April 27th

A friend of mine suggested that I jinxed the return of spring by posting about my totally awesome and satisfying "first bike ride of spring" a couple days ago. Perhaps I did, as yesterday it snowed. All day. April 27th. We didn't get much accumulation at our house, but I saw some pictures from Staples where the snow was most definitely visible on the ground.

I'm dreaming of a white.... April?

This was the only accumulation I saw.

Still, the terrible and tragic storms that ripped through Alabama and the surrounding states are a sobering reminder that it could be much, much worse. Today, I'm praying for the families of the 130+ people who have died, and also for those who are now homeless due to the tornados.

Hooray for Spring!

I've been waiting for this for a long time!

3 weeks of Easter

Most people celebrate Easter one day a year. One of the peculiarities of being a part of a blended family is multiple holidays with family.

Week 1
Originally we had thought that we wouldn't have the kids on Easter, so Trevor took the opportunity to take the kids to his parents 3 weeks ago. That's the weekend I was at the Northwest Sportshow, so I'm not sure what went on there.

Some of this.

And some of this. I'm not sure what this is.

And it was slushy.

Week 2

Anyway, then it was on to Palm Sunday, and my parents house. It actually worked out for Jason and Kelly to come with their kids, as well as Celeana. 

My mom makes the best Easterpunch.

We had a great meal together. I like how my Mom has each of us bring something, so I get to try a new recipe and feel like I am contributing. I made green bean casserole from a Paula Dean recipe and it turned out amazing! Now on to the easter egg hunt!

Inspecting the easter eggs beforehand

Waiting for the "go".

Andrew "caught" me taking a picture.

And they're off!

Found some!

Andrew caught a big one.

So exciting!

Looking at the easter baskets

Aspen looking darling in her head-kerchief.

Ok, so most of those were random pictures of Kherrington, but she is just so cute!

Week 3 will have to come later, that's all for now.

Thievery

This is my favorite mug.

It is also the result of one of the slowest thefts in the history of mankind.

I saw this mug in Target about 2 years ago. I was looking for an encouraging gift for a friend, and there it was. So cute. So flowery. Round little handle. I fell in love. I took it home, filled it with Ghirardelli chocolates and stuck it in a gift bag on my shelf, waiting for me to write a little note to go with it.

And there it sat for a few months. The friend moved away.

Eventually the call of Ghirardelli chocolates only a few feet away from me was too much. One by one they disappeared. Disappeared into my mouth and onto my hips. Then they were gone and just the mug was left, now with a little bit of collected dust on the bottom. I eventually wanted to use the gift bag, so I just set the mug on my shelf.

A year and a half more passed, until one day Trevor noticed it. "Hey", he said "That mug looks like it fits you.". I blinked at the mug as I pondered the question. And I could see it. After all, I bought it because I liked it. And yet I hesitated, because I didn't buy it for me. It was a present. For my friend. Two years and several chocolates ago.

So now, when I sip coffee from my stolen favorite mug, I think of my friend and smile.

Maybe I should mail her some chocolates.

Northwest Sportshow

Sunny saturday!
  We got to see a high of over 50 degrees, and the sunshine was wonderful!

Perplexing roadways.
   I am not a city girl, so thank goodness we had TomTom GPS to help us find our way through downtown to the Minneapolis Civic center.

Oh my goodness, so many people!
   Good for the sportshow, good for the Nisswa Chamber booth we were volunteering at. Good for us!

Rods and reels.
   It seems like fishing was the sport of choice, and there must have been some good deals, because I saw a lot of people walking around with brand new fishing rods. It was a like a moving forest of really thin trees.

Trout trailer.
   There was a trailer that was full of fish in the back on the Civic Center so they could hold lure demonstrations. It was pretty cool.

So many people!
   Did I say this already?

Hundreds of booths.
   It was very interesting to walk around and see hunting, fishing, boating, and camping all represented. Also represented was ring cleaning fluid? I'm not sure how they got in, but they had two booths. They both asked me if I wanted my ring cleaned. I said no both times.

Our time together.
   Of course, the best part about the show was getting to spend time with my mom, and sharing this experience with her. There was plenty of time to chat between telling everyone about how wonderful Nisswa is and how the shopping is pretty darn good.

Wow, thats a lot of people.
    'Nuf said.

Who could resist the allure of
our booth!

Here I say something stupid to make
mom laugh.

This is a decent representation of the size
of the building, but not the amount of people.

Ooooh, look at the fishies!

Fishing stuff.

The end.