Been awhile
Havent had much of a chance to update things here, but I will fill ya in on whats been going on.

On August 14th I started a new job with Wells Fargo as their new MN regional Maintenance manager. Its a lot of responsibilty and a lot more work as I have a crew of 14 people that directly report to me and things can get hairy at times, but I love it!

Jill started offering morning Jazzercise classes in Eagan on Sept 11 and things are really looking up in the aspect of students, but Sept is a hard month with school starting up and parents being involved in a lot of activitys. But its looking better every day.

Meagan goes with Jill during the morning classes and plays with other kids. We have a couple of wonderful friends that have decided to help out and "babysit" while the classes are in session.
She is walking and talking like a crazy person and just keeps getting bigger every day.

We had a TON of work done on the house last month: new windows, siding, roof facia and soon a new garage door. So that was a crazy week too. You can see some before and after pics here. Home improvment

I am starting work on another retaining wall in the back yard and will post pictures of that real soon as well.

Till then
Brady, Jill and Meagan

Now Playing: trees go bye bye
Early in the month, we had a guy come down to the house to take down a couple oak trees that were overhanging the house. It was kinda upsetting to see them go, but realistically they were ruining the roof and those stupid squirls were able to get into the attic. thats really about all we've been up to recently. photos here; Home improvment
Meagan is just starting to take a few steps and I dont think it will be long now before she finally goes into upright mobility mode. Her vocabulary is outstanding though. Even the Dr. said that she should only be able to say 2-4 or so words. I swear she learns a new one every day. Mostly small ones like car, kitty, and hat but some others like happy, turtle, and truck. her favorite phrase is "happy day" which she repeats over and over and over..LOL.
Enough for right now, hopefully we'll get the easter pics downloaded soon and posted!

Shes one!
Yesterday we had Meagan's first birthday party. (and Jills 2nd 30th - seeing as it didnt "count" last year)
Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, and the gang all came over for the festivities.
At first, Meags didnt want anything to do with the cake, it was sticking to her fingers and she was trying to get it off, but Jill put some frosting on her lips and LOOK OUT!! She started mashing it into her mouth!!
you can see the pictures (some) here:

Meagan

Both of us feel like it was just to fast. The year just flew by and our little munchkin is already one year old. In a way its kinda sad, but we know that theres ALOT more time and alot more things that we get to see her accomplish.
Anyway, Gotta go!!

so lets see.....
OK OK OK..its been awhile since our last post. We've been pretty busy the last few weeks. I have been taking classes at Dunwoody and praticing my refrigeration stuff plus studying and then took a weekend long course on Home Inspections, which should be pretty cool if things pan out. I figure why not start a "small business" and see what comes out of it while still working full time at the bank.

Jill is still running hard at Jazzercise and continues to pick up more students just about one new one a week. Plus shes got that full time position at home which takes a ton of time!! But shes a wonderful Mommy.

Meags, well, she continues to amaze us. shes not wuite walking yet, but she has been standing on her own and crawling like a crazy person.
She is starting to mimic all the stuff we do, not to mention some language as well. She gives us hugs and even started giving out kisses just last week. She growing SO fast we sometimes wonder where our little 8 lbs munchkin went to..

I will try to post more recent pictures yet this week.

Finally took the time and tore out the wall that seperates the dining/kitchen and the living room at the top of the stairs a couple weeks back. It looks great!! you can see it here: Home improvment

I had to re-route the electrical from up in the attic down the far wall and across to be able to move the switch, but that wasnt a biggie..

Jill got two more EFT students last week and from what I understand, "Oprah" is doing some bit on her show about fitness and Jazzercise will be on the top of her list..no matter how much I dislike her, people still listen to what "Oprah" has to say and some even consider it gospel. So for what its worth, Jill may be seeing more people at her classes after it airs, which would be a cool thing!!

I have decided that I am going to take some courses in Home Inspection after talking with my Cuz Jay. I am hoping that it could turn into some sort of supplemental income for us, maybe even something more.
I am still taking classes in refrigeration and soon to be enrolled in a welding course which the Bank is paying for. I figure, if they arent going to pay me, then they can pay for my education before I leave.!!

Meagan is doing great! shes going to be walking really soon because shes creeping along everything that she can pull up to...
All the kids are getting so big so fast none of us can believe it.
TTFN

Mood:  a-ok
So far so good
Meagan is now starting to "creep" along the coffee table, couch, chairs, basically anything that she can get her hands on and pull up to. Wont be long now and she'll be walking!! shes getting way to big way too fast!
The trip to duluth was great, the kids were really excited to see us and watch AJ and Meags play together.
We went to dinner with my mom and dad last night as it was their anniversary, 37 years I think..Jen, Robert and the girls were there as well. We went to a place called Big Bucks Steakhouse in Minnetonka. It used to be the old Perkins on 101/7. I would highly recommend it!
Jills parents (Chuck and Donna) leave for California tomorrow morning for an entire month. It'll be good for them to finally take a long trip and spend time out there...they have been talking about it now for almost two years!
I have put aside the bathroom project for now but will move on to taking out the wall that seperates the dining room and living room by the stairs. It should open it up quite a bit. I will post before and after pics too.
Today we are going to take Meagan to the MN Zoo to look at the fish and monkeys. Jill has taken her before but this will be the first time that I have gone with. I am pretty excited to see her reactions.
We'll let you know what happens.!

later!

Not a whole lot been happening round here the last few days. Brady started classes for refridgeration at Dunwoody about two weeks ago.
Jill has been seeing more students coming in for Jazz classes and some have signed up for EFT (electronic funds transfer) and the others like to either pay as they go or buy an 8 week package. But none the less, they are coming and thats the good part!
Her knee and shoulder have been giving her some trouble lately but that could be partly the weather and garbo from past surgerys. One of her students is a massage therapist and gave her a 60 free deal for christmas, which she is taking advantage of tonight, so I am sure she will be in a good mood when she gets home from that!!
Meagan is pulling herself up on just about everything she can find and of course getting stuck under the coffee table, bumping her noggin and then the drama starts. She started clapping her hands the other day and is doing the "SOOO BIG" hands in above her head thing.
For some reason she is drawn to my orange #20 Tony Stewart (NASCAR) slippers and just HAS to go after them if they are spotted..odd little child..but we love her any way :)
We are going to Duluth this weekend to see Jills brother and sister-in-law plus the kids as it is AJ's first birthday! havent been up there in about 6+ months so it'll be good to go.
As usual work is work and the house projects seem to be never ending.
I hopefully will be starting in on the downstairs bathroom pretty soon, so check the photo albums for updates and pictures.
Till next time!!
Brady

the last couple weeks
Mood:  surprised
Well, with the busy holidays finally over and things settling back to "normal" (whatever that is) we decided to start typing in every once and awhile to let ya'll know whats going on with us.
Meagan is doing just peachy. She started to crawl just before Christmas and last week she pulled herself up onto the coffee table....needless to say shes all over the house and about to really start reaking havoc on daily life.
I came home from work on Tuesday and she crawled over to me laughing and smiling. I picked her up and she cuddled into my arms, patted me a few times on the back and giggled....precious moment for Daddy, thats for sure!!
Jill is still running her Jazzercise business out of Eagan and with the start of the new year, and all those who resolved to "get in shape", things are starting to take off. Its good to see that shes still loving it and to watch her get excited over something other then Meagan is great!! (plus, she looks fantastic!!)
Brady is still running the Maintenance department for M&I bank in the MN region which includes everything from HVAC to changing light bulbs for a total of 14 buildings as of today and another 4 to open by this spring...going to be really busy soon.
Mom and Dad are still working on the house in Minnetonka, mostly interior stuff now. They got almost all the log siding on it before the snow flew and it looks wonderful!
Chuck and Donna (Jills folks) are living it up as Chuck retired from 3M after 40+ years of work. They are going to Palm Springs at the end of January until mid/late Feb. They are constantly running to Duluth to see Joe/Stacy and the boys as well as coming down to see us in Lakeville..
All in all things are good with us, lots to work on and keep busy with. We have lots of projects lined up for the spring which include:
Drive through turn around and fountain
extension of the garage
another retaining wall in back
install a new bathroom down stairs
remodel the upstairs bathroom
new soffits/facia
rebuilding the firepit
finish the laundry area

now that I have listed only a few, I better get back at it.

We will "blog" more with time and when Meagan makes life hurdles.
till then
Brady, Jill and Meagan