Day Trip

On Saturday Hal and I took a little day trip up to Duluth. He wanted to watch the UMD Bulldogs football game since they are the nationally ranked number 1 team in Division II and had won the national championship. They didn't disappoint. In fact, we left the game in the middle of the third quarter when UMD was winning 35-0. It was getting a little boring.

But that gave us time to head down to the shores of Lake Superior! I had never actually been down to Canal Park, and it was so much fun. We just walked around, out on the pier to the lighthouse and just enjoyed the view. It was such a beautiful sunny day. We even got to see a ship going out to sea and going under the lift bridge. I thought Hal would think it's cool, but he just kept saying "haven't you ever seen a boat before?" Men! I thought it was cool.

Crock Pot Hot Ham & Cheese

I don't think that in all my years of blogging (a whopping three?) I've posted a recipe. But the time has come, ladies and gentlemen. Trust me, it's a good one! Super yummy and super easy!! I can't take the credit, however. My friend Kristi made this one at a football party last year and I just had to have the recipe. So I made it for our Ladies Retreat this past weekend and have been bombarded with recipe requests. So here goes:

3 lbs shaved ham (pieced up)
1/2 brick of cream cheese
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 can of evaporated milk
1lb of Velveeta

Melt last four ingredients in microwave and pour over ham in the crockpot. Heat through.

Warning: it makes a lot, so it's good for big groups or like a youth group dinner or something like that, although the leftovers are just as good. And I'm guessing you could freeze the leftovers and just heat them up in the crockpot again if you have a lot left over!

Enjoy!

Quick Recap

Where has the time gone? Is it really September 1st? And have I really not blogged since April? What?!?! Well, I'll try my best to do a quick recap and fill you in on what's been going in my life this summer! Here goes:

Bridal shower for my cousin, Katie Ingeman (green dress).

1st Annual Block Cousin Fishing Tournament - SO much fun!!

Jace and his brother Ian came to MN for six weeks!

First stop - Barber Shop!

Sniped myself a rabbit! Woohoo!

My BFF Gina moved home to MN. Jordan came home for a pre-deployment visit. So, along with Darby and Deanna, we all went fishing. The fishing was AWESOME this summer on Lake of the Woods - check out those monsters!! We called them whale-eyes!! haha!

friendly little game of softball at Timbermill Park

Stacy came home for a visit, so I got to spend a day up at Spectacle Lake with her and Brian and their families!

Fourth of July Parade

Days spent at the pool.....

Grandma Jean's "surprise" birthday party - hosted by Jace!

New puppies, a good old-fashioned game of lightening, and a beautiful display of God's promises!

My surprise birthday party! Thanks, Micah - it was awesome!! And I really was surprised!

cousin Katie's beautiful wedding at Morris Point Resort!

And guess who is the newest resident of Minnesota?? It's SO nice to not be in a long distance relationship anymore!! Darby and Deanna came down for a visit a couple weeks ago, and the four of us spent the day up in Taylor's Falls along the shores of the beautiful St. Croix River!

So that's my summer in a nutshell.....and I promise I'll try to be better about blogging.

Here's the picture you've all been waiting for. I tried all week to convince him to take a trip to the barber shop, but to no avail. Oh well. What's a girl to do?

More pics from Florida to come later.....but I know since you were all dying to see this one, it probably deserved a post of its own.

GO WILD!!

A few weeks ago (almost a month now.....yes, I'm a horrible blogger) I got a free ticket to the Wild v. Florida Panthers game. Yay for relatives in the NHL. I sat with my cute cousins, Katelyn, Karly and Kayla (say that three times fast) who were on their way to Mexico the next morning. We had a great time watching the game and seeing lots of other relatives that came down to watch Keith play. I even ran into my grandma in the stairwell after the game - didn't even know she was there! Good times. Here's some pics for your viewing pleasure. Keith is #2 for the Panthers. (that's the team in white jersies, Naphtali)

Oh, and the Panthers ended up winning 3-2 in a shootout for those actually interested in the hockey game.

North Carolina

Last Wednesday, mom and I flew out to Fayetteville to see Jordan and to turn his newly purchased house into a home. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

I haven't been a very good picture-taker lately, so there's no "people" pictures. I think mom may have snapped one of Jordan and I on her camera, but that was probably it for the weekend. So, no, there's no photographic evidence of the other boy I got to visit while in North Carolina. But I promise, he does exist and one day we will have a photo taken together. One day.

Back to the work weekend. Here are the before and after pictures of the painting/decorating that we (and by "we" I mean mostly mom) did. It was a fun weekend, with semi-warm weather - warm enough for this Minnesotan to wear flip flops the entire weekend even though I got made fun of. We met a few of Jordan's Army friends that we've been hearing about for the past four years and got together with some that we'd already met. I got to spend a few days with that other boy, and he even came down to Fayetteville and got to partake of mom's homemade taco night, which was a treat for all. Thanks, Jordan, for the great weekend. You now have a beautiful home. As mom would say: Keep it clean now!!