Halloween

**VIDEO**
We started Halloween off with a bang at Kirk and Laura's house with a night of yummy food fit for the fall season and scary movies starring Vincent Price. Kirk and Laura made homemade chicken soup and apple crisp. I made cornbread. And as if dinner wasn't yummy enough, they had apple cider, too. YUUUUMMMM!!

With our bellies full, a fire roaring in the fireplace, and the lights dimmed, we watched House on Haunted Hill (1959) and House of Wax (1953).

The next night, David and I got into the Halloween spirit with a night of dress-up at our friends' 3rd Annual Halloween Bash. We had a blast! No one came without a costume, which is always fun, and there was plenty of food and booze to go around (of course!).

Made it to the party after our shotgun wedding.

Colonel Sanders catered the party.

The Hamburgler chipped in, too.

We played some games for prizes and had different college football games on throughout the house.

Watching the Badgers game: Steve, Susan, Emily D., me, and Emily N.

David and Steve playing M&M toss.

My turn!

And I won! We had a basket of candy and lottery scratch-offs to choose from, but I chose the Powerball ticket! Unfortunately, I was not the big winner.

Scoop and score. Won again!

As if the night couldn't get any funnier, the guys got into some pretty intense "Just Dance" competition on the Wii. This all started at about 12:30 a.m., mind you. I laughed so hard I was in tears!

First, the girls showed 'em how it's done. They were awesome.

David decided he wanted to give it a go with Emily D. I think the combination of long hair and chicken at the waist through off his rhythm because his score wasn't pretty. ha



Mike and John did good!

Mike and Chuck.....not so much.

Movers and Shakers, Part 5: Home Body

**VIDEO**
Looks like they're thiiiiiis close to being done with the structure of our house. The drywall is up, but they haven't done the siding on the outside or shutters and gutters. Our cabinets are in the garage waiting to be installed, so that's a good sign. It's much easier to visualize the layout of the home with the drywall up, so here are the latest pictures and video from this weekend:


Standing in the living room looking toward the kitchen and stairs to the upstairs. Door to the right of the stairs is to the front entryway and formal living room (which we are calling a "sitting room" because it will be our library). Door to the left of the stairs is to the dining room.

Standing in the morning room looking into the kitchen/living room.

Standing in the kitchen looking into the morning room.

Looking into the dining room on the left and front entry on the right.

Sitting room.

Bubba in his room. :)

David in the master bedroom.

Finished part of the basement. Unfinished storage area through the door straight ahead.

Finished part of the basement with window.

Home tour with drywall! Written and directed by David Stelsel.

A Helping Hand

This may be my first entry, but it is an important one.

On Monday night my front headlight burned out. I went to the auto parts store, purchased a new light and went back to my apartment. My attempt to install it was unsuccessful. I needed an extension to my ratchet, something I was without. After trying for 45 minutes to get the bulb out, by contorting my hand without removing the pieces of metal and plastic blocking it, I had to call it quits. It was now dark, starting to rain and the back of my hand was bleeding.

After my failure, I called up Kirk. He reported that he had a ratchet with the necessary extension and that I should come over after work on Tuesday night.

Both Kirk and I worked long hours at our respective offices Tuesday. By the time I arrived at his house it was 7pm. With Laura in the kitchen making ratatouille for dinner, Kirk headed out to the garage to change one Ford Focus light bulb, a seemingly simple task.

One hour later, our patience tested, the entire headlamp casing nearly removed from its location (the manual calls for its total removal, something that was impossible for us) Kirk was able to squeeze his hand behind behind the casing. Blindly he maneuvered his hand into position and popped out the bulb. A few minutes later he was able to insert the new bulb and lock it into position.

As we (read: Kirk) reassembled the parts that we had removed around the headlamp casing, we knew that we were missing one plastic bolt. It was the bolt that required the ratchet extension and was the reason for my trip to Kirk's. It had slipped through Kirk's hand when he was removing it and was lost. (To his credit I had removed the beam of the flashlight right as Kirk was grabbing the bolt.) Flashlights in hand we searched the garage over for the absent part. With it no where in sight and Kirk's attempt to use spare metal bolts unsuccessful, we resorted to finishing the job without the plastic bolt. (It was 1 of 3 blots that secured the headlamp and seemed secure enough to drive until I could pick up a plastic bolt).

With the car almost back together, I reached down into the plastic lid of the ratchet set we had separated and stored the screws and bolts from the car. Any guesses as to what was in the case with the other fasteners?

You guessed it, the plastic bolt. Somehow the bolt fell through the car hit the garage floor and landed in with the other bolts and screws. This was somewhat unbelievable to us, but there it was, right where it belonged along with all of the other parts.

After complete reassembly and thanking Kirk, I took off for home. My mind however, could not stop thinking about that bolt.

Seemingly lost, on its own, in the expanse of the dimly light, cold, grayish garage floor, we were unaware that fate had dropped it in with its brethren.

Now, if I may get a bit philosophical; I feel that every individual is somewhat dropped onto this Earth. The planet can appear, at times, to be as cold, gray and dimly lit as that garage floor, but if you look around most of us are truly blessed. Like the bolt we are right were we belong.

Kirk and I are lucky to be surrounded by a strong, tight nit family. Because of the strong family foundation, built through the generations, we were both able to find two extraordinary woman who come from remarkable families. We both were able to cultivate life long friendships with many of our friends from college. And we both have in place the framework for passing on the importance of family to the next generation of Stelsels.

I'll finish this missive, where it began. Would anyone ever question Kirk's offer to help, even if he knew it would take as long as it did? I think we all know the answer to that. And that, unnecessary answer means more to me than anything in the world.

David

Movers and Shakers, Part 4: Home Tour

**VIDEO**
We met with our project manager this morning for a walk-through before they start putting up drywall today. Of course we had already checked out the house over the weekend, but it was good to walk through with him and have him explain certain things and answer our questions. It's looking more and more like a home every day! The electrical wiring and plumbing are completely done, the roof is done, and the brick is on. Once the drywall goes in today, it will really look like a home.

Here are our pictures from Saturday. We were there while they were finishing up the brick. David shot a video tour of the house. It's kind of hard to really picture what it will look like without the drywall up, but I think it's more interesting than floorplans. :)

Finishing up the brick. The roof is on!

Close up of the brick. Of course it will look a lot different once it's power washed.

Bubba in his bedroom! :) 

Home tour Part 1: First floor

Part 2: First floor continued

Part 3: Basement

Part 4: Upstairs

Part 5: Upstairs continued

Weekend Madness

**VIDEO**
Six Years and Counting
David and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on Saturday! Neither one of us can believe it's been six years since we said "I do." Where has the time gone? We had somewhat of a busy day doing other things, but we did get to spend the whole day together and we had a nice dinner downtown. Thank you to those who sent cards, e-mails, and Facebook messages! Here's looking to many more years of marital bliss. ;)

A Niece Is Born
My sister Jamie and her husband Shan welcomed baby #2 a little earlier than expected. Miss EmmaJane was born on Friday, Oct. 14 weighing in at 6 lbs. 15 oz. and 18 inches long. EmmaJane is the first girl to join the family since....well, since me I guess. :)  We are all so thrilled and blessed to welcome her to the world.

Little Mr. Hughes Turns 1
Lindsay's lil' man Corwin turned 1 on Friday (and in case you didn't notice, he and EmmaJane share a birthday! Crazy!). David and I joined the family for his birthday party on Saturday. He seemed to have a blast. He loved the new toys and his cake and playing with his granddads and 4-year-old cousin. In other news, he crawled for the first time the day before his birthday! That was quite a sight to see. It seems like only yesterday we were waiting on pins and needles in the hospital waiting room. They grow too fast!

Opening a present from my parents.

Corwin helps his mom open our present.

"Thanks for the books, Aunt DeeDee." (yes, I'M Aunt DeeDee)

Playing with Uncle David

"Mom, are you sure I'm allowed to eat this?"

"Okay, maybe just a nibble."

"Oh what the heck!"

Big Mr. Hughes Turns 30
Lindsay also threw a "big boy" birthday party for Russell's 30th on Saturday night. A bunch of our friends met at a pub downtown to celebrate.

Steve, Russell, Kirk, and David

Me, Holly, and Lindsay

Whew! I'm exhausted just thinking about our weekend. We had GREAT fun, but boy, I need a nap. Chase has the right idea (this was how he spent Sunday night during the Brewers game). ;)

Ceeeeee-le-brate Good Times, C'mon!

David and I attended another Butler/Phi Psi wedding over the weekend. This was our only wedding of the year, I believe. They seem to be winding down. Fewer bridal showers and more baby showers! :)

The weather couldn't have been more perfect for a fall wedding. The trees have all turned to bright yellows and reds, but the temperature was in the low 80s/high 70s and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Of course all our friends were there, as always, and it was a TON of fun. I didn't think I'd be able to dance the night away with my expanding waistline, but I kicked off my shoes — 4-inch stilettos, I might add — and went to town. I'll be honest, I felt a little silly out there dancing with my big belly, but we were having so much fun I couldn't stop! Trying to give my baby boy some rhythm!

Here are a few pictures. Most of them, as you will see, are blurry (I told you I couldn't stop moving! ha!), but I'll share a few with you anyway (along with a few I stole from people off Facebook). ;)

Bubba's first formal event with his parents. (28 weeks pregnant now; 12 more to go!)

BFFs! 

Let's dance!

Mike, David, and Danny. So handsome!

Soooo....I think the guys thought it was pretty funny to dance with the pregnant lady. This, of course, was after consuming many, many beverages. Whatever — I'll take what I can get! ;)

Partying it up while he still can!

Look who made a special appearance -- it's Hink! -- posing here with the groom, Matt.

Matt and Kira. What a happy day!

The Phi Psis!!

At every wedding, it's tradition to play "American Pie" for the Phi Psis. This is how it starts...

...and this is how it ends. Surprisingly, this has never ended in serious injury.

Congratulations, Matt and Kira! It was a beautiful day and we're SO happy for you!