Visitors!

I love having visitors!! Especially in Phoenix, because our house is perfect for guests and I like to think I know this town pretty well (hint: all are welcome!). One of JJ's former teammates and his beautiful wife came to town for some "unofficial organized team activities" (one benefit of this darn lockout).

They had never really been to Phoenix, so I wanted to make sure they got a great tast of what the desert has to offer. After a late night arrival Easter Sunday, we tried to let our guests sleep in a little bit. The goldens had other plans. Before I even noticed they were gone, they had rammed open the door and jumped in bed with our poor jetlagged friends first thing in the morning. Good thing they are dog people (although we don't ever really associate with people who aren't dog people).

Monday morning we went for a hike on North Mountain to show them some amazing views of the city and of course I had to take them to AJ's for lunch and iced tea after the hike. Its a Bliss tradition. The afternoon we took them on a quick driving tour and ended up in Old Town Scottsdale. We wandered around window shopping a bit before we need a chance to cool off. Lucky for us we were right in front of the Sugar Bowl, an adorable, classic ice cream/soda shop. After the afternoon sugar rush I wanted to show them the Arizona Biltmore, one of my favorite places in Phoenix. We drove the loop looking at the spectacular houses (read: mega-mansions) and then walked around the resort property. The boys couldn't pass up a chance to play with the giant chess set (JJ was victorious) and then all four of us played a game of croquet (JJ won again, of course). As the sun started to set, we headed over to Sierra Bonita for a classic Southwestern dinner. The food never disappoints.

Tuesday was a bit of a blur, JJ and I had to run around to different appointments and errands, and that was day 1 of the training activities they were in town for. We did go to the Diamondbacks game that night, and they won! Wooo!

Wednesday I had to report for jury duty (I got picked for a trial, but that's a whole different story...and possible blog post, still deciding) so we didn't get to do much that day. For dinner we went to Sun Up Brewing Co for burgers and (root) beer. They make their own, and it is fabulous!

Thursday we had the afternoon free, and made the boys take us to the Phoenix Zoo! I love the zoo, and anything slightly theme park related so it was a great way to spend the day. We even got snow cones! That night was the first round of the draft so we held a mini draft party at our house, complete with Uncle Sam's pizza and wings, a staple at our house.

The week flew by and I wish they could have stayed longer, but we are already trying to figure out when we can visit them on the east coast! God is so good, and we are so lucky to have such wonderful friends. It is crazy that even though we were only in the same place for such a short time, our connection was strong enough to last! Cheezy enough?

Just Wharried

Katie and Brian's wedding weekend was the most fun I have had in a long time. Seriously epic. I wish it could have lasted all week.

Because I wanted to maximize our time, JJ and I got into town on Thursday afternoon to explore Austin a bit. Neither of us had ever been and I hear only good (and weird) things about it. After checking in to our hotel we wandered around the area and stumbled upon Threadgill's Home Cookin' for lunch, where we both enjoyed Texas, on a plate. And then I found $10. No seriously, I'm not just making the story sound better. I found cash in the parking lot.

For dinner we went to Piranha Killer Sushi, a favorite of mine when I lived in Fort Worth. We walked around downtown for a bit and then discovered Emily's fiance Jacob was also in town and tracked him down at dinner with his family. Continuing our self tour of downtown, we wandered along 6th Street to observe the festivities. After getting plenty of tattoo and piercing ideas, we decided to pick a place for a drink. Of all the eccentric, weird, funky places on 6th Street, we ended up at The Driskill, a historic hotel with a beautiful, classic bar inside. I guess we should have tried to get a more authentic Austin experience, but I couldn't pass up drinking champagne in a beautiful old hotel bar.

The Driskill, downtown Austin

The next morning, JJ and I did something we have never done before...we went running together! JJ isn't a big distance runner (go figure), so this was a huge deal to me. I have been trying to get him to join me for a long time. Luckily Austin is a very runner friendly city, full of trails systems and parks. We stayed right on the lake downtown and we able to take advantage of the Lady Bird Lake Trails. We ran and walked about 5.5 miles total. It was a gorgeous day and the trail was full of runners, dogs, bikers and kids. For lunch we went to one of my favorite places in the world, Central Market...a must visit anytime I am in Texas.

Friday night was the wedding, at The Mansion at Judges' Hill. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony and the weather was perfect. We had a sunset cocktail hour on the balcony overlooking where the ceremony had been, and then dinner and dancing in a gorgeous ballroom. It makes me so happy to see my friends marrying someone they were clearly meant to be with forever.

Katie and Brian's first married kiss

Theta Kite

As wonderful as the wedding was (and it was), the real madness began after the reception. It started innocently enough with a conversation with one of Katie's cousins from Chicago, who had never been to Texas. He was asking about where everyone was heading for the after parties and I mentioned the name of the bar where everyone was gathering. The exchange went like this...

Me: I think everyone is headed to a place called Union Park.

Awkward Cousin: Oh great...is that in a safe area?

Me: Um...I would assume so, but you should be fine. You'll be with a big group.

Awkward Cousin: Oh that's good. Its no big deal anyway...I'm packin'.

Me: That's cool, it is Texas after all. I guess everyone has a gun.

Awkward Cousin: awkward blank stare

Me: Oh...um...did you mean pepper spray? That would work too.

Awkward Cousin: No. I meant my penis.

Me: ...

That pretty much ended the conversation and I didn't see him at the bar later.

There were several other highlights of the evening. One (female) friend, accidentally tried to pick up a (female) hooker and then wandered off with another group of girls she thought was with us. Another friend spent a fair amount of time resting in the bar bathroom, then fell asleep on the couch in the lounge. JJ and I took her her back to the hotel and had a lengthy conversation about how she shouldn't take allergy medicine before a night of drinking, she did not remember that the next morning.

I love my friends.

Saturday everyone met for lunch at Cedar Door, where they had the best fish tacos and chips and salsa. Next we all headed to Lake Travis where we rented boats and spent the evening on the water. The water was chilly but I think I was the only one who didn't get in. The homes around the lake were gorgeous and I had so much fun taking in the scenery.

Katie and Brian (and their parents) did a fantastic job of hosting everyone for the weekend. JJ and I were so lucky to be part of the celebration and I loved seeing JJ get to interact with my college friends. I think he is finally accepted as an honorary TCU Theta. (Brian earned that distinction a long time ago after he took on all those sister wives).

Georgia on My Mind

Last weekend JJ and I went to Georgia to go to the wedding of two of our friends from Charlotte and spend time with his cousin Courtney. We flew into Atlanta on Friday and went out to dinner with Courtney in Buckhead. I had been hearing about Seasons 52 for a long time, so we decided to try it. YUM! Their menu changes with the seasons in addition to the weekly specials and everything on the menu is under like 475 calories. Talk about guilt free dining. We had such a great meal and so much fun catching up. Because we weren't done catching up, after diner we went to Pub 71 in the Brookhaven area for beers. There is nothing like spending time with family you don't get to see very often. So fun!

The next morning we drove east to Woodville for the wedding. I had checked MapQuest the night before and saw that it was about 90 miles away, mostly on I-20, so I figured it would take about an hour and a half. That morning we got a bit of a late start and when I plugged it in to the GPS, it gave us an estimated drive time of 2 hours and 10 minutes...getting us into town about 10 minutes after the ceremony was to start. OOPS! Luckily, my original estimation was correct. I guess the GPS didn't take into account our slightly above the speed limit driving skills.

The wedding was in the bride's hometown at the church her grandfather helped build. It was a sweet little small town Baptist church about 3 doors down from the bride's parents house. The ceremony was beautiful, so relaxed and classic. To give you an idea of how relaxed the groom was, he was hanging out in the church snacking and making jokes with the guests moments before the ceremony started. No cold feet for this man. One of the highlights was when one of the groom's friends sang a song he wrote for the couple (he wrote it earlier in the week). The song was beautiful and funny at the same time. What a great idea :)

The brunch reception was held and her parent's house, a beautiful Southern home that belongs in a magazine. We had mimosas out on the front lawn and spent time catching up with all of our friends from Charlotte. The whole weekend made me miss our Charlotte friends and living in the South. Don't get me wrong we love Phoenix, but I just miss Charlotte so much!

After the wedding we drove back to Atlanta. We headed over to Hudson Grill, right around the corner from Courtney's house, to watch the NCAA tournament. All of our brackets were pretty much shot by then, but it was still fun to watch. We had a great dinner and fun drinks. They had a combo beer selection so I chose a Purple Helmet, a mixture of Blue Moon and Purple Haze. Beer perfection.

The next morning we slept in and went to brunch at The Flying Biscuit Cafe. Even though it is an Atlanta original, it is one of my favorite breakfast places in Charlotte. If you come visit us, you can count on going. We also took Courtney's dogs for a walk in the neighborhood, walking by some beautiful homes and a cute shopping/restaurant area. The pups loved it!

Got to love the South and seeing family and friends all in one trip. Someday soon we will be making our way back for an extended period of time...just as soon as this silly NFL lockout gets itself worked out.

California Loooove

This October I will get my first shot at bridesmaid duties at Emily and Jacob's wedding in Fort Worth (Another excuse to go back to Texas? Yes please!). The festivities kicked off over St. Patrick's Day weekend in San Jose, CA with the first bridal shower. The MOH, Robin, and I flew out for a much needed girl's weekend. JJ and a few of his buddies took the opportunity to have a boy's weekend in Vegas...yea. Needless to say our weekends were COMPLETELY different, but that's a whole different story.

We left straight from the airport and headed to the Santa Cruz mountains for wine tasting! We stopped off at a little grocery store/deli in Fulton, CA to pick up a picnic lunch to enjoy at the first winery. Hallcrest Vineyards was a beautiful place to start the weekend. We sat at a picnic table on the patio, taking in the breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and vines, sipping wine. Their Sauvignon Blanc was fabulous, if you are looking to try something new. Next we headed to the Burrell School Winery for another tasting and dessert. Again, another fabulous view of the mountains and vines from the patio. They had great blends with fun school-themed names. My favorites were the Dean's List Cab, Spring Break blend, and Sweethearts blend.

That night was the St. Patrick's celebration at a bar near Santa Clara with Emily's law school friends. I loved all of the law school kids that we met...with the exception of one. I won't go there but the night ended with me covered in green beer, having to drag a drunken fool of a boy out to the bouncer after he groped just about every female in the bar. #can'ttouchthis

Not only does he dump beer on people and grope innocent females,

he ruins pictures too. EPIC FAIL

The next day I went for a run around the campus and took advantage of the nice weather, before the rain came. We drove to San Francisco for an overnight trip and luckily the rain stopped mid-afternoon so we could enjoy the rest of our time there. We had a yummy Italian lunch, then went to a wine bar to share a bottle of champagne. I think we were in an area called Soma? Next, we went to Ghiradelli Square to Crown and Crumpet (where JJ and I visited last year on our Valentine's Day trip) for tea and scones. This place is much more fitting for a girl's weekend, poor JJ had to tolerate the pink and lace. We headed over to Chinatown/North Beach to check into out hotel (S&W Hotel was a great deal for what we got). We did a tea tasting at Vital Tea Leaf, then went to happy hour until it was time for our dinner reservations in Little Italy. After dinner we wet out to a few of the bars, where we happened to see the guy who played McLovin in Superbad. He was playing drums for the live band. Sometime during the night while Robin and I were busy dancing, Emily snuck out for some fresh air and was joined by members of what I can only assume was the Latin Kings (gang), complete with tear drop tattoos near the eyes. They were surprisingly pleasant. Also, at some point a black man asked me to teach him how to Dougie. I did. Jokes on him though...I had no idea what I was doing, but he believed it.

Tea tasting man

After all of our activities, it was finally time for the bridal shower on Saturday. Each guest was assigned a room of the house to buy a gift for. Robin and I were assigned the BEDROOM. Woo hoo hooooo, scandalous! Just kidding, we will save those kinds of gift for the bachelorette party. We collaborated and came up with a "Breakfast in Bed" theme for our gift. Tea pot, matching mugs, breakfast tray with legs, and a bud vase. We also made a recipe book with fun breakfast foods and drinks that were super easy so Jacob has no excuses not to use our wonderful gift...no pressure Jacob!

My favorite picture of the weekend!

Next wedding festivity on the agenda is the Bachelorette party in New Orleans. Watch out Louisiana. You won't know what hit you :)

PAO 2011

This was our second year at PAO, and as great as last year's conference was, his one was even better. Both JJ and I learned so much about ourselves, each other and our faith. What a blessing to be surrounded by others in the NFL who share the same beliefs and values.

There were several amazing speakers, who each could have individually carried the conference, so it was amazing to hear from all of them back to back. Simply incredible. If you nee any ideas to spice up your week, try downloading sermons or reading the books of any of these speakers.

Dave and Ann Wilson were back again to talk about marriage and the different needs of men and women in relationships. They are hilarious and open your eyes to the needs of your spouse.

Miles McPhearson is a former NFL player who is the pastor at The Rock church in San Diego. The focus of his message was to put your faith into action and "Do Something" in your community.

Dr. Tony Evans is a pastor at Oak Cliff in Dallas, TX and a very well known speaker. He focused on educating us about the Biblical roles of men and women in the family, and the roles of the family in the church and community. I have already read two of his books and can't wait to get started on the next!

Francis Chan is another well known pastor from California and his recent book Crazy Love is an awesome tool to help people see how amazing God's love is. Also, try to pick up Forgotten God if you need more to read.

We met some incredible couples from other teams and were able to reconnect with our friends from Charlotte. It is so nice to expand our NFL circle of friends and it didn't hurt that the conference was is Orlando, which is close to family and of course...Disney World. LOVE IT. But more on the rest of our Florida trip is in the next posts.

Super Bowl Weekend

Yes. The Super Bowl was like FOREVER ago. But the off-season has gotten the best of me and I have been too busy having fun and failed miserably at documenting it all.

Its not like I ever need an excuse to go back to Fort Worth, but what a perfect opportunity to head back to the Lone Star state and see our friends. We were lucky enough to stay with Katie, Brian and Ringo in downtown Fort Worth, within walking distance of all the festivities. Too bad Jerry Jones ticked off the weatherman and Snopocalypse 2011 dumped all over the state, shutting everything down for the entire week leading up to the game. Luckily the TCU bookstore was open and I was able to purchase enough merchandise to keep myself clothed in purple indefinitely.

We still managed to have lots of fun, despite the arctic temperatures and ice (no wonder Green Bay won, they felt right at home). The night before the game we went to a party in honor of one of our best friends who still plays for the Pack. We finally got to meet their baby boy who was almost 6 months by then. Sooooo precious!!! I was tempted to steal him and take him home, but JJ reminded me they knew where we lived and I would most likely get caught and potentially ruin the friendship. In the end I decided against it.

The next day we hosted a Super Bowl party at Bobby's parent's house, even though they had made other plans to watch at a friend's house. Yes, they are THAT nice. We bought enough Fuzzy's and Potbelly's food to feed about 40 people. Good thing all 8 of us brought our game faces.

Throughout the weekend, we also got to spend time with Maggie, Mackenzie, Geoff, Emily and Jacob. We are so blessed to have so many good friends in DFW...makes me want to move back someday...

ROSE BOWL :)

After a fantastic series of events that led to the Chancellor of TCU getting me Rose Bowl tickets after they were sold out, I ended up in Pasadena to see my beloved Frogs take on the Badgers. I heart TCU!

I arrived in LA after an EARLY morning flight out of Atlanta the morning after the concert. Three hours of sleep was the price I had to pay to do it all, but it was well worth it! Carolyn met me in LA to go to the game. We grabbed an amazing lunch in Santa Monica at Huckleberry Cafe and then headed to the game. Because my flight had been delayed and lunch took a little longer than expected, we were some of the LAST people to make it into the stadium after the long walk through the golf course/parking lot. We did make it in time to see Paula Deen do the coin toss though! Needless to say, the game was AMAZING! I was so proud of TCU and the way they played and even more proud of Gary Patterson and Andy Dalton's interviews after the game. Class acts.

After finally maneuvering our way out of Pasadena after the game (not an easy task) Carolyn and I went to a seafood dinner at The Lobster at the Santa Monica Pier. We finished the night at our friends' apartment to play the Game of Things (we played the poor man's version...i cut up strips of paper and made up our own topics because we didn't actually have the game, haha). Hilarious as always.

The next day we had big plans to hike up to the Hollywood sign, but the rain put a damper on that. We did however head over to Fab Hot Dogs for lunch (a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network). I had the Fab Dog because I was not bold enough to try the Ripper. It just sounded like too much to handle, haha. Because the rain didn't let up, we drove around Beverly Hills and then window shopped on Rodeo Drive in our wet, would-be hiking clothes. Total tourist move, but oh well we had fun! For dinner we tried to go to Gjelina but they didn't have a table big enough to fit out large group so we ended up going to Ketchup in West Hollywood. Great food, the mac and cheese was awesome. After dinner we met Leigh for drinks at O'Brien's back in Santa Monica. Love seeing my long distance friends.

We didn't have much time the next day before leaving but we did frolic on the beach in Santa Monica and play on the swing set. We grabbed a fantastic lunch at the Santa Monica Seafood Company on the way out of town. The cioppino was out of this world. Seriously. Go try it.

It was a total whirlwind trip, but so much fun. I got to catch up friends from high school and college, watch an amazing football game, spend time with my sister and taste some of the great food LA has to offer. Wins all around (unless you are a Wisconsin fan, sorry).

Christmas Recap

We had Christmas in several stages this year, which is fine for me! I would personally like to see Christmas and gift giving extended for weeks. It is just too much hard work and preparation for it all to be over after one day.

My family was out the week before Christmas for the Cardinals game so we had stage 1 with them. Our traditions with my family include a Secret Santa gift exchange and White Elephant extravaganza. My family has quite a weird sense of humor so White Elephant is always quite entertaining. Some highlights from this year:

1. Carolyn opening up a "shake weight" courtesy of JJ (you will appreciate this much more if you have ever watched the shake weight commercial...in slow motion...with friends...after a beer or two)

2. Me opening up a headlamp a la the Chilean Miners 2010, courtesy of my dad (this is even funnier because the theme of last year's Bliss Christmas ended up being flashlights and everyone got one...thanks mom for making sure we are all covered in case of emergency)

3. My dad emptying out all the cash in his wallet and throwing it in with all of his gifts...you could end up with $20 dollars, like my sister and JJ, or $0.57 like me, thanks daddy

Christmas day was fabulous because JJ had 3 days off, which never happens. They always have to go in on Christmas. We slept in, JJ made pancakes, we baked cookies for friends and opened our gifts to each other. JJ did a fabulous job this year and got me a black, quilted leather Michael Kors bag. I love it. I got him a weekend at the Arizona Biltmore Resort with couples golf lessons and dinner at the Wrigley Mansion. Yes, it is just as much of a gift for myself as it is for JJ. :) We opened gifts with JJ's parents via Skype and had lots of fun. Everyone is invited to our house to play xbox Kinect and enjoy our new grill!

We went to mass on Christmas Eve and had dinner with friends and then had Christmas lunch at their house as well. Of course we had to bust out Apples to Apples after we ate. That night we went to another friend's house and had a great meal and lots of fun playing games with them and their kids. We learned how to play Monopoly Deal, so fun! It has all the fun parts of Monopoly without all the waiting around.

We were reminded again how blessed we are to have such wonderful family and friends. God is so good to us! Hope your Christmases were full of love and fun with people you care about.

Thankful!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving week it was at the Jansen house this year! We were blessed with visits from JJ's Aunt and Uncle from Atlanta the weekend before and his parents the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Always nice to see family around the holidays! Their visits overlapped just long enough for everyone to be able to go to the game on Sunday.

While JJ's parents were here we went to Mimosa Grill in uptown. JJ met the executive chef a while ago and he had been encouraging us to come down and visit him at the restaurant. Oh. My. Goodness. The food was amazing! From the appetizers all the way to dessert, it was delicious. So many good flavors and very reasonably priced for what you get. If anyone in Charlotte has a date night coming up I would HIGHLY recommend trying it out. You won't be disappointed.

Thanksgiving morning Allison (who was nice enough to come down from Winston-Salem with Annie, Barney's favorite bulldog friend) and I did the 5 mile Turkey Trot. It was cold and a little rainy, but we both really enjoyed it. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and cooking while JJ was at practice. I have to admit, I cheated this year and bought the Turkey from Fresh Market already cooked. All I had to do was re-heat it. And we split up the sides between all our guests, so it was a wonderful stress-free day for everyone.

Side note, I was able to witness Allison's successful attempt at making vegetarian gravy. And I have to admit it tasted pretty darn good. Not that I am switching over to the dark side any time soon. Nope, can't do without Big Daddy's Burger Bar. Not only did Al standout with her meatless plate of food, she stood out as the only USC alumn in a room full of Notre Dame kids (minus me, but I still kind of count because I married into the cult). Needless to say, some bets were wagered on the upcoming game...ND picked a good year to beat SC! JJ will be cashing in his free fro-yo next time Allison is in town.

After dinner, we finished the night off by playing a few rounds of The Game of Things. My favorite game ever. If you like Apples to Apples, you will love this game. Pretty much any time we have a large group of people over we end up playing this game, it never fails in providing lots of entertainment and humor. What a good night!

So in summary...Thanksgiving=Good food, good friends and lots of fun

Boys Will Be Boys

To balance out the estrogen overflow from the previous weekend, we invited some of JJ's college teammates and his dad out for the game this weekend.

Entertaining boys is waaaaaay different than entertaining girls. With my girlfriends in town, I took a lot of time trying to figure out cute restaurants to try and trendy bars to enjoy. I bought a few new conversation starter games (the Girls Night Out Box of Questions, obviously), sparkling wine, several different kinds of snacks, etc. You know, to set the right mood for lots of laughs and good conversations.

With the boys, I opened up a bag of tortilla chips and a package of guacamole, turned the TV on to ESPN, and sat back.......and did my best to ignore the additional scratching and burping.

Maybe I am over-simplifying things a little, but not really. Guys don't really need much as long as there is a football game on. (I lost count of how many college/NFL games we ended up watching)

Between games, we did go out to eat at Big Daddy's, 131 Main, Phat Burrito, and Mac's Speedshop. I had forgotten how good the BBQ is at Mac's, I will definitely be taking my dad there when my family comes out to visit in October.

It was fun to see these guys again and I really enjoyed their company at the game. Good company makes sitting through a loss in the wind and rain much more bearable.

Hurricane Theta

The effects of Hurricane Theta were felt starting Thursday afternoon, but it didn't make full landfall until Friday when the slowpoke of the group finally arrived. I know you must be enjoying the Weather Channel metaphor, but I can't take credit. That was all Robin.

Four of my favorite sorority sisters came to visit to catch up on girl talk and watch a football game, a nice balance if you ask me. Mackenzie, Robin, Emily, Leigh and I have started a semi-annual reunion schedule since we all graduated from TCU. So far we have been able to plan reunions around bachelorette parties, weddings, and TCU bowl games. This reunion was somewhat random, but it had been about 9 months since we were all together in Phoenix for the Fiesta Bowl.

After the whole crowd arrived on Friday night, we went out to dinner at Good Food on Montford, a swanky neighborhood tapas-inspired restaurant. JJ was living the life, sitting at a table surrounded by 5 beautiful women. After dinner, JJ was kind enough to drop us off downtown so we could re-live our bar hopping days of college. (This was a bit of a stretch for some of us, who are usually in bed by 11, but worth it for the fun factor). We started at Ri Ra, an Irish pub, where we were the youngest by 20 years. We took advantage of the many beers on tap, and then headed out to find the cool kids. JJ and I aren't really up on the Charlotte bar scene (or any bar scene for that matter) so I told the girls we were just going to have to wing it. We followed the crowds until we came across Connolly's on 5th, another Irish pub. Based on the outdoor patio, the music they were playing, and the fact that every person going in or out looked like they walked straight out of a j. crew catalog we new we had found the right place. No creepers here (well I guess there were a few, but that is just a given at any bar)! We ended the night at BlackFinn, where the creepers were out in full force. Don't worry, I enlisted the help of 2 big guys, who looked totally out of place and kept rolling their eyes at the weird guys that kept circling my friends. We found out they were from Iowa. Obviously they were good people if they come from God's Country.

Most of Saturday was spent recovering from Friday and watching college football, but we did make it to Terrace Cafe for brunch and a few of us took Barney for a walk on the nature trail behind our house. That night we popped a bottle of champagne and played a few rounds of the Game of Things (best game ever, if you don't own it go out and get it before your next group gathering). Emily took this opportunity to ask us all to be her bridesmaids, which was quite exciting!! This will be my first time in that role and I will be happy to return the favor after she did such a great job for my wedding. Emily also shared with us the bridesmaid dresses she had selected for us...Robin came out modeling a hideous tight red quinceanera looking dress with reflective sequins all over. It took us about 2.5 seconds before we all realized this was a joke. Nice try Emily, we all know you have better taste then that! To celebrate (as if we weren't "celebrating" all weekend) we went to dinner at The Wine Shop at Foxcroft and the ended the night with fro-yo at Yoforia and a drink at Selwyn Avenue Pub.

Sunday was game day! We had breakfast at Eddie's Place (where the waiters always recognize JJ, haha) and then headed to the stadium. It was terribly hot and our seats were on the sunny side. After about 2 minutes I gave up and took the grls over to the shade side and sweet talked the usher into letting us sit there until the real ticket holders showed up. Luckily they never did, so the game was much more bearable...minus the loss. After the game we went to Red Rocks for dinner and then came home and played Apples to Apples.

Everyone else left on Monday morning, so Leigh and I had the rest of the day to enjoy SouthPark Mall (she was going through Nordstrom's withdrawals living in Omaha) and getting pedicures. The perfect way to end a girly weekend.

It makes me so happy to have these girls in my life, and it is always so much fun to catch up on their (totally exciting and successful) lives. Can't wait for our next trip! Is it too early to start planning our Vegas trip for Emily's Bachelorette??? No? I didn't think so either :)

** Also, next time ladies we need to do a better job of taking pictures!

Baby Shower

The main reason for our trip to Green Bay was to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Crosby! I really wanted to throw a baby shower for Molly and Mason and was so happy that it all worked out!

Seeing as how this was my first time to hostess a baby shower, I really wanted it to turn out well. I decided to make it a couples shower so Mason could be involved, and I thought it would make it more interesting. We had drinks and dessert and played a few games. I was really proud of the games I came up with because they seemed like fun ways to keep both men and women entertained.

For the first game, we blindfolded Mason and made him try to identify 4 different types of baby food. I tried to be nice, by picking reasonable flavors, but they were still pretty terrible tasting according to Mason. He was 3 of 4, the only one he missed was Mac and Cheese.

As a reward for playing along with the first game, the second game involved trying to drink an entire beer out of a baby bottle. Mason had to compete against his brother, Rees, and JJ. The bottle lasted about 30 seconds before the boys took the tops off and just chugged the beers. So funny to watch!

For decorations, I tried to figure out something that I could put together ahead of time that would pack easily. I came up with what is probably the most creative thing I have ever come up with. If you can't tell, I am quite proud of myself. I had some help from Carla coming up with the logistics and the execution.

I bought a bunch of onesies, bibs, socks, burp clothes, and sleepers in fun colors and then took clothes line and wooden clothes pins and hung everything up around the room. That way, the decorations doubled as part of the gift! Look how resourceful I am!!




The shower was a success if I do say so myself, and I can't wait to meet the little one soon!

Wisconsin

In the final days before training camp, we took a trip up to Wisconsin to visit the Crosbys and enjoy some much needed cooler weather. It was a great excuse to visit our friends and spend time with them before the baby is born.

We all went up to Door County with the dogs to explore for a day. Wine tasting at Stone's Throw Winery was a great way to start off our little road trip. Next, we took the dogs to Whitefish Dunes State Park and played in Lake Michigan for the rest of the afternoon. It was so much fun to watch the dogs play in the water.


Mason was able to set up a round of golf for the guys at Whistling Straits. The course was in amazing shape two weeks before the PGA Championship. I have never seen a course like it. Molly and I walked the front 9 with the guys and then headed off to explore the town of Kohler, home of The American Club and the Kohler Design Center. Both the resort and the design center were fantastic. If you are ever in Wisconsin, Kohler is worth a trip. After the boys finished the back 9, we went to lunch at a great restaurant, Field to Fork, in Sheboygan.



We had such a wonderful time exploring Wisconsin and spending time hanging out around the house with the Crosbys. We are just so excited for the new addition to the family to get here!

East Coast Adventures: DC

July was an absolute whirlwind of travel all up and down the East Coast. We explored amazing cities, spent time with friends and family, went to baseball games, and finally took advantage of living on the East Coast.

First Stop, Washington, DC! There are thousands of reasons to visit DC, (like the White House, the Capitol, countless museums, historic sites, monuments...the list goes on and on) but my main reson for coming was to see Robin and meet her new boyfriend Dan. (Side note: Dan passed all my tests and has been officially welcomed into the circle of trust. And another bonus, now that I have met him I can comment on all of his facebook posts with feeling like a super creep!)

Back to our travels...we stayed downtown at the Renaissance, right by the Chinatown Metro stop (great location for seeing all the sights). Our first day was spent getting the official Robin and Dan tour of the city. We saw all the big stuff and then decided to cool off for a bit in the American History Museum. The coolest thing was saw was the original Star-Spangled banner. It was waaaay bigger than i thought it would be. That night we had a fabulous dinner at PS7 near our hotel.

We eventually got closer, but this was our first view of the Capitol

The Washington Monument

On the 4th of July we hopped on the metro and headed to the Nationals game. Both JJ and I love baseball (JJ much more than me, but I love going to the games), and one of our goals is to see a game in every major league stadium. We are currently at 4 of like 30? Baby steps...

Nationals Park, check!

So glad I was with Robin when she got to meet her favorite from the President's Race

After the game, we bought a picnic dinner and drinks and sat out on the Mall to watch the fireworks. I would post some pictures, but it was so hot and we were all sweaty and none of the pictures are remotely flattering. Despite the sweltering heat, it was an awesome experience to celebrate the 4th in our nation's capital.

Before we got on the train to Philadelphia the next day, we spent some time at the Air and Space Museum. It was pretty cool, but I don't think I appreciated it nearly as much as my dad or dad-in-law would have!

It was a great trip, but not enough time to experience it all. Robin and I are already planning on me coming out again to get beyond a lot of the typical touristy stuff and get to see all of the things she has discovered as a local. I hope she's ready for another visit :)

Playing Catch Up!

Oops! I guess its been a while since I last wrote anything. Where to begin...?

The last thing I wrote about was NASCAR, and I'm sure it was what everyone was dying to read about. What I forgot to mention was the week before the race JJ and a few other teammates got to participate in the Pit Crew Challenge. All the guys had different jobs (JJ was pre-assigned the role of Gas Man...ironic, no?) and they had to compete against other "crews" made up of people from all the local news stations. It was really fun to watch and see what the real pit crews do, and I got to sit in one of the cars. After I spent about 5 minutes wedging myself in through the window (no doors on these cars), working my way around the steering wheel I started to panic wondering how on earth I was going to get myself out, if it was that difficult to get in. That's about the time that Tyler came over and showed me how to remove the steering wheel. that would have been good to know before I started.

Memorial Day weekend we had house guests, the newly engaged Katie and Brian. They were in town for a wedding, and we got to play during their down time. It worked out perfectly! Barney was not happy when they left though. He and Brian developed quite a special bond, and Barney decided that just JJ and I were no longer good enough. Glad we got to celebrate their engagement with a night out in Charlotte. We went to Mama Ricotta's for dinner (a-ma-zing), Strike City for bowling and then Blackfin for drinks. Katie also got me hooked on a new drink, sweet tea vodka with water and lemon. Nothing screams "I live in the South!" like sweet tea vodka. Thank you Firefly for this delicious invention.

One of the wives on the team had an 80's themed birthday party so JJ and I had an excuse to get all dressed up. It brought back great memories of living in the Theta House, scrambling to put together a great outfit the day of the event. I will say this, it was SHOCKINGLY easy to put together an 80s outfit browsing the racks at Target. I really could have made 10 outfits! I guess fashion is cyclical. The party was complete with an 80s ipod playlist, a magician, and TAB soda. We had so much fun. The best part was seeing all the outfits, I was quite impressed with the creativity of our friends.

I think that is all for now. I am going through my camera trying to remember what has been going on for the last month. I will come up with more tomorrow.

Quail Hollow

Sometimes life is all about who you know, and oh boy do we know some really cool people. One of JJ's teammates and his girlfriend know several players/caddies on the PGA tour, so when the tour came to town we got to know some of them too!

On Thursday, we walked the course, saw all of her friends play/caddie and enjoyed perfect weather. I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon. Usually, I will use any excuse to be outside.

As, great as Thursday was, Sunday was even better. One of their caddie friend's didn't make the cut, so he had Saturday and Sunday off. He graciously spent his day off giving us the pro experience at the tournament. I won't lie, I felt pretty big time when we drove up and used the player and caddie valet right at the clubhouse (it sure as heck beat using the shuttle buses or walking a mile or two in the crazy southern humidity).

Yes, feeling big time was cool, but probably the best part was listening to our new caddie friend (I don't use names to protect the innocent) explain what each player was probably thinking during their shots. I am no golf expert, so being with one made the day far more interesting. There is so much strategy involved! We got to hear funny stories about some of the other guys on tour, and understand what life on tour is like. He even pointed out a few of the players' wives who were walking the course like the rest of the general public. (I am always curious what it is like to be married to professional athletes in other sports. Well to be honest, I am always curious to see what they wear too, haha)

So a good day was had by all. We learned a lot and I will never look at a caddie the same way again. They do so so so much more than just carry the bags.

Gone Fishing

Yes, I know the correct form is Gone Fishin, but I believe that only true outdoorsy, real fishermen type people should be allowed to say that. And JJ and I are not that type.

When Hunter (I mean seriously, even his name is outdoorsy) called to invite us fishing, we actually had to ask him what we should wear. His response? "Oh that's cute." After being told we could just wear jeans and t-shirts, I looked at JJ and explained that I don't own outdoorsy jeans and no, I would not be wearing my Michael Kors jeans to go fishing. I settled on yoga pants and a grey t-shirt (to make JJ feel more comfortable). JJ wore the only pair of jeans he owns and his Dunder Mifflin 5K shirt (if you know what I am referring to, we will be best friends for life).

We headed south on 77 to South Carolina and met Hunter and Jordan at the bait shop. I'm not going to lie to you, the bait shop was an experience all in itself. The parking lot was full of old pickup trucks and camouflage. And in case I was at all confused as to what type of people frequented this store, a man wearing a shirt emblazoned with the word "Redneck" strolled out the front door. Needless to say, the yoga pants did not fit in.

After awkwardly wandering around the snack section of the bait shop while waiting for Hunter and Jordan to pick out what we would needed (because we didn't know what to look at) we headed out to the pond. The pond is on the property of a friend of a friend who has over 100 acres outside of Rock Hill, SC. It is a beautiful property and very relaxing being out in the country like that.

Hunter handed JJ and I fishing poles and taught us how to cast and then set me up with minnows for bait. As much as I was trying to really get into this, I just couldn't handle putting the minnows on the hook. I'm not so much a fan of handling live fish (or birds, or bugs, or reptiles...).

We spent about an hour without much action, but finally Hunter got a bite and let me reel it in. Pretty exciting for a fishing newbie. I kind of gave up after that because I achieved my goal (touching the fish) and my arm was getting tired and I had lost the original minnow on my hook and didn't want to deal with putting another one on and I was more interested in watching the beaver that was swimming in the pond about 50 yards away. (Does that sound like enough excuses?) I was actually a lot happier just enjoying view and the weather sitting in the grass.

Even though I have been making fun of it a little, we both had a really good time. It doesn't get much better than good company and new experiences in my opinion. We'll see if they invite us back again...

Saturday Night

Saturday afternoon we got a call from Charley telling us there would be a black SUV waiting outside of our house at 8:00. That would have been a creepy voice mail had it not been his birthday.

At 8 we hopped in the SUV and headed towards uptown to pick up Charley, Courtney and Jordan for a night on the town. We started the evening at Nikko, a sushi restaurant in South End. This restaurant is super trendy and really more of a club atmosphere with music bumping and Dj spinning.

We walked in and quickly realized we had entered a cougar den. Now to be fair, not all the women were old enough to be cougars, but they were definitely on the prowl. Courtney and I warned Jordan to stay close for fear that the cougars would try to isolate him from the herd and pounce. We were able to safely navigate through the treacherous bar area to our table without losing him. Little did we know the biggest threat would arrive in the form of our waitress...the Queen cougar.

It started out harmless. A pat on the back to get his attention for his drink order. A playful squeeze on the arm after a joke about her boyfriend being out of town. But then it went downhill. After she gathered up our plates from the first round of sushi, we asked her for another pen to order more. Seeing her hands were full, she gestured to the pen in her waitress pouch around her waist. So I reached over to grab the pen. As I'm reaching she basically makes a 180 degree turn towards Jordan so he can be the one to make a grab for it. Taking one for the team, I basically had to jump out of the booth to get to the pen. No, that wasn't awkward at all. No more than 5 minutes later while Jordan was mid-bite he defied all odds and ended up poking our waitress in the boob with his chopsticks. She just happened to walk around the corner to check on our table at the exact moment his chopsticks were poised in the perfect position for getting to second base...Japanese style. No worries, we all had a good (awkward) laugh until she was out out of earshot and then really had fun with it.

After the antics at dinner we were all in a goofy mood and headed to uptown to go bowling at Strike City. Unfortunately there was a two hour wait to get a lane so we settled for having drinks in the bar area. No more then two minutes after ordering the first round, we all watch in slow motion as a waitress trips and spills a drink all over the back of our birthday boy. It was dark so none of us were sure what exactly had just happened, but as soon as he stands up we realized his shirt was now a nice Merlot color. Nothing like a ruined shirt to liven the mood at your birthday celebration! We did end up getting half off our drinks for the rest of the night and they offered to pay for a replacement shirt, so the evening wasn't ruined.

All in all a fun night on the town. I just wish Courtney didn't have to go back to Texas the next day. The boys are so much more fun to be around when she is there too!

PAO

What an amazing weekend! We just got back from Dallas after enjoying a few days at the Pro Athlete Outreach conference. I think it would compare to FCA (we didn't have Fellowship of Christian Athletes in high school, so I'm just going by what I've been told) for grown ups. We had amazing speakers and workshops, two incredible worship bands and an awesome time bonding with teammates and their wives. The Panthers were well represented with 14 players and their wives, I think the most of any team. We also got to see some of our friends from the Packers and some old Notre Dame teammates

All of the speakers offered incredible insights and really made you put your own life in perspective. If anyone is interested in adding some Biblical education to your life, I would highly recommend looking up Dr. Voddie Baucham. He is a pastor at a Baptist church in Houston, and is probably one of the most intelligent pastors I've ever heard speak. His knowledge of the Bible just makes you want to learn more.

One of my favorite speakers for the weekend was Priscilla Shrier of Going Beyond Ministries. She is from Dallas and has a gift for touching the lives of everyone who listens to her speak. She spoke twice, once to just the women, and I was really moved by her sermon about the seasons of life and trying to enjoy where you are currently as opposed to trying to rush through the difficulties to get on to the next stage of life.

The chaplain for the Detroit Lions and his wife, Dave and Ann Wilson, spent three sessions talking about marriage (the keys to a successful marriage, conflict resolution, and sex in marriage). Their openness and honestly was so helpful and made for great discussion even after they were done speaking. If your itunes needs a spiritual boost check out Anthony Evans and Michael Boggs. Both are incredibly gifted.

Not only were we blessed with an amazing conference, we were also blessed by the Dallas location and were able to see lots of our friends from college (when do you stop referring to people as friends from college and start calling them life friends???). So thank you to Katie, Maggie, Emily (and Jacob!), Geoff and Bobby for spending time with us during the breaks in the conference. It makes me so happy to see old friends again, and it just makes me want to move back to the DFW area.

Vacation! Part 1, San Francisco

JJ's birthday was at the end of January so we combined that celebration with an early Valentine's Day celebration and headed to San Francisco and Napa Valley Feb 4-9. Seriously one of the best vacations ever! And only like the 3rd or 4th time JJ and I have flown together! We are usually flying out to visit each other or I am trying to keep up with all his football travels.

JJ's actually birthday- I made Texas Sheet Cake!

Again, thanks to Trip Advisor and Emily (who lives in the Bay Area) We had an amazing trip planned out and I just have to share all of the activities!

We got in Thursday morning and spent the day wandering around Fisherman's Wharf (right near our hotel). It is totally touristy, but it was nice to walk around near the water and see the sea lions too! Obviously, we had to have clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at Boudin, the go-to for sourdough bread in San Fran. JJ did point out something that I had never really thought about...why is New England clam chowder one of the things that San Francisco is known for? My only thought is because they are known for sourdough bread there, and what goes better with sourdough bread than clam chowder? If anyone knows the real answer I would love to hear it!

Next we wandered up to Ghiradelli Square and sampled and purchase some delicious chocolate to bring home to my parents. We also walked right by the most adorable tea place Crown and Crumpet. Yes, it was quite possibly the girliest place in SF all decorated in pink and flowers, but JJ being the good husband he is joined me for afternoon tea. Really good tea, and fabulous scones. Life doesn't get much better than that.

After a brief nap back at the hotel we headed out to Pier 33 for our bout ride and night tour ofAlcatraz. Of course, it was pouring rain and we had prepaid for our tickets, but other than that I was really excited to go! I thought the tour as really interesting, glad we had the audio guides otherwise it would have been really boring. Because of the rain and the fact that we had to walk back to our hotel, we just ducked in to a random restaurant near our hotel for dinner, it was nothing special so i won't even bother linking it.

View of Alcatraz from the boat

Friday we got up early to try to find a battery for my camera, luckily there were about 6 different camera stores at Fisherman's Wharf. We then "hopped on" our tour for the day, Mr. Toad's Tours (and yes, I did chose it because of the name, but it had awesome reviews too!). We rode around in a funky 1930's open air bus. The weather was gorgeous and this tour was a perfect way to see the city. We drove around for 4 hours through downtown, Chinatown (if you go, try the House of Dim Sum near the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory for killer shrimp dim sum and awesome egg rolls!), Golden Gate park, Nobb Hill, Presidio, Pacific Heights and much more. The guide was very fun and knowledgeable so if you go, ask for John Francisco, no joke.

Mr. Toad's tour bus

Golden Gate Bridge

Postcard row, perfect!

That afternoon we met up with Emily and a few of her friends from law school. She took us on an amazing culinary tour of SF! We started out in Union Square and enjoyed some cream puffs at Beard Papa's in the mall. If you go, vanilla was my favorite, but we also tried chocolate and caramel. Next we went for some fried rice at Katana-ya. Seriously far better than any other fried rice I've ever had. It wasn't greasy at all! Next we went deep into the heart of Chinatown to the Vital Tea Leaf and sampled about 20 different Chinese teas. The hostess who was serving us did a really good job of telling us about the teas and all of the health benefits of each one. Very interesting!

Even after all of our snacking, we were ready for dinner at Incanto. A restaurant that features a Food Network chef and boasts about using the whole animal in their cooking. This was pretty adventurous for both JJ and I, but we really loved everything we tried! (I did have to pass on the duck brain though...I just couldn't do it)

Happy to explore one of the most beautiful cities in the country and so happy to visit Emily in her new surroundings! Next, we were off to Napa!!