Hank III

My first ever concert review.

Roommates

It's been a fun few days around here because Andrea has been staying with us while she's in Reno. The specific reason she's here is because Alexya and Erron were married on Saturday. Alexya and Andrea (and Kat and Annette) were roommates in college, and Andrea and I were roommates in Yuma ... so it all comes full circle. The wedding was beautiful and we're so glad that the bride and groom included us in their day.

Alexya & Erron

Team Gabel

Dre and I

Cupcakes!!!

On Sunday, we had Kat, Matt and Derek (aka Zmoe) over for dinner, which was nice because we've been meaning to have them over ever since we moved in. We had a great time visiting, but it we all missed having Jeremy there. Later, Dre and I got to Skype with Michelle and plan out our trip to Japan. I'm so excited!

It's that time of year again ...

Q-town

On Thursday, the Rodeo started, so I worked opening night and magically had the day off on Friday, which worked out just perfectly because Lindsey was in Quincy for a wedding on Saturday and Thursday had been my Mom's birthday. I hadn't been to Quincy since last fall, and I just love being there in the summer.

I dropped Scoop off at my Mom's, and went to Pangaea to meet Amy, Beth, Lindsey and Mary Ann for lunch. It was so great catching up with some of my favorite Q-town ladies! I wish I could see them all more often.
Scoop and Mia warmed up to each other pretty quickly, and had a great time playing together most of the day.
Scoop also got to go to Gansner Park for the first time, and she just loved it.

Mom and John's house is coming along really nicely and they are hoping to be able to move in in the fall.
Finally, we celebrated Mom's birthday. She doesn't like cake much, so I baked her a loaf of lemon bread.

We had such a good time just hanging out and visiting. I'm looking forward to going back again in a couple of weeks!

D&D's visit

While Dad and Deb were here, other than take silly pictures, we also ...

Took Scoop for a walk. (Actually, Dad took her on a walk every morning when he got up - Scoop loves it when her grandparents come and spoil her!)
We all went to an Aces Game ...

And we showed Dad and Deb around town. Before the game on Saturday we went to a couple casinos downtown and tried out a new restaurant at the ballpark. On Sunday we hit a farmers market, and then went to Legends, a new shopping center where the anchor store is a 250,000 square foot Scheel's sporting goods store. Dad and Deb rode the Ferris wheel ...
We had such a great visit with them and hope they come back real soon!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far ...

Do you ever see ridiculous pictures of yours truly and wonder ... why?

Well, this weekend, I figured out where I get it from ...
Here's my Dad, posing with an off-road vehicle at Scheel's sporting goods store ...
And with the animal exhibit ...
And with a cowboy hat at the Eldorado. Deb thought we were pretty silly ...
But Chris joined in on the fun.

My First Sewing Project

Back in the Summer of 2001, my cousin Jen bought me a pair of Care Bear pajamas. I remember it was 2001, because that was the summer we went to New York together, it was both of our first time there and we had lots of fun being tourists around Manhattan. We were there for a horse race at Belmont, but we were able to also see a show on Broadway and go to the top of the Empire State Building and other fun stuff. Anyway, I'm fairly certain that Jen had some Strawberry Shortcake jammies, and got me the Care Bear ones for my birthday.

Jen and I with an NYPD officer

When Chris and I were moving into the house, I went through a bunch of clothes to give to Goodwill. I found the pajamas, which I haven't worn in years, and nearly gave them away. But then I had an idea to turn them into pajamas for Juliette. There was just one problem - I had no idea how to go about it. Luckily, Chris' mom was coming for a visit. She showed me how to pick out a pattern, how to cut it out and showed me how to sew it. It's the first time I've really used my sewing machine, and although the pajamas didn't turn out perfectly, I was pretty happy with the result. I couldn't have done it without Rita's help!

Above: the pajamas Before

Below: the pajamas After

My Dad and Deb were here this weekend (more on that soon!) and they will be delivering the pjs to Jen and Juliette this week. I sure hope they like them (and that they fit)!

Recruiting for the Pack

Last week, a friend from school who works for the University asked if I would be available for a practice shoot for a commercial they were shooting. Since I'm usually on campus working on my internship project anyway, I said sure. So, I went and, apparently, they liked me because they asked me back for the final shoot, which was this afternoon.

photo recreated after my shoot

Some people have asked me what the commercial will be used for, and I'm told it will serve as a recruiting tool online and at orientations and maybe even on TV and during athletic events. There are lots of other people that will be in it, and it will supposedly be done around the fall. To answer other questions that have been asked and will likely be asked again: I did not get paid (but I did receive a fun swag bag) and, no, I still don't know when/if the slot machine I modeled for last summer will come out. But it will be kind of fun if I see this commercial on TV or at a football game!

Even though I shoot video, this was a way higher quality shoot than what I do at the paper. It was cool to see the video set-up. They did light makeup, tested the sound, had me read my lines turned at different angles and with my hands in various places, and the main videographer showed me the program they use to edit with and how they will put many different people that were shot separately into one scene. It kinda makes me want to learn more about video and get better at it.

Go Pack!

Bachelorette Party Weekend

This weekend was Erin's bachelorette party and we did just what Erin wanted to do - spend the day at Lake Tahoe, and hang out at her house after and have a slumber party. It was a fun time with a lot of great girls!

Here's Ashley getting the cars ready for the drive to the lake.
Erin and Sandor don't have a wedding party, but Ashley, Me, Na and Sarah are the "unofficial bridesmaids" :-)

Me and the Bride-To-Be

Erin and her Unofficials

Of course, no wife of Chris Gabel's could co-host a party on the beach and not bring Baggo! My teammate Julie and I won two of two. Chris would have been proud ;-)

It was a gorgeous day on the lake, but the water of course is still freezing (we've had so much snow this year that some ski resorts were open for Memorial Day!) Afterward we hung out, had dinner and cocktails and played some games. We're excited for Erin's upcoming shower and their wedding in August!

Memorial Day Visitors

On Thursday night, I was waiting for Chris to get done working and pick his parents up at the airport. I had the time, and all the ingredients, to make this Bailey's cake that I'd seen online a day or two earlier. Even knowing I'd be making Rita a birthday cake two days later, I couldn't resist making it. And, oh my, was it delicious.

Rita and Brad got in pretty late on Thursday and on Friday Chris and I had to work at different times, but we managed to all meet up for lunch at my favorite spot, Dish Cafe. After I finished working, I met up with Rita and Brad at Louise and Bill's (Chris' aunt and uncle who live about a mile from us) and we visited and went to dinner. Saturday we threw a dinner party for Rita's birthday. I was excited to have people over and get the table all set up. Not bad for a folding table, eh? Bill and Louise came over, and so did their son Brad and his girlfriend Linda. We had a great time talking and laughing and eating.
We needn't have worried about having too much cake. Half the Bailey's cake and the entire Angel Food cake I made for Rita were gone by the end of the night. Happy Birthday, Rita!
Here's the whole gang - even Scoop!
On Sunday, Chris, Rita, Brad and I went to the Aces game. It was finally nice weather!
After the game, we took a walk downtown near the river and had a nice dinner outside.
It was really great to have Rita and Brad here for a few days and we can't thank them enough for everything they helped us do around the house! We're looking forward to seeing all the Gabels later this month in Illinois for more birthday celebrations.