Update on Kaleb

Tyler and I hit the road Saturday afternoon and headed to Fargo to meet our new nephew. I couldn't bare not seeing him until the wedding and the short (less than 24 hours) trip was worth it. BJ and Kate are proud (and exhausted) parents. Kaleb is a GOOD baby!

Yeah, he's the cutest baby boy I know ... and I can say so, cuz I'm his auntie!


See any resemblance???!!!


Jenna was adorable and fun as always. She's not quite sure what to think about her new brother.

Chalking and blowing bubbles with Uncle "Tys"

See you in a month!

Whew! It's been a busy time for our families and it's about to get a whole lot busier. Megan graduated from high school on Friday and we had a lovely party for her at mom and dad's house. Now she can spend the next month focusing solely on our wedding ... I kid, I kid! Anyway, congrats to Meg once again.


(Here are all the siblings on the Blanchette side, minus Kate, who was getting ready to bring Kaleb John into the world!)


(Me and my baby sis ... the graduate.)

Yesterday, Kate gave birth to Kaleb John Blanchette. He was born at 11:58 a.m., weighed 9 pounds and was 19 1/2" long. Way to go guys! They are one happy family! Tyler and I are bummed we couldn't be there for his birth day. We're trying to figure out how soon we can get to Fargo to meet the lil' guy!

See you in a month! We are SO excited!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

It's Friday and I'm gladly leaving work early to head home to Bemidji for a long weekend. Megan is graduating high school tomorrow and I really can't believe it. She's all growed up! Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.

Bestest men

These are the Tjader men. Meet Jason (second from the left) and Sam (far right). They are Tyler's best men. Tyler's Dad, Harvey is on the far left.



Last summer, Jason married Amy (yep, there will be TWO Amy/Aimee Tjaders) and Tyler and Sam were best men. Aren't they cute? Tyler almost looks as though he's worried that Sam doesn't have the ring!



These guys are great. They have a really strong brotherly love goin' on and I'm pretty happy to be a part of it. The beauty on the left is Annie, Jason's daughter. She is one of my bridesmaids and you'll learn more about her later.



I'm pretty close with these boys ... but not this close! This photo was taken at Jason and Amy's bachelor/bachelorette parties last summer. I love it!



The boys singing karaoke at Jason and Amy's wedding reception. That little pipsqueek on the right is Emily, Jason's youngest daughter. She's one of our flower girls.



I took this photo of Tyler and Sam on Haight/Ashbury in San Francisco the fall of 2006 ( I think) when Tyler's band was on tour. Sammy looks tuckered!



And this is probably my favorite photo of Sam and I at Hard Times (R.I.P.) in Bemidji. Love you guys!

Bottling the wedding wine

Here are some photos that were taken by our wedding photographer. Don't worry, we washed the bathtub before we submerged all of the bottles in sanitizer!!!



Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Gift registries

I hate saying this, because our wedding is not about the gifts, but we are registered at Macy's, Target and Home Depot. I wonder how long before you actually CAN register with oil companies!? Do gas stations sell gift cards to purchase gas?

On that note, Tyler and I would REALLY appreciate any efforts that can be made to carpool to the wedding. There will be many people traveling from Minneapolis and any of you who can ride-share will ease the drainage of your pocketbooks and the environmental impact. Those coming from Bemidji should try to carpool as well to ease potential parking issues.

Also, please remember to ELECT A SOBER DRIVER!!! THAT would be a very thoughtful gift!

Today's feeling: RELIEVED!

Hey everyone,
The invites have been sent and we are sooo sooo happy about that! We can't wait to start getting the R.S.V.P. postcards in the mail soon and find out who we'll be celebrating with June 28.

The invitation was designed by our dear friend Amiee Fredrickson. We've known Amiee for a lot of years and she's one of the most talented artists I know. She's currently in the midst of a tattoo apprenticeship at The Body Matrix, a shop in downtown Bemidji. I really can't thank her enough for the beautiful work that she did with the invites. I never imagined the invitations would be one of the things that would make me feel all sappy and emotional. But when you see them, you'll get it.

After Amiee's many hours of work, many more hours were spent by me cursing at my printer, cutting paper, folding paper and stuffing envelopes. A few weekends ago, I headed home to Bemidji so that Mom Blanchette could help assemble everything and Mom Tjader could help with the R.S.V.P. labels. We accomplished a lot Saturday night until I finally needed a break and headed to the bar with Tyler for a glass of wine. I won't even tell you how guilty I felt leaving my Mom sitting at the kitchen table with 130 envelopes in front of her waiting to be addressed. She insisted that I go, so I did. When I got home around 1 a.m., Mom was still sitting in the same spot and had hand-addressed every envelope AND even wrote return addresses on all of them. She went to bed with a numb hand.

Anyway, the invitations are just one of the many things in our wedding that are a great collaboration of so many people. It's THAT kind of thing that makes me realize how lucky Tyler and I are to have the kind of family and friends that we have in our lives. Our entire wedding is turning out to be homemade with additions, help and encouragement from so many people.

THAT is the best gift any couple could ask for...

A friendly reminder to reserve your rooms/cabins asap!

We're starting to hear that rooms in Bemidji are filling up fast! There are still rooms set aside at the Hampton Inn (Friday & Saturday and the Best Western (Saturday only), but you have to make your reservation by May 15. Tell them you're interested in reserving one of the blocked rooms for Aimee Blanchette or Tyler Tjader.

The Hampton Inn
1019 Paul Bunyan Dr. S.
Bemidji, MN 56601
218-751-3600
Rates: $128-$138/night
Driving directions from the hotel to the wedding

Best Western
2420 Paul Bunyan Dr. NW.
Bemidji, MN 56601
877-857-8599
Rates: $95/night
Directions from the hotel to the wedding

There are also many many many resorts to stay at and cabins to rent. Here's a list of helful links:

www.visitbemidji.com

www.casslake.com

www.minnesotanorthwoods.com

www.leechlake.org

Let us know if you have any questions about places to stay. We're happy to help!

Maid of Honor

Time to start embarrassing our wedding party! This is Megan, Aimee's little sister and #1 Babe. (She likes to go by "Meg.") She's as beautiful inside as she is out!

Ten things to know about Megan:
1. Wants to be an art teacher
2. Favorite color is purple
3. LOVES LOVES LOVES music
4. Believes in volunteerism
5. Expert canoe-builder
6. Graduating high school in May
7. Heading to the University of Minnesota in September
8. Vying with Aimee for the title of "#1 Auntie"
9. Trades CDs with Tyler
10.Is a natural beauty

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's a tip about restaurant reservations on Valentine's Day: Just don't do it! Instead, dine at your favorite restaurant the night BEFORE Valentine's Day, because nobody will be out! I went to dinner with a girlfriend last night and we both really wanted to eat at this one restaurant downtown. It's one of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities, so the wait time for a reservation is horrendous. We called for last-minute reservations, and lo and behold ... we got in at 6 p.m. Fantastic. We sat there for three hours taking our time to enjoy our wine and tres leches cake, because there wasn't anyone waiting to sit down.

Tonight, T and I are staying home with the dogs. T is making dinner. After dinner we'll watch Lost, then we'll probably dance in the living room and laugh hysterically at each other -- it's a new hobby.

R.S.V.P.

If you already know you'll be celebrating with us on June 28 (and we hope you are), then send us an e-mail soon so we know how big a dance floor we'll need! We WILL be bustin' a move!

E-mail: aimeeblanchette(at)comcast.net.

What's been keeping us busy ...

winemaking
Originally uploaded by aimeeblanchette

Lots and lots of wine! We started making the wine several weeks ago and should be able to try it in a few more weeks. By the time it reaches our guests, it will have aged for about five months! We're making three different kinds, so we hope that most people will find something they like. And Harvey, Tyler's Dad, has been brewing up some tasty beer, too!

Where to stay

Bemidji is a beautiful and popular summer destination, so we strongly encourage you to reserve your hotel or cabin as soon as possible. There are rooms set aside at the Hampton Inn (Friday & Saturday and the Best Western (Saturday only), but you have to make your reservation by May 1. Tell them you're interested in reserving one of the blocked rooms for Aimee Blanchette or Tyler Tjader.

The Hampton Inn
1019 Paul Bunyan Dr. S.
Bemidji, MN 56601
218-751-3600
Rates: $128-$138/night
Driving directions from the hotel to the wedding

Best Western
2420 Paul Bunyan Dr. NW.
Bemidji, MN 56601
877-857-8599
Rates: $95/night
Directions from the hotel to the wedding

There are also many many many resorts to stay at and cabins to rent. Here's a list of helful links:

www.visitbemidji.com

www.casslake.com

www.minnesotanorthwoods.com

www.leechlake.org

Let us know if you have any questions about places to stay. We're happy to help!

Save the date!!!

We hope you all enjoyed the postcards that arrived in your mailboxes this week. We sure had fun making them! It's not too often that I'm willing to put my face on a hug ox and have it be blue at the same time! By the way, the postcards were designed by the ever-so-talented Megan Blanchette who is headed to art school in the fall!

Bookmark this website and come back to it often for information about the wedding. You'll find links to your left with information about lodging, the wedding party and how Tyler and I met. We can't wait to see you all in June!