JUNE!!!!

I'm not even going to try and come up with a creative title like I normally do, because I have missed so many events that I now have to summarize them all with the name of the month. So silly that I can't find time, but I really can't!! Between my new job, summer hours (more daylight to be outside), and summer weekend travel....the free time has been minimal my friends. All good reasons, but still doesn't make the blog up to date!
So without making you wait much longer I'm going to TRY and summarize our month thus far by events!!!

Event #1: Rendezvous!!!
What you are thinking is exactly what it was!! The company AK works for pays for an all expense paid weekend for each of their employees and s.o.'s (significant others) to attend this weekend getaway and this year it happened to be located in Galena, IL. I had only driven through Galena, and was excited to check it out as was AK. It happens to be the loveliest little place that is the epitome of a quaint little town. We were put up at the Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa, so we had a condo to ourselves, we were provided with more food and adult beverages than one should have in 2 days, and we had excursions to keep us entertained....AK opted for golf and I opted for the spa. We both won. But anyways this weekend was just amazing. I got to get to know and meet more of the cool people that AK works with along with getting a chance to mingle with their better halves, which in most circumstances were more wives. It really was a lovely weekend and again it was a great escape from the usual hustle bustle of "city life!" And after attending this event, it made me even more proud of AK for working so hard and landing such a great gig with such a great company!!

i love the bright colors!!!

casino night at rendezvous....the boys were bellied up all night!!!

big laugh!!

the cute couple. Miranda+Bryan

expecting in September....super cute!!

can't stop laughing!!!

so pretty! and notice the big tent....yes we were all served a wonderful sit down dinner with unlimited cocktails!! :))

Event #2: Meg and Micah return!!!
I'm sure you've read this a few times on and off over the past year, but if not, let me just explain. Our good friends Meghan and Micah got married last summer and following their nuptials they sold their belongings and each packed a back pack and were off for a year of travel/extended honeymooning to Europe/India/New Zealand, etc (yeeah, they are cool). So, after a year away, you can imagine how excited we were for them to land back on U.S. soil, and it just so happens that Meg was driving through Chicago on her way back to Denver so we were the lucky hosts for a night and I was the lucky co-pilot for a wonderful 16 hour drive out West!!! :) I can't complain though, because it was absolutely wonderful to see her and to be able to talk freely without Skype disconnecting us!! It was fun to show her a few of our favorite spots in Chi-town, and it was also fun to return to Denver with her and spend an evening with 3 of the best gals I know. We talked, we laughed, we learned about new love interests, we ate pizza, and we drank more than enough wine all while sitting around on a patio in our sweats and pony tails....#perfectnight!!!!! Meg and Micah we are thrilled for you and your wordly experiences, but we are even more thrilled you are "home" safe and sound!!!

they're baaaackkkk!!!!

good friends!!!

highlands street fair....fun! fun!

faces!!! cute! love these girls!

Event #3. Boating!!!!
This past weekend we were invited to go boating on Lake Michigan!!! AK has gotten to know a pretty cool dude (who happened to grow up in Iowa....just sayin!) that he works with and I happen to think his wife is as fabulous, if not a little better!! :) Anyhow, they have a boat that they dock on the lake, and they were kind enough to invite us to go with them. I'm not sure if there is anything I enjoy more than being on a boat on a hot summer day and when you're over looking Chicago....it's that much sweeter (believe it or not!). The sights, the lake, the people watching....all of it was fantastic and we enjoyed ourselves immensely and good thing we were well behaved, because we really hope to be invited again!! :)) And the day only confirmed my long term goal of owning a lake house some day!! A girl can dream, right???

boats in the harbor with the city in the background!

the skyline!!

a different angle....my personal preference b/c dead center you can see the trump building!!!

i love this picture!

also a cool shot as you can see navy pier on the right hand side!! 

As you can tell, our summer is off to a great start and we plan on it continuing!! People weren't kidding when they said "wait until June, Chicago will change for the better!" I will finally admit they are correct. Last Sunday, I'm not sure I would have been anywhere else....believe it or not!! ;))

I Love Home......and much more!!

This past weekend I was able to spend the entire weekend with my family, which was just what the doctor ordered. It's no secret (via Facebook) that "real" city life (I say "real" b/c we now realize Denver, CO is not a "real" city) wears on me so heading home to the sticks was a nice change of pace. I got to escape traffic, loud noises and the general hustle bustle!!!! Why do I like home so much?? I ask myself that a lot, because in all reality Eldora is a small little town with essentially 1 of everything that happens to reside on the IA river. But I've come to the conclusion that, some of my favorite people live there, the smell is always refreshing and spending time at our house is always a treat!! Life is easy and when I visit, everyone is always happy to see me....LOVE THAT!!! :)  I'm also lucky, because my parents have lived in the same place my whole life and I've never really had to uproot on their behalf....thanks guys!!
So while I was home I ran at Pink Lake, caught up with old friends, shopped a little with my momma, enjoyed sitting on my parent's peaceful deck, attended a graduation reception of a lovely, lovely young lady, and watched Cade (my nephew) dominate in baseball!! He's such a stud!!! :)
It was a terrific weekend and I would not know what to do without this wonderful familiar place I call home. I sometimes think the Beer of this equation thinks I'm silly for loving home so much, but the more and more I take him there, I think he's starting to see the light. I do happen to love the fact that he is so willing and supportive to make the trek to IA often and jump right in to be a part of our wonderful family. Unfortunately this trip he stayed back, but it's not like I left him alone with a stress fractured foot....what kind of fabulous girlfriend would do that?? Instead I sent him on his way in the car up to Northern MI to help his parents prepare the cottage for summer!!! Probably was the perfect place for him as my sympathy is limited and his mom's is over pouring as she has a pretty kind soul wrapped in a lot of patience!!! :) LOVE THAT as well!!
Last but not least, there is some bittersweet news from the weekend.....my parents sold our house that they currently live in and are planning to build another one starting next spring on the new property they bought by the river!! Even though the spoiled brat in me made them feel incredibly guilty for doing so, I'm very happy for them. They have worked so hard and deserve their dream home!!! I'm just very sad for me as I love the home I grew up in and love even more all the memories that surround our home. I think mostly because I don't technically have a home of my own and I still consider that my home (and probably always will be to some extent). And hopefully sooner rather than later, I will have a home of my own or our own (depending on how nice Beer is:). Really I am happy for them and I know it was a tough decision to sell, but I would be lying if I said I didn't cry the whole way down the road as I was leaving on Sunday!! Ho-hum!!! ;)
But here is to enjoying the last few months on 237th Street, to welcoming a new family to Eldora (the new superintendent bought it), and to building and DECORATING a new home (I hope Pottery Barn is well stocked!!)!!!!!! :)

So without further ado....enjoy the pics of the weekend!! (they ended up in a silly order and I'm in hurry so take it or leave it!!) :)))

I LOVE THIS HOUSE!!!!! in full bloom and everything!!!

a sunset at the lake....always a beautiful sight!! (and stolen cold handed from Peggy's Facebook page.....thank you!!!)

I love this pic of AK...so relaxed and in one of his favorite environments!!!

big pitcher!!!!

had to have been a strike!!!!

and strike 2!!! he is seriously a treat to watch play....definitely a talented dude!!!

so serious!!!

all 4....emma, jack (in front of me), tommy (on my shoulders) and cade (the ball player). PRETTY. DARN. CUTE!!!

i left them to go tubing and they left me to drive back....it was a tough decision. love the cut offs, the "tubing hat" and I. Love. Them!!!!

quick stop in the IC.IA to celebrate a graduation (no pics, sorry) and to keep an eye on kinnick and my first place of employment (UIHC in the background)!!! 

 

Happy late Memorial Day my friends!! And a quick shout out to some of my favorite veterans....my Dad, my grandpa Spieker, and my grandpa Kenny.....all very special men and I'm happy to know them and to have known them!!! :))

I think that's all for now.....

Low-Key Weekend!!!

This weekend was kicked off a bit early as both AK and I had Friday off which was strategically planned as we had purchased tickets for the Cubs vs Sox game at Wrigley Field (more details later). And then we had both said we were going to do our darnedest to stay away from traffic, crowds, downtown, etc as the NATO Summit is being held in Chicago today and tomorrow but is causing a lot of ruckus in the meantime!! So with that said our "low-key" weekend has been just that!!

Friday:
Friday was kicked off with sleeping in for me. For some reason, I have been struggling in the sleep department these days and have a poor sleep-time average per night so my plan was to sleep as long as I could without setting an alarm....and it worked (kind of). I made it to 0700, but that is way later than 5:15....just sayin!! So I felt rested and ready to take on the day which consisted of morning yoga, a quick trip to Target (if that exists) and then the Cubs vs Sox game. The game was super fun and the weather was even better!! We could not have asked for a better day and I had always wanted to see a Cubs vs Sox game live, so I checked another "thing" off the list!! :) After some day drinking or dartying (day partying), which ever you prefer, and mourning yet another Cubs loss we were thrilled to receive an invite to dinner with some friends that were in from NYC. They weren't staying far from us, so we jazzed up our appearance and met them for pre-dinner drinks and then we all loaded up in a cab and headed downtown to Bin 36. I know I said we were trying to avoid downtown at all costs, but if you were going to go for something other than shopping, Bin 36 is a good reason. Luckily for us, this friend of AK's has a wine locker there so not only were we in great company we also drank some of the most delicious wine my pallet has ever tasted.....great day and an even better evening!!!

self shot at Wrigley....LOVE!!!!

I love Wrigley Field.....like a step back in time!

Kerry Wood retired after the game on Friday....this is him throwing one of his last pitches at Wrigley!!!

Saturday:
Yesterday was just one of those epic, perfect weather days that really do make you love summer and being close to a lake!! We began the day by cashing in a Groupon we had been holding on to and had a great brunch in our neighborhood. After that we fired up the cruisers and biked our booties to the beach where we parked it for the majority of the afternoon. We laid in the sand, read books, took naps, dipped our toes in the lake (brrrrrr!!!!!), and left without sunburns (easy for me, hard for AK)......it was a perfect day!! On our way home we hit up Lululemon so I could shop pick up a graduation gift, then we stopped at Whole Foods to pick up last minute items for an impromptu BBQ....good thing my cruiser is equipped with a handy basket or how else would we have made it with all our loot??? :)) We got home we made some apps and AK challenged me to a game of Cornhole (on our city sidewalk, but still were able to play!!).....little did he know I have great aim and beat him 2 games in a row in which case he gave up and decided to do what he's good at.....grill burgers!! :) So we ended the day with full bellies and happy thoughts about our super fun summer day!!

Lake Michigan!!!!

apparently summer in Chicago is underway!!!! this must be what everyone was talking about all winter!! :)

Nerd Alert!!!! ;)

His & Her bikes! HA HA!!

Sunday:
Today has been pretty chill as well, however I did convince AK it was a good idea to go for a 6 mile run and luckily he convinced me to go in the morning as it is a bit roasty this afternoon!! Since we were up and at 'em this morning, we were done running 6 miles in time to make it to church....good job, us!! And everything all works out, because we found a super cool church to go to in a great neighborhood close to ours AND it is even Missouri Synod Lutheran......mom, aren't you so proud??? ;). This afternoon has consisted of being lazy and here is to hoping I can squeeze in a nap before my 5p pedicure!! :)

Happy weekend everyone. Hopefully you enjoyed the weather or outdoors in some way or another!! And congratulations Austin Jaspers for graduating high school....as if we had any doubts. We wish you the best of luck and are excited to see what your future has to hold!! Sorry we missed the big day!! 

Oh the places we go....AND the things we do!!!

Slacker: Wikipedia defines this as someone who habitually avoids work....I define this as someone who habitually avoids blogging!! :) I'm not sure why I have been such a slacker, because this is one of my favorite past times as of late, but apparently finding the time has been the least of my priorities!!
So on to the places we go and the things we do.....

We do celebrate birthdays in style at this house. I made my love for birthdays apparent back in March, but this time it was my turn to do the birthday spoiling. AK turned over another year on May 3 and I tried to make it memorable as it was his last birthday in his 20's!!! :))

We went on a boat tour of Chicago. A little cool and breezy and maybe a tad bit early in the year to embark on this adventure, but super fun nonetheless and quite informative. We learned about the different types of architecture styles that make up Chicago while passing under all the cool bridges and seeing beautiful sites of downtown and Lake Michigan. All in all a great experience and good to know....they offer a sunset cruise during the true summer months with complimentary champagne!! I can predict this is in my near future....just sayin!
Along with the boat tour, AK's birthday involved homemade cupcakes by yours truly and a great dinner at Tango Sur....perhaps the best steak I have ever eaten! And drum roll please (to announce the big gift)......AK was the lucky recipient of a "Wine and Dine" cooking class for 2 at this place called the Chopping Block. I paid a flat fee and for one evening we were taught how to cook (from scratch) a 4 course meal. Totally worth every dollar....we had a blast, and were completely blown away with our cooking capabilities. We all know AK can cook and I can bake, but who knew I could cook and he can bake??? :) We made fancy salmon, homemade cous cous, pita chips, hummus, and these buttermilk biscuits (topped with strawberries and whip cream) that were out of this world. Super fun and would recommend it to anyone!

pretty view from the boat!!!

the Wrigley Building....my favorite building in Chicago...hmm, I wonder why??

who doesn't love the birthday sign with a table of deliciousness below???

cupcakes....no scratch or sugar cakes, but pretty darn good for a martha knock off!! :)

and going in reverse order....dinner is served!!

complete naturals in the kitchen....gold stars as our head chef said!! :)

oh "the look"....AK sees this frequently!! :)

Next up....Denver!!! AK is pretty great for meany reasons, but one being that he gave me the head nod to go to Denver for his technical birthday weekend so I could have a "girls weekend" with some of my favorite ladies!! A good friend of mine is getting married real soon and she deserved a shower and a bachelorette party and that she got. And I got to see some great friends and catch up with all my favorite gal pals all while spoiling the bride and hitting up old hot spots and favorite restaurants!!! I also got to sneak in a visit with my Uncle Scott, his wife Nikki and their two adorable little girls!! The visit was great and the Rocky Mountain air was refreshing....definitely reminded me why Denver is just so darn good!!! And Karen....the next time I see you, you will be a married lady! Congratulations my friend....only hoping Hawaii is as beautiful as you come wedding day!!! :)

the bride-to-be!!! miss karen hill herself!! love her and cosmos!!! :)

I {heart} nurses....and Meg come home already! New Zealand has had you long enough!

best friends!!!

Adorable. Each girl had a leg and neither wanted me to leave....pretty cute!!!

Moving right along, this past weekend we were all over the place. We hit up Detroit, Michigan as one of AK's college friends tied the knot. Considering it was a bit of a trek we stayed with another one of his college friends and his wife (Brett and Rachel). This was super fun as I enjoyed getting to know them better and we got to spend a night with them before they turn their family of two into a family of three!! Any day now we will know what that mystery baby is....boy or girl and what they decide to name it. The things we do know: Brett and Rachel will be absolutely amazing parents as they are some of the kindest people living in "the mitten" AND "baby Whitmore" is quite loved....already. Luckily for him or her, we showed up with a little sparty outfit as I'm sure those will be hard to come by....HA!! Either way we are thrilled for them and anxious for the big announcement!! Also many congratulations to Matt and Laura....the happy couple!!!!

all dressed up....loving it!!!

Rachel+Brett+baby Whitmore.....the suspense is killing us!!! :)

And last but certainly not least we rounded out this weekend by spending Sunday afternoon at AK's parent's house while celebrating Mother's Day, AK's birthday and Melissa's (AK's sister) birthday. It was a beautiful day which coordinated well with the beautiful people to celebrate!! :) We sat on the deck and soaked up some fresh air, good conversation and ate some delicious food. One thing about both our moms....we never EVER leave their houses hungry!!! It was a great day and fun to hang out....again an added bonus of being back in the Midwest!!!

Momma Kay and her oldest (birthday boy) and her youngest (birthday girl)

I kinda just love this picture....AK+his grandma who i think is fabulous!!!

the two moms, the birthday girl and birthday boy.....good lookin bunch with mark slaving over dishes in the back (rightwherehebelongs!) :)))

And a little side note.... I did not get to see my momma this Mother's Day, but I did send gifts and a card to try and make up for my absence!!! :) And a little blog shout out never hurts....so here it goes:

Mom, I think you are amazing and am so thankful for you!! I'm so glad God chose you to be my "momma bear!" ;) I wouldn't know what to do without you and it's oh so fun to grow up and consider you a friend, a mentor, a confidant, and of course a mother. Momma, I love you so much and can't wait to see you over Memorial Day and if I'm half as cool as you when I'm in my 50's, I will consider myself a lucky lady!!! :))) Hope you had a fabulous weekend as there is no one that deserves it more!!! xoxoxo. Sissy.

FLO-Reeeeda!

A long, long time ago a song came on the radio that happened to be by the artist FLO-RIDA (long "I") and I happened be a little rap artist impaired at that point and said to my good buddy Bridget: "This FLO-Reeeda song is pretty good!" She of course bust out laughing and has yet to let me live it down. Thank goodness for her and my rap genius friend Kendra or else my play list would be lacking some good stuff...especially my running list! So every time I say the name of the state Florida, I now pronounce it FLO-Reeeeda based on principle alone! :) But despite the silly story, AK and I spent a few days in Flo-reeeda (okay, enough, I know!) last week.

We flew all the way to Marco Island, FL and it was well worth the day of travel it took us to get there. This place is beautiful and full of some of the nicest people. There was not one person who was in a hurry and even fewer people without gray hair! HA! It was perfect for us as we were trying to escape the chaos of Chicago and warm our bodies up from the winter (even though it was the mildest mid-west winter ever!). I would love to write about all the very exciting things we did, but essentially we did....NOTHING!!! And this was exactly what we were hoping for! We rented a little 1 bedroom condo off of the VRBO website and it was complete with a full kitchen and a balcony looking directly out to the ocean....this happened to be key!!! So we got lucky on our accommodations and the rest kind of fell into place as we had a few recommendations from friends regarding restaurants, entertainment, etc.  I will try and post our week in pictures, but will describe the routine first and then add a few funny stories....

Pretty much every day we woke up, ran on the beach, had breakfast, jumped into our suits, found a spot by the pool and/or ocean and parked it for the day with a packed cooler and good books. We also went out for dinner each night and one night we grabbed some fresh food from a local market and just watched the sunset while enjoying our own picnic including....beer and champagne of course!! :)
 We did have one rain day which ended up to be perfectly timed after two long days in the sun (if you haven't noticed AK is a red head with fair skin who likes the shade!!). :)) We sat on our covered balcony, looked out at the ocean and read all afternoon. It. Was. Wonderful!!! And the last day we were there the weather couldn't make up it's mind so on our way back to the airport we checked out Naples, FL....walked out on the pier, had lunch, checked out the beach, etc! Pretty darn cool if you ask me.

Now for a few stories and/or memories....

I said our covered balcony was key....one reason being it kept us covered but also outside during the rain day and the second reason being it looked out directly to the ocean which made it the perfect view to watch the 4 or 5 dolphins that swam and jumped and played right in front of our condo!!! It was so cool and as if they new we were watching. AK could have stood out there for hours (and he may have), but it was seriously cool and he got some seriously cool photos with his fancy dancy camera that has a zoom lens. Hopefully he sends those pics over before this post goes to press!! :)
And now prepare yourselves...every Michigan State fan/Michigan lover will enjoy this!! So everywhere we go (and I mean EVERYWHERE we go) it never fails that AK knows someone from Michigan somehow. I will give him the fact that he went to a couple different schools growing up, but after that he gets nothing! And I tell him all the time that I get overwhelmed because he is NEVER alone in his Michigan love and/or his Mich St posse and I feel like I'm constantly fighting for the big I-A and the hidden gem that it is! ;) So this trip was no different.....First license plate we see when we pull into our very small (compared to the other hotels/resorts) condo residence....give ya one guess....a Michigan one??? Ding, ding, ding!!  First couple we truly meet and have a conversation with....not only are they from Michigan, but their entire family are Michigan State alums (nothing wrong with that, but this "coincidence" happens all the time) . Just when you think you're going to escape a few days of "Go Green".... I found myself right in the middle of it all the way down in FLO-Reeeda (couldn't resist). But it gets better....AK jumps in the pool with the MSU alum that we had been chatting with and another guy in the pool pipes up that he went to MSU too...unbelievable, but it gets better....Another guy gets in the pool as the three MSU boys are chatting with their backs turned to the pool stairs (and I'm eyeing this whole situation go down from my lounge chair) and the new addition is a Michigan fan wearing a Michigan hat. Of course he goes unnoticed and AK is telling the other two MSUers that the spot I picked at the beach that morning was right next this Michigan fan (said man in MI hat)..."can you believe that," AK says! And AK's new little buddy responds: "well good for him, he probably didn't even go to school there!" I mean seriously it never fails, and the MI fan literally took one dip in the pool filled with green and white and decided the ocean side was a better fit! So in summary 4 men enter a swimming pool (in Florida nonetheless), 3 Michigan State fans, 1 Michigan fan.....sounds like the start of a crazy joke, does it not??? :))

But enough of that....take a look below and check out the beautiful place we called home last week!!

day 1....i love this picture! AK passed time by dipping in the ocean, shelling and skipping sea shells!

first beach day....sunscreened and ready to rock!

night of picnic....fun! fun!!

beach!

cheers....bubbles, picnic, and sunset!

i love sunsets....and God is good!

he got it!

AK called this "the position!"

so happy to be in sun and on a beach!!

i. love. this. photo!! framer for sure!

ready to set sail.....

with my captain! HA!!! :)

what would a destination be without a yoga pose??? tree, anyone?

fancy night with fancy food!! so fun! and so yummy!

Naples was windy but beautiful!! HA HA!!

fancy dinner night with an awesome view! pretty great!

dolphins.... belly flop!

jump and twist

dive!!! so fun to watch (almost every day!)

my favorite thing about FL beaches is how long they are....they go on forever which made for some fun morning runs!

 So there you have it folks....our vacation told by funny stories, things to remember and a few good photos!!! If you've never been, Marco Island is a place to check out....absolutely lovely!!