"I Do"

Ten years ago I married the most wonderful man in the world. He has been my constant companion, my best friend, an incredible father, and my faithful supporter. Nate, I love you more today than any other day, and tomorrow I will love you more! Thank you for the amazing journey - I look forward to many more years to come!

Enjoy the following pictures...

July 17, 1999

July 17, 1999

On our honeymoon near the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior - not quite your carribbean getaway, but perfect, nonetheless.

A random picture from our first year of marriage - how young we look!

Happy Anniversary Honey - I love you!!!

This and That...

A quick update...

The last month has been crazy busy as we've been traveling all over Wisconsin and back to St. Louis again. Here are some shots of what we've been doing...

We went back to Wisconsin on June 26th to surprise Nate's dad, Marty, for his 60th bday. We got him - he had no idea we were coming and was thrilled to see us. We surprised him again the next day when his other son, Aaron, and his wife, Katie came to visit as well. We had a great time with the whole immediate Van Zeeland family together! Happy Birthday Marty - we love you!

Here are the girls giving him some of his homemade birthday gifts.

Nate was only able to stay for that weekend, but the girls and I have been there for the month of July. We were able to spend some time up north at the cabins - beautiful!

Alex playing on the beach.

Campfire on the beach - waiting for the fireworks to start.

Me and Maddie tubing!

Alex and Auntie Dana tubing!

Maddie showing off her fish - notice there is one in each hand. :)

We were also able to go to one of my childhood stomping grounds - Bay Beach, a permanent "carnival" located in Green Bay. The park has been around for decades and truly it hasn't changed a bit since I was seven years old. Tickets are 25 cents a piece - it really doesn't get cheaper than that! The girls loved it!

The girls on the swings at Bay Beach. Yes, that is Maddie about 30 ft. in the air!

With their cousin Beth - she is the oldest grandchild on my side while Maddie is the youngest.

I came back to St. Louis to spend a little alone time with the hubby and get organized for the upcoming move.

I'll be back in Wisconsin in a few days - I miss my girls.

I'm moving some of our belongings into our new house at the end of the month. We are all very excited to make Neenah our home and the next 6 months can't go fast enough!

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer! I'll be in touch!

Intricate Design

One of my favorite parts of being a mom to 2 girls...

I guess playing with Barbies when I was a child was useful after all.  

Or maybe it was the hours my team mates and I spent braiding each other's hair before a big volleyball game in middle school and high school.  

The fun crazy hair the next morning!

Ironically, fixing their hair is also one of my least favorite things about being a mom to 2 girls. Maddie loves it - Alex hates it (which is why I always try to convince her to keep it short).  Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's not.  Oh well...

Iphone Pics

Here are some pictures I found while downloading information from my iphone today.

 Do you think someone likes herself?

I have about a gazillion of these face shots, as well as her shoes, knees, the floor, the back of my head, her stuffed animals, etc.  

Perhaps I have a future photographer or model on my hands...?  I have to say that I LOVE the first shot - the girl's got some talent!

What's the craziest photo you've found hidden on your phone or camera?

Southern Comfort

So the girls and I are driving down to Nashville today to visit good friends.  

Ironically, it was a year ago today - June 9th - that I left Nashville and drove to St. Louis to begin our new chapter here.  I hate thinking about that drive - the emptiness I felt as  I drove away, the anger at having to leave, the anxiety of beginning anew,  the fear that Nate's old '98 cavalier would break down in the middle of Kentucky... I can vividly remember crossing the Mississippi, seeing the arch and bursting into tears!  I remember listening to Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go" over and over.  I knew we were making the right move and that we would be OK.  I never doubted for a second that God was in control - but, it was still hard.  By the time I made it to our "new house" (which was and is an ugly old rental that I can't stand!) I was emotionally numb...

Ahh....but, I digress...

So, today, my feelings are much different.  I'm very excited to be visiting with wonderful friends again!  I'm really looking forward to catching up with everyone and just hanging out.  Nate and I have purposefully NOT made great friends here in St. Louis because our time is so short.  We have friends, but not the kind that know the real you.  I'm excited to let down my guard and relive some memories with some of the best friends in the world.

Here are a couple of other things I'm looking forward to...

- sweet tea (the real kind, with real sugar!  Mmmm Mmmm....)

- pool time - my kids are at an age where being at the pool is now enjoyable and I can't wait to do it in the company of these women.

- girl time - the silly, laughing, crying sort of time you do with people you love you.

- Warner Park - can't wait to take a run through my old stomping ground.

- my old neighborhood - it has changed so much in a year; but still houses some of the best neighbors known to man. :)

- Crosspoint Community Church - arguably the best church on the planet!

- Getting my hair done by one spectacular stylist!

And, or course, here is the ONE thing that I'm NOT looking forward to...

- the blasted, accursed, Nashville heat and humidity!!!

Time to pull out that southern drawl...

I'll see y'all real soon!

It's official!

I can't contain my excitement to create a coherent post about our new home.  

So, I'll just leave you with some pictures...

Now we just have to wait 7 more months before we move in...

...it will go quickly right?

Do NOT mix...

Quick!  Name two things that do not mix!

Oil and water...

Fire and gas...

Liberals and common sense (oh, you know I had to throw that one in!!)...

Or, in my house...

...the most idiotic contraption ever invented and...

...me (with Maddie playing around on Photo Booth)!!

I despise ironing.  Hate is not even a strong enough word to convey my dislike of ironing. Seriously, I can count on two fingers the number of times that I have ironed this year (for those of you not so good in math, that would be twice).  I would rather do any other household chore than have to iron - scrub toilets, clean up vomit, wash the floor - you name it - I'd choose it before I chose to iron.

I hate it so much that I will often not wear something for months at a time just because it needs to be ironed.  For example, the tan pair of pants in the picture below - I like them a lot - they are comfy, lightweight, and the right length.  However, I haven't worn them since last May after they came out of the dryer - clean and wrinkled.  No desire to iron them.  Most of the time I don't even buy articles that have to be ironed because I know they will just sit in my closet - wrinkled.  

I usually wait until we visit my mom or Nate's mom (Barbie) and then have them iron it (as pathetic as this sounds they claim that they don't mind and I suspect get a kick out of the fact that I am so helpless in this area).  We are actually visiting this weekend, but I knew I wouldn't have time for Barb to iron for me before Friday morning.  Which leads me to my efforts this morning...

I had to iron my white pair of pants so I figured I may as well do the tan pair as well (a year later).  It took over an hour - for two pairs of non pleated straight leg pants.  Perhaps that is why I hate it so much - I am horrible at it!  

The before...

The after...

The white ones turned out all right, but the tan ones look like someone tried to iron them, but really didn't know what she was doing (which is exactly what happened).  I think I'll pack them with me and have Barb do them over the weekend. :)

Honestly, I think ironing, in general, is all a racket.  The minute you put the ironed article on and move around it gets wrinkled again - so really, what is the point unless you plan on standing still for the whole day?  

No, I don't iron Nate's clothes - that was part of the marriage agreement.  For those of you who pity him, let me just add that he was under no false pretenses that I would one day iron for him.  He had my word and so far, much to his chagrin, I've been able to keep it. :)  I do harbor a small fantasy that maybe one day I will like to iron when I have my "state of the art laundry room with top of the line appliances complete with a folding and ironing area".  However, I suspect that Barb will actually get more use out of that "ironing area" than me one day! :)

So, what job do you despise?