GOULD'S HOUSE

Spring

2011-04-25T11:12:00.005-08:00

Hello to all! We are still alive and moving. Spring has finally arrived. It's been good to be able to get outside more with all the kids. We had a wonderful Easter this last weekend. A great service at church and a nice time with family and friends. Some friends brought over their bunny on Easter. The kids loved it. Anyway here are a few pictures ....

David and Meg out on the deck enjoying the warm weather.

Sharon and Ian doing the same.

Meg and Rico the bunny :)

All the kids loved the bunny.

Playing with bubbles.

David and Ian (He's such a happy baby. They both are so happy all the time!).

This is one of our afternoon craft projects. We made princess crowns. Megan too! :)

Mmm Food and Other Happenings

2011-03-04T07:25:00.003-09:00

Started feeding the babies cereal last week. It feels like we did this a long time ago with Abby. They wear more than they consume, but are slowly getting the hang of it.

A bit late, but these are our Valentines day cookies that Abby and I made. She enjoyed them A LOT!

Ian watching a Liverpool game with Daddy.

The girls not real interested in Liverpool. :)

Abby's School Chapel

2011-03-03T13:12:00.002-09:00

Abby had a special chapel today to honor grandparents. Since "Oh my goodness" Grandma and Grandpa weren't there i am putting up a few video clips. They recited a poem about grandparents, but you couldn't understand a word. Here are a couple of short clips.....

This is her class walking up on stage.

Her class reciting Psalm 100v5.

This is a poem called "Grandparents Love". Good luck interpreting. :)

4 1/2 Months

2011-02-03T12:11:00.003-09:00

I can't get over how quickly the baby stage is going. It makes me a little sad (although not sad enough to want to do it again). :) Here are some more recent pictures....

Our chubby babies. At their 4 month appointment Ian is 16lbs 10oz and Meg is 16lbs 5oz.

The comparison in these two pictures makes me laugh. Above is Megan at 4.5 months and below is Abby around 12 months and yes it is the same outfit....:)

542v,bkhgjjkggkkkggkgigtuyydsdjt7565r6353wabdgrdfddsnddbbcc vvoyhig,ijfhghfdgdgsgsvzzV Xz saaqqqfjdu. (Above is a message from Abby it says "Abby loves Megan and Ian very much and that's it okay")

Big Babies :)

2011-01-30T14:43:00.002-09:00

2011-01-30T13:52:00.001-09:00

January

2011-01-16T13:28:00.003-09:00

Life is good. The babies are getting big and are so much fun. Abby is becoming such a great big sister. People always said that kids get big fast and it really is true. Here are some of our latest...

We finally did it. We have been fighting Abby with her hair for awhile and after lots of tears and "I want hair like Megan"'s we went to Great Clips yesterday. The before picture (above).

And...after. It right at her shoulders and she loves it. I will admit it is A LOT easier.

Ian, just being a ham. He is no longer our serious worrier, but very happy and smiley. :)

Meg, just playing. She has the Maloney gummy (and someday toothy) smile. :) Abby and she were playing babies.

Abby was very excited that she and Ian were dressed alike this day. Hope you all are well and enjoying winter. We'll post again soon.....

Santa Baby

2010-12-23T12:02:00.005-09:00

This is a post for which I will probably some day have to apologize. I remember my mom at one point thinking it was such a "cute" idea to force us all to dress as Eskimos and have our picture taken in a sled. I (in middle school at the time) did not think it was a cute idea and my expression in the picture portrays this fact. For years she kept it on a shelf in her house and every time i walked through i turned it over or in the other direction. Oh well. Pat and Bob (our cousins) sent these outfits for the babies and I just had to document it....

December

2010-12-21T10:10:00.005-09:00

In case i don't get another post on in the near future...Merry Christmas! Hope you all have a very happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Gould's house is busy with diapers, feedings, naps, baking, wrapping, crafts, and most importantly trying to explain to Abby about Jesus' birth. She wants to know why He won't physically be there to open presents with us and will Jesus blow out candles on His birthday cake? I love how the mind of a three year old works. :) Here are a few of our happenings....

Snow! We got our first real snow last week. We are supposed to get a couple more inches on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. A white Christmas would be fun! :)

David and Abby at the Fredericksburg Christmas parade. We took her down town for the parade and had a great time huddling together under a blanket watching the bands and lighted floats go by. (It was too cold for the babies, so they stayed with grandma and grandpa).

Abby had several theme days at school last week. I decided to be supermom and we made Nativity scene cookies for the Manger theme day. In case you can't identify them we have 2 angels, 3 shepherds, 3 wise men, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and a sheep. We did have a few more but... This is how the conversation went at our house that night:
Jenn- "oh no, David! Sydney is eating the sheep and animals!"
David- "what about baby Jesus?"
Jenn- "it's okay, he's in the oven."
I'm no artist so don't judge me too harshly on my decorating skills. :)

My bathing babies. They are getting big fast, and it's amazing how quickly their personalities are coming out. Megan is very easy going, a great sleeper, and happy all the time. Ian is a worrier, not a great sleeper, but when he's happy he is a complete ham.

Abby loves being a big sister and Ian and Megan love her! She likes to play with them, although not always at the most opportune times...

This was supposed to be nap time. I heard Abby in the babies room and found them in Megan's bed.

I guess those are the latest happenings for now. God bless and keep you all as you celebrate Christ's birth!!!

Our latest in Pictures

2010-11-16T06:06:00.003-09:00

Life is a bit busy right now, but here are some of our latest pictures.....

David and Abby hung up a swing in the backyard for Abby. She enjoys being outside a lot!
Ian.
Megan, our chubby baby. I think she has at least a pound on Ian. :)

Happy Babies....:)

Visitors and Baby Shower

2010-10-25T04:42:00.002-08:00

We are so thankful to have had so many visitors over the last few weeks. Sheila was here with us for about three weeks. Kevin came for the last week she was here. They had a nice time with the babies and Abby. :)

Auntie Helen came up this last weekend to meet the babies. I don't remember the last time we saw Helen without any kids. We had a great time and she was even able to be here for our baby shower.

Abby had lots of fun with Auntie Helen. They were making cinnamon rolls here. Mmm!

Some of the girls from church threw me a baby shower this weekend. It was very nice, and they found a very cute theme...Two Peas in a Pod. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but other people did so I will try and post some more of those later.

Ian and Megan all dressed up for their shower. They are both getting big fast. They had their month appointment last week. Ian is up to 8lbs9oz and Megan is at 9lbs 6oz. They are starting to sleep for longer stretches at night (yea!!) and are over all pretty good babies. :)

Life with Babies...

2010-10-10T15:39:00.003-08:00

Life has been a bit of an adjustment the last three weeks, but I wanted to put a few new pictures up. The babies are changing and growing so fast! We are settling in to a nice routine. David's mom, Sheila, has been here for the last two weeks and we will be sad to have her go this week. Having an extra set of hands has been wonderful. Not to mention all of the wonderful meals she's made! Any way here are a few pictures of our life with babies....

This is Ian in the front, with Megan and Abby in the background. My sister Allison's roommate took some great pictures while over here today.

This weekend we got to take Abby out for a bit by herself. We went to the playground. She really enjoyed having both mommy and daddy all to herself!

Megan. She looks so much like Abby did as a baby. We've been looking back through some of Abby's pictures and they could really be either one of the girls.

Our little man, Ian.

Both the twins. Megan above and Ian below. Thanks April for getting such great pictures! Life is definitely much more crazy with three kids, but it's slowly getting easier. We were even mostly on time for church today! :) We'll try and keep the blog updated!

BABIES!!!

2010-09-21T16:15:00.003-08:00

On Saturday September 18, 2010 we welcomed Ian David and Megan Grace to our family. Megan had a few transitioning difficulties and spent a few days in the NICU, but is now doing fine and healthy. We were all able to come home together today. :)

Baby A - Ian David. 6lbs5oz.

Baby B - Megan Grace 6lbs8oz.

Together again at last! Because Megan was in the NICU we were unable to take Ian or Abby in to see her due to infection control rules and such. On Monday morning we were finally able to get the okay to have her room with us! They were just remembering each other here. :)

Abby is loving being a big sister. I think our biggest issue with be her wanting to help too much! She is very amused whenever one of the babies cries and tries to fix it. She was a little startled by Ian the first time they met and how loud he could cry. :)

Home at last :) Megan is on the left and Ian is on the right.

Revenge

2010-09-07T09:07:00.003-08:00

Many years ago when David and I were just David and I we had a lot of fun spoiling our Niece and Nephews. I remember taking Jaden and Adam out for breakfast with us one time and letting them order ice cream, just because they thought that sounded good. We made them promise not to tell on us, but of course the first thing out of their mouths when we returned them was "guess what we had for breakfast!!?!?" Helen told us at the time that some day she would have her revenge. Well it's started....

Exactly the healthy snack she needs.... A solid piece of sugar that is bigger than her head! Thanks!

Preschool!!

2010-08-31T08:45:00.004-08:00

Today was Abby's first day of Preschool at Faith Baptist Church. She was a little bit hesitant, but did great and when I picked her up was SOOOO excited! After lunch we also made some special school bus cookies. Here are a few pictures....

2010-08-23T12:04:00.002-08:00

This is for Sheila. Abby attended Vacation Bible School this summer, where they gave all the kids a CD of the songs they learned during the week. She loves it and listens to it ALL the time. This song is the theme song "Saddle Ridge Ranch". It's still undecided if she will be the lead singer in David's band. We may need to point her toward other aspirations. :) She is a ham, though, and really enjoyed entertaining everyone any chance she got.

Many Visitors!!!

2010-08-23T11:17:00.007-08:00

This weekend has been really full here at our house. On Thursday night we had Sheila (David's mom), and Nana (David's grandmother from England) come in for a visit. We also had a good friend from Ketchikan, Becky English, come through town. We didn't get a whole lot of time with Becky, but we'll see her again as she comes back through Virginia in about a week and a half.

On Thursday evening we had a big dinner at my parents which included all of our new visitors as well as Matt Powney (David's cousin/Alli's boyfriend), all of the Maloneys, and all of the Steigleders (some other Ketchikan folks from way back). We had a great time. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

David, Sheila, Nana, Matt, and Abby.

Abby and Matt having a good time together.

David, Matt, (and much to their delight) Abby jamming together.

FYI. There aren't any pictures of me, Jenn, posted in this post as my stomach (which now defies gravity) is too big to even fit in the camera screen. :)

Peach and Apple Picking

2010-08-16T05:13:00.003-08:00

This weekend we went with all the Maloneys, Matthew Powney, most of the Steigleders, and April (one of Alli's roommates) out towards the mountains to go apple and peach picking. We had a great time. After picking lots of fruit we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed all the beautiful views of the orchard. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but here are a few from our adventure.

Abby picking some peaches that were just the right height for her.

Abby and Daddy being silly. Alli brought us all ponchos to wear as it was a little misty/rainy.

Sharon helping Abby reach a really good peach. :)

Abby's Adventure

2010-07-30T11:51:00.003-08:00

So one of the things that our little girl is obsessed with are rescue vehicles. Fire Engines, Ambulances, Police Cars (she would also through in Mail Trucks, Dump Trucks, and School Buses). Well a few weekends ago Sharon took Abby on a special adventure to go see Sean's fire truck. Sean, Sharon's boyfriend is a volunteer fire fighter up in Springfield, VA. She had a great time and was soooo excited when she got home to tell us about all the things she saw. They even had a call while she was there so she got to see the guys come down a pole and put their gear on! Some of these pictures are a bit dark, so hopefully you can still see them....

Abby and Sean in front of the ambulance.

Abby exploring the inside of the ambulance. "They have beds!".

Abby in front of the fire truck. The wheels are bigger than her. She was very impressed.

Happy 4th of July!!!

2010-07-04T16:01:00.004-08:00

This weekend has been a busy one for our family. We spent most of it moving to our new house. We still have lots of unpacking to do but it's very livable (thanks to the help of "Oh My goodness grandma" Sheila). Today we had a nice dinner at the Maloneys' and Abby enjoyed some sparklers and a popsicle. 4th of July always makes me miss Ketchikan. There is nothing like a small town parade, cruise ships, and lumpia. :) Hope all of you are enjoying the day! :)

June

2010-06-24T13:33:00.005-08:00

I haven't posted anything in awhile so I thought I would just update on our lives. We are currently in process of moving once again. Still in Fredericksburg, just to a new house. David is still working up in DC. I just started a new job working as a Patient Educator for an OB home health company. Babies as well as my stomach are growing daily. Abby turned 3 on May 22 and is now happily enjoying summer. Sheila is here for a little while just giving us a hand moving. Abby is enjoying having grandma all to herself for awhile. I don't think she quite realizes that her life is going to change drastically in the near future :) Here are a few pictures to sum up Gould's House right now....

Abby and grandpa going for a ride on the tractor.

David grilling in the rain. This is actually at Abby's birthday party. We had about 20 people over several of whom were kids for a BBQ/Birthday Party and of course it rained. We still had a great time and even had a few moments of clear sky to break open the Pinata. She picked a pink Backyardigans character pinata and then burst into tears when we started to hit her with a stick. Poor girl she didn't quite get it until treats started coming out. :)

Abby and some of her friends at her party.

Abby and "Oh my goodness Grandma". Abby has (completely unprompted by us) started to call her Grandmas "Oh my goodness Grandma" and "Buddy Grandma". Not quite sure which name I'd prefer :)

Profile picture of Baby A.

Profile picture of Baby B. I'm just a little biased and have looked at these pictures way too much, but I don't think they are identical. Oh, and for all of you who have been asking we are not finding out what they are until they are born. :)

May Visitors

2010-05-20T17:00:00.003-08:00

This post is especially for my wonderful sister-in-law Helen so that she can see how much fun her two oldest boys have been having while visiting Uncle David and Auntie Jenn. Kevin, Sheila, Jaden, and Adam came for a visit this week. We've been having lots of fun going to the Bug Box ( a really gross bug museum), playing around the house and in the yard, and today going up to DC to the Air and Space Smithsonian. We rode the train part way there, which was an adventure in itself for all of the kids. Here are a few pictures of our adventures thus far....

Kevin, Adam, Jaden, and Sheila on the Mall in DC.

Abby the lady bug and Jaden the Moth (not a butterfly!).
At the bug box. Yes, the Spiders in the display are very real and at one time were very much alive. Yuck! They also had a lot of live bugs, snakes, and turtles too.

Playing in the sprinkler in our yard. Abby loves playing with the older boys!

Visitors

2010-05-10T15:23:00.003-08:00

In April we had some special visitors. David's grandparents from Wales were visiting Florida. They and Sheila were able to come up and spend a long weekend with us. It was a great time to see them and they got to see all kinds of things including Fredericksburg history, Arlington National Cemetery, and all the highlights of Washington DC. Abby enjoyed seeing Nana, Nandad, and Grandma as well. She loves having an audience and being the center of attention. I she might have some adjustments when she is no longer the center of attention :)

Nandad, Sheila, Nana, and Abby at one of the Fredericksburg battlefields.

In Arlington National Cemetery. They were all very impressed with JFK's grave site and the eternal flame.

Abby being silly :)

Now that the weather is warmer we spend a lot of time playing in the lawn and sitting on the porch. I don't think Abby has quite got the hang of soccer yet.

A nice relaxing evening.

The latest...

2010-04-14T10:46:00.004-08:00

Happy Easter! A little late. Just wanted to give everyone a quick update on everything. The fact that I, Jenn, am writing this will show you that I am greatly improving! I still am not at 100%, but am feeling a lot better. I still have a medication pump going all the time to keep me from feeling sick and have IV fluids every few days to keep from being dehydrated, but I am very thankful I am able to do all of this at home and have not had to spend any significant time in the hospital. Both babies are doing great, though, and don't seem the least bothered that I have been sick. Abby on the other hand is starting to tell me that the babies are making her tummy hurt too :) She is doing well and enjoying lots more time with Grandma and Papa Maloney, as well as Auntie Sharon and Auntie Alli. Here are a few recent pictures....

Abby at my parents house on Easter Sunday. She was very excited about her pretty dress as it used to be her cousin Leah's dress!

Later that afternoon. Sharon, Allison, David, Sean, and Abby played some softball out in the yard.

Lastly our babies are starting to look a little more baby like and a little less blob like. This is just over 13 weeks. Baby A on the left is head down and Baby B on the right is head up.

Thanks for everyones' prayers and comments by FB and email. We appreciate it lots!

Twins

2010-03-21T14:34:00.002-08:00

Jenn and I are having twins! They are due in mid October. I told Abby that she needs to learn the bass, Baby A needs to learn drums, and Baby B needs to be able to sing. Jenn is struggling through the first trimester. Some may remember how bad it was for Jenn when she was carrying Abby, well it's x2 this time around. She is on IV fluids at home and we are trying to get some nutrient IV bags for her aswell. The babies seem to be doing okay though, the fact that they are literally draining Jenn's life force doesn't seem to bother them much. Please keep Jenn in prayer through this time, she really needs to be able to eat.

Christmas 2009 and on to 2010

2010-01-14T10:08:00.006-09:00

It's been a busy last few weeks. We had a fun Christmas with all the Maloneys and a visit to Tennessee over New Years. I'll sum it all up in pictures, because i have a lot of them!

Us on Christmas Eve. We went with my parents to a candle light service at their church and then had dinner at our house.

Abby and Auntie Alli. Christmas day at my mom and dad's house. Everyone came to our house on Christmas morning where we had breakfast and opened presents. Then we went to my parents home later that day for a nice meal. It was a fun time with the family. :)

On New Years Day we drove to the Wickerts home in Tennessee. You'll notice that the house is kind of bare as they were right in the middle of moving to Florida (see the Wickert's blog for more details). On Saturday we had a small "Second Christmas" and the kids all got a few more presents. This is the lot of them. Abby had a great time chasing after all the big kids.

Leah and Abby. Not sure why she isn't smiling, but Abby loves her big cousin Leah and still is talking about doing big girl things, "like Leah." :)

When we left Tennessee Evan and Abby had a love hate relationship. They didn't really like each other all that much, but this time they played well together and got along great! This is them playing with Abby's new Mr Potato Head stuff.

And of course Uncle Dave had a great time with his buddies! We heard "Uncle David!" so much that the morning we left Abby woke up and asked for "uncle David". I am still explaining that he's "Daddy" to her.

We also came home with a new temporary addition to our family. Macy is vacationing with her cousin Sydney until the Wickerts get settled in Florida. They are having a great time and love each other lots!!

So that pretty much sums up some of our happenings over the last few weeks. I'll leave you with one more video so you can see a little of our crazy kids when we were in Tennessee.

Let it snow, let it snow....

2009-12-20T05:57:00.003-09:00

We are having a great time getting ready for Christmas. Baking cookies, decorating, and playing in the snow!! On Friday night i went to work. On my way there it started snowing. By the time i got off the next morning we had about 1.5 feet of snow! It took me about 2 hours to drive home! And it was still snowing! It finally stopped at about 6pm last night and we currently have a good 2+ feet of snow. We have been out playing in it and currently David is out trying to dig out our car. It kind of nice to be stranded at home. :) Above is our fire we had last night. I like this picture because it looks so cozy. I had to bribe Syd with a treat to lay like that next to the fire :)

My cookie maker helper. She loves to "mix" things and poor them into the mixer. Although many things end up poured on the counter or in her mouth instead :) (Kristi - do you like her little Apron?!)

Playing the the snow. We actually don't have any sleds, but we did find this snowboard with a handlebar type contraption in our shed. We (especially David )had fun with it.

The best part about playing in the snow....getting warm and hot chocolate after!

Snow!!!

2009-12-07T04:30:00.003-09:00

The Christmas Tree is up, the music (yes, it's Elvis) is playing, David has hung lights on the house, the shopping is started, and we have snow!!! I love this time of year!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-07T04:13:00.005-09:00

So I have gotten a little behind in my blogging. My valiant attempt to keep up has failed, but I will not give up and will prove it by posting TWO posts today! We had a great Thanksgiving. David's parents came up from Florida and our good friend from Ketchikan, who is now in Philadelphia, Becky came down as well. Unfortunately I had to work the night before, but with the help of Sheila (and her wonderful pies!) all of my food responsibilities were fulfilled. We ate at my parents and had a house full of people. The Steigleders also joined us for desert. Here is the whole group....

David and I. He's trying to finish desert...

The following weekend. My mom, Sheila, Becky, and I ventured down to Colonial Williamsburg. We had a great time. All of the Christmas decorations were up. It was beautiful. To see lots more pictures look at Becky E's blog. There is a link to the right.

Becky took more scenic pictures. I put my mother and mother-in-law in the stocks :)

The National Zoo

2009-11-11T05:05:00.002-09:00

Yesterday we went with Rhonda and Oscar to the National Zoo. This is a great zoo! Especially for kids. If any of you want to come visit we will take you. I got very few pictures of the kids faces as they were way to engrossed to look at the camera :) These are a few of their favorites. The garoolas (as Abby calls them) were a big hit. They were really close and pretty cool to see.

They also have a kids farm with several farm animals...donkeys, cows, alpacas, goats, pigs, ect. They were watching the cows and the alpacas here.

The other exhibit that I really liked :). Were the giant Panda bears. The are really beautiful animals.

By the time we got home we were both exhausted! It was a fun adventure. I've decided Abby and I need to become more adventurous and go see and do more up in DC. I think I've got the train thing down. Driving is still a little scary at times. Mostly because I usually don't really know where I am going, but it's getting better. :)

Too Many Leaves!!

2009-11-04T10:41:00.003-09:00

I love having trees in our yard, but we are quickly realizing how much work it brings!!! Abby and I spent the morning raking up leaves. Well I gathered them, she scattered them. :)

The temptation is just too great to leave a pile of leaves in a pile and not jump in and throw them everywhere. We raked up 13 big piles! I still have 5 more to bag and send out with the trash tomorrow. It has taken quite a while as several piles had to be gathered more than once :)

Busy Weekend

2009-10-26T10:02:00.004-08:00

We have had an exciting weekend around here. One of my roommates from North Park was in DC this weekend to run the Marine Corps Marathon. On Friday Abby and I took the train from Fredericksburg to down town DC and met up with Pam and another friend, Britt. We walked the mall and visited the Natural History Smithsonian. I was a little nervous about taking this adventure with her by myself, but she did great and we had a great time.

We got to the train station and Abby was so happy. She was jumping up and down saying hello to all of the groggy commuters. She told everyone "The choo choo train is coming! I soooo excited!" It was very cute.

The train ride is about and 1hr and 20minutes. She sat like this most of the time saying "look mommy trees, look cars, look water, look a dinosaur" she has an active imagination i guess :)

Pam, Abby, and I in front of the elephant in the Natural History Smithsonian.

On Sunday David and I went up to meet my friend Britt (also from school) and few others to cheer Pam on in her 26.2 mile run. We had a lot of fun cheering and were able to see her in a couple of spots. This is near the finish line.

Pam, somwhere around mile 17-18.

The other exciting event of the weekend is purchasing a new car. We finally did away (happily i might add) with the Kia. I didn't realize how stressful car shopping can be, but I am happy with our purchase.

I guess that's all the excitement for now. I'm trying to be a bit better about updating our blog so we shall see how that goes..... :)

Belvadere Farms

2009-10-19T09:19:00.003-08:00

Last weekend we went with all the Maloneys to Belvadere Farms. They have all kinds of stuff for the kids, food, cider, slides, corn mazes, animals, and a hayride out to the pumpkin patch where you can pick your very own pumpkin. We had a great day. I love fall.

One of the kid slides. They have them for big kids too, but i won't show you any of those pictures...:)

Umm Swine Flu?

Abby loved the animals and has absolutely no fear.
David, Sharon, Alli, and I went through the corn maze. They give you flags to wave in case you get lost. It's a good thing we chose the easiest one.

Abby's first pony ride. She liked it a lot and held on tight!

The start of Fall

2009-10-04T09:25:00.005-08:00

I think we are headed into fall. Its getting almost cold at night and cooler during the days. We live in the woods and are surrounded by trees so all of our trees are beginning to turn colors and fall. One of our projects is to clear out some of our back yard (wooded area) so we have a bit more room to play. Its been fun being outside, but its a lot of work (more for David than me :)) We are also settling in to our new house nicely. There are still boxes here and there, but they are diminishing by the week. David took a quick trip over to TN last week to finish up the album his Dad and he have been working on with Phil Keaggy. It's been such a neat opportunity for him to be able to work on this with his dad and Phil. He also was able to surprise Helen, Jasen, and all the kids and was there for Helen's birthday. I have been busy with work and getting together with new and old friends. Here are some of our recent pictures....

Our very cute, now potty-trained, little girl.

Abby and I were able to get together with Rhonda (Lundamo) and Oscar the other day. I know Rhonda from Ketchikan and even worked with her mom at the hospital. They are now stationed in the DC area. Not the best picture of Abby, but the kids had fun playing together.

David and Abby playing with one of the bags we were using for leaves. Although this one seems to have legs. :)

Abby thought it was very funny that daddy fit in the bag too. Although not quite as easily as she did.

Our back yard project. David has done a good job of clearing out all the leaves and stuff this far back our next goal is to get rid of some of the smaller shrubs and trees back there. We'll let you know how it turns out.

We are planning a few fun fall outings and hope to have some visitors in the next few months as well. Hope you are all enjoying some fall weather.

Flashlight Fun

2009-08-29T08:33:00.003-08:00

Sydney and Abby's new game.

Virginia

2009-08-22T13:48:00.004-08:00

It's been awhile since we've posted anything. We've had a busy last few months. David had a job offer in DC so three weeks later we were on our way. Currently we are staying with my family in Fredericksburg but will be moving into our own home next week. We've been here for a total of three weeks. David has started working and is getting the hang of commuting and DC life. I started a part time job last week at a small community hospital in OB and Abby has been having lots of fun with our houseful of people. Matthew Powney has been here for the past few weeks and we've also had a visit from my Aunt Sherry and cousin Jacey. There's also the permanent residents of my parents house: mom, dad, Sharon, Allison, and Buddy. Sydney and Buddy had a rough start, but I think they've finally developed a truce. Here are a few recent pictures...

Our new home. We'll move in next weekend. I am really excited about it! It's a neat house with a lot of character and plenty of room for visitors......

Abby and Jacey. I was doing hospital orientation all last week, but Abby had fun going around with Grandma, Aunt Sherry (who she refered to as "nother grandma"), and Jacey. They went and toured the Capital building, Mary Washington's house, and Mount Vernon.

Abby and I made cookies this morning. She is wearing Auntie Sharon's apron and being a monkey as usual. :)

A few weekends ago we went to a park and down some trails. There are lots of nature trails and creeks around here. Abby ended up soaked head to toe, but had a lot of fun.

We had a long drive from Tennessee to Virginia. David and Syd drove a truck and towed a car. Abby and I drove the Jetta. She did really well (she usually doesn't ).

My pictures are a bit out of order, but you get the point. Hope you are all well. Keep in touch!!!

Florida

2009-07-03T13:02:00.003-08:00

We took a quick trip to Florida last week. We drove down to Sebring on Wed. On Friday night we went down to Naples to stay the weekend. David's birthday was on Saturday and we had a great day on the beach. That night we took him out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which was very yummy! Sunday we went to Kevin's church and then spent the rest of our time back in Sebring. It was a very fun and relaxing time. Here are a few of our beach pictures....

The water was very exciting and we had to watch her pretty closely as she has absolutely no fear of it and just goes on out! She got nocked down by the waves and went under a couple of times, but went straight back out for more.

Abby had a blast in the sand and loved the seashells too!

David and Jenn on the beach...Happy Birthday David!

Summer is Here

2009-06-11T12:37:00.004-08:00

Well Tennessee summer has arrived. It is pretty steadily in the 80's and getting more humid by the day. We've been finding some fun warm weather things to do though. We've been spending more time at the Wickerts in the sprinkler and kiddie pool in the backyard and going to the playground. I think we are going to have to invest in waterbabies sunscreen as I have to almost bathe Abby in it every time we go out. :)

We've been swimming a lot more in the pool at our new apartment. We have two to chose from which is really nice. Above is Abby and David. She loves the water and is sometimes a little scary as she has no fear of it.

Jasen and Adam. The Wickerts all came down and spent the day last week. All the kids went swimming and had a blast.

Three tired cousins having a snack after swimming and a nap.

Another fun spot we've found is at a big shopping area near our house. In the center they have a big fountain and all the kids can play in it. Abby loves it. There's also a Starbucks right next to it so we can sit and drink coffee while she plays. I love it too!

Album Latest

2009-06-09T20:49:00.003-08:00

Here is a little video of Phil Keaggy on the Brian Mason radio show here in Nashville talking about the new album. A cut from the album has just finished playing when they begin to talk. I have the sound file of the whole thing but I'm not sure how to put sound files on blogger. Check my facebook, I'll try and put it up there.

Happy Birthday

2009-05-24T16:00:00.004-08:00

Abby turned TWO on Friday. All the Maloney's and Sheila were here for a big party on Saturday up at the Wickerts house. We had a great time. It was an animal themed party. We had games (that everyone including big people had to play), food, elephant cookies (thank you Becky they were adorable), cupcakes, and lots of presents. Here are just a few pictures...

Abby in a pile of presents. Thank you everyone!

Abby and her grandmas on the trampoline. :)

Animal cupcakes. Mmmm.

Another Abby Post

2009-05-06T10:31:00.003-08:00

So I know that pretty much all of my posts revolve around Abby and pictures of Abby, but to be honest i don't really take pictures of much else. All is well here. We had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Gould last week. Sheila is still here and will be for the next month or so. She is going to stay with Abby while David and I head up to Minnesota next weekend.

Evan, Leah, and Abby on the trampoline. We now live on the north side of Nashville. One of the benefits of being up here is that we are much closer to the Wickerts and are able to see them a bit more. Abby loves the trampoline. I have no idea what they are all doing, but they are having fun. Another good thing about being up here is that we have started going to a new church. We already know some people who go here and it has been nice being able to get involved and get to know some new people better.

David and Abby at the park near the lake. We stopped to feed the ducks some animal crackers. Fortunately we didn't bring Sydney this time or she would have been going crazy trying to chase them, not that she would actually know what to do with a duck once she caught up to it. :)

Our last new obstacle has been the beginnings of potty training. We've been doing it a little bit mostly in the mornings. She likes to sit on the toilet, but just won't go. She holds it until she gets off and can go in her pull-up. Anybody have any suggestions? I guess she'll figure it out eventually.

The Latest

2009-04-17T12:19:00.002-08:00

Well I don't have too much to say. We're all doing well. Abby is sick but on the mend. The weather is getting warmer again and she is enjoying being outside a lot more. We have moved again. From Antioch (which is on the south end of Nashville) to Rivergate (which is on the north end of Nasvhille). We are in an apartment and getting settled in nicely. We're much closer to David's sister, Helen, and family, and about the same distance to work for me. The house we were living in went back up for sale. It was sad to leave, but this is a nice area too. David and I are headed to Minnesota in May for a wedding. All the Grandma's and Grandpa's and an Aunt or two will be here for Abby's birthday at the end of May. We'll keep you updated and Happy Spring everyone!

A Quick Trip to Florida

2009-03-07T12:35:00.003-09:00

We decided to make a somewhat spontaneous trip to Florida last weekend. David grandparents are visiting from England so we went down and spent the weekend at Kevin and Sheila's house visiting with them. It was the first time that Abby has met her Nana and Nandad and they had a blast. David and I also drove down to Kevin's church in Naples on Sunday. David and Kevin did some songs for the church. It was a nice and very relaxing weekend. The drive to and from, however, not so much. I think we may fly next time :)

David on the beach in Naples. We had perfect weather while we were there. 70's and sunny. I miss the ocean.

Abby and Grandpa cruising the neighborhood in the golf cart. She loved it and was constantly taking his hand to lead him to that cart "again again". And of course Grandpa can NOT say no. :)

Weekend Away

2009-02-03T05:33:00.007-09:00

This past weekend I met up with four of my old college roommates. We went to Gatlinburg Tennessee where we rented a cabin. It was a great time just to relax and catch up with friends. We had a wedding and baby shower. Laura is having their first baby in March and Darlene is getting married in May. We had a hot tub, played some games, watched some movies, toured Gatlinburg, and went on the ski lift to the top of the mountain. Here a few pictures...

Darlene, Pam, Christina, Laura, and Jenn.

Our Cabin in the woods.

Oh, and here is what David and Abby did while I was gone...

Arise and Be Comforted

2009-01-21T07:17:00.002-09:00

This last year has been one we definitely were not expecting. It's been hard and really good at the same time. It's been filled with uncertainties and questions but also filled with so many unexpected blessings. The last few days I have just felt tired, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I heard this song this morning. The words are here but if you have the opportunity to listen to the song it's really pretty. It's one that Kristina and David sang awhile back, but it just really encouraged me today. I hope it does the same for you...

Arise and be comforted
For the Lord, He is good to the weary
And even the young heart can tire and fall
But He knows them all
For the Lord, He will renew their strength
And they will soar on wings as eagles
And they will run and never grow weary
They will walk and not grow faint
For the Lord, He is good
Lift your eyes to the heavens
For the creator is living in you
Come surrender as you are

And know that you'll never stray too far
Let His power within you heal your heart
Lift your eyes to spacious skies
Let Him chart your way to flight
Spread your wings and fly
For the Lord, He is good

My Dad and I at Phil Keaggy's house

2008-12-29T15:28:00.005-09:00

It funny how life throws curve balls at you now and again, this is one that I definitely didn't see coming.

Update: To answer all the questions...Miles Mckee (He came up for Joshua School a few years ago) introduced Kevin and David to Phil. The went to his house to check out his studio and such the other day. Very cool :)

Snow!!!

2008-12-12T11:07:00.003-09:00

Last night it started to snow. A rare thing in Tennessee. We woke up to find lots still on the ground this morning. So after breakfast, Abby and I went outside and played in the snow. I like snow. Especially around Christmas time. Hope you all have a white Christmas!!!

We went out to see the snow last night.

Abby and our snowman. She was a bit wet and cold by this point and not too excited about a picture.

Thanksgiving, Phil, and the beginings of Christmas!

2008-12-08T10:13:00.005-09:00

Well its now December. We don't have a Christmas tree yet, but next weekend we will. The Elvis Christmas CD is playing and its even gotten quite cool here. Thanksgiving was filled with lots of friends and food. I'll put a few pictures on, but you can see even more on the links to the Wickerts' blog and Becky's blog.

Another fun thing we got to do right before Thanksgiving was to go see Phil Keaggy in concert. Phil has been one of David's all time favorites for many years. I was introduced to his music mostly while we were dating and really like it. We even had one of his songs in our wedding. Anyway, it was a great concert and a lot of fun to go out.

Last night we took Abby to the Opryland Hotel to look at Christmas lights. It was beautiful. We had a lot of fun looking at all of the Christmas trees and light displays. Afterwards we came home and all had hot chocolate. Abby especially enjoyed having for the first time her very own cup of hot chocolate, with marshmallows too.

Virginia Trip

2008-11-18T11:28:00.003-09:00

This past weekend Abby and I got to fly to Virginia for the weekend to visit all of my family. My sisters, Sharon and Allison, both had birthdays last week so we got to be there for a big birthday party for them. Neither of them knew we were coming so it was a fun surprise. I actually didn't get too many pictures, but here are a few...

My mom is a great grandma. She saved a lot of our old toys as kids. So when we are there out come the old "Little People" city, cars, and house (complete w/ seventy's decor). She also has all of our old barbies for in a few years. This is Alli and Abby having fun with the little people. :)

She had a blast and soaked up all of the attention from Grandma, Grandpa, and both her Aunties.

This was actually right before we left. She likes going in our big bath tub with LOTS of bubbles.

Lastly here is a little video of my Micky Mouse obsessed daughter. There is a Mickey Mouse music video that she loves. It's kind of hard to hear, but she is singing "hot dog, hot dog, hot diggidy dog. Mickey Mouse Club House." She is starting to talk more and more and its lots of fun, but i'm also starting to get a lot more opinions about what she does and does not want to do. I guess that's the latest for now. We are expecting a house full of people next week for Thanksgiving. Hope you are all doing well!

Friends

2008-10-31T06:16:00.005-08:00

The last few weeks have been a lot of fun. First we had my friend Laura (we went to school together) and her baby to be (in March) come for a weekend. Then the following week we had Kristi and Hannah (from Ketchikan) come for a visit. Kristi and Hannah (see the above picture) were here for about a week then traveled down to visit Kristi's in-laws in Florida. They then came back for a few days before heading home to K-town. Hannah and Abby had a lot of fun together, even though it was a learning experience for Abby to share toys. They actually played really well together. We also had some fun at the Zoo with Helen and the boys and even got a girls night out while David bravely watched both the little girls:) It's so much fun to see and spend time with good friends.

Hannah and Abby playing in the kitchen.

Pajama tea party.

Hannah, Jaden, Helen, and the camel. The zoo was great. There was almost no one else there. We were told that many of the animals might not be out, but we saw quite a few and played on the jungle gym. The kids all had a great time.

Helen and Abby petting the goats.

Abby and Jaden walking at the zoo. I just thought this was a really cute picture. Abby loves her cousins.

Fall

2008-10-30T10:10:00.005-08:00

Time continues to slip by quickly. We are doing well and enjoying some much cooler weather. There are tons of fall festivals and farms around here. We have visited a couple and have seen animals, pumpkins, corn, tractors, and lots more. Here are a few of our pictures.

Abby in the pumpkin patch.

Hannah and Abby riding tractors (Dad - this one is for you).

Jenn and Abby .David and Abby petting the piglets.

A New Post

2008-10-07T10:08:00.003-08:00

So I realized that it's already October and i have not posted anything new. Nothing too much to report. All is well. It's cooling off a bit, for which i am thankful. It's usually in the 70's during the day and cooler at night. We've been busy just living. We are coming up on a string of visitors which will be great fun. Here are a few recent pictures just for fun.
Abby outside on our deck.

Adam, Evan, Jaden, and Abby at the Zoo.

Leah playing with her dolly.

Sydney playing with Abby's dolly :)

David, Abby, Adam, and Sydney playing soccer at the Wickerts.

Goodbye to Summer

2008-09-10T06:36:00.004-08:00

Well at long last we are coming to the end of summer. Fall is in sight. The temperatures have gone down into the 80's and I am coping a bit better. Sorry it's taken me so long to post, but we've had an extremely crazy couple of weeks. Here are some highlights.......A new house! We moved a little closer to Nashville. This is our new home. We are still renting, but we have lots of room for any visitors..(hint hint) and a fenced yard for Syd. It has also cut down commute times for both David and I by about 30 min.

A new job for me. Shortly after starting my job at Southern Hills Medical Center, it was announced that the OB unit would be closing. We were given a months notice, which was just enough time for me to find a new position working labor and delivery at Stone Crest Medical. It has worked out nicely and so far I really like the new job.

A trip for Abby and I to Florida. Some of David's family (Nana and the Powneys) were visiting in Florida a few weeks ago. Abby and I were able to go down and spent a great few days with them as well as Grandma and Grandpa :)

A visit from Sharon and two of my college friends Pam and Christina. Sharon was able to stay a bit longer than the 36 hours Pam and Christina were here :), but we had a great time.

The arrival of my favorite sister-in-law and all of the kids. Which has added a whole lot of excitement into our normally quite lives. We are so happy to finally have them here and are still awaiting the arrival of Jasen and Macy later this week.

Three years!!! We celebrated our three year anniversary. Sheila was here the begining of August so we took the opportunity to get away for the night. We went to a very nice dinner and to see a Carrie Underwood (as well as a few others) perform at the Grand Old Opry.

Continuation of school for David. He is enjoying it a lot and spends most of his time reading and writing and studying.

Finally Grandma and Grandpa Maloney are here visiting this week.

So those are a few of the highlights of the last month or so, it's been busy. I do have lots more pictures that i will try and post soon. Hopefully sooner than October :)

Grandma Maloney

2008-07-21T06:32:00.003-08:00

Last week we had the priviledge of having Grandma Maloney here for the week. I was working day shift last week and it was David's first week of school, so my mom came out to spend the week with Abby. She (Abby) is starting to talk more and more and can now, much to my mother's delight, say grandma (pronounced manma). They had a lot of fun. The day after my mom left I scolded Abby for something and told her no. She threw herself to the floor crying "Manma, Manma." I don't think "Manma" says no. :) David's first week of school went well and he is enjoying it. He actually has his first exam today. Work for me is good. I miss KGH, but there is a very diverse group of patients here so it will be interesting to learn. Here are a few pictures my mom took while she was here.

Sydney's New Friend

2008-07-14T14:34:00.003-08:00

Last night David took Syd out one last time before we went to bed. He let her off the leash to go run in the field next to our apartment. A few minutes later she came running back rolling in the grass and frothing at the mouth and airing a horrible smell. Our poor dog met her first skunk. In her curiousity of a possible new friend she was sprayed in the face! We brought her in to the tub (because living in an apartment we don't have anywhere outside to hose her down). I washed her with my shampoo and David meanwhile found a dog de-skunking remedy on the internet. It worked fairly well although our apartment still has some faint traces of skunk. :( For anyone who ever runs into a skunk here is the recipe:
1 quart hydrogen peroxide
1/4 c baking soda
2 TBS dish soap

May you never need to use it....

4th of July

2008-07-07T09:26:00.003-08:00

This year we had a very different 4th of July. I searched high and low to find some sort of parade, but no luck. We did go up to Nashville where they had a big event with booths and games and food and such at the downtown riverside park. They also had a big stage set up with different musicians playing. We walked around a bit and listened to music for awhile (the Bayou Band) but didn't stay for fireworks. We did get a nice little show off of our balcony. Hope you all had a nice fourth!

Music Row in Downtown Nashville there were so many people. There are also tons of people singing and dancing on the street. We stopped and watched some kids break dancing - they were really good.

The stage set up on River Side Park. You can tell who the veterans are - they all brought tents and chairs. I think you have to get there really early and basically camp out all day to get a good seat for the fireworks and music.

Jenn and Abby listening to the Bayou Band

Abby and David.

News

2008-06-28T06:49:00.002-08:00

Well we have lots of changes going on in the Gould house right now. First of all my wonderful husband turned thirty yesterday. Happy Birthday David!! We had a nice day just spending some family time together. A few weeks ago we also made the decision that David would go back to school. He's been thinking about it for awhile. On July 14th he is starting a paralegal program up in Nashville. Because he already has a degree he can finish this one in 6 months. We are all excited about this next direction. I have also taken a job at Southern Hills Medical Center. It is a smaller hospital in south Nashville. I'll be working mostly weekend nights which is perfect for us. I'm also really excited to get to step back into the work world for a bit. Also to any of you who ever knew her or had the privilege of riding in her we must report the sad demise of the Kia. While we were in VA with my family she became very ill. David did his best to revive her but we decided to go with something a little more dependable and less well um death prone. We are now the proud owners of a VW Jetta. It is Alaska Green in color and a great little car. So as you can see we have lots of changes going on. We are also considering moving up closer to Nashville as both of us will now be commuting up there but we'll have to wait and see what comes up. We'll keep you all posted. :)

Goulds and Wickerts

2008-06-23T12:15:00.003-08:00

After spending some time with my family in Virginia, Abby and I flew to Orlando where we met David and spent a week in Florida with Kevin, Sheila, Helen and all the kids. We had a great (and often chaotic) time. We spent lots of time with kids in the pool, at the playground, playing games, early birthday parties, and I even got to read a few books :) (I highly recommend Dee Henderson to anyone who likes fiction). We are now safely back in Tennessee gearing up for lots of changes. I'll post another blog soon about all of those happenings, but for now here are a few pictures from the second half of our trip.

Leah pick out new matching sun dresses for her and Abby to wear. Our girly girls in their pink dresses:)

Baking with Mommy/Auntie Jenn. We (all five of the kids and I) made chocolate chip cookies.

Auntie Helen, Leah, Evan, and Abby on the see-saw.

At the playground. The picture looks a little washed out only because the sun was so bright that day!

Maloneys

2008-06-13T06:15:00.004-08:00

Right now Abby and I are at my parents home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We are having a great time. Abby's got her pool in the back yard and poor Buddy (their dog) is enjoying being tormented by Abby who is delighted with a dog closer to her size. We'll be here until Sunday when we will fly down to meet David and spend a week with the Goulds, Helen, and all the kids in Florida. And yes Sydney is better now and will even be enjoying a road trip to Florida with David. We'll give you all more updates soon.

Poor Sydney

2008-05-28T06:55:00.005-08:00

Did you know dogs get sick too? Poor Sydney picked something up at the dog park. She has Kennel Cough. I had never heard of this before now. The first night I was up with her terrified she was going to die. I think a dog coughing is one of the worst sounds. She pulled through, though, and i think is on the mend. I had to barricade her in the kitchen or bathroom to minimize messiness and keep her activity down. She is currently sound asleep on her bed and enjoying the attention. Poor Syd.

Birthday Party

2008-05-24T06:39:00.003-08:00

Abby had a great party. All the grandmas and grandpas were there. She got some wonderful presents (thank you!!) and had lots of sugar. She wasn't quite sure what to think when I put an entire cupcake down in front of her. She looked around at everyone first then dove in face first :)

Her new stroller is one of her favorites because she loves pushing it around. She also got a baby doll to push in it but the baby has a binky of which she is quite jealous. :)

She ate the entire cupcake and even licked the frosting off her hands. So much sugar! Needless to say we were up at about 2am as she was ready to play!

Mmmmm. A great day!

Happy Birthday Abby!!!

2008-05-22T06:42:00.002-08:00

I can't believe our Abby is one. I was looking back through pictures this morning and it amazes me how quickly she has grown over the last year. Here are a few our our very happy little girl....

More of....Abby

2008-05-14T18:29:00.005-08:00

Yes we are obsessed. All of our blogs are now focused around Abby. I guess there just isn't much else to write about. Grandma's and Grandpa's are all coming in next week and we are looking forward to it! It's getting warmer and I, Jenn, am starting to get a little more concerned (I'm not always my congenial self in the warmer degrees). Poor Sydney doesn't care for hot weather either, at least her hair doesn't. I'm thinking about dying her hair beige to match the carpet. I decided to continue my search for a part-time job here. I wasn't too impressed with the hospital. To all you Ladies in Ketchikan - be very thankful, it is a very different world in Labor and Delivery down here. Well on to Abby, these are a few recent videos.

Update

2008-04-24T08:31:00.003-08:00

I can't believe that it was only about two weeks ago that she started to take steps. Now she walks more than crawls! We're doing good. Enjoying the sunshine. Kevin and Sheila were up here for a few days. Exploring the area has been fun - see the zoo and parks posts earlier on. We've found a good church we've been attending and met a few people through that. I've applied for a part time position at the hospital here. David is still working for the post office, but looking for another direction. We are looking and praying. I guess that's all the news for us. Here's are little miss...

Lions and Tigers and Bears.....

2008-04-22T16:13:00.005-08:00

Today we decided to go spend the morning at the Nashville Zoo. It was almost 90 degrees! And I wasn't even miserable. For anyone who knows me very well knows i don't deal terribly well with heat. Today gave me hope for the summer:) Abby had a great time looking at all the animals and especially loved the bird house. We had a picnic lunch on the grass and ended our outing with an ice cream cone. It was a great time and so much fun! I look forward to going back.

Spring

2008-04-12T11:57:00.003-08:00

Today is beautiful, sunny, and warm (but not too warm:). We went to Old Fort Park and walked around and played in the grass. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying spring!!!!

Taking Steps

2008-04-10T05:29:00.004-08:00

It's been a challenge to get pictures or videos of this but here is a glimpse of Abby's newest skill. She will only do a few steps at a time then she gets excited and falls over. Our baby is becoming a big girl:)

We're Alive!

2008-03-27T12:15:00.004-08:00

Yes, we are alive! We made it to Tennessee and are settling in nicely. We have a cute apartment and are enjoying real spring! We've had so many visitors since we've gotten here that it actually still feels like we're on vacation. My mom and dad drove us from their house to TN where we met David and then Kevin and Sheila. They all stayed for the weekend and headed home. A few days later we had Kevin and Sheila back for a visit and some help unpacking. The next week Josh and Kendri Mutart came up. The moved to Memphis the same weekend we moved to Nashville. Last weekend we had Sharon come over for a long weekend. So much fun to see all of these friends and family. In between visitors we have been unpacking, exploring the area, and enjoying our time together. Here are a few more recent pictures....

Auntie Sharon and Abigail

Our apartment complex from our balcony.

Visiting Friends

2008-03-08T06:35:00.003-09:00

One of the other parts of our trip that I really enjoyed was seeing friends. We spent a week-end in Seattle which we enjoyed lots! On our way down to Seattle we stopped in and had breakfast with Don, Arlene, Ethan, and Heidi Poet. We also had a get together at Christy Johns which included Poets, Christy, Janet, Josh, Smiths, Paul Radford, Linders, Trista, and us. Abigail and I got to spend a morning with Beth and kids. Oh and Savanah joined us there too. We even got to hang out with Matthew and Caren quite a bit too! Then we were able to meet up with Ken and Bonnie, Jon and Trista, and Matthew and Caren for dinner again as well. Here are some pictures from those times.

Jeff, Josh (the accountant), David, Jenn, Beth, Christy, and Trista

Owen, Beth, Madeline, Savanah, and Abby

Matthew, Caren, Brennen, Jenn, David, and Abby at House of Hong (mmm!)

More Travels

2008-03-08T06:18:00.003-09:00

Well we all made it to Tennessee. David and Sydney arrived via Penske truck last Saturday morning. Abigail and I arrived with my mom and dad via dad's truck on Saturday afternoon. It was about 70 degrees and sunny the first few days we were here. We were able to get all of our things unloaded pretty quickly on Saturday thanks to my dad and David's muscles. We are settling in nicely. Our apartment complex is really nice. We are in the back right next to the playground and dog park. There are boxes everywhere, but it is starting to look like home. Here are a few pictures of our journies, packing, and unpacking...

Abby helping fill up boxes. It did keep her from unpacking other boxes though...

David's monster Penske truck and his lovely driving companion who slept most of the way.

Abby exploring her new room, which is completely baby-proofed. She likes to play in her room which is nice for us:)

Planes, Boats, and Automobiles

2008-02-26T10:35:00.003-09:00

I thought that I would update you all on our travels. I don't have any pictures to post, but i will try to update that shortly. We left Ketchikan on Wed Feb 20. We had a nice, although at times quite rough, ferry trip to Bellingham. We then spent the weekend in Seattle. We had a great time visiting with different people including the Poets, Smiths, Christy, Janet, Cookes (the younger ones that is), Paul Radford, Josh (the accountant), Linders, Jon and Trista, and Savanah. We enjoyed it a lot. On Monday Matthew and Jasen helped David load up the truck. Thanks to you guys for all your help!!! David is currently driving through California. He and Sydney are both doing well. He's hoping to get to TN by Saturday or Sunday. He assures me that with both he and Syd driving it will be no problem. Abby and I flew out on Monday to DC to stay with my mom and dad and sisters for the week. I will start off by saying that I am not a United Airlines fan and will never fly with them again. Especially if I am flying with a child. The check in process was a mess and even though I did online seat assignment we were place in a middle seat. I complained quite a bit but the agent wouldn't budge and basically told me to deal with it. It's not that I mind being in a middle seat, someone has got to i guess, but with a 9mo old baby? I got on the plane and was seated between two very large men. They were very nice, thankfully. I was up and down the aisles most of the flight as Abby and I had to sit stick straight to even fit with these guys. She did so good and didn't even cry once. I was so thankful, but quite frustrated that it worked out this way. That's my rant and i plan on writing them a letter to give them a piece of my mind. All that to say we are here and glad that's over. My family is great and I'm looking forward to meeting David in Tennessee this weekend. Well keep you all posted and will put some pictures on soon.

On the Go

2008-01-30T08:08:00.000-09:00

Well our lives have suddenly gotten much busier for a few reasons. First of all, our move. We are barging our belongings in less than two weeks. The packing process is a lot of work. My mom is getting here on Saturday to help us get everything packed up. She is, as some of you may know, quite an experienced packer. One of the things that has complicated my packing abilities is that Abigail is now on the move. About three weeks ago she started sitting up all by herself. It's amazing how quickly she's gone from that to crawling (pretty fast too), to pulling herself up on everything, to shuffling around the room via furniture. She is quite proud of herself and especially loves the TV and DVD player. "No No Abby" is now my most common statement every day. David just returned from spending a few days down in Nashville. He looked at houses, met with his new boss, found us a place to rent for a few months, and explored. He really enjoyed it and is excited to return. Such is our life as of now. Hope you all are well.

Weather Woes

2008-01-11T09:29:00.000-09:00

I was just sitting here thinking to myself...when is the last time I've seen the sun. It's been awhile. Not that it's pitch black all the time, mostly just gray. We seem to have been getting a pretty steady cycle of snow, sleet, rain slush, snow, sleet, rain, slush. I guess I should look at the positive side of things - we have plenty of water, Abby likes the snow (please see picture), the outside of my car usually looks clean (we won't talk about the inside), and I've gotten to spend a bit more time with my neighbors (as sometimes I can't get out). I still will be glad to see the sun again...

Update: An unexpected blessing. On my way home this afternoon I saw blue sky!!! God has given me a glimpse of hope. :)

2008-01-01T11:50:00.000-09:00

Happy New Year to everyone! This is the gouldshouse band
featuring Abby on percussion and vocals.

Winter

2007-12-07T10:37:00.001-09:00

This is one of Abby's recent pictures. Thanksgiving day, actually. She is very serious. It's been a little while since we have blogged. Here is the latest happenings....

*We had a very nice Thanksgiving. Two actually - see the Cookes blog for some pictures of the first. The second was at the Wickerts on Thanksgiving day.

*David is getting very busy with work. Everyone's Christmas packages must get out!

*We had an offer on the house. We countered back and they accepted. So that means we are in the process of selling. We are getting the appraisal done this weekend. It's becoming very real! We are planning on heading out to Tennessee mid-February, depending on the ferry schedule and David's work transfer dates.

*Sharon might come up and spend some time with us, and help us pack up. She's still trying to figure it out and work out details. I'm praying all will fall into place!

*I got to visit the ER on Wed. I sliced open my hand opening a box and had to get a few stitches. Ouch!

*We're going to the Singing Christmas tree tonight at church. The singing tree always marks the begining of the Season for me and I love Christmas!

I guess thats the latest for now. We'll keep you all posted on all of the upcoming plans and events!

A Time for Change

2007-11-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

Although most of you have seen this coming, it is now official. Our house went on the market this week. We too will be heading out. I have spent a majority of my life wanting and trying to be here so it is with very mixed emotions that we make this decision, but with both of our families living south, the time has come. We have put a stipulation that we will not close on any offers until February 15. We are then planning on heading to Murfreesboro, TN. David will transfer with the post office and there is a nice new medical center there. Tennessee may seem like a random place, but when we started thinking about moving south, we had lots of requirements. Nashville met every single one of them (Murfreesboro is just outside of Nashville). We are excited to see what the Lord has for us there in terms of friends, life, work, and ministry. Having both grown up here in Ketchikan we will always see this place as home and will miss our Ketchikan family tremendously, but you are all invited to come visit as soon as we get settled. Until then pray that the Lord would continue to guide us in all of our preparations. And does anybody want to buy a house? http://www.remax-ketchikan-alaska.com/THEREA~1/Property_North_of_Town.html

Happy Abby

2007-10-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

This is a short clip of Abby. She is now very smiley and giggley. I am loving this age. She is interacting, rolling over, plays with toys and books, loves to talk gibberish, and is very flirtatous.

DC Trip

2007-09-29T14:41:00.000-08:00

On August 22 Sharon, Abby, and I flew to DC to visit Grandma and Grandpa Maloney. Abby did great on the plane. We were there for about a week when David flew out to join us for one more week. It was quite hot the first week we were there in the 100's! It started to cool down to the 80's and 90's by the end of our time. Abby had a hard time with the time change and was a little bit grumpy, but now she's back to normal. It was a great time with my family. My mom and I took Abby swimming a couple of times, I spent lots of time at Target (the greatest store ever!), and lots of time hanging out. We went up to Grandpa's office in DC one day and had lunch - he is a very proud grandpa:) We also got to see my mom's brother, Uncle Mark, his wife, and one of my cousins Craig. It was a great trip!

Playing in the green grass. She was very excited about putting her feet on it! She is truly a Ketchikan baby when real grass gets her excited :)

At the pool near my parents house. They had a great kiddie pool just perfect for us! Grandpa's office in DC. He had lots of fun showing her off.

Oh, the other fun thing we got to do was to go out on a date! David and I went to the Melting Pot. It's a fondue restaurant. That was a lot of fun and absolutely delicious - I especially loved desert - chocolate fondue! That's pretty much our trip. Can't wait to do it again soon....

Little Liver

2007-09-26T19:28:00.001-08:00

Well, David is starting her off early. She is already a big Liverpool fan. She was pretty enthralled with the game as you can see. :) They even won the big game. She was very happy about it....well she's always happy, but she was extra happy. Now all she needs is a guitar and she'll be a full fledged daddy's girl!!

Summer's End

2007-09-23T17:01:00.001-08:00

Well summer is officially over. We've had lots going on in the last couple of months.....a great visit with Sharon, our second anniversary, lots of hikes and walks, Abby's first airplane ride, a trip to Grandma and Grandpa Maloney (and Auntie Alli of course!), Sydney's second birthday, and Abby is now four months old! I have lots of pictures of all of these so i will post them gradually. I'll start with our anniversary. I decided to surprise my husband and took him on the new (at least new to me) White River Adventure Kart tour. Sharon stayed with Abby and i took my suspicious husband down town. We then got to go on a boat which took us all the way around to White River. There we got geared up and took the 5 mile trail up to Mahoney Lake. It was nice out but it had recently rained so we got pretty muddy. It was a lot of fun. I definately recommend it to anyone who visits (or lives here for that matter). We also got to go to dinner that evening. We had a great time! Here are a few pictures... Oh, and don't worry i have lots of Abigail pictures to come!

Sharon is here!!

2007-08-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

My sister Sharon got here yesterday! She will be here for three whole weeks and we are excited to have her here. Today Sharon, Kristi, Abby, and I took all the dogs on a hike. We had lots of fun and Sydney and Abby are now passed out. Here are a few pictures from our little adventure....

Sunbathing Beauty

2007-07-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

It is an extraordinarily beautiful day today! Abby and I sat outside for a bit this afternoon. She even tried on her new bikini that cousin Laura sent her. She loves being outside. I love days like today!

Black Velvet Band

2007-07-14T14:47:00.001-08:00

This is a short clip from the Monthly Grind a few months ago. From left to right Matthew Cooke, David Gould, Kristina and Adam Day, Kay and Tim Long.

grandma gangsters

2007-07-09T15:09:00.001-08:00

I ran across this video today and thought I would put it on the blog for a laugh, and so you could see truly diabolical acting (mainly from me).

Smiles

2007-07-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

She's a very happy girl!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!

2007-07-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

Last week David turned twenty-nine. We had a nice birthday dinner for him at Ocean View. Then had everyone over to our house for a little party. Happy Birthday David! (posted a few days late:)

The Smallest of Friends

2007-06-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

We went to see Rachael and Kristina the other day. The girls were fast friends. We layed them down next to each other and they were quite interested. It was very cute. My parents and Allison made it back home safely. We were sad to see them go. On the same day that they left David's Nana got here. She has been enjoying her newest great-grandaughter and has quite the gift of getting her to sleep. Nana also came with gifts including Abby's first soccer (football) kit, Liverpool of course (thank you Susan and Kevin) and a very cute new bikini (thank you Laura:). I guess that's about all the news for now.

Our Girl

2007-06-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

Abby is now eleven days old. It's kind of funny you expect to automatically know this new little person, but you don't. It been fun getting to know her expressions and cries and routines. She is a very sweet girl. We've enjoyed having all of my family here too. Auntie Sharon even flew in for a surprise visit yesterday! Well here are a few more pictures of our girl....

Abigail

2007-05-24T18:26:00.001-08:00

Here's Abby

A.I

2007-05-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my prophecy was false, let's move on and get to something I'm better at, watching television. Before I get to that I just want to say something about Carlos Boozer. He played high school basketball for Juneau, I remember seeing him play once, I think, against kayhi. Anyway right now he is playing for the Utah Jazz in the second round of the playoffs and averaging 25 points and 14 rebounds. He made the All Star team this season and I just wanted to say "go Jazz" and "go Boozer, you are the man." Now to Idol, according to book makers Jordin is the favorite to win, melinda second and blake third. That sounds about right to me, I predicted long ago that Jordin would be the next idol. 3 songs each! Simon looks like he just go out of the shower. Jordin Sparks dad used to be pro football player for the record. Jordin is singing, I don't know this song. She's finally wearing a dress without the ridiculous leggings. She did well with this song, the song wasn't that great, I don't know what Simon was thinking, now that I think about it, the song stinks. Here's a list of all the idol winners in order of pure singing talent. 1. Clarkson 2. Underwood 3. Aiken 4. Barrino 5. Hicks. Blake is from Bothel, Wa. The mayor is named Mark Lamb, his middle name is "rackof" he he. Blake is the sweater king, this song is terrible. Randy: Great performance? Paula: Loved it? Simon: not that great. Of course Simon is right, the other two are crazy. Melinda is next, don't the judges always tell the contestants not to sing whitney, christina or mariah? Even so, Randy picks a whitney song. When melinda makes certain vowell sounds she sounds like a quacking duck. I thought she did pretty well, probably the best so far. Jordin's song #2, where are the power ballads? the song choices are killing Jordin right now, disco songs aren't going to win anything, the producers are clueless. Blake's second: He is singing Maroon 5, who I like, finally someone chose a song from this century. What song do you think is gonna get more votes from American Idol voters (all young kids) a recent popular song, or some lame disco song from the 70's. Blake did well, he recovered from Paula's travesty of a song choice. Melinda: the judges have invoked Tina Turner's name a lot when commenting on Melinda so I guess it makes sense, although there has to be better Tina Turner songs than that. I say first round to Melinda, Second round to Blake. What song will Jordin sing? I guess I can't say anything now, even when Jordin picks her own song she chooses one that's 74 years old, try singing something new. Thankyou Simon, he said what I thought, the song was awful. Blake has the right idea, he's going funky again and it pays off for him every time. Let's put this in baseball terms, Blake struck out first time up, the other two times he was up, he hit triples. Jordin hit two singles and struck out once. Melinda is up, I think she has already done this song once, probably not the best idea. She should have brought something new, even though she sang it well. She hit three doubles, no home runs tonight friends. Jordins song choices weren't very good tonight, she could be in trouble, I know I said I thought she would win but she took a step back tonight. I give the night to Blake.

The Prophecy

2007-05-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

I have prophesied that the baby with be a girl and that she will be born on Sunday May 13, Mothers day. That is the prophecy. If any other false prophets wants to make their false prophecies, feel free to do so on this post.

AmmmmmErican Idol

2007-05-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

It's that time again, I decided to blog every other week because to devote a blog every week to this show would be kinda lame and weak. Tonight is Bon Jovi night, woo hoo, my first controversial claim of the night: Bon Jovi are better than U2. John Bon Jovi and the guitarist Richie Sambora did a good cover of "hear comes the sun" at a tribute concert for George Harrison, check it out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_CCG3w5SPk Phil is going first singing "going down in a blaze of glory" could be prophetic. I don't think he really has a good rock voice, this is kinda like Bon jovi lite. The Judges: Randy: best performance ever. Simon: ok, not original. It's a good thing the other two guys are boy band weak singers, that might be what keeps phil around another week. I missed Jordan's performance because I was talking to my Dad about Liverpool's epic victory in the champions league semi final, bring on Man United. From what I heard it sounded like she was yelling, and simon said it was terrible. Jordin is a big girl, she towers over seacrest, she looks like she could stoop down and swallow his head whole. Now that I think about it, none of these people can sing Bon Jovi songs, I predict all will be terrible, especially chris. Lakisha is doing pretty good, probably the best of the night so far, she made the right decision singing something that wasn't a rock song. Randy: Blew it out the box. Paula: somethin somethin, money in the pocket blah blah. Simon: He loved it, and they kissed. Lakisha is probably safe. I've got some wicked heart burn right now, it's hard to concentrate.
Blake is next. This will be terrible. Ok I was wrong, It was very cool, very different. But there is a reason he had to change the style, because his voice isn't good enough to sing it the normal way. Chris is next, I'm pretty sure THIS will be terrible, at least I hope so. This guy is such a lightweight. gotta call it quits, bad heartburn.

1 hour I'll never get back

2007-04-17T18:50:00.000-08:00

Country music night with Martina Mcbride as the guest. At last someone with a really good voice. I liked Jennifer Lopez, she's a good performer, not a great singer, but waaaaaaaaaayyy better than Gwen Stefani.
Phil goes first, he's wearing a shirt made of obsidian. He's singing for his life at this point, he sounds like he's out of breath from walking around. It was ok. Randy called himself an accomplished producer, he big upped himself. All the judges liked it I think, did paula say anything? I think my ears literally closed when she spoke, I am not kidding, I couldn't hear her voice. Apple TV, I must have this technology.
Jordin is next, she is a giant by the way probably 6''1. Started off a little rough, blasted it out by the end. Randy: Dude the bomb man. Simon: Says she could win the whole thing, where has he been? I give her A-. I pretty much want anything apple makes at this point, I-phone, I must have this technology.
A Constantine Maroulis sighting, he has no career. It's Sunjaya time. He just committed a hate crime towards Bonnie Rait, who happens to be one of my favorites. Simon is fed up with this guy and his whole act and he crushed him, which he deserves. If Sunjaya wins the competition someone is going to have to talk me off the ledge of tongass towers. HEHE Simon is genuinely mad at Ryan.
Lakisha: I bet she's lost at least 20 pounds since the show started, she looks really good tonight. I think she may have been a little too powerful on that song, belted it out a little too much, let's see what the judges say. Randy: pitchy. Paula:whoa, she said what I thought, scary. Simon: he agrees with me too, I feel a little better.
Chris: his voice is so thin and nasally, this could be bad. Someone tell that violinist to tune up before the show. This is a train wreck! Sydney says "aaahhhwwwooooooooooo" Randy: didn't really like it. Simon: nasally and tinny, Simon is in a bad mood and will destroy all these pretenders, and I love it. Chris says nasally is a type of singing, he must go now, forget Sunjaya, let him stick around for another week, Chris must be voted off.
Melinda: Apparently she just got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She should do herself a favor and do her hair like this every week. Surprise surprise, she hit a home run. Randy: Solid. Simon: Fantastic. Blake is next, Jenn thinks he is very good looking, I hate him. Just kidding, he's probably the best guy left but has no chance of winning. He's wearing a plaid sweater for the 10th straight week. ooh, he's not exactly nailing it. This is pretty bad as far as I'm concerned, pitchy dawg for me.

Official baby name poll...

2007-04-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

We are still struggling with our baby names. So, at the suggestion of Caren Cooke I went to babycenter.com and started a baby name poll. Please feel free to go on and vote for your favorite names. As for our favorite....well if we had one we wouldn't need a baby name poll now would we...:)
http://click.babycenter.com/b/?le=7Y4H&cn=emailafriend&en=20070409&pe=0&t=0

Church Growth

2007-04-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Easter! We went to the "sunrise" service this morning followed by a huge breakfast then the regular church service. It was great! I am so thankful to KNOW that Easter is about so much more than Easter Eggs and candy. We sang a song this morning "Because He Live". Chris Cooke got up later and gave a testimony about one of the verses in this song. "How sweet to hold a newborn baby...." She talked about what a blessing it is to know that Christ died and rose again for all. Past, present, and future generations. After the service this morning we took a picutre of all of us who are expecting. Sarah Bird (November), Kristi Baum (September), Caren Cooke (September), Anna Scott (July), Kristina Day (June), and Me (May). I am so thankful to know that our child will have such a loving family of believers (both related and not!). Hope you all enjoy this very special day.

Bizzarely Dreadful

2007-04-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

After a weeks break it's time for another AI review. I am glad the shows are down to an hour now, I feel like less of a loser blogging for an hour as opposed to 2 hours. Tony Bennett is the coach, he released his first album in 1893. I am looking forward to the Bon Jovi week, but Tony Bennett is an improvement over the last two weeks.
Blake is first. His voice is well suited to this kind of music, I am liking this performance and Jenn is clicking her fingers. Randy: check it out man, funky jazzy. Paula: generic blather. Simon: good performance. My Grade is a solid B.
Commercial Break, I have high blood pressure and my cholesterol is 238, in other words I could be dead before the end of the show.
Gollum is next. If you have ever seen the pilot episode of Star Trek with the Aliens that have pulsating foreheads,(see picture) he looks like one of those. Randy: no passion for me, for me dawg dawg. Simon: completely gloomy and dark. I predict phil could go this week.
Melinda is next, let's see if she found her neck this week..... no still no neck. This is too easy for her, I haven't heard her miss a note since the competition started. Randy: Yo yo, singing lesson.
Paula: beginning, middle and end, I just had a brain hemorrhage. Simon: frustrated because he can't diss her. She gets B+
Commercial, I came in 244,000th place in the ESPN college tournament challenge. I have Florida and Ohio st in the final game but I had Ohio st winning.
Chris: Got better as the song went on, pretty good by the end. Randy: one of your best performance, that was hot! Paula: blah blah. Simon: Very good, the best of the night. I give him a B
Jordin: My favorite. Jenn gives her outfit 2 thumbs down. Randy: heat and fire and the bomb. Paula: Every time Paula speaks I start singing the Bob Dylan song "Idiot Wind" Simon: old fashioned and traditional. I thought she was pretty good and I give her B-.
Gina: She needs to wear something that is not black once in a while. This is pretty good, a change of pace for her, she is doing a good job. She will be praised. Randy: very nice, I like Paula: flawless. Simon: didn't like it, I have to disagree with Simon on this one. I give her a B
Sanjaya: He is sooooo cheesy, and he tries to be so sweet all the time, I think I just became diabetic. Randy: an Entertainer. Paula: "Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth" Simon: sarcasm. Sunjaya has become a joke at this point and he is lapping it up. I give him F triple minus.
Hayley: I predict simon will say something about lounge singer or karaoke in his comments. Hayley is just riding her looks right now, she's gone in about 2 weeks. Randy: didn't say anything, Simon: he said Pageanty, that's a new one. I give her a C-
Lakisha: She's a good performer as well as a great singer. Randy: The bomb baby Paula: she looks good, whatever. Simon: sassy and great. I give her B+.
No one blew me away tonight, most were pretty solid. Phil is in danger.

American Idolatry

2007-03-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

oooh 60's night. ooh 2 losers. People are going to know about 3 of these songs. Hayley is going first singing a song no has heard of. American Idol is the biggest show on TV and they can't get anyone better than herman the hermit. Randy: perfect song for her. Simon: goes all creepy for the first contestant, nice. By the way she has Olympic gold medals for ear rings. My grade B- Jenn's grade C.
Chris is next. cool a guitar player. Hey I think he's wearing my grandads cardigan! not that bad, still too airy and soft for my tastes. Randy: beautiful dawg, props props props. Simon: best performance from him so far. I give him a B.
Stephanie: she has fishing lures for earings, I think she is in danger, she could be gone soon. Randy: Pitchy for me man, man. Paula: pointless comments about the way she looks. Simon: lost her edge. My grade: C-
Blake is next and is singing a Rob Zombie song....wait just The Zombies, never heard of them. This show is like having the station stuck on KFMJ, what a total nightmare. Hey contestants let me introduce you to someone you may have heard of....The Beatles or maybe the Rolling Stones.
Hey I like this, Jenn gives his plaid pants an A+. Randy:cool, massive YO factor (The Yo Factor must be destroyed now). Simon: strongest performance so far. I thought it was very cool, I give it a B+.
Lakisha: yes a bond song, I liked it, probably my favorite from the night.Randy: not his favorite, paula liked it and Simon didn't. I thought Lakisha looked very good, she's still safe. My grade B
Smeagol is next, a hard rock version of Tobacco road. I have a feeling Simon will not like this, let's see. Randy: pitchy dawg for me. Paula: yessssss the precioussssss. Simon: didn't like it, he needs a blusier voice to pull that one off. My grade C.
Jordan goes and does well, I think she is a dark horse to win, in fact I am going out on a limb and predicting Jordan will win the whole thing.
Sunjaya is next. wait... why is he meeting with herman the hermit, Sunjaya is a guy?! This is not that bad, he has some grit in his voice. Jenn is weeping like that little girl! Simon: I guess he didn't like it. Sunjaya is staying i guarantee it. my grade B. Gina is singing next, I predict she will sing "Satisfaction" we'll see. Doh! wrong song, paint it black? don't know it. Oh yeah I know it, I heard it 25 times on kfmj at work. Her whole rock thing is getting old for me, it's time to change it up a bit. Simon: vocal carnage! Paula and Randy always interupt Simon when he is speaking, I think Paula should have sydneys shock collar on.
Chris Sligh is next, he is walking through the crowd...sorry pal but no girls are crying over you.
Melinda is next, I'll just go ahead and give her an A and call it a night. Time for Peter Noone to go back to anonymity and Lulu to go back to the botox clinic.

March Madness

2007-03-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

The last two posts have been pretty popular so now it's time for a post that no will care about. I filled my NCAA tournament bracket on espn.com and am currently in 45oooth place, which isn't that bad considering 3 million brackets were filled out. Yesterday through the first 7 games I was perfect and then Duke and Gonzaga lost so right now I have missed 2 picks out of about 20 games.
Here's my final four-I have Ohio State beating Texas and Florida beating UCLA with Ohio State winning the whole thing. Also I entered a drawing at KPU to win a 50 inch plasma, I have a good feeling about this.

American Idol

2007-03-13T19:05:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here surfing the net and American Idol just came on, so I'm taking a page out of ESPN's sports guy's book and doing a running diary:
They are singing Diana Ross songs.
Brandon didn't start the show off that well, half way through the song his voice breaks like a 12 year old boy's and then he forgets the words. I can't remember what Randy said, Paula said "blahblahblahblah" and Simon eviscerated him. I give him F+
Melinda is next, she's my pick to win the whole thing even though she has a giant head, let's see.....not liking the song, always a mistake to sing a song no one knows, she was still good
Randy: that was hot baby, yeeah yeah! Paula: (through tears) blah blah blah. Simon: rubbish song, good performance. She gets B+
Chris Sligh: He lost the glasses, bad idea. Jenn: "his belly looks like mine". Started shaky, getting better. Randy: A mess Dawg, yeah yeah. Simon killed him. My grade, C
Gina, the rock chick, is next, for the record she has no chance of winning......it was ok. Randy: "pitchy, dawg I don't know man, dawg dawg". Simon: "just average, not great, not terrible"
My grade C+
Sunjaya is next, just so you know, last week when Sundance got voted off instead of Sunjaya it was all I could do to not put my head through the TV. Here we go......The most shocking hair I have ever seen on a "man". If he put a dress on he would be the prettiest girl in the competition. Randy: speechless, "dude it wasn't good dude dude dude dude" Simon: "Diana Ross just keeled over dead". My Grade F-
Hayley: maybe the cheesiest person on the show......and boring, she put me to sleep and when I woke up my ears were bleeding, not a good sign. Randy:"Pitchy Pitchy yeah yeah yeah" Paula: "forgetting the words is not a good thing" Simon: he kinda liked it, which is a shock because he couldn't remember her name last week. My grade, C
"Blades of Glory" looks like a funny movie.
Phil is next, or as I call him, Golum. He has a big voice, better when he sings high stuff. not a bad job so far by smeagol. Randy: "vocals were hot!" Paula: "adflkajsdpfoaiwenv" Simon: "not terrible". I give him a solid B.
Lakisha: We here at gouldshouse predict Lakisha will come 3rd in the competition. Diana Ross looks pretty good. Probably the best of the night so far. Randy: "Sensational!" wow Randy must have looked at a thesaurus this week. Simon: "outstanding". The best of the night, she gets an A-
Blake the beat box guy: He won't win but I kinda like his style, he always does something different. I am running out of steam at this point, time to get more cookies and a life. Blake gets a C
Stephanie is next, she is a good singer and probably should stay for a long time but I am going to predict that she will be gone in 2 weeks. It doesn't help that she is wearing a patchwork quilt. C+
Chris is singing, he has a good pop voice I guess, it's kinda high and wimpy though, wait a second, he is bombing big time he's gonna get killed by Simon.......Simon: "dreadful and terrible" I called it. Grade F
Jordin Sparks: For the record, my favourite contestant, followed closely by melinda. Jordin is gouldshouse pick to come 2nd. The Judges are going to tell her that she yelled the song. Randy: "You're in it to win it, yeah yeah yeah dawg dawg" Simon: "very very good, in with a shot to win" I give her B+.
That's the end of the show, my head hurts.

Baby names

2007-02-27T15:27:00.000-09:00

We've been absent from the bloggersphere for many moons. We took a trip back east to see the Maloneys and are getting ready for the small one to arrive. On that note it's time for a baby name poll. We need help with boys names so let's start with that. Boys names, what do you think?