Carterpants

Be sure to click on the video and watch it in HD on YouTube.

Josh and I rode the wild stallion that is the Escape to Jonny’s bachelor party weekend in Wisconsin/Illinois. We arrived Friday night and spent the evening at Axel’s place, relaxing and catching up.

The next morning we arose early(ish) and headed towards Rockford for the Scot Forge sporting clay shoot-out. We were very lucky to be included in this as typically only one guest per employee is allowed, but they made a special exception for Jonny’s party weekend! Some of us shot well, others not so much (me), but we all had a blast. I think everyone won a prize during the lunch raffle as well. I’m rendering the FlipVideo footage from the 12 different shooting stations and hope to have it on YouTube by morning.

After the shoot we packed up and headed to Milwaukee for phase two: Dinner and booze cruise.

Dinner at Rock Bottom on the river was most excellent, followed by a two hour booze cruise on the Edelweiss boats. Afterwards we toured the bar scene around the river, then called it a night.

A great weekend with good friends! All to celebrate Jonny’s last weeks as a bachelor!

For the past 7 weeks my mother has been suffering from severe leg/back pain caused by a ruptured disc in her lower back. She wanted to avoid surgery and try the conservative treatment path first, so pain killers and physical therapy have been filling the days. Some days were better than others, and at one point she was showing signs of significant recovery. Eventually the pain came back in full force and it was time to look into surgery.

Yesterday she went under the knife to have the ruptured portions of the disc removed to relieve pressure on the surrounding nerves. The surgery went as expected, and so far recovery has been progressing well. Her leg pain nearly completely gone, her “old” back pain is significantly less, and the incision pain is manageable.

All things considered she pulled through like a champ!

Day 5: Windy Hyperion, and the party that never ended

Friday morning, Bryan and I did a little shopping to replace his pitching wedge that suffered a rather unfortunate death the day prior at Toad. We then met Dean and Janet at Hyperion for a club house lunch, where I was introduced to the b.e.l.t.ch sandwich (more on that later). After filling our gullets we stepped outside to load our clubs when we noticed how badly the wind had picked up. We debated on skipping the links all together, but decided to brave 9 holes anyhow. It was a cold, blustery outing but we had fun none the less.



Next up on the schedule was to meet everyone at Fireside, for a night of fun fun fun. We all had a few sips and then headed to Anthony’s, where we met up with Amanda and a few of her friends. Shuffleboard, shots, and a few unsavory pictures filled up the night right up to closing time. Was that enough for this group of party animals? Oh heck no! Most of us then headed back to our place where numerous games of beer pong kept us up until 5am!



Day 6: Pictures, mexican feast

With little sleep, we got in our color coordinated attire and ventured to Newton for a family photo session. Bryan and Mom took a few shots with Bryan in his Dress Blues, followed by a group shot of everyone. After the session we met at the Grandparent’s place to celebrate Amy’s 14th birthday with some ice cream cake.

Later that evening we gathered at Dad’s place for a wonderful mexican feast! Sangria, margaritas, and even some Patron found their way to our lips despite the alcohol overload from the night before. We enjoyed the great food and company late into the evening.



Day 7: Mother’s Day, packing up, and Mr. Rullestad

Bryan’s last day, Mother’s Day. Bryan helped Mom plant some flowers around the house while I setup and configured her new Dell laptop. We ordered up some eggs benedict from good old Village Inn for brunch and nom nom nom’d between chores. Bryan then spent some time packing up, tying up some loose ends, etc. Later that evening we caught word that Korey Rullestad was in town, so we decided to meet up at Old Town for a few last drinks.

Pictures added to the May 2010 section!