Read All About It!

I know you've all been aching for some more magazine articles to read, right? Well, you're in luck! Here are some links to some of my July and August articles:

Incubating Startups (Minnesota Business, July 2013)

Polo and Pageantry (Minnesota Business, July 2013)

Cool Drinks for the Summer (St. Louis Park Magazine, July 2013)

Review: Plymouth Mini Burgers (Plymouth Magazine, July 2013)

Neighborhood Business (Minnesota Business, August 2013)

Next Stop: Transportation (Minnesota Business, August 2013)

St. Louis Park's most refreshing treats (St. Louis Park Magazine, August 2013)

Plymouth Ice Cream Guide (Plymouth Magazine, August 2013)

Amish Country or Bust!

This past weekend we flew to Pennsylvania to celebrate one of Luke's best friend's -- Noel's -- wedding. Noel and Luke have known each other since they were kids growing up in Southern Minnesota. They were in their band together, lived together, moved to Seattle together, and have stayed close friends since. Noel has spent the last couple of years working with an organization called Youth with a Mission (YWAM). And that's where he met his now wife, Renee. She is the sweetest girl ever, and I couldn't imagine a more perfect match for either of them. 

They got married in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is about a 1.5 hour drive west of Philadelphia. And let me just say this, it was a beautiful place to get married. For example, this was the view from my seat at the wedding...

It was also an extra fun trip because we were able to spend a lot of time with some of Luke's other best friends -- and former band-mates -- Travis and Ricky.

Luke and Trav modeling their suspenders before the wedding.

Luke, Ricky, and Travis

You always need to get a picture when you dress up :)

Noel waiting for his bride!

It's official, they're hitched!

First dance. We love you guys!

Noel's best man was his dad, Zane. He gave the sweetest speech. It's so fun to see them together because they have almost identical mannerisms and phrases. Like father, like son!

And, of course, the boys had endless amounts of fun in the photo booth at the reception...

The day after the wedding, they had a barbecue before heading off to their honeymoon. Luckily, we got a great photo of the boys before we headed out. It was so fun to see them all together, and amazing to see how even though time passes, nothing seems to change between them. 

After the barbecue, Luke and I, Travis, Ricky, and his wife, Brooke, headed to Philadelphia. First stop was a baseball game at Citizens Bank Park!

It was an awesome field!

Ricky and Brooke enjoying the game.

Later that night we got some food and walked around the city. Here's Travis deciding whether or not to cross the road, I believe...

We had most of the day Sunday to keep exploring the city. Luke had one thing on his mind: Philly cheesesteaks. So, we walked the two miles from our hotel to get supposedly, the best Philly cheesesteak in the city. 

Luke loved it. And Travis doused his in an unsuspecting bath of hot sauce, which kind of ruined the whole experience for him as tears started welling up in his eyes.

And then we headed home on our 6-hour flight back to Seattle. It was an amazing weekend and fun was had by all. Thanks for letting us be a part of your big day, Noel and Renee. We love you!

Rock On!

Two weeks ago Luke and I experienced a "first" in our relationship. We went to our first concert together! I know that's hard to believe since we are both music lovers. However, I'm not usually interested in going to his hardcore shows. (Can you blame me?)

I got tickets for us to see my favorite band, the Counting Crows, at the Chateau St. Michelle Winery on a Monday evening. It was perfect weather for a concert at the vineyard. The Wallflowers opened up for them (holy flashback to the 90s) and the Crows were amazing as usual. It's probably the 5th or 6th time I've seen them over the years, but they never get old to me! The concert was really fun because you could bring lawn chairs and just set them up on the grass. You could also bring in food and enjoy a little picnic during the show. Of course, we were standing as close as we could get to the stage the whole time, but everyone else looked to be having a great time :)

Ready for the show to start!

Love them so much!

Then on Friday of the same week, we went to the Paul McCartney show at Safeco Field. Now, I'm not an avid Beatles or Paul McCartney listener, but I appreciate greatness -- and great he was! 

This show was amazing for SO many reasons. First, it was the very first concert at Safeco Field (which is our baseball field). They spent days just setting up his massive stage. Second, Paul McCartney is truly incredible. He is just the best performer I've ever seen. He was seriously rockin' for all three hours of his show and never stopped. It was so cool to hear tens of thousands of people singing along to such great songs -- people from all generations. And third, he brought out the remaining members of Nirvana for the encore. They are a Seattle-based band and you should have heard the crowd when they walked on and started jamming. 

Hello, Sir Paul!

The sun went down and gave us a spectacular view of our beautiful city!

It was a night Luke and I will always remember, that's for sure. So, all in all, I'd say Luke and Cait's concert week was a wild success!

Salem-Bound

In mid-July we made a trip to Salem to see our new nephew A.J. Luke had already visited a couple of weeks earlier while I was in Minnesota, but I begged him to go back so I could meet our newest nephew. And I don't think Luke minded either since he and Claire have become best buddies recently. 

Claire LOVES playing with Luke. (I have to agree, he is pretty fun!) They spent a lot of time dumping out cups of water in the backyard, playing with toys, and doing all sorts of fun things.

Double trouble...

Sweet, little A.J. He really is the best baby I've ever known. He just eats, sleeps, and if he cries, it's literally only for a couple of seconds until they figure out what he needs. And seriously, how cute is he?

Good morning! I can't get over Claire's bed-head in this picture. Paired with the monkey pajamas she is pretty much the cutest two-year-old I've ever seen.

We finally got a shot with A.J.'s eyes open. This boy likes to sleep! 

Had so much fun with the Rossis - thanks for having us!

The Great Outdoors

The weekend after the Fourth of July we packed up our backpacks and headed for the coast with our friends Chris and Katie (a.k.a. the Erleys). We were due for some camping, so we headed out of the city for a dose of the great outdoors.

We took the Kingston/Edmonds ferry over the water and drove across the peninsula where we packed everything into our backpacks and hiked down to the beach. We hiked up and down in the hills along the water for about 4.5 miles before we found a good campsite right on the beach. And this was our view...

Our humble abode

Roasting marshmallows after dinner with the company of the boy scouts who were camping next to us

Bonfire and frisbee oceanside... nice, huh?

Good morning, Luke!

This is the tree that we camped next to. People hang up the washed-up buoys on it.

On our hike in and out to the beach we had to climb up and down some pretty steep terrain. There were ropes to help on some of the steepest parts. Look at me, I'm scaling a cliff!

Love hiking with my husband!

And lucky for me, we were five minutes away from Forks, which is where the Twilight books/movies are based. I have to say, it was a little underwhelming. However, now I can say I've been there!

It ended up being a fabulous weekend in the great outdoors. Can't wait to go back again!