Davis Family

Things are going great, I have less than 15 weeks to go!! SCARY, but VERY EXCITING! Things are coming together slowly but surely. Watch our progress on our online baby book for our first daughter....

you can find it at: www.davisbabygirl.weebly.com! Don't Forget to leave us your comment or wish on the guestbook!

love,

the davis'

Our pea in a pod is over halfway home....

2011-05-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

At 21 weeks 5 days...

The pea in the pod (yes, the, only one)

measures in at

21 weeks 6 days and 1Ib

Recent Happenings!!

2011-05-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy. Unfortunately due to all the storms Ben's been on "CAT" duty working 7 days a week 7a-7p since the beginning of the month. I finished up my last semester of school before the baby the first week he did this, wow...glad that's done. I have one test and class before my Associates degree. I also prepared a portfolio for the Richmond Public Library for a show. I found out yesterday, they want more of my work and I will have a show up February of 2012. My first show ever will be photography.

Harley is growing like a weed. He at just about 9 months is 65 Ibs and 26-27 inches tall (at back height). On hind legs he stands at least a head taller then me. Harley has been enjoying some doggy time as he was boarded for 5 days while we took a trip to New York and yesterday he attended doggy day camp orientation. He passed with flying colors. An A+ and will go back next Friday for a 1/2 day of doggy day camp and the other half of the day he gets a well needed groom before mom and dad Davis come for a visit!

Baby and mom are doing great. We just surpassed our 1/2 way point in the pregnancy and are excited to find out the gender in a couple of weeks. While we are sharing (so stay tuned) we are keeping the name a surprise. I felt the baby move for the first time while we were in the elevator heading up the base of the Statue of Liberty. It scared me so much that I gasped so loud I scared Ben! :) Just last night daddy felt the baby kick for the first time.

Here are some pictures from our New York trip a few others. We had a blast and would do it again in a heartbeat! It was kind of our anniversary trip this year. We took it early seeing as the baby is due, September 29, 9 days after our 3 year wedding anniversary. We took the train from Richmond to New York which took 6 hours, the same time it would have if we drove. It also saved us $50 a night for parking a car! Crazy I know! We stayed in a great hotel in the financial district! Some things we did...

Guggenheim Museum - designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Statue of Liberty

Staten Island

Ground Zero

Times Square

The large downtown Macy's where I purchased a dress for the broadway show

MEMPHIS, which totally ROCKED! Then we enjoyed a live Jazz band, Felix & The Cats and dinner at SWING 46 on restaurant row (Unfortunately the service was terrible, really a bummer but the food and atmosphere was fantastic)

Wall Street & saw the Bull

Visited the Garment district, SoHo, China Town, Fashion district

We also ate LOTS of great food, for this reason if none other New York is a pregnant women's dream!

We ate and ate and ate:

Topaz Thai Restaurant (a fave of ours from last year)

Dessert and Italian cookies at The Bread Company

We also had a great dinner at Heartland Brewery just off Times Square. Service was fantastic as was the food and the dessert, flour-less cake!

The last morning of our trip Ben made reservations for brunch at L'Ecole, The Restaurant of The French Culinary Institute. Wow, I don't know what else to say. It was so quiet and relaxing!! They took our luggage that the door!

Forgot to mention...my final project for my Garment Design class was a shirt for my husband model Ben :) Here he is on modeling!

Website!! :)

2011-04-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

THE BUMP!

2011-04-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

And the bump begins to round out :) Thursday we will be 4 months!

It's A Baby...we are expecting around September 29!

2011-04-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ben & I are super excited...
to announce Baby Davis due September 29.

What an exciting summer have ahead of us!

Some recent pictures....

2011-02-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

Harley really is as big as Ben when on his hind legs! :) We are in week 5 of puppy class and he is doing really good! His recent groom took over 4 hours because he was scared of the loud dryers and had to dry in a kennel. He is totally lovable and a total "social bug". You will also notice in the last picture he has discovered he has a tail.

Harley's 1st Grooming

2011-02-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

A F T E R B E F O R E

Dog Sitting...

2011-01-14T04:40:00.000-08:00

For Cane a 3 year old mix. He is a sweet but very shy dog!! Harley 17 weeks old thought Cane was more of a new toy with batteries that never ran out....

A day and LOTS of SNOW later....

2010-12-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-25T19:53:00.001-08:00

Christmas Lights Part I

2010-12-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

Saturday December 19, Ben and I took Harley to downtown Richmond for an evening walk and to take some photos of all the fantastic lights. It was lots of fun but I think Ben was tired of dealing with a new puppy after over an hour...and I couldn't feel my fingertips anymore! Harley had a blast too! Here are some photos...more to come after editing...enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays From Ben, Sheila, & Harley!

2010-12-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

Harley - 13 Weeks / 30 Ibs

2010-12-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

Harley had his first vet visit last night. He did GREAT! He is a healthy 13 week old puppy who weighs a whopping 30 Ibs... Here are some short clips of him playing around the house.

Notice the nice living room rug in the first clip and gone after that...yep...I was doing homework and dad was in charge of Harley. He turned his back for a moment and Harley peed in the center of the rug. Now it is being cleaned :) The joys of puppy training!

Meet HARLEY...our new addition.

2010-12-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

Meet Harley, he is a thirteen week old airedale terrier. He has huge feet and is going to be really big someday! He is already 25 pounds (at least) and will be quickly too big to pick up for mom to pick up!

He likes to go for walks but still hasn't learned how to walk straight. He likes to be close to us and walksunder our feet. He is very timid to many sounds as they are pretty new to him. He has learned how to go up our stairs after waiting, whining, and then resting his head on the stairs...but we are still working on going down them. He loves his rawhide bone and following us on our heels. He often goes to the kitchen and see his reflection in the stove where he whines...missing his sisters.

Our first night he whined and yelped lots. We all settled in at around 11:20 pm and awoke at 12:20 am. Ben said,"what time is it?" I respond,"12:20" We both thought for sure it had been at least 2 to 3 hours but it had been barely an hour! :)

Enjoy our slideshows...bringing him home and his first full day at his new home!

Tonights progress...just a little bit to go!

2010-11-22T18:46:00.000-08:00

All Done!! :) I still don't like how pictures turn out but all that matters is the real life version looks great for little Madison!

Sara, Sara, Sara....I am making progress!!! You should have your painting by Christmas as long as it's dry! As you can see the faces and skin tones need some work yet...

Making Progress....

2010-11-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

I am done with base colors and started on the back curtain...

Tonight I will finish the curtain and begin the details on the floor and girls...

2010-11-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

Mom & Dad Davis...oh, and Rosie too....come out for a visit. We had a great week and visited Monticello, Carter Mountain Apple Orchard, Downtown Charlottesville and of course had some great food including a fantastic dinner at Julip's downtown. Here are a few photos.

Finally The Website! Check it out!

2010-10-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Click the link below:

www.wix.com/davisvision/art

"Davis Vision" a collection of work by sheila davis coming soon.....

2010-09-25T10:42:00.001-07:00

2 Year Anniversary

2010-09-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

CLICK THE "X" on the upper right side of the SuperPoke Pets advertisement to close the window and see the caption on the slideshow pictures...

Ben and I spent a wonderful 3 nights in Fairfield Virginia at the Foxhill Bed and Breakfast. We toured Lexington, The Natural Bridge, The Natural Bridge Caverns, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

At the top of the slide show you can STOP the slideshow and move back and forth using the arrows and square. Enjoy!

Recent randoms set to a beautiful & fun song...

2010-09-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

Here is a slideshow of some recent photos...the first few are from Lynchburg, VA, then to Unicorn Vineyards, a single photo from my birthday dinner at the Boat House, ending with a few photos from our friend Ira's wedding, all dressed up!

Working on the yard...

2010-09-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

One of two chairs we are painting red (and maybe adding some WI Badger details) the other pictures are of the left side of the driveway. We have more work to do but it is looking SO nice and cleaned up!

10 Yr Anniversary in Portage/Sauk....what a beautiful day in Wisconsin

2010-08-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

Preview of our vacation to Wisconsin....lots more to come...

2010-08-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

Photos of Ben & I were taken by my sister Casey Stertz.

David, Casey, Annika, & Donovan Stertz (Sister)

Riley Nelson (Niece)

Nikki (sister), Mason, Riley, Ethan, & Mary

The three sisters...missing: our bro.

Reflection of Ben's Parents house...love this shot!

We LOVE work potlucks & parties....

2010-07-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

We love to cook and bake but don't need ALL the food so work parties and potlucks are fun but the best are for babies!!

Here are a few of the several dozen cookies we made for a friend who works with Ben.

New Projects!

2010-07-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

I am about to start a new oil painting of my cousins daughter (Madison is in the center) at her dance rehearsal. I edited the photo below and will paint it on a 16x20 hardboard in an impressionistic style. I also created some cool note cards with my photos.

Each card is signed on the back and has the location of each photo on the front. They turned out great.

I packaged some of them as gifts! I hope the recipients enjoy them.

Few Random Photos

2010-07-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

We have a new roommate who dwells in the leaves of our calla lily on our porch. He is adorable. Cope Grey Tree Frog. I also attempted to catch some fireflies with my new net. I was successful but by the time I started taking photos they stopped lighting their butts up. Oh, well I'll have to try again.

As we continue to post backwards...

2010-07-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos at the Franklin Park Conservatory from our extended weekend in Columbus Ohio!
What a great weekend it was with mom and dad Davis.
The last photo of the white and pink orchids is a larger than life glass sculpture!

Our First Big Cake

2010-07-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Ben and I LOVE to cook and bake! We've never made a 2 layer cake this big with homemade buttercream frosting! The forklift is 2 layer chocolate cake and the rectangle portion is 2 layer white cake. I did the design, lettering, and forklift while Ben did the trim and white frosting! The cake was FANTASTIC and lasted for days! (this coming from myself who is not so big on cake)

The Flying Squirrels

2010-07-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from 2 baseball games we attended for the FLYING SQUIRRELS! The first, June 16, was in a company box, which was pretty cool (literally) because it was SO hot outside. The 2nd game, July 2nd, was awesome too! We had 2nd row seats right behind the 1st base. At the top of one inning during warm up a ball wondered into the stands and clopped the back of my head.
I am fine...it was more embarrassing than anything. It was very entertaining!
CHECK out the player from the other team who does a "dance off" with our bird!

Press PLAY

5 hr Drive from DC to Richmond

2010-07-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

Our normally 2 hour drive back from DC took us 5 hours and it was WONDERFUL!

Take a look at the old church we saw, distillery we found on our way home.

We also ate a great little diner on the side of the road. Enjoy!

Press PLAY

The Z00 Part II

2010-07-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

Press PLAY

Surprise Part I

2010-06-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Ben surprised me by taking Friday off and booking us a room in DC for two nights! We had a wonderful weekend! Here are some of our photos...more are to come including a distillery tour!

This afternoon....for my sister in law and her boyfriend!

2010-05-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

More Recent Work

2010-05-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished product of my landscape (you can see the white flowers were edited from the previous post. I also have a self portrait in oil and a portrait of a live model in oil. The camera distorts so much...the gray shadows on the model are actually warm umber not grey and the self portrait oil painting is actually pretty true to color but the photograph is much lighter than it appears in person.

2010-05-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Recent Work:

Oil on board and Charcoal on tinted paper

2010-05-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos of our flower beds with fresh mulch we put down last weekend. We still have a couple minor thinks to make then look finished but they look good for 1st timers!

Wisconsin March 2010

2010-03-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

Self Portrait Project...the beginning anyways

2010-02-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

Homework: to created a daily self portrait sketch timing myself from 5-30 minutes, you can see my progress....it was an fun(ny) eye opening experience...

I had a hard time with my nose and I obviously thought my face was longer and more oval than it actually is! My 5th one is getting much better!

Enjoy!

Self Portrait #1 - 10 minutes - vine charcoal Self Portrait #2 - 10 minutes - compressed charcoal

Self Portrait #3 - 15 minutes - ink

Self Portrait #4 - 20 minutes - vine charcoal
Self Portrait #5 - 30 minutes - conte Crayon

3rd but not final one!

2010-02-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

Here is study number 3. It was to be a collage of other works. I used top to bottom on the right: Sir Anthony Van Dyck, Durer Self Portrait, and Jean-Baptiste Greuze's Head of a Boy.

Next to come is a self portrait...stay tuned...this should be interesting, fun but interesting!

Recent Work

2010-01-31T18:02:00.000-08:00

Collage for my Visual Art Foundation Course. I used journal entries, photos, map, wine train tickets, and book title from our honeymoon in Napa Valley.
The start of a study of Jean Baptiste Greuze's Head of a Young Girl
The Final 18x24 inch

The beginning of a study of Rubens Portrait of Susanna Fourment

Contour drawing done

The final product 18x24 inch

Snow & Christmas Decoration Pictures

2009-12-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the snow we've received (1st slideshow) and our Christmas Decoration (2nd Slideshow). It started 5:00 pm on Friday night and hasn't stopped. Most pictures were taken today about 10:30 am when we went for a walk, yep I said walk...no way we are going on these roads with Virginia drivers! *laugh* The snow is not suppose to stop until Sunday around 11:00 am....
We will post more pics later! Check out the picture of the SUV at the bottom of the driveway with trash cans behind it....it seems last night they couldn't make it up there driveway.

Enjoy the photos as much as we are enjoying the snow!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS & MERRY CHRISTMAS!

With Love,
Ben & Sheila

****UPDATE**** It is about 2:00 pm and according to the radar the snow is done! :)

2009-12-19T08:56:00.001-08:00

2009-12-19T08:55:00.001-08:00

New Table

2009-11-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

We made a great purchase recently. We are hoping to add, to our new table,

sometime in the future a couple of wing-back chairs.

The set will sit in our "eat-in" kitchen area which has a window about

the size of 6ft x 5ft that overlooks our backyard.

What our table looks like now.

What the table will look like after we apply a dark espresso stain.

Davis Parents Visit....

2009-11-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

Oh, and Rosie too! What a great weekend! It is always nice to have family over! We miss you and love you! Here is a group photo before dinner downtown for dad's birthday

and below a few more in a slideshow.

2009-11-22T19:51:00.001-08:00

Lily & Zack

2009-11-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

Recently we had the opportunity to babysit for some friends while they were in town for the Marine Corps Ball. Here are some photos of our fun night with Lily (3) and Zack (7). We had lots of fun...painting, making homemade pizza s'mores, and watching a movie!

Lily & Zack were great and we all had a blast!

2009-11-22T19:45:00.001-08:00

2009-11-01T19:50:00.001-08:00

Pumpkins!

2009-11-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Catching up...1 year Anniversary Trip and Fall Photos!

2009-10-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

Catching up....First you will see some photos from throughout October and then photos from our September weekend in the Outer Banks for our 1 year anniversary! We hope you enjoy all our photos from the pumpkin patches to the apple orchards as much as

we enjoyed the views and drives ourselves!

Sunset this evening after we got back from Carter Mountain Orchard.

Carter Mountain Orchard (and Winery) in Charlottesville, VA

Have you ever tried a "Pink Lady?" They are great apples!

See the mountains in the back! It was BEAUTIFUL!

My fellow photography classmate took this pic of us!

Old wood ladders throughout the orchard

Our first time we used our REAL fireplace in our first home. We love it and use it lots!

Ashland Berry Farm, Pumpkin Patch - They had amazing homemade pumpkin doughnuts!

Potty break for Ben!

All the pumpkins you can carry & take 3 steps with only $20.00 we actually had 1/2 as many as several other families...it was a great laugh to see everyone do this!

45 degrees + 2 hours of driving range = we still have Wisconsin blood in us! :) Oh and this is Ben conversing with his golf ball.....(LOL, just kidding he was stretching his back)

Sculpture at Greenfront (a part of one anyways)

Drive on October 23 to Farmville - we purchased an awesome shag rug from Greenfront Furniture Company - Check out their website, it is an awesome place! http://www.greenfront.com/

View from dinner

Getting creative for a night-time shot - our hotel at night from the dock to the beach

View from dinner

Ben napping on the beach

Sheila on the beach

Lighthouse we climbed

Stairs of the lighthouse

Another view from the top of the lighthouse

Ben at the top of the lighthouse

Ben in the lighthouse

Lobby of our hotel

Ben on the beach outside our hotel

Be there with us!

2009-09-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

(Before you play the videos you may want to go to the bottom of the screen and hit pause (II) on the music player)

You can see the beach and our hotel. It was very windy but when Ben turns to the hotel you can hear the waves and not so much of the wind. It was "red flag" the entire time, but wading only was find for us! You can also see that our hotel was set a ways from other beach homes! It was really great! Pictures to come!

Looking Back! Happy Anniversary Honey!

2009-09-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

2009-09-11T12:01:00.001-07:00

The last post is of a 30"x 28" original Acrylic on Canvas Titled: Sail Away, Sail Away. This was a commissioned piece and is currently with its new owner...the pictures don't do it justice. I will be honest it wasn't a favorite but I've come to love it. It is mainly blue and red and glows yellow at the horizon. I incorporated lots of different hues of each.

The photos taken below are from downtown Richmond, Virginia. Last weekend my husband and I were out walking around taking photos for my photography class!

2009-09-11T11:35:00.001-07:00

2009-09-11T11:24:00.001-07:00

My Turn....

2009-08-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ben turned 30 on April 18 and now today I turned 30!
We celebrated Saturday night with a GREAT dinner at The Tobacco Company and a nice walk downtown, Richmond. It was a gorgeous night and our first time at The Tobacco Company, WOW, that place is beautiful!
http://www.thetobaccocompany.com/ (Take a look if you would like)

Here are a couple fun photos before dinner!
~30~ and Feelinng GREAT!

Thank you honey for a great night! I love you!

Great Program and it only costed $25.00!

2009-08-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

For only $ 25.00, 2 hours of our time on 2 different occasions we got an awesome binder and first hand questions answered about our landscape from Virginia Tech Master Gardeners.

Some things they did and provided:

Told us about our planting conditions (Shade/Clay)
Identified current plants and trees
Gave suggestions on drainage/landscape/dry river bed in the back yard
Gave suggestions on trees to remove
Provided information on care of current plants and pruning techniques
Offered hardy native plant ideas for privacy
Provided information about herb and butterfly gardens
Plot map with suggestions and a blank one also
and so much more....

Here are some pictures of the binder we received! It was great and very helpful.

LOTS OF INFORMATION - IT is HUGE!
Landscape Eval/Fact Sheets on Current Plantings/General Gardening Information/Lawn Care
Plot of our property with suggestions (we have a blank one also) Our landscape in the backyard is LOTS of shade/trees and a hill. Here is a suggestion from them as what we can do without grass, causing drainage problems or erosion.
Potted plant ideas (native and hardy plants to our area)
Ferns for around/near the dry river bed

2009-08-10T17:22:00.001-07:00

Hey Sarah .... Here it is ... =)

2009-08-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Here it all hung up above the fireplace with our candle holders on either side of it!

Serenity In Nature

2009-07-31T16:18:00.000-07:00

This was my final project for my first ever (summer) photography class. My goal was to take photos of nature that would make one feel serene. It was tricky as I didn't want to just end up with landscape photos. My solution to this was to shoot early morning early evening photos for the emotion through color and mystery through silhouettes.

So, what do you think. Did I achieve my goal?

Camera: 35mm Fujica

Lens: 50mm

Film: Fujichrome, 200 ISO

Painting 1, 2, 3....10 hours later....

2009-07-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Just getting started but Ben wanted to take pictures!

Painting away...
This is where I was at about 6:00 pm... Almost done....

About 10 hours of painting later....

I need to paint the bottom trim black tomorrow and then hang above the fireplace!

(although it appears I did not sign it I did CLEARLY sign it...you will see it better when hung above the fireplace at a different angle)

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa Davis!

2009-07-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa Davis for making such beautiful quilts and allowing us the

opportunity to give the "most meaningful" gifts we could ever to our friends and family!

We love you and miss you....

Mom, Dad, & Big Sis (Casey, David, & Annika Stertz)

Welcomed Donovan David Stertz on June 26, 2009.

Assignment: Portraits

2009-07-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

My latest assignment for photography class was "portraits" I had to do some environmental (people at work), formal, and self portraits (instructor wanted them "representative" of us and I figured since we are almost to our 1 yr anniversary I did a couple with my dress and veil). I think these few turned out pretty good for my first time. I also a dear friend, Carla, to pose for me! She is beautiful and a natrual! Thank you Carla!

To create these photos I used: a $6 spotlight from Big Lots, $8 curtain panel from Big Lots, a lamp from our spare room, white foam board from my art supplies, and two stools I was given from a friend a few years ago. I was pretty impressed...oh and these are taken in the corner of my living room, I hung the curtain panel on our ladder shelf.

2009-07-12T07:04:00.001-07:00

July 4th Slides!

2009-07-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

We took the opportunity to spend our July 4th in the Nation's Capital! It was lots of fun. Friday we drove to DC and enjoyed a movie with Ed, Rebecca & children Lilly and Zach - We were at Quantico and saw Night At The Museum 2...It was cute and spending time catching up with good friends was great! Saturday we walked all over DC hit some museums and took some great pictures. We enjoyed the fireworks on the lawn of the mall and then headed home afterwards! We had such a wonderful time! Enjoy our photos and the fireworks!

2009-07-06T18:19:00.001-07:00

2009-07-06T18:18:00.001-07:00

Afternoon at Maymont....

2009-06-28T16:56:00.003-07:00

2009-06-28T16:56:00.001-07:00

2009-06-23T17:06:00.001-07:00

All Painted...

2009-06-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

Well almost...I have to work on some trim touch up myself but here it is the final look of our new living room color. We are also going to add a light colored fluffy rug and a large painting (by myself) above the fireplace! I have the canvas ready to begin painting! (30"x40")

Photos By Ben!

2009-06-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

The first 6 photos were taken by my husband at Maymont & the Botanical Gardens! He did a great job!
Checking my light meter
Posing at Ben's request before taking my final photo!

THE PHOTOS BELOW WERE TAKEN by me with the camera on MANUAL SETTING...no photo shop here!

And the painting begins...

2009-06-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

While the first photo looks a bit more on the chocolate side of the color the other 3 are really good pictures of what the actual color looks like. It is like a mocha or greyish brown, if that makes sense...for our living room. Of course as with any paint color it changes with light throughout the day.

W E L O V E I T !

This picture shows our expresso ladder against the test square of paint.

Manual Camera Settings...

2009-06-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

No flash, delayed shutter speed
No flash, delayed shutter speed
No flash, delayed shutter speed

Davis Parents Visit

2009-06-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great week! We had our parents in town to spend time with us and to help clear the forest in our backyard....we will slowly be landscaping the area into an AMAZING backyard! We had lots of great company, great food, and a fun time! Thank you Mom and Dad for everything! Below are two slide shows and a before and after of our backyard. You can see progress in the slide shows below!Now the landscaping can begin...well almost...first on list, get the cut cable cord fixed! OOPS that was cut accidentally by one of our guest, we won't mention names, mom! :D

2009-06-04T16:13:00.001-07:00

2009-06-04T16:11:00.001-07:00

Strawberry & Fabric Picking...

2009-05-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we went to a furniture store in Richmond to look for a chair to match our red leather couch. We loved both of the fabrics below but decided two chairs would be better than one and have since decided to order solid color chairs because 2 in either of the prints below would just be too much. WE LOVE THESE FABRICS...

The above fabric is chocolate brown with red velvet flowers. The background fabric is off white.This fabric was all different hues of brown and then had one red leaf every so often in the pattern. The background of this pattern is more the darker color shown in the shadow above and the leaf colors are more what you see in the bottom of the picture.
==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==<>==

Today we went picking strawberries...we came home with 11 pounds of strawberries! It was fun and we got a hayride to the strawberry fields.

Backyard...Many more updates to come...

2009-05-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

The Before and After Photos are not the best, although it doesn't look like we did thin out the back a lot...but we have big plans for our backyard and lots of work to go...so stop back!

BEFORE: Photo 1 (Right off deck)

AFTER: Photo 1 (Right of deck)

Another After Photo (Left Corner of backyard)

First "New Home" Gift...

2009-05-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Gregg, Sarah, & Megan Gaviniski - We love our new entrance mat!

2009-05-10T19:41:00.001-07:00

2009-05-10T19:35:00.001-07:00

New Wood Floor...unfinished....

2009-05-05T11:44:00.000-07:00

Pre-Flood the kitchen had vinyl tile and the living area had carpet. There was also a half wall that we had taken out to open up the living and kitchen more. We also added a wall niche....the perfect place for a vase with fresh flowers or a sculpture. Today we are in a hotel and will be home late Wednesday when the new floors will be completed and then the carpet goes in upstairs Thursday and Friday will be the punch list walk through!! THEN WE WILL BE ALL DONE!New floor meeting the old floor dining to kitchen

New floor meeting old floor from entry to living area

New unfinished wood floor...living area open to eat in kitchen...the upper left you can see the small wall niche in the corner of the wall

Ben's 30th Birthday

2009-04-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

It was such a surprise and so much fun!! For Ben's Birthday his parents, sister, brother in law, and new baby drove from Wisconsin and surprised him after work Friday night. Boy was the look on Ben's face priceless! It was so much fun!

We enjoyed an evening of pizza and relaxing then Saturday a day of shopping outside and dinner at Brio. Unfortunately dad was sick and joined us again on Sunday before the family headed back to Wisconsin....the long 16 hour trip....

Happy Birthday, Ben, dinner with the family at Brio

Lunch at Short Pump outdoor mall

Our niece Megan

Mom & Megan

Photo just before their long trip back to Wisconsin...

Auntie Sheila with Megan...I think just before she threw up all over me...poor little girl must have had an upset belly.

Surprise Honey...look who came to visit!!!

Daddy & Megan

Surprise 30th Birthday Party for Ben!

2009-04-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

Shhh...It's a surprise party!

My husband, the sap...just how I love him! SURPRISE

Drink + Cake in hand = Big-o-Smile

Josh, Ben, Andrew

Gregg, Sarah, Ben, Mom (came from WI for the party) Dad was sick in the hotel room resting.

Carla & Tracy

YAH...BULLS-EYE!! Way to go Carla!

Andrew, Beth, Josh, Ben, Luke

The "Yankee" & The "Southerner"

Tracy got a deal on sunglasses...2 for $10 or was it 10 for $2

Beth & Tracy

Even the guys look good in them...

Ben and Andrew

Ben & Kemba

The whole gang...minus the photographer

Kemba & Ben

Birthday boy and his wife

Kemba

Ben

Josh & Beth

Kemba and Chuck (they get married in June)

Sheila, Carla, & Tracy

Dancing the night away...

House Ready...not so fast...water first...ugh!

2009-04-14T15:19:00.001-07:00

Ironic as it is...this was the last picture taken today...after we saw the water damage

2nd Bedroom-will get new carpet

Master Bedroom looking into the hall where we will get all new carpet including the stairs

Master Bedroom, closet, and bath - new carpet, bathroom flooring, & vanity to come

Looking into the Master Bedroom from the hallway

Living Room, new carpet, paint, crown molding, & some construction changes

Living Room Ceiling

Living Room from the entry...notice the cement floor at the moment

View from living room - we are taking out the half wall straight ahead currently made up of just studs, we get all new flooring and have pretty much decided to pay the difference to put hardwood throughout the downstairs. The hardwood in the dining and entry will all be stripped, sanded, and sealed.

What an overwhelming day! WOW!

Home Tour....

2009-04-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

Plants, fish tank, and all furniture will be removed by the time we move! Enjoy our tour...now we just need to have you over!

Looking off deck to the left. Here you can see the LARGE kitchen window.
Looking off the deck to the right.
Looking straight back off the deck.

Looking back off the deck towards the left.
Upstairs bedroom (smallest of 3) Has another window on the left and closet on the right.

Bedroom 2 (second biggest) has a closet on the right. Windows look small but they are regular size and look out to the back yard.

This is the full master bath. I must not have taken a picture of the other full bath upstairs.

Master bedroom has vaulted ceiling (window to front yard)

Windows looking into backyard in master bedroom.

Upstairs overlooking entry downstairs - window to front yard. Their is also a window down below and one on the left.

Looking upstairs from downstairs entrance.

Entry view, the red door on left is the front door, behind it is the door to the garage, the left opening is to the dining room which leads into the kitchen (which you can actually see), straight ahead is the entrance closet, the next opening is into the kitchen and into the living room, the door on the far right is the 1/2 bath.

Still in entry looking left into the dining room with windows to the side of the house. If you were to look more left out of the picture before entering the dining room is a door to the garage.

Looking right into the living room from the entrance.

Entry door. Garage door is on the right now, and the half bath is on the left beneath the stairs.

Garage

Heading into the dining room.....to the kitchenIn the kitchen looking back into the dining room.
Eat-In kitchen area with large window into backyard.

In living room looking back into the kitchen. On the right is the door to the deck out back.

Living room looking back into the entry on the left and the kitchen on the right.View of living from the entry of the house.

Proud new owners...well almost....

2009-03-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

----------------------------Offer accepted...now to inspection----------------------------

3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, wood burning fireplace with an amazing vaulted entry. I have two videos and some pictures.
This video is of the downstairs...entry, formal dining, eat-in kitchen, living room...it is a walk around.

This video takes you upstairs to the master bedroom (right) and master bath. You can more photos of the other bedrooms below.

Bedroom #2
Upstairs Full Bath (Master has one also)
Bedroom #3 Deck & Backyard

New camera, click, flash, some photos....

2009-03-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

Historic St. John's Church est. 1741

Another Church nearby

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms and American Flag

Libby Park

View from Libby Park

Benjamin, my love

Morning Rain

Only 5 days later...its 80 and the snow is gone!!

2009-03-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

GOTTA LOVE VIRGINIA I use to say Wisconsin had crazy weather but I don't know now! We've had snow falling enough to blanket
Williamsburg in the morning and 70's in the afternoon in 2005 and now this!
NO COMPLAINING HERE THOUGH....We love the warm weather!! Saturday & Sunday we took walks around town and got breakfast and lunch outside. We also grilled out for dinner,
washed, and vacuumed the cars!

Bringing Wisconsin to Virginia!

2009-03-02T04:42:00.000-08:00

It is still snowing (8:10 am) but is suppose to stop soon. They figure we've had an accumulation of about 7-8 inches, WOW! First few hours heavy wet snow and the last half has been light and fluffy and now blowing around. We lost power from 9:00 pm until 3:00 am this morning. It got pretty cold in our house! It is 11 degrees and going to get colder over night. We also have ice below the snow and still about 65,000 without power! Hopefully we experienced our only power outage. And now to wait and watch the beautiful snow fall! Here is the start...

March 1 - 3:35 pm

March 1, 5:58 pm

March 1, 5:58 pm

March 1, 5:59 pm

March 1, 6:00 pm

The next morning...it snowed all night and still is snowing, March 2, 6:56 am

March 2, 6: 56 am

March 2, 6:56 am

March 2, 7:00 am

March 2, 8:00 am

Megan Marie Gavinski

2009-03-02T04:38:00.000-08:00

(click to enlarge)

Baby, Oh Baby...

2009-02-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

LOTS - O - BABY'S My cousin had her baby girl, Olivia, 1/19/09, my friend Angie announced she is due in September, my sister Casey is having baby #2, a boy in 6/2009, my best friend just had baby Taylor Rose (you can see her blog link on the right) and at the moment we are waiting to hear about my sister in law who is at this moment in the hospital with an actual due date of tomorrow!! We are excited and hope that everyone is doing great! As for us...not yet still working on the first home purchase and finishing school!

Me and my bridesmaids just after getting our hair done in September.

Left to Right: Casey (my sister due in June), Jes (my best friend mom to Taylor Rose 2/17/09), myself, Lisa (sister in law), & Sarah (pregnant bridesmaid #2 my other sister in law ... who is in the hospital right this moment expecting baby #1)

Below is Baby Taylor Rose Sperl!