Happy 4 Years!

Another post about my husband.. I'm sorry!

But it was 4 years ago today that Kelly and I had our first date. You all know how first dates can go.. well ours was definitely awkward. Kelly took me to see the movie Dukes of Hazzards, which was terrible. We talked a little before and after the movie, mostly about Kelly's Grandma..

Then Kelly drove me home and said good bye to me in the car. No, he didn't walk me to the door which I'll never let him live down.. It was just, "Okay, I guess I'll just see you at work on Monday." I didn't know what to think at that point! Who knew that 4 years later we'd be happily married?! After remembering our first date I don't know how it happened.. I'm so glad that both of us thought we were worth a second date!

How Lucky Am I?

Sometimes I forget how lucky I really am... Then I stumble across a picture I took on the way to Pine Valley and am reminded...

I LOVE YOU KELLY!

Thank you for filling my life with smiles and laughter!

The Hellstrom Hole?

So Erica had mentioned to me last night, that I need to come up with a blog title.. not just simply say, Kelly & Andee. Maybe she's right?! I mean.. Erica has one, Kalie has one, Jessica has one..

So I was thinking long and hard and the only one I could really come up with was The Hellstrom Hole, tweaked from the phrase Hell Hole.

What do you think? Kelly really likes it.. I don't know if he just likes the reference or if it's his annoyance of my blogging constantly.

I'm open to any suggestions that you may have, which I pretty sure my sisters will have plenty.

But for now, we stay.. The Hellstrom Hole.

Happy Birthday Rosie!

Happy Birthday Rosie!!

07/03/08

9 months ago, we went to Pet's Smart to pick up some fish food and ended up leaving with a 3 month old pit bull mix, named Miss Piggy. We didn't expect to adopt a puppy that day, but it was love at first sight. We took her home and immediately had to chang her name.. After much help from the Internet dog/baby list and Erica we found the perfect one, Rosie. The first two weeks were hell.. we didn't know what we had gotten ourselves into. With midnight bathroom runs and her getting round worm, it was a little overwhelming. I know understand what having a child must feel like. But we would do it again in a heart beat. Rosie is the fun in our day, maybe a little rambunctious at times, but loves us unconditionally. Okay, well she loves Kelly more.. but I know she has a soft spot for me.

I never realized how small she was when we adopted her, but she was tiny! Here is a then and now picture of Kelly and her on the couch so you can get a general idea..




I'm not going to lie, it's hard to have a dog sometimes. Especially one as big and as energetic as Rosie, but she's one of the Hellstrom's now. She has made a big impact on our life and we love her! Happy Birthday Rosie!

All Wet in Lake Tahoe!

And so the story goes that our spontanteous trip to Lake Tahoe for our 1 year anniversary turned out to be a little damp.. but no worries! That just means you get to be super lazy and watch movies in bed ALL DAY! Which you all know that that is the Andee way to live!

We left really early on Thursday morning and with an 8 hour drive ended up getting to the resort at about 3 pm! After being in the car all day, we didn't do much when we got there. We unpacked and ate dinner at a local pub! Their nachos were excellent!

Friday was probably the worst day as far as weather, so we ended up staying in the room most of the day. But after a little cabin fever, once we noticed a little blue sky, we wanted to walk down to the lake to take some pictures. The lake was amazing! It was so big and very blue! It almost blended right in with the sky and mountains behind it. We walked along the shore line, snapped a few pictures, but before long it started to rain again! We walked back up to the resort in the rain and took a picture along the way. Kelly didn't bring his sweatshirt, so he ended up getting a little wet!

Now, although I love being lazy that wasn't the best part about our trip. While I'm sure that the skiing and water activities are awesome at Lake Tahoe given the time of year, my favorite thing was the food!! We went to a couple of different local places, but my favorite had to be FIRE + ICE and Naked Fish!

FIRE + ICE was awesome! They have 4 stations; Pasta, Veggies, Meat, Sauce. It was like $26 per person for unlimited food! You choose what you want and the cook it right there! Very yummy! I would recommend this place to everyone! Saturday we had lunch at a sushi place called the Naked Fish. I love sushi and this place was awesome! They had Tempura Cheese Cake that I'd never tried before.. it was so yummy! I had to take a picture!

Okay, so besides the great food they also have a lot of shopping and even gambling! Saturday was the best day of the weekend, it didn't rain once! So after Kelly and I had lunch at Naked Fish we walked around, visited some stores and just took in the nice day. At the resort, they have these, I don't know what you would call them.. logs of art? Anyways, they've taken so trees that were surrounding the resort and instead of just chopping them down, they've made artwork with them. They were really stunning and so detailed! It's crazy what some people can do with a saws-all or a chain saw.

Saturday night we decided to go over to the Harrah's casino and gamble a little bit. Now, when it comes to gambling, Kelly and I are actually really responsible about it. Before we go, we decide how much money we are going to play with and we never break that. We may lose it all, but we don't like losing too much. Well this time since we had already spent a lot of money on the trip we each went with $20. I found me a LobsterMania and planted my butt down! I LOVE LobsterMania! I'm a big fan of the penny slots because they are cheap, you can play for a longer time on less money, and the bonus rounds are fun! Well long story short because this blog is already too long.. After about an hour and a half, I walked away with $50! Kelly finally gave up and cashed out with $16. I know it wasn't much, but to be ahead instead of behind.. that's worth it to me! FUN FUN FUN!

Okay, so have I bored you enough yet? Well if you are reading until the very end.. I just have one more thing to go over! THE CAKE TOP! That's right! After unwrapping it for about 20 minutes, we reached the top of our wedding cake! Dad & Nancy did an amazing job wrapping that thing up I never thought we were going to get to it. All in all it wasn't that bad! A little dry, but the taste took us back to our special day and that's what mattered! Thanks Dad & Nancy! Of course we did only take a few bites.. it wasn't that good. :)

So there you have it, Andee and Kelly's 1 Year Anniversary Celebration!! Made you feel like you were there with us, right?! I thought so! So our 1st anniversary wasn't all bells and whistles, to be honest Kelly and I have never had an anniversary where everything goes as planned. That's just how it is with us I guess. But I like it! It's just like us, not perfect!

Happy One Year Anniversary!

Love fills a moment. A moment fills a lifetime.

A lifetime begins eternity. Our eternity begins here.

On May 28th, 2008 I married my best friend. I gave him my full heart that day and he's kept it safe for me ever since. I can't believe it's already been 1 year. It's crazy how fast time flies! It was just yesterday that I was calling him from the Brides Room, 15 minutes before the ceremony started because he hadn't shown up yet. It was only yesterday that the Judge got our names mixed up, calling Kelly Andee and vice versa. It was only yesterday that my sister came to me all concerned, worried that I would be mad that her 2 year old son fell into the pond fully clothed, in his tuxedo. Kalie, you always have to have something to smile about and that is one thing that I wouldn't change about that day! Not in a million years! And it was only yesterday that Erica cut a whole in the side of Kelly's hair the day before the wedding. Sorry Erica.. I just had to mention it!

Only it wasn't yesterday.. but I will never forget that feeling I felt when I said I DO. That feeling of the first kiss as man and wife. It was a day full of love, life and laughter! A day to always remember!

Kelly, I want you to know that I love you very much.
You are the one that continues to make me happy.
The one that keeps my feet planted on the ground,
while at the same time making me feel lighter than air.
I will love you forever, promise!

I'm posting this a day early, because Kelly and I are getting up really early tomorrow and driving to Tahoe. Yes, driving to Tahoe.. about 8 hours! I wanted to do something spontaneous for our Anniversary and I was able to get a 1 bedroom villa at Marriott's Timber Lodge in Lake Tahoe absolutely FREE for 3 nights! Gotta love my job and it's perks!!

I'm also excited for the 1 year anniversary tradition...

THE CAKE TOP!

Dad and Nancy researched online to find the best way to preserve the cake top to ensure it would last for a year. We'll see how it turns out! So excited! I'll post about our trip and how great the cake top was when we get back!

Private?

Okay, so I've decided to take my blog OFF private. I know I know I know! People are going to think this is stupid.

But a few friends of mine have decided to do the same and I agree with them. I don't put anything too personal on my blogs.. I was going to, but never really got around to it. So I want my blog to be available for ALL to read!

Hope this doesn't drive you nuts!

Oh Sweet Sunday!

Today we were invited to tag a long with Kalie and the Jesse Boys to the Hogle Zoo! We had so much fun! It was a beautiful day outside! A little warm, but not bad.. cool breeze! It was a perfect day to be outside. We first started our adventure with a train ride. You don't get to see a lot of animals.. and it's really only like 2 minutes long.. But Lil Jesse LOVED it!! The rest of the day Jesse would constantly say, "I wanna go ride the twain!"

You never really appreciate the zoo unless you go with a 3 year old. Everything is so amazing to them.. so new and exciting! I was really surprised that he also knows all of the animals! (I'm not saying it like that Kalie!) He loved the skunks and the snakes. He even loved the zebras, which he did inform us that they don't talk. He is a very smart boy! He also liked to say good-bye to the animals. "Good bye bear!" We ended our day with a fun carousel ride and some ice cream! Jesse couldn't stop smiling on the carousel and couldn't stop from getting his ice cream everywhere!

Thanks Kalie and the Jesse Boys for allowing us to tag along today! We had so much fun! We look forward to more Sweet Sundays with you guys this summer!

Red Robin Surprise!

I don't know if any of you have ever been to Red Robin, but I love that place! Especially their Freckled Lemonade and Macho Nachos! So Yummy!!

So Kelly and I went out on Saturday night to Red Robin and I, of course, ordered my favorite Freckled Lemonade. For those who know what I'm talking about, on the menu they show the Freckled Lemonade in this really cool looking glass, but when they bring it out to you it's always in a plain old regular glass! What a rip off, right?!

WELL NOT TONIGHT!! That's right ladies and gentlemen! When the waitress brought me my Freckled Lemonade it was in the fancy glass!! You don't know how excited I was! I even took a picture and sent it to Erica to prove it! This may seem so insignificant to everyone reading this, but I don't care! I was so excited to see that they actually served the drink in the glass pictured!

I just had to share!!