Labor Day in MN

This is some old content (only a month late) but I thought I would throw up some of these pictures in case people hadn't seen them.

Unfortunately, Sharis and Ryan didn't make this trip to MN with me. They were supposed to but then Ryan got everyone sick. So Sharis and I thought it would be better if they didn't make the trip so he could get better.

Obviously my family was very disappointed Ryan and Sharis couldn't make it. I still made the trip though because both of my Grandparents had been in the hospital recently so I went to see them.

In between visits to the hospital so see my grandmother and my grandparents' house to see my grandfather, we were able to go out on my parents' friends boat on Lake Minnetonka ...






I guess my Mom wasn't having much fun (actually, she has been VERY busy lately so she deserved a little nap) ...


Note to self, don't let your brother get a hold of your camera ...


My brother also just moved into his new house and he had us over for a fantastic dinner one night. He is a lot more domestic than I thought. In fact, he is down right psycho about keeping his place clean. Who knew?



Here is his back patio area ...


At the end of the weekend, my Dad, Tim and I all gave each other haircuts ...

Shop at Costco

We recently had some pixels start to disappear on our TV. So Sharis called Costco (where I bought the TV in October of 2006) and they said we could bring it back. I was ready to go into the store, guns blazin' so that they would still let me return it.

As soon as we walk in with the TV, they started to process our return and didn't ask one question and another guy came over to make sure there was no damage. They asked us if we wanted cash back for the TV but we said Costco credit was fine because we were just going to get a new one. We walked over to the new TV's, picked out a bigger model (from the same brand) that cost $500 less. I couldn't believe we were able to get a BIGGER TV and get cash back with no hassles. Shop at Costco people! They are fantastic.

Ready for ... ?

Sharis and I are guilty for putting him in jammies that don't match and putting them on in such a way that they are crooked. But Ryan brought the headlamp and the running watch to Sharis and wanted her to put them on him. He brought out the Swiffer and put my Crocs on. Hopefully he gains some fashion sense before he goes off to Kindergarten.

G and P

Visitors

My Aunt Cari was in town this weekend and we were able to have her over for dinner on Sunday night. She brought her friend Cindy and it was a joy to have them over to see Ryan and catch up.

Ryan wasn't shy and wanted the ladies to read him books all night ...


Cari has 2 sons Sam and Joe that I haven't seen in forever. It would be good to see those cousins again. Thanks for coming to visit us ...

Such a Big Boy

Quality Time With Ryan

Gary and Paula took care of Ryan all weekend. It is so nice to not have to worry about anything when we leave Ryan with them. We don't even have to give them instructions. They know the drill.

Ryan was up and down the stairs at the St. Mary's Inn all weekend ...




We were able to spend a little time on Sunday walking around campus...




Actually, we only made it to the Bookstore. We ran out of time before we had to head back to the city.


We ran into a puppy coming out of the Bookstore. Ryan was all about that. He makes this face anytime he sees or hears something he likes (puppies, sirens, buses, airplanes, etc.).

Victoria and Jacob's Wedding

We went to South Bend this weekend for a wedding for Victoria and Jacob. Sharis lived with Victoria for a year or two when she first moved back to Chicago and we have been able to get to know Jacob very well.

They had a beautiful ceremony in the church that is on St. Mary's campus. I had never been in there before but it is a beautiful church.



Sharis had a reading ...


... so we were lucky enough to be invited to the Rehearsal Dinner. Sharis with Page, Victoria and Katie ...


The reception was at a golf course which was a gorgeous setting ...




Sharis with her friends Genevieve and Natalie ...


Katie, Natalie, Page and Sharis ...






If you want to see more from this wedding, you can check out Katie's Flickr photos.

Sharis' parents were nice enough to come into town and take care of Ryan all weekend (since Sharis had a luncheon and Rehearsal Dinner on Friday as well as the wedding on Saturday). Stay tuned for photos with them and Ryan ...

ND vs. San Diego State

I am a little behind with the available content so I am now working backwards in time through some of the Flickr pictures ... so bear with me.

Notre Dame is somehow 2-0 and has a big game against Michigan State today. I don't think we are going to be as happy about the results of this one.

I made a quick post from my phone about Ryan's first ND game. Here are a couple more pictures from that day.

Uncle Tim was in town that morning but didn't want to go the ND game with us! You read that right. I don't know what his problem is.


Getting ready in the car before we hit the tailgaters ...


A little stretching before a long day of tailgating ...


The crew at a fantastic tailgate ...


A picture the usher took for us right before we left the game with 5 minutes left in the 2nd Quarter. We are going to have to work on Little Man's stamina ...


All in all, Ryan as a good little man all day. He slept all the way home.

Park

Sharis went to hang out with her girlfriends one day so Ryan and I headed to the park ...





He still loves to swing. There have been times when Sharis and I have had a conversation for a half an hour about our days while we push Ryan the whole time. He loves to sit and watch everything that goes on at the park ...


Ryan plays with his bottom two teeth using his tongue A LOT ...