I got a surprise in the mail today...

A note from my nephew...

Also included was a valentine...

And what I wrote on the back... 

What an awesome idea.  

Sending the valentine off in the mail to 

Miss Nottingham's class tomorrow.

Christmas in Arizona

This year we went to Phoenix for Christmas! It was my first Christmas in a warm climate, and it was a little weird. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that it was, in fact, December, but we had so much fun I didn't spent too much time thinking about that.

Some of the highlights included: going to The Nutcracker, me getting some quality time with Santa (or his floating head, anyway),

Kristin getting into a minor fenderbender (most would consider this a lowlight, but I got to meet Immanuel because of it which was just lovely), Kristin and me finding the perfect gift for Lon (from Ginny, of course),

Going caroling on Christmas night,

Church outside in the Christmas sun, staying at cousin Erin's house, and going to Walgreens with Ang. ;)

The trip was awesome, and I was so happy we had the chance to go! Thanks to Ginny, John, Erin, and Pat for being such wonderful hosts to all of us!

Thanksgiving!

I'm a bit behind, so I thought I would try to get things at least somewhat caught up...to begin, we'll have to travel all the way back to Thanksgiving!

This year I decided to surprise my family by flying out to Utah, renting a car, and driving up to my grandparents' house in Idaho. The only person I told in my family was my sister which was a good thing since their plans of what they would be doing the night I was driving up seemed to change every few minutes. :)

Knocking on the door and seeing every one's faces when they opened it up was the best! It was so good to see the whole family, and I loved being able to spend some time with my niece and nephews, Taylor, Jordan, and Corban!

I took my camera, but it wasn't until I got home that I realized I only had one photo on it which Jordan actually took of my dad (guess I was too busy cooing over Taylor and visiting with the family!):

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner, went bowling (so much fun to watch all the little ones bowl!), and helped my grandma decorate her house for Christmas!

So the night before I was supposed to fly out I tried to check in for my flight. After a few minutes of frustration I realized I had booked my return flight for February. Oops. There was a bit of panic when the airline told me it would cost $600+ to change the ticket before I found a really cheap one-way flight on Southwest!

It was a short trip, but I'm so glad I went was able to see everyone!

Visit from Mom and Dad Ricks!

This past weekend my parents came to visit from Utah. It was good to see them again! We spent Friday in Duluth where my dad measured up to the lighthouse,

Kristin pulled a Larry Craig in the bathroom (at least I think it was Kristin!),

and Dad and Kristin anxiously awaited the 3:15 boat.

Saturday we went to Minnehaha Falls among other Saint Paul sites and were able to have dinner with Kristin's sister and her family who were in town for a high school marching band competition. Sunday we headed to Silver Bison Ranch where we took in the views and bouth a little bison meat (yum!) before heading home.

After a little relaxation, we headed to dinner at Benihan's (Kristin's choice!), where despite the fact they didn't have any ketchup in the entire restaurant, and the Shirley Temples got more Shirley as the night went on, a good time was had by all.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but we were thrilled to see them again and enjoyed their company!

Beautiful Fall Weekend in South Dakota

Kristin and I headed to South Dakota this weekend to enjoy a little family time. We spent a lot of time outside on Saturday. I picked some apples (which Kristin's mom quickly turned into a yummy pie), Kristin mowed....

And Ellie hung out and took it all in...

And then the camera died. :) We were able to spend time with Kristin's sister and her family on Saturday and Sunday. We celebrated her nephew Jacob's 13th birthday on Sunday as well!

It was a fun time and we were sad to leave, but look forward to seeing them in the Cities this coming weekend for a high school marching band competition (Go Lincoln!)!

In Memory...

This past week has been a hard one for us. Roger, Kristin's dad, passed away a week ago today. He had been battling cancer for eight years. In the many years I have known Roger he quickly went from Kristin's dad to my friend. And when he officially became my father-in-law, I considered him my second dad. He was (and still is) truly one of the greatest men I know.

Roger loved to laugh. And to make others laugh. He always had a joke ready to share with us when we called or went for a visit. His smile was infectious. And he had a way of making those around him feel better. About themselves and about the world. Roger loved music. All kinds of music. From Celine Dion to Santo and Johnny to the Gaither Brothers to Johnny Cash. I will never hear a Johnny Cash song without thinking of Roger and Kristin's brother, Mike, singing along to Folsom Prison as we watched Walk The Line together.

Roger, I thank you for your smile, your laughter, your kindness, your love, and your acceptance. You will truly be missed.

Welcome, Taylor!

I'm a little late in posting, but on July 21, our niece Taylor Elizabeth joined the family! She's adorable - just like her brothers. :)

Welcome, Kord!

Ack! What kind of auntie am I? I completely neglected to welcome the newest addition to our family!

Kord Todorovic was born April 17 at 12:26 p.m (two years to the day since another little nephew, Corban joined the family!). He weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz and was 21" long.

Baby and mamma are doing great, and two aunties in Minnesota can't wait to meet the little man in July or August!

Updated: Rest in Peace, Grandpa Moe

Olney L. Moe, 97, of Colman died Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at Bethel Lutheran Home in Madison.

Olney was born November 26, 1911 in Colman to Ole and Laura (Johnson) Moe. He graduated from Colman High School in 1930 and then started farming near Colman. Olney married Merle Brown on December 19, 1936 in Minneapolis, MN. They owned and operated the Gambles Store in Colman from 1946-1959 and then he sold farm machinery and MoorMan’s Feed. In 1963 he purchased the Colman Fertilizer business and operated it until his retirement in 1989. He also sold Pioneer Seed Corn along with agricultural fertilizers and chemicals. His wife preceded him in death on May 23, 1979. Olney was a member of the Colman Lutheran Church, served on the board of trustees and sang in the church choir and the Minnehaha Mandskor Glee Club. He also served on the Board of Directors for Bethel Lutheran Home in Madison and the National Board of Directors of the Golden Dealers for Chevron Chemical Company.

Survivors include two sons: Roger (Helen) of Sioux Falls and James (Cheryl) of Grand Junction, Colo.; five grandchildren: Michael Moe, Angela Semansky, Kristin Moe, Lisa Dayley and Sara Cutts; five great grandchildren: Lacey, Gabrielle, Jacob, Noah and Alex; one brother: Richard (Carmel) of DeSmet; one sister: Delores Peterson of Seattle, Wash.; and two sisters-in-law: Edna Brown of Brandon and Beth Seeley of Omaha, Neb. He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, four brothers, Lloyd, Herbert, Robert and Reginald and three sisters, Arnola, Ellen and Lillian.

Services were held January 3 at the Colman Lutheran Church with Pastor Solveig Hendrickson. Burial in Colman Cemetery.

Rest in peace, Grandpa Moe

Olney L. Moe, 97, died Tuesday at the Bethel Lutheran Home in Madison. 

He is survived by two sons, Roger (Helen), Sioux Falls, James (Cheryl), Grand Junction, CO; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; one brother, Richard (Carmel) Moe, DeSmet, SD; and one sister, Delores Peterson, Seattle, WA.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Merle, his parents, four brothers and three sisters. 

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday at the Colman Lutheran Church, with burial in the Colman Cemetery. Visitation is from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday, with the family present from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Skroch Funeral Chapel, Colman. 

Memorials to Bethel Lutheran Home, Madison, SD.

A couple of pictures...

Here are a couple of pictures of Lacey and Gabs doing their thing :)

Gabs plays the mellophone.

Lacey plays the oboe and the alto sax.

Band Competition!

Tonight we went to Irondale High School in New Brighton to watch Lacey and Gabrielle (Kristin's nieces) play in a band competition.  I had never been to one, so I was completely psyched.   Kristin kept telling me she wasn't going to let me go with her for fear I would embarrass her.  But somehow I managed to finagle my way into going and off we went.  

We arrived about 20 minutes before they started and even got a chance to see Gabrielle before they went out onto the field.  She wasn't exactly happy to see us, I don't think - embarrassed is more like it ;)  

Anyway, Lacey had a solo right at the very beginning and did an AWESOME job.  Seriously.  Watch the video for yourself and tell me she didn't do fabulously.

The whole performance was great - there were lots of "wows" coming from the crowd.  

They ended up getting 2nd place (they were robbed!) out of 5 which I think was impressive!  I was sad we weren't there to see more of the bands because I really thought it was cool!  

Lincoln High School (including Lacey and Gabs) will be headed to New York over Thanksgiving to be in the Macy's Parade...so watch for them on your TVs that day!  :)

Awesome job ladies!

End of a visit

Last night we went to the Loring Pasta Bar with Robyn and Dejan. I think Dejan was a little skeptical, but I also think he had a good time.


Lucky for us it was tango night. There was a live band playing and some very interesting people there to dance the night away (this picture doesn't do it justice...by the end of the night the dance floor was FULL of people).


It reminded me a bit of a junior high dance with dancers sitting all around the periphery and guys shyly approaching women to ask if they wanted to dance.


Not very many of them danced with the same partner twice. Most of the dancers were wearing...interesting outfits. We never could figure out what was going on - whether it was some sort of singles event or an assignment for people taking dance classes or just a gathering of folks who like to dance. It provided some good entertainment for us, though, so that was good.


When we started to tire of watching the dancers Kristin provided some entertainment of her own - napkin art!


After dinner we headed to a much quieter Kafe 421 for some dessert. Along the way we saw some Mormon missionaries...not sure what they were doing out on a Sunday night, but we snapped a picture for posterity.


Dejan ordered 3 desserts for us to share, and they were fantastic!























We were all pretty tired so we headed back to Saint Paul to drop them off at their hotel. Along the way we made a quick stop at CVS to pick up some supplies for Robyn's horribly sunburned/blistered knees.

Today they came downtown to have lunch with me and see my office. I think they liked the place :) I was going to take them to The Loon for lunch (they weren't up for Luce or Brenda's), but Dejan didn't want to walk 3 blocks in the hot sun so we ended up lunching at The Ugly Mug. I hadn't eaten there since it changed from being Harvey's. It wasn't the best food, but the people watching (waitress watching, really) proved to be a fun pasttime, so we were okay with it.

After that it was a sad goodbye and they were off to Chicago.

The visit was way too short, but we had a great time getting caught up with them. We both wish they would move closer to us, but we'll take what we can get in the form of visits!

Robyn and Dejan Visit!

We've had a great day so far! Robyn and Dejan are here visiting for a day on their way back from a fabulous Ricks Family Adventure at Yellowstone.


We picked them up at their hotel at 11 this morning and headed to Minnehaha Park for a little bike riding action.


While we were waiting in line a random group of violinists started playing which was a little weird, but provided some entertainment while we waited in line.


Once we finally got our bike we were on our way! Somehow we got completely lost and ended up pedaling over the Ford Pkwy bridge. Oops. We were able to get turned around, though, and head back to the park to finish following the correct path. We only got stuck at one hill. I guess the four of us just aren't very strong because Kristin and I had to get out to push the bike up the hill. Time to work out a little more, eh?


After a 45 minute ride (that felt more like 15) we returned the bike and headed to Chipotle. Robyn always seems to call me when I'm at Chipotle and so I've told her all about how fabulous it is. She decided she needed to try it when she was here. We made it a long lunch and got all caught up.


Afterward we headed back to our apartment to give them the grand tour and to look at their pictures from their trip to Utah. It was fun to see all of them and watch all the videos they had taken with their flip (I really need to get one!).


We just took them back to their hotel so they could "freshen up" before we head to dinner.

It's been a great day! I wish they could stay longer...ah well, maybe next time!

Saturday Night

Nothing too exciting to share, but I've decided I need to blog more, so here I am. Jehn came over earlier to go swimming with Kristin. I'm glad Jehn likes to swim because it's not really my gig and Kristin loves it. While they were playing out in the hot summer sun I took a nap - ahhhh.

When I got up I ran to Target to pick up some pictures so we could FINALLY get photos in our frames. Yes, it has been over a year since we moved in. What can I say, we're a little slow.

We spent the evening picking up a bit in anticipation of Robyn and Dejan's visit. I'm actually on the phone with Robyn now. They are about 1 1/2 hours away. They've driven over 12 hours today - poor them! We're planning on going for a bike ride at Minnehaha Falls tomorrow, relaxing, and eating "authentic Minnesotan food" - whatever that is - look for pictures of our adventures tomorrow or Monday!

4th of July 2008

Kristin and I went to the great state of South Dakota for the 4th of July holiday. We always have a great time there, and I love going (hoping to make it there at least once more before the summer is over!!). We spent a lot of time relaxing (sleeping), hanging out on the deck, and spending time with the family. We were able to see Heather (Kristin's friend from Florida) and little Santiago. I even got to see lots of lightning bugs which was fabulous!

Thanks to Mom and Dad Moe for the hospitality (once again), for putting up with Kristin's antics, and for not hating me for sleeping all the time (I think I need to come for a week or two...spend the first half getting caught up on my sleep and the second doing stuff!!).

I've heard good and bad things about using the photoshop application to display pictures. I may try something different in the future - but for now, another slide show:

So Similar...

The baby on the top is Corban, born yesterday. The baby on the bottom is his big brother, Jordan, born 2 years ago. They look like twins - and the hospital still uses the same blankets :)

Welcome to the World, Corban!

This morning Kristin and I got a new nephew! Corban came into the world around 8 a.m. weighing in at 9.04 pounds. Congrats to my brother and sister-in-law and other nephew, Jordan!