Sunday, September 30, 2012

...Continued

We haven't had any family or friends get married in a little while but in late August my cousin Andrea married Philip!  We'd been excitedly anticipating and looking so forward to it and they really delivered on a spectacular weekend in late August.

A Friday ceremony at the Pabst Mansion followed by a stellar reception at the Palms then a grand reception at the Pritzlaff Building on Saturday night. Andi and Phil could quit their day jobs and be wedding and event planners.  They did so much themselves and put their touch and style on every detail.  It was hip, tasteful, stylin' and unique - plus a blast to boot!

Graham and Estelle danced and danced...and danced.  At one point, Graham yelled over the music "if there was a dance contest, I would win it!"

I was honored to do a reading for Andi & Phil at their ceremony
Joe, Kack and Dad post-ceremony
My uncle Tim and aunt Deb, our cousins Andi and Mike - I don't have any close-up good pix of PJ, the dapper groom!  Darn it.
My godparents and Estelle's godparents, sibs, Tim and Kathy, my aunt and uncle

Estelle was enamored by Andi, the stunning bride!
The assumed dance contest winner if there was one
Maybe a close 2nd place 

Father of the bride, my uncle Tim and mi papa

My bro Joe and Andi - Snoop Dog song maybe?

Joe, Andi and Jason

Andi with two pretty little ladies

I love, love weddings, love my cuz, Andi, love her new hubby PJ, love all my family, love it, love it, woooo!  Congratulations and big cheers and blessings on their marriage.  What a beautiful wedding weekend.

A few kitchen items...

Graham helped Jason make his namesake crackers from scratch - I think from a recipe from the paper

They turned out pretty well!

Interesting little mix of roasted kale, corn otc and a grilled chicken ceasar wrap - all scrumptious!

And a few pictures from the last month or so, including Graham's first day of 1st grade!  I can't forget my lucky duck tagalong on Jason's work trip to a little island called Aruba!

My Mom has this pool for my sister's dog Rocker that she's taking care of (he has cancer) for hot days and Graham jumped in and joined him!

Iguanas were relatively plentiful on Aruba.  Pretty cool.

Pretty fish below the pier at the water taxi stop

Flamingos on this teeny island owned by the  hotel where we stayed

Waiting (and sucking in) for the water taxi to go back to the "mainland"

1st grade, day one!

Graham made a little ship - two passenger max - with a cargo space

Graham helping out with some yard work at my Mom's house
Si, si

Cute crab

Iguana pow-wow

View of the protected beach area on the island off the island

A flamingo strolling past my chair!

Flamingo and Jason - they also had a ton of hermit crabs on the teeny island, too!  Neat wildlife there - not sure how native it all was but it was beautiful to see.


Still have some catching up to do

 but for now, too-da-loo!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Hiccup

All righty, here are some snippets from mid-summer up until now - fall next week!  Guess I had about a two month blogging hiatus.  I overwhelm myself with how many pictures I take and then as time goes by - and if I don't cherry pick some of them as I upload them onto the computer - it turns into a little mountain in my mind.  Time to start a climbin' - they're pretty severely out of order but here goes:

Fun and loads of equipment to play with at Nana and Papa's house

Always love a wagon ride around the driveway



Mr. Whiskers gets a bit terrorized when Estelle comes in to town



A farmer's market bounty - beautiful - a highlight of summer 

Shoot, can't remember what this was but I'm sure it was a real charmer as all of Jason's pastas are outrageously delicioso


Whoa, this was REAL good - breakfast burrito of sorts

Jason uses just a touch? of garlic in a lot of his creations - shheeeeesh

Oh, my favorite - any sort of ravioli with sautéed shredded carrots and yellow squash with a balsamic vinegar wine sauce and the beloved baguette…and probably a glass of tart white - heavenly

Stunning view towards the lake of my Dad's (and aunt Kathy and bro Joe's) new house on Lake Poygan

Joe and Estelle take a stroll down to the water

Incredible double rainbow over Lake Michigan in late August
Favorite picture of the summer maybe! 
Roasting marshmallows on Lac Vieux Desert near Eagle River

Stelly loved the squirt gun - her little tongue in and out flapping in tandem with trigger pulls
Pretty happy to be hanging out up north with family
Also looking pretty content, I'd say.

We all have such a great time up there.



Sunset over LVD

We had our roof done and I thought I had the final cleanup figured out when I offered Graham a dime for each scrap he could find around on the ground…$19 later.  Ouch, thought maybe half of that…and we're still finding shrapnel!
Sauteed veggies with roasted potato wedges and barbecue chicken but not just any sauce...

Barbecue sauce from scratch of course

Action shot of Graham's first Little League season

LOVED playing catcher - I do believe it was in large part due to the equipment and being able to do this stance
Graham drew some pictures from a nature book.  So exciting and neat when he comes up with and does stuff like that on his own.

This little beauty - the photo doesn't quite do it justice - was always solitarily illuminated so amazingly on a few summer mornings looking out at the window box while doing readings.  Really made me smile and feel peace.

Classic face a la Stelly #1

and #2

Graham went to day camp through the YMCA for the week
OK - I think there's some malfunctioning going on with too many photos…will pick up next time with some more food and my cousin's incredible wedding, first day of school, etc…

Peace and love you