Carstensens in the 'Kan

A week of firsts

2009-03-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun week! It started on Monday with a visit from Auntie Scarlet! Justin, Theresa, and Blake came up to our house to see Scarlet and she was introduced to her two little nephews. It was a great visit, and we are excited for the boys to meet their Uncle Jake!

Wednesday brought Trey's first road trip and our trip to the NCAA men's basketball first round playoffs! Grandma Lo, Grandpa Mike, and our family loaded up the suburban and headed off to Portland to watch UW and Gonzaga as well as the other teams playing there. Trey did so well during his first road trip and we were SO lucky to have such awesome Grandparents to make the trip with and watch the little guy while we were at the games.

And...I've saved the very best first for last...While making wrust at Grandma Li and Grandpa Terry's house, we were treated to TREY'S FIRST SMILE!!!! He is 5 weeks old and continues to grow and change. We weighed him on Sunday, and he was up to 11 lbs. Yey!!!

3 weeks old!

2009-03-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Blinn and I have a 3 week old son! Every Sunday we can't help but look at the clock and remember what we were doing on February 15. Blinn is back to work full time and my mom is staying with us this week to help out. It has been great having her here! Not only does she snuggle, spoil and change Trey's diapers, she's also really helped ease the transition of not having Blinn around during the day. Trey and I are looking forward to enjoying some March Madness together soon. Let's go Dawgs! ; )

Mom and I took Trey to get weighed today and our little guy (pun intended) is at 9 lbs 15 oz! He's one healthy boy! The nurses that saw him said how he was "all boy" and what a "big guy" he was. He holds his head up on his own very well, knows my voice and I think Daddy's too, eats VERY well (we call him the TERacuda), is okay with bath time as long as he has a warm washcloth on his tummy, and he does a million other things I'm not thinking of at the moment. Bottom line is he is well loved, growing, healthy and ours. We're very blessed!

One week with our Trey

2009-02-22T16:12:00.000-08:00

One week ago today our son Terrance Myron was born. He was born at 11:43 am on February 15, 2009 weighing in at 8 lbs 9 oz. This is 100% cheesy but 150% true, we LOVE being Trey's parents! He is such a good boy. He truly only cries when he is hungry or needs a new diaper. It's been a great week of figuring thing out together for Blinn and I. We have had a ton of support and love from both of our families and friends for which we are grateful. He has had the chance to meet a lot of them already and we look forward to him meeting more soon.

Here are 7 pictures to show a SMALL portion of our first week with our son. I can't believe that a week later I'm finally posting pictures; but it's also hard to believe how quickly a day goes by even though we're just feeding, diapering, napping, and snuggling him! Thanks to all for the thoughts and prayers sent our way- we are definitely feeling them. Enjoy some pictures of our little man!

Oh, and Gus is adjusting well to his new brother. I had to mention our first "baby". :)

A couple more Blake pics

2009-02-01T20:09:00.001-08:00

Meeting Baby Blake

2009-02-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

Blinn and I met our nephew Blake today! He is absolutely precious. He looks A LOT like his Daddy with perhaps the chin of his Mommie. :) He was such a good boy while we were down visiting and before we left he woke up for us.

Justin and Theresa are both doing really well and were getting some help from Theresa's mom. It's hard to believe in less than a month he will get to meet his cousin Trey! Another huge congrats to Blake's proud parents; thanks for letting us meet your son!

We're an Auntie and an Uncle!

2009-01-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

We just heard that our nephew Blake Alexander arrived this morning at around 10:00! He is 19.5 inches and 7.7 pounds. His Dad reported that he is healthy and that his Mommie did great and is feeling well too. CONGRATULATIONS TO JUSTIN AND THERESA! We can't wait to meet him and rest assured we will post pictures as soon as we have them.

2009-01-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is Blinn writing. In this video we see Gus enjoying the snow as Addie plays with her new video camera. There was a great deal of snow, more than 2.5 feet.

Look at all that snow!

This photo is before the butler shoveled the front walk.

Christmas Lights are Up!

2008-12-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

3rd trimester!

2008-12-04T07:00:00.001-08:00

We have entered the final stretch! I'm still feeling very well and Blinn continues to take good care of me. :) I feel Trey move all of the time and now his kicks and punches are strong enough for Blinn and other people to feel too. In less than 2 months we will be a family of four!-we can't forget Gus!

Post work-out pic. Not my best material.

NKOTB Round 2!

2008-11-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

Sixteen years have passed since my mom took Em, Liz and I to see the New Kids on the Block concert at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman. Last weekend, Kristin, Ashley and I saw the New (older) Kids at the Tacoma Dome, and I think I screamed just as loud as I did when I was 10!!! It was such a fun time both at the concert and visiting Kris in Seattle. Blinn and Jay watched football all day at the bars while Kris and I prepped for our big evening with breakfast with Lyssa and a manicure.

The concert crowd was made up of 24-35 year old women and everyone screamed and danced while NKOTB played mostly old songs that we knew ALL the words to. When their new songs came on, the three of us took that opportunity to sit down for a rest. :)

Here are some pics from our evening. Notice my shirt...it was Trey's first concert! Probably not exactly what his Daddy had in mind. :)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Our family sure has a lot to be thankful for this year. We're getting ready to head down to my mom and dad's house to enjoy all of the Thanksgiving fixins; including the best stuffing in the WORLD! YEY!

Escape!

2008-11-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

We had such great plans for our Veteran's Day morning. Blinn and I had just hopped in the car and we're getting ready to head to breakfast at McDonald's. For the record, their $1.99 mochas ARE as good as they look. Before we can pull away from the curb, Gus sprints around from the side of the house like a mad-man. He had accomplished his first escape of the morning. Blinn put a couple of boards supported by a 25 lb. bag of mulch in front of the fence that he had sneaked through. We waited a bit outside in the car to see if Gus could get out, and once we were confident his escape route had been patched up, we left for breakfast.

We got home to an empty kitchen and backyard. Gus had made escape number two. Only this escape was different. Gus had realized (he is SO smart) that we were no longer out front and had tried to get back into the backyard. That pesky bag of mulch was in his way, so resourceful as ever, Gus ripped through the sealed bag of mulch to get it out of his way. The end result looked like this:

Gus had his second bath in less than a week after this picture was taken. Here is the mini-Houdini on his favorite perch post bath:

In other Carstensen news, we have reached 25 weeks in my pregnancy which means we are now officially in the sixth month! Baby Trey moves a ton and does not seem to share his mother's love for all things tomato based- indigestion is no fun! At our last ultrasound appointment we got to see Trey move his mouth and at one point he moved his little hand and tried to get it into his mouth. It was awesome. Everything looks great with the little guy and we're getting his room ready slowly but surely. It's hard to believe that in three months we'll have him with us! Here I am this morning in all my 25 week glory. :)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Our little bat says Boo!- and give me a treat for wearing these stupid wings. : )

It's a...

2008-10-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

3D picture of Trey!

If you look closely, you can see "the goods" between his legs!

Baby Boy! Blinn and I (Gus too as you can see) are so excited to announce that Terrance Myron Carstensen, "Trey", will be joining our family in late February. I'm posting some ultrasound pictures, though I realize that they are hard to figure out. But for those ultrasound experts, here you go! I've been feeling him kick/ move around regularly for the past 2 weeks or so. Blinn even got to feel one strong kick! It has been a dreamy 21 weeks of pregnancy so far. The family pictures were taken the morning after we found out we were having a boy.

We've had a great October so far. We took a trip to Greenbluff with Gus to pick some apples, and then of course the big news that we'll have a son this time next year. So amazing! I'll let the pictures do the talking...not much else to say right now except we're just over the moon about Trey!

NYC Vacation Pictures

2008-09-28T18:57:00.001-07:00

Manhattan Island taken from Ellis Island (I don't usually look "that" pregnant yet; this was right after lunch) : ). Our last dinner at a restaurant in Little Italy.

Times Square
Yankee's Stadium!
We had breakfast at the Seinfeld diner!
Dad and Blinn by Rockefeller Center.

Mom and I with NYC's finest!
After our Today Show debut with Mr. Matt Lauer!
Mom and I with the lovely Meredith. ALL of the Today Show people were sooooo nice and friendly!
Lunch at Tavern on the Green.

Our Summer Vacation

2008-09-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

At the University of Georgia football stadium.
The last of Blinn's boil.
Battery Park in Charelston, SC.
Scarly and I at a bar in Charelston.

3 beers and a lemonade at Folley Beach, SC!

Blinn and I had a busy and fun September! We celebrated our 3rd anniversary at the Spokane Int'l Airport! We boarded separate planes to visit Jake and Scarlet at their home in Athens, GA on the 10th. It was SO much fun to spend time with them and explore the South! They were wonderful hosts and we accomplished a lot in five days: we toured all of Athens, including the University of Georgia and their football field as well as the other sports facilities Jake manages; ate at delicious restaurants (excluding Cozy Yum Yum); went to the Georgia Aquarium; and spent some time in Charleston, SC. The best part was that we were able to do 99% of it with Jake and Scarlet. I'm already excited for Christmas when we get to see them again!!!

After our time in Athens, we were off to The Big Apple! Blinn had a conference there on Wednesday, so I we decided to make a trip out of it. We stayed Tuesday through Saturday and my mom and dad came over on Wednesday evening. It was truly an amazing (and HUGE) city and we were really happy that we got to tour it with my parents. When people ask what we did, I respond by saying that we visited everything you can think of except museums. :) There just wasn't enough time for everything that NYC has to offer! Some of our highlights were the Today Show; Tavern on the Green; riding the subway; the 4th to last game at Yankee Stadium; the Statue of Liberty; Little Italy; and lunch at the Seinfeld cafe. We made lots of memories, and I hope you enjoy a peek at some pictures.

October 13 is our "big" ultrasound! I'm already saying prayers that Baby C cooperates so we can see if it's a boy or a girl. I'm 18w3d and at our last appointment went very well. The baby's heartbeat was at 152 bpm and it was very loud and strong this time. I've also started to feel some movement which is amazing. Stay tuned for an Oct 13 update! I'll throw in another belly pic then as well.

15 weeks along!

2008-09-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

Here is my first "belly pic" at the 15 week mark. Everything continues to go well! I'm thinking the next post on here will tell you if Baby C is a boy or a girl!

We have had a busy couple of weeks. Two weekends ago Kristin, Jay, and her little pup Chloe came over for a visit! It was so much fun! Kristin and I went shopping on Saturday while Jay and Blinn golfed. I sure wish we weren't 4 hours away from each other. Despite the picture below, Gus and Chloe got along very well. I like to think in this picture, Gus was just showing her that this was his house.

For our Labor Day weekend we stayed the night at my Grandma Hazel's in Colfax from Saturday to Sunday. It was a very nice visit! When we got home on Sunday, Blinn started to paint our bedroom. Bye bye bright blue! He has done a great and very thorough job. Once everything is finished and we've moved our furniture back in I'll post a pic.

Next Wednesday we are flying out to Athens, GA to visit Jake and Scarlet! We're beyond excited. Jake had his first football game this past weekend, and he made the Atlanta Journal newspaper! I think that the presentation of Uga (apparently Georgia's beloved mascot) looks like a crowd outside of the Today Show or something! It will be a great vacation and we're so happy we get to spend it with them!

ExtravaCANza!

2008-08-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

Blinn and I chose this 98+ degree weekend to take our first foray into canning! We canned about 2 lbs. of string beans from our garden this weekend using my Grandma Hazel's spicy-pickled string bean recipe. It was definitely a bit warm in our little kitchen, but the final result produced 6 jars of pickled beans that we hope turn out well.

Our first garden continues to grow! I took some pictures of our tomatoes, jalapenos, green peppers, pumpkin, and our corn. We also have basil, red peppers, onions, and carrots, but I didn't want to make this any more veggie-heavy than it already is.

In other news, I had my first hamburger in 12 weeks today and it tasted gooooood! Could entry into the second trimester be the end of my food aversions?! I hope so, because I'm not sure if a life without steak and hamburgers is really worth living...sorry PETA.

Tomatoes & one of our pumpkins

Jalapenos and green peppers

Mark your calendars!

2008-08-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

We're having a baby! My due date is February 26, 2009. Blinn and I are thrilled as are Baby C's Grandparents, Aunties, and Uncles. We had our 10 week appointment last Wednesday, and even though we were unable to hear a heartbeat, the Dr. did an ultrasound (so cool!) and confirmed the due date based on the baby's size and told us that the heartbeat is a healthy 164 bpm. Baby C is the size of a plum and, get excited, no longer has a tail!

In other news, we celebrated my Mom's birthday at our house on Sunday. It was a great afternoon for some of Blinn's famous flank steak and good company. Speaking of flank steak, our darling Gus sure enjoyed some. As Blinn was cutting the steak, apparently Gus was quietly (and for those of you who know Gus, you know he is FAR from quiet) standing under the cutting board getting drenched by the meat drippings. Blinn then told me that Gus had "some" (emphasis on the word SOME) steak juice on his head. Well, this is what SOME looks like:

His entire head was soaked! He is now known fondly as Steak Head. After this picture was taken, Steak Head received his 2nd bath of the day.

A mixed bag June so far

2008-06-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

The Lust Family at John Adam & Amy's wedding
Lusty Ladies! heh heh

Crazy June weather in Spokane! This was a thunderstorm on Wednesday night.
Sometimes only a sister knows when you need a giant (and delish) sugar cookie sent straight to your door.
I love you to pieces Scarlet! You da best!!!

Where is our sunshine and summer?!?! Despite the less than fabulous Spokane weather, we've had a nice June so far. Blinn was in Chicago for a conference a week ago and had a good time. He had a steak that had been aged for 40 days! Eeeks! He was glad he tried it, but wasn't sure if he needed to have that aged of a steak again. :) I served on jury duty for two weeks and sent a bad guy to jail. ; ) It was actually quite an interesting experience! Last Saturday we celebrated my cousin John Adam's wedding and danced off every beer we downed!

We're heading down to Almira this weekend to ring in Father's Day with Big Mike. We'll swing by Davenport on our way home to say hi to my Dad as well. I think we really lucked out in the Dad department; I may be a bit partial, but I'm pretty sure we have the best two out there.

Memorial Day Weekend Fun

2008-05-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

At Lowden Hills, our favorite!
My review of wine at L'Ecole.
Our house, and our special guy Gus.
Blinn and Gus in our veggie patch!

This weekend didn't quite turn out as it was planned, but we still had a great time. We were going to meet Kristin and Jay in Walla Walla for a weekend of wine tasting, but unfortunately Kris was sick for most of the week, so we decided to postpone our time together so that everyone feels 100%. Blinn and I headed down to Walla Walla on Saturday had a great time! We visited seven wineries and had a delicious dinner at Whitehouse-Crawford that night. So fun and now we're ready to get our wine on! Heeheehee.

Sunday brought Lyssa and Charlie to our house for some drinks on our back deck! It was a lovely but quick visit with them and Cliquot. We spent most of Monday in our yard. We planted some vegetables in the back yard and finished all of our potting.

Since it is Memorial Day we want to express our gratitude to those who serve our Country now and those that have served in the past such as Myron Blinn Carstensen and Kenneth George Blumenschein.

Our Weekend with the Waldhers

2008-04-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

Our ride to Pomeroy

Liz strategizing

Post-game drinks!

Liz and Joe were fabulous hosts to Blinn, Gus and I this weekend. We took our first trip down to Pomeroy to watch Coach Waldher and the Pomeroy girls softball team take on Dayton; and of course to hang out with Liz, Joe, and Odie. The Pirates had NO bench (some girls were sick, some were rodeo-ing, and some were shopping for prom dresses), and unfortunately (okay, maybe fortunately)the first game was called in the 3rd inning 34-2. The second game wasn't much better, but Liz provided the comic relief! Two Elizabeth funnies I need to share: 1. Yelling at her pitcher to "try it overhand next time" after the girl had walked about, oh let's say 10+ batters; and 2. "Hey Brenna, where's your cup?"- that was directed at Liz's FEMALE catcher who got hit with a pitch- I'll let you figure out where.

After that blow out, the 3 of us went over to Waitsburg to have some beers at their brewery. Bubby definitely deserved it! Our Saturday ended with Blinn and Joe golfing while Liz got dinner ready. We had a delicious breakfast the next morning, rounding out a wonderful weekend with our sissy and bro.

Kickin it with the Carolinians

2008-04-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Bladdie & Jakelet (?)

Hermanos a Del Red

Gus's new haircut!

Post title courtesy of Blinn himself.

Jake and Scarlet arrived back in the Evergreen State last Saturday. We met up with them and the extended Carstensen/Engelhardt family in Soap Lake for dinner and karaoke. Fortunately, the barmaid at the Del Red did not remember Blinn. ; ) Both dinner and the post-party were a ton of fun, and after a busy week of seeing many friends, and family, Jake and Scarlet made their way up to our house in Spokane on Saturday. We met up with Justin and Theresa for lunch at Red Robin (Scarlet and I refused to let Jake choose Applebee's for our dining experience), and then went to the Season Ticket to watch basketball for a bit. It was SO nice to spend time with them, and we're looking forward for our visit back east later this year!

This post is a bit picture heavy. There have been many requests for pictures of our Gus Bear! How can we deny his fans?! Gus visited the groomers on Friday afternoon and got his first "real" haircut. As I'm writing this, I realize that I've become one of "those people" that talk about their dog as if it were a child. For the record, I don't care. :) Anyways, he looks dapper and charmed even the harshest critic...Jake.

Next weekend we're heading down to Pomeroy to visit Joe and Elizabeth! Bubby is the high school girls softball coach! Maybe Joe will have some more jerky for us...hint hint. This will be our first visit down there, and we're really excited! Go Pirates!

We're (okay Addie is) Bloggers!

2008-04-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

I've been debating about doing this for a while now, and I finally decided to join the cool kids and enter the world of blogging! Yey! I hope that this will be a fun way for people to see what Blinn and I (and of course Gus) are up to. Not gonna lie, we're not all that exciting, but it seems like a good way to keep in touch.

As I'm sure most of you already know, we live and work in Spokane (the 'Kan) and have been married for 2 1/2 years. It's been a ton of fun and I know there's lots more good times on the way for our family. Blinn works at Northwest Farm Credit Services as a loan officer in their Capital Markets division. I'm just wrapping up a stint in Commercial Appraisal and heading back to Sterling as a Construction Special Project Specialist on April 14. YEY! We love banker's hours!!!!

Let's see, what's new? We just had a great weekend with friends and family...Addie turned 26 and Ter became another year closer to joining the AARP, so we jointly celebrated our birthdays on Sunday with brunch. Mom and Dad Lust and Mom and Dad Carstensen along with Justin, Em, Ryan, Liz (Joe was winning 2nd place in a golf tourney!), and Grammie and Papa all made the trip up to Spokane. It was super fun and a great way to spend a Sunday morning. Now we're looking forward to another fun weekend and a visit from our East Coast siblings...Jake and Scarlet!!!! They're flying in from North Carolina on Saturday and we're SOOOOO excited for that reunion!

So that's what's up with Bladdie as of late!