Rollercoaster (ooh--ooh--ooh--ooh)

By now, I have learned in my 29 years that life is full of ups and downs. Unfortunately, this week the downs have really gotten to me (even though they are minor in the grand scheme of things). The biggest down by far is that my car is broken. I love my little car, but it started driving funny last week. It turns out that it needs a new transmission at only 74K miles. Even worse news was that my 5-year, 100K mile warranty expired i August. Big, huge, $3000 bummer. Nick and I have been down to one car this week which isn't very fun either. I was late to work yesterday which made me feel rushed all day. You know how that goes? Then while I was making dinner, I cut my finger. I know, I sound a little whiney. SO thanks for listening to my little rant.

What I really wanted to share is that there are lots of ups right now as well. First of all, I have submitted a request for my warranty to be extended and cover this repair. I didn't know this was an option, so keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

I am also really excited that my adult swim team is growing. I coach "Masters Swim" at Safari Island, and I have gone from 4 swimmers to 6 in the last week. It's so much fun working with this group!

Next, I get to go to Sky Zone (an indoor trampoline park) with three of my favorite ladies TONIGHT. Kelsey, Diana, Lea, and I will be participating in SkyRobics if all goes according to plan. Aerobics on trampolines?! Sounds crazy fun to me!!! I will be sure to bring my camera.

Friday night, Nick and I are going to a Wild Game! Finally! We went to three last year and haven't even been to one yet this season. So, I am really excited! GO WILD!

Saturday is the big bridesmaid dress shopping day. I'm a little nervous about this because I really don't know what I want, so I'm relying on Kelsey, Diana, Sheila and LeeAnn to help me out. My mom and dad are also going to be joining us. Maybe my mom will find her dress, too!

Sunday will be Nick's second attempt at snowboarding! After how stiff and sore we were all week, I couldn't believe he wants to go again right away. I'm so glad he's into it!!! Anyway, I feel fortunate to have so many fun things going on in my life. And the car thing will get resolved...even if it costs a small fortune.

Our Valentine's Date

For Valentine's Day, Nick took me snowboarding! I have been bugging him all winter about wanting to go, and we FINALLY made time and went. I'm not a great snowboarder, but I really enjoy going. Nick had never been before, so I think he was a little nervous.

We spent most of our time in the training zone while Nick learned the basics, but I was really impressed with how quickly he learned and got up on the chair lift for a few runs down "Big Foot." I was glad that it all came back to me after at least a year without boarding. We had lots of laughs and enjoyed a perfect Minnesota day. The sun was shining and it was about 35! It could not have been better!

Here are some pictures of our fun day!

From the peanut gallery...

I just want to add a few things...

• I only took Nick dress shopping because he had expressed a few opinions on length, style and color. I wanted to be sure we ended up with something that wasn't going to get vetoed by the groom.

• I don't even know what to say about going to Menards, but I wish you could have seen him with that scanner walking around the store...a kid in a candy store...

• And the Super Bowl party was super fun. I'm so glad our basement room is done so we can enjoy it, and it's always more fun when friends come over, too!

Update Courtesy of Nick

Well I am told it is my turn to post again so here are a few updates on some of the important things we have going on in our lives; our fur babies, our wedding and sports.


Update on Milo:

I took him down to my parents in St. Peter while Jana was getting her hair done so my dad and I could work with him and introduce the noise of a gun. We played fetch in the snow and shot the .22 a few times so he would get used to the noise. I'm happy to say it didn't bother him at all. He is getting so big, around 40lbs and he is barely over 5 months old.

More Wedding stuff:

Last weekend Jana and I went to the bridal shop where she ordered her dress so she could pick out potential bride's maid dresses. She got a few good ideas for when her and the girls go back to try things on. As anyone could imagine this was not the highlight of my weekend. We also stopped at Michael's to search for materials to make our center pieces. If anyone knows where to buy beaded garland in bulk, please let us know. We also stopped at Menard's to pick up a few household essentials, but decided we might as well register since we had time. Our plan is to register at Menard's, Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I urge everyone to go to Menard's first as most of the registry is stuff I scanned.

The Super Bowl:

We hosted a Super Bowl party in our bar, thanks to everyone who was able to come! We had a great time entertaining. Special thanks to Mike Reed for bringing his home brew, it was excellent. Unfortunately we will now have to endure a full year of listening to our WI friends reminding us of the Packers victory and of Brett Favre's texting scandal. At least now with the football season over I can look forward to the upcoming baseball season and year 2 of outdoor baseball in MN.