No Words...

Long time, no blog.
I apologize in advance for my lack of words in this post, but I will make up for it with pictures. Lack of words, because there are no words. There is no way to put into the words the amazing weekend I had celebrating the beautiful, amazing, kind, and sweet Kathleen and her fabulous bridal shower/bachelorette party weekend. There are no words to describe what a luxury it was to be in the company of the best friends a girl could ask for. There are no words to describe the amazing food I ate, the smiles, the sights, and the laughter. So I won't try. I'll just show you.


My weekend started off with this...

she's a trip, and that's what she took down the steps to earn that shiner (Happy Birthday Casie!)



What's a slumber party without shoving three almost 30 year olds in a full size bed? Seriously.

The shiner after a make up job by the artist known as Kate.






(okay, seriously... Is that not the coolest cutting board you've ever laid eyes on?)

Random

Sorry for the lack of updates... here is a random rundown of what is happening at casa de McQuinn

• We have both been working, a lot. This makes Bella sad and a little angry...

• Last week our smoke alarm went off at approximately 4 am. After searching high and low we were unable to locate anything to be concerned about (okay, okay, I didn't search high and low, but my brave husband did...) I didn't think too much of it, that is until my husband called me asking me to take a look at the smoke alarm and give him the product number, followed by a list of symptoms he potentially thought I may be feeling. He had become pretty convinced that we had some carbon monoxide issues so he proceeded to leave work to come home, replace our smoke alarm and ensure we had a carbon monoxide detector. (thankfully 885 East Drive was totally safe) Matt had a "safety meeting" for work that evening and proceeded to share his story with 100 of his  peers.
• Although our house is not on the market yet, we have made a lot of progress with Project: Sell 885 East Drive. I must say Matt has done an amazing job of working 6 days a week and spending his only day off taking care of "manly-esque" projects. Good Job McQuinn!
• NO, we have no idea when we will be outta here, or where we will be going...
• After receiving my masters I decided I would pursue obtaining my LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) which would provide me more opportunities for counseling. I stressed, studied, and stressed some more and passed the National Counselor Exam in March. This is a long story but after going back and forth deciding whether I should begin the process here in Texas or wait , I am proud to announce that I am officially a LPC-I. The I stands for Intern... which means that I have to obtain 3000 hours under supervision and then I can drop the "I" and call myself a professional counselor.
• Sarah is Chicago bound in 5 days. Pretty excited. but last time I dedicated an entire post to the anticipation I felt regarding a trip to see friends, I didn't go. so i am leaving it at "excited".

4th of July

Happy Independence Day!!!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous and safe holiday weekend. The McQuinn's are spending their first Independence Day weekend in Beaumont since we took residency in these parts. We usually spend our time at my aunt and uncles on the beach, with sun, sand, fireworks, cold beverages, delicious food, and fantastic people. However, Hurricane Alex decided he would send some rain our way and change these annual plans. But we are making the best of our weekend and even gaining a couple of firsts here in Beaumont. 

Saturday morning we decided to check out the new Farmer's Market with some friends. I apologize for my lack of pictures. Because there was a lack of a farmers market. It literally consisted of 2 stands. Nothing else. Enough said.

Each year around this time we see all these yard signs around the neighborhood about the 4th of July parade. So we decided we needed to experience the parade. 

Again...

You will have to excuse my lack of pictures. This was not the parade I anticipated. (If you have the opportunity to attend the Summerfest parade in Ankeny this year, trust me, you are witnessing a pretty great parade...) The annual Beaumont parade consisted of....

1 Firetruck

1 Police Car

Several Beaumontian's walking/bike riding in their red, white, and blue, escorted by babies and dogs for a total of approximately 5 minutes. 

The kind older couple that chatted us up during the parade gave us a bit of a heads up before hand...

"This is a traditional small-town parade. You will be able to appreciate this being from Iowa..."

Although we left the parade a little underwhelmed, it did inspire a delicious breakfast. (courtesy of Mr. McQuinn)

We are off to continue the celebration... Enjoy it wherever you are.

Minnie-sotah

Heading north and leaving the south behind, reminded me how much I love Minnesotan accents.

I had a great weekend with family, food, history, fun, love, laughter, and did I mention food. Our weekend celebration included two anniversaries. My grandparents were celebrating their 50th and my parents were celebrating their 28th. It was beautiful to see these 4 amazing individuals, the families they have raised, and the memories they have shared. How blessed am I to have these amazing role-models.

Our family celebration began by boarding a bus...16 of us, dressed in green...

there was champagne toasts, laughter, and memories of the past shared...

Our bus stops included opportunities to step foot in the church my grandparents married in half a century ago...

Farms they grew up on...

and obviously, opportunities to eat.




It was a fantastic weekend. I enjoyed the weather, the food & drink, the sights, the sounds, but more importantly the comfort and love that comes from spending time with family...

Hermann

After a week, I think I am finally coming to grips with the "water works" situation and the travel trauma it caused me (am I being overly dramatic.....naaahhhhh) 
One thing that has helped with my recovery process is gearing up for another weekend full of beautiful faces and travel and I truly think this one will happen (knock on wood. literally just did.) I am heading to "The Land of 10,000 Lakes". Thats right folks, this southern girl is heading north. My final destination:  New Ulm, Minnesota. Home of Hermann the German (the 3rd largest copper statue in the United States, Thank you very much!), but more importantly the home of Joe & Barb McGuire, my lovely grandparents, who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. It will be a weekend of family and celebration and I'm so excited I just can't hide it!

Hermann in all his glory...

I will miss these two darlings, but I am sure they can hold down the fort without me.


Please excuse my random subject change.

Remember this post. No, we haven't found any Texas artwork. But I did find that someone has some skills to help me hide things I don't want you to see...
Our Pirate's Alley recreation and that darn fire hydrant. Check this out.

What fire hydrant? 
Thanks Scotty! You're the best! (I'll be in touch for more re-touch work...)

Water Works

67 hours has come and gone and I did not get to see any of those beautiful people I was so looking forward to seeing (except my handsome husband).  Instead this is what I saw...

Okay, let me start from the beginning. This saga began Thursday morning when Matt and I attempted to get ready for work and realized that we had no water. A few months ago, the same situation occurred, we called the city, and the problem was fixed, therefore we didn't think too much about it, except for the inconvenience factor. The story continues as I return home from work prepared to pack and paint my nails, when I was greeted by an elderly man and his dog at my house. He explained to me that as he was on his walk, he noticed some water, and took it upon himself to figure out where the water source was. It happened to be under my house. 
Now is where the story gets dramatic. 
We called our home-owners insurance to send out a plumbing company. No one came Thursday night, which caused a dilemma. We had a flight to catch in Houston and would need to leave by noon.  After checking the later flight, which was booked, we realized we would have to make a decision; leave our home with the water situation unresolved and pray that everything was okay when we returned (ie we would have the capability to bathe and flush a toilet)  OR  forgo the fabulous weekend we had planned with friends and family and miss the wedding vows of Old Man & his Old Lady. Unfortunately, we took the "mature homeowner" stance on this one and decided not to leave our home in a crisis situation.
But wait.... thats not it!
So we finally get a plumber out to the house, he locates the problem and explains the fix. However we still have one pretty big problem... he can't fit through the crawl space. After Matt asked for all the "skinny plumbers" numbers, the oversized plumber informed us that the earliest anyone could come out would be Tuesday. But, oversized plumber felt confident that Matt could repair this situation solo. He provided Matt with detailed instructions and materials necessary and after a quick trip to Lowes, my husband ventured into new territory. 
Skinny plumber engineered the necessary parts.



This is the next step... fitting into this area. (you can empathize with oversized plumber now, huh?)

Then skinny plumber went to work.


Skinny plumber was successful! Matt was able to fix the problem and as of now we have running water. 

I felt pretty bummed out this weekend, this has to be the longest I have gone without seeing my friends (last reunion: Holiday Season 2009), but with their phone calls, messages, and kind words, I realized that it is times like these that serve as a reminder of why I call them my best friends.
“Maybe mistakes are what make our fate... without them what would shape our lives? Maybe if we had never veered off course we wouldn't fall in love, have babies, or be who we are. After all, things change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart... and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away” - Carrie Bradshaw






All in all, we learned a big lesson this weekend: Next time the water doesn't work... DO NOT assume that it is the city's problem. 





CONGRATULATIONS ADAM & CARRIE!

67 hours

That is the approximate amount of time before Matt and I land at the Des Moines International Airport where we begin a weekend filled with family and friends. Here's a peek at some of the beautiful faces we get to surround ourselves with....

(the bride...)

(the groom...)

Good Night! And if you are one of the lucky ones... we will see you in approximately 66 hours and 45 minutes.