Two Years and Growing

Kyle and I just celebrated our second anniversary on October 25th. We kept it low key, as I was traveling back from work in Minneapolis that day. We traded cards and went for a nice dinner at Fred's Hickory Inn ... a local supper club down the road. We had a great time and are more in love than ever. I always like to say "I get to have a slumber party with my best friend every night of my life" ... (minus all the travel that keeps us apart.)

Here we are leaving dinner at Fred's. Life is good.

Well, my friends. Life just got even better.

Kyle told me he had something planned for us on Thursday evening. I needed to cut out early and be home from work by 4pm. I absolutely love surprises, and for once, I tried not to guess what it was, for fear of spoiling it. In all honesty, I had NO idea what was coming.

After driving north for about 30 minutes, Kyle pulled a package from the back seat and said "Happy Anniversary, honey." I told him we weren't planning to do presents this year and that he shouldn't have, but really, who am I to argue, right?!? He had a card that said "hope you're ready to grow our family" ... along with a mini dog collar. WHAT?!?!? Then I opened a few Labrador books he had wrapped. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?

Without me ever suspecting, (and I'm pretty nosey, so this is a HUGE accomplishment!) he had been researching breeders since June and had found a great one in Joplin, MO ... about 45 minutes north. He had communicated with her and arranged to surprise me with one of Elizabeth's litter of 5 pups, born on September 15th. We had been talking about getting a dog for years and could both agree on a Lab, so it was a perfect choice. Here's mom and, in the words of my friend, Greg, all 5 of her "dog babies."

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From the surprise and shock and excitement of it all, I felt like I was going to throw up ... but I kept it together and we met the breeder, Carolyn, and her family, played with the 5 pups for a while, met the mother, Elizabeth, and picked our favorite. They were designated by a small spot of paint on their rear-ends ... and I chose the little green one. An adorable little girl.

And here's the winner ... zonked out from all the excitement ... looks like me at about 10pm every night, so it's a perfect fit ...

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She will come home in 2 weeks ... get excited to welcome the new little Petersen. I know we are. :)

Pink is the New Black

This year, I've heard October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month) referred to as "Pink-tober." So, in honor of Pinktober, and the fact that one of my girlfriends has never seen the chick flick Legally Blonde (a tragedy!) ... I hosted a pink party at the house ... much to Kyle's dismay. I whipped up a batch of my mother's homemade mac & cheese, and everyone showed up wearing pink. We gossiped faster than any man could keep up with, sipped pink wine ... and welcomed Elle Woods into our family room for a showing of Legally Blonde on the big screen.

Needless to say, Kyle stayed upstairs in his office on his computer the whole time. He was a good sport and took some photos of our fabulous group. When you look this good, there's really not much more to say. :)

Piegergogies

No. The title of this blog is not a typo. My father has been known to make up words and this is his name for a pierogie, the Polish dumpling. For as different as Kyle and my father are (Kyle hunts and fishes, my dad goes to the symphony and plays the accordion) they both have an affinity for creating their own language. My dad eats piegergogies and Kyle doesn't go grocery shopping, he grocerizes. Go figure.

Living in Cleveland, and being 98.6% German, we grew up enjoying lots of ethnic fare. While I complained about most of it when I was little, pierogies fit nicely into my plain-Jane "buttered noodles" phase ... the blander the better. Amen that my taste buds eventually came around. Pierogies are much better smothered with sour cream and sauteed onions ... mmmm mmmm.

Thanks to my sister-in-law's mother, Loretta, for sharing her homemade pierogie recipe. And thanks to my husband for enjoying the process of cooking and being up for a challenge on this one. We made quite the mess in the kitchen but the result was delicious!

Pole-less Position

Last weekend, we decided to take advantage of the perfect fall weather and enjoy a little outdoor activity. We joined our friends Greg and Chaney, loaded up two cars (clearly, we were roughing it) and headed almost 3 hours southeast to explore Mt. Nebo. Quite the view.

Here we are at the top of the mountain - Kyle and me, doing my best Kyle impression. I'm not really that tough, but I have been watching quite a bit of Man vs. Wild and Dual Survivor lately, so I was ready for some adventure.

The adventure was off to a slow start when we discovered that our camping plot was literally 2.3 ft. away from the playground. Our idea of a peaceful weekend in Arkansas's natural surroundings did not include screaming kids so we headed back to the visitor center. We were able to trade in our plot for a hike-in campsite, about a mile off the beaten path. Now the adventure began with our multiple trips hauling our gear down the mountain.

The guys headed up the path for the last load of gear, so Chaney and I decided to get a head start on setting up camp. Now, I haven't set up a tent in a while, but I'd like to think I'm a smart girl and can figure out what I need to do. "Hey Chaney. Am I an idiot or aren't there supposed to be poles for this thing?!" At first we thought it was a mean joke by the guys so that the girls would be unsuccessful at setting up camp, but we soon found out that Greg's friend that lent us the tent forgot to give us the poles. Just hilarious.

Luckily, it was still early enough in the day (and we were in Arkansas,) so Greg was able to cruise down to the local Walmart and bring back our fancy new house. Constructed perfectly (with poles) by Chaney and I.

Kyle tended to the fire and whipped up a tasty pot of chili. (You just can't keep a good man out of the kitchen.) We had a lovely evening full of good tunes, good conversation by the glow of the fire, refreshing brews and a critical ingredient of any campfire ... S'mores.



I actually slept really well, for being on the cold, hard ground. Kyle suited me up with a nice sleeping bag and sleeping pad at the REI sale a few years ago so I was camping in comfort (and style, I mean loook at that gorgeous shade of pink!) I had layered on so many clothes while we were hanging out by the fire that I had to unzip my sleeping bag in the middle of the night so that I didn't roast to death, but other than that, pure comfort.

Here we are in the fresh, brisk morning air. I can't say that we smelled very fresh, though, since our clothes still smell like campfire smoke after repeated laundering. But, we sure are cute in our little caps, huh?

We spent the morning exploring some of the hiking trails. Quick photo opp by one of the signs to prove how hardcore we were ...



... and we snapped Greg's cute mug by another sign at the campground. That's right, ladies. He could be all yours! He likes long bike rides, a good cup of coffee and cooks a mean gumbo. Email me for more details. :)

We felt pretty good about our adventurous weekend, until we saw this guy setting up his hang glider to jump off the top of Mt. Nebo. Guess we weren't as hardcore as we thought.

Another great weekend, brought to us by Arkansas: The Natural State.