Celebrating the Harvest

Yesterday we got a chance to celebrate the shorter fall days, and the cooler nights with some of our best friends and their children. We had a festive evening with soups, snacks, and fun activities for the kids. We're so lucky to be surrounded by caring and thoughtful people and enjoy celebrating each fall with them!

Grant P.'s first Halloween - and his first pumpkin! Next year he'll be running around with the other kids!

Rylee R. with her foamed-faced pumpkin she created.

All of the kids who came and made awesome (and slightly scary) pumpkin faces.

Nicki, Harper, and Joy celebrating the good weather on the porch of the lodge.

Instead of bobbing for apples, we had a contest for the kids to see who could finish the bowl of popcorn first, Brynden won (the one on the right)!

Hayley D. worked on putting a face on her pumpkin.

Picture Perfect

Today I got the opportunity to do a photo shoot for one of my friends and her family. I loved it and captured some great moments on the property of their home. Here are a couple that didn't need much editing.

Traverse City Wedding

There is nothing like Traverse City in the summer, although not that far of a trip for us, it's a wonderful retreat in the summer. I have many memories of spending time there during the Cherry Festival. The scenery is beautiful, the weather is perfect, and the breeze off the lake is feels good any time of day.

We went up to Traverse this weekend for the wedding of Scott and Briana Read. We adventured to a part of the pennisula that we hadn't been before. We were way north of the city, and north of Suttons Bay, retreating in the evenings to our Bed and Breakfast, Sunset Lodge. The Inn was peaceful, clean, and we fell asleep each night to the sound of the waves hitting the pristine beach. I might have experienced a little piece of heaven this weekend. Here are some pictures, of course, the pictures never do the landscape justice.

Peace, love, and cherries!!

They got married on an outlook in the National Park overlooking the dunes/Lake Michigan - awesome.

The reception was held at Ciccone Winery, owned by Madonna's parents. It was high on a hill and a beautiful location for a reception.

Beautiful Cottage for Rent/Sale

My mom is in the process of trying to sell a beautiful cottage just north of Clare, MI. While she is trying to sell it, she is also renting it for $65 a night.

To give you a little bit of info about the cottage, it is a completely renovated "cottage", more like a home but it has three bedrooms; one room is a loft overlooking the kitchen, one has a full size bed it it, and the other has a twin bed in it with a trendle bed underneath (perfect for kids). It has two full bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a newly added great room that has a dining living room and walk out to a large porch overlooking the lake. The cottage is within the wooded lake association which has lots of things for kids to do including a pool, recreation room, playground, and more.

For other events in the area, check out the Clare Chamber of Commerce at http://www.claremichigan.com/. The cottage is about 20 minutes to Clare, and 30 minutes to Cadalliac.

Here are some pictures.

Full Kitchen

Full Size Bed





Great Room/Dining Room

If you're interested in renting (or getting more information about purchasing it) email my mom, Tina at mtconnelly@hotmail.com

Perfect to a TEA

This afternoon I got to celebrate a tradition most have forgotten - a women's tea party. It was so much fun helping out for this event with many women I've known throughout my life - whether friends of the family, former teachers, or new friends that I got a chance to meet. The party was held at my mom's with all of her Beta Sigma Phi Sorority sisters. I was invited to "co-host" (otherwise known as helping out) for the event. Here are some pictures of true sister-hood.

Tulips Are Blooming in Holland . . .Michigan!

My friend Megan and I went to Holland for the day today to see the beauty of TULIPS! My ultimate favorite flower. I was overwhelmed by the quantity, colors, and pure beauty of the millions of flowers. AWE-SOME! Here are just a couple pictures, but they surely don't do it justice. One more thing crossed of my bucket list for 2010!

Concrete Jungle!

After the Read wedding in NJ last weekend, we headed off to the Big Apple, or as Brandon calls it, the concrete jungle! We were so happy to have seasoned tour guides - my cousin Allison and her roommate Michael. It was awesome we hit the majority of the hot spots including Central Park, Time Square, NYU campus, Ground Zero/Museum, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty and more!

I think my pedometer stopped counting steps, but at last count we had walked about 15 miles in the three days! Needless to say, when we got home we both got sick with a stomach virus, but recovered quickly. It was an awesome experience and we're so glad we had the opportunity to attend the wedding, visit Allison, eat great food and be around the people we love.

Our gracious hosts and tour guides, Allison and Michael.

We were welcomed to the city by none other than the naked cowboy!

Remember the show Friends, here is the fountain
that they splashed around in, in the opening credits.

Wedding: New Jersey Style!

Last weekend we attend the wedding of Mike and Allyson Read. The wedding and reception took place in New Jersey. We flew out on Thursday in time to visit the USGA Golf Museum and attend the rehearsal dinner, which was authentic Italian - we ate till we were nearly sick but couldn't resist the wonderful food!

Mike and Allyson exchange vows.

During the social, I was able to sneak into the ball room and captured this picture of the AWESOME centerpieces - lots of tulips and hydrangeas. In the background is Mike and Allyson practicing their first dance before the guests entered.



The table setting was gorgeous! At the door we picked up a tulip in potted grass that told us where our table was. We drank and danced the night away and then slipped away to our hotel room just a couple floors above the party at the end of the evening. It turned out to be a pretty nice day and we truly enjoyed being in the company of the Read family. Good for us, we get to do it again when Scott and Briana get married in June!

Easter 2010

Here are some of the great moments captured at Easter this year with my nephews Cody and Drew as they searched for Easter eggs around the lodge.

Cody finds one next to the lodge.

Drewis soooo proud of the eggs he found.

Angie scrambles to help Drew get some more eggs before Cody gets them all.

If it's not fun, don't do it!

This is a new motto of Brandon's and mine, and he's taking this to heart. For his 30th birthday last month I surprised him with a trip up north with 8 of his best friends. Here is a wonderful picture of them preparing to ride hundreds of miles on the snowmobiling. Brandon said it was one of the best surprises ever! I was very proud between myself and all of the guys that we pulled it off.






This weekend again he continued on with the motto by going sturgeon fishing in Wisconsin. He again had a blast with Korey and Jay and brought home TWO five feet sturgeons. Pictures to come soon. Congrats guys! Live it up!

Anniversary Wishes

Yesterday marked what would have been my parents 28th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, my dad's health collapsed just short of their 25th anniversary. It's been just 3 years we've missed the presence of our dad. Although he's not here to celebrate the anniversary, it doesn't mean that we forget the blessing their marriage brought to our lives.

Out of their marriage came my "little" sister. She's a wonderful friend, nurse, and comedian in our family. We all know that marriage isn't easy and we all make mistakes, but I live remembering what made their marriage work and I strive to relish the wonderful moments my marriage brings me. Happy Anniversary mom and dad! May your love live on forever in your hearts!

Holiday Cheer and Music to Boot!

Check out this video of our cousin, Alex and her boyfriend Wes who is plays in the band Moon Taxi. We had Christmas today with the Warkoczeski side of the family - a good time had by all.