She is famous...sort of?

So thanks to Jen's google searching skilz...Sarah Richardson does exist--she is a designer and has her own T.V. show--she also played a clown in Stuck on You...but we won't dwell on that apparent lack of judgement on her part. Oh--she is also 36 :-)

Celebrate we will...

Scenes from a successful tailgate!

Nothing like Cool Ranch Doritos and Bud Light in the back of a mini-van!

Nothing like tailgating with a 21 year old to make you feel old and young all at the same time!

I hope Sarah Richardson is cute and not 40!

We made our journey to Alpine Valley on Saturday for the Dave Matthews Band concert--DMB for all of you up on the lingo. We arrived around 3ish and the tailgating began. We had a great spot right by the entrance...note: this is a great place to pre-concert in...but the leaving at the end...let's just say at least an hour before we even put the key in the ignition to make the trek out of the Valley!

I guess I expected to see more people "our age"....by people "our age" I give a pretty wide range but let's just say 30--45. Not so much. There were only a few times when I felt "my age"--one being when my friend Karen and I caught ourselves talking about school uniforms in the port-o-potty line and the other being when I was dumb enough to ask some random, barely 21 year old-how old he thought I was...40? was his answer. 40?! ...C'mom dude...now I know that I am 4 years and a few days from actually being 40...but 40? I use my Arbonne eye cream and enzyme peel religiously....so I guess I was hoping for at least 30? At any rate...we tailgated with the best of them....from 3 until 8:30p.m.---which means we missed the first act and walked in right when the show started. They played my favorite song "Two Step" as one of the encores and it was fabulous. During the evening some random girl walked by, bent down and was like "Are you Sarah Richardson?"..."uh nope"..."Because you look just like her" and walked away. So if any of you know Sarah Richardson or perhaps even if you don't....please tell me that she is cute and 30!

I've got...

nothin folks....the more I try to think of things to blog about the more I draw a blank...I thought maybe I should blog about the guy who came out of the bathroom at Walmart last night and went ahhhhh upon exiting....but c'mom do you guys really want to hear about some white trash guy who apparently had a rockin time in the W-mart bathroom....didn't think so.

This weekend should prove more fruitful for blog material...we have the DMB concert on Saturday night and while we enjoy that activity, the kids are going to see Water Horse on a big screen in the park with my parents and then on Sunday we are headed to the Boone Co. Fair---if that doesn't provide some good blogging material in and by itself I will be shocked...shocked!

So....stay tuned faithful readers (all 5 or so of you)...stay tuned! Do you like how I'm repeating things to make this post more interesting than it really is....do you? :-)

thoughts from the road...

• Grand Marquis cars should be outlawed for anybody but police...seriously I must have slowed down a million times only to find a 75+ age driver or as one slow down provided--a glimpse at a Taco Bell Bobble Head dog in the back window...figured I could pick up the pace as it was probably a good guess that a trooper wasn't advertising for T-Bell!
• I thought I saw Brett Favre at the Sheboygan Starbucks...but then I realized that Mr. Favre had more things to do/worry about than be at the Sheboygan Starbucks at 7:15a.m.--and I am pretty sure his wife has dark hair...this chick had blond....but for the record...if it was Brett...he held the door for me!
• Counting Crows, Coldplay, Dixie Chicks and John Denver are all good to get your song on while driving solo!
• My official favorite exit to stop while driving is the Hwy. 23 exit in Sheboygan....going up...Starbucks for an a.m. jolt of caffeine...on the way home...a slim ham and cheese from Jimmy Johns...perfect!

Like family...

For as long as I can remember Joe and Doris Kniffin have been family friends...as a little kid I remember them on Door County camping trips at Peninsula State Park , my dad and Joe leaving for Canada fishing trips--where they would come back with fishing tales and unshaven faces, sharing what seemed to be a gigantic, yellow boat with the name Strike 3, seeing them at church and family picnics. In later years--Doris and Joe would move to Door County to retire and lived about a mile from my parents--Farm Breakfasts were shared and beautiful sunset dinners on my parent's deck during our annual 4th of July vacation--even after we had kids and the dinners weren't so relaxed they would come to join our family or we would take our circus to their house.

Joe was a big guy but was as nice and down to earth as they get...he always had a funny story, a pipe and was one of the few people that while growing up I actually let call me Annie. There are some people that are such staples in your life...you may not see them for months/years at a time but time seems to stand still and you pick up right where you left off... you imagine that they will always be around--perhaps that is why I was taken by surprise when we got the news that Joe had passed this past Friday evening. Generally a trip to Door County would be anticipated with great excitement...tomorrow is the exception. Saying good bye is neither fun nor easy...Godspeed Joe.

Scenes from a Roscoe Weekend...

We had a great weekend with the Chiers and Donahue's--they made the long, boring trek from St. Louis to Illinois! We enjoyed some Stateline Area hot spots--for those of you in the know for the Roscoe area we hit the Ledges Pool, The Gun Club, The Firehouse, The Whiffle Tree and some very cute stores in Roscoe (I know...cute stores in Roscoe who knew?)--we enjoyed the rest of the time relaxing on the deck, having a bon-fire and catching up. It is so good to reconnect with good friends who remember your past (this can be good and bad ;-) and now although our lives are different--locations, jobs, kids we still enjoy spending time with each other and are always planning what our next reconnect is going to be! Thanks for making the effort--it means a lot!

What happens after your wives get a "deal" in New York after a few glasses of wine...note the excitement in Kyle's face!
Swim time at the pool!
Whiffle Tree Fun!