Amazing Animal Sounds by Finnegan Keaty

One of the best parts of getting to hang with Finn this week was seeing all of his 'tricks' in action....AND special bonus, we got to spend enough time together that I could teach him a few tricks of my own. ;)

Here is the animal sound expert. Listen closely to the very end, to see a Auntie Greta (i.e. Te-ta) special.

That's right...best buds...me and Finn.

The Annual Hayward Family Vacation

t seemed almost indulgent to get to spend an entire week with the entire family this past week. Mom, Dad, Nick, Becca and Finn all met up with Nate and I at Deerfoot for our annual family vacation. This is the first year in many that all of us were able to be there.

It was so much fun, and I think we all got lots of good R&R in.

The first day brought much excitement from Dad getting a monster muskie while fishing for crappie with Becca and I in the boat with no net to help....to finding a bottle with a message in it.

The message was actually a map that said "Pirates, this is a map that will lead to treasure" So we of course had to check it out. And I am sorry to report we are not millions of dollars richer. We are clearly poor pirates because we found nothing.

The boys did lots and lots of fishing. Dad treated the boys to a day of guided fishing with the famous Ty Sennett. They had lots of fun!

The whole fam got lots of fishing in. Becca walked away with the biggest fish, and I the smallest.

Here is Nate modeling the very breautiful fall colors....

On the last night Nate and I introduced Becca and Nick to Risk (Nate's favorite game), and then the beat the pants off of us.

It was a great week. I know many of you may have noticed that there is something missing from all these photos. Stay Tuned for a Best of Finnegan: Hayward Edition.....

Stay Tuned...

Nate and I got back from a FAB family vacation in Hayward Wisconsin tonight.

I will post pics and good stories soon!

In the meantime, enjoy my new profile pic..courtesy of one Debra Fiterman request. I was informed the nest had to go. Your wish is my command :)

Ahhh...Madtown

I had the pleasure of getting to go to Madison for work today. We were seeking out some brilliant people to come work with us at General Mills.

Once the recruiting activities were over Lindsay and I met up with Rachel for a fabulous "adult" dinner. I say "adult" because none of us had ever eaten there during undergrad..thus clearly making it an "adult" ...

And after eating, we were sooo tired but knew it would be too lame to go straight back to the hotel. A logical person would maybe catch a beer or two at their favorite college locale...not us.

We went for the glory....Fishbowl at Wandos!

For those of you who have been so unlucky in life to have not experienced a Fishbowl...it is pretty much a giant bowl filled with alcohol. Mmm Mmm....

Great Food: Episode 15

Ay Carumba! This week brought some amazing Mexican Food. It kind of fell into our lap when I realized we had all the ingrediants we needed to make this except Cilantro and some chicken.

So here it is: Tostadas Salsa Verde

Don't be fooled. They may look like ordinary tacos, but you bake the chicken and cheese on the tortilla so it is crisp and oh so crunchy.

Super fresh, Super Easy, Super Delicious. In fact, I believe Nate ate them again last night for dinner.

Nostalgia

It's GAMEDAY, and I am feeling suddenly sad and homesick for a place I haven't lived in almost 4 years.

Perhaps it was the insane amount of hours I worked this week, or perhaps being back in class jolted me back in time a few years...either way...I miss college.

Who can argue with the amazingness that is UW-Madison, and that Saturday Game Day feeling at Camp Randall.

See for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6myAw4IVCNU

Great Food: Episode 14

We found a new favorite! In fact, it is such a favorite, that we have already made it twice before I could even blog about it.

Double bonus: it actually heats up amazingly, so killer leftovers for lunch.

I know..the suspense is killing you.

The new favorite is: Grilled Tomato Linguine

We added some of our own flair the 2nd time we made it with grilled garlic (literally plopped an entire head of garlic still in the paper on the grill) and fresh basil. SO FREAKIN GOOD.

Then there was dessert. Blackberry and Ginger Trifleu

Also very good, but a word of warning, you need to like ginger. It was supposed to be made with pound cake, but we made it with Angel Food cake it keep it a little lighter.

Yum.

GraNate

WARNING: For those men out there who may have a weak stomach, stop reading this post now.

*****

Last night, class let out early. My Professor actually felt bad for us sitting in a classroom while the Packers and Vikings were playing so he let us out in time to see the 2nd half! Nice!!

I drove home thinking, "I wonder where Nate is watching the game?", and then..."well I won't call him because then he will feel like he has to come home...."

I pull into the driveway and like every light in the house is on, and Nate is there. I walk in and Nate is busy making up bags of some sort.

He was surprised to see me, and told me that he cancelled his Football viewing plans, because he couldn't "in good conscious" go to a bar and drink while I was sitting in class.

Instead, he watched the game while making me care packages for each night I have class this semester filled with nutritious food (apparently he wasn't happy with my Luna bar and apple), and my favorite treat: merengues. All prepackaged in many ziploc baggies for easy transport and consumption!

Too sweet!!

Last Night of Freedom

For many, Labor Day may have signified the end of summer.

For me, it is the return of Grad School. Yes, tonight is my last night of freedom before I begin class tomorrow night.

So how am I celebrating? Pretty lamely actually...

1) Nice long walk with Nate
2) Chocolate Chip Pancakes for dinner
3) Work....i know...really doesn't qualify, but it's true
4) Watching the VMA's

So think of me tomorrow night! I'll be sitting in my Industry and Competitive Analysis class, devouring my school-night dinner staples--Luna Bar and an Apple--and counting the minutes until 9:05PM.

Great Food: Episode 13

Semi-random food prepared this week due to us trying to use up some fresh stuff that we had before it spoiled.

We didn't do an "all great food" meal, but chose bits and peices of it to try some new recipes.

There was the ever popular Grilled Sweetcorn. Not super creative, but definitely super delicious.

And then there was dessert...mmm...love the nights we test the dessert out. At least this one included fruit?? Grilled Peaches with Sweetened Sour Cream

Soooo good. And very easy. Literally..grill up the peaches, sweeten the sour cream with some brown sugar and some other stuff (nate?) and then we crumbled graham crackers on top. The recipe called for cookies...but there aren't any cookies in our house, so we had to improvise.

The Great Minnesota Get Together

Last week, after 3 summer of boycotting, Nate and I gave into the Minnesota State Fair. To be totally honest, it was my fall back secret date, and needless to say I had to fall back to it. For some reason I didn't have any other good ideas.

So what is at the "Greatest State Fair Ever" you might ask?

We first off there is food...and lots of it. Oh...an most of it is on a stick of some sort.

There was a pork chop on a stick:

Mac N Cheese on Stick

Deep Fried Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (on a stick)

Frozen Pickle Juice Popsicles (MMMMMmmmm!)

The delicious Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

And the ever popular Kettle Corn

And there were other fair classics like photo stands, large vegetables...


And PIGS GIVING BIRTH!



Umm..you see that ladies hands? Yeah..she literally just caught a piglet that flew out of that sow...not kidding. It was pretty freaking awesome.

All in all, the State Fair was pretty fun. We both left with minor stomach aches, and a smile on our face!

Happy 30th Birthday Becca!

They say its your birthday.....(guitar interlude)...We're gonna have a good time!...(more guitar interlude)....you get the picture.

And have a good time we did!

Nick threw Becca an incredible surprise party. I wasn't so sure Rebecca didn't know what was up, but any doubt was squashed when Becca said: "Oh my God there's my Dad...(pause, pause)...SHIT BALLS!" Now there is a response I don't think you pre-plan.

There was some quality family-time had by all. It was great to get to hang with Meghan and Emily, and catch-up on what is new in their world. Emily also showed us her parenting techniques when kids get sassy:....she just bites them. Yup..she bit Finn...ok it was totally an accident, but Finn started bawlying and Em felt horrible. Here was the apology (which Finn accepted)

There was some serious cake action as well. Finn definitely had a sugar high as his Mama let him have some finger-fuls of frosting. Finn also went 'Hollywood" with his Daddy's sunglasses.

And there was drinking...especially by the Birthday Girl.

Shot #1: Feeling Pretty Good...

Shots #2 and #3: Feeling Even Better

The Walk Home: "You Guys...my stomach doesn't feel so good"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECCA!!!!