Who Said Home Repairs Were Easy?

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We thought it would be easy to do - we really did. Yet, who could have known that the plumbing under the sink would decide to fall apart at that very moment or that our water shutoff valve wouldn't shutoff when we needed it to.

Stacy and I, out of pure frustration with our old dishwasher (it came with the place) failing to clean, decided to go out and pick up a new one for the family. The process of finding and buying one was the easy part - it was the installation that made things rather interesting.

It was getting late on Saturday when we finally got home with the new dishwasher, but we thought it would not be all that hard (or time consuming) to pull out the old one and "pop" the new one in. The first sign of trouble was when the pipes under the sink started to separate. While this created some unexpected challenges, we thought we could still work things out. Yet, when the water shutoff valve under the sink failed to perform its sole function we knew that we were in for it.

In the end, we went to bed with our kitchen in disarray (parts everywhere), the water turned off to our entire unit, and the power turned off in 2 parts of our house. In fact, our house stayed this way until we could get maintenance to fix it (rescue us) on Monday morning. While in the end everything worked out and our dishes are now nice and clean, it sure was a stressful day and half.

The joy of trying to fix things yourself. :-)

A Walk Along the River

Stacy and I felt like we needed to get out of the house for a bit so we decided to take the boys for a walk along the Missouri River. It is funny to think that despite living here for over 2 years, and despite the fact that the river walkway is only a few minutes from our house, this was the first time that we had visited the area. Pretty sad if you ask me.

The weather was beautiful and the crowds were not overwhelming. In the first pictures you will see the boys standing next to a massive bronze statute that is dedicated to the workers who made this part of the country so great. The statute is entitled "Labor" and the pictures do not do it justice.

The remaining picture is of the riverboat (party barge) that passed us while on our walk, as well as the new pedestrian bridge in the background that was erected so as to connect Omaha with Council Bluffs, Iowa. The boys and I really liked the bridge, though it did sway more than I would have liked. Stacy was the ever cautious mom who kept devising different escape routes and emergency plans in the event that the bridge were to suddenly tumble away into the Missouri River. Gotta love that Stacy.

We are doing great and the weather here has been absolutely wonderful. Hope all is well wherever you might be.

Playoff Time

While I know that in the grand scheme of things baseball will likely not matter all that much (if at all), yet I cannot help but get excited for the start of playoff baseball. My (our) beloved Red Sox team takes the field tonight as the wildcard entry against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (no really, that is their name).

While Boston has not fared particularly well this season against the Angels, Boston is still the defending champ until the scoreboard indicates otherwise. So if you get the chance, put on your Sox cap, tune into the game, and root for Beantown's best.

Nothing beats being a part of Red Sox Nation. Go Boston !!!

Landon & Spencer's Playtime

Stacy captured some really fun pictures of Landon and Spencer playing together in the laundry basket. It is interesting that out of all the toys that the boys have to play with, they seem to get the most fun from some rather unexpected sources. If you look real close, you will find that Spencer has a seatbelt made out of plastic colored links.

Hello Family and Friends

Greetings from the land of endless cornfields.

Stacy and I are hoping that this allows our family to do a better job at keeping in touch with all of you than we have done thus far. Life in Omaha is going great. Our family is doing fine, though life sure does seem to get a little hectic around here.

The boys are fully back into school and are adjusting well. Taylor is now in 6th grade (YIKES), Nathan is the self-proclaimed genius of the 3rd grade, and Landon is trying to adjust to 1st grade life now that he no longer has the zoo to call home.

Spencer and Stacy are always doing something new or exciting. Spencer has really become very active over the last few weeks. He is so much fun to watch and play with.

I am now officially in my final year of law school and the realities of that is, at times, a little scary. I am still working for Union Pacific and had the opportunity a few months ago to argue a couple of cases before a national public law board. I am heading off to California in a few days, much to Stacy's dismay, for additional training and networking.

Hope all is well with you. Take care and know that we think of you often.

Love,

Derek, Stacy, and Boys