Another Weekend Home!

Nothing like being about a month behind on posting about something, ha. I just keep feeling like I have nothing to post about, and then I think back to my busy calendar and all the photos in my phone, and it turns out I just don't take the time to post. ;) Anyway, just under a month ago, L and I went back to Colby for my long-time friend Jenna's wedding. We spent lots of time with family, and we even stayed until Monday morning somewhat unexpectedly since we were having such a great time. That was rough since we had to get up at like 4:30am to get to Madison in time for work, but overall, totally worth it! I think I'll let the pictures of the weekend kind of speak for themselves. A great weekend was had by all! :)

 Always gotta stop at the VFW on Friday nights in Colby:).

 Me and mama:).

 <3

 Got to see Popp, who I haven't seen in years! So fun!

 Jenna and Nate getting hitched!

 Mr. and Mrs. Jackel!:)

 Oh, you know... Just drinking a beer with a mustache;).

 Me and L after the wedding!

 

 Me and mama!

 L had never been to Cherokee Park, so we took him out there the day after the wedding!

 

Love this pic!

Looking for crayfish:).

 T just about had a panic attack when he found out we were leaving on Sunday and he didn't get to see us. This little guy is responsible for us turning back around and staying overnight until Monday, ha!

 Me and Drew!

 Here comes a series of hilarious photos with most of the kids. L is trying to 'mind meld' Austyn in case you're wondering about that craziness on his face;).

 

 

 

 

We actually got a nice one! :)

 T and L goofing around!

 Me and papa!

 The plus side of getting up so early on Monday was catching this beautiful sunrise! :)

Weekend in Colby!

Just about two weeks ago, L and I decided that we wanted to make a trip to Colby since we hadn't been there since Christmas. Was just kind of on a whim, and it worked out really well because I was at a conference in the later part of the week that got done a little earlier on Friday. We drove to Colby, had dinner at Allison's with my parents, and spent some time at the VFW like we usually do on Friday nights. Fun times! Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling that great over the weekend, so Saturday was quite lowkey. Definitely was okay with that. L went for his first snowmobile ride ever with my dad that day, so that was fun for him! We had a delicious dinner with all of my family (including all the kiddos), so that was super nice. I was a little nervous since both of my brothers and their families had all been through terrible bouts of sickness in the days and weeks leading up to it, and I couldn't really afford to get sick since I had three late nights in a row in the upcoming days at work. Fortunately for me, I have not gotten the flu or anything since then, so hopefully I'm in the clear. I have been having weird dizzy spells lately, so not really sure what's up with that, but I'll keep you posted if I find out more. Hopefully it's nothing! Anyway, on Sunday, we stuck around a lot longer than we usually do. We checked out the pancake breakfast at the Lion's Club, had some more delicious food with my parents, and stopped at Allison's for their monthly drawing - my dad won! We were in no rush, so we didn't end up leaving town until almost 7:00pm. Kinda regretted that later since we didn't get home until about 9:30, but it was nice to stay a little longer than usual. It was the first time in a LONG time (maybe ever) that we've gone to Colby for the sole purpose of just going. Normally we go because of an event or holiday, so it was super nice to just relax and have a nice weekend with everyone. Hope to do that more often! Next time I go home will probably be in a week or two to see the little new niece(s) and/or nephew(s) that my sister-in-laws (here and here) will be soon bringing into the world. Eeeee! Can't wait to meet the new little ones! Below are a few random pictures from our weekend (mostly of me and L, sorry:). Enjoy!

 Ready to hit the road!

 Cute:).

 

 Mama and papa!:)

 Funny faces. I legit cannot stop laughing!

 

 Goofing around!

 These are the faces he gives me when I try to kiss him. HA!

 

 Now that's more like it!:)

 

Snowmobiling time! Pops took pretty good care of him:).

Christmas in Colby and Birthday in Madison!

I feel like I got a little spoiled with all the holiday festivities I had this year. After all the wonderful time with L's family (see here), I worked a couple days and then we got to head back to Colby for a long weekend. We started off the weekend by having a delicious dinner at Royal Tokyo (LOVE that place!), so that was a perfect welcome home. We had our family Christmas on Saturday, which was fun as always, and then we celebrated a BIG Packer win on Sunday. Loved every second of the weekend! I sadly didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked with my family at Christmas, but I was able to capture a few good ones. Guess that means I was just too busy having a good time! :)

After Colby, we came back to Madison to celebrate my birthday and to enjoy some time off work since I had this whole week off (yes!). Pretty sad that it's already Friday, but it's been a great week nonetheless. Some good friends from La Crosse came down to help celebrate with me, so we had a whole day of activities to help ring in my 28th year. We had breakfast at Sofra, a restaurant around here that we'd never been to. We'll go back for sure; it was great! After that, we stopped at Hody so I could get a bloody since I love them there, and from there, we went to Nitty Gritty, which is a place that basically markets itself as a birthday bar. I got a free glass mug from there, and I was able to drink all the free tap beer I wanted for the entire day. Not only that, but they gave a card that allows me to come back for a free birthday sundae once a month for a year. Seriously?! Loved it. We stayed there awhile, ate some good food, and then migrated to our regular mainstay of Paul's Neighborhood Bar where we remained the rest of the night. I was rather buzzed, but overall did pretty good throughout that day! We came home and had ice cream cake and rang in the new year quietly. It was a perfect day!!! Feel free to take a look at photos from Colby and from my birthday. Happy new year!

 Mom and dad at Royal Tokyo!

 So much delicious food!

 Onion volcano!:)

 Back of my birthday hat!

 No RT trip is complete without sake bombs!

 :)

 Drew taking after Aunt Nae Nae with the olive fingers. ;)

 Jake sporing his fake bacon tuxedo shirt. Ha!

 Me and L!

 Me and my cousin, Sarah!

 Pretty soon, I think he's gonna have to give up the "special hug." :)

 L and I got a Traeger tailgate grill for Christmas. SO excited!!

 Yummy meal at home! :)

 Go Pack Go!

 Celebratory drink after the Packers beat the Bears!

Group photo!:)

MY BIRTHDAY!

 Birthday mimosa!

 Amazzzzzing breakfast quesadillas!

 Enjoying my free beer for a good chunk of the day!

 A little unsure about this... ;)

 

 My friends:).

 Me and Kayleigh!

 

 Happy New Year!:)

Can't go wrong with an ice cream cake from DQ! And L surprised me with cute little Wizard of Oz figures. What a guy, I tell ya! :)

Big birthday shout out to my nephew Tayt who shares my birthday! Happy 7th, little guy!:)