It's a BABY!!!!!!!

It's official news!!!!  Here's the first sonogram of baby Waterman who is due November 5th.  We are very excited to be parents of a little baby and are happy for our families.  This will be the 11th grandchild on the Waterman side and 6th grandchild on the Lane side.  We will try to keep the blog update to date with all the latest news of our new addition.  Baby is very healthy and our next appointment is April 25th.  Paul has been a big help around the house.  I'm so thankful that I'm not sick, but I'm really tired and like to EAT!  We enjoy hearing from you.  Have a fantastic week!

Spring break

Well, last week was spring break for UNI and West high where Carlos goes to school.  Carlos was busy with soccerr (of course!) and we both worked.  Friday we all three had the day off which hasn't happened in a long time so we made the best of it.  We hung around Waterloo and our house to get a few things done and took the dogs for a walk.  Then we had a nice lunch and headed to Cedar Rapids to do some shopping.  We hung at Planet X for a couple of hours and the boys had a good time taking in all the events.  Even if little kids did cheat while they were playing laser tag.  Paul was called "old" by one of the cheating kids!!!  Saturday we spent more time at home and running errands and then headed to Edgewood to see Paul's grandparents.  Had super with the Hamlett's for Grandma's birthday!!!  Sunday was the usual routine around the Waterman house and I got my 2 1/2 hour nap in as well.  There was some outstanding basketball on as well.  We didn't get everything done on our list, but it was good to spend some time as a family.  It was a rough weekend with Carlos so if anyone has tips on raising a teenager that expects to get everything he wants and has no $$$  please let us know.  My dad is currently in Chicago having some pre-op tests done the next two days as he prepares for hip surgery at Northwestern!  We are excited for him and a better life he will have after the surgery. 

We love to hear from you so leave comments, give us a call, or stop by our house in Waterloo!

Welcome to the blog!

Greetings! For those of you who have just joined the blog- welcome! We have taken a bit of time off as life has been pretty hectic. We will be better about more regular updates and I am nudging Melissa to give an entry a try! With that said- here are a few updates on what is going on with our family.

We just recently returned from a quick trip to Peoria. Our time was spent hanging out with family and especially spending some quality time with Melissa’s grandparents. We had fun going to the beauty shop, the bank, and out to eat. A soon-to-be congratulations goes out to Melissa’s brother and sister-in-law, as they will be having another baby in the next seven days! Thanks to Dave and Wanda for their hospitality!

Sunday, Carlos and myself (along with the Smothers family) had the opportunity to celebrate the Hartman Reserve Maple Syrup Festival! During a Volunteer Tuesday event at UNI, I got to work closely with my boss and co-worker to help the nature reserve prepare for this annual event. After hiking through the woods and checking buckets for sap, learning from the syrup-maker how the process works, and standing in line for 45 minutes, we made it to the front of the line. Chris Cakes brought a big rig and made 4 dozen pancakes at one time! I was amazed by both the efficiency and the speed of the one made who make the cakes! After 7 pancakes (along with butter and milk from Hansen’s Dairy), topped with real, homemade, Hartman-Reserve maple syrup. I was stuffed, but the food was great and was a great reminder to buy fresh- buy local!

Wedding bells are in the air. No Carlos is not getting married, but we do have many friends who are at various stages in the process. Kelli and Mike are getting hitched Memorial Day weekend, Kyle and Alisha as well as Deanna and Jonathan tie the knot in August, and Kim and Dusty are to be wed in September! Janessa and her now fiancé just got engaged within the last week!

Since it is Ash Wednesday- it would also be appropriate to wish you a humble and insightful Lenten journey (for those of you involved with Lent). I will be trying a variety of new things for this journey and will hopefully have many success stories to post. This year I am giving up all pop and coffee! I will also be adding a few things, including but not limited to watching less TV and updating the blog on a more regular basis! We are interested in knowing what you are changing in your life for Lent. Feel free to post and let us know what you are doing, and hopefully we can provide some support. If you post and keep us updated- I will post your updates on our blog as well!

NOW it's a Party!

Wow- it has been a while since we have last posted. Sorry to keep you in the dark, but we were in Cancun, Mexico with the lovely and talented Kurt and Meg Palmer last week! We have wanted to take a trip somewhere warm (while it was cold here in Iowa), with the Palmers since Kurt and Paul discussed it in the Spring of 2009. The plans came together quite nicely and we had a wonderful trip, with very few troubles. Below is the itinerary we followed, with pictures coming in the near future...

Friday, January 14, 2011- Kurt and Meg arrived in Waterloo, we ate dinner at Applebees, and watched the movie Couple's Retreat (what a great warm-up for the week to come- if you haven't seen the movie, I would strongly recommend it [my favorite part is the Yoga scene])

Saturday- Wanda (Thanks Wanda) dropped us of at Waterloo Airport at 5:45 AM and the hurry up and wait began. We flew to the Twin Cities, then to Cancun, and were sipping Corona's and Margaritas at the Casa Maya Hotel (http://www.casamaya.com/ingles/index.html) by 3:30 PM!

Sunday- The morning was spent listening to the time share presentation and telling them no. After our three hours of listening, along with a free breakfast and mamosa, we left the resort and went to Wal-Mart. After spending almost 2 hours at Wal-Mart, we climbed in the taxi, went back, and made it to the beach. At night, we spent over 4 hours at Margaritaville with All-We-Could-Eat Fajitas and All-We-Could-Drink Margaritas!

Monday- We sat on the beach, swam in the ocean, played Farkle, learned 4 Point Pitch, Euchre, and Phase 10, and ate at Hard Rock Cafe.

Tuesday- We signed up for the Excaret Excursion (http://www.xcaret.com/), but didn't end up going because both the guys had some 'stomach issues' that needed resolved. The best medicine- take a 3 hour nap, go to the beach, play games, and stay at the resort (the pasta buffet was delicious), and get to bed early!

Wednesday- We made it to Excaret and had a blast. We snorkeled in an underground river and saw some bright-colored fish, we snorkeled in the bay and saw lots of different types of fish, we saw people swimming with dolphins, saw men swinging from a tower on a rope, ate a seafood buffet, and watched a 2 hour show on the history of Mexico! By the time we arrived back at 10- we played a few games of Farkle and went to bed!

Thursday- We slept in a bit and Melissa and Paul went to Market 28- a 'local market' that is geared more for tourists. After hearing every excuse to come into each individual store, we decided to buy from three locations, made our purchases, and went back. The beach was quite sunny and warm. Knowing it was our last beach day, we stayed out for most of the afternoon. We showered and went to Hooters for our final dinner.

Friday- Up early for the hotel breakfast buffet and on the way to the airport by 8. After 13.5 hours of traveling, through customs and enduring a 90 degree temperature differential, it was nice to be out of the airport and home by 10 PM. We hugged the Palmer's and sent them on their way, as we unpacked and missed the sunny, sandy beach we had just left.

Overall- it was a great trip, with great friends, and a nice getaway from the Iowa winter. Throughout the entire trip, we felt safe and secure, and Paul was enjoying the attempt to use Spanish he had picked up along the way! We rode the public bus system, exchanged dollars for Pesos, took a taxi, and shopped at Wal-Mart- all with great success.

Thank you all for your support, love, prayers, and encouragement. Thanks to Craig and Pat for the connection to lodging, for Wanda, Karen, Clare, Grandpa and Grandma Palmer and Larsen for taking care of the young boys and girl in Iowa. A huge thank you to Kurt and Meg for enduring a week with us, for being great travel companions, and for being the best of friends!!!

The Middle of the Week

Wednesdays are usually great! Not only is it coffee in the morning and the halfway point of the week, the day generally goes pretty quick as I try to catch up from the beginning of the week and keep up through the end of the week. This Wednesday is no different, as lunch is over and the afternoon work time is about to begin!

The five of us in the family are still celebrating the accomplishment of the 'baby of the family,' as Chester graduated from beginning class at Puppy School. His instructor, Andrea, passed Chester with flying colors, and he has been invited to attend Intermediate classes starting later this month. We have a certificate and picture of him with his hat one (which he didn't necessarily care for and fought with the whole time it was on)! If I can figure out how, we will post a picture.

Another exciting Tuesday night event was the purchase of a new pair of shoes. Melissa and I consider ourselves old fashioned (and of course, I would fall under the classification of thrifty), so we like to purchase things on sale. We were having conversation with a 17 year old boy, who shall remain nameless, and his quest to get the shoes that he "...really likes!" After trying on shoes and discussing prices, he decided to get the shoes, even if they weren't on sale. I will not disclose the amount at this point, but would like to hear comments on how much is too much for a pair of tennis shoes (not for tennis, but just to wear out and about and do some running in). The topic is still being discussed, and I would be interested to hear your comments and share them with that 17 year old boy!

Please post your opinion on:
How much is too much for a 17 year old to spend on a pair of cross-training/tennis shoes? Why?

Have a great rest of the week!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from the Waterman's! A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks, and we are a bit behind in our posting. At any rate, we hope you all had a healthy and happy holiday season and that 2011 has started off well.

We are very fortunate to have the time and means to see family and friends over the holiday season. Not only did we celebrate the birth of our Lord by candlelight (and an extra 9 inches of snow) with our church family, we were also blessed to have safe travels to Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Manchester, and Edgewood! The gifts were good, the food great, and the conversations outstanding! Thanks Dave, Wanda, Richard, Eileen, Lyle, and Alice for hosting such great holiday gatherings.

We have already celebrated Carlos' 17th birthday (oh wait... we have FINALLY, since it was in October of 2010), by eating at Whiskey Creek and attending the funniest show I have ever seen- Spamalot! All three of us agreed that we thoroughly enjoyed the show and encourage everyone to see it! We would go again in a heartbeat. We are also lucky enough to see our friend, Jacob Smith, perform in the show as Sir Dennis Galahad! He did a fantastic job and fascinated us after the show with stories of performing, traveling, and what the future might hold!

We are working on our holiday letter, which we will send out around the end of January (we wanted to make sure 2010 came to a complete and total end before rushing out a letter)! We hope you are all doing well and enjoying the finer things in life- we know we are. Give us a call, text, email, or even better, stop in and visit!

Box Office Briefing

Wednesday night was one of those rare evenings where the three of us didn't have to work and could spend some family time together! So, we went to the movie in an attempt to be entertained and humored! The movie chosen was How Do You Know. I don't want to ruin the movie, but, I do have to say that none of us were entertained, and I was only humored once. When asked, after the movie, for a grade, Melissa reported a D, Carlos said an F, and I said a D! Overall grade: D-!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we hope to see you in 2011!