Almost Famous

Northwest Arkansas is full of amazing charity groups that receive amazing support from local businesses. I'd like to think all the corporations donate money out of the goodness of their hearts, but the real reason is this - Walmart will not mingle with suppliers outside of work and will not except any gifts (or even a cup of coffee at a meeting) ... so the only way to build relationships with Walmart associates is to sponsor and/or participate in charity events that Walmart associates are also supporting.


Enter ... The First Tee Celebrity Golf Tournament. First Tee is a great group that puts on programs for young kids to teach them character building skills through the game of golf. General Mills is a major sponsor for this event, during which we bring in 20 celebrities to play golf on various teams with Walmart associates and any other corporations that want to buy their way into the mix. It's great that we raise so much money for the First Tee Organization, but again, there are ulterior motives going on, so I can't feel 100% warm and fuzzy about it.


Since we were the presenting sponsor, it was our job to coordinate the celebs ... and they needed volunteers to chauffeur them around for the weekend. I graciously signed up, purely out of the goodness of my heart. :)


I was the chauffeur for Brady Quinn, former Notre Dame and Cleveland Browns QB who now plays for the Broncos, and his girlfriend, Alicia Sacramone, gymnast on the women's silver medal team in Beijing. I picked them up at the airport on Friday, took them to and from the golf tournament on Saturday, and back to the airport on Sunday. Tough job, I know, but someone had to do it!


Here I am with my prized possession from the event ... my family will recognize this t-shirt ... it was passed down from my oldest brother, Jeff, to my middle brother, Jason, to me ... it is faded and full of holes and absolutely the coziest piece of clothing ever ... and now it is signed by Brady Quinn! Kyle is just as excited as I am because he absolutely hates this t-shirt ... and with the autograph, I have decided to retire it. (Little does he know, I'm gonna frame it and hang it on the wall so he doesn't get away from it entirely.)



Here I am grabbing pics was some of my favorite celebs ...


Me and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 4 time Olympian (1984-1996) and gold medalist in heptathalon and long jump. That's me on the right. :)

Me and Darron Sharper, former Packer ... this one was at Kyle's request ... but I didn't mind.

Me and Seth Wescott, Olympic gold medalist in snowboard cross in 2006 and 2010. I had him sign a Wheaties box because his picture made it on the box after the Vancouver Olympics. He was a super cool and very layed back guy. He even came out with us for drinks on Friday night. That's just how I roll!

And, last but not least, the star of the show ... and the cute butt in my car ... Brady Quinn! Really polite guy and easy to talk to. He was super cute with his girlfriend (who came up to my shoulder so he could pretty much put her in his pocket) ... always asking if she was okay, if she needed anything. I guess he even surprised her and changed his flight to meet her in Chicago to fly down together. He even texted me after he got on his plane to fly home ... a little thank you note for driving them around all weekend. In other words, ladies, I got his digits.

What can I say, it's a rough life that I lead. I mean, I'm practically famous.

A Blessed 4th of July

Kyle and I traded another road trip in for two tickets to fly to Minneapolis for the 4th of July holiday. We spent a wonderful 4 days in Wisconsin with Kyle's family. It reminded me again of how lucky I am that my husband's family is so wonderful ... and I'm not just searching for brownie points (although, they never hurt!)

Here are the stars of the show - Kyle's little cousins, Hallie and Ciana, at 3 months old. Adorable, huh? (The cute little runt on the left is our new God Daughter!)

And here are the girls getting baptised by Father Ed, Kyle's great-uncle who presided over our wedding almost 2 years ago. Pretty neat!





Here we are with Ciana, proud new Godparents! Breathe, mothers. I know anytime people see Kyle and I with a baby they get to thinking ... ... ... We figure there are more than enough babies to go 'round for now! We want to get this aunt/uncle/godparent thing down first. (but we do look good, huh?)

This picture looks like two sets of twins ... but it's me and Abby (Kyle's cousin) and the twins after their baptism. We let them chill in their diapers for the afternoon after swimming in their ginormous baptism dresses all morning. They earned it!

Here's another pair of look-alikes ... sisters, Grandma Dot on the left and Aunt Berni on the right ... feeding little Ciana. They even have coordinating outfits on, I mean, how cute is that?!?

Kyle's Uncle Bill and his girlfriend Chris, and Kyle's Aunt Mimi and her boyfriend, Jeff, even drove to Eau Claire to see us. We're excited to move back to Minneapolis, but, boy are we popular when we live far away! (Here we are with Mimi and Jeff ... sorry, Bill and Chris ... we'll have to remember to get a picture together next time!)

After enjoying our time with family and celebrating the baptism, we headed up north to Kyle's hometown of Chetek for Liberty Fest. For those of you from small towns, you know the drill ... parades, street dance, beach party ... being more of a city girl, this stuff is always fun for me. We hit up the drive-in for some amazing root beer and cheese curds and stopped at the local bar on the lake for a brewski.


I even purchased some beers for the evening from my very own sister-in-law! Yes, she's kind of a big deal. Not only is she working in a consignment store in Eau Claire, but she's also selling liquor to the locals in Chetek. Thanks, Em! The Leinie's was delicious!

Kyle and I enjoyed 4th of July with Emily and her boyfriend, Cody, out on the chain of lakes around Chetek. We watched some of the ski show (not nearly as good as when Emily was on the team) and listened to the music pumping at the beach party. It was nice to spend a little quality time with Em and Cody and the weather cooperated for most of the afternoon.

The weekend ended with a campfire at the house with the whole family. Here's Kyle hard at work to build the fire for us ... just before he douses it with lighter fluid ... I think he missed Boy Scouts. :)

Happy Belated 4th of July! Thanks to Aunt Jodi and Uncle Patrick for choosing us to be Ciana's Godparents (we're honored,) and thanks to Kyle's family for a wonderful weekend!

The Rechtin Family Reunion 2010

At the end of June, I cashed in some frequent flier miles for a short trip to Ohio (sans Kyle as he didn't have the vacation time to burn ... he used it up on some trip to Europe or something.)

First up, I was able to see my best friend, Rocky's, new baby, Ryan Thomas, born one month earlier. ADORABLE, huh!?!??!

She has packed her Tom Boy roots away to become an adorable new mom. In fact, I was visiting on their 4th wedding anniversary so, naturally, we celebrated with some margaritas! Don't worry, we left the baby with Grandma and Grandpa for safe keeping. Congrats to Rocky and Tom! You are a beautiful couple, and I know you'll be wonderful parents!

And here are the three amigos together again, me and my two best friends from growing up, Lisa and Rocky. The three of us have posed together a million times throughout our lives ... but this is the first time we've done it with one of our "mini-me's" in the shot.

Since I was home for family time, I had to get in some quality time with our dog, Sandy. Kyle and I have been talking about getting a dog for years, we just can't agree on what kind or when. I suggest we just steal this one ... she's pretty perfect!

Then it was off to Cincinnati for the Rechtin family reunion ... my mom's side of the family. More specifically, northern Kentucky ... but we get fewer jokes if we just say Cincy. :) My mom grew up in Fort Thomas, right across the Ohio River. We used to spend every Easter with this side of the family, and I truly have some of the best childhood memories from those trips.



Let me fess up, I love my relatives and all ... but I was really influenced to make the trip because my favorite little man, my nephew Vaughn, was going to be there! I told Kyle about the reunion and it took him about 16 seconds to figure out why I wanted to go so bad. But seriously, how can you say no to either of these cute faces!








Our first night we hit up the Hofbrauhaus! I totally didn't plan it this way, but I just mentioned the Hofbrauhaus in Cincinnati in my previous Germany posting (remember, it's second rate to the original) but I'll tell ya, for the area, it's a pretty fun place to go for some good German food and some better German beers! Here's my Dad anxiously awaiting our dinner.





Once again, me with an obscene amount of German food in front of me ... I'm seeing a pattern. This time, the food was actually all mine, only they gave me the wrong side dishes 3 times so I got to keep all the mistakes! Don't worry, I shared (my food, not my beer.)

Vaughn even got in on the action! It's the German in his blood ...

Here we are on Cousin Tom's new toy ... a refurbished fire truck from Ft. Thomas. He took us all on rides and honked the fancy horn. Reunions tend to be a little light on the entertainment so this really was a highlight. Impressive, huh?!?!

Here's little Vaughn doing his best Beyonce impression ... with the wind flowing through his hair ... (or maybe it was just the fan blowing in his face so he didn't overheat, same difference.)

And here we are hanging out with our little cousin, Hayden.

My mom even surprised us all with matching t-shirts with our names on the back. (I said surprise, I didn't say in a good way ... kidding, Mom ... I am actually wearing mine right now.) It was so special to have us all together. Being a family that is spread across the map, it doesn't happen very often. I only wish the other half of me was there to enjoy it. Next time.

Ich liebe Schnitzel und Bier

The final country on our world tour was Germany (saving the best for last!) This stop was not initially on Beth's "must see" list ... but I had to include it given my German roots, and the fact that my best friend during my studies in Denmark lives in Munich. Needless to say, Beth was impressed.

Here is my friend, Patrick, and his girlfriend, Nadine. They were gracious enough to let us stay two nights in their gorgeous apartment.

Not only was it gorgeous ... but it was across the street from the park where they hold the annual Oktoberfest! Yes, literally, right across the street. Kyle and I WILL be coming to visit someday to experience this beer fest together in the fall. I was lucky enough to attend during my "studies" in Denmark, but I know Kyle would have a blast.

Here I am with my first authentic German meal. That's one happy German girl! While I do eat like a trucker (See That Girl Can Eat blog from last December) that big plate in front of me was for all three of us to share. :)

Patrick took us on a tour around the city. Loved this shot of the bakery with all the pretzels and one of our many lederhosen sightings. It was a holiday in Germany that day, Father's Day and something else, so there were more people wearing lederhosen around town - hilarious. Those are the leather overalls for those not familiar with this wonder of fashion.

Our hiking nightmare apparently followed us to Germany where Beth and I posed with this statue of a wild boar. We came. We hiked. We conquered. (yes, we're very confident now that we're back in civilization! Good little boar ...)

Here is the famous cuckoo clock in Marianplatz (the main city square.) The little figurines dance every hour.

Here's a random work of art known as The Running Man. I'm the one in the front. :)

Here was a sight we were not expecting. Let me set the scene. It was no more than 50 degrees, with a constant misty rain falling. We wandered to Englischer Garten (their massive version of Central Park) only to find a bunch of guys surfing in the river. Somehow there is a huge current right by this bridge, so the guys suit up in wet suits and catch waves with a crowd of spectators. Pretty fun to watch.

My favorite part of the trip was a visit to The Hofbrauhaus. The historic beer hall in town with a live band playing polka music, beer flowing like water and pretzels the size of your head. AKA - Heaven. Cincinnati is the sister city of Munich and has its own (second-rate) version of the Hofbrauhaus ... fun, but doesn't hold a candle to this place. -- I'd like to take this moment to brag about my father ... he played accordion at The Hofbrauhaus on our Germany trip back in the summer of 2000, and he blew them away! --

Here's the pretzel girl, my dream job, with above-mentioned pretzels the size of your head.

We finished our visit to Germany and our 2 weeks running around Europe with a huge schnitzel dinner. It's breaded and fried pork or veal, usually served with potatoes. And, of course, beer. "Ich liebe Schnitzel und Bier" means I love schnitzel and beer. Ain't that the truth!

Thanks to Patrick for being our wonderful host in Munich. Thanks to all my friends for hosting us and showing us around your beautiful cities. And, I'd like to thank Beth for being such a great travel partner ... running ourselves ragged through 5 countries, with smiles always on our faces!

A Milan Minute

We made a quick stop through Milan on our way to Munich. Literally, we were there for less than 24 hours, but another great city to add to our list - too good to ignore in the blog review. We met up with my friend, Wanda, who hosted us at her apartment and took us to dinner with a group of her friends.

There was a ginormous downpour in the middle of the day, so Beth and I snuck into a tiny restaurant to stay dry. Boy, did we stumble into heaven. Adorable little place with a cute little waiter anxious to take care of us. Amazing wine and the best cheese plate we'd had our entire vacation (and believe me, we had a lot of cheese plates!) It was one of those unexpected "life is good" moments.

We toured the Duomo ... the second largest cathedral in Europe, behind Notre Dam and just breathtaking.

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We also wandered through The Galleria ... an open air mall of sorts, full of fancy stores and ornately decorated with mosaic floors. There is also a tradition to put your heel on the, ehem, balls of the bull on the mosaic in the floor ... spin around three times and make a wish. If Beth wished for an amazing trip, I'm pretty sure it came true.

Electric Fences and Wild Boars

After our time in Rome, Beth and I took the train to the Northwestern coast of Tuscany ... to visit 5 small fishing villages directly on the coast called Cinque Terre (meaning "five lands" in Italian.) This spot was a new one for me, and let me just say, it should be on everyone's bucket list. One of the most gorgeous places I have ever visited!

First I'll share some of the more breathtaking shots ...

We sat at the bar on the lower left corner to enjoy some local wine. Spoiled rotten, I know.

I mean, the scenery is like a painting ... I practically look superimposed! Wouldn't happen, I don't have the Photo Shop skills. :)

We even gave it our best shot to blend in with the locals and hung our laundry out to dry!

Next we move on to the story of our marathon hike, the inspiration for the strange title of this blog. It'll all make sense in just a minute.

This spot in Italy is known for it's hiking trails, but due to all the rain before we arrived, the most famous coastal trails between all the towns were closed. There were several winding trails up in the mountains, but we were not sure we wanted to attempt those, so we picked another town about halfway up the mountain that had an olive press and winery we wanted to explore.

Enter the very vague sign posted for what we thought was the trail to the little town. The trail was called Groppo, which was the name of the town, so we assumed it would stop there before continuing on up the mountain. Our first mistake.

Here I am enjoying the view. We are literally up in the vineyards that cascade down the mountains with a gorgeous view of the sea in the background. Notice the smile. At this point, we clearly do not realize what we've gotten ourselves into.

Literally over 3 grueling hours later ... we have made it to the top of the mountain (after realizing our blunder, it was easier to keep going up then to try and retrace our difficult steps) ... only to find a fence ... with a sign ...

You read correctly ... our path ran us right into an electric fence! Seriously?! Beth started throwing things at it to see if it was active. No sparks. We finally noticed a gate that we carefully stepped through. Not sure if we were now on the inside or outside of whatever the fence was surrounding, but we were thankfully not electrocuted in the process.

Here was our next view ... over the side of the mountain next to our path ... encouraging ...

At this point ... we realize that we got on the wrong path and based on our sketchy map, estimated that if we stayed the course, we would loop back around to the starting point after a good 6 hours or so. Given that the sky was full of dark looming clouds, we figured that was not our best approach. But again, retracing our steps was not an option since we were practically climbing straight up the whole way.

Now on the "other" side of the fence ... I notice this sign on another gate ...

Are you kidding me?!?!? It now appears that we are on the wrong side of the fence and it is Wild Boar territory!! We are both freaking out on the inside but keeping our composure on the outside so as not to further freak out the other person. I seriously have visions of Man vs. Wild episodes in my head ... what would Bear Grylls do? Can wild boars climb trees? Will they be attracted to my bright white rain coat? We even argued about whose idea it was to go on this stupid hike. Dear God ... we are going to be eaten alive and no one will even know we're gone.

Now on the opposite side of the "wild boar gate" ... we notice a dirt road and decide it has to take us somewhere. We swear that God dropped it there for us right at that moment ... I mean, we're honest, hard-working, nice girls ... worthy of being saved, right? We followed the dirt road for another hour or so as it criss crossed halfway back down the mountain and we spotted civilization! Amen!

We make our way to this small town atop a hill and sit at the bus stop for the tourist shuttle that will take us back down to the coast. Ironically, there was a picture map of the area hanging by the bus stop with a picture of a wild boar amidst the forest on the mountain top. He looks a lot cuter than the one I was picturing in my head ...

Needless to say, we made it out alive and treated ourselves to a huge pasta dinner and a bottle of wine that night. Nothing like making memories in the boar-infested mountains of Tuscany!