Home Sweet Home

We finally are all unpacked and have turned in the keys to the apartment. Yeah! We have met some of the neighbors and everyone is very nice. Not very many babies on the block, but a couple in our ward has an 8 month old and live just a few houses away. George is adjusting pretty well; he seems to like having a backyard. And we love having a garage and not having to walk up 2 flights of stairs with a baby, carseat, groceries, etc. Here are a few pictures for now. We still have to hang pictures so keep that in mind when you see the blank walls.

Book Tag

My friend Jennie book tagged me. So, the rules are:
1- pick up the nearest book (with at least 123 pages)
2- turn to page 123.
3- find the 5th sentence.
4- post the next 3 sentences.
5- tag 5 more people.

Well, we are moving on Saturday so all my books are packed up. The closest thing I could find is a GQ magazine and there was an ad on page 123. I reversed the page numbers (went to page 321) and there just happened to be an article on Mitt Romney on that page. The 5th sentence and 3 after read:

"The morning before the January 15 primary, Romney stood in a high school gymnasium before 2,000 students and gave a meandering, embarrassingly unfunny performance that the traveling media generally agreed was his worst of the campaign. But when I asked a few of the students afterward what they thought, they were impressed.
'What did you hear that you liked?'
'The part where he said he was going to help Michigan,' chirped a sophmore with glasses".

There you have it. I will tag Bev, Janelle (since I know you found out my blogging secret), Alicia, Kasey, Alisa, and Emily (even if you don't have a blog you can email me your tag, and yes, I can count. I know I tagged 6 people).

Obama Rally

We went to a rally for Obama here in Houston last week. I went not really having made up my mind who I was going to vote for, but I gotta say, I think I am sold on him. There was such a feeling of excitement in the air you couldn't help feeling it also! Some of my favorite issues that he addressed:

1. Bringing the troops home in 2009. I think I would feel this way even if my brother wasn't in the Army (he is actually in Afganistan so it wouldn't affect him anyway). I was in favor of the war when it first started but I don't know why we are there anymore.

2. Health care for everyone. Obama wants everyone to have health insurance. Those that can't afford insurance will get free health care; those that already have insurance will get $2500.

3. Education. Teachers will be rewarded for excellence and he wants more than one achievement test so teachers won't just be teaching the material to pass the test. Also, he wants college students to be able to earn $4000 towards tuition by doing community service.

4. Government. Basically Obama thinks the government should be there to help people lead better lives; sort of a "help me help you" attitude. He thinks lobbyists have too much power in Washington and wants to take that power away.

Anyway, I'm glad I went to the rally because if anything, it got me excited for the election. Rock the Vote!

Gymboree

Here are a couple of pictures of Kate at her Gymboree class. I signed her up because I wanted her to have a chance to socialize (and to get me out of the house). I don't regret signing her up, but I have been a little disappointed with the class. The teacher is very nice and does some fun activities, the only problem is that we have been in the class for over a month now and every week is exactly the same! Nothing changes, not even the teachers advice or comments. She keeps saying at the end of each class that we will do something new next time, but we never do. I wouldn't mind so much but the class is somewhat pricey and I expected more from it. Live and learn! I am not going to sign up for the next session because of the price. We will be a little tight on money for awhile because (drumroll please) we bought a house! Okay, okay, so we are under contract to buy a house, but the closing is Friday and it looks like it really will happen! We are sooo excited! I have had enough of renting and apartment life. The house is brand new, never been lived in, and in a really nice planned community. It's farther north than we are now and so will be a little longer of a drive to work for both of us, but it's worth it because of the area. There are lots of trees around and walking/biking trails and a waterpark in the neighborhood! I will post a couple of pictures now and more later and update the blog when the keys are actually in our hands.



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New Toy

We decided to get a second car because we are moving soon and won't be near the train. So far we have only needed one car because the train runs through the medical center (where I work) and downtown (where Jason works). We went with a Hyundai Tucson because I like the look of it and it's fairly cheap as far as SUV's go. I feel somewhat hypocritical driving an SUV because I used to always make fun of people that lived in big cities and drove them. But I must say, I love all the space and it is so easy to get Kate in and out of it. Anyway, I am really enjoying my new toy!

Showers

While in Utah, Jessica threw me a baby shower. It was so fun to see some of my friends and for them to be able to see Kate. And she got some super cute stuff! Jessica had the awesome idea to have everyone give me two beads; one representing me and one for Kate. Then she strung them together to make a key chain. I love it!

My aunt also threw a shower while we were there. I never realized how crafty my cousins are! Sommer embroidered burp cloths, a blanket and a bib with Kate's name, Sicely made her some bracelets and headbands and Sierra made her a sign with her name on it. So cute! And she got tons of great clothes, toys and some books from everyone esle. Thanks everybody!

New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve we ate at a yummy Italian place called Cucina Toscana. Kate was being fussy so we had to take turns walking around the restaurant with her. At midnight we watched the ball drop and drank sparkling cider. 2007 was pretty awesome (moved to a better place, Jason got a job, we had a baby...) and I hope 2008 will be just as good.