Jill the Thrill

Wisconsin Hockey

2012-02-16T04:08:00.000-06:00

Mom, Dad, and I made the trip to Madison to visit Jon and Krista and watch Krista's brother Matt play hockey for the University of Wisconsin. I wasn't super excited about having to cheer for a Wisconsin Badger (Hawks for Life!!) but I decided it was okay if I just cheered for Matt.
We met up with everyone in downtown Madison at the Nitty Gritty before heading over to the Kohl Center for the game. There was SO MUCH RED it made me want to throw up a little bit. My parents were laughing at my aversion to all the Badger gear everywhere. The game was really fun and the Badgers beat North Dakota, who happened to be rated #5 at the time. It was a weekend sweep so people were pretty excited. Matt skated away with an assist on the night.
After the game we all went to the KK. It was loud and packed and everyone (excluding the Trost family) was devastated at the stunning Wisconsin football loss to Michigan State. You should have seen everyone's reaction at the end of the game. Pure happiness on my face that's for sure. Anyways, we didn't stay long because it was a college bar after all and I haven't been in college for quite some time.. and my Dad was ready to leave before we even walked in the door. ha
The next morning we headed back to Appleton to see Jon and Krista's new place, do some shopping, we went to a movie, and out to dinner. It was a great weekend and I can't wait for the next hockey game!

Center Grove Orchard

2012-02-13T04:41:00.000-06:00

One thing that I love about the fall are the orchards. There are a few orchards around Des Moines that we like to frequent when the weather turns prime. A bunch of bible studies rented Center Grove Orchard for a Friday night and it couldn't have been more fun. The night started out with a run through a corn maze...at night...in pitch black darkness. Naturally, some of the guys thought it would be funny to scare people by hiding in rows of corn or taking some of the cobs off of the stalk and throwing it in the air to land right beside you and scare you. Real funny. I got a few of them back though.
They were giving hay rack rides out to the maze so we rode that back towards the giant jumping pillow. Center Grove Orchard has so many fun things to bring out the kid in you. They have this giant slide that, in the dark, makes things a bit more interesting. Once again the guys thought it would be a good idea to pile on top of each other and ride the slide. Hilarious.
We ended the night by sitting around the campfire eatting s'mores... and then making our way to the corn pool. That's right, its a giant bin filled with corn. The guys built a pyramid and then the girls tried. It was pretty funny to watch the building process. It was such a fun Fall night.

Parachute!!!

2012-02-10T03:08:00.000-06:00

ROADTRIP! Jenni, Allison and I did it again and made another roadtrip to see one of our favorite bands. This time we headed up to Minneapolis for the Parachute concert. We left work a little early and hit the road with our eyes focused on the Mall of America. We did some damage in the mall before heading towards the concert venue. The Cabooze has terrible parking so it took us quite some time to find a spot. Allison almost hit a lady on a scooter and we broke a few traffic laws but we eventually made our own spot.

Kate Voegle opened up the show (actually, another band did before her but we didn't get there in time). She was pretty good. I have one of her cds and I like her style but I really was more excited for Parachute. They put on SUCH a great show. Will and his v-neck has so much energy running around the stage, jumping into the audience. Their setlist was 14 songs long and I LOVED every minute of it, especially when they sang You and Me and the American Secrets Part 2.
Once again we made the delirious drive home in the middle of the night/morning. I started talking in a strange accent about milk and cookies for Santa, we lost Jenni to sleep in the back seat, we jammed to classic Mariah Carey songs and Hanson Christmas music, and Allison did an excellent job driving by getting us home safely. We are total Parachute groupies.

Dublin, Ireland: Day 13-15

2012-02-06T03:14:00.000-06:00

Our last days in Europe were spent in Dublin, Ireland. This city is beyond cool. The vibe is very relaxed and chill yet at night, the energy is pretty great. There are so many young people all over the city and at night, everyone is out and about. The Temple Bar area was always filled with people and there are so many musicians on every street, some very very talented musicians. We had a great time shopping, sight seeing, and exploring Dublin. Our hotel was right across the street from Parliament so we shared our hotel with diplomats. At least once a day there seemed to be TV cameras outside our hotel interviewing someone. You can walk almost everywhere in Dublin, which I think is great, and the shopping is excellent. One of my favorite parts of Dublin was St. Stephens Green. Its a beautiful park that is tucked in the middle of the city. I loved Dublin... and all of Ireland for that matter. Spending our final week in Europe touring the entire country of Ireland was definitely the best way to end our trip. Ireland is so beautiful (and SO green) and the people are so friendly (and have the best accents). Near the end of the trip we almost took for granted the beautiful scenery and landscape because it is everywhere! Everything about the experience was great... even learning to drive on the other side of the road with the steering wheel on the opposite side. While it was terrifying 98% of the time, we survived and were left with a thankful heart.

I cannot wait to return to Ireland and explore more of the country. It was another amazing European adventure!

Blarney, Ireland: Day 12

2012-02-02T03:37:00.000-06:00

Kissing the Blarney Stone is just something you do if you ever find yourself in Ireland. None of us are Irish so we really didn't plan to stop in Blarney but we woke up that morning and decided that we should probably make a stop... after all... eloquence for life?! Who is going to pass that up? So we made the detour to Blarney. It was another beautiful day in Ireland which allowed us to tour the grounds of the Blarney castle as well as the castle itself. Blarney has all kinds of weird, interesting, and unique finds throughout the grounds. They have a cave that goes underneath the castle. They have some really cool gardens with lots of really awesome trees! They also have a poisonous garden which I found really fascinating. We were really glad that we made the stop in Blarney to experience some true Irish traditions.

Cliffs of Moher & Dingle, Ireland: Day 11

2012-01-31T01:22:00.000-06:00

There are some spectacular views all over Ireland and we were lucky enough to spend a beautiful afternoon walking around the Cliffs of Moher. It took a bit of driving to actually get to the cliffs. The roads were not exactly straight or wide or straight or wide (yes I said it twice). I didn't know if we were ever going to arrive at the cliffs alive because of the path our GPS was taking us on but once we made it, we were SO glad we decided to travel to the cliffs. They are INCREDIBLE. Those that are brave (and disobedient) can jump over the railings and walk right along the cliffs edges. With it being as windy has it had been the last couple of days, and my value for life, I decided against walking the crazy path along the edge and stuck to the pedestrian paths. We stood in awe for quite a while just staring at the cliffs and the water. It was a beautiful day visiting the cliffs.

If you look closely at the edge of the cliff below, you can see someone who has jumped aboard the crazy train and is standing at the edge of the cliff.

From the cliffs we headed towards the BEACH! Along the way we took our first ferry boat ride. It was a welcome surprise (thanks GPS) to add to our multiple modes of transportation on this trip and we continued on our way. We stopped for dinner at Inch Beach in Dingle. If you've seen the movie Leap Year, this beach is in the movie. We spent time walking along the beach in the water, watching the surfers, and eating dinner at a restaurant that sat right on the beach.
We ended the night at our Lodge, the Kerry Ocean Lodge. It was another great hotel and we had great views of the mountains (they were actually really big hills but when you're from Iowa, its a mountain) and the goats/animals wondering around the bluffs.

Galway, Ireland: Day 10

2012-01-28T00:34:00.000-06:00

After a SUPER windy day at the Giant’s Causeway and our overnight stay in Portrush, we headed towards the west coast to the city of Galway. It was my turn to drive (and I only hit a curb once…though there were plenty of close calls) and we made it safely to our oceanfront bed and breakfast. It was the cutest little B&B that sat on the outskirts of town with our little room overlooking the ocean. We unpacked our things and decided to walk in to Galway to explore and get some dinner. We learned that the term “lynching” was first coined in Galway. They also have a famous stripper pole in the middle of their town. Weird. Much of our time in Galway was spent walking around the city and walking along the coast taking jumping pictures. J

Our room was so cute. Cindy and Theresa ended up playing beauty parlor and fixing up Theresa’s hair while I read a book. I don’t know what it is about my European excursions but I become obsessed with reading, more so than I already am. I guess I just find really good books to take on trips and being away from home, I have a lot more free time to read so I take full advantage. It was a nice way to finish off the evening in our cozy little room reading and laughing at the hair transformations.

Belfast and Portrush, Ireland: Day 9

2012-01-25T01:53:00.000-06:00

We woke up in Belfast to extremely high winds! We turned on the TV and the news was reporting that northern Ireland was experiencing hurricane type winds due to an actual hurricane off the coast of the US. Our schedule was to head to Dunluce Castle, carrick-a-rede bridge and then on to the Giants Causeway but we were really unsure if any of that would even be open. We packed up the car, fired up the GPS, and decided to skip out on the bridge since all of the information we had about the bridge said it usually closes with high winds. We made our way further north where we came over this hill and there was the sea right in front of us. We were all pretty excited that we made a quick pit stop to jump out of the car and take some pictures.
We continued on to Dunluce Castle. It is an old OLD castle that sits right on the edge of the sea. Part of the castle actually fell into the sea a while ago due to erosion and what not. We scurried around the grounds and took some pictures. We were pretty wind blown at that point but we had no idea what was ahead of us with the Giant’s Causeway.

Arriving at the Giant’s Causeway, we were all pretty excited because we’d heard some great stories about it. It felt like the wind had picked up, however, and we were right. We started making our way down the various paths towards the different landmarks and found it difficult to walk at times because of the wind. We made it further and further through the hiking trails and started making our way up some of the cliffs. (Little did we know that they had actually closed the trail after we’d gone through due to the high winds). There was one particular point on the cliff where you basically have to turn a 90 degree angle to get around the corner. Theresa and I slowly edged our way towards it while Cindy hung back (afraid of heights…). Theresa and I were basically clinging to the cliff and the winds were so strong we couldn’t actually move. It was at that point that the rocks I was holding on to started to crumble and the wind started pushing me down into Theresa knocking Theresa closer to the edge. I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee everywhere because it was just insane what was happening and we couldn’t control it. The wind was WILD. I eventually let go and basically crawled around the corner where we were hidden by some of the wind. Cindy said that had she not feared for our life, she would have videoed it because it was incredible to watch. (even though she thought we were going over the edge).

It was a long hike back and we met up with some park rangers on the way who informed us that 1) the path was closed 2) the bus was no longer running due to the winds so we had to walk the entire way and 3) the winds were approximately 80 mps average. No wonder we couldn’t walk straight. We were being pelted with tiny rocks and salt water. It was a pretty incredible experience.
Funny story: we went into the gift shop to look around and I realized that I left my money in the car. As I was walking back to the car, some lady was yelling and trying to jump a fence. I looked over and she looked at me and said “my money!!” and I could see a bill whipping around in the wind. I started to chase after it and as you can imagine, looked like a fool trying to grab money in the air. It flew into a construction zone and I went sprinting after it where I had to crawl around a fence to eventually retrieve her cash ($100 in cash btw). She was so thankful and I just laughed because I’m sure everyone watching me thought I probably looked like a crazy person.
After the Causeway, we made a scenic drive to Portrush (Golfing Capital of the World) where we would stay the night. The guy running the hotel was so friendly and told us lots of stories and had a hilarious irish accent. He really loved golf so I talked with him quite a bit about it and the famous golfers who actually live in and around Portrush. We had dinner at the Ramore Restaurant (I had fish and chips) and it was delicious! After dinner we walked around town a bit more, thankful that the winds had finally died down, before returning to our hotel. This was one of my all time favorite days in Europe ever.

Travel to Ireland: Day 8

2012-01-21T03:06:00.000-06:00

September 11, 2011.
With the events that happened in the square the day prior, I was pretty on edge in the morning. I was thankful that we weren’t using any of the main rail or airports that day. There’s so much wrapped up in September 11, not just for Americans but for everyone around the world. It was interesting to talk to Mirjam about the events of that day. To have someone who was on the other side of the world on that day still remember the tragic events like I do was pretty incredible. The whole world was effected (affected?!) by what happened and it still so sad to think about the amount of hate in this world that causes people to take other’s lives. I will continue to pray for this country, and I will continue to pray for peace in this world.

Moving on…
We safely (and excitedly) landed in Dublin via Ryanair. I seriously felt like I was at a casino while flying Ryanair. Its like no other flight I’ve ever experienced. Take one when you can, you’ll understand. While in Ireland, we decided it would be best for us to rent a car. Easy enough right? WRONG. The Irish are crazy and drive on the wrong side of the road with the steering wheel on the left side. And if that wasn’t bad enough, their roads are NARROW with the shoulder being a stone wall on either side! Oh buddy. It was quite the experience. Cindy bit the bullet and opted to drive first. She (very safely) guided us north to Belfast. It was EXTREMELY windy when we arrived and we learned that the winds were coming from some hurricane off the coast of the US. (I’ve never been in wind this strong!) Anyways, we had the entire afternoon to tour Belfast so we hopped on a bus tour and they took us around the entire city. Belfast is still a part of the UK so British flags fly everywhere. We learned the history of Belfast and the fighting that still goes on (though much much less than before). Belfast is filled with murals from the rebel causes and murals of things they’re famous for. C.S. Lewis… the Titanic… all kinds of things are painted on the buildings. We went out to the shipyards to see where the Titanic set sail, we visited the neighborhoods where all the fighting began, and we sat back and enjoyed our first experience of listening to true Irish fellows speak. I really enjoyed Belfast, its shopping, their accents, and the city. The people were so friendly and did I mention their accents.
Our hotel was the Park Inn by Radisson and we probably had the best sleep we got for the entire trip. Great find T!

Brussells, Belgium: Day 7

2012-01-18T04:06:00.000-06:00

Brussels Day 7:
After a not so restful night (apparently nobody sleeps well when they think a mouse is in the room) we ventured out into the city. We started at the Grand Place again and moved on from there. Did you know that Brussells is home to the Smurfs? I had no idea. We came upon a parade/festival with lots of giant balloons, loud music, and people having a grand ole time right in front of Parliament. One thing I've come to realize is that government buildings, no matter where you are, are Grand!

We did a LOT of walking this day moseying through parks, walking downtown, walking down streets we weren't exactly sure of where they were taking us, etc. Our stop for lunch ended up being about a 3 hour stop. That gave us some much needed time to rest our feet and people watch. People watching in Europe is so much better than the US. After a while, we ventured toward the Manneken Pis to take some pictures and eat some Waffles! Belgium is famous for waffles and french fries and I wasn't mad about it!

Let me preface this next part by telling you that today was September 10. We came back to the Grand Place and noticed that they were setting up the square for some big festival (manifestation as they call it). There were a lot of people everywhere so we sat on the curb to watch them set up the square. I'm chatting with Mirjam when all of a sudden this guy starts yelling. At first we think he's yelling at the people in the restaurant (all the restaurants have outdoor seating and he is standing right next to one just yelling). It was hard to understand what he was saying but he kept getting louder and started moving closer towards our direction. It was becoming clear that he was yelling "Its been 10 years! It's payback time! Things are going to explode! Things are going to blow up! 10 Years!! Its Payback time!!" We freaked. Mirjam says to me "um, I'm no longer going to speak English to you guys so the don't think I'm American!" I laughed, but I was also scared. Cindy and Theresa couldn't hear or understand what he was saying and they thought we just wanted to leave to get away from him and as we were walking back to our hotel and we were telling them what he was saying, they couldn't believe it either! The guy ended up getting thrown against a building and arrested (thank goodness) but we were all pretty wound up after that. As we walked back to our hotel, the only people on the streets were men, creepy men who would just stare at you. When we got into the lobby of our hotel, again only men. We ran up to our room and locked our door! Oh but the fun didn't end there. It goes without saying that we were all a little nervous about traveling on the 10th anniversary of September 11 and the incidents of the day made us that more nervous. And to put the icing on the cake, at about 430 am the fire alarms went off in our hotel. I shot out of bed convinced that we were going to die... that we were going to open up the door and someone with a gun would be standing there. We all quickly jumped out of bed, packed up our clothes and headed to the train station in the wee hours of the morning. None of us really said anything, we were just happy to get out of there and on the train and on our way. We said our goodbyes to Mirjam (which hopefully the goodbye won't be for so long this next time) and we headed towards the airport while she headed home to Amsterdam. After everything, I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to Brussels.

Brussells, Belgium: Day 6

2012-01-15T10:05:00.000-06:00

After a lovely breakfast in Brugge, we finished the morning by picking up last minute gifts from the cute stores in Brugge. We waved goodbye to Brugge and took a short train ride to Brussels. We arrived in Brussels and made our way towards our hotel. The train station we arrived in was quite interesting, or as Rick Steves calls it “seedy.” It was pretty clear we were American so we got a lot of stares. We eventually found our room, checked in, and made our plan. We ventured out into the city exploring the Grand Place and the surrounding area and we eventually found the Manneken Pis!

We weren’t super crazy about our hotel location… or at least the area that we had to walk through to get back to our hotel so we decided it probably wasn’t the safest thing to be out super late. We decided to call it an early night and lucky for us, our TV had channels in English. We watched the Oscar winning movie Fast&Furious. Yeah… We did have some adventure in the evening when Cindy went to move something by her suitcase and she SWEARS she saw something go running behind the armoire. We screamed, we giggled, I checked things out and couldn’t see anything… so it remains a mystery. I’m pretty sure none of us slept that great that night thinking of what that could have possibly been. Ahhh, the joys of traveling.

Packers vs. Chiefs

2012-01-09T05:39:00.009-06:00

For Christmas this year I got my dad tickets to the Packers game in Kansas City. I learned at a very early age that the Packers were the team to cheer for and I have ever since. :) We were blessed with a beautiful day (about 60 degrees in December!) and were excited to see the Packers take on the Chiefs. Unfortunately, the Packers team that we came to see didn't really show up. The Packers ended up losing (tear...) ending their undefeated season. Regardless of the outcome, my dad and I had a great time cheering on our team and enjoying the day together. Merry Christmas Dad!

Bible Study Christmas

2012-01-04T05:38:00.012-06:00

The Meyers were gracious enough to host our Christmas party again this year. Everyone came dressed in their Christmas best which included a lot of red and green and some ugly sweaters. I'd say Andy wins for ugliest sweater. We also had a white elephant gift exchange which is always comical. There were so many great gifts from the Forever Lazy, a picture of Andy and Ed, and even a live gold fish (kelli's idea). Allison and Justin did a wonderful job hosting and everyone had a great time!

Look alive.... my top 5's!

2012-01-01T01:53:00.119-06:00

Happy New Year!!! These are my Top 5s for the Year 2011

CONCERTS:
1) Parachute at Vaudeville Mews. Not only did I catch 4 guitar picks but Will (lead singer) jumped down into the audience right where Jenni, Allison, and I were standing and moshed around. It was hilariously awesome.
2) NKOTBSB in Kansas City. This weekend spent with my dear friend Jenni was one of the best weekends ever. The concert was SOOO fun, definitely a blast from the past singing along to all of the songs. Best Weekend EVER!
3) Hanson and Will from Parachute. Jenni, Allison, and I took a roadtrip to see Hanson in KC and Will happened to be playing an acoustic set at the Power & Light district. It was a great surprise and then the Hanson show so awesome. Lots of laughs and inside jokes came from this trip.
4) Maroon 5 & Train. Jenni "I'm so lucky" Van Wyk won backstage passes to the Maroon 5 concert and she asked me to go along. Holla! The concert was SO MUCH FUN and meeting the guys was pretty awesome too.
5) Parachute in Minneapolis. Its true, another road trip for Allison, Jenni, and I to see Parachute. I don't know what was better, the concert or the conversations in the car on the way home in the middle of the night/morning.

Honorable Mentions: Michael Buble. I had already been to the same show previously and had floor seats that time so this, while it was still wonderful, didn't compare to last years. Josh Groban. My brother Jason and I went to see Josh Groban at Wells Fargo. We went out for dinner beforehand with my coworker Christie and her husband to Fongs. It was a great night.

Top 5 Concerts I have yet to see:
1. Adele
2. Beyonce
3. Mumford & Sons
4. Ellie Goulding
5. Justin Bieber... not gonna lie, I would love to see his concert.

TOP 5 MEMORABLE EVENTS
1) Europe: Germany, Belgium, and Ireland. I made a return trip to Europe with my high school friends this year and it was once again, and truly incredible experience. We even got to see our friend Mirjam who lives in Holland which was a definitely highlight!
2) The Masters! My family got tickets to the Masters this year and it was incredible. I was literally within inches of some of the most famous golfers in the world. Such a cool experience.
3) Packers vs Chiefs at Arrowhead. I love my Green Bay Packers and so does my dad. It was a great Christmas present, even though the outcome was terrible, we still had a terrific day.
4) Cubs game. My dear sweet younger brother Jon got the NBC tickets for the cubs game on my birthday (5th row behind the plate) and as my luck would have it, the temperature was about 20 degrees and it rained... We only stayed for 2 innings. It was miserable but definitely memorable.
5) Wisconsin Dells. The Griffith/Barnes/Trost posse made a return trip to Wisconsin Dells. We used to dominate that place in the summers growing up so it was fun to have a reunion.

TOP 5 TOTALLY RANDOM EVENTS THAT TURNED IN TO WAY TOO MUCH FUN
1) Central vs Wartburg football game. A few friends and I headed north to Wartburg to watch the football game (and my dad ref). It was a beautiful day spent with great friends.
2) Farm Crawl: was the most beautiful fall day spent traveling around to farms in southern Iowa with my bible study
3) Covered Bridge Festival in Winterset: Jenni, Kelli, and I met up with Heather for a tour of her hometown during the Festival
4) Midnight Release Parties: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Harry Potter 7 Part 2. Who doesn't love movies at Midnight!
5) (this is not considered a random event) The Sideris Wedding. Don't get me wrong, I love all of my friends weddings but this wedding required a road-trip to Michigan. We all stayed in Elyse's dad's house and had a wonderful time celebrating Nick and Elyse. It turned out to be one of my favorite weekends in 2011.

MOVIES:
1) Breaking Dawn: Part 1 if a Robert Pattinson movie comes out during the year, its my automatic
2) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
3) Bridesmaids. While really inappropriate, its still really funny
4) Footloose. Even though the Kevin Bacon original is still my favorite, I really liked this version.
5) Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. You guys, it was really good.

Other noteworthy movies: Water For Elephants (i was kind of bored but I love Robert Pattinson), Super 8

Let Down of the year: I Am Number Four (loved the book, movie was not so great) and The Green Lantern (Ryan Reynolds what in the world?!)

BOOKS
1) Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
2) Divergent by Veronica Roth
3) The Fallen Series by Lauren Kate
4) The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
5) Changes That Heal by Henry Cloud

CDs
1) The Way It Was, Parachute
2) The Reckoning, Needtobreathe
3) 21, Adele
4) Breaking Dawn Part 1 Soundtrack
5) Hundred More Years, Francessca Battistelli

SONGS
1) Rolling in the Deep by Adele. Definitely sang this the loudest in my car
2) Super Bass by Nicki Minaj. Once it is in my head, it never leaves
3) You and Me by Parachute.
4) Your Song by Ellie Goulding. I love her version
5) A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.

The Song that makes me glad that 2011 is over: Anything by LMFAO!

AND, last but not list, some favorite Youtube Find: Sophia Grace singing Nikki Minaj's Super Bass

And that's it. My Top 5 list for 2011. Happy New Year!

Trost Christmas

2011-12-28T05:33:00.016-06:00

Every year the Trost relatives get together for Christmas and there is ALWAYS some sort of competition. This year was no exception. My aunt Laurie planned the games this year based off of the TV show Minute To Win It. There were 4 teams and 9 rounds. My team was exceptionally good at anything involving bouncing ping pong balls into cups or knocking cups off a table with balloons. Although we didn't win, I still walked away with a Target gift card so I was pleased. It was a heated battle until the very end and I think everyone had fun. Thanks Laurie for all the work you did. It was a fun afternoon with great family.

Miss Madeline was the official game starter

My aunt was the MC

Jason in action

And here we are on Christmas eve and Christmas

Jason, Barnes, and I

Happy Christmas!!

2011-12-25T03:03:00.000-06:00

Have a wonderful time with your family and friends! Merry Christmas everyone!

Farm Crawl 2011

2011-12-22T08:18:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: These next few posts are extremely old but we have shotty internet and I'm just now able to 1) find time to get this updated and 2) have a solid internet connection. :)

We were blessed with another beautiful day on the Farm Crawl this year. The sun was shining and everyone was in good spirits. We all met for breakfast before we headed out on the road. Jenni and I were lucky enough to be passengers in the Meyer vehicle. Justin was full of puns which made the road trip that much more fun. We were smart and headed to the apple orchard first where we ate some super delicious apple crisp, pie, caramel apples, and shucked some corn. From there we headed out to the other various farms to sample goat cheeses, take a hay rack ride, hay bail jumping competitions (just Trent and Scott), donkey races, browsing pumpkins patches, eatting more caramel apples, roaming through mazes, and taking LOTS of pictures! It was such a fun day with friends.

Wartburg vs. Central Roadtrip

2011-12-10T09:07:00.000-06:00

Justin, Allison, Kate, Ed, JP, Jenni, and I hit the road one Saturday afternoon for the Wartburg vs. Central football game. The weather was perfect, emotions were running high, and my dad was reffing the game. JP and Kate were cheering for Central, Ed and Allison were cheering for Wartburg. I didn't pledge my allegiance to either team but cheered for my dad instead. ha. During half time, we walked around Wartburg's campus and even built a pyramid (Kate's idea) The game was pretty heated with Central coming back in the 4th to tie the game, only to have Wartburg score again to take the lead. The final play found a Central receiver dropping the ball in the end zone.. Central lost. JP was heart broken.

I didn't get a chance to talk to my dad after the game but I waved and he waved back. Ran in to momma Julie though so that was fun. On our way home, we pretty much discussed ice breakers in the car, namely, if you had to be on Dancing with the Stars, who would be your Celebrity partner? Condoleeza Rice anyone? There were SO many funny conversations from that roadtrip, I wish I could relive that weekend over again. Yeah College Football!

Our pyramid in the middle of Wartburg's campus (Kate's idea)

Cardio Dance Blast!

2011-11-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

My good friend Sarah and I are teaching a Cardio Dance class Wednesday mornings at Walnut Creek church. Bright and early at 5:45 am begins the dancing and moving and shaking. It's a great workout and the best part is that it is SUPER fun. It's a free 8 week course starting November 30 (today) so if you're just reading this now, you've already missed the first class. All ladies are welcome! Hope to see you and your dance moves there!

Work things

2011-11-21T07:31:00.000-06:00

Sometimes at work, they have random contests. This picture is a result of one of those random contests. :) I can't even look at this picture without laughing.

Covered Bridges Festival

2011-11-19T05:30:00.002-06:00

Kelli, Jenni, and I spent an afternoon in Winterset, Iowa with our faithful tour guide Heather for the Covered Bridges festival. I had never been to Winterset (which turned out to be not true because my old roommate Lindsay and her husband live there and I'd been there to visit before which I didnt remember until I got there). Anyways, I'd never been to the festival before so I was excited. We walked around main street for a while through so many cute shops. We sampled the ice cream, Jenni bought some cookie dough on a stick, and we all found some really purchases to bring home (i.e. scarves, hats, and necklaces). The weather was in the low 80's so it was a gorgeous afternoon to watch the parade! When that was finished we headed out towards the various covered bridges. After a while they all started to look the same but it was still fun to see them. Thanks for the fun day and for being our trusty tour guide Heather!

The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn: Part 1

2011-11-16T21:45:00.002-06:00

It's that time again for another midnight premiere. Ahhhhhhh Can you sense my excitement?!

Brugge, Belgium: Day 5

2011-11-02T07:53:00.001-05:00

We woke up in the cute little city of Brugge, Belgium excited for the day since Mirjam would soon be joining us and realized that it was raining. BOO. Rain wouldn’t stop us though so we put on our raincoats and headed out to explore the city in the daylight. We made our way through the town stopping in chocolate shops, visiting a monastery and blending in to tour groups as they came near us.  Mirjam arrived around lunch time and it was SO great to see her. We had not seen each other since 2006 when we went to The Netherlands to visit her so I was thankful that she was able to meet up with us on this trip and spend a couple days exploring with us. We decided to climb the clock tower in the city center, which is always both a treat and exhausting as the views are great but it’s a battle getting to the top. We basically spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around the city. It’s so cute! We had a free bike rental with our hotel room but unfortunately due to the rain, we never used them. Next time!

That's right. Its a giant anteater made of chocolate!

Lots and lots and lots of chocolate. Not mad about that!

Travel Day: Day 4

2011-10-29T09:13:00.001-05:00

We pretty much spent the entire day traveling from Munich to Brugge. We found ourselves RUNNING in one of the train stations to barely make it onto one of our trains. Try running through the train station, turning 180 degrees at mach speed and the sprinting up an escalator with a 40 lb suitcase. It was hilarious. It was another one of those moments that I wished someone had a video camera on us because I can only imagine what we looked like. Its funny about traveling in Europe. People know you’re not a local and most of the time they laugh at you trying to figure things out. We’ve been very lucky though with the people we’ve met on trains and such who willingly explain things and try to help you out. Its really sweet to see them try to explain it in English and use hand gestures and diagrams and you’re just smiling and nodding along.
We made all our connections and arrived in Brugge quickly and safely.

We found our cute little hotel and decided to take a night walk around the town. Belgium is famous for french fries so it smells like them in most places. That causes you to crave hamburgers so we hit up the late night burger restaurant. Delish. We took some fun night pictures before heading back to our hotel for the night. Its crazy how exhausting riding on a train all day is.

Always some jumping pictures!

Germany Day 3

2011-10-26T02:50:00.000-05:00

Germany Day 3

Day 3 was by far my favorite day in Germany! We took a bus tour to Neuschwanstein castle, the Linderhoff Castle, and Oberameergau. First off, the lady that gave us the tour through Munich was the same lady that was giving this tour. She LOVED being a tour guide. She talked non-stop for almost an hour on our way to our first stop: Linderhoff Castle over-pronouncing every word and repeating herself multiple times to make sure we caught everything. There were a couple of times I thought I was going to ralph all over from a combination of motion sickness, loud lady yelling into the speakers, and whatever I ate for breakfast. Thankfully we arrived at Linderhoff and explored the grounds.

It was absolutely beautiful. The castle is tucked away into the mountains because King Ludwig loved privacy. We didn’t have much time at this castle so we weren’t able to walk on all of the trails. (next time)

Next stop: O-BER-AMM-ER-GAU (said in the voice of our tour guide). Oberammergau is a cute little German town filled with wood carving shops. They have the most amazing cuckoo clocks and I wanted one really badly but thought it would be impossible to 1) travel on the bus with and 2) it was only day 3 of our 18 day trip. I did, however, pick up some cute little pinecone figures for a gift. They’re so great! The town is also filled with houses that have nursery rhymes painted on the side (random) It was in this town that Theresa and I also about got left by the bus… whoops.

This was my favorite postcard in all of Germany!

Final stop: Neuschwanstein. INCREDIBLE. You see pictures and you think of Cinderella and then you’re there and its huge and wonderful and spectacular. We stopped for lunch at the base of the castle before deciding how we were going to get to the top. You have 3 options: 1) Walk 2) Horse drawn carriage or 3) Bus. The bus line was incredibly long as was the carriage line so we thought we’d just have to haul it up the trail. The guide says it takes approximately 45 minutes to walk up to the top (our guide says it takes her 30 minutes)… it took us about 17. We were SO sweaty by the time we got to the top because we decided we would speed walk. It then became the running joke of the trip that whenever we were given a time limit, we knew we could do it in half that. We also wanted to make it to Mary’s Bridge which was about 20 minutes away from the top on the other side (yeah, we walked that in less than 10 minutes). Check out the pictures both from the bridge and then from the castle. Amazing right?! We had the most beautiful day and were able to see for miles and miles. It was pretty incredible. Thankfully on the way home, our tour lady didn’t say a word. 

Just checking out the hang-gliders over the castle

Janmaier Wedding

2011-10-23T08:17:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Greg and Haley Altmaier on your marriage. Enjoy the pictures from yet another epic dance party.

Please notice Trent...

Love these girls

The Big Kat and I

Justin and Penelope

My bff Ryne

Excellent photo bomb by Scott

Cupid Shuffle

The Cha Cha Slide always brings a crowd to the dance floor!

Look at these fellas!

Some of the best friends a girl can have.

Let the dance party begin! Joshy D is always good for a solid dance party!

Break it down Big Kat

A little air band!

My favorites from the solo dance shots!

This was JP's idea

Jenni's Surprise Birthday Party

2011-10-20T08:08:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love surprise birthday parties?! What about a surprise birthday party in the MALL!!? Jenni turned the big 26 this year and what 26 year old doesn't want to celebrate her birthday in the mall with a bunch of her closest friends. Jenni thought we (her and I) were just going to the mall to grab some Chipotle but when we came down the escalators, balloons, banners, and SURPRISE was waiting for her. Sweet sweet Jenni didn't even notice her friends until half way down the elevator. She was super surprised! After the mall surprise, we went back to my house for dessert and presents.

There's a little bit of a back story to the celebrating of Jenni... for the entire week... that I'll save for a later time but I was glad she was surprised and enjoyed her birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2011-10-18T05:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Dad!!

I'm thankful for a wonderful father who knows how to pick a football team!!

Psalm 146

2011-10-17T04:41:00.000-05:00

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When this breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Germany Day 2

2011-10-15T02:31:00.000-05:00

Germany Day 2

Rain Rain go away. Our second day in Germany was greeted with a drizzly, cloudy day in Munich. What better way to see the city and stay dry than to take a bus tour around the city. I should mention that we LOVE the hop on/hop off bus tours. You get to see everything in every city and you get a tour guide to explain the things you see. I’ve attached a few pictures of the places we saw on our bus tour.

Thankfully by the afternoon, the rain had ceased and the sun came out so we were able to get off the bus and explore some of the city on foot. We made a pit stop at the Hofbrauhaus to enjoy some authentic German cuisine. Beer and bratwursts seemed to be the crowd favorites among Americas (as the entire menu was in German). They also had giant pretzels which are what I thought I ordered until it was brought to me and turned out to be a mini pretzel.  Most restaurants in Europe you can just walk in and take a seat. We found ourselves sitting with some other Americans and had a nice chat with them. The best part of Hofbrauhaus is the live music. I loved sitting there, people watching, and listening to the tunes.

After a while we ventured out into some shops and I bought 2 mugs that say Munchen (German for Munich) with a bunch of different places on interested written all over them. We walked through a few parks and took some jumping pictures (naturally) before boarding the bus to head back towards our hotel. I’m convinced that the men in Europe don’t work as every afternoon and night when we’d walk back to our hotel, only men would be at the sidewalk cafes just watching us walk by. Creepy. Anyways, we spent that night watching the US Open finals with German commentators. Haha

Part 2: Germany

2011-10-12T02:19:00.001-05:00

Germany Day 1

As previously mentioned, United royally messed up the beginning of our trip causing us to miss out on Poland and touring Auschwitz. As an alternative, we spent our first day in Germany touring Dachau. Dachau sits on the outskirts of Munich and the concentration camp is tucked away from the city center but not so far away that it causes you to wonder what the people of the city of Dachau thought while all of this was going on. Some of the buildings have been preserved and turned in to museums retelling the story of so many people. It is pretty incredible to stand in the buildings that once housed the Nazi party and the victims of such horror at their hands. To walk through the “shower room” straight into the furnace room is pretty humbling and terribly sad. You get this feeling like you shouldn’t be there and it almost becomes unbelievable to the point of questioning how something so huge and tragic could have ever happened. It reminded me of my grandpa who was a prisoner of war during WWII and was held in one of the concentration camps in Germany. To hear his stories and then walk through such a place, there was a moment that I really couldn’t handle it and tears just ran down my face. (thank you sunglasses) Only 2 barracks remain standing in Dachau and the rest have all been destroyed. Memorials have been built as well in remembrance of those lives lost. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to walk around Dachau and thank the Lord for grace, mercy, and that one day justice will be served at His hand.

Let me tell you about our hotel in Munich as well. It was a cozy little room with SUPER comfy beds. The décor was pretty modern and the breakfast room was so cute. Our hotel, however, was on what had to be one of the noisy streets in Munich. You would swear that people never went to sleep on that street.. and at 3 am people would be outside throwing what sounded like metal poles on the cement over and over and over again. We were 6 floors up and it was still incredibly loud. The other funny thing about the elevator was that it didn’t hold much weight so all 3 of us and our suitcases didn’t really fit. Somehow I always ended up being the one stuck by myself with the suitcase while the other 2 took the lift up. Stairs become our friends.

Part 1: Getting There

2011-10-09T02:20:00.006-05:00

Half the battle is getting there and that certainly rang true for our trip. This next little bit will not paint United Airlines in a very good light so be prepared. I’m still battling it out with them regarding reimbursement and compensation. SO, our flight was to leave Des Moines around 4pm. Due to mechanical issues and what not, we were delayed a couple of hours which, by the time we arrived in Chicago, our connecting flight to Frankfurt, Germany had already left.

Just doing some lunges to pass the time...

SO, they booked us on the next available flight to Germany which left… the next day at 6:30 pm! That meant we had to stay in Chicago for a full 24+hours. They didn’t seem to try too hard to find us a different flight and by then we were exhausted so we just took that, I called some friends who live in Chicago and they came and picked us up. United did give us a hotel but we didn’t have any of our bags and we would have had to check out of the hotel the next morning and spend the entire day at the airport so I was thankful that they were available to let us crash at their place and take us shopping for new clothes, toothbrushes, etc.
So, day 2 we arrive back in the Chicago airport for our 630 pm flight. Guess what?! This one gets delayed too! They finally let us board when we notice that we don’t have our Economy plus seats (extra leg room) because they changed planes at the last minute so about 85 passengers didn’t get the seats they paid for!)

Anyways, we’re on the plane not taking off when they announce that everyone has to get back off the plane. So we’re waiting some more…until we finally take off 4 ½ hours later. Because this flight was delayed, we then missed our connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany to Munich. (We had to end up scrapping Poland because by the time we’d get to Poland at 7 pm, we were supposed to fly out to Munich that next morning at 9 so it wasn’t worth it. We were able to cancel 1 of the 2 nights in Poland and had to pay for a flight we didn’t even use from Poland to Munich. We had to call our Munich hotel also to see if we could stay an extra night) Anyways, as I said, our flight out of Chicago was delayed causing us to miss the flight to Munich which United said they would re-book us on another flight.

(at this point in the picture, we were back on the plane for the 2nd time)

However, when we arrived in Frankfurt, United do not book us on any flight leaving us to fend for ourselves. SO, yeah, it was pretty much a nightmare, one that I never wish to relive. Nonetheless, I am thankful that we made it safely to Germany and somehow all of our bags made it with us.

We finally arrived!!

Iowa State Fair: Maroon 5 & Train

2011-10-02T05:46:00.000-05:00

My dear sweet generous friend Jenni won Sara Bareilles/Sugarland tickets at the fair. Unfortunately, that concert was cancelled after the tragic accident at the Indiana State Fair. The radio station decided to give Jenni tickets to Maroon 5/Train instead. And to top it off, they threw in some backstage passes with Maroon 5 as well! She asked me to go along, and I GLADLY accepted.

We were herded backstage around 630 (I use the term herded because that is literally what it felt like). We were given strict instructions not to ask them to sign anything, not to take our own pictures, and not to hug Adam. When it came time for Jenni and I to meet them, we simply walked up, said our hellos, shook their hands and then asked to be in a picture (they had professional photogs taking pictures for us). I asked if I could be in the middle (meaning I just wanted to stand by Adam) and they shifted and I just jumped right in. Jenni didn’t really know where to go so she kind of squatted in the front. I can’t wait to see the picture of us to see how awkward it actually was. But yes, I did have my arm around Adam and we did get to meet them. It was pretty cool and just like that, it was over. They did sign a picture of themselves for us so we got that as well.

After the opener of (PJ/TJ Morgan/Moran… we didn’t know his name), Maroon 5 hit the stage. Moves Like Jagger had the crowd up and dancing like crazy. It was pretty much non stop from then on. They sang about their first 7 songs without stopping. It was incredible! Dressed in all whites for Friday Night Whites, they didn't stop and put on such a high energy show. I've seen Maroon 5 WAY back in the day when they had like 2 singles and I thought they were gross. They still give me a little bit of that gross factor with their schmooze but you get over it. Its crazy to be at their concert now and realize how many singles they actually have and how many songs you know the words to.

Adam Levine is all kinds of cool… and he knows it too. The way he grabbed his guitar and strutted around the stage during Wake Up Call had Jenni and I mesmerized. We both just stood there and then we looked at each other and neither of us could say anything. It was pretty hilarious. They played a bunch of songs from their newest cd either which was fun to hear. Getting to meet the band and then watch them perform afterwards was such a highlight of my summer. Thanks Jenni!!

Oh yeah, Train performed after that which, sorry to say, a lot of people ended up leaving because Train just couldn't keep up with the momentum that Maroon 5 built. We still had fun and then stayed for the fantastic fireworks after. I love the fair!

Iowa State Fair: Janet Jackson

2011-09-28T05:46:00.000-05:00

fyi... the next couple of posts including this one are really late and old.. but Mediacom internet has not been my friend..

Wow. Miss Jackson hit the stage in full force. I can’t even remember what happened because it all happened so fast, which sadly, is part of my disappointment in her but I’ll get to that. First off, Janet is still JANET! She still masters the moves she was doing 20 years ago. It was so great to sing and dance along to crowd favorites like Escapade, Runaway, Miss You Much, and Scream. We had floor seats so we were right in amongst the “action.” I use the word action loosely as we were way off to the side but we definitely had some SUPER Janet fans around us that kept us entertained. There was one point during her set when she came to the edge of the stage and waved in our general direction and this guy lost his mind! He was fan-girling so hard for Janet, it was amazing! The concert featured her #1s, and she has a lot of them, so she only sang snippets of some. A definite highlight was Rhythm Nation and watching her do the dance. SO SWEET! Everybody lost their marbles when she started in on the dance. She ended the show with Together Again in which she had a little picture montage of Michael in the background. I thought it was really great and the crowd loved it, jumping along with her. She was very giggly during the entire thing which I thought was funny.

And then comes the not so great parts. The show was supposed to start at 8 and she didn’t go on until about 8:33. Okay, I get it. I was totally fine with that because it was a beautiful night to be outside and we were just excited to see her. She came out and sang maybe 3 songs and then went backstage for what seemed like 5 minutes. Came back out and sang 2 more songs and then went backstage again for another 5 minutes. She came back out (still in the same outfit mind you… never did she do a wardrobe change) and performed some of her great dance songs before going backstage for maybe another 10 minutes, and then finally came back out again to sing a couple more and end the show. It was just the weirdest thing with everyone standing and dancing along one minute and then having to sit and wait for her the next. It seemed like we just spent a lot of time waiting for Janet. When she was on stage = amazing! But when she wasn’t, we were bored. In total, she performed for about an hour and 2 minutes. An HOUR!

Overall, I was really impressed with Janet both musically and dance-ability, however, I was left wanting more. I think most people around us felt the same way as you could start to hear some boos from the crowd when she wasn’t onstage people were making comments. If Janet ever comes back to Des Moines, I hope for something more.

Here's a picture of us pre-Janet setting the World Record for Stop, Drop, and Roll

Iowa State Fair: The Band Perry

2011-09-16T05:48:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love a free concert? Even better (in Jenni's mind) who doesn't love a free concert at the IOWA STATE FAIR!!?? The Band Perry was playing so Jenni, Allison, and I headed downtown to get some grub, take in the sights of the fair, and hear some good country music. We knew they were expecting a big crowd but this crowd was GIANT! I'm pretty sure the amount of people at this show could have filled the grandstand on the main stage. It was a bummer to have the Sara Bareilles and Sugarland concert cancelled so it was great to get to see a good country show at the fair. The weather was perfect, a lot of our friends ended up coming to the show as well, and it was a wonderful night.

btw, the Ying Yang Twins were on the stage just up the road from The Band Perry. Talk about a concert for everyone... :)

Lainey Charlotte Johnson

2011-09-13T05:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome Miss Lainey Charlotte Johnson! (you're like, so old by now. sorry about the late post) She's so lovely!

Kickball/Wiffleball Night

2011-09-10T05:45:00.000-05:00

No games of wiffleball quite match up to the games played against the neighborhood crew in my parents backyard...but I still love a good attempt at a great game of wiffleball. A bunch of friends got together at Legion park to take on whoever was willing to play. The game basically consisted of Kate and I standing in the outfield no more than 2 feet apart just chatting while everyone else fielded the balls around us. (like I said, no wiffleball game is quite like the games we used to play in our back yard of my parents house). When we decided we had enough of that sport, we played the next best thing, kickball! I proceeded to get yelled at by Adam for not catching a ball that was hit over my head and landed directly in front of him. :) I was able to make some other "redeeming" catches though. It was a great night that ended with a viewing of The Sandlot.

Josh Groban!

2011-09-07T05:41:00.000-05:00

Finally, Josh Groban made an appearance in Des Moines. The last time I saw him was in Chicago with Jason and Brooke. That night happened to be one of the worst snow storms in Chicago extending all the way in to Iowa. Thankfully, that did not stop the concert from happening. This time, Josh came to MY city. Jason and I met up with my coworker Christie and her husband Chris for dinner at Fongs before the show (delicious!)
Josh opened the show on the stage right in front of us so that was a nice treat. This was a pretty scaled down show in comparison to the last time we saw him. He spent a lot of time talking with the crowd, making fun of the Iowa State fair attenders, and making fun of himself. He was quite witty and you could tell her really is a big dork, which I appreciate.
All in all, it was a great show and a great night!

Wisconsin Dells

2011-09-04T05:30:00.000-05:00

Our trips to the Dells to end our summer vacation were something I looked forward to every year growing up. We'd pack our vans full of everything possible.. and then fill the vans with our family and the Griffith family and head out on the windy river roads headed toward Wisconsin Dells. Some of my best (and worst, I'll get to that in a minute) memories came from our family trip to the Dells. Its funny to think back to the things we did and learned on some of those trips: how to cross a BUSY street while carrying a cooler full of goodies (thanks Cary), how to get kicked off a go-kart track (thanks Travis), how to flip your tube on the water slide and not get in trouble by the life guard (thanks again Travis), how to scope out the cute lifeguards (thanks Kim), when NOT to ride a simulator (or stimulator..um Shelby?) that is called White Water Rafting because you will puke after it!, what constitutes being a "big kid" and getting to hang out with the big kids at Science World (no thanks to ANYONE since I got left behind), which water slides were the fastest: kamikaze, corkscrew, or blue magnum; There is ALWAYS a winner in miniature golf, and finally how to create the most fun while staying at one of the sketchiest places in the city (thanks parents!) These lessons may not make sense and mean nothing to you, but to us, they mean a great deal of fun and memories that we will always remember.

We were lucky enough to relive some of these memories with a weekend away to Wisconsin Dells. Things have changed so much since we were last there but we had the most fun spending the days at the water park and the evening riding roller coasters before going back to the hotel to hang out on the party deck. It was such a lovely weekend! I can't wait for next year's Trost/Griffith reunion.

Stuck in Chicago

2011-09-02T14:07:00.001-05:00

Well... what started out as a whirlwind trip has basically turned into a chaotic tornado. Our flight out of Des Moines was delayed... then there were mechanical problems which caused us to leave Des Moines about 2 hours late. We missed our connecting flight in Chicago to Paris and the next available flight that wasn't full leaves tonight around 6:30. That meant we basically miss out on 2 full days of fun in Europe. We were able to re-route our flight to head straight to Germany and we are completely skipping Poland. Sad but we are going to make the most of it. AND United has already received some strongly worded messages. Thankfully, my dear friends The Neuhrings were available to pick us up from the airport and we stayed at their house last night so it was nice to see some familiar faces in Chicago, I just wish it was under different circumstances. I'm thankful they were willing to take us in. Anyways, here's your live blog update Ryan. I'm not sure how much blogging I will be able to do though. BUT, next stop (for the second time) EUROPE!!

Leaving on a jet plane

2011-09-01T08:25:00.001-05:00

Today I leave for another whirl wind trip through Europe. This time I'll be visiting Poland, Germany, Belgium, and finishing our trip in Ireland. I am beyond excited to explore these countries and see my friend Mirjam again (who is meeting us in Belgium). I'm so thankful for the opportunity to travel with great friends and experience so many different cultures. I ask for prayers of safe travels from country to country and safety while we explore the different cities we will visit. Cheers!

Lindsey's wedding

2011-08-04T01:16:00.003-05:00

Here's some pictures from my cousins wedding that I am just now posting...

Mom wanted to try my shoes on

She also loved singing along to Journey...

80/35

2011-08-02T00:51:00.000-05:00

I stole all of these pictures from Ryan Way... so he gets the photo credits... I just wanted to post them. It was such a fun night, well, as much fun as you can have picking up garbage. :)

The Most Epic Battle of Buzzword

2011-07-31T00:41:00.000-05:00

This was possible one of the funniest nights playing this game. Boys vs. Girls. My competitiveness vs. JP's competitiveness was hilarious, the Nitzchke brothers clearly defining the rules of the game and their side comments as well as Jeff's use of the lamp to read the card better, Josh's little brother Anthony laying the smack down against the girls... so many funny things in one night. It was a memorable game thats for sure! I love hosting!

This is the stuff

2011-07-29T05:49:00.000-05:00

by Francesca Battistelli

I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35
Sirens and fines while I'm running behind
Whoa

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the world
Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff
Someone save me
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
And I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

NKOTBSB

2011-07-27T00:58:00.002-05:00

BWE. (warning... picture overload!)

My bff Jenni and I took a trip to Kansas City for a little thing called the NKOTBSB concert. New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys were touring together and well, I was a pretty big New Kids fan back in 1989. That’s right, 1989! I so wish I could find this picture for you of me in my New Kids shirt (that was way to big for me) white sunglasses, and the cheesiest no teeth smile (I went through a phase) you will ever see. I thought I was the stuff. I thought Joey McIntyre was singing Cover Girl to only me. I would belt out Please Don’t Go Girl in my room to the point where I would hear a firm voice telling me to turn it down. I had a giant pin, a painters hat, a book bag, the cassette tapes… I was obsessed. That obsession would later move on to Leo Dicaprio with Titanic, then Justin with Nsync, before settling on Rob Pattinson with Twilight. I guess its safe to say that I am a tween at heart.

As I’ve already stated, its no surprise that I am a HUGE Nsync fan. If we’re talking about pictures, I could show you many of a room where the walls were completely covered in posters (even the ceiling). Having been to see Nsync/Justin 7 times in concert, does that make me a super fan? Anyways, getting to my point. Nsync and Backstreet Boys were rivals circa 2000. When you loved Nsync, you couldn’t love Backstreet Boys so I didn’t want to feel disloyal to my Nsync fandimonium by going to a BSB show. (I saw this with both a serious and a kidding tone… this thought really did go through my mind).

Regardless of whatever team you are on, I knew the show would be super fun. Matthew Morrison (from Glee) opened the show and he was fantastic. Jenni, in particular, loved one of the songs and I kept saying “my oh my!” (inside joke). Then it was time for NKOTBSB. We really didn’t know how they were going to do the show since they both were headlining and sure enough, they hit the stage together! It was amazing. Both of the groups sang all the classics and we danced around like we were 14 (or 8) again. We determined that Nick Carter is insane, like crazy eyes wacko crazy! He is a certified spaz on stage. We got a good laugh watching him. He actually came out into the crowd at one point right in our section. Jenni screamed with glee. Brian and Kevin were always my favorites of bsb (if I was forced to choose). And then there was Joey McIntyre from NKOTB. He was and still is a dream boat to me. All the ladies loved Donnie Wahlberg, the bad boy as he’s been coined, but me, Joe was my guy. J Let me tell you, NKOTB still has it. They actually put on a much better performance than BSB (we thought) and still have the dance moves to go with it.

We had every kind of fan surrounding us. To my left were 2 ladies in their mid 30s that only took pictures and screamed for Donnie, no one else. When someone else was singing, they were on their phone updating Facebook about how awesome and hot Donnie is. The girls in front of us had to be about 15 and didn’t know a thing about New Kids. They were more obsessed with taking pictures of themselves on their phones and sending them to whoever. The guy behind us was a Dad who seemed to be there with his family. I’m sure he had fun, though he wasn’t matching Jenni and my enthusiasm. And then there was Jenni and I. I screamed, jumped up and down, LAUGHED, and danced until the house lights came up. We saw lots of hair flair, maybe 25 guys total in the audience, A LOT of hilarious home-made t-shirts (our favorite was “I used to make out with your poster), and all kinds of people. NKOTBSB brings out the FANS!!!

All in all, the concert was fantastic and I wish we could see it again, exactly how it happened. We spent the next day floating in the lazy river and wave pool at Oceans of Fun dreaming about our night with NKOTBSB. It was the Best Weekend Ever.

Buble!

2011-07-25T05:09:00.002-05:00

Michael Buble made his way back to town for his Crazy Love tour. Of course, my aunt and I were all over the chance to see him again after our experience at the last concert. This time, my dad wanted to come along as well as the rest of the Walker crew. We met up for dinner before heading to the show. We didn't get floor seats this time but decided to go with the club seats! Naturally 7 opened the show and they are seriously amazing. I'm blown away every time I see them and the things they can do. If you ever get the chance, look them up. Then came time for Mr. Buble himself. We quickly figured out that this show was the exact same show we saw almost a year ago in Omaha so we were a little disappointed. Nonetheless, Buble puts on a great GREAT show (minus the swearing and occasional comment that I could do without). My favorite part of the show is the MJ/Ferris Bueller medley. After lots of singing along and dancing in our seats, the show wrapped up. He ended with A Song for You which he sings with NO microphone and its really something to hear. Its such a fun show and it was extra fun that my family was there. I can't wait for the next one!

Clearly my parents and my aunt and uncle loved Naturally 7.. who opened the show!

Aunt Laurie LOVES Buble!!

btw. apparently he was at the Jordan Creek mall the night before the concert just wandering around. Seriously, the time I have nothing going on and decide not to go to the mall...

HP 7: Part 2

2011-07-23T12:32:00.000-05:00

Midnight movie premieres are seriously such a blast. People are literally hyped up on sugar and caffeine, dressed in crazy costumes, and buzzing for the upcoming movie. It’s a really fun atmosphere, especially for your favorite movies! Seeing the end of Harry Potter with a bunch of other die hard Harry Potter fans was exactly how I wanted to see it.

The movie: wonderful

It was really great to see it all end. I think, in the moment of it all, it was really hard for me to be critical of things that were missing from the book or were done differently. I was just so excited to finally be seeing it that my love for Harry Potter kind of trumped everything else. It’s been 4 years since I read the 7th book but it all came back to me during the movie. Sure there were things that were cheesy or story lines and characters that are more developed in the book. BUT, I think they did the absolute best they could. It’s pretty neat to see a movie franchise do so well and love the fans the way they do. I’m a harry potter nerd. J I loved it.

Next midnight premiere: BREAKING DAWN- PART 1 I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

and yes, kelli and I are matching.

The End

2011-07-14T22:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight... at midnight... with SO many people around the world... we will witness the end... of Harry Potter.

Celebrity Go Getter Alert!

2011-07-09T05:38:00.000-05:00

Guess who's coming to town?

Here's the details: A movie crew and two big-name Hollywood stars are expected to shoot part of a movie at Iowa Speedway. Actors Zac Efron and Dennis Quaid are expected to be the racetrack on July 16 to tape scenes for an as-yet untitled racing movie. Fans are invited to be part of the movie. Tickets for the Prairie Meadows 200 ARCA Series Stock Car and Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races are on sale for $25. Fans purchasing tickets online will be entered into a drawing, and 100 winners will have the chance to participate in the pre-race festivities and could appear in the crowd scenes in the movie.

Launch Day!

2011-07-08T14:51:00.000-05:00

I can remember the first time I went to Kennedy Space Center. It is actually right up the street from where my grandparents live in Florida so my family decided to go on a tour. I remember getting a poster of a space shuttle and hanging it on my wall. It remained there for quite some time (until NSync decided to take over my life). Space exploration is interesting to me. While I don’t really understand the purpose of needing to explore space, I do find it fascinating. God’s creation is fascinating and it really proves how small we are. I’ve been fortunate enough to watch a shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center and its pretty crazy to see. You can stand on my grandparents balcony and watch it. Lucky. We have a long running joke in my family in reference to the CBDs… (cargo bay doors) and not soon after today’s launch did I get a text from my brother about the CBDs. I don’t really have much else to say about it, except that today marks another day in history. J

4th of July!

2011-07-06T16:42:00.005-05:00

This year we were blessed with really great weather to celebrate the 4th of July. My skin is looking a little like baked lobster as a result but overall, the celebration was really fun! We had a pool party, a bbq, and then headed out to Jordan Park for our church's annual talent show. One thing I really love about the 4th is the patriotic music. Thankfully, so does my church so they ended the show with some John Philips Sousa tunes and some sing-a-longs. I LOVE sing-a-longs!! After the show, we headed out to find our perfect spot to watch the fireworks. Normally, fireworks generally all look the same but this year, I thought they had the most unique fireworks I'd ever seen. We had a great night with great friends! Thanks to everyone who serves in our military to protect our freedom. Happy Independence Day!

Watching the fireworks

Jenni and I with little Olive

On the way home, we caught up to Mike and Austin...

WAIT

2011-06-28T21:44:00.002-05:00

Wait
its such a passively demanding word. it still leaves hope but doesn't give you any "real" answer that you are looking for

Wait
its a call to action that requires more obedience and patience than any other that I can imagine. it tests my faith more than anything

Wait
it hangs in the air like a hovering rain cloud promising to bring either a mighty storm or a beautiful rainbow. and with it comes whatever awaits beyond the horizon

Wait
it brings change yet requires you to seek wisdom on what that should look like. to go forth with a humble heart trusting in the Lord's plan.

Wait
it requires you to be still before God and really truly hear what He is saying.

Wait
it means that you must trust that the WORD is truth, that God is for us, and not against us.

Wait
it proves that God loves me, he delights in me, and He knows me better than I know myself.

Wait.

Grandpas

2011-06-22T16:24:00.004-05:00

Grandpas are special people. I think its because they really love you with no rules. Grandmas still have that maternal side where some law has to be laid down but Grandpas, they're the ones who really encourage you to take a flying leap into life. They're the ones who slip you a $5 bill when your parents aren't watching or sneak an extra cookie for you before dinner. Grandpas can be tough on love sometimes when you are testing their patience... but, you also know they love you more than anything. They're the first ones to come with open arms when you fall. My Grandpas love to tell stories and I could sit for hours listening to them. I'm lucky to have had a grandpa who was a fire chief for over 20 years and a grandpa who was a prisoner of war in Germany. I think it says a lot about who they were and what they sacrificed for people. My grandpas also loved Jesus above everything. There's no doubt in my mind that my grandpas are my biggest fans. My grandpas are special people.

A hilarious moment I witnessed

2011-06-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

One night, while hanging out at the Keegan residence, the guys were all giggly because they had just discovered HeyTell. They were in a rare mood, that's for sure. Before the night was over, (and this has nothing to do with HeyTell, I just needed a reason to post that picture of Ryan) a few of the guys got this wonderful idea to pose as a picture from a picture. Here is the result.

Welcome to awkward family photos.

Aaron Gillespie concert

2011-06-15T11:00:00.002-05:00

(i know these are out of order... Mr. Ryan Kendall Way... my apologies)

Mission to the City was capped off this year with an Aaron Gillespie downtown right outside of The Downtown Church. Aaron Gillespie is the former drummer of Underoath so the overall vibe of the concert was a little different than last years show with Phil Wickham. The weather turned out to be awesome and the night was really fun. Thanks to Ryan Way and his water passing out skills, no one went thirsty.

Here's some pictures from the concert.

The DTC band opened the show

PARACHUTE!!!

2011-06-12T22:30:00.007-05:00

Something happens when I go to concerts with my favorite bands... I instantly turn into a screaming 13 year old girl! Parachute finally came back to town after what seemed to be too long of a wait. Their new cd The Way It Was is out so they're touring this summer promoting it and I'm so thankful they stopped in Des Moines. We got there early enough to snag some pretty stellar spots (right in the front) and readied ourselves for some awesomeness. Damato opened the show. We decided he's a mix between Bruno Mars and Gavin DeGraw and we were pretty impressed. Then came Hugo. Super Creepy! They sounded really good but Hugo himself was, well, real awkward so it made it hard to even look at the stage. By that time, we were ready for Parachute anyways.
THEN..
Will, Johnny, Alex, Kit, and Nate took the stage! Vaudeville is a pretty small venue so you're literally standing right next to them as they sing. I got a high five from Will right away to start off the show! From where we were standing, sweat was easily flung in our direction. At one point, Will (lead singer) threw a pick into the crowd and as I'm searching for it on the ground, Will decides to jump into the crowd. Literally, as I look up, he's standing directly in front of me with his face less than a foot from my face and all I could think to do was scream. Ha. It was really hilarious because Jenni and Allison were trying to get my attention while I'm scouring the ground to find the pick and here he is waiting for me to stand up and then, he's right there! It was so awesome (and hilarious). Everybody crowded in close and sang along and we got some pretty hilarious pictures with him jumping up and down. Throughout the show he threw 3 other picks into the crowd and yep, I got em all. I had like eagle eyes for those things. They sang a bunch of songs from their new record as well as a few from their first cd. They also did a rendition of the Scissor Sisters "Take Your Mama" and Tom Petty "Won't Back Down."

At the end of the concert, they ended up coming out for an encore. Will came out first and played a couple songs before the rest of the guys joined him. (Will got caught in the microphone cord and ended up having to have Kit untangled his shoe which was pretty funny). At this point, people were going crazy jumping around and singing along so Will jumped back out into the crowd. Allison, Jenni, and I were laughing hysterically and having so much fun. It was a great night with wonderful friends and great music. I cannot wait until the next show! There's a handful of bands/singers that I REALLY love and they are at the top of that list!

Us with Will

Johnny (drummer) and us

Nate (lead guitar) and one of their road crew guys

Alex (bass) and Kit (saxophone and keys) with us

3 of the 4 picks I caught!

#M2TC

2011-05-31T17:13:00.001-05:00

#M2TC = Mission to the City (its been trending all week.. and some people are learning for the first time what a hash tag means!)

It’s the 2nd annual M2TC event. Last year ended with a very successful week of talking to people about Jesus, inviting them to church, and capping off the week with a free Phil Wickham concert. This year, we changed up the schedule a little bit with the events kicking off on Friday, the 27th. We volunteered with various organizations such as Goodwill, Birthright, Iowa Right to Life, Operation Christmas Child; we volunteered at local churches helping with rebuilding, cleaning, and yard work; and we passed out a lot of fliers and information about this years concert. We also offered free car washes and oil changes this year as another way to serve the community. Because of a few things going on at work, I was only able to participate 3 days but those 3 days were worth it. I really loved my group and the motley crew that we were. Since our BS split into 2 groups and our half didn’t have as many participants, we picked up a few college guys: Big Ben VanWalbeast, I only ever it pizza Dustin, and Caleb the life changing guacamole maker Thompson. We had such a blast serving together and I’m so thankful for these opportunities within our church that allow us to meet “new” people and serve with them (I use new loosely because they’re not new, just new to our group). This years closing for M2TC will have Aaron Gillespie headlining a Free concert on Friday at our church. 7 pm. 323 E. Locust. TOTALLY FREE. Its going to be a blast. And for even more incentive, the DTC band is opening.

M2TC is challenging both physically and spiritually. We meet so many people during the week that have no idea who Jesus even is or people who have completely rejected any form of religion. It breaks my heart to have some conversations with people who have no hope and don’t even care. I’m thankful for the men and women I can serve with, who are willing to give up their holiday (and in the worlds eyes look like complete idiots) to talk with complete strangers about something that they feel so strongly about. Things can get awkward, things can get frustrating, you can get exhausted and emotionally drained, but I know that one day, it will all make sense. This must not become a one week a year thing, but a lifestyle.

Birthday!

2011-05-27T01:02:00.001-05:00

I had a really wonderful birthday and was able to celebrate it with some really wonderful friends. The weather was fantastic so we were able to grill! After dinner we went to the movies! So many of my favorite things happened and I am thankful for the friends who celebrated with me! Thanks for all the birthday love!

Kelli the grill master

Jenni gave this to me!

Jane, the party planner

CHICAGO!

2011-05-25T00:52:00.000-05:00

I love Chicago.. especially the Chicago Cubs. What is greater than going to a Cubs game for your birthday? My dear little brother worked his magic and was able to get the NBC seats for the Cubs/Giants game. 14th row behind the plate, and for free! Unfortunately, it was the COLDEST game (and wettest) I have ever been to. We're talking 30 degrees with the wind blowing into our faces. The rain was like one of those misting machines that you run through on a hot day at a theme park. We have some really good friends who also have season tickets who were at the game so we went and sat with them for a while in hopes that it would be warmer near them. We only lasted through the 2nd inning. It was such a bummer that we couldn't use the best seats I've ever had to watch the Cubs take on the reigning World Series champs. Hopefully the next game we go to will be a little warmer.

Tulip Time

2011-05-23T03:34:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, a few of us went to Pella to celebrate Tulip Time. I'd only been to Tulip Time a couple of times but I had never been there with the locals as our tour guides. We even had a former Tulip Queen in our presence. Jenni's sister was on this years Tulip Court so, naturally, we became her number one fans and cheered as loud as we could during the parade. We ate some delicious, authentic treats and admired all the lovely tulips before heading back home. It was a wonderful night and I can't wait for next year!

28

2011-05-18T10:42:00.000-05:00

Another year older. 28 is not a milestone. It is not a birthday that deserves any sort of grand gesture. It is, in fact, just another year. When you are young and you think about some day being 28, it seems so far off and so old. Where did that time go? I don't feel that old. What makes this year different than any other? I think, over this past year, I have looked back on my 28 years more than I have any other year. It is really easy for me to think about the things I haven't accomplished yet and wonder what the Lord is doing. I wonder why He is taking so long or why He hasn't answered this prayer or that one. I think, what is next for me or why did I have to go through that? When you are 28, it is easy to think about all the things you don't have, all the things you have yet to accomplish and see, all the things that are in your future. I think we are so quick to look at what is missing rather than see what has been given. If I wasn't 28 exactly how God intended me to be at this very moment, I wouldn't have learned everything I did this year about boundaries, becoming an adult, having a Mary spirit in a Martha world, and learning to love people as Christ intended. I wouldn't have been able to explore Europe like I have, running through the hills of Austria singing aloud, laughing on the streets of Paris with dear friends, exploring Italy with true locals, and falling in love with the city of London.
I would not have been able to open up my house to friends every week to learn about the Lord, to serve with a body of believers who fascinate and challenge me every day, to labor alongside dear friends and leaders who will one day stand before the Lord and hear "well done my good and faithful servant."
I would not get to spend quality time with my family vacationing who knows where: experiencing the Masters, cheering on the Cubs in Chicago, laying on the beaches of Florida, playing frogger on the streets of Wisconsin, jet skiing in the Bahamas, road tripping to Ohio just so we can ride some crazy fast roller coasters, white water rafting on the New River gorge in West Virginia, staying in the Bates motel somewhere in Pennsylvania, and loving every minute we are together.
I would not understand the love that my friends and I share, to be blessed with friends who understand me and love me even when they do not feel like it, who go to midnight showings of Twilight and Harry Potter with me just because, who go to any and all concerts with me just because, who share truth with me when I need to hear it and share their heart with me when I need to be humble, who go on road trips and drive through the middle of the night just for fun, who trust me and give me grace. I would not have a job that allows me to be myself, coworkers who I can laugh with and chat with, a job that allows me to do so many things and wants me to succeed. If I was not 28, I would not have this life. So it is with a full heart that I look back on year 1 - 27 and am thankful for what the Lord has done and what He will continue to do. Yes there will be days when I wonder why I am 28 and this or that, but I know that HE knows why, and I trust Him.

St. Louis!

2011-05-09T03:32:00.000-05:00

Wedding number 2 of the year found me in St. Louis. My family and I headed off to St. Louis on a Friday afternoon on one of the nicer days of the year (it seems that I'm always in the car on the nice days). Our good friend Eric Sudol was getting married so the entire family was making the trek. When we arrived, we headed over to Joe Buck's restaurant. For the rehearsal dinner, they rented out the top floor and party deck that overlooked the Cardinals (boo) stadium and the Arch. We grabbed some dinner at the restaurant before heading up the elevator to meet up with everyone. It was such a great view from the restaurant, even if it was a Cardinals influenced restaurant.

The next morning, Jason and I headed out to explore the city. We stayed downtown so everything was really right out the front door. We stopped at Panera for some breakfast and ended up sitting outside watching a high school choir perform on the steps behind the capital building. We continued exploring the city and had fun taking pictures in the City Gardens. They had a lot of interesting sculptures (Des Moines still wins for most random and creepy sculpture garden). We walked around Busch stadium before stopping to take some jumping pictures (always) in front of the Arch. Jon and Krista were driving down from Chicago so we headed back to the hotel to meet up with them and get ready for the wedding.

Jason getting creative with the camera

The wedding was at the catholic church that sits at the base of the Arch. It was a really beautiful church and everyone looked so pretty/handsome. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were served on the first floor of this high rise downtown. It was fun to catch up with some other hometown people that I hadn't seen in a while. Dinner was served 46 floors up at the "Top of the Met." We were pretty much level with the Arch so the view was really great. One unique thing about this wedding was that they didn't have a DJ or a band, they had dueling pianos. It was really fun listening to them play and watching everyone sing and dance along.

The Trost and Moses crew

View from the reception!

Jon and I with Eric, the groom.

Sunday morning we were up early. We all ate breakfast together (thanks Dad) and decided to take a ride up in the Arch. I was the only one that had ever been up in the Arch and thought that everybody should at least do it once. Krista begrudgingly went along but it sure was an interesting 4 minute ride to the top (she's pretty claustrophobic). We snapped some pictures at the top and took the quick ride down. We said our goodbyes and were on our way back home. It was a great weekend celebrating with family and friends.

Krista is not so sure about this.

View from the arch. The tall building with the green roof is the place where the reception was.

At the top of the Arch

Inside the tram capsule

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-08T04:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's day to my favorite mom.

and you too Kris... you're my honorary mom. :)

COLLEGE

2011-05-04T21:32:00.006-05:00

Most days it seems like college was such a long time ago and when I really think about it, it was. I’m celebrating my 10 year high school reunion this summer! How did that happen?! But there are days when something will happen and memories of college will come roaring back and flood my mind and put a huge smile on my face. I was blessed with some really great friends in college and somehow, we all eventually ended up in the same area. We try to see each other as often as we can, usually individually, but every once in a while we plan a get together with everyone. It seems like each time we get together, the number of people grows with the addition of husbands and children but that makes it really fun. I’m so thankful for these ladies friendship and the model they have been in my life. They are all truly extraordinary in their own way, they are each an individual person bringing their own personality to the table and they all love Jesus above anything else. I look forward to our outings and getting together and I can’t wait for the next one. This time, Jane and I are hosting!

Jane Eyre

2011-04-30T09:16:00.000-05:00

Creepy. The entire movie is dark, mysterious and creepy. I've never read the book by Charlotte Bronte but I knew a little bit about the story. When the movie was over, I think we were thankful that we didn't live in England during the 1800's. You would be fighting depression every day! I love the way this movie was filmed and how it captured the characters. The way people used to speak back then is fascinating to me. Everything from the clothes they wore, how they did their hair, to the activities and games they played all seem so foreign to this world. Its amazing to watch a movie that seems so simple, following the life of a girl who has always been alone, yet the complexity of her character slowly unravels as the movie continues. A "vampire" even makes an appearance! Overall, I liked this movie. I think I'm going to read the book.

The Royal Wedding!

2011-04-29T01:55:00.000-05:00

It is finally here!!!! Hooray!

The Masters

2011-04-27T09:49:00.000-05:00

When sitting down to write about the Masters, I’m not exactly sure how to describe it. It was really amazing and the day was practically perfect yet I find myself confused because I’m talking about golf. I have given my dad crap year after year for the amount of golf he plays and watches and here I am, at golf’s biggest event, acting like a fangirl and utterly giddy at the sight of the golfers. I guess, deep down in my little soul, I like golf. J I’ve grown up around it so I know the game, I know the big dogs in the golf world, I know what winning the Masters means, so with that, I guess I realized why my dad loves it. It is exciting. Before I get too carried away here, I’m not about to set my DVR to record every PGA event, but I will say that I had one of the best times and it was a great day.

We woke up early, real early, and headed towards Augusta. The morning was cool so I had a jacket with me that I would later regret. We parked and entered through the entrance at Hole 9. The closer you get to the course, the greener and more lush the foliage becomes. Driving up to the course, there is no way you would know that a golf course existed where it did. As you walk down the path, the fairways and greens peak through the trees until, well, its right in front of you and you realize “I’m at the Masters.” To quote my dad, everything on the course is immaculate! Its pretty incredible to see. As we were walking further up the course, we spotted a crowd of people and wandered over to see who was coming. Sure enough, 2010 Champion Phil Mickelson was coming our way so we stopped to watch and snap a few pictures. Dad lead us around the course and eventually up to the clubhouse to meet some of his friends. It was fairly soon after that we heard that Tiger was as the putting greens and about to head out on the course. We decided to make our way towards Amen Corner and then eventually to hole 16 to watch most of the players come through.

My brother and I stood at the 16th Tee practically an arms length from the players. At one point my brother leaned over and said to me “if I was teeing off here, I would kill everyone standing along here.” I don’t know how golfers do it but they have to be so concentrated to hit the ball as well as they do with that many people practically breathing down their necks and their eagle eyes watching every move they make. I think we picked the best hole to watch. Mom and Dad opted for bleacher seats so they could watch the green on hole 15 as well as all of 16 (I guess you don’t realize when watching it on TV that you really only get to see a tiny bit of the actual game depending on where you sit). I’m not as familiar with all of the golfers as my brother so he would tell me “take a picture of him, he’s really good,” or “eh” was the response I got when I asked who certain people were. Hole 16 requires the players to hit the ball over water onto the green. Its tradition that when they hit their tee shot, everyone yells skip! The players walk to the end of the tee box and hit another ball, skipping it across the water. It gets pretty competitive and its really funny to watch. I got to see everyone that knew and lots of people I’d never heard of. I quickly decided who I was a fan of (sometimes based on their outfits!) Jon pointed out Ricky Fowler to which I replied ‘is he like the Justin Bieber of golf?!” haha.

One of the best things about the Masters are the food prices. They still serve the same menu and everything costs the same as it did way back in the day. $2.50 for a chicken sandwich, $1.00 for soda or chips… yahtzee!

My favorite thing we got to see was the par 3 tournament. Most of the player’s families and kids caddied for them and it was really fun to watch. We sat at hole 3, again, the perfect location, to watch all the action. Before you knew it, a pack of kids would come running down the hill in front of you, pick up a ball, turn around and say “here’s your ball daddy.” It was very sweet and funny. There was also a lot of rolling down hills and disappointment when one of the kids didn’t get to putt the ball. Again, with where we were sitting, all of the players walked right in front of us to get to the next hole so I snapped a ton of pictures. At one point, Zach Johnson was walking by so I was trying to get a good picture. After they had passed and my Dad came over to where we were, he asked if I saw who Zach’s caddy was. I said no, to which he replied that it was Andy Roddick. I couldn’t believe I missed him literally standing right next to me. The Par 3 is such a fun tournament to watch because its so relaxed and the players seem to really be having a good time.

The weather had pretty much turned to summer heat and as I stated above, I regretted my outfit. I got some interesting tan lines from my skinny jeans, Toms, and tank top, and by the end of the day we were pretty exhausted so we decided to head back towards the club house. Thankfully, Andy and Zach had not gone in the clubhouse yet so I was able to get some pictures. We took a few final pictures before reluctantly leaving.

The day was truly epic. Watching some of the greatest golfers play on the course that every golfer strives to get to was truly remarkable. The Masters was such a great memory to experience.

Tiger

Andy Roddick and Zach Johnson

Phil and Ricky "the Justin Bieber of golf" Fowler

Water for Elephants

2011-04-25T09:06:00.000-05:00

Of course I'm going to see this movie. My dad claims that I only wanted to see it because of Rob Pattinson (and while that is indeed true, it's not the only truth). I read the book a couple of years ago and really liked it so I was happy to hear they were making it into a movie. I was, as you can imagine, even happier that Rob was cast as the lead. We went to see the movie opening night at about 10 pm and that probably wasn't the smartest thing. Its not the most exciting movie so I found myself a little tired. I kept waiting for the action to begin and it never really did until the last 5 minutes of the movie. On a positive note, everything in the movie is really REALLY pretty. The people, the costumes, the set, the scenery, it was all visually really stunning. The circus is a funny thing to me and you get to experience a little bit of what life was like back then. I remember my grandparents taking us to the circus when we were little. I got lost, it was terrifying. Do they even have circuses anymore? I guess I equate the circus life back then with those that travel with carnivals to state fairs and such now a days.
Anyways, I'd recommend reading the book before watching the movie. You always get more details reading a book vs. a movie. Nonetheless, I was really happy with the movie, Rob Pattinson did great, and the elephant in the movie stole the show!

A gift from Kelli in my inbox.

2011-04-20T16:41:00.002-05:00

I Will Wait

2011-04-19T22:05:00.001-05:00

I Will Wait.

Thanks for sending this Kate.

I'm on my way....

2011-04-02T05:02:00.000-05:00

To The Masters! Being the golfing family that we are, I guess the ultimate way to celebrate one's love for golf (my father's) is to go to the biggest golfing event in the world. We're making pit-stops along the way in Nashville and Birmingham so my younger brother and Dad can golf (mom and I will choose to shop). Unfortunately the whole family wasn't able to come along on the trip but it'll be a fun time regardless. The Masters, here we come!

St. Patrick's Day Rollerskating

2011-03-30T04:40:00.000-05:00

I'm not Irish (but I'm excited to go to Ireland) so celebrating St. Patrick's Day isn't high on my list. Mostly because it's just an excuse for people to think they can get wasted and drink green beer. That's not my idea of fun. What IS my idea of fun are green costumes and roller skating! This year, in celebration of Mr. Green Holiday that all people believe they are Irish so they go crazy and look like fools Day, we went roller skating at Skate West. It was a blast. The guy running the place really loved our group and kept giving us shout outs on the microphone. Many people won prizes for their awesome skate/dance moves! Thankfully, no broken bones and only a few broken egos (from those who smashed into the floor while trying to be a superstar on skates). It was such a fun night. One thing I learned: I need to get myself some skates with light up wheels!

Limbo participants

Scott

Trent

Jenni enjoying her FREE snow cone for winning the YMCA dance

The guys showing off their winnings from the YMCA dance contest

Kate and Elyse: synchronized speed skating

Blake, the ever cautious one

The sideline spectators

The Sideris' getting boogie on the skate floor

More speed skating. Elyse was a pro!

Hokey Pokey

You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around (check out the kid in the bottom right)

Superstars

Check out Scott's mad skills

Jon A. just skating in style

The Meyers and their leisurely pace around the rink

Nick, doing his thing out on the rink

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Red Riding Hood

2011-03-28T10:09:00.000-05:00

Twilight remix? It sure seemed that way with the opening credits of the movie. Actually, Catherine Hardwicke (the director of Twilight) did this movie and it's filmed basically using the same camera. Also, Billy Burke (aka Charlie Swan) is also in this movie so there's another Twilight reference. A fun fact is that Leonardo Dicaprio is listed as one of the producers of the film. Who knew?! Anyways, this movie wasn't really what I expected. I'm not sure what I actually expected but regardless, this movie was different. It wasn't as scary as I thought (or hoped) it was going to be and the story line was definitely different. I liked that they kept you guessing as to who the wolf was but if you really pay attention, you actually can figure it out fairly easily. Everybody knows I'm team vampire so a movie about a wolf, it was "eh" for me. I was entertained, sure, but the overall plot and characters weren't that exciting. I do like the idea of taking children's stories and making them into movies, I just wished this one was a little more developed though I'm happy they used some of the classic "Red Riding Hood" lines and used them in the movie. (also the red riding coat does look pretty great against the backdrop of this movie). I hear Snow White is being remade and the cast so far seems promising so that's something to look forward to I guess. On to the next...

Upward Basketball

2011-03-27T04:40:00.000-05:00

I had the privilege of coaching Upward Basketball this year with the one and only Miss Haley Janssen. Our team: Longhorns! (While I don't support anything Texas, this I will make an exception for). Our girls were in 5th and 6th grade and they were the greatest. Birdie, Caroline, Rory, Sarah, Jurnee, Didi, Kassie, and Sami did such a great job this season and we are so proud of them. They worked hard every practice and improved every game. Our last game of the season, playing with only 4 players, they won 64-18. Great job girls!!

Sarah is a superstar!

Didi: always the serious one.

Jurnee and Caroline taking a break

Annual Oscar Party

2011-03-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

It has become the tradition that every year for the Oscars, I throw a big party to celebrate. With so many weddings that happen each year, I figured, why not have everyone dress up in an old bridesmaid or prom dress since most of us will never wear them again! This year we had a great turn out even though the Oscars were mediocre. Everyone came dressed in their best. Each person got their individual photo opportunity and then we all filled out our Oscar ballots. 3 different popcorn flavors and Ice Cream Sundaes (with all the toppings you can imagine) were served. Here are some pictures that I'm allowed to share from the event.

Jenni and Kelli: the same dress only different colors... and just as poofy!

Apparently our dresses were in support of Black Swan

Best Individual Portrait

Kate's "Surprise" BDay Bash

2011-03-21T18:28:00.006-05:00

Kate reminded us almost every day, months well in advance, that she wanted a surprise birthday party. How then, do you accomplish surprising someone when they are expecting a party for their birthday? Well, you throw a birthday party a week early! Shaly, Kelli, and Lisa planned the party with lots of Kate favorites: costumes, videos of Kate, more costumes, line dancing, good eats, and all the people who love Kate! It was such a fun night and I'm glad she felt celebrated!

Watching the video of Kate in all her glory

The Kate face fans

Lots and lots of line dancing

Birthday Cake

And then there was the photo booth

Something fun for Des Moines

2011-03-17T17:13:00.001-05:00

I read this on a business blog the other day and got really excited:

From coast to coast, television executives said they are lining up in hopes of featuring an eclectic Des Moines business that sells salvaged items from major cities in the United States and other countries. West End Architectural Salvage owner Don Short said his store, in downtown Des Moines on Ninth and Cherry streets, is where something old becomes new again. TV networks said they have noticed Short's unique business and an offer for a reality show might be in the works. So far, Short said, production crews are visiting and taking pictures but are making no promises. No contracts have been signed, but at least one California-based company was at the "funk yard" this week, Short said.

Valentines Day

2011-03-12T03:23:00.000-06:00

Nothing like another late post...

I am privileged to be a part of one of the best bible studies, to be surrounded with such great people, and be lead by such amazing guys. Since Valentines Day fell on a Monday this year, the guys in my bible study decided to cook all the girls dinner. Seriously, when the guys offer to cook, we never say no. We have some amazing chefs in our group so we gladly accepted the invitation.

Jenni with the salad. Thanks to Scott, we had the most amazing salad dressing

Rianne presenting the main dish: Filet mignon, baked potato, asparagus, and shrimp

Kelli showing off the dessert

Emily approves

Scott, the trusty water pourer

The guys

Thanks guys!!