Weekend

Nothing like starting the summer off right! We celebrated two milestones with friends and family this weekend.

Friday started with a lovely visit from our friends Tammy and Paul! Tammy moved to IN to be with Paul and I miss her terribly! It was so nice to have her here in my very living room and just spend time with her. Mike had surprised me earlier in the week and had called a local restaurant in town where Tammy has a favorite drink. He asked what kind of alcohol was in the this drink and bought all the necessary ingredients. He even bought glasses (it’s a martini) so we could drink in style. She got me hooked on this drink too about a year ago and so I was looking forward to these drinks just as much!

The kids played, we visited, and it was such a great night. I so wish we lived closer to them.

Saturday started out with my nephew Matthew graduating from high school. He is on to North Dakota State University next school year and we are very proud of him.

Lisa (his mom and my sister), Matthew, and my other sister Carrie

Noah, Mitch (graduate’s brother and my nephew) and Connor

My mom and I

My dad and Carrie

The weather was cold and rainy, but it was good to see everyone and eat lots of yummy food.

Then we went to our good friend Tammy and Paul’s wedding reception. Tammy and Paul got married this past February in Indiana in a private ceremony with just them and their two girls. They held a reception in the summer so they could celebrate with family and friends.

I racked my brain to come up with the perfect gift. Originally I was going to take pictures of places in Owatonna and have them framed as a memory of home for Tammy. However, that didn’t seem like much of a present for Paul! So, then I got to thinking…..they met on a lake up in northern MN where both of their parents had cabins (one parent still does). I started to wonder if I could find a picture of that lake.

I searched and searched online for a picture. I thought I might get lucky and maybe even find a store near that lake that sold pictures of it. No luck.

So, after about a week I decided to contact some local photographers from that area. I asked them if they were interested in going to this lake and getting a few photos for me. Luckily one of them wrote me back and she was so excited to do this for me! She thought it was such a neat idea and within four days I had 8 pictures of Lake Gilmore in my hands! Granted, I had to do quite a bit of editing (this woman usually takes pictures of things for ads and newspapers so the pictures she sent me were a little bland for my taste).

Before

After

I wanted them to open them in front of me because I wanted to explain this story of how these pictures came to be and also explain that this was THEIR lake.

I didn’t need to. Paul recognized the lake immediately. I couldn’t believe it. Turns out the woman took the photos almost on the property Paul’s family used to own, Pretty darn crazy. I think they liked them. I hope they do!

 

So the weekend is over. I am exhausted. It has been such a great time, but my house and laundry are screaming my name! I am looking forward to slowing down a little but I don’t think it’s going to happen soon. Monday I have ordering/lunch with my co-workers and play group planning party in the afternoon. We also have therapy for Noah and will be running every hour-on-the-hour all day. Crazy and nuts. Can’t wait for a day to just rent movies and plop on the couch with the kids for an afternoon!

Hope you all had a super weekend.

Peace out,

LB