Gusts of Winter Start

MN twice in one season; this girl could not get any luckier! Its funny; I have been away now for 4 years, I have lost some and gained some and maintained the most important. There is no way to predict how one is going to do with a life change such as I had four years ago and yet it turned out as well as I could have hoped. I am happy to report that maintaining friendships over 1500 miles is pretty damn easy if you want it to be. Yes, I am not there for many of the day to day but at least when I see those I have known for 10 years or longer I know that I can be myself, nothing more nothing less, and always be welcomed.

So first off Krista Neumann will be no more. She will become a Jacobsen shortly. I spent a very short weekend in MN with the girls sending her off into wedded bliss. I have never had an opportunity to be so actively involved in a bachelorette party as I have with hers and am glad to say that this one was tasteful, silly, and really not as overwhelming as the media makes them out to be. I think she may be glad one only gets a single of those! We spent the afternoon at her and Jesses house playing obscene games and eating. Everyone was decked out in black and red, two of Krista and Jesses wedding colors, and the bride herself was of course in white. The rest of the night was spent cruising around the Twin cities in a limobus with a stripper pole and LED lights. One would think six hours of this would feel like forever, but we all stayed the course and had a blast doing such. Everyone made it home safe and sounds and no worse for the wear, except Dana, our dear sweet paper-substitute-for-the-real-thing. (traveling halfway across the country with Dana paper at my side was interesting to say the least) Next month marks the wedding month. Kari is the maid of honor, sister of the bride, bridesmaids Angel, Kristie, and Steph, and Bridal attendants Dana and I. So far the pictures of the selections Jesse and Krista have made are spectacular, so it should be a fabulous event. Not to mention they get a week of vacation in Jamaica after the wedding!

My sister, mother, Krista and I hit up a botique called Wedding Shoppe on Grand in St. Paul to do some more dress shopping for ideas for the dress my mom has already started for me. The girls sat in the main room in front of the double wide mirrors while I put on and took off maybe 12 dresses. We have all agreed on the shape and type of dress; now its time to start creating. I am ever thankful to have a myriad of opinions on the selection of dresses. Not only has my idea of the perfect dress evolved into something specific for me and my personality, but everyone else seems to concur and we got to a point where I could just walk out and there would be a resounding "NO!" Thus, with the shape of the dress chosen and with how many dresses I have already tried on and have not found one that is "the one," I think mom and I are completely reassured that we are proceeding with her composition. Thank goodness shes been watching Project Runway for the past few seasons :) Truth be told, if anyone has seen her past creations, you know that there is no way this woman can make anything that is less than fabulous, and I have full confidence in her abilities.

My mom and I stopped in on Jake, Erin, Addison and Ryder while I was home. Ryder is the new addition to their family I mentioned in my last blog. Ryder is a perfect little specimen...He is beautiful. Jake and Erin had a few baby pictures of each of them and Ryder looks exactly like daddy - good sign as daddy is as handsome as can be! (Moms pretty gorgeous as well ;) Addison is a proud big brother who gives many kisses to his sibling and seems happy to have someone new in the house. Ryder spent the time in my moms arms (of course!) and stared non-stop at dad. Hes smiling and laughing already at three months with blue eyes and little chubster legs. Mom, dad and brother are all doing really well and I look forward to seeing them again in less than a month. Candace has already gotten to see her new little nephew and apparently he gets a ton of visitors - rightly so, many people have been waiting for his presence! I think Auntie gets to come back for Christmas too; Im selfishly hoping we can coincide our trips.

Amongst all the work and travel Kerry and I have also managed to finish the upstairs bathroom. Ker had already replaced the tub and toilet and completed the tiling in the bath; now we have a new vanity (with granite!), new paint color, new window treatments and new fixtures all around. We also put in a fan to protect the walls and ceiling. So this is room 4/9 finito. I think next will probably be the dining room then the kitchen. A lot of the finishing we have to do is just painting and installing the indoor shutters, and sanding and painting the crown molding that was installed last year -- the boring parts. Then I suppose Ill have to try and vacumn the basement of all the sawdust....ick.

Kerry and I also finally made it to the Bahamas for our trip. There is another post next enlightening those who care about our engagement. There is some more pics below from the rest of the trip. We were able to stop by the Sheraton on Nassau and chose that hotel for our wedding! We were lucky enough to swim with a dolphin named Icaro. We learned how to scuba dive in the pool then went for a dive in the ocean where we saw a sea turtle, two lion fish, and a ton of other types of fish. We had some spectacular dinners at Nobu and Mesa and a day was spent hanging out on the water slides, lazy river, and by the ocean. This trip was 6 days of pure rest, relaxation and brainless fun; exactly what was needed. I cant wait to come back in a year and a half!

November 28th our daughter Mabel turns 2. Cant get cuter than that folks

Fall arrives

Highlights of this fall:

1. Laura is home!

My friend Laura was in Ecuador for two years for the Peace Corps and has just made it back to the US. We hosted a "You are a star" Welcome home party for her and her fiance Frankie which had a great turnout. There were a bunch of old friends there supporting her return as well as a bunch of new friends we have acquired ready to meet the infamous world traveler. She currently is in the of job searching whilst nannying her two nieces and has also been busy cleaning out her parents house. There is also a ton of planning she has been doing to get ready for her wedding next year. She was lucky enough to find a wedding dress (she cried) the first time we went looking for them at Madelines daughter. I have to brush up on my Spanish again for some more future traveling to and around Ecuador. The Cd's are going back in my car.

2. My family came to visit!

Yep, Allison, Mom and dad were all in town for a long weekend this fall. Some activities included apple picking, visiting a flower garden by the beach, scrabble, making an apple pie, shopping for wedding dresses, going to a psychic. Yes, we fit all of that in. I was sad the boys could not make it this time, but I will be here for awhile, Ill have to catch them next time! Oh, and the psychic told mom she would not be moving THIS YEAR, but maybe next year....hmm. (She also told Allison she would be dealing with a lot of baby stuff in the next 6 months....do I hear illegitimate child??!!! yee haw!) I was really sad they had to leave, it was really nice having the house full of people doing fun things with me.

3. Lauren is home!

Lauren, Ker's sister is back from Colorado, bringing Mike her boyfriend and their year and a half old great dane Slate. I look forward to taking walks with her, doing pottery again, and convincing her boyfriend to become ordained as a Justice of the Peace to conduct wedding ceremonies. ;) Surprise Mike!!!! She will be starting at the new company Paul Mitchell of Northern New England alongside her brothers soon. She learned a ton of marketing and sales techniques through her job in Colorado so I am excited to see her flourish and grow with her new position. Oh, and I'm glad to have her back for selfish reasons too - shes a partner in crime when it comes to planning and scheming our lives out together :)

4. Jake and Erin had their baby! Little boy Ryder, perfect little child. Apparently they had a ton of visitors at the hospital -- everyone in the Hase' family has been waiting for years for a little one to fawn over. I get to meet the little guy this winter.

And that's the new

headlines for the early fall. As for me? Well, I have completely taken over the kitchen table for my new "crafts" aka wedding gear. Yes, I am not engaged. Nope, not yet. But I figure, it will happen soon enough, and until then I am going to start creating. It was either that or acquire a new puppy, and Kerry quickly put the kibosh on that one. (I had one picked out and everything...)

I just ran the Hampton Half Marathon which runs along the seacoast. It is the most flat run in NH, precisely why I picked it, and thus it went very well thankyouverymuch. I will never again run hills are mountains. We don't have those in MN. Mountains are what happens when you have to jump over a pothole in MN. Kerry came to the race and brought Simon to cheer me on. It went very smoothly and I am currently looking for another to do. Halves are much easier on the body; I think I will stick to those for another year or two. At least until i have no muscle memory of the Twin Cities Marathon I did two years ago; then I may subject myself to that torture again, you never know.

Other than that I am just trying to keep it together this fall; between the extra work I have with my job and the long hours Kerry is pulling with his new company its been tough to keep the house in shape. We are looking to put in some wooden shutters and a new vanity in the upstairs bathroom, stay tuned. Of course, it would be nice if I would finish painting the beautiful crown molding we installed last year. Ah, nah,

another year :)

Oh yeah, I cannot resist some photos of our babies :)