Getting Personal

On Friday night we had a bunch of girls over and threw Steph her personal bridal shower. It was a blast! Lots of good food and some funny games for Steph and lots and lots of lingerie!






And I only promised not to post these to Facebook. So sorry, Steph. Hehe.

North Carolina

Anna and I finally made the long-awaited trip to North Carolina to see Jordan. Only Jordan's in Iraq. We made the best of it though, spending most of the weekend lying on the beach. We both agreed it would have been much more fun if he could have been there to show us around "his area" instead of trying to navigate ourselves. But he left us his sweet truck to drive and some spending money for the weekend since he couldn't be there to treat us himself. What a nice brother, huh?!?!

Anna opening the card Jordan left for us.


This was really fun to drive. Parking it - on the other hand - not so fun.

We flew into Fayetteville on Friday afternoon where one of Jordan's friends picked us up from the airport and brought us back to Jordan's house. Well, it's actually Kelly's house - he's a friend that Jordan met playing hockey at Ft. Bragg and now lives with. So, yes, now I have a fourth brother, and he's awesome!! Anyways, it was really hot, so we got changed into our shorts and tank tops and spent an hour or so laying out in the yard soaking in the sun. Later that evening we went and explored the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville and then tried one of Jordan's favorite restaurants: Logan's Roadhouse. It's much like a Texas Roadhouse, but better (according to Jordan).

An exhibit from the Airborne & Special Ops Museum

Saturday morning we got up and headed out for Wilmington, which is about two hours east of Fayetteville on the coast. Along the way we stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast, Anna's first time. If you can ignore the filth, it's really good food. We made it to Wilmington at about 12:30 and decided to head to the beach since we couldn't check into the hotel until 3:00. Bad idea. It was Saturday afternoon and they were having record-breaking temps for this time of year. We spend two hours trying to get to the beach and once there trying to find a parking spot. We finally headed back to the hotel to lay out at the pool there. Much better. We spent the rest of the day laying by our hotel pool. For supper that evening we walked up the street to a southern BBQ restaurant called Sticky Fingers. It was fabulous!

Anna's first Waffle House experience!

Sunday we beat the crowd to the beach (Wrightsville Beach), got front row parking and a prime spot to lay in the sun. This was probably one of the most relaxing vacations I've had. So nice to just lay on the beach, read a book, and sleep. We headed back to our hotel about 1:00 and then went down to the historic downtown area. We got in on a 45-minute trolley tour that was pretty boring, unless you're really into architecture, got some homemade ice cream, walked the boardwalk along the Cape Fear River, and did a little shopping. Oh and we also happened along the fake storefront from one of our favorite TV shows, One Tree Hill, that is taped in Wilmington.

Anna pretending to be interested in the trolley tour.


The USS North Carolina docked in the Cape Fear River.


Anna and I in front of the "Clothes over Bros" storefront.

Monday was a couple last hours at the beach and then back to Fayetteville to catch our flight back to this cold, rainy, lovely Minnesota weather. I'm not the picture-taker I wish I was, and Anna got all the pictures of the two of us on her camera, so enjoy what's here. I'll try to get some of her pics and post them later. But that pretty much sums up our weekend in North Carolina! Thanks, Jordan, for being the best host from thousands of miles away. We love you!! And thanks to Kelly for letting us crash at your house for the night. You're the best!!


Fishing pier at Wrighsville Beach


A view of the beach.

Are We Related or What?

When Anna and I get ready for church on Sunday mornings, we usually don't see each other until we're ready to head out the door. A couple weeks ago we met at the door to leave and lo and behold we were wearing the SAME THING! At that point there wasn't much we could except laugh. So we went to church. And then came home and tried to take pictures of ourselves! hehe. It's a little complicated and we're not experts by any means at the timer thing.

Five for Fighting

Check out this video of my cousin, Keith, fighting Sidney Crosby in a game last night against the Penguins after one of his famous hip checks. Good stuff.

After considering all of our options, Anna and I have decided to just go ahead with our planned trip to North Carolina, even though Jordan is in Iraq. We'll still manage to have a good time I'm sure. And Jordan is such a sweetie. He's left a surprise treat for us in his truck since he couldn't be there to meet us. Can't wait to get to Fayetteville and see what it is.

We're planning on spending the first night at his house in Fayetteville (his roommate will be out of town for the weekend), and then on Saturday heading to the Wilmington area to explore and relax on the beach until Monday. Only three more weeks!

Vacation? No Vacation?

Anna and I finally bit the bullet on Saturday and purchased our tickets to Fayeteville, NC. We're going to spend a long weekend in April with my brother, Jordan, at a friend's beach house (for free!) on the coast just north of Wilmington. I was soooo excited.

Until yesterday.

I got a call from Jordan at work asking if it was possible to switch the weekend we were coming. At first I was really irritated thinking he had a hockey tournament or something else going on that weekend. But it turns out he had just received orders 30 minutes prior that he was deploying to Iraq in ten days! TEN DAYS!! Another soldier that was scheduled to deploy got injured and Jordan is being sent to replace him. He'll be gone for approximately five months, so not quite as bad as the 15-month tour he finished just a year ago. But still.

So we're not sure at this point what's going to become of our little vacation weekend. I talked to the airline last night and it's going to cost just about $200 to change anything about our tickets. So possibly we'll still fly into Fayetteville, use Jordan's new truck (that he JUST purchased on Saturday), and spend the weekend at Myrtle Beach.



What a bummer though. So remember to keep Jordan in your prayers. He has a busy ten days -- or nine now -- ahead of him training and getting ready to ship out. He hasn't even worked on the equipment they're sending him over there to use.

And I'll for sure keep you posted on our vacation plans!

Spring ahead!

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead tonight. It's already time for Daylight Savings and I can't wait for that extra hour of daylight!! Spring is FINALLY coming! (even though we're supposed to get some snow this week - but we won't talk about that)