Nicole and I had planned to head to Detroit Lakes this weekend to get my braces tightened and watch Hattie while Em and Ryan went to a friends wedding. Nicole had the option to be on call for the weekend so we decided to do that instead. Thanks Em and Ryan for understanding and we will see you this coming weekend.
We took it easy on Friday night and just stayed home and caught up on Rescue Me (a TV series we enjoy). Nicole was excited about her 1st weekend on call. She is on call at Fairview Riverside (where Ashley had Zander). It is pretty neat how it works. She gets up on Saturday morning and at 8:00 a.m. she calls the hospital to see if there are any cases. If there is, she goes in, if there are not, she has the day off. So it's not like she can be called in for an emergency at any hour of the weekend, it is just a check-in right away in the morning and then go about your weekend. It prevents us from leaving town on that weekend, but that is no big deal. So yesterday she called in and there was 1 case, so she went in. She got home about 1:30 so she was gone about 5 hours. I went and played golf in the morning and then when she got home we played 9 holes with our good friend Brent Snyder. Brent is the teaching pro at Troy Burne. I was able to hang in there with him for 9 holes, but I made some dumb mistakes on the 2nd and 3rd holes and he beat me by 3 shots. He was a little rusty and if I ever had a chance to beat him this was my day. It would take Brent on a rusty off day and me shooting even par to beat him, a bad round for him is 1 over par. He simply plays a different game of golf than anyone I know.
After golf I went home and mowed the grass and we had Brent and Courtney over for dinner. Brent and Courtney were married last Saturday so we got together to catch up on their honeymoon to Quebec City. They are great people and we look forward to getting to know them better. Courtney is hilarious, she jabs at Brent like they have been married for years, and if you know Brent normally he is so cool and confident but his wife knows how to get him. (which wife doesn't right?)
Nicole made fresh salsa (always great) and we had a great pork loin and roasted potatoes. Nic is a great cook and entertains very well. After dinner we watched the Iowa/Penn St game and it was a BEAUTY! My brother Ryan and I were texting during the game as we all know how much the Hawkeyes meant to Hap! We so wished he was here to watch the game with us as he would have been on CLOUD NINE! The un-rated Hawkeyes went into Happy Valley to play the 5th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions! They won what was probably one of the best games I have seen in a couple years. Watching that game made me think of all the Hawkeye games we watched growing up begging Hap to turn the Gophers on. They are and always have been our 2nd favorite team. Do you know the chant, Who Hates Iowa, We Hate Iowa? I have always hated that cheer and wished we did that for the Badgers, because Wisconsin is way worse than the Hawkeyes in my opinion! It was a glorious day yesterday for Happer and I'm sure he was watching that game somewhere!
It was a great day on Saturday. Now today, Nicole got called in again, 2 cases today, maybe 3 which is very good. She is getting more efficient with her evaluations and her dictations. I'm trying to think of something to make for dinner so she doesn't have to cook when she gets home. I kind of feel lazy sitting home watching the Vikings and Tour Championship when she is working!
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
The Wards
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
This Weather Is Great!
It was another beautiful weather weekend in Hudson. We started out with Couples Golf which we call 9 N' Dine on Friday night. We were very disappointed with the turn out as it was Nicole and I standing on the 1st tee at 5:15 when it was supposed to start. It wouldn't have stopped us from playing but people must be tired of the golf season or just too busy with back to school projects. One other couple showed up at 5:20 so we played 9 holes with them. The Gagnes were able to join us for dinner so the 6 of us went to Barker's in Hudson as the club was closed (not willing to stay open for 6 people I guess). Nicole shot a 46, not bad, I shot a 36, best round of the year. I got it to 1 under after hole 7, but I bogeyed number 8, which is a difficult par 3. We had the neighbors over for some drinks after dinner and we turned in early as Saturday was a long day!
On Saturday we had the Gopher football game at 11:00 against 8th ranked California. The Gophers were 14 point underdogs. We met Ally, Ashley, and Zander at the tailgate lots. Zander was very tired so he wasn't in the best of spirits. He was running a fever the day before and still probably not 100%. It was a perfect day for an outdoor game, in fact it was a little too warm, but we weren't complaining as there will probably be some cold game days coming. We both wore jeans thinking it would be a little cool in the morning, man that was a mistake. Our seats face the sun (which we thought would be good as it would be warmer), yeah, we baked for 2.5 hours.
The Gophers put up a good fight against a top 10 opponent. We really had a chance to win I think, but a few big plays were allowed and we lost by 14. They definitely improved from their game against Air Force. Our running game has to improve, our top receiver Eric Decker had a career game, but he took some serious shots and if that continues he'll be hurt and we'll be in the same position as we were last year (7-1 through 8 games, then losing the remaining 5 games). The running game has to improve.
After the game we went home for about 2 hours. I mowed the lawn and Nicole cleaned up around the house. We then went to Stillwater to have some appetizers and drinks with my largest client and his wife. They have a boat that they cruise the St. Croix river with and they were at their slip in Stillwater for the evening. So we met them on their boat and had a great time. I was a little nervous going into it, but we got along great. His wife and Nicole hit it off great as Nicole has a lot in common with their daughter. Their daughter is finishing her Masters in Clinical Psychology and thinking about making the "plunge" into the doctorate program!
At 8:30 they went to dinner in Stillwater and we walked with them, but we had a wedding reception to get to so we parted way. It was a great time.
The wedding reception we went to was for Brent and Courtney Snyder. We have gotten to know Brent over the last 5 years and we like him very much. He is our golf coach and now is becoming a good friend. He is 29 years old and is very interesting. His reception was a blast, lots of good music and of course some good beer/wine. We danced and talked until midnight when they shutdown the music.
On Sunday we slept in and did some more yardwork (never ending). I watched the Vikings for a few quarters and then had to play in the final golf tournament of the year, an event we call King of the Burne! This event is for the top 19 point getters throughout the season. I was number 7 out of 19. Out of 19 players, I was able to place 3rd yesterday. I lost out in a chipoff on the 17th green as I had tied with one other guy on that hole. I hit one in the water and still managed to tie but I lost the chipoff. The final 2 players went to the 18th and a winner was crowned King of the Burne. While all this football was being watched and golf was being played, I had a wife hard at work at home. She FINISHED HER DISSERTATION yesterday! I am very proud of her and I think my constant nagging had something to do with it, but maybe it was just a pain in her side. Either way, it is done and will be handed in this week for final review. We went out to dinner last night in downtown Hudson to celebrate a little. Nicole is getting a few more billable hours each week and is working hard to grow her business. It's slow going but it has only been 9 days.
This week looks to be pretty quiet, we have the 1st Wild game of the season this Thursday and are heading to Detroit Lakes on Friday to watch Ms. Hattie for the evening (Saturday) while Ryan and Em attend a friends wedding in Bemidji. We are excited. I am also going to get my braces tightened, hopefully for the last time. We are getting close to the end I think. We'll see! Have a good week.
On Saturday we had the Gopher football game at 11:00 against 8th ranked California. The Gophers were 14 point underdogs. We met Ally, Ashley, and Zander at the tailgate lots. Zander was very tired so he wasn't in the best of spirits. He was running a fever the day before and still probably not 100%. It was a perfect day for an outdoor game, in fact it was a little too warm, but we weren't complaining as there will probably be some cold game days coming. We both wore jeans thinking it would be a little cool in the morning, man that was a mistake. Our seats face the sun (which we thought would be good as it would be warmer), yeah, we baked for 2.5 hours.
The Gophers put up a good fight against a top 10 opponent. We really had a chance to win I think, but a few big plays were allowed and we lost by 14. They definitely improved from their game against Air Force. Our running game has to improve, our top receiver Eric Decker had a career game, but he took some serious shots and if that continues he'll be hurt and we'll be in the same position as we were last year (7-1 through 8 games, then losing the remaining 5 games). The running game has to improve.
After the game we went home for about 2 hours. I mowed the lawn and Nicole cleaned up around the house. We then went to Stillwater to have some appetizers and drinks with my largest client and his wife. They have a boat that they cruise the St. Croix river with and they were at their slip in Stillwater for the evening. So we met them on their boat and had a great time. I was a little nervous going into it, but we got along great. His wife and Nicole hit it off great as Nicole has a lot in common with their daughter. Their daughter is finishing her Masters in Clinical Psychology and thinking about making the "plunge" into the doctorate program!
At 8:30 they went to dinner in Stillwater and we walked with them, but we had a wedding reception to get to so we parted way. It was a great time.
The wedding reception we went to was for Brent and Courtney Snyder. We have gotten to know Brent over the last 5 years and we like him very much. He is our golf coach and now is becoming a good friend. He is 29 years old and is very interesting. His reception was a blast, lots of good music and of course some good beer/wine. We danced and talked until midnight when they shutdown the music.
On Sunday we slept in and did some more yardwork (never ending). I watched the Vikings for a few quarters and then had to play in the final golf tournament of the year, an event we call King of the Burne! This event is for the top 19 point getters throughout the season. I was number 7 out of 19. Out of 19 players, I was able to place 3rd yesterday. I lost out in a chipoff on the 17th green as I had tied with one other guy on that hole. I hit one in the water and still managed to tie but I lost the chipoff. The final 2 players went to the 18th and a winner was crowned King of the Burne. While all this football was being watched and golf was being played, I had a wife hard at work at home. She FINISHED HER DISSERTATION yesterday! I am very proud of her and I think my constant nagging had something to do with it, but maybe it was just a pain in her side. Either way, it is done and will be handed in this week for final review. We went out to dinner last night in downtown Hudson to celebrate a little. Nicole is getting a few more billable hours each week and is working hard to grow her business. It's slow going but it has only been 9 days.
This week looks to be pretty quiet, we have the 1st Wild game of the season this Thursday and are heading to Detroit Lakes on Friday to watch Ms. Hattie for the evening (Saturday) while Ryan and Em attend a friends wedding in Bemidji. We are excited. I am also going to get my braces tightened, hopefully for the last time. We are getting close to the end I think. We'll see! Have a good week.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Another Great Weekend
We started the weekend early this week with some friends coming out for dinner on Thursday night. With the big gopher opener we had a lot of friends in town, college friends that is. The core of my college friends have moved out of the Twin Cities and when we have a chance to get together it is always a great time. On Thursday we had Aaron and Emily Peter (Rochester, MN), Adam and Eve Adamson (Bermuda Island), and Mark and Amanda Escen (Geneva, Switzerland) over for dinner. Nicole made her specialty which is chicken marsala and it is always great. She had some great appetizers and we had some nice bottles of wine. This was our first group dinner since we finished the basement and I was curious how it would work out, where would people congregate, what would the flow be, etc. Well, as expected the bar was the popular spot, but that was not exactly the best thing. Nicole was left alone in the kitchen and for that I felt bad. The guys were at their bar stools, Thursday night football was on so that made sense to me, but all the gals wanted to be downstairs where the action was so it made me feel bad that Nicole was managing all the food in the kitchen by herself. At our previous dinner parties, the kitchen was the popular place to gather, but now downstairs seems to be. Maybe I'll come up with a sign that says women upstairs, men downstairs, until the meal is over.
Mark brought me a great bottle of whiskey from Ireland (he goes once/month) as it is only a short flight away.
Adam and Eve brought a bottle of rum from Bermuda and it was quite tasty and Aaron and Em brought us some wine for our cellar (it didn't make it to the cellar as we drank it before dinner).
It was so much fun to spend a night with old friends catching up on our lives and it was very exciting listening to the Escen's and Adamson's talk about their experiences overseas. Adam and Eve have only been in Bermuda a short time but Mark and Amanda have been in Switzerland for 3 years now. Eve is an actuary and the reason for the Adamson's move to Bermuda. Adam is not allowed to work "officially" as they don't want him taking a job from the locals. So he finds things to do for cash once in a while but admittedly spends a lot of time on the golf course and the beach. I hope to play with him there soon.
Mark and Amanda both work for Cargill in Switzerland and they absolutely love it there. Amanda hopes to move back to the US in the next 2 years but Mark wants to live there forever. He told us he sees no reason to move home, which was a little surprising to his wife. Mark spent the afternoon taking the Summit Brewery tour so maybe the MN beer was talking. I know he loves it there though, they are so close to so many countries and have experienced so much in the past 3 years. They really talk highly of the quality of life that the Europeans enjoy over the US with much more emphasis on family and enjoying life and not as much on WORK!! Interesting!
On Friday night I got together with the "boys" again this time at Rock Bottom Brewery. 15 of my college buddies got together to talk smart and catch up. Everyone is doing well which was nice to find out. Some have kids, some don't, some are married, some aren't.
Saturday was a big day. I started out the morning playing in the Troy Burne Club Championship. It is a 2-day tournament. I teed off at 7:45 and played ok. I shot 83 and was in 3rd place. The golf course is in the best shape it has ever been in, greens are very fast so it is playing very difficult.
After golf I came home and took a quick shower and Nicole and I were off to "The Bank", TCF Bank Stadium. We were meeting friends for afternoon grilling and off to experience Golden Gopher Football Back on Campus. It was a great day, people were so excited. We met up with Ashley and Ally, my brother Andrew and Brianne throughout the day. We tailgated for a few hours and then headed over to the stadium for the pre-game festivities. The stadium is unbelievable. I don't think it could be any nicer. There are more bathrooms than people, the only thing you are not used to is SO MANY people at a Gopher football game. They didn't have cash registers yet so everything was manual at the concession stands, which made for very long SLOW lines. They lost some revenue as people couldn't wait that long, and if the soda man came down the aisle his bucket was empty before he got to the bottom, so a few kinks to work out yet.
They had 4 F-16 fighter jets fly over the stadium, which was cool, but they flew over too early. We received an e-mail a few days before the game with a detailed timeline on all the activities. The flyover was supposed to be AFTER the national anthem which makes sense. Instead, the flyover happened DURING the Rouser and we nearly missed it, they flew over VERY FAST! Anyway, it was still a neat thing to see.
The game went by very quickly it seemed. The Gophers pulled out the victory which is great to start off the stadium right. My own personal opinion is they will have a very hard time winning Big 10 games this season, but maybe I'll be wrong, hopefully, but I just don't think they look very good.
It was a great day to be an alum of the University of Minnesota, and for the current students, what an atmosphere to experience on Saturday. We were very proud to have went to school there, we always are actually, but Saturday was a historic day!
Sunday, I played the final day of the Club Championship. I was in the final group, but I was 7 shots behind the leader, my friend Brian Thompson. Now, let me tell you just a little bit about Brian Thompson. He played Division 1 golf at Michigan and is MUCH BETTER than me, so there was NO PRAYER that I was catching him. I was 1 shot out of 2nd place, which was held by Mike Lovick, the Club Champion from last year. I thought I had a chance to catch him. So, we tee off on the 1st hole. I make par, Brian makes bogey, and Lovey (as we call him) made a double, so all of a sudden I'm 6back of the leader and 1 ahead, in 2nd place by myself. I played well until the 9th hole where I had a DISASTER. I lost my ball in the long grass to the right of the fairway (we call it FESCUE) Then I hit another one and it went in the same Fescue farther up the fairway and WE LOST ANOTHER one. I made a 9 on the hole, 5 over par for 1 hole. My chances of 2nd place were OVER. I ended up shooting a 92 today, and finished in 5th place. OUCH! I was disappointed of course, but how can you ever be too upset when you are on such a beautiful golf course.
Nicole spent the entire day Sunday working on her dissertation, she is nearly done, but it's crunch time so she's really into it. Sorry this got long, but it was a great weekend. We're watching the Packer/Bears game now and relaxing for the night. Go Bears!
Mark brought me a great bottle of whiskey from Ireland (he goes once/month) as it is only a short flight away.
Adam and Eve brought a bottle of rum from Bermuda and it was quite tasty and Aaron and Em brought us some wine for our cellar (it didn't make it to the cellar as we drank it before dinner).
It was so much fun to spend a night with old friends catching up on our lives and it was very exciting listening to the Escen's and Adamson's talk about their experiences overseas. Adam and Eve have only been in Bermuda a short time but Mark and Amanda have been in Switzerland for 3 years now. Eve is an actuary and the reason for the Adamson's move to Bermuda. Adam is not allowed to work "officially" as they don't want him taking a job from the locals. So he finds things to do for cash once in a while but admittedly spends a lot of time on the golf course and the beach. I hope to play with him there soon.
Mark and Amanda both work for Cargill in Switzerland and they absolutely love it there. Amanda hopes to move back to the US in the next 2 years but Mark wants to live there forever. He told us he sees no reason to move home, which was a little surprising to his wife. Mark spent the afternoon taking the Summit Brewery tour so maybe the MN beer was talking. I know he loves it there though, they are so close to so many countries and have experienced so much in the past 3 years. They really talk highly of the quality of life that the Europeans enjoy over the US with much more emphasis on family and enjoying life and not as much on WORK!! Interesting!
On Friday night I got together with the "boys" again this time at Rock Bottom Brewery. 15 of my college buddies got together to talk smart and catch up. Everyone is doing well which was nice to find out. Some have kids, some don't, some are married, some aren't.
Saturday was a big day. I started out the morning playing in the Troy Burne Club Championship. It is a 2-day tournament. I teed off at 7:45 and played ok. I shot 83 and was in 3rd place. The golf course is in the best shape it has ever been in, greens are very fast so it is playing very difficult.
After golf I came home and took a quick shower and Nicole and I were off to "The Bank", TCF Bank Stadium. We were meeting friends for afternoon grilling and off to experience Golden Gopher Football Back on Campus. It was a great day, people were so excited. We met up with Ashley and Ally, my brother Andrew and Brianne throughout the day. We tailgated for a few hours and then headed over to the stadium for the pre-game festivities. The stadium is unbelievable. I don't think it could be any nicer. There are more bathrooms than people, the only thing you are not used to is SO MANY people at a Gopher football game. They didn't have cash registers yet so everything was manual at the concession stands, which made for very long SLOW lines. They lost some revenue as people couldn't wait that long, and if the soda man came down the aisle his bucket was empty before he got to the bottom, so a few kinks to work out yet.
They had 4 F-16 fighter jets fly over the stadium, which was cool, but they flew over too early. We received an e-mail a few days before the game with a detailed timeline on all the activities. The flyover was supposed to be AFTER the national anthem which makes sense. Instead, the flyover happened DURING the Rouser and we nearly missed it, they flew over VERY FAST! Anyway, it was still a neat thing to see.
The game went by very quickly it seemed. The Gophers pulled out the victory which is great to start off the stadium right. My own personal opinion is they will have a very hard time winning Big 10 games this season, but maybe I'll be wrong, hopefully, but I just don't think they look very good.
It was a great day to be an alum of the University of Minnesota, and for the current students, what an atmosphere to experience on Saturday. We were very proud to have went to school there, we always are actually, but Saturday was a historic day!
Sunday, I played the final day of the Club Championship. I was in the final group, but I was 7 shots behind the leader, my friend Brian Thompson. Now, let me tell you just a little bit about Brian Thompson. He played Division 1 golf at Michigan and is MUCH BETTER than me, so there was NO PRAYER that I was catching him. I was 1 shot out of 2nd place, which was held by Mike Lovick, the Club Champion from last year. I thought I had a chance to catch him. So, we tee off on the 1st hole. I make par, Brian makes bogey, and Lovey (as we call him) made a double, so all of a sudden I'm 6back of the leader and 1 ahead, in 2nd place by myself. I played well until the 9th hole where I had a DISASTER. I lost my ball in the long grass to the right of the fairway (we call it FESCUE) Then I hit another one and it went in the same Fescue farther up the fairway and WE LOST ANOTHER one. I made a 9 on the hole, 5 over par for 1 hole. My chances of 2nd place were OVER. I ended up shooting a 92 today, and finished in 5th place. OUCH! I was disappointed of course, but how can you ever be too upset when you are on such a beautiful golf course.
Nicole spent the entire day Sunday working on her dissertation, she is nearly done, but it's crunch time so she's really into it. Sorry this got long, but it was a great weekend. We're watching the Packer/Bears game now and relaxing for the night. Go Bears!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Labor Day Weekend
What a great weekend, the best in recent history. I mean, talk about perfect weather.
We left for Duluth on Thursday night to cut our drive in half. I worked from the hotel on Friday, Nicole went for a nice run along Lake Superior. I finished work around 2:00 p.m. and we headed north to Ely, MN for Nicole's uncle Joe's wedding. We have driven the route along Hwy 53 from Duluth to Virginia many times over the last year. So we decided to mix it up this weekend and drove to Two Harbors from Duluth and then taking Hwy 2 up to Ely. You are on Hwy 2 for about 50 miles and then move to Hwy 1 for another 30 miles. Honestly, Hwy 1 is the coolest drive I have ever been on anywhere in the world. Of course I haven't driven in many places, but it is for sure the coolest road I have driven in MN. This is the ideal road for sports cars who love to test the way their car handles. By no means do we have a sports car, but the Saab handles very well in tight corners and this road was perfect for that. We met a lot of motorcycle riders who probably had the same idea. It is not recommended at night or in the winter, but on a perfectly dry summer day it was a lot of fun. I couldn't wait to do it again on our drive home. Nicole said I could drive as fast as I wanted, as long as I was in control. I slowed down when she turned green and had to roll down the window for some air. She got a little car sick.
Once we arrived in Ely, the festivities began. We checked in and immediately went to the rehearsal for the wedding. Nicole was a reader in the wedding. Then we went to the Groom's Dinner. The wedding was Saturday afternoon, right on the lake. It was a perfect day, I mean you could not have asked for better weather for an outdoor weekend. People went fishing, boating, tossed horse shoes, had campfires, smores, everything you could ask for at the lake. The service was very nice and Nicole did a nice job reading. She was nervous, but she did well.
On Monday we went kayaking down the Kinnikinic River, which is a small tributary to the St. Croix River. We had 4 couples who made the journey, the Wards, Wilsons, Gagnes, and Thompsons. It was about 4 hours and again the weather was great. Nicole and I went up to the park last night at sunset and enjoyed a bottle of wine and talked about how great the weekend was.
The only negative of the weekend was I dropped my phone in the lake. George and I were putting the bumpers between Joe's boat and the dock and I reached down to grab the bumper and my phone fell out of my front pocket of my shirt. There was literally 1 inch of space between the boat and the dock and the phone went perfectly through it. Fortunately I have insurance on my phone that gets me a new phone at no charge, WHEW!
I hope everyone enjoyed Labor Day 2009!
We left for Duluth on Thursday night to cut our drive in half. I worked from the hotel on Friday, Nicole went for a nice run along Lake Superior. I finished work around 2:00 p.m. and we headed north to Ely, MN for Nicole's uncle Joe's wedding. We have driven the route along Hwy 53 from Duluth to Virginia many times over the last year. So we decided to mix it up this weekend and drove to Two Harbors from Duluth and then taking Hwy 2 up to Ely. You are on Hwy 2 for about 50 miles and then move to Hwy 1 for another 30 miles. Honestly, Hwy 1 is the coolest drive I have ever been on anywhere in the world. Of course I haven't driven in many places, but it is for sure the coolest road I have driven in MN. This is the ideal road for sports cars who love to test the way their car handles. By no means do we have a sports car, but the Saab handles very well in tight corners and this road was perfect for that. We met a lot of motorcycle riders who probably had the same idea. It is not recommended at night or in the winter, but on a perfectly dry summer day it was a lot of fun. I couldn't wait to do it again on our drive home. Nicole said I could drive as fast as I wanted, as long as I was in control. I slowed down when she turned green and had to roll down the window for some air. She got a little car sick.
Once we arrived in Ely, the festivities began. We checked in and immediately went to the rehearsal for the wedding. Nicole was a reader in the wedding. Then we went to the Groom's Dinner. The wedding was Saturday afternoon, right on the lake. It was a perfect day, I mean you could not have asked for better weather for an outdoor weekend. People went fishing, boating, tossed horse shoes, had campfires, smores, everything you could ask for at the lake. The service was very nice and Nicole did a nice job reading. She was nervous, but she did well.
On Monday we went kayaking down the Kinnikinic River, which is a small tributary to the St. Croix River. We had 4 couples who made the journey, the Wards, Wilsons, Gagnes, and Thompsons. It was about 4 hours and again the weather was great. Nicole and I went up to the park last night at sunset and enjoyed a bottle of wine and talked about how great the weekend was.
The only negative of the weekend was I dropped my phone in the lake. George and I were putting the bumpers between Joe's boat and the dock and I reached down to grab the bumper and my phone fell out of my front pocket of my shirt. There was literally 1 inch of space between the boat and the dock and the phone went perfectly through it. Fortunately I have insurance on my phone that gets me a new phone at no charge, WHEW!
I hope everyone enjoyed Labor Day 2009!
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