Weekend Update

Today was such a beautiful day that we decided to play outside.....Karley also learned how to ride a bike without training wheels (kind of) This is the first time this year she has tried and she is a lot less timid than she was last year.

This morning we woke up and took Karley to her cheer pictures. Below is her squad and coach. I can not tell you how much she LOVES cheerleading. She wakes up most mornings and asks if she gets to cheer at a game today. Needless to say, we have NO problem waking her up on Saturday mornings.

Today was a very big day though. The girls have been working on a dance routine for the past 2 weeks and today they were able to perform it at half time. These pictures don't do it justice. It was quite possibly one of the most adorable things I have seen in my life. I was in charge of pointing to the girls to let them know when it was their time to go so that is why you see the back of my big 'ol head in a picture or two.....

This last photo for today is of Karley and the neighbor girl, Allie. Don't let their smiles fool you though~~ They can fight like a couple of teenagers! Allie's mom, again, came to my rescue the other night by taking Karley off our hands so we could get a little more work in the basement done before the sheetrocker came in. They kept her for a couple of hours and even fed her...I am so thankful for them....she always seems to know when I am in a bind!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Karley is having some friends spend the night and I have to go get these kids to bed! Stay tuned for another basement update soon!

Round one of the finishing!

Tonight the finisher came to begin taping the basement. Here are a few pictures from stage one of the muding/taping project. I can't believe it took her just a few hours to do it all. She said that she would be done with it by Monday and it will be ready to paint.....I am so excited! I have already picked out my colors but I am sure it will change between now and the next 3 days!

This is a updated photo of the shelf in the bathroom that they are custom building. We are thinking that we can use the bottom for towels and such and the top for nick-knack type of do-dads....As you all know I have a few of those.

This is the bedroom when you walk in the door. The area you are looking at is the closet that Todd put up the other night. It was placed there to hide the electrical box and the closet is pretty big which will come in handy when we have a teenager living down there someday!
And last, but not least is a photo of the amazing bendable Karley. She is the most flexible kid i know. (she wanted me to post this one! She is proud of her flexibility!)

Tomorrow is cheer pictures and a big game where the girls are doing a half time show. I will post some pictures of this soon. I am sure it will be very cute!

Have a great night!

Basement Update Part 2

This weekend was very busy around here. We finished framing the basement, ran the plumbing and set the bathtub. They were very busy and worked until 3am on Friday Night which made for an early morning Saturday when we had to take Karley to her cheerleading.....

Below are some pictures of the updated basement. I know it looks a lot like the pictures i posted on "Basement part 1" but I swear they got a lot of stuff done!

This is going to be so cool. They framed in a cabinet in the bathroom so I can put some towels and extras. Now I don't have to go out and buy a cabinet that will take up space......I can't wait to see this finished.

Here is Todd Cleaning up after several LONG days of work. I am sure he is going to sleep well tonight. Tomorrow night they are delivering the Sheetrock and Todd and Martin will hang it. We have decided to hire someone to tape and mud the walls and she will come on Friday.....Then I will begin painting. Anyone have any color suggestions????

Overall, this project has gone very fast. I can't believe how fast actually considering there has just been 2 people working on it. The next pictures I will post will be with the Sheetrock up. YIPPEE!!!!

Below is a picture of Karley in her new outfit....She especially loves the hat! (and I do to!) Have a great week!

The Basement...Part 1

Hello Again!

It has been a while since my last post and I wanted to update everyone on our basement progress. We--and by we I mean Todd, Dad and Martin....okay 85% Martin, 10% Todd and 5% Dad-- have been working for 3 days and already have (almost) everything framed and the electrical work done. IMPRESSIVE! What is even more impressive is that Todd hasn't hurt himself! WOO HOO!!

SO, below are some photos of our work in progress. Here you go!

The first two pictures are going down the stairs (doy!) where they put in the carpet a couple of weekends ago. This area already had Sheetrock and, yes people, I already have one coat of paint on it! (Is anyone surprised??)

Todd on Stilts---Just looking at this picture makes me nervous.

The next 2 photos are of what is going to be the living area. I am in love with the daylight windows!

Here is the bedroom all framed and wired up. Now I need to go furniture shopping! Just Kidding Todd, Don't have a heart attack! But, seriously, we do need at least a bed in here.....

Bear with me on this one, The next photo will be the bathroom. I know it is hard to picture now because there is all kinds of Karley toys in it but we will have a bath/shower combo, vanity and stool in there.....soon.

ZAAAPPPPPP!!!

Just Kidding! Everything went well...I think.

And then there is sleeping beauty. She has been a trooper! She isn't a big fan of all the noise but she is excited for the finished product. She told my sister that we are going to have a bathroom in our basement soon. When Jamie asked how that was going to happen Karley told her that we were going to go buy the room at the store. If only it were that simple!

Have a great week! I will update more photos soon.

All about Todd

32 Random things about Todd

1. He loves me…and has for (almost) 13 years…well, on and off for 13 years (LOL!!)
2. He loves our daughter SO MUCH and tries to spend as much time with her as possible
3. He can eat more food than any other person I know
4. And not gain any weight…(why don’t I have the same metabolism?)
5. He knows things about math that I hope I NEVER have to learn
6. He takes the trash out
7. When I clean every part of the house, except the bathrooms, he will do it for me--actually he will vacuum and dust without me asking too.....I am spoiled!
8. He loves playing the game “if money grew on trees, I would…”. We spend a good part of our car trips on this very topic.
9. He does the dishes after dinner which includes loading and unloading the dishwasher.
10. His favorite desserts do not include chocolate--
11. They are things like ice cream with nerds on top, sweet tarts and gummy things…none of those are in my top three
12. He has one brother and 932 cousins on his dad's side....okay. i have exaggerated that a little but it feels that way sometimes.
13. When I am cranky, he sits closer to me and tells me he loves me. But knows when to move away from me also…fine line folks!
14. Even though he would rather be watching the football game (or NASA channel!), he will let me watch Desperate housewives and he will even watch it with me.
15. Even though MY wardrobe has changed considerably over the past several years because of my tremendous body changes, he tells me constantly how beautiful he thinks I am
16. He has a great group of friends
17. He is my absolute favorite person on this earth and I am so thankful that I get to be married to him
18. He loves to work on our house and is pretty handy
19. He is so busy that he doesn’t get to spend much time doing that.
20. He is the hardest worker I know....and the most patient when it comes to dealing with people.
21. He leaves the house, M-F (and some Saturdays), by 5:45am. I am usually still sound asleep.
22. His favorite cereal is Cinnamon Life
23. He really enjoys vacationing to the beach and he loves the ocean.
24. He RARELY gets upset. I’m talking, hardly ever. If he is upset then it must be something pretty big.
25. He LOVES reality TV....especially big brother.
26. He is THE reason that the painting in our house looks good.
27. he loves to sleep in although rarely gets to do this.
28. he will let Karley paint his fingernails and he doesn't give a damn what other people think of it.
29. He will play dolls with Karley and enjoys taking her to Daisy's and cheerleading class....
30. He hates wet socks
31. He fits in so well with my family....and they treat him just like he belongs to them. (ahem!) I am just saying....if we had to decide who the favorite was between my sister, myself and Todd....the winner would be Todd hands down. Wouldn't you agree Jamie??
32.I know without a doubt that he would do ANYTHING to make Karley and I happy.....we are so lucky.

Our Little Cheerleader!

This morning was Karley's first cheer event. As you can see in the photo below, Todd wasn't quite awake but we were super excited to see her in action! Karley even woke up on her own this morning (bright and early) to tell us that she couldn't wait! Too cute!

Karley cheers for Upward Cheerleading which is run through the Western Hills Baptist Church. It is less than a mile from our house and the church that Todd and I got married in almost 9 years ago. (that was a hint to him----maybe he will start planning a trip for our 10 year!) Anywhoo......Karley's team cheers for a girls kindergarten basketball league. So, neither know what they are doing and it is cute and funny and (for me) super emotional because my daughter is growing up so fast.......(sniff sniff)



Before we left the house Karley insisted that she had to stretch to warm up. LOL

Below are some photos from the event today. We were sitting at a horrible angle to get any good shots and I wish that Sunni lived here so she could pop on over and be our photographer but we work with what we have so here you go!

The next few pictures are from the half time performance.....It was soooooo cute!! Karley was in charge of holding the upward sign and she did a really good job of remembering to grab it off the floor when it was time to do that. (and she had to do it 5-6 times!) She also did a little jump and (attempted) a toe touch at the end of EVERY cheer.

So, if anyone is interested in coming to see her in action--her games are on Saturday mornings at 9am. She loves to perform for anyone who will watch! In fact, after the game we went to Cracker Barrel to have breakfast and she told us that she "LOVES" cheerleading and I have to say, she is pretty good at it!

Have a Great weekend!

What do you think?

Today has already been a long day! I woke up (late, as usual) and rushed around to get myself and Karley ready for the day. We did make it to the bus stop (with time to spare!) After Karley got on the bus I headed down to the store to be Chef Kelly. It took me a couple of hours to get all of the food out and then I rushed back to the house so the repair dude could come and fix our "newer" washer and dryer. Last year we bought a front loading set and, although I do love it, It has kind of been pissing me off.
Lately, when we start a load of laundry, the damn thing shakes until it is in the middle of the floor and you have to go in and push it back to it's original spot. Also, the dryer has been stopping in the middle of the cycle and the clothes are still damp. ARRRRR.....
Todd called Sears and scheduled this appointment for today which is great, right? Wrong. The guy arrived and was super nice but he said he couldn't fix the washer because it would take too long and it was hard to get to. HMMMMM......Okay.....
He moved onto the dryer where there was a factory error. They "forgot" to hook up the heat sensor. What kind of dumbasses are doing this? How do you "forget" something like that?
So, now I am kind of pissed. I have realized that for a year my washer has been possessed and my dryer has not been working properly. I am looking over the receipt for exactly what we paid for the washer and dryer and it is making me more and more angry.

When the guy was getting ready to leave he said:

"Sorry I couldn't get to the washer.....I just have a lot of service calls today and it would be hard to get to and take a lot of time...."

And here is what I said to him:

"well, .....................................

Hey guys, who knows me best? Lets make this fun.....what do YOU think I said to him??? Let me know what you think. Then I will tell you the answer.

This will be so much fun!

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This week is going so fast! I spent 5 hours painting (or should i say re-painting) yesterday and was making some pretty good progress until i fell off the ladder. As I was laying on the floor I remember thinking, this is the one and only time I miss the carpet. I am okay though....my hip is bruised up like a horse kicked me and there is a nice brown stripe going down my blue wall but it could have been SO much worse.
Lesson learned....I will not be standing on ladders while I am home by myself ever again. I will just use chairs. HA!

Have a great rest of the week!

KEL

I am so sad to say that Megan McBride-Franz passed away today at 3:30. Her husband posted on her website an extremely emotional goodbye message. I copied and pasted it below......



“Gone From My Sight”

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side, spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and startsfor the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other. Then, someone at my side says,
'There, she is gone' Gone where? Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast, hull and spar as she was when she left my side. And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. Her diminished size is in me -- not in her. And, just at the moment when someone says,
'There, she is gone,' there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, 'Here she comes!'
And that is dying...-Henry Van Dyke
Megan’s hospice nurse gave me a book, a pamphlet really, to help people know what to expect and be ready for as their loved one approaches death. The pamphlet talks about how much the patient will eat, how much they will sleep, and generally what to expect. The last page of this pamphlet was perhaps the most useful. It contained the above poem. As I read these words I felt like the author was speaking to my soul. I realized that although Megan is leaving all of us, she is beginning a new journey.
Megan Franz passed away at home this afternoon at about 3:30 PM. Her parents, brother Ted, Sister-In-Law Tiffany, and myself had the honor of sharing this celebration with her. Megan passed very peacefully, and I am sure that she heard our words of love, encouragement and peace as she left us.
I have lost my wife, I have lost my best friend. I have never experienced hurt like this, but I know time will heal the pain. I know this, because Megan taught me. She taught me many lessons through the time I have known her. The most important lesson she taught me was how to live life. Over the past 10 months all of you have made countless offers to help out in any way you could. Especially during the last month. Well, I have thought of something you can do for Megan. After your hurt heals, you can live your life the way she taught you to live it. You can love your spouse. You can love your life. You can look at each day as a gift and make the most of it. You can smile more, and frown less. You can Love. That’s what we all can do for Megan. Megan’s service will be held at Church of the Resurrection in Overland Park KS. Chances are the service will be at 3:00PM on Wednesday, but this time is yet to be set in stone. I will write another post when it is firmed up. Thank you all for your constant thoughts and prayers through this difficult time. I along with Tom and Meef, and our families couldn’t face it without you.
Much Love,
Alex Franz


I am so sad for their family. Please keep them all in your prayers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

We are off to a great start! On my birthday, Karley and I were leaving the house to meet a friend for lunch and when we went out to the car by battery was dead. Goodbye $75 bucks! We hopped in Todd's truck and went to lunch anyways! While we were gone, Todd got it jumped and thought it would be okay so he finished up the hardwood floors and began drawing out his next project, the basement.
When we got home we hung out for a while and then it was off to meet my family for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We, again, got in the car and it was dead again. So, now we all 3 piled into the truck which is never comfortable.
After dinner we came back out to our house to open presents, have desert and play games. It was a nice, relaxing new years eve.
On New years day we woke up and made cinnamon rolls. Karley had the neighbor kids over to play and I logged on to my friend, Megan's blog. She is the one that I mentioned earlier who had cancer. She is not doing well and I am so incredibly sad for her family. I hear they are keeping her comfortable with morphine and her parents and husband are updating the blog. I can't imagine the pain that they are going through. My heart just aches for them.