New pipes, sewage, and expired home warranties...

So, a few months ago I smelled something funny when I got out of the car, coming from the vent that leads to our crawlspace. I thought maybe it was a skunk that had died under there or something. But it was blazing hot and nobody wanted to get under the house to check...plus, the smell seemed to go away. But then the other day, I smelled it again. Bryan went under the house and said it was definitely stronger down there, but that he didn't know what it was. So we had some people come and check it out. Well...turns out our old pipes had started to corrode, and sewage (i.e. stuff from the toilet) was gushing out every time we would flush, probably for the past 6 months or so. LOVELY!!!!!!!! So, they quote us $1200, which we luckily have in our emergency fund, but were NOT happy to have to write a check for! And then I was talking to my mom and she asked if we still had the warranty on the house. Bryan checked and it had expired FOUR days earlier. GRRRRRR!!! It would have covered $1000 of it. Sigh.  I almost wish we didn't know! BUT, it is our first big thing that has happened, so we should be grateful it wasn't worse. So, now we have pretty, new, white PVC pipes, yippee! Never thought I'd care about pipes. :) Ahhh, home ownership.

Our Mackinac Trip

We had SUCH a great time on our trip to Mackinac Island, MI. My mom watched Caleb here at the house, so we got to go blissfully ALONE! It was about a 10 hour drive, but it was amazing how much faster it went since we didn't have to stop every couple of hours for one reason or another. We got to talk, listen to music we wanted to listen to (as much as I love Veggie Tales....), and feel like newlyweds again! We got to Mackinac in the afternoon (by ferry!), and right away I loved it! No cars are allowed on the island, it is all horses/carriages or bikes. It is right on Lake Huron (I believe), and is just beautiful. Only 8 miles around! You immediately notice the smell of horse poop, but that goes away soon...because you also immediately notice the smell of FUDGE!!! There are seriously a million fudge shops in one small strip of Main Street. I found out the locals call tourists "fudgies" because we all come and buy their fudge. :)

Anyway, we walked to our bed and breakfast, The Inn on Mackinac, and found out our room had been upgraded to a bigger room with 2 queen beds instead of 1! Yay! After unpacking, we headed across the street (literally) to a little cookout for Greg and Binnie (my cousin and his now wife!). We saw family-my dad and his wife, my aunt and uncle, my cousin Tom and his wife Cindy and their son Noah, as well as others. It was wonderful to have to wear sweatshirts and jeans since it has been so ungodly hot here in Lexington lately! We walked around downtown after the cookout and later stopped and grabbed a slice of very yummy pizza!

The next morning, the day of the wedding, it was raining!! We were worried because the wedding was planned for outside! Luckily, it cleared up and we got to take a "taxi" (horse and carriage) to the Grand Hotel and walk around. This is where a large part of the movie, "Somewhere in Time" from 1980 took place! It was amazing! Don't think we'll ever be able to stay there, though...most of the rooms go for $200-300/night!!! It was really neat to see, though. The whole place makes you feel like you've stepped back into the early 20th century.

After this, we walked back to our B&B and got ready for the wedding. The wedding was held at another B& B down the road, in the garden. It was small and intimate, and a very pretty setting. We headed back for the reception at the same place the cookout was afterwards. After the reception, Bryan and I decided to rent bikes and bike around the island. That is truly one of my favorite memories of anything I've done with Bryan, ever. It was flat (important for my out of shape self), gorgeous, lots of places to stop along the way for photos, and we were able to do it in a little over an hour! Ahhh! I loved it!!!
That night, we went to dinner with all the family at an Italian place, and it was really great. My dad paid for it for our anniversary, which was super nice. It was great to get to talk to different family members and just enjoy being together. We were really tired after a long day of fun, so we turned in early.

On Sunday we had hoped to have time to explore some more, but it didn't happen. We also had a brief thought of driving to Rob Bell's church in Grand Rapids (I think!), but we found out it was 4 1/2 hours away, so that was a big no. It was basically the same distance from Lexington to his church as it was from Mackinac! Instead, we went to a brunch held by the newlyweds, which was yummy, and then basically had to leave, since we knew it would be such a long drive home. We hated to not get to do more, but it just means we'll have to go back sometime when we don't have other commitments!

The drive back home seemed a LOT longer than the drive there, but we stopped at a huge Christmas store (the biggest in the world apparently) which was quite the experience! We got home late that night, and it was good to sleep in our own beds again, but we already missed this magical place! We missed Caleb dearly, but loved getting to see him the next morning; he was all smiles and hugs. :)

                                                      This was the taxi to the Grand Hotel.

                                                   The Grand Hotel's famous front porch

                                        A carriage going up a residential street near the Grand Hotel

                                                            The road up to the Hotel

                                               Dad and Christy in our taxi to the wedding

                                                                  Before dinner

                              Completely out of order now. This is on our bike ride around the island!

                                             Our bed and breakfast, The Inn on Mackinac

                                          St. Ann's church, right next to our B&B. So pretty.

                                                         Bikes, bikes, and more bikes!

                                                                              By the lake

                                                   The happy couple and wedding party

                                                  My love and I...married 4 years October 2!!

Mackinac Island Trip Pictures

Here are just a few pics of our trip from this past weekend to Mackinac Island for my cousin Greg's wedding! More to come! It was a very special, beautiful place!

20.6!!!

I finally hit the 20 lb mark!! Actually, I have now lost 20.6 lbs since May! It took longer than I'd hoped it would, but I am so happy to finally meet that goal. I still have a ways to go, but I'm feeling more motivated after seeing the scale this week. I think it helped that I didn't feel good last week...didn't have an appetite some days...etc. I'm attempting to be good this week, because this weekend we are going to Mackinac Island, MI for my cousin's wedding and I am SURE there will be amazing food there!! (I've heard about their fudge!!)

Just had to share my good news!

31!!

I turned 31 on September 3...

We went to Shaker Village to play with Mommy's new camera and eat a delicious lunch...

Mommy got some good shots...but then again, I have an angel of a model!

We ate at the Shaker Village restaurant...with REAL napkins...he was enthralled with the whole experience...and actually did VERY well!

After our trip to Shaker Town, Bryan took Caleb home for a nap, and I got to go get my hair done. Got a cut and some nice highlights. It was heavenly to be pampered for a few hours. :-)

Caleb helped make Mommy a birthday cake with Daddy...and ate probably half of the batter, haha!

We also went and saw the Legends baseball game that evening, thanks to our friends Beth and Chris. Not only was it his first baseball game, it was his first taste of cotton candy!!! IT.WAS.A.HIT!!! Mommy was not feeling so great this night--found out later she was getting sick with a bug...but we managed to have a fabulous time regardless!

GO LEGENDS!

Swinging on the pole...probably his 2nd favorite thing about the baseball game. The cotton candy being first, of course. ;)

Looking at the field and taking it all in...it was a GOOD end to a GREAT day.

And some random shots, for fun. I've been enjoying my new camera soooo very much!!!

Playing with the sticks and rocks at Shaker Town...who needs fancy playgrounds and toys?

Watching the baseball game with Daddy.

Not happy but cute regardless. Pardon my squished eye.

Pure joy (he was being kissed on his belly repeatedly by Daddy here!)

Eating a sucker that Bentley is apparently very interested in.

Updates!

WOW, it has been a long time since I've blogged!! Life has gotten VERY busy lately. As far as the weight loss updates, I've maintained what I've lost so far, but have not lost more. I've had a lot going on that has caused me to indulge in food when I shouldn't, and I have NOT been exercising, which is pretty pathetic since the weather has been SO nice and fall like lately. But I plan on getting back on track!! Someone keep me accountable!

In other news, I've started my Bible study with a great group of ladies again. This time we are going through a book called, "Me, Myself, and Lies: A Thought Closet Makeover". It's all about how we speak negative words to ourselves all the time, and how damaging that can be...and how we need to remember all the things GOD says about us...who we are in HIM, and the confidence we can have because of His words of truth about our worth. It's been very good for me so far!!

Oh, I turned 31! I'll do a whole post on that in a bit. It was a good day. I am very blessed to have what (and who!) I have in my life, and I try not to take it for granted. As far as presents, I was very excited that Bryan bought me a new, NICE camera to support my crazy picture taking!! We have gone through too many "cheaper" cameras lately, and it's been so frustrating. And with the amount of pictures I take...I am excited to learn more about photography, too! I'd love to take pics of other people's kids someday and maybe do it as a hobby? Fun times!! That same weekend we celebrated Labor Day at my dad's new house here in Ky! Lots of family members were there, and it was a lot of fun. I also found out that my brother and sister-in-law are trying to get pregnant, yippee!! Hope it happens quickly for them. :-)

Caleb also started his first day of "school"...it's really a one day a week for an hour and a half program where I get to stay with him. It went pretty well this week, but I was a little disappointed to find out there is only one other boy in the class...I had been hoping to find some more little boys for him to become friends with...oh well! I think he'll have a lot of fun--the teacher is super nice. I'll do a post on his first day, too!

Bryan has started at UK to finish his Bachelor's degree...it should take him about a year. It's going to be a lot of work, but he'll do great...I am so proud of him. :) He then plans on going on to get his PhD so he can become a Nurse Practitioner. THAT is going to take 5 years! Phew! But I just keep thinking, these past 5 years went by in a blink...so hopefully this will feel the same! It could take a shorter time if he went full time, but he can't do that and work at the same time. Crazy to think that Caleb will be in probably 2nd grade by the time he finishes! But then Bryan will get to do what he truly wants to do, and it will be worth it!

Speaking of Caleb, what can I say?! He is SO smart and funny! He talks up a storm constantly. He says so, so many cute things, constantly. He loves to sing! He loves his VeggieTales DVDs (MUST remember to buy him some new ones for Christmas, as Bryan and I have them all memorized and sing the songs in our sleep!!). He also loves playing games on my phone. He remembers so many things I would never think he'd remember. He loooooves swinging on his belly at the park, and finding any kind of bar to hang on and swing. Maybe Darwin had something right, after all?! ;-)

However, it is becoming apparent to me that he is going to be someone who takes a little while to warm up to new environments/people...much like his mommy and daddy were (are?). I think the important thing for me to remember is that THAT IS OKAY. I tend to get oversensitive about it, because I WANT him to be someone who can easily walk into new environments and adjust seamlessly...because it looks good on ME. How narcissistic, right? But if that is not how God made him, that is fine. The hysterics when I drop him off at various things is still very much there...but the ladies tell me EVERY time that as soon as I leave, he calms down and does great...it's the same story at church, MNM, MOPS, etc. I hate leaving him so distressed, but I know he'll be fine. He is definitely asserting himself more, and wanting to do things by himself...snap himself in in his high chair, his carseat, put his boots on himself, etc. etc. Ahh, welcome to the world of independence!!! We're also still working on the potty training thing. We were doing GREAT for awhile, but then life got so busy and we're always OUT, and it is SO much harder when I can't ask him every 30 min if he needs to go, etc. Oh well, I figure we've got ALL WINTER to be inside to work on it, right?!

Ok, I'm going to have to work on some separate posts for my birthday and Caleb's first "school" day...this is long enough! Thanks for reading!!!