did i mention we had an earthquake the other day? matt did, i think. and we have casey to thank for it!!!
i didn't feel it because i was trying to control three rowdy boys at the time, but another teacher came into my room and said, "did you feel the earthquake?" and of course i said no, and she said, "oh. maybe it was just an airplane flying low." (because they really can make the place vibrate if they are really close). so now everyone's warnings have paid off--we've actually had an earthquake!!!! and darn, if only i could have felt it!
this triggers a funny memory of when cincinnati was supposed to get an earthquake.
everyone freaked out and bought earthquake insurance.
and we even had earthquake drills at our high school--ry and kevin, do you remember that? ha!
we all had to get under our desks and mr. hall, our principal, got on the loudspeaker and was trying to create a scene for us...
"...it may feel like a train is hitting the building, you may hear dogs barking..."
at that point i could no longer control my laughter and it burst right out.
i was in calculus. incidentally, i was not a favorite student of his, being a girl and all...
therefore, i was issued a detention for laughing!!
oh well! it was worth it--because, come on, DOGS BARKING!!!! who cares???
and after all that we didn't even have the earthquake... huge surprise.

mom--your ring is beautiful! good work, dad!

i've been running again. i got out of it when school started and i was too exhausted when i got home.
but i think it is just a strange cycle, because now that i'm exercising again, i have much more energy!
there is a cool running club for students at our school (some kids get there early and run 2-3 miles each morning!!!).
so another teacher and i are starting a running club for teachers! yay!

i'm pumped for mary and casey's visit!!!
i hope you guys are practicing your foosball, shuffleboard, and darts!
anything else you want to do while you're here?
maybe go downtown and get something to eat for a late dinner when you get in on friday night?
and of course bar-lympics on saturday.
did you want to go for a hike or anything? or whatever you wanto................
i guess we will give you your bday gift when you come (oops. it's all packaged up, it just hasn't made it to the post office!)

ry, nice blog--very sweet! you have a DAUGHTER!!! unbelievable.
grammy, mom, and aunt deedee-have fun visiting hannah this weekend!

i feel like there's more to say
but i'm drawing
a blank.
therefore, i'm signing off!
tracey

just over here, relaxing, totally into "innocence mission", thanks to justy.
yeah, definitely a new one to put on my frequently played albums.
no comment even necessary for that AMAZING VOICE and i love the hawaii-ish guitars, subtle but present tambourine, and--best of all, music that takes me to another place. thanks justin--perfect pick for moi!

it's been fun catching up on the bloggies. you know, i was thinking what perfect timing the blogs have been, with the family being spread out across the nation and all. i feel like i haven't really missed too much of life's events with all of you peeple.

mare and casey--first of all, congrats on being out of credit card debt--doesn't it feel SO GREAT!!!? such freedom!!! matt and i made some bad financial choices early in our marraige but have been debt free for almost 3 years now. everyone is different, so i'm not giving advice, just sharing a personal experience--what has kept us out of debt was the promise we made to God after we were finally credit card debt-free (obviously we still have car debt and a student loan). we promised that we would pay our credit card balance every month in full. and the FIRST time we would have month where we couldn't pay the full, we agreed to tear up the credit card and not get a new one until it was paid off. and so far we haven't had to! it is such a great incentive for not overspending because we always think, "wait, is this worth cutting up the card and/or breaking my promise to God?" and the answer is always no. just a fun story there for ya!
it was also fun to read mom and dad edwards accounts of their trip--sounds like such a fun trip. and i can't wait to see your ring mom!!!

i spent the whole weekend painting our living room.
matt helped me lay down the base coat (arizona tan, if you really must know), which he said looked pumpkinish.
then i colorwashed the whole deal by diluting a lighter shade (honey butter) and a darker shade (campground) with water. i used paintbrushes to blend the deal to our walls --- and that literally is the last time i will paint that room. it took 3 gallons of the base coat just to cover the walls if that tells you how large the room is. anyhoo, it was totally worth it! it looks cool and watercolored-almost, most definitely italian/venetian looking.

it's not really cold out, but i'm dying to wear my new striped skinny scarf from the gap
so i'm taking it out on a date to buy some household cleaning products at target!!!
is this really what my life has come to??? yes. i think emily would understand and even appreciate something like this...

my scarf and i must go.
farewell
tracey

it's me for you
and you for me
-innocence mission

hello people!
the end of another week that flew!
i enjoyed checking out all the blogs this morning as i ridiculously woke up at 6 am.
mare, i'm with you on playing santa at thanksgiving--at least to you and casey.
so where are your (and casey's!) christmas ideas?
here's another idea from me: denison witmer's cd "philedelphia"

i saw a picture of our new niece, hannah, on the hospital's website---SO CUTE AND PERFECT!!! and so looking like ryan!!!
much to my dismay, michelle's pic link isn't working (neither is mary's, so it's villagephotos or whatever), so i can't see all the other pictures of her. but go check out that cutie on michelle's link! just knowing about hannah made me love her instantly, but now that i've seen a picture of her, i feel even more love and complete excitement at getting to see her in 26 days!!!

let's see, what else...
well, i had jury duty on wednesday.
i was dreading it, but
it was actually fun, if you can believe that!
you know how anything run by the govt usually has really rude people working (example: the bmv rudeness and condescending tone) who make you feel stupid? well, totally different scene at the courthouse, we (and by we i mean 500 jurors who had been called that morning) had an hour long orientation, which was amusing because the guy was funny. and they were UNDERSTANDING about things, like "if you forgot your juror ticket that was mailed to you, don't worry." etc. i sat around and read until about 11:00,when i got called to a courtroom with 50 other people. they started the selection process and then we had a 90minute break for lunch. i met matt, who is only 3 blocks away from the courthouse, and we went to horton plaza to eat and browse around. it was so fun--it's the first time i've met him for lunch downtown! then i went back and the jury selection continued (one of the potential jurors reminded me of mike serratto, saying strange things and making me crack up--he got the boot, of course). i really wanted to be picked by the end! but alas, i wasn't even called up to be questioned, which is actually okay, since it was going to be a 5 day trial.

today we're going to attempt to paint our living room.
i think we'll have to rent a ladder at home depot in order to do that, though.
the color is difficult to describe, but i'll try: it's sort of a creamy tan/caramel/honey color. it's called arizona tan, but i'm going to do a little bit lighter color wash over it to give it some depth and texture. if anyone comes here and can describe the color, be my guest!
our neighbor, artie, just told us that he's putting pergo flooring on his whole bottom floor--so jealous!!! i want to do that with our upstairs so bad! but i don't have $2000 just sitting around.

i think we're going to see a school of rock matinee tomorrow.
glad to hear that dad and justin liked it!
welp,
i'm going to prep our room for painting!
tracey

yay! hannah michelle good came into this world at 9:50 am, weighing in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
ryan and michelle are now PARENTS for the rest of their lives--wow!
i can't wait to hear every detail about your beautiful daughter!!!
i can't wait to kiss my NIECE on her sweet chubby cheeks in one month!!!

my husband is home and i'm happy.
i went to such a beautiful wedding yesterday.
my girlfriend, janice, got married in mexico (about an hour away from here)
at a resort on a cliff overlooking the ocean. it was so beautiful.
and the food was so yummy!
and right after the ceremony (i'm talking 60 seconds), waiters came by the aisles with
big trays of tropical drinks in tall glasses--so fun!!!
the reception was in a big white tent right next to the ceremony so it was fun to just
sit around and chat and look at the ocean while we waited for all the pictures to be taken.
it was the best time i've had in between the ceremony and reception of any wedding i've ever been to!

i'm getting excited for christmas (emily, you're probably the only one who gets ready before i do!)
but i won't allow myself to decorate or play music or wrap presents or anything until november 1st.
that gives me a good 2 months to celebrate!!!
but what i can do now is start MAKING PLANS about which presents i'm going to buy,
how i want to decorate, the mixes i'm going to make, etc... so i can still start to get excited without
having matt make too much fun of me for being out of control!!!

welp, i'm taking off now.
have a great night!
tracey

yay!
it's friday!
and it's the first cloudy day in a long time. so strange. but very cool this morning as i pulled up to school and a giant cloud was just covering the place. it was all misty to walk through, and then normal on the other side!
justin, i'm pumped for the cd--i looked at them for a sec online, does the girl sing? i hope so.
i plan on getting a lot of things done this weekend, but right now i just want to blob out around this house, maybe even in bed.
i miss my husband!!! but now i can make salmon for dinner. and other stuff matt won't eat. :)
matt, i hope you're having a great time!
michelle, i'm so sorry about alpha--that does seem ridiculous, i hope those people find other groups to get plugged into. can YOU just continue with them on your own? i mean, you don't have anything else going on, like having a daughter or anything!!!

happy anniversary mom and dad, in case i don't get to the computer on your actual day!

well, i'm going to watch trading spaces now!
but i'll end with a
funny quote from a kid (i've heard this many times!!!):
peanut kindergartener looking around my room: is this your room?
me: yes, it is! what do you think, do you like it?
him: where is your bed?
me: oh, i don't live here.
him: why?
me: because i live in my own house.
him: why?
me: alright, moving on....

-tracey

some nice posts, people.
matt, yours was so sweet. i love you.
and i, like mary and michael, love the part about the music (no need to record the quote for a fourth time, agreed?)
mare, i'm so like you with being able to connect with God in music that doesn't necessarily have godly lyrics--so many times i'm worshipful when listening to ben folds, over the rhine, norah jones, cush, dashboard, jimmy, elliott, etc etc. etc!

matt left me this morning for bg
i'm excited for him to visit with everyone
and eat pollyeyes and dairy queen (and trotters?)

i took him to the airport around 6:00, and don't really have to be at work until 8:00, so i'm actually doing a load of laundry and some other random chores.
i'm pretty proud of myself--this is the first time i've been able to keep a place really neat and clean. i think i'm much more motivated now that we own this place and have started to decorate it in our style. it makes me want to keep it nice and uncluttered. a first!

last night we went to hodad's since i had a buy 1, get 1 free deal. we ate in the window seat so we could look out at everyone walking by and smell the ocean air. then we went to the farmer's market and bought 3 little cacti (spelling of plural cactus--i've never had to do that before!). matt has been wanting some since we moved here. (actually i did buy him one a while ago, but he put it on top of the entertainment center and knocked it behind it within one day of having it. therefore, we didn't see it again until we moved at the end of august!). so we put these new guys in our kitchen window. yay!

had nice long conversations with michelle and emily in the past few days. it was good to chat with both of you!

things are clearing up at school.
it's not really appropriate to post on a blog
but i can say that i haven't felt safe at one of my schools.
we had a team meeting and thankfully everyone agreed that the child will be going to another school
where his needs will be met by actual trained professionals.
hopefully that will go through as soon as possible, too.

i have some stuff on my to do list while matt is gone.
get important papers in order, MAIL some birthday presents!, hem some curtains, etc.
matt made me promise that i wouldn't paint our family room while he was gone. i told him there's no way i could do it by myself, anyways. and he said, "well i never know with you if you're going to pull a trading spaces on me." (actually, it's "while you were out"--and that's michelle's job next year for their great room!)
well everyone, i suppose i must get going to work.
it's strange to be productive this early in the morning before i even go to my job!

have a great day!
tracey
p.s. i love how God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow
no matter what we are going through...
what an UNBELIEVABLE comfort!!!

in this cyclical pattern i feel you
the back and forth
and up and down
You stay where You are
--sixpence--

weird days at work
and sleepless nights

i think it is getting better though.
i just have a situation at one school
with a child and his behavior issue
(or possession, really).
just praying that it gets cleared up and that no one gets hurt.

on to better things, though.
YES, mary--we are getting a dog someday!
but not until we are strapped down with kids :)
we like to travel too much right now!
not only that, our condo does not allow us to have dogs--so even if we were ready for a dog, it would be a no go.
but we get our fix every now and again at dog beach right down the road from us.
in fact, we went there yesterday and saw all those crazies running around, playing, and swimming in the ocean--so cute and fun!
p.s. we're finally sending your birthday present mare--we had it with us in san fran this summer, but since we didn't get to see you, it sort of got lost in the shuffle of moving. i'm planning a trip to the post office either tomorrow or weds!!!! have no fear!!!

as far as other bday ideas for me: i know it is not as much fun to buy, but i really want to get some stuff from home depot for our deck area, so a gift certificate directed that way could be nice!
things on my wish list:
lemon tree ($17)
lime tree ($20)
bamboo fencing ($21)
fiscus plant ($12)
palm tree ($50-100)-ha!
other cool tropical plants ($5-15)

we saw lost in translation the other night and it was interesting.
bill murray had some hilarious moments, plot was a tad slow, and i had that feeling of "no, don't do it!" throughout.
the scenes from tokyo were worth it all, though, and they really captured that feeling of loneliness and culture shock that comes from visiting a different country. it really made me want to go visit there someday (when someone i know lives there and can take us around- i don't know if i could figure that deal out from travel books!).

welp, i'm going to spend time with my honey!
bye!

what a long week!
thank god tomorrow is friday!
over here listening to jack johnson and just trying to chill--the music is helping for sure.
michelle, thanks for posting your pictures of the nursery and my favorite friend, mr. reeces!!!!
it's fun to be able to picture hannah's living area and wow, you are popping out--so cute!!!!
can't wait to meet miss hannah banana-only a couple of weeks to go (approximately--hopefully sooner than later).
emily, thanks for the fun bridesmaid gift--i love all the goodies and can't wait to put them to good use this weekend!
mare, i've enjoyed the blogs--i hope you do that race--i want to, too! i want to catch a person in a giant banana suit!

fun quote from a kid:
i was evaluating a 3rd grade boy and he was looking at things i had in my room.
"do you see terra nova?" he said.
"i sure do! do you know her?" i said.
he closed his eyes for a few seconds, pursed his lips, nodded, and said in an adult-ish tone, "you could say that."
i said, "well, what's the story?"
and he became very sad-faced and sad-voiced and said, "well, we had a crush on each other in first grade and second grade. two years! and then all of the sudden ("all done" type of hand motion), it was over."
this kid is so serious and i'm trying my hardest not to laugh at this point.
so i said, "what happened? you just don't like her anymore?"
and he said, "no, she started liking charlie and now i don't even exist. two whole years...and then all of the sudden she's in a whole other dimension. i've tried talking to her, but brittany is like a bodyguard for her or something. i can't even get near her!"

ahhhh...love....

this weekend my honey is going back to bg for jeb's wedding, so i'll be all alone!
i am actually going to mexico because my girlfriend from work is getting married there.
but i think i'm going to try to work on our deck area, you know, get all the dead plants out of there and get some reed fencing to cover the brick wall with. we shall see, though.

just a thought:
isn't it too bad that people have to think twice about writing about what movie they saw (and maybe liked!)
or that dad edwards has to feel like his music selection is "uncool"?

-tracey

i'm listening to over the rhine's new 2 cd album, "ohio".
some of it has too much of a country twang-weird! but maybe they're going with the theme of ohio or something.
they do have a cool song titled ohio, though.

here are some lyrics (hitting home over here):
what in the world would make all this worthwhile?
and if i knew then (i was older then)
would i see regret to the last mile?
hello ohio
the back roads
i know ohio
like the back of my hand
alone ohio
where the river bends
and it's strange to see your story end

i started listening to over the rhine in 1989, when i first moved to cincinnati.
and thus, the obsession began.
i loved their song "jacksie".
i had no idea it was about cs lewis.
even if i would have been told, i still didn't know who cs lewis was.
and little did i know i would be learning about cs lewis from my HUSBAND's father 10 years later.

when i started listening to them it was the time in my life that i have felt the most alone.
my life had been completely uprooted and it was the Lord's doing.
it was that time in my life that i began my search for the Lord.
(7 years later i would make a commitment to follow Him).
it was the same time in my life i felt the desire to move to california
(nevermind that i had never been there).
how amazing that God would have put that in me
because of his plans that are just now starting to be revealed!

i know i'm getting a little emo here, but just thinking about His plans
to prosper us
and not to harm us
that He has determined our paths,
even though we make our own footprints.
and just how He reaches us in pain
and the most difficult times in my life
have been the times that i have grown and
learned how to know Him and draw near to him and love him.
and
just
be
still.
the worst times of my life have been the most beautiful times with Jesus.
those scars are precious.

-tracey

hmm...
interesting banter on the blogs.
especially the neverending crossbow comments.

i made a few of my own
and chuckled at myself.
(a paul runyan sort of chuckle, if you know what i mean).

i can not get off of the new outkast video/song.
we recorded the video and i keep watching it--so quality!
i'm usually not like this, but it's so fresh and strange and catchy, i can't get enough.
i feel like matt!

speaking of that guy, he was the hot topic in speech therapy today!
cutie kid: do you have a boyfriend?
me: no, but i do have a husband.
kid: MISTER edwards???

i began laughing hysterically since i've never heard anyone call matt "mr. edwards". so strange.
dad, do you remember when matt and i were just friends and i tried to call you dr. edwards? you laughed and told me to call you bruce. i'm glad i call you dad now!

speaking of titles, our weirdo chiropractor said the stupidest thing today and i pulled off the most perfect slam of my life (it probably doesn't seem like it in writing, but trust me, it was perfect!):
he was blabbering something about going by "dr. joe" and saying something like, "yeah, i like getting mail addressed to 'dr.' joe dzendzel. (pause) that's a little pretentious (laughs)." (side note: he is completely pretentious in all aspects!!!)
matt and i smile politely and inside have the usual million comments that we won't let out until we get in the car.
then he starts up again, "yeah, but it does tick me off when my aunt writes me letters and addresses them to "mr." joe dzendzel."
he looks at me to get my nod of agreement.
and i say, "now THAT'S pretentious!"
he laughed and i didn't feel horrible for letting the truth come flinging out of my mouth.
matt shook his head in utter disbelief (and admiration, i like to think-heehee!)
but come on, she's your AUNT, guy! NO ONE should have to call you dr. unless you ARE their doctor!!!
the end of that rant!

a fun thing is that my school has a brand new library and the librarian is getting rid of a ton of books--for free!
i picked out three big boxes. some stuff is really good, too! another narnia set, a bunch of madeline l'engle books, the pippi longstocking series (my childhood favorites), mrs. piggle wiggle, some roald dahl, tolkien, and some random things. but i was expecting it to just be like encyclopedias from the 70's, so such a great surprise and all for FREE!!! so i've been reading some fun books and laughing and remembering fun things. did anyone ever read "mr. popper's penguins"? such a great book! justy, you might recognize some of the stuff. i know i can't use a lot of this stuff right now, but i always am getting excited to read these things with my own kids someday. that's how i justify any book purchase i make for school--because i know i'm going to be keeping them for my own kids (and secretly, me--i get such a kick out of some of these things).

time for more top ten lists, people.
top ten things i'm listening to right now...
1. uh, outkast's "hey ya"
2. ken stringfellow
3. denison witmer
4. jack johnson (i wasn't into him at first, but i'm addicted now, mare!)
5. apples in stereo
6. rooney
7. saves the day's new one (it sounds like wheatus at first)
8. cush (as usual)
9. wayne everett
10. brand new

mare, that's so funny about the cardigans, right before you started posting about that i was in the custodian's supply room and he had the radio going. we started chatting about good 80s music and he brought up the cardigans--apparently a big fan. so if you get a chance could you burn me a copy of your faves or just bring at thanksgiving so we can rip it?

matt is totally knocked out right now.
he fell asleep right after dinner and was all disoriented.
he was all, "why am i so tired?"
i told him i put a sleeping pill in his carne asada quesadilla and he actually believed me!
what a grog!!!

michelle--yay! you're back, too! everyone seems to be back from their summer blogging vacations.
i can't believe hannah is going to be here in a couple of weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
she is going to be so beautiful!!!!!!!!
i wish we could be there right when she is born but thankfully it won't be too long after that we get to see her.
also, that is the best story about skyline--i was laughing so hard! besides, i have never had a deluxe burrito there, but skyline chili tastes good on everything (sickly i put it on zucchini the other day--and it was good of course!), so i'm sure it would be allllsome. we'll plan our next visit there around a tuesday, if matt has anything to say about it!

welp,
i'm off to read "pippi goes on board"--so hilarious.
-tracey

the end of a very long day of work.

i probably should have taken the whole day to work on paperwork and stupid stuff, but i NEEDED to see kids. first of all, i have to because they have legally binding documents mandating speech/language services; but most of all, because i finally feel normal when i'm doing that part of my job--the part that i love, the part that energizes me.
so the consequence for that was working on dumb stuff until 6:00 tonight. i know, to normal people, not a long day, but i could have left at 3:30 if i had no work to do.

enough of that blabber!!!

i have my first funny kid's quote of the school year.
drumroll please...

the kids were putting little shapes on paper to show the concepts "same" and "different".
one little (kindergarten) boy was putting little circles within big circles, little squares within big squares, etc.
when asked how those patterns were the same or different, he replied: "these all have babies in their tummies and the other ones have no babies in their tummies!"
yay!

welp, i'm going to make matt some broccoli to help counteract the 4 doughnuts consumed today :)
-tracey


it's getting hard to
breathe in this life
-denison witmer

also, if anyone was interested in hearing about christmas ideas early this year, number one on my list is the christopher guest dvd collection (has guffman, a mighty wind, best in show--around $46-48 online) and it comes out 9/23/03. walmart has an additional $10 mail-in rebate. just a fun fact!
-tracey

did i mention that on our vaca up the coast that everything smelled wonderful due to the thousands of eucalyptus trees planted everywhere? well it did, and everything seemed "so fresh and so clean, clean" --speaking of outkast, WHOA, how about their new sweet and catchy song!?? and hilarious video?? matt and i are so into it right now!!!

today we went to the beach and chilled. i was craving a fountain coke so matt got me one and nothing tastes better than a good fountain coke on the beach!! when we came home i talked to heidi on the phone (michelle and ryan, i can't wait to talk to you about God's blessing for heidi through you guys!!) and made some dinner.

now we just arrived home from the padres/astros game, which was entertaining mostly because of the people sitting around us. number one was these two guys and a girl (and i'm sorry to label them, but they were pretty nerdy) and one of the guys just started unravelling TOILET PAPER from his backpack! we were cracking up! he just unravelled it and then folded it back up--why, guy? if only we could have reached our camera in time. but alas, it was not meant to be.

i'm sorry if this next part offends anyone, but if it does, pretend that you didn't read it. either way, i was inspired by something i saw tonight at the game and have a product idean that could make us rich someday. you know those huge foam fingers that people wave at sporting events? i was thinking about marketing one that people could use in their cars, for when they get angry at other drivers--only you know which finger would be pointing up on these new foam hands... wouldn't that really just put an extra punch in the message??? plus, it would be hilarious to see people using them. anyways, i'm thinking my first seller will be spencer's at the mall...

well, enough of that.
justin, grandpa said that you needed a peace pipe for your new movie--HA! hilarious either way (i mean whether it is true or whether gramps made it up--which is probably the case).
well gang, matt and i are going to watch a movie on the NEW tv in our bedroom--hopefully i can stay awake.
goodnight.
-tracey

happy birthday dad edwards!!!
we love you!!!

two days in a row, people!!!
how's that?

i enjoyed everyone's blogs, mom, mare, justy, matt's new pics...
yeah, justin on the list for your wife, funny but touching, too.
that astros dress is sweet! i can almost picture the kind of girl who would be wearing it!
i can't wait until your wife joins our fun edwards family--every year gets better and better with more people being added to the fam!

i just made a delicious dinner, if i do say so myself!
grilled steak, red potatoes, and broccoli and red wine--so good!
now we're fatly going to circuit city to find a TV for our bedroom.

we have to do it before i fall asleep.
apparently, i'm having difficulty getting acclamated (spelling?) to this new disruption in my previous summer lazy schedule.
i ridiculously conked out last night at 9:30!!!
i haven't gone to bed that early for years!!! maybe even before 5th grade. except for random jet lag type of nights...

also, all of you who are into knowing God, check out oswald chambers "my utmost for his highest".
mare, of course you already do.
that dude has some weird wordage, but concepts are so simple/profound they knock you over sometimes.
one that i love is about hearing only the voice of God when you are surrounded by voices of the world or even well-meaning christians with their own motives. it states, "to discuss spiritual matters with anyone else, WHEN GOD HAS ALREADY SPOKEN, is an impertinence to the Lord."
yikes.

welp, we're off!
love you all and miss you all
-tracey

believe it or not, i'm blogging.
i know half of you have probably stopped checking, since when i actually DO update, it is short and boring.
well, not today.
today i finally have a little bit of time to actually sit down and breathe (or breath, as mare likes to say) for a minute.
august and these few days of september have been so busy!
let's see here,
we had visitors:
-michael and wes
-rachael
-brundage and pals
-heidi and ken
(whew!)
it's getting to the point where matt and i are having to make our own rules about when we can have visitors!!!

it's fun and all, for sure, but it gets to be overwhelming after awhile (thanksgiving visitors, don't be discouraged, we'll be all revved up again by november which will be so fun!). it may be a little crowded in this place, though, and i've never made a turkey before! i'm sort of excited to do that--thankfully, i'll have mom edwards' professional help!

we also bought a condo.
OH MY.
it sounds weird to say that.
the transition has been smooth and this place feels like home already.
we've painted a few rooms and have it set up for the most part.
i'm sure it will feel even more like home after our first mortgage payment...

our vacation was awesome. some of you have probably read matt's blogs about it or seen the pictures.
i wanted to include an amusing story, though...

we were driving up highway 1, (which, for those of you who don't know, snakes up california right along the coast) and it was breathtaking and beautiful. well, we came to some construction signs and saw some workers up ahead. a lady construction worker with a WHITE, PLASTIC COWBOY HAT on was holding a stop sign in our lane, so we stopped. she then proceeded to come over to our window and give us a lecture on what was going to be happening: "you're going to be waiting here while the traffic comes through (sidenote: oh, which turned out to be one car), then i will remove the cones from this lane, then i will motion you through and you will drive slowly to the other side." pretty unneccessary (are there too many letters in that word?).

after we were through the scene, matt and i started saying things like, "then you will put your hand on the stick shift and your left foot on the clutch..." "your hands will be on the steering wheel as your foot presses the gas pedal"
"then you will inhale..."
so amusing and we had a chuckle. and now you can. or maybe you had to be there.

the vacation was so relaxing but also some work of hiking and lugging our gear to different sites (well worth the pain)!
matt was absolutely a psycho about his masterpieces, the campfires.
which were perfect, by the way.
the obsession level was just a smidge high, though.
san francisco was great, as usual, and i got over the rhine's new cd from amoeba records.
we were sort of in a culture shock when we got to san fran and amoeba was one of the first places we went. and even matt had to say, "let's get out of here, there are too many people in here!". we were just so used to seeing only each other and maybe a few other people for the past week. so needless to say, we were totally overstimulated and freaked out. maybe a little something like casey was feeling after alaska...

oh yeah, school started, too. the night before i was like, "i can't believe i have to get up and go to WORK tomorrow!" but as soon as i got there, i thought, "oh yeah! i forgot how much i love my job!" so i'm okay with it. but there is a huge transition period of being a tired face all the time! but my quotes from kids will now be back up and running, so hopefully we'll get some entertaining ones this year...

oh, and ha ha about the ben/brad blog you jerks! i was saying how funny i thought ben's was, and matt acted like i was an idiot, and then had to post it for the public to see. and mary made the mistake of commenting on it, so i feel the strong need to remind her of her statement about the justinabambina blog: "it's so crazy that there's actually a girl out there who is like justin!" yeah, thought we all forgot about that one, huh? :)

also, why in the world is your car registration so expensive, mare? that stinks! ours was $73, and i thought THAT was annoying.

dad, your birthday is in 2 days! yay! what are you going to do?

also, i'm a little weirded out by this talk of cleveland, matt edwards. folks, please know that is in the DISTANT future, if at all. nothing is more depressing than thinking about having to leave the place of our dreams.
it's just that we had such a great time with some of our best friends in the world, heidi and ken (who want to live in cleveland). and heid and i always daydream about living near each other and being able to be at each other's houses every day. the boys are gamers for it, too, which is so great. i think that was one of the best parts of our visit with those peeps, was that heidi and i were in our own world, just chatting and talking and laughing, and the boys were doing the same, without us having to pay attention to them or make sure they were okay. just like me and heid, our husbands became instant friends in a way that only God could arrange.

welp, i must be moving on.
matt and i have an appointment at the chiroblabber's.
then to the farmer's market.
then a relaxing time in the jacuzzi (the complex's jacuzzi, we haven't had time to figure ours out yet), hopefully.
and maybe some ice cream.
sounds like a good night.

it's been real, people!
-tracey

lately i've been feeling
like you'll never know
if you don't mark the way back
the further you'll go
-denison witmer

we're back from a perfect vacation!
we had so much fun and saw such incredible beauty.
and now we're glad to be home.

it's official, the condo is ours!
so now i can finally celebrate and get excited and emotionally attached!!!!
we're going over there tonight with a bottle of champagne so we can toast to our very first house...

and now i'm going to have home depot on the brain (all that watching of trading spaces gets me so excited to make some inexpensive renovations to our new place).
bye
tracey

man, it's been awhile!
here i am again--a lot has happened since i last blogged.
rachael was supposed to be in san diego last weekend but due to a fire in one of the detroit airport terminals, she missed her flight. she was able to make it in on tuesday and we packed a lot of stuff in and had a lot of fun. matt and i had a great, relaxing weekend alone, which we spent up in encinitas, at our favorite san elijo state beach.

i picked up my bridesmaid dress for kevin and emily's wedding! yay! i can't remember if i told you which one i ended up getting, em, but it's the one that is sleeveless, fitted and has a high neckline. it also came with an organza wrap--do you want me to wear it or no?
congratulations kevin, on your first teaching job--you will be such an excellent teacher!!!

and it is official--we just purchased airline tickets with vouchers (compliments of ryan and michelle!) for our friends heidi and ken, who will be coming to visit over labor day weekend.

speaking of official--well, this is almost official, i guess. we had our final walk-through for our house and will be closing on it either tonight or tomorrow--yay! so if all goes well, we will be proud homeowners within 30 hours. i took a stroll through home depot today--man, they have everything! it got me really excited for making fun home improvements--which we don't really need to do with this place, it really is actually quite nice. but it will be fun to finally have some COLOR on the walls! i've been watching "trading spaces" and "while you were out" to get some good ideas. dad good, i'll also need to get some carpentry and light fixture tips from you! this house finding process has been so fun and really not stressful at all (thanks to the Lord). we had such a great realtor, who we really trusted and who was agressive in getting what we wanted and went above and beyond what he had to do. we probably won't actually move in until the weekend of august 22nd, just due to our vacation and more visitors (whew!). but that gives me time to get in there and paint some walls without having to move or cover any furniture, so it works out.

we'll be leaving for our vacation on sunday (matt deserves a break--he's been working so hard!)
mare, you requested our itinerary, so here goes (the rest of you may or may not be interested):

sunday, aug 10th--point mugu state park (just north of malibu)
monday, aug 11th--montana de oro state park, (west of san luis obispo)
tuesday, aug 12th--andrew molera state park, big sur
wednesday, aug 13th--big sur again
thursday, aug 14th--manresa state beach, santa cruz
fri and sat--san francisco
drive home sunday or monday
yay!
the end

tracey

alright, michelle and emily making your lists! yeah!

i'm going to add to my list now, you guys have reminded me of some things, so i'm going single white female and copying you on some things!

more things that make me happy:
-ryan's floppy lips, too!
-the song, "in which hand is the candy corn?"
-matt's ears (they're so perfect and smooth! before we were dating, i asked him if i could hold on to one and he let me!!! not only that, he requested it later!)
-waking up early and drinking vanilla coffee on the quiet beach
-seeing my grammy and granddad be in love after 60 years
-on that note, waking up at myrtle beach and seeing grammy and granddad sitting in the same chair, holding hands, looking at the ocean before anyone else was awake
-along the same vein--coming back from the beach at hilton head and catching grammy and granddad playing basketball by themselves in the pool--
you two make us all happy!!!

i'm the only one up (i couldn't fall back asleep after matt's first alarm went off). i think the boys are leaving sometime this morning and heading off for the grand canyon. and, inspired by my list, i'm going to get some coffee and head down to ocean beach. i love to see it change throughout the day, quiet and peaceful in the morning, fun and people everywhere during the day, and then quiet and cozy at night (especially with a campfire!).

i spent the day yesterday in encinitas, our favorite place (maybe mary's, too?) and took a picnic to the beach, read a good book, and went into a couple of surf stores. i may do it again today! also, i'm going to see if home depot is offering any free classes, now that i'm going to be a homeowner!!!

have a great day!
tracey

how is it wednesday night already???
michael and wesley arrived on monday around 3 or so.
we played some major games of yahtzee (michael is now sharing the yahtzee box of shame with michelle good--don't worry michelle, you still have the lowest score!!!) and the guys have just been chilling around the apt, on the beach, and at some choice skate spots here in point loma.

i have been living up my summer vacation, as usual, come on now, people, if you can't guess where i've been for the past three days, then you have a serious problem!!! i've been at the beach, of course! and i've been running on sunset cliffs and eating turkey sandwiches for lunch! it's the best summer ever! if only this could be a lifelong time of not working!!! ha! i know it is bad news when i'm dreaming about work and how i'm going to work each child into my schedule. but enough about that, we have more than a whole month until that becomes reality!

well, the condo thing looks like its going to work out. things are drying out, but it's taking longer than our realtor expected--not a big deal to us, since we have this apt until aug 31st, and it only saves us money to have our closing delayed. it seems like after we get back from our vacation (aug 17th) we will be signing the final papers and getting the keys. yay! so everyone can come and visit us in our new place! we just sent our landlord

i just had a nice chat with mom edwards on the phone tonight. it sounds like mom and dad are replacing all the edwards kids (who have left them) with a brand new tanzanian person! it seems like whenever matt and i think of calling home it's too late and our family/friends are in bed already. speaking of which, emily--i got your message and you're probably in bed now, too! unless you're having another crazy night like you were the other night. by the way, i'm praying for both you and kevin and your future jobs--they're yours--you guys deserve them.

i really like norah jones, i must say. such calming music (grammy, i think you would like her, actually) and she really is talented--i don't care whatever anyone else says.

and now, a (partial) list of things i like:
-yelling the word "yahtzee!"
-when matt gave me a tiny flower to wear in my hair
-seeing two dogs rolling around in the grass, wiggling and scratching their backs
-eating french bread and brie with a good glass of wine
-getting home after a good, hard run and collapsing on the floor
-the best feeling in the world: warm sand under my body and the sound of the ocean--why do i never tire of this?

this list will be updated and i encourage anyone who reads this to also make a (partial, continually updating) list of things he/she likes...
the end
tracey