I have been a bad blogger lately, but for good reason! I squeezed out my last bit of my break and then finally started my new job! My last week off was filled with a date night with Tyler, coffee with Sara before she went back to Europe :(, book club, and a quick trip up north with my dad and uncle Roman.
Date night at Benihana's ;)
My dad has hunting property up north and wanted to get up there and check out the condition of the shack. We left super early on Wednesday morning and got busy working when we arrived. First up: replacing the window with an old one from our house. I tried to capture the stages of my dad and Romy hard at work. I did my part by handing tools a few times, starting the furnace and helping put the new window in...but for the most part, I sat and watched.
All the stages and the finished product!
Next we walked around the land and checked all the deer stands to see what repairs were needed. We were there in time to catch the end of the fall colors so I tried to take some pictures. (Of course, Tyler would have taken better ones!)
My attempt at being creative
There was a big wind storm early this fall that knocked down tons of trees on the land :( They all fell the same direction EXCEPT the one tree that fell right near the cabin. Oh how we lucked out!
This is bigger than it looks...missed by 5 feet or so
Since it was a dry season, we were able to walk through the cedar swamp to the pond on our land.
The lovely pond
I loved these trees
Some huge trees that were knocked down
The land also borders Big Lake. Such a wonderful view!
Hopefully the future sight of a cabin :)
We spent the night playing cards and woke up early in the morning to get to work again. The next days task was to cut up the trees that were down on the path and get some firewood. My dad manned the chainsaw and Romy and I picked up after him. We worked through some rain and shortly after we finished it started snowing! First snow of the season.
Hard at work
In other news. I PASSED THE BAR EXAM!!!!!! Yay! I had the worst anxiety and so many nightmares that practically convinced me that I failed. I am sooo glad that is over. They made us wait WAY too long. I have my swearing in ceremony in a week and a half and then I am officially a licensed lawyer.
Fall flowers from Tyler
I had the perfect occasion to celebrate after passing at Kayla's bachelorette party. We spent the weekend at a cabin just south of downtown Stillwater. I only was able to stay one night because I had a flight out on Sunday and needed to get ready. I have the BEST (and biggest) group of high school friends and feel so lucky to have all these ladies in my life. We hung out at the cabin and ate dinner there before heading out for a night on the town. Friday night was "animal print theme" so we all had to dress the part.
The bride to be ;) Can't wait for the big day!
All the ladies
Some of my all time favorites - Megan, Amber and Britt
I hung around Sat. during the day and for a late lunch before going home and crashing on my couch. On Sunday afternoon, I had a flight to Detroit to kick off my first week of work with orientation. Luckily, I started work with one of my best friends from law school so we made the trip fun.
We had some extra time at the airport
My first time in Detroit...
A view of Canada from my hotel room
(I had no idea that Canada was right across the river from downtown Detroit - don't judge) There was also an amazing view from the office of Lake Michigan but sadly, I forgot to take a picture.
Monday night, Kinz and I decided to jump on the people mover (yes, it is really called that) to go out for dinner.
The hotel - in the middle
My first week (and second so far) of work went really well. Everyone is really nice and helpful (because I have had a lot of questions) and I have enjoyed and been challenged by my work so far. Hopefully it continues to go well.
Last weekend, my family and another family went up to St. Cloud for our own "family weekend" for our Bennies and Johnnies. Danielle is in her senior year at St. Ben's and is a rock star. She is in the process of deciding which school to attend for Physical Therapy graduate school (she has been accepted into multiple). We went to the St. John's football game to cheer on Jon and then spent the rest of the night at the hotel eating, chatting, and playing games.
Tyler didn't come to St. Cloud because he was busy studying for his boards. He did however, find time to go duck hunting with my brother. This was Tyler's first time going duck hunting and he had a lot of fun with everyone. I told him to take pictures of the ducks he brought home and this is what he sent me.
Proud hunter (first kill ever)
Also, notice Tyler's NASTY mustache. He is participating in MOvember (mustache November) and thought he needed to start growing it out in October. I seriously tried everything to get him to shave - refusing to kiss him, not going out in public with him, being crabby - nothing worked :( Oh well, he can have his fun as long as he shaves after second weekend of deer hunting.
Since Tyler brought duck home, he needed to prepare it in a way that I would like it. He marinated the duck in worchestire sauce, teriyaki sauce and garlic and then wrapped pieces in bacon before he put them on the grill. I was impressed! It was very good!
The preparation
Ready to eat
Also this week, we FINALLY raked our leaves. For a small yard we had soooo many leaves (and still do). We filled 20 bags and need to get more. We raked into the dark and much after because we wanted to get it down while we were on a roll.
All the piles on just one side of the backyard
Tyler with all the bags
Tonight I had a fabulous sushi and wine date with my friend, Kacie, and I have two new recipes I want to try this week so I am excited. Also, today is my mom's birthday :) Yay!
