The Fountain Hills Times

We just got back from Arizona. My parents gave me a plane ticket (including one for my Mom, thank goodness and Tyson, well he was a couple of weeks away from not being a lap child so it was his last free ride) for my birthday to see Derek and Jamee. It was such a good time. Obviously, we love any and all time that we get with our family but Tyson was so in love with airplanes, being outside and their new puppy, Ace that it was especially fun.

We spent a couple of days in the pool which confirms that Tyson still loves the water. I always wondered after a break from our pool time last year, how he would come around this year. Turns out, nothing has changed with the exception of an improved arm.

On the Saturday night that we were there, Jamee packed up a yummy little picnic and we went to the Fountain to watch the outdoor movie, "Frozen" with Angie, the boys and Uncle Ken. Tyson had never seen the movie but our play dates with little girls have made him well aware of the song "Let it Go". He loved it. It's tempting to see how he would do in a movie theater. Tempting. And for the record, no, it really doesn't get more beautiful than this city's fountain at sunset with mountains in the background. 

On the way back, our flight was delayed a night due to a pilot no show. As much as I hated the airport process, with a toddler, two days in a row, we got to spend a lovely night at Greyhawk, with live music and this... 

And this...

And a little more of this...

Tyson's last free flight was a memorable one as he slept the entire way home. Thanks buddy, mama needed that. We could not have asked for a better trip. Tyson couldn't ask for better quality time with his aunt and uncle and we couldn't have asked for a better time to come home to Central Time and of course, our Ryan. 

Leaving Las Vegas

Sorry, it's been a while since the last update. I realized I haven't posted about our trip. The last weekend of April we met Amy, Andrew, Angie, Derek and Jamee in Las Vegas!! Ah, we had a blast in Vegas. I want to go back. I can't stop smiling when I think about it. Lots of love and laughs.

The night we flew in, we stopped by the Price Room which happen to be cleverly stocked with all the goods you would need for Vegas - yummy snacks, yummy drinks and the sweetest hosts you can imagine. We then took a brief tour of our surroundings and hit up a fun, little Irish pub. Along the way, Andrew gave me a challenge, he was under the impression that everyone knows the phrase, "cash is king". I set out to prove him wrong, a few of my favorite answers for your entertainment: cash is - green?, dinero, AWESOME.


Friday Angie joined us! We enjoyed a little time by the pool, played sand volleyball and had a mouthwatering dinner at Fix. The ladies stopped in The Bank for a quick free drink, ha. Truth is we just wanted to ride a special escalator into the place. We then hit up Pure for a few cocktails and a view of the strip.

On our last and final day (before traveling back - I never count the travel day as our last day), we explored the city. This was Ryan's first trip to Vegas so we went in most (you can't see it all in a day) of the must-sees. We decided on our next trip to Vegas, we want to stay at Aria - we loved the vibe.

We had a few late nights and more walking then we imagined(in not the best choice of shoes - Angie was the only smart one there) but came back refreshed. Nothing like a little family time to get you out of the routine.

On our way home, Ryan and I both thought we are pretty blessed. We both love to travel. As much as we love Iowa, we knew when we 'settled down' here, we both wanted to ensure that traveling is a good part of our lives. In the past 6 months we have gone to Flordia, Mexico, Atlanta (Ash), Vegas and Kansas City (Ry). That's a lot of traveling for these two peeps who have two very happy faces.

Enjoy the pics!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

XoxO

to the IC...

a short day trip to iowa city. shopping, a little b-ball and friends - yay cloud!

make the most of your day!

Quick Month

We all know February is the shortest month of the year but when we combine it with a busy schedule, it's over in a blink.

The month started off with 2 events for the A.L.Z. One of them was a Day at the Hill, I was doing more of the behind the scenes work so I didn't get to take away as much as I wanted to. I would highly encourage you to take advantage of any opportunity you have to meet with your representatives. The other event was a phone-a-thon type event where we spent the day at the KGAN studios (again, pretty cool to get a behind the scenes view).

That weekend I went on a road trip with the girls. It had been a little while since we all got together and it was a fun night. We went to a Kelly Pickler concert (unfortunately not all that fun - it wasn't Kelly's fault but just didn't have the concert atmosphere we were expecting). That didn't stop us from enjoying the night, it had been a long time since I laughed that much. Thanks girls!

The following Tuesday (15th), I took off for a work conference in Hotlanta. It actually was much warmer than Iowa. Let's say 70ish, yeah I am still dreaming about that. The first part of the conference focused on the PR aspect of my job and the second focused on Walk to End Alzheimer's (I am so excited for this year!). It was nice to get out of the office and have the opportunity to learn from the tremendous resources around the country. It was also nice to get back home to my boys on Saturday.




Saturday night we attended Hoss-a-polooza to celebrate Hoss' 30th birthday! It was a 90's theme with a DJ who played the music videos from our jr. high/high school years. Good Times. Happy Birthday Buddy!

And... with a few days of rest and catching up on laundry, that brings us today. We caught up on a few movies before the Oscars (We enjoyed The Fighter, 127 hours, The Town, Inception, Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me). You could say we're still catching up on some sleep, I think we have gone to bed at about 9pm every night this week. This was a long post, hopefully we'll get more updates with pictures out more often.

Until then, enjoy the warm(ing) weather - hopefully it sticks around.

Hanging with the dirty monkeys

It's not as bad as it sounds, keep reading... This weekend we took a little trip to MEXICO with the FRAmily (FRA is the company Ryan works for smashed with family - cute, huh? This only one of the many words found in the FRActionary). It was the perfect time for a little escape from our wintery mix here in Iowa. Mexico, despite the reputation it has had lately, was beautiful. We stayed at The Royal all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen. We left Thursday night caravan style to Minneapolis in preparation of our early morning flight on Friday (6am flight means you have to be at the airport earlier than I have been up lately) BUT it was totally worth it! We arrived in Mexico shortly after 10am. This provided almost an entire day of sun and fun after our travel.

In good 'ol Ashley fashion, I didn't take too many photos but here are a few (on the gloomiest day of the trip):











As you can see, the beaches were outrageously gorgeous - bright blue water and white velvety sand. The food was delish! After much discussion as it was all so good, we decided our favorite eatery was Asiana (an Asian fusion restaurant). We took a little time to explore the area outside of the resort, we were close to the main drag of stops and shops, however, our wheeling and dealing was pretty limited (two carry-ons don't leave too much space for extras on the way home).

We had great company in the FRAmily. Ryan enjoyed time with his co-workers outside of the office and I love getting to know everyone he works with and their significant others a little more than I normally have the opportunity to. We are both very fortunate to be apart of this group of people. We were also fortunate to spend such a wonderful weekend with them enjoying a few dirty monkeys (this was one of the favorite drinks, it was kind of like a chocolate shake with rum and bananas thrown in - yummy!). The trip ended with a flight back to the States on Monday. We came back refreshed and relaxed. For all of you seeking a future vacay, we would recommend it!

Adios Amigitos,

HOLLA-WEEN and other to-do's

Eek! The time is once again flying by and I am certain that once the holidays hit, there is no stopping it.

We have been busy these past few weeks. We had some fun at UNI's homecoming, we took a short little trip to Orlando (Florida that is. Swimmin' pools, sunny days.) halloween festivities and also the Michigan St./Iowa game. I forgot how much was going on in such a short time.

It all started on the morning of Saturday the (uh, don't make me think about this)23rd. We got to hang out with Ian and help carve pumpkins. Ryan and I picked up a kid friendly carving set so he did most of the work on his own. I just held the pumpkin. Ryan and Ian raced to see who could clean out their pumpkin first, by being the smart one who picked the smaller of the pumpkins, Ian won.

Let the games begin

Ian wanted to put gloves on to touch the 'yucky' stuff and Grandma helped him out a bit.

Ian's pumpkin is the cat right behind him

And tada, here is Ry's finished face

That afternoon we headed to CF for the homecoming game and festivities (including going to the Hub to watch Marcus, much fun).

our salute to the days of UNI baseball

It's always cool to drink out of a trophy, if you haven't done this put it on your bucket list =)

We just got back from Florida. Ryan was there on business. I was able to tag along, ride the lazy river, catch up on a little r&r and reading. We stayed J.W. Marriot in Orlando which was pretty. nice. Ryan usually finished the meetings early enough in the evening that we had a good chunk of time to spend with one another. We ate well - of course meaning seafood on at least one occassion. Soaked up a few rays. The final night we were there, Ryan and I wandered over to Universal Studios. To my disappointment the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was closed (must go back) but we still enjoyed some fun and the warm weather (80's - 90's and humid).

don't mistake this as me hating the place, i was just sad it was closed

Finally this past weekend, we headed to Iowa City for unseasonably warm weather. The Iowa game was a blast, seriously one of the more exciting games I have attended this year. Maybe because Mich State was undefeated, perhaps the fact that they didn't score for a LONG time or the fact it was a perfect day for football. Who knows. Either way, here are some pics.









Well that was a mouthful. TTYL.

love:

Crazy September

Here is my annual post (Ryan, by the way). Labor Day weekend kicked it off. Ashley had a girls trip to Davenport and I was in Minneapolis filled with golf, Twins game, and typical male camaraderie ;). We capped of the weekend with friends for Charley Knoll’s 60th bday party on Sunday and nothing on Monday.



The next weekend we attended the Iowa/Iowa State game. We had a blast tailgating with Dr. O’Shea (Brendan) and his fiancée (Andrea) and Dr. Borgwardt (Derek) and his fiancée (Stacy). This was possibly the only game Amy Knoll may attend due to a baby on the way, so we made the most out of it. By the way, the Hawkeyes blew out the Cyclones…again.

I mostly mention the weekends since those were the busy times, but Ashley was very busy in August and September planning her Memory Walk for the Alzheimer’s Association. The event took place on the 18th at Riverfront Stadium (local minor league ballpark) and was a huge success raising over $75,000 at her walk alone. The chapter brought in over $250,000 at four walks! Thanks to all who participated, donated, and volunteered. I’m so proud of my little Coordinator.

That evening, we helped host a couple's baby shower for Blake, Amy and little miss Knoll. It was full of games (nice work Shaun) and plenty of fun.






The last week of September was a short work week for the both of us. We left Thursday night en route to a wedding in the Cincinnati area. Since we rarely drive through the middle of Illinois and Indiana, we decided to make a little road trip on the way. We stayed in Peoria on Thursday, and Friday we casually ventured to Indianapolis. On the way we stopped at a cool little Apple Orchard- gotta love those Honey Crisps. Downtown Indy was really clean and impressive. We spent the afternoon wondering the downtown center filled with shops and restaurants and enjoyed our little date-day.





Saturday we journeyed to Oh-Tuck-Iana for Derek and Stacy Borgwardt’s wedding. The ceremony was in Indiana and the hotel and reception was in Kentucky, but the 30 minute jaunt required you to drive through Ohio. The drive was quite scenic. We were able to reunite with many of my college buddies and their spouses. Erik and Alison came from Denver, Tyler from San Diego, many from Chicago and others from the Midwest. The food was delicious, the party was a blast, and the Hawks won, so it was a good day overall. We ended the trip with a 9+ hour drive back to ‘loo hoping for some needed rest.

(camera died at the wedding)

I told you it was a busy month. I had a birthday over that time and am enjoying some new toys, especially my Ipod Touch 4G. I have moved up in the tech world, but still haven’t made it to Facebook yet. That’s my post and I will see you next year.

take me out to the ballgame

The 4th was filled with family, friends, BBQs and Minnesota. Saturday, Mike and Karen hosted a wonderful BBQ for the Bouck family. We enjoyed the nice shaded yard, the energetic munchkins (reason for no photos = waterguns and cameras do not mix), delish food and family. I know Myles was quite tuckered out, he gave up his sneaky eating attempts once the dessert came out.

Ryan and I then headed to MN to hang out with friends and to visit Target field for the first time. We stayed with Matt at his nice place right off of Grand in St. Paul. Ryan and I took a little time driving around the neighborhood, it's very cool, older yet charming.

The game was pretty muggy and unfortunately the Twins lost (come on guys, I don't like this slump) but I can't complain about going to a game. The new digs are fantastic. We spent half of the time in our row of 2 (literally there were only two seats in our row, ha, kind of funny) and the other half of the game just walking around exploring the place and different views. Final verdict, two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Welcome to Target Field


St. Paul meet Minni




Yummy Turkey Leg!!