Labor Day begins with fried turkey and ends with a bang in Liberty

We invited Brian, Corey, and Todd over to the house on Labor Day. Ann bought a turkey fryer and a bottle of marinade, and we thawed out the 12-pound bird that has been cooling its heels in the freezer for nearly a year. Corey and Ann assembled the fryer while Scott prepped the bird. No one present had ever deep-fried a turkey before, so everyone grabbed a cold beverage and sat back to watch whether or not Scott would fry himself along with the bird. Fortunately, nobody got burned, except for the bird, which everyone agreed was very tasty. However, Ann did not much care for the Tabasco-laden marinade (which she bought).

After dinner, someone thought that it would be a good idea to light the cannon... ...so our neighbor Terry was given the honor. Not a bad way to end the day -- with a bang!

-Scott

Licensed to marry

Ann and I paid a visit to the Clay County courthouse in Liberty bright and early Friday morning, June 9 to apply for our marriage license. It was a relatively quick and painless process, except for the $51 license fee, and the 3-day waiting period to get the license.

Ann picked up the license Monday, June 12, which means that we have until July 12 to put it to good use... Should we, or shouldn't we?

-Scott

Engagement announcement published in St. Cloud newspaper

The St. Cloud Times newspaper in St. Cloud, MN published our engagement announcement online and presumably in their print edition. They made some edits and chopped off the city of Ann's employer, but on a positive note, they also printed "how we met". Did anyone in the St. Cloud area see the announcement in the paper?

-Scott

Engagement announcement published in Ottawa/Streator newspaper

The Times newspaper in Ottawa/Streator, IL published our engagement announcement in the paper and online with no edits or mistakes. Hopefully the Minnesota newspapers will soon follow suit.

-Scott

Booked rehearsal dinner site

I spoke with the parents about rehearsal dinner options. We considered private rooms at restaurants like Cascone's, Chappell's, Finnigan's, and Smokehouse, but in the end we decided to book the Activity Room at the church. It certainly ought to be a convenient location for the guests.

Now we need to decide on the food. I'm strongly considering having it catered from the best BBQ joint in KC: Oklahoma Joe's. The only issue is that it appears that they won't deliver the food, so we'll need to recruit a volunteer to pick it up. Ann thinks that a couple of the "outlaws" could do the job.

-Scott

Submitted engagement announcement/photo to newspapers

We have submitted our engagement announcement/photo online to the following newspapers:

• Belgrade (MN) Observer
• St. Cloud (MN) Times
• West Central Tribune (Willmar, MN)
• The Times (Ottawa/Streator, IL)

Only one of the papers would specify if/when the announcement might be published... That must be their way to get more people to read the paper. :-)

Those of you in the Belgrade area ought to see the announcement in the Observer issue published Wednesday 5/17.

-Scott

Mailed 90 invitations 5/8

After much preparation by Ann, Brenda S, and Mom, Scott stamped and mailed 90 invitations Monday morning 5/8. The invitations just barely squeaked under the 1-oz. weight limit for mailing with a 39 cent stamp, and that was only after Brenda cut the back off all of the reception and response cards. Hopefully all of the invitations will make it to their destinations; then the responses will begin.

-Scott

Survived the Engaged Encounter weekend

Ann and I spent all weekend locked into a former seminary with 20 other couples to attend Catholic Engaged Encounter marriage prep. We learned lots of things: 9 rules for arguing, how to make decisions together, marriage as a vocation, etc. Basically, though, the weekend confirmed what we've known all along: we are highly compatible!

-Scott

Scott's house up for sale 5/1

After $2,500+ in maintenance, painting, cleaning, etc., Scott's house was finally put up for sale Monday 5/1. The goal is to close the sale as close to the asking price as possible as close to the wedding date as possible. Unfortunately, the resale market in KC is rather slow at the moment, so we'll see how realistic these goals turn out to be.

-Scott

3 Heiders fitted for tuxes

While Dad was visiting KC, I dragged him and Corey over to Men's Wearhouse to get fitted for their tuxes. The whole process was surprisingly quick and painless. We celebrated our success by bellying up to the bar afterward at Granite City Brewing next door.

-Scott

Created map/direction invitation inserts

Ann assigned Scott the task of creating a map/direction page to insert into the invitations. The finished product doesn't look very impressive, and yet it took several hours of hard labor to create. Crude, but hopefully effective! :-)

-Scott

Blocked more rooms at Fairfield Inn

After revising our estimate of the number of guests attending the wedding from out of town, we just blocked 15 more rooms at the Fairfield Inn. All of the additional rooms have a single queen bed. Unfortunately, all of the rooms with 2 double beds have either been booked by racing fans or were blocked by us in January.

-Scott

St. Gabriel Marriage Workshop

Today we attended a marriage workshop hosted by Fr. Karl and selected speakers. We were one of four couples preparing to get married. The morning started out with a welcome by Fr. and introductions of everyone. Each person had to indicate what they loved about their future spouse. Scott "liked" how flexible Ann is (no, not the splits, but easy-going). Ann loves how good Scott is with her family, especially the "Monsters."

This was the first time the parish hosted a marriage workshop. First events tend to have their technical difficulties. Luckily Scott is a brainiac and computer wiz. He was able to get the computer presenation to work so we could all learn about Natural Family Planning. Actually we didn't learn about family planning, but how God will be with us in the bedroom... I was proud of Scott. He didn't crack any jokes, fall asleep, or laugh out loud.

-Ann

Invitations are here!

Ann was at work on Wednesday and received a call from her sister Liz. She was tracking the invitation shipment and informed me that they would arrive on Thursday. Ann opened the box containing many little boxes and with the assistance of a co-worker assembled the first invitation. They looked great. Scott was surprised how quickly they came in when he was presented with the first invitation that evening.

Liz, thanks for all your help with the invitations! They look great! Now we can start the fun part of assembling them. Scott volunteered to hand address all the invitations for his family, friends, and co-workers...

-Ann

Proofed wedding invitations

164 days to go... Ann is preparing to order the invitations, but first she gave me the opportunity to proof her selection.

Here is a sneak preview of the "meat" of the invitation. What do you think?

-Scott

Registered at Target

Ann and I spent a couple of hours at Target registering for wedding gifts. Ann selected "wants" such as cookware and and towels. I selected "needs" such as toilet seats and shower heads... Must be another of those Mars/Venus things. (Please, no lame jokes about it being one of those Uranus things!)

If you're the type who likes registries, then have fun shopping at the store or at http://www.target.com ... On the other hand, regardless of tradition, please do not feel obligated to get us a gift, because our needs are not very dire (as evidenced by the toilet seat).

-Scott