The (almost) Best Day of Summer!

Each summer I say that the Best Day of Summer is the day I get to go to the Minnesota State Fair. It really is incredible, and such a wonderful day each summer! Well, this year, I'd say that Our Wedding Day was the best day of the whole summer, but last Sunday was a close second!

I was really excited to have Brent experience the whole fair, but I also wanted to not overwhelm him. As my friend Aimee said, I'm a die-hard when it comes to the fair! I really wanted him to like it, but I also wasn't sure if it would be just up his alley or not. It even got to the point that I said to him a few days prior "if you don't love it, could you lie to me just this once and tell me that you had fun, just so I won't be disappointed?" He laughed at that request, and then agreed to follow it!

We drove to the Twin Cities last Saturday, and after church on Sunday headed over to the fairgrounds with my parents. As we were just inside the fairgrounds and Brent got to really see what it was all about, he said "it's not just a fair, it's a Food Fest!" He was right! The first stop on our Food Fest was the "Hog-On-A-Log" stand, where I had a wonderful porkchop on a stick. If you're not familiar with the Minnesota State Fair, it's famous for selling everything on a stick. (It's also the largest fair in the country, based on the attendance-per-day numbers, and has many other wonderful things to offer!) Anyway, Brent decided to buy something different, so that we could have a taste of each other's meals, so he opted for the turkey drumstick. They were both wonderful ways to start our day!

After the meat-on-a-stick lunch, we started wandering around to find some of our favorite things. This is my mom's most-loved stand, and not being a pickle fan myself, one I stay away from.
Another favorite place, and not food-related at all, is the Creative Activities building. It has all sorts of amazing quilts, wood-working projects, and other handmade goodies of the edible and non-edible type. It's my favorite building to walk through.
Cheese Curds! Yummy!!!!! These are one of my favorite things ever! It's funny, because now that I'm a Wisconsinite (yup, got my driver's license and everything!) I'm learning that people from Wisconsin are really in love with cheese. The whole cheesehead thing is pretty real. There are entire stores dedicated just to cheese (they might throw some bread or meat-sticks in for good measure, but it's all about the cheese) and you can walk through the grocery store and see that the cheese cooler is twice as big as I've seen in any of the other five states I've lived in. Anyway, back to the story.... in Wisconsin, another name for cheese curds are squeeky-cheese. They sell cheese here that is basically just cheese cut up into bite sized pieces, and since it was made earlier that morning (the fresher the better so says my husband) it actually squeeks in your teeth when you bite into it. It's not deep-fried at all! That's the only way I ever knew cheese curds to be made! It was good to be home again....

A quick picture at the top of a little hill just so you could see how many people were there. I just looked it up and found out that there were 186,324 people there that day and 2009 set a new overall attendance record! Almost 1.8 million people! It was crowded, but do-able, and the weather that day was just perfect: not too hot, and not too cold!
In one of the dairy buildings there are sculptures made out of butter! They are heads of each of the Princess Kay of the Milky Way women, and get this... at the end of the fair, each woman gets to take hers home. Now, I'd like to hear, just what would you do if you had a huge carved block of butter sitting in your deep-freeze?
I snapped a few pictures in the horticulture building, where they were showcasing dahlia's for the day.
Lots of color! It's fun to see what people can grow or make or build and then win blue-ribbons for their effort.
Another annual stop, mini donuts! I'm not even a huge donut fan, but this is a state fair must!
And one my husband was pretty thankful for!
We decided to do something I haven't done in years, and took a ride on the sky glider! We were at one end of the fair, wanted to get to the other side, and realized this would be a great way to get there!
While riding along, I saw this scene and thought it might make for a good picture. It was fun to see the sun at just the right point behind the clouds.
Looking down over some of the things we had just walked by, like the tractor area (machinery hill) and the carvings done by chainsaws.
A far off look at some of the rides. A funny story.... during high school, my youth group went up on the tall spire (you ride the round thing in the middle and it goes up to the top and circles around so you can have a 360-view of the Twin Cities) and while we were at the top, something happened to the ride and we ended up being stuck up there for quite a while! Obviously we made it back down.
A look at one of the trolley's that gives free rides around the fairgrounds. We didn't choose this option this year.
More Midway rides:

I caught a glimpse of one of my favorite stands where I had forgotten to take an earlier picture. Two years ago while enjoying the fair with my cousin, Krista, I tried a chocolate-dipped-salted-nut-roll and really, well.... fell in love. It was magnificant! I'm glad I was able to enjoy the sweet and salty treat again!
Taken just before getting off the sky-glider. Glorious!
A perfect way to end the day, with Sweet Martha's Chocolate Chip Cookies, and milk! It was a wonderful end to a wonderful day.
We were able to enjoy fun foods, see some beautiful projects, do a lot of people-watching, see some interesting animals, and enjoy a fun day together! It was great to introduce Brent to one of my favorite things about Minnesota, and get this.... at the end of the day, even though his feet hurt from all the walking, he told me he didn't even need to lie about it, he really did have fun!

The Lakehouse

We've been busy getting settled in at The Lakehouse, so I thought I'd show you our progress! We've been unpacking my boxes that have been packed up for two years, Brent's stuff either from his townhouse or things he had had in boxes for a while, and then of course all the wonderful wedding presents we were blessed with. We have more to sort, but here's a little tour of what we've done so far.

This is our kitchen, with a wonderful counter where we also have two chairs to sit at. You can see my Kitchenaid mixer in the back, a Cuisinart food processor we bought with gift cards, and other fun wedding presents as well.

Here's the other angle, and the white door you see leads to our one-car garage where I am the blessed one to park there, and we put together our storage shelves and set up one of them at the right height for Brent to have a work-bench. The double door is a closet/pantry.
Our dining room, opposite the kitchen (the long counter separates them). I haven't finished unpacking all my stuff that will go in my hutch, so I'll do some creative rearranging once that happens. My dining room table expands to 104" so when we had Brent's boss' family over for dinner last night (hence the clean-enough house for pictures!!) there was plenty of space. I'm SO thankful for that! Hosting dinner's will be a breeze!
From the dining room, there's a long hallway that has doors to the basement, guest room and bathroom, with our bedroom on the end. On the opposite side of that, is our living room. Here are a few pictures of it. You can see some of our wedding gifts like candle holders, Swedish vases from the Nordic Galleri, and picture frames that are waiting to be filled! The cool wooden chair was Brent's great-grandmother's, and she got it from a neighbor who once hosted Billy the Kid at their home. We like to think he probably sat in the very chair that's in our living room! It got chopped a bit by a shorter person, and now fits my mom perfectly! :)
I wish we were able to paint the walls, but the landlord said 'no' when I asked. It looks especially stark in this picture, and seems a little better in real life.
The bookshelves are from Ikea, and you can maybe guess that I'm going to paint the TV stand eventually, recover the mauve wing back chair sometime, get a different coffee table. I do like the chest we're currently using, just might use it for a different purpose.
The two windows go out to our front yard, which is still pretty private as it sits back far from the road. It would be nice to have the living room off the lake, but it also means that the dining room goes right to the deck, and our bedrooms face the lake instead. The couch is a fun story.... We bought it when I first moved into my apartment, as I had no couch and Brent didn't have one for me to use either. We searched and searched for just the right thing, but couldn't find something that we both "fit" well, and that I liked the looks of. We ended up buying a cheap couch at Goodwill to just tide us over until we found the right thing. We quickly learned that we actually really enjoyed it, just found it to be terribly ugly. After many months, we decided that instead of getting something new, because we really did like the feel of it and it fit us well, we would recover it instead. I was able to find some great fabric at an incredible deal and with the original purchase price, the cost of the fabric, and the cost of recovering it, we have an amazing couch for a fraction of the price we would normally pay for it!
Behind the couch we made a good "hallway" that leads to our hallway, and then our office space. It's maybe hard to tell exactly from this picture, but I've got this little desk for my laptop, as that's really all the space I need. Then Brent's got this bigger desk and printer stand and file cabinet for his area. Sometimes I laugh when I really look at the proportions of the two areas! By the way, in the picture, the door you see in the hallway is our bathroom, then our bedroom is to the left, and the guestroom to the right, followed by the dining room and kitchen.
Another angle of the office space so you can see where we put my Grandmother's secretary (which I just realized I haven't decorated the top of yet) and then that's our front door. The picture is one I had already framed and there's a nail there. I can see all this white-wall space and can hardly wait to get more things on the wall!
Brent's desk and printer stand are also from Ikea.
Our bathroom has a long counter and almost a "second" room for the toilet and tub. Just an opening, though, no actual door.
Our guestroom is ready and waiting for you!
And finally, our bedroom. We just got a different bed this past weekend. We both came to the marriage with a double bed but are now blessed to have a queen. We rearranged a bit, and now I know what and where I want things on the wall. I also need to find my queen-sized dust ruffle that I have in a box somewhere....
So, there you have it! There is still more to unpack and sort, but I'll keep making progress on that, and decide what else can come upstairs and have a home, what will stay in storage until we have a bigger place someday, and what will go into the garage sale pile!

We'd love to have you come visit anytime, and see it all in person!

I love this man!!

My wonderful husband said I was overdue in posting a few pictures, so I thought I'd just add a few favorites! :) I have a few different slideshows on Facebook since that goes so much faster to upload, but I also realize I'd like to keep this blog more up-to-date as our "online scrapbook".

We've had a few busy weeks, with Brent's job-change stuff all happening, and I also picked up quite a few shifts these last three weeks. We're like two ships passing in the night, literally, with me coming home from work just minutes before Brent leaves for work!

Besides work, what else have we been up to? We're working on getting settled around here, sorting through honeymoon pictures to post (there are hundreds!), waiting for our professional pictures to come so we can order our thank you notes, getting more involved at chuch (we'll be starting a choir that Brent will direct), and just spending time together. We're looking forward to the MINNESOTA STATE FAIR this weekend -my favorite day of the summer each year (except this summer, of course, because there was a wedding day that was by far the best day ever!).

It's been a good, but busy, first few weeks of marriage!

Super Thursday

For my first "official" blog post of married life there is much news to share. As of this last Thursday, August 13th, I have resigned from the Hilbert School District as Director of Library Media Services. As many of you are aware, I have been going through a somewhat tumultuous off-season. First I was going to be dropped to 50% time, so I went and found part-time employment after our honeymoon. Less than a week after starting I received a call from my Superintendent telling me they had located some funds and that he was going to recommend my time be increased. Jumping to the end, I found out last Wednesday that he was going to recommend at this coming Monday night board meeting that I be reinstated to a shared position between Hilbert and a neighboring school district who had cut all of their Media Specialist positions at the end of last year. After many years of being a media specialist I can assure you that when you are made to serve two "masters", especially in education, very little good comes of it.

As we, along with many of you, have been praying for this situation, our recent prayers have been that God would give us clear direction and make the choice obvious. I really think that was accomplished. Paralleling the school storyline, my part-time job had been going very well. I really enjoy what I am doing and the office in which I work. I currently work for Appraisal Group One of Oshkosh, WI. This company is not just your run-of-the-mill appraisal firm.

At AGO, they provide specialized appraisal services including eminent domain valuation, which is essentially fighting for the personal landowner's rights against large utility companies or the Dept. of Transportation (whose intent is to either take or use land to run pipelines, power lines, wind turbines, etc. without truly valuing the impact on people's property value). Additionally, their skill in expert testimony has led to identifying this in-depth style of appraisal to be referred to as "forensic" appraisal. A forensic appraiser then is a recognized expert witness who gives testimony in court as to the value of a property.

So, I begin my new journey as an appraiser trainee. The owner of the company has made a commitment to put me on the full-time fast track of licensing. What a blessing and opportunity. We will have to live frugally these next few years until I reach all my levels of licensing, but God is always faithful and as we diligently trust upon Him, He is faithful in ALL things.

I realize there will be many sacrifices along this path to come, and some have already begun to happen. I am grateful for such a supportive and loving wife in Kari. I can't begin to express how calming and stabilizing her support through all this has been. Additionally, it should be noted that she has had to sacrifice her RAV4 for the cause. This was an incredible gesture on her part as that car represented a lot of different experiences and feelings for her these past few years. She has given that sporty woman-on-the-go persona over and we now have joined the mini-van brigade! :| (Although I must say she will always be a "sporty" woman-on-the-go in my eyes. :))

Please continue to pray for us, and thank you for your continued encouragement. We greatly appreciate it.

Brent

Our Big Day

Here's a glimpse into the super fun event that was Our Big Day! These are some of the pictures taken on my camera. I have more from my mom and brother-in-law, but those will have to wait for now.

I was blessed with a really wonderful personal bridal shower on Thursday evening and here are the fun friends that were able to join in the celebration. One of the best parts of it all? The planners specifically didn't plan any of the typical "bridal shower games" because they knew that what I would most especially like was time to just visit with all these fun friends that I don't get to see very often! It was a wonderful way to start off the wedding weekend!
Fun Fergus Friends, back together again! Carrie, Christine, me, and Laura.

It was so fun to have Christine and Carrie help me all throughout the wedding day as my personal attendants. We realized that the three of us have now gone full circle in blessing one another in this way on our wedding days. Here they are steaming my dress that had traveled all the way from Appleton to Fergus.

Brent and I chose to have StromStudio take our professional wedding photographs. We had a great time with Eric and Susanne all day and truly had a fun time during the photo session. First we went out to a few places for pictures of just Brent and I, and Carrie and Christine came along to help and also snap a few shots from my camera. It was so fun! I'm looking forward to seeing the professional shots and will share those with you once we get them.

(Here's the one picture all day that shows that yes, I did wear flip flops the entire day and was totally comfortable in them and SO thankful that I wasn't wearing flimsy high-heels since no one could see my shoes anyway! My skirt was blessedly big enough!!)

My handsome groom

Our wedding party joined us for some group shots. I am so happy with how the pictures look, seeing the fun red dresses that my bridesmaids wore, along with the fun, bright, and cheery flowers. Brent had three groomsmen, and then we each asked our brother-in-laws to be ushers along with my cousins Sara and Tami (the women in black dresses). Brent's nephew was our ring-bearer and my goddaughter was our flower girl.

Me and my girls

I love my ring! Brent gave me a beautiful diamond and I love how it stands out and sparkles. It's already been a month (how is that possible????) and I keep finding myself staring at it often! I'm also really happy with how our flowers turned out. I knew I wanted yellow roses and red gerbera daisies so I had those in my bouquet along with red roses and also a few calla lilies and some fun berries. The bridesmaids had yellow and red roses with the berries. I'm hoping to show you a better picture once I get my hands on one.

I was also really happy with how the sanctuary looked. There was a funeral at church on Friday morning and a piano concert on Friday evening so we weren't able to decorate until late on Friday night. It honestly wasn't stressful for me because I knew just what I wanted to do and that I wanted to keep it all fairly simple. I had found some really fun yellow pots and planted geraniums in them and added a few candles. I'll find a better close-up picture and show you later (or I think you can check the link to Candis' blog and see some pictures there).

What post could be complete without a picture of this guy? David was our honorary ring-bearer and from the very beginning, I knew that all I wanted was for him to be in a family picture. I had been a wedding coordinator long enough to know that there's no way you can count on a two-year-old to do something. So, I completely went into the day knowing that it didn't matter one way or another if he walked down the aisle or not, was in any other pictures or not, or really had any involvement whatsoever. He was in the family picture, he was not in any other picture, I think he walked down the aisle and then went directly to the nursery. After the ceremony we all went back to a side room to wait until the guests were ushered out and here's the shot I couldn't resist taking! What a hilarious cutie-pie!! He loves that puppy, and it appears he loves watching Veggie Tales as well!

And finally, a sweet smile to finish the post. I love this amazing girl! She's such a sweetheart, and it was so fun to have her involved on Our Big Day. I love when she answers the phone when I call, or wraps her arms around me in a hug, but especially when she gives me this shy, sweet grin!

There you have it, a glimpse into Our Big Day. I'm looking forward to seeing our professional pictures, or any other fun pictures that you might have to share with us. (feel free to email or send them!)

Wedding Sneak-Peak

Here are just a few wedding pictures to preview! We haven't gotten our professional pictures back yet, so while we're waiting, I've been going through some of the pictures I've gotten from my mom or brother-in-law, etc. I am working on a few posts of all sorts of fun details, but as you can imagine, there are quite a few pictures to sort through!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few of the pictures that others snapped on my own camera. I see I uploaded them in reverse order and need to shut down my computer so I can get to work, but here's a little preview of what our BEAUTIFUL wedding day looked like!

More to come later!

And a Post-script: will you pray for us? It's been pretty busy since we've returned from our honeymoon and there are many things going on which require some decision-making. Will you pray for wisdom? I'll share more as I'm able, but Brent and I would appreciate the Lord's guidance and we've been asking Him for wisdom. Thank you for joining us in that request!

The Upside of the Day

Brent and I decided to come to the Twin Cities this weekend. Here's how it went:
The upside of the day was at the end of it, when we went to ColdStone Creamery with my parents and Little David and his dad (Julie was working). It seems as though Grandpa thought that all little boys should learn about puddles. I think he caught on okay!

We're Back!

We're back at the Lakehouse! We arrived back today after finishing our wonderful honeymoon.

Just where did we go? Well, if you've been following my blog for any length of time, you've heard me talk about my favorite place in the country. I've gotten to visit or live all over the place, and love all sorts of scenery, but I do have one favorite place. My wonderful husband (well, fiance at the time back in February) made arrangements for us to go there, and a few other beautiful spots as well.

As I'm sure you can guess, I have many pictures, but here are just a few for you to use as hints until I get the others all organized. Some of you might recognize a location instantly and others might need to do a little research!

I can't wait to read your guesses, and remember, there's more than one location!!

(And, if you're on Facebook, our photographers posted some lovely wedding preview shots. I can hardly wait to see the rest!)

Where's Waldo?

I mean, "Where's Kari and Brent?"

On our honeymoon, of course! As some of you know, we decided not to tell anyone where we were going on our honeymoon until we got back (but yes, we did let our parents know). Since then, we decided that it might be fun to give a few hints and then read what the comments are. Some of you might not have any idea, and others might guess right away!

Here are just a couple of hints, so first of all guess what each picture is, and then see if you can guess where we are now!



At one point I thought I might blog a bit more, but let's be honest.... it's our honeymoon! See ya later!

[and of course I'll be posting pictures sometime of our wedding -which turned out to be a beautiful, fun and perfect day!]

The Wedding Day

It's here! It's finally here! A day I've been waiting for... for a really long time! I am so excited to become Brent's wife in just a few hours!

I thought I'd just post quick to ask you to pray. Please pray for us as we begin our married life. Please pray for all the details of the day. Please pray that I remember all of what happens, because I've been told it will go by quickly and I'd like to remember everything! Most of all, please pray the Lord's blessing on the start of this new adventure together.