Happy Halloween!

Here we are with another year with a wonderful Halloween party and yummy treats. This year Deborah and Blayne hosted at their loft and the evening was "very nice, high five!" The winners of the costume contest was Cecily (the cute UNC cheerleader), Jonas, and Borat (aka, Eric Parrish).
Borat scared little Blayne (aka Erin Chastain) with his harsh kazakhstan accent and smell.



David and Deborah were having a great time too!


Cecily stole the show with her costume and personality!


We had a great time and I promise I won't be a whoopy cushion again next year. I won prizes with the costume three years running but I guess people are tired of it!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

It has been a long weekend for us. Eric had his wisdom teeth surgically removed on Thursday morning so I took two days off to take care of him. Today he was back to his old self-and finally pain medication free. Since he felt better, we went to the store to pick out pumpkins to carve. We need your help in determining a winner. Which pumpkin do you like best? "Incantation, a Witches Brew" or "Flying Witch" Please comment and vote!

Yipeee a Wii!

This weekend we went shopping for furniture. It's amazing how after a year in a house with a hodgepodge of belongings how you begin to covet the furniture of adults. We took the opportunity of a rainy Saturday (no long bike ride for Stefan and I) to drive to Ft. Collins to look for a bed frame, two nightstands, and to price a TV stand. We came home with a flat screen TV stand that swivels and a rekindled desire for a Wii. So much for the bed! Since our time in Nashville with Sam, we hadn't really stopped wanting one, though we convinced ourselves that we could do without one until after Christmas. A few weeks ago we went to the store to "price and check on Wii availability" and even though one was in stock, we refrained from purchasing. We were being good, responsible adults and saving the money so Eric could get his wisdom teeth pulled out next month. So on Saturday we thought it would be easy to find one-WRONG. Eric and I went to every store that carries the Wii with no luck. We were even tempted, for a brief moment, to drive to Denver to try to find one-but we soon came to our senses. We were very sad because our new TV stand had the perfect place for a Wii yet we were Wiiless.

Eric committed himself to walking to the game store across from his work everyday at lunch until we found one. So today, Monday, he trekked over and they had one! Yippeee a Wii!! Wii were SO happy!

We want everyone to know that there will be many evenings of Wii partying at our house now. We rearranged the basement to accommodate lots of people and of course, a lot of space for bowling, golfing, and soon to come, FIFA soccer. Here is Eric playing one of his favorite games, golf. He's actually pretty good and can beat me at computer sports.

We also had fun creating Mii's for our friends. Can you guess who these Mii's are? Please post and take your best guess.

I am crazy

Hello everyone. Most of you already know this, but I'm crazy. Let me explain.

Throughout the thesis/work/marathon training I complained and whined about having too much to do and that the stress level was too much. So I finished my thesis and took the most wonderful cross-country road trip and thought, "this is the life! No more busyness for me-it's time to relax, work around the house, and maybe even start a family!" But after 31 years of being me I should have known that I can't sit still with nothing to keep me going 100 miles an hour 7 days a week.

It all started with a phone call. My friend Amy, who I work with at Brentwood, calls me and says, "hey, what do you think about me coaching the Central girls varsity team?" I reply, without hesitation- NO. I explained that she already had enough on her plate teaching 4 preps, raising two girls, and watching her husband coach the boys varsity team at Central. She told me to continue to talk sense into her, so I tried. I knew we both loved basketball (we play before school once a week and have a blast) but I wanted to take some time off from coaching. Then it happened. One night I was in one of those crazy moods (I think wine was involved) so I called her and said, "if you take the varsity girls job, can I help you coach?" She laughed and said that was the reason she asked me in the first place! It was a trick! She knows me well...

So two weeks later here we both are, varsity girls basketball coaches at the high school down the street from my house. The girls don't have much talent, they aren't dedicated, and I'm not sure what we got ourselves into. Besides the fact that we might not win many games, I do know it's going to be fun and a great learning experience. We are going to take the couch we got from Scott and Lisa to our office (it won't fit down our basement stairs) and make the office a place where Amy's kids can hang out. Eric gave his blessing, (reluctantly- he keeps shouting "we can't do this Amy, his words when he first heard the idea) and is going to help take Amy's girls back and forth to their soccer, volleyball, and choir practices when we are coaching. We are all one big family now.

This move also allows me to get to know the faculty at Greeley Central, where I would like to eventually teach. Plus the school is less than a two minute walk from our house which would be perfect for us, the one car family.

That is why I am crazy.

Here is one picture I wanted to share. It is one is of Eric and his cousins. It was great to meet all of them.


That's all for now.