10.30.2011: Happy Birthday to ME!

Happy Birthday to ME!  We woke up Sunday morning and had a great breakfast made by Mom & Dad with all the North & South Dakotans!  The out-of-towners all left to go to Beverly Hills with Tina, Shelly & Jimmy for the day and Vince and I spent a little time with Mom & Dad before we hit the road.  I opened my birthday presents from them (some Rachel Ray cookware, fall home decor, and an early anniversary gift Beverage Chiller)....then Vince and I headed home to AZ.  When we got home, we of course didnt feel like cooking and Vince wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate.  There is a new Italian restaurant right around the corner from us that I have been anxious to try (but we rarely try new places as our old ones are sooooo good and hard to break away from).  However, it was my birthday and I wanted to try it! So we did.  And it was AMAZING. And is now our absolute new favorite.  Stone & Vine....the atmosphere is perfect, the food was fabulous, great wine selection, close to home....everything about the place was virtually perfect.  We are actually extremely jealous as it is almost EXACTLY what we would create should we ever open our own resturant (just one of our many dreams!)  It is hard to impress us with a new place that we would call our favorite.....but this place did it.  So glad we broke tradition and tried it!!

10.29.2011: Palm Springs Tram

For my birthday, Mom & Dad were going to surprise me and take us (including the out-of-town visitors) up to the top of the Palm Springs Tram for drinks & apps on Sat night....but Vince isn't great with surprises and I kinda found out :)  Oh well....we all headed out to Palm Springs for the evening.  We headed up the tram right at sunset so the views were gorgeous!!  The colors of the desert were amazing.  It was cold, but not yet freezing...so it was really nice!  Perfectly clear day too....

At the top, we walked around a little and enjoyed the views....then had some drinks and appetizers at the restaurant/bar there.  It was really nice and we had a great time chatting and enjoying the evening.  We stayed up there for a few hours then headed back down.  We were planning to go "out" in downtown Palm Springs, but by the time we got down, and drove around the town for a while, we decided to skip it and head home!  It was getting late and we were all exhausted from the long day.  It was a great birthday surprise though!!  We had a blast!!!

10.29.2011: Family Pics

Of course we had to take a few family pics...
Gramma's brothers & sisters all bought Gramma & Papa this plant for their anniversary.  It was really pretty!

10.29.2011: Gramma & Papa's Anniversary BBQ

For Gramma & Papa's 56th Anniversary, Gramma's brother Larry, her sister Gale & husband Mark all flew out from North & South Dakota to visit and celebrate with us.  It was a surprise to Gramma, but Papa knew about it.  Larry and his wife Lila were in AZ visiting their son, Paul, so Larry flew out from there (he & Lila live in Williston, ND though).  Mark and Gale flew out from Watertown, SD where they live and run a small winery.  Yes, I said winery and South Dakota in the same sentence.  It is more of a vineyard that they are experimenting with and producing some wine from.  They bottled 100 cases from this year's harvest. Amazing...that I have a relative in the wine-making industry and didn't know about it...and that it is happening in South Dakota!

Anyways, back to Gramma & Papa!  We all wanted to celebrate their anniversary with them, so brought a full picnic BBQ lunch to their house...the actual BBQ and all!  Vince grilled some ribs, and we brought all the other sides & fixings.  Shelly & Jimmy, Tina, Mom & Dad, and Vince and I all came over. It was delicious!!  And very cool that we brought the fun with us and made it all there.  I think Gramma & Papa really enjoyed it.  And it was fun listening to the sisters & brother harrass each other.  :)   We didn't stay too late, as all the company and festivities wore them out, but we had a great time there!

 Papa

 Shelly & Jimmy

 Vince at work

 Gale & Gramma

 Gale, Gramma & Larry

 Tina & Vince

 Gale, Mark & Larry

 Jimmy



10.22.2011: Just Beautiful Food

Vince and I have this problem...with food. We love it too much!!  Just a simple blue cheese burger...but it just looks soooooo good!!!  So I had to share :) 

10.22.2011: Andrew's Flag Football Game

Vince and I went to Andrew's flag football game on Saturday morning.  Andrew was chosen as the captain so got to go out for the pre-game handshake & coin flip.  Andrew had a really good game and even caught a pass.  In the pic where he was playing center and handed the ball off to the QB, he ran out a few yards, turned around and caught a pass thrown to him.  Of course I didn't get the pic of the catch though! :(   The defender was right on him and pulled his flag so he didn't get many yards after the catch, but it was a pretty exciting moment!  He was really excited for his catch but played it very cool! You could tell the tremendous improvement in his game from last year though...he is all about football and is also a stat master! He knows every college & pro game that is on, remembers plays, and remembers the scores of all of them. It is really exciting to see how into it he is!

10.08.2011: Friendly Family Football

After Avery recovered from her ear peircing event, we did a little shopping then came home to relax.  Andrew is playing flag football this season and is VERY VERY into football!!  So, he constantly wants to play/practice....which initiated a little family football game in the backyard.  It was basically Andrew vs Nana, with everyone else playing supporting roles.  Mom, Avery and I watched and snapped some pics. Avery stared intently at the kids playing football....probably wondering why she isn't out there too.  Before long...

They had a lot of fun and Andrew did not want to quit! It was fun watching them...we spent all afternoon out there enjoying the gorgeous day and doing nothing but having some good old fashioned family fun!!  :)