Backyard Explorations…or is it Twin Cities Cities?

**This post was written by Tom**

On Saturday (Oct 29) Alison and I started the first of our trips to nearby cities.  The rules are simple, any free time over the weekend we have we are going to start exploring cities within a certain distance (around 30 min) of our house. Some cities we haven’t spent enough (or any) time in, others we’re just curious about.  We figured long distance travel isn’t exactly in the budget so why not explore where we are?  We have been tossing around names for our adventures and haven’t really settled on one. Feedback is welcome. Options are as follows:
·    Backyard Explorations
·    Twin Cities Cities (Cities Squared)
·    Immediate Exploring’s
·    “Cities we haven’t been to but want to get to know and see if they’re cool”

The first city on the list was Prescott, WI.  We didn’t really have any rhyme or reason as to how we picked Prescott, but we did.  Deal with it.  For those of you that don’t know, Prescott is where the St. Croix and the Mighty Mississippi converge. Alison and I took to calling the convergence point Ms. Croix.  Prescott is also home to a disproportionate number of biker bars to really anything else as we later found out.  The sun was shining and it was a perfect fall day. 

First thing we did was load Mikey in the stroller (I should note that as this is my first contribution you will notice that I call Michael, ‘Mikey’ and Alison sticks with, well, Michael).  We strolled along the St. Croix first.  We had completed this leg in about 3 minutes.  Note to Prescott: more sidewalks.  Feeling like we had just warmed up, we decided to stroll through the classic river town downtown that lines the main drag in Prescott. The buildings had markers expressing the ages and putting this part of town right in the middle of the steamboat era (early-middle part of 1800’s).  The other distinctive feature of note was that this section had A LOT of bars.  We were in Wisconsin, but this was overkill.  We decided based on what we know of Prescott, and what we were able to deduce from our 3 minute stroll, that Prescott must be insanely busy over the summer months.  Anywhere a boat could dock, had a dock!

We then followed Prescott’s lack of sidewalks to the Mississippi side of town and proceeded down the path less taken.  If you’re into bridges (like me) then Prescott is for you.  We watched the old school railroad bridge lift for a passing houseboat (BTW this was more like a boatmansion…friggin HUGE).  They also have a draw bridge that’s probably cool when it opens up, but we didn’t get a chance to see that.  We also walked past what appeared to be some fancy Condo’s overlooking the Ms. Croix (upon closer inspection they were VERY fancy).  This got Alison and me talking about our future and where we would like to end up in our life together.  It turned into a great conversation as we sat on a bench, fed Mikey, and soaked up the sun.  It was perfect.

After a couple of hours we decided that we had seen all there was to see in Prescott.  I wish that I could say there was some hidden gem on our way out that would make this story better, but there wasn’t.  Life isn’t like the movies.

Overall, Prescott was a lot of fun.  I think the town deserves a second trip during the summer.  We had a great day with perfect weather and I don’t think it would have mattered where we were that day.

Remembering Our Younger Days

What a crazy couple of weeks it has been for us in the Rooney household.  We are all settled into our new place and really enjoying the comforts of our own home.  Now that Michael is in our lives, we are enjoying the simple things more than we previously did.  For example, while all of our friends are gearing up for Halloween weekend, filled with parties and costume contests, we are perfectly content on hanging out at home and handing out candy.  Not to say that going out and partying wouldn't be fun, its just that our priorities have shifted and it is time to start making some new traditions of our own that Michael can grow up looking forward to.  Our friends may not understand this at this point in their lives, but they too will see how your lives are completely transformed when they have children of their own.  Although that transition has been hard for Tom and I, hearing that people don't really want to spend time with us because we have a baby, we have a tiny miracle to look at every day that reminds us just how lucky we are.  It is just too bad that people are so quick to throw in the towel, and not realize that we are the same people we were a year ago- we just take a little longer to get out the door and we are a bit more sleepy.  But, through it all, I think that Tom and I have gotten to know who our real friends are, and for those people we are so thankful. 

Speaking of real friends- we were in Ames last weekend visiting with our college friends.  We had so much fun catching up with everyone and reliving our young, immature days.  We managed to tailgate, catch a (brutal) football game, see what was new on campus and laugh more than we have in a long time.  We miss all of those people so much and wish that distance didn't separate us all.  It is amazing how it seems like no time has passed since we were in college, as soon as we are reunited with the people we spent so much time with in our transition to the adult world.  They are all amazing friends (yes, even you Bama) and we can't wait until we can see them all again!

I started a part time job at Lands End- just to get out of the house and make some money (very little, in fact).  It has been a long time since I have been a part-time, hourly worker, and I must admit, I didn't really miss it.  But, the discount is worth it and so is the little extra income.  I have a few other things coming down the pipeline that would be unbelievable for Tom and I, so stay tuned for updates on the career-front. 

In the next couple weeks, I will be jetting off to California for a 3rd (and final, thank goodness) round of interviews for a job within the dental market- keep your fingers crossed!  That same week, Tom and I are off to Mexico to celebrate the marriage of his brother, Jay, and Toni.  It will be such a nice break from reality and 4 days of peace from Michael (we love you, Michael, but it is time for us to have a break).  A week after we get back, we are jetting off again for Florida with the family.  We have such great things to look forward to this year!

For Andy

**Most of you reading this will not know who this man is, so my sincere apologies if none of this makes any sense to you.**

Bama.  Oh, Bama.  You are such an interesting man.  I am so sorry that I didn't address your concerns about our move earlier.  You see, we didn't have our internet hooked up until late this week, so it was a teeny bit difficult to post on the blog.  I hope you can forgive us.  On to your questions.

-Did we hire a mover?  No.  We rented a HUGE truck and loaded it up ourselves (with the help of a few young, strong men, such as The Finke). 

Did we box everything up ourselves?  Yes.  When we moved out of Chicago we boxed everything up and had it in storage.  We also unboxed everything ourselves. 

Did we get new furniture?  Yes.  We bought a new (used) kitchen table, a new (used) dining room table, and a new couch.  You should come up here sometime and check them out (that was just a formality, not a real invitation).

What problems and woes do we have?  Well, every house has its peccadilloes, but we aren't really upset about any of them because they aren't really our peccadilloes.  If these problems were at our house in Chicago, it would be a different story.  But, since you asked, I will tell you.  We have had to replace almost every single light bulb in the entire house, the oven display doesn't work, the refrigerator and freezer don't seal (and need to be replaced), we have caught 6 mice and the inner workings of one of the toilets needed to be ripped out and replaced.  Other than that, things over here are just dandy. 

Pros and Cons of the home?  Lets start with the bad- its a little weird.  The house needs some major renovations, but like I said before, it isn't my problem.  As for the good, we are in an excellent neighborhood, there is no way we would ever outgrow the space, we have an awesome backyard, and Finkel lives between you and us so we don't have to worry about you ever stopping by. 

I hope that cleared up some of your lingering questions.  Please rest a little easier at night now. 

Love,

Tom and Alison