You Gotta See the Baby!!!!

The baby is officially over a week old, but I finally got some pictures of him to post on my blog...and I am a little bit partial because I am the Auntie but I think he's very cute, a little red, but cute!

He was born on January 21st at 9:26 am. I was there with Lynn when she had him air-lifted out. I returned to Lynn's house while she was in recovery to save Jordan from his time alone with four children. The kids had him tied up in a recliner and were taking turns playing with matches but all in all things went well! J/k They were quietly watching a movie together when I got there, but Uncle J still looked a little frazzled.

Here is a picture of the proud big sis with her new baby brother:

Today my parents came up and helped us pack and prepare for our move. We got quite a bit done. Our apartment looks weird. Well, that's all for now. Jordan needs to get back to work. I can't wait till we have wireless internet and can both be on the 'puter at the same time.

Visitors

Today Jordan's sis and family came over to see our new apartment. We hung out here for awhile and then we went to the Curious Kids Museum in downtown Saint Joseph. We weren't sure if some of the things would be to young for Tricia and Parker but it wasn't. They had a great time, in fact I think the adults even had a better time. We got to play with dinosaurs, make huge bubbles and even play dress up. We went downstairs and they had a career day where the kids got to meet a naturalist. He had a live turte and a huge snake.

After lunch we went to the Pump House Grill which we had never been to before. It was pretty good. We took them to the little shops like the toy store, an antique shop, and Perennial Accents one of my favorite stores.

We went bowling at Kelley's bowl again. We got there just as leagues were ending. Parker and Tricia had a bumber lane and the rest of us shared another. Lets just say I am still holding my lead on Jordan 5-3...oh yeah! He can't match me! I bowled a 129 the first game and a 116 the next. It was a lot of fun.

After bowling we went to one of our favorite spots in St. Joe, Kilwins. We each had our ice cream and then sat and talked for awhile. Parker was showing us his tooth which was hanging on by a thread. I asked him if I could pull it and he said ok. So I reached in and gave it a good yank and it came out. I was suprised he let me do it. Melissa was taking a picture but holding it and not looking. She got a great shot of me pulling it. Nice face Parkey! It was a great day. We had a lot of fun with the family.

During all of these events my parents brought up a dresser and brough Jordan's car home to be fixed. Of course my dad got it started right away. He's awesome. Yes, I'm a suck up! Tomorrow they are coming back. They are bringing my curio(sp?) cabinet and Precious Moments up here. My mom offered to help me pack and I'd be a fool to say no so I didn't. We are going to our favorite Mexican Restaurant El Rodeo in Benton Harbor. Yum.

Tonight Jordan and I are going to relax and watch a movie. Catch ya later.

Rematch!!

Tomorrow we have a bowling rematch scheduled. We are going with the Black family some time tomorrow. Parker has already said he is going to kick his Uncle Jordan's butt. We are going to meet them around 10 am tomorrow and show them around St. Joe, show them our Apt. and go to the kids Museum. Somewhere in there I'm sure we'll get lunch. We went to there hotel tonight and hung out for awhile. We are headed back to Kelley's bowl so I can kick Jordan's butt! Oh, yeah, that's a promise!

P.S. Jody the phone works both ways! What are you doing? : )

I'm movin' on...

We are spending our last free weekend here in St. Joe before we pack up and leave next weekend. Tonight Jordan and I went to Roxy's a hamburger joint a block from our house and then we went to the Chocolate Cafe and had cheesecake. We are wating for his sis Melissa, her husband Keith, and niece and nephew Tricia and Parker to get here. They are spending the night and we will spend the day with them tomorrow. My mom and dad will be here on Sunday to help us pack and my dad is going to fix Jordan's Crapalier. I have 4 days left of work and then on Friday we are going home to see everyone b4 we go. My family is going to House of Kobe on Friday night to. We are going to see Lynn and crew also. Jordan will get to see baby Luke for the first time.

I will blog more on baby Luke when I have more time.

Results of Bowling

Jordan and I went to Kelley's bowling alley and I kicked his butt. The first game I won 127 to 101 and then 107 to 103! Yeah! On the last game all Jordan needed on his last roll was 8 pins and then he would have won but he got 3. He wasn't too happy. The bowling alley was decent. It kept score for you which I love. Afterward, we made a Target run. Well, time to join Jordan in watching Law and Order SVU. He watches CSI or Law and Order several times a day. It's quite ridiculous. Later gators....

4 Days Until Christmas

Today I got a nice suprise when I got to work. I was given a nice Christmas bonus. Also, two of the attorneys gave me a gift certificate to the Mall in Benton Harbor and then they said that the office would be closed on Friday. Then, another attorney gave me a gift certificate to my favorite little store in Saint Joseph called Urban Homes. Our office is off on Monday as well. I'm pretty excited about that. It was a nice suprise.

Jordan and I are on the hunt for an apartment in Toronto. We worked on that last night but we don't have anything conclusive yet.

We have made plans to go bowling tonight. I went with my bros a few weeks ago so I should be warmed up! Tehe! Maybe! We get to relax since all of our Christmas shopping is done.

Here is a little Christmas email that I got from my friend Liz that I thought I'd share:

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl. We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.


Well, I'll catch ya later and if I don't blog have a Merry Christmas!

6 Days Until Christmas!!

With Christmas only days away let the chaos ensue. Yesterday, Jordan and I went to Casa de Sutton to help prepare the festivities and I bet my Ma wished we hadn't. Sam and Cocoa had to go to the groomer and Jordan and my Ma picked them up and left Barkley in his cage. Let's just say he wasn't happy about this and left a little suprise for them in there. Gross! It gets worse... Jordan didn't notice Barkley had stepped in it and then he left little brown paw prints all down the hall. Jo mama was furious. They had to give Barkley a bath. Then when they finally got to eat their lunch that they had brought home with them it was cold. Jordan made the mistake of giving Barkley a french fry which made him sick on the kitchen floor. Jordan and Ma could only laugh at this point.

Dad and I made our annual few days before christmas shopping trip. We left early so as to beat the crowds and we did very well, all the presents and got lunch all in under 2 hrs! A new record I think. When we got home I wrapped the presents and helped Ma make cookies.

Jordan, Kyle, Stephanie and I went to the hospital to see my Grandpa. It was kind of hard b/c he was rather disoriented and was telling us how lonely he was and how bad they were treating him there. He would say things that made you want to cry and then in the next breathe make you want to laugh. It's kind of a rollercoaster. You can't believe most of what he says unfortunatly b/c his mind is so fuzzy right now.

We try to keep busy with Christmas activities to keep our mind off of it. It's gonna be a strange and small Christmas at the Sutton house. I am happy to have a fun day of activities planned for Christmas Eve with the Bastians.

On Friday my office closes at 12 and then Sarah Eastman...soon to be Mrs. Nixon will be coming up to visit us here in Saint Joseph. Awesome! I haven't seen her since the summer time.

Tonight Jordan and I got to spend the evening together something we haven't been able to do during the week in a long time b/c he worked nights at the HP. Today was his first day with MLB.com. We played Sceneit one of our favorite games that we played a lot in Canada. He also showed me a couple of potential places that we could be staying at in Florida that are even pet friendly (Barkley might get a tan!).

Well, that's all for now. Back to hanging out with Jordan and Barkley. Catch ya later!

Pops....

In case you have been wondering what happened to me over the last few days this is what has been going on....

My grandpa, aka Pops/papa has had pneumonia for 3 wks. He was admitted to Ingalls Hospital last week. He has double pneumonia which means fluid in both lungs. He had a heart attack before he got there and another on friday. The docs say he has congestive heart failure, his liver is enlarged, and his kidney's aren't functioning properly. I went home friday night and saw him on saturday. My Aunt Connie and Uncle Charlie from AZ came in and Aunt Lenda from CA. I saw him on Saturday and he was very weak. By Saturday night he was a little more upbeat and was even cracking jokes. By Sunday he was his same stubborn self when he gave me a hard time while I was trying to make him drink his barium drink before he went down for his ct scan. He was happy to see everyone. He was supposed to be taken out of ICU tonight, but his blood pressure dropped again so he will remain there. All we can do now is pray so if you could I would appreciate it.

To add to my stress Barkley and I had quite a scare today. After taking him out after work tonight our neighbor was also letting his dog out, a huge pit bull type dog. He wasn't on a leash and before I realized that he was racing down the hallway towards us. I was able to shove barkley through the fire door before he got to him. His owner raced after him and said he wouldn't hurt him. I was pretty scared anyway. He turned out to be a nice dog, but he looked a little scary. It was quite an adrenaline rush.

Well, Jordan and I are going Christmas shopping to get my mind off of things. Also, we are having a cleaning party here at the apartment. Yes, I'm a mean wife and I am making Jordan help me clean. Afterwards, we are going to put up our Christmas tree. AWESOME!! Our first tree! Anyhoo, Jordan is home now gotta run. Keep Hershel Henson, my Grandpa, in your thoughts and prayers.

Update!

Ok, Jody. I finally have a free minute to update my blog. Here is what has been going on up here in St. Joe:

Jordan got offered a job as the Toronto Blue Jays beat writer for Majorleagebaseball.com. (mlb.com). He put in his two weeks notice at the paper he currently works at on Friday. We won't have to move until late January, early February. We will be going to Florida for a month for Spring Training. I have gone to spring training the last two years and it is lots of fun. Jordan is so excited. We need to make plans to go up there and find a place to live.

Jordan's car is in better working order now, but mine is out of commision now. I went home yesterday to help trim my parents tree and when I pulled into the driveway my dad smelled gas coming from my car. My gas line was leaking and at any minute if it caught a spark my car could have been a flaming fireball. I'm so glad we went home. Jordan's wonderful sister Lynn is letting us borrow her van until my dad fixes it. So for now I look like a soccer mom.

Yesterday like I said I helped my parents put up their tree. I got all of my ornaments and some lights and tinsel. All I need now is a tree. Hopefully this weekend we can get that accomplished and then decorate it.

Jordan has been working on our Christmas cards. Yes, my husband did our cards....I am so spoiled. All I have to do is address them.

My parent came up on sat. and we went shopping. Jordan finally got his suit that my mom promised him for his birthday....yeahs he got a new birthday suit. ha ha.

Jordan and I went out to see Pride and Prejudice. It was really good. I finally got to see a chic movie.

Well, that's all for now. I'll catch ya later. Good luck with all of your christmas shopping. I'm about 1/2 done.

A Night Out in Saint Joe!

Last night I decided to have a fun night of doing laundry and hanging out with Barkley. I went to the bank to go get some quarters. I told Sara the girl who always handles our business at the bank what my exciting night entailed and she invited me to go out with her and her friends. We started out at the depot which is this little pizza place at the train station by the beach. After that we went up to the top of the hill to a place called Spinnakers. It was a duelling piano bar. It was really packed, but it was a lot of fun. At 10:30 I called Jordan and he was leaving work so I told him to come there. We hung out and had a good time.

Today I actually got around to my laundry. Jordan was here until 4:30 when he left for work. I might go out with Sara again tonight, but I don't know if I am up for another night of going out. We'll see.

I didn't get around to blogging about this last week, but I took Barkley to the vet and I found out that he might have doggy glaucoma. Poor baby. Every day three times a day I have to give him a pill, ointment in his eye and eyedrops. He wasn't very cooperative at first, but now he rolls over and lets me do it. I feel really bad for him. Next Saturday I have to take him back to the vet for a check up. Hopefully he will be doing better by then. At first the meds made him jittery and have to go to the bathroom a lot which didn't make Jordan very happy when he had to do clean up.

I love my new job. I have been there for 2 weeks. This week the bosses were on vacation and left us a lot of work to do. It made the time go by so fast. On Monday is our holiday picture for work. They send out a Christmas card to all of their clients. YIKES! Next week is a shortened week. I get thursday and friday off for turkeyday. Jordan is off thurs, sat and sun. He might come back on Saturday, but I'm not sure yet. We are also trying to get together with Melissa next weekend too. Well, that is all for now. Catch ya later!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Saturday night I went to my Aunt Torie's house for the Annual Sutton Family Pumpkin Carving contest. A lot of my family was there and we had a good time. It was pretty funny because everyone was concentrating so hard on their projects that it was dead silent. The family members that were there that weren' t carving were teasing us because we were so serious about the event. These were not ordinary carvings because there weren't any triangles or teeth. It was also my cousin Barb's birthday and our family friend Francine made her a spooky cake.

It was awesome. I won the contest, but some of the other contestants thought it was rigged b/c my parents, my brother kyle and his girlfriend Stephanie were the judges.
This is my pumpkin. It's a witch with a cat in the center. It's hard to see in this picture.

Today my parents came over. My dad had not been to our apartment yet. We went out to lunch and showed them around Saint Joseph. My mom brought a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. My mother and I also went on a walk through the neighborhood and on the high school track. Well, that's it for now catch ya later...

What a day!

Yesterday got off to a rocky start. I was woken up early in the morning to a dog laying on my pillow who was shaking like he was freezing. He wouldn't stop for about ten minutes. He was sick for most of the morning. If was kind of scary. He was much better by the afternoon. He was jumping around and wagging his tail.

I went on a job interview yesterday at a law office. It went pretty well. I have a second interview on tuesday to meet with the lawyers. Wish me luck.

My parents are coming to visit us on Sunday. Yeah. Well, that's all for now. Catch you later!

Barkley Bastian

Our dog, Barkley, was doing well adjusting to his new lifestyle as an indoor dog. He hadn't had any accidents until yesterday when his "Birth" family came to visit. Lynn and her crew came to see our doggy oh yeah and us for the day. They also brought along their little terror of a pup named Buddy. He's blind, but he doesn't let that stop him. I think he thinks he's a Great Dane. He started fighting and biting Barkley and he scared the pee out of him...literally.

We really enjoyed their visit, but I think Barkley was more than happy to get some rest after they left. He likes being top dog now and takes any chance he can to get love and affection. He loves the one on one time he gets now. Our furry "baby" is very spoiled.

Tonight we went to Battle Creek, MI to see our friends Julia and Chad (Jordan's best man). We met them at Chili's for dinner and then went to the movies to see Flightplan. The dinner started off bad b/c the waiter had two huge parties besides us and forgot about us. Julia's dinner was burned and mine was slightly undercooked. Later, about a 1/2 hour into the movie it looked like the film melted in the projector and it took them about 10 minutes to get the film back up and running. It was pretty funny actually.

It was great to see our friends and have a night out. Poor Barkley though he was alone for the longest he has been since we moved up here. We found an excited pup at our door, a stain, and our salt and pepper shakers knocked over. Looks like he had a bad night. Hopefully he'll get a little better as time goes by. All in all I am impressed at how he has done so far.

I'm searching for a job. Hopefully tomorrow will be more successful. Jordan doesn't work until tomorrow night so I'll be watching the series here at home w/ my pupster. Jordan had his first article published with the new paper. It is about why cubs fans should root for the sox. Well, that's it for now. Catch ya later...

Saint Joseph, MI

We arrived in Saint Joseph, Michigan on October 11, 2005. My brother kyle and his girlfriend Stephanie helped us move in to our new apartment. We live in a wooded area and it's really pretty up here right now b/c the leaves are changing colors.

On Wednesday we went to the Sox game. It was game two and the infamous drop third strike game. My brother-in-law, Keith and my sister-in-law Melissa invited us to the game. We had a great time. The crowd was crazy the entire game. We kept sitting down and standing up all night....It was like going to a catholic church service. It was extremely loud. We had a great time.

On Thursday my mom came up here and helped us to wash all of our new kitchen items and put things away. Our new apartment is great. We have everything put away. The only thing left to do is to hang our pictures on the wall, but I am waiting to get our wedding pictures. I got our album, but not our wall pictures.

Sunday was Grandma Bastian's 90th birthday party and Jordan and I traveled to Elk Grove Village, IL. We saw a lot of Jordan's relatives from other states.

After the party we went to my moms house for her birthday. I made her a cake. My Aunt Susie, Kevin, Kyle, Grandma and Papa were there.

We've already had our first visitors. Jordans dad and stepmom Patty came up on tuesday night. We showed them around St. Joseph on Wednesday.
Lynn, Jordan's sister, gave us one of her dogs a 2 yr old shitzu named Barkley, or as the kids call him broccoli. He's adjusting very well to his new place. We love having a dog. Jordan started his new job at he Herald-Palladium which is the Benton Harbor/St. Joe paper. Well, that's all for now. It's been awhile since I last blogged so this was kind of long. Catch ya later!

Go Sox! Red Sox That Is!

Well, my wonderful husband has done it again. Scored me some free tickets to tomorrow nights game. The Jays are playing the Red Sox. It's the last game of the series here in Toronto. I'm pretty excited b/c I've only gone to one baseball game this entire season where as my husband on the other hand will have gone to 52 by the end of the season. I went to one earlier this summer with my bros and Stephanie. I'm going to this one by myself. Anyone wanna join me? Maybe since Johnny Damons injury isnt' that bad he can fly in from Boston and sit with me! I'll rub his shoulder! I mean no I won't! Just kidding Jordan! I love you!

Today I stopped by this cool pottery place. They sell the pieces and you paint them. They had all kinds of dishes and figures. Looks like fun!

I must have been a good girl b/c today was mail day. I got three letters from people back home! Love you guys! See ya in 3 wks!

Ok...I'm officially depressed...

So last night Jordan and I were relaxing watching TV. It's about 2 a.m. and we're watching some show about firefighters and our apt becomes pitch black. Crap! Our power goes out. Wait! No it doesn't the fan is still working. Oh, no! It's the TV! We franticly push the power button. Nothing happens. We unplug and then replug the TV. Nada. Yeah our TV is broken and we have a month to go, I've almost finished my project and I am sick of reading my stupid book. I don't know what I'm going to do. Stay tuned to see how whiney Kelly can get over the next month!

Happy now?

My husband has been nagging me to post a blog. So here it is. There hasn' t been a whole lot going on around here and that is why I haven't posted. Jordan has been off of work since Monday and I will get to keep him at home until next Monday! He has some side stuff he has to do, but he's actually here which is a good thing. I don' t have to talk to myself anymore! Tehe just kidding.

I have been glued to my TV watching the hurricane news like many other Americans I'm sure. I have to turn it off many times because it is so draining to watch. Especially today when I watched Oprah do her take on what's going on down there. It was terrible. I need to stop watching TV.

Tonight, one of our favorite shows is on, RockStar INXS. We are big dorks, but it's one of the only reality shows that we can stomach. It's on three nights a week and tonight is the performance show. We missed the house episode last night b/c we went and saw The Brothers Grimm. It was decent, but more of a renter.

I've been hearing from a lot of people from back home which is awesome. It's kind of lonely when I'm here by myself all the time. It's good to hear someone else's voice besides Dr. Phil. Well, I'm back to my stitching project while Jordan is busy playing GameCube. If any of you have time shoot me an email and say hi.

Taking it easy...

Since we returned we haven't done very much. The laundry is still piled on the floor, dishes are in the sink, and Jordan is still in bed. Yesterday, we did get something accomplished during the day. Our air mattress was having technical difficulties the night before we left for the USA and we decided to exchange it yesterday. It's nice to sleep on something a little stiffer, but this one is a little bit smaller. It's supposed to be the same one, but it's not. It's ok I dont' mind b/c I actually got good rest on it. We also found a new grocery store that we like and it kind of reminds us of Jewel.(in the suburbs of chicago for all you out of towners!) It was much cleaner than Loblaws the one right next to our apt. and there was more food we recognized unlike Loblaws which has a lot of kosher and ethnic food.

Last night we enjoyed good old American Hamburgers cooked by yours truely. I am really getting the hang of cooking in this teeny tiny kitchen. You gotta make due right? After dinner we relaxed and watched Mickey Blue Eyes on TV. It stars Hugh Grant.

Today's tasks are hunting down change for the laundry, doing the laundry, dishes, and taking a run. Exciting I know. Jordan is off until Friday. Well, that's all for now catch ya later!

Road Trippin'

On Thursday Jordan and I headed out on our 2 day journey to Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls, and Cooperstown: The Baseball Hall of Fame. On our way there we stopped off in a small town to get gas because Jordan was so excited to see their name:

We arrived in the town of Niagara on the Lake and were pleasantly suprised. I wasn't quite sure what we would find when we got there, but what I saw was better than I imagined. There were tons of quaint little shops, beautiful flowers everywhere in large hanging baskets, and horses and carriages. I ran into my leading man in town, Bogey.

The scenery was beautiful when we wandered down by the lake. There is an old fort off in the distance and a nice park to sit and enjoy the view in.
After lunch we headed to Niagara Falls after stopping off to watch a glass blowing demonstration. Jordan had been to the falls when he was 10 or 11 and I was there when I was 14. We stood next to the falls and got quite wet by the mist. This is what greated us: Then we took a ride on the Maid of the Mist which is a boat that travels to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls on the Canada side. I had done that once before, but Jordan had never done it.

We stayed around in the Falls and had dinner at one of our favorite places, Rainforest Cafe. We have now been to one in each of the countries in North America. Yes, we're dorks, but we like the food. We waited for it to get dark so we could see the lights on the Falls. They were awesome. At first it was just huge white spotlights, but then they began to change colors. It was pretty sweet! We stayed in a hotel that night on the American side near Buffalo in Tonawanda. What did we find across the street from our hotel? Yeah, a Chili's and we stopped for chips and queso of course.

The next morning we headed towards Cooperstown. We enjoyed the drive through the hills and taking in the scenery. I loved looking at all of the old homes along the way. When we got to the town Jordan almost caused me to crash off the road and get rear ended when he saw this sign b/c he wanted to take his picture there.

We reached the Hall of Fame and the main street that it was on. This was another cute little town. It had a lot of shops that I had to drag Jordan out of. It was so strange b/c all of the towns along the way were vacant and this one was teaming with people.

Here is Jordan with his childhood heros and one of his main reasons for going to the hall.

I don't see any Bastians in the Hall of Fame, but it was easy enough to find a Sutton!Don Sutton This one's for you Melissa.

King KellyLay off the high ones. I like the high ones. Mule! Nag!

This is for all you Sox fans!

Going to the Islands....

The Toronto Islands that is! We tried again today to head to the islands, but unlike yesterday we were successful this time. We traveled by subway and arrived at the ferry dock. We took the 10 min boat ride across the lake to the Islands. The water was very calm and I was very thankful for that. The last time I was on a boat like that I did not have a good experience. I get motion sickenss rather easily and the thought of getting on a boat again was not very inviting. This time went much smoother. I did not feel ill at all. The trip was very quick which helped.

When we got there we decided to rent bikes and ride around. Before we got there we stopped off at a hedge maze and explored around inside for a bit. When we got to the bike rental place and they handed us our bikes I had to chuckle a little. They were very old fashioned bikes. The handle bars curved up excessively and the only way to stop was to push the petals backwards like a small childs bike. It was funny. Nothing like the bikes I have been riding with my parents on the trails in Glenwood back home. Jordan hadn't been on a bike since 8th grade/Freshman year of high school. The bikes didn't have any gears and mine was really squeaky, but it was still fun. My legs are really tired now after our long walk around the city yesterday and the biking from today.Here is a picture of our wonderful bikes. Other people rode tandems and quadricicles too which were funny looking.




We biked all around the island. When we got to the far west end we arrived at the place where Babe Ruth hit his only minor league homerun when he was 19 years old. There wasn't a stadium or a statue like we imagined we'd see by the symbol they had on the map. There was a small little plaque screwed to a rock in some woodsy/weedy area. We laughed outloud when we saw it. I took Jordans picture anyway. At least we'll see some better stuff on Friday when we head to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Yeah, USA I can't wait. We're going there after Thursday when we go to Niagra Falls.