Long Lost Bells

Hey Everyone!

Grandma and Grandpa Giddings have been reminding me about once a week that we've not posted here in a while, and they are totally right!  Things have been rolling along - we're getting everything unpacked in the house but every time we empty a box, Mom and Dad send another along from their house.  We've been using the "one thing a day" principle to get things done, and that seems to be working.

I'm trying to remember all the things that we've done in the last month.  Last weekend we had our first houseguests; Sarah and LaWanna and their boys Samuel (not Sam OR Sammy!) and Boots.  They came into town for Melissa Giddings and Dan Whittaker's wedding, which was beautiful and fun!

A few weekends ago we met some of our college friends outside of Pittsburg for camping and a Zombie 5K.    Nate has been doing the "Couch to 5K" program this summer, and was really excited about the race.  It turned out the be very different from a traditional 5K, mostly because the runners were being chased by Zombies throughout the race.  He said that they would run like hell in large groups through the Zombie sections, then walk in the in-betweens.  There were various obstacles on the path like a large slip-and-slide down what seemed like half a mountain, and an army crawl under an electric fence.  Nate swears that it was fun.  Check out the before and after:

Life is never calm around the Bell household.  We have a litter of almost 5 week old Redbone Hound puppies.  They came from Ingham County Animal Control, where they don't have the space to keep pregnant females or girls with litters, and they are rarely able to find a foster that is willing to take the whole group, so ultra-pregnant Saffron came to us to have her babies.  She and her brood (Oregano, Tarragon, Coriander and Basil) are doing great out in the barn.

Next week we are heading up to fish Salmon at Grandma and Grandpa Noel's cabin, which is going to be a lot of fun!  Look out for fishy photos soon.

-Justine & Nate