Weekend Recap: Memorial Day

Our Memorial Day Weekend was both relaxing and busy. Adam worked in the mornings, and got home around the time Chester and I were getting up. It worked out well for us.

Friday night it was rainy, so we couldn't do any gardening or grilling. Instead, we had a fried food extravaganza with homemade cheese curds (from Wisconsin!), onion rings, and deep fried pickles. Oh so good. We enjoyed relaxing after being gone almost every night during the week.

Saturday was a beautiful day. We finished weeding all the grass out of our garden area, and got most of it planted. I will take a photo to post of all the seedlings once we finish. Chester was outside with us for a little bit, but kept trying to get out of his pen and barking. At 5 pm, we left for the Twins game. Adam's parents kindly gave us their season tickets for the game since they were going to the cabin. It was a perfect night for baseball and actually a good game. It was a pitching battle. We thought the Twins were toast when Anthony Swarzak got the start because Liriano was injured, but he actually pitched really well and had a no-hitter going into the 8th. The Twins came out on top 1-0 with a walk-off single by Danny Valencia. It was exciting to watch! We must be good luck for the Twins because we were at both of their home wins this week.

Twins Game Photos:

Alexi at 2nd base

Playing with the new wide angle lens - Adam

Twins win!

Walking back to our car in Downtown Minneapolis. I just like the Montana sign!

Sunday we went to Roseville to run some errands. We had lunch at Flame, which was pretty good but seemed like every other national chain restaurant. It reminded me of Applebees for some reason. I don't think we'll go back. We did some shopping for an upcoming wedding, picked up our filter adapter for our new wide angle lens, bought Chester a new harness and tie-out, picked up a few things at Target and treated ourselves with new Twins gear for our upcoming Kansas City trip. At the Twins Pro-Shop I got a new shirt, and Adam a new hat. I can't believe our Kansas City trip is this weekend already! I can't wait.

Back at home, we decided to spend some time in the backyard since it was a nice cool night. I worked on weeding the patio, Adam organized the garage, and Chester explored on his new tie-out. I never thought we would get him a tie-out (long leash on a stake in the ground), but his is short enough (15 ft) that he can't get into too much trouble. Plus he will NEVER be on it unsupervised. It gives him a little more freedom to explore and be outside with us especially when we're gardening. I think he likes it a lot. He didn't bark or freak out like he does in his portable pen. The only trouble he got into was trying to eat grass and weeds. Silly dog wants to put everything in his mouth - he's like a child.

 Monday morning we gathered our first rhubarb of the season and made some delicious Rhubarb Crisp. We took it over to Adam's parent's house to celebrate Curt's birthday. We were there most of the afternoon and had a good time visiting and making pizza. Chester likes to run around and explore at their house.

Happy Birthday!

We got home around 3:30. Adam had a headache and took a nap, while Chester and I did some housework including laundry, cleaning, and organizing the pantry. It was out of control! I had hoped to get more done around the house this weekend then we did. Three day weekends are deceiving - you think you have all this extra time, and then it's over! Hope everyone else had an enjoyable weekend!

Foodie Friday: Fresh Caught Fish

This week's best meal was pan fried fish and roasted asparagus. The fish were from Dad and Adam's fantastic fishing adventure. The fish were fresh and delicious!

Obedience Class Week 7: A taste of Agility

Once again, Chester did well at Obedience Class. Next week is the final class already! I think he has learned a lot and gotten much more comfortable around other dogs.

Tonight, Adam was his handler for the first half of class. Adam said he got frustrated with Chester because he wasn't sitting on command as well as normal, but from where I sat he didn't seem too bad. They also worked on their heeling, sit for exam, sit/stay, and recall - both formal and informal. Chester is one of the best in class at this. As soon as he was called, he came running and sat at Adam's feet. The instructor even said to the class, "I thought Chester was going to be one of the troublemakers in class, but he is doing outstanding!"

I got to be his handler for the second half of class which was all fun. It was an intro to Agility with a mini course set up including balance beam, hula hoop/tire jump, A frame ramp, bar jump, and a board to jump over. Chester LOVED it. He was good at all of them except for the board. He just couldn't understand that he was supposed to jump over it since he could climb over it so easily. His favorite item though was the A frame ramp that he got to climb up and over. He also really liked the balance beam and the bar jump. I wish I would have taken pictures! It was pretty cute.

The assistant said he'd be a really good candidate for Agility because he was good at it and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I don't think that would be good for his mild luxating patella. Poor Chester.

Name Change Drama and Procrastination

This is kind of wedding related – I finally bit the bullet, made a decision, and changed my last name from our wedding. Yeah, I hadn’t actually done that yet. It only took like 9 months… oops.

Reasons for the delay (besides the fact that I’m an indecisive procrastinator):

1. Marriage License Application

In Wisconsin, you don’t put your new name on your application for marriage, so it’s not on your marriage license or certificate like in Minnesota. I didn’t know this prior to applying, so we walked into City Hall to apply thinking we knew what name I was going to use. But then I didn’t have to put it down, which gave me more time to mull it over.

2. Marriage Certificate

For some reason, I just thought they mailed the certificate to you after your wedding. So after waiting a few months for it to arrive, I googled it, and found out you have to send in an application/request for it with money to the state registrar. Then you have to wait for it to be mailed to you. OHHHH. It’s not like I’ve done this before. It would have been helpful if this had been explained to us when we applied for the license.

3. DMV

This actually relates back to Reason #1. Since my new name wasn’t on the marriage certificate, when I went to the DMV in December to change my name on my driver’s license, I couldn’t because there was no proof of my name change. I presented my marriage license, but apparently that wasn’t enough.

Skip ahead almost 5 months to May…

4. Social Security Card

Time was running out for me to update my passport and get it back in time for our trip, so I needed to get my name changed. I looked up info online, and found that since I live in the Twin Cities where there is a Social Security Card Office, I needed to go there in person for my name change. The office doesn’t open until 9 am and closes at 3:30, so I needed to find a day I could go into work late. I settled on a Friday, got there at 8:45, stood in line, and then read the sign on the door that said SS card changes are at a separate entrance in the back of the building. Ugh. I rushed to the back of the building to get in line. The doors opened at 9, and I was given a slip of paper with #12 on it. Luckily they had lots of windows open (like 14?), so I was able to get in right away. This made me glad that I had found the form online and filled it out already. It went really quickly and I was out of there by 9:15. It was awesome. I’ve heard that there’s usually a long line and it can take over an hour to get in.

My card came in the mail about a week later. Last weekend I had the worst ever photo taken at Walgreens to send in with my passport name change/renewal. I also changed my name on my driver’s license at the DMV. Even though it’s considered a “duplicate” license, you still need to have your eyes checked and a new photo taken (which turned out WAY better than my passport photo I must add).

Now all I have left to do is actually mail in my passport stuff and call all my credit cards because of course you can’t do it online. That would be too easy. I’m not a phone person so I’m not too thrilled about this. I’m sure I’ll still be finding places I need to change my name 6 months from now.

Oh yeah, my big name decision –

Stefany, 2 middle names (birth middle name and maiden name), husband’s last name

It was a really hard decision that I went back and forth on constantly. Adam said I could do whatever I wanted, so while supportive, he was no help. Even standing in line at the SS Office I still wasn’t sure what I’d choose. I had to quick fill it in when I sat down at my counter. I ended up making my maiden name as a second middle name instead of having 2 last names (which I strongly considered). I chose this because I don’t like hyphens, and even though it wouldn’t have been hyphenated, most people would have stuck one in it. Plus, I would always legally have to sign both last names which would have been a pain. I just think it would have been too confusing for others. I still second guess my decision sometimes. It’s not that I don’t like my new name, I just really really liked my maiden name. It was pretty awesome. I guess it will just take some getting use to. It is exciting to have the same last name as Adam now though!

Twins actually win a game we're at!

We went to the Twins game tonight and they actually won (4-2). How unusual. After this win, their home record is 5-12. Not so good…

This time we were in section 102, row 20, right on the aisle closest to the diamond. They were actually much better seats than I thought they would be. Being on the aisle was nice because we could get in and out easily, but also a pain because everyone else in our aisle was constantly coming through. I’ve never stood up so much at a baseball game. We got up at least 3x per inning. Annoying.

It was a fun game to go to since a Twins home win (or win in general) is so rare this season. A few notable moments – bunt squeeze play allowing Casilla to score, balk by the Mariner’s pitcher which brought in a run, and a complete game pitched by Blackburn. It was also a really nice night even though it was a little overcast and cooler during the day. It was perfect weather to take in a game. The only part that wasn’t so special was sitting in the car for ½ an hour to get out of the parking lot. AHHHHHH!!!

For once there was no rain in the forecast, so we brought the Canon with. So here are probably a lot more Twins photos than you care to look at. Adam took most of them (who knew he'd be so into this camera thing?!?). If you click on the photo you can see it larger.

New Harmon Killebrew signature in right field

Budweiser roof deck

New Grandstand big screen and Twins Tower

Span on third base (soon to score)

Morneau at bat

Thome at bat

Casilla the cut off man

Delmon at bat

Minnie and Paul

Wish I knew who was jumping in this one

Weekend Recap: Christine's Birthday!

This past weekend we went to my parent’s house in La Crescent for Christine’s birthday. It’s hard to believe that my baby sister is 16 already. Where does the time go?!

Friday night my parents and Stine had a presentation to go to, so Adam and I just hung out with puppy and had a Pizza King pizza. It was fine with me because I had headache issues all last week. When my parents got home, we watched Swamp People with my dad. Such a great show!

Saturday was Adam and my dad’s big fishing adventure on the Mississippi. Adam had been looking forward to this all week. The forecast wasn’t looking so good, but they lucked out and had a perfect day for fishing. They caught hundreds of fish and one large 36” Northern. Alex and Wyatt joined them later in the afternoon. They were out all day from around 8 am until 6 pm.

Adam with the 36" Northern they caught without a net

While the boys were fishing, I was busy running errands with my mom and getting the worst ever passport photo taken. No seriously, it’s bad. At least we had a fun lunch at Tequila’s to celebrate Christine’s birthday.

Saturday night we grilled out, and then Adam and dad went to look at tackle boxes. Adam is really getting into this whole fishing thing! We went to bed early that night because Adam was worn out from fishing and I just didn’t feel well still.

Photo I took of mom's bleeding hearts out front. I think they're so neat looking.

After mass on Sunday morning, we went home and Christine opened her gifts from us and my parents. Chester really wanted to help, but his version of helping was trying to eat the wrapping paper.

Chester really wanted to help Christine open her gifts

Christine with her gift from Chester (a framed photo of himself)

Christine's gift from us - Twins shirt

Soon it was noon and guests started arriving for the family party with my mom’s side. It was fun to see everyone.

The fam

Christine's colorful Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Yum.

The cool colored flame candles on the cake

Adam and I were going to get going when most of the guests were leaving around 3, but one look at the radar and we decided to stay put until the storm passed through. We didn’t want to drive home in that storm and rain. We’re glad we stayed because it ended up being a strong storm. The sirens were going off in La Crescent, so we ended up hanging out in my parent’s basement off and on for an hour. A tornado actually went through La Crosse, I can't remember that ever happening. By the time we left after 6, it was nice out again. It only rained a bit when we were by the cities.

We had a great weekend with family celebrating Christine’s birthday!

Obedience Class Week 6: Much Improved

Chester was a very good boy again tonight. As soon as that training collar goes on, he knows it’s time for business. If only he would be like that all the time.

Adam handled him for ¾ of class as I haven’t been feeling well all week and didn’t have much energy. They worked on their sit-stays, down-stays, heeling, slow time, fast time, and “what’s this.” They also introduced informal recall.

One by one the owner would give their dog on leash to the assistant. Then they would tell their dog to “sit” and “wait.” After walking down the cones to the other side of the room, the owner would say the dog’s name and “come.” As soon as the dog started moving towards the owner, the assistant would let go of the leash. Some dogs were better at this than others. Chester only had to be told once and would come running to Adam. The owner of the school was there observing, and she got a kick out of Chester, saying he came “with enthusiasm!” He was pretty cute. We think he was so good at it because he genuinely does not like being away from us.

I worked with him the last 15 minutes of class with his heeling and fast time. It’s pretty cute to watch him jog along. He has such little legs! We also worked on the “sit, stay” for 30 seconds.

The instructor said she was proud of him and that he’s really come a long way. Hooray! I thought he was really improving and learning a lot, but of course I’m biased. It was nice to hear the instructor thinks so too.

Snapshot in Time: North Shore 2007

The North Shore
July 2007

The summer I graduated from college, we took a family vacation to Duluth and the North Shore. None of us hadever been to Duluth before. We stayed right in Canal Park at the Inn on Lake Superior. It was a great location; within walking distance of all the cool museums and restaurants in Canal Park, and of course, it was right on Lake Superior. I loved watching all the big ships come through.

Memory 1: Biking along Lake Superior. The hotel had courtesy bikes (very dorky looking), but we had fun cruising along the boardwalk and lake with them.

Memory 2: Happy Hour at Little Angie's Cantina
Dad got the biggest margarita they had because it was half price. It was the size of his head! Mom, Christine and I couldn't stop laughing at him.

Memory 3: Rushing to the pier when the Lift Bridge alarm/bell went off to see a big ship go through.

 Memory 4: Split Rock Lighthouse
We toured the lighthouse and buildings which was very interesting. Then we went down what seemed like an endless staircase to get a view up at the lighthouse from the rocky shore. It wasn't so bad going down the stairs, but going back up wasn't so pleasant. The view from the bottom was worth it though.

Memory 5: The discovery of Rocky Taconite
We were driving around Silver Bay after dinner for mom and dad's anniversary, when I spotted Rocky Taconite. I made dad stop the car so we could get out and take some pictures. Rocky Taconite remains my favorite roadside statue surprise.










Memory 6: Canada
Christine and I begged mom and dad to let us go up to Canada and spend the night since we had never been there before. On the way we stopped at Kakabeka Falls. Amazing.

It was a great trip and was just the beginning of my love for Duluth, the big ships, and Split Rock Lighthouse.

Weekend Recap: The Bulldog, fried foods, tire removal, gardening

Friday evening after dinner, we met Laura and Alan at The Bulldog in Lowertown. It was fun to meet up with friends and chat even though it was freakishly loud in there and I got really tired at the end. I just can’t stay out late like I used to! I also really enjoyed my Blackthorn Cider. I had never had that kind before, and really enjoyed it. It reminded me of champagne, which I love.

On Saturday we had planned to work in the garden, but the weather was not conducive to being outside. Instead, I cuddled up on the couch with Chester and watched a movie, “The Kids Are All Right.” Adam and I both thought it was pretty good and had some funny parts. By the afternoon, we were feeling restless, so decided to run some errands despite the rain. We picked up a bunch of supplies at Menard’s, along with a rose to replace the one I killed by not properly insulating it for winter.

Then we went to PetSmart to look for a rain jacket I really wanted for Chester. Luckily, they had his size in stock so I got it. Adam told me after we checked, “I’m always embarrassed to be with when you buy clothes for him.” I reminded him that Chester really needs a raincoat because he hates getting wet. It’s a really cute yellow ducky one.

Chester in his darling new raincoat

Next was the grocery store to pick up a few supplies for our fried food extravaganza dinner. We got out the deep fryer and made deep fried pickles, onion rings, and for the first time ever, jalapeño poppers. Everything turned out really well. Of course it wasn’t healthy, but it sure tasted good on a cold rainy day.

Jalapeno Poppers all prepped and ready to fry

Deep fried perfection

Onion rings frying

 Sunday we woke up to a beautiful day! After making breakfast together, we put on our work clothes and headed outside. We decided to start on the side of the house and tackle some of the tire planters before the hostas grew any larger in them. Yes, you read that right, tire planters. A previous owner of our house had an affinity for tires as lawn décor. This person must have had the hook-up with a semi-truck driver because these are no regular sized tires. As we sweated away digging these tires out, we couldn't help but wonder, WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND THINKS TIRES ARE GREAT FOR LANDSCAPING?!?

Adam removed one from the middle of the front yard last summer, but with all the wedding events last year, we just didn’t get to the rest. Yesterday we (mostly Adam) dug out 3 of them, along with 2 temporary plastic plant containers that were also embedded in the ground. What nice landscaping. The areas we removed the tires from already look 10x better. 

Landscaping Genius, photo taken Fall 2010. Removal was much harder now because plants were growing in the tires.
Exhibit A: Half submerged plastic temporary planter
Exhibit B: Normal sized tire
Exhibit C: Fancy tire planter (removed by Adam in 2010)
Exhibit D: Semi tire planter

After a lunch break, we decided to start on the garden. The area where our garden is now used to be part of the lawn. Even though we dug it up last year and had a garden, the grass is still trying to reclaim the land. Yesterday we spent hours trying to dig it up and get all the roots so it won’t grow back. We’re still not done, and still haven’t even started planting yet. Pulling weeds before you even plant the garden is no fun. At least it was nice to be outside. Chester was out with us most of the day until he had a barking meltdown and had to be put inside on timeout by himself.

I’m excited to plant our seedlings and new plants we bought at the Farmer’s Market. I’m also anxious to plant my new rose bush. I was excited to discover yesterday that I hadn’t killed the other rose after all. It’s starting to sprout right at the base, so I’m hoping it recovers.

Vikings Stadium – My Thoughts

I want to preface this post by saying I am a HUGE Vikings fan, and obviously I want them to get a new stadium. The Metrodome is outdated and dumpy. The concourses are cramped, the restrooms are disgusting and small, and the big screens are virtually non-existent. The Vikings patiently waited their turn as the Twins and Gophers got new stadiums. As the most popular team in the state, I definitely think they deserve and need a stadium. I wrote letters to all my elected officials and governor about it starting last year. So trust me, I want to keep the team in Minnesota and have a new facility. That being said, I’m not completely sold on the Arden Hills proposal. Here’s why-

Location:

Arden Hills? Really? We live by downtown St. Paul, and according to Google Maps, the proposed new location is still half an hour away from our house. What about all the people in the south Metro? It just seems way the heck up there. I get that there’s a lot of parking space for tailgating, but frankly, I don’t care about tailgating. I don’t want a “full day NFL experience.” I want to leave home for a noon game at 10:30/11 am. I want to be home by 4/4:30. I don’t want to sit around in traffic or tailgate.

My preference would be the existing Metrodome site. The infrastructure is there, the location is convenient, and they can reuse parts of the existing Metrodome. If they build it in Arden Hills, what’s going to happen to the Metrodome? It’s still a pile of junk. I guess they can still use it for other things like college baseball, concerts, etc, but in 10 years, it’s just going to be even more outdated. Then what do you do with it? Bulldoze it and then there’s a gaping hole in downtown Minneapolis? I don’t get it.

I also liked the Farmer’s Market location. I know there was land acquisition costs with that site, but the location right by Target Field and Target Center would really make that area complete. Plus it’s convenient to everyone in the Metro and there’s lots of parking.

Financing:

Ramsey County is responsible for $350 million in this proposal. They plan on raising this money with a half cent sales tax increase. Now I know that’s not much - $0.50 for every $100 spent, but sales tax is already at 7.625%. This proposed tax would put us at over 8%! We live in Ramsey County and do most of our shopping there, so it directly affects us. Now I don’t mind paying a bit more in tax if it keeps the Vikings in Minnesota, but it’s still frustrating to me that people from the entire state enjoy the Vikings while we’ll be the ones ponying up to keep them. Now that’s irritating. It’s not like there’s any development at the Arden Hills site (so far) of restaurants, hotels, etc that would tax visitors.

I would feel differently if the stadium was built in St. Paul, but Arden Hills is so far away that I don’t see it benefiting the city of St. Paul in any way. With the majority of the county’s population, St. Paul will be raising most of this sales tax fund. Any local business from visitors to the Arden Hills site (hotels, restaurants, etc) will benefit the northern suburbs. So what’s in it for St. Paul? The proposed stadium site is actually closer to downtown Minneapolis (12 miles, right up 35W) than it is to downtown St. Paul (14 miles, up 35E, 694, then hwy 10). It’s practically in Anoka County!

I liked previous financing ideas like Racino, special Vikings lottery, etc rather than depending on a particular county to shoulder the burden.

Yes, yes, I know that Hennepin County faced a similar burden with the Twins Stadium. But that’s not what I’m discussing here. At least when it happened for Hennepin County the stadium was built in the most populous city, right in downtown Minneapolis, instead of out in the sticks like Arden Hills would be. Plus the Hennepin County tax is .15%, the proposed Ramsey County tax increase is .5% - much different.

I usually don’t agree with St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, but I do on these statements he made to the local paper, the Star Tribune.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/121718374.html

From the article:
As mayor of the largest city in Ramsey County, Coleman’s support of the plan to build a $1 billion stadium in suburban Arden Hills is considered critical. The Vikings announced Tuesday they would contribute $407 million to the stadium, with the county raising $350 million largely through a sales tax increase and the state contributing $300 million.
But the mayor – who said he is still non-committal on the project -- said he considers the state requirement of a strong local government partner to be an "unfair burden."
"People in Virginia [Minnesota] watch the Vikings on TV. People in Mankato are eating buffalo wings and drinking beer on Sunday [and watching the games]," Coleman said, speaking to a reporter Thursday morning.
"It is important to a whole lot of people, but the Ramsey County proposal is a complicated one," Coleman said.
"I need to know those numbers," he said of the sales tax proposal. "What are they asking the residents and the people shopping in St. Paul to pay? What are the benefits of the Arden Hills site to St. Paul?"

Now if this is the Vikings only chance at a stadium, I’ll be right there sending letters to our legislature and government in support of it. But I just think a Minneapolis site would make so much more sense.

Foodie Friday: Calzones

This Foodie Friday is going to be dedicated to one of our favorite homemade meals - calzones. Adam always makes the dough from scratch (it's awesome) while I'm at work, and then when I get home I roll out the dough, fill, and he crimps them shut. It's a fun meal we can make together. It's always pretty easy, and very good.

We usually fill them with mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, green olives, banana peppers, pepper and occasionally jalepenos. I dip mine in hot buffalo sauce, and Adam in marinara.

Behold - CALZONES!

They may not look perfect and pretty, but they sure are good!

Obedience Class Week 5: Chester is no dummy

Obligatory cute Chester photo

This week I was running a little late to meet Chester and Adam at Obedience Class. Apparently people don’t know how to drive in the rain. When I walked into the building, ten minutes after class started, I immediately noticed that it wasn’t our normal instructor. Instead, it was crazy owner lady that I had accosted me in the parking lot. GREAT. Luckily, Adam was fine with being the handler for the whole class (usually we switch at break time).

Chester did REALLY well at class! Other than the occasional lack of focus, he did great. He really can’t be blamed much for that though because his spot was right in front of the wall that the people watching sit along. When he was supposed to be sitting, there were two annoying little girls right behind him that kept giggling and distracting him. He also got distracted when he saw me for the first time, as I hadn’t seen and greeted him before class because I was late. At break time I went and said hi and then took him outside. He was really excited to see me! Seeing that curly little tail wag never gets old!

Tonight they worked on “sit, stay,” heeling, “Go say hi” when a visitor is over, partner heel (walking side by side with another dog and their owner), and spiral heeling (around cones). Chester was awesome at all of them. I really think he’s improved a lot since coming to these classes. He was one of the best, and didn’t have any bad reactions to the other dogs or over excitements. I was very proud of the little guy!

I had the opportunity to observe the whole class, so I really noticed a lot about the other dogs and their handlers. One of the handlers was all proud of how quickly her and her dog could go through the obstacle course. She didn’t take it seriously and wasn’t even paying attention to her dog through the “spiral cone” exercise – instead chatting with the other handlers waiting in line. As a result, her dog wasn’t anywhere near heeling her. He was a good 2-3 steps behind. The instructor was busy with the other group so she didn’t notice to say anything.

I know this shouldn’t annoy me so much, but it did. I just hate all the smug people in the class that think their dog is so perfect – if that’s the case, then why are you here? She’s the same one I overhear saying every class that she didn’t practice with her dog during the week. We don’t always practice every night like we should, but we practice. How else will your dog learn? And it’s her annoying kid and friend that always are laughing at Chester when he makes a mistake. Ugh.

I think the biggest thing we have to work on is “stay” and “wait.” He gets distracted really easily and will break his “stay” or “wait” if tempted. Chester and I were practicing Wednesday night, and I had Adam squeak his favorite toy and bounce a ball to distract him while I tried to keep him focused. He was doing really well with staying focused during that, so I just think it needs more practice and repetition. He’s definitely not dumb, but he is still a puppy!

Christine's Confirmation

Monday night was Christine's Confirmation. I drove down for it, so it made for a long day. I was glad I could be there though. It was a really nice ceremony, and reminded me of my Confirmation. I can't believe that was 11 years ago! After the ceremony, we took a bunch of photos, and then had some refreshments at the reception at the school. Back at my parent's house, we had pie and Christine opened her gifts. It was nice to see the grandma's, Aunt Carey, Stine and my parents. I missed Adam and Chester, but I was able to see them on Facetime. I love our iPhones! Tuesday morning I got up early, had a quick breakfast with my family, and then drove back to the cities and went straight to work. It made for an exhausting two days, but was totally worth it to be there for my sister and family.



Here are a few photos from the night (keep in mind that I'm still learning the different settings on the camera! I fail at ISO and aperture)

The crew (minus me)

See, I was there!