Meet Steve & Cindi Pehowski

On Saturday October 25th Cindi Hoch married Steve Pehowski in Green Bay, WI. It was great to see a number of people that I hadn't seen in a while. Also - it was Alicia's first real trip to Green Bay. It was eye opening to say the least.

Jarvy and I had the pleasure of DJing the reception

And then there was the after party...

Congrats to Steve & Cindi! Look forward to seeing you soon.

Stefanie Igtanloc 1979-2008

On Thursday October 16th my friend Stefanie (Anderson) Igtanloc passed away at the age of 29 after a 12-month battle with ovarian cancer. She was a college friend of mine from Osseo, MN. She was one of the nicest people around and was taken from us way too soon.

We will all miss you Stef. Rest in peace.

Beautiful Fall Day...

It's Saturday October 11th and it's a gorgeous Fall day. What do you do?

Go on a nice hike through Afton State Park

Follow it up by heading to The Village Pub for the "We Try Hard" Fall Beer Bust!

I love the Fall!

"Shooter" Shawn Buehre's 30th Birthday Party

On Friday October 10th my good friend Shawn Buehre turned 30. His girlfriend Ciera threw a surprise party for him at Maxwell's Pub. Many of our good friends showed up for the shindig.

Here is Shawn, Shawn's mom and I

The crew. Someone must have locked Easton outside.

Happy birthday bud!

Leech Lake 2008

I spent September 30th through October 2nd in Walker,MN with my buddy Joe Tuccitto. I typically go fishing with Joe a couple of days before he closes his cabin for the winter. This year I got really lucky fishing and pulled out some monster walleyes.

I know I'm not going to pull fish like this out of the lake every year. Here is photographic evidence that it happened once.

Oktoberfest 2008

Can you believe it?!? Oktoberfest has come and gone again! This year it we were in LaCrosse over the weekend of Sept. 26-28th and we brought a couple of newbies (Malinda, Zach & Easton).

Another year on the drums
Our "drinking shirts"

Zach, Easton and I

My sister is "special"

Alicia & Donnie. I can't remember the last time Donnie made it festing.

Another year down and more memories. Looking forward to next year!

Twins vs. White Sox

On September 25th Jon Wrolstad and I attended a great baseball game at the Metrodome.


I think Jon set the scene and described the game the best...

"Okay, I have to set the stage for this post... Mike and I are big Twins fans and with 6 games left in the season we trailed the White Sox by 2.5 games. The Twins had the White Sox at home for 3 games and if they won all 3 they would take the division lead and be playoff bound. So I called Mike and said if they win the first 2 games we should go to the 3rd game. The Twins won the first game. The second game was close and it wasn't on TV here so I was "watching" it on ESPN.com GameCast. Before I even knew who won (GameCast was going really slow) Mike called with the good news, we won! So we got tickets for the 3rd game. We go to the game, it starts off a little slow. Then we go to get beer and hot dogs and the Twins are down 1-6 when we come back. Apparently the Twins only like to win when we are watching them. So it was the fourth inning and we were down, but Mike and I remained hopeful. We slowly start coming back and in the 8th inning Gomez and Span tie up the game with a single and a triple. The crowd is going nuts at this point. Top of the 9th and 10th we bring in Joe Nathan. The White Sox can do nothing. Bottom of the 10th Casilla drove in Punto to win the game and take first place in the division. All we need to do is beat the hapless Royals and we are in the playoffs and have a lot of momentum behind us.... At least that is how it should have gone, but we ended up in a one-game playoff with the White Sox that is at Chicago due to our poor coin-flip calling abilities and didn't make the playoffs. Despite the rest of the season, it was the best baseball game that I have ever been to. I'm already looking forward to next year!"

Erin "Peck"ermen turns 30!

On September 20th Erin "Peck" Zimmerman celebrated her 30th birthday at The Lion's Pub in Minneapolis. I grew a fu for the occasion. Good times.

NFL Season Begins - Vikings @ Packers

Thanks to Cindi & Steve, Jarvy and I were able to attend the September 8th Monday night season opening game at Lambeau Field. It was my first game at Lambeau Field since 1996.

Although the Vikings lost it was a really good time. I have a feeling Minnesota will get the last laugh (because I'm posting this in January). Thanks again Cindi & Steve!

Labor Day Weekend 2008

Alicia and I spent Labor Day weekend in Onalaska, WI. We had a couple of wedding scheduled - ironically they were both at the same church.

On Saturday August 30th we attended the wedding of my high school friend Shawn Harper. It was great to see some faces I hadn't seen in a long time

Shawn & I

Alicia & I enjoying the reception
Congrats to Shawn & Tina Harper!

Alicia & I spent the next morning playing with McKinley (who is now 7 months old). I think he had a good time on our hike but I think he enjoyed the left over bubbles from Shawn Harper's wedding the most. He chased those things for hours.

Later that day we got all dressed up again in order to attend the wedding of Jonathan Wrolstad & Danielle Sullivan (Chad's cousin). I had the honor of being an usher in the wedding.
The Ushers - Kevin Miller, Jarvy & I

Alicia & I posing at the reception
The dance was a really fun time. People actually spent some time on the dance floor!
Rob & Jen McGarry with Alicia & I
After the wedding Rob McGarry and I thought it would be a great idea to climb the huge sunfish that sits off of Lake Onalaska. The fish is actually pretty big. Perhaps it was the booze but it was much harder to get to the top of the damn thing then we initially anticipated.
Yet another fun weekend. Congrats to Jon & Danielle Wrolstad.

Guess what? Next time I'll be in Onalaska/LaCrosse it'll be Oktoberfest. Heck yeah!

Brett Armin Sarcoma Foundation & BAMFA Weekend 2008

On Friday August 22nd the Brett Armin Sarcoma Foundation held their 1st fundraising golf tournament just outside of Chicago, IL. Many of Brutus's friends traveled to Chicago to make the event

Hart & Drew
Nalini & Katie

Corey, Brendan & Robin
The fellas from the Twin Cities - Jarvy, Tapper, Shawn, Zimm & I
After we played in the golf tournament we hit up some local establishments. We all must have been having a great time because Katie Kurtz wound up dancing on the bar and...
Corey passed out in the hallway of our hotel with his pants undone.

On Saturday August 23rd we all spent the evening at Roy & Glenda Armin's house. They volunteered to host the 1st annual BAMFA Fantasy Football Draft. We all really appreciated the hospitality.

It was great to see everyone. I did find myself really missing Brutus though. I'm sure he is really proud of the money his foundation is raising for Sarcoma research. I hope this is an event and a weekend that we all have for many years to come.

Europe 2008

Since Derek & Nicole decided to get married in both the United States and Germany Alicia and I thought it would be fun to plan a vacation around the German wedding. We departed Minneapolis on Thursday August 7th and planned a trip that would include London, Dublin, Berlin, smaller German cities and Prague. We returned to Minneapolis the evening of Wednesday August 20th. Since this was both of our first times in Europe we were very excited. We had a great time and took lots of pictures. Here are some of them...

London

Big Ben with The London Eye in the background and Parliament in the foreground

Me standing in front of Admiralty Arch. This was only a couple of blocks from our hotel.
Houses of Parliament
Me (the giant) standing in one of the many wee English pubs we visited
Buckingham Palace

Overall London was our favorite place. The weather was cold and overcast for most of our visit but we really enjoyed ourselves. We hope to visit again in the near future and plan much more time to see the city. Oh yeah - and we'll pack much warmer clothes.


Dublin

The River Liffey that runs through the heart of Dublin.

Campanile and Trinity College courtyard

Me standing in front of Christ Church (built in 1030)
The gates leading to the Guinness Brewery (built in 1759)
A view of Dublin (from the Guinness Brewery Pub)
Jameson Whiskey Distillery

Inside a typical Irish pub

They say that Guinness tastes different in Ireland. They are right! That's a tasty beverage. All in all Dublin was super fun. We enjoy the sites and the friendly people. We would definitely go back.

Berlin

Me standing in front of the East Side Gallery which is the inner portion of the Berlin Wall. This is the only stretch of the wall that still stands. It is used as an artistic view of what the wall used to be.

The Reichstag Building - built in 1894 and housed the first parliament of the German Empire.
The Berlin Cathedral
Checkpoint Charlie - this is what you read before you cross from West Berlin into East Berlin.

We took a day trip 45 minutes outside Berlin to Potsdam, Germany. This is Heather, Donnie and Alicia at Park Sanssouci in Potsdam.

Park Sanssouci windmill
Schloss Sanssouci at Park Sanssouci in Potsdam
Of course we consumed MANY German beers!

From Berlin we took a train to Waldenburg, Germany. This is the city in which Derek and Nicole would get married, again. Chad, Liz, Jarvy, Kelsey and Justin joined Donnie, Heather, Alicia and I there. The first night we were in town Nicole's family had all of us over for dinner. Pictured below are the guys getting reacquainted with one another.

Heather, Nicole, Marina (Nicole's German friend) and Alicia

Derek and Justin mocking the Wep's girls
After we left the Wep's house we headed to our cabins for an after party. Here are Donnie, Nicole, Derek and I stopping for a photo opportunity.
Time for the wedding, site - Waldenburg Castle
Alicia and I before the wedding
Nicole & Derek after the ceremony preparing for the champagne toast.

It is a tradition to have the bride and groom saw a log in half to show teamwork in their first task together. I think their first task was a little more difficult then they anticipated.
Another German tradition included a race to cut out half of a heart drawn on a bed sheet. Nicole got the big scissors and Derek got ones that were intended for an infant. Of course Nicole won the race. After they both finished cutting Derek carried Nicole through the heart. I think that meant something but I'm not sure.
Instead of a guestbook, guests had their picture taken with their faces inside this picture frame. Looks like I missed the memo detailing the need to smile.
Derek, Monica (Derek's mom) and I during the reception.

Germany was the most fun place we visited but we put it in a different category than London, Dublin and Prague due to the amount of time we spent there and the amount of friends we knew. Alicia and I are looking forward to going back in 2010!

Prague

Sunset on the River Vltava

Me standing by the famous "Piss" Sculpture. Needs no explanation.
Prague skyline
Wallenstein Palace and Gardens
Wallenstein Grotesquery (Dripstone Wall)

Prague's famous Astronomical Clock. This clock does a little dancer every hour with the 12 apostles dancing, death ringing a bell and a rooster doing who knows what.

The Dancing House
Alicia and I looking over southern Prague
Crazy Freud sculpture. Yes he is hanging off a building.
Amazing shot of Wenceslas Square at night
Prague was absolutley breathtaking. It's amazing what a city can look like when it has been untouched by war. The weather in Prague was much nicer as well. It felt good to wear shorts. Also - 24 Koruna ($1.50) bought a half liter of beer. Sign me up!

Europe was a great experience. Congrats to Derek & Nicole on their second wedding. Alicia and I truly can't wait to go back to see all our friends (old and new). Hopefully it doesn't take us another 29 years to get there again.

Kruse Wedding - USA Style

On Saturday August 2nd Derek Kruse and Nicole Weps enjoyed the first of their two weddings. This wedding took place in LaCrosse/Onalaska Wisconsin. They had a clear (but very warm) day for a beautiful outdoor ceremony. It was great to see so many great, good looking people!

Justin Kruse, myself, Jarvy and Kooter rocked the head table!

Even old man Anderson & Stapleton got into the fun. Tequila was involved.

Derek and I (and some dude scaring people behind us)

Group shot

It was a fabulous day. Congrats to Derek & Nicole! We look forward to doing it again in Germany.

Derek Kruse Bachelor Party

There is a rumor that Derek Kruse had a bachelor party in the LaCrosse area on Thursday July 31st. I'm going to speculate that this is merely a rumor though because there is absolutely no photographic evidence. Oh well.

Jon Wrolstad's Bachelor Party

On Saturday July 26th Jesse Wickizer (Wrolstad's Best Man) held a bachelor party for Jon Wrolstad. The day begin with brunch at Marge's Lakeview in Onalaska (I think it has a new name but I'm still going to call it Marge's). From there we headed out to Ettrick, WI (I think) for some paintball. Come to find out - I'm not a very patient paintball player.

From there we got cleaned up and returned to the Wrolstad residence for some food & drinks, cards, Wii and beer pong. Fairly laid back but nice. Thanks to everyone who turned my skin shades of red, purple and green from paintball. Look forward to seeing everyone at the wedding.

Baseball Trip 2008 - New York

Every year Mitch and I make it a point to attend a baseball game at a stadium that we've never been to before. This year due to the closing of two major stadiums we decided to catch two games in New York.

View from the Empire State Building

Our first game was NY Yankees vs. our Minnesota Twins on Monday July 21st. Unfortunately the Yankees put a beating on the Twins. Final score was 12-4. Yankee Stadium was great though. It had a very historic feel to it. It was also very "dressed up" because the All-Star game was played there only a week earlier.

On Tuesday July 22nd we caught the Mets vs. Phillies game at Shea Stadium. Everyone around the world seems to know that Yankee Stadium is being torn down but nobody seems to be aware of the fact that Shea Stadium is also in its final season. Anyway - the stadium was cool although it was very isolated. There were no bars within walking distance which was a bummer. The game featured ex-Twin Johan Santana pitching for the Mets. It was fun rooting for one of our favorite players. Overall Shea was a great time!

Mitch enjoyed his first experience in NY and he's already talking about next year. We'll have to wait until April/May before we decide where were going. Should be fun regardless.

"We Try Hard" to grow mustaches...

On Monday July 14th the "We Try Hard" summer season came to an end. Although we played fairly well during the season we decided to crap our pants in the playoffs. Going to the last game of our season we decided there was only one thing a group of grown men could do to stop a softball losing streak - GROW MUSTACHES!

It worked. We won.

My mom would be so proud.

Roommates - Ace & Gary.

Nice try Steve. Jared keep it goin' buddy!

Our cheering squad. I don't think they loved the mustache idea all that much.

Shawn, Justin and I decided to hit a dive bar to pick up some classy ladies.

Good times. I'd make an excellent cop.

Chicago Cubs - 2008

Alicia and I spent July 11th-13th in Chicago, IL (Wicker Park) with our friends Drew & Katie Kurtz and there one year old daughter Reyna.

This was Alicia's first outdoor professional baseball game so she was super excited!

Katie got us great tickets on the 1st base side.

After a dreary morning the weather changed for the better and it ended up being a nice afternoon.

Group shots...

Cubs WIN 8-7 in 11 innings!!

Can't come to a Cubs game and not pose for a picture on Wiener Street.

Thanks to the Kurtz family for a great weekend! You have a beautiful home and Reyna is gorgeous. Look forward to seeing you in August.

July 4th Weekend & LaCrosse Riverfest

Alicia and I brought Alicia's sister Malinda and her dog Maggy back to LaCrosse for the July 4th weekend. We thought it would be fun to introduce Maggy to McKinley as well as show Malinda the Coulee Region. I think Malinda just wanted to head to Riverfest in order to watch Slaughter but that's just my opinion.

Maggy loved the river and swimming!

We lucked out. It was a very beautiful, relaxing weekend. Malinda & Maggy are welcome to come visit anytime.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom, Lori Anderson, turned 50 years old on June 22nd. We celebrated the event on Saturday June 28th at Coulee Golf Bowl in Onalaska. Nothing like friends & family, bowling and beer to celebrate a half-century of kicking butt and taking names!

Isaac Stapleton made an appearance. Ever since I put him in a Minnesota Vikings shirt he seems to cry when I pick him up. I must remind him that he's doomed for a lifetime of GB Packer allegiance.

Opening one of many amusing presents...

Thanks to everyone who stopped by. It was a great night. Hope everyone had fun.

Twins vs. Brewers (Minneapolis style)

Friday June 27th brought Jared Flewellen's bachelor party (version 2). He decided to have a 2nd party in the Twin Cities to allow more of his local friends to attend. We all went in on a suite for the Twins vs. Brewers game in the Metrodome. Highlights included keg stands, illegal seating assignments, unlimited game time beer, getting home fairly early and fortunately missing Shawn's moving projectile vomiting show. Good times yet again.

Why am I stressed?!?

I was supposed to run Grandma's Marathon on June 21st. Unfortunately what I thought was typical calf pain turned into something much worse. After battling an ever increasing limp for six weeks I went in to see an Orthopedic doc and a simple x-ray diagnosed a stress fracture in my left fibula. Nothing like training since March and finding out three days before the race that you can't run. Like the Dude said, "that's a bummer man".

Twins vs. Brewers (Milwaukee style)

Or should I say Old Style?!? A crew of us spent the weekend of June 13-15 in Milwaukee for Jared Flewellen's bachelor party (version 1). Highlights included a flooded 10.5 hour drive to Milwaukee, running into Dani Yarie (Lish's college friend), the "H-Bomb", Brandon trapped in a glass cage of emotion at The Safehouse, Vice finagling sack lunches at 2:30am from a neighboring hotel, Dirty Dancing, Vice texting "meat gazer" to a 17 year old girl, a diverse drive to the Lakefront Brewery, the Pied Piper of chicks, Jared shitting (and cleaning) his shorts, random gift of front row tickets, the glasses, a suspenseful Twins victory, the vanishing of Matt Vice, George Webb's restaurant and getting pulled over at 3:00am while walking down the street. Good times.

Grand Old Day 2008

How can it be June already?!? June 1st brought the 2008 installment of St. Paul's Grand Old Day. Participants this year included Shawn & Anton as well as the usual crew of Alicia, Malinda and Zach. The band lineup was not nearly as good this year but fortunately we got good weather so beer + sun = fun.

Shawn, Anton, Alicia's high school friend Dan and I

Until next year. Blink and it'll be here again...

Twins vs. Yankees (Minneapolis style)

On Friday May 30th we had a "couples" night at the ballpark. Alicia and I joined Lish's friends Matt & Alice and Adam & Kim at the Metrodome to watch the Minnesota Twins take on the hated NY Yankees.

Kim, Alice and Alicia

Unfortunately the Yankees won this time around. Hopefully when I see them in NY in July the result will be different.

Memorial Day Weekend 2008

Following Steve & Tina's wedding we had a full weekend lined up. On Saturday May 24th Alicia and I spent the afternoon in Robbinsdale, MN at Lish's friends Matt & Alice James. They had a BBQ with music, lawn games and card games. Later that evening we went to Sally's Saloon to wish Shawn's gal Ciera congratulations on her graduation from the University of Minnesota.

On Sunday May 25th we drove down to LaCrosse, WI and spent time with my friends and family. Gary and Margo Jacob had a BBQ and took us all out on their boat. We got to spend some time with lil' Isaac Stapleton.

Later that evening we went over to the Kruse household and celebrated Justin and Monica's birthday's. Nothing says happy b-day like beer, brats, beer pong and German liquor.

We had a lazy morning in Onalaska with my family. My sister, I mean my parents recently got a new dog. Meet McKinley...

Lots of fun had by all. Time to sleep.

Steve & Tina McHenry

On May 23rd Steve McHenry picked one vagina for the rest of his life and wed Christina Miller in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Minneapolis. Props to the thug that yelled "you don't know where he was last night" from his vehicle as he strolled by.

Lish and I

Anton & Amanda

Heidi Hovis, Megan Tasca, Erin Cox and I on the dance floor.

Group shot

Steve and I with the serious pose

Classic black & white pick of Christina, Kelsey and Alicia

Congrats to Steve & Tina. Have fun on your honeymoon in Australia and New Zealand!

"We Try Hard" Spring Beer Bust

May 17th brought the semi-annual installment of the "We Try Hard" fundraiser/beer bust. We truly outdid ourselves this year. Apparently we really love PBR, beer pong, tippy cup and bustin' a move on the dance floor.

Hopefully I remember more of the event next year.

Prostate Cancer

It seems cancer has been an epidemic amongst my friends and family recently. In January I buried my great friend Brutus. On April 25th I buried my grandfather - who passed away due to Prostate Cancer. My grandmother has Uterine Cancer. My good friend Korrin Stanek has dealt with cancer that has infected her friends and family. Donnie & Heather Stapleton, who know cancer all to well, recently discovered that there mother Margo has Colon Cancer. And now - my father has been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. His surgery was May 5th to have his prostate removed. The doc says they discovered everything extremely early so things are looking positive. That's a tough sell to my dad considering he had to say goodbye to his father less than a month ago. Although I truly feel he will beat this (as will Margo) this is yet another reminder to appreciate the people you are close to. Never forget to tell people you love them. Give free hugs.

Wildman Weekend

May 2nd-4th seemed like a good time to head to northern Wisconsin (Athelstane, WI - roughly 20 miles from the Upper Peninsula) and hit up "The Wildman Resort" for some white water rafting. Who cares that it was still snowing?!? Did I mention it was for Steve McHenry's bachelor party?!? Booyah!

No fatalities. Good times.

"We Try Hard" yet again!

Monday April 28th brought the first game of the 2008 softball season.

Here is the roster for our usual squad:

Brandon Borgen: Pitcher, 1B
Jared Flewellen: 1B, Pitcher, Catcher
Jesse Hogan: Catcher, 1B, Pitcher
Matt Vice: 2B, Catcher
Jason Cole: SS, 2B
Justin Kruse: OF, SS, 3B
Nick Manders: OF
Shawn Buehre: OF
Mitch Williams: OF, 2B
Steve Anderson: OF
Mike Anderson: 3B

Looks like a good squad. I think we've got a chance this year. I'll let you know...

Meet your 2008 Minnesota Twins

Monday March 31st was opening night for Alicia and my favorite baseball team – the Minnesota Twins. Our squad opened the year by welcoming ex-Twin Torii Hunter and his new team the Los Angeles Angels. We were lucky enough to get some tickets to the game.

Mother Nature welcomed the new season to Minneapolis with 7 inches of snow.

Alicia and I welcomed the new season by stuffing our faces with Dome Dogs.

The view from our Home Run Porch seats.

We went to O'Donovan's after the fabulous 3-2 Twins victory and were joined by Alicia's friends Nicole and Emily.

Here's to another season of Minnesota Twins baseball!

St. Paddy's Day(s) - 2008

We got the privilege of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day twice this year – once on a weekend (Saturday March 15th) and once on the actual day (Monday March 17th). As per usual the beer was flowing like wine…

St. Paul - St. Patrick's Day Parade

Malinda & Alicia

Alicia and I

Shawn and I

Cheers!

Dunwoody College Custom Training

We recently had a professional photographer come into work and snap a bunch of shots of our team for some marketing materials and various publications. Below are a couple of the pictures that made me laugh.

We look like The Channel 5 News Team

Here is our "soft skills" desk picture. Cheesy, eh?

I won't dare share the headshots.

Burp Fart Retires

On Tuesday March 4th Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre officially announced his retirement. As a die hard Minnesota Vikings fan I immediately did cartwheels when I heard the news. I wish GB good luck with the Aaron Rodgers era.

To pay tribute I posted a few of my favorite Burp Fart pictures:

Here Brett looks like an awkward 10th grade boy

Here is Brett in braces playing a phallic game with Coach Walrus

Here is Brett getting his mind crushed

Here is Brett doing his best Kip Dynamite impression. Nice stache.

Rockin' the stache once again.

On a serious note, Brett Favre was one of the greatest QB's of all time. I always respected the way that he played the game of football and would have loved to have him on my team. The NFL may never see another player like him.

Mr. & Mrs. Josh Dwuznick

On Saturday February 16th my college buddy Josh Dwuznick married his college sweetheart Polly Czech. Although they live in Oregon the wedding took place in the Twin Cities. I was honored to be asked to be a groomsman. The wedding brought together many people from our University of Minnesota days that we hadn't seen in a long time. It was a great time!

Congrats to Josh & Polly!