MIA

Sorry that I have been missing for the past week.  School had me very preoccupied as I had two tests this week.  I was busy, busy studying for them and my hard work paid off on my test on Monday, so that is good.  I am still waiting to hear the results from my test on Tuesday - I hope they are equally as good.

Other than that, life has been pretty uneventful.  Uncas discovered on Saturday morning that our shower was leaking.  Even though we ended up with a big hole in our bathroom for a couple of days, he managed to fix it quickly and with minimal cost.

Sammy hasn't been a huge fan of the recent cold and rainy weather.  In fact, this is what he thinks about it:

 

 

The other day while he was by his favorite heater spot in the dining room, I discovered that he was using his new toy as a pillow.  It didn't look too comfortable, but whatever works.

I took Sammy to the vet on Monday and despite our concerns that he had been putting on some weight, he is only tipping the scales at 8.8 lbs!  I guess not.  Maybe one day he'll finally hit the 10 lb mark . . .  Sammy also found something that scares him.  The neighbor's 16 year old cat!  Yesterday we stopped next door to chat with the neighbors and they have a very social 16 year old cat who just wanted to play with Sammy.  Sammy, however, was completely terrified of her.  I have never seen him act that way before and it was quite comical.  Finally he has a taste of his own medicine!

And one final note, we have been cheering on the Minnesota sports teams this week.  I was busying studying and went to bed early on Monday, so I didn't get to watch the Vikings-Packers game, but from what I hear, it was quite the game.  Last night we cheered on the Twins as they won their tie-breaker game.  Here is a picture of Sammy and I cheering them on:

First Outfit

Well, the title is not exactly true - my friend Lisa gave me the first outfit for our baby right after she found out the news.  For some reason, I have been holding off on buying anything baby related.  We did buy the high chair Labor Day weekend, but that doesn't really count, especially since it won't be using it for the first couple of months.

Today I had lunch with my friend Jessie, and afterward I decided to do a little bit of shopping.  It was so much fun looking at all the little clothes, I just couldn't resist making a purchase!

I will admit, it's a little more challenging to find gender neutral outfits.  In a way it's annoying, because I know we aren't the only ones who are not finding out the sex of the baby.  And really - if you do have a boy or a girl, do you only want blue or pink stuff?  Anyhow - it didn't stop my excitement or from me buying something.

After I got home, I showed them to Sammy for inspection.  I explained that they were for the baby.  He sniffed and then he sat patiently, waiting for a treat.

Vikings Game and Pictures

Today Uncas and I went to the Vikings home opener for the season.  This was his anniversary present and it did not disappoint!  A last second touchdown throw by Favre to win the game - amazing!  I even took a few pictures.

Uncas and I at the game.

Favre walking onto the field.

These flag runners crack me up!  I want their job.  Whenever the Vikings score, they come running out!

Final Score 27-24 - Vikings Win!

This weekend also marks my 17th week!  I finally took some more belly pictures.  I am definitely starting to show, but not a ton.

 

And finally - because I haven't posted any pictures recently of my first "baby" - I will leave you with a cute Sammy picture.  It's actually Daddy and Sammy taking a nap a couple of weeks ago.

16 Weeks and Appointment with Midwife

This week I am in my 16th week of pregnancy!  Yesterday we had our first "centering pregnancy" appointment.  We are going the midwife route and the clinic that I go to offers this neat option of having "group" appointments throughout your pregnancy. 

Each appointment is 2 hours and you meet privately with the midwife while she checks you and listens for the baby's heartbeat and then we meet as a big group to discuss different topics.  They have snacks available too!

There are several cool things about doing this.  First, we are able to meet a bunch of different people who are all due around the same time as us (they group you by due date).  There are 12 mom's in our group.  Most of them are first time mom's, but for one woman, it's her 6th child!  Another benefit is that we cover different topics each week including, nutrition, breastfeeding, labor and delivery, and caring for a newborn, so it eliminates the need to take other classes.  And even though each appointment is 2 hours, they start and end on time, so there isn't any sitting around because the clinic is running late. 

Currently we have them once a month, but starting in the December they increase to twice a month.  I definitely think this is a good way to go for our first child.  We have already met some really nice people in the class.

As for me, I am doing just fine.  So far I have only gained about 9 lbs and for the most part I can still fit into my normal clothes.  I think that is definitely going to change in the next two weeks.  We heard the little heart beating again, nice and strong yesterday, so that is always reassuring.  Today I scheduled our 20 week ultrasound for October 15th. And even though we aren't going to find out the sex of the baby, we am still really excited to see Little Nimzlet again and see how much it's grown since the last ultrasound.  So - all in all, everything is moving along just fine.

Random

Last week flew by for me! What a difference it makes when you get up in the morning and no longer dread going to a place for 8 hours a day. It has certainly made me a much happier person. Here are some random things from the past week:

• I made a friend in one of my classes! I probably shouldn't be so surprised, however considering the make-up of my classes, I wasn't really thinking it would be likely this semester. I met a wonderful woman, close to my age, married with children who is finishing up her bachelors. She is super nice and it's fun to have a familiar face in class.
• I actually finished my first paper and it's not due until Tuesday!
• I don't mind doing homework or studying. I can't believe I am typing those words, but it's true.
  
• Where is this burst of energy that I am suppose to feel in the 2nd trimester? It hasn't seem to come this way just yet. Naps are still an essential element of my day.
• Who knew that no rain for 2 weeks would make taking out window air-conditioner units so easy (and a lot less messy!)
• I planted some iris and lily bulbs today that my friend Janis graciously gave me last week. Sammy was very interested in what I was doing, of course. Unfortunately, he seems to think that the bulbs are similar to sticks and branches. That means he likes to run off with them and chew them up. It's been a trying afternoon for all of us and resulted in him coming inside more than once, which he hates. But I think he understands now that he can't eat them. Also, Reid and I sprayed the bulbs with applebitter, so I think that might further deter Sammy. Only time will tell if I actually end up with flowers next year.

An Open Letter

Dear Squirrels in My Neighborhood,

I understand that it's that time of year when you need to collect and store up nuts and such for the winter.  I would like to warn of you a little creature that lives in my house.  He is a little dog named Sammy, and he likes to chase squirrels around and around and out of the yard.  It might be more productive for your collecting and gathering, if you would stay out of our yard.  I do believe that one of these days, a poor little squirrel will be caught by Sammy and can't say that I will be shocked or saddened by the event.  Consider this your warning.  Happy Fall to you!

Sincerely,

Sammy's Mom

Reflections on My First Week of School

I made it through the first week of classes!  Overall, I would have to say I think this semester is going to be ok.  There is definitely a bit of an adjustment to take in, like remembering what homework is, but for the most part, I think I will make it.  It does help that I am taking a really light load, but after working 10 years in the real world and now I am suddenly back to student mode - something that I never thought I would go back to.  I don't know how people work full time and go to school and still have a life?!

Here are some thoughts/observations from my first week:

1. It's a little lonely.  The classes that I am taking are undergraduate prerequisites, so I am sitting with a lot of younger people.  The lectures are huge, so I don't anticipate becoming close friends with people.  After working at places where I have met some of my closest friends, it does seem strange to go to class and not talk to anyone.  Good thing I have my cute little puppy dog to come home to - he is always excited to see me!
   
2.  I am amazed at the patience that my professors have.  Let's be honest, there is such a thing as dumb questions, especially when they have already been answered, or the answers are on the syllabus and we have been told that they are on the syllabus (repeadly).  There are so people that truly love working with college students.  I am not one of those people, which is why I want to work with the little, little kids - that's where I have patience.
3. After sitting through awful (and we are talking awful) 2 hour staff meetings, pointless webinars and non-productive meetings, 50 minute and 90 minute lectures are a piece of cake!  In fact, time goes by so quickly, I could seriously sit there for longer. I am pretty sure I didn't feel this way when I first went to college. 
   
4. I forgot how much walking you do when you are in college. The college campuses I previously went to were a quarter of the size of the U.  I expect that I will be getting back into better shape seeing as how this summer I haven't done much exercising (baby's fault, of course!)
5. My first order of business, sometimes before even locating my classrooms, is to find the closest bathroom in the building.  I honestly don't remember ever caring about that when I was in college before, but now I find that it's a necessity.
6. Have I mentioned that I have a really supportive husband?!  He is truly amazing and if it weren't for him, I doubt I would be going back to school in the first place!

I am sure that I have more to say, but my cute little puppy dog that is so happy to see me would like to go for a walk.   And walking the dog sure beats cleaning up the mess he makes when he chews up his bed!

Someone was busy today . . .

 

While I was sitting attentively in class today, my darling puppy Sammy was busy destroying his dog bed.  He has had so many dog beds in just over the year he has been with us, I have lost count.  The fun part about this is he actually unzips the outer part and tears apart the insides.  I now have to wake up the sleeping puppy (apparently chewing up a bed is hard work), so we can go get a new one that he won't have access to while we are gone!

In other news - my first day of school went just fine.  I spent this afternoon doing my reading already for Thursday.  So far - so good!

Labor Day Weekend 2009

This weekend my parents came up to visit us.  We had a fabulous time, as always and there were many, many laughs shared as well.  It was a great distraction to keep my mind off of my first week back at school.

To start the weekend off, on Friday night we celebrated my mom's birthday which was really on August 24.  I made my mom her favorite kind of cake - carrot cake.

 

Saturday we headed over to Fort Snelling State Park.  It's super close to our house and until this summer, we had never been there before.  We enjoyed hiking a few trails and we even hiked up to the Fort.  Here are some pictures from our day there.

That night we went out to the 5/8's Club to enjoy some Jucy Lucy's - yum!  Sunday was a little less physically demanding (i.e. no hiking).  Instead we went to Mall of America where my dad  purchased a new computer (Mac Mini) and I also snagged some clearance maternity clothes at Sears.  Reid helped my dad get stuff set up on his new computer when we got home from the mall.

My mom and I kept busy in the afternoon by washed down a high chair that we had purchased the day before at a garage sale for $10!  It's in great condition and while we won't need it for several more months, it was actually my very first purchase for the baby. 

Later in the day we went and played mini golf at the local park.  Reid won and we all agreed that it was a fun course.  We came home and grilled out.  Later that night we played some Yahtzee and laughed, a lot.

My parents left this morning and pretty much we have spent most of the day relaxing.  I think the weekend wore me out, but I really enjoyed having my parents come stay with us.  And the long weekend was an extra bonus.

Tomorrow is my first day of school in almost 10 years.  Fortunately this semester I will only be taking two classes, so I can ease into things.  I am nervous, but excited for tomorrow.

It's Never Too Early . . .

 . . . to plan for Halloween, right?  Well, surprisingly, I am not a big Halloween person.  I can't remember the last time I dressed up for it.  But today while I was shopping at Target, I saw this and just had to get it for Sammy!

 

 

He's going to be a little hot dog!  I put this on him when I got home and he was a little hyper to say the least.  Here is another picture of him barking at me!

 

Last year Sammy had surgery the day before Halloween, so we spared him getting dressed up!  I can't wait for the little trick or treaters to come by this year!  We are all set!!!

Camping Adventure - Itasca State Park - August 2009

Last week Uncas, Sammy and I went camping for 4 days/3 nights.  Because Uncas is so smart, he suggested that we drive halfway on the first day and stay at a hotel.  It was a great idea because we were able to get to the campsite at a decent time on Thursday and set up camp.  Here is a picture of our tent - it's huge!

 

We can fit a queen size air mattress in it and all of our bags and still have plenty of room to move around.  And Reid can actually stand up all the way in the middle of it!  It is a great tent!

Thursday we pretty much hung around our campsite.  It was a little misty out, but it never really did rain, so we made a campfire.

 

 

Friday was overcast and windy, so we decided to postpone canoeing for a day and we went hiking and exploring in the park.  We stopped at a few different places, including the headwaters of the Mississippi.  It was really neat to see how small the river is when it starts out compared to how big it is down by us!  Sammy and I crossing the Mississippi River

Sammy and I hiking in the park.

The weather started clearing up on Friday night, so we knew it was going to be a chilly one.  And of course we had another campfire.  Sammy enjoyed chewing on birch bark.

 

Saturday morning was bright and clear and relatively calm, so we had a quick breakfast and headed over to Lake Itasca to canoe in the morning.  Here is Uncas and Sammy at breakfast.

 

 

We weren't sure how Sammy was going to do in the canoe, but he was just fine.  He doesn't like water at all, so we weren't too worried about him trying to jump out of the canoe.  He did prop himself up on the side to look out, but mostly he sat in the floor and enjoyed the ride.  I am happy to say that Uncas and I remembered our skills canoeing from our Boundary Waters trip in 2007, so we were able to move around the lake with ease.  The wind started picking up, so we head back to shore by noon.  It was fun to be out on the lake.  Uncas got a little bit of fishing in, but didn't catch anything. 

 

  

Saturday afternoon we did the wilderness drive in the park.  We saw the tallest Red Pine and White Pine in Minnesota.  I highly recommend this state park - there are so many things to do there.  Lots of trails to hike or bike with varying lengths.  There are plenty of restrooms and they were super clean!  And if you aren't the hardcore camping type, they even have cabins you can rent.  It's such a beautiful park - I can't wait to go back.

Uncas and Sally

 

We took lots of pictures - you can see them all here.  

Sammy really did a great job camping.  The first night he was a little unsure about all the people and dogs around, but he loved exploring the campsite!  In fact, he would go wandering in the woods and get all tangled up, so we would have to go and untangle him time and time again.  I was amazed at how quickly he adjusted to the routine out there.  Last night he slept 12 hours straight and probably would have slept longer, but I woke him up.  Then he spent most of the morning outside in our yard today, which was great because it allowed me to get lots done in the house!

13 Weeks

Wow - I am officially in the 2nd trimester! Wahoo! I am looking forward to feeling better and regaining some energy. I will say that on our camping trip (more about that in another blog post), I didn't feel nauseous at all. Uncas thought for sure it was all the fresh air, but I am really hoping it stays away! I am still quite sleepy and did take at least one nap every day (sometimes, like today - 2!)

I have been taking weekly pictures and up until this week, I haven't noticed much difference. In fact, up until this weekend, all my clothes were still fitting fine. Now I am in that "fat" looking stage. The stage where you look like you have gained weight, but not enough for some random stranger to think you are actually pregnant. I don't mind the weight gain because it's for a good cause, but I think I am going to struggle on finding things to wear in the next couple of weeks.  When I explained to my husband the stage that I was in, he responded with "you look pregnant to me", which was in fact the correct answer - thank you Honey!

But I am sure what you most want to see are the pictures. I am posting ones from 5 weeks and then ones from today.  I am wearing the same pair of pants in the pictures.  I should also point out that I just got out of the shower from the pictures from today and I didn't even do my hair or make-up. 

"Retirement" - Week Two

Well, I am into my second week of "retirement" and so far, I just feel like I am on an extended vacation of sorts.  Because my schedule has been a bit crazy, I don't really feel like I am getting any sort of a routine down.  Yesterday I got up and showered right away.  Today, I was so exhausted from a poor night's sleep (I thought this would happen AFTER the baby came), that it's noon and I am still in my pajamas - not good!

I don't think I am the only one having trouble adjusting to the schedule.  While Sammy loves having me home, I think it's thrown off his schedule too, so there seems to be a bit of adjusting all the way around.  I am hopeful that once school starts it will be easier to maintain more of a routine.  And of course it doesn't help that I still feel like crap 85% of the time, so my motivation to do much around here is limited these days.

But the rest of this week, the whole family will be on vacation.  We are going camping in northern Minnesota and I can't wait.  We got a new tent that is huge, according to Uncas (he set it up while I was out and about with Lisa).  Apparently Sammy likes the tent, so here's hoping he will like camping as well.  My only fear is that he will bark at every little noise.

Now that I have wasted enough time today, I better get moving and head to the store for a coffee pot and lantern!

Best Friend Visiting

This weekend my best friend, Lisa from Seattle is visiting me.  She made the trip by herself, meaning she left her 16 month old son at home with her husband for some daddy/son bonding time.  We are having a wonderful time already.

Sammy and I greeted her at the airport yesterday in the early afternoon.  That was the first time she has met my "baby" Sammy.  He was quite charming for her, which was good (the barking came later on in the day).  First stop was our house.  She also hadn't seen our new house.  I gave her the tour and we had some quick lunch.  Then we decided to go out and get manicures and pedicures! 

Last night after a casual dinner here, we headed out to see the Julie & Julia movie with a couple of my friends.  We all loved the movie.  It was really entertaining and Meryl Streep was amazing.  Of course we left the theater hungry! 

Today we are planning on going to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.  The weather is suppose to be beautiful!  Lisa actually came to visit me years ago and we went to the Renaissance Festival then, so it will be fun to go back.

But now I must get back to those caramel rolls that I am making for breakfast!

Presents!

This is what my dear husband got me for our anniversary yesterday:

 

And I got him tickets to the home opener for the Vikings.  He was quite pleased, just like I am quite pleased with my earrings.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Today is our third wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe it's already been three years since we got married. It's flown by so fast and yet we have done so many things: Boundary Waters trip; Mexico trip; bought our first house; got our cute little puppy . . . those are just the big highlights that stand out. I think we have come along way since August 19, 2006.

But now it's time for our next adventure. As if quitting my job and going back to school wasn't enough change for one summer, we have one more little announcement to share:

That's right - we are going to have a baby! Below are some commonly asked questions and answers:

1. Was this planned? Yes
2. When are you due? My estimated due date is March 6, 2010
3. Are you going to find out the sex? Yes, when the baby is born
4. How are you feeling? I have been pretty nauseous, but luckily I have yet to actually throw up
5. What about school? I will still be going to school this fall, but will be taking next semester off

So there you have it! We are both super excited and can't wait until March to meet our newest family member!

Last Day!!!!!

It's my last day at work!  I am so excited. As I was getting ready for bed last night, I realized that after today, I was going to start on a path of doing something that I am truly excited about.  And I was thinking about what a great life I already have - wonderful husband, cutest dog ever, a great family and friends, a fabulous house, good health . . . and yet, now it's going to be even better!  I am truly blessed!

8 hours left - I can do this!

Weekend Visitors

This weekend my friend Mike drove up from Chicago with his dog Toby. Friday night we hung out at home. I made some pasta for dinner because on Saturday Reid was doing the running portion of a triathalon. I wanted to make sure he "carbed" up. It was an early night, since we were all up early the next day for the race.

The next morning Mike and I took the dogs to watch Reid run. Unfortunately due to weather conditions (lightening in the distance), they canceled the swim. When Reid started running it wasn't raining, but soon after we saw dark clouds moving in. Mike and I headed to the car and watched for Reid while we stayed nice and dry! Here are some pictures of Reid:



Storm clouds

After the race Mike and I headed to a couple of the art fairs taking place in Minneapolis this weekend.  We met up with Jaron and Josh and my friend Suzaane for awhile.  Later on we came back home and picked up Reid (who hung out with the dogs in the afternoon) to go out to dinner.  We had a nice spot outside and while we were eating dinner the tornado sirens went off!  We quickly finished up and headed home.

Today has been a lazy day.  Sammy really enjoyed playing with Toby this weekend:

 

  

I only have 5 days left of work!!!!  It's hard to believe that this week has finally come.  I hope it goes by quickly!

Thursday, Already?!

Remember when I said I was going to try and post every couple of days? What happened to that?! I can't believe that today is Thursday already! For most of July, the weeks were painfully slow for me. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I had given my notice at work, so no one was giving me much new stuff to work on. As a result, my days just dragged.

Now I am in the 2 week crunch. Even with my ample notice, there are still large portions of my job that I have no idea who will be covering once I leave. Which means I can't train anyone in on the stuff . . . interesting. This week has definitely been busier for me. I love having deadlines. I am much more motivated to get things done when I am racing against the clock.

After today I have exactly 6 days left of work - wahoo! I am so very excited! I tell Sammy every morning how many days are left for him too! I think he will enjoy my three weeks before school, when I am around for most of the day. Although, somehow my time off is quickly filling up!!!

Finished Bathroom

This weekend Uncas painted our downstairs bathroom.  When we first bought the house last year, we took down the wallpaper immediately.  I went through and made sure all the glue was off and with the exception of patching the walls, it was ready to be painted.  But there it sat and we put it off and put it off.  In a way, it was a good thing that we waited until Uncas and his dad did all the other work in the bathroom, because I have a feeling that we would have just ended up repainting it.

Here is a "before" picture (what the bathroom looked like when we bought the house):

Here are the "afters" (the window fan isn't permanent, just to help air out the paint fumes):

 

  

 

Cute Sammy Picture

I know everyone has missed seeing cute pictures of my little guy over the summer.  I must confess that the number of pictures that I have take of him has gone down significantly, especially compared to last summer, but don't fear - I took some cute ones tonight!

 

  

That last one is kind of funny.  He was trying to sleep on the couch, so I called his name to get him to look up.  He posed patiently for a couple of pictures, but in that last one, he was sleeping with his head up.  I left him alone after that!

I'm Back!

Hey Everyone - I am back!

I have to say that while I have quite enjoyed my break from blogging, I was really looking forward to getting back to it. I have for a while, but decided that I would keep to the August 1 date that I originally set.

I hope everyone has had a good summer. We sure have. It's been a busy, but very fun. And of course some exciting changes.

First a brief recap of our summer so far . . .

June went by very, very fast!  First up was Reid's sister's wedding in Duluth.  I did actually post pictures of the happy day.  Next, was my 32nd birthday.  For the most part it was a low key day.  We had a plumber over because we were starting work on redoing our bathroom.  My b-day present from Reid was a shopping spree, so shopping we did for the rest of the weekend.  My dear husband also organized a group of friends to meet us out the following night for drinks and fun .

The following weekend, my awesome father-in-law came down from Duluth to help Reid redo our bathroom.  While he was here, they installed a fan, added an outlet,  added new tile, installed a new light fixture,a new medicine cabinet and a new vanity!  I love my new bathroom!

To make things more exciting that weekend, my brother Derek, his wife Jeanna and their baby Saffy stopped to visit us on their way home from vacationing in northern MN for a week.  We hadn't seen them since Easter, so we really enjoyed seeing them and the dogs for a little bit.  Saffy enjoyed showing off how well she could pull herself up to the standing position.  I was bummed their visit couldn't be longer, but I know they were anxious to get home.  Here are some pictures from their visit.

Next up was 4th of July!  This year we stuck around the house and had some friends over to celebrate the 4th.  We even walked over to the Richfield fireworks which were pretty great.  I did not have my camera around at all that weekend, so you'll have to make up pictures in your head.

We had a weekend break and then started the wedding receptions in July.  First up - Abbie's.  Fortunately the weather held out for us and there wasn't any rain.  I didn't take too many pictures, but I got the most important ones - the pig that was roasted and the cake!

Last weekend we traveled south for Derek and Jeanna's reception.  The weather was fabulous that day!  It was great to see so many family members and to meet a bunch of Jeanna's family.  I did actually remember to carry my camera around with me for a bit.  There up to 7 dogs around at one point, so of course Sammy was in heaven playing and playing.  I really enjoyed meeting my aunt and uncle's new puppy Charlie.  He gave Sammy a taste of his medicine by bugging and bugging Sammy for a change!  Check out all the pictures that I took here.

On Sunday we stopped by Reid's aunt and uncle's house.  They live pretty close to my parents, but out in the country on lots of acres.  I just loved their house so much!  It is super gorgeous and their property is even better!  After the tour of the house and a tasty lunch, they took us on a little tour around some of their property.  We went down by a pond (that has fish, so Reid was in love!)  Sammy was having the time of his life exploring all over the place.  I sadly did not think to take any pictures :-(  Next time we go visit, we will for sure!

So that brings us up to this weekend.  That was all the busy and fun stuff.  Now on to the changes . . .

After today, I have exactly 9.5 days left of work.  In late June I gave my notice to quit my job this fall to go back to school full time.  I have been quite unhappy with the department that I was working in and decided that working in an office was just not for me any more.  I have decided to purpose my love of working with little kids.  So I will be going back to school to be licensured in Early Childhood Education/Early Childhood Special Ed.  This fall I will be taking two prereqs and applying to get into the program.  This past Wednesday I took the Praxis 1 exam which I need to pass before I can start taking classes in the program.

I am really excited about this change, but also a little nervous.  It's been a long time since I have been in school and the thought of taking tests and writing papers sort of freaks me out.  But at the same time I am really excited to take classes that I am interested in.

My last day of work is August 14.  I will have some time off before I start school (which will be after Labor Day).  I have some fun things planned for my time off.  In fact, I can't remember when the last time was that I had this much time off. 

I do want to mention that I feel very grateful and fortunate that I have a wonderful husband who is being incredibly supportive of me.  Since the first day I mentioned that I wanted to do this, he has done nothing but encourage me.  This week he really helped out around the house while I studied for my test.  I know that without him, this would not be possible!!

So - if anyone made it this far down - that's what's going on with us!  I am back and hope to post maybe not quite daily, but at least a few times week!

Abbie and Mike's Wedding

This past weekend Uncas's little sister, Abbie got married to Mike. The wedding took place on the shores of Lake Superior in Two Harbors, MN. It was a beautiful day for a wedding. We had a fabulous time hanging out with family. You can see all the pictures here.

Summer Break

I always loved the summertime when I was in school. It meant warm weather, daylight until after 8 pm and no homework. Lately I have been feeling very unmotivated to blog. In fact, I didn't even take one single picture this weekend.

So, I have decided to give myself a little break from the blog and hopefully some time off from the computer. With the nice weather and longer daylight hours, I want to be spending more time outside in the yard - doing yard work, playing with the puppy, etc. Lately I feel like I have been getting sucked into the computer, wasting countless hours on nothing very important. And because I haven't been blogging, I have been feeling guilty about it, which seems a little silly.

I am just going to take a two month break. I figure by August 1st I will be ready to be back. I might still post a picture or two every now and then as we do have a few big events this summer (wedding, a couple of receptions, and a cute puppy dog), but as for the regular what I have been up to posts - you'll just have to follow me on Twitter or FaceBook. Have a great summer and see you in August!