Requiem

Engaged

Lesley Lynn Schmidt got engaged to Gregory Michael Sindberg on August 11th, 2007. They have been dating for nearly two years and are looking forward to planning their wedding for the spring of 2009 (most likely).

New Apartment!

While one could get a small taste of what our apartment looks like from the pictures that were posted of Grace, we wanted to take some nice pictures for everyone who wanted a tour.

When you walk in the door, the living room is to your left and the dining area is on your right. There is a nice big closet in the dining room area that has coats as well as a side with shelves for a pantry. You can also see into the kitchen through the dining area.

As you walk down the hall, the kitchen is on your right.

Continuing down the hall, there is a utility room on the right complete with washer/dryer.

Directly across from that is the 2nd bedroom which we are using as an office/den/guest room. The futon makes it extremely versatile and there is a nice closet in there for extra stuff.

Finally, at the end of the hallway, the bathroom is on the right (not pictured) and our bedroom is on the left. It has a nice walkin closet which Lesley wasted no time in filling up with all of her clothes!

We love our new apartment and hope that everyone will come to visit us and see it sometime soon!

Gracie and Her Adventures of the New Apartment

Lesley and I moved into our new apartment the first week of August, and finally got to bring Grace home on August 4th. It has been a long time coming for Lesley, both because of how awful the Melrose ended up being as well as loving Grace. Lesley and I are mostly unpacked, with the largest thing left to do being to hang our artwork on the walls. I will post pictures of the place once we have that all set.

Grace has had a fun time exploring and finding places to hide. Grandpa Metzig made Grace an amazing scratching post that she has spent a lot of time on already. The three of us greatly appreciate it, thank you Victor/Grandpa!

We knew from Dawn's that Grace loves the patio door, but since we are on the 2nd floor she had to find a way to elavate herself.

Lastly, I decided to show her most creative hiding spot, which is on top of our cupboards. She actually lays down on the highest one (the cupboard directly above the microwave in the picture) and you literally cannot see her...needless to say I could not find her yesterday morning until I opened the refrigerator only to see a head peek out from above!

We love our new place and are looking forward to the next year here. Thank you to both our Moms and Dads for helping us to move. We could not have done it without your help (nor have lived very well without your furniture donations). We love you!

Exploring Como Park

Como Park is located within a mile of our new apartment, and contains a lake, vast amounts of picnic grounds, as well as a zoo and conservatory. While most zoos charge over $10 per person for admittance, the Como Zoo and Conservatory is free and simply asks a donation of $2 per adult but is not obligatory. Lesley and I had briefly walked into the zoo while apartment hunting, but chose to return with my parents while they were up here helping us move into our new place. They have a surprising variety of animals, and their enclosures seem well kept.

Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my!

Besides the zoo, there is also a beautiful conservatory filled with various plants. The Japanese Garden was especially pretty and acts as a symbol to the fact that St. Paul is the sister city to Nagasaki.

A short walk from the zoo and conservatory (if you haven’t already guessed, the park is extremely large) they also have an antique carousel dating nearly 100 years old. As you can see below, the four of us had fun riding it!

We will enjoy having the park so close while we live in our new apartment!