Donating Blood

I've never ever donated blood before but I decided it was time to do it to help others. Also, here at Mayo, if you or your spouse is employed by Mayo and you donate blood, you won't be charged for blood if you or your immediate family ever need it. So, I decided to donate blood yesterday. I was nervous at first because I wasn't sure if they could get enough out of me...my veins are small so sometimes I have a hard time filling up a small test tube. Luckily, we didn't have a problem and it really wasn't that bad. Plus, they said you can save 3 people by donating once. It feels good to know that I have helped 3 people and possibly save their lives. Anyway, maybe I will donate again sometime in the future.

**Christmas**

It was so nice to be able to sleep in..granted, we went to bed pretty early so we were still up by 8:30am...but, in general, it was nice to not have to rush off to work. We actually got to eat breakfast together too. Andy woke up and cooked hashbrown and scrambled eggs for me. It was one of the BEST breakfasts ever. :) Then, we opened up gifts. I got Andy and new ergonomic wireless keyboard and he bought me a Greg Olson painting of Christ. The painting is so beautiful and is perfect! Afterwards, we just started working on our many projects that we have. We really haven't had time to do them so we've fallen behind. Hopefully, with another 3 day weekend coming up, we can get some more things done. Later that day, we went and explored the southern part of Rochester. It was a lot of fun. :) I'll be sure to post some pics later.

Christmas Card

So, I decided to put our Christmas card up on our blog because I know I wasn't able to send or email one out to everyone. If anyone would like an actual card or email next year, please let me know what your address and email are. :)

First Anniversary!

Wow, I can't believe I've been married for a year! Time sure does fly. Since our anniversary fell on a Wednesday, we weren't able to do too much, but we still had a lot of fun! Andy took the night off from his Bishopric Meeting and I took the night off from scouts. We went to eat dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Jepanchi..it's a tepanyaki place where they cook in front of you...it was a lot of fun! Then, we went and watched the new James Bond movie-Casino Royale. It was actually pretty good.

Anyway, it was nice to be able to have a free night during the week were we could spend time together. We are also planning on staying up in the city one night...we love exploring so I'm looking forward to that. :)

**Camping in November**

So, since the weather during Thanksgiving was really nice, we had decided to follow through with our camping plans. Friday night, we went camping at Whitewater State Park with Craig and Jaclyn Whetten. We had a lot of fun! Plus, we got to eat tin foil dinners..YUMMY! Unfortunately, we were all really tired from our Black Friday adventure and it was really dark, so we went to bed pretty early. Anyway, that night it got really cold. So cold that I don't think any of us slept really well. The next morning, there was frost on EVERYTHING! Luckily, we still had some wood left to start a fire.

Another GREAT Book

Eve's Daughters by Lynn N. Austin is another book I HIGHLY recommend! It's a story about four generations of women and the effects their choices have had on their lives. The four generations of women include the great grandma, grandma, mother, and daughter. It definitely made me look at how my own parent's choices have influenced my own life. It's definitely a MUST READ book. If you do choose to read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Pictures from Black Friday

Black Friday - Round 2

So, this year Andy and I participated in Black Friday for the 2nd time. However, this time Andy did most of the hard work. I dropped him off at Best Buy around 11 pm and joined him at 4:30 am...just before they opened. My poor husband waited out in the cold for 6 hours..Luckily, our friends Chris and Craig wanted to join in on the fun and met Andy at Best Buy around midnight. Also, the weather wasn't too cold...so they were okay.

The line in front of the store was REALLY long, but luckily, Andy was there early enough to get the big items he wanted...they handed out tickets for the big items. Anyway, as it got closer to 5 am, a new crowd started forming near the doors and everyone literally yelled at them to 'get in line.' Which is understandable..it wouldn't be fair for them to cut in when people have been waiting all night. Finally the doors open and the madness begins. Everyone rushes to the different areas to grab their items before they're gone. Andy and I and our 2 friends were successful in getting everything we wanted....we had some friends in Provo who had waited in line since 5 pm the day before and they still weren't able to get what they wanted...I felt like we were very lucky. I also think participating in Black Friday is a lot of fun! They definitely have good deals. Who knows, maybe it will become a tradition. :) Luckily, the employee parking ramps at work were open to everyone so we caught a quick nap at home before coming in to work... :)

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'll post pics up later.

Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving was such a GREAT day! Andy and I just stayed at home and did absolutely nothing....well, I made luo mai fahn and Turkey....other than that, we just relaxed at home. It was awesome! The turkey turned out pretty well...I was pretty proud of myself.

Around 6 ish, we had friends over for a light dinner, had a ballroom dance party, and played sequence. Fun Times! I only wish we could have had family around...I'm looking forward to seeing eveyone when my parents come back from their mission. :)

Winter Is Here!

It's official! Winter has finally hit Rochester MN. For the last few days, we have had beautiful sunny weather. It was warm and nice to not feel cold when you were outside. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. The beautiful days are gone! When Andy and I woke up this morning, I looked out the window and saw SNOW! There is probably about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground and it's still coming down...in fact, I think it's suppose to snow ALL DAY! I'm just glad that we get to take the bus to work...less driving for us. :)

Busy Busy Busy!!

So, since Andy started school, we have been VERY busy! Granted, Andy is definitely busier, but here is a basic idea of what our life is like...

Sunday:
Andy goes to church at 7:30 am for Bishopric Meetings. A friend picks me up to go to church around 11 and we finish at 2:30. However, we usually don't get to leave church until 3. If Andy has to stay to help with tithing, a catch a ride home or take the car and he won't be home till 4 or 5. Anyway, when we get home, I start preparing dinner around 4:30 so we can eat around 6.

Monday - Friday:
We both work 8-5..but we have to catch the bus at 7:40 am so we're leaving the house by 7:25. Then we catch the 5:10 bus and get home around 5:30. I prepare dinner and we eat around 7 pm. Afterwards, we read Preach my Gospel then we start doing our own stuff...Andy usually working on the computer or homework or his church calling. Andy his currently trying to setup Linux on Dad's old computer and turn it into a TIVO so we can record shows. I have decided to scan all my pictures so we can have a digital copy of them...let's just say that it will take a while to do...it took me over an hour to scan about 80 pics and that's only a third of a stack..so we'll see how it goes.

Saturday:
Andy is in class from 9am - 3:30 pm and I am usually running errands, doing grocery shopping, or cleaning house.

Additional activities during the week are as follows:

Tuesday:
Andy tries to play basketball from 8:30-10 pm. But if he is working on his computer, he may or may not make it.

The first Tuesday of the month is Recipe group for me from 7 - 8:30ish pm...it's a ton of fun and I love getting new receipes!

Wednesday:
I have Cub Scouts from 7-8 and Andy has a bishopric meeting from 7:30-10:30 or 11 pm..depending on how much they need to discuss.

Thursday:
I have a Round Table meeting for Cub Scouts the first Thursday of each month from 7 - 8:30 pm. At these meetings, we discuss the theme for the following month and they give us ideas on what we can do at Pack meetings or during Den meetings...they're fun and helpful.

The fourth Thursday of the month is Book Club from 7 - 8:30 pm. It's fun to actually read some good books and discuss them with other people.

On top of those activities, we also have monthly activities of Gourmet Club ...(which usually is a Friday or Saturday night..just depends on when the others can meet)...home teaching...visiting teaching...and attempt to attend the temple at least once. We also like hanging out with friends during the week or weekends...

Anyway, that's our life in a nutshell...we're having tons of fun out here..but we still miss family and friends. Hopefully we'll be able to see them soon.

~Andy's Birthday Party~

So, today was Andy's birthday and I planned a surprise party for him...we had tons of fun!! Our friends 'kidnapped' Andy so I could get the house ready for the birthday bash. I told them to do whatever they wanted to him...like put make-up on him...little did I know that they would actually do it. Here's a few pictures of what he looked like when he came home...I thought it was soo funny!

For dinner we had Hawaiian Haystacks. It was yummy!! I LOVE Hawaiian Haystacks. But, while we were waiting for it to finish cooking, we played a small game to surprise Chris...his birthday was last Thursday but he had strep throat..so his wife had asked us to include him in the party...so I agreed...of course, that meant we had to do something to him as well. So we played a game called 'koochi koochi koo.' What you do is sit in a circle and pinch your neighbor's cheeks several times while you say koochi koochi koo...the goal is for that person to not laugh...but, there is one person who will put lipstick on his or her figures to get it on your face without your knowledge...so that's what we did. The outcome was awesome!! He didn't expect it at all!

Anyway, we all had a great day and I'm glad I could surprise my husband...he totally didn't expect it. :) If you want to see some more pics, Andy has posted them in his online web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/kinsio/AndySBirthday06?pli=1

Key Lime Pie!!

So, I had mentioned in my previous post that Andy and I decided to participate in the gourmet club. Anyway, here are pics of my very FIRST key lime pie...notice the nice decoration with the limes...hehe..I was pretty proud of myself. Of course I called Dorothy a few times to see if I was doing it correctly...since I wasn't sure how the texture was suppose to be. People at the dinner said it was good...then we had friends over to finish up the second pie since we didn't use it at the dinner..they said it was good too. Let's just say I was glad it turned out... :) I'm curious to see what the menu is for the following month.

Joining Special Interest Groups

Since moving here to Rochester, I've gotten to know several of the members by joining groups. When I first got here, I joined the recipe group. Each month, 3 or 4 sisters are in charge of the group. They choose a theme and they prepare the dishes for us to try-basically, it's a dinner because so much food gets prepared. Then we get a copy of the recipes. It's a great way to get recipes and to be able to try new things. This month will be a Halloween theme. I'm excited to see what types of food they will have. :)

Last month, I joined the book club and we read a book called The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. I guess several people were required to read this book in high school..but I had never heard of it.

Pearl Buck offers a view of China during the reign of the last Emporer as seen through the eyes of a honest farmer namd Wang Lung. She does a really good job of taking you through the ups and downs of life that the farmer experiences. I really enjoyed this book...once I started reading it, I didn't want to stop. The book was rich in culture and in history...I also got mad at the main character too because of the choices he was making...I don't want to mention the details because I think it's a book everyone should read... :) This month, we are reading a book called Once Upon a Town. I'll give an update on that when I'm done.

I've also joined the Gourmet Club. Basically, this is the LDS version of an interest group at Mayo Clinic. Basically, you have about 4 couples (those with kids usually leave them at home with a babysitter) assigned to a group and a family will be the host. There's a set menu with the recipe and each couple chooses what they want to make. Then, you decide what day to get together and everyone brings the assigned dish. I thought it sounded like fun. Saturday night will be the first time and I'm in charge of making a Key Lime Pie and --if I dare try-- a French Silk Pie. I'll have to let you know how it goes.

Chicago Trip!

In the early monring hours of Saturday, Andy and I took off for Chicago Illinois. This is a picture of the sunrise. It was beautiful!

Traffic wasn't bad until we hit the very last toll booth...We were stuck in traffic for another 45 minutes..oh the joys of city life.

There were several cool things to see in Chicago. The archetecture was amazing and they just had some neat stuff to see. In the picture, you can see a glass mirror object thing...also, there was a water area and they had an image of a lady...she would eventually 'spit' water out. The kids there loved it!

~ Wicked ~ Finally, a dream come true! After waiting for 2 years, I finally got to see the musical Wicked. It's about the Wicked Witch of the West and it was very good. If you ever have the chance to see it, you should. The music is FABULOUS! The performers were great too.

Chicago!!- View from the Planetarium

We went to several places...the Field Museum, Planetarium, Chicago Temple, China Town..which is where we ate some very yummy chinese food and had zhen zhu drinks...and the Museum of Science and Industry. We were very busy every day and spent hours looking at stuff.

This is the body of a mummified little boy...amazing huh?

Trip to Nauvoo, IL

One of our first road trips since moving out to Minnesota...good old Nauvoo!! The main reason for this trip was to see the pageant. I was glad that we could go see the Nauvoo Pageant this year. I remember seeing it for the first time when Dorothy and Mike lived in Iowa and I was impressed....that's why I wanted to see it again. So, our new friends - the Massens - came with us to catch the pageant on the last day. It's a new show about the Prophet Joseph Smith and it's in it's second year. The show was amazing and the spirit was very strong. I hope that everyone will eventually have the chance to see it.

The next day, we were able to attend the Temple. The Temple is so beautiful. Also, it's been a while since we have been able to go to the Temple since the St. Paul temple is a mini temple, you have to have your own clothing. Andy's finally came so we jumped at the chance to go. I'm grateful that we had the opportunity. I wish we would have taken advantage of the opportunity when we were in Utah....I've always heard people say to take advantage of the opportunity in Utah, but I guess it didn't really sink in till we got out here. I'm just glad we got to go...and now that Andy has his clothing, we should be able to attend the Temple more often.

I'm grateful for the Temple and for the Prophet Joseph Smith...While in Nauvoo, we also got to see a few demonstrations and visit Carthage Jail. I definitely think that everyone should experience Nauvoo at least once in their life. It's a great place to learn about Church History!

These are just some random pictures I took during the pageant...I thought it was cool. :)

Waiting for the pageant to start....

Andy, Me, Katie, and Cory in front of the Temple. We just finished a session.

Random pics we took in Nauvoo...

Andy and I in front of Carthage Jail.

Demolition Derby!

On Thursday August 3rd, we decided to go to the county fair and see the demolition derby. It was soo much fun watching these old cars bump into each other. Talk about real 'bumper cars'... :) Luckily we sat further up in the bleachers because mud was flying everywhere. Unfortunately, we only stayed a little over an hour because the cigarette smoke was getting to us. The clean air is definitely one thing I miss about Utah. Anyway, it was a little pricey but we were glad we could see it...definitely highly recommend seeing it once. :)

 

 

Tubing and BBQ

July 15:

Today we had a lot of fun! This afternoon we went tubing down the river with our new friends Chris and Ronnie Voight. We went to a place about 40 minutes away....I believe it was a small German town. Anyway, we managed to rent some tubes and floated down the river. It has been so nice lately that it felt very nice. The trip lasted about an hour. If you have never had the chance to go tubing, I highly recommend it. :)

July 21:

Tonight we had some friends over for a BBQ! Andy and I bought a Weber Baby-Q Gas grill...we had received a gift certificate to Linen's and Things and it was the only thing we wanted. Anyway, it's perfect for grilling and this was our second time using it. I'm proud to say that Andy does a very good job grilling. :) Plus, the grill is very easy to use. Anyway, we had hamburgers, polish dogs, pasta salad, chips, and fruit. Very YUMMY food! The best thing is we got to meet a few new people. We all sat around and talked...it was great!

Great River Bluffs Camping Trip!!

This weekend Andy and I went camping at Great River Bluffs State Park - it was about 45 minutes away. We were very excited to go camping with our new camping gear we bought 2 weeks ago. :) It was a lot of fun and the campground was beautiful...on top of that, the weather was PERFECT!

Our little tent. We bought our tent at Sports Authority ...it was on sale. It's the perfect size for 2 people... later that night we decided to put the rainfly on because we thought it might rain..but it didn't. The weather was perfect!

Tin foil dinners...YUMMY!! It's one of my favorite meals to have when camping..:)

View from the bluffs...one of which includes the Mississippi River!

We had a ton of fun camping! Hopefully we'll be able to have a camping trip with the whole family.

Pictures of the house!!!

So...here are a few pictures of the inside of our house. Hopefully they'll give you a good idea of what it looks like. :)

Picture of the living room..

Picture of the living room...leading to the eating area.

Dining Table 

Piano and Computer Room