Hail!

We went over to Lynn's house for Alex's family birthday party. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were sitting on the deck sipping drinks when the tornado siren sounded. After catching the news, we saw that a storm was coming. Less than 10 minutes later, hail rained down in buckets. We stood on the deck under the awning, watching in disbelief. The noise of the hail and the ferocity was incredible. I've never seen such a sight in my life. Here are the pictures:















Here comes the sun! This is the sky right after the storm.

Ten

Happy 10th Birthday Alex! Ten years ago today, I met my amazing son face to face for the first time. He was a sick little guy when he was born and Rob and I didn't know if he'd survive. He was a fighter from the beginning, and against the odds, Alex grew and thrived. Here's the first picture ever taken of Alex:

And here is Alex ten years later:

I love you to the moon and back sweet boy! Happy birthday.

Pump It Up!

We had Alex's kid birthday party last night at PUMP IT UP!, an inflatible wonderland. Alex said that it was his best birthday ever. The kids jumped and slid and jumped some more. Many a grown up participated in the fun as well. I made a Darth Vadar cake this year. It was a 3D bust of good old Darth, and it measured a foot high. Getting it to the party intact during rush hour traffic was my biggest accomplishment of the evening.

Memorial Day

We had a cold Memorial Day in Minnesota. The temperature hovered around 55 degrees all afternoon. Despite the weather, we had a party in the back yard. Our only regret was the choice of dessert- ice cream sandwiches- purchased earlier in the week, prior to the onset of the frigid weather. We also headed to the new Indiana Jones movie earlier in the afternoon. Indyriffic!

City Garden

After visiting Jenny's farm and working for a morning in her gardens, I think our little flower garden in the city is a bit, well, orderly. But truthfully, that's just how I like it - everything in its place. Our little statue friend was named Franklin by Gracie. He peeks out from behind his hands when nobody's looking to watch over all of our flowers. I love my little city garden.

Last Day of Nursery School

She's all grown up! Gracie attended her last day of nursery school today. She will be a kindergartener in the fall. After a little gathering at Grace Neighborhood Nursery School, we went to the choo choo train park for some fun! Gracie loved the zip swing and rode it many times.

Words of Wizbum (Let it Be)

After watching the Beatles Song inspired movie Across the Universe, Gracie sang Let it Be non-stop....Words of Wizbum

Chicks and Eyeballs

Gracie's class has been raising baby chicks at school. Today is Gracie's turn to bring three home for a sleep over. They are the tiniest fuzzy little yellow things. I was in Albuquerque for the weekend attending Miky's graduation. While there, I had the pleasure of holding several chicks from Chris and Jen's farm. Scotty and Eliza were excellent chick holding tutors, so I felt like an old pro with our little charges.

At the airport in Albuquerque, I picked up a trinket to bring home for Alex and Gracie. I didn't have much time before my flight and kind of panicked in the gift shop. Then, I spotted the stick-on eyeballs. What kid wouldn't want some sticky eyeballs as a souviner of their mom's trip to the southwest? We had great fun with them this afternoon.

Chicks and eyeballs - ingredients for quality family time.