Do it Yourself Unity Candles

Simple ideas for do it yourself candles. I think I would like to use some brown ribbon and some vellum. I have to remember to keep it simple though! Instead of using white candles...we may consider using ivory candles to go with the chocolate brown theme.

Dress Alterations

Last week I brought my dress to Kristen Olsen at The Dressmaker in Edina to get it altered. She has a tiny, comfy shop on 50th and France. In some ways she reminds me of Anna of Cakes by Anna in Mankato. They are both very skilled at what they do, but have more of a reserved and quiet personality. Well, the total cost of the alterations is like $200! I'm getting the dress shortened, adding a bustle, taking the chest area in so that it fits tight, tight, tight, and getting bra cups sewn in.

i won't see the dress again until October. for a split millisecond i was a bit sad, but am fine now. I have one more fitting and she is going to press the dress for me about 1-2 weeks before the wedding.

one thing I learned...she also makes custom couture wedding gowns for the bride who simply can't find anything that she likes in the stores...maybe there is a specific style, color, size, or material that a dress is lacking...she can make it!

Bike/Picnic date

Picture of Curt at the Lifetime Triathlon

Many of you know that I got a new bike. I am anxious to take it out. Last week me and Curt had a little picnic date where we biked out to the Carver Park Reserve with our cute picnic backpack, which we got as a gift from Curt's folks. After some minor highway crossings we got onto the best path ever...seriously...and cruised to a grassy and secluded spot that overlooked more grassy and tree-filled land. Very romantic. We nibbled on some cheese, carrots, a sandwich, and sipped some wine. Some ants kept us company too. After our mini feast we biked back. I'm guessing that the total route was 18 miles or so. very fun! i have no pictures because Curt said that we wouldn't need a camera for images that "will forever be etched in our memory." hilarious.

Reunion and Triathlon success!

Us at the finish rejoicing

The entire tri crew at the start of the swim...i'm very nervous at this point.

Last night we celebrated our high school 10 year reunion. It was lots of fun and super cool to see classmates come back. Curt helped out with the music set-up and my friend Angie came at the beginning to help check people in.

In other news...a week ago Carolyn, Shanna, Brent, Doug, and myself competed in the Heart of the Lakes triathlon in Annandale, MN. It was a blast. Curt has a very nice summary of the race day. So check out his blog for a race recap and a picture of us at our own family sponsored awards ceremony. Everyone came away as a winner. Can't wait to see the video footage of everything as Curt and my dad were out taping!!!!

Anyway, after finishing my first tri I have a new appreciation for what Curt does with his training and races. Him and all the other really good triathletes makes going super fast look way too easy!!! unreal.

Our engagement pictures are in!

Two weeks ago we had our engagement photos taken by Becca Dilley. We went to the Lake Harriet Bandshell. The place is special to us because it is where we took a walk for our 2nd date and of course where we got engaged. This is just a small sampling of the many shots she took for us. We are so excited to look at them. The photo session was so much fun.

5 more days until my first tri!

Well, I can't believe the triathlon is almost here. The triathlon crew had a practice swim on the 4th when we were at Lake Riley. It is so hard swimming in a lake! You can't see anything and there are weird, leafy things in a lake that get onto your face, legs, arms, etc. We all survived the practice swim despite our nervousness and me being afraid. The slightest bump with another swimmer totally throws me off. I'll have to expect that I will be bumping into a lot of swimmers that morning. Yikes!

My very 1st lake swim was with my sister at Lake Nokomis about a week earlier. Same thing...you have no visibility and no sense of direction. All I can say is that finishing the triathlon will be a huge accomplishment for me.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. Our independence day celebration this year was complete with awesome weather, traditional picnic and bbq food, family, and some boating activities. Curt's family was able to come up and join my family for a nice afternoon out on Lake Riley in Eden Prairie. Thanks to my dad, who was out at the lake at 7 am, for finding and saving our well- shaded spot. I also ran into my friends Shannon, Steve, Laura, and Sean.



We concluded the evening with a dinner of kabobs and rice at my parents house. Some of us then went to see some fireworks!

Other Photos

Silhouette of me and Curt before Lake Waconia Tri
Snapshot of leaves taken during a storm
Rocks during a storm

Nature Valley Bike Race Pictures

Lake Waconia Triathlon

So last


weekend we were in Lake Waconia for yet another triathlon. It's been like 6 or 7 straight weeks of racing for Curt! Yowzers! We thought he would have a break this wknd, but he decided at the last minute to fly to Portland to do the USAT Age Group Nationals. I'm glad he went because we have no idea what our schedules will be like next year. Plus he's had a pretty decent season of training. It will be cool to hear how he does!

a sampling of hyvee pictures

Check out Curt's blog for a full recap of our time in Des Moines, Iowa for the Hyvee triathlon. Unfortunately, I have yet to get a good snapshot of him on the bike. It's quite the challenge. Anyway, as a spectator I was in awe of the vast number of cheerful volunteers. There was one young man who stood out in my mind. The day before the race he helped usher us into the athlete parking spot. Remember...it was 90 plus degrees out. The sun was beating down on him and it looked like he was out there for hours. The crazy thing....he was at it again the next morning ushering athletes into the parking lot at 4 am!!!! And he was just as animated and cheerful as the day before!!! Another older gentlemen volunteer made an impression on me too. While waiting for Curt to come in from the bike segment I waited on a high traffic corner. Bikers were leaving the park and spectators were coming in and out from all sorts of directions. To prevent a major collision, they stationed a volunteer to help spectators cross safely. This man was perfect for the job. He was loud, bossy, and humorous all at the same time. He would say this, "People, if you are gonna cross, cross today and not tomorrow. What I mean is run like hell! Move!" It was so funny.

Pretty in Pink

last week we found shoes and accessories for the bridesmaids. It was a success! We browsed pretty much every store at the Mall of America. On a whim (actually to go to the bathroom) we stopped in Sears. We ventured over to the jewelry area and found some really cute pink colored pearls. Then we remembered trying on some really cute pink shoes at DSW and decided to go back and buy them.

Hot, hot, hot!

Cooler weather rolled in last evening making this morning oh so fabulous! It's about 68 degrees and perfect outside! I love it. I went for a run this morning and totally appreciated the level of comfort I was feeling, although I was really sore from yesterday's yoga class. I also was motivated enough to swim the distance of the triathlon in the outdoor pool. I wish all summer days were this comfortable. I'm convinced that my blood starts to boil, my eyeballs start to melt, and my brain starts doing somersaults inside my skull when it's warmer than 85 degrees out.

Last week it was too hot to turn on the oven or stove top so I tried making meals that required no heating. We were able to enjoy some sangria, tabouli sandwiches, and an apple spinach feta cheese salad with a maple syrup dressing.

Manitou Triathlon

Here are pictures from the Manitou Triathlon in White Bear Lake. from last weekend. It was another gorgeous day and Curt raced hard. 2nd place! He also managed to avoid the swimmers itch that was apparently a potential hazard for the racers. Itchy itchy. The bottom picture is of the swim start. Notice how excited Curt is to start the race...so excited that he has some extra spring to his legs!

Calvin is graduated!