So, did that garage ever get finished or what?!?!

Oh! Why, yes it did. (I just forgot to tell you...sorry!)

It's done! We love it...same reliable shelter for our cars but with a whole new, sleek look. All the other garages in the neighborhood are now jealous.

We're done with projects for this year. Well, that's not true....I might tackle putting new bed skirts on the beds this weekend. Does that count?!?!

Paul & I had a very sporty week! We spent Sunday afternoon at the Vikings game. I don't remember who we played....I go for the beer....I mean ambience! Either way, we lost...but it was really fun...I think. (KIDDING!) Tuesday night, we went to the Twins vs.....(why do I even try?) game. It was an awesome game because we won! AND our win sealed the deal....We are now 1st in our division....or is it conference? Ok, that's enough about sports.** Let's talk about babies...

We have new baby boys all around us....congrats to our friends & family who brought them home. A bunch of heartbreakers, I tell ya!

This weekend, I'm running the "Women Run the Twin Cities 10 Mile" which scares the $&%! out of me. You see, most people would train for a race like this. I did.....last night. I don't think it ever hit me when I registered that the race day would actually come. Oh, it finally HIT me about yesterday, so I hit the gym last night to do a "quick training session". I ran 5 miles last night....which is still 5 miles less than what I've voluntarily signed up to run in 2 short days. I'm a bonehead, but I WILL do it. Paul is coming (and bringing a medic kit!) so we'll see how that goes...

Tomorrow starts the Rasmusson Family Birthday Streak. Paul's sister Megan has a birthday tomorrow....shortly followed by Mr. Joey....then it just continues right on through November! This year, Paul & I will be celebrating our "3 From 30" birthdays. Paul turns 33 and shortly after I turn 27. Yes, we think we're clever.

What about all that rain?!?! Sheesh! Hope everyone is staying afloat!

Well...it's date night, so I better go get ready for my hot date....now, where did I put my flannel pants and oversized t-shirt?!?!

K+P

**I feel I must rationalize my lacking sports knowledge. I am a jock. I really am. I've played sports for as long as I can remember....softball, basketball, track, volleyball, you name it. I even played basketball all through college. I like to PLAY sports. I don't like watching sports on tv. I don't follow sports teams (much to my husband's chagrin) BUT I do like to go to sports games....just don't expect me to know what the final score was OR obviously, who we played. Despite all of this...I do love my husband...and if he loves sports...then gosh darnit, so do I!

Oops, we did it again...

We're starting another project!

This weekend, we're tackling the garage and below are the plans - we're adding another floor, a grand stair case, a living room, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. See?

Ok - I'm kidding...we're re-siding, adding a new side door, and doing a little painting! That's it. Plain & Simple....we hope!

You can bet there will be pictures to follow!

Stay tuned...

Seattle: A Photo Recap

On our way to Seattle via Amtrak!

Somewhere in North Dakota!

Live polka music - "Roll out the barrel"....oh, we did!

Somewhere in Montana!

Morning coffee in the lounge car.

Lounge car

The start of the mountain views (bad reflection).

Playing Phase 10 in the lower level lounge car.
We spent most of our time here!

Trying to work on some wedding thank you's!

Seattle Space Needle

Pike Street

Fresh flowers at the Pike Place Market.

Mmmm...fresh seafood. I could have bellied up to this
counter with a fork and some cocktail sauce!

Fresh seafood chowder on Pike Street.

Pre-game cocktails at Stella's.

Safeco Field!

Beautiful!

Morning coffee on our last day.

Seattle Underground tour.

View of underground Seattle.

Last dinner out for fresh seafood and views of

Elliot Bay/Puget Sound.

What a great trip! The train out there was a blast (we flew home) - I'd recommend an Amtrak trip to anyone!

Hope everyone is enjoying today off of work - I know we are!

K+P

Where to start?!?!

So...it's been a while since our last post but that's because there's been so many exciting things going on!

Any day now there should be new babies arriving all around us....to family, and friends and we cannot wait!

ALSO - we found out that we have another niece or nephew on the way! Not only are Eric & Kara (my brother & sister-in-law) expectinng a baby boy in January BUT Megan & Mark (Paul's sister and her husband) are also expecting....in February! We're so excited! Joey told us about the news via his shirt that read "BIG BROTHER" a couple weekends ago while grilling out at our house. The pics here are from that fun day! (PS: We tried the grilled green bean recipe out that day and it was AWESOME!)

Paul & I spent the last 5 days in Seattle with friends....twins games, seafood chowder, local beers, and LOTS of walking. More updates and photos on that to come!

Wishing everyone a relaxing Labor Day weekend!

Bean there, done that...

Thanks to my uncle I got a HUGE bag of fresh garden green beans. I spent tonight snapping beans and sipping wine (really snapping beans wouldn't be nearly as fun without a little wine!)

I was able to snap, clean, blanch and freeze a HUGE freezer bag of beans (perhaps for some chilly winter night) AND I saved some to use on Saturday for Paul's Dad's birthday party (DECK party). I found this recipe for green beans on the grill. I, of course, don't intend to follow it...but it's nice to know it can be done (I hope it turns out....fingers crossed!)

Grilled Green Beans

While I was at it, I also dug into cleaning and chopping our weekly CSA delivery.

CSA= Community Supported Agriculture

Our delivery comes from Bridgewater Produce Farm in Northfield. The farm is owned & operated by one of my Mom's best friends from High School and her family. I SO look forward to our Wednesday delivery of fresh produce! Paul isn't nearly as exited as I am....mostly because it turns out our CSA doesn't deliver licorice OR potato chips....Say What?!?! (tehe!)

If you know me, I hate wasting....I will chippity chop up EVERYTHING we receive and if it ends up being far too much for just a pair of newlyweds, well then I make a BIG vat of soup and hand it off to other suckers...errr...I mean friends! These friends could easily be dumping it all in the trash as soon as I walk away, BUT at least I don't have to do it...I just couldn't "stomach" that!

This week's delivery included tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, cucumbers, a cantaloupe, cabbage, and some broccoli. I'm looking forward to using the tomatoes & onions on our burgers this weekend and the broccoli in a pasta salad I plan to invent tomorrow night!

If all (or anything) turns out - I'll try to snap some photos to share! With the raging heat, I just might need to add a pitcher of sangria to the menu too!

Stay cool (yeah, yeah...I know, you will!)

What the deck?!?! - Part DONE!

It's done....well, I mean we still need to stain/seal it and finish the landscaping...but beside that, IT'S DONE!

We love it!

Side Note: I've been to Menard's probably 10 times in the last week....there's a worker there who thinks my name is "Lindsey" and everytime she sees me in the store she says "Back again, Lindsey?"....I never correct her....it's kinda fun!

Sincerely,

Lindsey

What the deck?!?! - Part 3

I should have known better. Whenever I say "we should be done tomorrow"....we end up needing just one more day! Well, it happened again. No fault to anyone - We worked hard on Monday night, but there were just a couple things we needed to leave to finish up another day.

So, here I go again "we should be done tomorrow"...

As far as these pics show - the deck is done, but we still have a couple finishing touches to take care of and then we're set!

Tonight was National Night Out and our neighborhood had a block party planned. I was able to get out of class early enough to swing by right before it ended. I met a couple of neighbors who were SO nice and they made mention to the fact that they see we're "always working on something" and that our house had seen more improvements in the year and a half that we'd owned it than it had in all its years past! That was fun to hear! I think sometimes we focus on all the projects we have yet to do and forget to spend a little time enjoying all the hard work we've already done.

There's always more projects....never enough deck parties! This weekend, we'll celebrate a job well done on our new deck! Thanks again to Brad & Jeff for all of their help!