A quick hello

I know it has been a long time since I posted. 

I just wanted to quickly check in to let you know we are alive

We went over to the Horner's the other night for a BBQ

Mike got to make then his amazing steaks!!!

Mike also took this shot of Huddy

I love it.

See you again soon...I hope

Finders keepers...losers weepers?

Ahhhh...the job of laundry
When I was a kid my dad always told us whatever we found in his pockets we could keep if we did the laundry..
More often than not this was just a handful of coins(mostly pennies)
Once in a great while you would get lucky and come across a wadded up paper bill, but this was not the norm by any means.
Still, it gave some hope of striking it rich during an otherwise mundane hated chore.
Fast forward 20+ years later and the job may be the same but the treasures that I find sure have changed.
After washing a load of Matt's pants I heard a clanking sound coming from inside the wash tub.
Here is my bounty!!!
A sample spoon from the new ice cream shop(I wonder if he kept this as a souvenir from the experience)
A Chucky Cheese Token(we all know why this is valuable to a 9 year old)
A rust colored rock that looks like melted glass...a favorite I am sure
and a tiny white rock that looks more like a tooth....hmmm
I guess I am still not going to strike it rich doing laundry...unless I am 9 then I bet this would have been a good score.

one of my favorite pictures ever...

Matthew had a field trip to the Historical Society Friday. It was a blast. I took this picture of Hannie in the old school house. It makes me happy! Do you want to see more pictures from the day?? Just check out his class blog right here

ahhhhhh summer!

 Hey Minnesota...

What's the deal?

A month ago it was below zero

A week ago it was in the 30s 

Today it was almost 90????

I think you have to live here to get how weird the weather is. I think we have 2 seasons Winter and Summer...

Summer is fantastic!

Winter...not so much.

 So what do you do on the first really nice day of the year?

You take your best friend fishing..thank goodness she likes to fish!

 She even borrowed Matt's shoes:-) 

 Let me interrupt this fishing story for a poem Hannah told me yesterday...

Some people are nice..

Some people are critics...

But no one will ever compare to Monica Willits

She totally caught me at the right moment too, because I cried.

 We only had about 30 minutes to fish so it was good thing they were practically jumping out of the pond at them.

 Hannah may like to fish and have a best friend that is a boy but she still does not like to touch worms or get fish off her hook! I had no problem doing this for her.

 Matt lost his fishing spot when he stopped to put a new worm on 

 Hannah caught the fish that had been stealing his worm in that spot...

 They were so darn cute! I felt like I was in the movie "My Girl" 

 When we returned back home we found the rest of the clan running though the sprinkler!!! What? Running though the sprinkler at 7:30 at night on May 10th in Minnesota??Are you kidding???

 Matt and Hannie jumped right in...and then the sun set over them as they tasted the first hint of summer

 And the sunset??? It was amazing!

Even Gigi and Lightning were impressed. 

In case I have not mentioned them before... These two have been overlooking the Cutcheon's yard since the first birthday that I knew Hannah and Carter. I made these for them as a birthday gift.

They have been well loved.

They have been asking for a  new animal to overlook them since then but I can't figure out what to make.

A new spin on our Mother's Day tradition...

Eight years ago on Mother's day Mike and I bought our very first lawn mower. We had finally moved from a condo with no lawn to our first house. We actually call it our "happy house" as life was amazingly simple and Matthew was incredibly little.

Funny thing was that I said I could not mow the lawn because I could not pull start a lawn mower. My darling husband got wise and bought a lawn mower with a key start system. It broke shortly after but by then I had actually started loving mowing the lawn. I also learned that pull starting was pretty easy.

Fast forward to present day...

Our lawn mower has suffered to much abuse after 8 years and two moves and it was time for a new one.

 Matthew was so excited to be a part of the picking out of the new mower...as he had big dreams of being able to mow the lawn

 Lucky for him this new mower had a few features that makes it possible for him to mow..

Like big back wheels for easy navigation.. 4 different gears for slower speeds...

And a one latch system for changing the height of the blade..

All things that Matthew was excited about as the man at Lowes told us why this mower would be a great fit for us.

 Matthew did pretty amazing for his first time mowing...

Mike gave him some great advice that he had picked up from Grandpa Clair years ago...

It just sees that I may have a yard crew hired for the summer! I think Matthew and Hannah might make a pretty good team.

Don't worry he won't be all alone yet. He is still to small to pull start the mower...and I am still a worrier of a mom.

I don't think it will be long though before this is his job. 

Thanks for being my mom

I say it all the time that I am very blessed to have the women in my life that have stepped in to be mothers to me. It would be a very long list. More than being grateful to have them I am grateful to know the purpose of them and see the gift they give me. At the top of this list is my Mother in law, Cheryl.
I love so much about her. She is one of the most giving people I know. She would give you anything she had if you needed it more than her. She won a 50/50 raffle once at a benefit and turned around and handed it back to the people without even thinking about it. It was over $300.00.
She is also the most easy going person I have ever met. It is such a gift to be around her(and my FIL) at any holiday. They make it so relaxing and enjoyable. She is also one of the most beautiful women I have ever known, inside and out. I love that she is so confident in who she is. I really admire that about her.
I love you Cheryl Lee! I hope you have a great Mother's day. I am blessed to have you in my life. You are a great mother, mil, and grandmother.
FYI: Mike took this picture of her on his recent trip to Montana.

Dear Mom,

Thank you so much for being my mom.  You were always there for me whether it was to scare away the boogie man or just to make me laugh.  You have always made me feel as though I can accomplish anything that I want.  Thinking of all the fun times we had skiing, canoeing, hiking, family vacations or dad and I trying to leave you behind at the gas station, these thoughts still make me smile and glad that you are mother.  You have now become a wonderful grandma and we are all looking forward to living closer to you so that we can see you more often.
Love Mike

Dear Grandma,
Thank you for all the things you mail me. I love getting mail from you. I love how silly you are when we face chat. You always can take a joke. You are a great grandma!!!
Love Matt

Dear Shana...

I can't believe you can't make Antelope Camp...

I guess the guys say that the only excuse is birth or death..

The girls can say the only excuse is a better offer...

You for sure have a better offer...

Thanks for today:-)

Loved hanging with you so much...

Hope I don't have to wait until the other side of Madrid to see you..

~Mon

Dear Jenny...

I am sure some day soon I will have sadder, and sappier words to write to you. 

However, this note is short and sweet.

You see I saw some words that made me think of you and I just want you to know.

It seems as of late I am really drawn to words..

            My dear friend, I take shelter in our conversations...

that is all I wanted to say.

Thank you for giving me that shelter...

Easter

 Easter was...

quick? 

to quick?

blinked away

 Charlie agrees!

 We dyed eggs when Mike got home

 We were going to have a little competition on here on who had the better egg...However, the best one got magically smashed!...Yes, that amazing one in the middle! I won't name names but his initials were MIKE WILLITS!!!

 Matthew borrowed my camera and took this picture of Portis. I think he did an amazing job.

 One great thing about Easter morning and being an only child is no competition during the egg hunt.

 We also went on a bike ride through the Minnesota country side..I wish I could have got a cow in the background. 

 We took a quick trip up to Como Zoo on monday. I was thinking that since Matt's school was one of the few that had the day off for Easter we would have the whole place to ourselves...

I guess I did not count on all the people getting out on our first nice day in weeks.

It was packed..jam packed!

It was really nice to see flowers thought! 

 I love this room!

 Matthew loves the big goldfish

This Polar Bear was loving the nice day too. 

Happy belated Easter:-)