Memorial Day Weekend

After camping on Saturday and Sunday, we took Monday and got a bunch of yard work done. Here are pictures of our new patio furniture (Thank you Nana Sue-Sue and Papa). We LOVE it! We already had lunch on it today, so comfy. We also included a picture of where our garden is going to be. Stef and my dad are going to build it during the next two weekends. :) Norm had such an exhausting weekend (playing with Tyson and hanging out in the mud Sunday morning) that he found a nice spot to rest (in our hostas) and wouldn't MOVE. :)

Full Weekend: Graduation and Canoing

This past weekend, Ashley, Cristin, and I graduated from Hamline University with our Masters of Education. :) Fun times had by all. The 3 of us left Minnetonka at 1:15 and didn't arrive at Hamline until 2:25 due to unforeseen road closures (we were supposed to have already picked up our cap and gowns and be in our procession line by 2pm). We ran the entire way (high heels and all), checked in with 4 minutes to spare, and had really nice people help us throw on our outfits. :) The important thing was that we GRADUATED. My entire family meet us out for dinner at Macaroni Grill afterwards.

The following day, Sunday, Stef and I decided to venture down the Minnehaha Creek after church. The only directions we were given, multiple times from my parents, was to steer right when we got to a certain divide in the creek (my family had a mishap about 8 years ago, choosing the left side and going over a neighborhood made dam and capsizing our canoe).

We had a gorgeous day and the only mishap (besides my hubby sayin "You're just dipping!" and "Dig in, dig in. (Doesn't it totally make sense that this would mean paddle faster, not steer)" and "If we ever go canoing with our parents, the men are in one boat, and women in another!") happened at our famous divide in the creek. So, Stef and I steered clear of the left side (even though it was flowing beautifully) and madly paddled to the right where rocks were sticking out everywhere. You can imagine what happened, our canoe bottomed out. So while the neighbors watched from afar, we first tried rocking the canoe, then Stef got out, finally we both got out, and when I sat down, my buttocks came right down on my paddle. Oops! We looked like a gong show trying to paddle the mini rapids with my stubby paddle. Stef was a true gentleman and didn't complain about being the only one paddling the rest of the way (we probably went straighter this way). All in all, we had lots of laughs and can't wait to go again.

Belly Time - 17 weeks

We haven't been very good about taking belly pictures of the first 4 months, because I felt like nothing really showed. But seriously, last night after eating, I swear my belly popped out 6 inches. For real! Even my students could tell today, they kept whispering and asking me to turn sideways. The whispering part was probably because we had "the talk" in health class today! Fun times! I felt all eyes were on me when we talk how conception works! :) The joys of teaching.

Anywho, here are my a little over 4 month pictures. I've found it painful to know wear any of my old clothes and have it down to a science which 4 pairs of pants I rotate, to wear to work every day!

I may be crazy, but I'm also pretty sure I can feel the baby. They say at 20 months you should be able to, but every night when I lay down, it feels like little bubbles inside my tummy. SO COOL! Interesting how you can't feel it during the day when you're moving, but when it's time for bed, the little thing goes wild. That should be interesting when I'm trying to fall asleep! :)

All is well back here in MN. I graduate tomorrow from Hamline (along with Ashley and Cristin) with my Masters in Education. :) Stefan and I are working on making our garden. This weekend we have to clear the rest of the brush so that after camping next weekend, we can start putting up the retaining wall. God has blessed us with GORGEOUS weather the past two days! It is actually shorts weather here and everyone (especially Norm) is loving it! Stef and I just bought our plane tickets for our trip to the coast in August. We are flying into Seattle on August 15th and leaving the 24th. We aren't heading back to Summerland this time, just staying at Point Roberts and relaxing!! Hope to see a lot of you, we love you all and pray that God is with you all!

Norm's new friend

Norman had his first play visit with my aunt and uncles new Schnauzer puppy, Sadie. It was touch and go for a while trying to determine who would be the dominate one (all bets were on Sadie, Norm rolls over and is submissive to the cat next door), but in the end Norm won. :) She is so adorable. We decided that Norman doesn't understand how to play "nice" with a puppy. His idea of play was to steal her chew toy, run circles around her, and taunt her by coming close but not close enough for her to grab on. Pretty comical! :)

14 1/2 weeks, Tight Pants, and Fun News!

Stefan and I have some fun news, a little Julien is on it’s way shortly. ☺ Crazy, eh? It has been extremely difficult keeping this big news a secret for 3 months, but in the end, the shock and surprise by our parents (our friends were just betting on the due date) was all worth it.

Stef had a chance to meet up with his parents a couple weekends ago in Phoenix, AZ. So we both got to share our news on the same night. Watching their faces as they opened their presents (we made them T-shirts that said Papa, Nana, Grandma, and Grandpa) was positively one of the most exciting things ever! My mom wouldn’t stop screaming and Stef’s mom started jumping on the couch.

Our due date is October 22nd. The pregnancy has been going great so far. I’ve only gotten sick a handful of times in the morning and I’m pretty sure it’s due to Life cereal (so I’ve had to stay clear of that for a while and switch to oatmeal). Stef is really enjoying my cravings. The biggest so far has been McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Crazy, eh? One for me, one for Stef. There are lots of foods I can't even be around anymore, the worst being RICE. I had to throw away all the rice in my house (including the chips I ate with a Mexican rice salsa) and can't even think about it without getting queasy.

My belly is starting to pop, but I guess I’m the only one who can tell. If you rub it there’s a little bump. I'm about 14 weeks along, my uterus is about the size of small melon (which is why buttoning my pants has become a difficult task) and the baby is roughly 3 and 1/2 inches long!!!! Since birth, I've been a belly sleeper and could still handle that until about 2 weeks ago. I decided it's time I stop sleeping ON the baby and switch to something that will be a necessity in a couple weeks. MAN, I haven't gotten a good night sleep since. I'm constantly asking if Stef is awake and to talk to me! Good thing Norm is usually a good listener (even if he's sleeping).

Speaking of Norm, we are pretty sure he is pumped to have another small playmate around the house. Whenever our friend's baby comes over for a visit, it never leaves without a super clean licked head (and hands, and toes, and toys). I'm sure he'll enjoy having his own playmate to give kisses to 24-7.

Stefan and I are so excited to be parents. It is somewhat surreal, but became quite real when we got to listen to the baby's heart beat for the first time. Stef was still in Arizona, so while taking a quick golfing break, I held the phone to my belly while the doctor held the Doppler. HOW INCREDIBLE!!! As I said goodbye to Stef, the doctor said, "Here's the first heartbeat and now... the 2nd." I think I went into slight cardiac arrest before she announced it was mine. I wonder how much fun she gets by looking at new mother's faces while making that announcement?

Stef and I promise to make updates!! We love ya all so much and please keep our new little member of the family in your prayers. Hugs to you all!

Betsy, Stefan, & Baby J (of course Norm too)

P.S. Norm is really not liking (or should I say liking too much) all the baby toys Baby J is receiving. Especially ones that squeak!

Cute Pic

I just wanted to share a quick cute picture of the two men in my life. Just a typical hang out time in the Julien basement. I'm also using this a self-teaching tool for how to post to the blog! Yes, everyone in Canada, no one here in MN has a blog really. But we now have a GREAT reason to keep this a weekly ritual, instead of a twice a year thing! :)

Downstairs/new couch

Hey all,
Just wanted to show you the finished look of the basement, we just got our new couch. Can't wait to have you all over to watch some movies and "veg on the couch" eh Dad!

Basement Remodeling

Some of you know that we have been fixing up our basement by furring out the walls so we can insulate and put up a vapour barrier. Well, we are getting close to the finished product. Above you can see the soffet we built to hide the heating/cooling ducts and also the copper piping that we ran from our dryer to the fireplace for our gas fireplace.

Here is Betsy putting up the insulationg, lots of fun, no I mean lots of itching. Below, you always have to have a cold Diet Coke to keep the body going.

We have started putting up the sheetrock and are getting ready for the next inspector's visit, we have had 4 visits from the city already, for gas, electrical and framing. We probably could have been done 3 weeks ago if we didn't have to wait for inspections. We will have some updates as we get closer to the finished product!

Anna's Cabin 2007

Hey all,
We got to spend an awesome weekend up at our friend's, Anna and Nick, cabin. Fun times were had by all - fishing, water-skiing, skeet shooting, and other nafarious activities:)

S&B Julien

Our Innocent Digger

It wasn't me...really.

Arbor Day and the Girls

Here are a couple pics, we planted a few trees in our yard for Arbor Day, and the bottom pic is of Betsy's girlfriends at Pat and Tammy's wedding. Fun times:)

Picture from Mark

hey Farkus, thanks for the print man, here it is framed in our bedroom. It looks awesome!

Norman Loves Dirt

Our dog Norman has found a new passion, digging up our new seeded grass. We think he is trying to get the moles in the ground but we don't think he has caught one yet. Sure is fun to clean him up after, it is becoming a daily ritual.

And After!

We did a little upgrading on our floor by tiling and then we stripped and restained/revarnished our closet downstairs. The closet did have 4 shelves but I removed the bottom shelf and made a coat closet so we have a place to put our winter gear during the summer months. We are currently working on the baseboard trim which is proving to be difficult since we are having to drill into a concrete plate and can't just nail the boards up. Overall, we are pretty happy with the results so far:) Now the rest of the downstairs to conquer.....!

Before

Here's our latest home reno project, this is our downstairs mudroom.