It finally happened...

Stephen now has a motorcycyle. Here's the story.

Two years ago he convinced me to let him take a motorcycle class at the Harley Dealership. Knowing we would not be able to afford to buy a bike, I thought this would cure his itch. It didn't. So this fall the deal was if he finished the Houston Marathon, he could get a used bike. That's what everyone has recommended anyway, since you will lay your first bike down at some point. After training for a month or so. Stephen pulled something in his calf and the running stopped. The marathon came and went. I thought it was over. Little did I know, Stephen had other ideas.

He got on craigslist and looked for someone who was interested in bartering services and goods. He found a guy in Houston that owned a furniture store who wanted dentistry. Stephen contacted him and said, "I don't need furniture, but I am looking for a motorcycle." This guy made it happen. He traded someone else furniture for a motorcycle and then dentistry for the bike.

We went to Dallas today to pick it up. It is a Yamaha Roadliner 2006, but it is brand new. We picked it up from a dealership who I guess never sold this bike 2 years ago.

So, this will now be Stephen's main transportation to and from work. The Saturn in now 11 years old and falling apart. It no longer has a side right mirror and the transmission is shot. The Expedition has over 100,000 miles on it now. So, the eventual plan is to park the Expedition for a while, and trade the Saturn in for a a smaller more fuel efficient car for me and the kids.

Please keep Stephen in your prayers. He is a careful driver and not a risk taker, it's the other people on the road that I am worried about!

How much fun can you have in the car?

This evening we drove to Grand Saline, TX to visit Stephen’s brother, John, who is in from China. On the way we munched on Chick-Fil-A and watched Mary Poppins. But the most fun was had during the last hour and a half.

We turned off the DVD player and the radio and sang. We sang everything from SongPlay songs, John Denver’s “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” musical numbers, lullabies, folk songs, nursery rhymes, and church songs. It brought back such wonderful memories of driving to the farm hanging over the front bench seat of our blue station wagon.

Toward the end we began playing “Guess the Secret Song.” I would hum it and he would try to guess the name of the song. He was really pretty good at it. Then he decided that he would give it a try. He hummed “Twinkle Twinkle,” but of course since it is 3 different songs (Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep and ABC’s) we guessed the wrong one. I’m not sure if he realizes that that tune has 3 names or not, but every time it was his turn he hummed that tune, but said it was a different name. He did name one of the three tunes above though.

It’s really too bad that families today have DVD and CD players in the car. This tradition of musical family bonding is a lost art. Who sings in the car anymore without the radio? It was such fun listening to Cavett giggle and sing along in a sweet, sweet voice. If you’ve never tried it, go one day in the car without the radio/CD/DVD player and see what happens.

How much fun can you have with sofa cushions?

SOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!! Thanks sisters!

New Pictures

Stephen finally finished rebuilding our upstairs computer which holds the majority of our data, including photo storage. Last night he gave me the go ahead to start using it. It is so much faster, it's unbelievable!!! This afternoon I loaded and updated all our pictures to our website. Enjoy!

PB & J

You probably have thought that we have dropped off the face of the earth since I haven't been writing, but the truth is, 1-I have been lacking creative juices lately. I haven't even had any exciting ideas about the baby quilt for Walker Russell Alexander. 2-There hasn't really been anything to write about. We are just going about the daily grind, trying to get it all done. 3- I started teaching again. Not only am I teaching 2 SongPlay classes, but I am taking Kendrick to one while Cavett is at school and then also conducting warm-ups for the Chancel Choir at church every Wednesday night. (If you check out that last link, you will see a pic of Stephen in the top left hand corner). Whew!

On top of that our weekend was full of college friends (Sha-Nay-Nay and Chuck) staying at our house Friday night and then planning our camping and Grand Saline trip for next weekend.

So, a little happy today.....Cavett had Nutter Butters for snack today at school. I asked him what he thought about them and he said he liked them. So, I convinced him to have a quarter of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. For those of you not up on the Cavett dinner dilema, he is not necessarily picky as he will eat veggies and fruit, but it's usually a rotation of chicken nuggets, fish sticks, hot dog and raviloli for the main entree. To add something like this that will work for lunch at school is HUGE!!!!! Now, he wasn't really asking for more, but at least he ate it.

Oh, What a Night!

As you were reading the title, Oh What a Night, you might have been confused. I'm not talking about the Super Bowl. In fact, Stephen asked me if I even knew who was playing. I said "I am pretty sure the Patriots and then maybe the Eagles or Packers?" Ok, so I guess I had at least one right. Who cares who wins this game and how will it really effect my life? And, why is such a big deal? People don't go crazy over the World Series or the Basketball finals like this. Do they? Maybe it is yet another "reason" to just have a party.

Anyway, unknowingly, back in December I bought tickets to the musical, Jersey Boys, for Stephen's birthday. Originally, I got Sunday night tickets because there were good seats open that day and he had Monday off. (But, that got changed to Friday...oh well). Stephen didn't even realize until a week ago that it was Super Bowl either, so don't feel too bad about him missing it.

We went to dinner at Artista which is the restaurant at the theater. Fantastic food. Highly recommended, but our service was a little slow due to the fact it was SB night and everyone is trying to get out of there just in time for the show. In fact, we weren't able to get our dessert in time, so we got our Tres Leches at intermission for free. Theirs is the best in Houston.

It was a great show and I think Stephen enjoyed it. I had already seen it in NY a couple of years ago. It won Best Tony that year as well. So, if it comes to your area or you go to NYC, go see it. It's a good time and if you are from The Four Seasons era (60's) I'm sure it will bring back memories.

For those of you young-ens or who have no music knowledge they sang the following:

Who Loves You

Walk Like a Man

Sherry

Workin' My Way Back to You

Big Girls Don't Cry

Can't Take My Eyes Off of You

First Free Weekend

This was Stephen's first 3 day weekend off from work, with no agenda or trip. It was fantastic! Thursday evening I almost could have done several cartwheels it felt so good. I was as giddy as a school girl. It had been a long time since I had that TGIF feeling. We headed out to BW3's for some wings and to celebrate.

Friday we had a leisurly monring and then took Cavett to school. We ran a few (more than I could do alone with a baby in that time span) errands and picked him back up at noon. That afternoon we cleaned the garage, trimmed bushes and played outside. You really should have seen the before picture of the garage. You could hardly walk through it to the back door. To top it off we had steak on the grill for dinner.

Today we went to 3 different motorcycle dealerships, the zoo and then Ruggles Cafe for lunch. We then got a nap, worked out, and showered. Tonight is a Mardi Gras party at Anna's house. (I made a King Cake this week for this party and I can't wait to dig into it!)

What a weekend! I loved spending so much time with Stephen. It's been a long three years of working 6 days a week. He is the best husband in the world and I am so lucky to have him. I love you, sweetie!