OH CHRISTMAS TREE....

This past weekend was VERY eventful. We went up to Kalamazoo for Erin's birthday party (she is officially 1/4 of a century old). We met my family for a birthday breakfast for Erin. Then our friends from Indy came up and we all got to hang out at Phil and Kim's house. On Saturday the girls went and got massages and went shopping while the guys got to babysit and play ping pong. We all went out to eat after.








There was a "blizzard" on Saturday night and the dogs enjoyed playing in the snow on Sunday morning.


On Sunday we went over to Erin's family's house for a birthday lunch and cake. It was a wonderful time. Erin's sister even was nice enough to put 40 candles on her cake instead of 25.

On Sunday night we finally got to decorate the Christmas tree. We played Christmas music and the dogs helped out a lot by getting in the way.

Slacking

I know I have been slacking on the blog, I will try to keep up as the holiday season is creeping up. We have been busy over the past few weeks with Thanksgiving, and Erin's first semester coming to a close. My sister came down with her friend to see the Garth Brooks concert in a theater in South Bend. I made her take a picture in a fun hat.



For thanksgiving Erin made a pumpkin cake for dessert that was wonderful.



For my sisters birthday I told her I would provide work to turn her carport into a garage. My dad, my sister, and I worked on it the day after thanksgiving and got it completely closed in and siding on one side.







This past weekend we went up to Kalamazoo to visit with Phil and Kim (Erin's friends, I am not very fond of them, but I like Tula) We hung out with them on Friday night, then Erin went to a big craft show with her mom, grama, and sister. Lucky I was able to do other things.






This is a picture of how my cousins house is progressing, it is the same one that I helped on earlier this summer.



On a sad note my parents big oak tree in their front yard was struck by lightning last year, and marked earlier this year by the county to be cut down. They came out on Friday and took the tree down. My dad and I measured the base of the tree, it was 5 feet across. He was going to count the rings to find out exactly how old the tree was. On the bright side, there will be a lot of fire wood.

The Bathroom

The bathroom is done! Not done done, but done. The inside still needs flooring and trim, but that is it. We are thinking about hardwood floors, but still haven't decided, so I can go no further for now. I started sanding and finishing the drywall on Friday night, then I drug Erin to Home Depot for a study break to pick the paint. On Saturday and Sunday I finally got to paint and put the bathroom back together.

GO GREEN......

Well this weekend we traveled up to East Lansing to watch MSU take on UM in football. We tailgated with Phil and Kim and their family. I crushed everyone at the beanbag game, and then we watched the game out in the parking lot. The outcome was not what we hoped for, but it was fun anyway. As you can see from the pictures, it was a little creepy that Phil and I showed up wearing the exact same thing. Contrary to popular belief we did not plan it.

Kung Fu Harbert

No, it is not a new "must have" toy for christmas, it is what I tried to convince Justin to name his next child (sorry Heather). This past week was a long and tiring one for me. On Thursday I had the day off work, so I met my adopted sister (Lynnie) for lunch, then kicked back and watch some of the dog whisperer. Then I got to go and practice with Phil's soccer team which was fun.

Friday was my test, which I almost missed, apparently it takes 59 minutes and 30 seconds to get from my parents house to where my test was. I walked in and they shut the doors 30 seconds later to start the test. 8 hours later I was done!! I won't know how I did for another 3-4 months.

Saturday my dad and I went to Sturgis to fix my grandparents porch. (see pictures below).





On the way home I thought I would be nice and stop and buy Erin some flowers. I got into the store and saw that I could do WAY better than that. I thought to myself...if I bought her flowers they would only last a week to enjoy, but if I bought her something else she could enjoy it for much longer than that. That's right, I bought her a TREE (norfolk island pine). She was a little thrown off at first, but I think she is beginning to like it.

Erin went shopping with her mom, sister Kate, and grandma on Saturday and came back to South Bend Saturday night. We went out to celebrate me finishing my test, and her finishing another hard week of school.

On Sunday I decided to get back to working on the bathroom, and we bought a new pot for a fern that Erin is still nursing, so that we could re-pot the lovely tree that I bought her. (see pictures below)

Just for Justin

Well I am back. Apparently I need to clarify and change some things. This will be the JON-BLOG 1.0 because there was no original JON-BLOG to make it 2.0 (thanks to Philhamburger whoever you are).

Anyway, Justin aka Harbert, called and yelled about me not putting up pictures of the progress of the bathroom. For all you newcomers to the JON-BLOG 1.0 I started to put in a downstairs bathroom on July 4, 2007. The year is important because it may extend into '08 before it is completely done. It is functional, but has not been worked on in awhile because this Friday I am once again taking my PE (professional engineering) test, and I have been studying for it for the past few months. It should be fun, well as much fun as an 8 hour test can be. Anyway, here are your pictures Justin.



The outside of the bathroom



The side, with the closet door




The entrance and sink

It has been awhile......

Sorry for the delay. Erin has been super busy with school, so against my better judgement I am taking over the blog. This is the new and improved JON-BLOG 2.0, but still family friendly.

So to update you on the past 2 months here are some things that have gone on:





Jon helping build his cousins house



Erin's first day of school (you look wonderful)



Erin studying with her REAL human bones



After I set fine to the kitchen, Erin won't let me cook anymore. Don't worry, it was a "small" grease fire, and it was contained. No firemen were called into action. We won't mention that I set the grill on fire tonight and had to almost submerge the grill in baking soda (thanks for the tip Kristin)





Tailgating at the MSU football game with Phil, Kim, and their family.



Jon and Kristin at their cousins wedding.




Jon and Phil at the MSU-Notre Dame football game.....if you even want to call it a game. GO GREEN - GO WHITE



Erin tried to steal a baby, but I made her give it back. Actually that is Lily, the newest addition the the Harbert family. Lets welcome her with a big round of clapping....come on....there you go. We went down to Indy to visit them and play with the baby.





Lastly we have the big white dog, the big fat dog, and the medium-size scardy dog.

So that in a nutshell is our life over the past few months, sorry I didn't go into more detail, but I didn't want this to get very long. I will try to keep up with it more now that it is mine............all mine......ha ha ha (evil laugh)