Happy birthday, Mom!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately! July flew by quickly for us... I (Bethany) was out of town for a bit for work and we have had a few more weekend excursions that have kept us busy. But don't worry - no news is good news. Nothing major is our life has really changed, so there hasn't been much to say! :)

One of my recent excursions was this past weekend...a wonderful celebration of my mother. My Mom turned 60 yesterday and to celebrate this momentous occasion, my brother, sister, Dad and I teamed up to plan a surprise party for her. We did tell her we were going to have a small celebration, but in reality, it was a lot bigger than she was expecting! She was welcomed to the party by about 30 friends and family. Erik flew in from Atlanta and I flew to CT from Chicago and she was so surprised to see us there, she started crying. It was the best moment of the evening!

It was really special to have all of us together and to get to celebrate how wonderful my Mom really is...she is a true blessing to all of us and is so generous, thoughtful and caring. I don't know where I would be without her. As I've become an adult, she has become one of my best friends and I so treasure that. I am also thankful that I got to stay in Connecticut until Monday afternoon and enjoy some quality time with my parents, my sister and her kids. We swam in the pool, went to New York, went shopping and lounged around together. It was a great weekend!

The original Veermans

from the left...my Dad (Paul), Me, my Mom (Darian), my sister (Crista) and my brother (Erik)

My Mom and I, enjoying the party!

60th birthday decorations!

The rest of the photos are posted here: http://tinyurl.com/lacx64

Scooters, Camping and More

Some of our latest newlywed adventures...

• A few weeks ago, we purchased a red Schwinn 50cc Collegiate scooter. It's so fun! We found it on Craigs List and had talked about getting one for awhile before finally making the purchase. Nate rides it to work and Bethany is hoping to do the same one of these days. No photos of us riding it yet, but here is what it looks like...

On June 13, our good friends from Minnesota, Joe Pint and Meg Wisdom, got married! Nate was honored to be a groomsman in the wedding. We had a fun time celebrating with them and catching up with friends and family while we were in town.

Joe and Meg, the happy couple!

Nate and Bethany at the wedding - another happy couple :)

Last weekend, we enjoyed a 2-night camping trip in Wisconsin with Nate's parents. We camped at Mirror Lake in Baraboo and drove over the Devils Lake for a hike on Saturday. We enjoyed exploring the area and hanging around the campfire. (photos below) It was so fun, we were inspired to plan a backpacking trip for this coming weekend. We leave tomorrow for 2 days in Kettle Morraine State Park with our friends Emily & Jason.