Entries Tagged as 'kim'

Doug & Naoko’s Labor Day Party

September 4th, 2011 · No Comments


Yesterday we went to Doug & Naoko’s annual Labor Day barbecue. Dallas and I hadn’t seen the Chicago suburbs family since New Years Day! Actually, Aunty Gail was at our wedding, but everyone else… it had been a long time. I don’t know how 8 months flew by, but it was good to see everyone.


Heather & Tyler, Rachelle & Eddy

It was not so long ago that Heather’s kids were the youngest in the family. SO not the case these days. Her oldest Chris is the same age as my niece Stephanie: 15. Her younger boy Mitch is 12 (I think?). I remember saying something to Chris about “when you were 9 blah blah blah.” Then thinking “9? no way!” But it’s true. I have known those kids, this family, for more than 7 years now.

At the barbecue, I met the two newest members of the family. Tyler is Brad and Amanda’s baby and is one month old. Eddy is Doug and Naoko’s youngest and is 8 months old.


Aunty Glenna, Cory, Caroline, Naoko, Rachelle, Aunty Laura, Amanda, Heather

Many of the ladies of the family. Aunty Glenna is celebrating her 30th wedding anniversary with Uncle BB today and is a brand new grandmother. Cory is moving to Vail in a month or two. Her husband Chris is already there. Caroline is pregnant and due February 10th. Naoko has 3 sons – Tommy is 5, Kenji is 2, and Eddy is 8 months. Me, newlywed. Aunty Laura is expecting her second grandchild in February. Everyone thinks it will be a boy. All of the kids of that generation are boys (except 1? Kate?) Amanda just had baby Tyler a month ago. Heather likes to hold babies (holding baby Tyler in this photo).


Sal, Brad, Danny

A bunch of the guys golfed all day. Aunty Gail was with them too. I heard she was the best golfer of the bunch. Probably the most sober too. Coincidence? After golfing I found a bunch of the guys standing around by the grills. Typical. Danny will forever be the designated grill chief now. They know he worked in a vegetarian restaurant, right?


Caroline, Aunty Laura, Aunty Glenna, Cory, Heather, Tyler, Amanda (hiding behind flowers), Aly, Aly’s boyfriend, Naoko manning the stove

From the grill area I took this spy cam photo of the kitchen. I think only Aly saw me!

In the living room Ghostbusters was on. I thought this was a perfectly innocent movie, but the kids started getting all riled up saying there were ghosts in the basement and running after each other acting like ghosts. Some parents were worried their kids were going to have nightmares. A while later the TV was switched to college football.

Another shot of the living room. I can count about 10 kids in this photo. There were even more at the party. See what I’m saying about Mitch and Chris not being the kids any more? In this photo of my first Labor Day BBQ at Doug & Naoko’s there are 3 kids. Joey and Marietta’s two girls and baby Vince (Matt & Jen). If you add on Chris and Mitch, that’s 5. That number has at least tripled, I think. Well, and it’s not all family. Doug and Naoko’s friends have a lot of kids now too.

Even though there were 8 kids on the couch, Dallas and Sal still caught some ZZZZs. Not when Charlotte (Sal & Kim’s) took a liking to Dallas though. She’s the girl laying down on the right side of the photo with the navy and striped dress on. I was sitting out in the screen porch and every time I looked into the living room she was climbing on his shoulders, putting a stuff animal on his head, sticking her fingers in his face, etc. Once she was even giving him a back massage. Who’s this girl?!?! hhaha. Dallas said that Charlotte was calling him Uncle Joey for a while. Because he looks so much like Joey, a tall white blonde. See the 5th photo down, here. When Kim told her to tell Dallas goodbye as they were leaving she said “Bye, Alice!” So funny.

All in all another great barbecue. Noako put out some delicious food, as always! Great to see everyone again.

Doug & Naoko like to have a Labor Day party every year. Here are some photos from years past:

- 2005: we played a lot of horseshoes
- 2006: Jordan brought fresh smoked salmon from Alaska. He’d just been on a trip there.
- 2007: No Party? Or just no photo or post?
- 2008: Lots of kids. First year I noticed that?
- 2009: Also celebrated Aunty Gail’s retirement. One more photo from that year.
- 2010: Doug & Naoko have a new house

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Osteria Nonna Maria, Sheboygan, WI

June 23rd, 2011 · No Comments

While I was staying over in Kohler, WI, we went to dinner at Osteria Nonna Maria in Sheboygan, WI. It was just a short drive from Kohler. Jill had somehow heard about this place while looking up restaurants online. It’s a small hole in the wall kind of place. It’s a house in a row of houses in a residential area. When you see the sign pointing to downtown, go the other way, basically! It’s a “hidden gem” according to our hotel concierge when we asked for directions.


SEE YOU IN MY NIGHTMARES!

When you walk in there’s a dining room with booths to the right. It has the feeling of a diner crossed with your grandma’s house. In fact, the owners, Bill and Mary Jo (Nonna Maria), have photos of all of their grand kids on one wall. To the left is the kitchen. We were lead through this area to a room in the back with a bar and some “interesting” wall mountings.


Parmesan Artichoke Crostini – Fresh grated Parmesan cheese and artichoke on toasted Italian bread


Fresh-baked olive bread


Salad with homemade creamy dill dressing


Chicken Cacciatore – Chunked chicken in Nonna’s creamy Sicilian marinara and vegetables served with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on imported capellini

Our server for the night was Kim, who is the grand daughter of the owners of Osteria Nonna Maria. Kim was perfectly nice and attentive, giving us recommendations off the menu. We had a super delicious parmesan and artichoke crostini for an appetizer. We all got salads to start and most were obsessed with the creamy dill dressing. It was like putting dill dip on top of your salad. So good. Our bread was hot-out-of-the-oven olive bread. And for my entree I got chicken cacciatore. At some point during dinner, the owner/grandma stopped by our table and chatted with us a bit. I thought that was nice.

I couldn’t finish all of my pasta so they wrapped it up for me to go in this cute duck made of aluminum foil. Actually, mine was more of a duckling, because Jill had a big portobello wrapped in hers which made it a lot bigger duck.

When Jill made the reservation she spoke with Kim and asked her about cake for dessert for Jen’s birthday. Kim said “let me talk to my grandma” and her grandma ended up making a whole entire cake for us! It was the lightest angel food cake, which was perfect since we’d just eaten a somewhat heavy dinner. Kim said this is the cake that her grandma has made for her birthday every year for as long as she could remember, so we made her take a slice to eat as well.

It was Jen’s mom, Nancy’s, birthday just a few days ago, so Jill arranged for her to get a slice of tiramisu with a candle in it, not knowing that we were getting a whole entire cake for Jen! We passed the tiramisu around the table. There was a lot of whipped cream on it, which Kristin loved and took care of. I really liked the part that was soaked in the strong coffee/espresso. So good.

Overall, I’d say that Osteria Nonna Maria is a hidden gem, as our concierge had said. The food was great, the prices were reasonable, and with Kim and her grandparents, and the fact that you were in a house-like building, you almost felt like you were dining in someone’s home.

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Doug & Naoko’s Labor Day Party

September 7th, 2010 · No Comments


Doug & Naoko’s House


Naoko and her friend in the kitchen


Guys standing around the grill: Matt, Danny, Sal, Doug


Grilling steak and fish for tacos


Hanging around in the living room: Jen, Claire, Kim, Chris, Mitch, Mia


Playing with Kenji (He’ll be 2 in December)


The new kitchen is so huge. Naoko is such a wonderful cook and baker. She must love it. (Aly’s friend, Aly, Aunty Glenna, Cory, Naoko)


Aunty Glenna & Uncle BB


Naoko surprised them with a cake for their 29th anniversary


Mrs. Hughes friend, Mrs. Hughes, Aunty Laura, Uncle BB, Danny, Caroline

On Sunday we went to Doug and Naoko’s house for a Labor Day barbecue. Doug and Naoko just moved to Palatine a few months ago. They’ve got two boys, Tommy and Kenji, and another baby on the way so it was time for them to get out of their small condo, I suppose. They did a lot of work to the house before they moved in and the house is big and gorgeous. Lots of open space. And I love their 3 seasons screened in room. The house is classic, yet modern at the same time. And I’m sure the kids will love all the outside space.

Naoko surprised Uncle BB and Aunty Glenna with a rose and a cake for their 29th anniversary. Aunty Glenna told me that they were like us and knew each other for 6 years before they got married, so really they’ve been together 35 years. Which is kind of funny because in a few days I’ll be 35 years old. I’m sure that did not make her feel old at all!

Doug & Naoko like to have a Labor Day party every year. Here are some photos from years past:

- 2005: we played a lot of horseshoes
- 2006: Jordan brought fresh smoked salmon from Alaska. He’d just been on a trip there.
- 2007: No Party?
- 2008: Lots of kids
- 2009: Also celebrated Aunty Gail’s retirement. One more photo from that year.

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Visiting Louisville Slugger

April 19th, 2007 · 6 Comments

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The Big Bat: You are standing next to an exact-scale replica of the model R43, 34 wood bat designed to specifications requested by Babe Ruth in the early 1920s. The “Bud Hillerich” signature that appears with the famous oval logo is a tribute to John A. “Bud” Hillerich, who turned the company’s first bat in 1884. Height: 120 ft. Diameter: 9 ft. Composition: ASTM A36 carbon steel. Weight: 68,000 lbs. Installed October 21, 1995.

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Louisville Slugger Walk of Fame. Babe Ruth Bat Model R43. Baseball’s first great slugger and the most celebrated athlete of his era from 1914 – 1935, hit 54 HRs in 1920, more than all but one A.L. and N.L. team. Led the A.L. in HRs 12 times, including a 154 game season record of 60 HRs in 1927. 714 career HRs and a 342 career batting average.

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On the day after the wedding, we had breakfast and visited with everyone in the morning. Then Molly, Eric, Tristin, Kim, Dallas and I went and saw Blades of Glory. I think we all got really good ab workouts from all the giggling. It was really funny. Next we had lunch and then Dallas and I were off to Louisville to get ready for our flight.

We got to Louisville earlier than expected so we were just driving around when we came across the Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum. You can’t miss it because of the huge bat out front. Unfortunately, it had closed an hour before we got there, but there were still some things to look at outside. We also looked in the windows and could see some bats in the process of being made.

The last photo is a stadium next to the gas station we stopped at before dropping off the rental car.

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Molly & Eric’s Wedding

April 16th, 2007 · No Comments

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Molly & Eric, Frankfort, KY

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Megan, Molly & Dallas, Frankfort, KY

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Dallas, Rachelle & Eric, Frankfort, KY

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Jessica & Chris, Frankfort, KY

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Rachelle, Dallas, Kim & Tristin, Frankfort, KY

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Megan & Dallas, Frankfort, KY

The last time we saw Molly & Eric was in Peoria at Megan & Scott’s wedding 2 years ago. This past weekend we went to Frankfort, Kentucky to attend their wedding. It was so much fun. Sometimes you go to weddings and they’re nice and fine and pretty, this one was all that and a really a great time. It was at the Buffalo Trace distillery. Part of it was supposed to be outside but the weather didn’t cooperate, but it was totally fine. The ceremony was only about 15 minutes long, then we had dinner and then it was a great big party. I think it helped that Molly & Eric are totally fun and casual people (after the ceremony they came up to present themselves to everyone and that song that in the beginning says “Let’s get ready to rummmmmmblllle” was playing!). Also, they didn’t seem worried about a thing. They said the key is to get a wedding planner, and they had 3 of them there. We saw many people we hadn’t seen for years and also met a lot of really cool people from all over the place – Illinois, Kentucky, even Hawaii. Congratulations, Molly & Eric.

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