monkeys and mahem

Clay (Ella calls him Cliff) and Kathy (Becky) were champs and helped us fix up the yard today. Clay brought his chainsaw and did some handy jobs on our crepe myrtles. Word has it they'll grow back in the spring. Tonight's bonus: good steak at livingston and an awesome babysitter that lives across the street.

jason bourne does ceilings

Jason bourne is efficient. So is Kyle G. Here is our new wood ceiling, all ready for some primer and paint.


Thanks to BP for a quick installation consult via phone.

Tip: When installing wood ceilings, 2 people could make things go a lot faster.

Gun show above. Ella's bird nest below. The ants were invading our house by climbing up a tree outside our bathroom and then through the brick. Kyle cut the tree down. This nest was collateral.

Good thing clay and kathy are coming to visit tomorrow. we can celebrate the ceiling with some steak from livingston.

He don't need no stinkin' nail gun

Where to start. Kyle has rewired the kitchen, hung new lights, moved a plumbing outlet, and is now installing a wood ceiling with some glue, a chop saw, and a hammer. We thought about going to get a nail gun but the nearest lowes is just over an hour away and the hammer thing seems to be working out.

Kyle is my new sub of choice. he is dependable, easy to find, and cheap. Plus, he pays attention to the details unlike the guy who finished my wood floors.

Also, ants have invaded our house. This is a pile from outside but they were all over my shampoo and conditioner tonight in the shower and that just about did me in. I almost packed up the van and headed west.

Ella and her new friend Sydney.

jane, thanks for the new purple jogging suit

Merry Christmas

Our first Christmas in Alabama was a success. Thanks to santa and grandma's for all the gifts. Our Tree was a little weak but everything else was great. Ella and Kate got everything they ever wanted and more. Santa brought Ella and tag along bike that attaches to my bike so we can ride together, she is very excited about it. I surprised Brittney and actually got her a Christmas present this year and she actually liked it. It was a jewelry box. She gave me a published book of all my blog entries with photos, it is really cool.

Thanks to our friends the Olsens for coming to visit us this past weekend and we went to see the Tombigbee river lock and dam. We need a canoe to explore the river.

I am still working on the house almost every waking minute, I did finish wiring the kitchen lights today, I have been on a ladder with my head in the ceiling for the past 3 days. In the morning I will start putting the wood ceiling in the kitchen. I used to not care much about the kitchen but after all the work I have put into it, it is now my baby. I will post photos soon so everyone can see how great it looks.

December 8th, 78 degrees, not bad.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/achesandpains/tenday/36732?from=weekend_topnav_aches

Hi my name is Kyle, does anyone remember me? So it has been months since I have updated this blog. I have good reasons though.

For starters I am living all alone in a big house with no kitchen. Have you ever lived in a house with no fridge, stove or microwave? not very fun. I have a cooler full of ice for my milk, and a toaster over for my dinners. My television picks up two fuzzy channels, pbs and abc, and my neighbor has a spotty wireless network.

My new job is great but keeping me busy. When I am not at work I should be studying for Part II or the national board exam that is next week but I have spent most of my waking hours when at home working on the house. This house has about killed me (literally, more later), and It is not even close to being finished. I do now consider myself an electrician, plumber, finish carpenter, painter, grunt laborer, landscaper, and mover(thanks to all those that have helped guide me via phone) you name it I've pretty much had to do it on this house.

I could have died today. While moving the outlet for our stove and after turning the breaker off, I had the heck shocked out of me. After further investigation I figured out that the breaker was labeled wrong and the breaker to the stove is not in the breaker box like it should be. The idiot who labeled the breaker could have killed me. Needless I will not get close to anymore wires without my volt meter.

After having the snot shocked out of me I spent a good part of the day under the house in the crawl space rewiring the stove and moving a water line for the fridge. what a waste of near 80 degree weather on a saturday. A cat lives under our house and I found a full pack of cigarettes under there, I left them for the cat.

By the way last week I did find some cool trails along the tombigbee, black warrior river that I ripped on my cross bike with road tires. I hope to dust of the mountain bike soon and do some exploring.

In summary, over the past month I've worked harder than I ever have, felt like I have been camping and been very lonely (oh yeah I forgot to mention Brittney and the girls are in Utah until January), went to bed at 8:00 or earlier every night and lost 5-10 lbs. If you want to loose weight come live with me, no food and lots of hard work and you will melt away.

Life will get back to normal, I will have a kicthen and a family again, I will blog again and post photos instead of lame stories.

This photo sums up how I feel and how we have been living lately, sleeping in a box.

A pirate party at the park

Arhh! Evan may have to walk the plank!

the darling saddie E.

ella aka captain hook

and her friend bella, below, who wins the award for most authentic pirate expression. and yes, that is her parrot.




lana is ella's other half. or visa versa. some believe they were seperated at birth.

and the best friends a girl could ask for, eating at Superior Grill, yummy mexican that i wish i would have known about my entire 3 1/2 years in bhm.







Kyle started his new job and is getting the house ready for our return. Hopefully he'll have a post soon.

--Brit

happy halloween

Several costumes . . . tinkerbell, hawk girl, and finally Bell. Ella is more about the outfit than asking for candy.

Playing in a golf tournament Friday. Haven't touched a club in a month. We'll see if i can defend my title.

There's no furniture in our apartment. i moved it all to demopolis. the floor really stinks.

mile 23

this week has felt like mile 23. tired, almost there, can't really remember why you started in the first place. kate fell out of her high chair and grabbed the clothes iron this week. ahh! i was right there both times. we are moving wed. maybe. we are coming to utah. maybe. i'm hoping the adrenaline of the finish line kicks in soon.

here are the plans for the remodel. i'm dreaming of a white kitchen. hopefully it will be done before spring.

kate is standing

That's right. Standing on her own. Pulling up and letting go. 10 second intervals. She is also saying daddy and momma. What would we do without our little katie-kate? She is the perfect addition to our family.

strawberry soup

while i was cleaning her room, ella decided to cook for the family. This included ladeling water into every single pan in our home. she told me it was strawberry soup. this is further proof that she needs a place of her own: the playroom

plans for the bonus room above the garage.

Sappy Blog Entry: Lots of Love

It's late. I just finished working for the night and the fam is asleep. All I can think about in my laid-back chair is I am really happy. I have a lot of love in my heart right now for my husband, my kids, my family, my friends.

Just about 35 days left of Birmingham and then we're off to our new home. It's such a relief that Demopolis already feels like home. We've been traveling there every weekend for the past month and it just feels good. I don't know how to explain it, but that's something I want to teach my girls: how to recognize when your instincts and the spirit and the universe are telling you that something is right and meant to be.

The fall always gets me thinking. It's when Kyle and I met; when we fell in love. That was nine years ago and it's amazing to me that things we discussed almost a decade ago are continually coming to pass. We didn't plan on living in Alabama. But what we did plan on was having fun together, raising a family, enjoying the good times, and trying to make a difference.

Kyle has been working hard for as long as I've known him. Worked hard on his bike. Worked hard on his mission. Worked hard during undergrad and now he's working hard at UAB so he can take care of our fam. I love him for everything he does for us, for being such an awesome dad, and for plugging away when it would have been easier to hit the green.

I’m not wishing away the next six months, but I sure am savoring the excitement. School is hard. We have loved the journey and the people and the whole bag. But grad school and tuition and homework and boards and those one or two crazy teachers add a strain that I’m excited to be done with. Not to mention I’m excited to cuddle up on the couch and just watch a few movies: X men III, transformers, reruns of the office, the natalie g show, and a few chick flicks too. No deadlines, no looming pressures; just good old fashioned downtime.

I have a wish list and big plans. I am going to pick up painting, finally get me a decent camera, and start reading all of those books I haven't had time for in ages. I am going to get a scooter with a side carriage, paint it pink, and cruise the countryside with my girls. I am committed to producing some awesome creative for my clients. And overall, I’m going to be filling up my new house in Demopolis with a lot of love and fun; a place where people can come over as they are and leave their worries behind.

Last week at the house while I was giving the girls a bath a red cardinal landed on the tree right outside the window. I took it as a sign.

One Man Show

It's demolition day at demopolis. If the pictures look fuzzy its from all the floating dust.

Kyle single handedly took on the tile with a screwdriver and hammer. 15 hours later we are ready for our new wood floors. I'm not much help in the manual labor department. I am more of the food/water/drive-to-walmart-for-more-garbage-cans kind of girl. I have also been working the budget and meeting with different contractors and picking out pretty colors of paint. I'll post the designs for the kitchen and playroom shortly.


Thanks to Karin we were able to spend saturday in demopolis without the kids. Of course Kate came down with a fever as soon as we left. I guess that's just the way it goes.




Anybody want to see a gun show?



The roaches here mean business. Haven't seen any in the house. Yahoo.


Cuddle time after a hard day's work.



Is it a UFO? Nope, just a friendly spider

Sienna is HEALED!!!

Token Roll Tide Plaque in the Backyard

Where?

Demopolis, Alabama. Our new home to be, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demopolis,_Alabama check it out.

Why?

Great opportunity and good feelings

Whats there?

Job

House

2 golf courses

middle of no where

southern charm

warm winters

20 minutes to Eutaw

Christmas on the river

what else can you ask for

I found the house while brittney was in Utah and put in an offer. She saw pictures, but as more than one person has commented, "I am a brave man."

Funny, my name's not even on the mortgage. That's two homes for brit; hopefully the next one will be on me.

I can walk to work, the golf course, church, and walmart.

Photos galore

Semper Fi Kirk, and the girls before he shipped off to Iraq.


Cousin Paige and Kate.





Paradise has n0t changed, it just will not include Gillespie family #4 for awhile


Cruisin the orchard.




Grandpa Doug and Kate.


Fresh nectorines, yum.



Cousin Heather, Kate and Ella.


The 3 amigos


Burnouts and power turns with cousin cole at the wheel.