Bring on Ironman!

What better way to start the week than with a NEW BIKE!

Patrick went to pick up his custom bike last night and as you can see,

he couldn't be happier with his new ride :)

I heard the garage door open and by the time I got outside, Andy was already over and the two of them were checking out all of the features and special additions Eric included on the bike.

They were both pretty pumped up!

We brought the bike inside for the night - to admire it some more!

The thing is so light - I can carry it with one hand and NO ONE would

even yell at me for carrying something too heavy. :)  

A big thank you to Eric for helping Patrick with this incredible new ride.

 I believe he is planning to go for his inaugural ride this Friday - can the week go any faster?!?

Swenson Family at the Cottage

We spent this past weekend up north to celebrate Mom's 60th Birthday and to visit with the Ruble's and their friends Derek, Nicole and Benny.  Derek and Nicole live in Germany but are in the states visiting family and friends for 8 weeks as part of Nicole's maternity leave (they get up to 1 year off for the mom or 14 months to split between the parents - crazy awesome!) 

Here are the boys playing together on the back of the pontoon boat.

Benny is just a few months younger than Jojo

and then Derek and Nicole relaxing on the boat!

Mom and Dad got Thomas a fishing pole for this weekend and it was a HUGE hit! He stood at the end of the pier for long stretches of time just casting away.  You can see his "hook" on the end, still just a rubber weight to practice - but he didn't mind, or didn't realize he couldn't catch anything!

Maybe next time he will graduate to a hook - he definitely got the hang of it by the end of the weekend - no hooks in the back of the head for this kid!

Dad was fishing next to him some of the time and when he would hook something, he would pass it off to Thomas to reel it in.  This was the first one. Thomas thought it was pretty cool, but also did his little kid "nervous giggle" which just cracks me up!

Ninja tubes! A few years ago one of the other families on the lake tied some tubes together and attempted to run across them --- the guys decided it was time to try it again. It was fun to watch (and I am guessing even more fun to do!). I got some great action shots!

 During our Saturday booze cruise the guys jumped off the boat and swam out to Diane and Fred's  BIG MABLE for a relaxing tow. I believe the managed to get some beverages out there as well! I love summer!

While we made dinner, the boys introduced Derek to their brova brova club. They happily sit down at the lake and enjoy the free feeling of wearing a "traditional hawaiian wrap" :) Good thing Ed made Patrick a Wisconsin version for Christmas this past year - now they have an extra for buddies!

Lisa wanted to take Thomas tubing and at first he was all for it --- then, not so much.  This picture cracks me up - you can see Lisa and Niki showing Thomas how much" fun" tubing is and then you can see Thomas running down the beach back to the safety of the pontoon boat!

Since I do not get to tube this summer - I am often on baby duty during ski hours - I do not mind!

Thomas did eventually go tubing and had a good time!

Each year when all of us our together we take a family photo on the back step of the cottage!

We had a great weekend :)

2nd Anniversary!

Patrick and I celebrated our second anniversary in style last night! Each year it is my plan to pull out my wedding dress and wear it for dinner on our anniversary. I realized from the beginning that some years the dress might fit better than others --- but we still managed to snap a photo!

You can see that Patrick is sporting a Bo-tie t-shirt under his suit coat 

(Bo Ryan inspired t-shirt from Coaches vs. Cancer).

 We maybe weren't quite as classy as our wedding day - but still just as happy!

For dinner we chose to have what we call "Europe Dinner"

Fancy cheese, bread, grapes, apples, etc.

It was delicious and perfect for the hot sticky weather this week!

Here's to many more happy years together and to fitting into that dress again
(with the zipper up) next summer!

Third Trimester!

Well summer is here and with it comes my third trimester! Things have been going really well and we hope that continues throughout the rest of the pregnancy. So far the heat hasn't been too bad

- still just cooling the house with the amazing cross breeze we have through the windows

(though that might change with this weeks temps in the mid-90's!)

Baby E is pretty active - not really a surprise given that Patrick and I are the parents! But we have had a great time watching it dance and wiggle at night. Actually the baby entertained the entire group up north for a while on Saturday night - it was pretty funny!

We are adding stuff to the nursery each week - recently added...

Patrick finished the crib and put together the bookcase, Mom finished the curtains and is working on the bed skirt and the cushions for the rocker and I hung the paper lanterns from our wedding.

So grateful to have everything pretty well set before the summer really gets busy and I just love how it all turned out!

2nd Anniversary weekend up north!

After such a wonderful wedding weekend in 2010, Patrick and I decided that we needed to continue the party each year to celebreate our anniversary. Last year I introduced him and some friends to Jorgie's - a grill-your-own steak fry place in Borth, WI (try finding that on a map!) Patrick of course loved it, so we have added that to the weekend tradition as well.

Here are some of us at the grill - you just find an open spot and throw your meat on. There is always lots of seasoning, butter, BBQ sauce and endless bags of Texas Toast ready to add to the grilling experience!

Here is a picture of the grill - no those are not baked potatoes on there

- that is butter melting on someone's filet! Yummmm!

 Here is the group after a filling meal - it was delicious!

We also celebrated Brad's 30th Birthday after dinner. Rock - one of the legendary bartenders - created a "fruit salad" for Brad by teaching him how to hold SIX bottles of schnapps at one time! I believe those were then followed by some tequila and something called Maple Nut... that one had a home-made label made out of construction paper... so not really sure what it was!

Patrick and I in front of the Jorgie's Miller Lite sign.

The whole weekend was great - but Sunday was by far the better weather day. We were able to enjoy everything the lake has to offer and more --- you know the usual stuff, water skiing, kayaking, swimming and noodle bongs!  There was a lot of fishing attempts as well - off the boat, the pier, the raft, lots of bait including salami, bread, chips, and the fake rubber bugs --- Deuce was the first one to actually catch a fish, using a minnow he had caught earlier on shore!

By the end of the weekend we were all pretty beat - what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than taking a nap on the pontoon boat!

Elkhart Lake Triathalon and Schnieder Wedding

This past weekend Patrick, Jeff and Dusty competed in the Elkhart Lake Triathalon.

The race was a 0.96 mile swim - 27 mile bike - 6.2 mile run.  

This was Jeff's first race and he did a great job! Ted, Jen and I did our own racing around as well, trying to catch the boys at as many mile markers as possible!

Here are the guys before heading into the swim - all smiles - of course!

Here is Patrick on the bike - he did  an awesome job, even on the old bike (he calls it his weight vest)! 

 He is looking forward to getting his new bike before the next race - will be fun to see how much of a difference the "light bike" makes!

 Here is Jeff at about mile 19 - still going strong and smiling!

Here is a quick shot of the spectators - the weather was hot for us - can only imagine what it was like for the racers! So glad the boys were done before the hottest part of the day.

And here are the finishers! Great job!

Next race for Patrick and Dusty is the half Ironman in Door County this July. And I think it is safe to say that Jeff is hooked --- he tweeted "enjoyed every moment" of the race!

After a short rest at the Rhyan's house and use of their shower (thanks again Mark and Karen!) We got dressed to go celebrate Ashley and Ben's wedding in Sheboygan. Even though we missed the ceremony, we had time to stop for a cocktail or two and enjoy the scenery on the lakefront with Ted and Carol. The temperature change was incredible - cool breeze coming off of Lake Michigan and a little shade perked everyone up --- well that and the cocktails I am guessing!

We decided to take a couple of photos here so we didn't have to worry about the camera at the reception. The Schneider family threw a lovely wedding - the bride and groom and families all looked so happy!

Perfect Madison Weekend!

Last weekend, we spent the entire weekend in Madison - something that is pretty rare for us, especially in the summer. But it was lovely! Friday we met some friends at the Union and enjoyed jazz music and dinner on the terrace. Both families have new babies so it was fun to hear their stories and help!

Saturday morning Patrick, Dusty and Derek swam and biked parts of the Ironman course --- I went to the Farmers Market!

This was my first trip for the year and since we are often not home on Saturday mornings, I took full advantage! Plants, pasta, jam, bread, veggies, granola, flowers and of course a monster cookie for Patrick! It was delightful and it turns out I even got a discount or two ... I think because of my belly!

In the afternoon we met Anne & Dusty and Derek & Connie at Capitol Brewery for 'Burgers & Brew'.  It was a fabulous afternoon of fancy slider burgers from local restaurants and paired beers for each.  Patrick got double the beers and I even managed to get an extra burger or two! They were delicious!

We will be seeing alot of these guys this summer since Dusty and Derek are training for the Ironman as well. Looking forward to our long weekend in Door County this July!