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.

Take me out to the ballgame

The 2012 season is upon us and it's great!  I have missed baseball the last few months.  Although, it's not as long as other teams, cubs, but it was a long break.  About a month or so ago, I decided that I was going to get us tickets to the second game of the season and get a replica World Series Ring.  I got the tickets and didn't tell Scott until a coupe weeks before.  The seats weren't great, but they had a great view on the first baseline.

[caption id="attachment_1993" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Go Redbirds!"][/caption]

We got to the game about 30 minutes before it started.  We managed to walk to the top and see a little bit of the ring ceremony and then made it to our seats.  Once at our seats we found out there would be a rain delay.  It was nice that they didn't know how long we would wait, but we hung out below our seats and then we back to the first floor and walked around.  After a 2 hour rain delay they were ready to play.

[caption id="attachment_1990" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fred Bird getting his WS Ring"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1991" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Birds taking the field"][/caption]

The game was well worth the wait.  Nothing is better than getting World Series Rings in front of the Cubs.  Mainly because they hasn't seen that in 103 years!  The Birds decided to have a great game and limited the Cubs to 1 run in a commanding 5-1 win.

[caption id="attachment_1992" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="New Bling"][/caption]

Easter

This year for Easter Scott and I decided to invite his parents up to our house and we'd cook.  We didn't do much during the day, minus a last-minute run to Wal-Mart to find cloves for my ham.  Of course they didn't have so I just got pineapple.  As soon as we got home for Wal-Mart, I started prepping all the food while Scott cut the grass. 

I had the potato casserole, veggies, fruit salad, and ham all ready to go by 1.  Just enough time to quickly clean the house and vacuum and then relax a bit.  I was pleasantly surprised with how good everything tasted.  The ham took a little longer than I had planned but came out great.  I was very happy since it was the first time cooking one. 



While the food cooked we all watched the Cards/Brewers game.  It's great to have baseball back!  What's even better is that the Blues start the first round of playoffs this week and there is baseball!  What a great time of the year!

Kitchen Update

We finally got one of the two appliances that we really need.  Two weeks ago we stopped in to where I worked in high school, Slyman Brothers.  I knew Bob and Bobby would be there working on a Saturday and they priced out a stove for me before so I knew the prices were better than Lowe's. 

We were in and out and purchased a new microwave from them in about 25 minutes.  Only thing was we had to wait for it to come in from GE.  So we waited and I picked it up Saturday.  I have to admit it looks very nice in the kitchen and brightens the room up a bit more than the old black one did.  I'm so excited to use the "5" button today at lunch!

Trees

After last years tornado that hit a couple blocks from our house, we've  decided that it was time to continue the un-ghetto-ing by getting the trees trimmed.  Scott did cut down huge branch that hung over the driveway the week after the tornado.  The things you do when there is no television and all the neighbors are outside.  But just taking down that branch wasn't enough. 

After having a tree guy come out and show me all the dead branches and areas that needed to be cleaned up I was surprised with how bad the trees needed to get cleaned up.  I didn't want a branch to fall on the new roof or the neighbor's roof.  So a random Friday afternoon I get a call at work and they are on their way out to trim the trees.

I got home Friday after work and was pleasantly surprised with the massive improvement.  I only wished I had before pictures to show the HUGE improvement this made.  But you'll have to settle for the after shots.

Missouri Botanical Gardens

Since we are now members of the Garden we took advantage of the wonderful 90 degree heat on April 1st and hit the garden.  It was beautiful!  I haven't been there in a while and everything was in full bloom!  We brought the good camera and took a ton of pictures.  I was amazed with the large amount of tulips that were fully bloomed.  I guess we can thank this really warm winter for getting people out.

Here are a few picture from the day:















These are just a few of the pictures we took.  There are so beautiful flowers to see.  Can't wait to go back.