Family Gatherings

Minnesota Surprise

By ben  |  2010/04/17 08:47 Posted in Family Gatherings  |  Comments Off on Minnesota Surprise
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Here’s the complete photo album from our trip!

Last Thursday (the 8th), right after work, Jenelle and I headed northwest to make a surprise visit to Andrew, Holly, and family.  Well, it wasn’t a complete surprise — Andrew & Holly knew we were coming.  🙂

We arrived after midnight, after the kids were already asleep, and settled in to the guest room in the new finished basement.  In the morning, Andrew sent us a text message once Ella & Lily were awake, and we gave him the go-ahead to send them down, telling them that there’s a surprise in the basement.

Wow, were they excited to see us!  Friday was Ella & Lily’s last day of spring break, so it worked out perfectly.  All seven of us (including our new nephew, Kellan) went to the pancake house for breakfast, and we got to hang out with all the kids most of the day.  I’m glad the weather was so nice, because we spent a fair amount of time outside, playing on the swing set and even climbing trees.

The other big highlight of the trip was that Andrew and I got to watch a tradition unlike any other — the Masters on CBS.  Since each adult in the house has a laptop, we set up three of them below the big screen TV to watch FOUR different feeds of golf action at once.  We only had that going for half an hour or so — the rest of the time, one screen was enough.  🙂

The weather also allowed me to enjoy running outside on the bike trail near the house without needing a bunch of layers.  On Sunday morning, Andrew rode his bike alongside me, which made my five-mile journey a bit more fun.

In other news, Andrew and I went to Mystic Lake Casino on Friday night, and we won more than $150 between the two of us at the blackjack tables.  We gave it to Jenelle and Holly, who went shopping with the girls on Sunday while we watched the final round of the Masters.

What a great trip!  We enjoyed every minute.  We left on Sunday evening, and got back early Monday morning.

Meet at Marty’s Pizza

By ben  |  2010/03/06 20:54 Posted in Family Gatherings  |  Comments Off on Meet at Marty’s Pizza


Back on January 26, Jenelle and I ventured northwest to Marty’s Pizza in Delafield, WI. The occasion was a fun family gathering. Gail, Mike, and Laura drove in from Lodi, and several other family members came from Racine. I don’t eat at Marty’s very often, but their food is quite tasty, so it was quite a treat. It was also great to catch up with relatives I haven’t seen in quite a while.

The restaurant wasn’t too busy because it was a weeknight, so we had a room all to ourselves. After dinner, the family fellowship continued. Jenelle had fun with Mykenna, who is the youngest of cousin Eric and Gina’s kids. Mykenna would stand up on Jenelle’s knees and attempt to backflip while holding Jenelle’s hands. It took several tries, but she eventually was able to do it pretty easily — to the point where she wanted to do it over and over again. Very cute. I got a couple of pictures of it.

Here’s the photo album!

Christmas in Oregon

By ben  |  2010/02/10 03:02 Posted in Family Gatherings, Oregon  |  Comments Off on Christmas in Oregon

Here’s the photo album!

We left Wisconsin VERY EARLY on Christmas Day. Our original itinerary had us going from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to Seattle to Portland, but a very nice gate agent in Minneapolis got us on a flight straight to Portland. So, we arrived with plenty of time to relax and hang out with Jenelle’s parents before the rest of the family arrived. We had a great Christmas dinner and lots of fun opening presents.

Besides the usual shopping and cruising around town, we had time to catch a movie with our nephew, Lucas. It was the chipmunks “Squeakquel” movie. Even though I never saw the first one, I was able to catch on to the plot. 🙂 In any case, Lucas really enjoyed it.

We visited with our friends, David and Amanda, who were also in Oregon for the holidays. They are currently living in Dallas and training to be missionaries overseas, which is really exciting. I forgot to take pictures of them, but we did get a shot of Jenelle with their daughter, Adelaide.

The day before we left, about three inches of snow fell. That’s barely a dusting here, but it’s enough to cripple the city of Portland. Drivers aren’t sure how to handle slippery roads combined with Oregon hills. It was funny watching the “breaking news” stories about the snow.

I’m not sure when we’re heading back, but I’m hoping we get out there at least once during the spring or summer.

Christmas Eve with the Comande Family

By ben  |  2010/01/31 00:25 Posted in Family Gatherings  |  Comments Off on Christmas Eve with the Comande Family


My mom’s parents always throw a great party on Christmas Eve. After a wonderful meal, we all gathered in their living room to open presents and celebrate another exciting year. We gave Grandma & Grandpa our usual gift — a “coupon book” full of things that we’ll do for them throughout the year, including taking them out to dinner, taking Grandpa to Arlington race track, and helping Grandma type reunion luncheon invitations on the computer.

The other highlight is the usual gag gift exchange between Jenelle/Holly and Randy, which I was lucky enough to capture on video. I also included a clip of all of us singing “Jingle Bells”. Check out the video on the movie blog right now! 🙂

It’s almost February, but I’ve got one more Christmas-themed post coming soon!

Hangin’ with the parents

By admin  |  2010/01/21 04:14 Posted in Family Gatherings  |  Comments Off on Hangin’ with the parents


This past Christmas was great for so many reasons. One is that there were quite a few gift giving and receiving occasions (December 19, 23, 24, 25, and 31). Jenelle and I went to my parents’ house on the 23rd. We all got lots of cool stuff, some of which I captured on digital film. Here’s the album.

Christmas at Gail’s

By admin  |  2010/01/15 02:20 Posted in Family Gatherings  |  Comments Off on Christmas at Gail’s


On Saturday, December 19, Jenelle and I traveled to Lodi to celebrate “Isaacson Christmas” with all of dad’s family. Aunt Gail and Uncle Mike hosted an amazing party. Andrew, Ella, and Lily made the trip from Minnesota. Also joining us were Dan & Sandy from Ohio, who picked up Katie and her boyfriend, Chris, in Chicago on the way. Todd, my cousin from the Houston area, had flown up to Wisconsin for the holidays, so he joined us as well, along with Uncle Jerry. Grandpa Milt’s “lady-friend”, Jeri, was also able to make it.

We celebrated with great food, Christmas songs, and lots of catching up with family from near and far. Here’s a movie that shows everyone there (except for Uncle Mike and Jeri — sorry about that!)

We had lots of fun, and time flew by while we there. Gail & Mike were nice enough to let Mom, Dad, Andrew, Ella, Lily, Jenelle and me spend the night. It was a wonderful trip!

Weekend in Eden Prairie

By admin  |  2009/11/16 04:04 Posted in Family Gatherings  |  Comments Off on Weekend in Eden Prairie

We had a great time visiting Andrew, Holly, Ella, and Lily in Minnesota this weekend. My parents also made the trip.

There were plenty of things going on. First, we took a family photo (all eight of us). I don’t have it ready to share yet, but I think it turned out great. Holly, who has her own photo business, also took a bunch of pictures of Jenelle and me. I hope to share those very soon.

Dad, Andrew, and I spent a fair amount of time in the basement, which is slowly transforming from unfinished to finished. The framing is done, and we worked mostly on the wiring. One of my main tasks was setting up the speaker wire in the TV room. It wasn’t too tough, but it did involve drilling holes in the wooden beams above and carefully threading the wire across the top of the room. Dad and Andrew did the electrical wiring. It still seems like there’s lots to do, but we made great progress.

We had a second mini-golf match at Big Bear. Andrew dominated the event with a 34. Dad finished with a 40, and I came in third with a 43. Andrew’s performance was impressive, but Dad still holds the family record with a 32.


Homecoming

By admin  |  2009/11/07 20:39 Posted in Family Gatherings, Northwestern, The Two of Us  |  Comments Off on Homecoming

In celebration of the Northwestern football team’s upset victory at Iowa today, I think it’s time to post about our visit to NU two weeks ago. It’s been nine years since I graduated, and six years since Jenelle graduated.

We walked around campus for a while, making a special stop at the bench where we got engaged in March 2002. After that, we stopped at the university bookstore. There’s a lot more cool stuff now, including dri-fit running shirts. I used some restraint though, and limited myself to a new winter hat, which has already been very helpful on several long runs in the past month.

For dinner, we met up with my cousin, Katie, who graduated from NU earlier this year. She’s living in Chicago, and she made the trip up to Evanston to meet us. We ate at Thai Sookdee, a Thai restaurant that Jenelle and Katie both like. It was my first time there, but I enjoyed it as well. We had ice cream for dessert at J.K. Sweets.

That about wraps up our super-fun day in Evanston. Go ‘Cats!

The Heart of a Champion

By admin  |  2009/09/08 14:13 Posted in Competitions, Family Gatherings  |  Comments Off on The Heart of a Champion

This post takes us back about a week. On Sunday, August 30, we were in Minnesota, finishing up a weekend of fun with Andrew and Holly and the girls. After a party with tons of people on Saturday, we had some time for fun in a much smaller group. The eight of us (Ben, Jenelle, Andrew, Holly, Ella, Lily, and my parents) went to Big Bear mini-putt, only a short drive away from Andrew & Holly’s house.

As with all of our mini-golf matches, Andrew and I tend to be a bit competitive, with me being the perpetual underdog. What we did not expect, though, was the amazing performance by my dad. After nine holes, Dad was in the lead with a score of 17, which included three birdies and an eagle. I was in second with 18, and Andrew wasn’t far behind at 20.

I should also mention that my dad was playing on one good knee. He had surgery on the other one just this past Friday, and is doing well. Granted, mini-putt isn’t as stressful as full-swinging golf, but on the course, I felt like I was watching Tiger Woods at the ’08 U.S. Open.

Andrew and I were hoping to pick up some strokes on Dad on the back nine. It wasn’t to be. My dad did not have an error-free round, but he made some unbelievable shots to cover his mistakes. For example, on a hole with a bunch of rocks guarding the green, his first shot hit the rocks, leaving him on the fairway. His second putt went around the rocks, off the wall, and into the hole for a 2. Too good — Andrew and I just could not compete.

I struggled more on the back nine, but Andrew held his own to take second place. The final results are as follows:
Dad: 32 (17, 15) EIGHT under par
Andrew: 38 (20, 18) two under par
Ben: 40 (18, 22) even par

Andrew and I had another mini-golf “showdown” back in early July. I’ll post more on that sometime soon.

Party Hearty

By admin  |  2009/07/31 13:12 Posted in Around the House, Family Gatherings, Fun with Friends  |  Comments (1)

Four weeks ago today (my goodness, has it been that long?) was our annual Independence Day party. We always invite a bunch of friends and family for a cookout, fireworks, and general outdoor fun. Did I forget to invite you this year? My apologies — e-mail me, and I’ll make sure you’re on the list for 2010!

This year’s party was another great one. The thing that I will remember most is the large number of kids in attendance. Thankfully, we had lots of things for them to do. Jenelle has three bins full of her old toys in the basement. We also have a set of bases, about ten wiffle balls, and a big red plastic bat. We have a firepit that we used to help the kids (and adults) make s’mores. And when Jenelle told the kids that there’s a frog (or is it a toad?) that hangs around our yard, the kids were following her all over. It was pretty cute.

We STILL have tons of beverages left over. This year, we had about 50 alcoholic beverages, and approximately 7 of those were consumed at the party. The same goes for soda. We obviously overbought. Jenelle and I are not big drinkers, so I think we’re covered until the end of the year. 🙂

The cutest kid pictures are below, and here’s the full photo album.