It's Official...

The lights are up! Thanksgiving has come and gone...CHRISTMAS is coming!

A Celebration of Love

This weekend was one in which we celebrated the love of our good friend Josh and his fiance Michelle! The celebration started on Friday with a rehearsal at the church and then dinner at the Clarion hotel. The boys all headed to the church and the wives met up with them at the dinner. It has been awhile since all of us have been together at the same time, so we had a great time Friday night laughing and reminiscing!

Saturday was the BIG day! It was gloomy and cold, but the weather wasn't going to put a damper on the bride and grooms day! We met up with the bridal party right before the wedding started and got to say "hello!" to Josh, you could tell he was nervous, but very excited to see his bride!

Lookin' good!

The wedding went off without a hitch! Everyone looked great, especially Michelle, she was an absolutely beautiful bride! You couldn't help but smile every time you looked at Josh, he was giddy! The minister, Father Vu, was fun to watch and listen to, he razzed Michelle and Josh a little bit which had the whole congregation giggling with them through the ceremony.

"With this ring..."

After the wedding we headed to the reception at the Longbranch. After dinner the dance got underway, it is always moving to see the bride and groom dance their first dance together! After Josh and Michelle danced Josh shared a dance with his new step-daughter Melina, it was so precious to see them bonding on the dance floor!

After all the formal wedding dances it was time for the real fun to begin! The music got louder and the beats got stronger and as we boogied through the night we all thought we were professional dancers...the only one that probably deserves credit for being any good is Mike, but you couldn't tell the rest of us that!

"Oh the Red Strokes..."

Male bonding!

Cheers!

We really had a great time! Thank you to Josh and Michelle for including us in your special day! We wish you all the best as husband and wife!

Needless to say with all the partying going on, we didn't do much today other than sit around and read the paper!

Road Trip

This weekend marked our 3rd Annual trip with Brandon and Monica Hahn to celebrate our anniversaries! Our first anniversary found us celebrating with them as they were getting married and the last two years we went back to Galena to celebrate. This year we decided to try something different and now that we both have families we wanted to include the girls in this trip.

Friday morning we loaded the car up and we were off to Wisconsin to visit the Dells! This was the first time for every one of us to visit, so we really had no idea what to expect other than what we have heard from others.

We pulled up to our cabin at the Wilderness Resort and were pleased with what we saw! The inside was just as nice too! It was perfect, 3 bedrooms and a loft, which allowed us plenty of space for the adults and the kids!

We got settled in, grabbed some lunch and then off to the indoor waterpark it was! The girls really enjoyed themselves, I think Mike enjoyed it just as much as Lila!

Getting her "feet wet!"

Having a blast!

Mike decided to try a few water slides with Lila on his lap! To say she loved it is an understatement. Before they could even get to the top of the slide and sit down she would be squealing and saying "weeeee!!!"

When we left the waterpark Lila was devastated, bawling, she didn't want all the fun to end. It actually broke my heart. After the park it was back to the cabin to get the girls cleaned up and down early to recoup from the travel. The cabin was equipped with a full kitchen and a very nice grill so we took advantage of the amenities and ate at the cabin quite a bit. It was nice, when the girls went down we were still able to enjoy each other as adults without having to retreat to hotel rooms early.

The girls had such a great time together! Lila enjoyed showing Henley the ropes, some of which I am not sure were the safest, such as climbing the stairs! They were so much fun to watch as they interacted by mimicking each other and talking in their own little language! They are both such a pleasure to be around and are on virtually the same schedule, so it was a very easy time having them along.

Saturday brought beautiful weather for us to enjoy! One interesting thing about the Dells is that during the fall and winter a lot of the town shuts down. Now, logically the waterparks would shut down when it gets cold, but that is only one part, even restaurants close down. So, it was a bit of a comedy show trying to find things to do, but we managed! After Monica and I did some shopping we picked the guys and girls up for lunch and then hit the strip to find some fun.

Our first stop was at a go-kart track! The guys picked out their cars and off they went! Brandon thought picking the pink car would be a great choice and even more insulting if he beat Mike driving such a feminine car, well along with it being pink it was S-L-O-W!!! So, Monica and I got great giggles watching the guys make leisurely laps around this go-kart track, it wasn't quite the race they were looking for!

Our next adventure was a trip on the Original Wisconsin Duck Tour! For those of you that don't know a "Duck" is a vehicle that both operates on land as well as in the water. It was a bit brisk, but with warm jackets and blankets we loaded up and off we went!

Snuggled up!

Beautiful water view!

Taking in the sights!

Wilderness up close!

The weekend was a success! We had such a great time hanging out with the Hahn's and starting yet another tradition, traveling with our families! We look forward to the many years ahead of us and are super excited for the 2011 edition of the Eddins/Hahn Annual Trip!

A special Happy Anniversary to Monica and Brandon as they celebrate 3 years of wedded bliss! You are an amazing couple and we are so lucky to have you both in our lives! We wish you many more years of happiness! Thank you for including us in your celebration!

4 Years Ago Today...

I married my best friend, my soulmate, my other half!

Just when I think I couldn't love you more, tomorrow comes!

Thank you for sharing your life with me!

Happy Anniversary! Love, Kirsten