Go Storm

Last Friday night was the Grand Island Public Schools night at the Storm Hockey game in Kearney.  We had fun at the game last year, so a bunch of us from school planned to go again.  We drove down with Troy and Ashley.  We were hoping there would be a few seats by us, and there were.

The Goosics, Eickhoffs, Dudos, Splatts, Boslaus, and Dubbs families were all there.  

The kids were dancing to the music and got their pictures up on the big screen.

Monroe and Landon had a great time together.  The whole drive home, Monroe kept saying, "Landon was my favorite part of the hockey game!"

Here's the whole gang!

Monroe was scared of Stormy the whole night.  On the way out, however, she willingly gave him a high five and took a picture with him.

We are dogless

We got Sawyer five years ago when we found out pregnancy wasn't going to come easily to us.  Before buying him, I was very vocal about never wanting to own a pet.  Then, one day, (after a year of trying with no baby) I walked into a pet store in Denver and held up a puppy.  I told Zach I wanted to buy him.  He tried to talk me out of it, but I was insistent that I needed something little and helpless to care for.  He agreed, and we became parents.

Having Sawyer was therapeutic for me during the next year and a half of infertility.  He gave me something to love, cuddle with, and focus on.  Then, our dream came true, and we became pregnant with Monroe.  

Fast forward 3 1/2 years:  Sawyer is the perfect pet.  He is a happy, healthy dog who loves people.  He and Monroe get along well.  He is so easy to have around.  The problem is that for the last couple years we've found him to be more of an inconvenience than a member of the family.  We started to think that he may get more love elsewhere.  

This is where our close friends Troy and Ashley come in.  They have loved Sawyer for a long time.  They watch him when we go out of town, love up on him when they're at our house, and Ashley has even borrowed him when Troy was out of town a few times.  

Troy and Ashley bought a house in January and started looking for a dog of their own.  They weren't finding what they wanted, so they called one day and asked if they could borrow Sawyer for awhile.  We weren't sure what they meant, but we took him to their house with food and treats.  A week later, they came and got more food.  A week after that they needed more.  Finally, Zach and Troy had a heart-to-heart.  Troy and Ashley decided they wanted to keep Sawyer.  

The transition was really easy because there were no good-byes.  We can see him anytime we want and can even walk to their house from ours.  We told them we would like to take Sawyer when they go out of town, so we will get to see him often.  Monroe has taken it well.  When I asked her if Sawyer could stay at Troy and Ashley's, she said yes.  The only time she has gotten upset was this weekend.  We had Sawyer overnight on Saturday.  When we took him back on Sunday, Monroe was not happy about it.

I think Sawyer has great new parents.  He is getting the attention he deserves.  We knew we had done the right thing for Sawyer when we found out the Troy leaves music on for him during the day so that he doesn't feel lonely.  

I am thankful for the companionship that Sawyer gave us for five years, but I am also glad he has found a new family to love him.

Kansas City Trip

Last year, a few girls from school planned a last minute trip to Kansas City over Spring Break.  We had a great time, so we decided to do it again this year.  We invited all of our friends, but it ended up being the same four girls who went last year.  

Throwback to last year's trip :)

We left Grand Island around 1:00 and drove to KC.  When we got there, we fancied up and took a taxi downtown to the Power and Lights District.  

We ate first at a restaurant close by. The Big 12 championship was in town and right across the street, so there were people (especially men) everywhere.

We started at the Country Western bar.  Last year, we loved the Dueling Pianos so much that we pretty much stayed there.  This year, we wanted to try different places.

We did go to the dueling pianos eventually.

They have two mirrors behind the pianos.  If you pay a certain amount, your message goes up there.  We paid $13 to say, "You're all lucky Nebraska left the Big 12.  Go Big Red!"  We got the reaction we were looking for, and someone paid to replace it with a new message quickly after that.

 The next day we drove to an outlet mall and shopped all day.  As we were leaving, we were all talking about how tired we were.  We decided we maybe weren't up for another night downtown, so we decided to go out to eat at a unique restaurant.  I had been to the Melting Pot once in the Plaza, so we called and made a reservation.

 The Melting Pot is a fondue place.  You have a cheese course, a meat course, and a dessert course.

Cheese course:  We chose beer cheddar and spinach artichoke as our two cheeses.  We had chips, breads, raw vegetables, and apples to dip in the cheeses.

 Meat course:  You choose three different meats.  They come to the table raw, and you cook them in a pot of boiling broth.  They cooked very quickly and were delicious.

Dessert course:  Peanut butter chocolate and caramel milk chocolate were our chocolate choices.  We were given marshmallows, rice krispie treats, pound cake, brownies, cheesecake, bananas, and strawberries to dip in the chocolate.  It goes without saying, that this was my favorite part!

Our reservation was at 8:45, and we didn't leave the restaurant until almost 11:30.  It was a good thing we didn't have other plans that evening.

The next day we packed up and headed to a different outdoor mall on our way out of town.  We ate there, shopped a little, and then hit the road.  On my way home, Zach sent me this picture.  I was definitely ready to be home with my family.

Our second annual Kansas City trip was a huge success!  I'm already looking forward to next year.

Weekend in North Platte

Zach and I were on spring break from school this week.  We like to spend part of our break at my parents' house since we have the time to do it.  It's nice to have them all to ourselves.  We drove to North Platte on Saturday morning.  That afternoon, Monroe would not fall asleep, so Grandpa laid with her.  They fell asleep together.

While Monroe napped, my mom and I went antiquing.  We went to two shops that we had been to before, but we wanted to go somewhere new.  We got directions to a store out in the sandhills southeast of town.  When we got there, we were fascinated by their set up.  The antiques are in 16 restored silos.  You walk on the boardwalk to get to each, and they are all filled with different antiques.  It was a fun experience.

 Fun with bubble wrap

That night we went to see the high school production of Wizard of Oz.  It didn't start until 7:30, so it was a late night for Monroe.  It was a great show!  

The weather was beautiful the next day.  We played outside a lot.

Then, we went for a walk.  My parents live a mile from the interstate.  We walked there and waved at the semis as they passed underneath us.  Monroe loved when they honked back.  

Monroe loved Grandma's wooden puzzles.  They were perfect for her age.  One time, we dumped them all to see if she could match the right pieces to each puzzle.

 That night Grandma and Monroe made cookies.

My mom and I went shopping the next morning, and then we headed back to GI after lunch.  We had a great time with my parents.

Monroe's weekend away

My sister-in-law, Megan, called a couple weeks ago and asked if she and Josh could take Monroe for a weekend in March.  Their girls, Kaiya and Samara, are 4 and 2, so Monroe fits right in the middle.  Their family was excited to have her, and we were excited to be kidless for a couple of days.  

We met Josh and Megan in York on Friday night and dropped Monroe off.  (They live in Lincoln.) We then went out to eat at Chances R for Zach's birthday.  The food was delicious!  We ended with creme brule.

For my birthday last year Zach got me a gift card to get boots at the western store in town.  I tried on boots then, but it was really hard to decide what I wanted.  Then, I never got back there to buy a pair.  When Derek and Lea Ann asked me to be in their wedding, I found out that the girls are wearing cowboy boots.  This was the push I needed to go buy my first boots.  

On Saturday night, we helped Zach's dad cater an event in Hastings.  It is the only event we do with him every year.  It was the fundraiser for the lutheran schools in town.  Their decorations are always amazing.  I had to take a picture of the tables, because I thought they looked so cool.  I love the vases, wood, and burlap table runner.  

On Sunday, we enjoyed church, lunch, and working out without Monroe.  Then, we drove back to York to get her.  It was a relaxing weekend, but we definitely missed our girl.