My Gardens

As many may know, when I moved in with Mark, we created several new gardens. I think my favorite is our perenial garden, which after three summers is finally starting to fill out and take shape. I love the colors of the flowers in it. There seems to always be surprises as burst of color bloom out of the green plants. We plan to add a rocks around the edge. We are going to get the rocks from the farm where Mark grew up. That will be a nice touch, as some of the flowers I got from his sister Mary, originally came from their mother's garden. Here are a few pictures of the recent flowers blooming around our home.

A Weekend with the Grandkids

Well, as some of you may know, my teaching position is year round. We ended school last Wenesday, on July 25th. I now have about 4 1/2 weeks off. I met Jennifer in St. Cloud on Thursday and picked up Emma and Braiden I brought them back with me to spend a few days with their Nana & Mark, and to give Jennifer & Josh a weekend to themselves. We had fun. Of course Nana had to make her famous 'shakes' every day. We went to the zoo, the park, the county fair and did some projects at my house. On Saturday Sheena moved, so we babysat little Ella for the day.

That made Emma very happy. Ella was napping and Emma kept asking, "When is Ella going to get up?" She kept wanting to check on her. Finally, Ella woke up and we went outside to play for awhile. It was hot, but we found a place in the shade and had a great time.

We grilled out that night and had sweet corn. The kids had showers and off to bed. Now it's Sunday, and we're getting ready to meet their mom and dad in St. Cloud and return them. It was a fun weekend, one that I hope will build great memories for them.

MOA (MAll of America) Trip

A couple of weekends ago, we took a weekend off and headed to Bloomington. We began our day by touring the Mall of America. Mark had never been there. We had fun walking (and walking) as we tryied to see all levels. It's fun to check out some of the unique stores there. We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which is must if you visit MOA. It is decorated like a rainforest complete with thunder and lightning and even rain! Here are a few of the pictures from the MOA.

Here are a couple of shots of Megan & Shantel one in front of the Rainforest Cafe and then a couple of them inside the Cafe. One with the famous Rainforest Frog. Aren't they cute? Another one of them at our booth 'striking a pose' in their new sungalsses.

We also visited Lego Land. Here's one of Mark and me in front of a giant shoe. Also have some granchildren that REALLY like Sponge Bob, so had to snap a picture of Sponge Bob made from Legos.

After the MOA we went the stay the the Grand Lodge which houses the Water Park of America. It was a fun and relaxing time. We floated around the lazy river, went down a couple of tube slides and then climbed ten stories to go down the family tube slide. On that one, four people get into a really large float with a floor in it and handles on the side. You sit on the floor and HANG ON! With a push we were off. We had watched the floats going down the very large tube, and it didn't look like they were going that fast, but riding in one is quite a different story. You go around the curves and slide up one side, down and up the other. I went down the whole thing backwards! It was a bit scary but we safely landed. It was fun.

Here are a couple of pictures of Megan and Shantel floating around the river.

The following morning we got up and went to IKEA. It was fun to walk around the showrooms. We bought a couple of things including a wine rack for the basement. All in all, it was a very fun weekend!

Our little get away

At the end of May, I had some time off. Mark & I planned to do something over that break. We ended up taking a couple of days to just enjoy Minnesota. First of all, we headed up to Nisswa, just north of Brainerd. It has some little shops that are fun to look around in. Here's a self photo I took of us. It was a cool day at the end of May. What I wouldn't give for one of those cool days now!

After Nisswa we headed up to Milacs and went to the Grand Casino where we spent the night and played the machines a bit and came out a bit ahead.

We also headed up to Duluth and went to visit Canal Park. It was a windy day, but nice and sunny. Here we are in front of a statue of a fisherman.

We walked around, watched the boats come and go and just enjoyed time to ourselves. It's not often I get Mark away from the shop on weekdays. We walked through the information center and then ate at Grandma's. After we ate, we walked around some more, checked out the shops, watched them make fudge and just had a good time. Here are some pictures from our little excursion.

Here's a ship that is docked in Duluth. It's huge. Look at the size of the chain compared to Mark's hand!

Here are a couple shots I took. One of the lift bridge as it was being lifted for a ship to pass. The other is of the light house with Mark standing on the step.

Here are a couple of fun shots we took in the museum. You can see on the left that Mark is charting out our course and on the right, that's me steering the ship. (Look out!) Sort of a scary thought isn't it.

Finally, here's a shot I took for my sister. My sister lives out of state in Wyoming so I don't get to see her often enough. When we were walking through the stores in Nisswa, I found one called Sisters. I had Mark take my picture by the sign, of course you will note that I am a bit short on one end, so my head and the sign are a bit apart. But anyone who has a sister will understand why I needed this picture. No matter how close or how far apart you may live from your sister, she is always close in thought and ALWAYS in your heart. So I dedicate this pictute to my sister, Trishy. Love ya kid!

A Day at the Little Falls Zoo

Well, it was a beautiful day today in Minnesota. The humidity fianlly dropped some. I had Braiden and Emma spending the weekend with me, so we took a drive up to Little Falls to visit their little zoo. It's small, but it makes for a fun afternoon and some good camera shots.

Last year the zoo put in a new bear exhibit. The bears use to be kept in cages far back from the public. Then with funds received they built a new place for the bears. They now have lots of room to roam around and each area has a pool. Here's one of the cubs playing in the water.

Here is a picture of Emma and Braiden in front of the Tiger's cage. At one time the tiger was really close. It would of made for a great picture. I told Braiden and Emma to stand and face me and I'd take their picture.

Emma was a bit apprehensive. She kept looking over her shoulder and moving awary for the railing, which is actually about 6 feet from the fence the cages the tiger in. It was a big tiger and I guess it did look pretty scary to her. At least I got this picture of them.

We had a nice time. After the zoo we went to the park and the kids played for awhile. It is one of the only parks I know that still has a merry go 'round. The kids held on tight as I gave it a good push. Funny how some things that were so simple from our past can excite kids yet today. Actually, merry go 'rounds are good for kids. The spinning action helps them develop their brains. Enought with that, heck it's just good clean fun!

Time is so precious. We should all take time to enjoy the little things in life. As the saying goes, 'Take time to smell the roses.' We should take time to appreciate all those around us. We should take time to savor each moment, for we will never get that moment back again. With that thought in mind, I leave you my final picture from today. (I won't make you look at all 109 I took). I think this picture says it all. It reminds me of me and my big brother. It also reminds me of a show we use to watch that had the theme song with lyrics that went like this- Happy Trails to you, until we meet again.'

And speaking of birthdays.....

Last Friday was another big day for a member of our family. You see, my husband, Mark turned a year older. He keeps teasing me that he's trying to catch up to me. Funny Mark! Well here are a few pictures of the 'Birthday Boy' as Emma called him.

First of all, Emma and Braiden gave Mark a little gift bag filled with Tootsie Rolls. You see Mark likes Tootsie Rolls. Of course in Minnesota June and July it is parade time. Emma and Braiden were busy gathering all the Tootsie Rolls they could at the parades for Mark. Also, Emma painted Mark a picture. She spent a week on it. Jennifer said she would get the painting out each day and

worked on it for the week. Finally, on Friday she said, "Okay, I'm done with Mark's picture."

Well, here's another picture of Mark with a shirt Jennifer found for him. You see, ever since I met Mark, he's had a joke he'd tell whenever anyone ever brought up the topic of losing weight or getting into shape. He'd say, "My doctor told me I need to get into shape. I told him ROUND is a shape." Jennifer & Shantel loved that one. They'd always try to get him to tell it. I think he finally caught on to them. We love you Mark! Well, anyhow, Jennifer found the perfect shirt for Mark, it says, "I'm in shape - Round is a shape". How perfect!

We had a fun evening. Grilled steaks and potatoes, went bowling, played Phase 10 and had a few drinks. Great times. On Friday night Mark's kids came over for a Mexican Fiesta to celebrate his day. It's something we all love and it didn't involve grilling, so I knew I could give Mark the night off from cooking. Of course, we all ate too much, but it was sooooooo good!

I'm Back!!

I haven't posted for some time. I was having problems with my camera. It had to be sent in, luckily it was covered by the warranty. I got it back a couple of weeks ago. I have been taking pictures, so have a lot of blogging to catch up on.

Well, I'll start by going back to May. We celebrated Sheena's birthday with dinner and a cake. I made and decorated the cake. It's my new thing this year. I use to decorate cakes when Jennifer was little, but hadn't done one for a few years. I started again this year. It's lots of fun and the frosting is so good!!! Sheena loves stars and the colors of lavender, green and yellow, so you guessed it. She got a cake covered with stars. It looks like Ella is ready to dive right in. She's saying, "I can't wait till I turn a year old and Nana makes me a cake."

Another big event in May was Emma's graduation from preschool. She was so excited about her graduation. They had a cute little program, then they received their diplomas. After pictures we enjoyed cake and punch. Emma is so excited about starting kindergaren in the fall. She's already plainning her wardrobe for the first day. It's really important to wear the right thing on your first day of kindergarten!

The kids grow up so fast. I hope everyone with young ones enjoys each and every day with them. The moments you share with your children are very precious. Be sure to listen to their stories with real interest, laugh at their jokes, console them when hurt. You will turn around one day, and wonder where the years went. I hope you will have good memories of those moments.

Princess Birthday Party

Emma turned 5 on May 16th. She had a 'Princess Tea Party' on Saturday. Shantel and her friend Lisa came dressed as the Barbie Princesses. Emma was thrilled. It was lots of fun having 8 little girls dressed as their favorite princesses. They played games, ate cookie cutter sandwiches, had royal punch and cake and had their nails painted.



Here's the cake I made for the party. I little pink castle.




Below are pictures of a few of the princesses in attendance. Of course Birthday girl, Princess Emma and Princess Kiara (that's Shaun's daughter.) I made their dresses. They looked very royal in them! Also in the royal court was Princess Libby (she's Jessica's daughter and Jessica is Shaun's girlfriend), the two Royal Barbies - Princess Shantel & Princess Lisa.

Dancing Princess

This past weekend we went to watch Emma at her dance recital. It was long, but workh it to see Emma dance. She really enjoys the dancing. Here's a picture of her in her little pink tutu from her dance to Butterfly Kisses. Hard to believe she'll be starting kindergarten this fall already.

Our new Chimnea Pot

Mark and I recently bought a new addition to our patio. Last summer we worked hard to put in a little patio in the back yard and a fence to block some of the nosie and traffic off of Hiway 10. Last Sunday we journeyed to Anoka to purchase a chimnea pot. We had seen them and thought that one would look great in our backyard. We came home, set it up and started a fire immediately. We are looking forward to using it to roast hot dogs, to make s'mores, and to warm us on a cool fall day. (We can wait for the later! We want to enjoy summer first.) So then I decided to try a portrait of the two of us. So I propped the camera up on a couple pieces of wood, set the timer and after a couple of tries, we heard a click and had a nice picture of us toasting each other with a fire in the background. We hope that our friends and family will share some great times around our chimnea!

My Sweet Husband

It was my birthday a few weeks ago. My husband was very sweet to me. On the Thursday, the day before my birthday, I received the beautiful bouquet of flowers shown to the left. Mark sent them a day early so I could enjoy them for an extra day at work. They smelled wonderful! On Friday morning when I came into my office, I opened the door and was met with the most wonderful smell from the flowers. The colors of the bouquet were absolutely vibrant. I love spring and these flowers had all the colors of spring in them. I brought them home and continued to enjoy their beauty.

Rock On!!

I'm sure most of you have heard of the new gam...Guitar Hero. Well, it seems to be all the rage. Here's a picture of two wannabee rock stars. Jennifer and Shantel were wailing one night. Jennifer evern picked them up neat scarves and arm cover things. strummed their guitars. Don't give up your day jobs girls! They were really rocking the night away as they played the guitars. It's amazing how the kid in us never really grows up isn't it. I guess life wouldn't be much fun if we didn't let our hair down sometimes and have a little fun!

"I'm too sexy for my bib, too sexy for my bib!"

One night while we were in Michigan visiting Shannon, Jeff and the kids, someone decided to make a Wendy's run for Frosty's. Well, low and behold, it seemed like the whole crew pretty much went. They came back with these Wendy bibs tied around them and chanting "I'm too sexy for my bib, too sexy for my bib!" It was hilarious. I just had to get picture. It's fun when the adults can be silly just like the kids!

Ladies Night Out!!!

Friends are so important. They are there to share our laughter, our sorrow, our triumphs and our disappointments. So every month a group of us get together for dinner. Most of these ladies I met through the St. Cloud Singles Group, where is also where I met Mark, my husband. They are a super group of women! Being I got married, I can no longer hang out with the Signles Group. So one of the members and good friend, Merry, decided to have monthly dinners where the single ladies could get together with the married ladies. Merry had other commitments this night so she's not in the picture. She's a sweetie! She has taught in Rocori for many years and plays the organ for her church, as well as for weddings, including her friends. We've been meeting for about a year now, and it is wonderful. Sharon in the red sweater is a bit of a rebel, she loves summer time so she can drive around with the roof down on her convertible. She always has a smile on her face. Jan, the one in the white and blue sweater has close family ties, as a matter of fact, on this night out, we ran into her sister and family. They really do stick close. Jan also has one of the most fantastic snowmen collections. Barb is in the green sweater, she's the other married one in the group. Barb was the host to our marriage ceremony by allowing Mark & I to be married in her backyard. It was sort of a rehersal for her wedding that followed about eight months later. Before I got married, we spent quite a few nights well into the morning talking on her porch after the dances. Last is Shari in the blue stripe shirt. Shari & I ventured to St. Cloud to attend our first dance of the Singles Club together. I've known Shari for over ten years. I met her at a support group for divorcees. I was fortunate to be able to have her for a friend. We went through our second 'teen' years as we discovered what it was like to be single after many years of marriage. We attended numerous single dances and spent many hours sitting at Perkin's after those dances. We met many fine friends, and some we'd rather not remember. She is a fantastic person. When she smiles, her eyes seem to laugh.
Nothing in the world compares to friendship. It is something that we often take for granted. I want to take this moment to thank these gals for being my friends. I look forward to spending many more monthly dinners as well as other times out with these gals. I wish them only the best in life, for the best deserve the best. I also am thankful for everyone who has been my friend throughtout my life. Without your shoulder to lean on, or you reassuring smile, I would not have been able to be who I am today. Your friendship, your strength, your belief in me helped me to become the person I am today, and it continues to mold and shape the person I seek to be. Thanks so much for your friendship!

A Win for the Home Team!

You're looking at the Royalton 7th & 8th Grade Softball team that took first place in a tournament held in Royalton last weekend. Let me tell you about the games. The first game, Royalton was down by a run, they were up to bat at the bottom of the final inning, bases were loaded and there were two outs. Shantel was up to bat, it was a bit of a nail biter, then on one of the pitches, Shantel whacked that ball good right between 2nd and 3rd base. On that hit, two runners came in and Royalton won the first game. They went on to win their second game and then to play the final game for the championship. The other team was up first, and it looked a bit shakey as that team scored 4 runs right off the bat, Then we were up and we scored 5. We continued to dominate the game and won the championship. The girls were so excited. Hope they continue to win games! Shantel is the one in the front middle. She's holding the yellow softball.

Emma and her little cousin Ella

Look at the gleam in Emma's eyes as she held her new cousin Gabriella. She was so cute with her and really felt like a big girl when she held Ella all by herself. Uncle Shaun was also here for the day, and had recently been released from jail. He was also very eager to hold Ella, I almost thought he'd have to arm wrestle Emma to get a chance. How about the best out of three Shaun?

The Teacher in the Nana Shines Through

We had the pleasure recently to have our grandkids living in Minnesota spend the night. When it was time for them to go to bed, I pulled out some books for them to read. I began by reading to them, then Braiden and Kiara who are both in 2nd grade wanted to read. So I sat and listened to them read with great pride and love in my heart. As a teacher, it is a very special gift to get to listen to your grandchildren read. I makes you proud and appreciative that we live in a country where our children can recieve a free education. I have great admiration for their teachers and thank them for teaching our grandchildren to read and expore the world through books. Then of course little Emma, who is 4 wanted to know if Nana had any books she could read. I did have some preschool books and helped Emma read books also. It was a beautiful experience.

Life List

You may wonder about the life list thing. It all started with Ellen this past year. She had people on her show that had created their life list of things they hope to accomplish in their life. I had been putting off creating mine until I had 'the time' to do it up right. Heck with that. I figured I could start on my BLOG, then I would see it everytime I logged in. So you may wonder, how am I doing?
First I did start on reconnecting with some people I haven't been in contact with for awhile. I must say that went well. I emailed several people I hadn't talked with for awhile. I'm happy to say I got back responses, so now I must work on maintaining those relationships. I feel it is so important to stay connected to those that have been close to us in the past. With all the modern technology, it really is easy and I have no excuse not to.
Next, I have begun my journey on living a healthier life style. You will notice that I did not say diet and exercise. How many times in the past have I vowed to do that and only to fail. It sounds so much more positive to say that I plan to live a healthier life style. It seems that those words stick with me and I am able to begin that task. Last week when I was at the mall with Mark and Shantel, we decided to get something to eat. There are many delicious choices like pizza, pasta, mexican and oriental. I am proud to say that I chose the the new food place, a salad and wrap place. I had a delicious salad and was very satisfied. Also, when we went to the movie afterwards, I did not have popcorn or a treat. By the way, we saw Premonition. It was an okay movie, it just lack some consistancy between the dreams or premonitions and how it played out. Sandra Bullock did a great job acting. There is something special about seeing a movie at the theater, although it's no longer a 'cheap date'.
Well, that's about all I've accomplished so far on my life list, but be sure to check back. I will be adding to my list and try to update my blog on how I am doing. High on my list is to get our bedroom painted. Have had the paint and bed set since before Mark and I got married. Now have material for the curtains and curtain rods. Yeah, gotta get taht done soon! Hey, how about you...Have you made your life list yet?

Gabriella

Tonight Gariella and Sheena stopped over for dinner. It was a beautiful day in Minnesota, so tonight Mark grilled hamburgers for the first time in 2007! So looking forward to more grilling as the weather gets nicer! So I tried to snap a few pictures of Ella to share with my friends. She is growing, weighed 7 pounds and 8 ounces (from 6 pounds 13 ounces at birth) at her two week checkup and grew 1 and 3/4 inches! Here's another picture of her, although I couldn't get her to wake up.