Fun, but Scary Adventure.

I decided that I wanted to get out of town and do something fun on my anniversary since Craig wasn't around.  So, my sister-in-law and I packed up the boys and headed to Munsinger Gardens in St. Cloud.  It was a very hot, humid, sunny day so it wasn't busy at all.  Craig and I had been there- once the day after our wedding- and it was very busy, as I recall.  We didn't feel rushed to move on to the next flower by people behind us, which was so nice.  If you have never been there, it is worth checking out.  It's free and open to the public and the flowers and fountains are gorgeous.

I loved the details of this fountain.

The rose gardens were in full bloom.

 So pretty and peaceful.

The boys and I next to the Mighty Mississippi.  Who knew?

After a gorgeous afternoon at the gardens, we took the boys to Space Aliens for supper.  I have to live up to Hunter calling me the "best mom ever", so I figured he would enjoy that over Olive Garden or something like that.  Luckily, Space Aliens also has great food.  After eating and spending some time in the arcade and picking our prizes out, we headed to the car.  It was raining just a little bit and the sky looked a little dark.  A complete 180 from the earlier weather.  We got to the car, turned around and the sky behind us was green.  My stomach turned!  It was not a pretty sight.  Melissa and I decided that we'll get in the car and hope to drive out of it.  Less than two blocks down the road, the tornado sirens started to sound and the wind and rain picked up immensely.  Scary!  We pulled over on the next street and parked in a BP Gas Station.  We headed inside with the boys and got drenched.  Hunter was terrified (well, we all were...except Brody) and was in tears and literally trembling.  He tried really hard convincing him that it was just Jesus, but his fear got the best of him.

Brody and I after running in from the storm.  We were just a little wet.

After sitting in the gas station for half an hour and 2 tornado sirens later, we decided that the storm had passed and we would be safe.  We made a pit stop at Kohl's to buy new clothes for the boys so they would be comfortable on the way home.  We listened to a radio station where people were calling in reporting damage around the area.  It made our stomachs sick.  Roads flooded.  Trees in the roads.  Fires from lightning.  Stuff that only happens during serious storms.  We started towards the freeway and about half a mile down the road from the gas station we saw trees snapped in half.  It was so close to us!  It was later reported that a weak tornado did pass through very close to the area we were.  Thankfully God was with us and protected us.

Let's just say, I will never forget my 5th anniversary, it was a fun, yet adventurous day.

Rain is a Good Thing

There is a song by Luke Bryan (a country singer for those of you who don't know who that is) called "Rain is a Good Thing".  After days and days of rain, I would sing bits and pieces of this song in my head and reminding myself that the rain isn't all bad.  Ok, maybe not this much rain, but really, we do need it.  There was one line of the song that was on repeat in my head.  "Kids out playin' in a big mud puddle."  I knew that I wanted the boys to get out and play in a puddle once the rain finally quit and assure them that rain can be fun too.  Thankfully this week, Hunter has had science camp so he hasn't been stuck inside all week.  But, a lot of "Rain, Rain, Go Away" was sung in our house this week.  And let's all be honest, we've had enough for awhile and we're ready for summer and the sunshine and heat that goes with it.  And I knew that they would get dirty...I just didn't know how bad it would get.  But I can tell you, there is nothing better than seeing pure joy on your child's face and it doesn't matter how dirty they get as long as they're having fun...right?
 

 Brody and Hunter testing out the big mud puddle at Grandpa Al's.

 Splish! Splash!  Not going to lie, this was almost a big collision.

Classy kid.  I asked Brody to point to his nose and this is what I get.  Also, take notice of his jeans.  They're pretty dirty...

 But since they weren't dirty on the back, he decided to fall and get the full dirty effect.  I actually love this picture and so glad I was able to capture the splash.  And I couldn't help but to laugh.  My dad thought I was crazy and just shook his head most of the time.  But I did see a few smiles on his face.

 Yep, I didn't anticipate that it would get this messy.  Oh well.

This summarizes the boys so well.  Hunter has always hated getting messy and this was really pushing the limits for him.  In Brody's eyes, the messier the better!  He literally crawled through the puddle.  I hope we get to do this again this summer.  I hope that the sun in shining and it is warmer and I can strip them down to their undies and diapers and let them have fun and rinse off in a sprinkler.  See, rain is a good thing.  Especially in the eyes of a child!

Hello, Summer!!

Today we were able to get outside, enjoy the warm sunshine, and get a taste of summer.  Hunter has been begging me to get his new Slip-N-Slide out for a few weeks now and we were finally able to today.

 Someone's having fun!

 Once Brody woke up from his nap, we brought him outside so he could enjoy the warm weather and splash around in the water.  I'm not sure if he liked it...what do you think based on this picture?

 The boys loved splashing around in the little pool at the end of the slide.  It was a bit chilly though and they didn't sit in it very long!

One of Brody's favorite thing to do was drink from the sprinkler.  Every time he got a drink he would say, "Yum!  So good!"

I hope the weather is great this summer and we are able to spend a lot of time outside in our yard.  One of these days we'll have to get the pool and water table down from the rafters in the garage.  But until then, the Slip-N-Slide will provide hours of entertainment.

Frosty the Snowman

Yesterday, the weather was absolutely gorgeous for February in Minnesota! Upper 30's with little to no wind. The boys and I went out to Craig's parents to go sledding for the afternoon. Hunter and I came up with the idea that it might be fun to build a snowman.

The snow was perfect for it and we made quite the snowman! He was even taller than me. However, it had been so long since I've made one, I forgot how heavy the snowballs can get when trying to lift them. It's not as easy as it was in elementary school when you had over 5 people pushing it up. But, we (we as in me) got it!

Hunter was very excited to put the carrot nose and 2 eyes made out of coal and hat and scarf on the snowman. He really could have cared less about building it although he did help. But he was kind of disappointed that our snowman didn't come to life when we put his hat on.

After Brody woke up from a nap, he came outside with Craig's mom. I brought him down to show him the snowman and take his picture with it. Let's say, they didn't bond very well. It was either that he was scared of it or he didn't like sitting in the snow knowing he couldn't get up on his own.

It was a fun filled afternoon! Hopefully we get out more this week! The weather forecast looks great! Who knows, maybe we'll build another snowman.

Why do we live here??!!

Oh my gosh is it ever cold out there! The kind of cold where it is almost hard to breathe outside. Yesterday when I took Hunter to school, I put on the full winter armor on both of the boys-jackets, snowpants, boots, hat, mittens. Do you know how long that takes when you're doing it by yourself and your 18 month old has learned to bite off one mitten as you're putting on the other? As of right now, 10:30 AM it is -12 but feels like -32. BRRR! I don't even want to know how cold it was at the crack of dawn. This winter, with all the snow and now the frigid temperatures I have been frequently asking myself, why do we live here?
I mean, we used to live less than 10 blocks from the Gulf of Mexico! Warm temperatures this time of year. Nice tan. Go to the beach (one of my childhood dreams was to live near the ocean. Who knew that would become a reality). Go to the pool. We could even go for a walk this time of year outside. Can you tell I'm missing TX right about now?
But, then I remember how hard it was being so far away from all of our loved ones. Our support system. Our family and friends. The people who mean the most to us. And it is very clear to me as to why we live here. And really, if I were to become a resident of TX, I think I would miss the seasons. I can't imagine a winter without snow. I can't imagine looking at palm trees vs. the beautiful fall colors. There is so much that I would miss. This is home.
So, even with all the complaining I may do about the weather, I am really happy that we live where we do.