April showers....

Spring has finally arrived in Minnesota! :)  The typical April rain has come to Maple Grove completely melting the 12" of snow we got last week. Temps are in the 30's and 40's all week with nothing but rain on the forecast. 

 

 

Bring it on, Mother Nature!  Once the rain is gone, we will have blue skies, green grass and temperatures perfect for spending tons of time outside.  The pond behind the house is almost full.  The egrets, ducks, Canadian Geese and an occasional pheasant are back making tons of racket.  Everything looks fresh and new.  It reminds me of something Garrett used to say when he was little: 

 

Look Momma, God is giving the outside a bath!

Old Man Winter made one last appearance on the way to work this morning with more snow.  That sucker cannot give up without a fight!  No worries......we are keeping a positive attitude.......Spring is finally here!!! :)

I love you too, TT!

I received a super sweet message on Instagram yesterday from my big sister.  Isn't she drop-dead gorgeous?! :)

Bromance

Jim spending some quality time with our crazy kiddo.  I think it's so funny how Jim props his glasses up on his forehead instead of taking them off.  Come to think of it......they are both pretty crazy!! :)

Delanie

Guess who has a new obsession......?

 

 

Back at Joe's

 

I know.....I talk about it every year! What would a trip to Texas be without the mandatory visit to Joe's Crab Shack???  Terribly sad if you ask me. 

 

 

There's that duck again! :)

 

 

Hanging with some of my favorite people.....

So long Joe.......my belly can't wait to see you again soon!! :)

 

Home sweet home (almost!)

We always stay at Bea's house when we go back to Texas.  I love having her all to myself  24 hours a day.  :)  Who knows when you need a 3am fix, right?? 

 

 

You know you are at Bea's house when there are more blankets than people in the living room.  Just the way I like it!! :)

 

Another thing I need a fix of when I go to Texas is donuts!!  There are NO donut shops anywhere near us unless you count the gross ones at the gas station.  I guess that's a good thing because - next to cupcakes - donuts are my krytonite.  No really.......I could eat dozens.  There's a donut shop right around the corner from Charlene's house.  We call the owner the Donut Nazi because she has no personality at all.  She does have the most dee-licious donuts though!

 

 

Another perk of Bea's house is Chloe.  She's a Pit Bull mix and absolutely the sweetest dog on the planet (next to Bailey-Big-Bootie-Judy).  She drags her blanket around with her everywhere like a toddler.  It's so adorable! :)

 

 

 

Even more than donuts, Chloe and late night chats with Bea.........this kid is the one thing I cannot get enough of during our visit.  I'm am so proud to be his Momma! 

 

I think Delanie feels the same way about soaking up time with her big brother.  The pictures below tell the story of their relationship.  One second she can't get enough of him (he feels the same way but is way too manly to admit it).  Five minutes later he sits on top of her and proudly passes gas.  Gotta love him! :)

 

G-baby

Here are a few blackmail pictures of my adorable baby boy!  If you know anything about Garrett, you know that this hat fits his personality PERFECTLY!!  :)

MS Walk 2014

Finally back to sharing the pictures from our recent visit to Texas.  I started blogging about them and got side-tracked by a nasty virus......then the blood moon.......then stress life in general.  Anyway, I'm back at it and excited to publish photos of this year's MS Walk in Fort Worth, TX.

 

 

Hooray for Team Bea!!! :)

 

 

 

The usual gang got together again to support Team Bea this year at Trinity Park.  I love love love this event!  It is seriously one of the highlights of my year.  It's amazing to see how it grows from year to year. 

 

 

Here we are in our bright yellow shirts with bumblebees sewn onto the back.  This year, we thought it would be fun to add wings and tutus......why not?!  Tracey, Charlene, Delanie, Maci & I got together the night before the walk to make the tutus.  (Who knew making tutus was so involved??)  After hours of cutting and tying......we were pleasantly tuckered out.  :)

 

 

The three amigos......together again! :)

 

The picture below is what the MS Walk is all about.  I just love these cuties!  It was such a fun weekend of hanging out and the walk could not have been better. 

 

 

Two of the three musketeers were with us that day.  Garrett had to work so this is the first year that he had to skip the walk.  He met up with us later so Delanie and Lauren got their fix.  Speaking of Garrett......... wait till you see the pictures on tomorrow's post!  I'm giggling just thinking about it. 

My favorite girl looking soooo cute in her bumblebee outfit!! :)  How is it possible that she is now taller than me and twice as lovely? 

Me and Raymond........  Every time I look at her, I just want to pinch her bootie!! Hahaha! :)

Tracy and Doug looking extremely cheerful along the route.  Aren't they such a cute couple?!

Denise and Michael met up with us this year too.  Thank God......Michael is back on American soil safe and sound after a year in Afghanistan.  I got lots of quality time with these guys over the weekend too.  All of which was way over due!

 

Maci's parents - Trey and Cindi - joined the walkers this year too.  They are so sweet!  After a few minutes in their company, you know exactly where Maci gets her goodness.  :)

 

The picture below is my SECOND favorite picture of the day.  Wild Bill was in rare form and Lauren was loving it! :)

My absolute favorite picture of the entire day is below!  Isn't she just the cutest thing you have ever seen???  This is AFTER the walk and look how good she looks.  My sister rocks!!

 

Since Mom couldn't be here in person, Charlene released that adorable bumblebee balloon so she could enjoy it too.  :)

Blood moon

We had a cool (and rare!) occurrence last night. Did you catch the lunar eclipse?

 

Also known as the Blood Moon, it was the first of four total lunar eclipses (where the Earth is directly between the sun and the moon preventing the sun's light from illuminating the moon) happening in 2014-2015.  It was awesome.......and so creepy!!

Delanie LOVES astronomy so she was stoked to check it out.  We made a plan for her to set her alarm at 2:30am (yes, I said AM!) to wake me up so we could see it together.  I woke up to Bailey snoring at 3:30am and Delanie was still sound asleep.  Being the good mother than I am - insert hysterical laughter here - I went into her room to wake her up.  Imagine my surprise when she decided NOT to get up.......insert growling sound here. 

 

I haven't quite figured out how to take a decent picture of the moon with my camera (it always turns out blurry) so the ones I found on the internet will have to do. 

 

The photo below was taken over the Juscelino Kubitschek Memorial in Brasilia. (Photo credit: BBC)

I love how there is one star shining bright beside the moon.  Is that the North Star?  Anyway..... I always secretly imagine that's my mom looking down on us from Heaven.  :)

Happy Birthday Ann Marie!

Happy birthday to you!!  Wish we could be there to kiss your face.  Hope it's the best birthday ever.  :)

Yep.....more snow

Today is April 4th and guess who got almost a foot of snow last night????

Once again, the photos don't do the beauty justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way!

On our way to Texas!!!  Looking mature as usual.....at least one of us. 

 

This cutie was sitting across the aisle from us on the airplane.  He didn't make a sound the entire flight.  There may have been some Benadryl involved.  :)

 

 

Delanie was in charge of snapping the pictures from the air.  I can't think of anyone better for the job. 

 

You know you're in Texas when this is a common sight at the airport.  The last time we flew home, we were greeted by a man in a three-piece suit.......plus a cowboy hat and boots.  Gotta love the south!!  :)

 

A note to the hubs:  I did not post this photo because the guy is handsome.  No one can compete with my smoking-hot husband!!! :)

It's funny how foreign the southern accent sounds after being up north for a few years.  That must mean we are starting to sound like Minnesnowtans Minnesotans.......eh?!