MAID OF HONOR: Anne Gottsacker

Fun Anne Facts:

Year in school: 5

Favorite food : cheddar cheese, brie, gouda, creamy brie, swiss cheese

Pastimes: running, eating, watching Gilmore Girls, ripping on people, playing with her cat, babysitting, practicing karaoke songs


Anne's answers to our questionnaire:
1. Favorite Packer: Brett Favre, duh
2. Favorite memory of Molly and Ryan: Molly to Ryan "How did you get so drunk"
Ryan to Molly "How did you get so beautiful"- good answer for a drunk guy
3. Suggestion for our first dance: Into the Mystic- Van Morrison or Ballad for My One True Love- Mason Jennings
4. If she could be a cartoon character: Betty Boop - haha, she wishes she had boobs!
5. What she's looking forward to most at the wedding: Karaoke, even if there's no karaoke machine or mic, I WILL do karaoke - I sorta hope that Josh refuses to give her the mic, but if she gets her hands on it, watch out everyone...she can rock out!

So...where to begin with Anne...she's my baby sister. And she takes FULL advantage of that! Molly gives someone a gift - Anne says, "yeah, that's from me too." Mom's stressed out - Anne says "Molly take of Mom." Something needs to be cleaned - Anne says, "Molly does that stuff, I don't." So yeah, somehow over the years I've allowed her to be a princess...and were both quite comfortable in these roles. BUT, all of that aside, she's been the MOST AMAZING Maid of Honor ever! She has been there the whole time calming me, helping me, telling me I'm beautiful, planning a shower and a bachelorette party, putting up with a third smelly brother, etc. i couldn't have asked for more support and help! Anne's the best!

A few more photos of Anne


Anne being the best Maid of Honor ever!


Anne eating CHEESE!


I think she runs so much so she can eat more! :)

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: Best Man - Bradley Broshar

Name: Bradley David Broshar

Marriage Status: Steph

Occupation: Corn

Farmers' Tan: Impressive

Animal Kills per hour ratio: 8


Yes! Finally...THE BEST MAN. I'm sure most of you knew who this would be revealed to be, but for those of you who don't know, it's Brad. Now Brad is my little brother who happens to be older than me. While I was growing up with a nose in a book, Brad was outside doing anything with his hands. Something broken? Brad already has it fixed. Pesty critters in your back yark? Brad is already BBQing them for supper. Yeah, he's that good.

Once again, the Broshar siblings did not reply to our questionnaire, so I took the liberty to answer the questions for them. I think they would be considered "highly accurate".

• Who is your favorite Packer? Corn
• Funniest memory of Molly and Ryan? Corn
• What song should we have for our first dance? Corn
• If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be? Johnny Tractor from old John Deere Children Books
  
• What are you looking forward to most on the wedding day? Corn

Here are a few pics:

"Rather be killing something"

"The lifeguard"

Brad definitely is the big brother everybody dreams for. Except when he gets in trouble and then blames it on you....a common occurrence growing up. Not to mention he is an excellent husband to Steph, father to my nephew, Kaysen, and father to my future niece/nephew, ________ (insert name here).

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: Usher - Mark Stroub

Name: Mark Stroub

Nickname: Stroubie, Stroubie-machen, Markypoo, Sparkles, Sparklehead, and MANY MORE!

Current Employement: Bean counter

Hobbies: Collecting stickers, riding bikes, shooting guns, shopping, jogging, and drinking krollies.

How he knows Molly and Ryan so well: First off, Stroub's and Gottsacker's grew up next door to each other. So, like I said about Peg, he's like a brother to me. Great, nothing like a second little brother that is huge and teases me A LOT. And, he knows Ryan very well too because together they endured employment at The Emerich Group. I'm sure Mark is very thankful for any help from Ryan to get that job. :) If you ask either of them about this place of employment, be ready for a long and hilarious chat.


So yeah, Ryan and I have had some great bonding times with Stroubie while we were all in the Twin Cities and I of course have great memories from growing up with him. Believe it or not, he's been quite a help with wedding planning too! Thanks dude. You'll all get to meet this stud at the wedding right away when you arrive, and hopefully he'll show you to your seat without any shinanigans...

A few more pics of Marky:

Bonding with Ryan and Uncle Greg at RAGBRAI 2007.

Deer Camp 2007 with Hans.

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: Groomsmaid - Brandi Hoffman

Name: Brandi Lynn Hoffman

Marriage Status: Mitch

Residence: The WSP, MN

Occupation: U of M Kinesiology Student Advisor










Believe it or not, this photo pretty much sums up Brandi and I's relationship. This is a common look I get whenever in the presence of Brandi. It's the kind of says, "What do you want baby brother? Want me to change your diaper or something? Stop crying!!"

Where to start, where to start....

Well, Brandi never responded to our questionnaire we sent out, so I thought I could help her out by answering the questions for her.

• Who is your favorite Packer? Is that a football team or something? Gross.
• Funniest memory of Molly and Ryan? Molly and Ryan having fun? Gross.
  
• What song should we have for our first dance? Molly and Ryan dancing together? Gross.
  
• If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be? Cartoon characters? Gross.
• What are you looking forward to most on the wedding day? Ryan getting married? Gross.
  

Here are a few pics:

Ahhh, Ryan and Brandi in Rome. Nice photo to send home to mom.

Ahhh, Ryan and Brandi on St. Patty's Day. Photo not appropriate to send home to mom.

While Brandi is my older sister by 8 years, I will always be her bigger brother. Blazing the trail to state universities, oversees travels, and outdoor adventures, Brandi has been a HUGE influence in my life. Molly and I are both looking forward to having a great time hanging out with Brandi and Mitch during the wedding and the years to come.

Oh, did I mention that Brandi is pregnant? YAY!

Sunday Activities

Hello All!

We made a recent posting titled "Make a Weekend of It" saying that if you would like to stick around in the Twin Cities on Sunday since Monday is Labor Day, we would have a couple of activities lined up .

One of those activities is golfing. We booked some tee times on Sunday at Applewood Golf Course (an executive Par-3 course) in Stillwater for after lunch. If you are interested in participating, please email Ryan (rbroshar@gmail.com) by Wednesday, August 27th to confirm.

Thanks and let us know if you have any questions!

-Molly and Ryan

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: Bridesmaid - Peggy Stroub

Peggy and Mark at the bachelor/bachelorette parties!

More on the dork in the photo later, but for now, we'll talk a bit about Peggy.

Nicknames: Shnoogs, Sven, Marge, Flufferhead, whatever else comes out of Uncle Jeff's mouth
Career: Chef - And is amazing at it!!!
Drink of Choice this summer: PBR
Current Residence: Elkhart Lake - tomorrow? Who knows!!

I tried to get some more pictures of Peg up here, but unfortunately our scanner does not work. It's a big bummer, because I have TONS of them from our childhood. I looked through my childhood album to see if I could find one of Peggy, and basically she is in every picture with me! Yep, we were attached at the hip from newborns until about sophomore year in high school. At that point my fam moved to Manitowoc and we drifted a little. Not to worry though, we always pick up right where we left off! She is basically a sister...or more often referred to as my "kiss'n cousin." This summer has been awesome because we've seen each other a lot!!

Here are her responses to our questionnaire:

1. Who is your Favorite Packer? - Al Harris
   
2. Funniest memory of Molly? - Molly, Anne, and I wearing Grandma's old-fashioned swimsuits up at the cottage.
   
3. What song should we have for our "first dance"? - baby got back!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImBaVm7K6Do&feature=related "Cool Wedding Dance"
4. If you could be cartoon character, who would you be? - Meatwad from Aqua teen Hunger force
   
5. What are you looking forward to most during the wedding? - I look forward to seeing the family again and sharing your happiness!

Unfortunately, we have not learned this awesome wedding dance, but appreciate the great suggestion. We will certainly play this song though! I'm so excited that Peggy is in the wedding, and as she said, can't wait to see the family together!

A few recent photos of Peggy:

Peggy and Aunt Jo at the amazing shower they threw for me!

Awesome dancers at the Bachlorette party...notice my "middle-age overbite?" Ouch!

Make a weekend of it!!

Hi Everyone,

The wedding is less than 2 weeks away!! Are you all as excited as we are? I hope so!

This is a note to let you know what else will be going that weekend, in case you want to extend your vacation and hang out with us for a whole weekend! After all, most of you should not have to work on Labor Day!

First of all, if you're in town on Friday night, you're invited to meet up with a bunch of us in Uptown. After the rehearsal dinner, we'll head into Minneapolis. We'll plan to meet around 10pm at "The Drink" in Uptown.

We're also planning a golf outing for Sunday. It'll be a 4 man scramble and the start time is yet to be determined, but it'll be around noon so everyone can sleep in and/or enjoy your complimentary breakfast. If you aren't into golfing, there is plenty of shopping in Stillwater to keep a woman (or man) happy for an afternoon.

Please send Ryan (rbrosahr@gmail.com) a quick email if you think you'll join us for golfing. Just so we can get an approximate number of tee-times.

One other thing, make sure to plan for a bit of traffic on Saturday. Stillwater is a bit notorious for having some traffic on the weekends.

Hope to see you all at these festivities! Otherwise, we're excited to see you on Saturday.

All our best!
-Molly and Ryan

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: Usher - Mitchell Hoffman

Name: Mitchell Hoffman

Marriage Status: Yes

Occupation: Survivor Man

Amount of Miller Lite drank during his lifetime: Infinity + 1

Chest Hair Resembles: The letter "T"

Weight in 10th grade: 75 lbs.








First Off, Mitch's thorough and impressive answer to our questionnaire:

• Who is your favorite Packer? My favorite packer would have to be Mr. Vincent Lombardi. Not only are you so bad ass that you are you fertilize the egg of the 1st ever super bowl MVP, (Bart Starr, of course) but they name the F&%$#@ing trophy after you. I'm not even a Packer fan, but that if that doesn't spell gigantic ballsack, I don't really know what does. Brett favre is a pretty big, retired, bad ass, but he is a schoolgirl compared to this guy.

• Funniest memory of Molly and Ryan? My funniest memory of Molly and Ryan isn't really one specific thing, but I can tell you that it involves cold miller lite, summer days, and random activities that may, or may not, include playing kubb, wakeboarding, swimming, eating cheese (from wisconsin), corn on the cobb (from Iowa), chicken wings, spraypainting human feet and riding two wheelers impaired. All activities did not occur simultaneously. (Kubb and wakeboarding were difficult). Actually, It has to be Molly getting tipsy and singing Santa Baby to me on one of her early meetings of Ryan's parents. The kicker of the story is that we were in a quaint little German bar, and when she sang to me she "shook her money makers" at me. I, of course, was very embarrassed, but Ryan's mom was laughing so hard she nearly pissed herself. In a haste to diffuse the situation, Ryan's father promptly order a round of shots of unknown, highly potent, apple flavored ethanol. From there the night went down in history. Very good times.

• What song should we have for our first dance? I have to say it's a three way tie. I would prefer to mix these three songs into a 4 minute medley for the first dance. The songs are The Humpty Dance, by Digital Underground, Pina Coloda in Pint Glass, by Gaelic Storm, and the University of Northern Iowa Fight Song. By combining these three songs at your reception the guests will A) hear a song about what they all are thinking about, B) hear a song to further aid in their evening of drinking, and C) finally allow Ryan to admit that ISU may never again beat UNI in football. As an usher, I will happy to wipe the tears from Ryan's face as he gets very distraught when his team loses.

• If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be? This is the best question of the bunch. While cartoons are usually reserved for children, thanks to our friends at Fox Broadcasting, we adults have cartoon characters to choose from. I thought about Ned Flanders, but last time I went to church I got struck by lightning. Plus, my wife is still alive and I don't have any kids. I choose Brian, the Family Guy Dog for several reasons. Ryan likes family guy a lot. He laughs at it like he laughs at his own jokes and, it's a dog that talks. I have never been able to decide if I would rather be able to be a dog that talks and drinks booze, or if I wish my dog could talk and go drinking with me. Plus, if Brian came to the wedding I think the party would elevate because we have a talking dog there.
  

• What are you looking forward to most on the wedding day? (In poetic fashion)
  

I look forward to being the best usher I can be.
Ryan and Molly,
I vow to walk your wedding guests down the aisle,
I will do so with an Iowa boy smile.

Once the ceremony begins my job is done, and the heart of your guests I will have won.

To the reception I will go without a fight,
with hopes there will be a fountain, filled with of Miller Lite

Brett Favre will not be able to come, and this is too bad,
But I look forward to hearing the speech from your brother Brad.

My wife will not dance, but the party must go on,
so I will dance with Schaeffer, or Joe, until dawn.

Here's Mitch in a few photos:

Mitch contemplating trading in his Jetta for a Miller Bus.

Paying respect to Mr. Favre in Packer country

Wow, so if you don't know Mitch yet, you'll get to know him quite fast during the wedding. He'll be your graceful guider to your seat. Don't be afraid to drop him a tip either, he's got a young one on the way. Mitch has been a great friend and brother-in-law for Molly and I both and we just hope he makes multiple trips out to Boulder to visit us and to teach us a thing our two about the mountains.

Music Requests Now Being Taken

Hello All!

We've spent a good deal of time over this past week compiling our playlists for the wedding music. We never realized how strategic and important music is for a wedding.

With that being said, we would like to hear what songs you would like to hear during the wedding dance! We've got a short list started but want to know what songs really make you want to get up and dance. We are open to anything (except country:) Please send in your requests in the next couple of weeks and we'll make sure to put together a rocking playlist for us all to get jiggy with.

-Molly and Ryan

Hotel Update

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update regarding hotels! Currently, the Country Inn and Suites is completely booked for the night of our wedding. The AmericInn, on the other hand, still has plenty of rooms blocked for us. The block is only effective until July 30th, so if you haven't booked a room yet, it would be wise to do so soon. As we mentioned on the invite, the Republican National Convention is being held in St. Paul starting on Labor Day, so hotel rooms in the area are going fast. Below is the contact info and website link for the AmericInn.

AmericInn Suites
651-275-0980

Make sure to mention you are attending the Gottsacker-Broshar wedding to receive a discount. Additionally, the trolley will be picking people up at both the Country Inn and Suites and the AmericInn, so no worries about having to drive to the wedding venue if you would not like to.

If you have any problems or questions, feel free to contact either of us at the info below:

Molly
mollygottsacker@gmail.com
920.860.0993

Ryan
rbroshar@gmail.com
720.879.8927

Hope your summer is rocking and remember to wear your sunscreen!

Stay tuned,

Molly and Ryan

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: bridesman: Gregory Carl Gottsacker

Brother of the Bride: Greg (Steven Segal) Gottsacker - the eldest and wisest (and toughest) of the Gottsacker clan

Greg's responses to our questionaire:

1. Favorite Packer: yes

2. Funniest moments with Molly and Ryan: Lyon visit 2007, the night we went on the piss and held mutiny on the rum boat./Cooking in my flat in Lyon and listening to Jim Gaffigan. He's so anti-family.

3. Suggestion for our first song: Something by Foreigner would be completely inappropriate but ultimately really cool. I would recommend "Hot Blooded" or "I Wanna Know What Love Is" (which is subsequently also the song of my first confirmation.) How many confirmations are there?

4. If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be? Jessica Rabbit was pretty hot, but she was a female. Maybe I would be Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes, he had a pretty good life I guess and a San Francisco tiger would be my Hobbes. I would first of course consult Roy which breed is the least testy. Poor magicians, theologians, and philosophers!

5. What are you looking forward to most during the wedding? Bragging to everyone there that I was the first to know! So here is forewarning..."So, Hi, I'm Greg, Molly's brother. Who are you and when did you find out anyway?"

So, Greg's claim to fame regarding the happy couple???

Well, he was the fortunate one to be the FIRST to know about our engagement! We had gotten engaged on an island in Ireland and then headed over to France to visit with Greg for awhile. I was so excited on the plane ride to France thinking about how I would tell him...so, the clever way I decided to let him in on our exciting news? Well, I just shoved my new ring in his face and said "Look!". Wow Molly, clever, and how girly!! Anyway, it took Greg a second to figure out what was going on, but once he did, he was so awesome and congratulatory! He made the rest of our visit with him very special too. When we met all his friends he'd always say "This is my sister Molly and her fiance Ryan. They just got engaged." So, the rest of the trip was filled with free drinks and many toasts. It was very memorable.

Other fun facts about Greg:

• He lives in France and works in Germany.

• He's very good at remembering birthdays...I always get a phonecall and/or postcard from him no matter where he is living.
• He's very original in his thinking and living...great qualities to have in an older sibling that you look up to.
• During highschool he idolized Steven Segal.
• Growing up, he wanted to be a Navy Seal and rented the same library book about Navy Seals about 100 times.
• He was in Argentina at the same time we were....but we didn't get to meet up. :(
• He's coming home for almost 3 weeks for the wedding! I can't wait!

Our big night out in Lyon (when we "held mutiny on the rum boat")

Greg getting a some recipes from a famous chef (painting)

Sitting down to an amazing meal prepared by Greg and Mariya

Casa Dulce Casa

Hello All,

Just a quick note to let you know we made it back the motherland this past weekend. The Greg (Dad) and Janet (Mom) met us at the airport and we have been celebrating the return ever since. Wow, what a weekend.

In another note that is a bit more relevant to our "wedding blog", we are plugging away at our long list of to-do's for the wedding and have been quite successful. A few more days of this and we'll have everything done..........rrrrright.

Hope all is well,
Molly & Ryan

Mad at Farmers

Hola Chicos,

So by the title of the posting you might think that we are mad at my family or something harsh like that. No worries. Everything is super in the great state of Iowa (minus the flooding). I´m talking about the Argentinian farmers.

One might think, why would farmers have anything to do with the travel plans of Molly and Ryan. Well, when they park their tractors (most of them not being green!) in the middle of every road in the country, it is kind of hard for buses to travel around. This forces bus cancellations and getting stuck in random ho-dunk cities eating greasy sandwiches and staying in a hostel that could pass for a retirement home. Allright, it´s really not that bad, but it definitely has put a kink our plans.

Why are the farmers protesting? They are very upset with the government because they raised an export tax because the crop prices are rising fast and the governement wants to use this extra money. This is what I have been able to decipher from the spanish newspapers so odds are this could be completely off.

We had planned to take an overnight bus to Buenos Aires and then try to make it up to Iguazu Falls before our flight home on Thursday. This may or may not happen now but it will decide if we want to take a 14 hr bus ride to Buenos Aires, then a 16 hr bus to Iguazu, followed by the 16hr return bus to Buenos Aires, topped off by a 10 hr flight to the good ol US of freaking A. 4 days, 3 overnight buses, and 54 hrs of sitting on our butt. Definitely possible.... you´ll have to check back later to see what our final decision is.

Sadly, we just departed from our amigo, Nate, and he is back on his way to Chile to do stuff with pigs. We met up with at the Santiago, Chile airport and even had sign that read "Shaftner" just in case he forgot what we looked like. We headed straight for the coast and spent a few days in Valaparaíso and Viña del Mar. Very cool cities, much cooler than Santiago city. Then it was over a 16,000 ft mountain pass to get to Mendoza, Argentina with its plentiful vineyards and amazing exchange rate. The highlight would have to be the wine bike tour we took. Quite the combination, wine tasting and biking....dangerous yet very, very fun. Some pics are below.

Bay of Valparaiso, Chile
Crazy streets on the hills in Valpo

Street graffiti in Valpo (it´s everywhere)

On the beach at Viña del Mar, Chile

Really enjoying some wine in Mendoza, Argentina

Nate trying to act sophisticated...or something

Listo...It´s hard not to think of it now since we´ve got so much traveling left, but we return to the U.S. THIS THURSDAY! Whoa.. Definitely looking forward to it and getting to see all our family and friends to catch up. Oh yeah, there is that wedding thing as well. No worries, we´ll be working on it full time once home. Who knows, maybe this blog will actually start being about the wedding and not our South American escapades.

¡Hasta Luego!

ryan

2 weeks left!

Hi there everyone!

Wow, just two weeks left and we´ll be back in the states....and freaking out about wedding details!! AHHHH! But, until then we still have two full weeks of vacation. We´re especially excited about Nate Schaeffer arriving tomorrow! We pick him up at Santiago airport at 10:30 am and then head straight for the coast. We´re going to a few coast towns here in Chile and then are heading back to Argentina (our wallets will be very thankful) to tour the Malbec wineries of Mendoza together.

But what have we been up to since Patagonia you ask? Well, lots of amazing stuff!

Right after leaving our wonderful family we went to El Bolson. This city turned out to be greater than we thought and we stayed in our favorite hostel there. We did a great 3 day hike there and even got to see the crazy looking sky the day that the Chaiten volcano erupted.


After El Bolson we took a 26 hour bus ride to Cordoba in order to meet up with Ryan´s Uncle Jerry. We had a super time with Jerry! Cordoba wasn´t the greatest city, but we still had a wonderful few days and had some great bonding experiences with Jerry while sipping wine and eating very well!


From Cordoba we headed north even farther into the Salta region. This proved to be a great spot and we stayed much longer than we thought. We thoroughly enjoyed the desert climate and the opportunity to camp again. The very tiny, indigenous cities were quite enjoyable to chill out in and soak up the intense culture.



After about a week in Salta we headed over the boarder into Chile. Again, the desert climate was nice for camping and we loved the touristy town of San Pedro de Atacama. From here we took a four day tour into the salt flats in Bolivia. This was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! It was unbelievably windy and very cold there, but the scenery was phenomenal. It would have been nice to have more time to spend in Bolivia becuase it was super cheap and of course had a completely new culture that would have been great to learn about.



After our tour, we took a full day to recover and then headed on two overnight buses in a row to get down here to Santiago. We arranged about a 12 hour layover in La Serena which is a beautiful port town and arrived here very early yesterday morning. Unfortunately the weather was super crappy today, but yesterday we were able to wonder around the city a bit and were even able to see the surrounding mountains through the smog.

So, that´s about our last month in a nutshell. It´s been great and we´re still looking forward to some great stuff in the next few weeks. We are very excited to get home too!! It´ll be great to see everyone or at least be able to use my cell phone to get in contact. :)

I hope all is well with everyone! In a few weeks I´ll actually be thinking and doing wedding stuff...so stayed tuned!!!

Chau,

Molly

Passing Time in Patagonia

Hola Chicos,

Passing time in Patagonia. I think this is a proper way to describe our last few weeks traveling. We´ve been based in Esquel, Argentina but making succesful and fun side trips from here regularly.

One of the cooler things we did was go hiking in nearby Los Alerces National Park. This park is known for it´s 2,000 year old Alerces trees (think Redwood trees in California). Couldn´t tell you much more about them because we never got near them. We attempted to take a ferry across a lake to see some of the oldest ones but it was rainy so they said they were not running today. This was after we hiked for 30 minutes in the rain to get to the platform. No worries though, Los Alerces is also home to some monster mountains and picturesque lakes....stuff worthy of postcards. After doing a day hike in the rain we were completely soaked to the bone. Not only this, we got to look forward to spending the night in the tent. We knew we had to get dry and soon. We tried every restaurant in the park and they were all closed...except for one! We sneaked into some fishing lodge, found an enormous fire, and began to dry off. After a bit, we found someone else in the place and she sure was suprised to see us. Regardless, in traditional Argentina fashion, she brought us some maté and took our orders for the night. A real godsend.

Molly getting dry by the fire

Now, apparently when it rains in the valleys, it snows on the mountain tops. We found this out first hand when we went hiking the next day. An easy summit day hike turned into trudging through almost knee deep snow. Luckily, the weather was ideal and the views were amazing. Check out the pics below to prove it.

Not a bad view

During our time in Esquel, we also celebrated my (Ryan´s) birthday. The family threw a big party for me with a houseful of friends. It was a great suprise and made for a great night of pizza, beer, and pool. See below for some more pics.

The gang for the birthday party

Blowing out the candles on the cake

Besides these two events, we´ve been staying busy taking little day hikes in the afternoon to nearby mountains and lakes. We pass time studying spanish, planning for the wedding, and eating bread. We live in a land of bread. You can´t escape it. Every meal it stalks you and you eat it consistently. After you have eaten a good loaf or so, you think to yourself, "Did I just eat that?" and pray they do not make more....but they do. It´s scary but magically delicious.

Anyways, our time in Esquel is coming to an end. We leave in 5 days to start heading north to the (hopefully) warm climates of El Bolson, San Martin de los Andes, Cordoba, and Mendoza. We also plan to cross over into Chile again to meet up with our friend, Nate Schaefer (groomsmen in wedding), and travel around Santiago for sometime. Looking forward to it! Hard to believe we still have over half our trip left!

Also, we uploaded some photos from our travels. Check them out at the link below:

Passing Time in Patagonia

Finally, we do have some news on the wedding front. The invitation are all printed and sitting at Mama Gottsacker´s. Also, we finally updated our Northwest Airlines (or is it Delta now?) Wedding Registry site if you would like to give the gift of travel for our wedding. Check out the link below or the permanent link on the right hand side of the blog.

Northwest Airlines Wedding Registry

Chau Amigos,

Ryan y Molly

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: Groomsman - Joe Collins

Name: Joseph Patrick Collins

Hometown: Cedarburg, WI

Major: Entreprenuership

Occupation: Sasquatch

Realationship Status: Mating season







What a sight to behold. There he is in all his beauty. With the looks of a grizzly bear and the wits of a stray dog. The one and only - Groomsman Joseph Patrick Collins.

Let´s start out with the answers to our questionairre Joe provided.

Who is your favorite packer? Atari Bigby
Funniest memory of Molly and Ryan? St Patty's Day 2007, too many moments to start writing about
What song should we have for our first dance? Don't go for the one
If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be? popeye
What are you looking forward to most on the wedding day? Everyone dancing until we get booted off the farm

Joe has been one of Molly and I´s best friends since we´ve been in school. I (Ryan) met Joe during my first week in college in the dorms. First time I met him, I thought he was 23 years old. Actually, Joe and I took the majority of our classes while in college together and started our first business when we were seniors. We recently sold this business, the U-Guide, and are looking forward to starting something new in the future. Joe even gave us spanish lessons before we took off for Argentina. He is our bueno amigo.

To get to know Joe a bit better, here are some photos so people will recognize him with his shirt on.

Grrr.

Joe and I in the Porcupine Mts.

We´ve had some great times with Joe. I know the wedding night will be no different.

Esquel and a wedding officiant

Hi Everyone!

First an update on our adventures in Argentina and Chile and then some wedding stuff...So, we´re now in Esquel staying with a family for about a month. They are amazing! Very welcoming, affectionate, and fun to be around. We arrived last Tuesday, stayed the night, and then left for Futaleufu, Chile (right across the border) the next day in order to catch the end of the whitewater rafting and horseback riding season. The family we are living with is originally from Futaleufu, so this was normal for them.

Through some awesome connections, we were hooked up with a great gal, Andrea, who works for the outdoor adventure company, Expeditions Chile. She was able to get us on a one-day rafting trip for a great price. They also made an exception for us to go on the most difficult section of river even though it was our first time ever rafting. So, we rafted ¨The Best Whitewater on Earth¨ and had the time of our lives. What a rush!! Then we went on two long days of horseback riding with Fabian, the 25 year old son, of the family we are living with. He was a great guide. We saw some amazing sceneray and ate lunch with some very neat families in the middle of nowhere.

Now, back in Esquel, we are hoping to give our checkbooks a break, improve our Spanish, maybe find some sort of work, and really embrace the culture! Today we had our first day of real downtime...it was weird, but nice. And, we actually talked a bit about the wedding! :) One big thing we need to figure out is the officiant. I´ve realized that it´s probably too late to have a Catholic preist there to bless it. No time for the classes or to get to know a priest. So, we´re going to wait and have a Catholic ceremony sometime in the fall or winter. But, we still need an officiant. Any referrals or suggestions??? We plan to figure that out very soon!

Ok, too many distractions now. Here´s a link to our photos that we finally got online....

Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Futaleufú, & Esquel Pics

Hasta la vista!

Molly

Heading South

Hola Chicos,

We made it out of Buenos Aires and finally down to the fresh air and open spaces of Patagonia. Yay! Buenos Aires is great and all, but Molly and I needed to get out and see more.

We didn´t head as far south as we were originally planning, however. Originally, we planned to fly down to El Calafate in far south Argentina. We had our tickets bought and everything. Our flight was for 5:30am so we literally stayed up through the night and were at the airport at 4am, tired as hell :) We come to find out, however, that our tix we bought were invalid and the flight was booked today and for the rest of the week!

No worries though, we just changed our plans and, instead, took a flight to Bariloche in the lakes district at the base of the Andes mountains. Our original flights were refunded as well. Our new flight was not until 1:30pm so we found a nearby park and made like homeless people to nap in the park. Quite the experience.

Bariloche has been great thus far. We found a campsite on the edge of town for dirt cheap and we even have our own beach. We thought we had the buses figures out until today we got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and had to meander until we found a street we recognized amongst the dirt paths and mountain passes. Just another adventure....

Tomorrow we head out on trail for a 3 day hike in the Andes. It is in the Nahuel Huapi National Park. Here´s a fun fact - Nahuel Huapi is Argentina´s first national park and has been visited by the likes of Teddy Roosevelt and Bill Clinton. Neato!

Anyways, Bariloche is another world compared to Buenos Aires. Well, not everything. There are still stray dogs everywhere. Not sure what their deal is but they seem to appear everywhere. I feel like we might have to hang our food soon, so dogs can´t get to them...just like we do in the boundary waters for bears. The dogs are harmless, though, and dog lovers would feel sorry for them.

On the wedding front (since this supposively is a wedding blog), Mama Gottsacker is rocking it for us while we are gone. Invitation designs are complete and should all be printed this week. Transportation to and from hotels to the wedding venue are booked - can you say TROLLEYS! Also, it has been decided that all the men standing up with me will be wearing chaps, cowboy boots, and a button down shirt with a piano key necktie. Classy!

Well, we haven´t had our meat fix yet for the day so we better head to lunch.

(Insert clever ending line here...suggestions welcome)

Hola from Buenos Aires

Hello All!

We made it to Buenos Aires and have been having a great time! Seems like so long ago when we arrived but we haven´t even been here a week yet. Crazy!

We´ve been spending most of our time enjoying the beautiful weather (80 and sunny every day), walking vast distances across the city, and making fools of ourself trying to speak spanish to locals. The espanol is coming along slowly but surely...we now feel a bit more confident at restaurants and even know how to ask for a ¨to go¨box.

Our hostel is located in Palermo SoHo. We settled on this place because it is not as crazy as some of the other parts of the city. There are wide sidwalks and huge city parks nearby. Think "Uptown", but in Buenos Aires. It is a huge city (13 million people) and I´m guessing a lot like New York with all the different neighborhoods. It has a European feel to it.

We´ve had a great time thus far. Every morning we wake up, go for a jog in the local park and then take off on our days adventures. We met up with one of Molly´s former co-workers, Jill, and she gave us a rundown of the city right away. She also took us to our first, official, Argentina steakhouse. Argentines, they like their meat. I think we each ate about 3 lbs of steak and it was great! We went to this small steak house that only a local would know about and were blown away by its charm and great food. We arrived at 10pm and did not leave until 2am. The next morning we had meat hangovers and didn´t really start functioning until noon, as we had to let the meat pass through our system.

Another couple we meet up with last night were the grandparents of one of our basketball kids we coached in Minneapolis. We found out we were going to be in Buenos Aires at the same time, so we decided we would meet up for dinner. During our conversation, we come to found out that Mike actually grew up in Clarion, IA (about 10 miles from Kanawha) and knows most of the people in the area. I about fell out of my chair when he said this. Here we are in Buenos Aires, Argentina and we meet someone who grew up in small town northern Iowa. Unbelievable.

We´ve also been trying to plan out the rest of our trip this week. We decided to fly south to El Calafate in Patagonia on Tuesday morning. El Calafate has multiple Ice Glaciers and is considered the hiking capital of South America. We will spend a week here hiking around then head north to Esquel. While in Esquel, we´ll be living with a local family and have the opportunity to cross over into Chile and go white-water rafting and horseback riding in remote Patagonia. In May, we´ll head farther North to Mendoza, Cordoba, and eventually Salta before returning to Buenos Aires in mid-june for our flight home. We´re 100% positive these plans could change but it is exciting to think about nonetheless.

We´ve been taking a lot of pictures but haven´t figured out a way to get them online yet. Once we figure this out, we´ll post them on here.

Time to go explore some more. Hope all is well!

Chau

Wedding Registry, Hotel Update, and Adios!

Hello All!

Today is the day...Molly and I are heading to Chicago and down to Buenos Aires. Crazy! Thanks to all who put up with us and put us up for the past month or so. It was a great farewell tour and it reminded us how great our friends and family are!

In other news, Molly and I just completed (for the most part) our wedding registry. It's a little awkward to write about, but we've been told to put it on our blog. So, here it is....we are officially registered with Target, Crate & Barrel, Evla Pottery, and Northwest Airlines. The links to our gift registries are located on the right hand column. We registered at Evla Pottery for our kitchen dishes. They do not have a website but have a storefront on Grand Ave in St. Paul or there is a link to their phone number and map on the right hand column. The owner is great and is used to phone call inquiries/orders. Additionally, there are a couple of links for items that we couldn't officially "register" for but would be great gifts :) The Northwest Airlines registry is still a work in progress but check back in a few weeks and we should have it fully functional.

Finally, we have had some inquires regarding the hotel situation. We have rooms blocked at the AmericInn and Country Inn and Suites in Stillwater. The links to these hotels are also located on the right hand column. If you are for sure going to come party with us for our wedding, I would recommend booking your hotels soon. Our wedding just so happens to fall on the same weekend the National Republican Convention begins in St. Paul and rooms will be scarce as the date approaches. Make sure to mention Molly or my last name to receive the room block discount.

That's all for now. Heading out the door for a good 18 hrs of travel! Gotta love it!

-Ryan

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: Bridesmen - Hans Gottsacker

Well, I am going to start out right away with Hans’ answers to our questionnaire:

Who is your favorite Packer? Brett Favre

Funniest memory of Molly and Ryan? Brett Favre

What song should we have for our first dance? Brett Favre

If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be? Brett Favre

What are you looking forward to most on the wedding day? Brett Favre

So, because of these very thought-out answers, I decided that today was an appropriate day to feature my brother Hans on the blog. When I heard this morning that Brett Favre retired today I was in a panic and of course started to worry about Hans. It is a sad, sad day for us all, but poor Hans is over in Germany without the support of the state of Wisconsin during this life changing event. Fortunately, I have a Skype date with him a few minutes, so I will attempt to console him.

A little info about Hans:

Full Name: Hans Brett Favre Gottsacker

Hometown: 20 miles south of Lambeau

Major: Brett Favre History

Favorite Pastimes: Watching the Packers, dressing up like Brett Favre, drinking beer in honor of the Pack, making Brett Favre cookies, and spreading the word about Brett around the world.

Ok enough about that. I seriously think I’ve heard the name “Brett Favre” uttered on the news at least 100 times in the past hour.

So, for real now…Hans is my little bro, but I look up to him greatly. Not just because he is so tall, but because he is very smart and kind and always a blast to be around. He attends the University of Northern Michigan and is majoring in Art…or Architecture…or Woodworking…something along those lines. Currently, he is studying in Berlin, Germany and seems to be having a great time. He enjoys fishing, building stuff, camping, beer, Christmas, skiing, and long walks on the beach.

A few more photos of the boy for your enjoyment:

He loves Christmas...and long walks on the beach!


A close up during a game.
He loves fishing and all that goes along with it.


Woah, tools. Cool.

We can't wait to see Hans this summer when we are all back in the states! After his half- marathon this spring, he'll surely look great in his bridesmen dress. :)

WEDDING PARTY PROFILE: Groomsmen - Nate Schaefer

Well, here it is, the much anticipated "Wedding Party Profile". One by one we'll be revealing our wedding party and roasting them. Here's how things worked out, about a month ago we sent out a questionnaire to all members of our wedding party. The responses were interesting to say the least but here we go....

Our first victim is Nate Schaefer, Groomsman.





Full Name: Nathan Richard Schaefer
Hometown: Wesley, Iowa
Major: Vet stuff
Favorite Pastimes: Studying, pigs, studying pigs, eating pigs, drinking Pig's Eye (see pic on left)
Relationship Status: Taken (sorry ladies)







Wow, where do we start with Nate? Nate has a been a great friend of both of our since we've moved to school. Nate graduated school with me (ryan) and ventured north to the "U" for college. We were roomates until senior year after which Nate left for the greener pastures of St. Paul. Nate and I were partners when it came to taking the brunt of the Iowa jokes and heckling that ensued when we told people our homeland.

Below are Nate's responses to our Questionnaire.

1. Who is your Favorite Packer (or viking)? Pat Williams
2. Funniest memory of Ryan & Molly together? Ryan holding Molly down and farting on her in our dorm room. That was when I knew they were meant to be. Sorry Molly.
3. What song should we have for our "first dance"? Like a Virgin
4. If you could be cartoon character, who would you be? SpeedyGonzalez
5. What are you looking forward to most during the wedding? The dance - hopefully polka dancing!
   

As you can tell Nate has been through it all since the beginning. One thing you may not know about Nate is that he is quite photogenic. Just photo above might convince of this but just to prove a point, I thought we could share some wonderful photos we have of Nate in his prime.

I like to label this one as "Fer Sure". As in "Nate is Fer Sure not talking to any women tonight".

Nate as a picture perfect Borat. "Iiiii like".


This is Nate after having just sat on a leprechaun.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Dork

In all seriousness, Nate is a great friend to us both and we are excited he will be in our wedding party. His speech alone should be worth your attendance, that or the potential he may take his shirt off at the dance.

Rocky Mountain High

What a trip, what a trip, what a trip! A day after our last day of employment, Molly and I ventured out to Colorado for a 13 day road trip to Iowa, Colorado, Utah and everywhere in between. Loading up the Jetta with all our gear (snowboards, XC Skis, snowshoes), food (enough to last for month, thanks to Ma Broshar), and plenty of caffeine, we made the journey to Denver to visit our friend Bridget.

One thing I noticed en route to Denver is that Nebraska is on the threshold of hell. I take a lot of crap for being from Iowa and have seen my fair share of corn fields, but Nebraska seriously needs some help. It doesn’t help that the state is about 10,000 miles across and you have to endure almost every mile of this god forsaken land.

In the end, we made it to Denver. Bridget was a great host and very gracious for lending us her futon for the night. She even gave a full-scale walking tour of the city, including the Tattered Cover, a humongo independent bookstore that everyone who goes to Denver should stop by.

While staying in Denver, Molly and made a visit to Boulder to visit the University of Colorado. Since I applied to their MBA program, I received a tour of their school, attended a class, and even conducted my official interviews. While I was on campus, Molly was checking out the town and looking up potential housing options if I were to be accepted (more on this later!). We both were thoroughly impressed and left excited for the opportunity to move their in the fall.

We awoke the next morning to find out that Mancos, CO, our next destination for our trip, had just received 2 feet of snow! All the passes were closed so we ventured to southwestern Colorado via Moab, UT. This unexpected turn of events turned out to be pretty cool, however, as we got to drive through some amazing countryside including massive mountains and deep canyons that hugged the Colorado River. Amazing!


When we arrived at Molly’s Aunt Mary and Ronnie’s place in Mancos, CO it was dark out and pretty beat from the road. Aunt Mary and Ronnie revived us with a great meal and a multiple cold beers. Their place is nothing short of amazing. We stayed in their guest cabin (La Plata Cabin) and when we awoke the next morning, we were shocked by their amazing views of Mesa Verde National Park and the La Plata Mountains. This is on top of the fact that their cabins were idealistic Colorado mountain retreats. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.



Our friends Joe, Jeremy, and Mary flew out to Durango, CO to vacation with us as well. Over the course of the week, we thoroughly exhausted ourselves between Snowboarding at Purgatory Mountain, to snowshoeing in 2 feet of snow, to XC skiing on trails. Every night we crashed…hard, excited for what the next day might bring.

The highlight of the trip, however, had to be the bonfire Aunt Mary and Ronnie had for us. Ronnie got out his flamethrower straight out of ‘Nam and lit us a fire that lasted throughout the night. Check out the pics below.


All in all, GREAT TRIP! We made it back to Minneapolis after another stopover in Denver and Iowa. On the way home, however, I found out that I got accepted into the Colorado MBA program. This means Molly and I will be moving to Boulder, CO next fall!! Can't wait and make sure to start planning your ski trips now.

For more photos from our trip, click here: Colorado Trip Photos

Ode to Our Last Day at Work

Here we sit on our last day at work,
A large trip in our future does lurk,

Tomorrow we will be unemployed,
Some are sad, we're both overjoyed

Not much going on, looking for something to do,
Boy we can't wait for happy hour, how 'bout you?

Big Trip, Babysitting, and Burritos

It's true, it's official...it's happening right now.

Molly and I are in the midst of a big transition and can not be happier or more excited! As Molly disclosed in her last posting, we are packing up and moving to Argentina for a few months. A lot has happened since her posting but everything is still on track. We should have our tickets bought and plans finalized in the coming weeks. We'll keep you posted (get it, blog = posted). This also is our last week of work before we road trip out to Colorado to visit friends and family and hit the slopes for some snowboarding.

The planning has been fast and furious but we've been able to keep our santity. In fact, Brad, Steph, and Kaysen paid a visit not long ago. We got to spend some quality time with the Broshar familia and had the opportunity to babysit Kaysen. Below is a serious of photos that sums up this experience.

It started out with some ceremonial crying and burying our heads into the couch (by Kaysen, not Molly and Ryan).

Followed up by some elmo

Topped off by some more sniffles and eventual pass out.

All in all, it was a great night and some serious bonding occurred. The next day we attempted to go Ice Skating. I think Steph had a better time than Kaysen! See below.

In other news, Molly and I have started taking bi-weekly Spanish lessons. These lessons are put on by our friend Joe and have been going "muy bueno" (translation = very well) thus far. We're not quite fluent yet but I do know how to say where is the bathroom, where is the restaurant, and where are my pants - all very important phrases.

Stay tuned for our upcoming "Wedding Party Profiles", a chance for us to roast our doomed wedding party.

Until next time...adios!

2008...a big year!

Hello family and friends,

Happy 2008! It's going to be a great year! We are very excited for what the year will bring.

There have been a few big changes in our lives lately that we'd like to share with you all...

The big picture...we are heading down to South America in March!

This means, we both resigned from our current jobs and will be done working at the end of this month. Then, we will travel to Colorado to visit Bridget and Aunt Mary and Ronnie and to get some skiing/riding in. Once we return from this vacay we will do as much wedding planning as one can do in 3 weeks and move out of our cozy apartment. From there, we'll head to South America around the first of March through the beginning of July.

The actual plans for down in South America are not solidified yet, but the most promising avenue will bring us to the Patagonia region of Argentina. A co-worker of mine (Molly) runs an outdoor guiding business down there in the winter and has some friends that would take us in for a small daily fee. We are still working out the logistics of working/volunteering while we are there.

So, that's the new plan in a nutshell. We're super pumped! It is going to make wedding planning a little more complicated, but we're up for the challenge. I have definitely been more motivated to do research and make decisions, so that's a good thing. Of course, we'll miss everyone while we're gone, but it will make seeing you all at the wedding that much more exciting!! :)

I hope this finds you all well!

Coming soon......WEDDING PARTY PROFILES!

St. Nick's

"Just say NO to prostitution"

One thing I am finding out about the Gottsackers, is that they have many traditions that myself nor anyone from Iowa has ever heard of. One of the most recent traditions is St. Nicks, which takes place on December 6th every year.

What is St. Nicks? I always thought that St. Nick was Santa Claus and he never showed up until Christmas Day. I know this could be a common mistake as Santa Claus is known by many different names, i.e. Kris Kringle, St. Nick, or even Bill Broshar during the annual Broshar Implement Christmas Party.

So what is St. Nicks? To answer this, I had to do some research because for as much as I know, he delivers a stocking full of caramel corn, peanut brittle, and an orange (?). I found a great article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that explained it a bit more(Article). According to the article, "Tradition calls for children to hang their stockings or put out their shoes in the hopes that St. Nicholas will visit in the night, leaving a trinket or two for good children. Naughty kids will find a lump of coal or a switch instead."

But that is not the least of it, "Legend has it that he took pity on a poor man who was about to abandon his daughters to prostitution. The story goes that he left trinkets for the man in his chimney. From this came the custom of secret gifts on the eve of the feast celebrating St. Nicholas."

So there you have it. St. Nicholas left trinkets in his chimney so a man wouldn't give his daughters up for prostitution. How this evolved into a family tradition for children, we'll never know.

I can't say that this tradition is unique just to the Gottsackers either. This is a Wisconsin-wide tradition. When I broke it to friends and families from Wisconsin that I have never heard of St. Nicks a couple of years ago, people looked at me like I was an orphaned child who missed out on my childhood. Somehow, I survived. In Iowa, prostitution is illegal. :)

The last three years, however, St. Nick continuously delivers the goods to Molly and I. It is quite an exciting event. After we receive the goods we then proceed to indulge ourselves, it makes sense to me now why their is an orange at the bottom. The orange is to help your self-esteem. "Yeah, I just ate a batch of peanut brittle, a bag of caramel corn, and handful of chocolates....but I got my recommended daily dose of Vitamin C from that orange."














































As you can see, I've taken a liking to this tradition. It's like charity, the more candy and sweets I eat, the fewer number of girls there will be succumbing to prostitution.

'Tis the Season
-Ryan

Turkey Day Together

Well, we took a big step towards being together forever this past weekend when we spent Thanksgiving TOGETHER for the first time. We spent the weekend "Up Nort" at Molly's Grandma's log cabin in St. Germain, WI. With my mother's wishes (thanks mom!), I spent my first holiday away from Iowa.

The weekend was great! The days can quickly be summed up as: up at 8am (wakened by Greg and Hans returning from hunting for the past hour), two hours of breakfast/coffee/fire, lunch, run/nap, 4pm cocktails, 8pm dinner, 10pm games, 12pm bed, repeat. You can't ask for much more!

Prior to this trip, I did not know how the color "blaze orange" is such a necessity. Wear it or die. Anytime you would go outside, blaze orange had to be incorporated somehow into your outfit...it was your safety belt. I wore this goofy hat, Hans had a coat, and Molly wore a cute mini-skirt. Without these articles of clothing, deer hunters stalking you in the trees may well misinterpret that green coat, blue jeans, and human voices as a deer and blow your head off. It's like walking into a war zone: shots are ringing out all around you, animals are fleeing, and you've got to wear you blaze orange like you are a member of the red cross. "Don't Shoot!"

Luckily we made it out alive. Not only that, I got to perfect my lumberjacking skills. Something that is not so easy to do while living in the city. Now, I know I may not come off as one of the better lumberjacks you know (if you know any), but I can swing a mean axe. Don't believe me? Check out this photo:

AHHHH!

Splinters! Paul Bunyan called, he wants his job back. The camera can't even catch that action, just too quick. See that wood pile behind me? Yeah, that was me.

While I was able to pick up on plenty of the Gottsacker's Thanksgiving traditions (pecan rolls, Gilmore Girls, Packers, and "going town"), I think I was able to give them a good taste of some of the Broshar traditions as well. This includes watching "Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas". For those of you who haven't seen it, don't hate. For those of you who have seen it, all I've got to say is "Ain't no hole in the washtub". This movie is even better to watch late at night after you have returned from a heavy night out at the bar. In fact, it may be the only way to watch this one of kind puppet movie. Wish I could have gotten a picture of the Gottsacker's face after the movie was over. It was one of those "Do I smile so I don't hurt his feelings or just laugh in his face" type looks. Priceless.

All in all, great weekend! I hope it is a preview of all our holidays to come.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Season!

So, I know that Ryan said to check the blog once a week…and if anyone has, you’ve likely been disappointed. Unfortunately, once we made the HUGE decision of the date and venue, we’ve thought it was ok to coast for awhile and do absolutely nothing. According to the wedding lists that tell you exactly what to do every single day for the entire year leading up to your wedding…this is not the greatest idea. But, other things have been keeping us busy, and wedding planning has been put to the wayside. Hopefully after Thanksgiving we’ll dedicate a little time to check off a few of those things on the long, daunting list, but until then, I’ll focus on eating and will grace you all with a few thoughts/observations I’ve had recently:

• · To you Roncalli girls that read Mandy’s blog…sorry, I’m not nearly as clever or wordy as she is!

• · I recently checked out someone’s real wedding website (weddingwindow.com) and felt a little inferior. It was pretty fancy and put together. But, I’ve since decided this is WAY cooler…

• · Picture this scene: A bunch of friends gathered for a Thanksgiving feast. The boys are all wearing sport coats and the women wearing cute sweaters or a nice cleavage showing shirt. Molly…un-showered and wearing an ugly green sweatshirt with a huge Santa sewn on the front and back, outlined with puffy paint… Needless to say, I got ripped on a lot. “So this is what happens when you get engaged?” Well, maybe I’m a bit overly confident, but I can’t wait for Ugly Christmas sweater parties! Who’s with me?

• · I am very lucky to have many great friends…I’m having a hard time deciding on this wedding party thing. Can’t everyone stand up there with me? And wear the dress that I pick out and they will probably hate? :) hmmm…Maybe it will be a blessing for some of you!

• · I still love my ring!

That's all for now. Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Official, You Can Now Start Sending Presents!

Welcome to our new "Wedding Adventures with Molly & Ryan Blog". Many of you might not know what a "Wedding Blog" is. Well, it's a blog about our wedding. Simple enough.

Actually, we thought we would create a blog so we can share updates on the wedding planning progress. Sounds exciting doesn't it? We'll give you the inside look at how wedding planning really goes down. Everything from the wedding venue selection all the way to the cutting of the freakin' cake (which we are not doing, by the way). Kind of a backstage pass. We might not have groupies but for those of you who are not married yet, use this site as a resource for when you do.

What can you expect from this site? Everything you ever dreamed of. Enough said.

Some of you might say, "Ryan and Molly, how often should I visit your site? I am just so very interested in how your planning is going, I just cannot get enough." Well friends, let's shoot for once a week.

Here's our first big announcement: We decided on a venue and date!

Saturday, August 30, 2008 (Labor Day Weekend)
Camrose Hill Farm
Stillwater, MN

After about 3-4 weeks of checking out every outdoor wedding venue in the midwest, we found one that is PERFECT! It's actually a gal's farm who owns a floral shop in Stillwater. It comes with everything: lots of space, three-sided barn for the reception, and a bonfire pit (who's got the s'mores?).

This will be a great time. We'll make sure of it.

That's all from the soon-to-be-married front. Keep checking the blog, we'll keep you posted on our adventures!