belly rubs.

Making the Husker Tailgate even louder

2008-10-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

Brad and Justin debuted the new project at the tailgate Saturday morning to mixed reviews. The performance was excellent but there were some who thought it was a tad loud and expressed their feelings on "external speakers". Brad and Al's advice to those people? Get some earplugs and bust a move. The performance at Woody's later Saturday night was a hit with 100% of the crowd and they appreciated its loudness:) The last picture is not Brad and Justin, its Xander and Adah. They, too, know how to rock!

Day Three...This might be all for trailriding for THIS year...

2008-10-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Allison gave it her best on the final day and it created rainbows in the sky! That is how good she is at riding dirtbikes. Rainbows, people! Totally kidding, she actually sucked so bad she cried but then Brad helped her and it got a little easier. Then they enjoyed a nice dinner at the Nugget Cafe and drove home the next day. In complete silence because Brad's friends don't talk.

Day Two in the mountains...

2008-10-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures that Allison took while exploring in the altitude...save the cows, eat soy!

Taylor Park 2008...About time since we went in AUGUST

2008-10-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Day One of the Star City Motor Sports Trail Ride. Brad, Al, and Steve's cabin, their bikes, Brad with Zach and Travis, and Brad at the Cumberland Pass. Kind of a Brad-heavy trip. Allison did not plan this trip, however she did enjoy the fresh mountain air, running in the mountains, and the French Toast that Steve made for the couple each morning.

Our computer still doesn't download pictures (or play sounds)

2008-10-23T19:26:00.001-07:00

It has been so long since brad and al have had any good pictures to post, due to the state of disrepair of their computadora. So they created one. This is a picture of Cletus, the baby that the Volkswagon website created from a picture of both brad and al. Isn't he cute? They aren't quite sure what is up with his mouth though...

The Gun Show

2008-10-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Brad got the beginnings of a new tattoo! Here is a fresh, bloody picture.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Its like the opposite of an anniversary

2008-10-08T17:06:00.001-07:00

It was a year ago this week that Brad called Al at work and asked her to meet him in the emergency room because he "hurt his fingernail in a dirtbike race" and then proceded to (once she got to the e.r.) hand her a waterbottle containing the above finger chunk. That week was filled with blood, bones, doctors appointments, lots of time at the surgery center, strong drugs, and an unwanted vacation from work for Brad. The second picture was taken the other night, and shows the healing progress the poor pinky has made. It also displays the talent and um, sense of humor that Tyson @ Iron Brush Tattoo has. He permanantly (and for free) gave Brad back the pinky tip that got thrown away in the e.r. since there WAS NO ICE IN THE WATER BOTTLE. If you take away any lesson from this post, always put severed extremities on ice so that they can be reattached and you don't have to live life with a nubbin.

Its nice when Amber comes to town

2008-10-05T07:28:00.002-07:00

2008-10-05T07:28:00.001-07:00

2008-10-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

Friend Amber was in Lincoln this Friday night, so Brad and Al met her and Melanie at Randy's Grill and Chill for some beers and appetizers. While at the bar, Brad and Al played with the features of Al's phone and made some cool sepia hat shots. The group also had a good time texting friend brooke, repeatedly, and asking others if "they are a truck".

A Weenie Visitor

2008-10-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

Brad and Al had a house guest for a few days named Walter. He is a well mannered, early riser of a weenie! He came from Auntie brooke's foster home while Auntie was in Kansas visiting Baby Luke. Walter and Luther enjoyed playing, while it seemed that foster cousin Bailey might have had a small crush on Walter. He IS handsome! Brad also took quite a liking to Walter and played squeaky toys with him and dressed him in bandanas. You're welcome back anytime, Wally!

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

If they could choose a third grandpa it would be this guy, with this smile

2008-10-03T02:10:00.000-07:00

Earlier this evening (much, much earlier) Brad and Al went to Momma Cindy's to watch the vice presidential debate. Al is trying to convince Brad of the importance of knowing "what a Biden and a Palin" are, which vp candidate belongs to who, and why they should adopt Joe Biden as the third grandpa. His mind is elsewhere but Al does appreciate the effort.

While watching the debate, Al cooked a tasty margarita pizza for the trio, and whipped up a batch of Better Than Sex cupcakes from a recipe she was road testing for a new side gig of cupcake catering.

Brad did some internet research for HIS new project, which you can all look forward to catching at the tailgate of the Baylor football game. Hmmmmmm...Intriguing. You can bet that more will follow here on both fronts.

Nebraska/Virginia Tech

2008-09-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

Brad and Al caught up at the Nebraska/Virginia Tech tailgate scene. Pretty wild place, the post office parking lot is (on Saturdays)!

If they had your address, Travis, they'd send you a get well card

2008-09-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

In light of the recent plane crash, Brad and Al wanted to share some pics from this day (which happened to be Mother's Day of 2007) at the skatepark in Omaha, Ne. They may have only met you briefly, Travis Barker but you, your family and friends are in their thoughts and prayers. They also hope that some of your tattoos are still in tact as they are impressive to the couple.

Two years of marital bliss...

2008-09-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

The holy union begins: September 9, 2006 at the Country Pines in Lincoln, Ne. What a good lookin' couple!

First Anniversary: The traditional gift is what, paper? Brad and Al got ink. Here is Al's.

The Second Anniversary: Dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Brad had steak and shrimp, Al had the veggie sushi. They also put money toward the anniversary vacation to be taken in October to Chicago. When reviewing the fun they'd had in the past two years, Brad and Al discussed memories from the Hawaiin honeymoon, the NOFX concert, two trail rides, and becoming weenie foster parents. Now if only they could get their computer fixed, they could continue blogging and sharing future adventures! (Thanks to Auntie brooke for the use of her computer and for introducing Al to Walter.)

Oh, Vlady...

2008-08-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

There is a somberness in the air at Brad and Al's house today caused by the uncertainty of the future of Friend Vlady. Prayers are being said in the hopes that when the situation is finalized, that he is safe, happy, and that his friends will see him again.