Fall Foliage? Trip 2009

This year's Annual Fall Foliage Drive was a little different than year's past...mainly, it was missing the "Fall Foliage" part! We went on our drive on Saturday, October 17. We drove up to Steven's Point, WI, before heading West and then back down to Madison. We saw some small pockets of color, but unfortunately, most of Wisconsin didn't change colors until the following week. We still managed to make the best of the drive, though. Here we are at a pretty lake we found on our drive!

We also came across a corn maze and pumpkin patch that we visited last year. While we had picked a bunch of pumpkins in Sun Prairie the weekend earlier, we still managed to find a few more to add to our pumpkin family this year.

Here is Jeremy by a scarecrow. He actually didn't know that this was what a scarecrow was until this autumn! I actually had to explain to a 34-year-old how the "scarecrow" came about!

Our Blog-cation

You may have noticed we've taken a bit of a hiatus from the blog....we've been busy with life and trying to settle into our new home. We hope to better keep up with the blog as we continue to navigate all of the ins and outs of being homeowners!

Moving on Up...

...to the Eastside! You may have noticed the lack of updates lately from the Nichols blog. It's been quite the spring for us! After months of searching, multiple submitted offers, and a lot of waiting, we are finally closing on a house on June 29! The countdown has begun! I just 1 week, Jeremy and I are going to join the much coveted "Homeowners" club! While we've enjoyed our time as Westsiders, we are looking forward to our move to Sun Prairie on the eastside. We'll be cleaning and painting in the coming weeks, with the big move happening on July 18. We hope that all of our friends and family will be able to come and visit in the coming months and help to fill our new home with happiness!

Our growing circle of friends!

Yesterday, on April 21 two of my dear friends, Kim and Adam, welcomed their little girl to the world!

Welcome Paige Felicity Howard!

Congratulations!!!! We are so excited to meet Paige this summer--which can't come soon enough!

Paper Anniversary

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow. ~Author Unknown

It's been quite a year since our wedding! We have seen so many changes both in our lives and all of yours! We certainly have enjoyed celebrating of the joys of today and the memories of yesterday and are especially are excited about the hopes of tomorrow.

What a wonderful memory our wedding is, and will always be. We had such a wonderful day, due in much part to the wonderful family and friends who were there to share in our joy. We can't wait to continue sharing all of our future important events with you all!

Thank you to all who have been thinking of us, and wishing us well this weekend and the whole year through.

Birthday Celebration

On Sunday, Feb. 22, my Nephew Ian turned 4 years old!

He had a big party on Saturday to celebrate. The theme was Star Wars: Clone Wars and no detail was spared!

The card from Jeremy and me contained a Whopee Cushion...which Ian had never seen before...

When someone blew it up for Ian and he sat on it, his reaction was priceless:

Connor nabbed one of Ian's gifts--a Star Wars Light Saber!

Fun was had by all...especially the birthday boy! There was so much excitement that Connor needed to take a break with Grandpa! My sister made 3 really impressive Star Wars cakes!

Happy 4th Birthday Ian!

Bobin' our Heads...on a Saturday night!

On February 7th, we went to see Rascal Flatts (and Jessica Simpson) at the Kohl Center. Our friend Angie hooked us up with some free tickets and seats that were fantastic! Here are some pics from the show.

The concert was just a couple of days after the infamous "Jessica Simpson in fat jeans" picture came out...while we were that close, I didn't think she looked fat at all!

The stage for Rascal Flatts was the COOLEST stage I've ever seen at a concert...Here is the band's entrance from a raise platform that dropped from the sky!

The stage wrapped around the perimeter of the lower level of the Kohl Center...and all three of the guys made use of it, so there really wasn't a bad seat in the place.

Here are some close-ups when the guys were closer to us.

At the end, there was a huge balloon and ball drop...reminiscent of 80's videos...super cool!

New Cookies from the Holidays

As usual, I spent time making cookies over the holidays. Here are a couple of new ones that I thought turned out pretty cute!

The Santa cookies were quite a hit at our Holiday party this year!

Here are some cool ornate snowflakes I made in January...I was pretty please with how they turned out!

Welcome Katelyn Annabelle Hock!

Congratulations to Jeni & Ross!

Their family is bigger and happier with the addition of Katelyn Annabelle Hock.

Katelyn was born on Monday, January 5 at 11:22 pm.

We are so excited for their family!

2009...

On to bigger and better things in 2009!

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Happy New Year!

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We wish you all a wonderful year full of happiness and joy! May you follow all of your resolutions and continue to find more joy in your lives everyday! We look forward sharing more of our Lovely Day's with you all in 2009 and look forward to sharing in your's also!