Sad day for all the Maize and Blue Fans

Yesterday was a sad day for all the maize and blue fans. Hopefully next year. We do think that they showed a lot of heart and determination and are happy with their success. I think that they will be smelling the roses this year.

Mark and I were lucky enough to go to the last home game. We saw them win against Ball State. It was the best thing! We had a great time and want to make it an annual trip. There is nothing like seeing a game at the big house. Here is picture of us at the game:

Good times!

Other than dealing with school not much is going on. Just getting excited for our first Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hope that everyone has a great holiday season. I will try and put up another post soon.

Love,
Kim

V-dub in zee haus

Bye-bye Taurus. Hello V-dub!

That's right we bought a new car. I needed something that would get better gas mileage and Mark wanted something with working air conditioning and 4-wheel drive.

It is so cute. The color is Harvest Moon Beige. It is really just a cream color. It has black interior with cool colored displays. Automatic windows, locks and cruise control. It is so different than driving the Jeep. Quiet and less bumpy.

Mark wanted me to add that we are keeping it real on zee engineering tip, ya'll!
That is a combo of German and Texan!

See you out on the open road!

I took a break...but now I am back

I took a break from blogging but thought that I would start up again to let anyone who reads this know what is up.

As I am sure most (if not all) know by now that Jason is back in Iraq. Same place pretty same things as before. He, I feel, will be pretty safe. I was able to go visit him before he left. It was great to see where they live in Yuma. It is amazing how far base housing has come. I remember a few years ago on another trip to visit him, Mom showed me where we lived in Camp Lejeune. What a difference that 30 years makes! I hope that there next home is as nice especially since they are going to have another family member by then. I can't wait to see my new niece or nephew. Please pray for him and his fellow servicemen and women. No matter how you feel about the war these men and women just go and do what they are told without question. They deserve our support to the fullest.

School has started up again. I thought that I was going to have a great year and I still will but not they way that I thought. Due to our low enrollment the teacher that I was team teaching with is being moved to another school. For those of that are left it means that we will get 5-6 more kids in each class. Since we were already somewhat departmentalized (each of us only teaching 2-3 subjects) we are going keep it that way however instead of teaching math and science twice a day I am going to teach it 3 times a day. I was excited to have the really "good" kids this year and the change will cut down my time with them. At least I won't have bad kids for an entire day nonstop and they are nothing like what I had last year. I do have one that knows what strippers and poles are. Where do they get this stuff in the 4th grade?

Mark and I are trying to get things organized and put together here. We are just taking it step by step. We are hoping to try and get a deck on in the late fall or over the winter. Some place for entertaining and grilling. Better get going for now. Talk to you again soon.

steal the sideshow (is back!)

hey folks, it's been a while (because of the gettin' hitched and all), but steal the sideshow is back and being updated once again. hopefully, some cool new stuff is coming soon. i hope to start putting together a podcast.

funny thing about podcasts: a while back (about 2-3 years ago), i was thinking: how cool would it be to do an "audio blog" where instead of typing a bunch of meaningless crap, i would just talk (audibly) about a bunch of meaningless crap. well, the day has arrived for all the world to talk a bunch of meaningless crap to the rest of the world, and they call it a podcast. i'm gonna try to do one of those soon. i'm not sure what i'm gonna talk about, or how it will sound, but by-gosh-by-golly i intend to jump that train and ride it to the next station, at least. :)

so, don't forget to put steal the sideshow on your daily internet adventure map. there could just be some buried treasure there someday. i've already put up a new nature post. have fun!

Getting Settled and Sad News

We are settling into married life quite well. Mark is telling everyone that I am a housewife for the summer however I prefer to be retired for the summer. We have our bedroom and most of the kitchen the way that we want it. No pictures really on the wall but that is what being newly married is all about.

I decided that I wanted a new faucet (instead of the builder grade one that came with the house 11 years ago). The old faucet was stuck in the sink so we decided to replace the sink. Well the sink was glued to the counter... Just kidding. It was a week long process that I am glad is behind us.

We purchased the grill and promptly christened it with some delicious strip steaks and our signature potatoes. So good!

Mark and I have turned on the comment approval. If you leave a comment it will not show up until Mark or I approve it. Just wanted to let everyone know so you aren't leaving multiple comments and wondering why they aren't showing up.

In sad news...

Rose Mary passed away on July 5. As many of you know she had been really sick for a long time. She was an interesting lady with some quirks. Rose Mary gave us plenty of material over the years. What! I wonder what he is thinking. Is that a speck of dust over there?

I spent a lot of time with Rose Mary when she lived here. No matter how hard she was to take she is dear to me and I will miss her. I know that she is with her Clay. They are probably enjoying a smoke and a drink like she wanted to.

Rest in peace Rose Mary 1922 - 2006. You will be missed.

The Happy Couple is Back!

We are back from the wonderful Caribbean and had a great time. Lots of fun in the sun with rum drinks. We loved spending time with the family and now little Avery knows exactly who Aunt Kim is and can recognize me. The islands are a little touristy for our tastes so we think that our next destination would be a cold weather place.

The wedding was wonderful for us. For others the evening ended like this:


We are working on getting the house set up and things organized. I still haven't packed any of my stuff so it is a process. I hope my landlord from the old place doesn't throw my stuff out into the neighbors yard (or do I?!). Pepper is adjusting to not being the only girl in the house. She is not taking it that well but we are working around it. We get our new mattress tomorrow and our furniture on Friday. We should be sleeping well by Friday night.

Thanks to all who have kept up with the blog. It has been a great to include everyone in the process. I am not sure what or how long we will be updating but will put another post up as soon as we have some more info to share.

Love,
Mark and Kim

Home Stretch!

Only a few more days! It hard to believe that it is almost here.

We have the marriage license thanks to the extremely irritating government workers. You would think that they would be a little nicer but I guess that is the government for you. Don't even get me started on the whole name change thing.

Today we met with the site coordinator. Everything is coming together. We are frantically working on the favors. After some glitches and hiccups we are back on track. That will be our little surprise for you at the wedding!

In addition to getting ready for the wedding we are ALL getting ready for the cruise. We are making the last minutes preparations for the relaxing "Family Honeymoon!" Can't wait to lay on the deck and drink my fruity, umbrella drink!

Sorry for the delay in a post but I was up in the wonderful Wisconsin. I love the 80 degree days and 50's at night. It was the best weather that a girl could ask for. Kalena's graduation was great and we had a superb graduation celebration for Livi and Kalena. I have added a picture of Jack Knapp. He is sums up the whole trip...RELAXING.

If I don't get another post up before the wedding then see you on Thursday and check back sometime after June 25 to see how everything turned out.

Love,
Kimberly

Homeowners!

We are now official homeowners. Very adult and a little bit scary. We signed all the paperwork today. That wasn't as bad as I had imagined. Everyone said that your hand would hurt after awhile but I was fine. I think maybe I was destined to be famous because signing autographs isn't that hard!

I am off tomorrow to visit family in Wisconsin. I can't wait to celebrate the graduations of Liv and Kalena. I will return home on Monday to work on the wedding things that are left. There is not much left to do. Yeah!

Talk to you soon!

Love,
Kimberly

Woohoo

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

Now I can concentrate on wedding and becoming a homeowner. The homeowner part should be completed this week. Kinda scary but the best thing.

We picked out flowers today. They are going to be really beautiful.

Did I mention that school's out for summer?!

The Shower

On Saturday I had my 2nd bridal luncheon. The first was at school. It was nice but the one put on by my friends was amazing! I never had any doubt that it would be anything less. Kimmie and G are so creative. I am truly touched by their hardwork. I know that they are probably relieved that it is over and going to sleep for days. To all the friends that came, Thank You. You are truly best group of friends and family that a girl could ask for.

RESPONSE CARDS! Please send them even if you are not coming. I am collecting them to keep in a wedding box. If you feel so inclined please write a short message on the inside.

Getting the dress altered on Sunday. Things are coming together. Hoping to have most everything done before June 2. I will be traveling to Wisconsin to celebrate Livi and Kalena's momentous graduation from college and high school. Everybody is celebrating big things. I can't wait to see everyone!

Busy

School is wrapping up. It is kind of bittersweet. I am glad that I will have my first year behind me. I have developed attachments to my kids. There is one in particular that drives me crazy but I can't let him go. He has said and done some pretty bad things for a 4th grader but this letter he wrote to his mom shows that he has a heart. I have taken out his name due to confidentiality laws. You will know who he is. I haven't corrected the spelling either.

Dear Mama

Happy Mother's Day! You are the cooliest. Thank you for bringing me in this world. All I just think about is you when Im at shcool. I love the food you cook. Thank you for all the things you do for me. Like pay for football help with home work by cloths feed me. I love you Mom. Some day Im going to by you a big house. Im going to make your life good and big. I love you and God more than any thing.

Happy Mother's day,
Love your son,

Not really a wedding post but something that I wanted to write.

a HUGE thanks

I just thought that I would stop and give a big thanks to the people that are really helping make this wedding. Without Mom and Clay the wedding, reception, bedroom furniture and cruise would not be possible. We really don't know what we would do without them. Thanks so much for all you do for us! We love you.

Music -- we have hired a jazz harpist and a bassist to play at the wedding and reception. Check out their website at www.cindyhorstman.com. I think that they sound great and will make the wedding and reception really nice.

The trip to visit Preacherman Phillips was really nice. We love the area down there and Cole's church is more of what Mark and I wish we could find up here. Very laid back and focused on the message instead of all the other stuff. He is excited about the ceremony and will make it what we want.

Hopefully everyone has their invites by now. I hope you like them. It took a little bit of time to make the decision. Please return your reply cards even if you are not coming. I just want to have them as a memento. Also, if you feel inclined to please write on the inside of them. Someone has already done that and I thought it was a great idea.

The wedding shoes. Great deal and will go with the dress really well. Next up is flowers, favors, getting the dress altered and the bustle added.

The search is over!

After many stops and a lot of tears the search is over for the perfect dress. I cannot go into much detail here for obvious reasons however if anyone (other than the groom) would like to see a picture then email me.

The other exciting thing is that we have our cakes and will get to eat them. For the bride's cake it will be white on white butter cream icing. The designs on each layer are different but blend together nicely. On the bottom layer it will be almond cake with raspberry filling. On the middle layer it will be white chocolate cake with apricot filling. On the top layer (that you will only get to taste if you are around us on June 15, 2007) is almond cake with Bavarian cream filling. For the groom's cake we will enjoy German chocolate cake with Bavarian cream filling frosted with butter cream icing. The best part of the groom's cake is the double-dipped chocolate covered strawberries! YUMMY!

We think that we have decided on the music for the wedding. We will have more updates on that once things are firmed up.

This weekend we are going to visit Cole Phillips. Cole is the pastor of The Connection Church in Kyle, TX. Mark and Cole went to school together from elementary school on and have been friends since then. Cole has very graciously agreed to be the officiant. For those that were wondering about the big news that Mark was referring to in a previous post, this is it.

Invitations have been received and are correct. They are all addressed and should go out this week.

Things are coming together nicely.

A hitch in the giddy up...

The most exciting thing thus far arrived on Thursday ~ the invitations. Woohoo...right? WRONG! Apparently the girl that took my order thought that I wanted half of the invites in purple and half in maroon (or claret as they call it). I think that it was her way of getting back at me. She was rude and I told her. She didn't realize that I worked in phone customer service for 10 1/2 years and will not take crap from phone service people. They tried to make me pay half for the mistake however again they didn't know my background. Gladly (and with no additional charge) she is sending out new invites and they should be here next week. All those years on the phone at American really paid off!

We go about the cake next week. I think I will like that part, all the tasting!

Love you all!

Painting

We have started working on our marital house. We wanted to paint so we started in one of the bedrooms that we are converting into our "home office." After much debate (and a small argument in the paint store) we settled on leisure blue. It is a blue grey color. For amateurs I will say that the walls look pretty nice however where the ceiling meets the walls - not so good. Painting is fun but all the other stuff is the pain (cleaning, taping, etc). We will keep going though. We have picked totally tan for the master bedroom and interactive cream for the master bath. I know that they will look nice with our bedroom furniture. I have added a photo of the furniture but you must picture it in black. We will probably start that when I am on spring break. This week is the dreaded TAKS test for reading and math. Pray for my kids. They need all the help that they can get.

The invites have been ordered and are scheduled to be shipped on Wednesday. We will just have to address and mail so in a few weeks keep an eye out.

Thanks to the Evol G for dropping off her Martha Stewart Weddings from the past 5 years with favor ideas. I think that we have some great ideas for favors. I knew my girls would come through with some amazing ideas.

All dressed in...white?

I thought that since Mark had put 2 things up that I should probably add something since I am the one that bugged him to get this thing going.

I am about to embark on the dress hunt. The clothing hunt of all hunts. I am wanting something tradional but not over the top. Something in a traditional color just not bright white. Something that hides all my flaws and makes me look darn good. Did I mention that I also want it cheap? Hopefully the dress that I am dreaming of is the first one that I find...

Once I have the dress then it will be off to everything else. Flowers. Ring. Hair. Jewelry. Food. The list goes on and on.

I have the girls thinking up favors. I know that they will come through for me because they always do. It will be fantastic.

We should get the invite proof tomorrow and then the order will be placed! Yeah!

THANKS to all that have commented. We love hearing from you and are so thankful that we have such wonderful people in our lives. Thanks also to those that just look but don't comment...we know you are out there.

Another Step Down the Aisle

We have a couple of new things to talk about today.

We have ordered our invitations. I'm not sure when they are supposed to be done. I know we haven't seen a proof yet, so I imagine we've got at least a couple of weeks before they are printed and shipped to us. We will be prepared to get them mailed out as soon as they arrive. We'll also post a note here to let you know to check your snail mail, so keep an eye out.

Also, I've added a "Registries" section to the sidebar. The sidebar? Yeah. That thing over there to the left in your browser window. You know, underneath where it says "Mark and Kimberly Get Married." You can't miss it.

There are more things in the works, expect another exciting announcement in a few days.

Things are moving right along, and we are so glad to be able to share information with all of you this way. We also appreciate the comments and well-wishes we've received here. Feel free to keep them coming. We love hearing from you.

Let's Get This Started

This blog will chronicle the continuation of a journey that began about ten years ago. We pick up the story less than a month after the wedding proposal. We have picked a date and a location for our adventure into wedded bliss and are currently on a search for our invitations and all of those mailing addresses.

Keep a close watch on that mailbox of yours. The big day will be the evening of Thursday, June 15, 2006. Things should kick off at about 7:30pm at the Round Grove Chapel in Lewisville, Texas.



Our wedding registries are also complete. We are registered at Crate & Barrel and Target.

Keep checking back for more updates and hopefully some interesting info about how things are going.