Maddy's mom is OLD!!!

Yup, I turned the big 3-0 this month!!!  While this blog is intended to be a "scrapebook" of Maddy's first year (and after her first year, maybe I'll branch out and blog about other things, time permitting, of course).  At any rate, I couldn't resist blogging about my big day (which Maddy was a part of, so it's all good, right?)!

Having a July 2nd birthday has always coincided with vacations, due to it falling so close to the 4th. The three of us, most of my family, and my in-laws were all at my parents house in TC this year durning the weekend of my birthday.  The day was lots of fun- beach, sun, boat rides, etc.  Mid-day Jon began asking me where I wanted to eat.  TC has become a big foodie town in recent years, so lots of places game to mind!  Finally I picked the Jolly Pumpkin.  When Jon asked me to make a reservation, I did say "No way, you, it's MY day!"

Well fast forward to later in the day and it was close to our "reservation time" so Jon, Maddy and I left to the guest cabin and went to round up the troops at the main house. Much to my surprise everyone didn't appear  ready and Karen, my older sister, came running out in her bath robe telling me to go pick up a bottle of champagne at Bowers Harbor Vineyard (I love champagne).  Immediately I said sure, and grabbed a local wineries brochure and told everyone we would meet them at the restaurant right after (they were close by each other on Old Mission Peninsula).  On the way to get Champagne, Jon kept making silly turns and I was getting frustrated.  Finally as we pull into Bowers Harbor Vineyard I noticed no cars and looked at the wineries brochure and noticed the wineries closed over an hour ago.  I began getting annoyed that Karen didn't just pick up the Champagne earlier herself.  Why should I have to buy it on my birthday?  And now after driving here it was closed anyway.  Then Jon noticed the door was open, so he said he would run out and see if they would let us quickly buy a bottle.  He came back to the car to let me know they will let us buy some since they are open for a private party arriving later.  Sweet, I thought (but by now I was  really annoyed Karen just didn't pick it up earlier herself). So we grabbed Maddy out of her car seat and went to buy a bottle...

Well, it turns out the private party was for me!  You guessed it, Jon rented the vineyard for the night...one of the  best nights of my life.  We walked around the vineyard, took lots of pictures, snacked on amazing appetizers (smoked whitefish dip being one of my favorites), and drank as much wine as we wanted!!!  If that wasn't enough, we also had dinner out in the vineyard.  We had a delicious dinner of chicken and steak kabobs straight from the grill, the cheesiest, gooiest, yummiest risotto ever, and ceasar salad!  I obviously had no idea this was planned, and it could not of been more special. 

I was absolutely in my element enjoying glass after glass of wine, when Jon whispered there was still one more surprise.  A few minutes later was cake time! Surprise...Jon had my favorite chocolate cake flown in from The Cheesecake Factory!  Apparently they don't usually ship their cakes, but as it turns out, Jon works with someone who has an uncle high up with the company out in California.  So there I was, after sunset, sitting in a vineyard, drinking wine,  and eating Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake from The Cheesecake Factory (view it here).  Now that's decadent!

I never could of even dreamed up such a night.  Luckily I have a few years before I have to worry about Jon's 30th!

What a sweet ending to a perfect night.

Mr. and Mrs. Harnisch

Aahhhh, finally a free second in my day to blog about Mr. & Mrs. Jon Harnisch's beautiful wedding in Denver (while I hoped to blog more during the summer months, I've found traveling up north, unplugged, to be more relaxing!).

I packed up my classroom, left school for the summer, came home, packed up the family, and left for Denver the next morning!  Jon's sister chose to get married in Denver, Colorado.  She clearly did it right, getting married at the Denver Botanic Gardens and a reception following at the Brown Palace!  We stayed at the Brown Palace for four nights and were so impressed by the historic hotel (every US president while in office has stayed there, hopefully Obama will too).  Enough with presidents,I felt like royalty!!!  I can only imagine how the bride and groom felt in their suite, complete with the biggest bathroom I've ever seen (and yes, I whipped through their suite and grabbed every soap, shampoo, coffee cup and honey jar I could find)!

Back to the beginning...

On Thursday evening, I corralled all three of us on an airplane for our first family trip.  Maddy did pretty good (B+  Jon and I decided).  Of course everyone loved her little tutu paired with her onesie that said "Denver or Bust:  Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jon are Getting Married".  I figured if she looked cute, everyone would forgive her for the inevitable meltdowns.  Once we landed in Denver, my parents picked us up with the car they drove out there in.  We then met Rachel, Jon and "my Jon's" family at The Cheesecake Factory!  I of course scarfed down as much as a could since I'm obsessed with that place and don't live by one, while Aunt Rachel kissed up Maddy.  The next day Jon, Maddy and I woke up early for Denver time and walked around the streets of downtown.  Later we met Rachel  and the gang for lunch at a wonderful restaurant where they had over 100 beers ON DRAFT (I don't even like beer, but suddenly I loved it there!). We all then went out for a quick drink before getting ready for the rehearsal.  The rehearsal was at the botanic gardens, followed by a yummy pizza dinner in downtown.  Of course Maddy went ballistic,  but who can blame her with such a busy day, and we were out WAY past her bedtime (I was impressed she held of this long!).

The next day was the big day, and what a day it was!  Not only did I wake up feeling refreshed thanks to Maddy sleeping through the night, but got to have my hair done and celebrate with morning mimosas (I think everyone was toasting to the wedding day, but not me, I was celebrating getting a full night's sleep).  Soon after bagels and beverages, the girls got dressed and met again for pictures.  While Maddy was sweet in her little flower girl outfit, Rachel was gorgeous in her stunning gown (I can't wait to see the pics of Maddy and Rachel).  Then it was off in the limo as we headed to the Denver Botanic Gardens.  The ceremony was short and sweet, followed by a lovely reception back at the Brown Palace.  We all loaded up on crab cakes and ahi tuna, to then be presented with a lavishly delicious meal.  After the meal, my Jon sat in a comfy chair and rocked Maddy.  I didn't feel bad for Jon at all, that's just what he was hoping he'd get to do (a.k.a avoid the dance floor).   While Maddy slept with her Daddy,  the rest of us danced the night away...

The next day the gang had a scrumptious brunch at the Grand Hilton and then it was off to Coors Stadium for the Rockies vs. Tigers game!  From there, Jon, Maddy and I said our good byes to Mr. and Mrs. Harnisch as they headed off to their honeymoon in Costa Rica!

Some of my favorite photos include..