Basement Progress - Studs going up!

This afternoon, Ben came over and helped Charlie put up some of the stud walls in the basement. They made huge progress and the rest of the walls should be up by next weekend. I love productive weekends!

Basement Progress - DriCore Flooring

Our construction supervisor was sleeping on the job.

The final piece is being laid!

Starting out

This weekend we finally made some progress on our basement after a little over a month of no activity. We laid the DriCore flooring, which helps with moisture/musty issues in old basements, on Saturday and it felt good to get that done!

We're Expecting!!!!

Charlie and I are so excited to let everyone know that we are expecting in early May! Today we heard the baby's strong heartbeat and lots of movement, which made us so happy.

Now, we have one more project to add to our remodeling list, getting the nursery ready....

Chicago - Day 2

On our boat tour

Views from the boat tour

The Bean

Marilyn Monroe Statue

On Saturday, we explored Michigan Avenue, went on a boat tour, saw a movie, and went to Navy Pier. It was a full day but a fun way to spend our last day in Chicago!

Chicago - Day 1

Debby and Danielle on the L

In Wrigleyville

Hawkeye Bars....you got to love them!

Goose Island Brewery

Me and Danielle

I have been a traveling fool the last two weekends. First was LA and then last weekend I went to Chicago to hang out with Danielle and Debby.
The first day we went to Andersonville and Wrigleyville during the day and then out for deep dish pizza in the evening. It was great to be in Chicago again and to see some parts of the city I haven't seen before.

Santa Monica Pier

On our last full day in LA (Saturday, October 8), we headed to Santa Monica Pier and enjoyed the gorgeous day. It was absolutely beautiful and the pier was a great place to enjoy the beach and just hang out and people watch. It was a great way to end the trip!

Exploring Hollywood

We had some time to explore some of Hollywood during our trip. It was fun and interesting to see but so busy and full of tourists.

Ellen Show

On Thursday, October 6, we were headed to Burbank to go to the Ellen show! Since we weren't allowed to have cameras in the studio, this is the only picture we have of our experience. Although we had to wait quite awhile to get into the studios, once we were there it was SO MUCH FUN! I wish I could be a permanent audience member.
The show we were on aired on October 7 and we made sure we watched it back at the hotel the next day. We even were on camera a couple of times which was really exciting for us. I would definitely go again in a heart beat but if we do, we have to wait until next year because they only let you go once per season.

Leaving for LA

On Wednesday, October 5, Kristin and I finally left for LA. Above is a picture of us at the Des Moines airport waiting to get on our flight. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed out of Des Moines by about 2 hours but we still got to LA on time. Can't wait for the rest of the weekend!