Operation meatballs

We had our meatball contest today. Dave made his cheesy meatballs with shredded cheese while I made mine juicy lucy style. And I made some cheeseless ones that I could actually eat. Dave was the judge.

The verdict.

Draw.

I guess when you use the same ingredients, no matter how you build it, you get the same net result. Cheesy meatballs.

We had fun with our little contest and plan on tweaking our meatball recipes to make them both even tastier.

And now, for your viewing pleasure. Owen pics!








J.B.

We fought Mother Nature and we won!

Alternatively titled: Dave graduates!

Can you see the irony in this? Dave didn't want to walk in his college graduation ceremony. But I wanted him to, and I convinced him to do it. But then the nastiest snowstorm these parts have seen in the last 18 years decided to appear the same day, threatening to force us to stay home.

But we're hardy Minnesotans and Mother Nature couldn't stop us!

At some point during the week, the meteorologists started predicting a big storm for the day of his graduation ceremony. This storm was unpredictable and they were predicting everything from a few inches to over 20 inches. So pretty much anything. But as the day got closer, it became clearer that this was going to be a big storm.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon. Dave got a couple of emails saying graduation would not be canceled due to weather. We decided we better make the hour drive to his school that evening, so we could safely get to Mankato before the storm started. Especially with our little man, traveling safely was our number one concern. So we hurried about that afternoon and successfully out ran the storm, getting to the hotel shortly after the freezing rain and snow started. Us - 1, Mother Nature - 0.

Saturday morning we woke up to a snowy mess with a nice thick layer of ice underneath. Graduation was still on so we bundled up Owen and ventured out into the middle of the storm. We slowly made it to campus and Dave dropped us off at the door and we were safely inside the nearly empty auditorium. Dave met us inside after slipping on the ice and smacking his head on the ground. Us - 1. Mother Nature - 1.

Although it took a bit of extra effort to get to Dave's graduation, it was well worth it. I was so proud of him. He's put in so much effort over the past couple of years and overcame so many obstacles to get his degree -- all while working full time and driving 50 minutes each way to get to his school.

Even though Owen won't remember being at Dave's graduation, it was important to us to have Owen there. Owen, Chubs and our future children were Dave's inspiration for finishing his degree. So Owen had to represent. The two of us sat there together, so proud of Dave. Actually, Owen slept. I held Owen as I cheered as loud as I could when they announced Dave's name -- while also taking pictures and crying.

Our original plan after the graduation was to drive to the next town and reassess the snow situation. We have friends that live there, so we figured we could hang out with them if the storm made travel too difficult.

But the conditions deteriorated significantly since the beginning of the graduation ceremony. This was seriously the kind of winter storm that would have killed pioneers if they got caught in it. Lots of snow. Winds sustained at 35 mph with higher wind gusts, creating white out conditions where you can't see more than a few yards in front of you. Ice covering the roads. Snow on top of the ice, so you can't figure out where it's extra slippery. Enough snow on the roads that in some places it was hard to even tell where the roads were. They literally pulled the snow plows off the roads, because conditions were that bad. Us - 1. Mother Nature - 2.

Needless to say, we were maybe three minutes away from the university when we decided to stay in Mankato. We called up the hotel we stayed at the night before to see if there were any rooms available for that night. Thank God there was! I gave them our credit card number while I was on the phone to reserve our room. We weren't risking driving the rest of the way to the hotel to reserve our room only to find that they had booked up in the meantime. We weren't risking hanging up to try and book the room through Priceline only to have no rooms available. We needed that room and we got it. And good thing we got that room, because they actually closed the highway that was our route home. So we couldn't have gone home even if we tried. We spent the rest of the day and night there. We at food from Friday's for three consecutive meals (it was attached to the hotel). Despite getting stuck in Mankato, we had a good afternoon. We were safe. We were together. We had time to relax and do nothing except snuggle with our little guy and stare at his precious little face. Us - 2. Mother Nature - 2.

We woke the next morning to lots and lots of snow plows clearing the road in front of the hotel (a road we couldn't even see from our room the day before). The storm had cleared. We could go home. And that's exactly what we did....with a baby in one arm and a diploma in the other.

Us - 3. Mother Nature - 2. We won!

J.B.

The MN Twins

This past weekend, Papa Bear and I got to meet our Godchild and his big sister (older by mere seconds)! Our good friends, Jim and Aimee had twins less than a month ago. It was Aimee's birthday on Saturday, so we surprised her by showing up at her house unexpected! (Don't worry...it was only a surprise for her.) We had a great weekend hanging out with friends and meeting these little people. Even Otis and Cooper joined us! They (especially Cooper) had a good time playing with Jim and Aimee's dogs. They slept the whole way 4 hour drive home! Honestly, Cooper didn't even move until we were about 5 minutes from our house.

Baby Love! I think they could be in a Double Mint commercial!

Jameson snoozing away in my arms.

Dave and his Godson. Jameson makes the funniest little expressions.

Ms. Vivian sticking out her tongue.

The proud Daddy!

Otis still thinks he has speedy super powers. Even without his costume.

Cooper having a good time!

J.B.

Something I should find disgusting, but I'm actually intrigued...

Yesterday, my husband was unclogging our drains. The bathtub and one of the sinks in the master bathroom were clogged. BAD. There as water sitting in sink for at least half the day on Saturday. The drain was open, but nothing was going down. I think the only way that water actually got out of our sink was by evaporating.

Clogged sinks and tubs are gross. But everyone needs to deal with it at some point.

My husband probably spent over an hour working on our drains using that spider tool or whatever it's called. A logical person would keep their distance from our bathroom as all the old gunk and hair and soap residue and grime made its way back up the pipes.

But not I.

I find that nasty stuff intriguing. I had this yearning to know how much stuff he was collecting.

The coolest part was when he was fixing our sink drain. We found treasure! Dave found a metal piece and he called me to come and look. I put on my archeoligist hat and determined it looked like the metal from a pendant. A long-lost pendant that was now decayed and gunk-covered. It was like buried treasure, pulled from the depths of the ocean. This thing wasn't even mine. It must have come from the stripper that lived in our house before us.

And then he pulled up another piece. The jewel that once sat upon the pendent.

And then he pulled up the chain that went along with it.

My very own Heart of the Ocean. IF only it were valuable.

J.B.

Flashback Friday -- Our first Valentine's Day

Warning to Dave: You might not like this story. You know it's true, but I also know you don't like to be reminded of this particular day in our lives. I'm so thankful that you stayed persistent until I said yes. Thank you for not letting me make this mistake.

---

The first Valentine's Day that Dave and I knew each other was in 2003. We had known each other for a couple of months. We'd met only twice, since he was stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and I was living here in Minnesota. But in those last couple of months, we'd gotten to know each other really well. We talked every day on the phone -- often late into the night. I was getting the vibe that he liked me. I liked him too. A lot. Valentine's Day was just a couple of weeks before he deployed to Iraq. His unit was really busy getting ready for their first deployment, so we hadn't been talking quite as much -- still a couple of times a day though. haha. If I remember correctly, his deployment could have happened at any time, so he wasn't allowed to be more than an hour away from Ft Campbell. I knew he wouldn't be surprising me with a visit.

I was actually a little nervous about the vibe I was getting from Dave leading up to Valentine's Day. I liked him too, but I didn't think we'd be able to do anything about those feelings. He was in Kentucky. I was in Minnesota. My personal opinion at the time was that I didn't think long distance relationships made any sense. What was the point of being with someone if you couldn't be physical with that person? I have no idea why I had that opinion -- it really wasn't like I ever really had any options to date people that lived close to me. I really wasn't an expert on relationships, since I never really had any, but for some reason I was anti-long distance. And I told that to Dave a time or two.

But still, Dave's vibe was getting me nervous. Along came Valentine's Day. I went about my typical day. In the afternoon, I got a call from a flower shop. They had tried to deliver some flowers but I wasn't home.

I had a pretty good idea who they were from. I wanted my flowers, so I drove to the shop to get them.


I had an idea who they were from. But I waited until I got home to open them up.

They were the most beautiful red roses I had ever seen in my life. Absolutely gorgeous.

And there it was. The Card. I was giddy, excited, nervous, anxious and scared as I opened the card.

"Would you be my girlfriend? Love, Dave"

Oh, crap, I thought. This is not good. I really didn't want anything to change between Dave and I. I liked that he liked me. I liked liking him. I like flirting with him on the phone. I was too scared to take things to the next step. I knew I wouldn't see him for a year, so I didn't want to lock myself down into a relationship. I was only 20 years old, I wasn't ready for the level of seriousness that our relationship would ultimately have because he would be deployed. But I didn't want to lose him. I wanted to kiss him before I agreed to be his girlfriend. I had never had a Valentine before. I wanted a Valentine, but why did it have to be under these complicated circumstances.

So what did I do?

I avoided Dave. I continued going about my day. I went to the grocery store to get a couple of roses to bring to my other single lady friends with whom I was celebrating the holiday. I got back into my car and my cell phone rang.

It was Dave.

I didn't answer.

He left me a voice mail.

I listened to the voice mail. He was singing, "Would you be my girlfriend" -- the *nsync song that I loved.

Crap. He's still asking me.

Valentine's Day. A day about love. An offer of love, complete with a love song and roses, was being given to me. I was scared and terrified. I felt like cupid had shot his arrow. His arrow hit me -- wounded me -- and I was bleeding. Dying. This was not how I dreamed of falling in love.

I knew I needed to call him. I couldn't ignore him forever. But first, I called a friend. Or two. I was freaking out and needed to make sure I was doing the right thing.

I called him back.

I said, "I'm sorry. I can't."

I explained all of my excuses. I don't remembering him saying too much, but I know he said we would still be friends.

I told that I needed to wait until he came back from Iraq. I said that if we're meant to be together, it will work out. I pleaded. He agreed to my conditions. I felt like he was okay with what I thought I wanted. 

Before he got off the phone, he asked me if I liked the bear.

I hadn't gotten any bear. They messed up my order. So the bear was delivered the next day. There was a card attached to the bear.

"Would you be my girlfriend? Love, Dave"

This was the third time he asked. I still couldn't do it. I teased Dave that he needed to stop asking. I'm sure it hurt his heart more than it hurt mine. But I stayed stubborn. Two weeks later he left for Iraq and we said good-bye.

I'm still sorry for 02-14-03.

But our story obviously didn't end there. It pretty much continues from this post, so keep reading to find out what happened. (It gets happier -- I promise).

Read my previous Flashback Friday posts: Dave's homecoming | Otis' homecoming | The beginning of us





J.B.

Flashback Friday -- Going way back. To the beginning.

The beginning of Dave and I that is. People often ask how I met Dave. After all, I am from the Twin Cities. He is from Duluth. He lived in Kentucky when I met him. His immediate family lives in North Carolina.

Well, we actually owe our meeting to one of my oldest friends, Heather. She lived just a couple houses away from me growing up. She ended up going to college in Duluth, while I moved out to Washington state for school. After two years, I moved home and Heather moved back to the cities too. We reconnected and started hanging out all the time. While she was in Duluth, she met Dave. Then Dave joined the Army and moved to Kentucky. One weekend in late October/early November 2002, Dave went home to visit his parents in Duluth. When he was driving back to Kentucky, he decided to visit Heather's house. On that Saturday night, that's exactly where I was -- at Heather's house.

Heather, her roommate and I had plans to go to Stargate, a local dance club. I was upstairs in Heather's bedroom talking to another friend, Megan, trying to convince her to join us when Dave arrived. I remember hearing him walk up the stairs to find Heather and I as I tell Megan that she better join us because Hot Dave is here. Funny thing is...I hadn't even seem him yet.

Then he walked in the room and we met. I remember thinking...yeah, he actually is pretty good looking. If Megan ended up joining us, Dave could totally pass off as Hot Dave. He was tall with broad shoulders. Beautiful blue eyes. Wore a Northwest Airlines t-shirt (a shirt I'll never let him get rid of. It's a collectors item now) and a Corona hat. But after I met Dave, I was no longer all that interested in Megan joining us. Quickly, I got off the phone with her, so I could get to know Dave better.

Here's what I knew about Dave before I met him: He was from Duluth. He was in the Army. He was home on leave and driving back to Kentucky. He was supposed to drive down to Rochester to visit his grandma, but was stopping by to say hi to Heather and might not go to Rochester as he originally planned.

My dad had been in the Army too. I was pretty sure my dad had been stationed in Kentucky as well. So that's what I first talked to Dave about. He was pretty quick to show me his dog tags. But as I talked to him, I quickly become surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. Generally, I'm pretty shy around people when I first meet them. But there was something comforting about Dave's demeanor where I felt I could talk to him. I felt like he was an old friend.

Soon it was decided that Dave would not be leaving to visit his grandma. Instead, he would be joining us three girls to go to the dance club.

We had a good time a Stargate. I loved that Dave was there and the fact that he was giving me attention. (Especially because there was a boy there that I had dated a couple of times that I wanted to make jealous...minor detail). I remember dancing with him to Justin Timberlake. I swear we danced to "Let's Get Married" by Jagged Edge or a similar song with a similar message -- but I'm probably making that up.

We left the club late. But the night was not over yet. We went back to Heather's house and watched a movie. I remember clearly at one point Dave was comparing our hands and pointing out that the lines are almost identical (I was skeptical and figured he probably used that line on every girl. Don't everyone's palms look similar?). He gave me a back rub too. I remember that vividly, because I was thinking, "Yes! A guy that likes to give back rubs." (But it ended up that wasn't really the case. It's all good, though. I still love Dave!)

Heather and I left for a while to go to a house of a friend of hers. (It's funny that I used to be able to stay up so late back then. I'm definitely not the same girl!) Dave stayed back at Heather's to sleep for a couple of hours before he got up really early to drive back to Kentucky.

I remember him waking me up when he left, asking to exchange numbers. Half asleep, I gave him my number and then he gave me mine. I couldn't remember his name, so I just put in some letters so that I could save the number. I figured I would figure it out later. All that matter was that I saved this boy's number, because I enjoyed my time and liked talking with him.

That was it. He was gone and it would be over a month until I saw him again. I'd only see him once more before he deployed to Iraq.

I had to wake up fairly early to go to work. I called him as I drove just to see how his drive was going. Thank goodness I remembered his name when I woke up! But I never changed his name in my phone. It was always Jab (ironically my initials now).

The best part of the day after I met Dave was that I had a message from him when I left work. I was so pretty pumped that this guy decided to call me.

And that is the story of how we met.

Read my previous Flashback Friday posts: Dave's homecoming | Otis' homecoming


J.B.

Flashback Friday -- Dave's homecoming

There's a lot more story to the Balow Bunch that what you've been reading in this blog since 2007. Actually, there are probably only a very few people who've been reading this blog since its inception. And as a matter of fact, there aren't all that many more people reading this blog now. But I thought it'd be fun write about a story from the past every once in a while so that you get to know me and my bunch a little bit better.

---

February 9, 2004

One of the best days of my life was when Dave came home from Iraq. He spent a year there. A year that for me was filled with anxiety, worry and fear. Those feelings combined with the feelings that I had toward Dave were pretty overwhelming at times. So imagine my relief and excitement when the day finally arrived that Dave would be safe from war and safe in my arms once again.

My mom and I started the day by driving 13 hours to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where Dave was stationed. The weather through southern Minnesota and into Wisconsin wasn't the greatest. It was foggy and kinda snowy/icy, if I remember correctly. But I wasn't going to let a little weather stop me from getting to see Dave come home.

Several hours into the trip, Dave called from Prague. I was in Jaynesville, Wis. It was just wierd that in the amount of time it was taking to drive from Wisconsin to Kentucky, Dave was flying all the way from Europe to Kentucky.

After several more hours, we finally arrived in Clarksville, Tenn. (right next to Fort Campbell). We met Dave's parents, sisters and nephew at their hotel. FINALLY, that night it was time to go to the army base. My mom and I followed Dave's family by car. Fort Campbell was ready for the families. They had soldiers directing us where to go.

I felt like I had been waiting all year for the day (which I had been), but the wait seemed to drag on and on. We were all directed into an airport hanger with all the other families.We waited. And waited. And waited.  I remember looking around at the families. Imagined what it must have been liked to be married with children and have a deployed husband. It'd be harder than my own experience for sure, and I thought my own experience was so hard. I looked at what the other women were wearing and compared to my own outfit. It had been so hard to pick out an outfit for that day! I wanted to look good. But I didn't want to look like I was trying too hard. It was cold and I wanted to be warm enough to stand outside.

Two planes finally arrived. It seemed like the planes had been there for a while before they called for families to go out to the barricade to watch the soldiers get off the plane. But Dave's unit was on the other plane, so we had to wait some more. And more. Finally it was our turn.

We hurried outside and went up to the barricade. We had little American flags to wave. Some people had posters. We were all squished up alongside the barricade. We waited some more. No one was getting off the plane.

Then my cell phone rang.

It was a number I didn't recognize, but I answered it anyway.

"Oh, my! It's Dave!" I exclaimed. EVERYONE turned and looked at me. He said they'd be out soon and he couldn't wait to see me.

We waited some more.

Finally the plane door opens and soldiers start walking down the stairs and across the tarmac. They all walk pass us and into another hanger where they are getting into formation.We're all cheering and jumping up and down.

Finally, I spot Dave. He looks so confident walking across the tarmac with his big black pack on his back. But you should have seen his smile when he saw his family and my mom and I waving at him. It was huge!

The moment I was waiting for so long was finally happening. Soon I would be in his arms.

After he went by, we moved into the hanger. There was an army band and a soldier singing, "Proud to be an American." This whole evening was the most patriotic day I'd ever experienced. We watched the soldiers go through their formation and finally they got dismissed.

We ran down to wear Dave is standing. He hugged his nephew, Anthony, first. Then, finally, my turn.

Dave was home. I was at  home in his arms. He was safe. I was safe. We were together.


J.B.

October in pics

I was uploading photos from my camera and what a surprise I found. Apparently, I've been really lazy this fall and haven't bothered on uploading any pics. Until now. So here's a bunch of pics from October. It was a fun month for the Balows! I blogged about this stuff before, but the pics are fun to see. At least I think so!

I tagged along with Jim and Aimee to the Renaissance Festival. We tried on some hats...among other things...like eating turkey drumsticks.

We went to the last regular season Twins game at the Metrodome! 

 

We went to the playoff for the playoff game with the Twins vs the Tigers. The most intense baseball game I've ever watched. EVER!

 

We were so happy when we won!

 

I took my nieces to the corn maze.

Amanda took a turn leading us through the maze.

Emily and I went trick-or-treating at Murphy's Landing. The horse-drawn trolley took us to the village.

 

We went to a Vikings game.

J.B.

A little overwhelmed...

It's been a long couple of weeks. And probably not for reasons you'd assume if you read my previous post. I've been so busy, I haven't had much time to really think about it...which probably isn't the best thing to do, but I have to keep on going with work and school and my other obligations. My fall semester is in full swing now -- for the first time I'm taking two classes. I'm not sure how people do it, but it is EXHAUSTING. And when I get exhausted, it's harder for me to keep things in perspective. I get upset easier. I get irritated easier. I think I seriously hid at least three people from my Facebook news feed because I was so irritated with their political rants or silly drama (silly according to me.)

So even though I missed my "Thankful Thursday" post, I still want to acknowledge how thankful I am for my husband. He's been so supportive of me and our family. He supports me and loves me despite my falling asleep on the couch within 30 minutes of getting home. He supports me and loves me despite my emotional breakdowns. He supports me and loves me despite my mistakes. He supports me and loves me despite my irritability. He listens. He comforts. He makes sure I know that we're going to get through this together. He's exactly what I want and need right now. I love him so much and am so thankful that he's the love of my life.

Update: Dave's mom gave Dave and I a book of reflections and prayers, When I was reading it last night, one of the first things I read was this verse, which was exactly what I needed to read. "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." ~Matthew 11:28

Last weekend...

Dave and I took Otis and Cooper down to Minnesota City to see some of our family and visit John's farm. The farm is nestled in a valley surrounded my lush tree-covered hills. It's so peaceful and beautiful. Since it's fall harvest time (yes, FALL), we got to enjoy the fresh produce that John's been growing all summer. We had tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, grape tomatoes, ground cherries, and red and yellow raspberries. I had never even heard of ground cherries, but they were good! We got a preview of the pumpkins and cantaloupe that are growing. We walked around the hillside and toured John's prairie gardens.

While we had an awesome time eating and spending time with family, the dogs had one of their best days ever. They got to run around free for hours and hours. They got to explore the garden while Dave picked us some food. They played with Ann's dog, Minnie. You could see smiles on their faces -- not kidding. When they were tired of running, they'd take a break and lay by our feet. Then after a while, they'd get up and run around all over again. We all can't wait to make the trip again next year!

Here's some pics of our day. I already posted them on FB, but wanted to blog about our day too...since it's a fun one that I want to remember! And I got to play with our new camera!

Cooper squinting in the sun -- he's got those sensitive blue eyes.

Otis resting in the shade -- he gets hot so easily with his thick black fur.

The view from the prairie garden on the hillside.

Cooper, Otis and Minnie -- the three amigos.

Cooper resting with Dad.

Dave successfully picked an ear of corn!

Just because....

Just because it's TUESDAY...
And because my husband is the BEST....
And because my puppies are the CUTEST...
And because we got a new CAMERA....

Thankful Thursday...

I can't believe it's already Thursday. It's already August. Summer is going by way too fast.

Anyway, this week I'm thankful for photos. My husband has started emailing or sending me every couple of days when I'm at work. Sometimes they're a little disturbing (i.e. photos of my dogs pooping). But most of the time, they're cute. Like this one I got today. I love knowing that I'm being thought of and these pics just make me excited to get home to my family. I don't like missing out on cuddle time!!


Our real camera broke this week. :( So I won't be posting photos much on my blog until we get a new one. Not that I post photos often, but now that we lack a camera I feel like I'm going to be missing a lot of photo opportunities. *tear

My Grandma's Dresser

One of the things I've been wanting to do for a LONG time is refinish my grandma's old dresser. It's number 66 on my 101 in 1,001 list. It was one of the only things that has been passed down to me from my mom's side of the family, so I treasure it. Even if it's a beat up old dresser. The varnish that was on it had gotten old and bubbly, I guess, the way that varnish gets when it's old. There are lots of dents and dings on its sides, water stains on the top. Anyway, in April, Dave and I finally got started on this project. It's finally done. Well, almost. It still needs some new knobs. But it's back in Gracie's bedroom...and I'm really excited about how it turned out...so I wanted to post some pics quickly.

Before! (FYI. Gracie liked to hide in the dresser, but we didn't force her to be there. I just thought it was funny, so I took the pic. Good thing I took it....because it is the only before pic of the whole dresser! It's a really old pic from our first apartment.)

Ok. I guess you can see Dave really did most of this himself. Who am I kidding? lol.

After! The finished dresser!

And Otis and Cooper trying to steal Gracie's room. Cooper's licking his chops. They're so cute!

Three years. We're still running.

Dave and I celebrated our third anniversary yesterday!!! I must say that my husband did a great job making this anniversary so memorable. He had Lou Malnatti's pizza delivered to our house! ALL the way from CHICAGO! It's where we had the best ever pizza during our trip last summer to visit Erin and John in Chicago. And it was just as yummy as I remembered!

The other thing Dave did was order the same cake we had at our wedding (a smaller version). Since that cake was the best ever, we didn't have any left over from the wedding. Consequently, we weren't able to save any and eat it on our first anniversary...as you're supposed to do according to some (weird) tradition. I was really surprised to see that too!

All of this was extra awesome because Dave had school and work all day on our anniversary and we hadn't discussed anything we were going to do. I just thought we'd get take out like we did the year before. But this was the best surprise! He obviously put some time and effort into ordering all this deliciousness and it meant so much to me.

I should also add that he got me the Crocs that I've been wanting. (Not your typical Crocs...much cooler!) He bought himself a similar pair a couple of weeks ago, and I was jealous because he bought the men's version of the pair that I wanted. So I was very happy that he listened to me and bought a pair for me too!

On to more sentimental stuff....

I can't believe Dave and I have already been married for three years. For more than 1,000 days. That means we've been married for almost half the time we've been together. I love celebrating my anniversary because each year is an accomplishment. This last year has been one of the best for us yet.

This year...
We survived new jobs and jobs losses.
We celebrated holidays and birthdays.
We survived the death of a grandma.
We celebrated the election of a new President.
We survived through another school year.
We celebrated friends' weddings and births of children.
We survived a car crash.
We enjoyed our time at home and away.

Each struggle, each accomplishment; we've done it together, hand in hand.
We've grown closer together.
Fallen more in love.
There's no one else that I'd rather have on my journey through life.
I'm so blessed to have Dave and to be his wife.

Here's a slideshow of some of our highlights together from year three. I should also give credit to Katie Mathews Photography for some of the pics and the collage. Having a photographer in the family has its benefits. ;)

Like a vacation...

This past weekend was so beautiful and blissful that I felt like I was on a vacation.

Saturday morning, after eating the scrambled eggs that Dave made us, we headed down to the Prior Lake Farmers' Market. We took Otis and Cooper with us, and they both did so well (we don't take them into public places with lots of people very often...so this was a good test). Cooper didn't growl or bark at anyone like he does at home or around the neighborhood. It was Dave's first experience at the market, and it definitely exceeded his expectations. It definitely helped that there was a vendor selling home-made root beer. This summer, I'm trying to buy more local produce...so I stalked up on tomatoes (grown in a local greenhouse), green onions and potatoes. As summer progresses, it'll be fun to get a larger variety of produce.

We followed the farmers' market with a trip to the dog park. The weather was so beautiful that we did two laps -- walking about 3 miles. That wore the dogs out for the rest of the day!

In the afternoon I went to our pool with my sister, Rachel. Becky and my nieces ended up joining us, so I ended up spending all afternoon by the pool. I got a little too much sun. But really, it was a picture perfect summer day and I loved every minute of it! No clouds. Low humidity. Lots of sun. Upper 70's. Just a light breeze. The weather doesn't get any better than that!!!

Sunday after church, Dave and I went on a bike ride down to Shakopee. We went about 7-8 miles. My bike isn't the best for long distances, so transitioning to sitting down has been really sore for me last night and today. Of course, our bike ride ended with a stop at Dairy Queen. I always say, "the best part about a bike ride is the reward at the end."

Then we headed over to Becky's house for her birthday dinner. Amanda helped make a lot of it! She was a busy girl -- she helped make the BBQ ribs and the rhubarb crisp.

Are you still with me??

This weekend is Grandma's Marathon. I retired last year. But Dave is running the full marathon again with Bryan. Just wanted to mention that, because you can sign up for text message or email alerts again. Thought some of the family who can't make it to Duluth might be interested in signing up, so they know right away when Dave sets his personal best.

The big spring break trip

Many weeks ago, Dave and I went to Lake City, Minn., for our spring break trip. This year, our spring break budget was limited, so an overnight road trip was all we got. And unfortunately, the "spring" weather hadn't quite made it's way to Minnesota yet. It was rainy with snow flurries. Fun, huh?

Lake City is like one of many small, vacation destination towns in Minnesota where it triples in size during the tourist season. Well, a Sunday in early March isn't exactly tourist season. So many of the gift shops weren't open. But I can see why this would be a fun place to visit in the summer. It's situated on Lake Pepin, which is a big lake in the Mississippi River. (I don't really understand how you get lakes within rivers -- since it's all one body of water, my simple mind would think that Lake Pepin is really still the Mississippi River -- but I won't get into a geography debate here.) Lake City is famous because it's the birthplace of waterskiing. It's also the town that my father-in-law grew up.

Here's his old house

Dave and I thought Pappy would appreciate the big Obama poster that's still hanging in the window four months after the election. ;)

Here are my grandparents-in-laws. We searched through town to find the cemetery, where we searched a little more to find their grave. After a phone call (or two), we finally found them! It was my first time visiting their gravestone.

Those are Dave's feet -- not mine.

Lake Pepin is also famous for all the bald eagles the live there. Here's a real geography lesson for you. There is a river that flows into the Mississippi just south of Lake Pepin. The heavy current that occurs causes the water to be open all winter long (it doesn't freeze over with ice), and therefore the eagles can stay in the area all winter and don't have to fly south to a place with water. Dave and I drove down to Wabasha (where Grumpy Old Men was filmed) to visit the National Eagle Center. This place was awesome and one of the highlights of our trip! (yes, we're dorks.) We got to get our photo taken with a real bald eagle and we learned a ton about eagles, so I'm going to dedicate a future blog post to the National Eagle Center. (Yes, I know you can't wait to read all about it! But it'll be worth the wait.)

That's a real eagle. It's not a parrot, and has super-strong talons...so they don't go on the shoulder.

The other highlight of our trip was the b&b we stayed in, The Frog and Bear Bed & Breakfast, specifically. It was such a cool old house filled with antiques and frogs and bears everywhere. My sister, Stevie, would love all the bears! We were the only guests, so we had this big house to ourselves. I dream of living in a big old house someday -- with a big front porch for my rocking chair -- so this was like living the dream (except it was a little cold to be sitting out on the front porch). The innkeepers where spectacular and so hospitable. The actually live in the basement, although we didn't see them at all. They took care of the details, which made us feel like we were special guests. When we came back from dinner they left us a bottle of wine and chocolate truffles right outside the door to our room. Which we consumed while watching "Three Men and a Baby" -- they had a bunch of movies to choose from downstairs and that's the one we choose. haha.

@ The Frog & Bear

But of course, the highlight of the b&b was the breakfast! We awoke to a five course breakfast in the dining room with a fire in the fireplace. And it was all served to us course by course. Fresh juice and tea. Delicious popovers with homemade jams. Fresh fruit with whipped cream. Waffles. Wild rice sausage. And a sundae!!! For breakfast!

Our stomachs were full for the rest of the day. We left Lake City in the late morning and walked around Red Wing for a little while (another small town with lots of antique stores...and famous for its shoes and pottery). Then we missed our dogs a lot, so we picked them up (Otis was at my sister's and Cooper was at my parents') and just relaxed with them at home with everyone taking a nap on the couch.

Visiting a bed & breakfast was #98 on my list of 101 in 1,001. We had a fun time and it's something I definitely want to do again.

A real Easter egg hunt

Easter Sunday, we were over at my parents' house. My nieces were late, because they were flying home from their spring break trip in Mexico with Becky and Steven. My mom put together some eggs and candy for the girls to find, but misplaced the bag of eggs, so she asked us to find the bag before the girls' arrived. There was even a prize involved!

So the four of us (me, Dave, Rachel and my mom) get up and start looking. We're pretty competitive, so we're running all over the place opening cupboards and closets trying to be the first to find the eggs and claim the prize.

But we couldn't find the eggs. We searched and searched. In the kitchen. In the living room. The laundry. The garbage. The garage. The basement. My parents' bedroom. Everywhere. We exhausted every possible hiding place and couldn't find the eggs!

We even asked St. Anthony to help us.

We questioned whether or not my mom really put together the eggs or if she was delusional.

We questioned whether the dog, Nels, stole the eggs and ate the candy.

We questioned whether my dad stole the eggs and ate the candy.

My nieces arrived and we still couldn't find the eggs.

Dave asks, "So what's the prize?"

He's backing up towards the laundry room, saying, "I have an idea." (My nieces are playing school down in the basement.)

He comes back out of the laundry room with a bag of eggs. "So what's the prize?" he asks again and smirking.

Did Dave find the eggs earlier in the day and kept us all in the dark?!?

He says he didn't....but I have my suspicions.

And the prize was....well, there was no prize, except the satisfaction of saving the Easter egg hunt for the girls!

Six Years of Togetherness

Depending on whose point of view you’re referring to – either today’s Dave and mine 6 year anniversary of being together, or yesterday was our 6 year anniversary of being together. We don’t have any photographs or anything to really document that day. No romantic date. No big kiss. Just our memories. And I will never forget that day.

See when Dave and I made that decision – to be boyfriend and girlfriend – I was here in Minnesota. Dave was 12 hours away in Kuwait, just days of being among the first to invade Iraq.

March 15 was the first time I spoke with him after he left for the Middle East just over two weeks earlier. There were some things I left unsaid before he left. He knew I liked him (I’m pretty sure). I definitely knew he liked me. But I didn’t want to make his deployment any harder for him than it had to be…so I didn’t elaborate on my feelings. Plus, I was scared about those feelings. How could I like someone so much who I’d only met in person twice!?

All I remember of getting off the phone that last time before he deployed was that I felt my walls crash. All the emotion and fear and love just erupted out of me and I cried. And I cried. My little sister even came into see if I was ok. I was the person in my family who never cried. But I cried. I felt like I lost Dave forever. I was certain that he wouldn’t call me once he deployed. After all, why would he call a friend? He has lots of friends. I figured he’d call his mom, who would then be able to send out an update to all his family and friends.

He definitely wouldn’t call the girl who said, “No.”

I figured that when he returned home from Iraq, his feelings about me wouldn’t be the same. Too much time and distance. He’d be hurt that I had continued to tell him the timing wasn’t right for us to be together. He’d be ready to move on. So I spent those two weeks mourning over the lost opportunity of Dave and what we could have been. And I was dreadfully worried about his safety and his life. I was a wreck and hardly slept.

So imagine my surprise when he called me the afternoon of March 15! At work. At a number he didn’t have. When it was past midnight his time. He actually had called my cell phone, and then tried me at my apartment where my sister Rachel answered. After Dave told her, “I just really want to hear her voice,” Rachel called my mom and they thought I was at work and she gave him that number.

When I heard his voice I started shaking and crying. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it was going to explode. I was nervous. I was excited. I was joyful. I told him that I saw him on TV. With a big rifle. I knew I was getting something that I never thought I’d get – a second chance. A chance to say those things I wanted to say the last time we talked:

“Can I still be your girlfriend?”

“Would you?”

“Yes!”

And though there have been ups and downs along the way, we’ve been together ever since. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about this moment in time when we got the second chance for our fairy tale. And I thank God Dave just wanted to hear my voice.

Thankful Thursday...

I've seen a lot of other bloggers dedicate a weekly post to expressing their gratitude for things in their lives. I've done it once or twice. But I'm going to try and do it weekly now too.

This week I'm thankful for alone time with my husband. I'm guessing that once we have kids, we'll be wishing (sometimes) for the days where we could just come home and veg in front of the TV, cuddle and then go get some Dairy Queen. Besides two dogs that sometimes whine for our attention, our weeknights are usually quiet. We get to make dinner. Discuss how our days went. Gossip about people's Facebook statuses. Figure out weekend plans. Watch TV. Play Mariokart. Chill and relax. Chillax. And when summer comes, we add in bike rides and walks with the dogs into the mix.

Our evenings are generally the highlight of my days. And I'm thankful for this time that we have together.

Speaking of alone time with my husband, we figured out what we're going to do during his spring break. We're going to spend a night at a Bed and Breakfast in Lake City and hang out with frogs and bears. I've never spent the night at a B&B before, so I'm looking forward to it. And I'm looking forward to visiting Lake City and explore the town where Dave's dad grew up.

Dave's training for Grandma's again...

....That means he's blogging again too! If you want to follow along with Dave as he trains for Grandma's Marathon in June, read his blog.