The Springs

We had a lovely time in Colorado Springs this weekend with Grandpa Burt, Anna Lou, Allie and Zack. Here are the ladies (and slide ass gin winners!) at the club.

And the gentlemen.

Then Grandpa let us take a cruise in the convertible!

 

We toured Garden of the Gods.

And had a pretty awesome time at the info center (slash gift shop).

 

 

Chillin in the crack.

 

Holding up balanced rock.

Zack jumping over the crevasse

Tak cruising in the club + nature

Anna Lou and Karen

fiancé & fiancée

Tak and I have some big news: we got engaged on Saturday! We are both overjoyed and wanted to share our happy news with you.

We spent a lovely weekend in Napa, relaxing at the spa and enjoying a fabulous dinner at Solage. This was Tak's (very extravagant) Christmas present for me. So, you can imagine my surprise when we got back to our room after dinner to find it decked out with candles and rose petals. Once I saw it, I knew. Tak proposed (with his great grandmother's beautiful aquamarine ring) and I said yes (of course!) and the rest was history, as they say.

We have yet to settle on any wedding specifics, but we're tentatively thinking Spring 2013 in the bay area. For now, we're just enjoying this amazing feeling.

These cool cruisers came with our room!

 

We toured the resort.

Our cute cabin.

 

We got these precious, little water bottles (and took them home).

And lounged in our bathrobes. (This one's for Jenny and Philip!)

And enjoyed an absolutely incredible dinner (mood lighting, what can you do?).

There was a halo around the full moon, which Google tells me (and I now know to be true) means good luck.

The room, romantic style.

 

The ring!

 

So happy!

Day 2: blissed out at the spa.

The extremely, super, very, very happy couple.

This Christmas

This year I went with Tak to Susie and Harris's for Christmas Eve!

They made delicious cioppino, mmm.

And we opened tons of presents.

The whole fam.

Then we flew to MN bright and early on Christmas day.

Jolly Green Giant! We made it to Mankato just in time for a scrumptious roast dinner at my mom's.

I rediscovered my MN pride. Go Vikes!

And fired it up ...

BULLS-EYE!

And of course we played a little Buck Hunter.

So serious.

I took this artsy pic of Tak by my mom's tree because MacKenzie asked to be my Instagram friend.

Mac D + big TV + Judge Judy

Then we had dinner at Mankato's finest pizzeria.

So cheesy and goooooood.

BFF glam shot

Johnson time

We also went to Lake Washington (and had lunch at Westwood). It was frozen and exciting.

Sada and I also did a little reading.

CHEESE STRAWS!

Brother taught Tak the ways.

Yum, yum, yum.

We paired the cheese straws with some fine Iowa pork chops.

And Callum and Sada treated us to a post-dinner performance. It had limited seating, so we had to get in line.

The Kitty and Lightning McQueen Star Wars Show

Tak and I also made a pilgrimage up to St. Paul to visit my alma mater (and Herta, of course).

We checked out the construction at Janet Wallace.

Herta!

My old office!

We also discovered the new Mankato Brewery. They weren't quite open for business yet, but my mom sweet-talked them into giving us a tour anyway.

The brewmasters.

Keg Christmas tree

We even got a little snow that day!

So we stopped by 7 mile creek for a mini photo shoot.

We also got some excellent bloody marys at Patrick's. They came with beef sticks and pickles.

Callum and Sada showed off their Wii dancing skills. They are pretty awesome.

Back in Mankato, we hit up Pub 500 with Mom and Kathy.

Then did a little tour of the town, where we saw Jefferson's new 3D sign.

Chez Bunkers

Then we bid farewell to everyone and headed for the airport.

We landed at 11 pm on New Year's Eve, but did manage to catch the SF fireworks as we drove across the Bay Bridge.

And Frances had us over for a lovely New Year's Day breakfast.

And we met up with some friends to enjoy the spoils of our trip. Schmidt's finest and Bent River camembert!

Sausage!

 

 

 

 

The end.