WEBHOLSTAD

9/26/2008

HOLY COW. This sucker hasn't been updated in forever! I'm recommitting to this site, so a bunch of new pictures are posted and more coming soon. this summer just flew by for us, anybody else feel like that? We're both pasty white, which is not a good sign in September... that all changes this weekend though. As I write this we're driving to Iowa City, for our first Hawkeye game in two years. We're aiming for an old-school tailgating effort, complete with 6am start, post-game festivities, bags, and a ton of old friends. Really excited to spend time with my sister and her family, too. And, Geno, Patti, Brie and Wally are making the trek with us for their first Iowa game experience; we're fired up to say the least. Maybe a little TOO excited: I spent a good chunk of time Wednesday night trying to find a new ringtone. I'm looking for the kinnick fan that plays the little trumpet, and the fans all yell go hawks in perfect iowegian unison. You know the song, it sounds like:

DO DOO DE DOOT DO DOO DE DOOT DOO {GO HAWKS}
DO DOO DE DOOT DO DOO DE DOO DOO {GO HAWKS}
DOO DE DOOT DO DOO DE DOOT DOO {GO HAWKS}
DE DOO DE DOO DE DOO DA DAAAAAAHH!!!!

I know, I'm an idiot. But if you just tried to sing the song, it was totally worth it.

So much great news: Annie and Tony were married in Galena, Abby and Brendan married in Chicago. Bethany and Matt welcomed Christian to the world last week, and Dena and Zach were blessed with Josie. Huge, HUGE congrats to all of you, this is really a special time for us as our friends experience such wonderful life events. Kevin, Heather's brother, just left for Oklahoma to join the Army, say a few prayers for him as he starts his journey and takes on the challenge that is boot camp and beyond. Good luck and stay safe buddy.

Again, sorry for the post famine. Although your lives may have seemed dark and dreary the last few weeks without a webholstad update, know that we're back and soon you'll be enjoying the sight of football Heather peeing behind our car. Love you guys!

7/2/2008

Congratulations Sam & Dwight! We spent five days last week in San Diego to be part of the wedding celebration. They had the ceremony and reception on a naval base in Point Loma... the weather was perfect, as always, the site was wonderful and The Big D took his bluetooth earpiece out long enough to hear the vows. Heather and I felt very lucky to spend so much time with both families; it was an international crowd but seemed like everyone had been friends for years. We've posted a bunch of pics... Congrats guys!

We're off to see Tom Petty this weekend at Summerfest as the dreaded 30 comes calling; I've never been, but hear good things about the music festival, the city and the Lasagna On A Stick. What else could I ask for? I think we're planning on a Ditka's stop on Sunday too, the perfect weekend thanks to Heather!

Oh, I wanted to apologize for not mentioning everybody's new kids, but I'm never sure who wants their family stuff publicized... so to all you wonderful friends that have created and/or spawned young ones, we really are very happy and excited and wish you the best.

Happy b-day USA & Potter! Have a safe 4th gang.

6/18/2008

We headed out this weekend for a trip to Burlington and Iowa City to check in on my family, Travis & Jacquelyn's home town and Vince Neil of Motley Crue. Turns out we ran smack into the worst flooding of eastern Iowa since 1993: I-80 was closed for a good stretch, so we had to cancel the IC part of the trip. Dr. Feelgood's show was cancelled too, but a few nights on the bluff with a bonfire turned out to be a blast... huge thanks to Travis' family for keeping us for the weekend, they are a fun and generous bunch, and the place is amazing. Check out the '57 Chevy we took to dinner!

Saturday we took a jon boat to their river cabin and had a chance to really see how bad the flooding was. It's one of those things that just watching on the news doesn't give the whole picture. The pic below is where we put the boat in, which is normally the road to the cabin. The water was 6-8 feet above the road most of the way, and very close to coming into the raised cabins. I'm not an expert on the Mississippi, but would judge the water as moving "freaky fast". We heard that a nearby levee broke two days later, so I hope their places survived all this. Didn't get to see Iowa City or Cedar Rapids, but sounds like they were hit hard by this one... hang in there Iowa.

5/24/2008

Happy Memorial Day weekend everybody! Heather and I just ran the Bears Cares 5K downtown, and it went better than we thought it might... I was really proud of how Heather did, that's a new career high for her. She's talking about finding a race every month to keep motivated, so any of you are planning to run, give us a shout.

My sister and bro-in-law Jake are making the move from Denver to Iowa City this week, and we're heading there to help out next weekend. Can't wait to see our niece Selia again! Hopefully she realizes now that I'm her awesome uncle, and not some freakish, 250LB hairy gorilla, but so far I'm 0-2. The gifts will just have to keep getting bigger.

Oddly, Zach & Dena are moving from Iowa City to Denver. I'm not sure what they and my sister have against each other; I guess those cities just aren't big enough for them all. We'll miss having Zach & Dena in our home away from home, but we're happy for them and I'm sure Jack will grow up way cooler than any of us had hopes for. My only experience with skiing before I was 16 was in P.E. class, cross country skiing across the football field; didn't exactly sell the sport.

Everybody have a safe, fun weekend!!!

4/24/2008 a)

Happy Birthday Heather! My beautiful wife celebrates her big day today... Love you babe.

4/19/2008 a)

I was reading an article in Blender magazine last week, and it was discussing how to perform some hip-hop dance moves (btw, this will be the first my wife knows I tried these out in the bathroom mirror). So the worst dancer you know was practicing "The Heizman" and "Supaman"... and then it hit me: I've always, being fairly conceited, considered myself to be a somewhat cool guy. But I realized then that if any other human ever saw me doing either of these dances in public, it would instantly render them uncool, and possibly endanger the entire rap industry. So, for the good of the music, I'm retiring my Supaman. Maybe my sister-in-law Brie can show you how it's really supposed to look... and maybe I'm having some issues with turning 30? Perhaps, but don't underestimate the power of a middle-age computer geek to bring an entire YouTube phenomenon crashing down.

4/19/2008 b)

So, thanks to a Bobbie/Zach/DLeeBobblehead visit this weekend, I realized that more people are reading this thing than we thought... I love our friends. I also wanted to take this time to point out a few key issues that could possibly affect the 2008 election, that certain Taurus-based (overserved?) friends LOVE to bring up:

Yes, I was a Detroit Red Wings fan, when I lived in Rockwell City (and was 14 yrs old), because I owned A) 1 Steve Yzerman card, and B) owned NHL '93 on Sega Genesis. Not exactly diehard, so excuse me for pulling for the local Chicago team.
Yes, God forbid, I liked the Vikes back in the day. My friends Darren and Dan can attest to my pro-Purple days (Purple Haze, Purple Haze) era... and yes, on this one, I seriously loved them, but the days of Randy Moss being a psycho and the entire team sexaully assaulting ladies while boating turned me from my Viking era. I do still love Keith Millard, so if you have a problem, talk to him.
Go Yanks. Go Cubs. If they meet in the World Series, I'll choose. Until then (2084), leave me alone. My middle name is Michael because that's the closest my mom would let my dad get to "Mickey". And, FYI, my dad created a crack in the family farm's utility building by pitching a rubber ball against it during Yankees radio broadcasts. Try to recreate that, suburban southsiders.
1 Corinthians 13-11: When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
I promised Brad that I would pull for the Sox (for the good of the city) until the White Sox fans pissed me off with irrational drunken BS. That limit was passed Sat, Apr 19 at 10:15 pm. Go Twins.

4/2/2008

We just returned from a memorable road trip to Panama City and New Orleans! My dad and Marcia have a place on the beach in PC, and they were kind enough to put us up for a week in the sun. So we loaded up the Piet Parents & Brie and Wally, and the six of us piled into a Tahoe for the 15.5 hour drive! The traveler's funk was overpowering, but we made it through the night. All was worth it once we reached the condo, ten stories up overlooking the beach & Gulf.

The weather couldn't have been better, and the spring breakers were loose, so we had a lot of good times and laughs as the kids reminded us that we're TEN years older than most of them. Yikes. Amazing how a few days throwing the baseball in the sun resets you after a miserable midwest winter... Dad, we're coming back same time next year!

Of course, the big news of the trip was that Wally popped the question! Bigger news, Brie said yes! He pulled it off on the beach at night; he's got some moves after all <g>. Congrats guys!

The trip over to N'awlins was really eye-opening. We were stunned at how much of the town has simply been abandoned... so many houses falling down, it's heartbreaking. We spent the day bouncing around the French Quarter, and stayed on Bourbon Street. It was a little awkward sightseeing and being tourists while so much work needed to be done just a few blocks away, but the locals just asked that we keep coming back... and I'm sure people will, what a fun area. Next time though, we're staying away from Wally's "buy one, get two free" specials!

3/10/2008

First off, much love to Erica "The E.K." Eichhorn for being (the only?) admitted frequent reader!

Only 3 weeks until the Cubbies and Yanks march to the World Series! Finally caught the first spring game, and realized that I really, really need baseball to get here. I also realized that spring baseball is just awful to watch. However, I'm feeling sporty, so some thoughts on our teams:

Hawkeye Basketball: Wow. Ugh. The thing with this basketball team, as untalented as they may seem, is that they're a lovable bunch, and they came to play most nights. Can't ask for much more than that; but the turnover plague and multiple 5 minute scoreless streaks made this a tough season to watch.. and probably not even the NIT for us. Don't worry though, Lickliter's gonna be the man.

Hawkeye Football: Heard we were picked 10th. Not emotionally ready to tackle this tonight.

Da Bears: My big theory: Sexy Rexy or Orton, it no longer matters. This town is OBSESSED with Rex bashing. He's been bad, sure, but what other Bears QB took a team to the Super Bowl? Oh yeah, I was 7 years old.. leave him alone and deal with it. Chicago fans are asking the wrong question: Why can't The Chicago Bears run the football??? They had best be drafting 3 linemen to start the draft, making a move for Michael the Burner Turner, and getting serious about not asking Rex to throw 50 times a game.

Cubs: This is their year. Fukudome baby!

If you're not a big sports fan, I apologize.. but spring is coming and I got excited. Perhaps you prefer some cooking tips instead? I just mixed leftover Orange Chicken with French Onion SunChips, and it was amazing. Yes, Heather's at work, why do you ask?

2/2/2008

So... thought we'd start fresh for the new year. The winter blahs are really getting to us, and five more inches tomorrow! I just want ONE day of not having to scrape my windows. The only commute I'm looking forward to is the fourteen hour trek to Panama City in March.