Well, the last year has been a busy one. As new homeowners, Brad and I are learning that settling in requires more than unpacking. With job changes, busy schedules and an increasing family it’s been quite the year.
Bradley has changed projects here in St. Louis. From Anheuser-Busch (AB), he has begun working with The Federal Reserve on a couple of new financial systems for the US Treasury Department. Adding to his already busy schedule, he is traveling every few weeks. This past Febrauary he's been gone a few days every week. The project is going well and the team recently had a dinner get together. Of course, we were the babies of the bunch, however, he works with great people who may also be great friends.
Krislyn began working with The File Room this past year. Unfortunately, delays in thesis work and terrible commute times led to an early retirement. Now staying at home, she is throwing herself into writing the final chapters of her thesis and caring for her growing family. In early February she turned 25 and is feeling rather old.
Growing family…? Yes, since moving to St. Louis with our little darling Oliver (a temperamental tabby), we’ve added Zoë (a curious calico), Charlie (a beagle/spaniel mix, AKA Houdini), and Samantha (a shy whippet mix). The pets have been enjoying the brief spring weather. Our cats have tried to venture beyond the deck, but so far we've been able to keep that to a minimum. The dogs are running crazy in the backyard, even playing with our little neighbors. So, between running after a dog to recover the stolen remote control and coaxing a cat down from the top of the entertainment center, it’s been busy.
March came in like a lamb and went out like a lion for the Coons family. The month started off slowly with Brad traveling weekly for the Fed. Meanwhile, Kris was chugging away at her thesis. Charlie had his yearly check-up and is weighing in at a whopping 31 lbs--it looks like more exercise and a few less rawhides will be in his summer plans. Samantha came along for a Bordatella vacination, so she could join Charlie at Doggie DayCamp and stay at the kennel when the humans go on vacation.
Beyond business travel, not much else has been going on for Brad, though he is now keeping his golf clubs in the trunk of his car just in case he wants to play, or as he puts it "in case there's a game going on".
Krislyn just couldn't stay home for long, even with a thesis deadline hanging over her head...back to work, literally, for Kris. She took a temporary position with Sears for the summer. Sears department store is remodeling their Chesterfield location (about thirty minutes from the house) and needed someone in the Construction Department to keep the books. It's standard office work, just with a construction angle, so she's learning a lot about fixutres, floorplans, remodeling and of course, Sears. The good news on the thesis front is that the first full draft is in the professors hands. Keep your fingers crossed for quick commentary and we might be out of there by August.
April went fast in the Coons house. Krislyn was hard at work with her thesis and new job. Now that things have settled in with job, the focus is back to the thesis, which is rapidly nearing a completed draft. Besides work, work and more work, she has found a Yoga studio fairly close to home and has just enrolled in a belly-dancing class. A tennis league has yet to be found, but there may be an occasional match with the neighbor next door.
Brad has actually been home for a few weeks this past month. Without as much travel for work, he's been catching up at the office and hosting some visits from his D.C. counterparts who have come into town. Beyond work, Brad attempted to venture out into the heart of St. Louis with some friends, in search of new and interesting things to do. Unfortunately, he returned sadly with little more than a trip to the Eat Rite diner, and 3 mile walk to the Planetarium, which turned out to be closed.
The Easter holiday was spent with Krislyn's family, hosted this year by her aunt Connie and uncle Bob. Much food and fun was had by all, and the family's budding artist--Krislyn's cousin Aaron--sent them home with a signed rendering of Krislyn's new car.
To finish out the month, Kris and Brad's three year wedding anniversary was celebrated on April 28th! They both celebrated with a day off of work, midweek, and enjoyed attempting to find each other a gift made out of leather, per gift-giving tradition.
May was quite a busy month for the Coons family, with plenty of birthdays, anniversaries, weddings...you name it, chances are they celebrated it!
Bradley turned a whopping 28 (ouch) in early May. He was surpised with a small family gathering and dinner out. The big gift of the event was a power washer. He's actually looking forward to cleaning the cars, windows and the garage/driveway once the rain stops. Lately he's been home without traveling, however, his days are getting longer and he's having to bring work home with him on the weekends.
Mother's Day was another gathering, not only for Krislyn's mom, Evelyn, but also to celebrate her brother Scott's 22nd birthday. Again, it was small and ended with dinner out. Afterwards, Brad and Scott were holed up assembling a new computer with parts Scott received for his birthday--those two have since been together almost every weekend trying to get the darn thing up and running.
Unfortunately, shortly after the celebrations died down, Krislyn was rushed to the hospital with acute appendicitis. She spent the rest of the week in the hospital and the following week recovering at home. With Krislyn out of commission, she and Brad were unable to attend a long-time friend's wedding (Congrats to Andrea and Dan!). The dogs were thrilled, however, to to spend an entire week at Day Camp while Krislyn was mending and Brad was at work. Krislyn is now back to work, slow on the stairs, but healing nicely. She won't be back to belly-dancing or yoga for the next six weeks, and is getting rather restless about taking it easy.
The Memorial Day holiday was a lazy one, relaxing and doing projects around the house. Unfortunately, the rain hasn't let up, so Brad still hasn't gotten to play with his new toy, but he did have the privelege of painting the master bathroom. With so much going on, the long weekend was greately anticipated and welcomed.
Happy Birthday to: Ken, Brad, Ken, Scott, Meaghan, Kerrie, Greg, Krista, Andrea and Connie!
Congratulation to: Andrea and Dan, and Bret and Heidi!
Good Luck and Happy Unpacking to:Brian and Lacy!
June was a slow month for the Coons family, with mostly hot and humid St. Louis weather. Brad went to visit friends and family in Wisconsin early in the month. Much fun was had running from house to house--power visiting you might say. He hopes to visit again soon, though a trip is definately planned for September for his friend, Scott's wedding reception.
Krislyn, unable to join in the northern festivities, enjoyed a quiet weekend at home with the pets. Finally up and about after her surgery, she's back to yoga and preparing for her editorial review for her thesis.
July started out with a bang in High Ridge, very literally! The July 3rd party was a great time, with folks from Milwaukee and Chicago joining those from closer to home. Food, drinks and fun were had by all, and the fireworks display that wrapped things up was a big hit, even with the neighbors who came out to watch. Nothing was damaged, no fires were started and everyone left with as many fingers as they brought with them, so the event was a smashing success!
The rest of July was very busy, both with Brad at work and Krislyn with her thesis. Brad is nearing a first release of one of the new systems, so he's been putting in some extra long hours. Krislyn has been working feverishly to prepare for thesis reviews, and the animals were busy celebrating Samantha turning 2 years old!
Besides work and thesis, projects around the house have been popping up. Things started out with a simple project to tile the backspash in the kitchen, and quickly turned into a more extensive project with lighting, a range hood and a hole in the side of the house (for the vent, not an accident). Things are finally beginning to wrap up before the next project begins.
Happy Birthday to: Christiana, Brianna and Arcangela
Happy Anniversary to: Tara & Mitko, Karl & Missy, Melanie & Peter, Andrea & Michael, Marcie & Josh, Greg & Kerrie, Jim & Joan and Brian & Julie
Congrats to: Brian, Julie and new baby Reese
August went by very fast at the Coons' household. Summer is nearly gone and Fall is on it's way. Brad has been busy with the new phase of his project--long hours and more travel to come, but it's moving along well and promises to go better than Phase 1. He is really looking forward to Labor Day weekend.
Krislyn is back to job hunting now that summer is coming to a close. Sears' remodel is finishing up and she's moving on. The thesis review went well, but she's still writing and trying to shore up some holes before the final acceptance. Just this past week she had a surprise visit from Meaghan and Dan, all the way from Boston. They were just passing through on their way to Milwaukee. All had a nice dinner out on "The Hill" (St. Louis' Italian neighborhood) and caught up on what's been going on. Krislyn and Brad are hoping to make a trip to Boston soon.
The pets are doing well. Charlie has been diagnosed with Idiopathic Epilepsy (which means he has it, but nobody knows why). Test results show him to be very healthy, but also revealed no cause for the seizures. He has since been getting a bit closer of a watch and is on a new diet, but otherwise is a happy, healthy pup. Oliver just turned 3 years old! The little monster still rules the house as only a 16lb. king cat can do.
Happy Birthday to: Kaylee and Tara
Well, the site has not recently been kept up-to-date, much to the dismay of the site's most active guestbook user "Captain Paul", but there is plenty of new from the last few months:
Starting with September - The Labor Day weekend was a great respite before the craziness began. Lazy time at home was had, along with a visit to Krislyn's grandmother's. The following weekend Brad's cousins, Amber and Dave, came to visit. The weekend was packed with fun--a trip to The City Museum left everyone tired and bruised from climbing, sliding and running through the adult playground. Of course, the next morning all crawled out of bed with aching muscles. The boys grumbled through a round of golf, while the girls headed for yoga and a spa day. The visit ended with a tour of Meramec Caverns, complete with cranky guide and screaming baby.
Then came a rash of parties... Krislyn's cousin, Krista, was married in her home town of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, so the whole family traveled up to wish Krista and Bob well. Brad talked the night away with Uncle Randy's boss' boss, while Kris mingled with family and hit the dance floor. After returning to the States, Brad headed to Wisconsin for friend's, Scott and Sara's, wedding along with some of his famous power visiting. Back to Wisconsin the following weekend, he met up with a few more friends and dropped in for friend's, Paul and Heather's, housewarming party. As soon as Brad returned home, it was off to the Canine Carnival. Charlie and Samantha romped with other dogs, played silly games for treats and more. The highlight was the speedway, where Charlie ran and amazing 14 miles per hour, while Sami showed off and took a leizurely jog at 17 miles per hour. Afterwards, we ran off to Highland, Illinois to celebrate cousin Morgan's birthday and visit Krislyn's family.
Now on to October... Krislyn started a new career in mid-October. While working with a recruiter, Krislyn took a position with Drury Development, a real estate division of Drury Inns. She's working as an accountant in Construction Payables, Tenant Payables and Tenant Audits. Still working on her thesis, she's quite busy at work, at home and of course, at Yoga practice.
Halloween weekend was cold and rainy in St. Louis. There was a nice opportunity to catch up with some of Krislyn's friends at Rachel and Randy's wedding, and though the trick-or-treaters were out full force there was plenty of candy left over. Brad sat on the porch in the rain passing out candy, while the neighbor kids came by twice dressed as Cinderella and the Red Power Ranger, just in case they weren't recognized the first time.
And finally to November... November was surprisingly a quiet month with some emotional ups and downs. Early this month, Brad's Uncle Dan passed away peacefully after a long struggle with paralysis and the amazing care, love and patience of his wife, Shirley. Uncle Dan will be missed greatly by all. Brad enjoyed many talks with his uncle and kept in touch through emails, cards and phone calls as often as possible. As unfortunate as death is in the circle of life, the blessing of birth often follows. Krislyn's cousins, Bret and Heidi, welcomed into the world two beautiful little girls, Paige and Kelsey. The twins (and Mom!) are doing well and will be coming home shortly. Of course, the family is anxious to meet them!
Thanksgiving was very quiet at Krislyn's gramdmother's this year. Much of the family was away visiting other relatives for the holiday, but that didn't stop this bunch from digging into a wonderful dinner and pulling names for a Christmas gift exchange. Unfortunately, do to a lack of planning, a traditional second Thanksgiving birthday dinner for Krislyn's mother's birthday was not held, but hopefully next year all will be better prepared. Krislyn and Brad did manage to have a quiet, miniature Thanksgiving dinner at home that Saturday, while poor Charlie waited eagerly to celebrate his 2nd birthday, being caught eying the turkey a couple of times.
Everyone in the Coons' household is looking forward to an action packed, busy December, and sends a Happy Holidays wish to all their friends and family!
Happy Birthday to: Morgan, Bret, Jim, Nancy, Simone, Joe, Paige & Kelsey, and Mom
Happy Anniversary to: Bret & Heidi, Mike & Theresa, and Rick & Venessa
Congratulations to: Krista & Bob, Scott & Sara, Paul & Heather, Rachel & Randy, and Bret & Heidi
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