Lightning doesn't strike the same spot twice.

At least, I hope that statement is true, because that means we're safe!!

Monday night, big storms rolled through Lawrence right at my bedtime - which translates to just around the time the weather comes on during the 10:00 news. (10:19 for those weather nerds out there that have to know!)

I was reading in bed, Jeremy was finishing up an email, and all of a sudden... BOOM! The loudest thunder that either of us have ever heard was accompanied by a crazily bright lightning strike. The TVs both turned off and I paused for a second to figure out just what exactly had happened, since my bedside lamp was still on. Right about then, Jeremy hollered up to see if I was ok, and I got up to check things out. Several things were dark, but some things were still working, and since the storm was still going we decided to wait until morning to reset the fuses.

The next morning, I discovered that after resetting the fuse box, things still weren't as they should be. The damage - the upstairs bedroom TV, the old desktop PC, our cable modem, our garage door opener, and our air conditioner thermostat control were all COMPLETELY FRIED. We also lost cable, internet, and alarm service. Yes, we had surge protectors... they just weren't too effective this time!

So where did the lightning hit? Your guess is as good as ours. A tree across the street to our right was absolutely destroyed, so that was our first guess, but the energy would have had to cross Crestline Drive, which isn't impossible but is a little unlikely. The ground is pretty saturated, so it might have traveled by some standing water. Our neighbors that we share a wall with theorized that it hit the TV dish (both condos have one, neither of us use it, but I digress), and then it grounded from there. This makes some sense since everything that went dead was on that side of the house... but there's no burn marks or other tell-tale signs of a strike there. Maybe it just hit the ground in our yard - but again, no burn marks and why would it hit the ground when there's so many trees and roofs nearby to hit? I guess we'll never know for sure.

We're back online today (although not wireless, which is mildly annoying) and we have A/C, which is awesome since it's 96 or so today and very humid. As for the rest, I guess we'll be talking to USAA.

Introducing Will!

As I alluded to in the previous entry, Baby Banz is here!!

William Andrew Banz was born June 8 at 1:53 a.m. He was 6 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long. Proud parents are our good friends Julia and Bryan. William's arrival was a bit of a surprise - he wasn't due for another three weeks! He's doing really well and so are Mommy and Daddy.

William Andrew Banz

Will and Mommy Julia - just about 8 hours after Will was born!

Julie holding Will

Keri and Will

Jeremy and Will

Will, you have a super Mommy and Daddy and a great group of their friends ready to cheer you on as you grow up! Welcome to the world, little man!

A great weekend for a BBQ

We had a BBQ over at Julia and Brian's house on Friday. It was a beautiful evening! The food was all delicious, and there was enough to feed about twice as many people as we had (which is a great problem to have). We had lots of fun visiting with everyone and playing washers.

And, expect another update from me very soon - these pictures of a very pregnant Julia are already out of date! :)

You know you haven't blogged in a while when...

your husband who never reads the blog mentions that you haven't updated it. May was crazy to say the least! As always, it was the crazy busiest month at work, and this year we had lots of fun things too, so when I wasn't with friends or family or at work, I was sleeping! :) Here's what's been going on since I last blogged.

I'm now back at Jazzercise! My foot has healed enough that I can participate in most of each class. I still can't stand on tip toe, and my balance isn't awesome... but with some low-impact mixed in, I'm there the whole time. This has been a great thing for my mood and sanity, and for my health too - since being back the last four weeks, I've already lost 4.5 pounds, which should tell you just how flabby I'd gotten sitting around the house. Crazy!

Jeremy's cousin Alissa had her baby shower in Wichita over Mother's Day weekend. It was great to see his aunts and cousins at the shower, and then we got to see the rest of Jeremy's family during the trip as well. It was nice to see his mom on Mother's Day!

Alissa and the hostesses Leslie and Sheila

Alissa opening presents

Uncle Jeremy and Natalie sporting their hair bows

Jeremy and I took our first trip to see the "New K" this month as well. The remodeled stadium was beautiful! There's a carousel, mini-golf, tons of kids games, and lots of new features and amenities. The Royals lost, as always it seems, but we still had a great time.

Aren't we cute?

The new scoreboard

Jeremy with his childhood hero George Brett

the new carousel

Jeremy put on his rally cap to help. Too bad it wasn't successful!

Jeremy participated in the CLAS Master's Hooding Ceremony at KU during graduation weekend. He technically completed the requirements in February, but KU only grants degrees three times a year, so he's a May graduate. We had a wonderful time at the hooding and then continued to celebrate with a party at the Urban's home. Jeremy's family and mine all came into town to celebrate his accomplishment.

Jeremy receiving his hood from Dr. Earle

Jeremy and Dr. Earle

Jeremy and Keri

Jeremy with his dad, brother Adam, and sister Ariane

Jeremy with Aunt Marcy, Grandma, and Grandpa

Jeremy, Keri, my grandparents, my sister Kristi, and Natalie

Jeremy with his mom, brother, sister, and Natalie

Jeremy with my mom and a goofy Natalie!

Jeremy with Baby Jay and Natalie

We got a picture like this at the BA graduation as well, and hope to get another one at the Ph.D. graduation. Jeremy jokes that if Natalie chooses to go to KU, she'll have to hold him for a picture with a Jayhawk when she graduates. We also got a ton of pics with Natalie and the Jayhawk statue in front of the Union, but I didn't post those here because of space (so family, let me know if you want them!).

Yum! Food at the Urban's house

Natalie is telling Jeremy what to color, while tackling him. It was too funny!

Jeremy with fellow history graduate students Jason, Steven, Christine, and Karl. Jason and Steven both received their M.A.'s this semester, and Christine received her Ph.D. last fall but participated in all of the festivities since KU doesn't have a fall graduation. Karl is working on his Ph.D. at KU and is engaged to Christine.

A glimpse of the future?

Adam is now stationed in Omaha, NE, and we were fortunate to have him come for another visit at the beginning of Memorial Day weekend. He and Jeremy played Guitar Hero non-stop while I was at work. I did my best to catch up when I got home!

I've also been enjoying the Wii Fit - most fun game EVER.

This past weekend, we threw Julia a baby shower. She's due in just 4 weeks (or maybe even less by now!). She is quite possibly the cutest pregnant gal there ever was - no offense to all the rest of my friends that are pregnant, but just look at her! :) We had a great time and we can't wait to meet "Mercedes" or "Rubber" very soon!

Megan made the cakes - they say Baby Banz. They were so cute and tasted so good!

Onesie clothesline

Diaper wreath

Julia with hostesses Megan, Julie, and Keri

Shannon's son Tyler and I were having a little too much fun with my camera

Whew! It was a busy month!


As June begins, we're enjoying some time off. Jeremy and I rarely have time where we both have nothing scheduled, so we're enjoying spending time together doing random things around town. The biggest excitement in our lives this week is that we're house sitting/ cat nannying for a friend. Gobo is a hilarious cat who is on a diet, and is therefore hungry ALL THE TIME. He loves attention, especially when it's followed by walking to the kitchen counter to scoop out his meal. It's been fun hanging out with him (and even more fun when I haven't forgotten my Allegra!).

The other big news is that there's only 26 days left until we go to Britain!! We're super excited, and are starting to tackle all of the random little tasks that come with being out of the country for a month.