Friday, July 18, 2014

Do You Believe in Miracles?

We won our summer volleyball league! The Pocket Aces won two straight matches to take home the crown {t-shirts...}. Back to back summer champs we are. This will make our end-of-the-season BBQ this Saturday so much sweeter.




Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Sweet Summertime

I love being married. As we're coming up to our one year {August 17th}, it's really caused me to reflect. It truly has been the best year of my life, hands down. Some would say that we're still just in the honeymoon stage {pessimists...I'll tell ya}, but I have a tough time agreeing with that. I still feel just as giddy as I did the first week we were married. I still get excited every time Adam opens the door when he gets home from school. I still love and smile when introducing him or talking about my 'husband'. Because I'm a wife and I have a husband. I still love that we grocery shop and meal plan together. I love our goofy humor that only we understand. I love that he loves me, even after seeing how messy my clothes can get. He's my person and I am his. I know life will only get more complex from here, but we have the kind of love that will weather new challenges with grace. The kind where we'll never stop making funny faces at each other during dinner, even if we're telling our kids to stop doing the same thing. That kind of love. One year {almost} down and countless to come.

A good friend of mine recently got married and shared a piece of advice she received. Newlyweds tend to 'whole up', go off into their little two person world and don't come up for air. It's important to make a conscious effort to keep relationships with people outside of your exclusive two-person club. That was interesting to hear, because I think Adam and I were guilty of that to a certain extent. We didn't live together before being married, so seeing each other before was always it's own activity{more or less}. Now, if it's a Friday and we're debating what to do, it's super easy to just stay in. Because we're already with each other and Netflix doesn't care if you wear pants. Okay, maybe I should re-phrase that and say Netflix doesn't care if you wear sweatpants. It's a running joke between us that we need a sign saying 'Home is Where the Pants Aren't'. As soon as we're both home, it's off with stuffy work clothes and into comfies. Anyways, back to the point. Of course we see people {we have amazing friends and family}, but to say there isn't room to improve would be a lie.

Erickson happenings. We've done a lot of fun things since the fourth weekend! Last weekend Adam volunteered with Team Smile, which is an event that offers dental care to the children of low-income families. While he was at that, I went over to my sisters house and got to spend the morning playing with my extremely cute nieces. Nate was at a charity softball tournament, so I also got some great sister time. I love that kind of time. Our volleyball team {The Pocket Aces} won our first game of playoffs last week and tonight are the finals. We have a bye to the semi-final round and could play two games in a row if we win the first. I love our volleyball team. Seriously, they're such great people. We're also hosting a BBQ on Saturday for our end-of-the-season celebration. Crossing our fingers for good weather; our 1000 sq./ft. apartment will get pretty cozy if it rains. Adam found a Groupon for a Lake Mille Lacs Fishing Excursion. We will be out on a giant fishing boat early Saturday morning {Starbucks in non-negotiable} and will hopefully come back with some walleye to grill Saturday night! Should be a busy and fun weekend.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Me oh my, it's the Fouth of July!

The Fourth of July has got to be one of my favorite holidays. I mean, traditional holidays are wonderful {don't take this the wrong way}, but how great is it to celebrate a holiday outside in the sun, around a campfire and watching fireworks? Nobody is worrying about getting each other gifts, slippery road conditions or who's bringing the stuffing. Fourth of July is purely about spending time together and being outside. We spent the fourth weekend up on Green Lake at my family's cabin in Spicer and had a complete blast. All of my family was there, with the addition our friends Mark and Molly. We did so many fun things and the weather held up for the most part! My work gave us Thursday {July 3rd} off, so I headed up to the lake Thursday morning! Adam caught a ride with a fellow dental student who's family lives on our same lake. Everyone else trickled in late Thursday night and we all got three full days together. We've had the same neighbors {older folks} on either side of our cabin for as long as I can remember. Both cabins sold to new owners this past winter and it's such a change of pace! One of our new neighbors' two young daughters were obsessed with our niece, Emeri, and followed her around all weekend {the obsession was mutual}. It was like she was their living doll. They were so kind and gentle with her, it was heartwarming to see. The weekend itself went way too fast. Why does that always happen when you're having so much fun? I wish we could slow down the clock when we're up at the cabin. We went on moped rides, walked around the craft fair, watched fire works in our front lawn, went kayaking to the Spicer castle, went to a Little Crow ski show {fun fact: my mom was on the ski team when she was younger}, played at the park with our nieces, went for boat rides, roasted marshmallows and grilled! I'd chalk that up to one successful holiday weekend. The water was so high this year! We've gotten record rainfall and it is so obvious by looking at the lake. We've raised the dock and yet the waves still come over top when the wind picks up! Another of Adam's classmates is from Spicer and his family owns the local winery {Glacial Ridge Winery}. We were able to stop by quick on Sunday for a quick tour. Very fun to see. We officially ended our weekend on the pontoon with my parents and brother, as everyone else had headed home; it was our first tubing ride of the year! So fun. I love my cabin and cherish our time there so much. Here are a bunch of pictures from our great weekend. Cheers!





Molly looking festive!

Britt and Emeri

Emeri and her best friend, Grandma


Adam and Dad 


Emeri and her bodyguards {Lily and Hannah}

Molly and I at the ski show



Dad paddle boarding


Glacial Ridge Winery 




Monday, July 7, 2014

Happy Monday.

I have so many fun things to blog about, but I'll get to that in a few days. For now, here's a nice reminder. As a person who is constantly balancing between interaction and solitude, I often remind myself that it's okay to want both. It's okay to spend an entire night getting lost in a book and it's okay to spend a whole night laughing with friends or family. It's the combination that leaves me feeling fulfilled, not simply one or the other. Tonight will be one of those quiet evenings and I can't wait.