My friend Stacy "kidnapped" me to go on a scrap booking weekend last weekend. We went to the Lady Slipper retreat house, located in Meadowlands, MN. I have been there one other time with her; but she gets there a little more often as it is closer to Duluth. There were 12 of us that stayed for a two-night weekend. I had an opportunity to complete one scrapbook, for Ashley. (Very long overdue!) It was especially fun to use the Cricut of a few different people, which is totally addicting! Lots of chick-flick movies were watched over the weekend, as they have a plasma t.v. in the workroom! The price of the place is not bad for a two-night weekend, if you get 12 people to go, and we split the cost of food which came to a whopping $10! The prices are even cheaper if you can go during the week, which is when I went last time. The "house" is absolutely immaculate, and has the warmest, most comfortable beds! The only downfall is the "odor" of the well water.
Everyone was more than happy to stay in their comfy clothes all weekend, including me; which consisted of my warm-up pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt. Talk about roughing it!
Oct 23, 2009
Jul 9, 2009
Birthday celebration
A few days beforehand, David informed me that he had to be out-of-town for work on my birthday...Disappointing, but at least he was just out-of-town rather than out of the country, as he so cutely reminded me. We had been deciding how to celebrate, and had been given a few dinner suggestions from friends; one was Kincaid's and the other Ruth's Chris. I coordinated dinner reservations for the evening on the Friday preceeding the 4th of July; which David has off. We voted on Ruth's Chris as our choice and were not disappointed. First we had a cocktail; I chose a pomagranate martini (after being carded) and David had a scotch, and shared some crab-stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer. We each had steak, which comes off some crazy 1800 degree grill...and shared some augratin potatoes. Very good. Then we got to share a complimentary dessert of choice--we picked a banana cream torte; it had a white-chocolate vanilla bean custard and a creme' brulee top; spectacular! Many phone calls and of course, FaceBook messages on the actual day made me feel very blessed!
Jun 30, 2009
R & R time!
The "couples" vacation we planned with our friends way back in December finally happened! For years, the "boys" of our National Guard friends have been going camping at Birch Lake in Babbitt. A few years ago, some of the "veterans" voted to start staying at the resort, Timber Bay Lodge.
The largest cabin, which we stayed in, sleeps 12-16 people, has a large plasma tv, air conditioning, 2 fridges (plenty of room for beer, etc.) and very comfortable beds. Certainly not roughing it, but certainly more my style... In the large cabin, we had 6 couples and one very adorable Golden Retriever, named "Chief". In two other smaller cabins we had more couples, along with 2 chocolate labs. The dogs were all very well behaved and hilarious to watch on the boats...One of our friend Jack's two chocolate's is still a puppy ("Guiness), and liked to jump in the water after Jack's bobber...sure that scared the fish away! Guiness' big brother, "Chip", was not impressed by the water or floating "ball" at all.
The first day we got there we were suddenly greeted - right behind our cabin, by a black bear cub. Pretty cool! The resort owner has a HUGE NewFoundland dog, which they then used to scare the bear up the tree until the DNR could get there. The dog, known as "Timber", could be more of a bear than a dog at a quick glance! On day two, they ladies drove to Ely, only 15 miles from Babbitt. We had breakfast at the Chocolate Moose; yum! We just strolled around town looking at all the giftshops and then went to DQ for ice cream. The boys were almost always fishing in both the morning and evening. The ladies opted for a little less fishing time, and usually only went after dinner. Every day we had a "pool" for the biggest walleye caught; just $1 to put your name in. Very serious competition, however; more about the bragging rights than the size of the prize! On Friday, the rookie fisher of the group (ME) caught the winning fish, at 16". I think I was so excited, because I got to beat Jack who is very competitive about the fishing. It was all in good fun.
The rest of our time was spent playing Cribbage, cards and just visiting. Oh, and did I mention drinking?! Many people woke up in the morning and made a bloody mary; which I now like if the proper mix is used, and needs to have seasoned salt on the rim.
We had so much fun spending time with our close friends who we don't get to see often, along with some new friends as well. The boys have officially invited the girls back for next year. In Sept, the boys have their annual trip planned, which I guess the really big fish are out for. That trip can include two of our friends who just returned from Iraq.
I have a picture of my winning fish below: To my right is our good friend, Glenn. I was in Glenn's boat, with him and his wife Deb.
The largest cabin, which we stayed in, sleeps 12-16 people, has a large plasma tv, air conditioning, 2 fridges (plenty of room for beer, etc.) and very comfortable beds. Certainly not roughing it, but certainly more my style... In the large cabin, we had 6 couples and one very adorable Golden Retriever, named "Chief". In two other smaller cabins we had more couples, along with 2 chocolate labs. The dogs were all very well behaved and hilarious to watch on the boats...One of our friend Jack's two chocolate's is still a puppy ("Guiness), and liked to jump in the water after Jack's bobber...sure that scared the fish away! Guiness' big brother, "Chip", was not impressed by the water or floating "ball" at all.
The first day we got there we were suddenly greeted - right behind our cabin, by a black bear cub. Pretty cool! The resort owner has a HUGE NewFoundland dog, which they then used to scare the bear up the tree until the DNR could get there. The dog, known as "Timber", could be more of a bear than a dog at a quick glance! On day two, they ladies drove to Ely, only 15 miles from Babbitt. We had breakfast at the Chocolate Moose; yum! We just strolled around town looking at all the giftshops and then went to DQ for ice cream. The boys were almost always fishing in both the morning and evening. The ladies opted for a little less fishing time, and usually only went after dinner. Every day we had a "pool" for the biggest walleye caught; just $1 to put your name in. Very serious competition, however; more about the bragging rights than the size of the prize! On Friday, the rookie fisher of the group (ME) caught the winning fish, at 16". I think I was so excited, because I got to beat Jack who is very competitive about the fishing. It was all in good fun.
The rest of our time was spent playing Cribbage, cards and just visiting. Oh, and did I mention drinking?! Many people woke up in the morning and made a bloody mary; which I now like if the proper mix is used, and needs to have seasoned salt on the rim.
We had so much fun spending time with our close friends who we don't get to see often, along with some new friends as well. The boys have officially invited the girls back for next year. In Sept, the boys have their annual trip planned, which I guess the really big fish are out for. That trip can include two of our friends who just returned from Iraq.
I have a picture of my winning fish below: To my right is our good friend, Glenn. I was in Glenn's boat, with him and his wife Deb.
May 17, 2009
Confirmation
The past two years of preparation towards Ashley's Confirmation has come to a close. It is so hard to believe she is this grown up... (tear). The ceremony was held at St. Paul Cathedral; which I had only been inside once to look around. It is so beautiful, I could have spent hours looking at all the details. Our church is gigantic, having 150 of the 200 Confirmation candidates for the service. I was truly impressed at how well they "ran the show" with so many candidates and observers (the place was packed). The service lasted about 1 1/2 hours, and then they had time afterwards for group pictures with the Bishop. Pretty cool. Pictures outside were difficult due to it being extremely windy and cold, but Ashley was a trouper. 
I love this photo; thanks to my dad-he had the capitol as the backdrop.
Inside the Cathedral - Sheila (sponsor) and Ashley
One-third of the St. Ambrose of Woodbury group-(Ashley 4th from L)
After the service we had a small lunch reception back at our house, there were about 12 of us. We had ham, turkey, cheese, harvest potatoes, fresh fruit, and mini cheesecakes for dessert. It was a long day but a beautiful service which we were able to share with family and friends on such a special occasion.
I love this photo; thanks to my dad-he had the capitol as the backdrop. 
Inside the Cathedral - Sheila (sponsor) and Ashley
One-third of the St. Ambrose of Woodbury group-(Ashley 4th from L)After the service we had a small lunch reception back at our house, there were about 12 of us. We had ham, turkey, cheese, harvest potatoes, fresh fruit, and mini cheesecakes for dessert. It was a long day but a beautiful service which we were able to share with family and friends on such a special occasion.
May 8, 2009
"The Nook"
It's kind of funny that our friends who live in Duluth actually highly recommended a fabulous burger place in the cities... It's called Casper's and Runyon's Nook. Located in St.Paul, off Hamline and Randolph Ave's. Then David asked one of his "local" co-workers about it, and her response was "yeah, really good burgers!!! To my surprise, David asked to take today off work so I decided we would go on an adventure and find it. We get there at about 5 minutes before opening and there's already a line forming outside the door... The burgers were spectacular....I had something called the Triple-B; cinnamon-brown sugar bacon and cheddar cheese. The fries were also very good; not overly greasy, skin-on fries and really crispy. Not the biggest place in town by any means, but darn good place if you're in the mood for a realy good burger. David had the Paul Molitor; a pepper-jack cheese stuffed burger. Speaking of stuffed, I am very stuffed! A fun way to splurge at a local favorite!
Mar 23, 2009
Back to the floods
I knew after the record amounts of snow there would be problems in the Red River valley again, as they predicted. A few weeks ago they announced that National Guard units would be sent in to help. But honestly, we just kind of put it out of our minds. But then yesterday, David's section leader called, and the unit was put "On Notice". This basically indicates they will be sent in the next 72 hours. So now we just wait. It's hard to believe the last time the Duluth unit did flood duty in East Grand Forks, it was 12 years ago. We also only had one child then, which is strange to remember! Anyway, it was sobering to hear David's stories about things that happened while he was there. This included him and his best friend almost literally, floating away in a three-ton truck when a levy broke. I just take the days they'e gone one day at a time. Hope for no rain!
Feb 14, 2009
Playdate
A few weeks back, since I knew there was no school, we had planned a playdate with my sister Krista & her kids. The little girls and I drove down to their house and they played while Sydney was still sleeping. Then once the princess woke up, we decided to head to the mall food court for lunch. After we ate, we went to the play area in the mall and let them burn off some energy. The kids were all very well behaved, and even earned the frozen yogurt treat Krista promised them. Yummy! The only slight injury happened when Abby and Nathan were hugging, and they knocked each other over onto the tile floor. They are just too cute together!!!
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