Jenny and Brandon Tharpe

Today I had the pleasure of doing makeup for my friend Laura's sister's wedding. It was in Perrysburg so I just drove down for the day. It was an absolute blast and as always I got some great pointers on what to do for our wedding. Remember bobby pins, right girls?

I spent most of the afternoon with them doing all of the ladies makeup as well as small tasks like trimming bouquets and manning the door to the bridal suite! I had a great time and it was so nice to spend some time with Laura and her family. It made high school seem like it just ended! Speaking of high school, Jenny actually married Brandon Tharpe who was in Laura and I's graduating class. It was so nice to see him again, especially on such a wonderful occasion!

Laura and bridesmaid Sara trying to square knot tie the beautiful back of Jenny's dress. It was beautiful, but konwing that I won't have bridesmaid's to do it for me, I'll have to look for a dress with a zipper! But the lace effect is just gorgeous!



Laura, Jenny and "Butler" Bob. Mr. McDowell was so funny...he was definitely excited for Jenny and it showed in everything that he did. I was the bodyguard for the door and he tried (a number of times) to offer me some of the fresh fruit platter. I told him that he'd make a fabulous butler!



Jenny was so funny. After getting ready and taking pictures with her bridesmaids and family she waited in the bridal suite for the ceremony to begin. After the first few minutes of waiting (out of an hour...I know...can you believe the wedding was running ahead of schedule!!!) Jenny said "So wait, I just have to stand here for the next hour?" How funny. I think she looked beautiful. And I absolutely LOVED her hair...photo of that to come...



The McDowell ladies...Tony (mother of the bride), Jenny (bride) and Laura (Matron of Honor)



Jenny's hair...how gorgeous is that??



Nazareth Hall is where the ceremony and reception took place. Nazareth Hall was created in 1928 and was a Catholic Boy's Boarding School. It has since been turned into a reception hall and it is GORGEOUS! It's just outside of Perrysburg but it's a beautiful drive.



I had to drive by my old neighborhood to get there, so I swung by for old times sake. I loved living in this house. Nathan and I always talk about building one of our own...(Mom and Dad can you believe how big the trees have gotten?)





Congratulations Jenny and Brandon!

Ole!

Jenny's mom and brother are in town to keep her company and feed us. My "Summer Friends" and I headed over to Jenny's for the fiesta. Tacos, Aunt Barbara's Margaritas and chips with guacamole. Yum! I had a minor accident with my plate, but that photo is for another day. Anyway, after dinner we had a blast...

Here is Meghan trying to figure out why Jenny owns a stuffed banana and more importantly, what the heck she uses it for.



Maybe to simulate eating? Hmm...



Then Jenny threw on her belly dancing cd and showed us all what she's learned. I'm thinking about joining the class with her in the fall. It's actually really fun to watch...and I'm sure doing it is even better!



Then Sara tried to teach Jenny's mom and Meghan a few yoga moves. I'm thinking about starting yoga too. It seems like a great combination of relaxation and slow stretches. Just my speed too!



Cathy was SO worried that she wasn't going to be able to get up from this pose. Sara just laughed...like the rest of us. Don't worry, she's up.



Me, prepping my hair for the following photo shoot. It was so flat...



Jenny and Cathy.



My Summer Friends and I.



The Burleson's...they make a mean fiesta meal!

Am I Really at Work?

So the Dean of "the University I work for" (wink wink) threw a Block Party during work today. That's right. DURING WORK! Complete with White Wine Sangria, Beer, Wine and best of all Frozen Margaritas from a HUGE machine!!!! Here are some photos from "work" today...

There were gin and tonics too...yum!



The spread inside...



The best machine invented for the workplace...a frozen margarita machine!



Sara and Jenny enjoying the work party...wow...McAlpine NEVER had these kind of parties!



A bad start for me...



With a VERY happy ending!



Nancy and I enjoying our Sangria.



Still happy...



The following is what happens after a block party at work involving alcohol and your boss asks you to count and organize the garage sale stickers. Oops!

Welcome Morgan Spencer!

Our friends Carmina and Marc welcomed their first baby this past Wednesday. Morgan Spencer Weatherill was born at 8:51 a.m. after his Mama was in labor for 33 hours. That's right folks! Carm toughed it out for 33 hours...amazing woman! They just moved up to Midland for the summer where Marc is interning at Dow too. I can't wait to visit Nathan in early August so I can see how big the little guy is by then! Congrats Carm and Marc!

What Happened to My Pants?

So last night three of the best girlfriends ever indulged me in what we called "A Blast from My Past." After work all four of us drove down to Toledo (an hour long drive) to eat scrumptious food and take a tour of one of my favorite spots, Perrysburg Ohio.

The night started at El Vaquero, a mexican restaurant that specializes in delicious food and fabulous margaritas (and Diet Coke for me, the driver!). Cheers!



Sara's artsy fartsy photo of our table once dinner had arrived.



After dinner the ladies let me take them on a driving tour of Perrysburg. I showed them where Nathan and I both used to live, the park where we got engaged, our old high school (where they proceeded to make fun of me for an un-named reason), the Lutheran church where Nathan grew up attending and his mom worked, downtown Perrysburg and some of my favorite spots in "the Burg." Our final stop in Perrysburg was to my favorite place of all, Mr. Freeze. The best darn family run ice cream shop! Jenny and Meghan got chocolate malts (divine), I got a vanilla cup with crunch coat and Sara got a fresh-squeezed lemon freeze.



After taking this picture we were walking back to our car when we heard the following statement: "I've got sprinkles for you!" at which point Jenny stopped in her tracks and spun around with elation for the man that had brought her sprinkles. Turns out it was a nice dad giving his two boys their ice cream cones covered in sprinkles. We all burst out laughing, at Jenny's excitement not the man's kind gesture to his children. After we calmed down a bit we kept walking to our car. As we were walking up I noticed one of the little boys had lost the ice cream off the top of his cone...it was laying by our tire wheel. Here is the conversation that ensued:

Me "Oh no! Your ice cream fell! Where's your dad? I'm sure he can get you a new one!"

Little ice cream-less boy in a very mad voice "I have one. He's at home."

Well, poor little guy was trying so hard not to cry and all the ladies could do was giggle at his response. The photo below is of Meghan listening to Sara rehash the story of the little ice cream-less boy.

One of my girlfriends changed the subject with the following story. We'll call her MJenny for privacy reasons. :)

"So, I went to the bathroom today. And you know how when you wear a skirt it's easier to lift your skirt up when you're in the bathroom? Well, when I was finished I panicked and thought "What happened to my pants?" Then I remembered I was wearing a skirt."

(MJenny laughs at herself as the rest of us are DYING of laughter)

"You know the worst part guys? I went to the bathroom later and I panicked again because I couldn't find my pants!"

Oh MJenny, thanks for entertaining us on the way back to Ann Arbor.



(We missed you Carmina...)

A Weekend in Midland

Sampson and I drove up to Midland to spend the weekend with Nathan. We'd planned a few exciting things ahead of time and just explored the area during the rest of the weekend. Here are some snapshots of our weekend.

This is where Nathan works. This entrance gate is one of eight on the Dow Campus. Nathan walks here everyday. He works on the 5th floor of the tall building in the background. Dow is HUGE and owns just about everything in Midland.



Nathan took me out to the tastiest (and fanciest) restaurant in Midland. When Sampson and I arrived I threw on a dress and we scooted out to make our reservation. The name of the restaurant was "Table." We shared a fabulous bottle of Stella Pinot Grigio, (which we highly recommend!) and then enjoyed our dinner. At Table you order a first and a second course. So, I started with a crab and avocado salad then had a grilled tenderloin and finished up with a few bites of a chocolate dessert with fresh organic fruit sorbet and an espresso! Nathan started with a delicious quail appetizer and then duck breast for dinner, followed by the other bites of the chocolate and fruit sorbet dessert and french press coffee. We were so stuffed but it was well worth it! I wish I had taken photos of the restaurant and the food, but I knew that we'd get some strange looks. Just imagine beautifully plated small portioned meals and two very happy people eating them! When we got home, we found Sampson like this on the bed. Apparently traveling in the back seat of the car just takes it out of him!



On Saturday morning we met another Michigan intern, Beth, and her 6 month old puppy, Maddux, at the Midland Dog Park. Sampson and Maddo (as Beth refers to him) had a great time rolling around and chasing each other. It was pretty rainy so they ended up getting soaked, so Sampson got a nice bath once we got home. This picture shows what they did most of the time. Wrestled. Rolled. Ran. Dropped. Wrestled. Rolled. Ran...you get the picture! (Thanks again for meeting up with us Beth!)



After two hours at the dog park, we headed out for Skydive Michigan. That's right, you heard me, Skydive Michigan. You may not know this about me, but I've been skydiving before and loved it...so it was Nathan's turn to join in on the fun this time! Here is a photo of him in training for his Assisted Free Fall. Basically, instead of jumping tandem (hooked up to a professional) he will be jumping out of the plane solo (two professionals jump simultaneously just in case something happens), pulling his own parachute and steering himself to the ground. He's standing with Warren (the professional skydiver), Jess (a Dow worker) and Logan (a Dow BBA intern).



This is my "Oh my GOD what I am thinking doing this again pose!"



I went up first to jump so Nathan and I took a picture together. He made sure to tell me that he loved me 18 times...I told him it would have been a beautiful wedding. Ha!



Floating down with Chuck, or Up-Chuck as I affectionately called him. Ironically he was filling in for another Skydive Michigan employee that was on vacation this week. Chuck is originally from Chester, South Carolina and works at Skydive Carolina where I made my first jump! He knows Tim, my first tandem jumper...how crazy is that!



You may be wondering "Where are Nathan's skydiving photos?" Well, the winds picked up right after I jumped (and Ringo Starr landed at the airport in his private jet...true story...I had to wait up in the clouds to jump until Ringo's plane landed.) Well, for AFF jumps they don't let new-comers jump if the winds are above 14 miles per hour...the winds were 17 mph. Bummer. We waited it out for awhile, but it just kept getting faster. Nathan called Sunday morning to see if he could jump, but alas, the wind was horribly fast at 20 mph today. I was so upset to not see his first jump, but he promises to take pictures so I can still post them for all of you to see! (Don't forget Natie!!!!)

After waiting for what seemed like FOREVER we headed home and Nathan jumped right in bed with Sampson who was out cold from his morning at the dog park!



We ate dinner at home...a Maize and Blue sub from Nathan's favorite Ann Arbor restaurant, Maize and Blue. I had one made for him when I left work on Friday and stored it in a cooler up to Midland. It was still tasty on Saturday! After dinner we decided to grab some ice cream at Great Lakes Ice Cream Company. It's a family owned and run ice cream shop with a bunch of different hard ice cream and sorbet flavors. They had a 2 for $5.99 waffle cone special so we got two different flavors and switched back and forth! I chose Rocky Mud Bottom Fudge (vanilla ice cream with almonds, fudge brownies and toffee...to DIE for!) and Nathan chose Copper Country (espresso ice cream with chocolate chips and fudge brownie...sinful and worth every bite!). It was delicious and the perfect dessert for a beautiful summer night in Midland!



We took Sampson with us to get the ice cream so we could walk in the neighborhoods around the ice cream shop. Nathan was sweet enough to take this picture for me...we were walking on Love Street...my big ol' head is covering the street sign of course, but I promise that's where we were walking!



One of the houses in Midland had these outside their house. I just had to take a picture to share with you all. I think they're so cute...they just scream small midwestern town to me!



After our ice cream filled walk we dropped Sampson off at home and headed to downtown Midland. We were planning to grab a drink at a local jazz bar called Molly's, but apparently the music ends at 9 when the bar closes...bummer! We ended up walking around downtown Midland window shopping. Instead of sitting in a different smoky bar we decided to buy drinks and a movie to enjoy at home (we watched Vantage Point...it was great!).

On Sunday we woke up and headed to the Outlet Mall, Birch Run. We hit stores like The North Face, Pottery Barn, Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers. I was in awe as we left and I hadn't purchased a single thing. Nathan got a really nice pair of leather shoes from Banana Republic that he instantly put on...they're just like dock shoes but even nicer! We drove back to Midland and bummed around the neighborhood with Sampson before dinner. Nathan took me to a local Mongolian Barbeque restaurant, Ghengis Khan Mongolian (like Charlies from Evansville...past post). It was delicious but oh-so-filling! I love watching them make your dinner on that super hot mongolian grill!

Sampson was exhausted from his busy weekend in Midland. He went on several walks, a long trip to the dog park and some exploring in a nearby playyard. This is the pose he struck once we started our trip back to Ann Arbor. After Nathan took this photo we headed out of town and Sampson was snoring like a nobody's business by the time we hit the highway.



We had a great time exploring Midland. I can't wait to go back in August!

I'm NOT pregnant...but...

Today at the market I saw a lady wearing this shirt. I thought it was so cute...and I know way too many preggos that feel fat in the first part of their pregnancy. I asked the lady where she bought the shirt, she said it was from www.babystyle.com, so if you're preggo or know a preggo that needs this top feel free to check it out!

Russel Street Deli

Yesterday on a work outing Sara took us to a favorite lunch spot of hers called Russel Street Deli. It's right in the heart of the Eastern Market area of downtown Detroit. When you eat there you can sit and six top tables, but they fill the tables up with a mixture of people. For instance, the three of us sat at a table with two other ladies. I had a delicious turkey and provolone sandwich with and ice tea. Everything was delicious! Thanks for lunch Sara!

Memorial Service

The entire Haskin family traveled to Ladybug Farm in Fence, Wisconsin for my Grandpa's memorial service. We all flew into Green Bay and made the 2 hour trek up north. My Aunt Kate and Uncle Mike have a beautiful farm where a special garden was created. They also have a cottage only a five minute drive away. We spent all day Friday at the farm ATV'ing and catching up with the fam. Then Friday night we honored my Grandpa with a beautiful memorial service followed by a wonderful slideshow of his life created by my Aunt Collie. Saturday was spent at the cottage waterskiing and tubing followed by a birthday party and a great fireworks display. Everybody spent Sunday traveling back home, wishing we could have stayed longer. I am by no means an "outside girl" but something just comes over me when I'm at cottages in Wisconsin...I can't get enough of the boat rides, yummy food and family time! Here are a few snapshots of our trip.

A pit stop at Lambeau Field for Nathan.




A hopeful piece for Nathan's future "Man Room"




A tractor ride for Max with Uncle Mike.




A view from afar of the Memorial Garden where Grandpa is now buried.




A view of Grandpa's beautiful location in the garden at Ladybug Farm.




After the memorial, everyone helped to lay Grandpa to rest.






Evie turned four on Sunday. Hard to believe she's so old now. Her new thing? Care Bears. Here she is with her birthday surrounded by Ellen and Gioia and then with her Care Bear "Stormy" that Uncle Dave and Aunt April gave her.






Nathan and I during the fireworks after a long day at the cottage waterskiing, tubing and wakeboarding. Nathan was able to pick up wakeboarding this weekend. He was up on the second try and now has a new favorite water sport. I stick to the tubing.



This is what happens to 18th month old boys that play all day, go on a boat rides, eat birthday cake and strawberry pie and then stay up until midnight watching fireworks. He was so sweet...we got his clothes off without even waking him up. He did catch a second wind once we got his pj's on though...what a long night for the little guy!