Heidi is 1!

What can you say when a year flies by, and your first-born has their first birthday? It has gone so fast, and been such a blast! I don't think Matt or I knew how much we would enjoy parenthood. We knew we'd like it, but man! Now, I know you experienced parents out there will say, "Wait for this year... now the discipline starts!"

Yeah, I guess so. But my sister-in-law was right when she said, "I always thought the stage they were in was my favorite. Then the next stage would come and I'd think, 'No, THIS is my favorite!'". She was definitely right. Heidi is more and more fun each day. We are so blessed and thankful that God has given her to us for this year, and we look forward to many more years of watching her grow.

What a sweetie! And I personally think she is a real smarty, because obviously (by the video below) she knows it's her birthday.

A Blog About Nothing

Okay, guys, it's been a while since I've contributed to this thing and it's about time we had a non-Heidi-related post. Her birthday is coming up next weekend, so I'm sure there will be one soon...not to worry.

For those of you who don't know, Darcie and I are huge Seinfeld fans. Maybe too huge. We were given a Seinfeld Scene It game for Christmas and we haven't lost a game yet. Ironically, neither of us really watched it when we were growing up, but we both got hooked on the show after we got married. I love watching it because it is arguably the best television comedy of all time mostly because it makes fun of what it means to be a self-absorbed, egotistical, and insensitive human being (something we can all identify with, right?). Plus, the episodes are only 22 minutes long . . . perfect for watching while you eat dinner!

Anyway, we just got done watching all 9 seasons a few weeks ago and as we were watching, we kept a little note of which episodes were our favorite and we are happy to announce our very own top ten list of Seinfeld episodes! Why you would read this far already, I have no idea - but since you have, I guess we should post our list. Here goes!

[All episode recaps are from tv.com]

10. The Junior Mint (season 4, episode 20): Jerry has a date with a woman whose name he has forgotten. Elaine visits an old boyfriend who's in the hospital for an operation; he was once fat, thin she's interested again. Kramer gets an opportunity to witness the operation and he drags Jerry along, while watching they have an accident with a "Junior Mint."
9. The Face Painter (season 6, episode 23): George and his girlfriend discuss toilet paper and he is in love. Elaine's boyfriend paints his face and his behavior at a hockey game disturbs Jerry, Elaine and a passing priest. A monkey throws a banana peel at Kramer, when he throws it back, the monkey becomes depressed and the zoo demands an apology.
8. The Little Kicks (season 8, episode 4): "Sweet fancy Moses" exclaims George when he sees Elaine dance at a party she's holding for her employees. Jerry gets 2 tickets to a premiere of a film. Jerry and Kramer attend the film with Brody, who begins to make a bootleg tape. Elaine finds out the truth about her dancing after she tapes herself. Elaine's dance becomes a big hit on the streets of New York.
7. The Serenity Now (season 9, episode 3): George gets roped into selling computers with his father, who is using a strange relaxation method to control his blood pressure. Kramer has some trouble with the "neighborhood children" when he remodels the front of his apartment. Jerry's latest girlfriend helps him get in touch with his emotions. Meanwhile, Elaine's invitation to a bar mitzvah ends up being more than she bargained for.
6. The Pick (season 4, episode 13): Elaine is humiliated when she accidentally shows a bit too much on her Christmas card photo. Jerry has a date with the model from the plane, she later dumps Jerry because of "The Pick." Kramer goes to Calvin Klein to complain about "The Ocean," a fragrance they stole from him.
5. The Burning (season 9, episode 16): George devises a new plan to end every conversation on a "high note" and "leave them wanting more". Kramer and Mickey take jobs acting out diseases for medical students. Elaine discovers that Puddy is religious, and becomes angry when she learns he doesn't care about her soul. Meanwhile, Jerry is intrigued when he learns that his current girlfriend has a secret "tractor story" she hasn't told him.
4. The Heart Attack (season 2, episode 8): George thinks he's had a heart attack. The doctor tells him otherwise, but he might want to get his tonsils and adenoids removed. Elaine is interested in the doctor and he is interested in her tongue. George not wanting to deal with the cost and the procedure decides to take Kramer's advice of going to see a naturalist, which only makes the situation worse.
3. The Marine Biologist (season 5, episode 14): Jerry meets an old college classmate who asked about George, whom Jerry says is now a "marine biologist." An infuriated Russian writer tosses an electronic organizer belonging to Elaine out of a limousine that hits a passerby on the head. Kramer struggles with his golf swing and sand.
2. The Strike [The Festivus] (season 9, episode 10): Kramer announces that after 12 years, he's going back to work. Jerry meets an attractive woman at a party, but when he later tries to date her, she doesn't look nearly as good. Elaine's use of a fake phone number backfires. George tries to get away with giving away fake donation cards as Christmas gifts at work, and much to his chagrin, his father decides to revive Festivus, a unique holiday he'd invented years earlier.
1. The Opposite (season 5, episode 22): George comes to the realization that he should try to do the opposite of everything, so he does. Things begin to be unlucky for Elaine after she buys a box of "Jujyfruits." Kramer appears on Regis & Kathie Lee to promote his coffee table book. Rachel wants to break up with Jerry and he readily agrees, because his luck has been "even Steven."

So there you go! Not a bad way to waste your time, was it? For a show that was about 'nothing' and had a motto of "no hugging, no learning," it turned out to be pretty good. If you think you can beat us at Seinfeld Scene It - let us know. We need to know that someone else out there has a more unhealthy knowledge of this show than we do!

A Family Fourth

Happy post-4th of July! We had a great time at the Dodge Family Reunion over the 4th, with all 4 Dodge kids, plus their 5 kids, making a grand total of lots of fun.

Ages 6 weeks, 6 months, 11 months, 3 years, almost 4... and the rest of us were older than that. :-)
We took the older girls to the Omni to see "Dolphins," complete with stuffed-animal dolphins provided by DeeDee (Darcie's mom), worked on sheetrock in the playhouse in the backyard, put in a French drain in the front yard, played sibling trivia (and had a walk down memory lane), watched movies, played games, and had a blast!We were even able to nail everyone down for a huge family photo. Darcie's sister-in-law took care of ordering matching t-shirts for everyone, so we were very coordinated. Matt's parents were able to come out on the 4th as well and join us for burgers, hot dogs, and maybe a little visit with Heidi too. (Thanks Lantzes, for taking the family photo with your nice camera!) Rick, Dottie and Doug Jones came for the weekend too and brought lots of yummy snacks. :-)
I'll admit that in our family, we're not all alike (some are Dr. Pepper lovers, some Diet Coke... you know), but when we get together, we sure have a great time. What a blessing to be in a family that enjoys being with one another, and a double blessing that we were all able to be there.

Thanks DeeDee and Grandpa for all your work getting it ready for us to come. We love you!