Almost Winter Around Here October 28, 2009

Well, fall certainly went fast, didn’t it? Since our last post, its gone from the end of summer to WINTER. UGH. We visited the WaterPark of America, which was a blast, but that night was the beginning of the end! The following weekend we went to Aberdeen for Gypsy Day and for a Junebug show, and while were there there, it was 29 degrees there AND back home in Minneapolis for about three days straight! We returned to Minneapolis to somewhat milder weather (perhaps the 40s?), but our entire end of the season garden full of tomatoes was totally ruined. Boo! We tore down our garden and etc a few weeks early this year, and have since been hunkering in for a long winter!

Liza’s cousin Emily got married on October 17th. It was a beautiful wedding, and we so enjoyed spending time with Liza’s family as well. We had a weekend full of Junebug shows this past weekend, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, which was nice because there weren’t that many show in October.

Halloween time already – and soon into the holidays. Hope all is well with you and yours!

Goodbye Summer! September 28, 2009

We can’t believe that summer is gone – and that we haven’t posted since the middle of July!! Our summer got away from us, and a lot of it ended up being out of our control!!

See our Picassa album for what we’ve been up to since you hear from us last!! We had Liza’s high school reunion in Aberdeen, and it was fantastic to see *almost* everyone there. Right after that, we left the dogs at Liza’s parents house and drove up to Calgary for our good friend Amy’s wedding. Wow, what a trip that was – driving across Canada is such a beautiful, albeit a bit boring, experience. We saw a lot of great stuff, and stayed in a couple of fun places before we got to the hotel in Calgary. Amy had booked us a gorgeous room at the hotel where the wedding was taking place, so we got to be a part of the action. It was a beautiful wedding!!

We headed back from Calgary just to head into another, unplanned trip. Tony’s sister was in Austin Texas, and needed a family member to come down to pick her up. Trouble was, we had to be at Liza’s house by August 1st so her parents could leave for the rally. So, we got home from Calgary late on a Monday night, spent Tuesday planning, and got up early on Wednesday morning to leave for Austin. We drove straight south for the next 20 hours or so. We stopped Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, and got to Austin the next afternoon. We pretty much picked up Tony’s sister and started right back again. We got all the way to the northern boarder of Texas before we stopped to sleep for four hours on Thursday night – and we were off again by 8 in the morning on Friday. It was a very long trip, but we drove straight through and got to Aberdeen at about 5 in the morning on Saturday morning. Liza’s folks were able to leave Saturday AM for the rally as they had planned.

Liza spent the next week in Aberdeen, tending to dogs and little brothers, and all of that. We got back to Minneapolis the following Monday, and turned right back around to head to lake Okoboji for the last part of our summer vacation. Junebug had a series of two shows in Okoboji on August 14th and 15th. We went down a day early, stayed in a nice resort hotel, and enjoyed all of the fun things that Okoboji had to offer… Arnold’s Park, boat rides on the lake, and swimming on the beach. We had an absolute blast!

The rest of August and September have passed by in such a blur! We celebrated the birthdays of our good friends Jeff, and Dustin, as well as Liza’s 29th. We had a handful of Junebug shows, one in La Crosse, so we got to spend some time with our friends Greg and Mandy. We went to the beach a few times, to the state fair, and to Hendricks for Grandpa Harvey’s surprise 80th birthday party on Labor Day weekend. So far in September we’ve done Oktoberfest, gone to the Renaissance festival with Cortney and Jeff, had some people over to our house for Liza’s birthday, gone to the Science Museum to see the Titanic exhibit, and have been enjoying two brand new baby puppies that were born on September 2nd. See our album for pictures of all of the fun stuff we’ve been up to!

October is going to just fly by. This weekend we’re exploring the Waterpark of America, and next weekend we’re headed to Aberdeen for a Junebug show. The weekend after Liza’s parents will be here for a family wedding, and the weekend after that is more Junebug, plus a chance to help the Herman’s move to their new house. Before we have time to breathe again, it will be November!

Hope all is well with you and yours. We promise to write more often now that things are *sort of* settling down to a dull roar.

What a busy summer! July 14, 2009

What a busy summer we’ve had! Seems like we’ve hardly had time to rest and relax, not to mention taking time to write here! We’ve been off and running more times than I could count!

June went so fast it almost seemed that it wasn’t here at all. We had our 2nd Anniversary on the 9th, and spent the day together, just enjoying ourselves. Shortly after that, Junebug played at O’garas. Scott visited us for a few days in early June, to drop off Mark and Diane’s dogs, Rx and Ringo. We were able to see The Big Wu at an outdoor concert series called Alive After Five. On Father’s day, we drove to Hendricks to see Mark and grandpa Allen, as well as Harvey and Dee and the rest of the family. It was nice to spend the afternoon with family. We brought Michael back to Minneapolis with us as he wanted to spend a couple of weeks.

We spent a great week hanging out around Minneapolis with Michael. We were able to go see Up in 3D, and do all sorts of things, including the Como Zoo, Nickelodeon Universe, and we also went to see Year One. After Michael had been here for a week, Liza’s dad came to join us for the Minneapolis Gay Pride Festival. We had a fantastic time going to both the festival and the parade. Also, Junebug played at the festival itself, so it was a fantastic time for all of us!

July has also flown by, so far. Michael was still here for the first week, and we all traveled together to Aberdeen for the 4th of July at the Bait Cafe. We had such a wonderful, relaxing weekend. We spent most of it on the beach, taking boat rides, reading in the sun, and just enjoying not having anything else to do. We even took a chance and tried to see if Wicket would be willing to go for a swim. He’d never been in the water before, but we had him walk in a little ways, and before we knew it, he was swimming! It was amazing to watch him let his instincts take over and teach himself to swim. We spent a lot of time in the lake, and it was a great weekend all around. We even had a chance to see Anthony and Katie and some other friends as well.

After the 4th of July, we headed back home again. Michael came with us, as he had Zoo Camp starting on Monday the 6th. He spent a fun filled and exciting week at the Minnesota Zoo, spending each day learning about various zoo animals, and going behind the scenes at the zoo. He really enjoyed it, and we were all glad that he enjoyed it so much.

Michael’s last day of Zoo Camp was Friday. Friday was also the long-awaited Basilica Block Party! It was an early day for us, as Tony and his band mates had several television appearances in the early morning. Liza drove him to the Basilica to be interviewed by news stations, and to do a little bit of playing as well. The afternoon passed rather quickly, as Liza’s parents came to Minneapolis because it was time to watch Junebug play at the Basilica! Everyone was so proud of them, they had worked really hard to get that far. We all headed to the Basilica in the afternoon, and we able to find spots to sit and watch Junebug.

Junebug played a wonderful show at the block party! They were able to open for the JayHawks, which was very exciting! We also watched a bit of the Black Crows that night as well.

Saturday was a fun-filled family day. We got up early and headed to the zoo, where Michael was able to show all of us the things that he had learned during his week at zoo camp. It was a lot of fun to listen to all of the tidbits he’d picked up, and we know he enjoyed it as well.

The Kollmans went back to the block party on Saturday night, as we had gotten comp tickets to that night’s show. However, we weren’t able to see or hear that much of Counting Crows, so we called it an early night and headed back home again. Sunday morning we all slept in rather late, and headed to Petco before Mark and Diane and Michael left for Aberdeen. Michael had gotten himself a hamster on Craigslist, and supplies were needed!

The Johnsons headed back to Aberdeen Sunday afternoon and the Kollmans spent some time relaxing. It was nice to just have some time to ourselves!

We’ve spent this week getting ready to head off on our next adventure. We’ll be heading to Aberdeen for Liza’s 10 year high school reunion, followed by our trip to Canada for our good friend Amy’s wedding. We’re excited for our trip, as it will be our summer vacation!

Leaving May May 31, 2009

Today is the last day of May! Wow, this spring has gone fast – guess its safe to say that summer is here!

We went to the Como Park Zoo for Memorial Day, which was a lot of fun. A free afternoon is always exciting! Tony had a slow week at work, because of Memorial Day, he only worked on day. Liza, on the other hand, had a VERY busy week, as weeks at the end of the months usually are.

We have some exciting Junebug news – last Thursday night Junebug played a Battle for The Baslica, hosted by Cities 97. They were one of 12 bands picked from over 70 to advance to this round. They played a show with two other bands, as part of 4 3-band semi-final events. The winner of each event goes forward to the finals -and Junebug Won! They advance to the finals on June 25th. That will be a 4-band show, and two of the bands get to play at the Basilica Block Party in July – which is a huge event. So, we’re very excited about that, and looking forward to the finals!

We had a nice, relaxing weekend here. Friday was spent working, doing house chores, and cleaning, and we both stayed up late crossing things off of our to-do lists. Yesterday we went for a drive, looking to find some “freebies” of a Craigslist – a great past time we both enjoy! We weren’t able to find much, but enjoyed the afternoon together, so that was great.

Last night we went down to Burnsville to have dinner and play some games at Cortney and Jeff’s house. We had pizza, lots of beers, and enjoyed plenty of great games. We also had fun taking pictures of their dog Kirby. It is always nice to get together with friends and enjoy a Saturday night!

Tony spent today on a video shoot for the newest Junebug video. Liza puttered around the house, getting things organized and picked up. We’re looking forward to a great short week. We head to Aberdeen on Thursday for a Junebug weekend – Fargo on Friday night, and Aberdeen on Saturday.

Hope you have all had a great month of May!

By the way, photos in the Picasa album are updated!! Take a look!

Memorial Day Weekend May 24, 2009

We’ve been busy so far in May. Liza managed to get a bucket garden going in the back yard, and Tony’s been busy with Junebug, working in the yard, and various projects around the house and on his computer. We got to go up to the Mack’s on Wednesday, the 13th, for a great LOST finale party, which was a lot of fun!

Last weekend we had a Junebug show on Saturday night, but got to spend the rest of the weekend less-eventfully, and actually had some time to relax. We ran some errands, and got to spend some time doing nothing, which was nice. This week has been busy, Liza’s been working hard, and Tony’s been working quite a few days as well. Friday night, Junebug had a show in Winona, MN, so Tony drove the van. Liza rode along, and Dustin and Anthony did as well. It was fun to take a Junebug road trip! The Winona show was a lot of fun, and the bar had a great atmosphere for Junebug music. We got home around 4:20 or so in the morning on Saturday. By the time the Kollmans got to bed, it was well after 5 and the sun was coming up.

After we slept for awhile, we got up and decided to go to some rummage sales. We picked up a few items at some sales, and then stopped at a house where some lovely friends of ours were having a yard sale of their own. We hung out at the Everhart’s for a few hours, drinking some beers and talking with friends. It was a great way to spend Memorial Saturday. Despite running out of gas as we were leaving, and needing our friends to bail us out with a little bit of fuel, we managed to make it to load in at the Cabooze for Tony’s show almost right on time. We were able to load in his gear, and then head home for awhile so we could relax, eat some dinner, and get ready for Junebug.

The show at the Cabooze last night was a great time! We got to hang out in the green room, and got to listen to some great tunes. Today we spent doing things around here, like editing photos and putting them online! but we also managed to go to some rummage sales, too.

Tomorrow we’re planning on going to the Como Park Zoo, as a way to celebrate this first “official” weekend of summer!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!

Mother’s Day Weekend May 24, 2009

What a fun filled month we have had in May. It started early, with a Junebug show on the 2nd and the FANTASTIC May Day Parade and Festival on May 3rd in South Minneapolis. It was a great weekend to welcome in summer. Check out our photo album for some fantastic May Day pictures.

Mother’s Day Weekend was the 9th and 10th of May. We decided that we would like to spend some time with Liza’s family, so we made sure that Tony had a couple of days off from Lock Squad, and we headed to Aberdeen on Friday the 8th. We got a pretty good early start, and were there in time for dinner. The drive was uneventful, even with three dogs in the car. By now, we’ve pretty much gotten it down as far as traveling goes. The dogs get excited as we get close to the Johnson house -and they know the spare room as “their room” and really seem to enjoy being there. Plus, they get to see their cousins, Rx, Ringo, and Libby, so that’s fantastic as well.

The weekend seemed to be filled with GREAT times. On Friday night, almost as soon as we arrived, we all went out to eat at Shenanigans. Aside from South Dakota still allowing smoking in restaurants (ick ick ick), we had a good meal and got to enjoy great company. It is always nice to chat with Mark and Diane, and talk to Michael about school. Michael was particularly excited, as his Spring Concert was coming up, and he had been chosen to play the main snare part in the song Men In Black, so he was excited about that.

We spent Friday night hanging out with the Johnsons, watching some TV, and just relaxing. It was nice to join the “computer club” with Diane at the dining room table, too. Saturday morning was also meant for relaxation, but about 3 pm, the Kollmans headed out to see some graduates. NSU had their commencement that day, and while we didn’t go to the actual graduation ceremony, we stopped by to wish our friends Jake, Adam, and Annie congrats. Their joint party was at one of Liza’s high school friends, Missy’s house. We stayed for a bit longer than we intended to stay, which was alright because it was great to see friends and talk to people we hadn’t talked to in awhile.

Dinner on Saturday night was at the Palm Garden, which is a brand new restaurant in Aberdeen. Mark and Diane love the atmosphere, and we did have to admit that it wasn’t like anything else that Aberdeen had to offer. We enjoyed the company, as well as fine food, and great wine. The restaurant is very un-Aberdeen like – with no stuffed animal heads for decoration, and more than just steaks on the menu, as well. So, it was a pretty nice dinner over all.

We had to be done eating early, because Saturday night, we had tickets to go see the Big Wu at the Eagles in Aberdeen. We convinced Liza’s mom Diane that she’d like the music, so she came along with us. The concert started around 9:30 or so, and the bands were a lot of fun to watch. Liza’s been a fan of the Big Wu for awhile, and Tony and Diane didn’t seem to mind the music that much, either. We stayed almost until the end, but by the time the Big Wu was playing their first encore, the smoke in the room was about too much for us to bear, so we went home for the night. Tony and Liza had to put their clothes in a garbage bag so that they could take them home and wash them!

Mother’s Day was Sunday, so Diane woke up to some flowers, and a few gifts as well. We had a relaxing morning, and then headed out to the mall. We saw the new Star Trek movie with Diane for Mother’s Day, which we all really enjoyed, a lot! Then, we stayed out at the mall and got haircuts. After we were finished, Tony and Diane and Michael hung out at home with Mark, while Liza went to see her high school buddies at Missy’s house. She got to hang out with Missy, Jessica Hoffman and Kylee, Jessica Torbert and Isaac, and Brandee Nelson and Megan & Ethan. It was so much fun to be able to see almost all of the girls, and she stayed for a few hours. In fact, the rest of the family had already gone through the Sunday night television by the time she got home. But, it was great to spend time with girlfriends, and eat pizza and hold babies.

Tony, Liza, and Diane stayed up late Sunday night, watching the finale to the Apprentice, and some other TV as well. Well all, except for Michael, slept in on Monday morning. Michael had school, so while he was there, the Kollmans hung out for the afternoon with Mark and Diane. We went out to eat for lunch at their favorite spot to grab a bite, Kessler’s Deli, and then we drove around looking at new cars. We picked up Michael from school, and went out to look at a house that Mark and Diane are thinking of buying. Then, we picked up some groceries and some other things at Walmart, before rushing to grab Subway for dinner, and heading off to Michael’s band concert.

Michael played Men In Black very well, and we were very proud of him! It is always fun to see a young musician in training, and we know that he worked really hard as his part for the show. So, good for you Michael!

We were up early on Tuesday morning to head home. Tony had a Junebug recording session – a jingle for Rising Sound Radio, so he had to be there by 6 pm. It was a fantastic weekend! Checkout the photo album for pictures of everything!

April April 26, 2009

Well, we’ve had quite a bit going on lately. Liza got back from staying at the Johnsons on March 18th, and got back into the “normal” routine – but only for about a week! Diane returned from Alaska on the 26th of March, and flew into Minneapolis. We picked her up that afternoon, and immediately packed to head to Aberdeen. There was a Junebug mini-tour taking place the 27th and 28th, so we figured we’d spend a few days hanging out with the Johnsons, although we’d just been there!

Junebug played at the Red Rooster on March 27th, and then, braving the flood waters, played in Fargo on March 28th. We were going to head back home again the following Monday, but a couple of things stopped us! First, Tony threw his back out again while doing a Junebug photo shoot and playing a fantastic show in Fargo. By the time we got back to Aberdeen, early on Sunday morning after the show in Fargo, he wasn’t able to move that much! So, we decided to take it easy. THEN, the following Tuesday and Wednesday, Aberdeen was hit by a blizzard! We had a power outage, and a lot of snow!

Needless to say, the Kollmans didn’t get back home until Thursday, April 2nd. We’ve been busy every since. On the 4th, we visited with friends for our buddy  Jason’s going away party, and then had a Game Night at our house, which was a lot of fun. The following weekend was Easter, and although we’d planned on staying put, due to a Junebug show on Good Friday, we decided at the last minute to drive to Hendricks for Easter dinner at the cafe. It was nice to see the grandparents, as well as some of Liza’s cousins, and Liza’s family, too.

The past two weeks have been pretty much going non stop. The best news we’ve had is that Tony got a part time job! He started working 2 or 3 days a week at the Lock Squad, which is a locksmith shop. He mans the store for his boss while his boss and the team are out on calls. Tony shares the full time job with Dustin, so he works at Lock Squad while Dustin is at his other part time job. Even though its only a part time job, its been fantastic to have him employed, and we really, really enjoy it!

Liza’s been busy working like usual, and the weather has finally started to warm up. We were able to get out into the yard last weekend and do a major clean up, and now the rain seems to be upon us, which will be great for our gardens that are free of debris. We traveled to a fantastic Junebug show in Mankato last night, and will be coasting into May with another Junebug show on Thursday night, again in Mankato.

Slow down, spring! We want to savor the warm weather for as long as possible! We’re enjoying it so far!

Hope everyone else is having a great early spring!

St Pat’s from Aberdeen March 17, 2009

Liza has been in Aberdeen for 2 weeks and 1 day. She is heading back to the cities tomorrow – and has had many adventures.

Mark and Michael were gone until early Saturday  morning – so up until then, there were dog chores, casino chores, house chores, little dog chores, and work chores to be done. Tony came and helped for a week, so that was wonderful. Mark and Michael got home early on Saturday, after having been up for a whole day. We met them at the airport, helped them unpack, and settled in for a day of doing chores and getting organized.

Michael’s 13th birthday party was on Sunday afternoon. Four friends joined us out a the bowling alley and the boys bowled for three hours. We bowled a couple of games, and decided, quite frankly, that we just aren’t that good at bowling. But it was a fun and stress free party, as now that the boys are 13, its much easier to supervise. We were remembering what pool parties at 5 years old were like – and not wanting to go back to that time!!!

Sunday evening was spent doing dog chores, and dealing with little dogs in the house. We watched some TV and just got things organized, and worked on loads of make up work for Michael. Tony left on Monday afternoon, to head back to the cities, and Liza is still in Aberdeen, wrapping things up and waiting for her car to be finished so that she can go pick it up. She’s got a few errands to run – getting ready to head back to minneapolis tomorrow!

Sad about missing St Pats in the cities though. The past couple of years have been reall fun, so here’s to everyone else and drinking green beer!

New photos in the Picassa photo album. (on the right hand side under links). Dog yard fun in Aberdeen, plus little dogs, plus Michael’s birthday party. Great stuff!

Spring Forward! March 9, 2009

Hello to you all, on the first Monday that it is light out later! It is so exciting to see the change in the sun – of course, since we’re all about to get hit with a blizzard, its not THAT exciting!

At the end of February, we both went to Aberdeen to see Liza’s mom off for Alaska. We stayed a couple of nights, helped Diane get packed, Michael caught up with school, and  Mark get settled with the house and dogs after Diane left. We returned to Minneapolis with two of their little dogs, Rx and Ringo, in tow, because its much easier for Mark to handle just one dog. For the next week, there were 5  Klee Kai in our house! Even though the dogs are all, for the most part, well behaved, it was a bit crazy and ridiculous to have so many furry friends in our  house with us. Needless to say, Tony was a bit relieved when the time came for Liza to head to Aberdeen – if only for the fact that there’d be less dogs for him to deal with!

Liza left Minneapolis on Monday  March 2nd (after a fantastic Junebug show in Mankato on the 1st) and headed to Aberdeen. She brought back Diane’s dogs, Rx and Ringo, and brought Wicket as well – so that Tony only had to deal with the two girls at our house. She spent Monday night packing Michael and Mark, starting to clean up the house, and getting herself and the dogs organized for an extended “vacation” at the Johnson house. Liza and Wicket have been hanging out at the Johnson’s ever since, with Libby, Rx, and Ringo.  Mark and Michael got on the early flight Tuesday morning, and ever since then, Liza’s been cleaning, dealing with little dogs in the house, taking care of the big dog dog-yard – (with 15 big dogs) and taking care of business at the casino. She hasn’t managed to get much work done of her own, but she’s getting there!

Aberdeen, as well as Minneapolis, is under a blizzard warning for the next few days. Tony was going to come to Aberdeen sometime this week, but after he heard about the blizzard warning, he packed up Daisy and Willie and headed out tonight. Liza expects him around 2 AM, and is looking forward to having a little bit of help in the crazyness that is the Johnson household!

Mark and Michael will be back anytime between Wednesday night and Friday – details to be announced at a later date! As soon as Tony gets to Aberdeen, the Kollmans and all 6  Klee Kai will settle in for a few days!

Can’t believe we’re half way through February! February 19, 2009

Luckily, since we don’t like cold so much, it seems that January went by very quickly – and February has flown by as well. We promise to be better at updating now that things have calmed down a bit. Ever since Christmas it seems that the world’s been going so quickly! January was packed full of Junebug shows – which are starting to be the norm – and February’s been full of that plus dog sled weekends as well.

The 31/1st we were up in Walker Minnesota for what would turn out to be this season’s only real race. We stayed in a super nice hotel – though a bit snotty – as dogs cost 50 bucks per night and the rooms had bed skirts that we swear were made of some lacy expensive material. Nonetheless, it was a great weekend, even if we could only be there for part of it. Junebug had a show on Friday the 30th, and the races were starting at 11 AM on Saturday – so we got home from Junebut at 1 AM, and were awake at 5:30 to drive the almost 4 hours up to Walker. We arrived just in time to meet Liza’s parents in their hotel room and help them pack up the truck to drive to the race.

Michael raced at 11, taking 6 dogs, and Mark raced around 1:30 or so, with his four dogs. They both had great races – through the city streets, in a tunnel, and down some great trails. We had dinner out  and then went swimming for awhile, and ended that evening sitting in the bar with Liza’s folks, listening to a cover band play some tunes. We were up early on Sunday morning too, and good thing we were, as we pulled into the race area about 15 minutes before Michael’s chute time. It was a fast start to the race – and we stuck around for Mark’s race at 1:30 as well, before heading back.

That sunday was the superbowl, and we’d made plans to see our great friends Renae and Tate – so as soon as we got home we turnred right around and went out to their place in Minnetonka. It was a great time – but needless to say we were pooped when we finally got back home again.

The weekend after, we were supposed to head to another race, but it got called on account of low attendance. So, the Kollmans packed up our car and drove to Aberdeen for the weekend. We got to hang out wit Liza’s family ,and we also spent Saturday out on the trails, racing dogs. Both of us actually got behind the dogs on the sled, and got to drive them for quite some time. We loved being out on the trails and out on the snow mobile later on as well.

Junebug had said they were taking February off, but they just can’t stay away. They played a show last Thursday night, and then we spent a quiet Valentine’s Weekend eating out and staying in. It was very relaxing and very nice.

We’re looking forward to a lot in the next few days. Junebug is playing a benefit show on Saturday, and they’ll be on an online radio show on Sunday  night. Liza’s mom is heading to Alaska for her twice yearly work periods, so Liza will go to Aberdeen Sunday to see her off Monday and spend Monday night making sure that Michael and Mark are set. As February draws to a close, we’re going to be very busy – Junebug’s playing in Mankato on the 1st, and Liza heads to Aberdeen again on the 2nd, this time to house-dog-and-casino-sit while Mark and Michael join Diane in Alaska for  ten days.  March is full up of  Junebug shows too, so keep tuned!

And stay tuned for updated photos on the Picassa site!

Hope you are all well!