Last weekend, Rob, Randy and Eric (friends from Calvin) came out to Denver for a bachelor weekend. Granted the wedding is still 4 months away, but this was the best time to meet up with just the guys since I was on Spring Break and the guys were all able to take off for the weekend. We did the usual tourist things like visit the Coors brewery, check out Red Rocks, go hiking, and wander around Boulder etc. We also went up to Copper for a day of skiing and had some beautiful weather! All of these activities were naturally accompanied by intellectual conversation, most of which centered on Libertarianism and Rob's new Paleolithic diet. We toasted to crony capitalism as we tuned in live to the health care reform vote in the House on Sunday evening.
All the while Amanda was dog sitting for her boss at our house, so she was able to keep a close eye on us :) Oliver is a combination of a Yorkie and a Terrier and weighs only about 5 lbs, but tries to act as if he's a tough dog... even though he was afraid of his own food dish! It was fun to have something resembling a dog in the house for a weekend. If anyone else has a dog that they would like us to dog sit for a while, I think Amanda would be happy to do so. Plus, if we do this often enough then we won't feel the need to buy our own dog and have to deal with all the extra expenses and hassles that go along with the pleasures of owning a dog!
Anyway, my Spring Break is now coming to a close, and I'm trying to get ready for the coming week. My parents are in town for the weekend as well, although right now they're down in Texas visiting my brother Justin for his 30th birthday. Only nine more weeks till summer break, but who's counting!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Playing host
Last weekend Amanda and I played host to Justin and Ginny, friends of Amanda's from Wisconsin. Some highlights of the weekend were a mystery murder dinner and an Avalanche game - not to mention some stellar meals (thanks Amanda and Ginny!) and stimulating conversation.
The murder mystery dinner production was called 'Murder at an Irish Wake'. I somehow got roped into being the pall bearer, and couldn't help but laugh the whole time cuz the actors were hilarious... I guess that rules out a career in acting for me! Anyway, this was a first time for all of us, so we had a blast. At the end of the show each table had to guess who the murderer was and decide what the punishment should be. Amanda's medical expertise helped us solve the case - acute radiation was the cause, and Dr. Murphy was guilty... kinda felt like a live game of Clue really.
The Avs game was equally entertaining. Justin's dad pulled some connections and got us club seat tickets. It was great high-scoring game, and we had some really good seats as well as a few free drinks! We capped the night off with a riveting game of Monty Python Fluxx... if you've never played it, I suggest... no I command thee to go forth and purchase it post haste.
We're looking forward to playing host again very shortly... tonight that is, when our friend Adrian stays over with us before returning to Portland. , then again in about a week when some of my college buddies come out for a pre-bachelor party and spring break trip. That will then be followed by a visit from my parents.
Gotta love living in an extremely popular city!
The murder mystery dinner production was called 'Murder at an Irish Wake'. I somehow got roped into being the pall bearer, and couldn't help but laugh the whole time cuz the actors were hilarious... I guess that rules out a career in acting for me! Anyway, this was a first time for all of us, so we had a blast. At the end of the show each table had to guess who the murderer was and decide what the punishment should be. Amanda's medical expertise helped us solve the case - acute radiation was the cause, and Dr. Murphy was guilty... kinda felt like a live game of Clue really.
The Avs game was equally entertaining. Justin's dad pulled some connections and got us club seat tickets. It was great high-scoring game, and we had some really good seats as well as a few free drinks! We capped the night off with a riveting game of Monty Python Fluxx... if you've never played it, I suggest... no I command thee to go forth and purchase it post haste.
We're looking forward to playing host again very shortly... tonight that is, when our friend Adrian stays over with us before returning to Portland. , then again in about a week when some of my college buddies come out for a pre-bachelor party and spring break trip. That will then be followed by a visit from my parents.
Gotta love living in an extremely popular city!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Does this sound kosher to you?
Amanda had yet another productive wedding planning trip home to Wisconsin last weekend. I felt my weekend was equally productive, however mine involved less wedding bells and more soap suds and sponges :)
Besides hand making all of the invitations with her mom and several bridesmaids, she also found our musicians and planned most of the music with them. The way she found them was rather unconventional – but when you’re planning a wedding from such a long distance you need to get a little creative. She was at her parents’ church Sunday morning where there was a small musical performance. After the service, Amanda boldly introduced herself to both a trumpet player and a violinist and quickly proceeded to ask what their plans were for July 30th of this year. The trumpet player (and vocalist) agreed almost immediately and he and Amanda spent the afternoon picking songs and talking about plans for the ceremony. So, while we don’t have a strong personal connection to this artist, Amanda did already hear him perform and was impressed.
Staying behind in D-town while Amanda was away, I took advantage of the opportunity to roll up my sleeves and clean house… literally! I reached a new high of male domestication with this; the second half of my valentine’s gift to Amanda. She was delighted to return home to a clean bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom - yes, I even scrubbed the toilet and shower! In case you’re wondering… I’m not planning on renting out my cleaning services just yet – I’ve got plenty of work to keep me busy for now, between the new house and Amanda’s apartment :)
Sounds kosher to me!
Besides hand making all of the invitations with her mom and several bridesmaids, she also found our musicians and planned most of the music with them. The way she found them was rather unconventional – but when you’re planning a wedding from such a long distance you need to get a little creative. She was at her parents’ church Sunday morning where there was a small musical performance. After the service, Amanda boldly introduced herself to both a trumpet player and a violinist and quickly proceeded to ask what their plans were for July 30th of this year. The trumpet player (and vocalist) agreed almost immediately and he and Amanda spent the afternoon picking songs and talking about plans for the ceremony. So, while we don’t have a strong personal connection to this artist, Amanda did already hear him perform and was impressed.
Staying behind in D-town while Amanda was away, I took advantage of the opportunity to roll up my sleeves and clean house… literally! I reached a new high of male domestication with this; the second half of my valentine’s gift to Amanda. She was delighted to return home to a clean bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom - yes, I even scrubbed the toilet and shower! In case you’re wondering… I’m not planning on renting out my cleaning services just yet – I’ve got plenty of work to keep me busy for now, between the new house and Amanda’s apartment :)
Sounds kosher to me!
Monday, February 8, 2010
An early Valentine :)
Since Amanda will be heading home this coming weekend to take care of some more wedding business, we decided to officially celebrate Valentine's day on Friday (and unofficially every other day of the year).
Since I'm terrible at keeping secrets, and Amanda doesn't like having secrets kept from her, I told her to keep Friday evening open but didn't actually plan anything until that morning. Where else would you look to find a good idea for a date but craigslist, right? So I found some tickets for a wine tasting, dinner and theatre production, and arranged to pick them up after work. The play didn't particularly have a Valentine theme, but I figured it would work anyway.
I left work a little late to be able to pick up the tickets before meeting Amanda and heading downtown, so we had to pick them up on the way. After a seemingly shady, yet smooth transaction with the seller of the tickets (he met me on a street corner, but it was a nicer part of town...), Amanda saw the tickets and started to piece together where we were going. I was still a little skeptical at this point whether or not the tickets were real, or some high quality reproduction made with an expensive printer.
Thankfully, we were admitted into the tasting and dinner. It was a delicious meal with a knowledgeable host who explained many things about various wines. We faked our way as we talked about the various components of each wine, as did the other amateur couples seated at our table! Then came the interesting part – the play…
Our tickets said wine tasting and play, however everyone else at the dinner had a separate ticket to get into the play. Acting completely ignorant (which wasn’t hard to pull off since this wasn’t far from the truth), we approached the box office staff and said that we paid for the dinner and play, but that we didn’t have the tickets for the play. They kindly printed off tickets for some of the best seats in the house – honestly, we were front and center!
After the play we began thinking that we might have just gotten a little more than we paid for. The play was extremely well done – like, we’re talking almost Broadway quality! It would have been a reasonable deal if we had only gotten to do the wine tasting and dinner (which apparently was all that we were supposed to have done!). We got home and looked up how much the tickets should have cost, and let’s just say that we paid one fourth as much – oops!
Since I'm terrible at keeping secrets, and Amanda doesn't like having secrets kept from her, I told her to keep Friday evening open but didn't actually plan anything until that morning. Where else would you look to find a good idea for a date but craigslist, right? So I found some tickets for a wine tasting, dinner and theatre production, and arranged to pick them up after work. The play didn't particularly have a Valentine theme, but I figured it would work anyway.
I left work a little late to be able to pick up the tickets before meeting Amanda and heading downtown, so we had to pick them up on the way. After a seemingly shady, yet smooth transaction with the seller of the tickets (he met me on a street corner, but it was a nicer part of town...), Amanda saw the tickets and started to piece together where we were going. I was still a little skeptical at this point whether or not the tickets were real, or some high quality reproduction made with an expensive printer.
Thankfully, we were admitted into the tasting and dinner. It was a delicious meal with a knowledgeable host who explained many things about various wines. We faked our way as we talked about the various components of each wine, as did the other amateur couples seated at our table! Then came the interesting part – the play…
Our tickets said wine tasting and play, however everyone else at the dinner had a separate ticket to get into the play. Acting completely ignorant (which wasn’t hard to pull off since this wasn’t far from the truth), we approached the box office staff and said that we paid for the dinner and play, but that we didn’t have the tickets for the play. They kindly printed off tickets for some of the best seats in the house – honestly, we were front and center!
After the play we began thinking that we might have just gotten a little more than we paid for. The play was extremely well done – like, we’re talking almost Broadway quality! It would have been a reasonable deal if we had only gotten to do the wine tasting and dinner (which apparently was all that we were supposed to have done!). We got home and looked up how much the tickets should have cost, and let’s just say that we paid one fourth as much – oops!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wedding info update
We have begun to send out the save-the-date cards for our big day, hopefully you’ve already seen our smiling faces in the mail :)
As the postcard indicates, we are having a Friday wedding (July 30th). The ceremony will take place in the afternoon at English Lutheran Church in La Crosse, WI. The reception will follow at Stoney Creek Inn in Onalaska, which is also conveniently the same place where we have a block of rooms reserved for guests. Check out the website here: http://www.stoneycreekinn.com/locations/index.cfm/LaCrosse. When reserving a room just mention the Schneider/Vyn wedding.
We'll continue to add more information as the wedding planning progresses. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me: r_vyn@hotmail.com
As the postcard indicates, we are having a Friday wedding (July 30th). The ceremony will take place in the afternoon at English Lutheran Church in La Crosse, WI. The reception will follow at Stoney Creek Inn in Onalaska, which is also conveniently the same place where we have a block of rooms reserved for guests. Check out the website here: http://www.stoneycreekinn.com/locations/index.cfm/LaCrosse. When reserving a room just mention the Schneider/Vyn wedding.
We'll continue to add more information as the wedding planning progresses. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me: r_vyn@hotmail.com
Saturday, January 23, 2010
A Bittersweet beginning to 2010
On a more serious note, the beginning of this year was bittersweet. Within 24 hours I heard the news of both the passing of my Aunt MaryAnn and the birth of my nephew, Brenan. I returned to Ontario for a short, but very meaningful, trip. It was very sad to see our aunt pass away at such a young age, and leaving behind a young family that I had the great fortune of growing up alongside. Words can’t describe many of the emotions and difficulties that now rise up for my uncle and cousins, but we continue to pray that God will sustain them. Witnessing both death and new life in such a short time span is a strange combination of emotions to encounter – joy and sorrow don’t often come as a package deal. But it was beautiful to be able to hold a 5lb bundle of joy, and to feel his hiccups shake his whole body! Brenan was an eager one to come out – he arrived a month early, but thankfully both mother and child are healthy. Now Rich and Tara have the tough decision of how to divide up their 12 months maternity/paternity leave :)
Once again...
Surprise, surprise... I'm doing a lousy job of holding up my end of the bargaining in the wedding planning - it's been over a month since my last post, and certainly not for lack of things to write about!
Without further delay, here's a quick re-cap of our lives since the last post:
Shortly after moving into the new house we were able to host Amanda's family for Christmas. We shared a very atypical Christmas day, dawning paint brushes, rollers and my old high school t-shirts instead of... um... well whatever people would typically dawn for this festive day. With 14 hands hard at work we were able to finish all but one room of the main floor. Any self-respecting Dutchman can recognize the value of family labour. We did offer in return an afternoon of snowshoeing in the Rocky Mountains, which provided some great scenery for next year's Christmas card :)
The New Year was much more eventful than we would have preferred. Having gotten my top two wisdom teeth removed that morning, we decided to have a low-key evening with our friends Adam and Megan. We celebrated the New Year along with the East Coast, and I was ready to cash in my chips by 10:30pm local time (lame, I know!). Before going to bed I took a vicodin - not so much for the pain, but just so I could sleep comfortably through the night... well, that didn't happen! I woke up around 2am to go to the bathroom and ended up passing out twice in the bathroom. The second time I didn't come to for a bit. When I did, Amanda had already dialed 9-1-1. Anyway, the long and short of it was I got an ambulance ride (for fear that I might pass out on the way to the ER again) and spent two hours in the ER just to have them tell me I was dehydrated - oh, and did I mention that I drank 5-6 glasses of water that evening! I'm not a doctor, but if one drinks that much, AND gets up in the middle of the night to relieve one's bladder, the likely scenario isn't dehydration - but like I said, I'm not a doctor. Anyway, I've since recovered and am waking up to the reality of insurance bills - who knew EKGs and labs could cost so much? I really shouldn't complain too much though - I am very fortunate to have my health, and not to mention a beautiful fiancee who strives to maintain it... was that too cheesy?
Without further delay, here's a quick re-cap of our lives since the last post:
Shortly after moving into the new house we were able to host Amanda's family for Christmas. We shared a very atypical Christmas day, dawning paint brushes, rollers and my old high school t-shirts instead of... um... well whatever people would typically dawn for this festive day. With 14 hands hard at work we were able to finish all but one room of the main floor. Any self-respecting Dutchman can recognize the value of family labour. We did offer in return an afternoon of snowshoeing in the Rocky Mountains, which provided some great scenery for next year's Christmas card :)
The New Year was much more eventful than we would have preferred. Having gotten my top two wisdom teeth removed that morning, we decided to have a low-key evening with our friends Adam and Megan. We celebrated the New Year along with the East Coast, and I was ready to cash in my chips by 10:30pm local time (lame, I know!). Before going to bed I took a vicodin - not so much for the pain, but just so I could sleep comfortably through the night... well, that didn't happen! I woke up around 2am to go to the bathroom and ended up passing out twice in the bathroom. The second time I didn't come to for a bit. When I did, Amanda had already dialed 9-1-1. Anyway, the long and short of it was I got an ambulance ride (for fear that I might pass out on the way to the ER again) and spent two hours in the ER just to have them tell me I was dehydrated - oh, and did I mention that I drank 5-6 glasses of water that evening! I'm not a doctor, but if one drinks that much, AND gets up in the middle of the night to relieve one's bladder, the likely scenario isn't dehydration - but like I said, I'm not a doctor. Anyway, I've since recovered and am waking up to the reality of insurance bills - who knew EKGs and labs could cost so much? I really shouldn't complain too much though - I am very fortunate to have my health, and not to mention a beautiful fiancee who strives to maintain it... was that too cheesy?
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