i think it's fall....

pumpkin patch in the middle of WI, picking up some delicious fall goodies...

super creepy pumpkin face...

packers vs. vikings!

this is how we react to a vikings touchdown.

recap.

the wedding was.... hard. harder than any other one i've been to, for some reason.

but. when, during the prayer before dinner, my sister took my hand, looked at me and smiled, i knew she understood. she didn't have to say a word and i knew she was right there with me.

and. when, after a good cry and a slightly restful night's sleep on saturday, i met my friend D at the pool to vent, talk, laugh and just be our girly selves, i knew that it didn't matter if i had a husband or not-- because i already have a beautiful family of my own. we might be made of up of all those misfits they place at the single table at weddings, but god, we know how to be there for each other!

angie becomes a ficek.

i was so happy to be there and to be a part of it all. a truly wonderful day with many beautiful memories made.

a little wedding toast.

to my non-romantic life partner, this is my speech to you, just in case i have a few too many glasses of bubbly at the reception and get too choked up to speak. ;) how to give a wedding toast without sounding too cheesy? well, cheesy is my thing, so bear with me...

we've stood next to each other on many, many days.

there was the first day of sophomore year. i found you in your room, i sat with you and cried with you. a sad moment turned bittersweet in a moment that defined a true friendship for me.

there were the many, many nights we stood next to each other at one party or another, you teaching me your "expert" ways... or just leading me through the taco john's drive-thru on foot at midnight!

there was that "one summer" we spent our days by the pool (margaritas usually in hand) and our nights prowling minneapolis, making it known we were full-swing into "mating season."

there were breakups, makeups, laughter, tears, love and fury. and through it all, i stood beside you.

and now there is this- your wedding day. and while i cherish with all my heart every other day i've stood beside you, there is nothing i cherish more than this. i am so blessed to call you my friend. i am so happy to be beside you while you promise your life and love to the one who will now stand with you forever.

and through it all, i will be there too. and i will love you forever.

happy wedding day, my beautiful angie.

saying goodbye.

http://www.leadertelegram.com/obituary.asp?id=BK3L3UNNK3o

a week in mobile pictures, vol. II

twins game, stellar view, a few beers and a cute guy by my side= a VERY sunday funday.

where i landed myself after a severe sore throat and lots of hits on webmd.com.

mom's 50th birthday dinner at trattoria da vinci. fabulous food and company and lots of great prom-dress watching. (is it just me getting old or are prom dresses getting sluttier and sluttier?)

scary movie night at home. my roommate's mother calls and THIS is the frame she decides to pause the movie on so she can talk. i'm utterly shocked i didn't have nightmares about IT.

a week in mobile pictures (volume one?)

my crazy little baby leo... so cute even when he's bad. (which is most of the time.)

minnesota twins home opener week vs. seattle mariners. even though i talked to my girlfriends throughout most of the game, there is still something about baseball in the spring.

my friday afternoon walk around lake of the isles (my favorite mpls lake)... it was beautiful, it was warm, it is spring. and it reminds me that summer is just around the corner.

my little peanut (and main squeeze) grayson... washing his hands after a few oreo cookies and lot of dancing with his aunties brooke and "mimmi...." only brooke and mimmi will teach him the moves from "dirty dancing." lucky boy.

things i learned over the weekend.

sometimes you just gotta break the rules, sneak out of work early on friday, and spend the afternoon experiencing the zoo through your favorite little toddler's eyes... it doesn't get much better.

"i want to be a big boy and ride the bumper cars!"

i'm much too old to be playing drinking games with 21-year-olds drinking cheap tequila, but i'm just the right age to sit on a rooftop drinking wine into the night with my favorite 40-year-old. (and i'll NEVER be too old for waterslides.)

suburbanites really enjoy naming their neighborhoods– i.e., the "south passages," "meadowbrook," and "wagon wheels" neighborhoods i passed all within a quarter mile of each other during my trip to south suburbia on sunday morning.

the nook really does serve a killer juicy lucy like everyone says– and it's in st. paul! (looks like i'm expanding my horizons)

first kisses are the best kisses.....

scenes from a weekend outside the city.

chetek (WI) brewfest 2008

to my baby sister

who is now a college graduate.

just yesterday, we were playing with barbies, running through the sprinkler and eating root beer popsicles on a hot summer day, giggling over boys, fighting over clothes, and driving mom and dad absolutely crazy with all of our dramatic teenage girl antics.

and now, as of saturday, she is officially a big, big girl, in a big, big world. off to blaze her own trail, find her own way. and, as a spunky, fiery redhead, i have no doubt in her ability to stand out and make herself known in this world. even though she is my little sister, she inspires me in a big way. i can't wait to see what she'll do next.

congratulations, ashley! i love you!

scenes from a surprise party

i had so much fun planning and hosting a fabulous little birthday soiree for my most honored guest, my mom, on saturday night. here are some snippets of the action!