Mr & Mrs Bollwahn--In Preparation

Bollwahn Wedding Festivities

(part 1--prepping)

 

My sister Jenny married her college boyfriend and the father of her beautiful son Avett on August 23, 2014.

 

 

Heath and I very much enjoyed our road trip to Howell, Michigan that began on Aug 20 and ended on Aug 25.

 

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were spent prepping Aaron's parent's home for the beautiful wedding festivities...

Reunited with little man

Simply stunning home and property

Mooey prepping and painting the arbor for the ceremony site...

Dance floor install...

It's all about the details...

Dad and Heath running electical cords

Don't want anyone to get lost :)

Avett donning Grandma Cindy's wedding veil (I have a feeling this photo will magically resurface in Avett's future dating days)
 

 Mr. & Mrs. Scarecrow Bollwahn

Heath and Woody perfecting the details

Grandpa keeping Avett entertained and cool

 



Beautiful flowers galore... 



Coalie Girl

Meet our newest family member...COALIE

Coalie is a German Shorthaired Pointer and she is exactly what her daddy has been dreaming of.  She was born on June 10.  Two days later the breeder let us come over and choose her out of the 13 puppies in the liter.

 I had decided on a female dog and Heath narrowed it down to two girl puppies (#3 and #4) once they were born and the breeders sent us photos to look through.  We then went to meet the pups and I was instantly drawn to female#4 (as referred to by the breeder).

Here is Coalie, her 12 siblings and her Mama.

We went to go visit Coalie and introduce her to her name the week before we got to take her home.  This was the first time we got to see how her coat developed and we think her ticking is just gorgeous!!  We also love the coloring on her face with the white spot.

 

We got to bring Coalie home on July 20.  She is saying goodbye to her mama and getting to know her new family.



 Introducing her to her new home and bed! 





Friends stopped by all week to come meet sweet Coalie!

Initially Leah was fearful that the puppy "is going to eat me"



Alesi with her newest furry friend

 But by the end of the visit Leah learned to trust that the puppy wouldn't eat her and even climbed into Coalie's bed to kiss her goodbye!

Coalie's favorite activities are exploring  the outdoors, eating all forms of wood (mulch, bark, sticks, logs--we call her a beaver), sleeping and biting!!

She loves climbing in my plants and then gets scared when the leaves brush against her.  She'll run away and then come pouncing right back which is stinking adorable to watch.

All the playing outdoors (and the occasional potty in the crate) lead to her first bath where she looked very cute and was quite frightened of the slick surface.  She tolerated the water very well and was so fluffy and cuddly afterwards!

 As a newbie to the world of having a pet, this has been quite the experience for me.  I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it but Coalie has already stole my heart and I feel a sense of protectiveness for her safety.  I feel pride in teaching her obedience and behavior.  I also feel frustration when she makes mistakes or acts naughty but often realize that it was because I wasn't paying attention to her cues.  Heath and I are also learning what fatigue and responsibility are because she needs constant watching (can't quite be trusted in the house yet even though she improves every day) and middle of the night and early morning potty breaks mean a lot less sleep for us.  We have to plan our day around her and we are anxious for the work day to get over so we can get home to love on her! 

She's a sweetheart and a very smart dog.  As a natural bred hunter she is very trainable and responds well to rules.  As a hunter she also has a lot of energy and will require a ton of exercise.  I look forward to the day when she gets big enough to run with me, but I also dread it because I will need to run her every single day to prevent bad behavior.  She is also known to be a protective and loving family dog that is great with kids, so we look forward to that someday in the future.  She already knows that Heath and I are her family and she comes quickly to our side whenever she gets scared or overwhelmed in a new situation. 

We look forward to continuing to share her with our family and friends as she gets bigger and we get to take her places.  On a side note, we are going to have to start training my mother if she ever plans to hang out with us again in the future, for if you know my mother you know that she is terrified of all dogs, no matter shape, size or temperment!!



America's Pastime is my Favorite Pastime

Baseball Season 2014

 

 

So anyone that knows me well (or not even that well) knows that I'm a big fan of the sport of baseball.  Most find it pretty boring but I find it amazingly strategic and detailed. 

 

First and foremost I am a Brewer's fan and it has been a really fun season watching them lead the NL Central for the season thus far and even spent periods of time leading all of baseball and all of NL!  Secondly (waaaaay secondly), I'm a Brave's fan for the following reasons...1. they are of the franchise that were the Milwaukee Braves before they moved to Atlanta, 2. they are now the closest team to my current home and therefore the team most readily available to attend and watch on TV and 3. (probably most influential) is the fact that my love of baseball brought me to Turner Field for the first time on Aug 16, 2009 to catch a Brave's game and on that night I ended up meeting the man that I would end up spending the rest of my life with!!

 

 

Here's a tour of our baseball experiences so far this year...

 

 

Rome Braves Class-A minor league Team on 4/27/14 in Rome, GA at State Mutual Stadium

Babies McKenzie, Madox and Leah were the last 3 kiddos that got to run the bases after the game and I think you will agree that they were incredibly adorable! 

 



Chattanooga Lookouts Double-A LA Dodgers affiliate Minor League team on 5/2/14 in Chattanooga, TN at AT&T Field

 

 

Milwaukee Brewers vs New York Yankees on 5/9/14 in Milwaukee, WI at Miller Park



As a baseball fan it was very exciting to see, not only the NYY for the first time in person, but to witness Derek Jetter on his final run around the stadiums this year

The infamous racing sausages are my favorite tradition of the Milw Brew Crew

 

 

Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves on 5/21/14 in Atlanta, GA at Turner Field

 

 

 

Milwaukee Brewers vs Atlanta Braves on 5/22/14 in Atlanta, GA at Turner Field

 

 

Atlanta Braves vs Los Angeles Angels on 6/14/14 in Atlanta, GA at Turner Field

 

 These tickets were gifted to me by a patient for Club level seats with access to the 755 Club

We suffered through a long night of poor Braves performance with a 0-5 score going into the 8th and finally 1-5 going into the 9th.  We hung out til the middle of the 9th and then decided to head home a step ahead of the crowd.  We didn't even hit the freeway by the time I started getting updates on my phone that the Braves were scoring runs in the bottom of the 9th and had tied it up.  Heath and I were able to get home to our couch to finish watching the game go into 13 innings for an ultimate Braves loss of 5-11.  This is exactly why I HATE leaving games early and exactly why I LOVE the sport of baseball so much!

 

Atlanta Braves vs Philadelphia Phillies on 7/19/14 in Atlanta, GA at Turner Field

Got to enjoy a day at the park with Heath's mom, Linda.  It was a beautiful unseasonably cool night for July in Georgia!

 

Bonus:

Got to catch a Brewers vs Cardinals game on tv and happened to see Uncle Tom, Dad and Jenny sitting 5 rows back!!