Cleveland Rocks!

We arrived in Cleveland late on Friday, prior to Thanksgiving. We were pretty adamant about having an open schedule with lots of time to relax, but there are always a few "must do's" on the list.

The first was going out to breakfast to visit our favorite waitress, Norma. Now, Norma is not just any waitress ... she's like part of the family. My grandfather started going to breakfast at this restaurant back in 1968! The family has been going there ever since ... and Norma is on her 46th year of working there. Outstanding. Always nice to see her and pay homage to George.

We caught a Cav's game over the weekend too. We were definitely in the cheap seats ... seriously, we were in the very last row, cement wall at our backs.

The best view we had of LeBron was on the jumbo-tron!

But as long as you have good company, good beer and LeBron putting on a show, all is well. Unfortunately, Shaq didn't play (gotta give the old man a few games off) but we had a great time!

The best part of the night was watching the spotlight guy do Tae Bo during the game ... he was literally doing push ups and boxing throughout the game to get his workout in while on the job. The picture doesn't do it justice, but I couldn't get the video to upload.

Mixed in with all the fun was a little bit of work around the house. It's the least we could do for my Mom and Dad since we are rarely home, and they really take good care of us whenever we visit.

Here we are doing some yard work. (Kyle re-raked all the spots that I did. Again, my half-ass approach is not up to his standards ... what's wrong with a few leaves still scattered on the lawn? I think it's pretty!)

Here's my Mom with a Ghostbuster pack on ... aka, leaf blower.

And, here is the most amazing feat of all. After living in our house in Westlake for 20 years, my parents are finally able to get a car in the garage ... thanks to my amazing husband! He went out to buy some heavy duty racking from Costco, piled the "junk" neatly on the shelves, and even shaved off the step to get two racks to fit along the back wall. Unbelievable. My poor Mom will no longer have to clean the snow off of her car to get to work.

Thank you to my mother-in-law for bestowing OCD-like organization on her son ... Kyle keeps our garage spotless and even organizes my junk drawer. I mean, not many girls can lay around on a Saturday morning and watch movies while her husband organizes the pantry, right? I'm one lucky girl!

'Tis the Season

The holidays are almost here! I'll admit, it doesn't quite feel the same, given that we have yet to break out a winter coat and November is almost over ... but we're looking forward to enjoying all that the season has to offer in the South.

While Kyle was catching up with friends (and new babies) in Minneapolis, I decided to spread some holiday cheer with my good friends Chaney and Kaylie.

We pumped up the fireplace and warmed up by the flames ... hey, it's 40 degrees down here ... give us a break!

We whipped up some chicken pot pie ... with only a few malfunctions in the oven. (We skipped baking cookies since we were watching The Biggest Loser, quite the motivation.)

We unwrapped the ornaments and decorated the tree.

Then we finished the night off with a cheesy family Christmas photo!

Kyle doesn't know what he's in for when he gets back to town ... now that I'm filled with Christmas spirit. I hear Branson has beautiful Christmas displays, lights, shows and horse-drawn carriages. And, of course, as is our tradition, we'll need to go cut down our Christmas tree ... which, as you might imagine ... tends to be a bit more work for Kyle than it is for me. Get excited, Mr. Petersen!

Extreme Home Makeover

You've seen the pics from my adventure last weekend in Austin. Kyle seems to be making a habit of tackling big projects while he's home alone and this time, he actually took some photos to share! He built a cabinet in the garage to help keep us organized. Every last inch of space is critical in that garage, given that we've packed in a boat, motorcycle, a bike and two vehicles.

My weekends alone usually consist of a trip to the movie theater and a little (or a lot) of shopping. This time, I decided to "pull a Kyle" and tackle a project. And boy did I tackle a project!

Remember those pictures of Kyle and I painting ... and hating every minute of it?!?! Well, we still haven't called anyone to finish the job, but still wish we had color in a few more rooms. So, since my poor husband is traveling for work yet again (because I moved us to Arkansas,) I decided to surprise him with a freshly painted dining room!

As we already know, I'm not a very patient person, but I knew a half-ass job wasn't going to cut it. So instead, I purchased an edger and corner tool and will NEVER again paint without them! I didn't have to tape anything and edged the entire room in record speed (and high quality results!) Best $15 I've ever spent.

Welcome to our "Beachwalk" dining room! I absolutely LOVE the color and will definitely use it again in our next house. (It'll be nice to finally invest time, money and energy into a house that will be our home for more than a few years when we get back up North!)

I hope you like it, Kyle! You are all invited to join us for a good home cooked meal in our new, cozy dining room ... just say when!

Baby Mulhausen Road Trip

Kyle is the king of long drives, as he's made the 10 hour trek between Minneapolis and Arkansas more times than we care to count. Learning from the best, I jumped in the car last Thursday for an 8.5 hour road trip to Austin, Texas to visit Jeff and Kathleen for the last time before they become parents. Aside from driving past Fort Hood 30 minutes after the shooting, the trip was pretty uneventful and actually went by pretty fast. I will say that Arkansas is much prettier than Oklahoma or Texas, though.

Here are my favorite parents-to-be. Aren't they cute?!?!

Austin is a GREAT town. It has more character in one city block than all of Northwest Arkansas, that's for sure. Here are a few "only in Austin" moments that I was able to catch on camera...

A dude riding his scooter, with his dog going along for the ride in a cardboard box! That can't be safe ...

A Rooster delivery truck ... made me think of the dog car in Dumb and Dumber ...

I didn't have my camera with me when we witnessed unicyclers practicing in a parking lot, Brazilian dance fighters performing in the street, and someone in a bear costume meditating in the park. Yes, they like to Keep Austin Weird, and I love it!

In addition to good restaurants, bars, shopping and great weather ... I was able to attend Baby Mulhausen's baby shower!! This kid is going to be spoiled rotten. I refuse to have it any other way. Here's some of the Gmills gear I bought for him ... one has Lil' Sprout on it and the other is a Cheerios giraffe. The sock monkey is pretty awesome too.

We also celebrated Kathleen's birthday at an amazing Italian restaurant and finished the night off at the Cupcake Trailer. Kid you not, food trailers are big in Austin ... they have ones that sell tacos, cupcakes, pies, pudding, etc, etc. We weren't about to deny a pregnant lady on her birthday!

I had a blast in Austin, as always, and can't wait to go back with Kyle in January to meet our new little nephew. 7 more weeks until he joins the family! Thanks to Jeff and Kathy for hosting me for another great weekend in Austin and for taking the pressure off of Kyle and I to have kids any time soon! We love you guys!

Happy Halloween!

Finally, some gorgeous fall weather! Kyle spent the afternoon fishing, while I got things done around the house and treated myself to a mani/pedi. Tough life we lead, I know.

Rather than passing out candy, we decided to head over to Melissa and Jeff's place for some dinner and drinks. As a little trick-or-treater, I remember hating the houses with their lights off and no treats, so before we left, I put a bowl of candy on the porch. I'm not here to make any enemies.

We had a great night hanging out with the Toliver family, little Bella and Jake certainly entertained us on their sugar highs ... they even made us costumes to celebrate Halloween.

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The newest addition to the family, Maggie, a 3 month old Jack Russell, really stole the show. She showed off, doing her best Superman impression, practically flying out of Kyle's hands.

Kyle showed off some of his tricks too. I'm so proud.

I think someone is going to make a great Daddy ...

Dear Melissa and Jeff - Thanks for helping my cause. I think I'll have a puppy in no time!