Auction 2008--Wonderful success!!

Oh boy, another Lincoln Auction has come and gone, and as far as I can see everyone had a terrific time!!

Ginger Kerr and Randy Hellickson did a fantastic job organizing Lincoln's first carnival in years.


The kids had a blast not only playing the games and winning prizes, but Benjamin worked the cake/book walk and did a great job keeping the little ones in line and taking tickets. Very responsible students we have at this school!

Christian participated in the pie eating contest...I think he came in pretty close to first, but the judges didn't agree.

Oh well, he looked like he had fun and he had a messy face to show his efforts! Then we coerced Beth into doing the pie eating along with Jim (our principal) and others. It was fun to watch!


We bid on a few of the baskets for the silent auction but with no results. However, when the live auction began we were ready to spend a little money! And sure enough, we won a basket (that I was not really trying to win, I was trying to be the underbidder. I need to work on that a little!) BUT, we are both excited about the purchase we made. We have a night at the Radisson Hotel, $25 gift certificate to Flowers by Jerry, $25 gift certificate to Newts, City Cafe, 300 First(one of these) a bottle of wine, 2 wine glasses, tickets to The Christmas Carol at the Civic Center, 2 cds and a crystal lead vase! Not exactly what I would have wanted but I am excited for our family to have a downtown night out just before the holidays!
As PPT President elect, I along with Jeff and Chris (this year's co-presidents)auctioned off a dinner party for 10 families...and that went for a fair amount of money. All in a ll the Auction/Carnival was a wild success and I am so glad to have been a part of it. My role certainly is not a large one, so many other parents worked endlessly to make it all just perfect...and they did!
Afterward Brian and I joined several of the families and teachers at ONeills to unwind after the big day. We shared some pitchers of beer, pizza and stories. Brian and I have not spent much time with any of the people at ONeills last night so it was nice to get to know them all a little better. It was a super fun evening with some super fun people!

And now...its 9:55pm, neither of the boys can sleep and I am not sure when I will finally rest my head. Brian is at the hospital, over night, doing a study. Why you ask? Because I did NOT give thought to the fact that he would be gone over night when he talked about doing this particular study. I have not been in this house alone, I am not used to the creaks and moans yet, and I think we are all a little restless. I am playing "the big strong mom who is not afraid of anything" for the boys....BUT...is that the wind? Does it HAVE to be windy tonight? Argh!

Life back to normal, whatever that is!

Last weekend was the annual pumpkin carving at my aunt and uncle's house. The boys always have so much fun! This year the new thing was to drive hotwheels and wagons down the hill, into the woods and around the path. The path curves in the woods, so after they left the yard and curved we would lose sight of them. I would hold my breath, wondering if they fell off and got hurt, and then I would hear the cheers and laughter from the kids in the woods.

A little scary to watch as a mother, and I was quickly booed away when I suggested they wear helmets! Then when Bennett Robelia tried to use a 2 wheeler, I pulled the mom card and said ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I was not welcome after that...but they didn't ride the 2 wheelers, so I'm glad I still have their attention!
I am so grateful to have had this 4 day weekend! The boys and I really enjoyed our Thursday and Friday together. We baked, played games, played outside, visited their cousins, and rearranged Benjamin's room. And that was just Thursday and Friday while Brian was at work until 2:30! I also started back at ReFashion on Thursday. I have not worked there since the beginning of Sept, so it was a little strange going back, but I found it is just like riding a bike! It felt good to be back there again, I didn't even realize that I missed it until I was there.
Sat was Benjamin's last football game, unfortunately they did not win. They just weren't up to speed this time, but Benjamin did score the only touchdown for his team! It was really cool to see...I love watching him run down the field with the ball in his hand! He scored 5 touchdowns this season, which was the goal he set for himself. He and Brian made a deal at the beginning of the season that if he made 5 touchdowns, he would get a trophy...so we'll be off to Gillespies this week.
We got to visit Mike and Seth last night in Wabasha. It was good to be able to hang out with them both. Its been ages since we've seen Seth, and even longer that Brian has been able to hang with the 2 of them together. Of course, any time you get those Wabasha boys together they spend most of the evening "remembering when". Its fun to listen to all the shananagens those boys got into back in the day! He has great friends and solid memories with them, and when he tells the boys all his stories their eyes just twinkle, and Christian was nearly crying today he was laughing so hard at the stories Brian told. My new favorite is Jesse and his windshield! Too funny!
Sunday after dinner we all went for a walk. We ended up at the Silver Lake park when it was dark out and after swinging for awhile we found ourselves in the middle of a game of Hide and Seek in the playground. It was so fun! Christian had such a good spot that I started to get nervous. My heart was racing as I tried to stay calm and shouted for him to come out of his hiding spot. He was GOOD!

We ended the night with homemade shortcake and rasp/black berry sauce. Mmmmm, good stuff! Tiffany has added a gallery to her website of pictures from the wedding. They are her favorites, but there are LOTS more that we still need to go through. Some of the ones she put on there I really really like, and there are some others that she hasn't put on there that I think are beautiful! It's funny, when I look at the ones she chose, I see some and think "Really, does this really look good?" Maybe I am just too critical of myself....I just can't wait to have an album in my hands to look through!

Our wedding....pictures soon to come...

**I have included just a snapshot of our honeymoon, and a few of the pictures from my sister's camera from the wedding, but will post an album when we get our pictures from our photographer.**

The weekend of our wedding is an absolute blur! With the help of Allison, Jill, Tahnee, my fantastic sisters, mom, and our loving God, we were able to pull off the wedding that Brian and I had envisioned! Jacobi and Jill did such an amazing job making our centerpieces...after Jill and I spent an hour on the first one, the 2 of them flew through the other 3. Potting and burlaping, gluing and stamping was done on Friday by Jill and Allison. Of course the big day when our friends came to do the set up is one that I will never forget! Thank you Mike, Jesse, Eric, Ian and Chad M. for your love and your muscles! The set up and the conversion to dining was flawless, you are blessings to us. While the weather was not ideal, it turned out to be a lovely day. Our ceremony was personal and unique (right down to the candle wax dripping on us) and we are grateful that Pastor Vogt was able to come and perform it for us.
Our dads looked very comfy in what my dad affectionately called "jammies". I had the vision of linen and comfort instead of formal tuxedos. It wasn't until he saw that Brian's dad wore the very same thing, not to mention that Brian and the boys were in linen as well that he saw what I was trying to accomplish. Then it all made sense!
FOOD!!! Our food was delish! I can't get over the yumminess of it all! From the sirloin wraps to the chicken kiev/cordon bleu pieces (Tom the caterer called them bites, but they were HUGE!) to the smoked salmon and everything in between I certainly wasn't hungry after our "hors d'ouvres"!!
Amy Krahn's cheesecakes were SUPERB!!! I cannot believe how wonderful they looked, and they tasted even better! I didn't get to sample the autumn cheesecake but I hear it was delicious!
(This is after we got his reaction to me and some kisses..."your look is priceless, but what do you really think?"---PS He was so sweet!)

The day went fast, and before I knew it Brian and I were alone in the Plummer House. We were able to walk through the house after everyone left, we danced to the music that we didn't have a chance to listen to during the day, and just sat and reminisced about the day. When everything was packed into the truck, and we finally got ready to say goodbye to the house I had a moment of I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!! I was afraid that if I left the house I was going to wake up and it was going to be a dream. Our wedding day turned out better than I could have planned. I am so grateful for our family and friends. I have counted my blessings and have thanked God for each one of you!
The boys did a fantastic job, they looked terrific, they behaved like gentleman and they fulfilled their duties as our best men. Right down to giving us the rings... Yes Christian, ALL of the rings! :) Brian has played such a huge role over the years in teaching them and loving them into the young men they are. They are terrific boys and I am amazed each day that I get to be their mother. What a lucky lady I am.
Tiffany did such an amazing job as our photographer, I've seen some of the pictures and they are stunning! She really is a fantastic photographer and I feel privileged that she was willing to do our wedding! If you ever have a need for a photographer; family photos, senior portraits, couples, babies, weddings etc...check out her site! www.tiffanycustomphotography.com
I can't say enough good things about this day. Brian is a wonderful husband, on our honeymoon I got to see a side of him that I have never seen! Very romantic and sweet. Being a husband is something he definitely takes seriously. After all the years together we thought getting married wouldn't really change much, Boy were we wrong! We really feel (and act) like newlyweds, I wouldn't mind calling him husband forever, but he says someday I'll have to call him Brian again! We had a wonderful time in Galena, it is gorgeous down there! We shopped, we played games, we ate, we did a wine tasting and we drank ALOT of wine. (at least for us it was ALOT!) One of the restaurants we ate at is called Benjamin's. As soon as we saw it we made a beeline for a beer and fried foods! Oh they tasted good post wedding! The town is nestled into a hill with historic buildings everywhere you look. The history of this town is lengthy, along with the beauty. It is almost storybook like. The hosts of the B&B that we stayed at were a great couple who filled us in on some of the history and the to dos while we were in town. We will definitely be back!
Brian and I are so looking forward to the rest of our lives together. He is a wonderful man, and a terrific father. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who either participated or joined us as a guest on our day. It was wonderful from start to finish!
Now with the wedding frenzy over...back to my duties as PPT Elect, ViE coordinator, employee, mom, volunteer, etc etc. AND WIFE!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Meurer

Its official! God's blessings rained down and I am forever grateful for our friends and our family for helping us make our day an amazing success! I can't wait to post some photos and get into details of our day!
But not til Mr. and Mrs. Meurer return from their honeymoon.... (thats me! YEA!!)