County Fair

So, we are coming off a pretty busy weekend. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL HUBBY JASON!!! Jason turned the big 3-0 on Sunday! (He wants to go by the rule that we created for the household, though - both spouses are the age of the younger spouse. So that puts us both at 25, I guess!)

Jason's parents came to visit on Sunday afternoon. We had a wonderful time visiting and sharing a meal. We grilled burgers (awesome tip from Trisha to add a packet of onion soup mix to the ground beef - they turned out GREAT!) Thanks Trisha! Sharon said she'll make burgers this way from now on, too! I also made a Mexican pasta salad - I might try to post the recipe soon - that is very tasty (Step-mom Jeanne's recipe). We also had Snicker apple salad with the meal and a taco dip as an appetizer. Jason requested Special K bars for his birthday dessert - he loves them ever since my Mom introduced them to him!

Jason seemed to enjoy his "party" and liked his gifts (I only had to exchange 50% of them! :-))

I'll post pictures later!

I am leaving work now - last 2 vacation hours - and we are heading to
"preview night" at the county fair! Corn dogs here we come! There is even a tractor pull tonight and the "Fairest of the Fair" pageant! Share your favorite county fair stories with us!

I am going to Chicago for a work conference tomorrow, so I should be back to blogging Monday!

Can't wait to hear those county fair stories!

~Amber

Trivia Post #2 Answer

Thanks to those of you that thrilled me and tried with your best guess!

The answer - MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

Trivia Post #2

Which capital city is the most populous in the world?

Give me your best guess!

Trivia Post #1 ANSWER

Thank you to all that "played!" I was hoping for some more guesses (c'mon, people - just thrill me with a guess!)

I think Trisha wins for getting the closest answer!

What was Walt Disney's original name for Disneyland???

Answer: Mickey Mouse Park

And thank you to Jennie who taught me how to link words! I am trying it in this post - hopefully it works!

Stay tuned for Trivia Post #2!!!

~Amber

An artstic picture of my beautiful wife....Oh how she makes me so happy! I love you sweetie!

A pic of the two luv birds! We're just playing with the camera and being goofy...

On the way home....can you see the pain in my face??? Gas is $3.17 a gallon here!!

Lake Mendota in Madison. I think Madison would be a cool place to live..

Amber sitting in our representative's chair....She soooo looks like the politician huh? A HOT politician!

Another view of the center area

Where important people sit...

Inside

Here is one side of the building...Beautiful landscaping all around as well

Our state's capitol building...how exciting!

On our way to MadTown!

Trivia Post #1

Inspired by a blog that I read by Sandie, http://modersohnsinprogress.blogspot.com/ - still learning about blogging - I need to learn how to "hotlink" names! Anyway...I have decided to do some trivia posts.

So, here is the first one!

What was Walt Disney's original name for Disneyland???

Please write your guesses under the comment section!

Have fun!

~Amber

Happy Thursday!

Hello, all!

I usually like to say "Happy Friday," but Happy Thursday is okay too because that means that tomorrow is Friday! Woo hoo!

Sorry we haven't blogged for a while... We get busy with work and then don't feel like staying late to blog... Sorry!

Nothing too much is new. Jason and I both took the day off on Monday and headed to our state's capitol city for the day. It is a cute city - I had actually never been there before since I grew up in a neighboring state! We had a fun time walking around the city and touring the capitol building. I think I am using the correct spelling of capitol here…I really do love the English language and can’t stand when people use words incorrectly (mostly when people use made up words!), but I am flaking out in remembering when it is capital and when it is capitol. Maybe one of you fine readers will do the research for me and praise my efforts or correct me!

I also took the day off on Tuesday to run errands and get my hair done (no highlights for 8 months…I needed it!) Needless to say, it had been pushed to the backburner due to the time and money constraints of new home ownership. It rained ALL DAY Tuesday, which was not motivating for errands. But, I survived.

All in all, life is pretty peachy, pretty “normal.” We hope to start working on the “wallpaper goo” on the walls in the kitchen this weekend to prep it for priming and painting. Granny smith apple green!!! We hope to have it done by the first weekend in August when my Dad, step-mom, and little sis Hannah come to visit – by the way – A VERY HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO MISS HANNAH J – TURNING 12 TOMORROW!!! I fondly remember holding on my shoulder in the “monkey hold” when you were just a teeny baby 12 years ago! Love you sis!!!

We promise to write more soon and post the pics from the past weekend!

~Amber

The Weekend

As crazy as the weekend sounded....we did have a fun time. I'll admit, there were times I was a little stressed, but we pulled through and had a good time. We had a great time with the Anderson family, lots of memories made, and lots of laughs. Storms, fireworks, police at our front door, and buckets of soapy water in front of every entrance to the house. Sounds like the perfect combo for an interesting weekend. Amber and I were happy to have them all over, and also happy to once again have the place to ourselves. We love seeing family and spending the time with all of them. We hope everyone had a great 4th with lots of fireworks and exploding things. I know I became the expert Jimmy Neutron game player!
Until next time....

Jason

Amber and Jason in front of their new home....Anyone else want to come visit??? We get so crazy that even the police will visit on their bikes...right Andersons?

The Andersons head off to Indiana....notice this time I helped them strap down their luggage rack so they don't lose anything.

Anyone for a nice sticky popsicle before you leave? Don't worry, Amber will gladly wipe off all your hands!

Root beer float time! Best of all they were free if you were a kid...Thanks to the Andersons we had several root beer floats!

Amber and I are true tree huggers!

At the parade...perfect 4th weather!

Waking up wasn't so easy....

Amber and her sis Brit....enjoying the lovely park and the hot sun

He is so cute when he smiles.....but make sure he gets his candy when he wants it or else!

Crazy Anderson boys being tough guys! This begins the weekend adventure!

The rugs Amber got. They match perfectly!

another bathroom shot...

Our bathroom, first primed, then painted...sorry if the pics come out disoriented, this hello program isn't the greatest.

The beginning of the updates...

Well, hello blog readers!

It has been a while...sorry! Jason and I have both been crazy busy at work, so blogging has been on the backburner. I have taken a few minutes during my lunch here to provide a brief update!

Let's see...last Thursday was my 25th birthday. I worked at a conference all day and then stopped at Target on my way home to browse. When I got home, we heated some leftovers quickly and I opened my cards and gifts. Thank you to all of you who sent cards and gifts - you made me feel so special! Jason gave me a CD I wanted - "The Road to Here" by Little Big Town. I have been into country again lately! He also gave me a cute shirt. Sarah remembered that I love reading Karen Kingsbury books and bought me one that I can't wait to start.

We quickly headed off to Jason's softball game. Our guys are trying so hard, but still have yet to win a game! Then, we headed off for my favorite treat - Dairy Queen! We also celebrated on Friday night by eating at Texas Roadhouse - great steak, and by renting a movie.

Satruday morning was spent putting the finishing touches on the bathroom (that is really what I wanted from Jason for my birthday - I am so thankful for all of his hard work! I got my birhtday wish!) I did some cleaning and Jason mowed the lawn. The Andersons were on their way! We picked up Andy (my step-dad) at the Amtrak station (he's working out of state for a few months) and the rest of the gang - mom, Brittany, Moriah, Autumn, Summer, Trinity, Easton, and Dawson were on their way in the van! They ended up getting stuck in a terrible storm (poor things!) and lost some of their items out of their van topper when the wind blew the cover open and the contents spilled into the surrounding fields! We were so glad when they made it safely!

I think I will need to stop there, but I promise to return! Jason has the camera/pics, so hopefully he can post some today or tomorrow.

Overall, we had a great weekend. I am tired and am ready to crash when I get home today! Thank goodness it is only a 3 day work week and I am using the last of my vacation days next week! Time for some summer RELAXATION!!! All weekends that we haven't traveled have been consumed by house "stuff" it seemed. I know that we relax a lot more than most (no kids yet :-))!

Gotta go!

Until next time,
Amber