First Laney Visit!

My parents (Sid and Debra) came to visit us for the first time this past weekend - Memorial Day Weekend! 

It was truly a perfect weekend and we were so sad to see them leave. They flew into Milwaukee on Friday  and got in town around 7 pm. Kevin and I gave them a quick tour of De Pere & Green Bay and then we went to eat at our favorite Mexican Restaurant, Caliente! They make the  BEST margarita I've ever had - it's called The Black Magic Margarita! So yummy - with no heartburn or tummy ache! I usually can't drink margaritas.

We gave mom and dad an official tour on Saturday complete with a tour of Lambeau Field (Packer's Stadium). Then we took them to one of our favorite places to eat and grab drinks, Fox Harbor. They have great food, but the best part is their view of the Fox River! So much of Green Bay is centered around the water, however there's not too many restaurants or bars on the water!

We were invited over to The Cobb's House (Kevin's co-worker) for appetizers and drinks late Saturday afternoon. We had a great time and the Cobb's are great hosts! Our friends Craig and Julie also came over. It was so nice to actually sit and talk with everyone. Many times we meet at a party or restaurant and it's hard to talk. Afterwards, we came home and made a fire in our firepit. It sprinkled a little but it was great to sit on the patio with Kevin and my parents. I miss this!

Sunday was our Grilling Day - well actually not grilling, Kevin smoked a few racks of ribs. He is a fantastic smoker and griller! We've bragged so much about his grilling-skills and this was my parents first time to experience his ribs! Let's just say... he may be cooking at our future family gatherings! We had such a fun afternoon! Mom and I went to Menards (like Home Depot) and bought some plants for the house. I'm really testing my green thumb - we bought tomatoes and strawberries. If all goes well, maybe I'll follow in my grandpa Blount's footsteps and have a real garden one day (baby steps first!). We hung out on the patio all day and the weather was BEAUTIFUL! Mom kept saying it felt like beach weather - warm but with a cool breeze. Mom and I even made some yummy and quite tangy "Wine Slushes." They had Merlot, pomegranate juice and raspberries in them.

On Sunday evening, we went to Celebrate De Pere, which is an annual music festival in our neighborhood. We mainly went for the fireworks but stuck around for a little bit of Diamond Rio. Here's a few pictures from the festival.

You don't realize how much you miss being with your family until it's time for them to leave... I think we were all a little teary eyed. All I wanted was for them to have a wonderful Wisconsin vacation and I think we accomplished that! It was a very relaxing weekend, and we even fit in a few tourist attractions!

We love you! Ready for your next visit!

Milwaukee Weekend

Little Weekend Getaway! 

Kevin and I decided it's time to start crossing some trips off our "to-do list!" We were able to knock off Milwaukee and a Brewers Game in one weekend! One day while I was working, Kevin surprised me with Brewers vs. Cubs tickets (for the following weekend) and Cubs vs. Cardinals (in July in Chicago!). Fun Surprise! 

This past Friday Night while we were packing for our trip to Milwaukee, I told Kevin that his beard looked a little long... and he came out of the bathroom with a fu manchu! Oh yeah, very baseball appropriate! 

We left early Saturday morning because our game was at noon; Milwaukee is only an hour and a half drive. We stayed at The Aloft Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. The downtown area is very neat and historic! I thought we had a fantastic idea for the day - we valeted our car and didn't move it until we left on Sunday. Since we were downtown, we went to a bar called Mo's Irish Pub and they actually had a shuttle to and from the game! Perfect! 

The Cheese Bar was just block down from our hotel! I had to get a picture and we planned to stop on our way home, but forgot. 

 Here's us at the game! We had a great time and had GREAT seats! It's been so long since I've been to a Major League game... I think a Rangers game when I was little. 

Be sure to notice Kevin's stash! By the way, the Brewers won! 

After the game, we waited and waited on the shuttle and then decided to take a taxi. We went back to Mo's for a late lunch/early dinner and then began our "bar hopping" back to our hotel! We came across this cool piece of art on our walk. We took a TON of pictures of it but only a few turned out cute. I thought this was neat!

I'm sure we got a lot of funny looks, but we didn't care! We were just being goofy! 

This is my "the earth is on my shoulders" picture!

We even had a nice runner take our picture! The picture on the right is of the "Das Boot" when we were at The Braut Haus. Not sure if you've ever seen the movie "Beerfest"... but it's pretty funny. It's about this "beer drinking team" from America to go to Germany to win Beerfest! The final challenge is "Das Boot." I'm laughing while I type this just thinking about it! We thought it was hilarious that it was on the menu!   

Kevin finished his Das Boot, but we had a minor Das Boot accident with mine. We kept laughing and cheers-ing... well you can probably figure out what happened to mine. CRASH and SPLASH! 

On Sunday, we had a great brunch at Brocach Irish Pub and were off to the Milwaukee Zoo! I absolutely loved the zoo when I was little and still do today! They can make me a little sad, but some animals are much safer in a zoo than the wild! I just have to remind myself of that. 

Hope you enjoy our trip! Just in case you are wondering, Kevin shaved his fu manchu before he went to work on Monday! 

Love, L & K

Pixie Turns 9

When I say that I got Pixie in 2003, it doesn't seem like that should be nine years ago. I feel like it was just yesterday when she was a little pup and could fit in the palm of my hand. Well, here it is 2012 and she's not too much bigger, weighing around 6-7 pounds.

This little dog truly brings so much joy to my life and not only my life, but my family and Kevin too. Kevin wasn't so sure about Pixie at first. He thought she was a sweet dog, but she had to grow on him. And, him on her too. Pix didn't know about Kevin at first either. I think it was because he is so tall (6'5") and he has a loud voice. I have a loud voice but she's plenty used to mine. Don't worry, they are two peas in a pod now.

We celebrated Pixie's 9th birthday on April 28th. It was kind of a yucky day... I had planned on us going for a picnic along the Fox River. They have a great walking/biking trail along the river, but it was windy and rained instead. So, Kevin and I took Pix and Kaaba (our lab) to Pet's Mart to pick out their presents and then I made doggie cupcakes! I'll share the recipe - the dogs loved them and they are super easy to make!

Dog Cake/Cupcakes
1 egg
1/4 cup of peanut butter (I bought the natural/organic kind so it wouldn't have sugar)
1/4 of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/3 cup of honey
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour and baking soda and mix well. Add other ingredients and mix well. It will be very thick. Pour mixture into cake pan or cupcake pan (grease pan). My recipe said cook for 40 minutes, but I think that is too long. I think 25 minutes was enough. I also made icing with cream cheese (8 oz), honey and peanut butter. I mixed to taste.

Here are some of my favorite Pixie moments:

 At a bike race - looking a little crazy

Soaking up some rays at Betsy's cabin

Being blessed by Pastor Will at Blessing of the Pets!

Snow day in 2011 with Aunt Macy

Her favorite Halloween costume

This picture only needs one caption: Worthless!

Ready to take a ride on my scooter - although I was afraid to put her on there. For her own good. 

Sun bathing turned into a regular bath... she love rolling in nasty stuff.

Showing her brother (Kaaba) her cowboy hat

We love you Pixie - Here's to 9 more years! 

6 Months in Green Bay!

Man-o-man... how time flys!

I have to say it's hard to believe that we've almost been in Green Bay for 6 months! The first of May will be the mark. I thought it would be fun to see all the "firsts" we've experienced since the beginning of November... here it goes:

1. First time to see the GREEN BAY sign on Nov. 8th

2. First day in our new house was Nov. 9th

3. First Packer Game was Nov 14th with Julie and Chris

4. First Snow was Nov. 21st

5. First Thanksgiving as a married couple - we spent it at The Brown's house. Kevin and I cooked: Sausage Stuffing, Macaroni Special and a Pumpkin Cheesecake

6. First time the Williams visited was Nov. 30th

7. First time friends visited - Jason, Chad and Brittney on Dec. 9th

8. First Gamblers Hockey Game with Chris Brown!

9. First Christmas as a married couple

10. First day of my new job - The Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay on Jan. 30th

11. Jason visited again - Kevin and Jason's first fishing trip on the Fox River for Walleye

11. First bike ride on my new bike along the Fox River with Amy Baeten! 

Fun Facts!

We've been to 2 Packer Games and 2 Hockey Games.

We saw Buddy Guy in March in Green Bay.

We saw Jim Gaffigan in April outside Chicago.
I've flown home 4 times in 6 months.
Kevin has flown home with me a few times and a bunch because of work!
We celebrated April 10th, which was TWO years to the day Kevin proposed!

Whew - we've done a lot in 6 months! Can't wait for the next 6 months!

Until next time, Lauren

Happy Birthday Macy!

Kevin and I flew down to Tunica, MS to help her celebrate around the first of March! And boy did we ever!

We had such a great time celebrating Macy's 21st birthday. A few of Macy's friends came with her and Jason (Kevin's best friend) came too! Mom, dad, Buddy, Jerry and Ms. Patti also came! We all stayed at Harrah's Casino. Our first night was Macy's first casino experience! Then the next day, we all split up a little: the boys did a little gambling, Macy and her friends took it easy and Mom, Patti, Buddy and myself did a little shopping. This is where the brilliant idea of wine and a patio came into the picture. That Saturday afternoon was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! And, it became my favorite part of the trip. Later that night, we went out to eat, did a little gambling and us "kids" went to a club :) Here's a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend!

First night - on the way to the casino!

The "Boys"

Beautiful girls! LOVE the wine glass Ms. Patti gave you! Just perfect! 

The "Girls"

Please ignore my outfit... it was chilly and someone should have told me to unbutton the cardigan.

Jason won on the second day!! Woo Whoo! 

Second night outside the casino

Jason is one lucky man!

Go Birthday Gurl Go!

My favorite picture from the weekend! Love it! 

Macy - thank you for letting us share your birthday! Enjoy being 21!

Love, sis

HOME SHOW Child

A month ago I received an unexpected phone call from the Home Builders Association... It was Shannon asking if I would be interested to come down to work the HOME SHOW. She was so nervous that I would say no... I don't know what she was thinking! I jumped at the chance!! The HOME SHOW was my favorite event to work. It was definitely the hardest to work but still my favorite. I love being able to interact with so many people at one time...many being my good friends! I just wish I had worn a pedometer... I swear I walked a marathon each day!

The northern winter did throw me a curve ball... Kevin took me to the airport on thursday night to find out that my flight was canceled due to snow in Chicago. Ugh... Lucky for me, they were able to re-route my flight... To 5:30am Friday morning!!!!

My sweet (and sleepy) husband took me to the airport at 4:30am for my flight. I arrived in Little Rock around 2:00pm. Needless to say, Friday was a long day at the show. But, I had a lot of caffeine, red bull and 5 hour energy shots to help!

I was also super excited about seeing my friends!! The Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas hosted a Mardi Gras Benefit on Friday night, so all my friends were in one place!! It was a perfect night except for my sleep deprivation!

Mom and grandma also came to see me on Saturday! It was truly a great night! Mom, grandma, Myself and Shannon all went to dinner after the show on Saturday! It was so nice to sit back, relax, enjoy great conversation and food!! Mom, gmaw and I all stayed at a hotel that night!

Overall, it was a perfect and tiring weekend! You don't realize how special your friends and family are until you move away! We miss you all so much!! Come visit! It's almost summer... And PS, if you don't know, it's absolutely beautiful here in the summer!

Special thanks to Chad Launius for picking me up at the airport on Friday and Betsy for putting me up on Friday night, loaning me your car on Saturday and for taking me to the airport on Sunday!!

PSS- Shannon I'm game in 2013!

With love, Lauren

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