Nebraska

Over the last weekend in May, Ethan took his second plane ride - this time to Nebraska. We flew into Omaha on Friday afternoon and drove a couple of hours west to the metropolis known as York, NE. We were there for my cousin Stephanie's wedding to Joel. As we did not arrive in time for the rehearsal dinner, we ventured into York and ate a really good dinner at Chances R.

We met up with a lot of our family on Friday night when they got back from dinner. This was the first time Ethan has met a few of my aunts and uncles, so the standard holding and passing was performed. Ethan did not end up going to bed until roughly 10:30 which made for a pretty rough night for Ali and I. We fought through it and after a Runza run for lunch, we started getting ready for the wedding.

Ali and I have been to some country weddings around Indiana and Illinois, but this is the first time we remember seeing so many cowboy hats at a church. All in all it was a very nice ceremony that E-man did "ok" at and a very nice reception afterwards. (With roughly 400 of their closest friends.)

Ethan with the Bride and Groom

Matt and Pap-Pap

On Sunday we had an impromptu photo shoot with the four great-grandkids. I took approximately 50 pictures in the span of 3-4 minutes and this is the best I could come up with.

Addy, Caleb, Josh and Ethan

Not sure how JC Penny or other photo shops can get a group of kids to sit still and look straight.

We stopped in downtown Omaha for lunch before our flight back on Sunday and really enjoyed the little Old Market area. We ate a good lunch at Upstream Brewing Co. Lunch was the end of the fun on Sunday. Although only an hour flight back to Chicago, Ethan was "that kid" on the flight back. Crying, screaming, all of the sort. He finally fell asleep on Ali's shoulder approximately 3 seconds before touchdown at Midway. Great - nice timing big guy.

Preceding our trip to NE, my parents took our camera and drove out to Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. They had never been and highly recommend it. Here are a couple of pics:

A Buffalo - if you can't figure that out yourself

If you need a caption, please call me

For the rest of the Nebraska and South Dakota pictures, see the post below.

Cute Favor Idea

Every once in a while, I will hop on Martha Stewart's website to see what great idea or new recipe she has come up with. Today, I just happened to be browsing the wedding portion of her site and found these adorable favors. Not only do they look really cute, they seem very easy to make. Perfect for a do-it-yourself bride.

Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Phoenix

Matt and I had an amazing time in Arizona! Despite some cold weather and a little rain, it was a wonderful little vacation filled with great food, great landscape, and great friends.

We flew into Phoenix last Wednesday and headed straight to the Grand Canyon. As Matt mentioned in a previous post, this was my first time there and it did not disappoint. The views are just magnificent and the Canyon itself, just gorgeous. We stopped at a couple different view points and just enjoyed the scenery. I definitely want to go back someday and hike down the Canyon, camp and hike back up. I highly recommend a visit if you have never been there; it is an incredible site.

From the Grand Canyon, we drove back down to Sedona. There are not enough words to describe the beauty of Sedona. The drive from the Grand Canyon to Sedona is pretty amazing, especially the last 15 minutes down side of the mountain along Oak Creek. After checking into the hotel and some freshening up, we headed to dinner at L'Auberge de Sedona. Even though it was a chilly evening, we decided to sit outside by the creek. I wish that I would have taken some pictures of the setting because it was beyond gorgeous. To have dinner down by the babbling creek was extremely romantic and the perfect way to celebrate our 4 year anniversary. Our dinner was fabulous, but nothing beats the setting of L'Auberge.

We woke up fairly early on Thursday to some sun and cool temperatures, perfect for a hike through the red rocks. We had gotten a recommendation from our waiter the night before for a 5.8 mile loop through Brins Mesa. Long story short, we ended up missing a turn somewhere because it ended up being an out and back hike. Regardless, the landscape is like nothing else and the hike ended up being very nice and about 2 hours long. The pictures we took do not do the beauty of the red rocks justice, but they will have to suffice for now.

From Sedona, we drove back to Phoenix to meet up with Craig, Vic, and the rest of the guests that were in town for the wedding. After a few beers (no, not for me) and a couple hands of Euchre, we headed to dinner at Oregano's, which was delicious. Friday we woke up to rain and clouds, but the guys headed out for some golf, while the girls enjoyed some relaxation at Copperwynd's spa. Craig and Vic planned an amazing rehearsal dinner at Cantina Laredo. We filled ourselves up with lots of chips, salsa, guac, and fajitas before heading to Barcelona for a night out. I absolutely loved Barcelona, it was such a cool club. I will have to admit that this was one of the few times during my pregnancy where I wish I could have had some cocktails. There was an amazing band and a huge dance floor, not to mention the the bottle service for everyone. A lot of fun was had by all!

Because there was so much partying on Friday night, Saturday turned out to be a very lazy day, until the wedding, of course. The sun decided to come out about 2 hours before the start of the wedding, which was perfect. The ceremony took place on the lawn outside of the resort, overlooking the valley; it was gorgeous. Both the bride and the groom looked beautiful and so happy. We then had drinks and appetizers on the patio before moving inside for dinner and dancing. The night was such a blast! Congratulations to Craig and Victoria, your wedding day was perfect. Thank you to both families for a great weekend; we had such a wonderful time with everyone! I am looking forward to another trip to Arizona, hopefully in the near future.

Here (Grand Canyon and Sedona) and here (Phoenix) are the links to all our pictures.

Four

Today, Matt and I celebrate our 4 Year Anniversary!! Happy Anniversary, Matt! I love the way our relationship has grown over the past four years. Thank you for being the best thing that has happened to me. I love you!

Happy Anniversary to The King's as well!!

Meet Me In St. Louis

Matt and I had a very busy, but fun weekend! We woke up early on Saturday morning and headed south to St. Louis for Matt Carlson and Curtis Sittenfeld's wedding. If you are thinking that Curtis' name sounds familiar, you are right...she is the author of 2 best sellers; Prep and Man of My Dreams (sorry, just had to throw that in because it is pretty cool). We had full intentions of spending some time exploring St. Louis, but ended up not having a lot of time to do so. We did have a chance to catch up with Matt's friend from college, Sean, at a great Irish Bar, the Dubliner. It was located in a pretty cool area with lots of cute shops and restaurants. If only we would have had more time to shop, but I wanted to get to the Arch since I had never been. I was really looking forward to taking a trip up the Arch, but because of time constraints, we only had the chance to walk around the park area. We forgot our camera, but were able to snap a quick, but not so great picture, on Matt's phone. From the Arch, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for the wedding.

Curtis and Matt were married on the campus of St. Louis University in what had to be 2 of the most unique and beautiful rooms we have ever been in. The ceremony took place in the Pere Marquette Gallery, SLU's original school library. The room was filled with gorgeous stained glass, intricate pieces of art dating back to the 1800's, and this neat spiral staircase that lead to each floor of the library. After the ceremony, the guests headed upstairs for dinner in yet another stunning room. The wedding and reception were just lovely. I have to give props to Curtis' mom for creating the most beautiful flower arrangements, filled will the most stunning hydrangea. Thanks for a great weekend Curtis and Matt.....we hope to make it back to St. Louis sometime soon to explore the city a little bit more.

Sunday, we were up bright and early to head back to Chicago and make a quick stop in Carlinville to visit with my grandparents and Aunt Kate and Uncle Bob. Although, we arrived later than anticipated and made them miss church, it was so good to catch up with them since we don't get to see the Konneker's as often as we would like. All in all, a great weekend!!!

Going To The Chapel....

This weekend we will be heading to Geneva to celebrate Abby and Jeff's wedding. We are looking forward to spending some time in Geneva, as it is a cute little town with great shops and restaurants, right along the river. We are also excited about spending the night at The Herrington. Although we have never stayed at the Herrington, I have heard great things about this quaint little inn. I believe the weather is going to be great and should make for another perfect fall weekend. I know the wedding will be gorgeous and a ton of fun. Matt and I are looking forward to spending some time with the "Green Lakers" out on the dance floor and enjoying a few cocktails. Congratulations to Abby and Jeff. I will be sure to post wedding pictures on Monday!

The New Mr. and Mrs. Livermore

The Konneker-Livermore wedding weekend was gorgeous, simply gorgeous...and perfect!!! Although there were a few hiccups along the way, October 13th, 2007 was one of the most beautiful days I have ever seen. From the gorgeous bride and groom to the heartfelt ceremony and stunning reception, nothing can compare. My sister and Ben are truly a perfect match, they could not have been happier on their wedding day. They are blessed with not only great friends and family, but with each other. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin and Kristin Livermore.

Check out some pictures from the weekend under photo albums on the right. I don't have a lot from the wedding day so, I will include links to some other pictures I have received. Enjoy!!

Allison's Album
Bev's Album

Wedding Week

This week is wedding week and I will give you a rundown of my schedule, why, I don't know, I just want to.

Monday night - haircut, start mix-disc compilation for limo bus (I am not sure if this is officially my responsibility, but since I am pretty much one of the best in the world at making mixed-discs, I will make one anyway.)
Tuesday night - clean 2nd bath, do laundry, buy new pair of black shoes, buy new blackberry, hit the dry cleaner if I can get there in time, same for post office to ship some ebay items we sold this weekend, continue work on compilation
Wednesday night - clean our bath, floors, counters, dust, vacuum, complete cd
Thursday night - pick up dry cleaning and altered dresses, pick up Kelly and Jim at Midway, drop off at our house, then drive to Crystal Lake

Friday starts actual wedding stuff for me with a round of golf and then rehearsal and all of that good stuff.

Just wanted to make sure you are kept in the loop...