all moved in (sort of)

we are (mostly) all moved in to our new apartment. we still have two bookcases and some things that need to be packed (we ran out of boxes) at our old apartment and some serious cleaning to do over there. the great news is that our bedroom/living room is pretty much set up and our bathroom and kitchen only need some shelving installed (ikea and target here we come!) in order to finish unpacking and setting up those rooms. our cable and internet is hooked up and our air con keeps the whole place ice cold. i was wrapped up in a quilt cooking my eggs this morning and it was already in the 90s outside and i LOVED it.

my new drive to work is exactly 2 minutes long and when it cools off i will start walking it. yay! we live right by a target and a cvs and the 99 cent store and a cemetary. perfect.

cricket was kinda freaked out when i brought her over on saturday. she hid under the couch for most of the day but yesterday was up to her old tricks again. since the new apartment has hardwood floors and tile throughout she slides around a lot when she is trying to run. it is pretty funny. she also sometimes does that cartoon thing where she starts running but doesnt actually go anywhere. pretty much awesome.

Cricket's new sink

Cricket is helping me unpack in our new apartment. Of course, her idea of unpacking in finding a cool place to sleep. But we love her.
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moving on up (to the east side)

jeremy and i are moving east! not quite to new hampshire yet... just to a new apartment about 3 miles east of our current one. we have our big moving day on saturday but will have both apts for a while so our mail and everything has a chance to catch up with us. for obvious reasons i am not posting our new address on the web but will email it and it will be in the new shane connection.

our new apartment is considerably smaller than our current one (we will be saving a LOT of money every month for the real move) and allows pets (so cricket wont be illegal contraband anymore) and has a pool and has gated parking and secured entrances to the interior facing apartments. so we are excited. we are putting a bunch of our stuff in storage so when we get to new hampshire it will be like christmas unpacking all of it. :)

if for some reason i overlook you in my email with our new address please email me and remind me. i will try to get it out to everyone. we can already check the mail there so consider it the correct address starting now.

i will post pictures of it once we get settled. :)


in other news - we get to see justin play with terri clark tomorrow. woo hoo!

!m!

the clash of the titans

or cricket vs. a cricket

last night kayla brought hailie over so we could babysit while she went to prom. we had dinner (beef stew for the adults and rice stuff and sweet potatoes for hailie) and played with the cat (who was not all that surprisingly even tempered and mild mannered even when being smacked in the face or having her hair pulled which just reinforces my belief that we have the best cat in the world) and hung out on the porch (lots of yummy dirty things to put in baby mouths out there). while the sliding door was open, a cricekt hopped in. i called for my cricket, who is the only cat in the world who comes when called, and showed her the bug. oooh boy it was like christmas for her. instead of buying her any more toys i am going to start buying crickets at the pet store. ok thats a lie. but she loved it! a toy that moves! protein! it was funny...

hailie had a good time with auntie meaghan but much preferred jeremy. as most small children do. apparently hailie is something of a flirt and likes men in general. kayla is going to have to watch out for her in high school! thankfully that is about 17 years away... :)

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i hop, you hop

saturday morning all of us kids went our to breakfast at ihop with bud and cherie. i had an amazing "three egg" omelet (that was really more like 6 or something - that thing was HUGE). breakfast was nice and afterwards we all headed back to shane and darcis to hang out. jeff and barb came over and we got to meet her breifly before i left to meet erica for our long anticipated date.

darci dropped me off at the movie theater and erica and i made our way in to see sex and the city the movie. during college when we lived together we rented all of the dvds of all the seasons and watched them together. it was pretty amazing timing that the movie came out the week before we were going to be in kansas and shortly before erica leaves to thailand (phuket to be more exact, and i spelled it right i think but i guarantee you are NOT pronouncing it correctly in your head because it doesnt really rhyme with bucket) for two years. we loved the movie - laughed and cried - then headed to shane and darcis for dinner. casey and emily brought their daughter over too and we played catchphrase and ate yummy fajitas. after dinner we moved downstairs for poker and xbox. eric brinkman came over later, as did jeff and barb.

it was a fun (late) night and after everyone had left we started packing for our return to los angeles where people know how to drive on the freeway (who knew i would ever think that), where freeways actually exist, and where a person can run without feeling like they are drinking soup.

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dance, monkey, dance

friday shane and darci both had the day off to hang out with us. darci made us a yummy brunch and then we drove out to jeff's (old) house to hang out. we took the walkabout which culminated in darci stepping on a dead mouse and me making friends with one of those wild cats and then wound up downstairs going through jeremy's closet. we threw away a bunch of stuff, gave a bunch of stuff away and boxing up a bunch of stuff to keep. we brought home three grandma shane quilts and some cds and pictures. the best thing we found was a card that jessie made for jeremy for christmas many many moons ago. she apparently loves him because he wakes her up in the morning. so i guess jessie and i love jeremy for the same basic reason. :D

we went back to shane and darcis for an early dinner with ron and sharon before jessie's recital. we had sandwiches and leftover pinwheels and some really yummy pasta salad. the only thing that would have made the samiches better was some mayonaisse. ;) it was good to catch up with ron and sharon and spend some time with jessie before the recital.

after we ate we headed over to TPAC and found our seats. ryan and amy met us over there, as well as grandma and grandpa koci and a bunch of brinkmans. darci and i went backstage to see jessie and wish her luck. shane and andrew had gotten there earlier because andrew was in charge of giving jessie flowers at the end of the show. jessie had four dances and of course she did great. there were some really amazing dances and some really cute ones (those four year olds just wiggling around are adorable) and some average ones. mosaic's dance team has really really spoiled me when it comes to modern and hip hop dances and thats all im saying about that.

after taking a million pictures jessie was ready for some ice cream so we headed to dairy queen. after our sweets (that andrew can really pack them away) all of us kids went back to shane and darcis to hang out and talk. another late night for poor baby meaghan.

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to catch a cheater

wednesday afternoon my mom drove us up to topeka and dropped us off at grandma and grandpa kocis. we talked to grandma for a little bit then hopped in grandpas silverado (takes me back to the good ole high school days - anyone?) and headed to bud and cheries. they took us to olive garden and to play putt putt which i somehow lost even though i was the only one who got a hole in one (because i am amazing) and certain members of the group were cheating. whatev. jeremy won so score one for the team.

when we got to shane and darcis (old) house (congratulations on the sale!) the kids were in the bath. andrew got SO excited he was turning around and around really fast and water was going everywhere. brooklyn just didnt know what to think since she obviously doesnt remember us from last year. they settled down and went to bed and we stayed up way too late talking to shane and darci.

thursday morning, after sleeping in a little and seeing shane and the kids off to work, jeremy and i went to the mall and saw paige at work at old navy randomly. that was cool. then we went to panera to have lunch with bud and cherie, grandma b-w, linda and vera. it was a nice lunch even though they were out of the sandwich they had huge signs everywhere advertising that i wanted, (man i had a disappointing restaraunt experience in kansas overall) and after lunch we headed back to shane and darcis to help darci load up for our party at grandma and grandpas house. she stoppped and got the kids and we unloaded huge tubs of food for everyone. tons of family came over to see us - it was great to spend time with a lot of people we rarely get to see or talk to. jessie, paige and i had WAY too much fun on the couch bluetoothing ringtones and taking strange pictures. the food was great and the company was even better.

another late night with shane and darci and finally off to bed we go!

harrison ford and the crystal heads

last sunday night we went with my parents and brothers to see indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skulls (or heads if you are my mom). 3/4 of the movie was exactly what i wanted to see - harrison ford doing his thing, saving all those archeological specimens and the world, getting the girl, etc. the end was strange and didnt really fit with the rest of the series to me but whatev. shia leboef was surprisingly good - i was not excited to see him in an indiana jones movie but was pleasantly surprised. and i know all you girls were wondering - harrison has still got it.

monday my mom took me and jeremy shopping for jessies graduation gift and running errands for my dad. we went to the grocery store (that central dillons is on some serious steroids!) and got stuff ready for our cookout. a bunch of my friends came over and we ate burgers and brats and all kinds of yummy sides then played taboo. the girls (and brock) won and it was a blast. the best part was poor max trying to explain lingerie but not actually even knowing what the word was (it certainly doesnt sound the way it is spelled).

tuesday we hung out all day. we droce out to wellington to see bryce and his band recording. we got to watch them play with all the parts on the computer and my dad laid down a keyboard track for one of their songs. itw as pretty fun. then my mom and i went and got our hairs cut by abbe - the best EVER. my new hair is so cute! i cant wait to get back to dry california so i can straighten it. tuesday night we went out to sumo to celebrate mothers day and fathers day and our anniversary with my parents and max. yum japanese!!!!

wednesday morning my mom had to work so jeremy and i hung out at the mall with all the high schoolers too young for summer jobs. fun. after she got ioff we went to roly poly for lunch - very disappointing. i used to eat there every day when i worked at best buy and new people are running it and it wasnt very good. i was sad. after we took our fathers day picture for my dad we got in the car and my mom drove us to topeka.

but it's 4 o'clock in the morning!

or four states in two days...

for the last two days jeremy and i have gotten up at 3:30 in the morning in order to be on the road at 4. yesterday we got on a plane at lax and flew to austin. we got to austin around 11:30 and got our car rental and headed for the hotel. it took us a lot longer to find the hotel than it really should have since austin's freeway system is weird. we took a little nap and then got up and got ready for tricias wedding.

we drove out to georgetown and drove around the southwestern campus for a while then went into the chapel. i got to see some friends and parents of friends that i havent seen in ages. we sat down and the wedding started. it was a really nice ceremony and after it was over we headed to the cimarron hills country club for the "hurrah" aka the reception. the food was amazing and the dancing was fun. i got to spend time with tricia and erin which was great. jeremy said the cake and ice cream bar were great too. justin and tricia dancing together were so freaking funny. tricia said that justin and i would get along really well - we both break out into random dance when a good song comes on the radio. or on tv. or just in our heads.

we headed back to the hotel only to wake up about 3 hours later to get in the car and drive up to wichita. i slept through most of texas, actually drove for about in hour in oklahoma (dont tell the rental car company), and we finally pulled into wichita around noon. my mom picked us up at the airport and we went to fox and the hound to meet my dad and max and andy for lunch. we came home and watched friends (i slept) and then my mom went to the grocery store ( i slept some more) and then we are getting ready to eat dinner and go see indiana jones ( i hear harrison ford has still got it). then we are coming home and i am sleeping some more! hopefully i catch up soon!

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SLO

san luis obispo, aka SLO, was where jeremy and i spent sunday afternoon and monday. we left berkely after lunch and drove down, checked into our bed and breakfast and attended the manager's reception. they featured wine from local wineries, cheese, fruit and cute little meatballs with american flags in them. we met two other couples and talked for about two hours with them. jeremy and i left to find dinner - we would up walking just across the street and having a really nice dinner there. we went back to the b'n'b and fired up the jacuzzi tub. our suite was themed - they all were - and ours was "ah louis." mr. louis started one of the first chinese grocery stores in SLO way back when. they had framed receipts from the 1800s and pictures of him and his wife. the wallpaper and bedspread were silk with an asain floral print. we peeked into a couple of the unoccupied suites upstairs - they were so cool. we woke up the next morning and went down to breakfast - baked eggs with little american flags in them (serious obsession in the kitchen with american flags glued on toothpicks). we met the same two couples and had an enjoyable breakfast. we checked out and went walking around SLO, looking into some cool boutiques and visiting the local mission. the mission was really cool - we went through the museum that had all the original stuff that the mission people used and wore and looked at. the actual mission still holds mass but we got to look inside in between services. it was really pretty. we walked through the gardens and gift shop and then hit the road.

then, we drove out to a local winery. on the way we stopped at a stop light behind another car. when the light turned green the car in front of us started to go and a truck came barrelling through the intersection and took off the entire front bumper and demolished this poor girl's car. she had just bought the car 4 weeks ago and now it was destroyed. the kid that hit her was really shook up too but he was driving an old truck that barely had a scratch on it. we waited for the police to come and they took our witness statements and then we continued on our way. it was really really scary!

we went to the first winery we saw, the tolosa winery. we went into the tasting room, decided on our picks and enjoyed the different wines. we browsed the scent gallery, checked out the vats that they store and age the wine in and saw the big grape stomping machines. i really wanted to stomp some myself but they didnt offer that particular activity. we made out selections of which wines we wanted and then got in the car to look for some lunch. we found this great little pizza place and ate quickly then headed for home. we followed the coast all the way home - it was gorgeous!

cricket was SO happy that mom and dad were back and ready to play with her. she was very lonely while we were gone. auntie kris came over and played with her and made sure she stayed fat and alive but it isnt the same as having someone there to cat hat in the middle of the night!

berkeley/albany

saturday night and sunday morning we spent time with kevin and nikki in the berkeley/albany area. we toured around the cal campus (gorgeous and HUGE) walked on telegraph street, and ate in the gormet ghetto. we also went to the berkeley bowl which is nothing like the hollywood bowl. the berkeley bowl is like if ralphs and trader joes had a baby, and that baby was really really big and cool. it was an amazing grocery store... really more of a tourist destination. they had everything there. we bought stuff for dinner then went home and ate, then of course played settlers (i won!) and watched ratatouille. sunday morning we went to mosaic berkeley and kevin spoke. they are doing the every[One] series right now (i was even sleeping in my every[One] t-shirt randomly - oh the irony) and sundays topic was what if everyone showed gratitude? after church was over we went and ate at the gratitude cafe (could it have been more appropriate?). it was this vegan, all natural, mostly raw food place. i loved it - couldnt eat there all the time but it was fun!

i didnt leave my heart in san francisco

umm... i am going to be that person who doesnt like san fran. to be fair to the fair city, i caught her on a really bad day. it was cold and foggy and we got lost multiple times and the people in the part of town we were in were weird. i really enjoyed the touristy things that we did but san fran on the whole wasnt my favorite vacation destination. here are some photos from our short time there (about 4 hours):

we rode a cable car around. first, we got to watch them put it on a giant cable car turn table and spin in to face the opposite direction, then we climbed aboard. we sat right by the operator, which was noisy, but also informative. we got to watch him changing the gears and braking, both of which were rather complicated. he also yelled at pedestrians and was generally grumpy.

we exited the car in chinatown and walked back to rex, who we then took on a jaunt down the windiest street in america. the windy part was only a block or two but the wait to go down the street was remarkably long. there were houses lining the street - i cant imagine having all of that traffic and tourists outside my door all day everyday and not even being able to get out of my driveway without worrying about hitting someone taking a picture of my house for no apparent reason.

we stopped at fishermans wharf and took a picture in front of the golden gate bridge, then drove over it into berkely to see kevin and nikki.

our sons' graduation

russ and andy have graduated from seminary and are moving on to bigger and better thins! we had the privelege of attending their graduation last saturday night and of meeting russ's real dad. we ate dinner on the top of this steakhouse on the beach, watched the sun set over the water, and spent time with some of our favorite people ever. the graduates made a video and part of russ andandys most memorable time in la was when they were very first living with us (it had been like three days or something) and russ had to call jeremy to ask him where the plunger was because he stopped up the toilet. we still laugh about this two years later.

jeremy and i are so excited to see what is happening next for these guys (big moves - back to their homelands and at least one marriage...) we love you guys!

broke: the aftermath

the show turned out amazingly well. while it was prolly over 90 degrees in the room we were in and we couldnt have very many fans on because we werent using microphones and they were drowning out the performers and sweat was dripping off every single one of us, we had an amazing time.

we actually had to do a second show because there were so many people there for the first one and they wouldnt all fit. we raised thousands of dollars for the breath of heaven orphange in zambia. also, everyone who came was given a stone and they put it into a frame so that everyone's stones combined made a giant mosaic that the team that is going in january will take and install in the playground they are building for the kids. it is going to be awesome!

we didnt get home until 1:30 saturday morning after tearing down the set and resetting the room how it was before we came. lots of people stayed around to help so what took two days to set up came down in about an hour and half.

the actual show went off without a hitch. there is one point in the show when the casting director yells cut and the music is supposed to stop and the dancers stop... during the first show the power went off right at that instant. jeremy was able to flip the breaker really quickly and some people didnt even realize that it wasnt part of the show. pretty cool. people were asking us to do it again, so we will see what happens...

the 200 club

which has no relationship to the mile high club just in case you were wondering (and i know you were). this morning i finished my 200th book of the year. thats right. thats more books than there are days in the year. an average of about 1.5 books per day. admittedly i have been reading a lot of young adult fiction but there were some thousand plus pagers in there too so it evens out. when kris and jennifer said i should go the reading olympics they weren't just saying it.

they meant it.

what's the best book you've read lately?