Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend was over a month ago, but hey this post is better late than never right?

For our first Memorial Day weekend in Minneapolis, we had some visitors- My parents!!! It was their maiden voyage to Minneapolis (my dad had only driven through once), so we were ready to show them a good time. They brought along a playmate for Lola- their beagle, Zoey.

My parents didn't plan to leave until Noon on Saturday morning, but because they couldn't sleep because of excitement the night before, they woke up around midnight and decided to leave then. Gotta love 'em. It was safe to say that when they arrived Saturday morning they were dog tired (pun completely intended). So they decided to crash for an hour while Ryan and I took the pups for a good long walk around the lake.


After our walk, we all cleaned up and got ready to head downtown where we visited Colle+McVoy, the sculpture gardens and took in some Pizza Luce before heading to the Twins game.

It was a gorgeous night, and a perfect night to watch a win for the Twins! However the family in front of us was quite the entertainment. 4 young children all under the age of 4 that received anything they asked for- hot dogs, popcorn, cinnamon bread, cotton candy, nachos, etc. We wish we could've seen what they were like that evening! ha

The next day, we took another walk around the lake (we've got plenty of lakes around us up north) and then visited Minnehaha Falls where we ate our fish tacos al fresco at a restaurant called Sea Salt before heading to the Mall of America to experience the wonder that is the largest Mall in all 50 states! We had such a great time with my parents and we hope they come back again soon!

Happy 4th of July!

We're out on what we've dubbed our road trip across the midwest- also known as "packed way to much into one extended weekend" trip. I can't believe tomorrow's the last day. But we wanted to wish you all a Happy 4th of July. And in honor of our nation's celebration here's a little comic....

Our Little Girl is Growing Up!

I took this picture to show how sometimes Lola is quite ladylike and crosses her front paws when she lays down. But after uploading it and shouting at Ryan to "come look...hurry!" We realized that our little girl has really grown up. I think it similar when someone sees you after 5-6 months and says you've lost weight or you've changed your hair color. You don't really notice it on that person if you see them on a day to day basis. But once they're removed and you sense that change it hits you like a screen door in the face. OK, maybe I've walked into one too many screen doors in my time.

But you get my analogy. You don't realize its there... until.... it is. Lola is still in her "puppy" stage- she's almost 5 months old, but she is looking more and more like a full grown dog everyday.

Dad's Buddy

Although I would like to say that Lola is attached at my hip and seems to be my little shadow, I have a feeling she is truly daddy's little girl. Maybe its the testosterone, or the fact that he can still pick her up without a heave-ho method-as I have started to do. (she's over 30 lbs!)

Whatever it is, Lola and Ryan have quite the bond. You can usually find her lounging right under his legs when he's watching TV or eating dinner. One night I even found her laying on Ryan's socks--which I personally wouldn't advise. :)

Wherever Ryan is, Lola is

Her nook of the couch

Girl's Night!

When I started work at Colle+McVoy, I was instantly greeted by warm and welcoming faces. It was so nice to meet such a great group of girls that I instantly connected with. To kick off the spring girl's night celebrations, Bri invited us to her new house in Blaine. It was so nice to kick back and relax and hear some funny stories from the girls who have been through some great life experiences. Thanks ladies for welcoming me with open arms...and Skinnygirl Margaritas!

(Me, Lindsay, Bri & Chelsea)

Happy Mother's Day!

I realize this post is almost a month old- since Mother's day was in early May- but roll with me here. Things have been pretty busy. :)

Since we are now 6+ hours away from my mom and dad in Nebraska, we spend our time with them as wisely as possible. The first weekend in May was no exception. We were able to see my brother, Jared, graduate from college, and then mom and dad, and Ryan and I were off to enjoy the rest of the weekend. (I guess college grads like to hang out with their friends or something. ) j/k Jared.

We stayed at the Cornhusker Marriott in downtown Lincoln and we were able to walk to the Haymarket for supper at El Potrero- yum. And the next morning we walked to the Green Gateau to celebrate Mother's Day. It was such a great, relaxing weekend full of good food, good conversation and family time.

Mom in the process of opening her Mother's Day gifts.

Old Vs. New

We closed on our Minnesota house this past Tuesday. At the moment, we are dual home-owners... at age 26. Yikes.

When we closed on our Omaha house we were ready to move things in and get started on our life together in our new home. When we closed on our Minnesota house, we had already lived in the house for a few months, so instead of moving things in we celebrated with some wings and a beer. Funny how things can change within a year.

I know there are differences with every house, but the main difference between our 2 homes is the age. Our Omaha house was born in 2010- the Minnesota home: 1983. 27 years between the two. The thing we loved most about the Omaha house was that everything was brand spankin' new. We picked out the wall colors, the wood floors, the lighting. We were the first to experience summer, spring, fall and winter there. We watched deer and turkey run through our backyard, and lived on a quiet dead-end street.

The thing we love most about the Minnesota house is the character- the way the upstairs floorboards creak, the tall and full grown trees in our yard, the sprawling trails and lakes close by.

The one thing we didn't account for when we moved into an older house? Someone else, maybe even many people, have lived here before us. They have all left their mark and they knew the ins and outs of the house that we will soon find out. We're in the process of figuring out the water valves on the exterior of the house-its been a fun process. (insert sarcastic remark here).

And there have been many times we have thought, why do you think they painted the wall that color? And why do you suppose they had so many hooks hanging from the ceiling? Or why do you think they picked white tile for the kitchen? We usually make up some interesting story and then decide how we're going to change it. I just wonder what the new owners will think of our Omaha house someday? Will they ask, why did they use such a bright blue in the laundry room? :)

But we're along for the journey- just adapting day by day.

Omaha House

Minnesota House

(My mom is happy to be Vanna White here)