Monday Jogs

Monday jogs are on again. I feel bad pressuring a new daddy to stay our for an extra hour or so to babysit me on the trail, but I know he enjoys it as well. For some reason, I'm always behind him though. One of these days I'm going to have to create a post tag for Storm's butt. Honestly.
The adventure race put me in the mood for more scenic jogging so we hit up the Farmdale reservoir in East Peoria. Beautiful. Hey look, Deer! Deer deer, not Alicia Deer. I'm definitely feeling more outdoorsy this year.

Also back is the rest of Monday Softball season. Kari's team played again, but Pastor Joey's team had their very first appearance and won! Go Tolsons!!

Congratulations Storm, Katie and Big O

I won't spoil any details until they post, but I wanted to say congrats to the new family. The little dude still isn't quite as big as my brother and I were (Mom, what did you DO?), but he definitely made a big entrance. Can't wait to meet him!! A group of us baby lovers is headed out for Colorado this weekend making way for the non-skiers with nothing better to do to take turns holding the baby. So jealous.

Sledding Saturday

Actually lots more, but it's a simple title day.

Men's Breakfast

We rolled out this year's theme for the church's men's ministry, "No Man Left Behind". In a strange twist of random fate (did I just say random fate?) I think our Sunday school class motto will be "Every Man For Himself". I like that idea. It took people lovin' on me when I didn't deserve it or entertain them in return to get me interested in ministry, personal growth and loving other people. Why should I return the favor?


Nearly record turn out and my favorite menu items provided by the ladies cook team made it a blast. Pastor Lyall outlined our call as Christian men and our Ministry purpose, then Steve talked about what the ministry involves from week to week.

From there, many of the guys headed over to the church's new building site to help build more temporary walls and coverings, cutting down on labor costs.



I barely contributed during the hour I was there. Plenty of guys showed up and they only ended up working three hours total. Twas a busy day, so I moved on to the next thing.

Sledding!
Cody and Lisa, a freakishly generous and fun couple from church let a bunch of us come over to their place this weekend for a sledding party in the afternoon. Thank you so much for hosting and being so hospitable with refreshments and conversation! They also have two incredibly cute kids who seem more grown up than some grown ups I know.

Go Bjorn go!




A little more on the cautious side, Sarah made up for it at the bottom of the hill with her aggressive snow fighting tactics.
















The Lady boat. Not so much a jumpable craft, but fun nonetheless.








Hit it!



Surfin'






Even little Johnny had a good time :-)










Next item on the list, host Lasagna trials. Josh made an edible lasanga dish at home earlier in the week, and wanted to flex those cooking muscles some more. So, he invited a few couples to our house to try it out on. A few couples quickly exploded to 15ish people and a good time.
I was fully reminded and encouraged by the loving and mature spirits of my previous roomies, Chris and Jed, this weekend. Miss you guys alot!



You guys





Jerelyn threatened to give me a black eye if I didn't step away from the sink and let her take over. YEeeesh! Don't trust that smile on her face, she mean!








Stormy, I didn't succumb to pressure while people were in the house, but it did happen eventually. (Grunt grunt)

Appetizers Shmapetizers

With an incredibly disappointing lack of photos from the Storm and Katie's appetizer party the Saturday before Christmas, lets use up all of the cool ice pics I took before they go to waste. We got pounded with a couple of nights of freezing rain or melted and re-iced water a couple of weeks ago, and it lingered for almost a week.

Icy wake-up call before and after.


Road block down the street. No clue why. Maybe Albertson's power lines were being a pain again.


After the refreeze, things looked pretty cool.

Looks like this guy was ready to die already.













Storm and Katie hosted an enjoyable evening of appetizers (enough to feed a small army or the Deutch family) and games about a week ago. All I got was Tim trying to warm up his coffee after being advised by Jon about pre-marriage topics and becoming an American. It's all about the R's Tim!




Next time, I promise Jack, I won't leave you hangin' at chick's night. I MEAN girls night. You look miserable, simply miserable.

Jingle Bell Ketchup

The Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell run in Peoria was last Saturday morning. There were three wintry races to choose from this year, none of which seemed fun in the cold. I had some friends interested and available for this one, so it was on. About an hour before we got there, Storm and I simultaneously sent messages to each other asking if we were really doing it. I guess racing isn't exactly fun...yet.

At the race I met up with...


Steve and Melissa, with their two kids, Kayley and Kate. I have the honor of knowing this couple because of a simple EE visit to their home when they were new to our church!











Stormy days














Jill and Jeremy from WCIC's Afternoon Drive. They just started a blog and I made it on the second post! I know you're impressed.




Alot of the folks who do this race try to have fun with it. I mean seriously, it's freezing outside. It's not fun on it's own. There are teams with shirts or outfits, and individuals who just looked nuts.

Something else that was nuts? I've only seen this a couple of times. The race was started with the national anthem. When it's cold and no one is moving to keep warm, the anthem feels a tad long. Which is why we were so lucky that they found this lady, who managed to include every last artsy fling and drawn out note she could find. As Storm puts it so efficiently, "Really......really......".

The race route took us through most of the usual riverfront route that Storm takes us on.


My time was nothing to be mentioned. It was a miracle that the race didn't ruin my health for Candlelight and Carols later in the evening. I was getting sick through Friday and would not have time for lunch. It actually gave me alot of energy, and I forgot they would have tons of food!!!

They put Dance Dance Revolution in fitness clubs now??? No way! I'm in.

Poetic Justice

The morning was supposed to be filled with yard work, but not after the late night car non-work.

Prep for the Career Impact Mystery Dinner, "Poetic Justice" began at noonish Saturday. First, we had to make sure we could put back the lobby the way we found it.


Arranging the gym




Goofing off


A last minute, three stop errand where we forgot to account for open car seats after a couple of stops. Kari got to see everyone's parent's house.

A little toilet emergency.

Cooking



SARAH!! Only H. G. Wells dies today!

Completed set. Thanks to everyone who donated items (that's you Mom!)





H. G. Well's soiree guests





The suspects...dun dun dun



Police, medical and legal reports




The investigation





Don't forget dessert!!




The murder was solved, but we've been sworn to secrecy. You'll just have to have a mystery dinner and figure it out!


Some fun




What a SNOB! :-)




Clean up...augh



Waiting for Sarah to let me in to refill the ladies bathroom supplies.

Too late.