Lauren's New Job!

Hooray! Let's celebrate! 

I start my new job at The Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay next week (Jan 30) in their Resource Development Dept! I was very fortunate to find a position quickly. It's a funny story... here's how it all happened.

First, we wanted to wait until the holidays were over before I started looking, so we would be able to come home for the holidays. I started my search right before Christmas and had an interview scheduled for the first of January. This position was with The Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay (BGCGB), although it was for their After School Program. I thought this would be a fun job (part-time) and give me some flexibility. I went in for my interview and it went GREAT! They offered me the position... although recommended I apply for a different position in their Resource Development Dept.

After thinking long and hard, I decided to go for it! This also meant another round of interviews... ugh! I feel like interviews are a lot like first dates and I'm actually weird because I like first dates, so interviews aren't that bad. I feel like you always have a lot to talk about because everything is new information! Well, this interview had a kicker... a writing sample! After I went through two panels of interviewers, I had to write a sample grant and this was totally new for me... so I dreaded this part! I thought the interview portion went GREAT, but I wasn't sure how the writing sample went - I tend to ramble sometimes :)

Well, I must have done alright because I was their first choice!! Yippy! I'm very excited about this position because it will be similar to my position at the Home Builders Assn of Greater Little Rock, although there are a few new twists and turns - grant writing specifically. I'm also excited because it's a larger office environment than I've had in the past (3 at Building AR and 3 at HBA). There will be 5 of us in the Resource Development Dept. and I'm guessing around 15-20 in the whole office. It also seems like a very close-knit environment, which I LOVE. The HBA had a great environment, which felt like family many times.

Here are a few of my tasks: grant writing for projects $5,000 and under, research for future grants, maintain positive relationships with current grant holders/funders, event coordination, press releases, etc.

I don't think I could have found a more perfect position than the BGCGB! I love the non-profit world and I'm excited about working to help better the lives of Green Bay kids.

Here's the funny/ironic part - The Executive Director is from ARKANSAS... specifically
EL DORADO, ARKANSAS!!!! How crazy is that! We are practically from the same home town and now, we're all the up here in Green Bay, Wisconsin! Talk about a small world!

Stay tuned - Lauren

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!! 

I hope you all had a great Christmas! Kevin and I had the best time over the holiday, mainly because we got to see our friends and family! We flew home on Dec. 22 and spent the night in Little Rock with our friends. We know how hectic it can get during the holidays, so we planned one special night just for our friends! Betsy was so sweet to plan dinner and drinks for us and let us stay at Hotel Betsy. We had a group of around 15 that went to Loca Luna for dinner and then we hit our favorite watering hole, La Fountain! It's amazing how much you miss the "old normal"! It was such a great night! And, I just realized that I didn't take ANY pictures... shame on me! But, I guess it's because we were having such a good time! 

We drove down to Camden (AR) on Dec. 23 to spend Christmas with my family. It was a perfect trip, although I could of taken a few extra days. Since we were only there for three nights, it was busy! Our first night we stayed home and played cards (go figure!). Slade, Ms. Patti, Grandma, Aunt Pam and Uncle Art also came over! It was a fun night filled with Neighborly, Music and Good Company. As a tradition, I work with mom all day on Christmas Eve and wrap, wrap and wrap! Kevin was our little elf that day and did a little shopping for us... he actually survived Wal-Mart TWICE! Such a saint! We spent Christmas Eve at my grandma Laney's house and then did our family Christmas at the house that night. We were blessed with some really great gifts! On Christmas day, we had a big breakfast prepared by dad and then were off to an even bigger lunch at grandma's house. That night, we had our Blount Family Christmas at our house. It was so great to see the family! It was sad to leave on Dec 26 but we were also very excited to see the Williams Family! 

We didn't take too many pictures, but I thought this was a good one! My grandpa Blount (aka The Possum), Ms. Patti and mom. We're playing our favorite game - neighborly! 

Kevin and I are very lucky to have such great families and it also works out perfectly during the holidays - we get to spend Christmas with my family and then go skiing with his family over New Years! We're very fortunate! I know a lot of couples that have to split holidays between their families. We flew to Telluride (CO) with the Williams to spend New Years in the mountains. It is such a beautiful place! I have several pictures that I've included from the trip:

Happy 7th Birthday Grant! We celebrated Grant's birthday in style! He requested fish and hot dogs for his birthday. He had hot dogs for lunch and then a mix of fresh fish for dinner! We also had the best of both worlds for dessert - vanilla cupcakes and chocolate cake (plus ice cream!)! We did not follow our diet that night :) 

LOVE Downtown Telluride! Such a neat area - filled with great shops and restaurants! 

Here's one of us skiing! It was unseasonable warm (30s-40s) and Telluride actually had the most snow in ALL of Colorado and they were still below average. 

Our favorite day of skiing was our last day (first day comes in at a close second) where we all got to ski with Grant and Ella for the first time ever! They are both still in ski school, but we all took them out on our last day.  They are both doing so good! Here's Ella (and Tony) making her way down the mountain with some good "S" turns.

Riding the lift with Ella and Tony. Grant was so fast, I couldn't get a picture of him :)

My super cool skis! 

This one is a little blurry... Kevin and I at our favorite spot - Giuseppe's (Elevation 11,885). Every year, we make a pit stop for a few special beverages before we head home! Great Memories! 

We had such a great trip! I already miss the mountains, although we were ready to get home. Being on the road for 12 days is a LONG time. Plus - we missed Pixie and Kaaba very much!

Arkansas Takes Wisconsin!

One. Wild. Weekend.

Chad, Jason and Brittany came to visit on Dec 9-12!! We had such a great time! It was fun showing our friends where we live and around DePere and Green Bay. I picked them up from the Appleton Airport and we met Kevin for lunch at Kroll's Pub, which is right beside Lambeau Stadium. This officially welcomed them to Green Bay! Kroll's is a really neat place; it seriously hasn't been updated since the 1970s - complete with vinyl booths and club seats! There is even a "service button" at each booth! Our first night we took everyone to our favorite little bar called Nicky's Lionshead Pub. It's a quaint little place! Chad experienced some of the best Gumbo (yes... great gumbo in the North!) he's ever had! Nicky's is also famous for their Apple Pie Shots - and we definitely enjoyed a few of these! They seriously taste like a slice of apple pie - yummy!

On our second day, we laid around the house for the most part but went out for a nice dinner that night. Can you guess where I took them?? Yep - that's right, Plae Bistro! We had a wonderful dinner! And ended the night a little earlier than Friday night so we would be well rested for our BIG PACKER SUNDAY!

On Sunday, we went the Packers vs. Raiders game at Lambeau! What a day!! We were smart and took at taxi to and from the game! Keeping it safe! We tailgated at the Stadium View Bar, which is beside the stadium (go figure!). We got there around 11:30 am and by 12:30 - Chad was riding the mechanical bull! He decided he was going to kick start the day! He was the very first person of the day to ride.. and might I add, he set the bar pretty high!

There is an Official Packer Tailgate in the Lambeau parking lot that we also decided to check out too! It was pretty fun and danced to a little country music! I don't know why I'm always so surprised to hear country music up here, but I am. For some reason, I only associate country music with the south, but we are in farm country up here - so I guess it makes sense!

We made it into the stadium around 2:30 for our 3:15 game! We had awesome seats on the 30 yard line! Plus the game was a complete blow out! I heard that Kevin and I made it on ESPN... but I didn't see it for myself so I'm not sure it was us. I wish I would have recorded the game!

Our taxi driver told us we needed to wait an hour to two hours after the game to avoid traffic - so that meant off to the bar for us! We decided to go back to Stadium View since it was close to the taxi pick up spot. It was nuts in there! Picture a bar with a capacity of 200 and cram 400 Packer fans in for a dance party! If you're claustrophobic - this was not the place for you! 

We finally decided to head home but made a quick stop at Chicago Street Pub. I have to share our waitress' comment to us "So, let me get this straight, you want to order: cheese curds, cheese sticks, french fries, onion rings, a sampler basket and an 18" pizza?" Oh yeah - she's lucky we didn't order more! 

Needless to say - Monday was a long day for everyone! And Chad, Jason & Brittany had to fly home! Ugh. Here are a few pics from the weekend! 



At Nicky's

At Stadium View before the game

At the game!

We had such a good time! Thank you guys so much for coming up to visit!! We love you and can't wait to see you for Christmas in Arkansas! 

PS - I'm still debating if Kevin and I can show our face anytime soon at Chicago Street.... Arkansas definitely took Wisconsin by storm!  

Happy Turkey Day

Our first Thanksgiving was a first in many ways... First as a married couple, First being away from our families and First to cook several recipes on our own.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Craig, Julie and Chris Brown at their house. They were wonderful hosts! Julie cooked a ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, fruit salad and rolls. Kevin and I brought macaroni special (Grandma Laney's recipe), sausage stuffing (Ms. Terry's recipe) and pumpkin cheesecake (Mom's recipe). I cooked the macaroni dish, the cheesecake and started the stuffing. I have to hand it to Kevin, he almost cooked the stuffing by himself... and it was GOOD! Actually, all three dishes turned out perfect!

Here's the cheesecake! I meant to take pictures of all three dishes... 

It was truly a great day! We all ate until we were stuffed, watched the Packers reach their 11-0 record and took home lots of leftovers!

It was a little sad being away from our families, but we have only been in Wisconsin for 3 weeks or so. Plus, the Williams are coming to visit next week and we couldn't be more excited. We already have a few fun places to show them. Christmas is also right around the corner and we'll be coming home to Arkansas.

Before I leave, I thought I would share a few things I'm thankful for: my husband Kevin, my family, my new family, my sweet friends, our awesome dogs, my health and energy, and I'm also very thankful for this adventure. It's great to see and experience new things knowing we're coming back to our true home, Arkansas!

Until next time, Lauren

Go Pack Go!

On November 14, we went to our first Green Bay Packers game! We are very fortunate to know Craig and Julie Brown and their son, Chris. Julie and Chris found us all tickets to the game. It was such a fun night! The day before, Kevin and I went shopping for some Packer Gear, so we would fit in :) We also got to wear our new Packers jerseys (wedding gift from Craig, Julie & Chris). We each have a Williams #38 jersey (I forget his first name). It was a very cold night and we even saw a few snow flakes prior to the game. Luckily, Julie told us how to dress so we were prepared. Long johns, hats and gloves, oh my!

One fun thing about Packers games... The bars host tailgate parties! People still tailgate in the parking lot like they do at Razorback games, but this is nice because it's heated and they have booze, food and live bands. This is at Anduzzi's before we went in the game.

The nice thing about Lambeau - there is not a bad seat in the house!

In honor of our Veterans, the whole stadium participated in a card stunt during the National Anthem. This was pretty cool!

We can't wait until our next game on December 11. Jason and Chad are coming up to go with us!! We couldn't be more excited to have them come visit! It should definitely be a fun weekend. It will probably require a post!

Until next time, Lauren & Kevin

Our First Snow!

On November 9th, we had our first snow! It wasn't a big snow and it didn't even last one day. It was still exciting because it was our first... of many to come! Kaaba loved it, however Pix wasn't so sure. She doesn't realize what's in store for her this winter.

It's funny because nothing shuts down for snow in Green Bay, where in Arkansas, school would have been canceled for these few inches. I did hear that they do cancel school when it gets very, very cold (around -15 or so), so the kids who ride the bus won't have to wait outside.... WOW.

And... lucky for us, they are predicting a very cold winter.

Lauren & Kevin

The Move

Well, as you know... we made it! I've been meaning to start the blog for a while now. We lost our Internet connection for a few days, so I was delayed. You'll have to bear with me since this is my first blog.

It's a very surreal moment when you know you entire life is packed up in a truck. That's exactly how we felt and luckily, only a few things were damaged in the move. Although, we are still waiting to hear back from the claims dept. It was very bitter, sweet packing up all of our possessions and move so far away. We miss you all very much and can't wait to see you at Christmas!

Goodbye Stepping Stone!

The drive was a LONG 14 hours, but the excitement kept us going! We made it in two days. On the first day, we made it all the way to Milwaukee (can you tell I married a trucker!). Although I have to admit, it was nice to make it that far, because we only had three hours to drive that next morning. We arrived at our new home, 1863 Charles Street in DePere, around lunch.

I have a few more pictures to upload, but my computer will not let me. Stay tuned!

I'm sure you're wondering about the weather. Well, we were lucky on the move-in day, because it was beautiful! Sunny and mid-50s! The rain came the next day... It literally took us a week to unpack. I was very grateful Kevin took the week off to help unpack; I could not have done it myself in that amount of time.

Until next time... love, Lauren & Kevin