May 2011 Recap

In a nutshell...

May started with a big bang with wedding #1, piddled on with monotonous field work, some very beautiful evenings, and more than a couple nights missing the hubby. Fortunately, after the field work was done, we planted our garden and geared up for wedding #2. We celebrated Memorial Day with family and tested out the new jet ski as well. It was a strange whirlwind of a month, and we had LOTS of visitors! It has been such a strange spring with beautiful weather one day, and cold enough to pull back out the winter coats the next. But such is life in the great state of Minnesota :)

If you're looking for a full recap, keep on reading :)

Dan and Iryna's Wedding (May 5-7)

Mark's older brother, Dan married his bride, Iryna on May 7. We had a busy week beforehand with lots of guests staying with us, and fun bachelor and bachelorette parties the night before the big day. For a full recap of the day, click here.

Farming, Farming, Farming: Walking, Walking, Walking (May 1-18)

Mark spent much of the month out in the field helping his Dad get the crop planted. they finished up on May 18. Amy spent a lot of time at home, and with the weather being out of this world beautiful, there were lots of long walks along River Road.

Gardening (May 19)

We planted our vegetable garden over at Diane's on the 19th, including lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans, beets, watermelon and squash. We're looking forward to harvesting it a little earlier this year, as last year we got the garden in a little too late and didn't see much results.

Amy also pulled out the over-run mums around the new tree and planted some pretty wild flowers around it.

Next on the agenda is an herb garden, including basil, parsley, cilantro and oregano).

Prepping for Wedding #2 of the year

With Sarah and Johannes' June 4th wedding, we spent some time prepping the house for another busy weekend.

Memorial Day Cookout / Bridal Shower for Sarah (May 30)

We had a small gathering at our home to celebrate Memorial Day, and also for a small bridal shower for Sarah. For a full recap, click here.

Testing the Waters with the New Jet Ski! (May 31)

The weather hadn't coordinated with our schedule until this day, and even though it was a bit cold out, we made our way on over to Cottonwood to test out Mark's new jet ski! He traded in his old 2007 Yamaha VX110 Cruiser for a newer 2010 Yamaha FX SHO with 100cc more engine power! This baby can MOVE!


Mark took Sarah and Johannes out for a ride as well!

Memorial Day Cookout / Bridal Shower for Sarah (May 30)

Sarah and Johannes came a bit early for their wedding, arriving the Thursday of the week prior to the wedding. As a sort of celebration/bridal shower, we decided to throw an impromptu gathering at our home in Windom. We had a nice small group for Memorial Day for some grilled burgers and brats, and as always - some other great food! Grandma, Kent and Pam and Jess, Cousin Drew and Uncle Dave were able to make it for the day.

Sarah's Bridal Shower

After lunch, the boys went on over to the park to play a little bocce ball while the ladies showered Sarah and Johannes with a few gifts. It was a great day!

Happy Memorial Day!

Of course, the main focus of Memorial Day is to remember our fallen soldiers who have fought for our freedom. We have been so sobered both in 2008 and 2010 to be able to visit some pretty vast cemeteries (Arlington and Fort Rosecran's). It's easy to forget sometimes what the cost of our freedom is, but I know one thing: We are so incredibly grateful for the freedoms we have as Americans living in the great midwest. So THANK YOU to every family who has sacrificed so that we can be free.

Lazy Saturday in Windom

Well, it's an unexpectedly beautiful Saturday morning here in Windom, and we've got a couple extra visiting us in town. Mark's younger sister, Sarah, and her fiancee, Johannes, are here preparing for their wedding next weekend.

Last night, after work, we met up with Sarah, Johannes and Diane for pizza at Godfather's, then back to our place to view the pictures from Daniel and Iryna's wedding on the TV as a slideshow, and then watched "Alice in Wonderland" with some popcorn.

After sleeping in until around 8am, we've been sitting around like bums all day thus far, watching a little TV, playing on the computers, and a little Griswold Family Christmas...in May :)

Granted, I did manage to make coffee and some delicious Pasta Fagioli soup this morning! It was nice to catch up a little with Sarah and Johannes after breakfast, and we're looking forward to a walk this afternoon, if the rain stays away.

The best part about today? We have another TWO days like it, as it's Memorial Day Weekend :)

April 2011 Recap

Grandma Edith's Funeral (April 2)

As I mentioned last month, Grandma Edith passed away in late March, but the funeral was in April. HERE is a recap of the day.

Girls' Weekend in Iowa (April 15-17)

I met up with my good friends, Carrie and Amanda, in Coralville (near Iowa City) for a fun weekend of shopping, eating, and catching up! My only regret from this weekend is that I don't live closer to these two - they just make me smile :) Here is a full recap on my travel blog :)

Caleb's 2nd Birthday Party (April 17)

On my way back from my girls' weekend in Iowa City, I was able to attend my nephew, Caleb's 2nd birthday party in Humboldt! We had quite the party there, and enjoyed a delicious taco bar before Caleb opened presents and we had some delicious cake. A full recap with pictures will be coming soon!

Easter Weekend (April 21-24)

In a nutshell, it was a busy weekend! We started off with a date night in Mankato on Thursday night, followed by friends on Friday and Saturday nights, and a beautiful Easter Sunday service at church, and family over for lunch on Sunday. For a full recap, click here!

Looking Back

While the weather sure teased us - ranging from mid-60s, then dropping down to 30s again and snowing - we still had a nice April. While it started out sad, we continue to feel so blessed to be surrounded by loving family and friends. We had our share of lazy evenings in which we sat around wishing the weather were nicer, but also a fair share of long walks (and runs), and time spent outside. We're constantly surprised by how much my adorable nieces and nephews have grown when we see them, and have a hard time believing that little Caleb is already 2!

Looking Ahead

We're very much looking forward to trading in our old 35+ year old Kelvinator for a little more modern look in our kitchen. We're also looking forward to hopefully creating a new look for our cabinets using a Rustoleum finish on the cabinets (and maybe the counter tops) sometime this year.

Within the next five weeks, we're looking forward to not just ONE, but TWO family weddings! Mark's brother AND sister are getting married, and both weddings will be in the area. It'll be a busy time for sure, but we're excited to see both of them so happy :)

We're also in the middle of Alaska planning, and we're just so very excited for that :)

Daniel and Iryna's Wedding (May 7)

With an engagement date of January 28, Daniel and Iryna meant business when they decided to get married on May 7!

Arrivals

Daniel arrived first early Monday morning after a red-eye flight in from Seattle. The next evening, Iryna and Sofie joined him, and the last-minute wedding plans got underway! Groomsman Dave arrived Thursday evening and the rest of the out of town guests made it Friday, just in time for the bachelor and bachelorette parties.

Prepping and Decorating

Daniel, Iryna, Sofie and I were busy on Thursday and Friday getting the church ready and decorated for the big day! We were able to meet up with Kent and Pam for lunch at Pizza Ranch on Friday in between all the decorating for a nice visit. It didn't take very long to get everything in place, and we made it back to Windom just in time to greet all the out of towner's and get the evening's plans in place.

Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties

With the out of town friends finally in town, the guys got together to decide what they wanted to do for the evening, and the girls did the same. The boys ended up heading down to Worthington for a little golfing followed by dinner at The Ground Round.





The ladies ended up relaxing a bit at the house in Windom before heading to find some nail designs for Sofie and heading over to a favorite local steakhouse: Bergen Bar & Grill for a huge smothered steak! Afterwards, it was back to the house for a little karaoke and doing our nails.

Wedding Day!

Hair Appointments

Iryna and I were up and out of the house by 8:30am on our way down to Worthington to get our hair done.


Jess and Pam showed up for their appointments shortly after we were finishing up, and Sofie got some pretty curls added in at the end too!

Rehearsal

The rehearsal was held just before the ceremony at 11am, after which we scurried back to our dressing areas to get ready for the ceremony at 1pm.

Getting Dressed

Ceremony

The ceremony started a little late, but was very nice, including two special performances from Iryna's Latvian friend, Sandra who has an incredible opera voice!

Pictures

Grand Sendoff

A Stop at the Lake

Reception

Signing the Marriage License

Here I am showing off my new hairdo :)

Best Man Speech

Mark was a little choked up after seeing the slideshow full of memories. I SO love this man :)

Congratulations, Dan and Iryna!

It was a day to remember, and we're thrilled to have Iryna and Sofie as new members of the Johnson family :)