Packing...

...it's a family affair at our house!

Is there any doubt?

So many good things!

Lots of good things going on around here this weekend to share with you! First of all, we finally decided on a name for our kitten. We didn't end up using any of the names in our poll, but thanks for letting us know your opinions! Her name is...drumroll please...Scout! She is such an adventurous little furball and this name just seems to suit her perfectly. (And we both love the book To Kill A Mockingbird.)

In other exciting news, the music at church today was awesome. We sang some of my favorites like Take My Life and Be Thou My Vision. Loved it! Next on the list is something kinda spontaneous. Today we were at BestBuy for Casey to get a new game he's been really excited about (Spore), and they happened to have the very hard to find Wii Fit. I've heard a lot about it and thought it sounded fun, so on a whim today we bought it! I'm looking forward to trying it out today. The final exciting thing on this list is that we are now Executive Members of Costco. Oooooooooo. I know it's really not that big of a deal, but it makes me feel special - and very grown up :D So life here is good - hope it's going well for you too!

Updates

Hey all. Just wanted to give you a little update on our life this week. Things are going pretty well with the new kitty. We still haven't named her yet - can't quite find the right name that suits her. (Thanks, by the way, to all of you who voted.) Alice isn't quite sure what she thinks of her yet. We know it will take time for her to get used to the new addition, but hopefully in time they will grow to like each other! I have been off this week since my contract at the last hospital ended last week and my new contract doesn't start until Monday. I had high hopes of being productive, but mostly I've just been bumming around and getting things done here and there. Casey has a final on Monday and then he's off the rest of next week. I wish the timing had been better and we'd been able to be off at the same time. Oh well. At least we both get a break :D I forgot to tell you all about last weekend, too. We went home to Boise last weekend to attend Andy and Amber Craft's wedding. Casey and Andy have known each other since first grade - who knew Casey would be a groomsman at Andy's wedding twenty-some-odd-years later? We had SO MUCH FUN the whole weekend. We arrived Thursday evening and I headed out to Caldwell with my family and Nicki for the Caldwell Night Rodeo (and Casey hung out with the guys). Seeing Nicki was fabulous! I'm so glad she's no longer in Greenland :D Friday, Saturday and Sunday were spent hanging out with family and friends, and of course, all things wedding. We made some new friends and are really looking forward to seeing them again soon (hint, hint Lindsey!). The wedding itself was wonderful. Everything was perfect. Amber was a beautiful bride, and she and Andy looked so happy together. We wish nothing but the best for them! I think that's about it for the update. Casey's looking forward to some time away from school and I'm looking forward to starting my new assignment on Monday. (And we're both looking forward to heading back to Boise soon!)

Nicki and me livin' it up at the CNR

Casey looking handsome in his tux :D

The happy couple!

A weekend of fun isn't complete without some Guitar Hero action!

We have a new member of the family!

After months of thought and consideration, we decided to get a new kitty. We still miss Daphne every day, but the time was right to give a little kitty a loving home and Alice a playmate. We brought her home late this afternoon and she is so cute! She is six weeks old and just the most playful little fluffball.

We don't have a name picked out yet and that's where you come in. Whether you are a family member, friend, or just some random person who is blog-surfing, let us know your opinion by voting in our poll (on the right hand side of the screen). We are open to suggestions so if you have a great idea for a name we'd love to hear it. We'll let you know what we finally decide on!

Ups and Downs

Wow...it has been quite a while since I last posted. I kept meaning to, but the longer I waited the more I had to post about and the harder it sounded. I won't bore you with an enormous post telling you all about the last six weeks, but I'll hit the highlights for you. Nicki came to visit from Greenland and we had an absolutely fabulous week together. There's nothing like getting to spend time with someone who knows everything about you and loves you anyway. We talked and giggled and had so much fun. Poor Casey was such a good sport about putting up with us :D Our little family also had a tragedy this month. Daphne, one of our two kitties, died suddenly. I was in Boise and Casey had to call me with the news. It turns out she had a heart condition we didn't know about. She wasn't even 2 yet : ( It's starting to get easier, but we still miss our little Daph. Luckily Alice is okay, and doesn't have the same heart condition. On a happier note, today we are headed to Nebraska to celebrate Casey's grandma's 90th birthday. The whole family will be there and it should be lots of fun. Happy 90th Gramma B!

That darn cat!

So the other day I got home from work, exhausted and ready for some good sleep before getting up and going back to work that night. Alice, however, had other plans. This YouTube video pretty much sums it up.

Life...

Life has been fairly uneventful around the Babendure household lately. Casey has been busy with homework and I'm still at the same hospital. The kitties have a new trick... They have for some unknown reason taken a liking to knocking over their water container which spills a half gallon of water all over the floor! Not fun to clean up. We've tried to reprimand them into behaving like civilized little kitties, but so far it's not working. Casey's latest method is to use the offending cat to mop up some of the water. Even if it doesn't stop them from continuing to knock over their water, it's at least kinda funny to watch! I haven't been doing much sewing lately, but I have been trying to spruce up the house a bit and make it feel a little more like home. I framed some wedding pictures and hung them up in the living room and arranged all of our dishes in the hutch so that they weren't all just helter skelter in there. (I know those seem like little things, but they made such a difference.)

Oh, I did sew some linings for these cute storage baskets we got at Ikea in the fall. I have a few more sewing projects on my to do list, though. I would tell you what they are, but some are gifts and if you are lucky enough to be a recipient I don't want to ruin the surprise! Casey's parents (and hopefully sister - HINT HINT KASS) are coming for a visit this weekend. We don't have anything too exciting planned, but it will be good to see them :D Alrighty, I think that's all for now... Oh, to any of our Hodia family that is reading this entry, have fun at Ski Camp this weekend!!!

Oh, Daphne

She is so helpful with those everyday tasks...