Kroeze Vacation '09

Still head over heels in love with him!

Brady & I double skiing

Getting ready to slalom

Cute!

The boys at the GoKart place

Aunt Tina feeding Karson

Uncle Brady feeding Karson

The whole Kroeze clan :)

"Sisters" :)

The 4 of us looking good.

Tina & Taylor just hanging out.

Brady slaloming, got up on the first try!

There is a hill from our cabin to down by the lake, there is this chair lift thing with a sign that says "able bodied people use stairs" I guess they weren't "able bodied" carrying that HUGE tube :)

The cabins we stayed in.

Gorgeous sunset. Simply beautiful.

Brady & Wade riding the "poparazzi"

Uncle Brady & "Tay Tay" :)

It's hard to believe that another annual vacation to Osakis, MN (near Alexandria) has come & gone. We stayed at Linwood Resort. This year was my 7th year of going on this vacation which is also hard to believe that it's been that many years already. That means I was 15 the first year I went along, crazy! I have been to 4 different resorts in the 7 years of going and every year is so much fun. This year we split up making meals for the week which turned out to work very well. Brady & I drove up on Tuesday as he had his class at USF Monday night and it was my weekend to work. We picked up Wade & Alissa in Okoboji as they were on a different vacation earlier that week. It was a lot of fun to ride up together with them. We took their Trailblazer and I don't think we had room for literally ONE more thing - it was packed to the top! The boys thought their golf clubs were a necessity...I guess I don't blame them.

We stayed in a cabin with Wes & Denise, Brent & Tracy and their two girls Taylor and Bailey, Nathan & Heather and their son Karson, and Wade & Alissa. The cabin has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms so we all fit! It was so much fun to spend time with family, especially our nieces and nephew. We spent time boating, laying out by the pool, eating, more eating :), sitting by campfires, etc. It's such a relaxing week and I feel blessed to be a part of the tradition. One of the highlights of the trip was sitting around a campfire until 2:30am and making a "prediction/goal list" for next year. I think it will be fun to look back next year at our "predictions/goals" and see if any come true. There is also talk of a talent show that could be happening next year, I'm sure it would be nothing short of hilarious! Another highlight was going to Alexandria and mini golfing, riding GoKarts, and my favorite part - getting Dairy Queen afterwards! One last highlight was spending time with our nieces Taylor (3) and Bailey (17months), and our new little nephew Karson (2 months) We thank God for a fun and safe vacation and hope to enjoy many many more!

Mr. & Mrs. D'Elia

Erin with her beautiful boy Cohen

Gorgeous

Such a happy couple

It's official - Matt & Erin tied the knot at a beautiful outdoor wedding in Omaha on July 11, 2009. Erin was a stunning bride, she is beautiful inside and out! Erin is my "double cousin" (her dad is my dad's brother and her mom is my mom's sister). So needless to say we get along great. Her husband Matt is such a great guy, he is hilarious and is the perfect match for a fireball like Erin :) There miracle son Cohen was there in his little tux and was looking adorable like always. Best wishes to Matt, Erin, and Cohen!

Meet our new nephew; Karson Allan

We love you so much already little buddy!

Such a natural :)

Uncle Brady meeting Karson

Aunt Tina meeting Karson, he's a peanut!

Nathan & Heather (Kroeze) Miller were blessed with the birth of a little boy on May 23, 2009. They named him Karson Allan, he was 5lb 10oz and 19 inches long. We went up to Marshall, MN to meet him for the first time while he was still in the hospital. He is absolutely adorable and we are so proud to be his aunt & uncle. We look forward to spoiling him :) We praise God for a healthy nephew.

Psalm 139:13-14 "For You created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Mr. & Mrs. Bosma

Troy & Laura (Kurtzleben) Bosma got married on June 6, 2009. Laura and I have been friends growing up and I was the matron of honor in her wedding. Laura was a gorgeous bride and she was so calm! It was a beautiful and elegent day. Her colors were plum and sage green. I loved the hydrangea flowers that she picked for decorations. I'm so happy for Troy & Laura as they begin their lives as a married couple.

Happy 4th of July!

This has got to be the coolest/most rainy 4th of July I ever experienced. We had fun despite the weather! Brady and I visited and stayed with Troy & Laura Bosma in Spirit Lake for a night and enjoyed seeing there new house. We also celebrated Brady & Wade's 23rd birthday by eating at Braco on the lake with Kevin & Kim Bosma, Wade & Alissa Kroeze, and Ryan & Brittany Kiel. This is the 3rd year we have gone up to the lakes over the 4th and celebrated with these friends. My favorite part of the whole trip was watching the fireworks over the lake by Arnold's park, they were beautiful. We had a great time and look forward to continuing our annual 4th of July camping trip.

"Maya Mae"

So small when we first got her, 5lbs

She fit in a Christmas stocking

My blog wouldn't be complete if I didn't include some pictures of my favorite puppy! Maya was a suprise Christmas present to me from Brady and she is a cockapoo (cocker spaniel/miniature poodle mixture). If I had to describe Maya in one word I would use the word "bold". She is adorable which is lucky for her with how naughty she is. We recently re-carpeted our master bedroom, got our living room carpets cleaned, repaired the hallway carpet, replaced the stems on my glasses, and replaced multiple rugs all thanks to Maya :) I have never met a dog that likes to chew things more than Maya does - we have not found a toy that she doesn't chew through (and eat) and she goes through raw hide bones like it's her job! We are so happy she is now fully trained and doesn't have "accidents" anymore! I really do love her and now that we bought a kennel that she sleeps in at night and stays in if no one is home with her, she is doing much better. I guess she's been a good preparation for the day we will have kids as kids are also cute but naughty and are hard on your house! Maya has a sweet personality and I love the companionship she provides.

We bought a camper!

We are so excited that we bought our first camper. It's a '97 Jayco 12 ft pop-up. Brady and I bought it locally from a couple in Sioux Center. It is a great starter camper and we can't wait to use it. It was suprising to me how much space is actually in a pop-up camper, there is a king size bed on one side and a queen size bed on the other. The couch turns into a bed that would sleep 2 adults and the table folds into a bed that would fit one small adult or a child. It has a small sink/kitchen area, but the most important feature it has (well according to me) is.... AIR CONDITIONING!!!! This is quite the upgrade from our tent. We have made reservations for Labor Day and we are also going to be camping in Yankton to celebrate my Dad's upcoming 50th birthday.

Celebrating the best year of our lives!

It's so hard to believe that a whole year has already passed since last summer when Brady and I tied the knot! Some people say the first year of marriage is the hardest, and while I do agree it's an adjustment, it has proved to be the happiest year of our lives so far. It feels so good to be settled into our own home.

As many of you know, Yankton holds a special place in both of our hearts, so we thought it appropriate to celebrate a year of marriage there. We "roughed it" in the Holiday Inn Express one night and stayed in a little cabin on the lake the second night. We had beautiful weather and a fun relaxing time of celebrating the year God blessed us with. Yankton is very special to me because my family and I spent so much time camping there while I was growing up (it's probably my favorite childhood memory)Brady knew how much I loved Yankton, so on July 14, 2007 he proposed to me on the lake while the sun was setting, what a romantic! I often say if I had to do the whole wedding over again, I would consider doing an outdoor wedding at Yankton, but I would never want to plan a whole wedding again!! Thank goodness they are good for life :) Maybe we will renew our vows there someday in the future.

I'm ending this blog with part of a prayer that is very meaningful to me. Our mothers read it during our wedding ceremony and it really speaks for itself. It reminds me that God is faithful and that I'm blessed to be celebrating one year of marriage to my best friend. May there be many more to come!

"Bless Brady and Tina, Develop there character as they walk together. Give them enough joys to keep them content. Give them enough tears to keep them tender and enough hurts to keep them humane. Give them enough successes to assure them that You are always walking with them and enough failures to keep their hands clenched tightly in Yours. May they never take each others love forgranted but but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims "Out of all this world you have chosen me." When life is done and the sun is setting, may they be found then as now; still hand in hand, still thanking God for each other. May they serve You happily and faithfully together, until at last, one shall lay the other in the arms of God. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, the great lover of our souls. Amen."

A Kroeze wedding dance tradition is to do the "alligator" as some people may know it to the song "Taking Care of Business" by BTO. We enjoyed this tradition at our wedding and I even did the entire song in my wedding dress - you can see on the video below that this involves rolling around on the ground. It was well worth it and I'm so glad we got part of it on video. Enjoy!