Have you been feeling Bleu?

Are you feeling a little down now that summer is almost over? Well, here's a post that is sure to cheer you up....there aren't many things that are cuter than a lab puppy...and you know how I feel about puppies and pictures!!! Our friend Jason just got a lab puppy and named him Bleu. 

Here he is on the day we went to go pick him up...a little over 7 weeks old.

He was very cuddly and nervous to leave his litter mates...but he has settled in just fine. Nathan used him to go and talk to the Kid's Corner at the Great Jones County Fair about being a veterinarian...and of course he was a big hit!

I haven't seen him in a couple weeks so he's probably already doubled in size...they change so fast!

Enjoy the cuteness!!

End of Summer Fun

It finally feels like summer has just begun. It's been a very cold, mild summer. We didn't really get any heat until July and it only lasted a week or so. School has started and the heat has returned! We had a fun family weekend this past weekend celebrating Adam and Teresa's birthdays. My cousins Ryan and Lisa were both home for a friends wedding. We spent most of the day at the pond swimming and soaking up the rays. Adam and Nathan went golfing. 

The cousins...Ryan, Lisa, Adam and I

With our significant others.....

And the parents.....

I just hit 29 weeks...so Adam and I were comparing bellies to see who is bigger....I think I won, at least he can suck his in! 

Dad and Kate making homemade ice cream....a family favorite!

11 years/Babymoon

We celebrated our 11 year anniversary in Chicago a few weeks ago. I guess you could also call it a babymoon as well. We stayed at the W hotel on Lakeshore drive...it's becoming my new favorite place to stay in Chicago. It's in a perfect location...close to shopping and Lake Michigan!

We had great views of Navy Pier! We enjoyed massages at Bliss Spa....

and spent a lazy afternoon on the beach soaking up the sun and reading. The water was still cold but comfortable once you got used to it. 

We stuffed ourselves at Rosebud before going to see The Book of Mormon Saturday evening. The show was hilarious! 

Sunday morning we spent on Michigan Avenue. I took Nathan through the American Girl store so he could experience first hand what his future beholds! We also made Vivan's first purchase at Tiffany's! 

Nathan wrote me this sweet poem on my facebook page....

To My Wife,

No gift can be given that will ever express the blessing, I received

11 years ago today.

She has given me strength when life seems to take it away.

She has opened my eyes to the world to see.

But holding her in my arms, is the only place that I ever want be.

She even left her warm Texas sun.

For my Iowa winter fun

She has endured more to give us a child than any woman should.

And more than any man ever could.

She looked past the visors and long blonde hair,

To make us a very unique pair.

She is my perfect combination,

of sexy and sophistication.

Happy Anniversary! I love you Joanna

:)

We had a great time....we are now in full nursery mode and trying to get things finished up. November will be here before we know it!

Ties or Tutus?

We had a gender reveal party a couple of weeks ago. We invited friends and family over for munchies and the 'big reveal' of what Baby Hein will be. I had my mom make a banner for the big occasion...it said Ties or Tutus...it turned out really cute, although it's hard to see in the picture!

I had everyone 'vote' on what they think Baby Hein will be....

and then we had some jokesters who were not very participatory....(is that a word?)

Gpa Melvin

Note that both Gpas-to-be are in this group!

I went and bought two outfits for Baby Hein for the grandmothers to unwrap. 

And the race was on......

My mom saw the color through the tissue paper....

It's a girl!!

And then we unwrapped a few gifts....reading Aunt Teresa's poem for Baby Hein...

A tie or a tutu, a blessing to hold,

This new little bundle swaddled in cardinal and gold.

Pompoms, baseball bats, helmets or bows,

We pray for 10 fingers and 10 tiny toes.

A tie or a tutu, either one will be great,

To nurture and brainwash to attend Iowa State!

Be it dance shoes or cleats, brown eyes or blue,

We hope this little one will attend Moo U too!

A tie or a tutu, we don’t really care,

But anything other than a CYCLONE- BEWARE!

-Teresa Streeper Anton

The Eberts gave us an ISU burp cloth.....that Nathan mistakingly thought was a rally towel!!

Everyone had a great time at the party! It was a lot of fun!

Here is a pic from our 20 week ultrasound. Everything checked out well...she has all the parts she's supposed to have and is measuring in at 10 ounces. She was not very cooperative in getting her picture taken as she had her arm in front of her face the whole time. 

So now we continue to pray that the second half of the pregnancy goes as smoothly as the first....

And we anxiously await the arrival of Vivian Lynne Hein in November!

Before......and After

So here is our backyard as of last summer/fall virtually untouched from when we bought the house. We had major drought issues last year so the grass was super dry....plus it hadn't had any attention or fertilizer during the three plus years the house was empty. Needless to say it was in desperate need of some help!

Plus....we had the super ugly 'crop circle' from where the redneck pool sat. The small concrete pad was too small for all our furniture and everything was just generally ugly. 

Wrigley's urine also does a number on the grass. 

So we started work on a backyard transformation. We had plans drawn up for a new paver patio that we like to call 'the chopper pad'. Nathan and I about had a heart attack when we finally saw how big the patio was going to be.

As it turns out, the patio wasn't as big as the gravel that was initially laid down. Things are beginning to take shape. 

We had 7 trees planted in the yard as well. Three evergreens, two tulip trees and two flowering crabapples. 

Almost done!

So they didn't finish everything until late in the season last fall, so we had to wait until this spring to have the landscaping installed. 

Finally, the finished project!! The landscaping was done a couple of weeks ago. We had to have sod placed over the areas where the skid loader drove through the back yard and where they dug up for some of the landscaping. 

It was quite a chore getting the water feature set up and running....we had many electrical/landscaping communication issues.

My small hosta garden under the deck. 

We decided that lawn crews move much faster in Texas than here in Iowa. Our crew in Texas would have had this done in less than a week.....not 6 months (but in their defense, the weather hasn't really been on their side this spring...it's been very cold and rainy)! But at least it's done....we still have to get our sprinkler system hooked back up....but beggars can't be choosers. 

My goal this weekend is to get the redneck pool up!

Happy summer!