Front Row Forever

So I am now a front row event convert... I finally GET IT! This past October my good CrossFit buddy, Nicki, invited me to the Spurs Opener. I was just excited to go to the game... little did I know what I was in for.

Here we are in the "box seats" for the first half. They have these awesome "open air" boxes at the Spurs stadium. You are out with the general public, but you are in plush leather seats (think first class on a plane).

Not a bad view from these seats...

But then, after the half we got to sit courtside... as in FIRST ROW! Check out the price on the tickets... $1500.35/each!

This was our new view....

Whoops, I mean *this* was our new view!

...and this!

I was slightly smiley -- as you can see -- it was SO MUCH FUN!

Needless to say, if any of you feel the need to share front row tickets to pretty much anything, I am game for it... I'd be happy to take them off your hands!

Pumpkin Passion

Okay, so I'm getting around to these blog entries a little later than some would think --- call it a New Year's resolution! But I was pretty sure you felt sad about missing out on our pictures of pumpkin carving... I'm sure a part of you thought -- "Man, I never saw how those Siefer's carved their pumpkins!"

Well, here you go -- we decided to try pumpkin carving two ways.... on the front...the traditional Jack!

Very scary and intimidating in the night...

And on the back we tried a new carving technique --- inspired from something on the food channel I am sure.... this was our best Frankenstein!

Also, very scary in the dark too! =) I liked this new technique -- but it did almost mean losing a few fingers -- must perfect next year!

Husker Power

As many of you know, I am a Cornhusker fan! This was part of the package deal when I married Jeremy... infact, I'm sure he snuck "you will support me through good Nebraska seasons and bad" into our vows somehow!

Since we were back in Sioux Falls for the wedding we decided to go to my first ever home game at the Lincoln, Nebraska stadium. We had great seats for the evening game!

For some reason I ended up in a purple shirt for the game. I'm pretty sure I was the ONLY person without red on for the game. So it should have been really easy for all of you to spot me on the TV screen!

Yup, seat 19 & 20... is where we sat.

Gotta love all the random fan shots they capture on the big screen!

And, as tradition goes, everyone released red balloons on the first Nebraska score.

...the good news is that it was a win for us...

...and the other good news is that I got to try my first Runza... this is a big food tradition in the mid-west, and so I was glad to partake in the warm meaty goodness!

All in all, it was a fun experience... can't say the football games I experienced at my D3 University were anything like this. So it was great to get caught up in the Husker Fever!

Another Mr. & Mrs. Siefer

Wedding bells were ringing this past weekend... actually, all kinds of bells were ringing (but more on that later), as we welcomed the new Mr. & Mrs. Siefer into the family... we held the "newlywed Siefer" title for three years, it was about time to share!

Here are a couple shots from the rehearsal at the church in Sioux Falls. Jeremy's younger brother Josh was the groom and Lauren Olsen, his fiance, was the lovely bride.

We headed over to Spezia's for the dinner hosted by Marianne and John! Gotta' love fillet with Gorgonzola on top. It was an intimate dinner of 30 and a fun way to kick off the festivities.

...and the wedding day was upon us in no time! Here I am just before the ceremony with my mother-in-law, Marianne, and her best friend Cheryl!

Check out the bridal party... I've never seen my brother-in-law, Josh, smile this much and for this long! Very impressive!!!

Check out the groomsmen (Jer on far left)... wearing their Chuck Taylor's in honor of Josh.And, as the ceremony closed, out came Lauren and Josh, through a tunnel of wedding guests, all ringing bells!

We jumped in the limo, popped open the champagne, and headed to the falls for a quick break before the reception.

Jer gave a great speech! He had come up with 10 other options, but ended on the one that involved a giant rat trap as a prop. I'll let him explain that one later!

Lauren gave a surprise jazz-singing-solo to her new husband. It was amazing!

Of course, there was cake... cupCAKES to be exact!

...and the big hit of the night... the candy bar! I saw one kid walking away with almost the entirety of the peanut M&M jar!! It was every man for themselves on this candy bar! =)

The next morning we had a WONDERFUL brunch at my mother-in-laws house. Jeremy dressed up, as you can tell, sporting his famous "Bacon" shirt!

And with that it was over in a blink! So much fun!

Any guesses?

So, any guesses what we were up to this Labor Day weekend?

CLUE #1

CLUE #2 (getting any ideas?)

CLUE #3...getting warmer...check out our shadow below.

Okay, so we went on a hot air balloon ride! It was my Christmas gift this past year from Jeremy and we decided it was high time to redeem it. "High-time" - get it!! Yes, I am that cheesy!

First it required a 4:00am wake-up call and drive to Austin.
Jer even stepped in and helped get everything set-up.

It was amazing seeing all of this come out of one small little trailer!

Finally, our balloon started taking shape.

And we were airborne before we knew it!

It was so quiet up there... the only sound was each time our pilot filled the balloon with the hot air.

And then, an hour later, it was time to touch down... just in time, because the fog was rolling in. Here you can see the other hot air balloon, just making it down.

And, to finish off the morning our pilot had our official flight certificates and champagne to toast our safe return. Not sure what we would have gotten if we hadn't made it back safely...

All in all it was a great experience...so peaceful and fun to see the Texas countryside!

30 Already!!?

Earlier in August I had a chance to celebrate the big 3-0! The date was 08-09-10, which I thought was even cooler than turning 30... I'm pretty sure I need to have a t-shirt made with that date. Here is a shot of all the great flowers and presents I got to enjoy! Jer snagged the "R" that I had been eyeing at Anthroplogie. What can I say, I'm a sucker for big letter R's!!

The following weekend we headed out to Hyatt Hill Country for a weekend my parents orchestrated in honor of the big day. Here's Jer walking around the resort...

Beautiful!

Gotta love the lazy river and beach for the kiddo-s.

Okay, and they also had s'mores for the kiddos. And I think I still fit that criteria of making smores, even if I'm 30! S'mores make everything better - even if it is 100 degrees outside!

Then we headed back to the suite for a little champagne and chocolate covered strawberries (compliments of Mom & Dad). Is it bad when the hotel suite is larger than our actual home?! =)

Then finished the night with a little carrot cake!

All in all an awesome way to ring in 30! Thanks to everyone for your warm wishes!

Ping Pong Master

Ever impressed by my husband, this summer he decided to add "Ping Pong Master" to his resume. Some people take the extra summer break to travel to foreign locations or see summer blockbusters at the theatre, but Jeremy decided to hone his ping pong skills!

Twice a week he met with a local group from 6-9pm! You read that right... THREE hours of ping pong!!
Part footwork, part paddle position, part flexibility.... you can see this is a lot more complicated than one would think!
The last weekend of the camp culminated in a ping pong tournament....where Jeremy came in first place, I am happy to report. Just don't bring up the 9-year-old he had to knock off on his climb to the top!