Saturday, June 27, 2009

I'm on a Boat - Lake Chelan

After I finished my meetings at the WSCFF Convention, Carmen & Liam met me at Lake Chelan for some fun in the sun!
They drove more than 150 miles to hang out with me, so we rented a boat!
Wait a minute... if Carmen is taking the picture and I'm on the tube, who's driving?!
Liam!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Engaged... 8,000 Miles Apart

We were happy to have Diane & Andrew stay with us for a week in Seattle. Diane was a bridesmaid in our wedding.
Diane is from Iowa & Andrew lives in Uganda, where the couple met for the first time. He just arrived in the U.S. for the first time less than a month ago.
They have been engaged to be married for more than 6 months and are finally together in the United States. The wedding date has been set for October 2009.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Edwin's Wedding

Looks like it's time for Edwin to get married and join the club.
Uh oh. The bride is sick.
Well someone is getting married today...
cause we already planned the photo shoot...and we're having a party...with a live Mariachi Band!Who knew the father of the bride moonlights as a singer?!
Here's to the Bride & Groom, Edwin & Myra! (Who is apparently feeling better now)
And to the best man & maid of honor: Cris & Kristin!Now for some traditional Mexican wedding games!
And a little cash for the honeymoon.
Time to dance the night away!
Wait a minute... isn't it past your bed time?

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Iowa Day 6 - MSP to SEA

After a week of good 'ol Dutch traditions, countless tulips, a new nephew, some Pizza Ranch pizza, & NASCAR, we finally drove 3 hours to Minneapolis for our outbound flight to Seattle, but this time we had company.We brought along our good friends Diane & Andrew.
Carmen made sure we had time to stop at the Mall of America and Liam wanted to ride the rides all day.
Shopping and playing were cut short so we would make our flight and at last we arrived in Seattle; with house guests! We love visitors! (hint, hint)

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Iowa Day 5 - NASCAR

"Ladies & Gentlemen; Welcome to Iowa Speedway..."
-Pizza Ranch Spokesman
...the track Rusty Wallace built.Line to meet Kyle Busch: about 2 hours.
So much for waiting in line. VIP passes work better, so we met him at his trailer.
Trackside; in the pits.
Victory Lane: Knew I could do it!
After party with The King: Richard Petty
Pizza with Kyle. (He actually did win a race today.)
PizzaRanchRacing.com

Friday, June 12, 2009

Iowa Day 4 - Iowa Speedway

Ahhh... nothing like the smell of the racetrack in the morning... cars out of their trailers and into the garages to be tuned up for opening day 2009.
Thanks to my brother-in-law Jon and Pizza Ranch's sponsorship of Iowa Speedway, we've got all access passes... ...and an ORV!Today was the unveiling of the all new Pizza Ranch Victory Lane!So far it's a hit, and so is the new victory lane tradition; a Pizza Ranch Pizza for the winner.
If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get Pizza Ranch's newest sponsored driver: Kyle Bush! Check out the updates at PizzaRanchRacing.com

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Iowa Day 3 - Tulip Festival

My sister-in-law Liz & newly adopted baby David fully dressed in traditional Dutch clothing for the Tulip Festival.There just aren't many places where you can find people willing to wash the streets by hand these days.Sometimes it's nice just being a spectator.
Liam... asleep... again...
What a great family photo!
"What are you guys DOING?! This is my dad's truck!"
-Random kid on the bumper of the fire engine
Liam's first ride. We were a little worried about him going alone at first, but once it started moving he was soooooooooo excited! He could have ridden the airplanes all day long.
Liam showing off daddy's firefighter coin to David.
"I sure picked a great mommy!"
-David
To top off the fun for the day, grandma took us out for Pizza Ranch!