Our little hunter girl

Maddie & I went for a little visit today with our good friends Stefani, (Wil) & Gravel Geurts. While Stefanie & I enjoyed lunch in a nice warm home, Gravel & Maddie attacked each other outside. It was great as I knew Maddie would pass out when we got home.

Well, much to my surprise, Maddie wanted to go outside again when we got home, so I put on her shock collar & let her outside to play. I was working on some things around the house & heard some sort of digging & growling noise outside. I looked out & saw Maddie digging around by the side of my house. I thought nothing of it & said "silly dog".

Well, Shortly after, I looked outside to see this:

In case you can't tell what that is, it is a mouse...a dead mouse. Maddie has offically hunted, caught & killed her first living creature (well, unless you count the endless beatles & moths she likes to eat alive...).

Well, in case this wasn't bad enough, she proceeded to play with her newly caught...toy?...see below:

Yes, this is my dog...my precious hunter.

(We had to call Dad at work & share the good news right away - he was pretty proud!)

And oh, by the way...that finally tired her out. She's sleeping by my feet as I type. :)

The Deer...

So...it was kinda cool...Bob was watching me update my last blog entry & at first he said "Get off that thing...it's unnecessary!" But of course I whined & said "Just come look at it - it's so cool & you can post pictures!" Bob loved this idea and immediately thought of his most favorite pictures in the whole wide world!! And no...it's not of his "dear"...me....it's of his deer...his buck that he shot on last opening day! So he wanted me to put up some pictures of his beloved deer. Here they are:

This first one here is the mighty hunter & his big ol' buck. He was pretty proud of his accomplishment. OK...I was too! :)

This one here is a family group of hunters. The one in the back left is Bob's little brother Joe. The one on the right is his cousin Matt & the two on the bottom are the 2 "dear" in the picture. (I had to do it!!!) :)

Wedding Thoughts...

So, I'm so undecisive about my wedding stuff...well undecisive about everything really, but right now since I only seem to be thinking about my wedding, that's what I'm undecisive about. Maddie & I sit on the couch & look at wedding websites all day long while Bob's at work & try to figure out all the details...I mean come on...my wedding's only a year & a half-ish away - I need to get crackin'! lol ;)

So far, I'm really liking the color flower that this bride has in her hair - it's like a deep pink...we'll see. I've got time!

SNOW DAY!!

So, today we had a snow day! Maddie, Bob, Nick & I snowblowed & shoveled & built a giant snow monster. See photos:

We're Engaged!

So, here's the story!!!
Bob knew that I've been anxiously waiting for his proposal for at least a year now. He knows, because I've bugged him about it nearly every day! I always wondered how he'd surprise me and make the moment truly special & romantic, because I have such high expectations & not to mention I'm very nosey, so it's hard to keep a surprise from me. Nevertheless, I love surprises & hoped Bob would find a way to make it special and a surprise.
We went up to Bob's parents for Thanksgiving in Green Bay & stayed the weekend. Over the summer we had gone to a winery called Parallel 44 in Kewaunee, WI & just loved the atmosphere & their wine. I received an e-mail from Parallel 44 advertising their Holiday Open House on Thanksgiving weekend, featuring a free wine tasting, the beautiful vinyards lit up with Christmas lights & a special sale on wine & wine accessories. I thought it would be a great date night, not to mention the perfect time to stock up on some of our favorite wine.
Bob & I decided to go to Parallel 44 on Saturday. (Now, a bit of a side-note here, since I've been anxiously awaiting this proposal, I've also been dreaming of my wedding & all the little details. I heard the perfect song on the radio a few months back for us to dance our first dance to - Smile, by Uncle Kracker...well on the way to the winery, that song played & we enjoyed a special moment to our song. End side-note).
We arrived at Parallel 44 & participated in the wine tasting. We purchased our wine & were on our way to the car to leave & go out with our friends in De Pere. We looked at each other & thought the 1/2 hour drive out here was not necessarily worth it just for the wine, so we decided to go back & purchase one more bottle to enjoy out on the patio. The patio was lit up with Christmas lights & decorations. It was beautiful. We sat at a patio table enjoying our wine & the lights. I asked Bob if we were any closer to being engaged than we were just months ago. I expressed frustration that he had not yet purchased the ring or asked my father to marry me. I decided to end that conversation because it was getting me in too bad a mood. I poured the last of the wine into my glass, but before I drank it, Bob said, "Don't drink all that wine, you should save it for a toast". I asked what the toast was for & Bob stood up and walked over to me. He didn't say much at first, but just looked at me with a big smile on his face & reached into his coat pocket. Of course, I began crying immediately & said "Are you really doing this right now? Are you proposing?" He said "Yes, I'm really doing this right now" & got down on one knee. He said, "You know, I knew I'd have to surprise myself with this proposal, because otherwise I wouldn't know how to make it a surprise." He opened the ring box & looking back at me was a beautiful brilliant-cut diamond ring. Before he even asked the question, I said "YES!...I mean go ahead!" Bob asked me to marry him & put the ring on my finger. I said "YES!" and gave him a big hug & kiss. We went for a walk through the vinyard to walk off some of his nervous energy & some of my excitement. We got a few photos taken at the winery before leaving & making all the necessary phone calls.
What a perfect proposal! :)