Welcome to the Dells!

Well we have talked about it for quite some time, but this summer we finally took a trip to the Wisconsin Dells! We went with Scott and Gracie and stayed at the Kalahari! It truly is an amazing place! We had such a great time in the indoor and outdoor water park, the amusement park, and eating out!

We even had the opportunity to feed a baby tiger! It was incredible and we hope to make it an annual trip! Here are a few snapshots of our weekend together!

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Adventures with Lilyan

Well we have had little Lilyan for a few months now and she has definitely kept us on our toes! She has been the best birth control we could ask for, but quite a challenge! Who knew a dog could be so naughty, yet so sweet! Well here are just a few of our lastest Lilyan adventures!
Yesterday I ran barefoot out to my car to get a bag and when I ran back to my front door I discovered that I was locked out from Lilyan pawing at the door! But after 2 hours of waiting, a visit to some random neighbors houses for a phone, one phone call to the locksmith, and $65.00 later I got back in my house looking down at a very guilty Lilyan.
Then this morning I was packing for our weekend to Wisconsin so Nick put Lily's big metal crate in our car. I left for less than an hour to go for a run and look at what I came home to! She chewed through her fabric crate?! Ugh...
So far she has chewed through 1 comforter, 2 pillows, and 3 shoes and now a dog kennel! I am fairly certain raising a child has to be easier than this! Seriously people. Enjoy the good, bad, and naughty pictures below!

Lilyan in her first stages of fetching....and the start of her chewing phase.

Lily's first bath!

How could you not love her like this?!

We survived our first Easter Holiday with Lilyan!

The blanket stage: Turns out Lily is obsessed with blankets and loves getting under them...but she is too cute to get mad at! Sometimes...

This is after the first pillow pad Lily managed to attack.

No. Not all dogs enjoy swimming. We went out to the lake and the only way Lily would actually swim successfully in the water is if she was wearing Grace's princess life jacket. Real tuff Lily!

After chewing through her fabric crate. Awesome Lily. Just Awesome. 

 

Lily's favorite hang out spot :)

Here's to many more adventures, stories, and moments with our Lilyan!

Fourth of July!

Well for those of you that don't know, 4th of July is one of my most favorite holidays! I am completely obsessed with fireworks (hence Nickolas illegally proposing to me with them). But our town always has an arts festival, a road race and a pretty great show. So, it's been tradition for us to go to Lennox for a long time.
But since the 4th of July was on a Monday this year, our families decided to all get together and celebrate the holiday in Okoboji at Penny and Joel's beautiful home! For whatever reason, I didn't take as many pictures as I typically do, but we had a wonderful time boating, going out and spending time together! Hope you had a fantastic fourth with family as well! 

At the barefoot bar!

Getting Fishbowls at the Ritz....bad/good idea!

Out on the Boat! We didn't completely sink it....

Enjoying some Lunch! Scott and Gracie

Nickolas and I

Auntie Rachel and Grace!

Grace and I got sweet new blinged out watches!

Parr/Tewalt Wedding

We had such a wonderful weekend! My sister got married to an amazing guy named Jake Tewalt! Nickolas couldn't have asked for a better new addition to the family. They make each other so incredibly happy and truly bring out the best in each other! We had their rehearsal dinner at Spezia's restaurant in Sioux Falls and just seeing everyone together, excited, and anxious brought back so many wonderful memories from our wedding day! 
Their wedding day was absolutely perfect! From the colors, the flowers, the decorations, the romance, and of course the bride...it was all spectacular! Every detail was perfectly planned and it was all worth it! There was so much love in the air and I know all their friends and family could feel it too. I can't wait to see all the pictures and videos and hear all about their honeymoon - which of course is in St. Lucia!! Lucky Newlyweds! Until then, here are a few sneak peeks that I captured!

Mother, Wife, Grandma, Aunt, Sister, Niece and Friend

It is not goodbye...

After a long, fierce and courageous battle with cancer, mom was carried home by the arms of her savior Jesus Christ on Friday May 20, 2011. We have found peace in knowing that she is in her final resting place. We will never forget her humor, strength, stories, compassion, love for others and even her strange requests! We will forever cherish the memories we have of her and our hope is that everyone else will keep close all of those wonderful memories they have of her when she was happy and healthy. 

We will take some time to grieve, for we know that tears heal the broken spirit. Yet, at the same time, we are at ease knowing that she is now pain free, disease free and wearing some pretty fabulous angel wings up in heaven. She is now with the angels, friends and family that have gone before her. We cannot wait until the day that we see her smiling face again, but until then, all of our warm memories of her will remain in our hearts. 

We're all Grown Up and Graduated!

We did it! Finally! I know we have spent the last few weeks moaning and groaning...but that was A LOT of work! On May 7th, 2011 we graduated from Minnesota State University! We had such a wonderful weekend full of family, friends and celebration. We felt so truly blessed having everyone there to support us as we put closure to this stage in our lives. This weekend, 

Nickolas received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Ashley received a Master of Science in Teaching and Learning. 

We have so many people to say thank you to for traveling and visiting us! It was a memorable and emotional weekend for us. We wish Valerie could have been there with us, but she was so proud to hear that her baby boy received his degree! We are going to visit her next weekend and can't wait to see her. 

 Nickolas receiving his degree.

Madilyn and Gracie all grown up and graduated!

 Nickolas was giving the girls a tour.

 The exhausted, yet ecstatic graduates!

 The commencement gang!

My cheerleaders!

 Nick explaining how he got his degree!

 One proud sister, Jennifer!

And a proud dad, Scott!

Valerie Update

Good Evening,
We wanted to inform you all of Valerie’s friend and family filled weekend. This weekend was a weekend that Valerie had been anticipating for quite some time. First off, Valerie’s brother Jamie and his wife Cheryl drove up from Colorado and along the way they pick up Valerie’s father, Jim, in Iowa. Valerie’s mother Harriet wasn’t able to make this trip due to health reasons, but sent all her love and delicious cookies! Jennifer, Valerie’s daughter, also came up with her children Mykah and Madilyn as well as Nickolas and I.
It was an i​n​d​e​s​c​r​i​b​a​b​l​e moment when Valerie saw her family walk in the door. There were tears, there were hugs, and there was joy. Valerie was in very good spirits and seemed to enjoy every little bit of c​o​n​v​e​r​s​a​t​i​o​n​.
She also had many friends from Neenah come in and out throughout the weekend. And once again, we must emphasize that Valerie truly has some of the greatest friends in the world! Their diligent visits, love, and consistency are a true testament to their friendship. As you can tell, her room was constantly filled with shared stories, reminiscing, laughter, and holding hands.

Thank you for all you continued prayers, cards, flowers, and comments. We all appreciate them more than words can describe.

Valerie and her Father, Jim

 Valerie and her Brother, Jamie

Presenting

This entire semester I have been working on my senior design project for Akkerman. You know the one project that is supposed to sum up the skills that you have gained throughout your entire college career. For my project I was designing a 100 ton swivel.Think of it as that little piece in your chair that allows you to spin. This one is 5 inches in diameter almost four feet in length and will still spin if you stack 75 Volkswagen Beetles on top of it. I wish I could say that I did it all on my own. The truth is I was working with and amazing team. We worked quickly and concisely, day and night to complete our task. The best part is that we are all still friends now that we are done. For our presentation we described and showed our project to the faculty, professional advisors, and students. Overall we think they were very impressed. Akkerman even said it was the best project that they have ever seen come out of MSU! 

Cheers to hard work, dedication, and being done!

That sound as it turns out was a problem. The shaft that was machined to fit perfectly inside of the bearings that were sent to Austria to be perfectly machined was not so perfect. As it turns out it was out of round, non concentric and in places the wrong diameter. For every rotation the shaft was causing our bearings to click in to and out of place. Luckily we figured it out before our bearings were destroyed. And new shaft was made!

Adding to our Family!

Last weekend we got Lilyan! She is quite the ball of fun! She is so lovely and sweet right now! I have never been much of a "dog" person, so I am amazed at how quickly I have attached myself to her! Nickolas has been looking for the right dog for a year now, and when we found this breeder, we couldn't resist!

So far we have had quite a few restless nights filled with all night howling and scratching from the crate, but I am sure they will be worth it in the long run! Here's to preparing ourselves for the future!