Tornado Whips North Platte

Sunday, March 18, 2012 was a day that will go down in our (we mean "our" as in Brian and Nina's, in case you weren't sure ;)) history books. These books have yet to be written, but that's a moot point.

WHY is March 18, 2012 going down in our imaginary books, you may be asking...

"hmmm" (disclaimer - this photo is a result from a google image search of "hmm"... hmmm..... lol)

Well... we experienced our first ever *TORNADO WARNING*

(not really what a tornado warning looks like, just an FYI)

Not only was it a Tornado Warning... but the SIRENS (for those of you in CA who have no idea what we're talking about - the first Wednesday of every month the siren goes off to "test it" to see if it's working for situations just like the above mentioned. We have never heard this siren before because Brian works in Brady (23 miles away from North Platte) and Nina can't hear them from her office in town.... but it is a huge siren that sounds for the entire town telling them to basically get to shelter... or else...) were sounding!

**SIREN NOISES** (yeah, that is as creative as this caption gets right now)

So... we headed to our basement!

(actual photo of a part of our basement)

The tornado ended up being approximately 7 blocks away from our house when it was going through our town of North Platte!

Here is an ACTUAL photo of the tornado that went through our town:

(CRAZY!)

Here is a link to a news article about the tornado that hit our town:

http://www.nptelegraph.com/breaking_news/article_0a0bdbe8-7181-11e1-96df-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=image&photo=0

So basically... we were extremely scared... but very happy that we were okay!

Our Dad, however, had this to say about our experience:

"Jason Moore Lay in a ditch and shoot pictures as it passes over...lightweights!!"

(we're still LOL(ing) at this...)


And this is what Nina's work had to say about the experience:
"This person just went through their first ever tornado warning.  (congratulations) - Nina Fleming"
(seriously... good times! :))

Crazy Nebraskan Tornadoes... Gotta love the "Good Life"! 

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

Hello, Hello, Hello!

Welcome back, faithful and dear readers! Time to update, time to share! You may be wondering, why the long stretch between blog posts? Welp, our lives in the last few weeks have been busy!

Our weekends, once a time to sit back and reflect through blog posts on our interesting weeks, have been a time for errands, school work, social work and chores to catch up on. 

So thank you, dear blog reader for waiting for our newest posting!

So here we are, what should we talk about first? How about with our biggest announcement?

That's right, we've sold our first home! Woo! 

Just-a-kidding, how about this? We've bought our first home! Woo!

But of course, you know that already. Old news. Well, how about this? We are completely set up in our new house! Would you like to see some pictures? =]

Taa-daa! If it's not clear through the post already, we've very happy with our house =].

Let's see, what else do we have to update you all on? 

Hmm.....oh yes, this is a good place to update everyone on how Brian is feeling. As some of you know, we've been in and out of the hospital for Brian's health in the last week. 

After a few hospital tests, including a spinal tab (not as fun as it sounds), Brian was not found to be infected with any life threatening or major viruses/bacterium. Woo! He's feeling much better now, after a course of antibiotics, sleep, and fluids. Thank you all for your warm wishes and support!

Well, yet again, our weekend is nearing it's end. Brian & Nina still need to pack Nina's luggage for her five day training in Grand Island. Only a few more short weeks till Nina's training ends. Yay! Brian & Nina can't wait. Nina's going to be a great social worker!

Thank you for checking in with us! 

Until Next Time...

This Weekend- What Didn't We Do?

Hello faithful blog readers! Time to read another update on Brian & Nina's life in Nebraska. Hope this post interests and entertains you. Maybe this will be the highlight of your weekend! So gather your friends, your family, your pets and your plants. It's time to read and enjoy!

So, first off. Check out our weather forecast from Friday:

That's right...blizzard! Our first official winter storm came on Friday. 

Here, take a look at this cool map. Yup, that's us, under the peaceful green color:

Needless to say (but of course, we will say it anyway =)) we got a lot of snow, 8 inches! That's bigger than a Subway sandwich! (Mmmmh...Subway)

Brian woke up early to make an igloo with all of the snow. That's right, an igloo. A big, six foot high, six food wide igloo castle. 

Want to see a picture of Brian's igloo? Well, before you do, just know, about halfway through the igloo building, Brian realized something kind of important:

Building an igloo is impossible. 

Yup, Brian decided to live, not die from exhaustion in a wonderful igloo castle.

So instead, here is a picture of Brian's snowman Dr. Ice in his new ice house.

(That's right, he's got jazz hands).

(His father was a choreographer, his mother was an anime character)

In addition to Dr. Ice, we created little Frosty for the front of our house. (Frosty the Snowman, he's a...oh, you know that song already?)

Actually, we got a little bit snowman crazy. (How many snowmen can you find in this picture?)

With all the snow outside, what did Brian & Nina do to pass the time? How about bake a cake? Maybe even a cake that looks like our brand new house?

 Wow, it looks exactly like our new house! (Okay, maybe we're missing a few details, maybe even a lot of details, but you get the picture yea? Can you see our cute blue Kia in the driveway?)

What? You say we should become professional chefs? Funny you should say that. If you are friends with us on Facebook, you can see our award-winning documentary: Italian Boss. Please watch our show when you get a chance! We'd appreciate it! (We even like comments too =)

What else? Well, in 19 days, we'll have our new house! Woo! We're already looking into different projects we can do to the house. Look at us being crafty homeowners =].

Thanks for checking in!

Until next time...

The Flemings are MOVING...

Hello, Hello!

How's it going?

Is it going well for you?

Oh, that's great!
We're doing great as well, thanks for asking!

So, as the title of this blog post implies,

(Did you just look at what the title is?)

:-)

We are very excited!

You might be saying... wow... I would like some details!

Well... don't worry! Here they come...

Our first home is:

*Approx. 1400 square feet

*3 bedrooms

*1.5 bathrooms

*Detached Garage

*Includes all appliances

*Equipped with hardwood Floors in the Living Room, Dining Room & Kitchen

*Equipped with a living room on the main floor and a living room in the basement

*Everything we could have asked for!

We love our first home!

Would you like to see a picture?

Well, GOOD!

You are in luck!

This is the FRONT of our new home!

The backyard has matching deck that is larger as well as a TON of space for pets and children.

To the left is where the garage is.

Two of the bedrooms are on the main floor as well as the full bathroom.

One bedroom, the 1/2 bathroom, the laundry room, and a second living room is all in the basement!

We are so excited to be purchasing our first home!

Thanks for all of the love and support, friends & family!

Until Next Time...

Back From Their Winter Hiatus...Nina and Brian!

Hello all! We are back! Thank you for waiting as we took a three week hibernation from our much beloved blog. Christmas was a blast with our family and friends. And while it was nice to visit warm California, it was a joy to return back to our beloved Nebraska.

Awwww, Nebraska...

The past few weeks have been full of highs and lows. We want to stop to thank all of your for your love and support through the last few weeks through all that has been going on in our lives.

On a brighter note, in case you haven't heard, Nina has a new job! She is now officially a social worker with the state of Nebraska!

Three cheers for Nina!

Upon accepting this new job, Nina won a free, four month training period in North Platte, Lincoln, and Omaha! Lucky Nina!

We are so proud of you!

(the we here must be Brian & this omniscient third person narrator of sorts. Strange...)

Anything else to report? Hmmm...Brian's work is still going great. One more semester to go before summer vacation! (But who's counting?) 

The weather here has been...actually, according to the local folk, this winter has been "..the mildest winter since 1931" (no joke, at least two different people have told us that exact date). So, instead of giving you all, our readers, great pictures of the ice, snow, sleet, and freezing rain we usually report, here is a picture of the forecast for the next week.

Sun. Lots and lots of sun. Today was 71 degrees (about 60 degrees warmer than what it usually is this time of year). 

That's all for this update! So stay tuned readers! we are  officially back to composing our ecclectic weekly blog updates from our quant little life on the prairie. 

This is Brian & Nina sayin'-

"Until next time!"

"Twas Four Nights Before Christmas..."

We just whipped this up to spread some holiday cheer (Nebraska style). Hope you enjoy!

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

Everyone was sleeping, except me and my pet mouse.

The stockings were hung on the deer heads’ with care,

But I secretly knew my parents would put my gifts in there.

My brother and sister were jumping on their beds,

“Be quiet and go to sleep!” my parents then said.

Mom in her night gown, dad in his sweats,

Were still up late, feeding our pets.

When outside, a gunshot was heard,

I paused my Ipod, thinking someone had shot a bird.

I got up from my bed to see what was the matter,

Peered through the window and saw someone on a ladder.

The moon was real bright, and obstructed my view,

There was someone outside, but who?

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a sleigh and eight tinny reindeer.

When I saw the driver, so plump and so old,

I knew in a moment: “he must be so cold.”

I thought I should offer him my winter jacket,

But no, on second thought, that’d create too much racket.

The man started yelling, “On dasher! On dancer!

O Comet, and Cupid! On Donner and Vixen!”

I started thinking, “Man, this guy has convictions”

Then it all started to fade away fast,

With the “beep, beep, beep” of my alarm,

He was gone in a flash.

I woke up from my dreaming,

And started screaming:

“Merry Christmas I say! Hope I get an Ipad today!”

Until Next Time!

IIIIIItttttt'ssssss Snnnnooowwwiiing!

Okay, you get three guesses. What is this blog post going to be about? 

No, we're not going to be talking about cute puppies.

Wow, that was cute. If anyone doesn't know what to get us for Christmas yet, we'll take the puppy (Not sure how we'll be able to ship him back to Nebraska though...)

Second Guess? Nope, we won't be talking about amazing Rube Goldburg Honda commercials.

(Sorry Honda, we still like Kia better).

Last guess! Okay, you probably guessed "snow" the first time. If you haven't guessed that this blog post is about snow yet, now's your chance. So, what is this blog post about?

Snow?

Exactly!

This Saturday, Brian & Nina experienced the biggest snow storm yet!  (For them, at least). After hours of snow fall, North Platte got, not a 1/2, not 3/4's, but one whole inch  of snow! Wooo! Call in the Abominable Snowman; this snow's getting crazy!

(It's so fluffy! (Quick: Which animated movie does that line come from?) But seriously, if you don't know what to get us for Christmas, we'd love to get this guy. Though, the shipping might still be an issue, we hear he's on the "no fly" list.)

See the snow!

See Nina in the snow!

See Brian in the snow!

Poor little Kia! 

Needless to say (though we'll say it anyway), Brian & Nina's coworkers are eager for Brian & Nina to see "real snow". Apparently, this deadly blizzard was just a "snow flurry".

Did we miss anything? Oh yea, tonight, for the first time this winter, the temperature is planning on diving below 0 degrees. Forecast for tonight: -8 degrees.

"Minus 8! That does not happen!" Quick, what random Christmas movie does that line come from?

 Who knew he was yelling about our weather?

 (Hint: it's the same movie as: "I'm in a store, and I'm singing!")

On that Christmasy note, goodnight to you all! Stay warm tonight!

Until Next Time...