a trophy.

The other evening we were outside, enjoying the one nice evening we have had all spring!  The boys were feverously going back and forth between our home and the vacant lot across the way.  They were collecting bricks.  However when the hammer came out, I became a little more interested in what they were doing with their collection of bricks.

Jack and Andrew were making a trophy, can’t you tell by the final product?

The trophy still sits on our front porch.  I am sure they will be bummed out when it “disappears”!

Happy Weekend!

happy may day.

The calendar informs us that today is May 1st.

The weather outside feels like it is really November 1st.

I don’t know about the weather where you live, but for us the temp was around 35 degrees today and it was windy…windy, windy, windy.

However, weather conditions aside, May 1st means one thing…May Day baskets!! 

This morning before picking the boys up from preschool I stopped by Target and purchased a few supplies to pull together 9 baskets for our little friends in the area.  My concept was “flowers in a pot”.  I knew that cutting out little flower shapes would be frustrating for the boys, so I took a contemporary twist on the shape of our flowers and made them all circles. 

Andrew enjoys cutting, whereas Jack does not.  So I pulled on Andrew’s strength in cutting and he worked away at the 45 circles I had traced for him.

On the other hand, Jack does enjoy writing so I had him write on a card for each “flower pot”.

Following our afternoon activities, we dropped off our baskets at the neighbors houses.  The boys had so much fun!!  They wished we had more baskets to drop off at other homes.  I think what they enjoyed most was the risk in being caught after they rang the door bell!!

Happy May Day!!

10 years.

10 years ago today Paul and I went out on our first date.  He picked me up at my little ol’ house in Moorhead, took me to dinner at The SpeakEasy and we went to the movie, Chicago.

I can still visually recall exactly what we both wore that first night, my feelings of excitement as I tried to fall asleep after spending an evening with a man who was so kind, easy to converse with and treated me with much respect.  Following our date, which I considered to be a enjoyable date, I impatiently waited for Paul to call me.  It would take a few days, (he was working that weekend) but he called me the following Monday.  It was around dinner time and Paul wanted to know if I would join him for Chinese food at Nine Dragons. 

Looking back, I should have known!  I should have known, or asked many more questions, about the number of times per week he typically eats Chinese food!  I was just smitten with this man and was over-the-top excited that he wanted to spend more time with me.

I can’t tell you what we did on our 3, 4, 5th or even 72nd date, but what I can tell you is that we both agree fate brought us together. 

This past Wednesday night we celebrated the anniversary of our first date.  We marveled at how fast the time has flown by.  How fortunate we are to share each day with our best friend.  We chatted about our three little miracles and the joy they bring to our life.  We talked about family.  We talked about careers.  We reminisced about our early adventures together.  We conversed, for hours.  We enjoyed every moment of our dinner together, and appreciated the fact we could share a meal together, un-interrupted by our little ones.

We are thankful for the past 10 years.  We are thankful for the growth we have experienced as a couple, as parents and as best friends. 

10 years…and if I assume we have had Chinese food at least one time per week for each of those years, to date I have ate Chinese food at least 520 times.  Ugh.  I think I have a MSG allergy.