Happy Birthday Josie!

Today is Miss Josie's 3rd birthday. For those of you who don't know Josie, she is Adam and Emily's daughter. Adam is Tony's best friend from high school. We went to PI to celebrate with her on Saturday.

It was Emily's family along with Tony and I. The Millers are a big crew, so they must celebrate separately. Even though it was a small group, Josie had lots of presents to open!

She is a very well trained 3 year old. She would always go for the card first! Then, she would read to us what it said.

One of her favorite presents was an adorable piggy bank from her Grandma and Papa. They also gave her lots of coins to start off her collection. She spent a lot of time putting in one coin after another. She even could pick out the different types of coins! I was impressed!

After presents, we enjoyed some delicious cupcakes. Josie is into Sesame Street, and the cupcakes were a perfect fit for that theme! Here she is deciding who she should eat. She ended up with Elmo.

We all sang Happy Birthday to her before she could dig in. Adam had to relight the candles because Josie was so excited to blow them out!

After Sam woke up from his nap, Tony and I had a little fun playing with him.

Another new edition!

There are times in my day where I have a chance to search the web...3rd hour is one of those times.

Today, I found this neat baby guessing game. I put the link at the top of our blog page under the size of our baby. If you want to join in, go for it. You can wait until the time gets closer too, but I put my guess in now. I think there's the option to go back in and change it. However, we'll close the game when we head into the hospital.

I hope you have a little fun with this!

RIP Andy

My dad just e-mailed me the obituary for my all time favorite musician: Andy Williams. He passed away after his fight with bladder cancer at the age of 84.

My love for Andy started in 1st grade right around Christmas time. I ADORED my first grade teacher Mrs. Schaefer, and anything she liked, I liked. She told our class about her favorite singer Andy Williams and his famous Christmas special. I forced my family to watch the special on Christmas Eve at Grandma Barb and Grandpa Clarence's house. My heart melted with the first notes he sang. He's been my favorite ever since.

I know it's not Christmas time yet, but you should fall in love with his voice the same way I did:

Sigh of relief...

Last night I had a meeting for my masters program. I've been silently stressing about my winter and spring term classes due to our little surprise coming in March. Our due date is smack in the middle of my winter class. BUT I talked with my instructor last night, and she reassured me that she will work with me to make sure it's a smooth trimester. She understands that I'll miss classes, but I will be able to make up for them in other ways. ALSO, my spring class has too many people registered, so they're offering it in the fall as well. This means I can be class free for the first few months after Baby K is born! YAH!

My many many prayers have been answered.

T-dawg

This past week, my cousin Tyler celebrated his 14th birthday. He's an 8th grader at the school I'm student teaching in, and let me tell you, it is not cool to have your older cousin teach in your school. He sees me in the hallway and you can tell he's figuring out an alternative route to class! I've been very respectful of his 8th grade needs, and only say hi when he makes eye contact first. His sister Kaylee is a totally different story however....

Last night we celebrated his birthday as a joint family affair: Manions and Smidts. We had a delicious taco supper with 3 different types of dessert! Oma Kathe brought her famous Kathe bars, so I was in heaven. Tyler got money or iTunes gift cards this year. He was very happy about that though!

This picture was taken almost a year ago, but it does show that Tyler likes me at least a little bit! He was an usher for our wedding. He's about a foot taller this year and looks to be closer to a senior in high school rather than a freshman! Yikes, he's getting so old!

A FIRST!!

I had another first today with Baby K: I felt her/him move!!! I was sitting on the couch watching FRIENDS after school, eating a Snickers bar and then it happened. I was so excited I tried to call Tony but accidentally called my mom!

When I finally did get a hold of Tony he was just as excited as I was!

We had a little photo shoot to go along with this blog post!

The happy parents-to-be!

We can get a little silly...

But we're SO excited to meet Baby K in approximately 170 days!

Baby K has started to make an appearance-Students and Staff just started asking me this week if I was pregnant. I must be past the "is she getting fat, or is she pregnant" stage...

TWIN day.

This is Homecoming week for Stewartville, so the Middle School came up with some fun dress up days. I decided to participate in today's theme: Twin Day. Every single Middle School teacher dressed up like Mr. G, the 8th grade history teacher. This is his last year of teaching (he was eligible to retire almost a decade ago!). He's been running around all day taking pictures, so he can post them on Facebook tonight. He wants his kids/grandkids to see!

If you could see a full body shot of me, which I might try to get later, you would see tucked in shirt (difficult when baby bump is in the way and using a Bella band...), dress pants, and tennis shoes to top it all off! I'm quite the attractive person. AND, I was observed by my student teaching adviser from Augsburg today. Oh goodness....

The Zoo

I forgot that Tony took pictures on our nice camera when we were at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison over Labor Day weekend. He got a few really good shots!

Rhino.

Tapir.

Tiger making a deposit.

Red Panda.

Meer Cat.

Bear.

Wonder Kitty!

Tony and I were getting ready to head to Rochester this evening. I asked Tony to close to front door, but we could both hear Sol's meow coming from...somewhere...We thought she might be outside. It just sounded so distant but yet close. When Tony went to shut the door, we discovered her on top of the door! It was hilarious to watch her try and get down. Finally, Tony gave her a helping hand.

To Have and to Hold

Yesterday, I was able to witness the marriage ceremony for one of my best friends from college, Jenna. She married the man she has been dating for 9 years, Jeremy! Yes, 9 years!

Liv and I were personal attendants, so we arrived Friday evening just in time for some groom's dinner deliciousness. We walked in when everyone was doing introductions, so everyone froze, looked at us, and made us go first. Liv introduced herself, I did, and then Tony says, "I'm Tony, Tricia's wife". It was a great start to the weekend :)

We shared a hotel room with Liv and Kelly (Kelly was a bridesmaid). When we got to our room on Friday, Liv emptied out the contents for our personal attendant kits. We were prepared for just about anything!

We got a good night's rest, and headed to St. Francis of Xavier Catholic Church in Sartell, MN to begin the festivities bright and early Saturday morning. Tony had the day to relax and geocache around St. Cloud.

We got Jenna all prepped and ready to go. Liv and I pinned flowers on all the important wedding people. I helped Jeremy get all buttoned up in his snazzy tux, and the wedding was off. It was also my duty to be sure the flower girl got sent off when she was supposed to. Let me tell you, that girl was ADORABLE!

Here she is getting Cheez-its before the wedding. Her mom was scared she would stain her dress, so she fed her. It was precious to watch. Her mom was Steph, the maid of honor.

Jeremy dropped the rings, so that caused quite the laughter throughout the ceremony. It was such a beautiful ceremony. Liv and I sat in the back, so we couldn't see much, but Tony took some good pictures. That's Jenna's little sister Nicole smiling so sweetly at them.

The wedding party had a party bus to get to the reception. It was a blast! We drove around and stopped at a park for some fun pictures. 

Becky got a part time weekend job, so she couldn't make it to the ceremony, but she came to the reception! Spencer was taking this picture for us. It was so great to see them both!

These were the UWRF Crabtree Hall girls that made it to the wedding. We all lived on the same floor our freshman year and have been inseparable ever since. 

UWRF Photo booth time! Love the mullet Kelly!

There was LOTS of dancing. Baby K had it's first experience with it's momma jumping all over the place. I felt great, but I may have overdone it a little bit... I am struggling with walking right now. My leg muscles were so not ready for that activity. Can you guess what song we're dancing to??? (Call me Maybe, we're clearly at the maybe part of the song)

It was a beautiful day, and I'm so happy Jenna asked me to be a part of it! We're home and recovering now...

Homeowners!

Will and Amanda have been looking around Rochester for a house to buy. They found the perfect one, put in an offer and now they're homeowners! Amanda will live there until they get married, then Will will join her!

Congratulations you two!

This is not the best pic, but it's really sold!

Jumping in!

Tuesday, September 4 was the first day of my last leg of schooling for my EBD (emotional behavioral disabilities) teaching licensure program. I began student teaching at my hometown middle school. It sure is strange to be back, but so far, I have loved every minute of it. I'm working with such a wonderful cooperating teacher who is supportive and very knowledgeable. I've already learned so much.

 Because of the new laws about highly qualified teachers, there are a lot more hoops that student teachers have to jump through. I'm completing the TPA (teacher performance assessment) for the State of Minnesota. This will include weekly reflections, TONS of lesson plans, videotapes of myself teaching and an intense focus study on two students. The TPA is used by Augsburg and by the state to determine whether I can obtain my teaching license. Another part of jumping through hoops is taking standardized tests-MTLEs (Minnesota Teaching License Examinations). I passed the basic ones during my undergraduate at UW-River Falls. At the end of the month I will be taking 2 sub tests on Elementary Pedagogy, and at the beginning of October I am taking 2 sub tests on Special Education Pedagogy. I'm not usually a nervous test taker, but these tests carry so much weight!

Not only am I student teaching, but I just began the Master of Arts in Education Completion Program through Augsburg. This means that I am taking one night class a trimester at the Rochester Campus until this spring when I will submit my research paper and graduate with my Masters! We met for the first time last night, and I already know I'm going to love my new instructor. He is 78 years old and incredibly funny. Unlike my normal procrastination route, I've already submitted my homework that is due in 2 weeks. I'm quite proud of myself!

I just thought I'd update you all to let you know why I may be a little preoccupied and the blogging may slow at least for a few months.

Aside from my schoolwork, Tony and I are busy helping the launch of a new ministry at our church Bethel: Young Adult Ministry. We have the kickoff event at the end of September, so we're working diligently to get all our ducks in a row. We're so excited to offer this new ministry at Bethel!

 Here's our website if you want to check out what we're doing!
http://www.bethellutheranyoungadult.com/events.html

My Birthday

I am now closer to 30 than I am to 20.

I am 26.

Yikes.

My day was pretty normal. I woke up to my crazy cats (very similar to Laur and Jill's e-card!), went to school, learned all sorts of wonderful teaching strategies and came home.

Then the fun began. Oma Kathe brought me mums, I had cards in the mail, and my husband bought me a new Halloween nutcracker.

We headed to my parent's house where a delicious lasagna supper awaited us! The whole fam showed up! Even Jacque and David from SoDak!

As usual, we got a little crazy with the photos.

I've never been a fan of cake, so my parents got me a DQ ice cream cake. Boy was it delicious!

I just love the gel they use to write the messages on the cakes. Meg and I tasted it first.

We goofed around a bit after dinner. Here's our Elbow Train. It's not the best quality photo since it's from my mom's iPhone. We sure love each other!

Thanks to everyone who made my day so special.

Tony and I did have a romantic dinner at Victoria's on Thursday night to celebrate my birthday. That restaurant has a lot of significance in our relationship, so we like to save it for special occasions.

New Addition to Blog

I figured out today (during my prep time, since I finished all of my work :) ) how to put our pregnancy ticker on the blog. Each week it will tell you how big our baby is in terms of food. It's a little silly, but I look forward to Fridays when the baby's size changes to a new food.

We're now at a lemon, and the little peanut is making my clothes a little tight.

Oh Luna and Sol...

We have been having fun with our playful kitties as fall is rolling around. Here are some shots of our adventures...

Luna helping Tony work on my computer...

Sol and I snuggling on the couch

I woke up to this one morning. Just a bit creepy!

Our cute Sol finds resting places just about anywhere

Oh boy, try folding clothes when both cats will not stay out of the laundry basket!

Or when they sit on the clean clothes!

Boxes are so much fun at our house!

We came home to these adorable faces!

Sol was helping me bake a pizza.

This bag has been hours of fun for both cats!

MADISON!

I have spent the last three Labor Day weekends in Madison, and this year was no exception. However, this year I brought Tony along! He's never been in Madison other than driving through. I forced him out of bed at 3:30am so we could hit the road by 4:00 and make it to the Capital Square Farmer's Market on time. He slept the entire way, so I was the driver. This is new for us on vacation. Usually I'm the sleepy passenger. I sang to myself, drank caffeine and ate some delicious Kwik Trip doughnuts. It was an enjoyable drive.

We made it to the Farmer's Market at 7:30 and I immediately went to my favorite vendor: Stella's Bakery! I just love their spicy cheese bread and empanadas.

Here I am (with the capital in the background) eating a mild cheese empanada! Delicious! Tony enjoyed a raspberry cheese danish for his breakfast.

After we wandered around the capital for a while, we went to Henry Vilas Zoo. I used to take Raegan, my friend Heidi's daughter, there every time I came to visit. We enjoyed a great showing from the chimp, and Tony found out he measures a little small. 

The giraffe posed nicely for us. Tony took some great shots on our camera, so I'll post those at a later date. 

We then headed out to Sassy Cow Creamery to enjoy some great ice cream. They had a goat that Tony became friends with. I'm quite afraid of goats, so I stood back. 

Saturday night, we went out to eat with Heidi at The Great Dane and headed for drinks to Jolly Bob's. Heidi and I LOVE to go there. I always drink a purple meanie. I insisted that Tony try one since I couldn't this year. I had a virgin hummingbird. Delicious, but just not the same. 

Sunday was spent laying around the capital lawn tasting various Madisonian foods. Tony went to get me a bottle of water and returned with a corn dog. Really? There were so many crazy foods there, and he tries a corn dog?? Some other treats we tried were: cookie dough eggroll, Reuben meatball grilled cheese, panna cotta, roasted corn on the cob.

Monday morning we sat on this nice park bench while we waited for Raegan and Heidi to join us for breakfast. 

After breakfast, we had to go to the new Target so Raegan could show us the cart escalator. The parking lot is under the store, so they have this nifty contraption to get the carts to your car. There she is showing us how it works. 

We made a stop at DB Chocolate Infusions. Probably one of my favorites in Madison. I picked out four: Tahitian Vanilla, Exotic Caramel, S'more, and Caramel Cashew. Tony also got four, but I can't remember the names....

Here I am making the drive home. Tony slept for the majority of our drive home as well. It was such a great weekend!