T h a n k s g i v i n g

Ceej and I spent Thanksgiving with my family in Hartford, Wisconsin. As usual, we had an excellent holiday and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with everyone that we rarely get to see. It's always hard to leave because there's always too much time in between our visits. We have so much to thankful for; our lives are so full of blessings. I'm happy we were able to spend Thanksgiving giving thanks, especially because the next morning I was pretty disappointed when Menards was SOLD OUT of the generic Snuggies for $2.99. Black Friday was truly black for me.

Hunting Season

Oh what a season it has been! No deer have been shot thus far, but not for lack of trying (Ceej has been out at the crack of dawn every morning... and I mean CRACK. Like 3:30AM crack). To be honest, I was a little baffled as to the excitement in the whole ordeal, but I felt happy that he was enjoying it nonetheless. Today, my friends, I was given the experience. I have three words for you: I. am. hooked.

I needed a study break and Ceej needed an excuse to not go out hunting again this afternoon. We randomly decided to go out shooting at Big Falls. It was so much fun! I'm serious... you may be staring at a future hunter. I'm contemplating going to hunter's safety. Can you picture it? Deer will tremble when they hear my name!

Recent Happenings

Here are some recent occurrences for the Thurners:

1. It was Ceej's 26th Birthday! We had a really fun, family-filled day. We had lunch with his little sisters at their school (it was pizza day), and then went to his parents for dinner with the whole family. We had dinner and then talked and hung out all night. I actually kind of dislike my own Birthday, so it was fun to celebrate his! I get all nostalgic and think about the snap shot of each Birthday for the rest of our lives. It makes me smile to think about being super old and looking back at our first Birthday being married. I'm such a dork, but I love it!

2. Ceej and I were leaders at Convo. Convo is a high school Christian weekend held in Wisconsin Dells at Chula Vista resort. For those of you who are familiar with Passion (a national conference for college students), it's basically that for teenagers. I went as a freshman in high school and loved it, so it was very cool to go as a leader. Overall the weekend was awesome! It had an awesome speaker who could really relate to the kids and adults, and Robbie Seay Band was there. Chula Vista was open JUST for Convo-goers from 10PM-12AM (can you imagine the raging hormones of hundred of teenagers all in their bathing suits? Whoa.). We loved being leaders at this event; what a great experience for both of us!

3. Our nephew, Alexander, has turned two!! He had a super fun Birthday party at Chaos water park in Eau Claire (didn't think the Eau C had a water park? Oh it does.). His Birthday-pizza was about 3 feet by 3 feet and tasted amazing, and he announced an extra-special event: he has a sibling coming! What a fun day!

Family Fun

On Saturday morning we made the trip to Stillwater to visit my family. It was a short trip, but we had so much fun! The day started with my dad's best breakfasts... the usual cheesy scrambled eggs, pancakes, french toast, and bacon. Because it was so nice out, we all got out and played a game of football. As you can see, the game got pretty intense. Apparently in my non-athletic family (myself DEFINITELY included), we have a secret football star!


After football we all went bowling. Mickeegan had passed two spelling tests and earned it, and we all enjoyed it. It was Elliana's FIRST-ever bowling experience (sadly, no pictures were taken), and fortunately (for her) she really didn't do that much worse than I did.

On a side note, because my sister's family is growing rapidly (remember, 2 boys and twin girls on the way), they are upsizing their vehicle to a van. They've gotten rid of a few (including some beloved ones). One vehicle, below, is in need of a little work before selling. It's the one with all the smoke.

Two Perfect Days of Halloween!!

As usual, Halloween lasted two wonderful days for Ceej and I. The first was in Madison with a bunch of friends. Below is a little picture-story of the night.

We stayed at Adam's house and felt VERY welcome. Adam was (obviously) a great host. We grilled out with everyone and then headed to State Street.


Ceej and I were the only ones of our group to dress up this night (we didnt' feel out of place as there were plenty of others on State, of course). After much thought and consideration, we decided on Peter the Pumpkin Eater and a pumpkin for this year's costume. It was easy, warm, and cheap, which are important considerations.


We started at the Irish Pub. Tyler and Timmy were visiting from Kentucky, so we were happy we got to see them as well!


Then we made our way to the Comedy Club where some others met up with us, including Alicia and her boyfriend, Stephen. I was so happy to see my ex-roomie! It had been awhile! We made our way throughout State Street for a long night of fun. It was an awesome night!


The next day Ceej, Mitch, and I drove home and got back around 5 (Mitch was selling his car until the afternoon). Ceej and I had planned to go to my dad's shop where he was hosting his first (annual?) Halloween bash. It sounded SO fun, but we were just exhausted and driving another 2 hours in one night would be brutal. Also, we figured a visit to Stillwater would be better if we could have more quality time with all of my family in a less-social, more-intimate setting. So ANYWAY, we stopped at his parents' for about an hour to visit and see his siblings' cute costumes before we headed home. That's right, we spent Saturday night getting caught up on our shows (grey's, private practice, project runway, runway models... we are losers...), ate too much of his mom's amazing caramel corn, and played Scrabble until about midnight. We passed up about 4 opportunities to go out again, and we loved it that way. No pictures were taken (although I'm sure we were sights to be seen). It was an awesome first Halloween married, and we wouldn't change a thing about it!

Spooky Season!

Oh, how I love Halloween! If Christmas wasn't about Jesus' birth, Halloween would definitely be my favorite. Jesus always wins, so Christmas wins, too. Anyway, Ceej and I had an especially Halloween-y weekend. We carved pumpkins and went to a haunted house! It was wonderful. I may look super tough, but boy let me tell you, I was a screamer. For. sure. The haunted house here is ridiculously scary, and I love it that way! We still have to make it to an apple orchard. Then our traditions will be complete!


HELP! We need to figure out costumes!! Any suggestions?? We're spending Friday night in Madison and then heading to Stillwater for my dad's big Halloween bash! It will be so great; I'm just bursting with joy!

Not as Sad as I Should be

I posted my wedding dress on eBay because, well, that's where I bought it from. The thought of "losing" my dress was not really a big deal to me. I thought that we would have enough memories in photographs, and we could make more memories with the money from it (like take a vacation, go on a Mission Trip, etc.). Besides, I was NOT going to be one of those brides that says, "my daughter will probably wear it one day." Let's just be honest- that never ends up happening. Anyway, my dress sold and I was still feeling fine. I wore it around the house a few times and shipped it out with only a bit of sadness in my heart. Well, turns out it had a super teeny hole that I didn't even notice, and the buyer decided to send it back to me (after dry cleaning it, which was a HUGE perk). So there it is, hanging in the closet again (except clean this time), and I keep peaking over at it. I love that dress. And even though my future daughter won't be wearing it down the aisle, I can definitely picture her prancing around the house in it someday. I bet we'll take turns doing so :).

A Visit from Danasaur!

Last night my dear friend and ex-roommate from college, Dana, came to visit! Let me tell you- we had a great time! The two of us end up doing most things alone, and we always have so much fun that we love it that way. We spent a majority of the evening at Wigwam bar for Trivia Night. What a blast! We were the self-proclaimed "Wigwam Wuvers"... and we definitely did not win. After a great time at Wigwam we met Ceej down at Rolly's for a drink. This morning we enjoyed a nice long walk outside in the gorgeous FALL-like weather (since the silly snow melted), and then had lunch at Erbs and Gerbs before she headed back. What a perfect day!

Kickin' up our heels

We've been loving the crisp, Fall weather! So much so that Ceej decided to play a game of football with his little brother and -whoops!- ends up breaking/straining his foot. The poor guy! This was last week (can you see how "miserable" he is?). He's still icing it and it is definitely discolored and very sore, but we don't really know if it's broken or not.

Since I've been a slave to the studies we decided to take a break Friday night and go out with some friends. We had so much fun! We all got together at Andy and Mandy's and played an intense game of Pictionary (Girls won. Again.) and Balderdash. Then headed over to Rolly's until bar close. It was GREAT to be with close friends and one another! Even though we're both home we don't actually "hang out" that much because I do homework pretty much constantly.

I got new glasses! My old right lens was not strong enough for my stinker right eye. Reading on the computer was giving me headaches, which is not okay in this profession of online student. I went to the eye doctor to renew my subscription and get the new guys and found out I have a virus in my eyes! Surprise! They were just a little sore so I thought nothing of it. They feel fine now, but I still have to lay off the contacts and put special drops in them for a few more days.

And last but certainly not least, we got our first snow fall! We woke up to these sweet little fluffs of love and couldn't resist taking a picture of the first snow on our first lawn! Oh how splendid!

We're Moving to Sweden!

Okay, not really. But I am definitely tempted, as will you be. This entry is dedicated to all of my blog-stalkers who are/ever will be parents: YOU need to move to Sweden. No joke. I was writing a comparative analysis on institutions in Sweden and their affect on how people interact with one another and participate in occupations within the institutions (which include religion, politics, family, education, economy, etc.) when I came across the following websites:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/18/children.parents

http://www.thelocal.se/18078/20090309/

So, here's the deal: In order to increase the amount of people having babies, the government pay parents about $1000! Just for havin' babes. I can't believe it. AND, the most amazing thing, when babies are born parents are allowed 6 weeks off, oh wait that's the U.S., FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY DAYS OFF OF WORK. What!? AND 390 of those days you get PAID 80% of your working income. HOLY CRAP. Peace out, Wisco. I'm movin' to Sweden.




So I don't get sued or anything, references are below (we don't want to mess with plagerism).

Sundelin, J. (2008). Paradise for Families? Guardian News and Media Limited.
Landes, D. (2009). 'Baby bonus' would pay Swedish parents to have children. The Local.