We need help!

Ed and I are trying to decide on dining room table styles and we need some opinions ASAP!

I am compiling this post off of my phone so it's a little awkward and the pictures didn't line up the way I wanted them too, so bear with me.

This first picture shows an oak table in the stain we are looking at on a floor that is close to the color of our new wood floor. I like the contrast of the dark stain, so everything doesn't all just blend in together.

The second picture shows the base of the table that we both really like. It is all in oak, stained in one color.

The third picture is one of the chairs we like with the two tone stain effect.

The forth picture is the same table, but with the two tone stain. The table is slightly open in the picture, so just critique the stain effect.

The last picture is the same table as the first picture without the dark stained chair. It is just to show the look if we don't do the two tone stain. It is not the table or chairs that we would be getting.

Our question is do you like the two tone effect or just the one color stain on the table and chairs?

Please help us decide.

Nicole Moves to Colorado

I'm just testing out this mobile app for Blogger, so just one quick picture for you. This is Nicole's new abode in Colorado. She is renting a room here. It's a cute little house and I think Nicole will soon feel right at home.

Company's Coming

I'm re-arranging furniture today and getting some cleaning done. I hate to clean, so why am I doing it you ask? Company is coming!!! Since we will be lucky enough to spend time together as a whole family, I wanted to make sure we had room for everyone to be in one room.


I moved the couches around, and dismantled the "library" for now. Once Ed gets home tonight to help me move the game table in to the "library" it will officially be dubbed the "game room." But for now the recliners have found their new home in the corner of the family room. We find ourselves spending a lot of time in the recliners when Drew is here and there just are not enough seats in the library to visit with Mark and Rosie, so this will be a good solution. The basket hiding behind the recliner holds toys for Nathan and Drew.


This Nana has been hitting the thrift stores and checking on Craigslist to beef up her toy selections for one very cute little one year old boy. Papa got one of our boy's rocking horses down out of the attic over the weekend. I told him we didn't need the little table out for Nathan, but I think I've changed my mind. We'll have to pull that out of the shed this weekend.


Do you think he'll like the new toys? Off to Walmart to get some plugs for all those electrical outlets I see that are uncovered! Hope you are all having a great day!

Random

Just a couple things to share today: If you live in the Indianapolis area, Devour Indy starts next week! It's a great time to check out some expensive and unique restaurants for a lot less money. Check out the list of restaurants participating this year here. (I'm sure Nana and Papa would be available to babysit one night!)

I tried to take a picture a day a few years ago and failed miserably! It was fun while it lasted, and I wish that I could actually do it. A few days before the new year I found an app for my iPhone that is just for that. There are quite a few apps available for this purpose, but this one was free so I thought I'd start with it. Just follow this link to Project 365. There is a pro version to, but I haven't really looked in to that. So far I have taken a picture each day for one week!

Another project I started a few weeks ago was OhLife. I receive an email each day around 8 pm that simply asks, "how was your day today?" All I have to do is reply to the email and it saves the information for you. Each day in the email you also receive a reminder of something you wrote previously. It's kind of fun to see how things have changed in just one week or be reminded of what happened. I think it's my 50 year old brain, but I often don't even remember that the event occurred on that day. The reminder is nice at the end of the day and it just takes a few minutes to jot down how the day went.

Off to work on some pictures today. Hope you are having a great start to the new year!

A Day in Breckenridge

Such a happy little guy! Nathan didn't like the feel of these stones on his feet. We took a ride on the lift. Nathan looks so laid back here, or maybe it's just that he's really tired! Playing in the park with Auntie Cole. The sun was so pretty on the mountains as it was setting. This picture doesn't do it justice though.

Birthday Presents for the One Year Old!

Matt and Sonya had put together a slideshow of Nathan's first year. It was really fun to watch and see how much he had changed over the year. If you want to see it, click here. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy. I think it's around 10 min. Let the party begin! Nathan wasn't too sure about this monkey/ape to start out with. Sonya's mom sent him out this jersey. So cute!

Forget the Sippy Cups, This Little Guy Loves Camelbacks!

Nathan would find any Camelback bottle laying around to get a sip of water. If you don't want to share your Camelback with him, you better hide it! We were excited to find a small one just for him one day when we were shopping in Keystone.

More Family Fun

What could be more fun than cuddling with this little guy? This had to be the quickest diaper change. What teamwork! Matt and Sonya's night for preparing supper. Nicole and Courtney had a gift for Matt and Sonya for their birthdays combined. It was a helicopter ride. You can read all about it here. Nicole had found some unique birthday cards to share with them as well!

Last Day of 2011 - Can You Believe It?!

Our year is ending a little different than we had planned. Ed, Nicole, Courtney and I had planned to spend the day in Iowa celebrating a wedding - then New Year's Eve - with several friends. Ed and Nicole are actually carrying out that plan while Courtney and I are home eating Chinese and watching "Sound of Music." I'm not sure she will be able to stay awake for the whole movie due her drug induced relaxed state. Courtney has been having some significant pain in her back since Thursday and today we made our second trip to the ER because of that pain. Thankfully she has had some relief this evening and is moving around considerably easier than earlier today. We're hoping that the relief continues as she rests for the rest of the weekend.

So with a little extra time, I thought I'd try to get some pictures posted here. So lets rewind the clock to August shall we? Back to our family vacation in Colorado. And since it's cold and maybe snowing in some parts of the country, these pictures should warm you up!

There's a lake in the Keystone area, so one day we rented a pontoon boat.

Apparently Nicole didn't think she was getting enough exercise just riding around on the boat!

The rules were that children had to have a life jacket on at all times. This one looks a little large on Nathan.



Captain Courtney.

And Captain Ed.

It was nice that the whole deck was enclosed, so Nathan could be out of his stroller and able to move around. Driving with Papa! Soaking in the sun. Anything to get a good shot! Nathan thought it was hilarious when his daddy punched on his chest with the life jacket on! It was a beautiful day to enjoy outside - we even enjoyed a picnic lunch while cruising around on the lake.