TV and Birds

Since the last post our lives have been semi uneventful. We have a new TV downstairs. Ryan's co-worker purchased a new TV and he was looking to get rid of it. Who better to take it then a couple that is still in the collecting stage! Ryan and Emily! We now have a flat screen Sony 42 inch TV in our basement. It is fantabulous! I have been spending the nights in the basement, which is very unusual for us.
We also had a visitor a couple days ago in our garage. I was getting ready to go to work when I went outside to run an errand quick. I heard this flapping noise and immediately thought there was a bat in the garage. If you were an onlooker I would look like I was re-enacting an Indiana Jones movie, dodging huge falling rocks. After collecting myself I looked up to find out it was only a bird. I then noticed that it had already managed to poop on my car. That made me tick, so I got a huge shovel and tried to swat the bird out of the garage. That didn't happen. I decided Ryan might know the answer. I marched into the building where his office was, but before going in I stopped and saw he was in a meeting, refraining myself from going in. I was livid, but come on what was Ryan going to do. By the time I got home the bird was gone. Lesson learned, don't leave the garage door open too long.

MY DAD (AKA THE GREATEST)

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL THE GREAT DADS!
I know everybody says this, but my dad is really the greatest dad. I am not lying! My dad has loved me through thick and thin. I know the blog is supposed to be about Ryan and I's adventure in life, but today is a special day. I want to write about my dad because without him I wouldn't have met the man of my dreams. I could write an autobiography about my relationship with my father, but I will save you all from reading millions and millions of pages and cover just some of the memories I have with my dad. I remember when I was little kid and dad would always watch weird TV shows/movies like Star Trek, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other crazy scifi, action-packed movies. My brothers would go crazy and ask dad to watch more and more. I hate to admit it, but I got into them myself at one time. I also remember playing outside while my dad would listen to Meatloaf, James Taylor, or Jimmy Buffett building a deck. Occasionally I would hear him blurt out some very off key lyrics, but nonetheless they were always the right words. That was another thing. He could always find the right words. No matter if I was having trouble in school with friends, homework, or basically mad at mom, he had a calming presence. To this day I still call him when I need to talk or advice.
Family trips are/were another time when dad's sense of humor erupts. I remember one time my cousin Kirsten, my uncle Craig, my dad, and I were in the same car traveling to South Dakota, while the rest were dispersed throughout the other vehicles. First you have to understand the relationship between Kirsten and I. Being my bestie, Kirsten and I will laugh for no apparent reason at all. No one understands why and yes we do get funny looks. So as Kirsten and I were laughing, my dad turns around and says do I have something in my nose. We almost went to the bathroom in my uncle's jeep! My dad had two green dots stuck up his nose. There were many other memories I have of my dad on vacation, but I will keep it short. Moving on...
Sports, was another aspect of life that I never have had a chance to thank him enough for. He attended almost every basketball game, volleyball game, and track meet I was in. Besides owning his own firm he was able to make it to all of his kids games. Sometimes there would be times when him and my mom had to split. He would always go to the boys game and mom would come to mine. Not only does he have a sense of humor, he loves watching his kids grow. I know I am skipping many years, but let's move on.
Last August I married my amazing husband! It wouldn't have come together without the love, support, and help from my parents. They basically revamped their backyard so we could have the wedding of our dreams right there. My mom tended to the garden while my dad did more of the bigger projects. I remember there were nights when my dad would come home from work and go in the backyard right away to help my mom. I will never ever thank them enough for the work they did.
The big day came so fast. I can still see my dads ear-to-ear smile on his face. There are some girls that don't get to walk down the aisle with their daughter, but I was the luckiest girl. I couldn't ask for a better person to "give me away."
I don't think I ever heard the music during our father/daughter dance. All I remember was dad and I having another chat. Just like we always did. Him saying the unforgettable words, "I am so proud of you."
Now you can see he is the greatest dad of all! Happy Fathers Day! :)

Staying young and growing old

I was visiting outside the other day with our neighbor. A mother from a couple doors down, whom I have not met yet, came over to visit as well. We did the usual small talk getting-to-know you introductions. I asked her about how many children she had. She responded, "you must have children as well. I have seen a teenage boy running around." I about died laughing! "Oh you mean a tall blonde boy," I replied. "That is my husband, Ryan." She was mortified, but I couldn't resist the urge to cry. It was hilarious!
This isn't the first time he has had this type of reaction. Many of his clients often question his age. Sometimes I think he wears a tie and suit to work everyday to look that much older. But I love him because he is staying young. As the years pass he never changes. I can't wait for the years to come and watch him stay young and grow old with me.
Here is a movie quote/song that sums up our future:

[Billy Idol (Speaking):] Good afternoon everyone.
We're flying at 26, 000 feet, moving
Up to thirty thousand feet, and then we've got clear skies
All the way to Las Vegas, and right now we're bringing you some in-flight
Entertainment. One of our first-class passengers would like to sing you a song
Inspired by one of our coach passengers, and since we let our first-class
Passengers do pretty much whatever they want, here he is.

[Robbie Hart (Singing):]
I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad
Oh all I wanna do is grow old with you

I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches
Build you a fire if the furnace breaks
Oh it could be so nice, growing old with you

I'll miss you
Kiss you
Give you my coat when you are cold

Need you
Feed you
Even let ya hold the remote control

So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink
Put you to bed when you've had too much to drink
I could be the man who grows old with you
I wanna grow old with you

My new job

I LOVE IT! Recently I started working at the Northfield Hospital and it is awesome! I love the people I work with and the hours I work are spectacular. I work in admissions from 3:30 to 9pm at night Monday thru Thursday and every other weekend. There are so many reasons why I love my job...Because I can
1. Watch daytime TV (including The View, The Talk, News, HGTV, and all the BRAVO television I want!)
2. Catch up on all the celebrity gossip
3. Clean the house and do projects without any distractions
4. Eat lunch and have coffee with friends
5. Buy a dog
6. Cook healthy meals
7. Workout whenever I want and don't have to get up early to fit it in the day
8. Go on walks with friends
9. Shop and spend money while Ryan is working
10. Read books and layout in the sun
11. Spend time with friends during the week I maybe wouldn't have the chance to see
12. Eat lunch with Ryan
13. Take time to look pretty before going to work
14. Spend time with the family I love

Graduation

Ryan and I attended a high school graduation this last weekend. Logan had his party on Saturday and the ceremony on Sunday. It was very eventful. I saw former teachers, family members, and wonderful friends of the family. It was absolutely wonderful! Logan's menu was cheesy potatoes, wings, and of course monster cookies and special K bars. The food was so unhealthy and delicious I ate constantly that day!
After the party Logan had a gig. And yes that would be a gig for his newly created band. Logan, 3 other boys, and a girl have formed this band. I know Logan's head is going to get bigger by me saying this, but they are pretty good. They have only been together for a couple months, but already know 13 songs. They have some local events already lined up. It is very entertaining to watch them. On Saturday night I had the pleasure to listen to them. They played a variety of popular songs from Journey to "Stacy's Mom." I can't wait to hear more.
Sunday was a more quiet day. I played paparazzi on Sunday following my brother around after the ceremony taking pictures with his friends. Logan also presented the closing comments at graduation. He did an awesome job and received many compliments from teachers, students, and other students' family and friends. All in all it was a great weekend! Logan has accomplished so much and I am a proud sister. He will head to Duluth and start at UMD in the fall going pre-med to eventually be a radiologist. He has alot ahead of him and I can't wait to see what happens! Best of luck Logan!

From Minnesota to Missouri

Where to start...let's say Minn-e-so-ta. This last weekend Ryan and I traveled to Mexico, Missouri. Yes there is a Mexico in the United States. It is in the north-central part of Missouri (aka middle of nowhere).

The trip started on Friday afternoon at 3:30pm after I was finished with work. The drive from Northfield to Des Moines was nonetheless flat. It got better once Ryan and I got to southeast Iowa/northern Missouri. There are many Amish in this region and we did see some wagons with horses on the shoulder of the roads. Both of us were stunned to see so many of them out after dark. We encountered many signs that said "Please share the roads." underneath it was a picture of a wagon and horse. We arrived at Mexico about 11pm. We were both proud of ourselves for only stopping twice (especially me because my bladder is very small!).
Now we come to the purpose of our trip. My cousin, Jake from Arlington, Texas attends a high school military academy in Mexico, MMA. Every year at the end of the school year they have a send off for all the boys. During the send off they have a final formation and graduation for all the seniors. Jake of course wasn't a senior, but he was involved from the beginning to the end.

These are pictures of the final formation.

After the final formation was complete commencement started. It was a very formal ceremony.

All the students ushering in...
When graduation was done the boys lined up out front and were released/dismissed. I don't think I have ever seen so many hats thrown in the air. Jake's seemed to be thrown the highest. I wouldn't say that it is any inclination of his experience there because what I saw that weekend was different. The relationships that the boys have made and the experiences they went through showed me the bonds they have will last forever. To see my little cousin have that experience was emotional for me. I am so happy and honored to tell people that my cousin attends MMA. It was great to see my cousins, aunt, and my Grandpa Tom, who drove down from Des Moines to haul Jake's things home. Below are some more pictures from the weekend...

The Boys

Grandpa Tom and some of his favorite grandchildren

Cousin Erin, who just graduated high school!

Cousins and I...love them!

The Myers Family

Waiting patiently to watch Jake and embarrass him

After saying goodbye to Katie, Grandpa Tom and the cousins we ventured over to Columbia, MO, home of the Zou. We walked around the stadium and campus. We ate at a brewery downtown and decided to stay in the city for the night. We were so both physically exhausted from the long night of driving before. The place we stayed at had this huge statue of a moose out front. I don't know if the statue was necessary but nonetheless it gave us entertainment.

The next morning we awoke and started on our way towards home. While we were completely bored driving through Missouri, we came across Yogi the bear. We were crying from laughing so hard. Here was Yogi in front of this business with two garbage cans full of what looked like gasoline tanks. Only in Missouri would you find a moose and Yogi all within 20 miles of each other!

Since we had all the time in the world to get home we also stopped at Pella, Iowa to have lunch. It was a quaint town with a college and a downtown with a danish touch. I loved it! It reminded both of us of Northfield with all the boutiques downtown. We even had our lunch in a park in front of Pella Windows manufacturer. According to Ryan this was his favorite part of the trip. He also figured out that Central College is located in Pella, which then lead to him talking about St. John's football. I guess they always gave them a run for their money. An old windmill in downtown Pella. Another stop, Des Moines. We HAD TO check out the capital. Here is a look from the capital steps of downtown Des Moines in the background. The coolest thing I thought about our capital visit was that people were taking wedding pictures while we were there. It was at the point of the wedding where the groom was seeing the bride for the first time. It brought me back to August 21, 2010 when I married my best friend!

The capital of Iowa

I had to take a picture of this because I hope Ryan someday will be able to park a foot away from the state capital. Here ends our trip for the most part. The drive between Des Moines and Northfield was very bland. Not much to see besides fields, corn, beans, and a couple homes here and there. We were so happy to make it and see our wonderful cousins!

A place we call home continued...

Now that we have some more time, we will continue our virtual picture tour through our new home. Here are pictures of the upstairs.
You choose to walk up the stairs and you straight ahead. You see our kitchen table. It was Emily's parents old kitchen table. The drapes complementary of all the friends and family giftcards from our wedding.

You look to the left and see our kitchen. There is a huge pantry in the corner. (Love, love, love it)! We have a double sink. You wouldn't think that is a huge deal, but coming from a small garden-level apartment it is! The best part of the kitchen, dining room, living room, and upstairs in general is that it is all open. When we were looking at places to purchase we walked inside this one and saw the high ceilings. Immediately we both feel in love!

This is half of our living room area. The big couch is from our dear friends, the Greenes. The blue rocker is our favorite seat in the house because we have the awesome huge window where we can see our neighbors every move.

Here is the other half of the living room. We have an awesome mission-style entertainment center and an old-school Singer Sewing Machine. It adds an antique touch. Now we will move into the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom.

Bathroom #2: Similar to the downstairs bathroom, our upstairs one is also blue. This one is shared between the both of us. Let's just say some mornings can be pretty hectic with both of us trying to get ready.

Here is the guest bedroom upstairs. Emily's favorite room. She loves the colors and style of furniture in the bedroom. It is known as the retro and/or old-school room.

This is the other side of the retro bedroom. It has a dresser Emily's mother found and a mission style shelf.

Master Bedroom: The colors in the room are bronze, green, and cream. This is a small view and image how big it is! We love the space, especially coming from an apartment. The furniture in this room is Emily's Grandma's.

On the other side of the wall is our dresser and Emily's armour. She is obsessed with it and of course it is fully packed with a necklace for every outfit.

Here are the pain in the butt sheers (as Emily would say). They look awesome hung up, but if you ask Ryan about them he will just roll his eyes and tell you it took forever to get them right.

The best part about the room is the closet. It is huge! Although Ryan can only fit his clothes in the closet, we do share shelving. Emily has to put her clothes in the retro room across the hallway. This is fine for her because she does use the full closet hanging space.

We hope you enjoyed the tour of our new place and will come visit us soon to see the real thing! Any time you are in the area, give us a call! We love to have guests!