2011<3

If a picture really says a thousand words, then here is a look back at some of my favorite 2011 memories...

Cheers to 2012... you have some big shoes to fill :) 

I am Thankful for...

Back in Kindergarten when asked what I was most thankful for, I replied with, "dogs and cats and horses and baby bunnies."  Not sure how cats made it on the list before my family?  I pretty much despise all cats! But I am guessing this question was asked during my Kelkenberg Farm craze stage. 

This year I am definitely thankful for much more than dogs, cats, horses, and baby bunnies.  Two Thousand and Eleven has been such a great year for my family.  I married my best friend, we bought a house, adopted a dog, and I inherited a new baby cousin, nephew and three brother in laws! I would say that it has been a pretty blessed year for my family and me.  

Last year my sister, and her now husband, came to visit for Thanksgiving.  This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with our good friends Dave and Judy, and their wiener dog Buster. They moved to Colorado for the same reason we did (Mike and Dave's job), and just like us, do not have family nearby.

We made it an all day and night event.  Unfortunately, Mike had to work until 4 but he made it home just in time for the GOOD STUFF.  Dinner was so good!!  We actually remembered to defrost the turkey this year, and even marinated it in a brine the night before.   That's always a plus :)  

 

The DOG table... we had every size dog covered.  Small, Medium, and Large

The picture below is not as bad as it looks :)  After dinner we played Cranium, and this me doing a "Star Performance" with Judy.   For those of you who haven't played Cranium before, I was basically moving Judy's body around like a puppet, and she was trying to guess what I was making her act out.  This is me trying to make her "Break Dance".   I am happy to report the Girls were victorious over the Boys!!  

On another note, hopefully this will be my last blog entry with pictures taken from my I-Phone, because Mike bought me the bad a$$ Nikon D5100!!  Not sure when it will get here because it is coming from a warehouse in Thailand that is currently flooded? But it is an amazingly sweet and thoughtful surprise, and I can't wait to get my hands on my new camera:)

Garage

The one downside to our townhouse is that it does not have a basement, so storage can be tricky at times. But not anymore, because we came home after our trip back to Buffalo to a newly remodeled garage!!  One of our good friends that went through the police academy with Mike, decided to surprise Mike with his much anticipated, garage shelving unit.  Great friend, huh??  I think we will keep him and his humongous wall tent around.  Mike had planned to tackle the project after the new year, but thanks to Simpson and his buddy Kyle,  the project is now done.    I am not sure who it was a nicer surprise for?  Mike or Me?   Now I won't mind as much when our garage gets turned into camping/hunting central :) It definitely feels good to have some organization, finally!! :)

BEFORE

DURING

Shelving Unit

Mike's work bench.  Now he doesn't have to scare the crap out of our neighbors when he cleans his guns on the front porch!! 

Thank you John and Kyle!! :)

MOH

This weekend my sister Rachel got HITCHED!!!  I thought I would share my "Matron of Honor" speech with those of you who know us, and couldn't make it to the wedding:) 

I would like to thank you all for joining us in Watkins Glen today to celebrate the union of Rachel and Joel.  Rachel you make an absolutely stunning bride, and I couldn’t be happier for you.  Joel it is great to see you awake. 

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Rachel’s older sister. 

 

It may come as a surprise to some of you but believe it or not Rachel and I haven’t always been this close.   When we were younger Rachel was either copying everything I did or getting me in trouble for something I probably deserved.   Don’t let that innocent face fool you, she was out to get me!  I could barely even touch her without her screaming bloody murder.  One little screech and my parents would come running around the corner to her rescue.  My dad actually used to make us hug each other as a form of punishment.

We would look forward to nights when my parents went out and left us home alone with our older brother Tim.  Tim was a big fan of the WWF and for his entertainment he would use our family room as a wrestling ring and let us go at it.  By the looks of the two of us I bet you would assume I was a shoe in for victory, but you would be wrong. 

Thanks to Tim, Rachel had her own patented WWF move.   She would, throw herself on the floor, screech really loud, and thrash her arms and legs around in a spastic manner.  Looking back, it was a very effective move because you literally couldn’t get near her without catching a leg, knee or arm to the face.

Eventually as time went on and high school approached, I began to see the value in having a sister.  I started to look at Rachel more as a friend and less as a little sister.  We began to hang out more often.  I even took her to her first high school party at which she learned a very valuable life lesson.  If you see flashing lights, it might be Uncle Tom… so run the other way.  

I learned that having a sister is like having a best friend you never lose.  You know whatever you do, they'll always be there.

I met Joel while out to dinner with mutual friends.  My first impression of Joel was that he was an outgoing, fun guy.  I continued to get to know Joel better through our mutual friends, and we eventually made our friendship official on MYSPACE.  Shortly, after becoming MYSPACE friends, Joel developed a bit of a cyber crush on my sister who was featured in several of my pictures.   I believe it was sometime around St. Patrick’s Day when Joel expressed an interest to me about setting him up with my sister.  After some thought, I agreed to let him meet my sister.  I had a good feeling about this for some reason, and here we are today. 


 I began getting excited about my matchmaking expertise.  I started to talk up Joel to Rachel.  “Rachel I have a great guy for you to meet”, I would say.  And then I would go back to Joel and say, “If you break my little sister’s heart I will kill you."

It’s hard to believe that it has been four and half years since that day.  Throughout these past four and half years, I learned a little more about Joel.  I learned that he is a really slow eater.  I learned that he works extremely hard.  And I learned that at family parties you can usually find Joel sleeping on the couch.

As you can see by looking at Rachel and Joel “Love is truly like a fine wine.  It gets better with age”.  It is clear that Rachel and Joel’s love for each other continues to grow stronger each day.  I couldn’t be happier that my little sister found someone who loves and adores her, the way Joel does.  I wish you both, love, prosperity, happiness, and health in your future lives together.   And I can’t wait until our kids beat your skinny little kids up in the next generation of family room WWF. 

Boots

So it looks as if we are one step closer to that Log Cabin Mountain Retreat, we dream about :)  First step, get yourself a nice pair of "sh*t kickers"!!

 A special thanks to Sheplers Western Wear for their awesome Veteran's discount which made the deal that much sweeter :)

Christmas Comes Early!

When my mother in law was in town last weekend she surprised us with an early Christmas present (mainly because she was afraid we were going to beat her to the punch and buy it for ourselves).  She gave us a gift certificate to use towards a picture we have been wanting to get for our home, since we first saw it over a year ago.  Last year, while visiting Fort Collins we accidentally fell in love with a photographer who is known for his unique rustic presentation.  His name in David Clack, and he works out of a little art gallery in Fort Collins called Illustrated Light.   He is known for his amazing shots of Colorado landscapes, which he then mounts on a special rock slate.   The picture arrived at our door step today, and I couldn't be happier to put the finishing touches on my interior decor :)  Thank you BR!

Sorry for the low quality pictures (I snapped them from my iphone).