Mom's Day in Stillwater

You may recall the video I made for my mom for Mother's Day.  It was a video letting her know that my sister and I were going to treat her to girl's weekend in Stillwater.  I haven't had a chance to post a couple pictures and talk about it.  It was a great weekend!  We walked around downtown Stillwater which is an adorable little town.  We shopped, well actually mainly just looked around none of us actually bought much at all, we stopped for tea at a tea house and just enjoyed our time together. 

After hanging out downtown we got into a heavy political debate back at the hotel room which ended up leaving us famished for dinner.  Thanks to the good ole GPS and Blackberry we found a great little Italian resturant that was excellent.  Sometimes I love technology.  

The next morning was the real event.  We woke up casually and then made our way to Hudson, WI to catch the brunch cruise.  That was lovely, a nice buffet and a relaxing ride on the St. Croix.  Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of us...don't know what we were thinking there.  But I did get some pictures of the water and cruise.

We were the guests of the day so we received free room service :)

Why I haven't been blogging much lately...

WORK! It's been so busy lately at work. Luckily we've been able to work from home instead of at the office because my dad is gone for the week. I must say, working from home has been wonderful!! But believe me, it hasn't been a time for relaxing at all since it's been so insanely busy. Last night we worked until about midnight and tonight...well you can see the clock...it's past 10:30. So for all of my family/friends who have time to lay in the sun or go to the beach...CHERISH that time and know that I am jealous :) I'm kidding...life could be worse, I could be fighting a war right now or working a 12 hour shift at a factory. Instead I get to feel the summer breeze from the nearby open window with my slippers on and enjoy the comforts of my own home with my dog at my feet and my husband just a few steps away.



(I put the curtain behind the cabinet so it wouldn't blow so much in the breeze)

Lucas Pictures

Here are pictures of our new nephew whom we have yet to meet:













This is my favorite!

Welcome Lucas James!

I don't have pictures yet but our new nephew was just born!! Welcome Lucas James Elder to this world. I'm so excited to meet all 9 lbs of him. Mom and baby are healthy...praise God.

Devil's Lake State Park

We had a very interesting time with our good friends Shannon and Jeremy on this camping trip in Wisconsin. First of all, Devil's Lake is a beautiful park with lots of hiking trails and a wide variety of camping spots. Before the weekend started we were a little leery of the weather. There had been horrible storms the night before and Wisconsin even had a tornado watch on Friday. But I wanted to go anyway because if we don't the whole weekend would be perfect of course and we would kick ourselves for not going.

So we went. The good thing about the weather being bad was that there were tons of cancellations, so we were able to reserve a way better campsite. So we camped the first night, enjoyed our hobos (S+J are no longer hobo virgins...and I just realized that S+J are our initials also...I wasn't talking about us) "enjoyed" some wine and some good conversation. The night was perfect!!

Then the next morning was also really nice outside. We woke up, ate our yummy oatmeal and decided to go canoeing. Now I had opened the windows to our tent because I wanted it to vent out and I was thinking we'd be back after canoeing to change into different gear to go hiking. I think you know where this story is going. Anyway, we walked to the main area (about a mile away) to go canoeing only to find out that the water was too choppy and they wouldn't let us go. So we decided to hike instead. Gorgeous hike! It was such a nice day and it wasn't too sunny so it didn't get too hot. We ate lunch in the hills and really enjoyed our time.

Well a few hours later we came down from our hike and overheard the ranger telling everyone there was a tornado watch for the next 15 minutes. so we decided to wait it out until it was over. Well that watch turned into another watch and became longer and longer. Pretty soon the sky was looking very ominous and we were starting to get worried. Our campsite was about 1.5-2 miles away and of course we had no way to get there but by foot!! So what do we decide to do? Walk on the railroad tracks right by the water and head right towards the storm of course. Shannon and I were a little skeptical about the whole thing but Jeremy and Scott assured us that if the tornado came our way we would just take cover in the nearby ditch right underneath gigantic falling rocks and power lines. Ok, the rocks weren't falling but they sure looked they were about to. Then the rain. It POURED!! And I mean poured. We were walking towards this green sky with the wind blowing like crazy and the rain falling hard. And what did we do? First we walked a little faster. Then we ran. Then we took cover under some trees for a minute. Then...we walked slowly in the rain and savored the moment. "There's something sexy about the rain" is what comes to mind...a song by Kenny Chesney. There's just something about it that's so romantic and unguarded. We of course were dreading going back to see the damage of our newer tent but we had a good mile to walk so we did nothing but laugh and literally jump in the puddles like kids.

Yes our tent and almost everything in it was pretty much drenched so we decided to hunker down in their tent and play some Settlers and eat brats until we were ready to pack up. We were planning on staying another night but we didn't have dry anything so that would not have been fun. It was sad to go early but the storms kept coming that night and hard...so I'm thinking it was better we left early. See, it's a good thing I didn't close the windows :)


Views from hike




Don't look down!

Devil's Door

Heron's nesting...didn't know herons nested in tall trees...fascinating

Poor Jeremy had to carry all our stuff

Me and Scott

Shannon and Jeremy

Man vs Storm

Bad storms always bring beauty later, this was a gorgeous rainbow we saw so had to pull over and take pics. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Memorial Day 2008

For Memorial Day we went to Illinois. Friday night was Elizabeth's (Scott's cousin) graduation. Saturday was a baby shower/grill out and then a birthday party. We had dinner at Monicals on Saturday night. Then on Sunday we spent the day with Spence and we had dinner with the immediate family that night...steak and potatoes :) Then it was time for cards. I love playing games. It was a good time, relaxing as usual but yet filled with little events here and there. It's just really nice to get away sometimes. I always feel like I need a nap when I'm there it's weird.

We got back on Monday and spent the evening with my family...it was a perfect day out weather-wise so we had fun outside. Scott got lots of great pics:

http://209.23.153.221/webgallery/memday2008/index.html

Recipe: Bruschetta Chicken Bake

I've made this recipe several times and just made it again recently. I was reminded of how quick and tasty it is...not to mention pretty healthy too. For those of you that have never made this, do it soon!



1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.
PLACE chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Makes 6 servings
Calories 310 - Fat 7g - Fiber 2g

Recipe provided by Kraft Foods

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy birthday to my boss and Dad. He had a busy day today and I hope it was a great one.

Love you Dad!

Happy birthday to my Uncle Keith and cousin Kevin too :)

Matt's Graduation

Well my brother did it! He graduated from college. Where did the time go? How did this happen so fast? We spent the weekend in Madison and I thought it was such a great time. We got to tour Matt's house again and boy was it messy. Sorry if I'm embarrassing you, Matt, but I must share the pictures. Guys (or most of them at least) just live like this and they don't care. I admit I am not near the cleanest person in the world but these conditions are just a little over the top for me. It's normal...it'll make them appreciate their wives even more later. I must say, though that it was my brother who came up with a cleaning system for the house...great job on that!

After touring his house we walked around campus. We really got a feel for what he goes through on a daily basis there, where he walks, where he likes to eat or study, where he works. It was great...a lot of walking! He was interning at the Capital so we stopped there too...couldn't get in though. Then we stopped by the student lounge (shoot, don't remember the name of it) and sat by the water with some nice cold beer. I felt like it was just a really good time with our whole family...I love it when we're all together...just feels right and we balance each other out.

Later that night we went out to eat at Samba Brazilian Grill. Very interesting. They had this amazing salad bar with all Brazilian food. Then there were about 8 gauchos (Brazilian cowboys) walking around with a huge skewer of meat. Each gaucho had a different kind of meat. This particular night there was duck, 2 kinds of lamb, 3 kinds of beef, sausage and parmesan-crusted pork. Most were pretty rare so I didn't like them but when you got a good well-done piece it was spectacular. They'd come to your table asking if you want that particular meat. If you did they'd cut you off a piece. It was expensive but such a unique experience. After that we went back to the hotel for the night.

In the morning we enjoyed breakfast at Denny's. Then we headed to the graduation a couple hours later. The graduation was super long and of course my brother was practically the last person no joke. So the entire time we're looking for him and finally spot him at the end. Then it was off to take pictures and then home. It was a great relaxing weekend with the family and I'm so proud of my little brother! I took lots of pictures of the campus for him too.

Here are some pictures Scott took. I really respect and admire his passion for photography, he got some really nice shots as always :)

Something you commonly see in Madison


































And here are the pictures I took:

Matt at his house (and the paparazzi)


The kitchen










Matt decked out his hallway












Love this shot


Scott, you might be shot if someone from Illinois sees this














State Street


























Proud parents