Family

Well after much consideration over long walks on the beach, endless restless nights, and a few cocktails...I have officially stepped into the blog world. (insert applause here).

This last year has been quite the changing year for my family.  I now have a Husband (still can't stop smiling when I say that word!), 1 sister, 1 sister in law, 1 brother, and 1 brother in law and I couldn't imagine life without any of them.  Of course holding us all together is the amazing people who brought the original 3 into the world, Mom and Dad.  Our family of 5 has grown to a family of 8 and is stronger and closer then we have ever been. 

As you grow up people are always say, "You just wait..someday your parents and siblings will be your best friends" and when we are younger our reaction to that is "yea right - get serious" or something along those lines.  But now that I am older I can honestly say my mom, dad, bro, and sister are some of the best friends someone could ever have.  I can now joke with mom and dad about all those things I did when I was younger that may have upset mom and dad.  Now we joke about it and can't believe I did it and have definately grown from those things and experiences. I actually involve my parents in my life vs when you are younger that was "so not cool!" haha Love my parents for everything they taught me growing up and still teach me to this day :-)

Melissa, what can I say about Melissa...we used to pester each other to no end, however, I am pretty sure I was the one that did MOST of the pestering...ya know, the annoying little sister pestering...yep that was me! Now, we have a good laugh together and even shoot guns together! (That is a whole other blog) But even through all the speed bumps we had as little kids we both turned out pretty good and both have grown into Mature, Successful, Professional Women. :-)

Then there is my brother...well...Derek has always been...well Derek...he is a quiet nice guy and I used to hate it when people would say "oh your Derek's sister" or they say it like this "You are related to Derek?" Like that is bad thing that he is related to me? Derek is a great successful guy and is always there for us, if we ask.  I definately could not ask for a better brother!

Now to the in-law siblings...well lets see..Derek's wife, Marta, used to be my college roommate.  We lived together for a few years and she came to my parents house with me for one of my birthdays, I introduced her to my brother, and BAM she was a Hultgren.  :-) I always knew they would get married someday because, well, Marta could change her own oil and if that kinda women wasn't perfect for Derek then I didn't know who would be :-)  Then there is my awesome brother in law Clay...I knew him before hand as well through some great friends...he came in a swept my sister off her feet and the rest is history.  He is a great guy and perfect for my sister...he makes her happy and keeps her laughing!

Last but definately not least is my amazing husband Pete. If you would have asked me in college, if I ever thought I would be married to Mr. Casarotto, I would have said no, we are just friends.  But God has a funny way of making sure you end up with the person he wants you with.  After college I moved away to another state.  After about 8 months at this other job, I was let go due to the company shutting down.  I was upset, mad, sad, everything.  I started looking for a job right away.  I interviewed back in Omaha and went out with some great friends and saw Pete...I told him that night at the bar that If I moved back to Omaha we would soooooo date.  Pete smiled and said "ok." (I think he thought I was nuts and not going to move back) SURPRISE! :) I moved back and we started dating...after a few months we realized this dating thing just was not for us and decided to be friends again.  About 2 months after that we ran into each other and before I could really say anything, Pete told me he missed talking to me each day, he missed looking into my eyes, he missed my smile...well I told him he had his chance and walked away.  The next day we decided to go on a date and have been falling in love over and over everyday since.  I guess the old saying is true "If you love something or someone set it free, if it was meant to be, they will come back" On June 5, I married my best friend and am Mrs. Casarotto. We are enjoying every minute of our lives together and enjoy falling in love with each other over and over again.

I thought a family photo would be a great finish for this blog:

Well first blog down and I am sure many to come!