Day 1: Napa Valley

Our first full day in Napa was beautiful. It was sunny all day, it wasn't particularly warm, but warm enough. We topped out at 55 degrees but in the sun it felt pretty nice.
We started the day with a big breakfast at our hotel restaurant. Then it was off to William Hill. This is a medium sized winery by Napa's standards, about 100,000 cases/year. We have always enjoyed their wines, dating back to 2005 so we wanted to stop and check it out. They had a very nice vineyard and it had some great photo ops. We also enjoyed the wines in the tasting. We decided to join their wine club while we were there so we will be getting some William Hill over the next year.

Next stop Disneyland, I mean Rubicon. Rubicon Estates is the MECCA of Napa Valley. We have been members at Rubicon since our first stop there in November 2009. We enjoy their wines immensely. As members, you get free tastings whenever you are in Napa. The tastings are $50 for non-members and take about 45 minutes. We try the new wines (3 of which have already been delivered to us) and 2 which are limited distribution and will never be sold outside California. They assign a taster to about 3 couples and he goes back and forth about the history of the wine and it is very enjoyable and educational. After the tasting, we took the tour of the vineyard and learned about the site from the very beginning.
A guy by the name of Gustave Neibaum founded Inglenook (now Rubicon) in 1880. This guy was 35 years old and had was a multi-millionaire from some Alaskan Fur Trading. Think about that, 35 years old and worth millions of dollars, that's pretty impressive in 2010, how about in 1880. Warren Buffet might even be a little jealous. Anyway, this guy Gustave bought the site which is now Rubicon. He began winemaking and then it passed down to his Grand Nephew Josh Daniel and then in 1975 Francis Ford Coppola purchased the estate. Coppola owned the property for 20 years until he was able to buy Inglenook in 1995. That is when Rubicon was formed and now it is their flagship wine. It is a French Bordeaux style Cabernet. It sits for 22 months in French Oak (80% of those barrels are new at $1600 a piece) and then goes to the bottle. We will receive our 2007 Rubicon this coming March. We have 2005 and 2006 at home. These wines can last easily 20-years at the right temperature and get better with age and worth more. It was an amazing experience and we'll get some pictures posted of the beautiful Rubicon Estate.
After Rubicon we moved up toward St. Helena, another town north of Napa. We stopped at Franciscan, another good winery. We also tasted Mt. Veeder there, so 2 different wines are poured at this site. We have had both before, but it was interesting to learn about them a little more in depth.
After our 3 tasting of the day, we were done drinking wine. We headed to Go Fish for lunch, a great seafood place in St. Helena. We had some sushi and just recovered from 3 tastings and drank lots of water. We are very careful while tasting not to drink too much, water in between, dump out wines that we don't like. It's not a drinking contest, you won't insult the winery by dumping out wine. Drink what you like, and only what you like.
After lunch we made our way back to Napa (about 20 miles south of St. Helena) and took a little afternoon nap. Dinner was just across the street at Oenotri, a great Italian restaurant. We went to bed early after a long day of wine tasting. Day 1 was great, hoping for the rest to live up to the 1st day.

 

Jason by the CASK barrels

Rubicon

Behind the Rubicon Estate

 

The newly barreled 2010 Rubicon--harvested this fall

 

The Rubicon Estate

 

Jason at William Hill

 

The William Hill Estate

 

Fransiscan--(jason on cell phone---it's velcroed to his hand)

 Mustard is grown in between the vines

 

My favorite picture of the mustard!

Napa Valley 2010

Nicole and I snuck away from home for a few days. This is a slow week at Nicole's office so we took the opportunity to get away. I am working a little while we are here, but my team at the office is wonderful about helping me with my clients when I am gone. Mark is big on our group getting away and recharging. I have seen this change in him over our last 11 years together. It's still hard to completely leave it, but it's easier than it ever has been.

We arrived in San Francisco yesterday at about 2:00 p.m. We rented a car and headed north over the Golden Gate Bridge. Our first stop was the first town over the bridge called Sausalito. We really enjoyed this little town. The shops were great and there were many choices for waterfront dining and the views back to San Francisco were beautiful. The backdrop of all the views are the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay, Alcatraz and of course the city of San Francisco. Not nearly the traffic and people either. We had a late lunch and took some pictures and then made our way to Napa.

We checked in last night to our hotel which is downtown Napa. Check it out. http://www.aviahotels.com/hotels/napa/

We drove around town last night trying to get familiar and saw about 6 or 7 great restaurants. The town reminded me of Vail just a little without the snow. Looking forward to seeing it in the daytime.

We are off to taste some wine today... William Hill first, then Rubicon. 2 is probably enough for the day.

Christmas 2010

We went to Springfield to be with Nicoles family for Christmas. Nicole and I did some cooking and drank some good wine. Nicole made her won tons and we also stuffed mushrooms with the same filling (cream cheese and sausage). I made some Asian chicken wings as well. For wine we tried a 2004 Trefethen Estate Cabernet. While certainly not their best Cabernet it was very good.
We had the whole family together. George and Michelle, Nicole and I, Ryan and Emily and their daughter Hattie (and expecting baby in June), Ashley and her son Zander along with her boyfriend Danny, and Allison. Then we had Grandpa and Grandma Tauer, and Grandma Coners along with uncle Paul and his daughter Libby. We also had a visit from Santa Claus who had gifts for all the well-behaved children. It is a lot of fun to watch the reactions on their faces when Santa arrives. Even Hattie did well with Santa, she was afraid you could tell, but she was also very fascinated by him and even gave him a hug at the end.
On Saturday we are just "hanging" with Nicole's family, most of the sisters are onto their significant others families, so it will be George, Michelle, Nicole, Ally and I.
On Sunday, on our way back to Hudson we will stop at my Grandpa Jack and Grandma Connie's home for a visit with my mom's side of the family. Oyster Stew is the tradition for the Will Christmas.
Here are a few pictures of the Tauer family Christmas.

Looking forward to the weekend!

If you read the previous blog post, you know that Jason was in CA with the guys and I went to Chicago. After work last week Thursday, my friend Lindsey and her two kids(Ella and Kingston) and I drove to Chicago. We stayed with the Winslades who also have a home in Troy Burne. Our plan was to head back to Hudson on Sunday. Well, with all the snow, we decided Sunday morning that it would probably be best to wait until Monday to head back. Stretches of Hwy 94 were closed down and driving was not suggested. We were able to do a lot of fun things while in Chicago. Friday we just went shopping on Michigan Ave, visited the Zoo Lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo and went out to dinner with "the girls." Our friend Gina invited one of her friends, Laurie to join. We tried a newer sushi place downtown and ended up having a little sushi, but the best sweet potatoe fries ever (we had 2 orders!) and this donut filled with molten chocolate. On Saturday, we went to a Christmas Tea at the Palmer House Hotel. It was very fancy and fun. It was the four adult women and 4 little girls. The girls had lots of energy and excitement. Since we stayed another night, we were able to join the Winslades at the Joffery Ballet of The Nutcracker on Sunday afternoon. This was my first ballet and I thought it was wonderful. The dancers have amazing talent and the music was great. After the show, we went to an authentic Italian restaurant in the Winslades neighborhood. It was very good, but very filling. On Monday morning we headed back after the rush hour traffic died down.

I unfortunately wasn't feeling too well earlier in the week before we left. I felt fine on the trip and then when I got home on Monday, my ear started hurting. When I woke up on Tuesday morning, it felt like I was on a plane because of the pressure in my ear. I went to Urgent Care on Wednesday night because I was in a lot of pain. Turns out that I had an ear infection. The medication has helped with the pain, but I still cannot hear 100%. It is getting better though. This was my first trip to Urgent care, ever. I was not too impressed with the doctor. I was actually the only patient there and he was out the door so fast I didn't even get to ask him a question. I tracked him down though, but again very short with his answers.

We are looking forward to this weekend--tonight and tomorrow especially (read below). I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Nicole

Hello Again

I looked at the blog today and realized that we haven't written since the day before Thanksgiving. Here is a quick update.
We got into a car accident on Nov 24th (last day we wrote on the blog actually). We were driving home (I was driving) to Springfield and the roads were a little snowy and a car ahead of us lost control and slid sideways southbound on Hwy 169. I hit the brakes but couldn't stop in time and slammed into their passenger side. Luckily everyone was ok, I had a bloody nose from the airbag hitting me in the face and the passenger in their car was also bleeding from the nose. Damage to both cars was extensive and our car has been in the shop ever since. I get updates once/week on its progress, but they still won't give me an estimate on when they will be completed. They tell me parts take a long time to get, but I think with all the storms and accidents they are busy, maybe a little of both.
Anyway, enough about that, we are both happy to be healthy and glad no one was hurt.
After Thanksgiving we had 3 seminars, one at Jackpot Junction, one in Owatonna, and one in Clear Lake, IA. George and Michelle were nice enough to sit through the one we had at Jackpot. In my 11 years with Northstar this is the first time they have heard me speak, I hope they weren't too bored, but thanks for coming.
After the round of seminars we both took a little vacation, separately. I went to Palm Springs, CA for 5 days with a group of golf buddies. We have a friend who owns a house there on a golf course so we lived the good life for 5 days. Each day was the same, we got up, played 18 holes (one day we played 36 holes), came home and sat in the hot-tub or laid by the pool, had drinks, and then took a nap and then went out for a nice dinner. Pretty tough life. We had a great time with the all the boys! I wasn't feeling the best, I think I ran myself down a little with all the road time with the seminars. I was Dayquilled up during the day and Nyquilled up at night. I was the DD for all the boys so they could "let er' rip", which I think they appreciated. I still enjoyed the golf and just the warm weather. It was 80 degrees and sunny everyday, just fabulous.
We played the following courses for my golf friends who read the blog, for my relatives and friends who don't care about golf skip to the next paragraph.
Day 1: Silver Rock (18 holes) and Rancho La Quinta (private club) that I was able to play with one of the assistant pros from Troy Burne as he is working there over the winter. Played my best golf the first day. Shot 83, 79 and the 79 was from the tips so the hardest the course had to offer. I was quite pleased.
Day 2: We played the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West (one of the legs of the Bob Hope Classic). I'm not even going to make an excuse for how bad I played. I shot a 93. I haven't looked back in the computer at the club to see how long it has been since I shot a round in the 90's, but I know it has been years. The course was tough and I was simply off. I have had off stretches before but usually can get my game back in shape to keep the round reasonable. Not this day, I just never found it. It was UGLY!
Day 3: We played The Stadium Course at PGA West, ranked one of the 50 Toughest Courses in the World! If you are a true golfer,  you want to take on the biggest and the toughest courses so we were "amped" up to play this track. This course has brought even some of the best PGA pros to their knees in tournaments. We were told we could not break 90 from the tips, but when we arrived we found out we could not even play the tips without a PGA card, which none of us have. So we played one up from the tips and I shot 87. I played very well on the front with a 40 (double at the last hole) and shot 47 on the back. It wasn't as hard as my mind was prepared for, in fact, I believe Whistling Straits (Kohler, WI) is harder. I feel if I played this course again, I could break 80, from the blue tees, not the tips. I would love a crack at the tips, so maybe I can steal Brent's PGA tour card and play them.
Day 4: We played a course called Desert Willow, it was an over-priced dump, I would much rather play Springfield.

While the boys went to Palm Springs we sent the girls to Chicago for the weekend to stay with our friends Chris and Gina Winslade. They have a home at Troy Burne, but live in Chicago 9 months/year. They took great care of Nicole while she was there. I'll let her put some updates about her trip.

We have a great weekend planned. Tomorrow I am going to take a half day of work and go with my brother Andrew to look at some new condos. Andrew is at an exciting time of his life, and we are very proud of him. He graduated from the University of Minnesota this past Sunday with a degree in Computer Science. We are celebrating tomorrow night with a family dinner at The Loring Kitchen and Bar. This celebration was scheduled for last Saturday night and because of the storm we rescheduled it for tomorrow. This is fortunate for Nicole and I as we were out of town last week, so we are excited to be able to attend. Andy has accepted a full-time position with Thrivent Financial where he has worked for the past year as an intern. Kudos Bro, we love you!

Saturday night we are celebrating my immediate family Christmas. My sister Shelly is hosting at her house in Apple Valley. We look forward to a great evening of family, great food, and some good wine.

Until next time...

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is safe in their travels over the holiday. Nicole and I are headed to Springfield to see both of our families on Wednesday after work. We will split time between my mom's tomorrow and her parents. Nicole has an uncle flying in from Texas that we only get to see once/year so that will be nice to see them.
I hope everyone enjoys their holiday. We'll be back to Hudson on Thursday night as we both work Friday and Nicole is on call all weekend at the hospital. We are jam packed with Gopher sports this weekend with Gopher hockey on Friday night and Gopher Football vs. Iowa on Saturday afternoon.

Be safe in your travels and Happy Thanksgiving!

Many Things to be THANKful For!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to our family and friends!

So many things to be thankful for....

7 wonderful and exciting years of marriage

a place we call home

FAMILY---supportive parents, siblings we couldn't image our lives without, neices and nephews who make us smile each day, and grandparents who we constantly look up to

FRIENDS---long time and new that we have made over the years

jobs that we look forward to each day

bosses that we love and treat us with respect

GOOD HEALTH

a sense of security

being able to travel

our education

gopher sports

THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE MANY THINGS THAT WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR!

SAFE TRAVELS TO EVERYONE. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH YOUR FAMILIES. WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING OURS.

jason and nicole

11.21.2003 - 11.21.2010

7 years ago today (I feel like Abe Lincoln saying 4 score and 7 years ago) Nicole and I were married. It was a cold Friday night in November and we filled just a very small portion of the Basilica of St. Mary. Father O'Connell was instrumental in our getting married at the Basilica and we still respect him very much today. Nicole and I talk often about having 2 anniversaries. We were married on 11.21.2003, but we had our 1st date on 3.25.1994. We both remember that date as if it was our wedding day.
We started our anniversary weekend out with a little shopping on Friday night. We stopped at our favorite store JCrew at Rosedale. We then went to dinner in Stillwater at Reve 324, which is a cool little spot, nothing fancy. We went to bed early Friday because Saturday was going to be a long day of FUN!

We started Saturday off with breakfast at Good Day Cafe. We followed that up with a visit to Southdale and another visit to JCrew. We found some good deals and picked up a few items for a cruise coming up in January. We checked into the Westin Galleria where we stayed the night. We relaxed in the afternoon doing our favorite things, sipping coffee and strolling around. We had no plan and no care in the world, just like it should be on your special day. We had champagne and strawberries delivered to the room which was nice. We went for a swim and sat in the spa for a while. Then we got ready to go out. We chose to have dinner at Kozy which is a steak/seafood place in the Galleria. They also have Crave in the Galleria but we have never been to Kozy and they had an excellent wine list so we decided on that. The food was just "ok", but the wine was excellent. We had a bottle of Stag's Leap Cab which we have quite a bit of at home and it is excellent. We plan to visit Stag's Leap at the end of December. The Galleria is a happening place on a Saturday and Saturday night. I kind of get a kick out of the place because everyone gets all dressed up to shop at overpriced stores. Lots of Uggz and tall boots, everything my wife loves. I'm usually the guy hanging out on the bench outside the store reading sports scores on my phone.
As I write this we are at the Starbucks at the Galleria. The roads are bad this morning with drizzling freezing rain so we are waiting for it to warm up a bit before we make our way back to Hudson. We are going to have breakfast at the Loring Cafe right by our old place in Loring Park. We are also going to stop at the Basilica to say a quick prayer and see our "spot" again. It has been a wonderful 7 years and we hope to make it to 70 years. Have a wonderful day.
Jason & Nicole

The GOLF season has come to an end.

Hello Family and Friends....

We hope that all of you are doing well and having a great week. It's FINALLY FRIDAY! I love listening to that song when I am done with work on Friday's.

Anyways....last Sunday was the End-of-the-Year golf event at TB. Jason and I were honored to play with two of the pros from TB, Brent and Jack. Courtney wasn't able to play with us this year because she was busy working. We didn't get the expected score we thought we were capable of in the scramble probably due to getting pars on all 5 Par 3s and no birdies on those holes. Also, Jason was not in prime form for some reason? Anyways, we had fun. We had to wait on a few holes, so Brent and I had a handstand/headstand competition. I can still do a headstand after 31 years.


I am excited to see my friend, Jess Watje tonight for her 31st Birthday! It's GIRLS ONLY and we are headed to The Flower Bar at Spruce, which is a floral shop in South Minneapolis. I think the plan is to drink some wine and create our own floral arrangement. I love to be creative so I am really looking forward to this. Most of you know Jess, but for those of you that don't.... Jess is a very special friend. I often say to Jason, "why can't everyone be like Jess." Our friendship started in college. We hit if off from the night we met on the 2nd or 3rd floor of the Rec center as we were watching AGR play a basketball game. Although I wish that I did see Jess more, when we do see each other, it is like there has been no lost time. We just seem to have a lot in common and enjoy the same things. Jess you are truly a beautiful person and wonderful friend. Happy Birthday!

I am not looking forward to the possible SNOW that may be on the radar for this weekend. Well, at least I hope that it doesn't stick around for too long. If anyone is looking for a good movie to watch,  (I know, I don't watch movies, but I did this week!) The Karate Kid is a great movie. I used to watch that movie a lot when I was younger. Jaden Smith does a great job and it is a movie with a good story. Basically it is what I try to teach and foster in my clients every day....."if you don't like how you feel, you can change it." You have the power to make yourself happy and only you can do it!

Happy Weekend!

Still Here...

Nicole and I are still here, just nothing blog worthy lately so didn't want to waste anyone's time. We're enjoying the beautiful fall weather. I'm still golfing (just got in from 9 holes) and Nicole is still running outside. We both played golf last night (4 holes before dark) and then went out for sushi. Troy Burne has its end of the year party this Sunday with 18 hole scramble and food/fun afterward. Troy Burne has a new owner now and he will address the group on Sunday. We are hearing a lot of good things about him (all good inside information). We are hearing an expanded clubhouse with a patio that overlooks the water on hole number 10 and an upgraded kitchen (badly needed). We'll see what the winter brings for changes.
I am looking forward to a golf trip in early December (too far away for my liking) and Nicole is going to Chicago with the girls that weekend.
We are also working on a trip over New Year's. The slate is wide open, we just have each other. We are looking at numerous places. Our original intention was to ski somewhere, but it's like a million dollars to ski anywhere over New Year's. The places we found in Tahoe are $700/night (too rich for our blood). We are looking at wine country both in Napa and Oregon. Oregon looks very interesting so right now that is the leader. We looked at Europe but with the value of the dollar as poor as it is my friends who have traveled overseas lately are advising against it. (Trust me, the dollar will be cheap for a long time with the debt this country has dug itself into). So Europe is probably 10 years away, which is fine because there are plenty of places we haven't seen in the US.
Other than that, catching Gopher football and Gopher hockey games (Wisconsin this Friday). The hockey team is on the upswing after a great weekend sweep at Colorado College, and the football team, well enough said.
Love you all, see most of you at Thanksgiving!

A Weekend of Celebration!

Saturday Oct 9th, 2010: We had a lot to celebrate this weekend. Nicole's graduation ceremony and also George's 51st birthday. It was a beautiful fall day but it almost felt like summer. Skies were clear and we topped out at 84 degrees. We started the morning out like the procrastinators that we are. First we had to put the mower back together as I took it apart to sharpen the blades on Thursday and couldn't get it back together. My "smarter than me" wife helped me figure it out in the morning so we could get the lawn mowed before company arrived that afternoon. I mowed the grass and Nicole went for a run and then we hurried to get ready. She had to be at the ceremony an hour early so we hit the road at 10:00 a.m. Joining us for the graduation ceremony were Nicole's parents, grandparents---Edward and MaryAnn Tauer and Karen Coners. My mother, Maryann Ouverson also joined us. After the ceremony, we headed to our home in Hudson to enjoy some food and cake. We all had a great time visiting and catching up on our lives. Nicole's sister, Allison also was able to join us. 

After the celebration was over my mom, Nicole and I went to one of the Troy Burne lookouts and drank wine and watched the sunset over this beautiful State Park overlooking the St. Croix River. The wine was good too!

Homecoming Weekend

We had a great evening on Friday with the Homecoming Parade and the Pep Fest. We met Ally, Zander, Ashley and Danny for the parade. It was a good parade, nearly 1 hour long and Z did very well in the candy, footballs, and beads department. Before the parade Nicole and I ate at Big 10 which is always good. We ran into one of Joe's friends (Ray) who works at Big 10. He recognized Nicole (unfortunately) and sat down with us. He said he could only remember Ashley when she was 21 or 22 years old. It was pretty funny.
After the parade we went to the Pep Fest which was outside McNamara and it was pretty boring, definitely geared more toward students. They did announce that AGR (my college fraternity) won the Homecoming Float competition. It's nice to get that trophy after spending nearly $15k on the float each and every year, plus hundreds of hours of time. To their credit, it looked great.
After all the festivities on campus Nicole and I met some of our college friends Aaron and Emily Peter and Mark and Amanda Escen. It was good to catch up with them, but Nicole says that I do all the talking so I have to work on that. I felt that we would all just sit and stare at each other if I didn't ask questions, so that is what I was doing. Mark and Amanda had just returned from a vacation in Brazil so we discussed that and Aaron and Emily are expecting their first baby in December (it's going to be a boy) and they are very excited about that. Our other college friends Adam and Eve Adamson are also expecting a baby girl this November, right around their and our anniversary.

Saturday
We met Ally and went tailgating around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The game started at 11 and was pretty good. We were ahead at half time and looked ok. The defense got weaker in the 4th quarter and we weren't able to hang on for the victory losing 29-28. It was a beautiful afternoon to be outside at a football game, but I did notice that the student section was less than half full so it looks as if the students are losing faith in the team. Not a good situation.

After the game we had planned to test drive cars. We went to our favorite spot in Golden Valley where we have bought 2 Saab's in the past. We have a salesman there that we like, we don't feel pressure from him and he is very fair. I always told him we wanted to have one car and one SUV and probably a Land Rover as we have had good luck with ours. Well, they sell Cadillacs as well as Saab's and someone traded in a nice used Land Rover on a Cadillac Escalade so we went to check it out. It turned out to be very nice and we traded our old Land Rover. Nicole actually cried when we said goodbye to the ol' girl. (Actually, I didn't cry. I did say "goodbye" to her and told her that she was very good to us and we enjoyed driving her around. Okay so those of you that know me well know that I do get very emotional, so maybe there was a tear!) We were just short of 170,000 miles on it and they gave us $1100 for her. So we bought a 2006 Land Rover and hope for the same luck with this one. We upgraded 9 years. So no more rust and loud noises when it turns.

Sunday was a day of catch up as we were gone all day Saturday. We played golf and watched a lot of golf (Ryder Cup). I mowed the grass and we spent some time cleaning up the house.

Next weekend is Nicole's graduation so we have some getting ready to do. Her ceremony is around Noon on Saturday and then we are having family over afterward for some food and the Gopher football game at Wisconsin. As of now, the weather looks perfect for the next 10 days.

Big Gopher Weekend

It's Homecoming! Now, I am going to tell you, no one seems excited about Homecoming this year because of the poor play of the football team. Nicole and I were discussing this last night. Why would you let the football team get you down about the University of Minnesota. We both owe a lot to that school and will still support it regardless of how good or bad the football team is.

So, this weekend is going to be festive. Tonight at 7:00 p.m. is the Homecoming Parade. Nicole and I are going to head over and have dinner on campus before the parade, and then after the parade there is a big Pep Fest on the Alumni Center Plaza. We are meeting some college friends for drinks after and I'm sure we'll all discuss how we are too old to be "Back on Campus" for Homecoming. Oh well, it's a great campus and if the weather is good what better place to be.

We are hoping to meet Zander, Ally, and Ashley for the parade as well.

Go Gophers!

Golf has come to an END!

Hello Readers.


I have not written on here myself in quite some time so I thought I would let you all know what we have been up to. Both of us are very busy with work, which we are thankful for every day. Jason had his last competitive golf event of the year on Sunday. He didn't do as well as he wanted, but I think they had fun. Hopefully now the two of us will get to play together one of these days, maybe next Sunday. I am kind of "golfed out" for the season, but would like to play another time or two.


Before heading to the gopher football game on Saturday, Jason and I wanted to take some pictures near the Stone Arch Bridge, so my sister Allison graciously helped us out. She did a wonderful job and we had a great time. Thanks Ally!


Saturday we made it to our first Gopher game of the year. It is so much fun tailgating and see our friends and family (Emily, Ryan and Allison) who joined us. It is a great feeling sitting in the stadium, only to be disappointed in the results of the game. I just hate it when they chant "Fire Brewster." I never understood why it is always the coaches fault. I realize that he may be somewhat to blame, especially for poor plays, recruitment, lack of motivating the players, etc. I know certain "big name" coaches may help recruitment. However, I think some of the responsibility needs to be on the players. Maybe these guys just are not that talented. My point is, we Minnesotans never seem to be satisfied with the coaches. I just think there is so much more to life than getting so worked up about firing a coach because the team is terrible.


Sunday, Jason and I woke up and headed to the St. Paul Farmer's Market. This was Jason's first experience and I think he enjoyed it. It is such a fun place to get fresh vegetables and even people watch.  The produce and goods change with the seasons and we had a great time picking out different squash/pumpkins to decorate our front steps with. I like take a picture tonight and post. While Jason was playing golf yesterday, I decided to trim the bushes. I gave myself a B. They look better than they did, but they are not perfectly shaped. Thanks Wilson's for letting us use your hedger. 


We are looking forward to a nice non-rainy week. Jason may be heading to his first WILD game on Thursday and I am going to take another photography class that night as well. We will probably head to the Homecoming Parade on Friday night and gopher game Saturday morning.

Have a great week!

Club Championship

This past weekend was a big golf weekend at Troy Burne. It was our annual Club Championship. We had 20 golfers participate in the tournament and I finished in 6th place. While not what I was hoping for, it was a good weekend. My friend Brian Thompson repeated as champion shooting 78, 74 for a 2-day total of 152. I shot a 168. It was not my weekend so I have to keep practicing.

We had a great night on Saturday night after the golf was over. We watched Gopher football which wasn't too bad and then we went to Dock D with our neighbors to go out on their new boat. We had 5 couples aboard "Knot On Call". We had appetizers and drinks and took a nice cruise down the St. Croix River. After a couple hours we went back to the dock and walked to Pier 500 for dinner. It was a great evening spent with friends.

On Sunday I teed off early at 8:30 a.m. and Nicole was on call and headed to the hospital. I finished golf around 2:00 p.m. and watched the Vikings crumble yet again with the guys at the club. Nicole got home from work around 3:30 and we headed to Stillwater to look for cameras. Nicole is into antique cameras now and found a cool one on Sunday.
After Stillwater we came home as Nicole had dictating to do. After that we went to the Troy Burne Park for our annual Ice Cream Social. We had the Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream cart and Caribou Coffee there. We had over 100 homeowners show up and it was a beautiful sunset over the river.

Weekend With Mom

This past weekend Nicole and I spent the weekend with my mom. We were celebrating her 30th birthday. She's still a beauty.
She came into town on Friday evening and we planned on dinner at a new restaurant in Stillwater called REVE 324. It just opened on Main St in Stillwater so we wanted to check it out. So, we went over there and they were closed. Friday night at 7:30, and closed. Hmmm. So we went back to Hudson to our old staple Barker's, mom has never been there.

On Saturday we had a big day planned. We were going to go to the Farmer's Market in the morning, watch the Gopher Football game, and then head downtown Mpls for dinner and a show.
Instead of the Farmer's Market, we went to Rosemount to my brother's to take care of my mom's car, which had broken down. She got a new one and is very excited about it. She is rolling around now in a Nissan Murano and the Chevy Impala is getting fixed and will be for sale after that. We got the Impala towed to a dealership for repair and then headed home for the Gopher game. Nicole went to the Farmer's market while we took care of the car.
The Gopher game needs no explanation here.
After the game, we got some therapy from Nicole for our broken hearts and then headed downtown for an evening on the town. We started with a walk on the Stone Arch Bridge on a beautiful afternoon. Then we went to Seven for a glass of wine and some sushi on their rooftop, a great setting overlooking Hennepin Ave and the city. After that we had dinner at D'Amico Kitchen, which is in the Chambers Hotel. Dinner was great and we had some very good wines (never can pronounce the Italian wines though). After dinner we went across the street to the Orpheum Theatre for the show Wicked. It was very long with lots of singing and dancing. Nicole and mom enjoyed it very much (or so they said). I was hot and had to go to the bathroom for most of it, but I got through it. I like plays better than musicals but I do notice the talent and the singers were unbelievably talented. It was a great day!

R&R in DL

Nicole and I spent last weekend in Detroit Lakes. We left work around 3:30 on Friday to get there by 7:30 or so. We ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant Miguels' on our way. They have the best Tator Tots with cheese in the world and really healthy for you.
We got to meet Sara this weekend and she is very nice. We went to her soccer game on Saturday against Alexandria. They won 2-1.
After soccer we went out on the water for the afternoon. It was very relaxing and beautiful weather. The surprising thing was how cold the water was. I forgot that I was in Northern, MN. The Ritchies have a very nice pontoon, it's huge and it was a lot of fun being out there all afternoon with Hattie and their friends.
The best part of the day was taking a shower and then going to Fireside, our favorite restaurant in DL. They have just a great spot on the water, but I was a little disappointed in my food choice this time. I normally don't even eat there, maybe an appetizer or two. We just go there for their wine. It's always good to bounce wine ideas off their bartender Setty. He is always searching for the best bang for the buck and they have a very good wine list at Fireside. So good in fact this year they won an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator, which recognizes restaurants with one of the best wine lists in the WORLD!

On Sunday we went to a flea market and didn't find too much. We headed home after that. Always good to see the Ritchie's. Miss Hattie is getting so big and is very fun to be around. It was also great to meet Sara and we know her time spent with the Ritchie's will be very fun. They have a big Labor Day weekend planned as they are taking her to a Twins game, to the Mall of America and maybe come and visit us and go to Stillwater.

Visitors to Troy Burne

This weekend Nicole and I had some visitors from Springfield. Two of my best friends from high school and their wives/kids came to enjoy a day with us (well we hope they enjoyed it).
On Saturday Greg Weedmand, his wife Miranda, and their 2 kids Aubrey (3 yrs) and Gavin (almost 2 yrs), John and Amanda Jeske (newlyweds) came for the day/evening.
The boys were going to play golf and the girls were going to Stillwater to do some shopping and hit up the Teddy Bear Park for the kids. It ended up being a perfect day. The morning weather started out very foggy and turned into a steamy hot day, perfect for the festivities in the afternoon.
I setup a neighborhood golf tourney (men only unfortunately) for us on Saturday. Our team was Jeb, Jason, Greg and John. Those of you that know Greg you know he is a very good golfer. He has been as low as a 2 handicap over the last few years but this year has only played golf 3 times (see 2 kids above). My other friend John, it was his 1st round of the year. I was able to round up 11 players for our little tournament. We played a Skins game and a team game. I ended up winning 2 of 6 of the skins that went out that day, but our team ended up 3rd out of 3. We had a great time playing though.

After golf we went to our friends Brian and Shelly Thompson for a BBQ. They have a pool so the kids could swim while the adults did what they do best, eat and drink. It was nice getting to know John's wife more and she and Nicole have a lot in common. John and Amanda headed home Saturday night (they live in S. Mpls) and the Weedman's stayed over with us.

On Sunday we got up and made breakfast for them before they headed for the MN Zoo on their way home. Nicole and I then played golf and finished around 5:00 p.m. We then went to Stillwater for dinner, just the 2 of us. It was nice to relax after a busy weekend with a lot of people at our house including 2 kids. We barely made it until 9:00 p.m. last night before falling asleep.

Canterbury Park Birthday

Nicole and I had a busy weekend of golfing and spending time with my family.
Friday night we had our Couples League. We paired up with Mike and Diane Kretz this month. They are both very good golfers, both retired physicians and they play A LOT of golf. They play year round, Troy Burne spring/summer/fall and AZ in the winter. The Wards/Wilsons hold the record for the best score in Couples League, a number we set 3 years ago, which is a 29 (that is 7 under in 9 holes).
We tied that number on Friday night with the Kretz's. It was a complete blast. Putts were falling, Nicole was driving the ball so well.
After dinner we always have a couple host for dessert and drinks and that couple this week was Chad and Jen Greenquist. We had about 18 people join for dessert/drinks with 14 couples for the league.

On Saturday we got up early for an oil change appt for the Saab at Morries in Golden Valley. We looked at some new cars preparing for the day the Land Rover leaves me stranded on the side of the road (won't be long). After that we headed to Canterbury Park for a day of horse racing. My grandpa Jack turned 85 on July 28th and he wanted to do this to celebrate his birthday. My aunt Jeanie was there, my cousin Kristin and her husband Mike, my brother Ryan and his wife Kari, along with their kids Carlyn and Ethan and then my mom and grandma Connie and then Nicole and I. My brother Andrew and his "special friend" Liz were also there.
It was a perfect day to be outside and we had a lot of fun. My friend from Troy Burne "JZ" (Joe Zaputil) is a big horse racing fanatic. He grew up in Seattle working at a track and has read hundreds of horse handicapping books so I asked him for a few tips before we went. He sent me an e-mail with the winners that he would bet on that day. He picked 3 out of 4 correct and his 4th horse came in 2nd place. So we won some money. It was a lot of fun.

After horse racing Nicole and I went home and played some golf. She shot a 43 and I shot a 39, it was a nice relaxing evening. After golf we went to Barker's (our local favorite) for burgers. We went with some friends who work at Troy Burne and then back to our place after for some night caps and to catch up on the golf.

On Sunday, Nicole went to Stillwater with Allison for the day. They did the shop thing and ate lunch at the Freight House. I mowed the grass and then played in a golf tournament with my brother Ryan. We were joined in our 4-some by Mark Schultz, my boss and friend and another co-worker Luke. They played great together and finished in the top 5, my brother and I were both just heavy and finished well toward the bottom. I haven't seen the final results yet and I'm just HOPING we didn't finish last.

Father-In-Law

My father-in-law was giving me a hard time Tuesday night about not updating our blog for nearly 3 weeks. I had the blog written after John Jeske's wedding, but was having a hard time getting some photos downloaded so I gave up and didn't come back to it until George reminded me last night.  So, the wedding info below was from July 31st (Saturday).

Current Blog Update
We had some visitors Tuesday night from New Zealand. Stacie and Olivia Coy. These are Zander's aunts and they are in the States for about 3 weeks visiting their favorite American nephew. It was nice to visit with them about how everyone is doing in New Zealand, what Clint is up to and their brother Jake and other sister Phillipa. Their parents Gary and Julie Coy are great people and will always be a big part of Zander's life. They are very generous and will likely travel to the States every other year.
Nicole made some great food for them and I grilled chicken and we drank some New Zealand wines.

George and Michelle also came as George needed to apply for a passport as he is headed to Canada next week. We also met Ashley's new friend Danny which was nice. The rest of the family had already met Danny at the Lake back in July, but it was Nicole and I's first time meeting him.

Happy Birthday to my mom on Wed Aug 11th, she turned 41 years old and continues to be the best mother anyone could ever have. Love you mom!

Also on Wednesday we went to a benefit in Mapleton for my brother Rob's sons Lucas and Ethan. Both Lucas and Ethan are at Mayo. They are 150 feet apart on the same floor in the hospital. Ethan is 6 years old and Lucas is now 33 weeks old. He was born at 25 weeks. The number of people was astounding but that is how it is in small towns, when people need help, good people rally to help. That would never happen in a big city. If that was me in the town of Hudson, you might get 20 people to show up, but in a small town where everyone is nearly family (ok, not the Halvorson's) the support was very overwhelming.
We sold some Gopher football tickets (not very valuable) we come to find out so last night was a good indication of what people think about Gopher football. We did sell 2 passes to Troy Burne in the silent auction and they went for $100 per pass so that was good to see, but Gopher football tickets were the least bid on of anything in the silent auction.

This weekend we are going to Canterbury Downs on Saturday to celebrate my Grandpa Jack's 85th b-day (actual b-day July 28th).

Corn, wedding, and more corn

We had a great weekend. On Friday I had a customer bring us some sweet corn from south of Rochester. He loaded up a truckload which was 100 dozen and delivered it to our office. We split the truckload between my coworker Luke and I. We gave about 20 dozen away to people at the office who wanted some, but we each took 40 dozen home on Friday. So when we got home on Friday night we drove around Troy Burne like the corn fairy and delivered corn to all our friends. Even after giving away as much as we possibly could we still had 12 dozen left for ourselves. We decided we would try freezing some which we have never done. It was a lot of work for very little corn in our view, but we'll have some frozen now for the next year if/when we want to eat corn. This occupied our Friday evening.

Saturday was a big day. I played in a golf tournament early in the morning. Nicole played casually with Brent, Courtney, and Kyle Snyder. I finished golfing at 12:45 and needed to be in Edina for John Jeske's wedding by 2:00 p.m. It was a quick shower and on the road for a beautiful wedding. We had a great time catching up with old friends and it was so good to see John. The ceremony was held at their church in Edina called Christ The King. They were married Catholic even though John was raised Lutheran, he went to the same church I did growing up. After the ceremony we had about 2 hours before the reception social hour began so Nicole, my mom, and I went to 50th and France and did some shopping. Well, Nicole did some shopping while my mom and I sat on the couch at Anthropologie and drank coffee.
We went to Silverwood Park up in St. Anthony for the reception and it was a beautiful place. It overlooked a lake and had a beautiful patio. The weather was perfect.

On Sunday Troy Burne was shutdown for a big tournament so we went and played a private club in St. Paul called Hillcrest Golf Club. It was Nicole, Jeb and I. We grilled hamburgers and had more sweet corn when we got home and our neighbors Brian and Dina came over for dessert. We had a nice evening outside.

Relaxing Weekend

Nicole was on call at Fairview this weekend and with the "full moon" she was plenty busy. We got up on Saturday and she called in and there were 4 cases. That took care of her Saturday so it left me the day to play golf with the boys.
I played with Matt Quinn, Jeb Wilson, Chad Greenquist and one of Matt's buddies from Ellsworth. We played 18 holes and then Nicole was home and she and I along with Chad and his wife Jen played another 9 holes. We came to hole number 15, which is a short par 3. Chad made a hole in 1. It was very cool. It was his 2nd hole in 1 and the first that Nicole has ever seen. I saw Greg Weedman make one when we were in 8th and 9th grade. Chad is then required to buy drinks for everyone in the 4-some and the clubhouse. Well, he got lucky, late on a Saturday night at the club is pretty quiet, so it was the 4 of us and one guy who was on the hole behind us that heard the screaming when it went down.

After drinks we went to Barker's for dinner and enjoyed a peaceful evening just the 2 of us.

Sunday Nicole had the day off with no more cases so we planned a day of brunch and golfing. We went to Pier 500 with the Wilson family. Hudson was the center of attention in his stroller. We walked down the Pier and waited for breakfast. It was a beautiful morning at our favorite breakfast spot. After breakfast we played 18 holes with Brian and Dina Gagne which was a great time. Dina is improving her game and she has a lesson with Brent setup for this Friday so she is starting to take it more serious. She's a competitive person so this is just another avenue for her to try to beat Brian.

After golf we grilled a pork tenderloin and enjoyed  a bottle of wine on the deck. It was a great weekend!

Soccer in Hudson

We got a nice surpise invite to a soccer game in Hudson last night. My sister Shelly called on Tuesday night to let us know of a regional playoff game held on neutral ground between The Dakota REV (Rosemount, Eagan, Apple Valley) and Eau Claire. We went to one game when Chandler was younger and this time it was Lauren (11 years old) who was playing. We were both very impressed at that talent level on this team. I was expecting pretty slow moving soccer, but this was not that. I come to find that this is the best team in the state for 11 year olds. There is a team in the metro called Minnesota Thunder which is an elite team that takes kids 11 years old from all areas of the metro. This Dakota Rev team which is just Rosemount, Eagan and Apple Valley normally beats this elite team.
Anyway, they played in Hudson last night and Nicole and I went to watch. The REV won 3-0 and I was very proud that my niece Lauren scored 2 of the 3 goals. She is a machine out there, fast and quick and never seems to get tired. So, here is an example of the talent level and again, 11 year old girls.
On an out of bounds play, one girl does a flip throw where she actually flips her body and launches the ball into the air toward the front of the goal. Then Lauren comes charging in head first and gets a "header" goal. That was good for one goal and Dairy Queen for the entire team. I guess a header goal is rare and if one is achieved it's Dairy Queen all around.
She added one more with a sweet move that totally burned the goaltender late in the game to ice the game at 3-0. After they went up 3-0 they wanted to let the goaltender get some minutes on the field so Lauren took over in goal. Enjoy the pictures. We had a great time and it was a beautiful evening.

Food Poisoning

I stayed home from work yesterday (Tuesday) as I was up all night sick in the bathroom on Monday night.
Nicole played in a golf tournament on Monday at Town and Country, which is a private club in St. Paul. It was a Fairview sponsored Golf tournament. She played with her boss Jonathan. She said she played well but her team finished 1 shot out of the money, bummer.
She got home around 8:30 on Monday night and all I had at home was some Life cereal. So that leaves the food poisoning to what I had for lunch and that was Chinese. UGH!

I am feeling much better today.

Welcome Baby Hudson

On Tuesday night at 7:08 p.m. Hudson David Wilson was born. He weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inches long, or as I said, about the size of a kindergartner.

We went to the hospital on Wednesday to see him. He was very sleepy and has a lot of hair. Jeb and Kaylan are doing very well and seem to be very excited (and tired).

Below are some pictures from the hospital.

4th of July Recap

Friday night we finished working and went to Brit's Pub. I had a client in town to go to the Twins game so we met on the patio at Brit's for a beer and some dinner. It was a nice evening to sit outside. The only bad thing that happened is I left my bottom retainer on the table inside my napkin and forgot it there. So, how long did I make it before losing it? Not quite 3 months. My wife was less than thrilled.

Saturday was a great day. I started out by mowing the lawn and doing all the edging. The edging needed to be done since it hasn't been done since George did it at least 2 years ago. It looks really good and now that I know how to do it with the weed whipper (taught by neighbor Brian Gagne) I will do it monthly.
At noon my brother Ryan came out and brought my mom to spend the day. We played golf and my mom rode along on the cart. It was a hot/humid day but the wind was strong enough to keep us cool enough. I had an interesting thing happen to me during our round. I made a birdie on hole number 11, and then I made an eagle on hole number 12. That birdie on hole number 11 was very close to a hole in one, which would have been perfect because by this time my friend and teacher Brent had joined our group. It would have been the perfect hole in one for me, with Nicole, Brent, my brother Ryan and my mom. So, I went 3 under in the first 3 holes on the back nine. I made par on 13, 14, and then 15 so now it was getting serious, 3 under through 6 holes on the back. Then I came back to reality with the tee ball on 16. I hit it out of bounds right, then pulled the next one into the water, so when I finally tapped in for a 9 I was back to 1 over par after 1 stupid hole. I finished with a double bogey at 17 and a par at 18 for a 38, oh what could have been.
After golf we went to the Wilson's for some horseshoes and drinks. Then back to our house for dinner. We grilled mini burgers and corn on the cob for Ryan, Kari, mom, Jeb and Kaylan. After dinner my mom and Kari went back to my brother's (Kari was working all weekend) so she didn't want to stay over. So Ryan, Jeb, Kaylan, Nicole and I went over to Matt and Lindsay Quinn's for the UFC fight and "more drinks". Brock Lesnar was defending his title that night and it was a great fight. We had a lot of friends/neighbors there for the fight/party.

Sunday:
Jeb and I had a meeting with Dave Tentis in the morning (3 hours) to finalize some of our tournament details. Our big tournament is coming up July 15th, 16th, and 17th. After our meeting we went for brunch at Pier 500 with the Wilson's and joined by Mark and Karen Schultz. After brunch we played 9 holes of golf.
Then after golf we went to a pool party at our friends Brian and Shelly Thompson. It was a fun, low key evening with friends and fireworks.

Monday:
We both had the day off so we slept in. I had some work to do for the development today so I took care of that in a few hours this morning. Then we had a tee time at 10:50, just the two of us today. It was very nice, we can both just concentrate on our own games, helping each other read putts and talk through each shot. It is a true joy for both of us to just be together on the golf course working as a team. We had our best rounds ever today, me my best 18 hole score of 75. I have shot lower scores at Springfield and other courses, but never at Troy Burne. Now, Nicole struggled a little on the front with a triple bogey on the "home hole" and shot a 44. Then she caught fire on the back 9, and by caught fire I mean absolue lights out golf. She was 1 under par through 15. She bogeyed 16 and 17, both very tough holes and then she parred 18 for a 36 on the back 9. Her 18 hole score was 80 so she scored her best 18 hole round and best 9 hole round. She beat the two guys we were playing with by 10 shots each on the back 9. I find it hilarious when she beats all the guys she plays against, they don't handle it quite as well as I do (I'm used to it). She beat my brother Ryan on Saturday as well. She just needs to keep working on her short game and she's going to be very good.

Nicole and I after our record rounds!

A beautiful sky off the deck

Busy Week Finally Over

Ugh, it has been a busy week. Nicole and I were both "swamped" at the office this week. No complaints from either of us, other than we didn't get to play golf much nor sleep much. I was on the road 2 nights this week Wednesday and Thursday. Seminars in Mankato and Clear Lake, IA. I always get to travel to the best spots for my job. Just wait until August when I get to go to Jackpot Junction again, and maybe Omaha, NE, yeah baby!
Well anyway, Friday has finally come and we are very excited for a great long weekend. We are going to Brit's Pub after work for some Guinness on the rooftop.
Saturday we are golfing and then festivities in the neighborhood. My mother and brother Ryan are coming for Saturday. Sunday, we are golfing in the morning and then a pool party/BBQ with friends in the afternoon.
Does anyone know the Wisconsin fireworks law? I know they sell them, but not sure if they are legal or not, guess we'll find out.
Happy 4th of July everyone, be safe in your travels!

Another Great Weekend

We started out Friday night with a family graduation party. Nicole's cousin Erika graduated from Maple Grove so we went out to her party after work on Friday. It poured and hailed while we were there, but we had a good time talking to Nicole's grandma and grandpa and aunts/uncles. After the storm cleared we had part of Nicole's family back to our house for the night. George, Michelle, Ashley and Zander came over for the night. We played cars and watched the Twins and had a few drinks at the bar and it was a lot of fun.
On Saturday morning George and I took my mower deck off (1st time for me doing that) and cleaned out the deck and sharpened the blades. I had John Deere come out at the beginning of the season and they service the mower and sharpen the blades, but they needed it again so George and I had a hard time getting the blades off because they use an impact gun when they tighten the blades. I think they do this so you "have" to have them sharpen the blades for you. (RIP JOB). With the help of my neighbor Dave, George and I were able to muscle the blades off and get them sharpened. It was a good job to get done and now the blades are just hand tightened so it will be a lot easier next time for me.
While George and I were working on the mower, Nicole, Z, Michelle and Ashley went over to the driving range so Zander could hit some balls. He is getting better, but he likes to start with the golf club above his shoulders (I think he watches a lot of baseball with Grandpa). His hand/eye is good though as he hits the ball everytime.
After all the work was done we went to lunch (Culver's in Hudson) and then The Tauer's had to get home for Riverside Days (Springfield's annual celebration). Ashley had to go to work yesterday and Nicole and I had a tee time.
There was a tournament at Troy Burne yesterday so the course was closed to us, so what they do for members when the course is closed is they give you a few options at some other courses they have reciprocity with. We could have played StoneRidge in Stillwater, Southview in Inver Grove Heights or the Hastings Country Club. Having played StoneRidge before (Nicole hasn't) and caddying for Brent at Southview a few weeks ago, we decided to play Hastings. It was just the two of us and they just charge you the cart fee ($18/person) so not too bad. It is a private course so it was good to see it. It played very much like our hometown course in Springfield. Very tight off the tee and very small greens, which makes for a tough golf course. The greens were in perfect shape and putted very fast. It was a fun to mix it up as we play 95% of our golf at Troy Burne. We came home and made dinner with the Snyder's. Nicole tried a new blue cheese/bacon burger and it turned out very well.

Sunday we slept in and went for a long walk and took some nice pictures on the golf course. Nicole had to go to the hospital to see 2 clients and I had a golf tournament at 1:00 p.m. We both got home at 6:00 and grilled out some pork tenderloin and had a nice bottle of wine on the deck. The sun is just about to set as I write on the blog. It was good to see everyone over the weekend.

This week is going to be a busy one as we head into the 4th of July weekend. Nicole is swamped at the office which is great and I have 2 seminars, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Friday will come very quick and we are looking forward to a 3-day weekend.
More later this week...

Happy Birthday Emily Tauer Ritchie

Today is Emily's 29th b-day and we want to wish her a Happy Birthday! We hope you have a great day and we love you.

Jason and Nicole

Thanks For The Help Michelle!

Nicole's mom Michelle came over yesterday and Nicole had the day off so they washed windows at the house for 4 hours. It is such a big job and one that is not fun. We have been putting it off and putting it off and finally Michelle motivated Nicole to get the job done. Thanks so much for your help Michelle. They look great. We have to get a tall ladder to do 3 windows, otherwise they got the rest. We also had our favorite nephew Zander over and he is ever changing. He is so smart it is scary. Here are a couple examples:
I came home about 5 p.m. and he was watching cartoons and he was wearing a tank top and I noticed he was red from the sun, so I said, Z, it looks like you got a sunburn, where were you? He says, "in the sun". Funny! Then he was on the deck eating some watermelon and my neighbor Dave was on his way to the driving range walking across the backyard and he yells out, Hey Dave! Oh, it made Dave's day for Z to remember him. Dave loves kids and Z remembered him. It was good to see Ashley too. We haven't seen her in a while and she is now working back in Mpls, so we hope to see her more.
Yesterday was also a big day as Nicole's diploma came via FedEx. It was surreal to see it and hold it after Nicole has worked so hard for so long. I am always gushing about her and I know it gets old but I am so proud of her. She works so hard and I love her so much.
The diploma came in an ugly green leather (possibly pleather) case so we will be getting a nice frame for it. Now, where to hang it? She doesn't have a permanent office, so we're not sure yet where it should go.

Beautiful Evening

Yesterday was finally a sunny day in Hudson. We have had to much rain as of late, it has been a little ridiculous. Yesterday Nicole made her 1st trip to a new clinic in Shoreview, a location that her boss goes to as well as other private practioners. This will hopefully be her spot on Wednesdays. She said she has a nice office there with a fireplace and two couches. I think I am going to schedule an hour with her just to kick back on the couch and talk about my golf game. :)

I mowed the hay in our yard last night and had to raise the mower up to the 2nd highest setting. Thick and long is what the grass is as mowing has been difficult with all the rain. I need a bagger for just such occasions.

After mowing we played 9 holes with Brent and Courtney. There was a huge tournament at TB yesterday, an adoption charity event that is very close to our head pro Dave Tentis as he has an adopted daughter. The weather was perfect and turnout was 150 golfers. They occupied the course until 7:00 p.m. so that is when we teed off. We finished just before dark. I shot a 38, Nicole a 43, she struggled a bit last night. It was a beautiful evening to be on the course with friends.

Great Turn Of Weather

Yesterday (Tuesday) Nicole and I both had things to do outside and the early weather was wet and the forecast was for rain all evening. She has her Women's Golf League on Tuesday nights and I was taking some clients to the Twins game. So far this year, every Tuesday night golf league has been rained out for Nicole so they were due for some good weather.


Well, at about 2:00 p.m. yesterday the clouds rolled OUT and the sun came out and it turned out to be a perfect evening. Game time was 70 degrees and blue skies, just perfect for an outdoor evening game.


My partner Luke and I took our clients to Kieran's, which is in a new location on the backside of Block E, by far the best Irish bar in the city. It is a great place on game day as it is jam packed with people. We sat out in the sun and enjoyed a beer and 2 very nice clients. We had dinner reservations at the Metropolitan Club which is a nice restaurant at Target Field held for season ticket holders (which AgMotion is). Nicole and I have been there once with Mark and Karen but we never ate there. They have a $30 all you can eat buffet which we did with the clients. The food was very good but the cool part was you got to sit outside and eat and watch the Twins warm up from a perch just down the 1st base line. A very neat experience and the clients were just gushing about how cool it was to sit there.
After we ate we went down to our seats and watched the Twins kick the Rockies. Lots of hits last night for the Twins.

Nicole played well in her Women's League shooting a 45. I was glad they finally got to play 9 holes in some nice weather and enjoy dinner together afterward.

Looking forward to Michelle visiting either tonight or tomorrow, hope it works out!

Caddy Debut

This weekend there was a big golf tournament called the Tapemark. It is a charity tournament in its 39th year held at Southview CC in Inver Grove Heights. It draws high pro talent because the payout is quite good and the history of this tournament is great. The event pairs one pro golfer and 3 amateurs together as a team, but the pro is really playing against all the other pros, he is just able to help his team compete as well.

It is a 3-day tournament with a cut after 2 days. At the pro level, this year the cut was +2 after 2 rounds (18 hole rounds).

I had to work on Friday so I couldn't caddy for Brent that day, but I was his man on Saturday. Our tee time was 8:40 and I was a little nervous. I have never caddied but I have been golfing since I was 5 years old so I pretty much knew what to do. Keep the clubs clean/dry and keep the ball clean, help read putts (only when asked) and get the pin. Oh yeah, and keep your player positive by telling him "good shot", "way to go bud", stuff like that. Brent always has a good support group walking the course with him. His Dad, Bill is always there and usually his brother, wife Courtney and a lot of times his mom. It is nerve wracking to watch these guys grind it out but the golf means a lot to them financially so it's not about just having fun with your buddies, these guys are stone cold serious. Brent says to me though that the more fun he has the better he plays so he really tries hard not to be too serious.

I was so proud of him yesterday and today. I had to play in a tournament at Troy Burne today so I couldn't caddy today, but I was certainly checking online for updates.

A little bit about yesterday first. Our tee time was 8:40 so we arrived at 7:30 to warm-up. Brent wanted me to putt a few on the practice green so I could get a feel for the speed of the greens so I could help him read the putts. These greens were lightning fast and very severe in how steep they were. This course is short in distance, but it makes up for it with the severity of the greens.

It had rained on Friday so the course was wet and we played a lot of the holes in the rain on Saturday. It was off and on rain for a while but then it got heavy at the end. We had 3 holes to go and Brent was 3 under par. He hit driver and it slipped in his hands a little and he hit a pretty good slice, but he kept it in the fairway. He hit a great wedge to about 12 feet and just missed the putt. So we knew on the next 2 holes as the rain was getting heavier we couldn't hit driver. He tried 3 wood on the 2nd to last hole and it slid right into the rough. He punched it out over the green, but got up and down for par, a ALL-WORLD par as we call them. Last hole, I'm holding the umbrella over him while he dries his grips and we can see our breath at this point. He walks to the tee (I keep the umbrella over him to keep him dry). The key is to keep the grip dry otherwise there is no way to hold onto that club with that clubhead speed. He hit a 4-iron and made a great "easy" swing to 150 yards in. He hit a superb 8 iron too 4 feet right of the flag. When we got the green, water was starting to accumulate in pools on the green. We watched a couple of the amateurs putt through the water and it didn't seem to slow their balls down too much so we decided to just hit a good solid putt and not "slam" it to get through the water. He hit a great putt that fell into the very right side of the cup for his 5th birdie of the day, and what a way to finish. As soon as we were done, they blew the horn and suspended play.

Brent went back on Sunday and fired another 67 to finish in a tie for 10th. Nicole and I are very proud of him.

More Of The Same....

It seems our lives follow a similar path each weekend which could be viewed as boring to most, but we seem so happy doing it each weekend we just continue to do it.

On Friday I picked Nicole up at her office at 6:00 p.m., she has been very busy lately and that is so good. We were both starving when we got home as we usually are so we went to the clubhouse to get a pizza. The pizzas at Troy Burne are very good. After eating we had plenty of time to play 9 holes so we just went out and enjoyed the evening. Nicole played her best 9 hole round at Troy Burne and it could have been something very special. She bogeyed 3 of the last 4 holes and shot a 40 (4 over par total). I shot 39 and beat her on the last hole. She is very close to our plan that if she ever breaks 40 in 9 holes or 80 in 18 holes that she no longer will play from the women's tees.

Saturday we had a full day planned, but the weather turned out to be a downer. Our neighborhood picnic was scheduled for Saturday from 11-1 and then a golf outing after. We coordinated the golf outing as we do most golf outings in our neighborhood. My friend Jeb and I coordinate the Men's League and Nicole and I coordinate the Couple's League so we were the logical choice for the picnic golf outing. We had 28 golfers signed up to play, but the rain didn't give us the chance. We had about 130-140 people at the picnic and we have a nice big tent for that event so the rain didn't bother that. The association takes care of the burgers and chicken, soda and water, and then everyone brings a dish to share so there is a lot of good food.

Our plan was after the golf to have dinner with some neighbors. The rain cleared out about 7:00 p.m. and the sun came out and it ended up being a beautiful evening. We had dinner with Jay and Sue Glasnapp at their beautiful home. Nicole and Sue are golfing friends, she is a retired teacher and her husband Jay and I have a special bond that most men will never have and that is we both get beat by our wives on the golf course. Jay loses more often than I do, he gets beat 8 out of 10 times, not the case (HOPEFULLY EVER) for me. Our next door neighbors the Gagnes were also invited to dinner and we had a wonderful evening.

Sunday was a busy day of golfing for me and Nicole was hosting a baby shower for Kaylan Wilson at Troy Burne. There were 25 ladies that came for the shower and Nicole did a great job coordinating everything.