Head on over to the movie blog to share in the excitement of telling others that we have a baby on the way!
Pregnancy Joy
Independence Eve Extravaganza
This year’s party was another success.
As usual, we had plenty of food, including an oreo-shaped cake with vanilla ice cream (see the photo album).
My friend, David, drove in from Ohio for the celebration. Â I was thankful that he arrived a bit early because he helped me with some of the last-minute preparations. I’m also thankful for Pastor Rick, who pitched wiffle balls to all of the kids from the moment he arrived at the party until he and his family left that evening.
As usual, there were tons of kids in attendance, and we went though what seemed like hundreds of sparklers, which was the perfect kick-off to the fireworks extravaganza. As I lit off each item, the kids chanted, “Do it again, Uncle Ben!” as I got the next one ready.
The other highlight of this year’s party was the pre-meal prayer, during which I thanked God that Jenelle was pregnant, which caught most of the attendees by surprise. Â I’ll have more on that in another post. Â 🙂
Cottage Adventures 2010
Go straight to the photo album.
It was another fun trip up north. Â Jenelle and I made the drive up on the afternoon of Friday, June 25. Janet & Jamie joined us on Saturday. Â We spent a few days enjoying the crisp air of the northwoods before returning home on Tuesday. Â If you want to know everything we did, you’ll have to drive up to the family cottage in Arbor Vitae, WI and read the log book in the desk drawer. However, I’m happy to post my favorite memories here.
Kayaking — Jenelle and I didn’t have the energy to lug our kayak all the way up north, so we rented a pretty fancy one on Saturday afternoon. Â We spent a couple of hours on the water, as it was a very nice day. Â Thankfully, we didn’t get too tired.
Celebrating My Birthday — After Janet & Jamie arrived, we all went to Monical’s Pizza for dinner. Â I ate plenty of pizza and breadsticks. Â After a round of mini-golf at Kastle Rock (which is in need of groundskeeping and other maintenance), I had just enough room for some ice cream. Â I enjoyed a double-scoop of “birthday cake”-flavored ice cream, which was chocolate with bits of cake batter flavoring in it. Â It was a fun night, but I was completely STUFFED when I went to sleep.
Freedom 5K — For the third year in a row, I ran the Freedom 5K in St. Germain. Â I posted a short recap in the running log. Â The race was on Sunday morning. Â Thankfully, all the food from the night before didn’t slow me down.
Mike & Gail’s Cabin — For the first time, we visited Uncle Mike and Aunt Gail’s cabin in Mercer. They made lunch for us and took us out on a pontoon boat tour of Long Lake. Â It was another beautiful day, so it was great to spend it with both family and friends.
St. Germain Fireworks — We ventured back to St. Germain in the evening for an amazing fireworks display. Â Just like last year, we had great seats.
That about sums things up. Â We look forward to another trip next year, when we’ll hopefully bring even more friends with us.
Summer in Oregon
We visited Jenelle’s family in Beaverton from June 10-15. Â As always, we had a wonderful time. Â Here’s all the photos!
Some highlights from this trip:
The Rose Parade -Â We had great spots on the curb in Portland to watch the annual Rose Parade, and we didn’t have to get up all that early! Â With plenty of food, drink, and conversation to keep us occupied, the floats, bands, and all the other parade entries were zooming by us in no time. Â There were also lots of animals, and not just horses. Â Check the photos (link above) for details. Â For those who enjoy the Racine 4th of July Parade, I estimate that the Rose Parade is 10-20 times better. Â 🙂
Fun at 7 Eleven – Since there are no 7 Eleven stores around here, it’s a treat to be able to walk to one from Jenelle’s parents’ house. Â As we ventured off to get a slurpee, Dave (Jenelle’s Dad) suggested that I spend an extra dollar or two to get an aluminum straw, as it significantly enhances the slurpee experience. Â He was right. Â I will be able to use my shiny green straw again the next time I visit.
Farmer’s Markets – I’m not a big fan of farmer’s markets, but it is always worth it to visit one in Beaverton. Â Jenelle likes all the fresh berries, and I am always on the lookout for a kettle corn vendor. Â This trip, we didn’t go to the farmer’s market we usually visit, but we did stop by a big farm that sells a variety of items. Â Sure enough, we found both berries and kettle corn. Â Yum.
No Sales Tax – Nothing brings my joy quite like not having to pay sales tax. Â I didn’t make any huge purchases this trip, but Jenelle and her mom went shopping for clothes. Â They found some amazing bargains, all of them tax-free. Â Yay.
VooDoo Doughnut – This unique donut shop has been featured on the Travel Channel. Â Though it’s not in the best part of town, we joined plenty of folks in line, waiting for about an hour. Â We felt a bit like tourists. Â Anyway, Jenelle got a donut with oreo cookie bits on top, and I got one with butterfinger candy on it.
The Original Pancake House – As long as we’re talking about food, here’s another great place to eat. Â The restaurant we visited was apparently the first in what is now a franchise that spans the country. Â My brother’s family in Minnesota visits a location in Eden Prairie, and Jenelle and I went to one near Evanston, Illinois several times when we were dating. Â No matter which location you pick, the pancakes are delicious.
Again, check out the photos from another great trip!
Bun in the Oven
Most of you should know this already, but we’re expecting our first child, a girl, on or around December 23. Â Yay, a Christmas baby! Â Here’s pictures from a recent appointment:
Hang in there
We’ve been traveling every other weekend since early June, and the weekends we’ve been in town have also been busy. I’m hoping for a little bit of less-busy time next week when I can post a bunch of pictures and stories of our journeys. Stay tuned!
Longest day of the year
Yesterday was Jenelle’s birthday. Join us in the annual tradition of listening to the best birthday message ever left on our answering machine. It was left three years ago, but it still makes us smile.
Friendly Rivalry
As you may know already, Jenelle is a Cubs fan, and I prefer the Brewers. Not a year goes by without us attending at least one Brewers-Cubs game. This year, we’ve already attended two, and we’ll be at two more in September.
We always have fun regardless of which team wins. Whenever the Brewers manage a victory, especially when it’s a come-from-behind walk-off win like last night, I can usually get a good picture of a frustrated Jenelle. So, here it is!
Place Your Bets
Twice a year, I go with my grandpa to Arlington Race Track in Illinois. His neighbor, Dick, joined us on our most recent trip, which was this past Thursday, the 20th. We always have a great time, even if we don’t win much betting on the horses.
Grandpa seems to do pretty well. On most trips, he takes home a little bit more than he brought with him. After one of his amazing victory streaks, I managed to learn one of his secrets to victory. Check out this post in the movie blog for more details.
Take Me Out to the Third Row
I jumped online as soon as tickets were available for Cubs-Brewers games at Miller Park, so I was able to get seats just to the left of the Cubs dugout on the third base side for Saturday, April 24. The Cubs got out to an early lead, and the Brewers were never able to get their bats going. Even though it wasn’t the most exciting game, we had a blast!
