Tuesday, June 24, 2008

4 years and a Baby Shower

The date is one of our romantic anniversaries - June 24th. Four years ago today, I invited Katie to a Brewers' game with some church friends for an outing that I was sure to clarify was not a date. So looking ahead to June 24th on the calendar, I was excited to see that Katie had a baby shower with the women from work. That meant I could pick her up from the shower and take her on a walking date around the old neighborhood where we took so many walks during the summer of 2004.

Regarding the shower - it still amazes me the generosity of our friends. It's been such a help to get the supplies we need for having this boy!









My favorite outfit was the Wisconsin onesie and matching booties! Thanks Linda!!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Gone Fishin'

I just got back from the Robertson Men's Fishing trip in Canada. In the works since last November, I'd been waiting for this trip with eager anticipation. I'm certainly not an experienced fisherman, but any chance to be out in the wilderness on a trip like this is an opportunity for me to cherish.

The final total was 14 men on the trip - 5 uncles and 9 cousins. We had four vehicles meet up in Eau Claire and then Duluth before crossing the border to Canada at Baudett. After gearing up a few last minute supplies, we made our way to the outfitter and were able to check out the 2 houseboats that we rented. We had five small 25-horse boats for our daily fishing. The set-up couldn't have been better.




We ate like kings, thanks to Uncle Tom. How does this menu sound... pork chops, marinated chicken sandwiches, ribs, and steak. That was just dinner. Breakfast was as usual... Wranglers and Lumber Jack - eggs, bacon, pancakes. Life was good. And of course mid-day we had shore lunch, sandwiches filled with the walleye we caught in the morning.

I struggled with walleye fishing. The bites were smaller and I had a hard time with the feel of it. Now fishing for northerns is a whole different thing. That was a blast b/c the bites were rock solid - there wasn't much of a fight for the fish, but reeling in 8-12 a day was a lot of fun.






The fishing trip to Canada was a great time to spend with family, working and playing together. Everyone chipped in and we laughed a lot. What more can you ask for from a group of men?


















And as I was coming home, it begged the question --- what next?