Big City. . .Little Sis!

I know it is alarming to see that I (yes this is Kristin and not Tyler and there will be no trout in this post) am posting on the blog. Yet again I have neglected this thing and I regret it. So here's to a big comeback. And what a way to kick off--Ty and I just returned from the most amazing trip to Chicago. At Christmas time we had received some money to take a trip and we booked our flights right away. It seemed like May would never get here but before we knew it we were boarding a plane and on our way. It has been a couple years since we took a trip together and way too long since we had seen Chris and Aubree so we knew we were in for a fabulous weekend. My littlest sis got married last August to quite the guy (that would be Chris) and they moved out to Chicago. (He is a pilot that flies out of O'Hare Airport.)

I also have to state that most every picture in this post was taken by Chris. He is a very talented photographer (by hobby, not by trade) and we were lucky enough to have him constantly snapping shots. When you are old and married like us, you hardly ever get pictures of yourselves together. We will be using some of these as our engagement photos for when we renew our vows this summer. Haha. At any rate (and he wasn't cheap), these photos mean a lot to us. Thanks Chris.

Needless to say, it is a whole different life out there. So much fun. I don't want to be like one of those people that is showing their vacation slides while everyone else is asleep so I'll just list some of the highlights.

Aubree & Chris's ADORABLE apartment. (I should've taken a picture of the air mattress we slept on because it is the only one we have ever slept on successfully without rolling to the middle.)

The city skyline was breathtaking. Everywhere we turned looked like a postcard. Although these are not postcards, just Chris Schroeder originals.

Architectural boat tour. Fun AND educational.

Here we are at the John Hancock Building.

Super delicious Chicago deep dish pizza.

Dinner overlooking Michigan Avenue at the Grand Luxe Cafe.

Wrigley Field is barely a mile from Chris & Aubree's apartment.

The infamous bean. Gotta love it. The weather was amazing as you can see. I don't know what everyone is talking about with the ice and the 30 degrees below zero nonsense. It was beautiful.

Jumping Bean.

Someday you should ask Ty what he did right before this photo was snapped.
Sadies photos. WHAT? I never got asked to Cheap Dance and as a result of my bitterness I never asked anyone to Sadies so I was always dying for a picture like this. Next time I will be sure to bring matching shirts.

Boys playing Flightplan on Iphones while we shopped away.

Then it was the boys who got distracted at the Orvis store. It didn't take us long to find some guys that enjoyed our company.

Oh and Chris can cook too. Chicken tacos that literally melted in our mouths. The pics don't do it justice. Not pictured here: honey wheat banana cinnamon walnut pancakes, and cookies and creme milkshakes. (I just noticed that Chris seems to be holding his knife in a menacing fashion. I wonder why?)

Maybe he was just hungry because look how happy he looks now!
AMAZING Latin Restaurant for Saturday night date.

Meeting Schroeder's friends Joe & Megan and enjoying their fantastic view of the city from the 43rd floor. Their whole wall is windows. (Yeah this is the view from their living room! Frealz!)

Balcony.It was a little windy up 43 floors. The camera does love this girl.Ty wore a helmet for safety reasons during one particularly windy part of the night. Or maybe he thought that he really was landing a plane (note the iphone in his hands).What do you think is going through that head of his? Such a deep thinker he is.

Then we scored this sunset like I have never seen before.

It looked completely fake. Very very cool.
A giant hot fudge sundae at the Ghirardelhi Shop.

Fireworks from Navy Pier overlooking Lake Michigan. Just beautiful. (it was incredibly windy in this pic)

(Ty, Kristin, Chris, Aubree, Megan, Joe)

The thing we enjoyed most of all was spending time with these two. They are two truly great people. They are the best of friends, incredibly unselfish, extremely talented, hard working (I learned some great techniques for removing peanut butter from my carpet), beautiful, thoughtful, and not to mention gut busting hilarious. We owe you guys big time for showing us country folk such a darn good time! We'll never forget it.

Oh and being together wasn't so bad either. Can't believe it has been 8 years!!! Only infinity more to go!

(ps-we are registered at Target, Dillards, and Cabela's)

One of the Best Days Ever!

Since we started having kids I have looked forward to the day that I would be able to share my love of the out doors with them. Since the time they were little they would go on campouts and we would fish lakes from the shore. They were just a little to small to do the fun and adventurous things. Last year during our father and sons outing we wanted to go fly fishing at a lake that has proven to provide some fun outing over the years. (This is actually one of the many times that Kristin had fallen in love with me because in all the times she had been fishing she never really experienced the joys of catching a plethora of fish in one day!) After some thought, I was able to find a way for Keane to fish right next to me on my pontoon boat. I rigged him up with some flies and a bobber and we ended up catching enough fish to keep him interested within a two hour span. Keep in mind he was two and a half years old at the time.
Over the last month I have been telling Lucy that I wanted to take her fly fishing and let her fish in her own float tube right beside me. This has been a day that I have looked forward to for six years and it was finally here. She was excited up to the time that we were actually getting into the truck to leave then the tears started and the nerves kicked in. Not knowing what to expect throughout the day I hoped for the best but expected the worse. On the ride up we got her excited and hopped up on sugar which proved to be successful.

On our last fishing trip to Colorado I got some kids waders and wading boots from my cousin, so Lucy was set up from head to toe (well from the neck down since I forgot to put sun screen and hat on) she looked like she was ready to go pro! Even though I knew she was nervous she was a real trooper and stuck it out for three hours on the lake. From the time she got on the water to the time she got off she was catching fish even while eating fruit snacks and gold fish! She beat her mom’s record of nine fish and ended with eleven total. To top off a great day there were two times that she actually caught two fish at the same time. In all the years I have fished I have never done this.
Keane on the other hand acts like he is a pro since this wasn’t his first rodeo! He likes to tell us how it is done and rightly so the boy can catch fish! I put him with my dad since I was taking care of Lucy and from the beginning he was catching fish. One thing that everyone needs to know is Keane no matter what we are doing always falls asleep in the middle of our activities. A couple of weeks ago when we went quad riding all we could see is Keane’s head bobbing back and forth every time he would fall asleep. On this trip he didn’t let us down, it was a good thing that the fishing continued to stay hot while he was asleep!
I can’t wait for our next adventure, I am thankful for kids who like the outdoors, a wife who will let us get away and a grandpa who loves to take his grandkids to do fun activities!

Lucy's First Catch of the Day!

Another of Many!

Life Vest $27.99

Waders and wading boots "Free"

Float tube $150

Gas for the truck $38.92

Fishing permit $10.00

Happy Kids "Priceless"!

Double, Double!

Colorado Fly Fishing

Two years ago I began to have a desire to fish somewhere other then Arizona still waters. Nearly fifteen years ago my father and I were drawn to fly fishing through the movie “A River Runs Through it”. Being into fishing my whole life this was naturally the next step in the progression of a fisherman’s life. Conveniently at this time my dad had to make a few trips to Colorado where his father is from (My grandpa) to take care of his estate since he has passed away. I remember the Christmas of my junior year in high school getting a float tube and some of my grandpas fly fishing gear with a note stating that we would be going to Colorado later that summer for a first time fishing trip with our cousin Jimmy.

This trip would set me up for the next 12 years of my fly fishing career. Since I have picked up fly fishing I have rarely fished with a spin cast rod and reel (not that I don’t like it) I have just grown a love for what we like to call the Long Rod!:) So back to the story, a couple of years ago while I was sitting at my desk at work late one evening I got the urge to set up a trip where we would be able to fish some quality water and have a chance to catch a lot of nice fish. I found myself calling my cousin in Colorado and before I got off the phone with him we had a trip set up! When I got off the phone I felt like I had buyer’s remorse….. What had I have done? I hadn’t even talked with my wife to see if this would be okay……. I can’t even remember how I broke the news to her, however she never gives me a hard time she knows that I love the outdoors and that I have an addiction, as long as I don’t abuse it.

This is the third year that we have been to Colorado and like always it didn’t disappoint us. This year we were lucky to have my brother in-law Chris on the camera which makes the trip more presentable. We all had our moments of catching fish my best day by far was the first. This is also the day we had the best weather with each day getting progressively worse. On the last day it was so cold that what ever was out of the water for more then a couple of minutes turned to ice. We would go to reel a fish in and your reel and line would be frozen, this by far has been the coldest weather I have ever fished in. Next year we are going to try out a new place.

This is what it is all about!

Tyson Taking Fly Fishing to a new level (GQ)

What we will endure to catch a fish

Hard at work

Preview of next year!

Christmas Overview

Christmas this year was great, in so many ways. Since it is currently past Valentine's Day, I will just show you some of the highlights.

*Hayride, bonfire, dinner with family and friends at the Wheelers. When you are cold like this. . .
You need a hot chocolate mustache like this to make you feel better.
*Progressive dinner with the Ellsworths (sorry no pics)
*Santa at Bass Pro Shop (He was terrific, singing carols and talking with the kids forever, although as the pics show, the boys are a bunch of Santa scaredy cats. Keane is standing outside of the frame most of the time. . .clutching his hat)A boy can dream can't he? Sorry Cash, you weren't THAT good this year.
*Christmas Eve movie (Tale of Despereaux) with Ellsworths
*Luminarias--yes we are in short sleeves and flip flops, it wasn't that cold!
*Getting in our footsie pajamas and sleeping on the "magic" (hide-a) bed so that we can see out the front window and wait for Santaand putting out some swag for our visitors.
***Christmas Morning!!!Seriously, can't the dang reindeer finish one carrot before starting another one??? Don't they know there are starving reindeer in Africa!!!
And then check the nerve of these arctic mammals. Yes that's right, POOP. In. my. yard. Eeeeew.On the way from one party to the next. A little tired don't ya think?A memorable day, with fabulous family and three little angels that made it so much fun. My favorite is watching them cling to their new treasures. I mean I have always dreamed of having a son and watching him doze off into a Christmas slumber while snuggling his CHAINSAW. Okay but this one is frealz. Lucy got a cabbage patch from my parents named Lyndia, (mom's name is Linda, coincidence? I think not!) I love watching her play with it and tuck it in and all that stuff. It brings back all the good years I had with my cabbage patch doll, Amy.
I love Lucy. The End.

Wheeler Wash

After you drive through the mountains and snow, and your car looks like this:
you must visit the posh Wheeler Car Wash. Where you can dine at our oreos and milk cafe (courtesy of Lucy)See wild animals, this is the rare miniature schnauzer, don't worry she is behind a protective screen and is no danger to small children, only spare socks and food scraps.All of your seats and car seats will be detailed by this guy who was holding a "will vaccuum for oreos" sign at the corner. He seems harmless.Then, drive off into the beautiful Arizona sunset. Thank you for your patronage.