Newman Grove to Omaha

Headed over to Albion Thursday afternoon for a check-up with the doctor, and I was a little early so I decided to go swing a bit at the park. The park happens to be right across the street from the clinic. It was a beautiful afternoon. Sure, maybe a little warm by local standards... but, it didn't bother me. I will never be too old for swinging. I feel so peaceful when I sit on the swing and free as I pump my legs. Enjoyed my minutes there. A great past time for me.

After my visit with the doctor I headed over to the Fitness Center (a gym for all intensive purposes). My family currently has a membership there, as my brother uses the facilities while living in Albion himself for the summer. We had a membership for a while back when Sheldon and I took swimming lessons over there. I decided it would be nice to go use the indoor pool for some water aerobics, maybe sweat in the sauna for a while, and just do something a little different for some exercise. I even swam five laps in the pool after a mile run around the track and 10 minutes in the sauna. I'm not really one to swim laps, but they felt good.

Went back the next morning for some more. I kept contemplating making the trip to Albion, but my mom finally convinced me. I came back with much more energy, although I didn't have much left I really needed to finish around the house. I had already organized all my stuff, which was a big accomplishment. Enjoyed my second day at the gym, though. Mom could definitely see an improvement in my energy level after returning.

I made myself this beautiful and healthy lunch - a wheat waffle, with a sliced banana, and some plain Greek yogurt.

Dad and I enjoyed a Johnny Depp movie that night before going to bed, and I volunteered to make us all breakfast Saturday morning after Dad had noticed the waffle iron out. I made us some regular waffles, with sliced banana, strawberry, and Greek yogurt. They both thought the yogurt on the waffle was good. A nice replacement for syrup. :-) Health freak note of the day. haha

After that Mom and I loaded up the few things I was taking with me to move to Omaha for the time being. We picked up the "little" cousins Kyle and Rebecca, and off we went. We did a little shopping and enjoyed ourselves before grabbing some good lunch at The Cracker Barrel. Becca and played some checkers outside after that. We may have grown, but we are still real young kids at heart. We also enjoyed some nice smaller-sized root beer floats. Yum.

I moved in with my Omaha family - the Eagens. I'm sure you've heard me mention them before by now if you know me well enough. I'm living in what once was the office room, that is also sort of a guest bedroom. It is currently my room. I set up my stuff a bit, and then relaxed for the afternoon. Turns out I already had mail show up for me at the house that day thanks to some friends of mine. haha. I'm officially a resident of Omaha, NE for the time being.

Sarah and I went to an ELCA church she and her mom have been going to in Bennington first thing in the morning - an 8:30am service and relaxed a bit at home afterward.

I made plans with my good friend Matt and his fiance Nicole to come join them for lunch at their apartment downtown so I could meet their son Sebastian and catch up with them. Sebastian is now 9 weeks old and has grown so much. He's a little cutie, and they all seem to be doing well. I enjoyed my 2.5 hour visit with them.

This is Sebastian, who has big blue eyes and a lot of blond hair.

Here's momma and baby Sebastian:

Here's Auntie Jessica holding Sebastian :-)

Here's a photo of all of us I snagged thanks to my timer. I enjoyed every minute with the three of them. I am mighty thankful to have gotten to know Matt as well as I have, and I am very happy for him.

Sat around the house for a while Sunday afternoon, and then we met up with more of the gang to hang out and chat, which was nice. We had enchiladas for dinner. Good stuff. Time for bed now after a nice little weekend. I will be starting to figure out some work stuff this week. I have a few interviews, and we shall see what happens. Have a great week, everyone!

Wedding Fun, More Road Tripping, and Keeping Busy at Home

We kept rather occupied on our road trip and time in Texas, so I often did not find the energy to put together a blog post at the end of the day. It is now one week from our departure for the road trip, and I am just sitting down. I uploaded some photos last night and decided I would work on the quick writing in the morning. Sure feeling the faster American pace of life style, no question about that. Not letting it stress me out, though. Just rolling with it. I don't think some people would recognize me if I wasn't keeping busy. haha

Found ourselves a little Italian ice cream/gelato parlor a little ways down the street. That was pretty good and fun to try out. Sheldon, Grandma, Mom, and I went on that little trip. My mom and I shared a kid-sized bowl.

Sheldon and I also enjoyed a couple of our old fashioned root beers I had picked up at Wal-Mart. Just for fun and a little reminiscing. Lots of reminiscing took place on this little family trip, as it should.

We then spent the night just chatting with the uncles and aunt. The other cousins even stopped by after while. Just a chill night after all that road time.

A little pool time with Aunt Kristin Friday morning. It was a bit chilly down there, so we didn't stay too horribly long. It was refreshing while it lasted though, and got our day off to a good start. I did a few water aerobics moves while we were there.

Each of the continental breakfasts we enjoyed along the trip had great selections for breakfast. I decided to make a waffle one morning, and it was a Texas-shaped waffle at that. I do remember making one like this a few years ago when I worked at an auction down in Hereford, TX with the Stocks. Yum.

Did a little shopping down the street to pass the time on Friday and tried out a little frozen yogurt with Grandma and Aunt Kristin and another place. Then, some of us were off to the wedding rehearsal.

Beautiful place in Magnolia, TX.

This is my Cousin Alicia and me after the rehearsal.

Headed back up to The Woodlands, TX for the rehearsal dinner. This is a photo of all the Boschen cousins with Uncle George and Aunt Kristin.

The Boschen clan table at the rehearsal dinner.

Here is my yummy looking plate of food.

I had met one of Kathryn's friends, Kendra, last summer the day we had went to the zoo, and she invited me to join the table she was sitting at. I met two more of Kathryn's friends - Jackie and Mo. All three of these ladies were bridesmaids in the wedding.

After that we headed over to the Hilton Garden Inn for some snacks and chatting in the wedding hospitality room hosted by the parents of the bride.

Saturday morning the "adults" and I headed to Spring, TX for a little adventure in the shops and walking the streets of the old town. Uncle Ron, Aunt, Kristin, Mom, Dad, and myself. No other kids and no grandma. Nothing like feeling like a fifth wheel. Haha, just kidding. We had a good time. Explored a few shops. Uncle Ron found a few items.

We popped into Ellen's Cafe for lunch. All fresh and locally grown produce served here. A nice little place. I enjoyed a clear glass of coffee to warm me up. Sitting inside the air conditioning too much is beginning to make me feel uncomfortable. Partly I'm sure to not being used to being in so much air conditioning, but also because I have come to notice that restaurants often have it chillier in there. There have been some articles discussing how it encourages people to buy more food. I suppose. haha

Then, it was time to get ready for the wedding of my cousin Seth. Slipped into my rocking $10 dress and we headed to Crystal Springs, Magnolia, TX. Received a corsage from the wedding planner and instructions on my wireless microphone for the scripture Seth & Kathryn had asked me to read during the ceremony.

Found our designated table for the reception dinner.

Took a few photos while we were waiting for the ceremony to start. Uncle Ron was our little photographer.

Also hopped into a few of the official photos taken by the hired photographers  This photo is the Boschen Cousin Crew. :-)

The wedding was beautiful, and it was great witnessing the pure happiness and love between Seth & Kathryn. I am so happy for the two of them. Seth and I are alike in many ways, and he almost feels like an older brother to me. (Not that he doesn't have enough sisters already. ;-) haha) I could really feel the words I read from the passage in I Corinthians as I made eye contact with the two of them. It also did not feel that warm outside to me during the ceremony, although I know others will beg to differ on that point. haha The ceremony was held at 6:30pm, which I liked. This made the whole evening not seem to drag out as long. Don't get me wrong... we had fun, but we had just the right amount of fun before people started to get tired. Headed back to our hotel around midnight.

Sunday brunch took place at Guadalajara Hacienda in The Woodlands before our departure from wedding bliss. A fun little place with some good food on Father's Day.

Headed South to Galveston, TX as Grandma and Dad had never actually seen the ocean. Well, this wasn't the prettiest part of the ocean to see. The water looked dirty, although it wasn't. My brother couldn't pass up the opportunity to go swim in the ocean, and I joined him.

The adults hung back and enjoyed some shade or went on a little walk.

Next stop- some ice cream and bathrooms. Went into Ben & Jerry's. I've had Ben & Jerry's before, store-bought of course. This was an actual Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream shop. Fun.

I went for some plan vanilla Greek yogurt in the mini size. Delicious.

Headed back North, and they decided they wanted to take some round about highways to avoid Houston and Dallas. Convinced Dad to take a photo with me in front of this old store in a random town along the way. Nothing like random photos on a road trip.

Spent the first night on the road in Livingston, TX. We enjoyed some Little Caesar's Pizza that evening and hit the hay early.

Popped in Lea's Restaurant on for some lunch, where the boys all enjoyed the 6.95 buffet. I finally had some Southern sweet tea! Then, we spent the last night of our road trip in Perry, Oklahoma - not too shy of the Kansas border. I enjoyed some pool time, where I did some water aerobics.

I also enjoyed the warm relaxation of the hot tub. My brother, uncle, and aunt joined in after while. Took a warm shower after that and I was ready for bed. The one night I originally thought I might work on my blog to no avail. Sleepy time it was.

Although, I did catch some a nice sunset before heading to bed.

Stopped in Witchita, KS on Tuesday morning for a quick visit with one of the great friends I made while at Morningside College. My friend Amanda here has finished up her Master's Degree in Psychology at Emporia and will be starting up her PhD at K-State in the fall. The minutes may have been few that I got to spend with her that morning, but each one was great.

Uncle Ron and Dad were making friends with some of these retired folk from the aviation business outside while I was in catching up with my good friend.

One more lunch on the road in Concordia, KS at Kristy's Restaurant. Uncle Ron had eaten here before. I enjoyed some of the sides from my Mom's dinner plate and had a few more glasses of some Southern sweet tea. Yum.

Last stop was in Stromsburg, NE at a little diner that has soft-serve ice cream. Uncle Ron and Aunt Kristin make little trips here from Columbus some times for a little treat. Fun little place. I love the character you find in these little places.

Rolled into Newman Grove, NE by 6pm Tuesday night. Quite the road trip with family, but we had a lot of fun and lots of good food. Wednesday morning, mom and I enjoyed some wheat and bran waffles with a side of fruit and a cup of coffee. I also had a glass of coconut milk. A new waffle batter we had not tried yet, and it was good. Also good for you.

With my apron still on in the morning, I got to work on making some pani popo, which was one of my favorite new foods I tried down in American Samoa. A little sweet bread. It turned out well. My sauce wasn't quite thick, but it still worked. I had some family members who enjoyed it.

Spent some time organizing my stuff. Some had been left in-transition as I had just come back from a camping trip and college and working on getting ready to head to Minnesota when my plans changed last summer. Fun to run across some things like Teddy here as reorganized things.

Headed North to Tilden, NE for a lunch with Cousin Elizabeth. She got married a couple summers ago, and she and Mark are now expecting their first child. I was the maid of honor in her wedding, and it was simple as pie chatting with her at lunch. It's funny to listen to some of the small-town Nebraska drama. haha I lost my phone for a little bit after that lunch, but luckily found it back on the restaurant floor. I will admit I felt a little lost without it. I also made a windy stop at the Udder Shop before leaving town for a malt.

Made it back home and had just enough time to finish organizing what has become the storage room  on the main floor of our house. I got all my stuff figured out and tidied up my brother's piles a bit. I even ended up with some room for seating in that room. I was pretty proud of that.

My old boss at the City Cafe in town had called me earlier that morning to see if I would be able to come fill in for the other cook on Mexican Night. I had told her last week I would be willing to give her the night off if she would like. Off to work at the City Cafe I went for a 5pm to close shift. Pretty decent night, and I made those tacos like it was no one's business. haha. It was fun to be back in there working with Phyllis for the night. Met two new girls, as I have obviously not been around for a while. One of the waitresses is finishing up her time at the cafe, and her first days occured while I was finishing my high school days. Nothing like making me feel a bit old. haha Fun time, though and I made a little cash.

Ready for bed after another full day. Busy as always but enjoying life. Now it's already 8:13am even though I set my alarm to wake up. No more sleeping in til 8am, I decided as I felt like my day was already halfway gone. Going to try and get a little workout in quick before I shower and head to the dentist. Have a great day!

Family Road Trip

Left Newman Grove shortly after 7am Wednesday morning. I woke up to my 5:30am alarm and got a little workout in before we hit the road. Felt good. First day I had done that since I've been back. Wake up early and workout right away. 

We met up in Columbus at Uncle Ron and Aunt Kristin's house, where we all piled into this big van here that Uncle Ron recently acquired  Boschen family road trip - Granny B, Uncle Ron, Aunt Kristin, Mom, Dad, and my brother. This was something Mom, Aunt Kristin, and I decided would be fun to do. A family road trip down to Texas for cousin Seth's wedding. No sense taking different vehicles, and boy have we been having a good time so far.

Inside the '97 van. The TV doesn't work, but we don't need it. Plenty of entertainment without it.

Headed straight south, made a few pit stops, and then decided it was time for some lunch. Pulled into th Hog Wild Pit Bar-B-Q. Place with lots of charcter and some good food. I didn't order anything and just ate some sides from everyone else's plates. Plenty of food for all of us.

Sheldon fell asleep for a while. He has a light switch he just turns off in his brain and can fall asleep like nothing. I even nodded off for a while. I only got about 5 hours of sleep the night before.

Once we were in Oklahoma, I kept talking about how we should stop at a Braum's for some ice cream. Mmm mmm. I love me some ice cream. First time I had this stuff was on my way to a science fair in Stillwater, OK back during sophomore year of high school. Actually don't even recall being to one since, now that I think about it. Good and fun stop.

Realized while we were on the road that somehow my family of four all managed to wear something red. Real family road trip right here. haha So, we had to take a photo. Finally set up the timer when we had settled into our hotel room in Ardmore, OK. We didn't have any particular destination in mind for Wednesday night. Just wherever we happened to be around dinner time, we decided to call it a day.

Sheldon and I did a little 15-minute cardio abs workout, and Mom even joined in for parts of it. Off to dinner/supper we went at Two Frogs, a tiny tiny walk from our hotel. Great place to hang out for the night. Guitars signed by artists all along the wall, a super friendly waitress, and a nice atmosphere.

Dad ordered some fried mushrooms for a little appetizer.

I wasn't super hungry, and my attention was grabbed by some apple dumplings on the menu. Oh boy was that yummy. Never had anything quite like it before. I also munched on a few sides from others' plates.

So, I usually drink a decent amount of water with any meal I have. It just so happens that these glasses were mostly full with ice when we started, so the waitress probably filled my glass about 6 or 7 times. Then, here she comes with this 40 oz. mug for me. hahaha. Awesome and hilarious!

Went back to the hotel, and I convinced my mom to join me for a little walk. It was about 7:45 or 8pm, and I didn't want to just sit. Needed to use up some of the calories consumed during the day. After a little walk around a residential area, I decided to head into the fitness room and run a mile on the treadmill. Felt good to sweat a little. Finally, Dad, Sheldon, and I spent a little time in the pool and hot tub before calling it a night. I had a little fun playing with some photos while I sat there letting my sweat drip. This one reminds me of something I've seen in a movie.

Woke up at 6am, and Mom joined me for another walk. We walked at a much brisker pace Thursday morning. Great way to start the day followed by a healthy continental breakfast. I love breakfast! :-)

Loaded back up the van. Aunt Kristin looked pretty cute next to our cart full of luggage. Managed to get it all back in there in even better fashion than the day before.

Stopped at a quick shop quick as I requested looking for a few postcards, and Uncle
Ron cleaned off our windshield before our departure for the day.

Down the road we went, drove in a few circles in Dallas, and further South we went. Pulled into Fairfield, TX for lunch/dinner at a diner. I love diners! Always a fun atmosphere and plenty of choices for food.

 Uncle Ron had fajitas, Dad - a club sandwich, Grandma - a burger, Aunt Kristin - a sandwich, me -  pancakes, Mom - an enchilada, and Sheldon - a buffalo chicken sandwich (the best he's ever had mind you). I also enjoyed a yummy milkshake. Just something I think of when I think about a diner.

Here's brother and I by the van after a fun lunch in Oklahoma.

Straight on through to The Woodlands, TX we went. This is our final destination for the journey. Cousin Seth is marrying Kathryn Hearn in Magnolia, TX (a bit further North), and the reception is being held in The Woodlands. The heat sure is drier down south. I can feel it on my face. Rather warm, and it is a tad weird for me experiencing such dryness again after living in humidity 11 month straight.

Seth was there to greet us, as well as Cousin Andrew, Uncle George, and Cousin Cassidy. All the Boschens are officially in town. Who's ready for a wedding in a few days? :-)

This is Aunt Kristin with the boys - Sheldon, Andrew, and Seth.

Aunt Kristin, Mom, and I walked over to the Wal-Mart right next to the hotel to pick up a few things to stick in a fridge. My first time in a Wal-Mart since last summer. I wasn't overwhelmed or anything. I've heard people say that, but maybe it was I knew exactly what we were looking for. I found a 4-pack of some old-fashioned root beer. I've been thinking for the past few days one of those would taste pretty good while in Texas tonight. It's chilling in the fridge now as I sit at the desk in the hotel room writing my journal for the past few days. I meant to get on last night, but the day was way over before I knew it. More chill time in the hotel today. Not sure what else will come of my night, but going to head and chat with Granny B and Mom for a little while at least. Hope you all have a great Friday!