The Stewart Family

Kitchen Update 5-15-2009

The view from the old living room

The new laundry room

the view from the outside

And Kimber sleeps through it all......

So today they knocked out the outside walls and gutted the laundry room. They moved my washer and dryer and refrigerator into the old living room. So I have a makeshift laundry/kitchen for the time being. Monday they will be here to start cutting concrete up outside.

Our new Puppy 5-15-09

Well we finally got her. She is so adorable. I think she is doing pretty well considering everything that is going on here. She slept downstairs with Kevin last night because she wasn't having nothing to do with her kennell. She hated it. So when I came downstairs this morning Kevin said he thought she did really well last night since she only peed once and it was in the room he was sleeping in. Then I walked into the office where she had left me a present. I went back to Kevin and said she didn't do as well as he thought. As for the other dogs. Delta just wants to play with her. Since Kimber is still getting used to them she isn't very playful with them. So Delta just sits and barks at her. Like that is going to make her more playful. As for Bella, well she does NOT want to have anything to do with her. If we put the puppy up near her face she turns her head the other way. If Kimber is by the back door, Bella is on the other side of the backyard. She is not taking well to this new idea. We had a long talk today and I told her the puppy was here to stay and she had better get used to it. I think she is a little pissed off at me now. All and all though Kimber is adjusting well.

Tonight's endeavor 5-14-2009

Since we arent really busy right now.... we thought that we would complicate things a little bit..... so we are getting ready to leave and go and pick up our new puppy "Kimber". Poor thing is going to think that we live in a small crap hole. I am sure she will get plenty of love to make up for the very small house.....

These pictures of her are from April 25th..... So I am sure she's a lot bigger now. I can't wait to go and get her.......I am VERY sure that Bella and Delta are not so excited. They haven't been real talkative on the subject yet. They have no idea the hell that is about to ensue in their world!!!!

And the Demo begins..... 5-14-2009

Kitchen cabinets being taken out....

Framing the "fake" wall

The new "fake" wall

The view from the laundry room looking into the kitchen area that is existing without walls or cabinets

Looking into the kitchen from the new door in the living room (don't worry it's not staying)

Well I left for the gym and I kitchen this morning. I came back to disaster..... They are quick. If only it went back up as quickly as it came down. I still have outside walls for today but I think tomorrow that will be different.

Kitchen Expansion begins 5-13-2009

I think were all packed up!!!!

EGHS Soccer Banquet 5-6-2009

Chelsea Handler Concert 5-1-2009

Ok...so it was a good concert....but not a great concert.... It was only like an hour and a half long.... Not really worth it but again I think it was worth seeing her once!!!!

Carly's Knees Updated 4-30-09

So we just got back from seeing Dr. Nakano. It's good news. She does have a very mild case of Osgood-Schlatter Disease.

(Osgood Schlatters disease is a very common cause of knee pain in children and young athletes. It is a condition where the bony protrusion below the knee (called the tibial tuberosity or tubercle) becomes inflamed, painful and swollen.)

It should go away completely as soon as she finishes growing which should be about another year. So she will continue to have on and off pain throughout that time frame. He told her to continue what she is currently doing to manage the pain and that is pretty much all that she can do. So for now she is completely cleared and as long as she realizes when it hurts to come out of the game, then its all good. So now it's up to Carly. She has a year now to rest it. Until next soccer season!!!!

My New Car 4-24-09

I finally got my new car. It is a 2009 Acura MDX. It is so nice and clean and smells of new car. I love it. It is taking some getting used to driving a bigger car again.

Carly's soccer game vs Valley 4-20-09

Carly scored 3 goals (a hat trick) in this game. She was on fire. I have no idea where the energy came from but it was totally there in this game. we ended up winning 7-0.

Bella and Me tanning 4-19-2009

Kevin thought that Bella needed a little bit of a tan. So he lifted her onto My raft. She was really scared at first but the more that I petted her the better that she did. I did manage to get a few scratches on me from her though. I don't think she is the tanning kind of dog.

Another Tragedy 19 years later 4-18-09

Motorcyclist killed in crash

DUI suspect arrested
By Cameron Macdonald - Citizen Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 2:05 PM PDT
A 33-year-old driver allegedly killed a motorcyclist in a collision in Elk Grove on April 18. Elk Grove police arrested Rebecca Armida Vela of Sacramento on suspicion of murder and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sacramento County coroners identified the victim as 54-year-old Stanley Franklin Spaeth of Sacramento.
The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. near the corner of East Stockton Boulevard and Teresa Way, which is a few blocks away from Elk Grove Regional Park. Police found Vela at the crash site and determined she was intoxicated. Investigators believe that she first sped her 1997 Acura TL car northbound in the southbound lane of East Stockton Boulevard. She then swerved back into the northbound lane where she allegedly rear-ended the motorcyclist who was driving northbound. The impact threw him off his motorcycle and fatally injured him, Elk Grove police spokesperson Christopher Trim reported. Officers later arrested and booked Vela into the Sacramento County Main Jail with no bail. Trim declined to release her photograph to the media since police investigation is ongoing. This is the second fatal auto crash to occur in Elk Grove this month. A 34-year-old driver was killed in a head-on collision outside Pleasant Grove High School on April 9. Elk Grove also experienced two homicide cases during the same night on April 18. A woman was shot to death a few hours later in Laguna during a party shooting incident. Those are the city’s first homicide cases in more than a year since no homicides were reported in Elk Grove last year. Readers with information about the incident can contact the Elk Grove police’s traffic bureau at (916) 478-8131.

This is a little freaky to me.... But 19 years ago today my brother was killed. The headlines read exactly the same as this one does. I had a pretty eerie feeling about this when I heard about this accident. A friend told me that over the weekend that someone had been killed on the frontage road not far from our houses. The more that I found out about it the more eerie of a feeling I got. I opened up the Elk Grove Citizen to read the article and that is when it became apparent of just how eerie it was and why.
Wow, you would think with all the senseless tragedies in this world that someone would think twice about driving drunk. That was not the case in my brothers accident but nonetheless it is still a very important thing to think about. Is it worth someone else's life? My heart goes out to his family. He was a hardworking man just trying to provide for his family. The same way that my brother was.

Rest in peace Joseph William Fischlin and Stanley Franklin Spaeth of Sacramento. Remember that you will never be forgotten!!!!!!

Golden Empire Choir Competition 4-18-09

Carly is the top row 2nd from the right!!!

Carly and the choir class went to Golden Empire Choir Competition. It was actually kind of neat. I sat through one performance before her school. It was neat because they actually critiqued them right then and there. Of course when Carly's school was getting critiqued, she checked out. I look over and she was yawning and looking totally the opposite direction of the critiquer and then she really just started zoning. I was really glad they didn't make them get off the stage right away for fear that Carly would totally fall since she wasn't paying attention. It was pretty funny to see her (the only one not listening) up on stage. I could tell she was mad that this comptetition cut into her Saturday sleep in time. The only good thing about it was that she was actually wearing shoes not slippers this time.

Jeff Dunham Concert 4-16-2009

Jeff and Walter

Ackmed "The Dead Terrorist"

Peanut

More Peanut

For the finale was Bubba J

I got tickets to go to Arco Arena and see Jeff Dunham (a comedian). He is absolutley hilarious. It was so much fun. We went out to dinner before the concert. The show opened with his guitarist (a.k.a. Guitar Guy), he talked and played his guitar for about 1/2 hour. He was hilarious and had so many funny jokes and songs. Then Jeff Dunham came on stage and it was non stop laughing for the rest of the show. 3 hours of nothing but laughing. It was so much fun. Nikki went to his concert in San Jose 2 days later and enjoyed it just as much as we did.

Carly's Soccer Game vs Davis 4-13-09

Easter 4-12-2009

Diane and her new puppy "lily" (sorry if I spelled her name wrong)

Nikki and her wonderful Mom (me)

Kevin "The Master Griller"

Grandma Joyce (who knows what I was doing in the background, whatever it was it wasn't flattering)

Carly and her new friend "Lily"

We had our family over for our traditional BBQ. We had Chicken and Tri Tip and then salads, fruit and then a ton of desserts. It was so very nice to spend time with family. Each year our family seems to grow more and more and I love all the additions to our family. I can't wait for all the summer BBQ's with family.

Elly 4-11-09

Elly.... still the cutest little hamster ever!!!!

The Dogs 4-11-09

Bella has a thing for sitting and staring at the neighbors fence. Either she hears something we don't or she has VIVID memories of when we were putting in the pool and our fence was down so our neighbors would feed her. Poor and Pathetic she really is, sitting and waiting so patiently for the snack to come flying over the fence. When it does SHE'LL be ready!!!!