Close One

So on Saturday morning Jon and I got up early to head down to Sun Prairie, WI to celebrate Holly & Jason's 5 year wedding anniversary with them, their families, and some other friends. We left the house at about 6:45 am and had to head down to Waseca to drop Bailey off at Joel & Betty's house. Well somewhere around 7:15 I opened my purse to show Jon the pictures from the girls night the night before. However, to my shock and dismay there was no camera in my purse! Now the panic set in....when was the last time I used it, what did I do with it last, did I leave it on the counter at home or worse at the movie the night before. Well emotional me starts crying because I realized that the last time I had it was right before the movie started and I never remember putting it back into my purse.

So it was 7:15 and we were already 35 minutes south from our house.....what was I to do. Well my logical husband calmed me down and said...once the mall opens we will have to call one of our friends to see if they can go over and check if someone turned it into the lost & found. So I urgently texted Amanda to call me as soon as she got up. She was a sweet heart and called the AMC at the MOA for me. The guy at AMC said he did not see anything, but she was more than welcome to come in and look. So her plan was to go in sometime on Saturday and look, but she ended up calling back to see when theatre #4 was not in use. When she called back the man on the phone said he happened to check the lost & found and there was a Cannon camera in a handmade camouflage case. THAT WAS MINE!! Yeah, crisis averted.

Girls Night

Here are some fun pictures from the girls night I organized for the Sex & the City movie premiere night. I had originally had a nice long post written, but some how it got deleted so now I am just going to include some highlights.

~ Happy Hour at Tony Romas
~ Fun drinks & fun conversation
~ A shot from the nice man carrying a Hooters golf bag through the mall
~ Kettle corn snuck into the movie by Lisa
~ Getting lost in a good movie

That Wascally Wabbit

I think we did it....we have found the culprit that has been eating the peas out of our garden. Well, hold on for a sec...I should say Jon's garden because it is his pride & joy this season. Last year we moved the garden from the middle of the yard to the whole area behind the garage. So this year as soon as the ground began to thaw Jon has been so excited to plant things.

For weeks now it has been tilling, planting, and watering. We have a fence around the garden area, but then added additional chicken wire around 3/4 of the garden to keep the rabbits out. About a week after planting the corn, peas, carrots, spinach and lettuce, little green sprouts began to emerge from the soil. Jon was so excited our garden is in and ITS GROWING!!! However, the next day his excitement changed to frustration when he noticed that the peas and lettuce had been mowed down. We figured maybe, just maybe a bunny was able to fit through the small fencing on the 1/4 we did not put the chicken wire up around. So off to the store he went to buy more wire.

Once the wire was put up he finished planting the remainder of the garden which includes broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkins, melons, cucumbers, and some other stuff...I can't remember everything. By this time the first set of crops are looking pretty good. Then I hear a loud roar coming into the house as I am getting ready one morning....."THAT DANG RABBIT IS STILL GETTING INTO MY GARDEN".

Big Jon was mad. Mad until Monday when he and Bailey were heading out and he noticed there are a bunny sitting in the garden. As he approached that little bunny ran up the rain down spout that comes off the back of the garage. So this bunny somehow got into the garden and now with the fence up could not get out, so he has been living in the down spout. :)

Needless to say Jon covered the end of the down spout so that rabbit can not get back into our garden that way. He may not live inside the down spout for very long, but at least he is not eating any more of our veggies. That little guy sure had Jon fooled for a few weeks.
Once things are more grown I will post some pictures.

A day full of events...

With the late night on Saturday it took a little longer for everyone to rise on Sunday morning. But we did have a wonderful egg bake for brunch that we put together on Saturday night when we got home. Sunday was full of spending time with family. Early afternoon we went over to Grandma & Grandpa Webers to meet their new dog, Baby. Baby is a 9 month old German Shepard/Collie mix. We brought Bailey over with us so she could play with Baby, however, she was not too fond of Baby and kept growling at him. Baby was very timid and would not even move from the spot where she was sitting when we arrived. But, by the time we left she had warmed up some, which was probably due to all the attention we were giving him.

When we got back to the house we had a Rock Band jamming session. Megan had bought Rock Band for James' birthday and brought it over so we could all play. It is definitely harder than it looks and we all had a hard time even finishing a song...we kept getting boo'ed off stage. It was still funny.
After a few unsuccessful attempts at the family band .... we decided to play some yard games, since it was a nice day again (but still windy). Bob, Valerie, & Michael all came over for dinner and Bob brought his lawn jarts so we played a few rounds. With the wind it was really hard to play, but we were able to make it work. After dinner Grandma & Grandpa Rieck also came over so we all went back outside and played bocce ball until it was too dark to see. Actually once the sun went down we started using a basketball as the marker since it was easier to find/see in the grass than the small marker ball. After it got too dark to continue bocce, we turned on the house/garage lights and all played a game of horse. Since there was 9 of us playing we decide to play pig instead of horse. I think I am a little rusty on my basketball shots as I was the 2nd one out. In the end it came down to a battle of the brother ~ Jon vs Christopher. Jon was victorious with his sneaky behind the hoop shot over the backboard and in. After this the games did not stop...Betty, Jon, Christopher, James, Megan, & I went in to play Uno attack, which I rule at! :) I think I had a lucky night.


Once Uno was completed James went to head home, however, 5 minutes later Megans phone rang. She started laughing and said okay I will be right there. Turns out James truck ran out of gas down the road and around the corner. So off Megan and I went to give James some assistance. The truck he was driving is one that he is working on and the gas guage doesn't quite work right...either way it was pretty funny.

Happy Memorial Day!

Time in Waseca

On Saturday afternoon Jon, Bailey, and I went down to Waseca for the rest of the Memorial Day weekend. It was a very nice day on Saturday however it was really windy. But what is good to do on a windy day....fly a kite! We were able to find some kites in the basement and took them outside to give them a try. The first one flew for a bit, but took a few too many nose dives to the ground and broke. The other 2 were ones that Christopher and Megan made in bible school when they were young and were too light... all they did was fly in a circle. It was worth a shot.

Saturday night Jon, Betty, and I met up with Kate & Patrick at the Corner bar in Elysian. Patrick's parents have a place on the lake in Elysian which is only 15 min from Waseca. We had dinner there and then enjoyed a few cocktails. Jon and Patrick gave their luck a try with the pull tabs....Jon won $1 and Patrick won $2! Kate was the big winner on the pull tabs earlier in the day winning $100. I guess this is a place that Kate & Patrick frequent when they are at the lake...so they know the owners quite well. It was a fun night.

Helping Hands

On Saturday morning Jon and I went over to help Jesse & Nikki move stuff into their new place. Mostly we helped moving the big items from Nikki's place to their new apartment. She recently graduated college and her lease was up so they decided to get a place together in Uptown. When we got to their new place there were a few guys that walked out as we were taking the first load in. We believed they were Jehovah's witnesses because they were all dressed in black pants, white shirts, ties and were all carrying backpacks. Anyway, they were very generous and offered to help. Therefore, the unloading was much quicker than the loading process. Jon and I were just glad we had some time to lend our friends some assistance. Moving is always easier the more hands that are available.

Cardio Force Premiere!!!

On Friday night the girls from the DVD (sans kathy) and I went over to Anni's house for a DVD premiere and girls night. The video looks awesome! Well, except for the one small part in the 3rd section where my stick on boob thingy detached and I had to rip it off and toss it under my step. Niki & Anni said they had edited the DVD like 100 times and never noticed it. They said I was so smooth with it no one will ever notice. So once the DVD comes out you all will have to tell me what you think. Needless to say we rewinded this part a few times and were all laughing hysterically.

As for the release... she is not sure how it will be distributed yet so it might be a little bit until we can get to into everyone's hands. She did make one copy for each of us though. :)

Warm Weather

One thing I love about warm weather is the post work happy hours outside. Tonight I organized a happy hour at Kincaids for my department and it was such a nice night we were able to sit on the patio. There were about 12 people who were able to stop by and enjoy some refreshments.

While we were sitting there someone at the table next to us noticed a little fox sitting just over on the little hill next to the building. The waitress said that she thinks there is a family of foxes that lives in the bushes because it was not the first time she had seen them.

Every morning...

Every morning when I get up I go to the end of the bed and pet Bailey who is laying on her bed on the floor. She stretches, I rub her belly, and then she gets up and jumps into our bed for cuddle time with Jon. I think they both enjoy their cuddle time in the morning. Bailey knows right where to go and loves to use my pillow. :)

Neighborhood Update

We were told last year it would happen and it finally did! The lady who owns the house behind us took down her eye sore of a garage and is rebuilding. Last week there were people over at her house moving this pile of bricks that was next to the garage as well as moving items from the garage into the back yard. Then today Jon sent me these pictures as they were pushing it down and then the other is a picture I took once I got home.

Basketball

This weekend my aunt Jan, uncle Dave, and cousin Mike came over to MN from Greenville, WI. Mike is a senior at Hortonville HS this year and was a high scorer and leader on his HS basketball team. He was invited to play in the Junior Nationals Regional tournament at the U of M this weekend.

They drove over yesterday and stopped by our house for a few hours to see our place. Then they headed over to see the MOA, do some shopping, and have dinner at Hooters! The tournament Mike played in was on Sunday. Since the teams were all different guys from different areas within the the region....the play was really street ball like. No plays, just a lot of fast breaks up and down the court. By game 3 you could tell the guys were tired. The score of his last game was 97-90 and that was with just two 20 min non-stop halves! Here are some pics from his games.

Puppy Play Date

We enjoyed our first camp fire on Friday night in our back yard including beer, peanuts, wine, and S'Mores! Whats a campfire without s'mores! Jerad, Amanda, Sarah and Nattie enjoyed campfire night with us. Early in the evening we thought we would get either winded or rained out, but both seemed to pass and made for a wonderfully comfortable & enjoyable night to sit by a fire!

On Saturday Matt dropped Niko off while he went golfing at Mississippi Dunes. Niko and Bailey played both inside & outside all day long. They both have so much energy to burn off they would run & run & run. Here was a picture once they were a little tired out and finally laid down.

Bailey on a Bike Ride

My parents gave us the kid carrier for the back of their bikes, since they no longer use it anymore with Tanner gone. Tanner was our little white Bishon dog. He would sit in the kid carrier and we would take him for bike rides.

Last summer when Bailey was a puppy we took both her and Tanner on a bike ride in the kid carrier and she seemed to like it. I would assume its like having her head out the window in the car. However, now Bailey is a little bit bigger and takes up all of the carrier. We figured she would just sit there contently and enjoy the ride. We do put a leash around her neck in case she would want to jump out, but we assumed she liked it last year so why not now.

Well, we pulled out of the driveway and we were not even to the next house when she leaped out of the carrier. Remind you she is attached. Therefore she fell over on the ground and the carrier came flying at her. (At least it did not tip Jon over) But, Bailey was frightened.

I gave her a hug and told her it was okay and then we tried it again, but this time tightened the leash so she would not even think to jump out. Once we did this and took her for a little ride I think she was more okay with it, but still a little shaky from the initial scare of falling. Baby steps...next time maybe the ride will be a little longer.

Grandpa's 80th birthday

On Saturday night my dad's side of the family had a surprise birthday party for my grandpa Huelsbeck's 80th birthday. We all met at the Main Event in Little Chute for dinner and drinks and then after dinner they rented a party busy to take the whole family up to the casino in Green Bay for the rest of the evening.

My uncle Bruce and aunt Kathy had told Grandpa & Izzy that they would take them out to dinner for his birthday since Bruce is working on his actual birthday and would not be able to get together. But little did he know that the whole family would be waiting for him as well when they got to the restaurant. I think he was surprised.

It was nice to see this side of the family since Jon and I really only get together with my dad's side over Christmas and this last Christmas we did not go back to Appleton at all. So it has been over a year since I have seen a lot of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Dinner was delicious...I had a crab stuffed Haddock and Jon had the tenderloin tips - YUM! After dinner we took some family pictures Grandpa & Izzy with all the grand kids (minus Jason & Adam) and then Grandpa & Izzy with the kids.

Jon and I (and a few other cousins) had not planned to go up to the casino, but prior to heading up to Green Bay the driver gave the whole family a ride around town in the party bus. Enough time for everyone to enjoy a little champagne.

Night Out with My Cousins

Last weekend Jon and I ventured back to Appleton for Mothers Day. Even with summer construction season beginning, we were able to make pretty good time of only 4 hours & 45 min. from Our home to Appleton Home. Bailey did good in the car as always, but its been awhile since we were on a long car ride so a few time she started whining and barking. When this happens I tend to bark right back, we play this little game for a bit barking back and forth at each other and then she normally gets tired of it and just lays back down. :)


Anyway, we arrived in Appleton around 8:00 on Friday night, which was about the same time my cousin Kyle was returning from college in Milwaukee (Pam went down to pick him up, what a nice mama). So Jon, I, mom, & dad went over to the Warner household to check out their remodeling process on the kitchen and to chat. Their kitchen looks so great thus far with beautiful wood cabinets and a new wood floor. No counter tops yet, but things were really taking shape.










After catching up with the family a bit, Jon, Kelly, Kyle and I headed out to get some drinks at the Third Base in Greenville. This was the first time the 4 of us were able to go out together now that Kyle has turned 21! We were having a good time playing darts, having some beers, and chatting. Then this guy stumbles into the bar dressed in pretty much all cameo, sits at this table and then proceeds to passout. We did not think much about it until they moved the table away from him afraid he was going to fall off his chair & hit the table. Well, the table was not moved far enough away when his head started drifting to the side......slowly his body tilts.....and then WHAM he smacks his head on the table. Now everyone in the bar saw this and starts laughing.




It didn't phase him too much as he got up for awhile and watched some guys play pool. But, 20 minutes later...there he was again passed out on his bar stool again. Now this time people started to mess with him. He was out! Noise, laughing, movement, nothing seemed to phase this guy. It was not until they picked him and his chair up and put him outside did he wake up again. Kyle kept asking the bar tender to call him a cab but she said he was a local and went to school with some of the other people in the bar, so he would be fine. Here are some fun pics from the night.

Army Man

Last night Jon and I picked Christopher up from the airport. He got hurt in basic training and is on a 4 week leave to rest and recuperate. His right leg is swollen due to stress fractures in his shin bone. He said the are not quite fractured, so its like really bad shin splints, but his leg is pretty swollen in that area. It sounded like a pretty quick process as he went into the doctor on Wednesday morning and by Thursday he was already on a flight back to MN.

He seems to be enjoying basic training and he has become the squad leader, which from the sounds of it there may be some perks that come along with the leadership. He is very confident in his abilities and wants to prove himself as a leader. From the stories he was telling us he seems more mature than others in basic and likes to follow the rules, therefore the sergeant's(?) trust he will do the right thing over some of the other individuals.

It is great to see him, although its a bummer that it is under these circumstances. We were all ready to wait until June when we had planned to go to GA for his graduation. With this leave, he will jump back in upon his return and now potentially graduates in July.
Since Chris was around he helped Jon finish putting up the additional fencing to keep the rabbits out of our garden. While they were doing that I started a fire in our fire pit!
As you can see our grass is growing in quite nicely....okay so it will be a slow process. Maybe by next year it will fill in some more.

Fires & motorcycles

One thing we have been looking for recently was a large tire rim to use as a fire pit in our backyard. Both Jon and I love to have fires, but all we had at the moment was a small free standing pit/grill. Well Joel was looking out for us and found a nice size tractor rim for only $10! When they came up this last weekend they brought it with them and then Jon put it into the ground on Sunday night. Looks pretty good and now we can start burning all the darn wood we have from the trees coming down in our yard last year. I should take a picture of our wood pile...its crazy and we have given so much wood away already.

If you ever want to sit around a fire...you know who to call! We would love to have you over. :)

Another nice thing that Joel did for us was he took our motorcycle back down to Waseca with them to get fixed. Jon has an old friend from HS that fixes up bikes, so he is going to take a look at it for us. Our bike has been out of commission for over a year now. It's so pretty, I can't wait to drive/ride it again!