Leap year blizzard

Well.....I wished for snow and we finally got it!  In the last twelve hours, we got eight inches!  So much that Jim had to bring me to work this morning!  So much the the kids got a SNOW DAY in Minnesota!  What's wrong with this picture???  We spent about an hour shoveling the driveway.  Once that was done, I tried to drive the Maxima but got stuck in the middle of my street.  Jim and Garrett had to push me back into the driveway! :)

Loves of my life

For our family pictures this year, we trekked over to the Elm Creek Park Reserve.  Even though it's only ten minutes from the house, the Reserve makes it's own snow for skiing, snowshoeing, etc.  No such luck on this day.  Since there was no snow, we took our pictures at the park.  The bumblebee reminded me of Charlene.  Here they are.....the loves of my life.....matching parkas and all.  It was so cold that day!

The bond Garrett and Jim have is out of this world.  They have the same twisted sense of humor.  Two peas in a pod.  Which means I get 100% access to Delanie.  Girls vs. Guys.  I love it!  Delanie and I chill out upstairs reading books and watching HGTV while the boys play video games and watch hockey.  Now, that's my kind of Heaven!

Delanie chose the lady bug for her pictures.  I remember when she was five or six years old, she was obsessed with lady bugs.  I went to the landscaping store and bought a bucket of 500 ladybugs.  They were stored in the refrigerator to keep the ladybugs "asleep".  By the time she opened them, the lady bugs were awake and ready to explore.  I'll never forget the sight of her scattering the lady bugs all over our garden and watching them crawl around on her.  This little girl is one of a kind!

Sometimes it's hard to believe someone could be capable of the love I have for these three.  I mean, really, how can a heart hold that much? 

That's what I'm talking about!

Looks like challenging Mother Nature might be a good thing.  We got snow last night!!

Bring on the snow!!

Why is it that the year we move "up north" it never snows?! Last year Minnesota had a record 90+ inches. This year, we haven't gotten 12" and it's already the end of February. What's up with that?!?!

Happy Anniversary!

I have the best husband in the universe!  Earlier this month, we celebrated our third wedding anniversary.  I can't believe it's already been three years.  I know I'm still in the honeymoon phase but it has really flown by. 

These are the flowers Jim had delivered to my office.  They are my absolute favorite color found in flowers - Sterling Silver.  He used to send the same flowers to me when we were dating.  How sweet is it that he remembered?!

Best.  Husband.  Ever!!

My favorite girl...

The perfect snowflake: 

Go Wings!

When we went to Michigan over Thanksgiving, we went to two Red Wings games!  The seats were AWESOME......front row, right on the glass at Joe Louis Arena.  The picture above is the arena but it's taken across the border on the Canada side. 



It was Toys For Tots night at the Joe Louis Arena.  Carol hooked us all up with toys to donate.  This is Carol, Ann Marie & Mom chatting with the Toys for Tots representative at the Joe.

It was so much fun hanging out with the girls.  They always make our visit so wonderful!  This is Jim and his sister, Carol:

Jim celebrating with adult beverages (notice the pink glow on his cheeks and the happy grin on his face!):

Jim and his sister, Ann Marie:

During the national anthem, the Red Wings allowed a little league hockey player (they're called Mighty Mites) to skate onto the ice with them.  This kid was so cute!  You could tell he was totally star-struck.  After the anthem, the poor kid just stood there looking around.  He didn't know what to do.  Todd Bertuzzi (#44 next to him) finally nudged him with his stick.  I'm told that's hockey code for "get going....you did good!".  :)

We were so close to the players, it felt like you could reach out & touch them.  I have to admit to being star-struck myself.  Each time they would check the other team into the boards/glass, the whole wall would shake!  We learned first hand that you can't rest your beer on the shelf by the glass.

Garrett's favorite player:  Niklas Kronwall (#55).  He loves Kronwall because of the intense hits he dishes out.  We bought a picture of Kronwall taken right as he nailed Havlat from the Chicago Blackhawks.   Kronwall knocked Havlat out cold.  Poor guy didn't know what hit him.  Check out the hit: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QZ10FQ16PQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Delanie's favorite player, Patrick Eaves (#17) is still out with a broken jaw. 

 

My favorite player, Henrik Zetterberg (#40):

Jim's favorite player, Pavel Datsuk (#13): 

This picture was taken from our seats.  Can you believe how close we were?  We kept hoping the camera guy would turn his camera on us be never saw him do it.  When we got home, Ann Marie had taped the game so we watched to see if we were on TV.  We were!  After one of the goals - the Wings won both games - you could see Jim high-fiving Ann Marie.  It was really cool!