Happiness comes in the form of 3 day weekends.

                                          Weekend Update Special (Memorial Day) Edition.


Since I have limited time and about 12 hours of work to catch up on (not really but it kinda seems that way) I will make this short and sweet.

The first part of this weekend was spent getting ready for the second half of the weekend. Literally. It's crazy how 10 years ago, if we wanted to take a little weekend trip up to the lake, it would take 5 minutes, a duffel bag of clothes and a tooth brush and we were on the road. Now, it's a day long process.

Once we finally got there it was a lot of fun. The rain held off and there was a crisp feel in the spring air, but that's what is to be expected on Memorial Weekend in Minnesota. Well, that and sitting in hours of southbound traffic on the drive home Monday afternoon.

It was great to see my grandpa out and about. I have to say I was shocked. He was out walking around and sitting by the camp fire with us. It was a very nice surprise.

Ferny and Dubz got a round of golf in, too. From the sounds of it, they had a lot of fun, but I wouldn't know because I wasn't invited to go...no, I'm not bitter at all  :/

We had a great campfire, made s'mores, had tea parties, disturbed wood peckers, spot light dances, and did some four wheeling. Great weekend.

Tea party with Uncle "Jeter."

Back in the saddle again.

First ride of the season.

Little devil ruining the tree!

Cozy.

Look at that determination!

Sitting by the fire...maybe texting each other?

Until we meet again.

Random Acts of Kindness Challenge

There are some days that I get caught up in the hustle and bustle of 'life' and I don't stop to think about the little things in life (I think we can all be guilty of this every now and again). I've really put some thought in to this. Think about how you feel when someone purposefully goes out of their way to make your day better. It's a great feeling. Sometimes, I think it's an even better feeling to be the person who is going out of their way to make someone's day a little better. Everyone is fighting some kind of battle in life, and you never really know what that person standing behind you in the grocery store line might be going through that day.

Here are a few ideas that I have found that wouldn't take a whole lot of work and are not very costly:

• Give coupons (or leave coupons) for someone to use at the grocery store.
• Tell your boss/co-worker how great of a job you think they are doing.
• Do yard work for an elderly neighbor (or anyone).
• Give an unexpected gift (a red rose to an older lady, a grocery gift card to a single mother, etc).
• Let the supervisor or a manager know what great service you received from an associate at a store or restaurant. 
• After you purchase something out of a vending machine, insert a few more coins for the next person who comes along.
• When going through the coffee drive thru, pay for the person behind you as well.
• Leave diapers and wipes on a changing table in a public restroom.
• Be a friendly driver-let others go in front of you, don’t get mad but wave them ahead and SMILE ***this is going to be #1 on my personal list!***
• Wait and hold the door open for someone.
• Give complements to people in your life or strangers on the street.

Until we meet again.

Spring is in full swing

I haven't blogged in a month, a month. How do you sum up a month in a few paragraphs? Well, here is my best attempt...

I have taken a few road trips in the past few weeks up to Duluth. My grandpa still isn't doing that well, but we're trying to stay positive in a not-so-great situation.  He recently suffered a second heart attack and was air lifted from their home to Saint Mary's Hospital in Duluth. I hate to say it, but just in the few times that I have been up to see him in the hospital, it's been hard. After recently going through all those days with my grandma in the hospital back in February and the end result being what it was, it has brought back all the sad feelings that hospitals tend to bring.

On a brighter note, Sadie has started karate. I didn't know how she would take to it at first, but she absolutely loves it. The class is mostly boys, but there are two other little girls that are right around her age. She already has "earned" her first belt. She was so proud of herself.

With the weather finally turning nice, it has been so great to be spending the evenings and weekends outside and enjoying the warm temperatures. We were also finally able to start softball a few weeks back. The season isn't exactly off to the greatest of starts winning wise, but I am just happy to be out playing again this year.

Work has been an absolute mad house! The phones are ringing off the hook every day and I barely have the chance to keep up with any work (which is a good problem to have!). We are looking to hire on more employees and I have been doing interviews for weeks. Interviewing is normally one of my favorite parts of my job, but lately I just can't believe how many candidates I confirm interview appointments with and then they just don't even bother to show up! If I were looking for employment, I would never dream of confirming a time with a potential employer and then just not show up.

Lastly, we took Sadie to her first game at Target Field. It was a lot of fun. She got to meet Tony Oliva before the game and even got to run the bases down on the field afterwards. Definitely a day to remember.

So, that's about as good as it gets for a summary of all the main events for now.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, an overabundance of some photos  :)

Receiving her white belt

Hiiighyaa! 

First and only tulip of the season

<3

I love this picture of her

Mother's Day shot

Trying out the new panoramic feature on my iPhone

MS Walk

MS Walk

Snow covered Canal Park

Meeting Tony Oliva

Running the bases after the game

Until we meet again.