Rebecca Elledge [dot] com

Today, August 18th, 2008 we are approximately 60 days away from our Maui trip.  I am so excited and can hardly wait.  I woke up this morning at 4:30 am and headed to the gym.  I got my workout in and was home a little after 6.  The nice part about getting up that early and into the gym, my work out is done for the day.  The bad news is, is that I need to re-train my body to start getting up that early again.  A couple of years ago, I had no problem getting up at 4:30 and heading to the gym for my work out.  I was younger, I needed less sleep, and I didn't have a 7 month old.  Now my body needs more sleep, I am older (no comment needed honey), and am blessed to have a 7 month old whom I wouldn't trade for anything.  My goal is to lose 10 lbs before our trip and to continue to get up early and workout.  I'm going to try to hit the gym a couple of times during the week at lunch.  I feel like if I blog about it, then I have to continue to do it, as it is on the internet forever.

Spencer began his high school career on Friday.  He had Freshman orientation.  Today was his first full day with the upper classman.  I'm sure he had a good day, but being in a school three times the size of his middle school is, well overwhelming.  I believe the class of 2012 is the largest class so far to go through BVNW with a size of 440+.  Huge compared to my class of 92.  It's amazing, where we live there are 6 high schools in our district, the population of each school exceeds 1,200 kids.  1,200 kids, that is larger than the size of some small towns.  He begins soccer try-outs this afternoon.  I hope he does well, BVNW was boys' state soccer champs last year, they take it pretty seriously.  

Little B' is home sick today.  She is upstair asleep, I'm working from home, honestly I am.  I took her to the doctor this mornin, she has a cold, both ears are irritated and she has not one, but two teeth coming in.  She has a reason to be cranky and irritable.  I enjoy when I work from home, I have the best of both worlds.  She will be crawling soon, she wants to really bad.  It's amazing how fast they grow up.  I remember when Spencer was this age, I always wished he would reach his next milestone.  With Braelyn, I hope that she stays little longer.
 
Ryan is headed to San Diego and Phoenix this weekend with Gabe for a Dave Matthews Concert tour.  They will also travel to George, Washington (sounds funny, huh?) for a long Labor Day weekend of camping & a DMB concert.  Ryan claims that it is the prettiest venue around for a concert.  I'm sure the guys will have a blast.

Well need to go check on Brae, and get back to work.  Till next time!

R. 

It's been a very quiet and relaxing Sunday.  I've made no plans today, and I can still say that it's 4:00 in the afternoon and I still have no plans for the afternoon and evening.  Yesterday, we celebrated my mom's 60th Birthday.  Her actual birthday is Juy 31.  We had a surprise party for her yesterday, and I can say we pulled it off successfuly; she had no clue.  We had approximately 35 people at our house yesterday afternoon.  Everyone showed up before Noon, just as planned.  Mom, Dad, Chris, Sandy and the boys showed up a few minutes after 12:30.  Mom and Dad were the last to walk in...everyone yelled "SURPIRSE", mom was shocked, you could tell on the look on her face.
Ryan, my wonderful hubby cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill in the 95+ heat, he is such an amazing man, I'm lucky.  Ryan also put together this very cool DVD of pictures of mom and our family.  We all watched it yesterday after lunch.  I caught several people with tears in their eyes, including my mom and my dad...tears in his eyes.  He was truly touched with all that we did for mom.  All in all the day for mom was wonderful.  I think she loved every minute of it and enjoyed seeing her family, some that she hasn't seen since my grandpa's funeral.
Last night, I went to my friend Patty's bachelorette party.  It was a fun and crazy time.  Lots of dancing, lots of shots, and one of the girls had a lot to drink...the bride to be.  The sidewalk outside of IHOP will never look the same, if you know what I mean.
Well, I need to probably get up and help Ryan get ready to go to Chicago. He's gone tonight through Wednesday at a Hosting Conference.  He gets home Wed night and the we leave Thursday afternoon for Casper.  We are celebrating his Grandpa Emmett's 80th and Grandma Hotshot's 90th Birthday's.  Lots of great milestones this summer...let's keep them coming.

Love ya all!
R.

Can I just say that I have a pretty amazing husband?!?!  Ryan and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on Tuesday.  He surprised me with 4 dozen long stem red roses at work, dinner at the Melting Pot, and hooked us up with a pretty posh ride.  After dinner we walked around the plaza, down by Brush Creek and hit Reverse for a drink and some live music.

All in all, we had a very nice night!

Love you Ryan, thanks for making the last two years wonderful!

It's May...where has the time gone?  As I sit (correct use of the word) here at work, looking out my window the rain looks as though it is starting to move in.  It's 5:00 and time to go home here in a bit.  Hopefully Ryan's plane will not be delayed too long tonight.  He is coming home from an overnight trip, a board meeting in NY.  We had a video shoot at the house this morning.  A production crew was there filming an eCommercial for one of lendors.  It was fun being involved in that.
School will be out in about 3 weeks or so.  Spencer had his very last "early release" day of his life, or so he says.  Blue Valley has early release the 1st Tuesday of every month.  He begins high school next year and that will be the end of the early release days.  Spencer has his 8th Grade graduation on May 27th.  I don't ever remember there being an 8th grade graduation when I was in P. Hill.  Although 8th grade was part of the high school.  Anywho, I am planning on watching my "baby" graduate from 8th grade and move onto some of the best years of his life...high school.
Miss Braelyn is growing up so fast.  She of course is rolling over, and thinks it is somewhat of a game when I put her down in her crib and she immediately rolls over and laughs.  Speaking of laughing, she was cooing and laughing all morning long.  It was fun having her at home with me this morning.
Work is okay.  I am not as busy as I was before I left for maternity leave, my manager (and friend) is leaving on Friday to pursue a new venture.  I'm not 100% happy where I am right now.  Part of me would love to find something else to do, part of me would love to hang out with Braelyn during the day.  Oh well, I know life here at the "Vu" will turn around soon.
I went out with Shelly on Friday night.  We went to see Colbie Calliet (I think I spelled it correctly).  We met at the PNL (Power & Light District), the new trendy hang out in KC.  Tons of bars and restaraunts close to the Sprint Center.  Then we headed to the Uptown Theatre for the concert.  Afterwards, we decided to stop at Denny's at 12th and Broadway (we were definitely the minority there) for some late night food.  We didn't eat earlier in the evening...didn't want the food to make us bloated or our jeans too tight (WOMEN!!!).  So after some BNG, Bacon and Eggs I got into my car and headed home.  I had Rachael Anderson come over and watch Braelyn.  Rachael is a teacher at All Around Child.  I really liked her, and I think Braelyn did too.  I'm definitely going to have Rachael come back to babysit.
We have a couple of trips planned this year...another thing that I am day dreaming about.  Ryan and I are going to Chicago and St.Louis next month with Gabe and Stephanie to see DMB.  Then in October we are supposed to go back to Maui with Gabe and Stephanie.  I am so ready for that vacation.  Justine and her new hubby just returned from Kaui yesterday.  She said it was a blast and loved every minute of it...I'm jealous can't wait!
Well I need to finish some things up here...till later!
One last thought...I wonder who will win NC and Indiana, Obama or "The HC"?  I don't know if I really care...whoever it'll be will get their butt kicked by JM in November!

R.

Today we celebrated the life of Andrew Brownsberger, my grandfather.  Grandpa passed away on March 29th at the age of 84, he would have been 85 in June.  It was an absoloutely beautiful day.  The sun was out, the wind was light and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  It would have been a day that Grandpa would have said, "if we have a few more days like this, I can get out into the field."  My grandpa was a farmer, one of the best.  He and Grandma worked countless hours in the fields during the growing and harvesting seasons.  My brother, Chris and I would, go down to the farm and spend a week or two each summer with grandpa and grandma.  We considered it a vacation, but by the end of our visit, we didn't think of it as much of a vacation (we would be exhausted).  We would work with Grandpa and Grandma in the fields raking and bailing hay, helping with cattle, weeding the garden and learning all about hard work.  We learned that Grandpa would always say "Son of a Buck" when something went wrong, or if he was talking about a cow that he didn't particularly like.  Grandpa would string lights up in the garden so at night the racoons wouldn't get his rows and rows of sweet corn.  My grandparents had a garden the size of an acre (okay maybe not that big, but it was huge...trust me I pulled weeds in it, I know)!  

I remember riding in the combine with grandpa, on the tractors, in the grain truck that broke down more times than it ran and bouncing all over the fields in the FORD trucks that Grandpa always said he got a good deal on.  We would all come down in the Spring and help Grandpa and Grandma vaccinate, castrate and de-horn cattle...that was kind of gross.  We would all go and cut wood in the early Fall on the farm.  I remember trips to Bob and Glenn's to get parts for the tractor when it broke, which was about every time I was down there.  I remember going out to the place where Grandpa was born and raised.  Not too far where he and Grandma lived, maybe about 3 miles down the road.  The old place, that is what it was called, had a huge windmill on it and under the windmill had this huge concrete tub where water was gathered.  I was always scared of that concrete tub, Grandpa once told me it was 100 feet deep.  I now know it was to keep us grandkids out of it and from getting hurt.  I used to beg Grandma and Grandpa to take me into the house, yep it is still standig, it must be 100 years old.  I would love to go through there and imagine what it was like growing up there. 

I hated tomato's when I was a kid.  Grandpa showed me the right way to eat a tomato, with a ton of salt and pepper.  Today, I LOVE to tomato's!  He used to love Crunch and Munch.  I think he could go through a box in a day.  He loved Cherry ice-cream and those colored-ice creamcones, we used to have those every night in the summer.  I remember watching Princess Diana and Price Charles get married and watching it with Grandpa and Grandma.

I could go on and on.  My grandfather, was one of the strongest, hardest working men I have ever known.  He was fair, never judgemental, kind and very loving. He had 6 amazing kids, 11 grandkids and 10 great-grandkids.  I am the oldest grandchild, and I am the luckiest out of the other grandkids, I was able to spend more time with him than the others.  I went down to see Grandpa on February 13 of this year.  I introduced him to his 10th great-grandchild, Braelyn Grace.  He thought she was amazing.  He was so proud of her.  He made sure that everyone at the Nursing Home came over to see her.  I am so happy that I was able to introduce the two of them.  Braelyn won't remember meeting Grandpa, but I know it meant a lot to Grandpa, Grandma, my mom and me for the two of them to meet.

Grandpa you're the best...I'll remember and cherish our time together!

Love you always!
Rebecca Ann

It's official, I ended my 9 week maternity leave today.  The day started pretty normal, I mean pre-Braelyn normal.  I got a shower, dressed, put on make-up and fixed my hair.  Then my new normal day started.  I had to wash bottles, get Braelyn up, diaper changed, dressed, fed *note to myself, she takes FOREVER to eat in the morning, I need to get up 15 minutes earlier to adjust to that.  Bottles made for the day ahead at daycare, threw in a load of endless laundry, wrote a check for daycare, grabbed a breakfast bar and a Diet Pepsi, buckled Braelyn in the car and off we went.  But, before I got her in the car, Ryan told me to have a good day at work.  Work?  Holy cow, I completely forgot about work.  That's the reason I am rushing around this morning to get Braelyn to daycare so I could go to work.  Wow...haven't heard that phrase in a long time.We left the house and I pulled in 5 minutes later at Deb Moore's house.  Deb is the lady watching Braelyn, the woman we are trusting to take care of our baby for 9 hours a day.  She is a great lady with two kids of her own.  So as it is pouring down rain in OP, I grab the diapers, bag of clothes, wipes, paperwork and Braelyn run into the house without dropping anything or her.  Deb was waiting for us as we hit the door.  She was excited to see Brae-Brae.  After giving Deb the run down of Braelyn's schedule and telling Braelyn "I love you" a hundered times and giving her multiple kisses I left our baby there for the day.  So I drove to work in the rain, pulled into the parking lot and rain to the front door.  I thought to myself, wow the last time I ran into the office like this I was pregnant, and barely running...more of a waddle. 

Work is pretty much the same, I have a lot of new accounts.  I've lost a lot of my new ones due to re-alignment.  It was great to see the ole' gang here at SoftVu.  Although my mind was on Brae rather anything else.  I called a couple of times to see how she's doing.  Apparently she hates to be put down, and wanted to be held a lot...I think she was spoiled last week while we were on the cruise.  I hope Deb didn't mind too much.

So...now I am heading out the door to pick our little girl up...yep honey its 5:00 and I am headed out the door, just like I promised!

Oh - check out Ryan's site, I think he'll have the cruise pics uploaded tonight.

R.

If you can't tell by my title what my dilema is well, it's suit case room.  I started thinking about the cruise and going throuh my closet today...yeah, I have too many clothes, shoes and the neccesities and not enough suit case room.  Surprise - Surprise.  This time I'm not just packing myself, I have to think about the "Princess" too.  That's right Braelyn will be setting sail on the high seas with us and well, she has too many clothes and shoes too and not enough suit case room.  It's hard sometimes to plan each day and night.  You need an outfit for the day, one for the evening, several swim suits, because you can't wear the same one the whole the trip and a pair of shoes to match each outfit, jewlery....ARGGGHHH!  I wonder if this is what the guys go through too when they start packing the day of the trip!?!?!

Seriously, I am thrilled to be going on the cruise, getting away from well the winter from you know where.  Away from laundry, cooking and cleaning for a week.  A week of pampering, laying on the deck drinking a few cocktails, sight-seeing, scuba diving (maybe if my dive partner can handle my quirks...luv ya honey), relaxing, and most importantly hanging with family and friends.  Most of the "fam" hasn't seen the new addition to the Elledge clan yet.  Brae-Brae will be excited to meet her Aunt Steph, Uncle Mike, cousins Ashley, Stevie and the rest of the family.

Well I'm outta here, hubby has folks from work coming over for dinner tonight.

Later!

Have I said lately just how much I hate the midwest winters...well I do, hate it that is.  I believe this has been the longest winter that I can ever remember.  I've lived here my whole life, and I can't ever remember a winter lingering on this long.  It's 50 one day and 20 the next.  Snow one day and gone the next....ARGGGH!  So, in less than two weeks my pasty white butt will be lying on the deck of the "Freedom of Seas" Royal Caribean cruise ship.  We set sail on Sunday, March 9th for 7 days to paradise.  Ryan, Spencer (his A$$ better be on the plane with us) and little Brae-Brae.  My plan for those 7 days is to do absoloutely nothing.  Lounging by the pool, sipping on lava flows, getting a tan.  Perhaps I'll do a two-tank dive with my dive partner, Ryan or it might be the dive master.  Ryan doesn't like diving with me much, I take a lot longer to get down, my have issues with my ears equalizing and I tend to "allegedly" float about 10' above Ryan at all times.  I enjoy diving, it's the going down part I hate.

On our cruise we are hitting 3 ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas and St. Marten (I believe those are the ports).  I hope Braelyn is good and the she enjoys traveling this time as much as she enjoyed it to Colorado last weekend.  She was amazing on the plane and even better hanging out with us.  We had some of our best nights with her.

Spencer and his friend Phillip are cruising with us.  Phillip is a great kid, and I think my favorite friend of his, next to Gabe Karlin.  Phillip is so excited about the cruise.  He is meeting us in Miami, his sis lives there and he is headed down there a few days before getting on the ship to hang with her.

So, let's see I need to do some of the following prior to the cruise...get some key areas of my body waxed (OUCH!), tan, figure out what my post-preggers body can squeeze into (and no comment from you honey)...and I am sure a few other things.

Okay...need to start dinner!

Where does the time go?  When I was younger, I always wished that the day, the school year would go by faster so I could do the things that I thought were important.  Summer vacation, days at the pool, Chris and I trying not to get into too much trouble doing God only knows what.  The things that we had hoped mom and dad would never find out about, and yet some how they always did...parents, they have a six sense or something.  Mom always told me that the older I get the faster time flies.  You know what she was right.  I can't believe how fast the time does fly.

Spencer just enrolled in the 9th grade at Blue Valley North West for the 2008-2009 school year.  I went to the parents enrollement meeting the other morning and they called Spencer's class the "Class of 2012".  Wow - that sunk in, my first born will be graduating from high school in a little more than 4 years.  He will then be off in the world, either at College or the Navy.  He has it narrowed down to those two, but as we all know Spencer, he will likely change his mind a 100 times or more between now and 2012. 

My baby girl, and the newest addition to the Elledge family turned a month old on Saturday.  Again, where did the time go?  It seems like yesterday that Ryan and Spencer were driving me to the hospital on a Tuesday night.  It seems like yesterday that Braelyn Grace came into the world and it seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home.  I now find myself not wishing for the weekend, or not wishing tomorrow will get here faster, but that time will slow down a bit, so I can enjoy Braelyn as much as I can before she grows up.  She's already a month old, has gained 1.6 lbs since she was born.  She is holding her head up for a few seconds, and if you look real close, she is starting to smile.  I love the sounds she makes when she is hungry, tired or just wants to be held.  I know that in 18 years I'll be setting at her high school hearing that she is part of the "Class of 2026".  Those 18 years will fly by.

Even though Spencer drives me crazy some days, and I wish and hope that he would grow out of his teenage years and be more responsible, I do wish that the days would slow down a bit so that I can enjoy him more before leaves the house for good and start a life of his own.  I don't care if I am exhausted from lack of sleep, stink because Braelyn either pee'd, pooped (oh yes she has) or spit up on me.  Changed a 100 diapers, or fed her the entire day I wouldn't trade those days for anything...okay, well maybe if I could get a full nights sleep (I know that day will happen some day) .

So enjoy your family, your kids and the time that you have with them, because one day you will wonder where the time went.

...and do laundry, that's what else I am doing today while BGE sleeps peacefully.

Check out Ryan's website for new pics of BGE and the family.

R.

Okay, so Ryan has been blogging about the 2008 Election and who to keep out of the White House...hey babe I'm with you to keep the HC out!  So I was watching the news tonight, our local Fox affiliate here in KC, Fox 4 News (my news station of choice) and they mentioned that they have a "candidate match maker of sorts" on their site.  So my curiosity got the best of me and since I am still completely up in the air with who should receive my vote in November, I thought I'd try this match making thing out. 
So what you do is answer 20 quick questions on the topics that the candidates have been blowing smoke about and what views and beliefs they have.  After you answer all the quetions it gives you the candidates that most likely fit your views/opinions.  So according to my candidate match maker I am more capatable with McCain first, Romney 2nd and Obama 3rd.  I always considered myself a Republican, guess I'm glad I was matched up with them first.  BUT...McCain is sooo old and something about his bottom lip drives me crazy. Romney looks like a slick used car salesman and Obama...well he's a democrate.  Huckabee was at the bottom of my list, but ahead of the HC.  So this little match making thing didn't help me decide on a candidate, but it was fun and it wasted 5 minutes of my night.  If you want to waste a few minutes go to http://wdaf.4wmt.com/cmm/ and have fun!

Need to feed my very hungry, and tired daughter...till later!

R.

So it's been awhile since I have "blogged".  I guess you could say that I've been busy with Braelyn Grace.  Yep, she made her appearance into the world at 5:06 am on January 9th.  I know that you know that, I just feel that I need to mention it on my blog.  She does keep me hopping, although she sleeps about 80% of the day.  I think I've done more laundry this week than I have in my life.  Miss Brae has gone through 3 outfits today.  One from a bout of "spit-up" this morning (the outfit lost) and two outfits that she "tinkled" on while I was changing her.  It didn't help much when Spencer threw me a clean outfit and it landed in the "tinkled area". 

Speaking of Spencer, he is a huge help.  I've never seen a 14 year old boy love his little sister as much as Spencer loves Braelyn.  He loves to holder, and he hasn't complained...(yet) about helping out with her.  No he hasn't changed a diaper yet, not sure how that would work.  Braelyn might have two legs coming out of one side of the diaper .  Seriously, he has been awesome with her.  Couldn't ask for a better big brother for little Braelyn Grace.

The first week with BGE at home was fun.  Mom and Dad Elledge came in for a nice visit.  It was awesome that Mom was able to come see Braelyn the day she was born; Dad made it in 3 days after.  I know she will be a few pounds heavier and a little longer the next time they see her...on the cruise in about 6 weeks.  My parents made it to the hospital the day she was born.  I think my mom would have stayed the whole day, but as we all know my dad gets restless and can't spend too long in one place.  Mom did come up and help me last weekend while Ryan had to be in Phoenix for work.  It was nice having her here.  We got a lot accomplished and mom got to spend some nice time with her first grandaughter.

This week Miss Brae and I have been on our own during the day.  It 's amazing how fast the days go by.  I can't believe she's been with us for two weeks.  I have 7 more weeks of maternity leave and I know the time will fly by.  I'm trying to cherish every minute.  I've been doing laundry as mentioned before, cleaned the house up, and have made dinner every night...we haven't eaten out since...well not sure when.  It's been a blast.  Ryan asked if I am getting bored, I'm not yet.  Too many things to do here at the house for that to happen.
I took her to two different potential babysitters this week, I think I have made my mind up, but Ryan is meeting Whitney on Monday morning for his approval.  That is a tough decision.  Who is going to have complete control and care of our little girl for 9-10 hours a day.  Definitely a very overwhelming process.

We went to Ryan's office on Wednesday morning after Braelyn's two week check-up.  Everything is great and she is up 8oz to 7.1 lbs.  I think Braelyn was a hit.  All the gals thought she was pretty cute and so did a few of the guys.  That afternoon we went to my office and she received the same warm welcome.  The girl was a hit.  We are headed back to my office next Thursday.  I am going to do a little work while she hangs out with Justine.  Justine is a gal in my office who is ready to have a baby...she and her fiance' just need to tie the knot first. 

So guess I have blogged enough...need to throw in another load of laundry.

Check out all of Braelyn's pics in Ryan's gallery.  I think he uploads new shots of his "little princess" weekly.

Rebecca

It is early, 4:30 am on Sunday morning and 45 degrees outside, it's supposed to be almost 60 today.  I can't sleep, I've been awake since 3:01 (the time I rolled over and looked at the clock).  Wish I could sleep better, especially wih BGE arriving in about 5 days or less.  Maybe it's because I'm a little nervous that I can't sleep.  Maybe it's because I haven't done this in 14 years and I'm afraid I've forgotten something...maybe I'm afraid I'll be one of those mom's that BGE will hate having...I hope not.  I think mostly I am excited.  Excited that in 5 days (or less) Ryan and I will parents to a beautiful, HAPPY (hopefully) baby girl.

Spencer is really excited about her debut.  He wants to skip school on Thursday and be at the hospital when she is born.  I think that is okay, and it's not everyday you have a little sister.  I am really glad that he is excited about BGE's arrival.  Spencer will be a lot of help and an amazing big brother.

Hoover got up with me this morning, ate an early breakfast, did his business outside and I am sure is now back in his bed asleep dreaming of chasing rabbits or eating treats.  Ahhhh to have a dog's life.  I hope Ryan is still sleeping.  No honey, I promise I didn't go into the office this morning .
 
Sunday...today I will hang the letter's up in BGE's room.  My goal for the day!  I think we are grilling tonight, ribs outside.  Ryan and Sean B or David F are taking our very bare Christmas tree down today too.  With me being 9 months pregnant I'm not much help lifting or carrying anything over about 20 lbs.

Ryan took me to J. Gilbert's last night for dinner.  It was our last nice meal the two of us will have at a restaraunt for quite a while.  Jayson Kayne (who played at our wedding) was playing and played a few Dave songs for us.  Two that we had never heard him play before, it was a very nice treat.

So the plan this week...work on Monday and Tuesday in the office.  Wednesday I am working from home to make sure I have everything done.  Then maternity leaves starts on 1/10 and will end officically on 3/10, but we'll be on a cruise.  I need to check with Jamie to make sure it's okay I come back to work on 3/17.  I need to call daycare and see when BGE can start.  I think it's the end of the month.  So...I maybe working from home or something for a week or two.  Yep I need to get on that!

Okay enough rambling for the day...I'm going to start a load of laundry and do then do what Hoover did...go back to bed!

Oh, and check Ryan's website out for BGE updates and pics.

Love to all!
Rebecca

I can't believe Christmas 2007 has come and gone.  It seems like it were just a couple of months ago that we were taking the Christmas tree down and Ryan was heading back to San Diego for work.  The year has definitely gone by fast and a lot of things have changed for the Elledges. 
Ryan "moved back" to KC in February and didn't have to travel to San Diego nearly as much as he did in 2006.  It sure has been nice having him home more this year.  You get spoiled having him around (love ya honey).
In late April we went to Maui with the Murphy's.  We had to postpone our January trip due to Gabe and Ryan's schedules at work.  It was so worth the wait.  The weather was beautiful, we were able to see a couple whales, but not as many as were there in January.  We laid in the sun, had some lava flows, ate great food and best of all hung out with our great friends.  It was a week in paradise.
We came back the first week of May on a Sunday night.  It was the night that I found out I was "preggers".  Yep - as you all know we are expecting a baby girl, Braelyn Grace Elledge on January 10th (if not sooner).  
Steve and Vickie ventured out to KC in May for a visit over Memorial Day weekend.  It was really nice to see them here and have them spend time with us.  We don't get to see them as much as we would like, so any visit we can get is always welcomed.
In June, Ryan and I became proud owners of a boat.  We named it Wastin' Time...and yep, that's what we do on it.  It's very relaxing hanging out on the lake with great friends.  Enjoying the boaters life.  We spent quite a few weekends down there this year, and are ready for our summer weekends down there in 2008 too.  Miss Braelyn will be all comfy in her quarters, all cool and relaxing.  Can't wait to buy Braelyn her first bikini!
In July, we went to Chicago with Gabe and Stephanie to a DMB concert and had a really nice weekend.  Spencer spent the month of June with his dad, so July he was back with me.  He got to spend sometime with both sets of grandparents here in KC.
In August, Ryan and I sent Spencer to Casper for a week to spend time with Grandpa Steve and Grandma Vickie.  I believe ALL the grandkids invaded Casper during this week and camped out at the Elledge Casa.  Spencer had a blast and enjoyed hanging out with his cousins and grandparents.  Spencer turned 14 in August.  He went to the DMB concert in KC for his b-day and sat(did I use that correctly, sweetie?!) in the 4th row.  Something not too many people ever get to do.
Spencer started the 8th grade this year, next year he'll be a Freshman at Blue Valley Northwest, where has the time gone?
September, Ryan and Gabe had to go to Bulgaria for a business trip.  He decided to extend his trip a bit and visit Rome for 5 days.  Stephanie and Debbie were able to make the trip out there with them and they came back with some great stories!  They had a blast. 
October, brought the 2nd Annual Elledge Spook-tacular Halloween Bash.  We had about 50 people this year, up a little from last year.  We enjoyed it...have to admit though.  It was so much easier cleaning the house up after a night of drinking diet coke than after a night of drinking of Mich Ultra!  Ryan got a new ride in October, a beautiful blue 2007 Cadillac Escalade.  It's nice and he loves it!  I have to admit, it's awesome driving it!
November, brought us a baby shower, Vickie came in for a long weekend.  It was nice to see her and spend some time with her.  The baby's room was completed (still have the BGE's name to put on the wall, but that's it)!  Thanksgiving was Ryan, Spencer, Hoover and me loading up Ryan's new ride and taking a roadtrip to Casper.  We were there for a week visiting the Elledge Clan.  It was awesome being with family.
In December, I turned the big 34...I am getting so old...man!  Ryan bought me a gorgeous watch for my b-day this year.  I love it!  We celebrated Christmas Eve with my family.  A trip to mom and dad's yesterday, church, dinner presents and way too much food.  It makes you realize the true meaning of Christmas isn't gifts, but spending time with those that you love and care about, even if you aren't able to see them.  Ryan spent his first Christmas away from his family in, well, I think forever.  I know he missed them tons and I know that they all missed him.  Spencer went to his dad's this afternoon and he'll be there until New Year's Day.
January 2008 will bring a new Chapter in for the Elledge's.  Braelyn Grace will be born in a little over two weeks (time has flown by).  I'll be a mom to a baby girl, and Ryan will be a really cool dad to a gorgeous daughter.  Spencer will be a very awesome big brother, he's ready to have her here now.  His biggest fear is that he will miss the big day while at his dad's.  I promised he wouldn't...did you hear that BGE, you have to hold off until after 1/1!

Till 2008 - Merry Christmas...love ya all

I can't believe that little "BGE" will be here in 3-4 weeks.  She's due on 1/12, but I'll be enduced on 1/10 if she hasn't come by then.  Spencer was 10 days early, so if we go by that then she'll arrive on 1/2 - Stephanie Murphy's b-day.  At any rate Miss Braelyn will be here, maybe then I can start putting on socks and shoes with out grunting (which by the way Ryan finds very funny).
Spencer is getting excited about his little sister arriving.  He should be at our house the weekend that she is brought home.  He's really concerned with that.  He wants to be at the hospital when she is born and wants to be home when we bring her home.  I think he will be a wonderful big brother. 
So the room is finished...we need to hang a shelf in the bathroom, hang her "name" above the changing table and get a glider.  I still need a couple of items...major one, car seat and a mattress.  I'll try to get those taken care of next weekend.  Key word is try.
So...I turned 34 on Tuesday.  I don't feel any older, I hope I don't look any older.  So I guess nothing has really changed.  It was actually a great b-day.  We had this huge ICE STORM...NOT!  They cancelled school, Ryan's office closed and I worked from home.  It was supposed to be really bad and turned out to be nothing at all.  But, it was a great day.  I spent time with the boys, went to lunch with the Murphy's and Ryan took me out to Jose' Peppers for dinner.  I couldn't have asked for a better b-day.
Well...need to put the clothes in the dryer and figure out what the heck is wrong with garage door.  My garage door won't go down...oh yeah, and a wire broke on the pulley thing.  I need to figure if it's covered by our warranty or if I need to call Overhead Door out tomorrow.

Oh yeah...and only 9 shopping days left till Christmas, are you done shopping?

Well, here it is Sunday morning at 10:30.  I've been toTarget...yep honey spent some money, but I was able to get all my groceries and cleaning supplies in one stop...saves so much time and money, promise.  I have mixed emotions about Target, love the merchandise, the people are always very nice and friendly.  The policies there pretty much suck.  Note: if you don't have a receipt or gift receipt you can't take anything back or exchange the item...stupid policy.  DO NOT USE TARGET'S GIFT REGISTERY...ever!
Okay, now that is out of the way...back to "it's Sunday morning.  Spencer is still asleep upstairs, wish I could sleep in till 10:30...heck I'd take 7:00 am.  Hoover is barking at lord know's what...he's in a "barking" mood today, that's all he's done all morning.  I think he wants me to think that he's on guard or something.  I've done two loads of laundry, third one is in the washer.
Ryan's in Phoenix for maybe three, four or seven days.  Not sure.  They are moving server's to another building.  I talked to him last night at midnight for about 30 seconds.  Guess things are going okay there.  Hopefully he's not wearing himself out too much.
Speaking of last night, I made an appearence at Ryan's company Holiday party.  It was nice, it was a Deer Creek Country Club in OP.  Good food, diet coke was good and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.  They had a DJ from Oldies 94.9.  They only had one DMB song, I requested whatever they had, the DJ kindly told me that Dave Matthews wasn't very good dancing music, I told him I didn't care and that he should play it in anyway.  So finally...Ants Marching played.  The oldies music was finally over and he started playing some hip-hop.  Gabe, Stephanie, Eli, Heather and myself got onto the dance floor and started getting "jiggy with it".  Note to self...BGE enjoys dancing .
So I got home a little after midnight...after a stop at J.Alexander's for some steak, french fries and wine for Gabe; carrot cake and diet coke for BGE; wine and fries for Eli and Heather ; and a diet coke for Stephanie.  We had a nice evening, I wish Ryan were there to have some fun too.  Everyone missed you babe...even Cherie and Rose said it wasn't the same with out you. Oh BTW - Rose and Bud are dancin' fools!
So back to today...I am going to put up our Christmas tree in the loft, more laundry, attempt to start Christmas cards and maybe squeeze in a nap...definitely a nap!

Till next time...oh and MU lost...that was a bummer.