VISITORS

Last week we were able to spend a good chunk of time with the Price family while they were visiting Iowa. We really couldn't have had better weather (with the exception of the Hawkeye night game we attended) or a better time of year to enjoy the beauty of the Midwest!




First, we introduced them to Myles. Here is the only piece of information you need to determine whether or not it was successful - Myles came home and slept for hours! AJ and Anabelle are at such a fun age, they were talking everyone's ears off with their cute little voices and humorous sayings.

Thanks to Mom and Dad, we also were able to spend a few fun date nights with Amy and Andrew. We took them to the Lava Lounge (same building as Rudy's Taco) to try a few of our favorite festive hops (if you are friends with Amy on facebook, that is where the frightening pictures were from). On Saturday, we headed to Iowa City to check out the black and gold filled Iowa Game. We had to make a stop at Quinton's (there are seriously too many fav IC places but this one is near the top) for soup, sandwiches and bloody mary's. It was a late one which meant it was a little chilly but it was worth it!







It was so much fun having all of you back during our favorite time of year. The week went by fast but we will certainly take any and all quality time we get! Love you!

long overdue...

July and er, half of August took us through the Waterloo Open, weddings, Ryan rode a day of Ragbrai and we have spent much needed time at home with our little guy, Myles. I apologize for the lack of elaborate captions or details, I am getting a little sleepy (ya, I know it's 9pm) and this may be a longer post anyway.

Without further ado, here is a short video of the Waterloo Open, we had a lot of fun watching Derek compete, the weather was nice and Mom and Dad had a nice little BBQ afterwards. Notice all of the awesome Build-A-Heads. Thanks to everyone who purchased a D-Bo head. Also, keep in mind these are pretty cool for graduation, a big birthday, maybe Halloween or just to have around. They are very festive, two thumbs up. Click here to visit their site.

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We also got to hang out with the Metz boys (Braden, Ethan and Nolan) for a night. They stayed at our place while their parents were in Minnesota. We had so much fun with them, we would take them any night. And you better believe the older boys were showing Ryan up in guitar hero, big time!













Last week, we celebrated Grandpa Bohlen's 79th Birthday at Texas Roadhouse. If you don't know, the tradition is for the person with the birthday to sit on the saddle while the rest of the place gives a big, yee haw. Well... our server said this was the best birthday she has seen in a long time. See for yourself and Happy Birthday Grandpa, we love you!

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This past weekend, we celebrated Brian and Emily's wedding. We spent time with our wonderful group of friends (see the large family photo). Ryan and I also took a small trip down memory lane as our wedding reception took place at the same venue, I honestly can't believe it has been close to 4 years - time flies when you're in love. Anyway, off subject, Congratulations Brian and Emily!
















Oh boy, I told you this would be a long one. Finally, I really wanted to snap a quick photo of Myles. He is so sweet and cuddly right now. I am not sure if he knows we are running low on fuel or if he is affected by the heat but I am taking full advantage of having the little guy burrow his nose down and comfy up next to me. Back to the photo, you all know Myles is afraid of everything including a camera so after 10 tries, we declared the mission unsuccessful. So for now, here is an oldie but a goodie.













This week we are soaking up some time with Jamee and Derek before they head back to the desert which includes a trip with Mom and Dad to the Iowa State fair to see Sugarland and Little Big Town! Much fun to be had.

Until we get a photo of our devious little puppy,
XoXO

Myles Movie

I just love our little guy, he finds new ways to make us laugh all of the time. This evening, we left the tv on America's Funniest Home Videos which showed a 'pet' segment. Little did we know it would lead to our own funniest home video. Check it out...

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Our New Shredder

In small news at the Shaw household, our shredder is struggling a bit. We need to take the time to figure out what the deal is. In the meantime, I think we found an effective alternative. Ah Myles!

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Calm Before the Crazy Month of September

Ah, I have been spoiled. This is my second consecutive Monday off and boy, do I cherish them. Regardless of what I manage to get done, I feel rested and refreshed for the week. If only we could always have the luxury of a 3-day weekend. This weekend included a fair chunk of activities ranging from Kate and Allen's wedding, the ever so talked about UNI/Iowa game (yes, I was wearing Panther gear, I had to but I was a little nervous at the end of the game. The looming threat of a loss for Iowa was much more detrimental than one to UNI) and then attending the Anderson's century farm party and a game of golf with Blake and Amy. Sounds busy but it is really great to be able to spend times with those true friends, you know the ones who may live farther away or across the street but they aren't going anywhere.

In the midst of having an 'extra' day, I have had time to truly step back and appreciate everything that is good in life. For some reason, we are filled with a society that encourages you to want more, need more while the reality of what you actually have and what you have been blessed with is put on the back burner. It is extremely discouraging to me when all people talk about is how lousy their day was or how they wish they could be anywhere but here (if any of you know me, I am not a lover of negativity in general). I wish I could just point out to them that many people are dealing with harder days, battling for their lives, wishing they could only have one more day regardless of what the circumstances are. Far too often, I take many things for granted, the little things, the things that one day I will be glad I held on to. Sorry for the little rant.

The extra days also give me time to appreciate my favorite time of the year. The weather is perfect. The air is nice and crisp. It's football season (okay can't watch more than one game a day but...). The leaves start to turn. What's not to love?

Here are a few pictures:

Myles wanted to help us out when we were washing the car. Here's what he came up with.




The last weekend of August, we went to Alpine Valley for a Jimmy Buffett concert. I will post a video (takes a while to load the photos) on this later but for now here are a couple of pics to hold you over.






Our September is exceptionally busy. Ryan will be in Colorado a couple of times this month. I have the Memory Walk coming up, we have a birthday to celebrate (Ryan's). Ryan came home one evening with these to let me know he was thinking of me this month. So pretty.

ApRiL sHoWeRs

It sure doesn't seem like April is almost over! At least I can say we have had our fair share of showers in Iowa. I love those rainy days but downpours for hours on end, not so great!

We have been very fortunate in the past couple of weeks to spend time with our families. We have had birthdays to celebrate and Easter get-togethers. All of the gatherings were spread out which was good for two reasons. First, we get a couple weeks worth of good food. Second, we get to spend quality time with everyone instead of rushing here and there.

Here is a picture of the Bohlen fam. This picture was taken with Amanda's camera (you can totally tell the difference in color, I really need to read that darn manual). Thanks Manda!


This next one is a picture of the whole gang, yep, including Myles who decided to look right at the camera. Perfect timing! We had so much fun with everyone. It was nice to catch up and that day the weather was perfect so we enjoyed the outdoors as well. Anna was a little monkey climbing the trees (as you can also see in the picture).


Derek and I have always shared the birthdays, I don't know how cool it was when we were in 5th grade but we got over it. =) Anyway, here is a picture of the goof with part of his box 'o fun. If you want to know about the giant toothbrush, it was at the dollar store and I thought it was really funny, other than that it really means nothing. No offense Mom!





And this is one of my new favs. Aw.. my little brother.


That is about all that we have been up to recently. We are waiting a few weeks for a couple big graduations (I'm so excited for you, Blake and Lindsey). Volleyball and Softball start soon, we're hoping the weather is a little more friendly by next Monday otherwise it is going to be a bit chilly. Okay, off to make dinner, Thai chicken pizza! Yum.

Oh... the Internet

For the past week and half or so we have been sans internet. Our computer decided to lock us out and we couldn't quite figure out how to reverse the issue. Needless to say, it has been fixed but we haven't been as good about posting as we should be.

Here is what has been going on with us. We went to a Valentine's dinner at Paco's which was really good. The place in itself was pretty great, the food and service was good but most importantly we were in good company with our friends. Work is going well for both of us. Ryan is busy with all that is going on but is loving every part of what he is doing and who he is doing it with. I am getting a more comfortable in my no longer 'new' job. I love working for something I truly believe in and there is constantly something to do. Also, a little thanks and shout out to those who donated to the Voice the Vision rally. Myles is still high on energy although there are certain times of the day where he will just cuddle which I love. Ryan is almost done with directing the younger hockey kids for the season. It will be nice for him to have a free Sunday again but he enjoys the time he puts in there.

We have a lot on the horizon that we are excited about. We can't help but to have a little Spring Fever. We thought today would be a lovely day for a little walk but sadly that bubble popped when we got a little more snow so in leu of the hopes for warmer weather we started putting together a few plans to look forward to. We are going to AZ. in 2 weeks. My parents are going to be down there (and Jamee and Derek will be there the week before us, boo) at the same time as well. We found really great prices on tickets and don't have an overscheduled Spring so we figured it was perfect. Now with the latest addition of snow (yes, just when I thought Spring was here), we are even more excited to get away. Ryan has been talking to the guys about the annual baseball draft night and if you thought last year was a little crazy just wait until you see how over the top (ott) they get this year. On the same day, although all of us girls would love to sit around and admire how cool the guys are (please note the sarcasm) the girls are having a get together of our own so that will be fun (plus I think our food may be a little bit better)!

Anyway, nothing too exciting has happened but that is the latest from our corner. If we can't barbeque quite yet I think we will start in on the cleaning. Until next time...

Family Time

Once again, I failed to take a lot of pictures. We had a great Christmas this year. All of our family get togethers were spread out which meant we could spend a little more quality time with everyone and we had four days of food, family and Christmas festivities. Can't complain about that. I am always reminded this time of year how fortunate we are to have amazing families and support systems. We also had Myles' first Christmas at home. He was of course spoiled with new toys and a stocking with cookies and treats.





On Friday night, we had our Christmas with Mom, Dad, Jamee and Derek (I apologize but this was the only one that I remembered to get the camera out for). Myles came and enjoyed ripping up (never eating) the wrapping paper. We had a lot of fun and 'humor' thrown into the gift opening this year. We ate taco pizza (yes, very traditional) and played games. I think we may have started a new tradition.

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We had a big annoucement on the Durnil side of the family this year. Tyler and Megan got engaged. They make a great couple and we are really looking forward to the next step for them. Congratualations you two, we love you.



To celebrate ringing in the new year. We hung out with our group of friends (or our second family). We went out to dinner and played board games and then watched the New York ball drop at 12am central time? On New Year's day we rooted for the Hawks and were very happy with the turn out. We then played more board games (this was the girls' idea as the guys could have been content watching 15 games that day). If anyone wants to know Partini and Backseat Drawing are two of our new favs.

After all of the excitement we are relaxing and trying to take down the Christmas decor... We will see how motivated we get today. 2008 was a tough year, as we had a lot of change with our families, a lot of extreme weather with the floods and tornadoes, plenty of stress with the economy. We welcome whatever 2009 holds for us and hope that it is a good year for all.

#1

Last week was amazingly busy but fun. It started off with our typical Monday night volleyball loss (we totally should have won but for some reason it never really works out that way... we are not that bad, really!). On Tuesday, I went to a Women's Christmas party with mom at church. There were about 50 tables, each table has a different host who decorated their own table. We then ate dinner and had a little entertainment. On Wednesday we stayed home trying to get a few things done around the house. Thursday night, Ryan had a work dinner and I went to another Christmas party. On Friday we were planning to celebrate Dad's birthday but he was sick. I think by now he is back to feeling better, but that wasn't the best birthday. Saturday morning we helped with the Gift of Giving where we take kids shopping, getting their families Christmas presents and wrapping them. I am almost to the explanation of the picture, it's worth it. Saturday night we had the FRA (Ryan's work) Christmas party, where we went out to dinner and then did a white elephant gift exchange. With this being our first year (not knowing how ugly it gets) we were pretty nice with our presents. However, by the end of the night I ended up with the #1 Dad t-shirt which Ryan is sporting in the picture below. At least Myles thinks it is fitting!

Minnesota Weekend

This past weekend, we packed up and visited Jamee and Derek in Minnesota. Myles came along on his first road trip. He did really well and slept most of the way up but got a little restless on Sunday when we were driving back (thanks to Derek he was pretty worn out).

We had a couple of relaxing evenings. We went to the Minnesota Twins game and are still waiting to see if it is going to be a good end to the season or not. Mom packed and sent along a shrimp and steak BBQ with brownies, fruit and a salad which we ate later that evening. It was delicious, thanks Mom! Sunday we went to Eagle Brook church and then met up with Charlie and Amanda for breakfast. It was so nice catching up with the two newlyweds and seeing their place. It is perfect for the two of them and is decorated so cute (they posted pictures on facebook you'll have to check out).

Thanks for the weekend you guys, we love you and miss you as always!

Myles

More than anything I just thought this was a cute picture. Myles is doing well. He is right around 40 pounds (what the humane society projected) and pulls on our hearts every time. We are so happy we adopted the little guy.

Myles' New Thing

We started leaving Myles out of the kenel while we are away. We shut the doors and put up a gate so he can have the living room. We left him for an hour last week and he did well so we decided to try a day when I worked later in the morning and Ryan was coming home for lunch at noon. He did really well that day, too. Now we are trusting him a little more. He is pretty smart and catches on quickly. He makes it pretty fun around our house! We love our first baby.

May Days

Again, I apologize for the length between the updates, some day I will be faster! Last weekend Bridget and Zach came over to order Chinese and hang out. They brought their little guy to play with our little guy. They both weigh about the same so it was fun seeing them mess around. Myles was definitely worn out so he cuddled with his new friend, Reese.

Ryan caught Myles doing his latest thing. We are going to try to catch it on camera but we haven't yet. Myles has a basket where all of his toys go. The other day he was picking up all of the toys he had used and put them away in the basket. He is such a good dog (except for the days we find him chewing on the basket)!

This weekend was packed but it was a fun one. The weather was so beautiful that we couldn't help but to be outside. Friday night we made a little trip to Iowa City, for the last night of Baldy's, the wrap shop where Ryan worked through college. We met up with some friends and came home that night. Derek and Jamee also came home this weekend so they met Myles for the first time. He loved them! Sunday it was again perfect weather so we did a little yard work (I will post pictures when the landscaping is complete), played with Myles, had our volleyball team over for a BBQ, bonfire and game night. After all of that, I got my new favorite picture...



I guess that only means the busy summer has begun and we can't wait!

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Myles Update

I also have an update for the new child in our life, seriously. He was well behaved over the weekend we were away. Amy, Amy and Brian tagged teamed to take care of him (thanks guys) and we still don't know if they are lying to us but they said he was a good puppy.

We had a huge thunderstorm last night and he didn't cry or squirm (any more than normal). He has learned how to sit, fetch and is doing pretty well on the house breaking. He no longer makes messes in the kennel. What he has started to do is eat anything on the ground outdoors, including the worm this morning. We always scold him when we catch him doing it but the second you turn your head he has something in his mouth. Oh well, they are only puppies once.

We went to the store and got a few new toys. The first picture is his rocket, it has a rope inside the gel like form which is supposed to be really good for his teething.

The second toy he has not been able to let go of since we bought it. It is just a plush toy but it is a hot dog which we find amusing.

Finally, the other day I was getting ready for work and looked for Myles. I couldn't find him anywhere but I knew he had to be in the house. Here is where I found him, it is his new favorite hiding place. He already thinks he is a little prince.

PS - UK, I hope this keeps you entertained for at least a couple of meetings!

The New Member of Our Family

This weekend we adopted a puppy. His name is Myles and he is 3-4 months old (they can't be sure of his actual birth date). He is part lab and part cocker spainel. This far he has been very calm and a lot of fun (with the exception of house breaking). He is a cutie!!

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We adopted Myles from the Cedar Bend Humane Society, check out the link if you are interested. http://www.cedarbendhumane.org