A couple of weeks ago I attended a baby shower for Michelle‘s sister, Erin. Erin and her husband Stew have been long awaiting to become parents and their little bundle of joy (baby boy Chandler) should be arriving around Halloween.
Michelle invited nearly fifty of Erin’s family and friends to her and Brian’s house for the shower. It was a very warm day but everyone had a great time. We started with brunch and socializing then moved to opening presents.
Erin with her mom and grandma
The kids enjoyed helping Auntie Erin open her presents
Erin received a ton of beautiful gifts for the baby….. now we just need to wait until he arrives so we can enjoy him :)
Saturday night was a successful one, with an awesome turnout at the benefit for Kimmy’s fiance, Brent. Brent has been battling cancer for the past two months and has just finished his first bout of chemo and radiation. New tests will determine what step to take next, but it is likely to be a long road ahead. Brent’s sister and family put together a wonderful benefit on his behalf and the number of people who showed up was overwhelming. So many people praying and showing support for Brent’s speedy recovery! Kim is an amazing woman for everything she is dealing with right now, so strong and positive. Brent too. I really believe positive attitude can make a big difference. Every little bit counts!
My special girls
It was nice to spend some time talking to my girls, I need to do it more often.
I look forward to the time when the big C is gone and Brent is feeling good again so he and Kim can get on with the wedding planning ;)
I may have mentioned awhile back that I flew home from Austin and on just a few hours sleep, I was up bright and early the following morning to tag along with my SIL Michelle as she did the photography for the wedding of my friend and colleague, Melissa. Melissa and I taught at the same school for the past three years (and neither of us will be at that school next year). Last spring when she asked if I would be willing to photograph her wedding or knew someone who would, I was happy to refer her to Michelle (who does weddings only on a very minimal basis). I am nowhere near qualified to shoot a wedding. That is hard work! I did however, enjoy being there on Melissa’s wedding day and being part of catching her memories. I have found I am ill-equipped with not only skills but also the actual photography equipment (lenses, flash, etc), but it was a great learning experience. I even managed to get some decent photos! Be sure to check out the Michelle’s Sneak Peek of Melissa & Ben’s Wedding. Gorgeous!
This handsome little guy is Melissa and Ben’s son.
As I mentioned previously, Noemy will be moving out of MN very soon to join her husband who is a Specialist in the Army. To help give her a proper send-off, Noemy’s family got together for a big surprise party. And boy, was Noemy surprised!! She thought she was going over to her mom’s house to pick her up for dinner
I love surprise parties like that where the person is actually really surprised!
It was so much fun to be able to take wedding photos of Noemy & Traves but it was even more fun at the actual wedding/reception! You may have read that Noemy & Traves needed a last-minute change in venue due to a booking error and fortunately they found a place in time. Although the new venue was far from ideal, the important thing is that these two special people were able to make their vows to each other in front of their loved ones.
And WHAT A KISS!!!!!!!!!!
The reception followed immediately after the ceremony < Puerto Rican Style Fun!!>
I took many photos at the reception but I am only going to post this one of me with Denise and Noemy. These two have been BFFs since Jr. high and I was lucky enough to meet Noemy a few years ago through Denise (who is not only my next door neighbor but also one of my besties). I love these girls!!
Well, the fruits of our labor were realized on Friday with a very successful Benefit on behalf of baby Jake. Many friends and family were able to make it out for the event and we had a great time while raising $$ for Jake. We only had one camera between all of us for the evening, so it got passed around quite a bit. Here are some of my favorite photos from the evening….
(The t-shirts were designed by me and Mary)
Grooving it up on the dance floor…..
The BFFs
One of Dad Brent and Mom Kim
Thanks to everyone who came out, to everyone who made donations and to everyone who bought raffle tickets from me. We all appreciate it!!
Labor Day is always the last day of the 12-day Minnesota State Fair and like other years, I had to make it out there for a 2nd time to sample the treats we only get to eat once a year. We met up with my brother Jeff sometime in mid afternoon and took the Park N Ride to the Fairgrounds.
There were a LOT of people out at the Fair on Labor Day!
I made Jeff bring his camera along so that I could document more of our food buys which consisted of:
Cheese Curds
Philly Cheese Steak
London Broil Sandwich
Deep Fried Ravioli
Deep Fried Snickers
Reuben Pretzel (eeeewww. I love Reubens and did not enjoy this at ALL)
Deep Fried Sunfish with Lindon Berry Sauce and Walleye Cakes
We were out at the Fair about 4 hrs until we were pretty hot and stuffed and decided to call it a day.
Last weekend was a lot of fun while having family in town visiting from Chicago. It has kind of been a tradition for them to come to MN at the end of the summer and for us all to go out to the State Fair, so that's what we did last Friday night. I still had my dad's camera so I was able to take some photos.
My favorite thing about the Fair is the Food! Isn't it for everyone!?? LOL. IMO (in my opinion) it is always best to share food at the Fair,
that way you can try small bites of a lot of different things. This
time at the Fair I sampled bites of:
Fried Ravioli
Cheese Curds
Fried Green Tomatoes & Corn Fritters with honey butter
Bacon-wrapped turkey tenderloin
Italian Gelato
Scotch Egg
Roasted Corn
London Broil
Corn Dog
Sweet Martha's Cookies
My favorite food? Cheese curds, of course!!
We walked around a lot and I took some random photos here and there
Check out the size of this Oinker…..
It was a lot of fun and I'm glad most of the family could make it up this year! (D & K, wish you could've come too!)
For those of you who really know me or have been reading my blog over the years, know that I have 20+ years of friendship with a very special group of BFF's: Mary, Kim, Lanee and Sonja. We have been through everything together over the years and right now one of us is facing a life-long challenge. Two months ago Kim and her fiance Brent learned that their baby boy Jake has a rare genetic eye disorder that has left him almost blind:
On June 20th, 2009 at the age of 4
months, Jake was diagnosed with a rare genetic eye disorder called Familial
Exudative Vitreoretinopathy, aka “FEVR”. With this diagnosis it was discovered
that Jake has only “light sight” and minimal peripheral vision. On July 16th
& 17th, 2009 at 5 months old, Jake underwent double eye surgery
to reattach his retinas and remove fluid blockage. With his first surgery there
are hopes of him to have the chance to see at least shapes and shadows. It will
be 4-6 months before they will know if the surgery was successful. What is
known is that Jake will need extensive eye therapy, glasses and most likely
multiple surgeries. FEVR is a progressive disorder with no known cure. The only
thing that is certain is that Jake will be fighting for sight for the rest of
his life.
Brent & Kim have been through so much in such a
short time as they do what they can to help their little guy. On September 18th,
2009 there will be a benefit held in Jake’s honor. The money raised will help
ease the financial burden Brent & Kim are facing and will continue to face
as they provide the special care Jake will need.
The girls started planning this event over a month ago while I was out of town and have made great progress getting donations, etc. Last Friday night Mary and I met Kim and her good friend Daria (Benefit Coordinator) to nail out some of the final details. I hadn't seen Jacob in a few months and he has changed so much!
Kimmy with Jake
Here are me and Mary designing the Tshirts we will all wear at the Benefit.
The Benefit is going to be a very fun event and I would love to invite all of you to come!
Friday, September
18th, 2009 4:00 pm-12:30 am
FRIDLEY VFW, 1040
Osbourne Road, Fridley MN 55432
*$5 Raffle-~many items including an LG 42” Flat Screen Television
The Benefit is going to be a very FUN TIME, so please mark it on your calendars! We will start pre-selling Raffle Tickets starting later this week or next week, $5 per ticket will enter you in drawing for chance to win 42" Flat Panel TV, and several Gift Cards to local restaurants (need not be present to win). The Chili Feed and Bake-Sale are going to be amazing as well, not to mention cool cover bands playing later in the evening!
Happy Birthday today to my BFF Lanee Valentina! How cool would it be to have your bday on Valentine's Day? Sonja planned a little surprise party for Lanee last night and I was able to go hang out with my girls for awhile and be there to surprise Lanee before having to leave to go to a concert. A few photos:
Heart shaped goodies in honor of our Valentina
Sonja, Leah and Me
Happy Birthday Lanee, I hope your birthday is wonderful :)
Attended a bachelorette party last Friday night for Sally, one of my college girlfriends. I always have fun when I am reunited with these ladies :) It was a Black (with Sally in white) theme and we had a green party bus. Fun stuff!
I am by no means a downtown party girl, but there is ONE club downtown that I have consistently had fun at over the past 10 years because it is such a good place to dance…its had many names over the years but has gone by The Annex for many years now :) We spent the last couple fo hours at that bar shakin our groove thang and then slumber party.
On Saturday I went to a baby shower for an old friend of mine, Andrea. It was nice to see some of my old friends from school who were also able to come. Would you believe that we had four babies among the group?? Bradie, Anne, Mandy and Gretchen all have new babies, and they are all so cute! Of course I took a bunch of photos! Andrea with all of us girls Andrea opening her very own copy of Porn for New Moms
My friend Kara's daughter is turning one in a few weeks so she and her husband threw a birthday party at their house this weekend so that they could take advantage of the warm fall weather (and their gorgeous, newly-landscaped backyard). What a doll Olivia the birthday girl is!
Her hat is courtesy of the balloon man who was there to make fun creations for all the little kids.
There was also this fun jumpy thing for the kids to play in:
There was an outdoor BBQ for lunch and then a fancy schmancy cake. (How cool is that?!) The inside tasted as good as it looked!! The smaller cake was Olivia's personal cake :)
Olivia wasn't quite sure what to do with her cake at first, but with a little help she figured it out!
This adorable little cutie is Shannon & Jere's little guy, Jonah. He also has his first birthday later this week!
The party wasn't ALL about the kids, the adults had fun too :)
Mary, Leah and Me (whoever took this pic was aiming right at the bright sun!! Oh well, still cute- just a coincidence that we were all wearing shades of turquoise and teal)
It was a beautiful, somewhat cool day on Saturday for Darrell & Denise's wedding. They were married at the gorgeous Assumption Catholic Church in St Paul.
We had a limo for the evening with our other awesome neighbors and good friends, Jere and Shannon…(Thanks again for setting that up, Shannon!) It was nice to have all that space for just four people!
We made a stop at Il Vesco Vino for appetizers and drinks before the reception. I will be doing a review very shortly! The restaurant is in an old converted mansion, with a gorgeous patio and gardens.
The reception was at Christo's in the Union Depot.
The dinner was awesome! The dessert was even more fabulous (Milopita~ Glazed apple slices baked in phyllo with ricotta and cream cheese ) …. too bad I never got to eat more than a bite of mine before it was cleared away :(
One of my FAVORITE parts of the evening was the Mariachi Band. They serenaded everyone throughout dinner. I love Mariachis!!!
I spent the night "getting low, low, low" and "dropping it like its hot". I love to dance! My dang feet hurt so dang bad by the end of the night!(And my whole body hurt the next day when I woke up! LOL)
We all had fun dancing…..
Pics of me with the Bride…….
and Groom……
We stayed at the party until the very end and then Darrell and Denise jumped in the limo with us and we all went back to our neighborhood. The bride and groom left just a few short hours later for their honeymoon ;)
This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the annual Wacipi Pow Wow in Shakopee, hosted by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. I had been wanting to go to a pow wow for a long time since I hadn't been to one since I lived on the Tohono O'Odham Nation in Arizona (ten years ago now!). My friend Kara and her husband live on the reservation in Shakopee, so we took Olivia to her very first pow wow. (Next year she'll be old enough to dance!)
I can't describe the feelings I had watching the dancers make their Grand Entry, but it moved me in many ways. If you have been with me long enough, you know I feel a very strong connection to the Native culture and feel a deep sadness for everything they've lost in the past 300 years. Instead of getting sad about it now, I would like to share photos of the dancers in their traditional dress…..
It was great (other than the heat!) Everyone should attend a pow wow at least once in their life!
Every year I have made a collage for Annika, celebrating the past year of her life. First year, second year, and now her third year……
Brian and Michelle had a party for Annika at their house yesterday and the girls had a great time and enjoyed their new gifts. (It is Bianca's half-birthday today, they are exactly 18 months apart)
Annika and her daddy
The girls both got baby dolls, which they loved so much!
Bianca is totally in love with her new Elmo
Me with Bennett
Oh, he makes the cutest smiles!
A huge thanks goes out to my dad for letting me borrow his awesome camera! Its been killing me not to have my own for all the random Kodak Moments.
Words almost can't explain the emotions of having everyone together to celebrate my Gram & Gramps 60th Anniversary. My camera broke again but I was able to get some pictures from my dad and also from my cousin Dan….
My Gram and Gramp with 7 of their children….. (Don't you hate it when there are a million papparazzi around so no one knows where to look??!!
My Gram and Gramp with 18 of their grandchildren (I am #1)…..
Me with my Aunt/Godmother Patti
Cousins Dave, Andrea and Cassie….
Tyler, Segen, Brian and Bennett
Part of the Tucson crew… (Michael, Matt, Patti & Rudy)
My cousin Casey and his girlfriend…
Aunt Connie and cousin Genevieve
My mom and Annika….
We socialized for a couple of hours before dinner and then after a yummy dinner we had our "entertainment" portion of the program, with my brother Jeff as the MC. He gave a great speech (I will replace this shaky, crappy-quality video with the hi-def version after I get it from my dad)
The speech is kind of a tearjerker toward the end and if that wasn't enough sentimentality, next came my 49-minute-long video which included the interview/slideshow that I worked on all of last week (and months before that, scanning photos!). Definitely a tear-jerker! Everyone loved it and they definitely appreciated that I made them all copies of the DVD to keep. Other than being a very hot, muggy day, the party was a hit and I can't imagine not being there to spend the special day with all of my mom's side of the family :)
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