We are getting married 7 months from today!!!

I am getting SO excited to marry Nick! We are starting to do more and more planning and organizing and it finally feels like the wedding is coming up rather than so far in the distant future. It's also really fun because my sister and her fiance, Bryce, are getting closer to setting a date and picking a venue also. EEEK--sister wedding planning! :) We've had some family members and out of town friends ask about hotel accommodations since we announced our date. SO, for those of you that want to get ahead, here is the information:

Mankato Country Inn and Suites Conference Center
1900 Premier Drive
Mankato, MN 56001 
(507) 388-8555
‎

We have a block of rooms (Sykora-Lewis Wedding) that are discounted, so be sure to call and tell them you're with us! The reception will be held in the conference center area of the hotel. There is also a free continental breakfast for Sunday morning. :)


The ceremony part will take place at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Peter. This is the church that Nick went to growing up, so it is special for us to get married there. Yay! The drive between the church and the hotel is about 20 minutes.

SO, those are the details for all you early planners...

Overdue update...

I was hoping that if I waited a month between blogs, maybe Nick would jump in again. I guess not. But, it's been awhile, so here I go...

2011 has been good to us so far. I have continued to enjoy my job as a middle school counselor more and more every day. I work with wonderful people, and the kids are...well...a little bit of everything. They are funny, caring, sensitive, full of emotions (and hormones) they can't describe, and a little bit of trouble. I love it! I am also settling into my other job at Safari Island in Waconia (about 5 miles from our house). I work in the aquatics program as a lifeguard, swimming teacher, and swim coach. I am there about 10-20 hours a week, and I am SO grateful that I have time to be so involved in the community doing something I absolutely love. Yesterday when we went to church, it was so fun to see one of my little swimming lesson girls up there in the kid's choir. Growing up in a small town where everyone knew everyone, I'm feeling so much more at home finding these little connections here in my new hometown.

Nick has done a lot of traveling so far this year. If you keep up with him on Facebook, he is having a lot of fun posting the temperature of his travel destinations. He was in Miami last week (82 and sunny) and New Orleans and San Diego the week before that. I am SO jealous! However, he is going back to New Orleans in June for a conference, and I am able to go with him! I have never been to New Orleans, so I am very excited to do some sightseeing!!!

Wedding planning has been going well. I ordered a dress (YAY!), and I am going bridesmaid dress shopping February 19 with my four closest and best friends who have agreed to stand up for me during our wedding. Want to know who's in the wedding?!

LeeAnn, Me

 LeeAnn Lewis (maid of honor, sister)

Sheila Buske (matron of honor, wing-man)

Diana Gagnon (HS/college friends forever)

Kelsey Sparks (HS/college friends forever)

Sheila, Me, Kelsey

Me, Kelsey, Diana

Todd, Mike, Nick

Justin Sykora (best man, Nick's brother)

Todd Willems (fraternity brother, college friend)

Mike Amundsen (fraternity brother, college friend)

Mike Reed (friend)

(Sorry, no pictures of Justin or Reed...)

Our furbabies are doing well. Milo had a booster shot this morning and weighed 37 pounds at the vet. We were expecting him to be in the 40's this time around...he just seems like he's getting so big! He's getting better about the potting training, but I think we are still a ways away from being able to trust him. Milo and Sera are getting along better and better every day. They get in to so much trouble together, but it is also so fun to watch them play together.

Hopes for 2011

We made a list of our hopes for 2011 together when we were doing our Christmas blog. Here are the big ones!

We are MOST EXCITED for our wedding August 27. We hope to be done planning by then!

We hope that Milo becomes potty trained. After the potty training, we will move onto training him to become a successful hunting dog for Nick.

We really hope Jana’s job is renewed at Wayzata West for next year. She accepted the position on a temporary basis originally. (Prayers are welcome on this one.)

We hope to fix our garage floor and get a new garage door. We know this won’t be as fun or rewarding as the bar project, but it's the next project on our list.

We hope LeeAnn and Bryce set a date and tie the knot so Bryce can officially be a brother-in-law!

We hope all our friends and family (and yours!) are happy and healthy now and throughout 2011.

Happy New Year!!!

Thank you to so many of our friends that came to Mayer to ring in the New Year with us in our newly remodeled rec room/bar. We have been working SO hard to get it finished, and it was awesome to finally get to use it! It was fun to see everyone in their red and black so thanks for getting into the theme with us!

Thanks especially to:

• Bryce for bartending and playing DJ. Can't wait till you're my B-in-law.
• Brent for being the best guitar hero partner and the constant laughs
• Kelsey for bringing the ice globes, and we LOVE the coasters!
• The Reeds for coming and surviving night #1 away from Alex. Come again soon!
• Buske for driving my "wing man" out to see me! :)
• Sheila for reminding/teaching us how to play P & A.
• LeeAnn for being a BLAST even though she had to get up & go to work. Love you sis!
• Amundsen for helping on the bar! Glad you were there to enjoy it with us!
• Kyle for driving the farthest! It was great to see you!

This might need to be a new annual tradition!

I love this guy! :)

Looking snazzy in our red & black!

Me and Kelsey: best in theme :)

Pictures of the finished bar...you'll notice the red & black decorations for the party and probably a few random cleaning supplies due to finishing sort of last minute.

I love this bar!

Best place in the house for TV and video games.

I used old cabinet doors to make the picture frame on the wall here.

Another homemade picture frame and our fish tank. We have 10 African Cichlids.

And just in case you are interested in a "before" picture, here is a picture from about the time I moved into the house in April. It's probably about halfway through the renovation considering Nick had already removed and redone the wood paneling, dry-walled the room and replaced the tile. This is the corner where we built the bar.