2009 in Pictures

For the year in pictures, check out my 2009 Digital Scrapbook Album on Facebook - click here!
So far I only have through mid-July, but it's coming...hopefully lol

2009 In Review (Extended Version)

As another year passes, we are continually reminded of how fast the years go the older we get, and the Lord's continual grace and blessings on us.

In an effort to NOT make this year's newsletter anywhere near as long as last year's, I'll TRY to summarize :) If it gets too long, feel free to check out the Abbreviated version!

I hope you have all had a blessed 2009!

Amy (and Mark) Johnson

Weddings
In summary: Amy's two brothers were married as well as three sets of friends and Mark's cousin! A grand total of 6 weddings.

Two of Amy's brothers were married in the past year – Dave and Elicia on December 30, 2008, and Josh and Tiffany on December 19, 2009. We also celebrated with our friends Jed and Kristina as they were married in June, and with Jed’s sister, Kala and her husband Joe, who were married in August. Amy was also a bridesmaid in her friend, Rachel’s wedding in October in Sioux Falls. We were sad to have missed Mark's cousin, Greg's wedding which took place the same day as Josh and Tiffany's wedding, but in Minneapolis.

New Additions
In summary: three new nephews and two new sister-in-laws!

My little sister, Amanda and her husband Michael welcomed their first baby, Caleb Michael, into their family in April. My older brother, Dan and his wife, Sarah and the kiddos also welcomed a new little (hardly – at 11lbs!) one, Elijah Charles in August. My younger brother, Josh's new stepson Riley, is also such a pleasant addition to the family!

With the weddings this year, we’ve also officially welcomed two new sister-in-laws to the family – Elicia, Dave’s wife, and Tiffany, Josh’s wife. They both, of course, have been "unofficial" members long before the "official" part :)

Special Celebrations
We celebrated Easter with Mark's Mom's side of the family at our home in Windom, and were blessed to have 14 in our home, with entirely way too much food, fun games, and good conversation.

We were also able to celebrate birthdays with all Mark’s grandparents this year! What a treasure, since this was Grandpa Loren’s final birthday here on earth.

We were able to spend an evening with Mark's aunt Barb and cousin Megan in mid-May while they were in town.

We had a wonderful time over Memorial Day when the whole Ropte Family made it to the farm for the weekend!

June was bittersweet, as we were able to gather with all of Mark's extended family on his Dad's side - a few of whom I hadn't even met before. However, the occasion was for Grandpa Loren's funeral, so it was tough saying goodbye to such a wonderful man who had such a major influence on Mark's life.

In August, we were able to celebrate Mark’s 30th birthday in Minneapolis for a Minnesota Twins' game and supper with Mark's Dad, Step-Mom, Pam and Step-Siblings, Jess and Tyler. We had a great time at the game (although we left early and headed to the Old Spaghetti Factory since the Twinkies were disappointing)

We celebrated our 3rd Anniversary on September 23 with a half day off work and a trip to Redwood Falls for the day. We can't believe how fast three years has flown by, and are so excited for the years to come!! I LOVE THIS MAN :)

We spent much of October in anticipation of Mark helping with harvest. However, it was a very late harvest this year. We celebrated my 28th birthday the weekend after when my Mom, sister Amanda and nephew Caleb came for the weekend. We had a great time watching movies and celebrating together. :)

The anticipated harvest in October ended up being mosty in November, even into December, so while Mark was in the field, I was able to take a weekend trip to Iowa to visit some of my family in Humboldt, and then one of my best friends Steff in Des Moines. The same weekend I was able to celebrate with most of my family at Dave and Elicia's to celebrate my nephew Ben's 1st Birthday in November, while sending wishes from afar for my nephew, Jacob who turned FOUR!

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Worthington with Mark's family, where we had, I believe, 19! It was nice to have time to catch up with everyone, although the harvest kept Mark in the field the day after. I drove to Sioux Falls to do a little Black Friday shopping (my first time ever) with my friend Heather. We both found a few great deals!

We're now just settling in after having just finished up our Christmas festivities this past weekend. The weekend before Christmas we were able to celebrate with Josh and Tiffany at their wedding, and we had a fun, old-fashioned Ropte family Christmas at the farm the next day! It was fun, albeit chaotic with 12 adults and 6 kids 4 and under!

This past weekend we were able to make it to Worthington before the blizzard came to celebrate with Mark's Dad's side of the family at Grandma's house. We were a small group this year at 7, but we had a good time playing Rage into the night - the Kent, Dean & Drew really took a liking to this new game! :) We were snowed in for a couple days there, which was a nice time to catch up with Grandma, cousin Drew and uncle Dean.

Races

In summary: 5K in June in Windom; 8 mile in September on Mackinac Island; 10K in September in Worthington

We trained for and completed three races in 2009! Putting in an average of 20 miles per week in training, I guess you could say we kept really busy during the summer running around :)

• A 5K in Windom for Riverfest in June.
• An 8-mile race around Mackinac Island in September.
• The Turkey Day 10K in Worthington a week later in September.

Trips / Vacations
In summary: Roadtrip to San Diego in June; Indiana and Michigan in September

• In June, we took a long road trip to San Diego to see Mark's sister, Sarah, as Mark sold her his prized 2003 Monte Carlo SS. It was a much shorter trip than initially planned, and I've vowed never again to take a roadtrip so long again, but we had a good time irregardless. Stops along the way were in Lincoln, Nebraska; Littleton, Colorado and Las Vegas, Nevada. We were able to spend a fun evening with good friends of ours in Littleton, the Demeters - our first visit to see them!


• In September, we made our way out to Indiana to visit Dan, Sarah and the kids in Noblesville, IN, and to see new baby Elijah Charles! It was so fun spending some time with them, and also seeing old friends of mine from High School (Mel, Joe and Karen) for supper at Bucca di Beppo in Castleton, IN. We were also able to have lunch with another friend from High School, Shawna, and her son, when we spent the day in my hometown of Warsaw, IN. It was fun driving around my old stomping grounds, and showing Mark my true hometown. After our visit in Indiana, we slowly made our way up to upper Michigan's Mackinac Island for a few days of vacation before the big race we had been training for that Saturday. We were able to catch up with my cousin, Katy, and her son Berrit for lunch on our way up north, which was a treat! Mackinac Island was beautiful, and we had a wonderful time relaxing, and certainly enjoyed the beautiful scenery (and the fudge).

Work
In summary: We both work at The Toro Company in Windom, MN - Mark as a Manufacturing Engineer, Amy as an IS Application Developer/Programmer

Mark and I are both still working at Toro here in Windom. For those of you who didn't catch that from last year, I left Raven in October 2008 and have been at Toro since. Mark is enjoying his seventh year as a Manufacturing Engineer at Toro, and I am working on my second as the IS Appliation Developer/Programmer. It has been a HUGE blessing to have found a job in Windom, and with the cruel Minnesota winter we've had thus far, I wake up praising the Lord every morning that I no longer have to drive to Sioux Falls twice a week! We praise the Lord that we have jobs, period, in this economy, but are even more thankful that they are really great jobs we ENJOY!

2009 in Review (Abbreviated Version)

As another year passes, we are continually reminded of how fast the years go the older we get, and the Lord's continual grace and blessings on us. In an effort to NOT make this year's newsletter anywhere near as long as last year's, I'll TRY to summarize :) If you want to check out the Extended Version, click here!

I hope you have all had a blessed 2009!

Amy (and Mark) Johnson

Winter
After the hubbub of the holidays in 2008, we spent much of the cold winter months skiing and enjoying time with friends and family, and many days keeping warm inside. Mark went skiing in Colorado with his buddies, Jamie & Curt. Amy spent a few weekends in Humboldt for baby showers for her sister, Amanda.

Spring
We had Easter at our house in Windom with Mark's Mom's side of the family. Mark was in the field helping his Dad get the crop in down near Worthington for a few weeks, and also helping his Mom out with some of her home projects. I was busy traveling to and from Humboldt for baby showers, and then for the birth of my nephew, Caleb. We began training for a few races.

Summer
We spent much of the summer out on the lake with Mark's new waverunner with friends! We continued our training for races with long runs to and from the Wellness Center in Windom. We said goodbye to Mark's Grandpa and took a long road trip to San Diego. We also went to a few weddings and celebrated Mark's 30th birthday.

Autumn
We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary, took a long road trip to Indiana and then up to Mackinac Island. While on Mackinac Island, we ran an 8 mile race we had been training for all year. We also ran a 10K in Worthington the weekend after. We celebrated my 28th birthday in October. Amy took a couple trips to Iowa - Humboldt and Des Moines. We spent Thanksgiving with Mark's Dad's side of the family in Worthington, MN. It was a long, wet, late harvest. Mark & his Dad finally wrapped up in early December!

Winter (Again)
Finally had a couple lazy weekends at home before Josh and Tiff's wedding the weekend before Christmas and Ropte Christmas the day after - 12 adults and 6 kids ages 5 and under made for a crazy, but fun one! Worked the week after, then spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Worthington, snowed in at Grandma's. Couldn't make it to Wisconsin this year, what with the 2 feet + of snow we got. Working until NYE this week, and looking forward to time with friends and hopefully skiing! Also looking forward to 2010!

Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)

While I'm sitting around the house on this lazy Saturday, I came downstairs to work on a little more digital scrapbooking, and I opened up a little iTunes to listen to some Christmas music with my coffee, and the first song on my Christmas playlist that came up was this one by Diana Krall, and it just really struck a chord with me this Christmas season.

Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep) by Diana Krall

When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessing instead of sheep
And I fall asleep, counting my blessings

When my bankroll is gettin' small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep, counting my blessings

I think about a nursery
And I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them
As they slumber in their beds

If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings.

So if you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings.

Lately, I've found myself feeling a little down, with my husband gone almost every night this week. I know for some of you, 6 days away from your spouse or significant others is a ridiculously short period of time (those with ever-traveling spouses or loved ones in the military), but for me, 6 days is a pretty long period of time. However, although my attitude has improved sevenfold since a couple days ago, the lyrics really reminded me that I need to continue to remind myself of all the wonderful things I have to be grateful for, instead of continually reminding myself of all the things I am miserable about.

In light of this, I thought I'd make myself a list - a list of all the things I have to be thankful for this Christmas. Although the one verse of the song above doesn't exactly pertain to me (the one about kiddos in their beds and counting their heads), I think for some of you it might :)

So my thankful list:

As the weather gets so cold, I am reminded of those who have no home at all, or have no heat, and I am SOOOOOO thankful for my beautiful, warm house.

I am thankful that I have a husband who loves and cares for me, even if he isn't around all the time. I am thankful that he is a hard worker who provides for me, and who wants what is best for me.

Although this is my 3rd Christmas without my Dad, I am reminded of what a HUGE, WONDERFUL family I have, who I get to spend time with in just two more weeks!

I am thankful that I ever knew my Dad, and that my Mom was able to spend over 30 years married to him, and us kids were able to know him as our loveable, crazy Dad :)

I am thankful that although Dad is gone, I still have my Mom and 5 wonderful siblings, not to mention my 3 wonderful sister-in-laws, a wonderful brother-in-law, 5 nephews and a niece, all of whom I get to have together this Christmas.

I am thankful that when we take family pictures with my immediate family, we hardly have enough space to fit everyone in the view finder, because we have 14 people...in our IMMEDIATE family lol

I also am so grateful to have such a huge extended family, some of whom I will be able to see over Christmas as well!

I am thankful that my siblings and I get along so well, and that there is not family strife when we all get together.

I am thankful that I am able to help others at this time of year, and that I am not the one who needs the help!

I am SOOOOOO incredibly grateful for my job this year, and the fact that I actually enjoy it!

I am thankful that I have a hope for the future, and not just for the present. I am thankful that Jesus Christ gave his life, so that I can have ETERNAL hope!

I am thankful that I know I will see my Daddy again, and that when I see him, we'll have enough corn to last for all eternity lol :)

I am thankful for friends who encourage me, and for the friends who are there to set me straight when I'm being unreasonable.

I am thankful that I spend hours in the kitchen preparing a meal, because that means I have food to eat, AND that I have friends and family to enjoy it!

I am just so thankful and SO blessed. I could probably go on and on and on about this, but I probably would never stop :) So I leave you with this - I encourage you to really sit back and think about all you are blessed with this year. I know things can drag you down, and it's not always easy to take a deep breath and let all the negativity pass on through, but just try :)

First Day of Autumn :)

Anyone who knows me knows that today is quite possibly my favorite day of the year :) Autumn is by far my favorite season - and why not! The colors, the crisp air, apple cider/pie/dumplings, pumpkin spice lattes/pie/bars; the smells, the sights, the sounds. Rustling, brilliant leaves, the requirement of a big, comfy sweatshirt for afternoon walks, and the comfort of a warm house with cider or hot chocolate waiting at home at the end of a long day :)

Tomorrow marks Mark and I's 3rd anniversary! When I think back over the past 3 years, I realize just exactly how much has happened, and then it seems like 3 years. However, the time has just flown by, and I have a tough time recalling what life was like before then. We plan to celebrate with a nice lunch at home, hopefully a walk after work, and supper at Brian's Supper Club in Fulda. Thursday, we plan to take a half day at work and head up to Redwood Falls for a fun, relaxing day walking the trails and seeing all the beautiful trees start to change color :)

We look forward to settling into the cool autumn months, even in the midst of all the hustle and bustle to come! This next weekend is our last "free" weekend for the next month. While Mark will be busy helping his Dad in the field through much of October and November, I will be busy at a bachelorette party, then a bridal shower, and then a wedding for the first part of October. BUSY, but a good busy :)

After our two big road trips of the year, we're looking forward to spending the holidays close by this year, and being able to relax at home a little more! We've been blessed to be able to see most all our family this year, and look forward to Josh and Tiffany's wedding in December so we can see even more! God is so good, and I am in awe of the beauty of his creation :) I am excited about what is to come the remainder of this year!

Turkey Day 10K Results

Well, I didn't do anywhere near as well as I wanted to, but I did finish the race, which is most important.
My overall time was around 69 minutes, with an 11:03 pace. Disappointing to say the least, but at least it was a finish!
I made it to mile 3.5 before being so fatigued by the heat that I had to stop, at which point the joint pain in my legs behind my knees really set in. I really struggled the rest of the race to keep running, and I walked a LOT in short spurts. I was glad to have at least kept an 11ish minute pace, but hope to be able to focus on speed a little more (and endurance, even in the heat) now that the pressure is off for the race season.

Road Trip Day 9 - Race Day / Mackinac Island

After a restless night, Mark and I were up early, and decided to take an earlier ferry over to the island. We were going to grab some breakfast on our way over to the island, but apparently the continental breakfast at our hotel didn't open until 7:30 (kinda late, doncha think?!), so we grabbed a couple nutri-grain bars from the hotel room, and went over to the island without much in our tummies.

We both did well on the race (I finished in 87:57, Mark in 80:19), and I ran back quick to get the camera from the locker so we could have some sort of proof that we actually ran the race lol We downed about half a dozen oranges between the two of us, as well as a handful of bananas and quite a bit of water lol Hey - we'd just ran 8 miles with only a nutri-grain bar in our tums!!

By the time I got back and we found our times in the hotel activity center (and freshening up secretly in the Mission Point restrooms), we walked downtown (again) and had lunch at the Irish Pub - Mark having a chicken sandwich and I a wrap. I wasn't feeling very well (dehydrated and sleep-deprived), so after lunch, we walked to the nearby park and attempted a nap on the lawn, making sure to pick a spot without any bird poo, since the seagulls were abundant.

After an hour or so, we walked down to Kilwin's for another Mackinac Island Mud Fudge cone and relaxed in the little shopping center around the corner. When I finally started feeling more back to normal, we found a bike rental place right next to the ferry dock and rented a couple bikes. We took a nice, relaxing bike ride around the island before catching the ferry back to the mainland.

Once back at our hotel room and showered up, we picked up a pizza from B&C's Pizza and enjoyed a relaxing night in, watching the NASCAR race and pigging out after a long, active day. It felt so fantastic to be done with all the vigorous training for the big race, and we were looking forward to being home the next day :)

Mackinac Island 8 Mile Race Results!

I finished in 87:57!! Met my race goals:

1. 1st: Run the first 6 miles without stopping


2. 2nd: Finish in 90 minutes or under


3. 3rd: Walk no more than half a mile

It was a beautiful day for the race, nice and cool to start, and the first part of the race was almost entirely in the shade. For the first time in a race EVER, I didn't think I was about to die after the first mile. In fact, fatigue didn't start setting in until around mile 5, which means my training must have done at least some good :) I walked a bit when I reached mile 6, and it kinda went downhill from there. It was really hot on the last 2 mile stretch around the east side of the island, and with hardly any shade, it was really tough to keep up my pace, and to not walk a lot. I pulled it out at the end, even evoking a, "Wow - way to finish strong!" from a lady cheering on he sidelines. Pretty impressive, if I may say so myself. We didn't exactly have any breakfast, so we took our wrath out on the oranges, bananas and water at the finish line. I think I ate 4 oranges alone! BAD IDEA, though - please don't ever try that, 'cause I ended up very dehydrated (felt like puking for a while after lunch), and wasted a few hours of my day feeling very sickly. Feeling great now, though!

So it's done :) Now just the Turkey Day 10K next weekend! Official results will be posted on http://www.runmackinac.com/ in a few days :) Turkey Day 10K info is available at http://www.turkeyday10k.com/

Road Trip Day 8 - Mackinac Island...again!

We slept in again (this is becoming a trend, I think lol), then checked out around 10am, and headed down to sit on the adirondak chairs down on the green for an hour before we decided to play that game of mini-golf we had passed on the night before. The course was still pretty damp, but we had fun anyway. We also were very excited to have a real crane (the bird) hanging out on the course with us. We had the paparazzi on our trail, or rather the crane's trail lol

After golfing, we made our way down to Mary's Bistro for lunch, and had a great lunch on the deck by the docks, eating and filling out a few postcards. After lunch, we mailed the postcards, then slowly made our way up, past the Missionary Bark Chapel, to Fort Mackinac. We made it up just in time for the canon firing demonstration, and continued to explore around a bit, also taking in a gun firing demonstration. Such an interesting place, but our feet were certainly dragging, and we were feeling the need for a nap, so we finished up seeing what we wanted to see, and then headed back down the island to catch a ferry over to the mainland - Mackinaw City - for the night. We relaxed for a while, then headed downtown to Cunningham's for a yummy spaghetti supper before cashing in early - we needed our rest for the race!

Road Trip Day 7 - Mackinac Island

We slept in until 8am, then, while Mark caught up on a little emailing and facebooking, I took my book and a cup of coffee out to the white adirondak porch swing and read for a while. We went for a short, brutal 4-mile run around the east side of the island around 10:15, which, with all the walking we did, didn't put us home until noon. However, in our defense, we also climbed what seemed like 200 steps up to view the Arch Rock, which was really beautiful! We decided it was a good idea to get that climb out of the way while we were already hot and sweaty lol

After a shower and getting ready for the day, we walked back downtown for lunch at Goodfellows, where we had some pretty fantastic wings. We sat there a while, still trying to recoup from the morning run, then decided to rest a bit longer by taking a carriage tour around the island. It was nice to just sit there and let the horses do all the work for a couple hours, and also neat to hear about the history of the island, as well as a few made-up stories by the carriage driver (whatever they're called). After the carriage ride, we stopped at Kilwin's for some ice cream, then headed back near the hotel, where we sat in the adirondak chairs facing the shoreline for a couple hours.

When we were good and rested, we walked to the Bistro on the Green for supper. Mark had a good bacon burger while I had a Southwest Chicken Sandwich. Both were delicious! We thought about put-putting, but decided to save it for the next day, as it was getting dark already, and the course had no lights.

Instead, we headed back up to the lodge to sit by the fireplace for an hour or so - Mark computering-it-up, Amy plugging away at her novel, before heading to bed again. A wonderful and exhausting day on Mackinac, which left us feeling much more nervous about the race with our disaster of a run, but still such a relaxing day!

Road Trip Day 6 - Kalamazoo to MACKINAC ISLAND!! :)

We woke up in time for breakfast at the hotel, then relaxed a bit before packing our things up again. We were on the road by 11am on our way to meet up with my cousin, Katy, and her little guy, Berrit in Byron Center, MI. It was so good to see them - Berrit getting to be SO BIG (and yet so small)!

After lunch, we were back on the road, driving most of the way straight through to the island, with only one side trip to McDonald's for a necessary ice cream cone.

We arrived in Mackinaw City around 5pm, and after driving around a bit, we pulled in to the Shepler's ferry docks and unloaded our luggage. We barely made the 5 o'clock ferry, and 20 minutes later, we were docking on the island! Such a beautiful view!! We hopped on a horse-drawn "taxi" to take us up to our hotel - the Mission Point Resort, about 10 minutes by foot (or horse). We were so excited to be there, and the hotel was really wonderful! The view from our room was beautiful, however we quickly realized that we didn't have any air conditioning, so we were hoping for mild temperatures for the next couple days!

We walked down to find some supper at a little pizzeria on the island - Sarducci's. Mark had the spaghetti, and I had the vegetarian lasagna. Both were really great, although if we had only walked a little further, we would've found some much better places, but oh well :) We walked down to the far end of main street afterwards, catching a beautiful sunset just a ways from the bridge. We made our way back to the hotel, and spent some time relaxing in the rustic lodge by the fireplace before heading upstairs to bed. After a long day of driving, we also had to get some rest for the next couple days of sightseeing and exploring ahead!

Road Trip Day 5 - Indiana to Michigan

We woke up early, got ready, packed our things, ate some breakfast, and then headed over to Dan and Sarah's in time to say goodbye to everyone, and to watch Eli and Hannah while Sarah took Jacob to his first day of preschool. It was nice to have some snuggle time with the newest little Ropte, and we were able to say "bye bye" to Hannah, who was sound asleep when we stopped by the night before.

We were on our way to Warsaw shortly before 10am, and made it there in time for lunch with an old friend of mine from high school - Shawna (Jackson) Harshman and her little man, Owen. We lunched at Penguin Point (where I worked for a month shortly before we moved to Iowa in 1998). After lunch, we went over to Center Lake park for a while so Owen could play on the equipment. Was so great to catch up with Shawna after so many years!!

We drove around a while after the park to see a few sights in the area, but needed to find some wireless internet to check our route for the next leg of the trip, so we made a trip to my old favorite place in the world - Courthouse Coffee :) We spent a good hour there, me enjoying a yummy white-chocolate hazelnut latte; Mark enjoying a junky conversation with Jamie about hunting and fishing.

After the coffee shop, we drove down by my old house growing up, checked out the old neighborhood, and went for walk down to the tressel. Of course, we were living dangerously by walking on the train tracks, and were warned by the little train truck guy that this was "not a smart move", but we pressed on anyway. Of course, it was drizzling by the time we got to the tressel, and we were being eaten alive by mosquitos, so we gave up and walked back to the car.

We drove around the block a time or two, down to Kelly Park, back around by the schools, and then out to our old church out in the middle of nowhere before a short stop at Kohl's on our way up to Middlebury for supper at Das Dutchen Essenhaus. It was so delicious!!!! We ate entirely way too much and had to take our dessert with us.

We checked into our hotel in Kalamazoo around 8:30pm, and hurried to get our workout clothes on and down to the fitness center down the road to log our 5 mile run for the night. Treadmill running is pretty awful, and I am not at all looking forward to the winter months of running inside :( We got back, gave away half our dessert to the girl at the front desk, and split the other one, then showered, and off to bed.

Was a wonderful day, and fun to see all the changes in Warsaw, and fun to experience a bit of the Amish countryside - passed a couple horse-drawn buggies. Beautiful trip all around, and cannot wait for tomorrow to make the final leg of our journey up to Mackinac Island...and lunch with my cousin and her little guy :)

Road Trip Day 4 - Another day in Noblesville

We were up, had breakfast and were to Dan and Sarah’s around 10:30 on Labor Day. We visited for a while, then Mark, Dan and I took the kids to the park to give Sarah a little more time with baby Eli. The kids had a great time climbing around and throwing their little balls around. Hannah really enjoyed the swing. Dan and Mark tossed around the football a little bit.

After the park, we headed home for some sandwiches for lunch, and took a little nap afterwards. Mark and I went for our long run from Sunday that we missed, which was a pretty rough one. It was pretty hot and humid out, and we should have probably gone earlier in the day. If we made it 4 miles, I’d be shocked, and with all the walking we did, it wasn’t very impressive. Hopefully we do better on our BIG run, less than a week away!

We got back and visited with Dan while the kids napped and Sarah was busy with Eli. It was fun reminiscing about days back at our old house in Warsaw, which we found was actually up for sale! Mark and I toyed with the idea of calling to see if we could get a showing for the next day, but decided against it.

Mark and I headed back to our hotel around 4:45 to get showered up and ready for supper with some old friends of Amy’s from high school in Warsaw. We stopped at the mall in Castleton for a few minutes before we met at Buca di Beppo with Mel and Joe, Karen, and some of Karen’s good friends from her college days. We had a wonderful time catching up, and hope it’s not FIVE more years inbetween visits again!

After supper, we stopped back at the mall to Dick’s Sporting Goods and picked up a couple clearance tubes and rafts for next summer on the lake! We then went back over to Dan and Sarah’s to visit a bit more, and decided to come back the next morning to help watch Eli and Hannah while Sarah took Jacob to his first day of preschool.

We had such a nice visit in Noblesville, but are also looking forward to a fun day in Warsaw, and the rest of the week up in northern Michigan at Mackinac Island!

Road Trip Day 3 - Lazy Day in Noblesville

After sleeping in a bit, we got up, had some breakfast, and then relaxed a bit before heading over to Dan and Sarah's for the day. We stopped at the store on the way over there to pick up supplies for meatloaf for lunch, and I put it together and in the oven when we got there. While it was baking, we visited with Dan and played with the kids for a while. We all enjoyed lunch together (Jacob even ate all his meatloaf!), and then took turns taking naps for the afternoon lol What can I say - traveling and parenting is hard work!

After naptime (which everyone except Jacob participated in), we visited a while before deciding on some Little Caesar's for supper. I went to go pick the pizza up, and we gobbled it all down pretty quickly (napping apparently also makes us hungry), then visited somemore before getting the kids ready for bed. I read some stories to Hannah and put her to bed, then Mark and I went for a walk while Dan and Sarah got the other 2 kiddos off to bed. We visited for a couple more hours before heading back to our hotel for the night. It was a nice, relaxing day to get caught up after two long days on the road. We're so looking forward to another day with the family, and supper at Buca with some of my friends from Warsaw days!

Road Trip Day 2 - Iowa to Indiana

We were up by 6:30am and on our way an hour later, looking forward to an early arrival in Indy. We arrived at our hotel in Castleton around 1:30pm, checked in, and relaxed a bit before finding some lunch, then heading to Dan and Sarah's in Noblesville, where we met Sarah and Eli. We drove Sarah up to Winona Lake for the night and met Dan there, as they had a wedding to attend. While they were at the wedding, Mark and I took their other car and I showed Mark around Winona Lake a bit, before we had supper at the Boathouse Restaurant. Mark had the California Sandwich (or something like that), and I had the fish tacos. YUM!! I'd highly recommend it!

After supper, we looked around a bit at the shoppes down there, found a couple things, and stopped at a little ice cream shop where Mark had an ice cream cone and I had a vanilla creme latte. We took a short little walk around the area a bit, then got back in the car and headed back for Indy. Of course, I had to show Mark where I grew up on Ra-mar Drive (what a change!!), and crazy enough, the house I grew up in was for sale! Hmmm...wonder if I could convince Mark we should buy it and move back?! lol (jk) We also drove by my elementary, middle and high school on our way out of town. It was getting kinda dark, so it was hard to see anyways, but we'll be back there on Tuesday, so we can see it a bit better in the daylight then :)

All in all, a great day, albeit very long! We're so excited to spend more time with Dan, Sarah and the kids tomorrow :) But for now...off to bed!

Road Trip Day 1 - Windom, MN to Bettendorf, IA

Mark and I went in to work from 7-11am, then came home, finished off some leftovers for lunch, watered the plants, then were on our way! We arrived in Humboldt around 2pm for a quick visit with Mom, Aunt Nancy, Amanda, Michael and precious little Caleb! We hit the road again around 3:15 on our way to Cedar Falls to meet up with Jason and have a very belated birthday supper with him. We arrived around 5:30, and after checking out his dorm room, we went for supper at HuHot Mongolian BBQ (yum!!). We enjoyed food and conversation, then went back to Jason’s dorm and took a short walk about halfway to where he has classes. We were back on the road to Bettendorf around 7:15, with a couple hours’ drive ahead of us. We got in our scheduled early Saturday morning run on Friday night instead, and then headed for bed. A very long day, but looking forward to tomorrow, seeing Dan, Sarah, Eli, and being able to explore Amy’s hometown a bit!

Productive Summer in Windom

After a busy day at the office yesterday (it always is when the boss-man is out of the office), I collapsed on the couch visiting with my Mom for a few minutes. It's always so good to hear her voice and her gradual physical improvement on her new Parkinsons medication. Seems like forever between trips down to Humboldt to see her, as well as the rest of my family down there. I can't even imagine how much bigger little Caleb has gotten, much less all my other nephews and my niece! I had a nice conversation with Mom, and then decided I should probably get busy working on supper.

We grilled out for supper, and then started working on a few little projects I've had on my to-do list for quite some time. We edged our little flower section in the back yard and re-planted grass in a bunch of different places where it really needed it! Our yard is really starting to come alive - our little tree is even growing quite a bit, although it looks kinda funny to have a tiny little tree like that with full-sized leaves. We may just have to invest in a better rake this year to rake up all those leaves ;)

After our yardwork, we took a quick walk around the neighborhood, then made it back in time for the Twins and Vikings games - they both won! While Mark was deeply enthralled in the games, I went downstairs and started working on invite ideas for Tiffany's shower, and I am SO excited with how they turned out!

It looks like my goal of catching up on digital scrapbooking before our trip is probably not going to happen, but it has been so fun looking back on the past year so far and seeing all the good times we've had so far! But even more - there is SO much more to come this year! In fact, I don't think I'll get the chance to catch my breath until November this year lol

We leave this Friday on a 9-day roadtrip out to Indiana for Labor Day Weekend, and then up through Michigan to Mackinac Island via Warsaw and Kalamazoo - a much-needed vacation after our busy schedule this summer! (Also a much-needed breather BEFORE it gets even more crazy!) In case you missed out on probably a gazillion status updates from the past year so far, Mark and I have been training for an 8-mile race around Mackinac Island, which we'll be running on September 12!

We'll be heading back to Windom on the 13th, after a day of relaxing in Mackinac City, and another whole week of fun will begin! Mark's cousins Drew and Megan will be in Minnesota for a couple weeks, so Wednesday (tentatively) will be game night in Windom (OH YEAH!), followed by another race, the Turkey Day 10K, in Worthington on the 19th! Also in September, Mark and I will be celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary on the 23rd!! Of course, the day before (the 22nd) marks the beginning of my FAVORITE season - Autumn :)

October starts out with a bang, celebrating with a friend in Minneapolis for her bachelorette party, then the weekend after, a bridal shower for my STB new sister-in-law, Tiffany (YAY!!), along with hopefully a chance to get to the Apple Orchard and have a fun baking day at the farm! I'll be standing up for one of my BFFs, Rachel in her wedding the weekend after Tiff's shower. And then...then...*sigh*...enjoying the sheer beauty of the season :)

Okay, that's a lie, perhaps...because THEN...I may or may not be running a half marathon in Minneapolis on Halloween Day! (If I still have any fun money left after September and October lol)

I have to constantly remind myself to stop and thank the Lord for all the friends and family I have who keep my life so busy and interesting! I am so grateful that I am not sad, lonely, depressed or sick, and that even if I were, I know I'd have a wonderful support system that will lift me up! So THANK YOU for all your support this summer through all the rigorous training and I can't wait for what's to come!! :)

2009 Getting to Know You

Welcome to the 2009 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you.. Then send this to a bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person who sent it to you. Some of you may get this several times; that means you have lots of friends. The easiest way to do it is to hit 'forward' so you can change the answers or copy and paste. Have fun and be truthful! I want to see your answers, please!! If you feel up to it, add your own question at the end...learn something new!

1. What is your occupation right now? IS Application Developer/Programmer
2. What color are your socks right now? none
3. What are you listening to right now? "This Christmas Time” by Lonestar (Yes, I’ve had one of those days)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? A Fiber One bar
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Of course!
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? A co-worker about a PC issue he was having
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? LOVE her!
8. How old are you today? 27
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV: baseball
10.What is your favorite drink? Water or Vanilla Chai Lattes (iced or hot)
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Nope!
12. Favorite food? Taco salad
13. What is the last movie you watched? Gran Torino, unless you count bits and pieces of National Lampoon’s Vacation last night
14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas Eve
15. How do you vent anger? work out / talk with friends/family and/or listen to Christmas music (Gundee, we are the same person! Lol)
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Easy Bake Oven
17. What is your favorite season? Autumn
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberrries
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? sure
20. Who is the most likely to respond? ??
21. Who is least likely to respond? Gundee – she already did
23. When was the last time you cried? Last night – stress from deciding about the house got me all worked up.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Dirty laundry in the main part, shoes in my extra closet
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Not sure who I’m sending to
26. What did you do last night? Pouted about the house for a good 20 minutes, then fell asleep while watching The Holiday, cleaned up the house, watched the Bachelorette Finale, and baked some beer bread
27. What are you most afraid of? Losing loved ones
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? cheese
29. Dog or Cat? Either one, as long as it doesn’t jump on me or shed a ton
30. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
31. How many states have you lived in? 4 – IN, IA, SD, MN
32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
33. What is your favorite flower? Lilies
34. Any strange fears/phobias? I’m pretty sure I’ll probably end up getting cancer or something equally as awful one day. No reason behind it besides I just think “why wouldn’t I?”
35. How do you want to be remembered? As a woman of God who puts others before herself and gives God the glory.

Looking forward to the WEEKEND! :)

On a whim, we've decided to head down to visit my family in Humboldt this weekend, and I'm getting really excited!! :) Generally, it's hit-and-miss as to who is around when we go down for the weekend, but this weekend not only are Amanda and Michael going to be around, Jason has the entire weekend off as well! Of course, Josh will have to work Saturday morning, but it will be fun to be able to see all the Humboldt family tomorrow night! :) I generally try to make it home about once a month, but its been since Memorial Day that we've been down to visit. We're excited to see little Caleb (who I hear isn't quite so little anymore!), and to check out Jason's new (to him) Ford Escape - a huge improvement from his 1995 Chevy truck that was rusted out and falling apart! I don't even want to know how many miles were on it :)

So I'm excited :) After the last 2 weeks of insanity at work (I love, and am very thankful for, my job, but it has been BUSY!), I'm excited for a relaxing weekend away from home :)

Taking a Break

I don't recall the last time I took some time and just took a break from things. When Mark told me he had rescheduled his dentist appointment for this afternoon, I thought, on a whim, that I might try to see if I could schedule my hour massage at Three Stones the same time in Worthington. I called at 11am and left a message. The lady called me back about 5 minutes later and said that someone had cancelled and I could get in at 3:30! So here I am, at 2:22, sitting at Ben Lee's enjoying a yummy iced vanilla chai latte, waiting an hour for my massage. I sat down here about 10 minutes ago thinking, "Okay, so now what do I do?" and for the first time in probably a month, I could honestly say, "Amy - there is nothing you can do right now besides relax!"

I used to think that if I just got to a certain point in my life, things would start getting less busy, but it seems that as soon as things lighten up a bit, they get even more crazy! When I was in college, I seldom had free time, between classes, working and homework, I had little time left for family and friends. After college, it was my first job, and then I met Mark, and then we got engaged, and then married, and then had to adjust to the hectic schedule with commuting, and then my Dad passed away, and then there were a gazillion more weddings...and funerals, and holidays, and bridal showers, and baby showers, and a new job, and the insane running schedule...and inbetween all that, making time for friends and family. I've come to accept that life is, and probably always will be, really busy and crazy most of the time.

However, I have to admit that being busy suits me well. If I have too much of this "free time", I think I'd lose my motivation to do much of anything. I think the danger of being so busy is that at times, I forget to breathe, relax, and allow my body and mind to be refreshed. The thing is - when you get so used to being on auto-drive, it takes more energy to allow yourself to take a break once in a while.

I hadn't realized how stressed out I'd been with things until last week I went to the chiropractor for the first time for a very sore neck. I thought, "Well, I can just go in, he'll crack my back and neck a bit, and then be done...voila - my neck will feel great, and I can get back to work!" But boy was I wrong! It was about an hour, and 80% of the appointment was practically a massage. He said I was very very tense and my back was all in knots. All I could find myself thinking was, "Alright - if I want a back massage, I'll just wait until I get home tonight and have Mark give me one", but I let him keep at it, and by the end, I felt a lot better.

And so I wait...another 30 minutes until my first whole hour massage...and I sip my drink and get caught up on my blogging :)

Moral of this post: Sometimes you need to just take some time for yourself before you become useless and too exhausted to enjoy life.

About Our Wedding Day (Survey)

This is a survey for all you married folk. Fill it out and don't forget to tag other married couples on your friends list.

1) When was your wedding day? September 23, 2006

2) What day of the week was it? Saturday

3) Did you get married in a church? Yes, First Baptist Church in Worthington, MN

4) How many people in your wedding party? 7

5) How many guests were invited to your wedding? 287

6) How long were you together before the engagement? He proposed just over 9 months after we met.

7) How long did you wait to Tie the Knot after the proposal? 9 months and 7 days

8) Did you register for gifts? if so where? Yes. Target, Sears, Walmart

9) Who did you hire as your photographer & Videographer? Photographer was Homestead Studio (would NOT recommend). We did not have a videographer.

10) Did you have a DJ or a band? neither

11) What was your first dance to? didn't have one

12) Did your father walk you down the aisle? Yes

13) What color were the bridesmaid dresses & groomsmen vests? burgundy

14) What type of ceremony did you have? Christian, traditional

15) What were your flowers? roses, cala lillies, leaves

16) What flavor was your cake? vanilla

17) Where did you go for your Bachelorette/Bachelor parties? Sioux Falls, SD

18) What type of wedding gown did you have? a strapless white empire-waist dress with a champagne-colored sash that contained some beading.

19) How was the weather? cool and cloudy all day, raining just after we got in the car to leave the church.

20) Did you have open bar? No.

21) Where did you go on your honeymoon? We took a road trip to Niagara Falls, going up through Michigan, and coming back down around the south side of Lake Erie...making a stop at Cedar Point on the way back.

22) What was your favorite thing about your wedding day? Being done with pictures lol

23) Did anything go wrong? I'm sure, but to be honest with you, I don't even care lol I know the unity candle wouldn't light, the cake didn't really turn out like I wanted, and no one paid any attention to the seat assignments at the family tables.

24) How long have you been married? coming up on 3 years this September!

26.)Did you take a Limo or car to the church and reception? Nope! Who needs a limo when you have the MMC?

27) Did you have a rehearsal dinner? Yep, steaks on the grill and lots of other fixings at the church.

Road Trip Day 5 & 6 - San Diego, CA to Windom, MN

We woke up around 8am and went out for a run around the area, then had some breakfast and showered up. Sarah and I took a trip to Starbucks while Mark got ready, and then we headed out for Coronado Island for a few hours.

We drove down to Silver Strand State Beach for a bit, but it was pretty cold down there, but fun to watch the wind surfers! After the beach, we drove back to downtown and found some lunch at Costa Azul – ate WAY too much again. I also got a bit burned on my arm (another plug for sunscreen!!) while sitting there in the gorgeous open-air seating.

After lunch, we walked down the street to the Hotel Del Cornado and relaxed at a bench by the beach, which was GORGEOUS! It is definitely somewhere I wouldn’t mind spending a whole week there, enjoying the surf and sun :)

We finally decided to head over to Balboa Park around 3:30, only to find out that we should’ve gotten their earlier. Most of the museums were already closed, and if they weren’t, they were at least $10 admission with only a half hour left over to explore, so after walking around in the gardens a bit and people-watching, we called it a day and went home to relax a bit.

Once we finished our napping, Mark and I decided to hit up the pool and hot tub at Sarah’s apartment complex while she went to run a movie back to Redbox and pick up some stuff to finish off our leftovers for supper. She also picked up another couple movies, and we watched ‘Taken’, which was really good! After the movie, some conversation, and then off to bed around midnight. Up the next morning for a walk, breakfast, and then some heavy-duty packing, and then on our way home.

We had a fantastic time on our roadtrip, however we don’t ever plan to drive halfway across the country EVER again :)

Road Trip Day 4 - Las Vegas, NV to San Diego, CA

We woke up around 6:30am after what we thought was going to be an hour nap before a night out on the town in Vegas. Oh well :) We got up and showered and ready, and then headed to the Flamingo for a breakfast buffet, and then explored for a bit on the town. The Flamingo had an alright buffet, but the $32 price tag was a bit hefty considering the fruit wasn’t overly fresh, and the other food was just alright. Its only saving grace was the crepe station we found towards the end of our breakfast.
After breakfast, we explored the Flamingo gardens and saw a few interesting birds and fish. We then headed back into the casino to make our way back out onto the strip, but on a whim decided to throw a buck in the slot machine. Lucky day – I won $60 on the first pull! We threw a few more bucks at the machines, but decided to just count ourselves lucky with the $60 winnings and call it a day in Vegas :)
We did explore Paris and the Eiffel Tower, but not for long. However we did find that there were some pretty great restaurants there, and plan to try some of them out the next time we’re there.

We headed back to the hotel for a short nap before checking out and getting back on the road. It was a LONG 5 hour drive down to San Diego through pretty busy traffic, but the sights were still pretty breathtaking.

Of course, we couldn’t go the entire trip without being pulled over by the police, and within 2 blocks of Sarah’s apartment, Amy did an illegal u-turn of sorts and got a verbal warning. We finally arrived at Sarah’s around 5pm and relaxed at Sarah’s a bit, and then headed over to Walmart and Von’s to pick up a few supplies for supper and a movie – Inkheart. We went back to Sarah’s and made some spaghetti and then started watching a movie before we realized we were much too tired to really watch a movie, and so we went to bed to get some much-needed rest again. Driving is tiring stuff!

Road Trip Day 3 - Littleton, CO to Las Vegas, NV

We woke up around 6:30am and decided to take a short walk around the neighborhood. We got back and decided to shower and get packed up again before breakfast. Dad Demeter had gone to Einstein Bagel in the morning to pick up some of their yummy bagels and schmears (kinda like a whipped cream cheese) which were altogether very delicious :) I also had my first cup of Keurig coffee, which, I have to say, was pretty much perfect!

We started out on the road around 8:20am, after saying our final goodbyes, and started out on the 11 hour drive to Vegas. Mark started out the first 3 or so hours to Grand Junction. It was a long leg of the drive, since most all the driving was in the mountains, but as long as it was, it was so breathtaking that it didn’t matter so much. We have plans to come back and do the hang-gliding and braving the rapids sometime in the near future! We’ll see if I’m brave enough to try out my skiing skills on such advanced slopes as Keystone, Vail or Aspen one day, but for now, I think I’ll stick to summer activities :)



We had lunch at Burger King in Grand Junction, CO before heading back on the road, though the mountainous state of Utah. Utah was quite the surprise for us, as we didn’t realize quite how picturesque the mountains were there as well. However, Colorado certainly has Utah beat with the scenery and lush rivers and such. Utah was much more dry and barren – even the welcome center was 40 miles into the state! (Apparently you can’t get lost in Utah those first 40 miles?) lol We did take a few stops at some of the “Scenic Stops” along the way, which made the trip slightly more bearable.



Mark took over the driving shortly after we merged onto the long-awaited I-15 in the middle of Utah, around Beaver. We saw yet more interesting scenery, and FINALLY arrived in Vegas around 7pm. We were pretty exhausted after such a long day of driving, but managed to get dressed up and head out for supper.



We decided to try out Nero’s in Ceasar’s Palace, but after realizing that a small piece of meat was $68 ALONE, we decided to leave and try somewhere else – The Cheesecake Factory. It was a crazy meal there, and quite frankly, the craziest experience I’ve ever had at the place. It was more like a cafeteria than a nice restaurant, and the fire alarm went off for the first 5 minutes. But the food was OH so good and very much worth the insane atmosphere there.

After stopping by a couple stores on the way back to our room, we got back and took what we thought was going to be just a short nap at 9:30, but it turned into a full night’s sleep! So much for a wild night in Vegas! Lol But considering it was following an 11 hour drive, we gave ourselves a break about it :)

Road Trip Day 2 - Lincoln, NE to Littleton, CO

We finally woke up around 7am in Lincoln, and we went for a short run around the parking lot. The map of the premises said that 4 laps around the parking lot was a mile, so I ran 9 laps, trying not to tire myself out too much, just in case we decided to do anything else adventurous while we were in Denver.

After our run, we went straight to breakfast and enjoyed some oatmeal, peaches, and assorted beverages. After breakfast, we showered and packed our things up, and checked out just before 10am. It was a long seven hour drive to Littleton, but we tried to enjoy Nebraska as much as possible, in spite of the incredibly boring scenery, consisting of lots of fields and trees, and mostly everything just looked kinda boring and dull.

We arrived in Littleton around 5pm Mountain time, and after a little visiting and a tour of their gorgeous home, we headed about a half hour away to Idaho Springs to experience the Colorado-style pizza at Beau Jo’s, which was by FAR the best pizza I’ve ever had! We enjoyed some great food and conversation there for a couple hours, and then explored the downtown area, even though most everything was closed already. Sadly, I was unable to purchase this adorable little stuffed moose, but rest assured – I will find her again someday!

After exploring Idaho Springs, we drove over to Buffalo Bill’s Grave just a few minutes before it closed to take in the lights and views of Denver from far above it all. We also went up to another lookout point before heading back down the mountain, and back to the Demeters for the night. Mark and I conked out pretty soon after, being pretty exhausted from the 7-hour drive that day, and knowing we’d need the rest before the 11 hour drive the next day!

Road Trip Day 1 - Windom, MN to Lincoln, NE

Well, we left Worthington around 2:20pm, shortly after we said our final goodbyes to Mark’s Grandpa Loren. The first leg of the trip to Lincoln was kinda junky, since we had to drive separately to the Omaha Airport. We met up in Sioux City for fuel, and then headed on to Omaha to leave my car in long-term parking at the airport. (For future reference, and in case I forget, it’s in the North Long Term Parking, F1, against the gate, and near the exit) lol After dropping off my car, we proceeded on through Omaha to Lincoln for the night.

We were pleasantly surprised to find our $50 hotel from Hotwire was, in fact, a very nice suite (albeit the double bed made it difficult on us, considering we’re used to the space of a king)! I’ll post pictures later, but yes – we were so pleasantly surprised!

Once we got settled into our suite, we took the advice of the guy at the front desk and headed to Grisanti’s for a yummy Italian supper. I had the tomato soup and Grilled Chicken Mattareori (sp – look it up later), and Mark had the house salad with the Spaghetti Bolognese. It certainly wasn’t quite the same atmosphere as somewhere like Olive Garden or Carino’s, but the food was excellent! Our only complaint would probably be that, as sweet as she was, the service was pretty slow, and it took a long time to get a refill on our drinks.

After supper, we stopped by Walgreens for some Alavert, and then went back and relaxed for a half hour or so before heading to bed at 9pm for some MUCH needed extra sleep! Unfortuately, the junky part about going on so little sleep for an entire week is that your body sorta gets used to not getting sleep, and so around 1:45am, we were woken up by the ice maker dropping some ice, and while Mark was able to get back to sleep shortly, I was wide awake for about an hour before getting back to sleep.

California Dreaming

After looking behind in my previous blog post, there's also so much to come in 2009! The next couple weeks will be super busy for me. Next week, I'll be attending Visual Studio training in Sioux Falls - driving back and forth from Sioux Falls (such a familiar 90-mile stretch) with my boss every day. On Friday, after lunch, I'll be leaving early from the training to drive to Omaha to meet Mark at the airport.

We're leaving my car there, and then driving on in the MMC to Littleton, CO for the weekend to visit the Demeters - dear old friends from when I lived in Indiana!

We plan on leaving Monday morning (after what promises to be a fun time catching up with Kari and the other 'Dead Meat Eaters') for Vegas - staying at Caesar's Palace for a few days. This will be my third visit to Vegas, and we're super excited to stay at such a nice hotel this time! The rates are really good when it's over 100 degrees outside ;)

Wednesday, we plan on heading on to San Diego whenever we get up and around, to spend a few days with Sarah. I'm looking forward to exploring the area - Balboa Park and the Zoo, perhaps Coronado Island, and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to meet up with a friend of mine for an afternoon of shopping while Mark and Sarah sort out car stuff. Which brings me to the main point of the trip: Mark is finally parting with his prized Monte Carlo and selling it to his sister, Sarah. We'll be flying home on July 4th, into Omaha, where my car will await us, Lord-willing!

While it's going to be a busy next couple weeks, it'll be a very nice change from our regular schedule, and we're very excited to see old friends and family :)

2009 So Far

Well, it has been a long time since I've updated my blog, mainly because I've been updating a few other blogs - my exercise blog and my 101 in 1001 blog - more frequently. There have been quite a few changes, yet so much is still the same :)

For starters, by this Christmas, we will now have four nephews, a niece and a niecephew (they aren't finding out), a big change from last year's 2 nephews and one niece! Amanda and Michael welcomed little Caleb Michael into the world in mid-April, and Dan and Sarah are expecting a new little one come August! Josh and Tiffany are planning a December wedding (did I mention they got engaged?), and so we'll also have Tiffany's 3-year-old son, Riley joining the crew! Of course, life is always so interesting with little ones around! If we thought this past year was eventful with Jacob, Hannah and baby Ben, its going to be a whole different level of chaos with three new additions :)

Of course last year at this time, we had just celebrated Amanda and Michael's wedding day in 2008, and here, a little over a year later, we've also (officially) welcomed Elicia to the family as she and Dave were married in January! We're also looking forward to Josh and Tiffany's wedding in December :) It seems it's all weddings and babies for the Ropte's! However, not so much for Mark and I - those kiddos are a LOT of work! It's much easier to just borrow everyone elses' kids for now lol

We have been super busy juggling family, friends, work, church, projects, various showers, and a wedding so far - not to mention home and lawn maintenance...and Mark's new toy - his 2007 Yamaha Waverunner! It seems we generally have to plan about 2 months in advance just to have a free weekend! In April, we were home to Humboldt when Caleb was born and were able to see him just a few hours after he was born! We followed that trip with a couple more in May - once to see Elicia and Ben when they were in Humboldt (and to celebrate Dave's birthday early), and once for a long weekend for Memorial Day when Dan, Sarah and the kids came home from Indiana! We were able to celebrate Hannah's actual birthday with her, and it was so good to have everyone home at the same time, which rarely happens!

In May, I also spoke at a bridal shower, and attended a Bachelorette party for Kristina, while Mark and a couple buddies threw a Bachelor party for Jed a few weeks before. It was such a wonderful day as we witnessed Jed and Kristina marry on June 6! After last summer's 3 big weddings of the summer, we're looking forward to a busy summer that doesn't include any more major weddings (at least that I'm aware of?!?) - HALLELUJAH! :)

We also have spent lots of time catching up with Mark's side of the family. We celebrated Grandma Edith's birthday with her in Wisconsin at the nursing home, followed by supper out with Mark's Mom's side of the family on the way back home. We also saw them just a couple weeks ago at Brad's High School Graduation Open House in LeSueur, not to mention Easter at our house in Windom. I think we've seen Mark's Mom's side of the family more this year than in the entire rest of the time I've known Mark!

Mark and I took Grandma Vi out to celebrate her birthday with supper at the Ground Round - they even sang to her! We were able to see Grandpa the day after his 89th birthday at the nursing home as well, although he's definitely getting much worse off than when he celebrated his birthday a year ago. We were able to visit with Drew, Barb and Megan as they were home for about a week in May. We had supper with Drew, Dad and Pam Friday night, and then after I served at a wedding reception in Worthington, I joined the crew out at Dave & Chris's house for the "after party" of their meal earlier.

As a highlight to the month of June thus far, Mark and I decided to test out all our training and run a 5K race for Riverfest here in Windom! We did great! Mark finished with a time of 26:34 and I finished just a couple minutes behind him at 28:57! We had a great time over Riverfest, but were completely wiped out after the run, and then Mark's softball tournament the rest of the weekend!

Well, that's pretty much all so far in 2009!

The Case for Sunscreen

I'm not generally the type to be an advocate for things like sunscreen (yeah, I used to seriously lay out for an hour every day without any...sometimes adding baby oil just so I would tan more quickly), but after seeing this when I was getting ready for bed tonight, I thought I should share. There is such a HUGE difference between using sunscreen and not using sunscreen, as evidenced by this photo. I obviously missed a few spots when applying sunscreen before softball practice (and my run...and time on the lake today). Strangely enough, the places I put sunscreen, I was completely untouched. However, where I missed sunscreen, you can see how burnt I got!! Just wanted to remind you all to wear your sunscreen this summer! I know it looks great to have that nice dark tan, but it's not worth your health (and really tender skin)

Memorial Day Weekend 2009 - Livin' for the Weekend :)

I'm sitting here at work at 7:15am hardly able to contain how excited I am for this weekend! I'm pretty sure I'm going entirely on adrenaline, since I've been averaging about 5 hours of sleep a night the past week. Oh, and there was the inevitable charlie horse at 3am in my right calf - inevitable because I've been doing so many jumping jacks, squats and lunges without stretching afterward that I knew it would be coming sooner or later.

Humboldt, Iowa doesn't sound like the most exciting place in the world to visit, I know, but it IS exciting when I get to see all the Ropte family who will be there in varying quantities throughout the weekend and next week. I'm especially excited to see my brother, Dan, and his wife, Sarah and two kiddos who are traveling all the way out from Indiana tomorrow!! I hope to also get to see my oldest brother, Dave, and his wife Elicia and little Benny boy (who will be SIX MONTHS by then) from Des Moines. Of course, I take for granted that I always see Jason, Josh, Tiffany, Riley (another little guy I am SO very fond of!), Amanda, Michael, and my now 6-week old adorable little nephew, Caleb :)

Yeah, that's right - there are a LOT of us! I remember as a kid hating the huge production it was to go out to eat or the grocery store, but I've come to embrace it as an adult. (Plus, it's really fun to get to play with all the kiddos and send them home at the end of the day lol) :)

I'm also very excited for tonight, as we'll be headed down to Worthington to visit Mark's Grandpa and celebrate his 89th birthday, which was yesterday. After visiting him in the nursing home, we're planning on splurging on some long-awaited Pizza Hut.

April Afternoon at Grandma's

Well, it’s a lazy Sunday morning in April, and would you believe it – we got about 8 inches of snow last night! Mark and I came down to Worthington yesterday afternoon, met up with Jamie and Heather at McDonald’s for an ice cream cone and visited a while. After McDonald’s, we went to Grandma’s to visit for the afternoon, and after a couple hours visiting, took a much-needed nap! We met up with friends at Ground Round around 7pm to celebrate Jed’s 30th birthday! It was pretty slushy outside, since there was already about 3-4 inches on the ground by then. We stopped at Jamie’s house for a little while and watched the end of ‘Fargo’, and then some other nonsense on TV before heading for Grandma’s for the night. We woke up early to the smell of coffee and muffins, so we came up and visited with Grandma for a while before Jess called and told us church had been cancelled. We’re now sitting around visiting some more before Kent and Pam and the kids, and Curt and Nancy join us for lunch (which is smelling entirely way too good right now!)

We’ve been enjoying looking at pictures on the computer of Dusty and Becka’s little Chloe Joy. Grandma is so amazed at the technology and the ability to see these pictures so soon after she was born. Now just to get Grandma set up on Facebook lol That will be the day, right? :)

Well, I’d better get back to the visiting :)

First Casualty of Exercise

Well, I just got back from my 3rd outside run of 2009, and while it felt SOOOOOOOO fantastic (in spite of how groggy I've been all evening thus far), I just found that I've experienced the first casualty of exercise. While in the process of breaking in my new shoes, I've managed to bloody my heel. Strangely enough, I didn't really feel it rubbing so much, so when I took my shoe off and saw the blood all over, I was shocked!

Anyways, I guess it kinda feels good to know I'm a hard-core runner?! lol

I am at about my halfway mark on my training schedule for my 8 miler on September 12. This Sunday is my last Sunday at 4 miles before moving up to 4.5.


My training is going pretty well, although I definitely have those days where I don't know how I do it. I sometimes hear people say things like, "Wow - I wish I was a runner!" or "I wish I loved to exercise like you do", but the reality is...it's NOT that fun for me, and I really don't enjoy it all that much. BUT...I know I need it, and I know how it makes me feel afterward, and to me, that's all worth it! It certainly isn't going to get any easier the older I get, and I know that if I want to reach my goals, I've got to work at them now.

I just want to encourage anyone out there who feels discouraged. Believe me - I've been there! 3 months ago, I thought I was going to DIE running even half a mile at 6.0 on the treadmill. But you get past that, and if you continue to work at it, it DOES get easier.

That's all for now! Take care!!

Looking Forward to the Weekend!

After a crazy long week thus far, I am definitely looking forward to this weekend! Monday, the power went out in the whole city, leaving my boss and I scrambling to get all the servers shut down gracefully before the power supplies ran out of juice. It was a mess of a day, however we were apparently both recognized yesterday at the monthly meeting (which we weren't at), and awarded $10 in city chamber bucks!

Yesterday, I spent 11 hours working in Shakopee and 4 additional hours driving, putting my total "work" hour at 15 for the day. I don't have much to say about yesterday, except that I'm disappointed we got home quite so late (9pm) because if it had been even just a half hour earlier, I would've been able to make it to the gym. Oh well - I guess I'll just have to spread my additional 2 days between Today, Friday and Saturday this week.

Workouts the past 2 weeks have been alright, albeit slightly disappointing after previous weeks. According to my makeshift workout schedule to prep me for September 12th's 8 mile race, I should have done my first 4-mile run last Saturday. I actually didn't run at all last Saturday, so that's pretty disappointing. I still have 2 more weeks at 4 miles before bumping it up to 4.5, so hopefully the weather gets nicer (it's much easier to run outside), and I can find some decent running shoes in Sioux Falls on Saturday. Should help a bit with my goals.

For now, just trying to keep up the hard work, even on the days when I certainly don't feel like it.

How Well do you know your Husband?

How Well do you know your hubby? Here's a chance to see how well you really know your husband. Cut, paste and fill in the answers, then forward . . . shoot, you know what to do. The real challenge is to send it to your husband to see how right you really are.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? One of the following: World Series Poker, UFC (which I hate), Sports (Football, Basketball, Baseball), or the History Channel...oh, and sometimes he likes to watch political stuff, but not as often.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? French and Thousand - if they don't have both, he gets upset.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? bread & butter pickles...he is grossed out when I chop them up and mix them with cottage cheese lol

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? either steak or a burger and water

5. Where did he go to high school? Round Lake Brewster

6. What size shoe does he wear?13

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Vikings or Twins stuff, although I'm beginning to think we own a car dealership lol

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Any kind of lunch meat (turkey, ham, roast beef). He generally doesn't care to put cheese on it unless it's from Subway, but with light miracle-whip.

Where is #9?!?

10. What is his favorite cereal? I don't know that it's his favorite, but he generally eats either Shredded Wheat, Raisin Bran, or Honey Nut Cheerios

11. What would he never wear? Hooded Sweatshirt - he gets too hot. Either that, or a speedo lol

12. What is his favorite sports team? Vikings and Twins

13. Who did he vote for? John McCain

14. Who is his best friend? Probably a tie between J, Curt and Jed

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? bite the inside of my mouth when I'm nervous. Or else nibble on my nails when I'm tired or nervous.

16. What is his heritage? Swedish

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake is it? yellow cake with chocolate frosting is by far his favorite, but he does also like funfetti cake.

18. Did he play sports in high school? I think just football, but he also likes softball, so not sure if he played that back then too?

19. What could he spend hours doing? Playing poker on Facebook...the worst invention. ever.

20. What is one unique talent he has? He can manage to sweat through an entire shirt...to the point where it's dripping wet...after 45 minutes working out.

IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR DID YOU...

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be! At the end, choose 10 people (or more) to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.(To do this, go to "notes" under the tabs on your profile page, copy and paste my note in the body of the note, delete my answers and type yours, tag 10 people [in the right hand corner of the app]. Then click publish.)
IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR DID YOU...
1. Did you date someone from your school? Nope
2. Did you marry someone from your high school? Nope
3. Did you car pool to school? My first few years, yeah, but once we moved to Humboldt, nope
4. What kind of car did you have? 1981 Ford Tempo
5. What kind of car do you have now? 2007 Grand Prix
6. Its Saturday night...where are you now? It's always different - sometimes here at home with my hubby watching a movie or lounging, sometimes out with friends, sometimes
7. It is Saturday night...where were you then? When living in Indiana, out with friends or a night in with the family. Once we moved to Iowa you could find me most Saturday nights working behind the customer service counter at HyVee
8. What kind of job did you have in high school? I worked at Penguin Point as a cashier for one month, helped prepare the salad bar at Grace College for one month, and then worked customer service at HyVee once we moved to Iowa for the rest of my life it seemed like. (7 years between HS and college)
9. What kind of job do you do now? IS Application Developer/Programmer at a manufacturing plant
10. Were you a party animal? Absolutely NOT!
11. Were you considered a flirt? Depends on who I was around. If it was people I knew, yeah, but just random people from school, nope. Now ask if I was boycrazy, and you might get another answer :)
12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? None of the above, although I played piano for 12 years.
13. Were you a nerd? I wouldn't say a "nerd", but I wasn't a cheerleader or anything (although I did try out in 4th grade...)
14. Did you get suspended or expelled? I never even got detention! In fact, I don't think any teacher ever even raised their voice at me.
15. Can you sing the fight song? Shoot...its been a while. The Humboldt one I can for sure, because my Dad used to sing it on our way out to Iowa when we were kids. The Warsaw one...like I said, its been a while. If I heard it, I think I'd know it.
16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)? Mr. Jones at WCHS because Journalism was a pretty sweet class.
17. Where did you sit during lunch? I used to sit with Anna and Hermie and probably a few others and play Euchre when I was at WCHS. I honestly don't remember at HHS - probably with Jen G. It was a pretty quick year.
18. What was your school's full name? Warsaw Community High School and Humboldt High School
19. When did you graduate? 2000
20. What was your school mascot? Warsaw Tigers and Humboldt Wildcats
21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Not for a million dollars!
22. Did you have fun at Prom? It was alright, just different than I was expecting my jr. year to be, since I just moved from a much bigger school four months earlier.
23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? Yep! Ben just got married last March!
24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? Not really sure. I doubt I would remember too many in my graduating class, since I was only there a year. I don't really remember much, although if I hear a story about HS, I vaguely remember it sometimes.
25. Do you still talk to people from school? Sometimes, and strangely enough, to people I never really talked to in HS
26. School Colors? WCHS - Orange and Black; HHS - Blue and Gold

My Great Diet Plan

If you want to lose over one pound in a week, follow this advice:

1. For about a week, eat as much salsa as you possibly can, alongside anything else salty and acidic. Pickles...tomatoes...anything citrusy.

2. Wait until the most wretched little sore in your mouth appears - the canker sore :(

3. Try eating pretty much anything...I double-dog dare you!


I'm going on 8 days with this stupid thing! In only one way has this painful little sore been beneficial - namely, it hurts so badly to eat that I haven't been eating so much. Snacks used to sound so great, but for the past week, I've been having to REALLY determine whether or not it's worth the pain.

I most certainly have been trying to find ways to dull the pain, but I've found that Advil doesn't really work so great, Tylenol generally upsets my stomach, and Orabase only works until I drink some water or try eating something.

In my spur-of-the-moment googling on the topic, I've learned the following:

1) There seems to be no cause for these little devils (which I find to be false...I almost always get them when I go a little crazy with the salsa/tomato/pickle/pineapple/orange/etc.)

2) There is no cure for them either, only ways to dull the pain.

3) They last about a week (which to me means that it should be gone very soon - HOORAY!)


Trying to be very positive about the whole situation, which has left my poor husband dealing with a very cranky version of the Humdawg for the past week, at least I've lost over a pound in the past week!

It doesn't pay to not eat BBQ sandwiches for lunch

So instead of having the coveted BBQ sandwich and mashed taters that taunted me for a half hour before lunch, I went home and had the un-coveted turkey and swiss with red peppers and string cheese.

I checked the mail, and HALLELUJAH, there was the refund check from Verizon that I had been waiting, oh, SIX MONTHS for! (Might I note, this check is a result of about 15-hours worth of phone-calls to Verizon, all of which seemed to get me nowhere). Also got the title for our new waverunner - another plus! What a great idea going home for lunch was, right?

Then, I went inside and put some chicken in the fridge to thaw for supper tonight, and spilled an entire jar of salsa all over the stinkin fridge and down the wall...on the carpet a bit, and (somehow) under the fridge even! It took me 15 minutes of my 30 minute lunch break to clean it up. Thank GOD I only live 2 minute from work and had already eaten!

I should've stayed at work and eaten the coveted BBQ sandwich...