Black Friday

Heidi, Jess & I decided to venture out to downtown Madison, WI today to do our traditional "Black Friday shopping". We realized we have started many Thanksgiving traditions over the last three years. One of those traditions consists of eating nachos & drinking margaritas midway through our shopping day. This year we ordered the margarita sampler plate, YUM!

Madison Moments

T Is For Turkey!

And J is for Julie. Thank you Julie for a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving Dinner!

I Am Sorry...so sorry

I know I have been terrible.....awful...banned from blogging bad! I have no excuse, I have no explanation, I am the only one to blame . I am ashamed. I promise to never ever go this long without posting again. (Oh my, is this a public blog??? Did I just make a promise that I have to keep? ) ;) Please forgive me....

I Hear 33 is the New 33!

Dave 33 Years AgoDave Celebrated His 33rd Birthday this Year with Great Company!

On September 14th Dave turned 33! Chris, Melanie, CJ, Colby, Mark & Jess all came over to celebrate. The menu consisted of grilled USDA prime fillet steaks, cheese fondue, asparagus, Kahoka-corn on the cob (donated by Grandma Wiss) & apple pie substituted as the birthday cake! I have to admit....it was probably the best dinner Dave and I have ever cooked together! We had a lot of laughs and a fun time!

Happy Birthday sweetie....I Love You!

A Family That Works Together...Stays Together

Dave and I are almost settled in our new home. With the help of many family members we were able to install tile in the kitchen, bathroom & laundry room, install new flooring in the living room, paint all the ceilings, walls & trim, move our belongings from Columbia, move more belongings from our lake house & much more. We accomplished all of this in less than 3 weeks! We still have a few more items from the lake to pick up...but for the most part we are feeling pretty comfortable. Thank you to all who helped. You are the BEST!

On the Move

A quick decision, is usually an unimportant decision. Well that is not the case with us, not when we are about to find ourselves homeless!

Dave & I realized at the beginning of July that the end of our lease to our current housing was approaching. We had no idea where we were going to live in four weeks.

What we did know:

1. We did not want to sign another 12 month lease.

2. We could not afford to buy another home while paying a mortgage every month for our lake condo that still has not sold.

What do we do??

Answer: Buy a place and have somebody else pay for it!!

After pondering for a few days as to what Dave & I should do....that was the answer I came up with.

How do we do that? Answer: Buy a property where others pay you rent, example: duplex, four-plex and so on.

The first call I made was to my old, trusty, commercial realtor (my brother). I asked him if he thought this would be feasible for us.....he in turn thought it was a great idea! After searching for a property in Columbia and not coming up with a THING, my JC REALTOR called and said he had a perfect property. We drove to Jeff City the next day to take a look at the real estate. Sure enough, it was perfect! It was a 4plex with two bedroom units and two of the units had garages (which is a MUST after Dave has been using our second bedroom as a garage...or as he calls it a gear room). To make things even better one of the tenants was moving out that week...so there was a vacancy!!! How perfect.

To make a long story short (or should I say short story short) Dave & I made an offer with a 14 day closing date. That is not much time to pack and get ready to move!

Sunday morning Dave called his brother & sister and asked them to come help us move. Mark, Heidi & Jess came over with bells on and we began throwing stuff in boxes and moving everything in the Uhaul. I have never moved like this, I am usually packed and somewhat organized on moving day, but it was actually kind of nice! Kind of like ripping a band-aid off very quickly! The whole day was painful....but it was over so quick....and now all of our stuff is at our new home--- and the fun part is almost here!!-unpacking & decorating! We officially close on the property Monday....and we are so excited! Stay tuned for pictures! We have not told many people about this move so you, my blogger friends....are some of the first to know.

PS: Thank you Mark, Jess & Heidi, we could

not have done it without you! I know....we owe you BIG time!

Still Learning

This summer I have been trying to learn how to wake board. I successfully got up on the board for the first time at the end of last summer. All winter long I was excited for the boating season so I could try again. Dave & I have been to the lake every weekend in the last 6 weeks....and every weekend we take out the boat to wakeboard. Those of you who have water skied or wakeboarded should know that it is typical to use muscles that are not used on a daily bases. I would think that my muscles would be use to the work out by now but, it never fails...when I wake up Sunday morning I can barley move! After reviewing a few of the videos which were taken of me wake boarding, I realized why I get so sore! Check this video out...and be certain to watch the fall!

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Thank you for being a WONDERFUL father. I am so lucky to have you in my life. I love you. Your daughter- Jayzie

For those of you wondering, Jayzie is my nickname that my dad gave me when I was a little girl. He is the only one who calls me that name. He always has & always will.

Way Past Due!

This congratulations is WAY PAST DUE! Congrats Dr. Heidi Pederson (Dave's Sister) on completing your Doctor of Physical Therapy program . I know that you have put in many hours of studying & hard work.... we are so proud of you!!

Mark + Jess = LOVE

I know that I am notorious for posting multiple blog post in one day but... I have noticed that it is so hard to find the time to update my blog and by the time I do...so much has happened that I want to talk about. Sorry, but here I go again...

Not only did Dave & I have Melanie & the boys down this weekend but we also had a little party for Mark & Jess to celebrate their engagement. The weekend was filled with lots of boating, wake boarding, skiing, swimming, grilling, laughing, & of course drinking. Here is a clip of Mark skiing. Congrats Mark & Jess...we are so happy for you two!

Lake Fun

Friday night Melanie, CJ & Colby came to the lake and we had such a fun time! The water is still cold so the boys did not want to get in the lake...hopefully it will be warmer the next time they come visit. Last year they LOVED jumping off the boat! Here are a few pics.