Merry Christmas

Hope this post finds you enjoying the last of the Christmas Spirit!
It's been a crazy busy few weeks, which is why there have been very few posts!

Jonah and I finished up our finals and classes. Jonah went home on the 19th, and I didn't get to come home until the 23rd. But, the semester is over and classes went well for both of us.

If you don't already know this, Jonah is a HUGE fan of Christmas. I mean, christmas carols blaring starting November 1st if no one yells at him for it.

We started with the traditional family Christmas for my Dad's side on Christmas Eve at our house.

On Christmas Morning I opened presents with my family from both my parents and Santa. Wedding planning was the theme this year, and I got a bunch of great new books on it as well as a subscription to Martha Stewart Weddings. Now that I'm done with finals and have a little time to focus on Wedding Planning, these books will REALLY come in handy.

In the afternoon we went to Oconomowoc to celebrate with Jonah's immediate family minus the flu-ridden Aaron, Jenny, and Emmett.

For those of you who don't know, Jonah's sister Beth lives in Oconomowoc with her Husband Trevor and their three kids Owen, 5 1/2, Evan 3 1/2, and Isabel, 6 months.
Owen and Evan received matching Power Wheels F-150s for Christmas from Santa, and when we rolled up to the house they were having an awesome time playing.
We ate a great meal and exchanged gifts. I got a new digital camera from Jonah's parents and immediately turned into Renee Anderson, snapping pictures of anything I could see.

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.



More Christmas stories to come and wedding planning updates.
Hope everyone had an awesome Christmas!
Now time to relax before New Year's.

Maybe...

Adventures in Minnesota...

This past weekend we took a break from the hustle and bustle of the impending doom that is finals to visit some of Jonah's family in Minnesota.
Jonah's cousin, Anne, was in A Christmas Carol at The Guthrie theatre. We were lucky enough to have an efficient tour guide in Jonah's uncle, Gerry, and he showed us a very busy but awesome Saturday.

We got into MN late Friday night, so after a bit of catching up we all headed to bed. Friday morning we had brunch at Becca's new pad which she shares with Anne. Anne's college friend, Jenny, was also visiting. Becca just moved in but has become a Home Depot aficionado--including making a very crafty headboard with some bamboo someone was getting rid of.

We then made our way to the Mall of America, which I haven't been to in probably a good 12 years. We went on two coasters--> the second one was quick but had quite a drop!

We followed that up with an amazing roast at Liz, jonah's cousin, and Steve, her husband's house. It was especially fun to see Liz's growing pregnant belly! (Although, unfortunately she had to opt out of the rides. I wonder why....)
They also happen to have a golden retreiver, Captain, and if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to convince Jonah we need one! I think Captain helped changed his mind though. Step by Step;).

We then scooted downtown to see the holidazzle parade, which was very cute! Every float had people with lights on their costumes and while the wait between floats was a little long because they had to coordinate it with street lights downtown, it was definitely a very cool experience!

From the parade we went to The Guthrie. What an amazing building! It's beautifully designed with a ton of cool features. Check it out if you have a chance, here's the link. http://www.guthrietheater.org/
The show was awesome. It was reworked a bit so it was a 90 minute straight shot without an intermission.
We got to see Anne perform which was a real treat, and we also got to meet Peter Michael Goetz when Anne gave us a backstage tour after the show. Most of you probably know him as the father-in-law from father of the bride 1 and 2. He was actually playing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and was really amazing! He even entertained our request for a picture, which I will be showing to my jealous father.
Ever since we got engaged, he's been watching father of the bride...A LOT.
Hopefully, like Kathy(Jonah's aunt) said, he won't have a break down in the bun aisle.

We followed up the show with a trip to an awesome German bar, Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit. With a little help from the gps we figured out how to say it. There was lots of dancing, and 3-3L boots fell victim to those of the Reason clan.

We ended the weekend with a great brunch where Anne's boyfriend, Blake works. It's called Tavern on France, and I'm telling you, if you need brunch and you happen to be in the Twin Cities area-- GO THERE.
The food was crazy good, a whole brunch buffet set up with pretty much anything you can dream of.

We hit the road from there and got back into Cottage Grove around 4:30 this evening.
Phew, even typing it up I'm tired thinking about it! It was truly a great weekend--a lot of great fun!


Hope everyone had an awesome weekend!:)
Wedding Planning is going well, and I'll update you soon!:)

The picture is of all of us with "Peter." (He doesn't know it yet, but I think he's my new best friend.)


Until next time!
Kels

We Set The Date!

We've set a date!
After a (very small) amount of looking, we've found a reception venue and have set the date for our wedding.

We'll be getting hitched on June 4th, 2011.

So far we know the ceremony will take place at St Stephen's Lutheran Church in Monona, Wi.
This was my church growing up, so I'm very excited about getting married here. (Especially since I had the honor to see Claire Sorge become Claire Ogunsola there this past weekend. It was quite a reality check watching someone get married and thinking about being there in 18 months! )

The reception will be held at the Masonic Center downtown on Wisconsin Avenue. Aaron and Jenny Reason(Jonah's brother and sister-in-law) had their reception here and it was at the top of my list when looking. After seeing it this past Friday(11/27) I was pretty set on it. I had posted earlier that we had hoped for June 11th, but that was the only date that had already been booked at the Masonic Center. We weren't set on it anyway, so we decided to make "D-Day" (as Jonah's been calling it) a week closer.

So, recap. WE'RE GETTING MARRIED! ON JUNE 4TH! At St Stephen's in Monona with a Reception to follow at the Masonic Center downtown.


Also, I've been working on a website from "the knot" but didn't want to put it up until we had more info.
Now that we know the date and the ceremony and reception, here is the link:
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/KelseyAnderson&JonahReason

I'll be updating it more as we know details(like times).



In other news, It's December 1st, which means we are celebrating the birth of one of my best friends(and a bridesmaid!)! Here's wishing Jenny Kondrasuk a super-tastic 21st birthday.


That's all for now, hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving!

Kels