The Noblander Wedding

Mike and Michelle are married! They make such a fun couple, always laughing, and always being great friends to those around them. I could not be happier for my college roomie:)

The wedding was held at Salty's in West Seattle. The view of downtown was a stunning backdrop for the ceremony and the weather cooperated nicely with (virtually) no rain. Knowing how great Mike and Michelle are together meant that the tears started flowing when it came time for the readings and the vows for me. We spent a lot of time talking boys in college, and now we're here, married to incredible guys, watching our group of friends grow with each addition. It just fits.

The dinner was AMAZING. Will had the steak and salmon and I had the crab-stuffed salmon. Again, thanks for living on the coast, friends- seafood! Michelle's dad made a beautiful toast, and the tears started coming again when he started talking about reading to her when she was little (the tears I am referring to are mine, but others definitely shared in the tear-fest too). It was great to meet Mike's dad for the first time too. He was sooo happy and shares the same laugh and sense of humor as Mike. I'm pretty sure the smile didn't leave his face all night (despite the fact that their rental car's tires were stolen in the hotel parking lot!).


Though it may sound cliche, I really do think weddings are some of the best days of our lives. Even being a guest is incredibly special because you get to share in the joy with the couple and their families. Maybe I've just been lucky to be at weddings that went very smoothly, but on the day, it just seems like nothing could possibly dampen people's spirits. It's almost undescribable, the collective effervescence (for you sociologists out there). We are so grateful to be able to share in that with our friends.

Speaking of great weddings, our 5 year anniversary is coming up next month:) Stand by for a mushy post about that next month!


We love you Mike and Michelle!!! Thanks for letting us share in your day!

Until next time,

Kirsten

Finn turns 1!

After Will flew in on Saturday, we went to our nephew Finn's 1st birthday party. We were sooo lucky that we were able to be there! He had just learned to walk and was loving his new found mobility. He was standing most of the time we were there and walked back and forth between us on the deck. He is too adorable for words. He wasn't sure about the cake, but he did love all of the new toys he got- especially the ones that made noise:) Grandma and Grandpa O'Brien made him a set of blocks too, which he loved banging together.


Even though we were only there for the weekend, it was great that we were able to see everyone!

In addition to walking, Finn can hang from the gymnastics bar in the backyard all by himself. It is so crazy how strong he is!

Mary made Finn a cake that looked like it was straight out of one of those TLC shows- very beautiful and delicious. And Matt grilled chicken with homemade marinade. Good start to the summer!

It is amazing how much Finn grew and changed in a year. I can't wait to see his personality at 2!

It is also funny to think that we are known to Finn and Lily as Uncle Will and Aunt Kirsten. It is primarily strange when I think about how grown up my Aunt and Uncles were...and that's us now. Weird. It is a so fun to be their aunt and uncle, and we love to pieces!

Lily's birthday was also this month (after we had left), but she is 9 now. It seems like just yesterday she was starting 1st grade in Seattle. She is sooooo smart and fun to talk with!

Remember when you were a kid, and everyone would tell you how you'd grown? After a while it got a little old- yes, I grow....at approximately the same rate as everyone else my age. But when you don't see kids for even a short few months, it is pretty crazy how quickly they change. I will try to hold it in the next time I see the kids, but I am sure I will be tempted to say, "Wow, you have grown so much since last time I saw you!"

Backblogging

I am a bit behind in my blogging, and we had an eventful trip to Seattle this month to catch you up on. It was such a jam-packed weekend, that each event deserves its own post:)

Before I get to that, though, here are a few highlights of June:

*Grand Old Day happens every year right outside of our door (pretty much anyway). This year we spent the day listening to bands and trying not to get sunburned. Our favorite band of the day was Dead Man Winter, which includes 3 members of Trampled by Turtles and have a pretty similar sound. We also stuck around for 4 on the floor (all of their songs are in 4-4 time and they each have their own kick drum) and Heiruspecs (sp?). Definitely a different crowd for each band. It was great being able to just come and go from home when we wanted. Next year I think we'll try to cover more ground- the art section is fun, but it is a good walk from our end.

* Will got a new job! He is the new Career Counselor at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis!! It is where he did his internship and he really enjoys working with the team there so he is looking forward to starting full-time on Tuesday. When he found out he intercepted me on a run and I was probably a sight for those driving by, I was so happy for him. Way to go Will-O!

*I ran my 10K last weekend. The Children's Cancer Research Fund put it on, so the money went to a great cause. Races can get a bit expensive (especially considering the fact that you can run the distance by yourself for free), so I try to pick ones that go toward a charity. It was a beautiful course through the woods and along the Mississippi river, with a finish overlooking downtown St. Paul. I love running on my own, but there is something really festive and empowering about running in races with a group of people. I'm not competitive about it at all, but people cheer each other on and are usually pretty pumped up about being there, so the energy is contagious. In a race like this, there were also teams running for, or in memory of, a child with cancer which was very moving.

Now, on to our trip to Seattle. I headed out on Friday the 10th and got to hang out with Arun and Megan that day. We got a delicious breakfast on Lower Queen Anne at a place that does a breakfast happy hour- what a brilliant idea! Sooo good, for sooo cheap. Will and I would definitely get brunch more often if such a thing existed in MSP- anyone know if it does? I tried Beignets for the first time and they are TROUBLE. They're kind of like donuts, but even richer. I guess nothing is too rich for the French...or this rogue Swede.

That night we celebrated Michelle's Bridal Shower at Kiara's house. Michelle's sister, Melissa, came up from Portland and prepped a smorgasbord of treats including Stromboli, which is my new favorite party food. It was really easy to make, very filling, and can be cut up into finger food. Kiara's son Dane (1 1/2) and Michelle's niece Lakia (2) kept everyone entertained for the night- Dane liked walking around in all of our shoes and Lakia tasted the frosting on the cupcakes, just to make sure they were okay, and then put them back for us to enjoy:)

Enjoy a few pics from the night!

Memorial Day Weekend

First of all, I have no idea why the pictures are posting so far apart near the end of the blogs. Does anyone know why it would be doing that suddenly?

Also, I forgot to mention in my last blog that we were actually able to drive through Washington DC on our way back to the airport on our trip to Maryland. I had never been there, so it was really exciting to see things like the White House, the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Federal Reserve, etc. even if it was from the car! It was just the cherry on top of an already wonderful trip. Now I'm looking forward to the chance to get back to DC sometime with Will, so we can see it all and take advantage of the free museums. Between the two of us we have covered the western part of the US pretty well, but we have seen very little of the eastern half. Hopefully we will be able to remedy that over the next few years with some road trips and conferences.

But back to the coast at hand- the North Coast:) Will and I headed up to Grand Marais on Saturday and had beautiful weather all the way up.......until Grand Marais. There was a lot of fog near the lake, but as I said all week, you don't go to Grand Marais for the weather. I expect to be in a fleece or sweatshirt when I go, and it makes you feel all the more like you are transported to somewhere totally different (and more remote) than where you came from. The rain and low clouds actually reminded us a lot of Washington (the state). Luckily we were able to set up our tent just before it started raining, so no harm done there. We hid from the rain along with the rest of the tourists inside Ben Franklin's and stocked up on miscellaneous camping gear. They have everything under the sun in that little store, and it is packed tight. We were packed tight too, waiting out the rain. We had dinner at My Sister's Place and it was delicious as usual. Will got a BBQ burger with bacon and swiss and I got a chicken melt with carmelized onions, swiss, and a thousand island. Yummo. We decided since it was still raining we'd go hunting on the Gunflint trail as your chances of seeing one are far better at the beginning of the summer. No moose sightings to report, but we did see a fox, a bald eagle, and a deer. Being on the trail made it feel like no time had gone by since we worked there 3 summers ago. Not much changes in Grand Marais, so that might be why, but it always brings back such good memories. I'm SO glad we worked up there when we had the chance. Then we watched the Twins actually win a game (shocking, I know) at the Pickled Herring, possibly the best named bar in MN.

The next day we woke up to glorious sunshine and headed straight to World's Best Doughnuts. There was already a line. We sampled sugar raised (my fave), cinnamon (Will's fave), and a long john (I think??). I am not usually doughnut fan, but man those are good. I also got 10 cents off my coffee because I brought my very own trusty World's Best mug. After that, we went hiking at 4 different state parks all along the lake. Most of the hikes were to waterfalls, but we did have a nice overlook of Lake Superior on one hike (see pic below), and spent a fair amount of time just walking along the rocks. After being in the car the entire day the previous day, Mosby was glad to get a lot of exercise. He was our trail guide because he hates having anyone in front of him- he has to be the leader. The picture below of us playing fetch with him was funny because I was trying to make him sit before throwing the stick (he usually obliges quickly), but he kept doing this instead. Wrong end Mos! It was pretty funny.

We didn't really have much we needed to do the next day, so we headed back home early to avoid 35 traffic. When we left Grand Marais, it was 45, and when we got to the Cities it was 80 (and got up to 87). A bit of a climate change. I guess Memorial Day really is the beginning of summer.

We will be headed back up to GM for our anniversary in July and we decided to splurge this time. We are sleeping indoors! I know, it is a little luxurious, but we thought we would celebrate our 5th in style and spring for a cottage by the lake:)

Stay tuned for pics from our June wedding- Mike and Michelle's!

Until next time,

Kirsten