Betsy's Wedding!!

You all have heard of the Year of the Dragon and the Year of the Pig right?  Well, I'm thinking they need to redo their calendars and include the Year of Weddings for Ryan and I.  By this point you all know that our calendar is chalked full of weddings and wedding related events this summer.  Ry and I are so excited that we get to be a part of 6 weddings and in some of them we hold some pretty important roles.  Four of the six weddings are for people that we had standing up in our own wedding party.  It makes for such a fun summer of friends!!

This past weekend was Betsy and Pat's wedding right here in Naperville, Il.  They were married in the United Methodist church in downtown Naperville and the reception was held at the Westin in Lombard.  Boy oh boy did we have a great time!  It was such a beautiful event, the food was delicious (I loved the tri-colored Ravioli's), the room was beautiful, and most importantly, so was the BRIDE!!

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from the night. 


See...told you!  So beautiful!!





Dad, let me tell you, it kills me...literally kills me to post a picture where I'm standing so close to anything Bears, but, it's John, so I've got to post it!  Besides, if I could get one in Green and Gold, I'd wear it proudly too!

Ahhhh!  Weddings!  So much fun!  I wish we could re-wind this past weekend and do it all over again.  Up next, Jamie's wedding just under 1 month away!

The longest day of the year? I think not!!

Yesterday was officially the first day of Summer!  Meaning that yesterday was also supposed to be the longest day of the year.  And, meaning that it's officially 6 month's until Ryan turns the big Three-Oh!  Ryan was born the the first day of winter...the shortest day of the year (UG!).

Anyways, yesterday sure didn't feel like it was the longest day of the year.  At 8 pm it was nearly dark outside!  Here are some pictures to give you a visual (and because you know I love having pictures in my posts to keep them interesting!).

Can you believe it?

About 8:00pm Ryan called me on his way home from bike class to say that the tornado sirens were going off.  I went outside and could hear them faintly in the distance.  I thought it was weird that I didn't see anything on TV about a bad storm, but soon realized it was because I was watching DVR.  So, I went back in and switched to the local news channel.  Seconds after doing that the program was interrupted that a funnel cloud was spotted 5 miles from our house.  I still wasn't too freaked out until I heard the sirens nearly in our backyard going off. 

Living in a townhouse means that we don't have a basement.  I called Ryan back to see where he was (hooking up the trailer) because I was starting to get scared.  Ry reassured me that "God hates trailer parks more than townhouses" so I should be safe.  Hahahah!  Only Ryan! 

Anyways, since there wasn't a basement for me to huddle in, I decided to stay outside and watch the storm blow in. If there was a funnel, I'd run back inside and go in our 1st floor bathroom :O)  About 10 minutes after the sirens went off, the rain started to fall and the wind whipped the trees like they were in a hurricane. 

Long story short, I never saw a funnel, our house is still standing and we just got ALOT of rain.  But, the longest day of the year sure seemed to get dark pretty fast!

The "Eg's" have a party and things get wild!

You all know the saying "Pictures speak louder than words" so I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking here tonight.  Enjoy!


And....that's the most normal picture I got of the two of us....




"Ryan can't really use a straw, because he has a hole in the roof of his mouth"



And...the most normal picture of the Eg's.  Sorry Meg!



Love these girls so much!  And Toph too!



Uh...I'm not sure what's happening here *smile*



Scary devil eyes...





Meg, that drink is nearly the size of your head!



I'm sure there is love in this touch...I wasn't there to see it though



Is this one love?



This...this must be love!

 Ok, enough of the photos.  Here are just a few quotes so I don't forget them and for you to enjoy (although context is probably necessary)

"That guy has on gold pants...and his name is Dingo!"
"He has dice INSIDE his shoes"
"I thought you were crying but then I realized you were laughing"
"Hey...a fight!  I know those people"
"Why the heck do we need 4 pizza's for 5 people"
"Wait, there were garlic bread sticks and cheesy ones?  I wonder which ones I had..."
"Lindsay...get up on this stage"
"I don't think I've ever seen Sadie drunk"

Hahahaha...great memories guys.  Great memories.  Thanks to the Eg's and "Meg's Birthday" for making it possible!

Bachelorette Party, Guns and Clay Pigeons (in that order, but not at the same time of course)

SATURDAY:

This weekend was a fun packed weekend!!  Saturday was Jamie's Bachelorette Party in Galena, Illinois.  We did pretty much exactly the same thing we did for my party.  We rented a house in Galena, went to a winery tour at the Galena Cellars, at dinner at Vinny Vanuchi's and pretty much had a great time!!!

Let me start by saying Jamie has some of the sweetest girlfriends.  I really enjoyed hanging out with them this weekend and meeting them all for the first time.  At the wine tour we got to try maybe 10 different types of wine made right there in Galena.  We also got a wine and chocolate pairing to go along with the tasting so it was a great way to learn about how to pair the wines.  I wish I had kept the little cheese chart they gave us to describe which cheeses went with which wines.

Then, after the tour we all went back to the house we rented.  We had a little time to kill between the tour and dinner so we played a little Bachelorette party game that I played at Lauren's party.  It's really fun, but quite difficult.  The gist of the game is that each girl brings a pair of NEW underwear that she would buy for herself (in the size the bride wears).  Then, we all put the undies in the center of the room and Jamie has to try and match the underwear up with the girl that brought it.  With 16 pair to match up Jamie had quite the time.  We decided that as "punishment" for getting girls wrong, Jamie would have to do shot for each round she got wrong.  Here are a few pictures to show you how that went.




The end of round 1: 4 ladies down!




End of round 2: Still looking pretty happy!




Umm..Jenna, which ones did I give you last time?  SHOOT!!




Round 3:  What's wrong Jamie, is it harder than you expected?




Round 3, or was it 4, or maybe, 3.5?  Come on Jamie, its 1 oz of beer!!  You can't be drunk yet :O)




Finally finished!!  Congrats!

 After playing the game, we headed to Vinny's for a delicious dinner.  If you've never been there, trust me, it might very well the meal I would request if I was going to die (ok, that's a lie, it would be dumplings and mom's pigs in a blanket, but this is dang close!)  It is so delicious and the bread sticks are literally to DIE for.  Don't take my word for it, get your bum in that car and head over there.  Take a weekend, Galena is such a pretty place to relax. 

After dinner we all went back to the house and hung out for the night.  That way everyone could party and nobody had to drive.  We had a great time!!

SUNDAY:

Sunday morning Ryan, Mom, Dad, Jamie and I all decided to go out and shoot clay pigeons.  Mom and I didn't shoot, but we had a great time laughing as we chucked the pigeons into the air for the shooters to blast.  At some point I decided it would be funny to start making animal noises as I threw them out (to simulate real life of course).  I did a turkey, a parrot (by saying "Polly want a cracker?), a goose, a chicken, a mule and maybe even a cow or two...I can't remember.  I wish I had a video camera to show you video.  A Flip sure would have been nice (HINT, HINT Ryan...maybe for Christmas!)

Here are a few shots from the day courtesy of Jamie's phone camera:



Ryan shooting and Dad playing backup




Don't mind my weird pose.  It really isn't that hard to toss them...I was just being weird!




Dad looks like a real professional!




Do it Jamie!  Do it!!!



A new milestone for Fox River Millwork

Today we launched the first ever Facebook page for our company, Fox River Millwork.  I don't have any cool pictures to show...well...that's a total lie (smile) I can find one for this post I'm sure.

Anyways, there isn't a whole lot to say.  I just wanted to commemorate this day with a blog post.  Just over two years ago Ryan and I took a leap of faith when he quit his job to commit to FRM full time.  It's been a long road since then, and we surely hope that there is a much longer road that lies ahead of us!  Things are going well, and although right now I think Ryan spends more time with FRM than with me, I know someday things will change and that it is all just part of the growing process.  I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished in the past two years.  He inspires me every day with his skill, dedication, optimism and unwavering faith.

So, long story short, if you haven't already, please take a second to stop by our new Facebook page and "like" Fox River Millwork.  We will keep it updated and continue posting pictures up there for you to enjoy.  Spread the word to your friends....we need all the help we can get to keep our business growing.

Showers (without rain!)

With a total of 6 weddings this summer Ryan and my weekends are packed full with wedding related activities.  This past weekend was Jamie's Wedding Shower.  It's the second shower I've been to this Summer (Lo's was first but I was horrible with pictures of that one so I think this is the first one I've blogged).  Ryan didn't come along, he stayed home to go to Pat's Bachelor Party (see...I told you, our calendar is chalked full of wedding stuff!).  The shower went off without a hitch and I think everyone had a great time.  Here are some of the best pictures of the day:



Carol, Jody, Jamie, Mom, Janice (the party planning committee and the guests of honor)




Yummy White Sangria in an awesome bee-hive jar




I said "Joey do something funny" and this is what she came up with.  Love her!


I was super excited to finally unveil a project I've been diligently working on for about a month know.  You all know I've been knitting like crazy ever since I took an intro to knitting class last summer.  Well, I've been hiding a little secret from you all.  I have been knitting a blanket for Jamie for about a month and a half now.  It's the biggest project I've done so far and I am so happy with how it turned out.  I think it looks amazing and I'm excited to show it to you all.



Too pretty to wrap or put in a gift bag!




Isn't she pretty?  Yep, she is a "she".  I've spent enough time with her, she could be a friend :O)




Such a pretty blanket



Happy Sunday everyone!

Shoot! I totally forgot!

I've started a new knitting project.  Well, sort of.  It's going to be the same Fiddlehead Mittens that I've made before in purple/blue/brown.  This pair is for my mom and I am just going to go on record now by saying that this is the most amazing yarn!  It's squishy, and tweedy and it even smells great.  It is sort of sticky even, but in an amazingly awesome way.  Yep, I know, I sound both weird and obsessed....because I am.  I just love this yarn and I hope the mittens come out more amazing because of it.

Tonight I plan to swatch the yarn to make sure I'm to gauge.  Yep, I learned that lesson with the sweater I had to frog a few months back (won't make that mistake again!).

Ahhhh...mazing!!! 

I can't wait to show you how they turn out.

Better late than never

Yep, Memorial Day was officially over 3 days ago.  Yep, I totally blanked on taking pictures of the entire weekend (except the few I've got here for you from when we were packing).  Yep, I'm just now blogging from the weekend.  Yep, I've been a little MIA with the posts lately.  All that being said.....I do have just a few things to share with you all.

You may have thought we'd out done ourselves on New Years Eve when we packed the truck with a total of 3, count 'em 3 kegs for the celebration.  Or, maybe one better on the day before our wedding when we were packed to the gills with my my wedding dress strapped down with bungee cords.  Well, I'm here to tell you, you were DEAD WRONG!!!  *smile*

Here are a few shots of the back of our truck.  I wish I had photoshop so I could draw little arrows pointing out exactly what we've got where in that truck, but a picture and text will just have to do.



The whole shebang....





A little closer view

 


Even closer

 Alright, so what the heck could we possibly have in there?  Well, here goes.  We have:

1. 46 inch TV (for grandpa from all the brothers and Ellyn)
2.  A bar top for the new updated basement at the lake that I blogged a few months back
3.  A new door for the new basement
4.  One Keg (Miller Lite in case you wondered)
5.  2 cases of I-Energy ( for the kiddies...because Ryan says it's gross and we've already gotten rid of 3 other cases)
6.  5 bar stools to go with the new bar
7.  Our bags and doggie stuff
8.  A cooler full of stuff for Margarita's and Bloody Mary's
9.  An air mattress.  There were 26 of us at the lake for Memorial Day so we knew we would need it at some point
10.  A bracket to hang the new TV up
11.  Two cakes (desserts were on my list to bring)
12.  Two knitting bags, you know me
13.  Two dogs
14.  And of course, Ryan and I

Phew.  I'm tired just typing it all up, much less how we felt after loading it, TWICE.  Ryan and I had the whole truck loaded and tied down.  We walked into the house to make a final walk through making sure we didn't forget anything, and realized heck yeah we forgot something.  The TV!!!  Hahaha...I'm not sure how we forgot the huge TV, but we sure did.  So, we had to unpack and repack about 1/2 of the truck to get it loaded. 

So, we drove the whole way to the lake holding our breath hoping it didn't rain.  We didn't really have a Plan B and the sky was pretty dark the entire way to the lake.  But, we managed to make it, totally dry and intact.

I was horrible about taking pictures the rest of the weekend.  It rained most of the day Saturday and although Sunday was hot, it was still pretty yucky outside.  We actually all huddled into the basement at one point when Uncle Mike called to say he heard that there was a tornado headed towards Koontz Lake.  Note:  We filled up our beers before heading down (smile).  Monday was the most amazing day.  Hot and sunny and fun.  Ryan and I actually headed back pretty early from the lake.  Ah...the joys of owning a business.

Here are a few extra pics I snapped before we headed out.



Typical



And, one last gratuitous doggie shot (because you know I've got to)

Happy Memorial Day to everyone (yep, 3 days late)