The right way to start off the work week...

Last night we were lucky enough to get our friends Bruce and Kristina out for dinner. They recently celebrated the birth of their second baby... Leila. She is so sweet and snugly, I'm sure it was hard to leave her at home with Grandma while we feasted on sushi at our new favorite restaurant!!

We found that on Mondays and Tuesdays Osaka in Apple Valley has 1/2 price sushi. Their food is amazing and this was such a fun way to start our the work week!! Plus, if it is your birthday they will sing you their version of "Happy Birthday" including lights and drums!! Bruce and Kristina are both pretty pumped to travel to Cumberland next August... Bruce is Best Man in our wedding and we can't wait to show them the sights :)

A family that plays together, stays together

So not only was this past weekend spent opening presents, singing Christmas carols, and eating endless amounts of cookies, it was also filled with a little something I would like to call... family fun.

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a couple of games of Casino Yatzee and a flashback to our younger years by putting together a Disney puzzle... but in this time under 30 minutes.

Even Alli's dog, Duke, enjoyed having the entire family around!!

The family around the completed puzzle. Classic shot!!

Meanwhile, we watched White Christmas that was showing on AMC on repeat all of Christmas Eve... what a classic!!!

On Saturday we headed to Turtle Lake for a little family competition.

Bowling!!!

Sisters!!!

John going in for the strike...

Like they say... a family that plays together, stays together...

Christmas 2009

Due to the blizzard of '09 we decided to head back to Wisconsin a little early to celebrate x-mas with my family. Typically I don't get too stressed out about buying gifts for others... it is actually something I really enjoy doing. The next best thing is when you capture the reaction on film... here are a few pictures showing the "typical" Olson/Pherson Christmas.

Kevin's only wish this Christmas was to get a pop-up ice fishing house. Thanks Ardisam for making his dream come true!!

And Mom opened a new TV for the kitchen!!

And Alli is excited to take guitar lessons... R to the E to the T... okay, I know it is inappropriate but I am still laughing and it is like 5 days after the fact. Sorry Al.

Brother opened a GPS for his car... now he can yell at the lady like I do when she tells you to take some ridiculous side road that takes longer than the highway.

This is how we celebrate!! Mimosas!!

Merry Christmas!! We hope you all had as much fun over the holidays as we did!!

Uncle

This past weekend was a little bittersweet. It was great having the family in town visiting but sadly Uncle couldn't partake in the fun... he was in the hospital having surgery :( But, it sounds like everything went very well and "c" word is no longer in his body.

Kinda scary how alike they look...

While Uncle laid in his hospital bed recovering, my aunt, cousin, mom, sister, brother, Kevin and myself enjoyed a few beers and a little holiday shopping. Hey, hey... Uncle said he didn't want us there staring at him all day. So instead we decided to go Macys and burn a little hard earned cash. We then hit up Byerly's flower department and showered Uncle with a Christmas cactus, crosswords, and candy treats.

"Cousins don't shake hands!! Cousins gotta' hug!!"

Auntie and Jeff stayed at our place in Burnsville and we were so happy to have the company!! It gave me an excuse to make lots of cookies and banana bread and not see it go to waste. Thanks Uncle for giving us a reason to get together and we are so happy that you are feeling better!! Can't wait to see you at Christmas!!!

Good Luck Santa

With these two guarding the presents... Santa better watch it!

They'll lick and sniff him to death!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

Finally we are getting in the holiday spirit!!

The Christmas cards are all mailed out, the stockings are hung, and most of the presents are wrapped. Tonight we spent a little time cleaning up the house and doing a little baking. I even attempted a couple of recipes from my Grandma's old cookbook.

Everyone did their part...

Kevin helped hang a couple pictures and vacuum up the dog hair.

I baked...

I really should have read the recipe better though... a person just doesn't need 11 dozen peanut butter kisses :)

I learned the paper bag trick from Kels... the true domestic goddess.

And we all hope this is caramel in the morning :)

And Boomer and Willy cleaned the crumbs off the kitchen floor. Okay, okay, they may have licked a spoon or two clean. Come on... a little peanut butter never hurt any dog...

All in the all it is finally starting to feel like Christmas!! We are really looking forward to spending the holidays with our family and friends!!

Eye Doctor

Um... did you realize that when you go to the eye doctor they put drops in your eyes that dilate your pupils? I didn't. It really screws with your vision... I know from experience. You may want to read this before your next visit to the optometrist. http://vision.about.com/od/eyeexaminations/f/dilation.htm

Personally, I am going on 10 hours and counting... and I thought the dentist was bad.

A weekend of celebrating...

Kevin and I have not been able to spend too many weekends in the Cities. Fortunately, this weekend we did!! We spent Friday night making cookies and drinking beer with Nick (our neighbor), Sarah and Grayson. A very relaxing and stress-free evening. It was fun to catch up with everybody!! We are trying to plan our New Year's Eve evening... any ideas would be appreciated!!

On Saturday night Kevin and I met up with my old college posse!! After a century of dating Angie and Eric are FINALLY getting married in Mexico over New Years!! We had so much fun celebrating with them on Saturday... we may be a little older but we all still know how to party!

We spent most of Sunday afternoon with Kevin's family... his niece Lilly was baptized and Kevin is the Godfather. Being that she is 1 1/2 years old... she may not have understood exactly what was going on but she sure knew that she does NOT like having water put on her head!! Once again, we'll let the pictures do the talking...

She was a little trooper though!! I learned the secret to getting her to look at the camera was to sing the Winnie the Pooh song. I don't think any appreciated the singing except for Lilly :)

Family...

Parents and Sponsors...

Thanks Kim!!

As you can probably tell from the changes in our blog... we got our engagement pictures back!! I have been anxiously awaiting the email from Kim letting me know the editing is done!! We appreciate the referral from Graham and Kellsey and so look forward to Kim capturing our wedding day. She made us feel so comfortable and her creative eye is amazing!!

Wish Bone

So whose wish comes true when your wish bone breaks into three pieces?

I think that both of our wishes have come true this year :)

Get A ROOM!

And that's the way they stayed for about 30 minutes. Pathetic isn't it?

Thanksgiving '09

So this year for Thanksgiving Kevin and I were going to spend the day feasting at his grandma's house. And then I got sick. Like really sick. Like I've went through 3 boxes of Puff's sick. Not wanting to share this disease with anyone else I have put myself on lockdown. Basically, I haven't left the house in 4 days (except when I tried to go to work, which only lasted a few hours before I was back on the couch).

I think this may have been a test to see how Kevin and I handle the pressure of a holiday all by ourselves. In my opinion, we did really well. Actually, all the credit should go to Kevin... he made the turkey.

Following Ina Garten's recipe...

Dinner time!! I actually managed to get my butt off the couch, take a shower, and put on real clothes. That lasted about 20 minutes and the "comfies" went back on.

HEY! It's Thanksgiving!! Stretch pants welcome.

He looks full, doesn't he?

Following dinner I beat Kevin's butt at a few games of Sequence and then we curled up and watched "The Ugly Truth." Given the circumstances I think we passed the 'holiday' test!

Happy Holidays!! :)

The Big 5-0!!

This is a little late... but better than never...

Happy Birthday to a lady that doesn't look a day over 30!!! Love you Mom!!

Cone

So here is what Kevin and I have been living with for the last week...

Willy has been licking this spot on his front paw until it became infected. The vet said most dogs get over the cone within 24 hours... we are still waiting for Willy to get over it and almost a week has passed. It is pretty sad (slash a little entertaining) to watch him with it on. He has a hard time figuring out how to chew on bones, he runs into doorways and has chipped the paint off the walls, and he can't enjoy his usual snacks. Poor guy!!! Only one more week to go and it is back to normal.

Registration Day!!!

Well, that is what Kevin likes to call it anyway. We actually took a little time on Saturday night to register at Macys... or Mecca, as I like to call it. I must say, for any of you soon-to-be-brides, I highly suggest registering at Macys. They have everything you could possibly ever need, their process is second to none, and they offer reward, after reward, after reward. We had a lot of fun putting together our china, linens, bedding... even Kevin got into it. It seems like a selfish act, picking out gifts that people should buy for you, but I guess if you are going to buy something you might as well buy something we like, huh? :)

After registering we celebrated checking another thing off our list by having a couple of drinks at Chianti Grill in Burnsville. This is one of our favorite places to eat... and drink. They have amazing bloody mary's and a relaxing atmosphere. 9 times out of 10 it is where we end up on our date nights!

Cheers!!

Details, Details

Our cake topper is ordered!! Even the details are starting to come together. With a lot of the big decisions made it is now time to put our personal touches on everything. I have turned my attention to etsy and craigslist for help. We appreciate any suggestions you may have!!

Sneak Peak!!

Our wedding photographer, Kim Williams, posted a little sneak peak of our engagement session!! Check out the link below!! We had such a fun time taking these pictures... at first it is a little awkward having someone take pictures of you while you make out but I think we did better as the day went on. We can't wait to see the rest!!

http://kimberlywilliamsphotography.blogspot.com/2009/10/kevin-cassie-engaged.html

Weekend Countdown

This girl is coming into town this weekend!! Sarah and I are ready to show her a good time... Minnesota style!!

We are planning on Uptown Friday night but are open for suggestions for Saturday. Any ideas?

Apology Accepted??

Sorry to our blog followers... we have shamelessly been neglecting our blog. Not because of being busy, or being "too cool" to blog, or forgetfullness... mainly because the internet connection in our home decided to stop working. That has pretty much put a damper on uploading pictures and keeping everyone posted. The plan is to get it up and working again this afternoon, with many posts to follow!

October Snowfall

October 12th, 2009 was the earliest snowfall we can ever remember!!! The only other time we can remember snow in October was that lovely year when we received about 20 feet of snow on Halloween. I will always remember stomping through Augustana church parking lot in Cumberland wearing my snowsuit and boots over my nurse costume.

Thought we should share a few pics from Monday's snowy mess... Happy Holidays!! :)

Willy doggers making yellow snow!!

Engagement Forecast

Today doesn't feel like fall in Minnesota but the weekend seems to be shaping up okay. Our engagement session is set for this coming Sunday... forecast is sunny and 60. I guess we'll see...

Arnal Wedding Weekend!!

So... I spent the weekend watching one of my best friends marry the love of her life. This was such an amazing time and I am so, so, SO happy I was able to be part of the entire process. I have to say that my favorite time of the weekend was the hour or so prior to leaving for the ceremony. We helped Abby into her dress, watched her add the final touches, sip a little champagne, and chat about the upcoming evening.

Abby was as cool as 'cuke (minus a little mistake with the flowers) and she made the most beautiful bride!

The ceremony was held on a boat on the St. Croix river, where guests enjoyed the sun, a spectacular view, cocktails, and appetizers. After a little cruise down the river the wedding party headed to a park for pictures. From there on the rest of the night was a blur. Music, dancing, toasts to the bride and groom, food and wine made up the night... I'll let the pictures do the talking...

The wedding party... looking good!!!

My mom, John and Abby!!

Dollar dance... Kevin and Abby

The Girls!!

The happy couple!!!

Congratulations Abby and Ben!!! We love you so much and are so happy for your new life together. Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to spend the weekend with you!!!

We couldn't be happier for you both!!!