Author: Andrea

    The Good Times and the Sad Times

    After our anniversary trip to The Creamery, Jesse and I stopped in Eau Claire for the 25-year Navigator reunion. The Navs are very important to Jesse and I as it is the Christian organization where we met one another as well as many of our dear college friends.

    At the reunion we had the opportunity to connect with many of those friends. Three of Jesse’s former roommates were in attendance and four of Andrea’s. It was great to gather and remember all the great times we had when we were all college students (including dinner at Mancino’s).

    This week, though, we are having to say good-bye to Ross & Megan. We have lived together in the Twin Cities for the past four years. Megan and I went through finding jobs together. Ross and Jesse introduced a friend to Christ together, and we have all watched many episodes of Survivor together. We will be at a loss without these amazing friends close but are excited for the next leg of their own journey.

      The Creamery

      This past weekend Jesse and I had a blast at The Creamery in Menomonie, WI. We have not had great experiences at bed and breakfasts (if you know a good one, let us know) but still like a place to be homey. The Creamery Inn personally welcomed us with a tour. The rooms were large with a large bathroom of tile (Mom, can you imagine how expensive that would be???). But the best part was a screened in patio area. Both mornings and evenings we stayed at the inn, we sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather as well as one another’s company.

      The other fun part was The Creamery’s proximity to the Red Cedar Trail. We were proud of ourselves in that we completed the entire trail in both directions. We began the morning biking 7 miles into Menomonie for lunch and shopping. Then we biked back and did the next 7 miles to the Chippewa River for some swimming.  We biked a total of about 30 miles.

      Acoustic Cafe!

        Life in the City…

        We really enjoy living close to Minneapolis and St. Paul (about a 30 minute drive). For our anniversary we drove to Minneapolis with our bikes. We completed the part of the Grand Rounds route entitled The Chain of Lakes byway. We stopped off at Punch Pizza (they bake pizza the way they do in Nepal). It was very fun and we felt very urban. Plus we were practicing for the Red Cedar Trail in Wisconsin, which we are headed to right now!

          Four years later…

          Today (and this weekend) Jesse and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary. We often talk about our marriage as a journey thus our blog name. This week someone found out about our anniversary and asked, “So, how is marriage?” What a question…with so many answers.

          I simply wanted to take the opportunity to let others know it is not an easy journey, but marriage is worth the commitment and  blessings as well as the sacrifices when you find the right person to journey with. I love you, Jesse!

          Just for fun, here’s a wedding picture of how happy we are at the start of this journey and one testifying to how great it is four years later…

          July 22, 2006
          July 2010

            Home

            No matter how long I live in Minnesota, I still talk about going home when we travel to Neenah, WI. This past weekend we visited my family in my home town. Our first stop was Scott & Melissa Matson’s new house in Neenah. They moved back after being in Florida for 3 years. We are so excited to have them closer to home.

            On Saturday we visited Eric & Alaina’s garden plot. I was very jealous of the huge space they have to grow vegetables, but, alas, I live in the suburbs.

            Eric and Turnips

            Today is Eric’s birthday (happy birthday, brother), but we were able to celebrate last week at our family’s favorite restaurant. My dad claims we were celebrating the rest of the birthdays for the year (lucky for him and my mom who got their own celebrations in January and May while all of us kids have birthdays in the second half of the year). Hopefully, he won’t stick to it.

            Texas Roadhouse

            Sadly, we never have time to visit all of our favorite places and people when we are in town, but that is why we will visit again soon!

              I lived…

              As many of you know, I had dental surgery on Tuesday, July 13. I have had surgery one time before when I had my impacted wisdom teeth removed. Thankfully, this time the surgery went much better.

              I had a receding gum line on my lower front teeth, so the dentist took skin from the roof of my mouth and grafted it to my lower gum. The procedure requires two stitches and two graft packs (one on my lower gums and one in the roof of my mouth).

              My mom was able to come over to Eagan to help Jesse take care of me. She drove me around, made all of my soft foods (yummy mashed potatoes) and made sure I was following the dentist’s orders. My mouth is still sore, but I am no longer needing the heavy pain medication.

              Still not sure when I can start eating normally again…sigh…good-bye corn-on-the-cob.

                2,332 Miles…At Least

                This past weekend we did something that we haven’t done very often. We visited a place neither of us has been to. Growing up, my family did a lot of traveling, so Jesse always teases me about all the places I have already been. Well, I had never been to Philadelphia, PA.

                Jesse’s cousin, Ty, married Emily (now his cousin-in-law) on Sunday, July 4th. On Thursday evening we drove to Chicago to meet Larry & Cyndee (Jesse’s parents). On Friday we drove 13 hours to Willow Grove, PA. Saturday  morning we saw the sights of Philadelphia including the Liberty Bell, Liberty Hall (where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both signed), the LOVE statue, and the Reading Terminal for a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. The rehearsal dinner thrown by Jesse’s aunt Connie (Cyndee’s sister) and uncle Greg was Saturday night. Sunday was the wedding as well as a stop for some famous water ice. We drove back to Chicago on Monday and back to Eagan on Tueaday. Are you tired yet? We were! Jesse’s mom said her motto was, “Sleep when you get home!”

                I think I’m going to go take a nap…

                  Summer At-A-Glance

                  For Jesse and I, summer is the time for adventure. Without my full-time teaching job, Jesse uses many of his vacation days, and we hit the road. Here is a preview of our summer to come:

                  1. Superior Hiking Trail

                  2. Philedelphia, PA

                  3. Neenah, WI

                  4. Up North in Phelps, WI

                  5. Menomonie, WI

                  6. Camping (Interstate and Lake Wissota State Parks)

                  7. Mexico!

                  Stay tuned…

                    Woman vs Nature: The War is On

                    This year has been a beautiful spring/summer in Minnesota. There was only a threat of frost once, and the soil has quickly warmed to growing temperatures. Therefore, all of my vegetables have been growing at a rapid rate. On Monday night, I had a growing green bean plot with 12 plants. Tuesday morning I walked outside to find this:

                    So frustrating!
                    So sad!

                    This year I finally grew wise and took care of the problem. Bunnies and deer, when you enter my yard looking for a midnight snack, this is what you will see:

                    And this is what you will smell:

                    The war is on!

                    Now, hopefully, my green bean plants will grow again. Sigh.

                      Missing In Action

                      You may have been wondering where I have been for the last week. After the whirlwind trip to Indiana, this is what I looked like…

                      After the whirlwind last day of school, this is what I look like…

                      My co-workers and I were discussing how strange it is to be a teacher. The months of May and June are crazy. Suddenly, after the last day of school, you have nothing to do. It’s almost like a loss. Then I remember all the things I put off doing for the last 9 months and get started on my summer wish list…and I always have time to sit down and look through the information for next’s year’s students and dream of the year ahead.