Only in Minnesota!!!!

What a crazy Summer and Fall weather patterns we have had this year! Who would have ever guessed that the last week of July the only way I would get in the lake to swim with the kids would be to put on a full body suit--IN JULY! And that only lasted a whopping 20 minutes if I was lucky. But Wil and I did have fun playing around on these 2 little water motors he uses for snorkeling...they propel you thru the water great! I have to say, it is always Wil that gets in the water, no matter the temperature. When we put the docks in back in May, the water temperature couldn't have been above 55, and he got in, in only his swim suit, while Den and I were out there in full water suits...and we were freezing! He didn't last horribly long though, I believe he had pulled himself out up onto the lift, laying there a little purple and quite cold. But, on that cold July day, he was right back out there, and the water was only in the 60's then!

So, that brings us to October.....I think we may be on record to be in the top 3 wettest Octobers in Minnesota history. We did get a little snowfall, and before this little snowman melted away to fast, I tried to get a picture of him....he looks a little "weak" but what's funny is, the red maple tree, the green grass, then the snowman. Things are just a little off this year!

Welcome Home Soldiers!!

Back in June, we had the honor of being invited to welcome home some soldiers coming home after serving for a year or more over in Iraq. This was an opportunity given to us thru the Boy scouts and Girl Scouts organization. Jacque was the only girl from her troop to go since it was during the week during school hours for the other girls....we had already gotten out of school for the summer.

Jacque and Ben made their posters and we headed to the St. Paul airport. The children lined the street where the buses drove thru before they unloaded at the hanger. It was a great opportunity for all to be involved with, and in honor of today being 9/11, not only is our family remembering all those involved with the events of that day, but the soldiers as well that have and continue to protect our freedoms............ Thank you.



Out side the hanger.....




On the airstrip behind the hanger.....



Here comes the police escort, buses are coming around the corner



Jacque and Ben in position :o) They created their own posters.....sitting at a McDonald's chowing down on fresh french fries....it was a good morning :o)


The families reuniting with their loved ones just after they were dismissed

Just outside the hanger....the picture doesn't do it justice, but this was really really cool to see, with the flag suspended so high in the air by the ladders of the firetrucks. There were about 50 men and women from a motorcycle group standing at attention with the American Flags thru out the entire ceremony.

Here's the backside of them, looking into the hanger

This is looking thru the fence before we could get to the hanger. The buses had already pulled up and you can see the American Flag hanging already from the firetrucks.

A special treat we didn't know we would get to see!

The end to a great afternoon! A day we will always be thankful we could be a part of.

A peek at a recent vacant staging.....

Well, back in July, my business partner and I worked on a home with a real estate agent we do a lot of work for. We have worked out a staging deal with him for vacant homes he has where we use his furniture, but our accessories. It's a win win for everyone.....he pays us our time and rents our accessories for only 30 days, he moves in his heavy furniture he owns--so his staging costs are a lot less......and every time we do this with him, he calls us to come get our stuff well before the 30 days is up. This particular property was under contract in 5 days, with 35 showings and 5 offers--over asking. Usually in these properties, there is quite a bit of work to be done prior to staging, so really these pictures don't capture what all went into it. But, we come in and help determine what definitely needs to be done based on budget....flooring, paint colors, cabinetry, hardware, light fixtures, etc. The final staging part can be a little "trying" since some of the furniture may be dated (i.e. basement furniture), a little ruff around the edges (i.e. kitchen table, not to mention it had no chairs!)...however, he did purchase a newer couch and chair for this property we were much pleased with. You can't understand the seriousness of that until you see the pictures of the living room furniture he had us use in the first property! We learned from that first property, that we can even make "crap" look good...well, that will have to be another posting!! But, even that property was under contract in less than 2 weeks...but it just goes to show, not everyone has "showy" furniture, it's all in how you arrange it and present it (or in this case, how many throws and pillows you can use to hide the flaws in the couch!!!! :o) ) Not all properties can be brand new rehabs or new model homes or the budget isn't there for a full out staging with all the brand new furniture. But, this property is another perfect example that Staging helps to sell properties of all values.......it's all in the merchandising! (and don't forget price too.....can't forget that.)

By the way, I'm still searching for my before pictures of the outside of the house and the living room.....those are just as dramatic, but you can't tell that now...so just enjoy the shots!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Girl Scout Camp memories

Well, what can I say, it's September 9 and I'm updating you on girl scout camp from June......it's been a busy summer, but yet I couldn't even begin to tell you what made it go by so fast either!!!

Jacque has been in girl scouts for 3 years now, with the same group of about 7 girls. This was their second year to go to camp, and my second year to go with them as a chaperon. Being the troop's cookie mom comes with it's privileges--I'm a registered Girl Scout myself, so I get to attend these events!

We went to camp over by Forest Lake, MN--only about 45 minutes from home. Our cabins this year were without all forms of electricity---and the toilet outside by us had a glow necklace hanging around it at night so you could find it. You can only imagine how much the girls looked forward to that!!! At the other end of the camp, however, there were some really nice shower houses with really nice, fully functioning toilets complete with all the lights you wanted.....we just had to hike to it :o) So, in the middle of the night, we were hiking....even though the glow in the dark toilet was only about 100 ft. from our cabins :o)

We had 2 cabins...attached with a deck and picnic table between them. So we were up on a platform basically. My one picture below may not show that very well. We were at camp for 3 days and 2 nights and the girls had a blast......especially after I showed up from a "sneak" trip to the local walmart in town for a battery operated lantern :o)

The girls got to pick out activities as a troop they wanted to do....canoeing, pottery, archery, swimming, and the last one I just can't think of, it is September, not June......the mind has a way of just forgetting things!

I stayed in the cabin with Jacque and 2 other girls, the 2 troop leaders and the other 4 girls stayed in the other cabin. We had a blast and are looking forward to next summer already!! We have our eyes on the Yurts (circular tent) for next year, one huge round tent on a platform with 6 bunk beds all around the edge--sleeps 12 girls/moms. Hey, now we won't have to take turns with my battery operated lantern at night! One for all, all for one!!!!




Jacque and her bunk mates, Maddie and MacKenzie

The troop!

The troop leaders and cookie mom :o)

Only in Minnesota do you go swimming with your stocking cap on, and it really doesn't bother you or anyone else!!

Before Jacque and her bunk mates board their canoe........

Off they go........................

Hard to tell, but they kept getting stuck in the weeds, and this is about the 4th time they were getting pulled out...................

Jacque and Mom in Pottery class

Our cabins, home sweet home......

The girls just hanging out inside one of the cabins

Jacque in Pottery Class.....she loves anything crafty

We had no idea how good Jacque would be at Archery, she loved it!!!!! Now she practices at home....at a target, not her brothers :o)

The troop and their leaders on the last night....heading out for S'mores in their PJ's!

The Cutest Cake Ever!!!

This summer, our neighbors had a niece visiting that lives in Canada, and the girls in the neighborhood really took a liking to her and played quite a bit with her while she was here for a few weeks. The day before she went back home, Jacque and another friend wanted to have a going away party for her.....and look what we found at our local Walmart bakery!!! Yum!!!! It was a hamburger made out of cake and frosting.....and it was as good as it looked! As soon as the boys came in, the cake was gone before the sun set!!!!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here Fishy Fishy

Den took a friend out on the Rum River the other night in his little river boat....they had some pretty good luck! These two walleye were quite a catch, unfortunately, since all our fileting knives are up at...you guessed it, THE CABIN!.....we really couldn't do much with them. Being the good man Den is, ahhhh-say it with me, Den let Todd take the fish home with him to enjoy. Hmmmm, I wonder what Den will get for Fathers Day this year???

Look Mom, No Training Wheels!!

So, little Ben, our creature of habit, who likes no change......well, he finally started riding his bike this spring, with training wheels of course. Dad always like to challenge him a little quicker than I do.....Wil would probably still be on training wheels if it were up to me LOL....anyway, after having a few weeks of enjoying the safety of riding his bike along with the training wheels, Den decided to "bend" the training wheels up, vertically I would say, but about 2" he would say. I was furious, kept my mouth shut and went inside. Last I saw, Den was hanging on to the bike, trying to talk Ben into going down the drive, and Ben was adamantly saying no. About 10 minutes later, Dad and Ben come in, Dad says there was no luck. I smirk, to myself. Then Ben comes up and asks me to come out, he wants to show me something. Sure, no problem. This time of year, Ben always has something to show you, be it a new rock, a worm, a bug, a turtle, something he built, who knows!! So, I go out, needless to say, I come back in to get my camera.....and this is what I saw.......

30 minutes later, the training wheels were removed, permanently. Ben's favorite thing to do is hot rod thru the yard and stand up on the pedals as he speeds down the hill, past our house, giving his mother a heart attack.--but with a helmet on.

I must say, I was very humbled, no more smirking to myself, and had to admit, Den was right. This time :o)

A Day at the Aquarium at Mall of America

One of the perks of the Mall of America is the Underwaters Adventure Aquarium. It is really neat to go thru, and you are in tunnels that go right thru the aquarium. So all the animals are swimming all around you, except below. This is all in the basement of the Mall. So, one day when the kids had no school, I signed them up to help feed the sharks! We went in for a tour, "Behind the Scenes" where they show you their lab, above all the tanks (which is where they feed the animals) and the kitchen, where they store and prepare all the food. This was really interesting, and they only take 4 people for the feedings. I snagged that opportunity up quick! No camera's were allowed down there, as it was the basement of the mall for security purposes, so the only pictures I can show below is from when we were finished and went thru the tunnels.

We were feeding the sharks mackerel and squid. They gave us long tongs, and we tapped the water to get the sharks attention to come eat, and when they would, we would hold the tongs down, and they would come up and snatch the food away--just 3 feet separating us from them. All 3 tried it, however, I did hang on to the tongs with Jacque and Ben just to make sure they didn't get tugged in!! As we were feeding them, this VERY large sting ray clinged to the wall below us, and kept lifting itself up and out ( so you could see him mouth underneath him) and would slide up to the open air a good 10 inches, trying to get the squid from us. So weird. They said that is how they feed the sting rays, and this one was still hungry!

So below are some pics of the kids as we finished up going thru the aquarium......

Typical teenage grin :o) Don't ya just love em' !

A sea turtle swimming by.....

It's a little freaky seeing a shark swim over you....

Some very large sting rays and sharks.....

OUCH!!!!!

Well, a few weeks ago, we were over at a friends house for dinner, and the kids took their scooters to play on. This is a fairly new neighborhood, so all the sidewalks are new, however, where the road meets the sidewalk, that has not been leveled out smooth. Point is, there is still about a 3/4-1" rise from the pavement to the sidewalk edge. Obviously, from this picture, Ben was unaware of that :o) He took a pretty good fall, head over the handle bars and ended with this skid mark. He wasn't very happy, unlike this picture, which was 1 week later. Wil did come to his rescue and brought him to us, and after that, Daddy worked a little magic on him and made him feel better. All is well now.........

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Cake, Cake and more Cake!

As I was putting up Ben's birthday post (below) I realized how much cake we had--3!!! For one little boy! His birthday was on a Saturday, and his party was going to be on Sunday. Well, of course we had a cake for the party, but I wanted him to have some cake ON his birthday, so we came up with a great plan of letting him make his own cake. So we baked one the night before, and had it all ready for him to decorate on Saturday afternoon.

There was one pitfall, Saturday morning from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Mommy and Jacque were to be at a Girl Scout Cookie booth, so more than likely, he would be in bed when I left. So, I got a "little" cake for him to wake up to and start his day out with for fun. Then while I was gone, he decorated his cake--chocolate cake with chocolate frosting along with some other colors and candies to adorn it with.

So, when I sit back and look over all the picture, he had 3 different cakes! And yes, 5 days later we are still working on them--although there isn't much left!

Cake #1--Good Morning Ben! It's an alligator! (2 cupcakes smothered in icing!--what can't you find at Wal-mart these days !)

Cake #2 Ben's creation--and it's yummy!--I'm working on a piece of it now as I'm writing this post.

Cake #3 Our cupcake Cake for the party. It had Kung Fu Panda on it--again, thank you Wal-mart Bakery!! Ben's friend Reese, sitting right in front of the cupcakes, well his expression says it all!

Happy 7th Birthday Ben!

So, Ben's now 7!!! I can't believe how fast the time flies by! We had one big gift for him this year, and actually didn't have enough wrapping paper to go around the box, so we opted to take it out of the box, have it already to play with and just cover it with a blanket. Well, Ben didn't take to that idea so well. He thought "something" was hiding under there and we were going to scare him. He told us later he thought it was a giant frog???? Boys!



So, as you can see, once he opened it, he was not afraid anymore. Oh, Dad actually had to open it for him, Ben wouldn't come near it--that is until he saw what it was! It's actually pretty neat, it is a trick/sport remote control that the boys can build jumps and tracks with it and race it. Thanks to daddy for finding that one!



So, this year, Ben wanted a bowling birthday party. Which was fine with me seems how his birthday crept up on me and I was so not ready for it! We took him and some friends over to Brunswick and went Cosmic Bowling. They turn off all the lights, and everything glows in the dark and laser lights everywhere. We had pizza and cake, it was a good time.



Here's the gang we spent our afternoon with--brother, sister, and some great neighborhood friends.



Our "birthday Hero"--a.k.a party helper, happened to be our neighbor, Travis. So, we had a good time with him. Weird thing is, when we moved here 8 years ago, Travis was about Ben's age--wow, I'm getting old!

Another pic of the group--don't you just love Jacque's photogenic qualities!

No birthday party is complete without a little game of limbo! Go Ben!

And that was the end of our fun day. Ben had a good time with friends, lots of pizza and cake to eat, and fun presents to bring home and play with. I don't know who was happier, Ben or Mommy-- who had no mess to clean up and a clean home to walk into, put her feet up, and rest! :o)