wedding week

the wedding day is coming at the end of the week and we could not be happier. it has been a wonderful five months of engagement but we are ready to be married. we could not be more excited about this saturday or more thankful for all the help we have received from our family and friends. especially our parents; jim and sandy have kept themselves more than busy keeping up wedding field at their house as well as numerous other jobs that we have given them and they have done; while tom and jan get to deal with us in the city and our errands that we send them on.

final wedding announcement. in the chance of "inclement weather" the wedding will be held on site, but we all know that will not happen.

nichols inn update

Due to the high travel season in Winona in late September it was difficult to get bulk reservations and we were allowed to block off so many rooms when we made the reservation at the nichols inn for guests. Once these rooms fill up we have some rooms that are "reserved" by either Sarah, myself, or family and friends that we can turnover to other guests who may need them for either friday or saturday night (they would not allow us to block them off so we simply booked them). If you plan on staying both nights then we would recommend the pleasant knoll motel in Trempealeau because it requires a two night stay. The other place we have rooms available is The Trempealeau Hotel. So if you find yourself not getting a room at the Nichols Inn then you can email us at mverdoorn@lakeareabank.com and we will try our best to get you into a room.

We are very sorry for this inconvenience.

The Most Amazing Race

Yesterday we competed in the Salvation Army's Most Amazing Race in Minneapolis as well as my brothers Mike and Jake. There was a qualifying race in the morning at the U of M campus in which Sarah and I got 5th and Mike and Jake got 1st.

The main race started at 2pm and took us all over the city, from shooting paintball guns, Historic Fort Snelling, and the Target Center; while only using the MTC public transport. The MTC was not our friend that day as we probably waited for over an hour to catch the different busses and trains over the race. We ended up in finishing 12th out of 25 teams and Mike and Jake came in an impressive 5th. We ran a lot and are all feeling it in our legs today, but I think it is a safe assumption we will all be back next year.

Sarah and I coming to the end of the race at the Stone Arch Bridge about 5 hours after heading out from the same spot.

A great feeling finishing the race.

It's all over, and we are still getting married!

Fishing and Cabin

Last week was spent by Matt fishing up in Canada with his family while Sarah went to the cabin with Rachel and the dogs. Fishing was fun, with early mornings and late nights. No pictures on the work computer to add right now.
The fishing party arrived at the cabin on Wednesday afternoon with Matt's Aunt Kathy, Dennis, cousin Blake, and cousin Troy with with Katie and baby Taylor coming up on Thursday.

Winona Bridge Update

Good news! As of Friday, June 13, the Winona Bridge (Hwy 43) accross the Mississippi is re-opened to cars and vans.

Winona Bridge !

The bridge linking MN to WI in Winona has been closed for an indefinite amount of time. This puts a bit of a strain on both current situations for Sarah's family and potentially for guests at the wedding come September. An update is suppose to come on Friday, June 13 informing everyone what is to be done with the bridge and how long the work on it will last. As soon as we know more we will inform everyone of possible accommodation alternatives to the Nichols Inn in Winona.

Date Day in Chippewa Falls

This past weekend we had a "Date Day" where I planned a surprise trip to Chippewa Falls, WI and the Leinenkugel's Brewery. We went on the tour, which was very fun, but the brewery does not operate on Sundays so we didn't see any action. We then went to the middle of nowhere to Autumn Harvest Winery and enjoyed the fantastic weather. Finally 80!!!


















Trying to hide from the bartender (you only get two)



The creek that runs next to the brewery that feeds in to the Chippewa River (learned something on the tour)