Hello March!

Holy smokes it's already March!  February was a really really busy month but the fact that it's such a short month made it FLY.  We're welcoming March with open arms and holding out all hope that the old saying is true.... "In like a lion out like a lamb".   It better be... I'm sick of this cold crappy weather!  The extra daylight is noticeable now so that's a good sign. :)

On another note - we had a great time here in the 'Loo last weekend (it's already almost the weekend again!!).  Kurt's friend (Seth) Anderson came to visit and we all went to the Miranda Lambert concert on Saturday... she was awesome!!  I know she's coming back this way this summer (to the Mississippi Valley Fair I believe) so if you're able to catch the show - do it!  Justin Moore was the opener and he was really good too -- it was a fun concert!  I always like going to concerts at the McLeod Center because it reminds me of the events/shows that I used to work there.  Plus, you can't beat it because the tickets are affordable and all the seats are great.  We got the cheap-o bleacher seats because I knew you'd have just as good of a view!  Ahhh it feels good to be right. =)

On Sunday, while the boys tinkered with crap in the garage I headed to Cedar Rapids to meet my mom and the bridesmaids!  We all picked out our shoes for the wedding (yay!) and grabbed a bite to eat.  It was great to have some girl time and the more time I spend with them the more excited I get for our wedding!  Everything is really coming together and that is a great feeling.  According to TheKnot's to-do list I am about 1 month ahead of schedule.... Rockin' it, right?

Oh and the biggest development in our plans...  we booked the honeymoon!  We debated long and hard about honeymooning right after the wedding or holding off until Iowa's weather was less desirable.  We opted for the latter -- it just made more sense to us to avoid hurricane season down in the tropics and enjoy what we can of Iowa's summer by planning the trip for November.  We decided to go big (it's big for us anyways!)-- so we're heading to Punta Cana for a 6 night trip the week after Thanksgiving.  Check out our amazing resort..... all-inclusive, adults-only, perfect. =)

All dogs go to heaven...

...right? 

We've been trying to swallow some sad happenings over the last week... and we decided it was time to blog about it.  We had to put our dog, Rockie, to sleep.  Of course, this type of thing is always hard and we feel horrible that her life ended this way.  She was a great dog! 

While back home (in WL) with her puppies Rockie wandered off about a week and a half ago.  It was just after the big blizzard and there wasn't much we could do to search for her since we were surrounded by huge snow drifts.  At that point, we tried to stay hopeful because Rockie (like many farm dogs) had a habit of running around and she always returned to her pups.  As the days went by we asked neighbors to be on the look-out, called a couple shelters and kept our eyes pealed whenever we were in the area... but she didn't turn up.  We started to face reality and tried to come to terms with the idea that she probably wasn't coming back.  (Although I'll totally admit that I optimistically envisioned a cute little family picking her up and taking her in. If only things were that "happy" in the real world!) .... Anyways, she was mysteriously delivered back to Jim's after a week.... but not in good shape.  We're not sure what happened to her, or what she had to live through during her days away but Rockie was sick, skinny and suffering from a badly broken leg.  It is utterly heartbreaking to think of her like this.  Kurt rushed back home to take her to the vet but the prognosis wasn't good.  She was too sick and weak to undergo the surgery she needed, if we tried to save her she would have been in a lot of pain and she would have lost a leg.  =(    So now we're left with memories of Rockie, trying to focus on the good ones!! 

There is one positive part of this senario... Rockie did leave 3 super cute puppies behind.  In light of her tragic passing we opted to keep on of the puppies afterall.  It's weird having another dog already but Max reminds us SO much of Rockie when she was puppy.  We choose this one out of the 3 because he looks the most like Rockie!! We missed out on this time of Rockie's life (she lived on the farm the first year) so we're looking forward to training Max from a young age.   And here he is....

 

Meet Max...7 weeks old.  Doesn't he look just like Rockie?? 

 

Max likes to sleep under the couch... but I'm sure he won't fit there for long!

I bet you're wondering how Pita is handeling all this change?? Well, it's been interesting.  Having a young pup in the house is really testing our skills as responsible "adults" (scream!)... it's a full time job!  We're buckling down and getting serious on the dogs... training books, dentist bones, the whole she-bang.  If you've met Pita before you know that he generally does two things.... 1) Cuddle/Lay Around or 2) Look at you suspiciously.  So really things haven't changed much, he's hard to read because he pretty much always looks scared.  Max on the other hand has aproximately 3,498 cute tricks up his sleeve.  He's a busy little guy and he loves to play... which is something that Pita has zero tolerance for.  Overall, I think it's safe to say that Pita likes tolerates Max... and we're OK with that for now!  See for yourself.... 

Ohhh these fellas provide endless entertainment in our household.  I think Rockie would be proud. :) 

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On a completely different note... I couldn't resist a little shout out to one of my amazing friends who recently got engaged!!! CONGRATS CAITLIN & ELI!!! Welcome to the bride club!  Enjoy the madness!!  

I love you, Cait, and am SO excited for you!  <3,  Jess

Hotlanta!

I am missing the gorgeous warm weather of Atlanta, Georgia right now!

I had the opportunity to attend a conference for work in Atlanta this week so I was there from Thursday-Saturday.  Of course, work trips are generally filled with work so there wasn't much time for exploring.  My co-workers and I did get to sneak away for a couple meals though and we tried to spend as much time as possible on outdoor patios!  It was PERFECT weather.  A sunny 73 degrees... *sigh* it made we rethink why we live in Iowa.  Ha!

 We attended the awards banquet where Ashley was honored as a "Star Status" Walk for 2010!  Woohoo, way to go girl!

 We learned all sorts of new things surrounding the re-branding of our signature event,
now called the Walk to End Alzheimer's!

 We enjoyed a number of inspiring speeches including one by David Hyde Pierce
(Niles from the Frasier show!)

 We had a little fun experiencing what "Walk" is all about.

And most importantly, we were reminded why we do what we do... 

to END Alzheimer's disease. 

It was a very busy few days and I'm completely exhausted today.  I'll have to admit... I'm dreading going back to work already tomorrow but I guess that's life!   ...On another note, Kurt has been laid off for the last week and half but was already called back to work.  I guess we'll both be dragging our feet a little on Monday.  =) 

Have a great week! 

It's a LOVE story

In honor of Valentine's Day we thought it'd be appropriate to display some grossly cute photos of us falling in love.  Enjoy! =P

 the beginning of something special =)

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Where does the time go?!

[Oops!  I wrote this last week and forgot to publish it!]

After last week's blizzard we are even more fed up with winter.  It was -30 degrees (windchill) when we went to work this morning.  Not cool.  We are totally counting down the days until warmer weather is here!

Even though it's been cold and crappy we managed to have some fun last weekend!  We celebrated the marriage of Kurt's cousin Amanda and her new hubby David on Saturday and it was a blast!  They're a great couple and it was tons of fun to spend the night surrounded by family.  Check it out...

 

 

 

The fun doesn't end there.. we had a jam-packed Sunday too!  We joined my family for church, met with the pastor for our first pre-marital meeting, hashed out some more of our own wedding plans and then enjoyed some Superbowl festivities at the Kelly household before hitting the road back home.  Kurt isn't a big sports fan but he does watch the Superbowl... me on the other hand likes the commercials, if I happen to catch them.  I was in it for the yummy food!!  :)

We always like going back home to visit our family and friends so it's a little bit of a downer when we have to drive back to Waterloo... someday we'll be closer so it's not such a hassle but for now we'll just rack up that bill at the gas pump! Ha.

[end of old post...]  This weekend we're laying low and getting chores and projects done around the house.  Nothing too exciting but we are looking forward to a date night for Valentine's day! Awwww. =)

Quick Update

We finally took pictures of the puppies!!  It's been a while since I've blogged (or uploaded pictures from my camera)... oops!

Rockie's puppies are doing fabulous! They're all healthy and growing like crazy. I can't believe how chunky they are!!  Since they're staying at Jim's house we only get to see them once in a while but Rockie is doing a great job of taking care of them and their dog house is nice and cozy.  Last time we were home they still couldn't walk -- pretty much just layed in a ball looking cute. There are two boys and one girl pup! We're excited to see them again next weekend! :)

Again, please help us find homes for these cute little guys! They look just like Rockie did when she was a pup (only healthier) so I'm sure they'll grow up to be wonderful pets.  Rockie is a GREAT dog, we really wouldn't change anything about her.  She's the perfect size, very friendly, easy to train and she loves her owners. So yeah.... please give us a call if you think you or someone you know might be interested.  We just want to be sure they're all in a loving household. 

  Awww, Rockie! What a good mama.

Hmmm other than the puppy update we haven't had much going on lately (except juggling a million wedding projects).  We've pretty much been huddling inside away from the cold winter weather...just dreaming about spring!  We did manage to catch a couple movies lately... in case you're wondering here are our reviews:

No Strings Attached - 4.5 stars
This is a good date movie!  I'm a sucker for anything romantic and this had a great comedy element so Kurt liked it too. Plus, Ashton Kutcher is fun to look at.

Country Strong - 5 stars!
We both really liked this movie.  It was not what we were expecting based on the previews (which is nice for a change).  We loved the music in it and characters were great.  Overall it was definitely a movie we'd see again or buy for at home.  Go see it. :)

Ta Ta for Now!

Oh what a week...

This week has been an adventure of it's own!! 

As some of you already know, we had a serious scare this week.  Kurt spent a night in the hospital with severe carbon monoxide poisoning (which he was exposed to at work).  He was finishing a floor in a sealed basement with one other guy -- he called around 9:30pm on Wednesday complaining that he was feeling really sick so I went to pick him up from the job site.  His symptoms (severe headache, chest pain, vomiting, drowsiness) were scaring me so I called my dad (who is an EMT) and asked for some advice... after that we were off to the ER!  Rather be safe than sorry, right?  Turned out to be a good decision.

It didn't take long before they had him on 100% oxygen to speed up the de-tox process.  They did blood work and found that his CO level was at 24 (normally it would be 2.5 or less).  They also administered an EKG and found some abnormalities in his heart including a strained enzyme.  They kept a close eye on him until the CO in his bloostream was finally down to a safe level (after 6 hours on pure oxygen) and consulted with a cardiologist before they let me take him home at 5:30am.  It was a long night for both of us!

We had a follow-up appointment the next morning and the workman's comp doctor said he could return to work already (hmmm a little odd if you ask me).  He's working with his boss to make sure this type of thing doesn't happen again, to anyone!  And we know one thing... he won't be finishing any floors this winter!  Plain and simple... risking your well-being is not worth the extra hours.  :)

On a very different note...

We kicked off this last week by heading to Chicago!  I was being sent to the windy city for some meetings at the Alzheimer's Association national office and Kurt decided to tag along because (get this...) he's never been to Chicago! (GASP, I know it's hard to believe.)  Anyways we had a nice 5 hour drive on Sunday morning and then, of course, got lost and frustrated when our Garmen went bonkers downtown Chicago.  After some U-turns, honking and a little bit of screaming we successfully found the hotel, gave the valet our keys and didn't even think about driving until it was time to leave.  Ha! :)

Since I had a jam-packed schedule on Monday/Tuesday we tried to cram most of the fun stuff into Sunday afternoon --- we grabbed lunch with some old classmates, hit the Sears Tower, wandered down Michigan Ave (right as all the stores closed...just our luck), and had some over-priced cocktails at the hotel bar.  It was a good time!   While I brainstormed ways to expand rural reach Kurt got to relax and roam around the city... he visited the Navy Pier and the Field Museum!  Plus, my cousin Christy and her fiance Wayne brought us to a delicious Chicago-style pizza joint -- yum!!

By the time we hit the road for Iowa we were pretty much "over" the city.  It's fun to visit... but we were anxious to be back home! 

Lets hope next week isn't such a roller coaster ride...