Moments 09 24 :: Week 03

On Friday, Cole and the NCC Cardinals played at MSOE in Milwaukee! Cole's been wanting to play on this field since he was a little kid, and he finally got to. It was a beautiful night, and a pretty cool setting too. Cole said the field sucked though. 

He even had a little cheering section. Loved having these guys there.

It's been warm and humid still. Perfect conditions for Brian and I to get another dip in Lake Michigan. It's absolutely stunning when you are out there. We are so lucky.

On Sunday I went to Cole's soccer game vs. Benedictine. It was a bummer of a game for many reasons, so when I suggested dinner before I headed up, Cole was all about it. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time we've gotten to do something, just the two of us. I think we both enjoyed it. I know I sure did. It made me so happy. 

Kitchen is so close! Still waiting on a couple more things, then it will be time for the big reveal. We laid down the rug and these two immediately took over. Along with their gross stuffed chickens.

Crazy moon this week. 

These stuffed chickens have seen better days, that's for sure. But look how cute this guy is!

Moments 09 24 :: Week 02

Cole got some pretty awesome photos taken during a recent game.

Who is this man? 

While we were in St. Louis last weekend, Cole and the team were in Michigan for two games. He sent this funny photo. Sorry Will. Haha. 

Have been coming across a family of turkeys on my walks. Look at the big/little baby!

Brian and I celebrated our 25th anniversary. Seriously, where does the time go? Had fun going through some of our old photos.

The wedding party.

I had "the sisters." My host-sister from Germany even flew in for it. So did my host parents. It was really special. 

Brian had the Racine boys in his wedding party. Love this photo.

Mel, Shelly and Therese also played a role in our wedding. Cuties. 

We were not able to celebrate on our actual wedding day since Brian had to teach, but went out for dinner the next night. I had gotten a gift card to 5 O'Clock Steakhouse, and thought it was a great treat to get to use it for our dinner. 

It's been years since we've been there. Hasn't changed a bit. 

We even finished the night with ice cream drinks. A grasshopper for Brian, and Brandy Alexander for me. 

Such a fun night. 

Annual tomato appreciation photo. We picked these up at the farmers market in St. Louis. Delicious. The only time of year I'll eat tomatoes. They are so gross out of season. 

So close to not needing our temporary kitchen set up. It's worked out well, but I cannot wait to have this space back. 

Took Van on a big walk. He even got to go into the water a little bit. He's much more timid with water than Gretel is, but loved it. 

A Weekend in St. Louis

We just had the most amazing weekend in St. Louis. We drove down on Friday, which happened to be my birthday. Basically, we celebrated the entire weekend. Hudson met us a few minutes after we checked into our cute Airbnb. It's strange. This is the first time it was just Brian and I visiting since we dropped Hudson off for his sophomore year. And, it was just to visit. No Family Weekends. No graduations. No soccer camps for Cole. Kind of strange. But nice. After settling in, we headed over to Hudson's new place. He moved while we were in Mexico. It's a cute house that he shares with two other guys -- both previous roommates of his. After that, we had dinner at Polite Society. Loved getting to celebrate my day with Hudson & Brian. We were pretty beat, so called it an early night. 

The next morning Hudson met us bright and early and we walked over to our favorite farmers market in Tower Grove. Seriously, it's so good. We tried a few goodies, and picked up some produce (beautiful tomatoes were still available! - it's the only time I'll eat them) and listened to some great live music. It was the perfect start to the day. After a quick stop at Walgreens to pick up Dramamine, we headed to Ideal Aviation, where Hudson works as a flight instructor. It was cool seeing where he works, but even better, he took us up for a flight! It's been four years since I rode with him and Brian and I have never gone up together. I tried not to think about it much beforehand, but it was such a cool, incredible experience. I'm so proud of that kid. We were only in the air about 30 minutes, but got a great view of the Mississippi River, Anheuser-Busch, and The Arch. After landing, we picked up sandwiches at Sando Shack and brought them next door to Amsterdam Tavern to watch the USA vs. Canada soccer match. Canada won, so we silently cheered. We are US fans, but our excited for our friend Jesse Marsch , the Canadian National Coach. After the match, we went to Hudson's place again, then walked around his cool new neighborhood before heading to Menya Rui for ramen. We waited in a pretty big line, but they turn people through fast and it was worth it. So delicious. Our only mistake was not ordering the fried chicken. Next time. Once again, it was an early night. Hudson had a party to go to and Brian and I were exhausted. Sadly, we also had to say goodbye to Hudson. He had to work the next morning and we had to make our way back home. 

Before leaving St. Louis, we stopped at Damn Fine Hand Pies. We each had a sandwich, but of course had to get donuts, some hand pies to go and a half a loaf of Sourdough Focaccia. In fact, it was the owners birthday on Friday too, so she was celebrating all weekend as well. It was the perfect way to end our weekend. Cannot wait to go back to STL.

Moments 09 24 :: Week 01

North Central Men's Soccer had their first game of the season. Look who represented on the Athletics page. Love it. Brian and I were excited to be able to head down to Naperville to watch.

But first, sushi at Ikkai. It is so good. 

They ended up losing 0-2 to #1 seated St. Olaf. Cole got to play the entire second half, which was exciting.

Loved getting to see our guy. Especially since it was his birthday the day before. 

Zoe came too. Can you tell we were happy to see him? Cole's friend how was on the team last year was visiting for the weekend too. 

Volume 16 of my book complete. It's the main reason I still do this blog. I'm alway about 6 months to a year behind making it, and need some sort of documentation.

On Sunday, I drove back to Naperville to catch the NCC vs. Gustavus Adolphus game. Cole got his first college soccer start, and played the full 90. I was so happy for him. He's been training and working hard. Definiately deserves it. The game ended up in a tie. Gustavus recently beat University of Chicago, the former #1 D3 team in the nation, so you know they are good. Two tough games to start. Not the scores you want to see, but also, not too bad. 

Meanwhile, Brian was Klassy Kamping. Can't believe I missed this year, but I wasn't the only one. He left early on Saturday and three amazing days in the woods. This was the first year of no kids around. So strange. Needless to say, it sounded relaxing and perfect, so I'm glad the tradition continues. I'll be back for sure. 

Van Duke loves his giant Costco chicken. 

Photo from the NCC soccer instagram page. Love my #13.

It's my birthday weekend, and these ladies kicked it off perfectly. They showered me with gifts and laughter. Working out isn't just good for you physically. If it wasn't for CrossFit, I would have never met any of these people. Unfortunately, besides five of us hardcore 8:30am-ers, we are scattered around at different gyms and different class times. So happy to have been able to get together.