Thanksgiving

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving is probably my most favorite holiday, besides the 4th of July (being on the boat).  It is a time of reflection of the year, good food and time with family and friends.

This year there is so much to be thankful for:
1. My wonderful husband. I am so happy to be married to the best man in the world (besides my dad's and grandpa's). He is my best friend, my soul mate and the one I am so blessed to be able to spend the rest of my life with!

2. My Parents. My parents have been such a solid example of love and marriage. They have supported me in life and have welcomed Brian into the family as their own son.

3. My sister, Scott and Logan. I really don't know what I would do without my sister. She is my mentor, my confidant and my best friend!  I am so lucky to have her in my life, that she lives so close and that she has a great husband and a wonderful son! 

4. My in-laws.  I know some people don't like their in-laws very much, but I am so very lucky to have wonderful in-laws. They have accepted me as their own daughter and I am so happy to be a part of the family, and with that I gain 6 more sisters/sister in law, a brother and two great nephews (and a 3rd on the way!!!)

5. My career: without my career, i would not be able to provide for Brian and I, our home. Blessings to having a wonderful job, shelter, food and clothing.

6. My puppy!  Connelly is a great dog, even if he is getting old and angry - the house would not be the same with out him.

7. My Friends: I am so blessed to have such AMAZING friends.  I am hoping to spend some time with many of the during the holidays this year.

8. Health: Thank goodness for good health, not only my self, but family and friends.

This Thanksgiving holiday will be filled with fun!  Tonight it is off to the WILD game (our first one of the season), Turkey Day in Jordan on Thursday, Shopping on Friday, decorating the house and cooking food on Saturday, Turkey day at the Gregoire's on Sunday!!!!

Here's wishing that everyone has a safe and very happy holiday weekend!!!

Figured I would throw a pic up from the wedding :)

Wedding preparations

Hi All!  I know I have not posted much about the wedding at all, but it is only 38 days away!!!! YIKES and YIPPEE!  Brian and I are both really excited, even though there are a lot of little things to do in the next 5 weeks!  I have two bridal showers this weekend that I am looking forward to and I am ALMOST done with the bridesmaids jewelry!  Here is a sneak peak...if you can't make out the images...good :) you aren't supposed to as it is a SURPRISE!!!!!  I have had my first dress fitting and my second one is on October 1st...I am really hoping the seamstress does a good job because the dress was WAY too big.

More to come soon!

Wedding #......

Brian and I have been invited to and attended probably over 15 weddings in the past two years, if not more...i have started to lose count...We only have 1 more to go (October 2nd) until ours on the 30th!  Two weekends ago we traveled to WI Dells to celebrate the wedding of Heidi and Dan!  Dan is a buddy of Brian's from when he skied in the Dells, but I have had the chance to get to know the two of them over the past couple of years and they made a trip to MN this summer to visit as well!!!

Their wedding was beautiful and it was a beautiful day outside as well!  They had a traditional Catholic Ceremony followed by a reception at Devil's Head Resort.  Now, this was the first time we had been to Devils Head (about 45 min from the Dells). We just had watched the movie Hot Tub Time Machine on Friday night and the lodge/hotel we stayed at reminded us of just that! I can see how the resort was AMAZING in the 80's but it is a little bit run down, but it looked like they had a pretty good golf course.  The actually room where the reception was as well as the patio areas/pools were beautiful!!!!

Here are a few pics from the weekend!  Congrats to Benzi & Heidi!!!

Coffee

I Love Coffee!!!!!

Most people who know me, know that I love my coffee!

The best part about a cup of coffee, is when it is piping hot early in the morning.

Lately, due to my workout schedule, I have not been able to enjoy my cup of coffee until at least 8 or 8:30 in the morning. The only positive thing about that is due to my new coffee pot it stays HOT until almost 11 AM after it gets made at 5:20 (for Brian when he goes to work) and the machine doesn't even stay on!

It is GREAT!

So here is my toast to Friday, after a long week and a gloomy, cool day!!!

I promise to get back to blogging after the wedding...right now there just hasn't been a lot of time.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Today is my sister's birthday!  I am so lucky to have an older sister to look up too!!!!  Here is a shout out wishing you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Love you :)

Happy Birthday Tom!!!

Saturday Brian was off to Mitch's bachelor party in Stillwater.  Melissa Laughlin and I decided to hang out for the day in White Bear Lake.  We dropped the boys off at the boat in Stillwater, swung by Kristi's house so I could see it, she and Kristi took a quick swivel run, then it was off to John and Jilli's new house (Kurt and Lindsey's old house) then we went to Lindsey and Kurt's new house, took a swim in the pool and then went out on the boat for a bit. By this time it was already after 3PM and the clouds had rolled in.  We all headed in by about 5:30 to get ready for the rib fest at The Walls!  We had some delicious food and then the rain came.  We celebrated Tom's birthday and then headed to Houlihans for a couple drinks and were all in by about 12 AM as we were all exhausted  :)  Dan and Brian had too much fun at Mitch's bachelor party and got in about 3 AM.  What a fun day!

Congratulations Erica & Steve (6.27.2010)

So after being given a very hard time from all the gals from high school this weekend...it is time that I update this blog. I have been so very busy, there just hasn't been time and I know I am really behind.  I have a couple of weddings, twins games, time with friends, etc...to post about - it will get done. 


Anyways onto Erica and Steve's wedding (yes i forgot to get a picture of the two of them), but you can view there engagement session here: erica & steve engagement session  Pictures were done by our high school friend, Tasha Herrgott, owner of Red Bird Hills Photography! She will be doing Brian and my e-session this coming Thursday, so stay tuned!!!!


Steve and Erica are truly a match made in heaven.  It is apparent how strong their love is for each other!  They had a private family ceremony at the park in Jordan and then a dinner reception at The Ridges Golf Course in Jordan.  They had a social hour followed by dinner and it was a beautiful day!  Erica looked absolutely stunning. Her colors were navy and green and everything was just gorgeous!  It was so fun to see the gals from high school, their husbands, boyfriends and kids!  We had a great time catching up!

Congrats Steve and Erica - may your marriage be filled with love, laughter and happiness!!!!

Friday Night Bowling

Due to the stormy weather on Friday, our couples golf league was cancelled, so we decided to hang out at our friends Katie & Jonny's house and watch the storm.  We ordered in pizza, our friend Danielle came over for a bit and we watched some t.v. We were all a little antsy so we decided to go bowling and boy did we have a good time!

We decided to have Mexican names...see the picture!  Jonny started every game out with a strike, Brian got 4 strikes in a row in the 4th game (i think alcohol may have benefited him!), Brian and I also each won a free game. They have a pink pin at the head of all the pins and if you get a strike when the pink pin is the head pin you win a free game!  It was pretty exciting.  We also all broke 100 in the last game!

We had so much fun!  There was definitely a lot of people entertainment as well.  A fight in the bar, a pregnant teen with her baby daddy, and very young kids out with their parents bowling at 10:15 at night....you never know what you might run into at Blainebrook Bowl on a Friday!!!!

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks.....

GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The time is here for baseball season and celebration of a new stadium. Brian and my first date was on April 16th, 2008 at a Twins game at the Dome, so one of our many traditions has now been to go to the game on the 16th (or that week if there is one). This year we went in on a 20 game pack for the new stadium and we were lucky that the 1st evening game at the new stadium was for our date night. The Twins played the KC Royals and we WON 10-2. It was a little breezy and chilly, but well worth it. There was so much to pay attention too; it was hard to pay attention to the game, unless #7 was up to bat. It was absolutely unbelievable. This is truly how MN baseball should be and brings back so many memories of my uncles playing baseball for the Brewers at the Mini-Met in Jordan. One of the awesome things about the stadium is the fact that you can bring in your own peanuts, sunflower seeds, water, etc...as long as it is not opened. We brought a HUGE bag of peanuts as well as some sunflower seeds and of course bought a hot dog...no longer a "dome dog".

Another new thing for us was taking the North Star commuter train and how slick is that! We jumped on in Fridley and it drops you off right there. It is wonderful! We were not fortunate enough to be able to take the train home 9it was only running one way on Friday, but our neighbors who we had dinner with the night before offered to drive us home and we could not say no to that!

Our next game is on June 12th, a Saturday, day game! I can't wait. I promise to not have as many pictures posted after that one, but for now, enjoy!!!!

Where have I been again?....?....?

Okay - so I am really not good at this blogging and updating thing.  Work has been insanely busy, wedding planning, great and life crazy as always :)  I am convinced I should just do monthly updates...it might be easier for me!

I really don't know where March went. So here is an overview....followed by pictures, of course!

The first weekend of March consisted of HOUSE PROJECTS.  This weekend we worked on putting in new 6 paneled doors on the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms.  MAJOR improvement. We still have our closet doors to do and our broom closet, but that will have to wait for now.  This same weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday at Twin City Grill at Mall of America. 

We then had multiple meetings with our jeweler for my wedding band and also to design Brians!  Mine is done (more pictures) and I LOVE it. Jenny & Jake do a phenominal job. Brian's ring will be a mix of white gold and Niobium - super cool and I can't wait to see it finished! 

Jack's (one of our nephew's) 1st Birthday party,

Brian finished his ski slolom leauge, we had a funeral, meetings with the church for the wedding, a couple of birthday celebrations,  a few bbq's, our first few rounds of golf (I got new clubs this year!!!), mom and dad over to help with our basement, parents brunch, babysitting Logan a few times, wedding errands for centerpiece decor, Make-A-Wish meetings, running began (less than 7 months to the wedding!),  Brian's brother Caleb was home from Mississippi (before being deployed in April), Easter Dinner (a week early), ran more water lines for our downstairs bathroom, a final Wild game and a few happy hours with my old pageant friends and my college gals...whew...I am tired just typing all of that!!!

It was a busy month and April is already half over.  I will update April soon, but thought I would get March finished first! 

Hope everyone is enjoying their spring so far :)

Choo Choo!!!

I'm a bit behind in my blogging. Work and wedding planning has been busy to say the least.

This blog is from when Melissa and Scott were in Mexico and my mom and I took Logan to the train museum to see all the "choo choos." I got to the house and Logan was pretty excited to go and see all the trains. He was running around saying "choo choo" all morning. We loaded up the car and off we went. It was a little challenging actually figuring out what building you had to go to, you had to go to one to buy the tickets and then you had to trail through the parking lot to find the other building. Needless to say we finally got to see many trains.

The train museum is definitely a collection of "old timers" passion for trains. There were train sets everywhere. Most of these train sets were set up in sections. Each section was a collection of each persons trains. They maintain them and are there to answer questions you may have about them. They know almost everything there is to know about "collector" trains.

After a couple of hours we headed back to the house to feed Logan lunch and get him down for a nap.

It was a fun day :)

Silent Icicles

This post was supposed to be posted over a month ago and I just getting to it now.  I was working from home this day and walked into the guest bedroom while I was pacing on a conference call and this was what I saw out the window. I could not help but catch this moment of beauty during the winter.

Logan Time

As Melissa & Scott are sitting on a beach in warm, sunny Mexico, I got to stay here in cold, snowy, Minnesota.  The only benefit of them being gone was the fact that I got to watch Logan on Wednesday!  I got to their house just before 6am, said goodbye and then my dad came and got them to take them to the airport.  I got about an hour and a half of work time in before buddy woke up.  As soon as he woke up and I went to get him out of his crib he said, "down?"  Meaning lets go downstairs and play!!!!  We first changed his diaper and then it was non-stop until mom got there at 1:00 and it was time to put him down for his nap.  It is so crazy how within a matter of months he has added so many words to his vocabulary!  He is such a smart 21 month old baby.  Inbetween breakfast, playing and poopy diaper number #1 I attempted to get him out of his pj's to put play clothes on him.  Well he is so quick he ran away from me, giving me a perfect chance to get my camera and take some pictures of how silly he was being.  Needless to say, it was a fun filled morning!!!!  Check out a few of the many photos below!!!

1 ton van on a frozen lake....

So I am not a big one to want to celebrate Valentine's Day.  I have strongly told Brian to NEVER buy me flowers on valentines day.  It is that one day that has gotten soooooo over materialized, I cannot allow Brian to spend $50 on roses or any other flowers just for the "I love you - its Valentine's Day"  This year we had decided to not buy any gifts for each other, but before we decided that I had already bought Brian a few new items of clothing!!! I gave it to him on Saturday so he could not claim it as a V-Day gift!!!  He was mad because he did not get me anything, but I was happy because he really liked what I got.  Anyways...onto our weekend.

This was the first weekend in a long time that we actually did not have anything planned.  We were supposed to do a few things on Saturday night but that was about it.

Friday started off great! I had my performance review and got a very unexpected raise and a very nice bonus, so I was pretty pumped!  Then after Brian got home we met up with some of our friends for a quick happy hour.  From there we went to Melissa and Scott's to have dinner with my parents and then watch Logan for the night so Lis and Scott could go hang out with the "soon to be newlyweds, Aaron and Andrea". We put Logan to bed and fell asleep not too long after that.  We had fun spending time with my parents as well as Logan. It was a very relaxing night!

Saturday we woke up and decided we would go ice fishing. I haven't had a chance to be out all season. So we got everything ready, packed up Brian's parents van, and off we headed to Albertville.  Everything that could have went wrong, did!!!  We first missed our exit to get off to go the the lake, so then we turned around and decided to get a quick "early" lunch. Culvers was closed, so we decided to look for something else. We went to go find the public access at the lake. We found it and as we were turning around in the parking lot, the van got STUCK.  I said....REALLY, is this happening???  Luckily another guy was headed out onto the lake and helped Brian push.  We went back to Montecillo and went to get some bait.  The guy at the gas station said you have to go to the bait shop. By this time we were hungry so we decided on McDonalds.  Then we went to the bait shop, got our worms and headed back to the lake.  I got a little nervous after already getting stuck.  Brian though we would be able to make it but he wasn't sure, so we said we would go for it.  We figured the path out to the fish houses would be plowed well because there we a TON of houses on the lake, our only fear would maybe be turning around.  As we began on the ice, it was not too bad, then the path split and it got more narrow. Every vehicle on the ice was 4-wheel drive.  As we continued it got more narrow and thicker with snow and then we were stuck.  We managed to get it unstuck and then about 400 feet more we got stuck again. At this point we figured we were not going to be able to get turned around, so we stayed where we were, set up the house and started to fish.   We called Brian's dad to tell him what happended and we asked him to come and bring us some chains or a tow strap with my car and then join us for the day fishing.  I caught the first two...and only two fish of the day!  Cindy and Doug finally arrived and we tried multiple things to get the van out...nothing was working.  We really just wanted to get it turned around and then figured we would be okay.  We hooked the tow strap up to the back of the van and the hitch of my car and after a lot of pushing it got loose.  Cindy was in the van and Brian the pathfinder and as soon as they got going, they did not stop.  Doug and I chased for a moment but it was two miles back to shore. We figured Brian was just going to go all the way.  It was pretty comical seeing a van being pulled backwards on the ice.  They got a number of  "hoots" and "hollars" along the way.  Upon their arrival back we all fished for a couple of hours and nothing was biting so we decided to pack up, get off the ice, and head to Maynards for dinner.  After a long wait we were finally seated and had a wonderful dinner.  We were either going to go to Azia or Mayslacks with groups of friends, but felt it would be nice to continue to spend the evening with Brian's parents since they came and helped us.  We got back to the house and decided to go sit in the hot tub for a bit.  Then we came hope, popped a bottle of champagne and watched the movie "Extract." It was pretty funny.

Today we woke up and went to church at 11.  There is a series going on called "The Vow" so we felt what better to go and see what could pertain to our upcoming marriage to each other.  It was a really good service.  We missed last weeks because we went to Anoka's service, so we will have to watch that online as well as next weeks as Brian will be ice fishing.  After church we headed to Chipotle for a quick lunch, got our cars washed, went grocery shopping and then headed to a 4:00 matinee to see "Valentine's Day"  with a large list of big named actors and actresses, it was pretty funny and cute.  We came home and watched "Inglorius Bastards" and then Brian was off to hockey.

We had a perfect, unplanned, very fun weekend.  Theses are the days I love to keep in my memory forever.

Sweet tooth and house projects

Thursday night after dinner I was craving some chocolate chip cookies!  I love to bake, but Brian and I don't like having sweets around because we eat them, so I have gotten out of baking sweets for awhile.  So about 7:30 as the Wild game was starting I ran into the kitchen and made a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies with mini morsels.  I was glad I made them because they proved to be a nice snack over the weekend to much on as we were working on the bathroom.

Brian and I are very much the "do it yourself" couple, even though sometimes I think paying someone to do it would be easier, but in the long run, it is much more rewarding and we are saving money.  Last spring we had to redo the upstairs shower fixture so we learned how to soilder and do all the copper piping.  We did spring one leak on the upstairs so it was our mission not to have that happen in the basement.  We took our bathroom downstairs and completely gutted it a few months ago. Since then, Brian busted out half the concrete, our plumber friend Dan came over and laid new pipe for the shower, new toilet and sink.  Then my dad and Brian framed everything in and this weekend it was time for us to do the piping for the shower.  We had to tap into the existing cold and hot water lines in the ceiling.  We got to the cold shut off valves on Saturday night without any problems. Today we worked on the hot water and the piping for the shower head.  So far, no leaks!!!!  Now we need to secure a couple of things, next weekend do the since piping, get the electrical done, sheet rock and secure the shower walls and add the tub and vanity and we will be done.  We are keeping the bathroom pretty roughed in for now (no tile, no paint, etc) just so we have a full bath for us and the roomies to use and then the upstairs will get the full gut this spring.  Stay tuned for more updates!!!

We did manage to also go out for dinner and some darts Friday night in Maple Grove and some dinner and drinks last night in St. Louis Park and church this morning.

State Sections Meet at Giant's Ridge

As some of you may know, Brian is in his 8th year coaching the Alpine Ski Team for Champlin Park High School. Over the past 2 years I have gotten to be a part of this (a.k.a. single lady from Nov-Feb. j/k). This is no easy job for Brian as he still works his full time job at Minco (starting at 6-2:30) and then he goes and coaches at Trollhaugen in WI, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, usually not getting home til 9:30 or later. This takes a toll on both of us, but in the end rewarding as well. It is pretty awesome because Brian has gotten to coach his brother Caleb, sister Bryanna and currently his sister Casey!!!

Yesterday (Tuesday, 2/2) was the State Section Meet. This is held up at Giant's Ridge. So Monday night about 5:00 after work, Brian and I got on the road to head up to the Ridge. His assistant coach Dan rode the bus with the kids on Monday morning (they go up early so the can hit the hills and practice for the day before the meet). When we got to the Ridge we were greeted by Brian's parents to help us unload the car and fill our tummies with Pizza. We headed up to the coaches room and Cindy and Doug's to unload our stuff and eat.

It was really nice to spend some quiet time with Brian's parents. Since they still have 3 kids at home we don't always get the quiet time to just sit and chat! After awhile we went and hung out with some of the coaches in the other rooms while Brian checked on his kids, helped them wax and tune their skis as well as round them all up for bed!!! After that us adults headed off to the lounge to have a few cocktails. It was about 12:30 am before we decided to head up to bed.

We got up about 7 am to feed the kids and get the tent set up on the hill. Brian had a bunch of coaching things to do so I headed out with Cindy and Doug to get things ready. I hadn't decided if I was going to ski at all (since it has been 7 years) so I bundled myself up and figured I would decide later.

There were 18 teams at the section meet. Each of the kids get to races. Champlin was the 18th in line for the first race and the 1st in line for then 2nd. According to Brian it is better to be in the middle, but they draw so there wasn't a choice. The first race (boys and girls) got done about 11:30. Most of the kids did really well with only a couple tumbles. 6 boys and girls from each team are allowed to participate in the race. After the first race, there was a break until 1:30 so they can re-set the courses. I FINALLY decided to ski. Brian took me up for my first run and we went down a green (EASIEST!) course. He was very impressed with my control. I quickly overcame my fear of not skiing in 7 years and was ready to head up the chair lift again, after loosening my boots!!! Brian was very patient with me :) Then after a couple runs he had to go imspect the courses so I headed off with Melissa and we hit the slopes until about 1:30 when the race began again! I had soooooo much fun and can't wait to get back out there.

The kids did their second race and then awards started at 4:30. The boys and girls teams ended up getting 9th, so right in the middles which isn't too bad. Josh was the only boy that made it to state which is next Wednesday. This is pretty exciting as he is only a freshman, and excellent skier and has lots of time to grow. I was happy because his dad Gary has been a huge asset to the coaching staff and has volunteered his time all season to help Brian and Dan with anything they need; riding the bus, helping with gates, and just being a great cheerleader for the kids!

I wish Josh the best of luck since I will not be able to head up to the State Race!!!! What a fun day it was and we had beautiful weather too!!!! We got home about 9:30 last night and we were exhausted!!!

Dinner Night

Sunday night Brian and I had some of my college friends over for dinner. We decided to host dinner as Tracy wanted to do lunch or something on the weekend because trying to get together for lunch during the week is too hectic and there is never time for anyone to catch up! So, we decided to have it here so it was more comfortable and fun for all!

We decided that I would cook and everyone would show up around 4pm. Tracy and I decided that the theme would be Mexican! I picked up stuff Sunday morning to to make fresh guacamole and fajitas for dinner! I spent a couple hours in the kitchen prepping all the food so i didn't have to do it once everyone arrived (I know I get this from my mother!!!!)

Tracy and Sam arrived first at 4 and Tracy brought a yummy buffalo chicken dip!!! We started to munch on appetizers. Jenny arrived shortly after 4:30 and then Tonya and Chris made it around 5:30 when I was just starting to cook!

On the menu was steak and chicken fajita mix, Spanish rice, black and refried beans and all the fixings (guac, salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce!)

We all sat down and stuffed ourselves. After we ate, the guys headed into the living room to watch the Pro Bowl and us ladies did the dishes and continued to sit in the dining room to drink wine and talk more about life, our upcoming weddings, work, etc.

Everyone left about 9pm, but not before we took a girly picture and said goodbye! We decided we will do this monthly and rotate our houses :) We had such a fun night, i cannot wait to do it again!

Winter Carnival in White Bear Lake

This weekend our friends from Wisconsin Dells came into town. Friday night we ended up just eating at El Toro in Champlin, went to Mavricks and then headed back to our house and watched the X games and drank a little.

Saturday we got up and I made breakfast and then we all headed to White Bear Lake for the Winter Carnival. They had a huge ice fishing tournament. We got out there about 2pm and had a couple of drinks at Admiral D's before hitting the ice. We got out there around 3 and little did we know that is when the tourney ended. We hung out on the ice (as any normal Minnesotan would do) for a little while and then headed back to Admiral D's. From there we decided to go to Saks to get some food and drink some more.

We thought it would be fun to hit up north east Minneapolis, so we headed back to Champlin so we could all change out of our winter gear and then drove down to Mpls. We wanted to go to Stais's, but they were closed, so we went to Jimmy's for one and then to the Knight Cap where we stayed for the rest of the evening. You never know what you may see when you are in North East. We say a Billiy Idol look alike!!! See the picture of him from behind in his "Punk No Disorderly" Jacket. I wanted to get a pic of the front of him, but I didn't want to be too rude!!!! Molly, I and the others all had a good laugh. We hung out, talked, watched the Wild game and the X games, played darts and had a good time. We got home around 2 am! It was fun to have our friends from WI in town for the weekend!!!!