Go Tigers!

Our weekend was filled with lots of fun watching the KC Royals and Detroit Tigers play. We went Friday night and Saturday night. Friday night we went with a soldier that Josh works with and his wife, and Saturday we went with Todd and Liz. Very fun, and the Tigers won both games!

Here's a fun story...so Josh and I really wanted to watch the Men's Marathon in the Olympics. But it was on Saturday night and we were going to be gone. So we dug our VCR out of storage and found which box the video tapes were in high in our closet. Then we realized we didn't have the right cables to connect the VCR to our TV and cable in order to record the show. Dang it, all that work for nothing. So then we call Todd and Liz and ask if they can tape it for us. We met them by the stadium for the game then afterwards it wasn't too late so we decided to drive 30 minutes to their house, then 60 back to ours.... so we did. We pulled out of their driveway with our wonderful tape and realized, we still don't have the means to connect the VCR to the TV to watch it. Wow. We're geniuses. BUT after a fashion we figured out how to do it. So Sunday afternoon we sit down to enjoy a good marathon and the VCR eats the tape. Josh is very quickly getting frustrated. So we wind the tape up and try again....eaten. Wind it up again. Finally we get the tape in the VCR fine, but it wont' go in far enough to shut the door behind it and it's completely stuck. Josh is about to tear the whole thing apart when finally it just needed a love tap to work properly. So we hit play and whala.....Big Ten Tonight--spotlight on Michigan football 2008. So we rewind it, only Josh wants to rewind it fast so he hits stop then rewind and that must have been some fail-safe on the VCR because it spit the tape 1/2 way out and chewed up a bunch of tape. So we are yanking on the tape to get it out and about 2 minutes later it is freed and we are careful winding tape back up again. We decided to only rewind while it's playing and when it starts showing the marathon we'll just not watch till it gets to the beginning. Well we rewind an hour and 48 minutes and its still Big Ten Tonight....then we realized Todd may have rewound it for us to the spot where it was about to start. So we fast-forwarded past Big Ten Tonight and found Oprah. She was showing people the effects of smoking on your appearance as you age. Pretty fascinating and gross at the same time. So, no marathon. About this time Josh calls Todd, who, having turned on their TV that morning, realized he didn't change the channel to NBC. We ended up finding the whole event encore on NBC.com so we got to watch all of it anyway....but it was really funny. Wow. :)

9 days and counting...

A lot has happened in the last week! Saturday we went to Lincoln to visit lots of friends. Very fun! We saw the Megrue's for lunch and the afternoon. Then we had supper with the soon-to-be Eigsti's and saw the new Eigsti bed-and-breakfast! :) It was very fun! Sunday we went to church at Faith Bible. It was so good to be back! Casting Pearls lead music for church and that was super awesome! Evan and Kristy went with us and we met up with Beth and Dallas for dinner after church. Josh and I have been listening to sermons by Andy Stanley lately in the car. They are so good! Dad started us on him about two years ago and we really like listening to his messages. He's funny and a very entertaining ((and challenging!)) speaker. So we had some great conversation following a sermon on the way home. Then it was back to work.

Exciting news for Monday is that we got a phone call from the Arasmith's telling us what gender baby they are having! Yeah! And I walked 5 miles in 75 minutes. (and if you're asking yourself if I was sore afterwards the answer is yes--still sore). Then Josh and I played Scrabble. :)

Tuesday I went on base to work out (I can drive again!! 6 weeks is finally up!) then I ate lunch with my hard working husband and went to get groceries (I am allowed to lift over 10 lbs now!). Then I showered and I didn't have to use baby shower gel CAUSE IT'S BEEN 6 WEEKS! So yeah...all my Dr's limitations expired. I feel pretty good! Still can't run. Only because of comfort reasons, my heart would be fine. And there's absolutely no way I could do a push up. Josh and I also met up with a bunch of girls I worked with and their significant others for supper at El Maguey's. Sooo fun! I say this a lot but I love those girls. They are so great!

Today I went and got the oil changed, watched some Olympics whilest doing house stuff. Now here I am. Filling you all in on our lives! But I still have some laundry and dishes and vacuuming to do. So I must go. :)

But first- a timeline:
2 Days till we watch the Tigers play the Royals.
9 days till Michigan for Labor Day
3 1/2 weeks till Scipp's wedding
5 weeks till our fun trip to DC and Josh's 10-Miler race
7 1/2 weeks till we move! WOW.

Cheese Curds

Ashley and I met Holly and Miranda in Janesville Sunday afternoon. Ashley and I said goodbye to my Wisconsin family and hopped in the Sunfire for more adventures. We started the party off with some grilling and corn on the cob. I do credit this meal for being the first of my 'getting-my-appetite-back meals. Holly also made homemade guac. dip. Oh my. Delish. Holly had LifeGroup so Mir and Ashley and I hung out while she was out. We watched That Thing You Do sometime this day and has anyone noticed that "Jimmy" from that movie is a commercial now that's on all the time during the Olympics...I forget what for....maybe shampoo?

Monday included lots of fun! We toured the state capitol and shopped on State St. We ate lunch at a place called Ians which is a pizza place that makes unique 'flavors?'/kinds of pizza. There was lasagna pizza, fettucini alfredo pizza, signature specialty mac n cheese pizza, lots of crazies. I had buffalo chicken. It was spicy and yummy. Then Monday evening we went to a place referred to by the locals as 'the Nitty'. Good stuff! Ashley and I sampled fried cheese curds there. Mmmm. The rest of the world calls them mozerella sticks (only I think they had other cheeses in the middle). Then we went to the Terrace on campus, which is a pretty awesome place on the lake. We hung out there, called Nader, and watched the sun set. Then we went to Barnes and Nobles to pick out our new books for the book club. We got some good ones! PS- if someone knows of a good book for getting cultural or historical background for New Testament times let me know....we're looking! Then we headed back to the ranch for peach smoothies and to listen to Holly's songs she's written. Good stuff!

Tuesday we relaxed in the morning, then Miranda had to leave for Milwaukee for some support raising appointments. Ashley and I went on a super long walk- great conversation- and some great outdoor time. We both want screened in porches. Then we hit up Dairy Queen. And let me just say, I wish we were back on project cause Holly would not have messed up my Sundae. Yeah, not hard to mess up I know, but they did. What kind of Dairy Queen doesn't have Hershey's syrup? Anyhoo. Then we went to Holly's Ultimate Frisbee playoff game and that was fun. She scored the last two goals...one sliding on her knees. Wow! I had never seen it played before. Turns out, I would be really bad at that game. So I'm glad all the times I was asked to play in college I was busy. :) Ashley and I played some cards when we got home and then we stayed up late chatting.

Wednesday Ashley and I went on another long walk. It was much cooler so we enjoyed it much more. (Just in case you were wondering, Holly had to work during the day :( but it worked out well). Then we got back, cleaned up a bit, walked to Casas del Sol to eat lunch (AMAZING), packed and showered, and then were off to the airport when Holly got home from work. More great time spend together!

It was such a great trip!

A Picture Diary. :)

The drive to Des Moines to meet the rest of the family was fun. Dannan got a couple chances to drive from the passenger seat while Josh ate/stretched/looked for something/took a nap. I went through all the car games I knew cause we would play one and Dannan would ask for another. We played the "word association game". You know...someone says 'blue grass' then the next person could say 'blue tooth' then the next 'tooth decay' then the next 'urban decay' then 'sub-urban' ha ha ha. You get it. Then we played the name-a-hurricane game, male names first then female. They have to be awful names. There were some great ones. Very fun.

After we met up with everyone else at a shady Ramada we re-arranged, re-packed and hopped back in the two vehicles. Yeah- isn't it awesome that my immediate family has to take two cars (well one was a minivan)! Actually we really would need three if it was all of us cause Marth and Ryan and the twins and Dallas were missing. Wow. :) Love it! So we stopped at a rest stop to eat. Beth made all the food and it was yummo. Then back on the road for a great adventure off the interstate in IL.



Adventure 1: The Interstate Closed at the Iowa border and we had to find our own way to IL. WOW.
Adventure 2: Our map was the size of a grocery list, and the area we were trying to get to was conveniently located directly under a staple.
Adventure 3: As the night fell, nobody's cell phone would work. Except for Ashley's! So she saved the day. Eventually someone in the van had her phone so we had no clue what was happening. But we got there!


My Aunt and Uncle had just got a new house nearer to the city, and Dad and Beth, Josh and I, and Ashley stayed in that house. My Aunt said there was no way I was sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor after heart surgery. Turns out that was probably a good assessment on her part. Oh man. The next morning, Marth and Ry and the twins arrived at the 'town' house :) (it's not a townhouse) and we played for awhile. Dad and Ry taught the boys how to climb up stairs. I'm sure that was helpful. Then we headed out to the farm. Awaiting us there was my cousin Karl and his wife Katy, Levi, Dannan, Cale and Megan, and Evan and Kristy. Throughout the day my cousin Anna came with her man Lucas and then another Uncle and his fiance and another cousin Graham came. We were missing 3 cousins, 2 significant others, and Dallas.


The food was great. Marth brought 2 buckets and a huge tub of blueberries and I'm pretty sure we ate almost all of them. We had BBQ sandwiches and yummo potato something and the best chip dip EVER! And a fresh broccoli salad that Josh actually ate! He hates broccoli and he liked it! So I have to learn to make that. We ate, and chatted, and then started our Inaugural Cornhole Tournament. Josh and Ryan created a bracket. We went by couples and it worked out perfectly. I was not allowed to play so Dannan played as me! She was much better than I would have been. Champions: Josh and Dannan! Runners Up: Martha and Ry!

We had a campfire and smores that night. Though for some reason in the picture exchange before we left, I do not have any of those pictures any more. And we took a group pic and that too, I do not have anymore. Sad! Here are some other activities though!

Then the night was over. The next morning we attempted brunch with 1/2 a million people but ended up splitting up to get in a few places. Ashley and I were headed to Wisconsin so we ate with the WI relatives and hitched a ride up north with them to hang out with our wonderful project friends Miranda and Holly. We stayed there till Wednesday evening and then flew home. Do not worry. I will fill you in on that trip as well- but this is long and it needs it's own space! :)

Back Home!

I'm not quite ready with the pictures yet, so this will be brief with more details tomorrow- but I'm back from vacation!

Josh and I (and Ashley Felder-Schweitz :) and Dannan) left KC Friday morning, met the rest of the fam in Des Moines, then drove out to Baileyville, IL. Family Reunion Schweitz style. :) Very fun!!

Then Sunday everyone went back home, except Ashley and I who went up to Madison to hang out with our wonderful friends Holly and Miranda!

Gosh, this is kinda of lame! I told you it would be short, but I don't want to tell stories till I have pictures ready! More tomorrow, I promise!

Why So Serious?

Josh and Erin here. Yello!! Not much going on today. We just spent some time watching Smallville; for those of you who may not be aware, this show is freaking sweet! Clark Kent / Superman = Josh's fantasy. For real. In honor of this amazing show, we've decided to pay homage and dub this weekend's family reunion none other than...Schweitz-a-pa-looza (with the 'S' in Schweitz looking like the Superman logo).

On another note, turns out that Erin's artificial pulmonary artery costs roughly the same as our Pontiac Grand Prix did when I first bought it...whoa. Luckily, depreciation isn't as high on human tissue as it is on automobiles. Cool beans. And, we'll get more out of the artery than we will out of the 'Yac.

Our weekend was pretty fun. On Saturday, we woke up early so I could log some miles in preparation for the Army Ten-Miler and Kansas City Half Marathon in October. I met up w/ an Army buddy to run the hills of Platte City...yeah, that was pretty dumb. By the end, I was sweating so bad that whenever I took a step, sweat squished out of my shoes! I think Erin almost puked seeing that. She logged 4+ miles of her own walking; she's doing awesome the past few days. I don't think we could decide who was in more pain after our morning workout...hmmm. We're doing the Relay for Life 5K in two weeks; Erin is going to dominate for sure!

Ok, so after our workout, we prepped our home for visitors. Some of Erin's old work friends came over for some sourdough waffles and fruit. Chandra even brought some of her famous salsa. Not sure how salsa goes w/ waffles and fruit, but Tara wanted it and we all enjoyed it. Tara explained the intricacies of running hurdles and the pain of biting it hard during a meet. Good times, good times.

Sunday was spent w/ the Arasmiths. Todd just purchased NCAA '09 for PS3, so he just had to show it to me. We also grilled some delicious chicken and pineapple, watched some NASCAR, and enjoyed some Custard's Last Stand. It was great to hang out w/ them and hear about their plans for Baby Arasmith! Whoo hoo!!

Oh, I almost forgot...we saw one of the greatest movies EVER. That would be The Dark Knight. Wow! And, we only paid $5 each for Erin and me. Super Duper!

Achey Breaky Heart?!

I think this is what it would be like if you realized what it was like when you were a baby. You know, if you could have your adult mind in baby-hood. Every day I find I can do something new that I couldn't do before. A whole bunch of 1st. It's actually weird, because I don't do anything to gain the ability to do these new things, time passes, and I can! Which I'm sure it what my nephews are experiencing now. :) And how about a picture from this time two weeks ago for good measure!

The 1sts for this week:

Monday- can lay completely flat and sleep

Tuesday- can stay up all day! oh yeah- and can go for a 2 mile walk by myself!

Wednesday- can sit up and lay down all by myself...doesn't feel good, but I can do it! Also, can bend over with my legs straight to pick up something off the floor.

Today- can reach my back in the shower! All that terrible stretching is paying off! Well, and I think some of the stiffness is finally beginning to go away. AND I was actually very hungry for lunch today, so I think my appetite may be coming back.

Who knows what's next!

Josh has been working really hard at work this week, lots of catching up to do and lots of new responsibilities! But of course, he's dominating being a Commander. That means he's pretty tired when he gets home and night but it's still fun to hear about what list of things he got done during the day now, and what fraction of a sandwich he had time to eat! ((This is very different than 'researching things on the internet' and 'taking a 90 minute lunch with the office door shut' days.)) Not that those ever happened.......

Here's what I do in a normal day. Since I've pretty much settled into what will be for the next 3 months or so...

-7:30-8 wake up

-check email and blog and facebook

-check on bills and stuff like that

-go for a walk before it gets piping hot. I'm averaging 45-50 minutes! Mostly cause it takes me that long to do what I think will be a short route. But it feels good.

-shower

-lunch
-crossword puzzles, phone a friend, laundry, cleaning

-read a book/magazine....this is the majority of the afternoon --maybe even hit up the library 3 blocks away if it's not triple digits hot.

-wait for Josh to get home.... :) supper!

-hang out with the hub

-10:00-10:30 bed time

I know it will be great when I'm allowed to drive again though. There are always errands to run and things like that, but I'm confined to within walking distance and not carrying more than 10 lbs now. And I'm not allowed excessive time in the sun, or to be in a pool. So that pretty much cancels out everything.

Wow this is a beast. But two more quick things- Tuesday night a friend from work (well, my ex-work) brought supper over, it was delish. We had a lot of fun having guests! And, my 'step-aunt' is bringing over supper tonight for us. Isn't that sweet! People make me feel really special! More later!