Tying the Knot

I'm really late with this post but I kinda thought I'd have some pics from the photographer to share but I haven't seen any yet so I thought I'd better get crackin'.....

My older brother Adam married his fiance' Teresa, September 3rd. Nathan and I were included in the wedding party. Teresa wanted to get married on a beach...so my parent's built a 'beach' on their pond and planned for an outdoor wedding.

The rehearsal was super hot and humid...we all about melted while we 'practiced'...

The alter....

Unfortunately, it was forecasted to rain on the day of the ceremony...but everything went full steam ahead....

Teresa getting her hair done Saturday morning..

A huge storm blew through about 3 hours before the wedding...none were too happy...

We had a little break in the weather...enough to take some pictures outside...

groomsmen...from L to R...Ryan, Brad, Kent, Joe, Adam, Jake, Ken, Tim, Nathan, ringbearer Colby

Bridesmaids...clockwise from me, Meg, Denise, Lisa, Jo, Amy, Tara, flower girl Ella, Nicole

The whole wedding party with ushers....

Right as the ceremony started it started to sprinkle again...but they got married anyway!! 

The happy couple on the party bus...

Another happy couple on the party bus...

We stopped at a local establishment before heading to the reception. Kent and Ken downed a  fifth of Southern Comfort on the bus...so they rummaged up some popcorn at The Roost to help soak some of it up!

Their old stomping grounds...Keota....

My cousin Lisa and I....

Mom and Dad enjoying the party!...

Congrats Adam and Teresa! 

The Sweet Taste of Victory

There's a tradition that occurs in this state every fall....

the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game. It's a deep hatred...rivalry between the two largest state universities. The rivalry started way back in 1894 and has largely been one sided...meaning Iowa has won most of the games.....until recently. Since 1998, Iowa State has been favored winning 8 games to Iowa's 6. 

I was fortunate to be on the ISU dance team in '98 when we went to Kinnick stadium in Iowa City (home of the Hawkeyes) and watched the Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes 27-9....after 15 straight years of Iowa winning the Cy- Hawk Trophy. I'll never forget it...and the score helps me remember my friend Laura's birthday every year...:)

My Dad and I after the game in 1998....

This game is always important to me because I grew up about 30 miles from the University of Iowa while being the child of two parents that graduated from Iowa State University. We always caught flack...and there is nothing cockier than a Hawk fan. They are completely delusional when it comes to their football team. 

Now, I have no problem with a good rivalry...it's healthy. What I do have a problem with is cocky, obnoxious, trash talking Hawkeye fans....that have NEVER gone to school there!...or have ever stepped a toe on the Iowa campus...or who probably weren't smart enough to get into Iowa in the first place. If you are an alum from Iowa...more power to you...trash talk all you want...you have the right to. But if you don't have a degree from Iowa then don't email me or write on my facebook page about how 'your team' is going to crush Iowa State this weekend. 

So the annual game was this weekend....I hate this game....it was in Ames and Nathan wanted to go. I was grumpy and irritable the whole way to the game...have I mentioned that I hate this game? That was part of the beauty of Texas...I could watch the game without being surrounded by Hawks and if we lost I didn't have to hear about it all the time...and if we won, then great!! The distance was good. I can't stand watching us lose to the Hawkeyes.

But we headed up to Ames and into Jack Trice Stadium...

We only had hillside tickets and I watched with gritted teeth the entire game. ISU has this nasty little habit of completely screwing ourselves over whenever we have a good chance to score. 

Surprisingly, we were tied up at halftime, so I was breathing a little easier. But then Iowa scored in the second half and we were behind again....

During the second half I found myself standing next to the student section. The students are awesome and are usually pretty pumped up. One particular reason I like standing next to them is that they have this one particular chant....that includes some profanity....that they like to chant specifically at the Iowa game. I may or may not have joined in this profanity laced chant a few times at the top of my lungs...I won't divulge such information. 

We were behind up until the last few minutes of the game....when we scored and tied it up sending us into overtime. 

Three overtimes to be exact and ISU wins!!! 44-41....it was AWESOME!!! The entire stadium went crazy and the students rushed the field...

A sea of cardinal and gold.....

The coveted Cy-Hawk Trophy was ours once again....

What an awesome game to return 'home' to...

The game had an early kickoff so we stuck around and tailgated after the game rather than sit and fight traffic....and one can't really tailgate without your rolling cooler of beer and hard lemonade...

As we were heading out of town we drove through campus...we gnashed our teeth at Gilman hall...home of the dreaded chemistry department...and fondly remembered the campanile on central campus....ISU really has one of the prettiest college campuses ever...it's on a list somewhere....

My suppressed ISU football fan has been awakened....now I can get excited about the season...now that the Hawk fans have been silenced! 

We will never forget.....

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11...

It was a day none of us will ever forget....and each of us can probably remember exactly what we were doing when we heard the news. 

I was a sophomore in vet school and had just reported to my job in the histopathology lab in the basement of the vet school in between my classes. I walked into the lab and one of my co-workers said 'two planes have hit the Twin Towers in New York City'....I didn't really understand what she was telling me. My first reaction was 'how could two pilots make the same mistake and run into a building?' Before I could even ask any questions she said....'they think we are under attack'...and then I understood. We of course were glued to the computer screen but the Yahoo homepage was stuck and couldn't upload information fast enough due to all of the internet traffic that day. 

So we waited....and tried to go on with our work. They set up TVs in the hallways and had an audio stream of the news in one of the lecture halls. We of course were hoping classes would be cancelled that day...but no luck....not a lot of learning happened the rest of the day. 

ISU's vet school had a contract with New Jersey to take 4 students from their state into each class. So we had friends and students that did have a direct connection to and family that lived in the area. My friend Kim was from New Jersey and her boyfriend lived in Northern NJ and could see the smoke plumes from the buildings from his backyard. 

I had been to NYC twice during that spring and summer....once in May with my friends Emily and Angie as a birthday present from Nathan to get engaged....

...and then again just a month before the attacks in August to visit my friend Kim in NJ. I hadn't ever been in the Towers but seeing how much the skyline has changed in these old photos....it's very eery. 

Even after watching the memorial service this morning on TV it doesn't seem like it's possible 10 years have already come and gone. The feelings of sadness and tragedy are still very palpable. I walked by the WTC site just a few weeks ago and as I said before....it still gives me goosebumps. I can't wait to go back and be able to walk through the memorial.

Of course, I don't forget the attack on the Pentagon and the heroes that were able to divert Flight 93 to avoid hitting yet another building. 

I don't forget the instant feelings of unity and patriotism this nation had...feelings that seem to have been too easily forgotten. 

No, we will never forget.....

Canning 101

We are almost at the end of tomato season here in Iowa, which makes me sad because I do really love to eat fresh tomatoes. I've never canned anything...so this year I asked Mom if I could help and learn how to can tomatoes. 

So I headed on out to my parent's house.....

First you have to start out with a lot of these...

yummy, fresh off the tomato plant...

You also need a lot of mason jars....

Mom warms the stove to 250 degrees and puts in the mason jars to heat up...you can't put hot tomatoes in a cold jar....

Next you boil water and add the whole tomatoes for about 30 seconds to speed up the peeling process....

then add them to a cold water bath....

then you hand them to mom to peel, core, and cut into chunks....

Next, you add them to a large pot to cook on the stove....

until they look something like this....

Finally, you are ready to add them to the jars....but first you have to add a teaspoon of salt and lemon juice to each jar.....

Now you are ready to start filling jars....

The lids and rings also have to be heated to ensure a proper seal...

After the jars are filled you set them out to cool... not too close to one another...and wait for the 'ping' sound. The 'ping' is the sound that each jar makes when the vacuum is formed. 

I ended up with 17 quarts of canned tomatoes...ready to make great soups and chili on our many cold winter nights ahead.