Thursday, June 30, 2011

Strawberry Pickin'

Today we visited the Straight River Farms.  We got to pick our own strawberries!  Yummy...and they smell so good.

Now I have to find some recipes that involve strawberries...send me some ideas if you have some :) 

Parker's new friend...Miss Ansley!
Chillin' in the fields.
Jennifer, Ansley, & Melissa
Ansley ate more than she picked!

Hard days work :)
Yum!

Monday, June 27, 2011

First Father's Day 2011

Father's Day for Patrick consisted of sleeping in late, playing with Parker in bed, and an afternoon of golf :)



Sure is hard to get a non-blurry picture of a moving baby :)

Cuteness

Just some recent pics of Parker...

The last two days he started sticking his tongue out and blowing bubbles!  He tries to copy Momma :)  And he loves chewing on ALL of his fingers at one time.










We love you little man :)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

First 2 Weeks in MN

Our first two weeks have been great so far.  The weather has ranged from 55 to 85 degrees and is pretty unpredictable.  I have learned not to look at the forecast because it is always wrong.  One minute is will be sunshiny and the next it will be pouring down rain.  It has rained lots!!!...almost everyday.  The locals say it is unusual for this time of year (wish I could send it to Texas). 

A good portion of the time has been spent unpacking...almost done though.  The other time we have spent exploring the little town...it's so cute.  It is about the size of Brenham...for you Texans...about 23,000ish.  It has all the necessities like a Target, Walmart, Lowes, and Kohls.  I have also found an outlet mall with a Gap and Old Navy...I'm set.  The town has so many beautiful parks!  In the summer time everyone is very active and loves to get outside as much as possible.  The are also very big garage sellers up here...got to love that.  On average there are about 50 sales a weekend.  They have a website that lists them all by area (N, S, E, or W) and you check off which ones you want to go to and it prints it out...so easy.  And they don't just have sales on Saturday from 8 - 12....some start on Thursday even and are all day!  The more I buy the more I have to pack back up in a year though...shucks!  They have a cute local theater and book store.  Their library is huge!  Wednesdays is half price at the Salvation Army :)  They have a great Farmer's Market every Saturday in the summer/fall.  We definitely hit this up our first Saturday there!

Garrett buying some cheese!
Our goodies we found :)

Beautiful hanging plants on every light post.
We have spent a lot of time outside bbq-ing.  Garrett cooked for us almost everyday they were here...yum!

Here are some pics from our Sunset dinner cruise on Lake Minnetonka in Minneapolis.  The homes along this lake were phenomenal.  Some of them were around 35 million...wow!




  
Long day on the lake :)




We went to the beautiful Cathedral of St. Paul Catholic church one Sunday in Minneapolis.


And we can't forget the famous Mall of America.  I can say that I have been, but not sure if I will ever go back...maybe if I turn 11 again soon.
 Northfield is a cute college town about 30 min from our town.  We did a little shopping there one morning.  They have a great riverwalk area and cutsie stores. 





And last but definitely not all...there version of a ski resort...



So much more, but my post is getting too long :)

Road Trip

We made it to Minnesota!!!  I hope you weren't holding your breath waiting for my post.  I'm obviously a couple days behind.  Now for a few details on the trip!

The Budget van finally made route Tuesday evening, two hours later than the expected departure time.  No big deal, however the truck was packed to the MAX.  Very small holes were still available, otherwise nothing else was going in.  Everything that we cared about made it except my Grandma's rocking chair :(  I'm still on the hunt for a temporary one up here.
Let me remind you that this was the largest truck they offer and let me remind you again that my car was getting hooked up behind it.  So the crew made it to north Dallas Tuesday evening and they settled in at a La Quinta (which is pet friendly, if you ever need to travel with your furry friends).  Everything was going smooth so far :)

Wednesday they woke bright and early and started making their way north.  They didn't have to worry about getting lost because it was 35 the whole way.  They arrived in Kansas City around dinner time, got checked in to another La Quinta, and headed to a good ol' bbq restaurant.  Apparently, several larger black women, no offense, work at this restaurant and yell "Hi, how may I help you?" with a southern accent when you walk in the door.  And when I type yell, I mean yell.  I will have to download the video of it so you can see for yourself.  They said the bbq was delicious though and afterward the guys headed to the casino to do what they do best...lose money :)   But they had fun in the making.

Sunday the guys left early with Sully and headed to Minnesota.  Mom and Kim stayed back to pick Parker and I up from the Kansas City airport.  We stayed at the Hebert's house T & W, so Sherry could bring us to the airport.  We got some good Grandma and Grandpa time in and Pops came to visit us one last time too...
Sherry/Grandma dropped us off Thursday at the airport and we attempted Parker's first plane flight.  It was a little hectic going through security, but once we made it to the gate all was good.  We got to board the plane first and a cute older woman sat next to us.  She was great...she didn't mind if I nursed Parker during the flight and she even helped me change his diaper in our seat so I wouldn't have to get up.  Parker was great the whole time...he didn't cry once...whew!  First flight was a success.  Once the plan landed, we jumped in the car with Mom and Kim and began the last 6 hours of the trip.

Meanwhile, in the Budget all was going smooth until they were about a mile from our house.  Patrick was beebooping along and they came across a railroad track bridge.  The kind made out of stone and apparently lower than most bridges.
  

Let's just say...thank the Lord Garrett was riding in that truck.  They were about 5 feet from the bridge when Garrett said, "You think we are going to make it under that?".  Patrick slammed on the breaks, Garrett got out of the truck and checked the roof and said there is no way we are making that.  Let me also mention that this is one of the busiest roads in Owatonna.  Patrick couldn't back up since my car was on the back, so they had to unhook my car, drive it to a parking lot nearby, push the car tow thingy to the parking lot as well, and finally back the truck up.  Meanwhile, traffic was held up for 20 minutes!  Those crazy Texans making an entrance :)  Luckily a cop drove past and helped direct traffic for them.  Had they not stopped, the truck would have got scalped and a good portion of our stuff would have got damaged.  Sooooo, FYI....be careful driving tall trucks under low bridges :)  

Everyone made it to the house safely and the house is nothing to brag about...just an older ranch style home.  But the backyard is great!  It has a great creek out back...the Minnesotans pronounce it "crick".  It sounds so peaceful...it's like having your own Homedics machine or Soundscapes :)  So far, so good!




Sunday, June 19, 2011

3 months old!


Visit with G-G

Just relaxing!

Again I am two weeks behind...

Parker,
You are growing so fast and time has flown by!  Things have been crazy this month with our move to Minnesota. 

Around 9 weeks you graduated to 3 month clothes, but only the slender ones.  You are long and lean! 

At 10 weeks your smiles are even bigger and you have started to coo and squeal lots. 

You attended your first Aggie graduation and you visited the A&M campus.  You went to your first bar on Northgate, The Corner Bar, and stayed out until 10 pm there...such a rebel.

At 12 weeks, you attended your first movie, Bridesmaids.  You kept quiet the whole movie, but Mommy was nervous the whole two hours.

Your first plane flight was on June 9th to Kansas City.  Again you were very good and didn't cry once. 

You went on your first boat ride June 11th on the Minnetonka Lake in Minneapolis.

You are truly a joy and Daddy and I could sit and stare at you for hours.  The way your eyes sparkle and your cute little smile make our heart melt.  You love to kick your legs everywhere!  You are still a Momma's boy, but you are starting to like Daddy a little more each day.  You still love being outside with a breeze blowing on you.  You still love your Bjorn and are starting to like your car seat a little more.  You are wearing size 1 diapers and are still in 3 month clothes.  

We can't wait to see how much you grow in the 4th month!  Love you more than you could imagine.

 You love bath time now :)
One last pic of your room before the move!

Bedding made by Nana with love...
Love Mommy