Happy Summer!

Today is the official first day of summer, although it has certainly felt like summer for a few weeks now.

We kicked off summer in a great way this past weekend. We went on the annual Wisconsin River Canoe Trip. Ross and I have only been on it for 2 years now, but Shan and Jerm and the girls have been going for quite a few. It was a great time. We brought Winnie, and she was awesome. She was even swimming in the river a bit, and enjoying it, I think. I was a tad nervous about bringing her...but I think she had a really good time, and I think that everyone had a good time with her. She definitely added a different element, but a good one at that.

We tried a different stretch of river this year. It was cool; there were hardly any people, so we pretty much had our pick of islands/beaches to camp on for the night. I think we found a pretty good one, too. Plenty of space for Winnie to run around, which was good. The girls did an awesome job of playing with her; she sure did sleep all the way through the night! Here she is all pooped out :)

We had a little bit of rain; not too bad though. At one point, we were trying to canoe against 30 mile an hour winds...that was a bit rough, but it didn't stick around too long. We even saw a rainbow for a brief minute.
And check out this sunset pic that Ross got:
Nice, hey? Good times, good times.

Anniversaries all over the place

Ross and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on Monday by going out for a nice dinner. For the 2nd anniversary, you are supposed to give a gift of cotton. Check out the anniversary gift list here. Ross got me some Life is Good shorts with hearts on them...cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute :)

Tomorrow is Nicole and Jason's wedding anniversary--Happy Anniversary! I think it's been 5 (?) years for them...that's awesome!

Today also marks the one-year anniversary of my job. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. What is even crazier is how much I've learned in the past year. I've also become so much more confident in my abilities. It's been great!

Happy Anniversary, Ross!

I can't believe we have been married for 2 years already. Time sure flies when you're having fun. We have experienced some really cool things in the past two years: getting a house, getting a puppy, awesome trips, big changes (but definitely for the better), me getting a job that I love, you getting into clinical. I can't wait to see what's next for us! Maybe a baby?! :P Hopefully someday soon!

Thanks for being such a great husband, and best friend. I love you.

Weekend Recap

What a great weekend I had. It was fun-filled and action packed.

On Friday night, I went to see Man of La Mancha, the story of Don Quixote, in Milwaukee, with my grandma, my aunt, my stepmom and step-sister. My grandma likes to treat me to a show or play, or something special for my b-day. Last year it was the Milwaukee Art Museum, which you can read about here. Anyway, we went to a really cool place for dinner beforehand, the Barclay Gallery and Garden Cafe, and then enjoyed the show. It was a nice night.

Saturday, Sam was home and we headed down to Chicago for the Formula D Drift competition. It was my first experience at such an event and it was very interesting. I was so impressed at how much Sam knew about it. She and her boyfriend, Travis, travel around the country to these events, promoting the on-line business he works for, streetdragonmagazine.com. The event itself was quite exciting. One of the coolest parts was that the drivers really make themselves available to the fans. Sam and Travis were introducing me to all kinds of people; big names in the business, drivers, etc. It was a great time. It was also so nice to hang out with Sam for the day.

Yesterday I was a yard working fool. I planted flowers (courtesy of Dee Dee) with the help of my mom. It really transformed the front of our house and our "curb appeal." I can't wait until they spread out and bloom all over the place. I also mowed the whole lawn...I think I mentioned it last week, but that is such a workout! By about 8 p.m. last night I was plum tuckered.

Welcome Colin!

My sister-in-law gave birth to baby Colin last Friday. He had a little bit of a rough start, having to spend time in the NICU, but he got to go home today. Look at him, eating like a champ! Congratulations Kara and Craig, and big brother Christian. We love you!

Note to self...

...well, note to both of us, really. Don't ever, under any circumstances let the grass get as long as it did. Ross and I tackled that lawn today...wow. I was mowing (with the push reel of course :) and Ross was weed-wacking. Needless to say, I didn't need to do my half-hour on the elliptical!

Our first emergency room visit

Don't worry everything is okay; it was just a little scary for a few minutes. Ross got up to take Winnie for a walk this morning. I was still in bed reading when they came home. He burst into our room and is a little panicky, rightfully so. Turns out that Winnie slipped into a sewer grate while they were walking and was limping pretty badly. We headed to the after-hours vet. While we waited for almost an hour in the waiting room, Winnie's limp greatly improved. We even thought about leaving, but we wanted the piece of mind, so we decided to wait to see the vet. The vet told us exactly what we we suspected; she had a sprain above her paw - equivalent to the wrist in a human. She's going to be fine. The vet recommended that we take her home and put ice on it, which is what you see in the picture. The funny thing is, Winnie-girl was looking at us the whole time like, "Why are you guys freaking out?" Ah...the joy of parenthood.