Leaving Blogger

I am going to try a new site. Join me here.

I think I'm outgrowing blogger... Any suggestions on where to go?

Pictures Will Be Coming

But I have another announcement that trumps pictures...

Aaron and I are now home owners. YAY!

We bought a project and I can't wait to start digging into it.

Still can't believe we own a house!

Ugh.

I've tried twice to upload pictures from the honeymoon and it's erred out both times. So those will have to wait.

The answer was zip-lining (below post). It was so much fun-hopefully I will be able to show you more pictures soon!

Quick Pic

Before I go off to work for the first time in 3 weeks... Any guesses as to what we were doing?

You can now call me Wifey

Or- maybe only Aaron should do that :)


I don't know if I have a long post in me tonight- too much to get organized around here. But I'll try to give you a quick recap.




I went home the week before the wedding and mostly enjoyed the time. A little bit of stressing out but not too much! Kelli and Michelle made my bouquets and I am so thankful for that. They turned out really well!

The three youngest were in charge of baby-sitting while we decorated the church. They knew this beforehand and were practicing on dolls to learn how to change diapers. I can't imagine not knowing how to change diapers. Seems like we grew up doing it- but with 9 younger than me- it was a different story!

I thoroughly enjoyed the day on Saturday. My biggest fear was that I wouldn't be "with it" on my wedding day. But I think I did fairly well! It was raining on the way into the church in the morning but it did stop eventually and we were able to get outdoor pictures. Julie was such an awesome photographer to work with.


Aaron told me that he had a lot more fun then he expected with the pictures. Thanks Julie!

We were on location shooting pictures (that sounds so important, haha) for the morning and early afternoon. Once we got back to the church, it all flew by.

I didn't get emotional until just before it was time to walk down the aisle. It was hot, standing up there and I was afraid that I would forget to give my flowers to Annette or put the ring on Aaron's right hand or...

But it went well and we both said the right words. :) The reception flew by- I felt like I didn't have a chance to talk to as many people as I would have liked. There was always something to be doing and then it was over. But I did enjoy the conversations I was able to have!

It truly was a wonderful day.

And Jamaica was a great time also. But I have to upload those pictures still so that post will have to wait.

I think most pictures on here were taken by Janelle. Thanks Janelle!

I Might Have to Give Up

I was going to try to get in a couple more posts before the wedding, but I think I'm done.

I no longer fall asleep at night. I will be completely exhausted and as soon as my head hits the pillow my mind begins racing.

I have to remember to do this, and that. Don't forget to pack this, and those. Did you do that thing yet? OH! And it would be really good to get the chance to do this.

Remember to call her. And email her, and her and her. Oh, and look online for cake ideas. *(Decorating) then email the last her.

Remind Aaron that this needs to be done. Go pick up that.

Do you have enough of those? And what happens if you don't find these?

Sigh. Is it any wonder that I can't manage to form an articulate post with all that's going on?

Expect me back in about a month- with loads and loads of pictures. You can check here for previews in about two weeks.

TWO WEEKS! I better get moving!

Loons

I love loons. For years there have been loons on the lake where we have a camp and they have always fasinated me. When Jenn and I spent a summer in Alaska, one of my favorite camping sites was located on a small lake with loons. It was getting towards the end of our trip and the sound of the loons helped with my homesickness.

This weekend at the camp, Kara and I went out for a ride on our peddle boat. We were going so I could try to take pictures of the loons. There were two babies this year and the father got quite defensive. He came up just a few feet from our boat and started making these threatening noises and flapping his wings.



As it wasn't our intention to disturb the loons, we just stayed where we were for a while and I took my pictures of the father. I'm assuming it was the male, the other adult loon stayed with the babies.

It was a beautiful weekend at the camp. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now we are into July and the countdown is really on.

I have these items crossed off my list:

* Tuxes ordered- (funny sidenote- I forgot to tell them what color to order. Good thing the shop caught that one!)

* Found a veil to borrow

* Started painting the table and chairs: A half-way through picture...

The chair back and legs and table legs were all the lovely pink color when I bought it.

* Flowers are ordered

* 12 days left of work

* Songs picked out

It's coming together!

Real Quick

One quick picture from the weekend before I go to work!

18 Days

I only have 18 days left to work before the wedding.

Wow.

I better get moving on all the little last minute details!

YAHOO! I cannot wait! :)

It's Official

I am no longer in my early 20's.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. Halfway to 50! :)

This year should be a good one! Getting married, going on a honeymoon, gaining 4 new neices/nephews- all yet to be born...

Let the fun begin!

A few more from the farm

He Now Calls Me Tatie

And I couldn't be prouder! I was able to go there this weekend for a quick trip and see Kelli and her family. We had breakfast on a farm Sunday morning. It was pretty neat.

I love that Drew can say my name. I just wish I could see them more!

Go Wings!

Happy June! And go Wings!

I'm a fan of the Wings that doesn't usually watch the games. I usually find out if they won or lost and that's good enough. Most times, during regular season I don't even do that.

But I do enjoy watching the playoffs. And I really enjoy it when they are in the Stanley Cup finals. So Go Wings!

One Hundred Licks

Welllll.... To be perfectly honest, I used a wet q-tip to seal my envelopes.

I dropped my invites in the mail this morning.

That means we are offically at the 8 week mark.

Wow.

I'm Feeling Unmotivated

Is that a word?



I'm supposed to be spring cleaning as this is the best chance I have to get it done before the wedding.



I got my bed put up (got a new bed, anybody need a twin?)... On Thursday... And that's about the extent of my accomplishments. ETA: Bed is gone!



I need to find the drive to do this. Any ideas?



I have been cleaning up files off my external hard drive and I keep finding goodies like this one. Cari's photo from 2004.

From There to Here

Remember when I was asking why I lived here if it snows in May?

Four days later and the thermometers are saying it's 90 degrees.

How 'bout that?

Confession

I don't actually like fish. I'll eat tuna. And I didn't mind mahi-mahi. But other than those two I haven't found anything I like.

It's that time of year again

Here are the first of hopefully many!

It's Crazy Windy

And it's snowing. On May 16th. Someone remind me why I live here?!

Downstate

My Gramma, Kara and I headed to my parents on Tuesday night. We spent two full days down there and made it back around four this afternoon.

I can't upload my pictures to my computer because I had a dress fitting while I was down there and I don't want Aaron to see the pictures from that. It's a good thing I have two memory cards.

This picture I stole from my Mother. These are my bridesmaids: Cari, Annette and Kara.

While I was down there I also figured out my flowers. Or what I need to order, thanks to Julie L. So that takes care of one more big thing. Now I just have to order Aaron's ring and find a veil.

Happy Birthday Cari!

Can't believe you are old enough to vote now! I love you!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you and can't wait to see you soon!

Happy Birthday Jodi

I wish I could be there! I love you!

This Morning

I finally made it to the laundry mat this morning and enjoyed the relative quietness there. I guess not many people do their laundry early in the morning.

While I was taking my clothes out of the dryer, a lady walked in and started talking to me. I wasn't quite sure why she felt the necessity to share with me that her water line is being worked on and she has a meeting to go to. It's not shameful to use the laundry mat, right?

And then she proceeded to turn the water on in the sink and dunk her head under. I realized that she had shampoo and a towel there, but no laundry.

I really wish I had my camera. Although, I probably wouldn't have taken a picture, but I was still wishing for it.

I'll have to remember the laundry mat as an option if my water is ever out.

The Number 2 thing That I am looking forward to

When I have my own house is having an oven that works properly.

Take tonight for example. I am making pasties, which are supposed to be in the oven for an hour. The bottom pan is completely burnt and they have been in there for 27 minutes.


Yes, I can't wait until I have an oven that cooks to the right temperature.

Just for Karen and Liz

I ran into Karen and Liz tonight and they accused me of never updating my blog anymore.

I know I haven't! But I do have a new computer now and I don't have that excuse anymore.

So I'll give you an update on the wedding.

We booked our honeymoon, as I said. We are going to Jamaica, and it's going to be a great time.

I have to figure out what kinds of flowers I want and I really have no ideas. I'm looking for suggestions. I like star lily's, but I'm not sure if they would go with the roses I had envisioned...

Still working on addressing invites. I think that after addressing all of them it really won't matter to me what they look like, I'll be sick of looking at them!

I bought a ton of forever stamps in anticipation of the price change.

Decided against finding someone up here to do my cake. I really don't want to have to worry about transporting it in the middle of July.

Put in my vacation time for the wedding.

Trying to come up with ideas for inscribing something on Aaron's ring.

Speaking of Aaron, he's reading this over my shoulder as I type. I'm not sure how I feel about that. No, I'm just kiddding. He's not a regular reader of my blog. In fact, for a long time he didn't seem to care about it at all. Now he reads it more often. I still don't think he could find it on his own though!

(He say's I'm right about that.)

Last week we took a trip to try to get pictures of the same dam that overflowed last year. It wasn't running as well this time, but it was still a photo op!

A great Visit

I had the week off last week and was able to spend a couple days at home before my Mom and I went to see Drew, Kelli and Bryan.

That meant I missed the snow up here. :)

It was a great week to just relax, read books, play with Drew and go garage saleing.

Patty cake, patty cake...

Hmm??

Big smile!

'Mon, 'mon... This is Drew's new saying as he takes your finger to lead you.

I found a kitchen table at a garage sale, so that gives me an excellent excuse to go back and pick it up from Kelli's!

One More

In case you didn't read the comments on the last post- this one is the best yet!

Watch these!

I've been watching a lot of you tube lately. Here are some of my favorites.

If you haven't heard this yet, check it out. I've probably watched it about five times because I just love the emotion in this one.

Then there is this one. More music, gives me chills.

Here's an old one from Britain's Got Talent.

Here's an old one. Just for laughs.

And another one guaranteed to make you giggle, no matter how many times you watch it.

Enjoy!

How is it the middle of April already?

Okay, so I better have some great excuse for taking such a long break from blogging, right? Well, I don't have one other than sheer laziness. And my computer is slow.

What have I been up to? Work, trying to start spring cleaning, taking pictures, addressing invites that I ordered way too early (but it gives me time to address them slowly!), booked our honeymoon, enjoying easter dinner...

I took pictures of this sweetie last week.


She is such a content baby.



There's something about sleeping babies. I love it. Thanks Loretta for letting me practice with her!

I haven't been taking very many pictures lately. But now I have the bug again. And a week off coming up so I can take all the pictures I want. And purchase a new computer so I can post them!

Little Girls

Aren't they adorable? Since I haven't uploaded any of my pictures yet, I thought I would share this one! This is why I miss being at home. This picture was only taken two years ago, but all three girls are so much older now.

I see that everytime I go home. You miss out on a lot of the little day to day activities being away.

But I love living here, so there's the trade off I suppose.

And I gain another sister here next year! I'm very excited about that.

Busy, Busy

I'm checking things off my list!
- Found my dress
- Found my bridesmaid dresses
- Booked my photographer
- Found tuxes
- Visited a travel agent
- Filled out a passport application
- Have a minister and a date

It seems like those are the big things and it feels pretty good. I'll apologize in advance if a lot of wedding talk slips in on the blog!

I also had a computer virus that I managed to get rid of by following instructions from you tube. Word of advice- stay far away from anything that mentions Antivirus 360. It is not a good thing!

My Story

Aaron asked me to marry him Thursday night. It was a gorgeous starry night and we had driven up to my grandparents (who are currently not there) for something to do.

This something to do was my idea, little did I know that I was playing right into his hands.

We had gotten out of the truck and I was making a comment about the starry night when he came over, took both of my hands and got down on one knee. He told me some beautiful things and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes, a couple times actually!

We were able to tell his family in person and then drove to see mine. It worked out perfectly.

We are getting married on July 25th. And I cannot wait to marry this man who is my best friend. I was blessed when God brought him into my life.



*Thanks to everyone for the congratulatory wishes!

YAHOO!

Frozen Grapes

Are so good. They are my newest treat. Have you tried them?

Simple Things

There's my new toy. It's an XR Di LD (IF) 28-300mm 3.5- 6.3 macro lens. As I mentioned before, a lot heavier than my last one. And it zooms in and out the opposite way of my other lens. And honest truth, I'd have to look up most of the abbrivations to tell you exactly what they stand for, I'm not good for remembering those kinds of details.

I read a book today. I'm a little bit obsessive about reading. I read quickly and get wrapped up completely. In fact, I read and finished it today.

A major theme of the book was dreams which got me to thinking about my dreams. When I was younger I used to want to be an author. That's probably why I enjoy this blog, in a small way I am fulfilling that dream by writing the story of my life.

I also wanted to work in the circus, be a gymnast, a teacher and swim in the Olympics.

Now my dreams consist of other items like traveling- I would love to see the world.
I want to learn Finnish and be able to speak it fluently.
I want to own land on a lake.
I want to learn to ride a horse.
I want to have a library full of books that have touched me. (I have a list of these books that gets longer everyday.)
I want to go on that African Safari...

The list goes on and on.

But I know that it's not the accomplishing of the dreams that matters. It's having dreams in the first place. For truly, it's the simple things in life that make me happy. Faith, family, friends, sunshine, a place to be me, a good book and a warm bed. Daffodils, bodies of water, summer and days off to name a few.

It doesn't take much. What are your dreams and what makes you happy?

Drew

So I took my new lens when I went to visit this baby boy. And Kelli was gracious enough to let me try it out on her son.

I had a hard time taking a great picture as evidenced by the photo I posted previously. Half of that was because the lens is a lot heavier than I am used to. The other half is because Drew is always on the move.

Why not use a tripod, you might ask. And I did. I would set up the shot, postion Drew and take the piture. And I got a few, such as this one:



But more often than not, I got these shots:

And I love him anyway! :) I just wish I could see them more often. Which is a thought that will be repeated more and more as our family grows. We are so excited as there will be another grandchild for my parents this fall. This one will be born in my old hometown. We can't wait!

Self-Portrait

Fact, I don't like taking pictures of myself.

Have to cheese it up to have anything close to a real smile.

And I cheated as Aaron took this one.

Notice the mess behind me. It's supposed to be my scrapbooking table, it ends up being a catch-all. I haven't scrapbooked for months. Sigh.

This Past Month

What have I been up to?

Well... I did a little bit of reading...

Went to the town a hundred miles south for a dog sled race- and took some other pictures also...

Received this in the mail and started playing around with it.

And I got to see this guy and his parents (and Michelle) again.

Now I'm joining everyone and waiting for spring!

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I still am between computers... So what has been happening in my life lately?

-I opened a freedom fund account. I've have always known that the money in my checking was going towards different things but I didn't realize how much it would change my view when I actually opened an account specifically for my freedom fund. A freedom fund is where you put money towards those things that you need yearly but not necessarily every month. (For example, Christmas gifts or oil changes) Need is a relative term here also, because once you figure out what those expenses are you can create just for fun funds. The idea is that you take the amount you may need for one of those categories in a year, divide that number by 12 to get the amount to put aside monthly.

-My freedom fund covers health, vision, auto, travels, camera, and Christmas to name a few. It's not perfect and I have many others to add to the list when I have the chance. But it is powerful to know that I have money set aside for new contacts, my oil changes, and Christmas. When it was all lumped together it was hard to look at it objectively. It feels good!!!

-I went to see the start of a local dog sled race the other night. It was a neat experience. I tried taking pictures and I realized that I really don't know how to take action shots in a low light situation. I was determined to try not to use my flash. I tried with the tripod, without the tripod, high shutter speed, low shutter speed... I tried panning, I tried freezing the action. And I walked away with nothing but an increased determination to continue my photography studies.

-And a healthy respect for dog sledders.

-I have a new lens coming in. I was so excited the other day when I received a package in the mail, I couldn't wait to get home to open it. It wasn't the lens though. It was my newest lesson for my photography class- which is exciting in it's own way.

-I am trying to take a picture a day this year and I just realized that I didn't take one yesterday. Does it still count if I don't miss another day?

It's Raining

On this record high day where the snow banks are melting like butter, I am adding another item to my "Do Before I Die" list.

I would love to do this.

Does anyone want to join me?

Imminent Failure

That's the message I get when I turn on my computer. I was able to get on long enough to copy my pictures onto cds. Thankfully I only had a couple months to catch up with for that. Now I'm scared to touch the computer. I feel like it's going to blow up on me! I know it won't but...

Now to research my options for a new one. That was not in my budget!

Weekend Photos

Check out this handiwork. Kelli made these cakes.

Aren't they amazing?

Their family.

Not quite sure how to eat the cake.

Aha! Now I've got it!