Where I've Been

After mentioning that I might not be around much, the semester really wasn't too overwhelming - up until the last few weeks anyway! Deadlines started stacking up, at school and work and Winter Break was looking better and better! Now it is here and so am I - a survivor of another semester.
I thought I'd share a little of what I've been staring at for the last few months. This is the final project in my design studio - a new studio complex for the architecture program on campus. They expanded the 5 year Master's program to a 6-year one, so they need more space! And, they didn't want a single building - but a "complex" of indoor and outdoor spaces that could both be used to learn, design, build, experiment, what have you.
The final product was a 3D model on the computer and presentation boards with plans, sections, details, etc.
Have a look:

A New Brother-in-law and a Trip Down Memory Lane

I guess it's now 2 weekends ago (the 14-16th) that we made a trip down to Burley to celebrate my sister Susan's wedding and welcome Chad into our crazy family. They had the ceremony in beautiful Sedona and then we gathered for a casual family dinner a few days later at Cherie's new house in Burley.
With only one sister (and her family) missing, it really was like a family reunion. The day of the dinner, we spent time together like the good ol' days - eating lunch elbow-to-elbow, making pies from scratch assembly-line style...


Playing piano duets and laughing at all the mess-ups...


...and of course - the dreaded tickle tortures!!

And, it's not likely we'll ever grow out of any of it!

For such a short trip, we had a great time. Andy even got to sneak away from the madness and go trapping with a buddy for an afternoon, and we came away from it all with an awesome new brother-in-law, more family memories, and....awful colds!

My Man

In light of the anniversary of our engagement (on the 10th) and a very important birthday (on the 11th), I thought I'd do a little write-up about the man in the spotlight!

[the source of the questions is a "husband tag" i ran across in another blog]

What is his name? Andrew Paul Heitmann

How long have you been married? It will be 2 years next August

How long did you date? Well....depends who you ask. Officially…18 months minus 10 days from ‘ok, you can call me your girlfriend’ to ‘I Do.’

How old is he? 25

Who eats more? He eats more veggies, but I eat a greater quantity of food in general

Who said I love you first? I did – and almost shocked the socks off of him!

Who is smarter? Andy, for sure. (don’t listen if he argues this!)

Whose temper is worse? Andy

Who does the dishes? Both of us - although if they have to be washed by hand, he avoids it like the plague

Who does the laundry? He sorts, I usually do the rest, unless he’s around when I decide it’s time to put it away

Who sleeps on the “alarm” side of the bed? Andy. I never knew a snooze button could be used so much! Now I just ignore the alarm altogether and let him tell me when it’s really time to get up.

Who pays the bills? I usually do, but he's very capable as well if I could just leave them alone until the due date is imminent.

Who cooks dinner? Hmmm. He did 95% of the time for the first…9 months or so. That was nice, but he was getting burned out. So lately, I’ve been doing more of my share. (he’s better at it though!)

Who drives when you are together? Andy does and is quite good at it too. You should see the fellow back a trailer!

Who is more stubborn? Andy. I’m blaming it on his competitiveness.

Whose parents do you see the most? Andy’s – by a long shot. Mine are 9 hours away. His – only 1 hour or 7 hours.

Who proposed? Andy – two years ago yesterday

Who has more friends? Ummm…he has more in this area since he’s lived here all his life. If we tallied…? He would probably still have more, although I claim all of his as mine too!

Who has more siblings? Haha! Well let’s see. . . I think I’ve got him beat.

Who wears the pants in the family? What an odd question! He calls me Boss, I call him Sir, so maybe we share the family pants…?

But, seriously...How can you not love a guy who...Hasn't forgotten how to be a kid...
Has such a passion for learning that his skills and hobbies are endless...
Is determined enough to not give up, even when it's rough...
Has this endearing genuine smile ;) ...

Has an infectious sense of adventure...

...and can make you laugh any day of the week!!

Happy Birthday Andyman!!

Carving Artists

'Tis the season when we suddenly decide we could all be artists and sculptors. All we need is a pumpkin, some sharp objects, and a little inspiration....right? Sure!

This year, we went to a pumpkin-carving party for the festivities. There were a lot of ideas going around the room, and when all was said and done, there were about 15 pumpkins glowing. I don't have pics of that, but I did take a few snapshots of ours on the porch the next day:

as mentioned before....

...Andy finished the truck enough to show it "in progress" at the Palouse Days car show. We did not take any pictures, but have just received some from our car buddy Joe:
The truck on the left is the newest member of the Heitmann fleet. It started out as a 1937 Dodge and has been chopped, channeled, short-bedded (probably not a real term), and mulled over for hours. As the build continues, you will hopefully see more close-up pictures and hear more about the amazingly detailed work that goes into a project like this. The man behind the scenes has a vision in his head, and it is gonna be good! :)
side note: the truck on the right is another work in progress being built by fellow club member Monte.

And here, of course, is 'my' car looking mighty fine as always sitting next to the other boat in the club - Aaron's Lincoln.

The Great Harvest

A frost last Friday night took care of the rest of our garden and sweetened the fruit on the trees, so we were in for a day of hard work! Andy came home after only one day of elk hunting up north and Beth came out from Moscow, and we made quite a team!

Beth and I tackled the 2 apple and 2 plum trees, filling boxes with fruit, while Andy concentrated on the many tomato plants - picking and sorting the ripe from the green. Then, we all gathered to see what kind of carrots we'd been growing underground. This little guy came out of one of the rows, and Beth quickly claimed and named him.
We also had a couple of monsters that had room to grow - and grow they did!The overall one-day harvest looked like a regular farmer's market!
and, prompted Beth and I to strike the farmer pose as we were coming in from the garden:
Once all the produce was brought in, Beth and I tried making plum jam while Andy finished yanking all the dead plants and making a burn pile. What a productive day!

And...Just in case you had any doubts, this girl here is the most wonderful, lovable little sister in the world :)

Thanks Bethers!

Christening the New Camera

Yes! we have a new camera - to replace the one stolen at the beginning of last semester. Pretty exciting to have a new piece of technology to figure out and play with! It's quite the upgrade too (thanks to Uncle Sam) and will take some time to get used to :)

However! It has now been officially christened - in the best way I know how:

With a sunrise....

...and a sunset :)