We had another full weekend, starting with Friday night. Brett picked up Brandon and brought him to URS (my place of employment) for the company's summer function, which consisted of a BBQ and a Twins game. We had some nice lower level seats for the Twins vs. White Sox game. The Twins came out victorious and we had a great time.

Saturday I left early to drive to Des Moines. I met Mom and Dad at the Iowa Gold Star Museum at Camp Dodge just outside of DM. We were hoping to find out some more military info about our Koch ancestors who served in WW1. Unfortunately, the info cards we were hoping to find were not there! The guy who was helping us said that he has pulled about 100 of these cards, and rarely does he have one that he can't find. Of course we come in, and there are 2 he can't find for us! Kind of a bummer, but we did pull a couple of other cards for some other relatives.

After the museum I met up with some friends for our annual get-together at Okoboji Bar & Grill in south DM. This is a chance for a bunch of us who went to college together to have lunch and catch up, and see how fast everyone's kids are growing! There were 8 adults and 5 kids under the age of 3 there. It was a hoot! It's always so fun to see what new things the little ones are doing. Above is my friend Laura with her little girl, Maggie. Laura is also due to deliver a little boy any day now!

Later I went to the Iowa State Fair with 2 friends (also an annual tradition). We walked around a lot to take in all the sights. The IA State Fair always has the "Butter Cow" and usually one other sculpture made of butter. This year it was a butter Superman, in honor of local actor Brandon Routh who played the role of Superman in the recent film. We also saw the biggest boar and the biggest bull (over 3,000 lbs!) Later we enjoyed The Blue Band. And naturally you can't beat the people watching at the State Fair; we saw some outstanding mullets and some very interesting outfits. Of course through it all, we ate. Corn dogs, cheese curds...it was all there.

While I was away, my boys did play...World of Warcraft, that is. They had a couple of friends over and had a blast. So our computers got a good workout this weekend!

Sunday when I returned to Mpls, we headed over to the state capitol in St. Paul to watch the closing ceremonies for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. Brett's sister Marcey and some of her friends walked it this year. It's no small endeavor either - participants walk 60 miles over 3 days, and raise a minimum of $2,200 each. As many of you know, this event is very close to my heart. I walked in the first Twin Cities 3-Day in September 2004, in memory of my grandma Rosemary Overmohle, who lost her battle with BC in December 2003. This year's event had 2,500 walkers and raised over $6.3 million for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation!

Here is our niece, Hayley, sitting on her dad's shoulders and cheering Auntie Marcey. Nice shades, Hayley!

Marcey had a few blisters and some taped up knees, but she looked pretty darn good after all that walking. Here she is with her husband Haver after the closing. Way to go, Marcey!

Monday night we had the awesome opportunity to see the preseason Vikings vs. Raiders game at the Metrodome. A friend of my friend Kristy had some tickets they couldn't use, so she thought of us and send them up from Des Moines! We had a great time seeing some of the new players and trying to guess who will get some playing time this season. Rookie Tarvaris Jackson was looking like a good back-up QB. A downer was when former Iowa standout Chad Greenway got injured in the 1st quarter. Word is he may be out for the season...BUMMER!

As always, when I'm in a crowd of people I am continually amazed at the wonders of humanity. And yes that was a sarcastic statement. To make a long story short, we encountered a teenager who wouldn't stand during the National Anthem, a mother with a very young (3 weeks maybe?) baby in the midst of one of the loudest sports arenas in football, and an older woman who gave us a very hard time (and not in a good way) for having to pass by her to get out of our row.

Stadium Solution??

We were talking about this at home, and Brett made an interesting point. If the Viking had an outdoor stadium, some of these issues would be alleviated, because these people wouldn’t come. Do you think a 80+ year-old woman with a walking issue would sit in 80 to 90 degree heat to watch the game? Would a mother bring a tiny baby in that kind of heat, or if it was 10 degrees and snowing? This was his argument for an outdoor stadium - it would weed out some of the people who are not what he would call “true” fans.

Food for thought. Though I guess the flip side of that is that the Metrodome allows a Vikings or Twins game to be accessible to a greater number of people, people that could become “true” fans as a result. But the way I see it, there will always be something. Outdoor or not, chances are you’ll end up next to “that guy.” And he’s probably got his face painted and a pair of Viking horns on his head. He bleeds purple and gold. And he can still be annoying.

Why is it I get so down on Sunday nights? Ugh. Because I have to go back to work tomorrow! It really isn't all that bad, it's just that the weather is finally nice (not so unbearably H-O-T) and I'm really unmotivated to sit in a cubicle all day. Ah well...

We had a nice weekend. Friday was Brett's 35th birthday, so I took he and Brandon out to eat at Olive Garden. Saturday Brandon had a b-day party with his mom, and Brett and I went out to Canterbury Park (horse track) for a summer event his company was putting on. We had a nice time, it was a gorgeous day, and I only ended up down $6 (though I think Brett lost a little more...) Not a bad way to spend an afternoon! I love looking at the horses before the race starts. I usually have a few names that I like, and I look at what jockeys or owners are winning - but I make a final decision on my bet after seeing the horses. It's an interesting dynamic there in the ring - you have the owners, jockeys (they're so little!) and all the horses, and there's all this anticipation in the air. And the names of the horses are a riot! Premier's Secret, Threat From Above, Magic Mischief, Dancing Rachael, Texas Martini, Sonoma Storm, and here's a good one - Iwazascruffyboy. We had a good time. We'll have to go again before the season is over.

This morning Brandon and I played tennis. He's getting better and I think he really likes to play, so that is nice. It also gets me out there again! This afternoon I took a walk with my friend Jacquie, and then went to see "Devil Wears Prada." It was good! Meryl Streep is excellent in it. I swear she can play any kind of role! It was just a nice weekend overall.

Now it's back to Monday...have a good week everyone!

Well, I've been thinking for awhile now about a good way to keep in touch with my family, and all of my girlfriends that I don't get to see nearly often enough. My "girls - " that is, my cousin and my dearest high school and college friends that know the most incriminating things about me...are all scattered in Iowa and I'm up here in Minnesota (all pictured above). There is also lots of family all over the country. It's hard to keep up now with everything going on - weddings, traveling, new jobs, babies...

So the intent of this blog is to keep you all informed about my family, but I can’t promise that I won’t embark on the occasional diatribe or thoughts on life in general. I am a thinking person (sometimes too much) and sometimes I feel the need to express myself. But mostly I’ll just try to focus on what we’re up to, and post some pics.

So what have I/we been up to so far this summer??

I Got Married!

Just 11 days shy of my 30th birthday (I swear that wasn’t planned), I married Husband, and acquired a stepson, Brandon. June 3rd was a beautiful day, and I have to say it was even better than I ever imagined it would be! We had a gorgeous outdoor ceremony, just like I always wanted. Our family and friends were amazing help, and it was all so much fun.

So I've taken on a lot of new titles lately: "newlywed," "wife," "stepmom." Not to mention the name change. I’m still getting used to it, as is everyone else. I did think about it, but it was an easy decision. I know there are some women who feel very strongly about maintaining their identity through keeping their maiden name, and I respect that. But changing my name doesn’t change who I am. I’ll still be an Overmohle until the day I die, and in the family history records that I hope someone takes an interest in after I’m gone. Having the same last name says that Husband and I are a team, and marks this change in our lives.

Here are a few more photos (non-pro):

Honeymoon

We spent the week after the wedding in WA, MT and ID. More specifically, we flew into Spokane, WA, on Sunday night, and on Monday drove across Idaho and up to Whitefish, MT, which is just west of Glacier National Park. We stayed 3 nights in a wonderful B&B called Good Medicine Lodge. This lodge is owned and run by Betsy and Woody Cox, who are the parents of Husband’s good friend Joe (a groomsman in our wedding). We had such a great stay there! Betsy and Woody really enjoy what they are doing, and their attention to detail is impeccable. It’s a lovely lodge with only 9 rooms, the largest of which was our honeymoon suite. I had a hard time leaving there, and we wish we would have stayed there at the end of the week instead of the beginning, because it was the nicest and most wonderful place we stayed. We got spoiled!

While in Whitefish, we visited Glacier National Park, went horseback riding at the Bar W Ranch, and took in some of the sites surrounding Whitefish. We left there on Thursday and drove up to the far corner of Montana, and into Idaho. We visited Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge near Bonner’s Ferry, and the next day headed down to Coeure‘d Alene. We spent the day and night there, and then spent Saturday in Spokane. We left early Sunday morning and relaxed at home Sunday afternoon and also Monday. All in all it was a GREAT vacation and a nice time to decompress from the craziness of the wedding.

WICKED

On Thursday, July 20 I went to see the Broadway musical "Wicked" at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. If you have the chance, GO SEE THIS SHOW! It was awesome! Tickets are a bit hard to get - I could only get 1 ticket for a matinee show. If you missed it this time around, keep an eye out for it in another year or two. For those of you who aren't familiar, this show is based on the book "Wicked" by Gregory MacGuire. It's a spin on the Wizard of Oz, telling the story of how 2 young girls named Elphaba and Galinda became the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, respectively. This was a wonderful show and I especially enjoyed the performance of Kendra Kessenbaum as Galinda/Glinda.

Weddings and Birthdays

My cousin Alexis married Chris in West Point, NE on Saturday, July 22nd. They had a beautiful day, and Alexis looked lovely. I traveled to Iowa to meet up with my parents early that morning, and drove over to West Point with them for the wedding. Husband and Brandon stayed behind so Brandon could celebrate his 13th birthday that same day! We had Brett’s family over for a little party on Friday night, but they did “guy” stuff the rest of the weekend.