Dave News and Shower Review

First things first: Dave will be home sooner than we thought!! Definitely before Memorial Day weekend. Time is flying!







The baby shower went well. It took a couple of days for me to recover, not from the actual shower, but from the previous week of cleaning and working, etc. Carrie was thrilled with the whole thing, from the cucumber sandwiches to the presents. The gifts were wonderful, and I'm kind of jealous. The things they have now to help mommy and daddy are so cool now (I really could have used the monitors). It's so fun to see the tiny little socks, and the outfits are so darn cute!



My niece Jenny came down early to visit with the girls (and me) and she brought her little Luella along. I hadn't met Luella yet but by the time Jen and Lu left, I was in love! I used my new video camera to take some precious movies. When we went to Mike and Carrie's Saturday evening, Cassy was there with Corina and Carly. Carly and Luella are about the same age and the pool table was their stage. They put on a show for all of us, including Aunt Elaine, Sara Lou, and Great Grandma!

Those who attended included Great-Great Aunt Tommy, Great-Great Aunt Wilma, Great Aunt Elaine (and she is a GREAT aunt!), Great Grandma Harder, and Cousins Sara Lou (Harder-Harriger)with Hayley (4) and Hannah (2), Jenny (Harder-Thomas) and Luella (almost 6 months), and Karen (Morse-Winter). There were so many friends there too, all helping us celebrate the Little Man's upcoming birth day.















Luella and Carly
Aren't they sweet?

You might be the next person I visit!

Wouldn't you be surprised if I showed up on your doorstep? I'll be wearing a cap and holding a helmet so you may not recognize me right away. Yesterday, I took a late afternoon ride and rode 17 miles total! I rode to the Harley dealership, which was really satisfying, riding past my Rider's Edge Course and riding on Hwy 63, the very road that terrified me before. I just know that driver's steer clear of me when they see me wobble as I start out from the intersections. hehe Then I rode into Cedar Falls to end up at Kitchen Essentials, which had just closed (yes Gretchen, it was me at 5:36 peering in the front door).

Dave has worried that I will run out of gas on my travels. My tank is 2.5 gallons. The dealer filled it up when I bought it and I hadn't added any since so I thought maybe I should put some gas in, as I had 50 miles on the odometer. Premium was $2.01 a gallon. I was a bit surprised when it overflowed a little bit, since I only had put in .92 gallons. My receipt said $1.87! I can get used to that! I'm having fun but I can't wait to have my riding partner home.

Carrie has entered the stage in her pregnancy where she thinks she can do much but really can't. Add in the fact that she is nesting more and more, her nursery isn't done, and she's working full time. Laura and I are going over tonight to help her get some cleaning done. Mike is busy working on the rooms upstairs that need to be done before the baby is born! Sounds like Dave will be home in time to help out too. Yay!

Counting Down!

Well, yesterday I got some Official - Unofficial news about Dave coming home! Iowa troops will be the first to leave Iraq with the first group leaving within the 1st 2 weeks of MAY! The 2nd group will leave sometime in the last 2 weeks of MAY, more than likely home by Memorial Weekend! The Unofficial part of the news is that this being the US Army...things can change at any time. When I get a phone call from Wisconsin in with an American area code, I'll believe it! hehe Our FRG is busy planning a homecoming for the guys so they can know how much they've been missed.

REBEL RIDING: I love my Rebel! It is so much easier to manage while I'm gaining some skills. I haven't ridden due to weather being cold and about 4" of snow on the ground here. My route was really getting boring just riding in our little neighborhood so I decided it was time to venture out into the world. In the car, I scouted a route that I'd been thinking of, which was a good thing because I found a couple of things I'd want to change. That afternoon I waited until Laura got home (my back up) and told her which roads I'd be on and then took off. SUCCESS! I drove at least 4-5 miles on that trip, although it was very very windy and I learned that wind can be scary. When I got home and parked my bike in the garage, I WooHooed! That was so much fun.

My next big ride was last week when I decided to go see my friend Julie. It is a very easy route but I had to cross busy Ansborough by University. I had a light, was first in line and very confident. When the light turned green, I started out and for some reason, the bike killed halfway through the intersection! Squelching the panic, my reliable Rebel fired back up and away I went, kinda wobbly but I made it through. Julie and Sara made me promise to call them when I made it back home. hehe

Lastnight, Carrie and I, Julie and Sara, had dinner at the Hong Kong together. Julie and I have tried for so long to arrange it but it took the girls to plan it and make us do it! We had a great time talking of babies (Julie has granddaughter Jordan) and 2 year olds. I guess that will be primary conversations from now on, "Look at my perfect grandchild!" followed by the 2" thick package of pictures!

Will it be Grandma, Grammy, Mimi, MeMaw, Gamma? I really don't care what he calls me, just as long as he loves me!