Cardinal Fans

Last weekend I had fun at Grandma's playing with cousins Megan and Jon while their parents were in Cabo. On the way down we stopped to see Cousin Erik in a playoff basketball game that they won. It was the first time I have seen him play since he was a little kid, I was impressed. Ken had fun testing out the action setting on his new fancy pants camera and got some great shots. While this one shows Erik in action, the next one is my favorite.

What, it is March and we still haven't heard anything? I hadn't noticed.

London

Maren and I took the Chunnel from Paris to London to visit Raphaela for a few days. We had a whirlwind tour of the sites including....

Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the red bus tour, and Piccadilly Circus.

We stopped for a pint in a pub, had tea at Kensington Palace, and I ate the best meal of my life, Guinness Shepherds Pie with Raphaela's Dad's random friend.


One of the best things in life is exploring a new city with some of your favorite people.


So what is Brian up to while I sip a spot of tea?
Oh no, none of that!! I'm sure he's grilling out with his buds.
Hmmm, what's missing from every friendly neighborhood barbecue? Large guns.
Or perhaps he took a leisurely convoy to see the sites of Iraq.

Pensacola Beach

Brian spent 6 months in Mississippi training before he went to Iraq. I thought they could do this closer to home or at least I could go visit during training. I was wrong, it turns out wives are a distraction when you are preparing to go into a combat zone. Who knew? I did have the opportunity to meet Brian in Mississippi for a few days before he left for Iraq. Brian was a commander while in Iraq so during the parade his name was announced as one of the leaders. I was so proud! They also took this picture of the 2,600 soldiers who are about to deploy.

We drove to Pensacola Beach, Florida for the weekend. I won't see him again for 6 months. Thank you Red Bulls!

Here are A couple pictures from his two week leave in September. I won't see him again for 10 more months!

Comerica Park

We go to Michigan to visit Aunt Jan and family every 4th of July. In 2007 the Twins happened to be playing the Tigers that weekend in Detroit. I got to see my first Twins game outside the Dome. We expected a low scoring game since Santana and Verlander were pitching but the Twins ended up winning 11-1!! Joe Mauer even hit a grand slam. It was a fun game to walk through Comerica Park in our Twins shirts. We also went back that weekend to cheer on the Tigers and had lots of fun at Jan's.




Guess what Brian is doing as I enjoy a beautiful July afternoon at an outdoor baseball game.Sweating his butt off in the desert. The temp got to 140 degrees while he was there.

Paris in the Spring

Isn't it romantic? O.k. maybe not when your husband is in a war zone and you are there with your family but it was still fun. We went to visit my cousin Mike and Jen who went to work and live in Paris for a year. Some of the highlights were going up in the Eiffel Tower at night.


Shopping on the Champs Elysees.




Tour of Montmartre including Moulin Rouge and climbing to the top of Sacre Coeur.

Visiting the Louvre and Musee D'orsay

Embracing the American in us and taking the Da Vinci Code Tour and pausing for a picture where Big proposed to Carrie.

Date night with Jamie.
Notre Dame, Arc De Triomphe, Napoleon's tomb, and Versailles.
Dinner out and being introduced to Aperitifs, Escargot, and Maren eating sweet breads.

I wonder what Brian is doing as I sit eating crepes in a little cafe?
Possibly enjoying the red sky caused by a desert sand storm.