Hiking at Pheasant Branch Conservancy

Fishing in Milwaukee

Fishing at Indian Lake County Park

Murder Mystery Halloween Dinner (dressed up as fisherman and his catch)

Antiquing at Odana Antiques

b-day dinner with friends

Sharing some iced tea

Afternoon tea at Legacy House Imports

Doing face masks during a polar vortex! "What to do when a polar vortex comes to town? Step 1: Put on the tea kettle Step 2: Put your hair up in a messy bun Step 3: Do a face mask Step 4: Consume a large quantity of snacks Step 5: TV/Movie Marathon Step 6: Put the tea kettle on again Step 7: Pizza Step 8: Kiss your boyfriend's nose Step 9: Look at cute things on Etsy and EBay Step 10: Throw boiling water off the porch"

Valentine's dinner at Sardine

Laying on the beach "Two years with this guy and a spontaneous middle of the night trip to Lake Michigan to watch the sunrise"

Sunflower Field at Pope Farm Conservancy "Happiness lives inside the smallest moments... take time to drift through the wind."

forehead kisses and thrifting at St. Vinny's

Shabby chic tea party

Strawberry pickin'

"bird kiss"

Tea and charcuterie

Trailin' around Lake Kegonsa "Our new fave silly kiss is called, “the delayed smooch.” It’s when you touch lips, pull away without a smooch sound, and then you smooch the air."

Car ride with Kevin the baby kindness gnome

Hiking a new trail in our matchy matchy bucket hats

Magnolia trees at the Arboretum

Antiquing adventures

Picnic at Lake Mills

Moved into condo!

Picking apples and raspberries

Pizza night!

For the Love of Flowers- Flower Farm

Sunset in Door County

Country drive fun

Springing Forth 4/29/23 Birds flying And chirping their song Nesting and caring For their babies above Frogs croak In the distance In a beautiful chorus of life Listen A gentle breeze Pouring in sweetly The days are getting longer A sense of healing The repeated refrains of nature Opening the door once again Dawn after night And spring after winter Take a deep breath in Deeply breathe out Open your eyes Blossoms begin Painting the trees As they spring forth Their green leaves The ground comes alive The bugs hum a tune Butterflies and aphids will be here soon Baby seedlings Growing inside Getting ready For their big debut outside The fresh smell of rain As the earth wakes up once more The excitement and joy It cannot be contained Where there is joy There is mourning But new life wiggles up Even through that barren dirt We call hurt There is beauty in all Remember to listen Step back and breathe For when you look up With a new perspective You will see It IS all around No matter the season And the dew that is YOU The dew that has always been there THAT is when You will truly glisten

Morel huntin'

Proposal under the willow tree to the song "Colors of the Wind." There are so many stories within this story but each sentence/lyric of the song he proposed to me I kept finding meaningful links to my life and /Ria's. I wrote poems growing up and this was one I had recovered from Facebook after God had put it on my heart that the specific song was for a reason. Lyric: “Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest Come taste the sun sweet berries of the Earth” Okay, going back to the same day I recovered my Facebook Note poems. I am not kidding you that the very next poem I opened I was looking for the poem that I had written with a pine trail in it to connect to this lyric. Yes, the Note doc I blindly opened next was the one I was looking for. See the following poem: Forever Dream (written on 7/2/2012) “When I woke up I found myself standing Beneath the shadowy depths of a forest I paused, holding my breath for a second Closing my eyes then opening again Amazement finally grabbed a hold of me As I took in my surroundings. Tiny beams of sunlight shone through The tree branches And began to dance about the forest floor. The ground was lined With dry grass, pine needles, and dead leaves. I quietly took a step forward Until I heard the leaves crunch under my bare feet. I lifted my eyes to look around. I was alone. As I began walking into the forest I started thinking about life It’s hard to defy emotions Especially when thoughts Are about dreams And hopes You’ve had for a lifetime. A tear trickled down my face. I gazed up into the trees. Breathing in the sweet aroma of pine sap And the bittersweet scent of tree bark. I closed my eyes And traveled to a different sort of world I thought about how I greatly wanted to share My life with someone. I longed to find my soulmate, Someone that could hold my heart for forever. As my toes hugged the dirt, I couldn’t help but think About the meaning of love And its value. Not just in my life But in the world I was surrounded by. I looked up to observe where my thoughts In the forest had led me. Wild mushrooms were speckled Across the forest floor. In between them, Lay mounds of stone And old rock formations. A truly beautiful sight, Almost enchanting. The similarities in color were profound Yet the shape and texture Of the mushroom and rock Were completely different. In my heart, I knew what the mushrooms and stones were. They were symbols of love. At least one was… You see… Love is meant to last forever. Love is not just a feeling or emotion. It is not just passion Or a connection with somebody. It is commitment. Communicating, Dealing through life circumstances And never giving up. Love will not last If it’s based on feeling. I gathered my thoughts And turned my head slightly To discover a baby squirrel Doing its best to hold onto the bark Of an old maple tree. I slowly moved towards the tree But something else gained my attention, A narrow dirt path peaked out From beyond the old maple. My curiosity ensued. I moved forward until my feet hit The beginning of the twig-laden dirt path. For a few minutes, my feet were fine But since my feet were barely callused The small sticks began to eat away at my skin Making them throb. I continued on the path for several minutes And as I turned a corner Near a cluster of yellow wildflowers I stepped out into a wide opening Of blue skies, sunshine, And a beautiful glistening lake. A breathtaking view of God’s creativity. I quickly ran towards the shore And splashed my blistering feet In the cool, clear waters. Standing still for a minute, I look up Out at the open waters The sunlight creates the most magical effect On the water’s surface. Tiny diamond-like stars twinkling about Each one dancing with its soulmate Another tear comes forth. In that moment, I put a little hop into my step, Held my breath, And dove into the inviting waters. When I woke up again I was in my bed A small stone next to my pillow And fresh tears Were gently caressing my face.” OKAY! SHUT THE FRONT FLIPPING DOOR! “BAAAAABE! COME HERE! THIS IS CRAZY! Ria, get over here right now!” And I told him how I was looking for a pine needles poem about a trail and that this was the one I opened first during my recovery search. “Here, sit down. Let me just read it to you.” He sits down in one of our heart-shaped dining room chairs and I begin reading it. I made it to the soulmate part and then I lost it. “This is so crazy!” I said as I was balling. “Maybe this is why I wrote this poem all those years ago to be read to you in this specific moment,” I said with tears streaming down my face. “Okay, I’m fine, I’m fine. Let me finish reading it to you.” I finished reading the poem and just can’t believe this was the poem I opened. It talks about fleeting emotions, love, love that is disguised as love but isn’t, commitment, marriage. Revelations from just a college girl who’d never been in love before or perhaps it was more so God working through me as a vessel to write about what it takes for a lasting marriage. To get through to me.

Fishing on WI River

Glamping with baby Willow!

Trailin' up in the Dells

Engagement pictures

Boop

Fall colors up at MacKenzie Center

Christmas

Magnolia trees in bloom

Rainbow Day at school!

Peony Farm up in Beaver Dam

Camping and trailing at Wyalusing

Camping at Buckhorn

Rollin'

Butterfly garden summer lovin'

Bear + Bug

Fam trip to Lake Michigan

Country rd adventures