Memorial Day Weekend

What a great, relaxing weekend we had.  We had nothing planned but pool time and that was enough.  Even our front door bear got in the spirit of the weekend.



We went to Mike and Nicole's engagement party on Friday night.  It was a nice night and got to catch up with a few people we hadn't seen in a while.

[caption id="attachment_2057" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Gabe's Kids[/caption]

 



Saturday I decided to do a little boutique shopping with Kristin, Zipf and Nikki.  It was a fun trip around St. Louis and stopping in stores that I had wanted to check out. After that we spent a lot of time here:



Nothing is better than just laying on a raft and soaking up the sun.  Thankfully I didn't get burnt this weekend while outside but the tan is slowly improving.  Scott did BBQ some ribs on Monday.  They were great!  We are hoping to do that again really soon.  The only thing I have a picture of is the grilling pineapple.  That was amazing too.

[caption id="attachment_2060" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Amazing[/caption]

It was a great weekend and a wonderful way to kick off summer.

Cars

I have been looking for a new car for some time, probably over a year. The reliable CR-V was getting close to the end of it's life and I was ready to not dump any more money into it. So instead of paying for a new sensor, window engine, brakes, and a/c, we decided to buy a new car!

[caption id="attachment_2050" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Good bye CR-V[/caption]

After a weekend of test driving the Nissan Murano, Rogue, and Ford Edge, we found that the Murano was the car for us. It had a bunch of bells and whistles that I really didn't think I needed. But when we went back to buy the car we found that our price range included some wonderful upgrades.

It hasn't been a week yet but I'm extremely happy with our purchase. Our sales guy, Mark, came out to the house to pick up the title and give me a walk through of all the bells and whistles that come with the car.

[caption id="attachment_2051" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Looks pretty good next to the house I grew up in[/caption]

I think Murray, the Murano, will be a wonderful addition for years to come.

[caption id="attachment_2052" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Just perfect in our garage[/caption]

 

 

Mother's Day

Scott and I invited his parents over to our house to celebrate Mother's Day this year.  It was a lot of cooking.  We had a brunch of eggs benedict and fruit salad.  Then a nice round of dirty neighbor, I played pretty good considering the cards I was dealt.

We watched a little of the Cardinals game until it became too much to watch.  And then we BBQ pork tenderloin, made scalloped potatos and asparagas.  The meal was great and then we topped it off with made from scratch red velvet cupcakes.

[caption id="attachment_2045" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Batch #1 of the cupcakes[/caption]

It was a great day and I think our new oven got a great work out!

New Job

It's official, I've left Lindenwood and couldn't be happier.  After a year or so of dealing with a bipolar dean, I decided my time at Lindenwood was over.  My friend mentioned an opening at her company and I quickly got my resume together and she helped push it through HR.

After one quick interview and day of waiting I found out that I got the job and pay increase.  There are some nice benefits to the new job.  Scott and I can carpool to work, I get to see the Arch every day, and I work in a happy environment.  I get to see this everyday too:

[caption id="attachment_2048" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mighty Mississippi[/caption]

Things are looking good at MAC Meetings and Events!

Car Shopping

We've been talking about a new car for over a year.  Somehow my little CR-V just keeps chugging away, even though there are numerous things wrong with it.  So after much talk and research (on my part) we finally went shopping.  I was very excited and nervous to just test drive a car.  I hadn't done that in 12 years so it was a little weird being in cars that are just better than the CR-V.

We first went to the Nissan dealership and test drove the Murano, my car of choice, and the Rogue.  I really felt like the Rogue was just too small for us and we didn't want to have to turn it in just a few years down the line.  I wanted to compare the Murano to a car similar.

Our Nissan sales guy found someone over at the neighboring Ford dealership to help us test drive the Ford Edge.  After driving it, I was not a fan.  I didn't like the interior at all.  The seats itched, the Ford Sync looked like a phone dial pad, it just didn't feel right for me.  So I brought that back to the dealership and then Scott got to test drive the 2013 Ford Mustang.  The crazy people at the dealership let us go out in both cars alone, what were they thinking.  Scott did find driving the Mustang on the side roads but once we got on the highway, he was flying!  There is no "oh shit" handle and my knuckles were white.  But he had fun!

[caption id="attachment_2040" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Driving the Mustang[/caption]

 

After car driving we went out to dinner for Nicole's birthday.  Great sushi dinner followed by great people watching at Jive 'N Wail.

[caption id="attachment_2041" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Scott and Mike and our sushi boats[/caption]

Stairway to...

If you've ever been to our house you know that the basement stairs are not the safest for going down.  I have never had trouble with them, but I know our dad's have issues going up and down them due to the lack of a railing.  Since we spend a lot of time in the basement, my FIL was able to contact a guy to come out and install a railing for us.

I had pictured just a hand rail on one side of the stairs, what we got was something completely different.  I received text pictures updating the progress and even when I went home for lunch I was not expecting to see the grand staircase.  However, when I got home from work at 5, I was completely impressed by the work John did on the stairs.











We still need to prime them but they sure do fancy up the basement.

Home Improvement

We have finally upgraded the stove in the kitchen.  It was a much-needed purchase and one we'd been putting off for a while now.  But now that it's here, I have to wonder why we waited so long.  Here is the old stove:



We decided to buy this stove from Slyman Brothers.  And they were great!  We got a deal on the price and no delivery or installation fees.



Thankfully, I was off to get the delivery a day early and was able to clean a bit.  The drivers had the stove in and out within  20 minutes.

Our new stove!

Busy

It seems to be that time of year when we get busy again.  This past weekend we were going non-stop it seems.  Friday night we met up with Tom and Kristin and another couple at BlackFinn.  It's a newly opened restaurant at the Galleria.  The appetizers were great and the atmosphere was a lot of fun.  Afterwards we headed up the street for a rousing night of bowling.



Like always, I started out looking pretty good then the gutter balls came and it was down hill from there.  Of course when we were on a time limit to bowl for fun, I managed to get a spare and then 2 strikes.  I'm not sure where that came from.  It was a pretty fun night.



On Saturday, I was up early to take Elizabeth to her soccer game.  She played pretty good and her team came back to tie the game in the final minutes.  Lots of action to watch during her games.  Afterwards, we dropped Elizabeth off and we stove shopping.  We finally got a new stove, but more on that later.  We hit up Soulard for much-needed groceries and then home for a while to relax before cooking dinner.

While cooking dinner a huge hail storm hit us.  I made a quick run to the Quick Stop to get milk and by the time I got home the hail started coming down.  Scott and I quickly pulled the Grill into the garage while the hail was getting bigger by the second.  Of course the tornado sirens were going off and Reily made her way to the basement.  Scott and I still stared out the window (sounds similar to last year's actual tornado).  We couldn't believe the size of the hail nor the sounds it made as it bounced off the roof.  There was a decent amount of damage done around our neighborhood.  A few houses away windshields were blown out.  In apartment complexes the windows were shattered.  It was a very damaging storm.









Sunday was a little more laid back.  I met up with Kristin and Zipf for mani/pedi's and then met up with the Birch girls for some birthday shopping.  The girls found some great deals plus it was fun to hang out with them and have lunch.  Scott went to Mike's house to help hang drywall.  Mike's house is really coming along now and I can see the rooms forming.

Sunday evening we went to Zipf's for a fun BBQ.  There was a lot of people and even a bags (cornhole) match going on.  It was great night to end a fun weekend.