Moments 06 24 :: Week 04

Our friend Jesse is coach of the Canadian Men's National Soccer Team. Canada played Peru in Kansas City in the Copa America tournament, so Hudson and his friend Sam drove down to watch them game. Jesse hooked him up with 5th row tickets. They even got to say hi to each other for a few minutes later after the game. It's probably been four years since these two have seen each other, but Jesse and Kim have known Hudson since he was a couple days old. Our friends are the best.  

We are getting our house painted, so a nest that was on our house needed to be taken down. Unfortunately, it had these little guys in it. There's another one we need to tackle too, that I'm pretty sure has babies in it. Boo...

Speaking of the painters, of course it was the old lady who had to get herself in a little trouble. It came off easily with a little Dawn, thank goodness.

Received the nicest surprise today. This gorgeous flower bouquet from Amy, Penny and Mel, along with the sweetest note of thanks for our weekend in St. Louis. I don't think I've ever seen anything so lovely. I cannot stop staring and smiling at it. Have I mentioned we have the sweetest friends ever?

The Lou Crew :: Day 03

Time to say until next time to Hudson. We dropped him off then went to our favorite grocery store, United Provisions. The two Lou Crew cars met up again at Pink Elephant Antiques in Livington. That place is cuckoo. Then it was time to part ways. Brian, Leif, Mel and I stopped at Charlie Parker's. Crazy enough, Mel ran into someone she knew -- a food writer from Chicago, who also got to experience provel cheese over the course of the weekend. Brian and Mel had the hamburger horseshoe, a crazy concoction of a hamburger topped with tater tots and cheese sauce (not provel, since that's only available in St. Louis). Normally not a breakfast person, I surprised myself by ordering the full house -- eggs, hash browns, bacon and a giant pancake. It was a fun stop, and now time to power home before we all fell asleep. What a grand adventure. We all loved sharing it with our friends and I'm just thrilled it worked out. 

The Lou Crew :: Day 02

This day was a doozy. We had a lot to see in the one full day. There are so many wonderful neighborhoods, but I think our friends got a feel for the taste of the city. We started our day at La Patisserie Chouquette. I wish I could try everything on the menu. It's absolutely delicious. Then we walked across the street to AO&Co., a fantastically curated corner store that I cannot get enough of.  From there, we went to the Tower Grove Farmer's Market. Again, you wouldn't believe how great it is unless you saw it yourself. The next neighborhood to tour was The Hill. After walking around and stopping in some of the shops, it was time for a refreshment, then Adriana's for a sandwich. We all agreed it was close to perfection. Luckily Hudson planned for a little R&R, so after an hour at the house, we were back at it. We toured Hudson's apartment, then picked up Narwhal's and walked the campus. The Black Rodeo was at Chaifetz. It was great talking with some of the cowboys and getting to pet some of the horses. After the campus tour, we went to The Gramaphone for more sandwiches. Hudson's goal is to try all of them. He got to check another off, plus we had the largest green tea shots ever. Next was The Amsterdam Tavern for the St. Louis soccer game, then the Cat's Meow. Hudson had taken us here during one of our visits, and we loved it. Cash only, super local. Lots of funny stories to tell after. And, we learned about provel cheese. After our long day, it was time for home where we watched 80's music videos and laughed about our day. We had an extra bed, so Hudson even stayed over. The night before he had to vacate his apartment from 2:15-3:30am thanks to the fire alarm. I'm sure that helped, but we all sure loved his company. 

The Lou Crew :: Day 01

We just had the most amazing weekend in St. Louis showing our friends around and celebrating Hudson's graduation from college. Years ago, Mel started the tradition of going on a trip to celebrate the girl's graduations from college. When Finn graduated, they celebrated by spending a weekend in Minneapolis, having him show the gang around town. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it, but I loved the idea. Plus, St. Louis is just such a cool city, so we thought it would be fun to do the same. Hudson did a great job planning the itinerary. We saw so many of the different pockets that make the city so special. The first day was a lot of driving, then a visit to The Loop for some record store shopping and noodle eating. We were all pretty tired from our day of driving, so came back to the house to relax and catch up. We were just so happy to be there. 

Moments 06 24 :: Week 03

Saturday morning Brian had to go to Atlanta for work. Van and I walked to the opening day of the Farmer's Market. He was happy to see the pup station and get a treat. 

Brian made it back Sunday morning, right in time for Father's Day. Christie reserved a pontoon boat again. It was fun celebrating these two. 

The gang. It was raining all morning, but perfect for our excursion.

Cuties. Missing Hudson but happy Cole was around.

After the boat ride, we had dinner at our parent's. Such a fun day.

Monday night was Cole's first game with his summer team. It was a friendly against FC Wisconsin U19 ECNL. They didn't do bad for their first time playing together. Cole played the full 90 and did great. Zoe, Pam and Matt were there too. 

I know that guy!

Oh wait, here he is again. LOL. Wednesday was another game in Chicago. Brian got to go, but I stayed behind. They won and he played the full 90 again. He's having such a blast. 

This week was HOT. I was pretty grumpy because of it. Van Duke seemed just fine though. He picked a good spot - the only air conditioning in the house. The basement. 

Moments 06 24 :: Week 02

Friday night we met Leif + Mel for dinner at Centro Cafe, then walked over to Linneman's to watch Daniel Rey & The Revenirs play.  

Chris + Penny came to town Saturday, and we went to the Water Lantern Festival togther. 

It was cold and rainy all day, but the evening was absolutely lovely. Lief's birthday was the next day, so it was a nice reflection. And of course we did it up with our light-up floral head decorations. 

The finished creations. 

We were very thankful to the couple who was wading in the water helping everyone to get their lanterns out. They looked so pretty floating in the lagoon. 

The day we went to Leif + Mel's for birthday brunch. Delicious fried chicken biscuit sandwiches.

Love catching these two mid snuggle.

Moments 06 24 :: Week 01

A baby finch hatched! They are the cutest. 

Over the weekend, we got all dressed up for our first friend's kid's wedding. Aiden, Andrew + Shelly's son, got married. Wasn't it just yesterday that it was all of us tying the knot? Stopped by my parents to get a few photos. I don't necessarily feel comfortable dressing up, but I'd say we clean up pretty well.

The wedding was at the church at St. John's Military Academy. This is the second wedding we've been to here, and it's stunning. These two have been dating since 8th grade. Isn't that crazy?

The Bomb Squad reunited. The relationship these guys have is pretty special. Father of the groom is second from the left. 

Didn't get a photo of the ladies! But did get one of me and Mel. 

Only one egg and one baby yesterday. Unfortunately, I went to look today and the egg is gone, and the baby didn't survive. So sad. Out of all of those eggs, not one made it. I guess it was doomed from the start, when it comes down to it. But I was hoping!