Monday, October 4, 2010

Rachel's Bridal Shower

Rachel's Bridal Shower
Monday, October 4, 2010
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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Today was a busy day starting in the morning with a bridal shower for Rachel. 

Evan & Rachel are getting married October 16th and Evan is Wayne's cousin. They were both pictured in my State Fair post.

I didn't take many pictures at the shower, but here are a few for sharing. We started out with a light lunch, played a game and then Rachel opened her gifts while we all chatted.

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This is a picture of part of the group of friends and family members that were there:

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From left to right is Rachel's Mom, Evan's Step-Mom, Dianne (Wayne's Aunt), and Veronika (Dianne's daughter & Rachel's soon to be sister-in-law).

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Here is a picture of Green Grandma, Aly (Dianne's other daughter & Veronika's little sister) and me:

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Rachel told us all the story of how Evan proposed to her and how frustrated she was. Not frustrated with Evan himself, but his timing of the proposal. They were on their way out of Grand Forks headed to the Cities for Christmas while a blizzard was coming. She was trying to hurry them along to beat the blizzard, while he was taking his sweet time. LOL. I told her she wasn't alone as I was in the same position when Wayne proposed to me in the middle of a Thursday night waking me up from a deep slumber (I had work the next morning). Even though we both were frustrated, we both said YES!
Stay tuned for the wedding post sometime after October 16th! Thanks.

Leah
Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Great Minnesota Get Together {2010}

The Great Minnesota Get Together {2010}
Thursday, September 30, 2010
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Sunday, September 5, 2010

It was the day after Jenny and Dan's wedding. Super tired, but determined to get to the fair for awhile and enjoy some of our favorites. We were only there for about 4 hours and got in our favorite staples. Wayne had a media parking pass, so we didn't have to park very far from an entrance. We entered by Judson & Underwood where the KDWB boombox is located across the street from the haunted house. I had forgot my sweatshirt in the other vehicle we left behind as we rode together in one vehicle down to the fairgrounds. So we stopped at the KDWB booth and purchased me a new sweatshirt (pictured farther down). I also noticed all the "jock" cards were up. 

This is Wayne's aka Big D.

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As we were leaving the booth we ran into Rachel & Evan (Wayne's cousin).  They are getting married October 16, 2010. They live in Grand Forks, so we don't get to see them all that often. It was a delightful surprise. They had been there since 8am and actually took their engagement pictures at the fair. Very cool idea. Here's us:

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After chatting a bit we realized we hadn't gotten anything to eat. I normally hate onions, but there are a few exceptions...certain kinds of onion rings and the Flowering Onion. It's one of my faves.

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We killed it. We also each enjoyed a pronto pup, shared a part of a bucket of Sweet Martha's cookies (took the majority of the bucket home) and shared an order of cheese curds. I was really proud of us as we didn't over eat and spend a lot of money. Just enough to get our yearly fix at the fair. While standing by the booth eating I snapped this picture of the crowd:

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Two things I have to do each year: 1. Miracle of Birth barn and 2. Pet Center. The only bad part is that they are on opposite ends of the fair. We visited the Miracle of Birth center first. I love all the mama's and their babies and am so intrigued on when there are animals that are almost ready to give birth. These are some little piggies that were just born the day before:

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We stayed there for a bit as there was a cow getting ready to give birth within the hour, but it was just too crowded and we really didn't want to wait that long. I always feel sorry for the animal because it's such a production and they have camera's all up in their faces and "areas". You can obviously tell the animal is uncomfortable. I know that's the point of having the barn and hence the miracle of "birth" part of it. I also know there are Dr's on site and all the animals are well taken care of. We then headed up to the Pet Center to see all the dogs on display. I have to say that I was really disappointed this year in not only the variety of dogs, but also the quantity. It seems like it is less and less every year.

We had planned on meeting up with Jenny & Dan (the newlyweds) and some other friends at the fair. They took the bus and it took them a lot longer to actually get to the fair than planned. We did end up meeting up for a few minutes on our way out.

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Top Row: Me & Wayne
Bottom Row: Matt B., Matt W., Jenny, Dan, Ann & Ashley

And of course, here is our special picture of the day:

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Thanks for stopping by.

Leah
Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Workman Wedding

Workman Wedding
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
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Friday, September 3, 2010

One of my best friends, Jennifer Ashley Lemons aka Lemonhead was getting married and I couldn't be more excited! I have known her and her family since we were in High School and I like to take credit for getting her and Dan (Groom) together. They get the credit though for staying together for 9.5 years. I was fortunate enough to participate in this wedding in various ways...from going with her for several dress fittings, to a day filled with cake tasting to answering her endless questions about all the various wedding details. I wouldn't have had it any other way. She is included in this blog several times as she is one of the staples in my life.

Us girls started off the hectic weekend trying to relax at the nail salon. Who doesn't love a good pedicure!?

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After our toes and nails were beautified we grabbed some lunch and ran a couple errands. We then headed to St. Andrew Lutheran Church for the rehearsal at 4:30. This is me and my escort, James. He is also the brother of the bride and one funny dude!

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The dinner following rehearsal was at Dan's parents house. It was supposed to be an outdoor BBQ, but it ended up inside as the weather that day was SO unpredictable and they wanted to be safe.

Minnesota weather...unpredictable? Never. Can you sense my sarcasm?

It ended up being a super fun night as we had yummy food catered from Famous Dave's and James made his famous pulled pork. We also went through a ton of wine.

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This is me, Jenny and Ashley enjoying our wine. Nick (Usher & Cousin of Groom) was a creeper in my picture. After some great conversation and more wine of course, we opened our gifts from the Bride & Groom. The boys received very cool, heavy duty monogrammed  tumblers. The girls received matching earrings and sunglasses that we wore on the wedding day. Here is Ashley modeling them both.

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We also got our own wine glasses from Lolita.

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Jenny picked each of ours out with our personality in mind. I love it and am so excited to bring it with me and use it at various gatherings with the holidays coming up (even if it doesn't have wine in it). Here's mine:

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Jenny knows I have a fetish for sunglasses. ;)The fun part is on the bottom of the glass is a drink recipe. Each glass has a different one. I love mine.

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Here is a picture of me and Wayne before he left for the night.

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I stayed with Jenny as we planned on heading over to her Mom's house for a sleepover. That is where we were getting ready in the morning so it made sense. It was a great night, but we were all excited for the next day as we knew it would be one of a kind!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

I am so not a morning person, but waking up to this cute face at 7am brightened my morning. This is Penelope.

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Abby arrived to do our hair at 7:45a. She is Jenny's regular hairstylist. I volunteered to go first. Our  hair turned out beautiful! This is me finishing up Jenny's make-up with our hairs done.

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Jenny and I (in our matching sunglasses) on our way to the church to get in our dresses!

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This is all dressed and ready for their first sighting.

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This is one of the professional poses that was done. It shows the back of her dress so nicely.

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On the left is our bridesmaids bouquets consisting of white roses and white/purple calla lilies. On the right is the bridal bouquet consisting all of white/purple calla lilies.

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We took a break from pictures to eat lunch. I wanted to make sure she didn't spill ANYTHING on her dress.

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After a couple hours of pictures, the "simply elegant" ceremony at 3pm, Ashley and I bustling her dress and what seemed like the  never ending receiving line, the wedding party hopped in the limo and took off for Santorinis.

The girls doing a lemondrop shot in our matching sunglasses.

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The newlyweds enjoying their first drink as a married couple.

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From there we headed to the reception at Marriott - Minneapolis West. A unique idea that Jenny had was to incorporate lemons into her centerpieces.

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Another unique thing was the cake. It had the same design on it as the invites.

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The dance was so much fun. This is a picture of me and Edward. Ashley got this life size cut-out of Edward for Jenny as a funny gift. Well, he came with us everywhere. He was with us at the house getting ready, at the church taking pictures and he even hitched a ride to the reception to partake in the festivities. He made it in several pictures that night with various girls enjoying slow dances and even participated in the garter toss.

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Enough of that guy, this is me and my real guy.

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Overall a wonderful day and night spent strengthening friendships and creating memories that will last  forever.

Leah
Thursday, September 23, 2010

Football in August {2010}

Football in August {2010}
Thursday, September 23, 2010
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Saturday, August 28, 2010

It was the Vikings last pre-season game against Seattle and you could feel the energy in the Dome now called Mall of America Field. I noticed this year it was extremely decked out in purple. It almost looked like the Twins (red, white and blue) had not even been there at all. The two cheerleaders in the right picture are friends of ours...Rachel and Nikki.

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I went with my Dad.

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I wore my #69 (Jared Allen) jersey and took a lot of pictures of him.

This one is my favorite.

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It was Farve's first real game back as a Viking. I also took a lot of pictures of him.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

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We drove to Bloomington by the MOA and road on the light rail. It was alright, but I felt like there was a lot of waiting. I have no problem with driving downtown as I know my way around, so I would rather drive then take it again. It was absolutely packed and I had to stand the whole way back (1/2 hour) and it was 10:30+ at night. Not a big deal, but I was already tired. Even though the Vikings lost, it was still a great night anyways.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

As if I didn't get enough football on Saturday, my family got together for our fantasy football draft at Joe Sensors. It was a fun intense time as we tried a live draft this year. Joe Sensors has a pretty sweet set-up for this as you can tell from the picture.

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They have several big screens like the one pictured. They are able to host many different groups. They also lure you in with a free app and a pitcher of beer with your reservation.

Wayne is the commissioner of the league. This is him with my Uncle Trick and then you can also see my Uncle John.

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This is everyone else:

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Dad, cousin Nicole and her boyfriend Al. My other cousin, Justin, was there but had to leave early.

And of course we can't do anything without snapping a super cute picture of us:

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As you can see, we LOVE like football in our family! Yay for football season.

Leah
Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A-Z

A-Z
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
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I saw this on another blog and had to steal it. Feel free to do the same.

A. AREA CODE: I was born in the 320, but grew up in the 612 before it became 952, and currently am in the 763.

B. BED SIZE: King! We couldn’t live with anything less. Our 4 dogs take up a lot of room.

C. CHORE YOU HATE: Washing dishes. I’m always the dryer.

D. DOG'S NAME(S): Puckett, Bella, Tony and Moo Moo

E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: Caramel Cooler from Caribou

F. FAVORITE COLOR: I don’t really have a favorite color. I like them all.

G. GOLD OR SILVER: I’ve always been a silver type of gal.

H. HEIGHT: 5' 7"

I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: None. I wanted to play the clarinet in middle school, but I did choir instead. It was cheaper.

J. Job: Photographer, Paralegal, Wife and hopefully someday soon a Mother.

K. KIDS: We are trying. See earlier posts: Rollercoaster of Emotion Part 1 and 2.

L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: We are currently living with Wayne’s Grandma in Buffalo. She is in the process of loosing/saving her house. We should know by the end of 2010 if things work out for her. Wayne and I hope to start looking at a home of our home at the beginning of 2011 and be into something by summer 2011.

N. NICKNAME: Babygirl.

M. MOM'S NAME: Karla
O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: No. Hopefully having a baby will be the only time I’m in the hospital over-night.

P. PET PEEVE: hypocrite and chewing with mouth open.

Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: "She's so ugly, she could trick or treat over the telephone." - Larry The Cable Guy in Health Inspector

R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Righty

S. SIBLINGS: 1 brother – Ross, 19 years old, 2 sisters – Amie, 13 years old and Kate, 11 years old; 1 brother in law – Andy, 24 years old

T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: Usually around 7:00am - ish

U. UNDERWEAR: All different kinds.

V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: I’m a picky eater, so other than the popular ones, I don’t like many.

W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE: I am so not a morning person. I’m not good sometimes at predicting how long it will take me to get ready to go somewhere.

X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: 3rd grade I broke my right wrist and fractured the left at the same time.

Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: Rueben dip is a favorite of the family and Better than Anything Cake is a good one, too.

Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: I haven’t been to the zoo in forever, but I like the gorillas, polar bears, and dolphins.

Thanks!

Leah
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