A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Sorry for the delay in updates. It gets very hard to sit down in front of the computer to do a post when it is so beautiful outside and it stays light out so late now. We have such a short window of wonderful weather here in MN that I feel like I have to capitalize on the opportunity to enjoy every minute of it when a nice day comes along. I don't think I even turned our home computer on in 5 whole days! So I guess I have some updating to do!!!
Although I wasn't utilizing my computer last weekend, I was surely using my other favorite device...my camera! As an added bonus, I had two entertaining, cooperative children too!
These are some of my favorite pictures thus far of my little Tootie... I just love, love, love that I can put ponies in her hair and that she leaves them in! I just tell her over and over how pretty she is and she leaves them alone! And the colors on her shirt are so fun with the green background of the yard and flower garden.She was really getting in to the posing as you can see!

And then out comes the tongue. Not sure what that is all about. I know it comes out when she is being shy and doesn't have her Nukie to suck on. Maybe she's just a crazy little monkey!
Yep, that must be it, because here she is after I told her to dance like her Daddy!!My little tongue bearing, finger pointing, dancing queen! If you think that is funny than you should see what her dad looks like when he busts out his "moves"!!!While Tootie and I were having a fun photo shoot in the garden, Mr. Man thought it was a perfect opportunity to throw on his swim suit and run through the sprinkler! Oh, and notice this crazy cat just HAD to wear his "water boots.You know, since he was running through water and all! Also notice the expression on his face. Doesn't it look like he is being tortured having a blast! Doesn't this just make you want to be a kid again? I was tempted, but then the visual of my neighbors John and Mary trying to eat lunch while watching my bikini clad mom body trotting across the yard, made me think otherwise!We'll leave the sprinkler runnin', booty shakin' to this little character! It is another beautiful day so I am trying to decide what the kids and I should do today. Stay at home and play outside? Little Falls Zoo? Go to the park? Visit some friends? Arrrgh! Decisions, decisions!

Happy Memorial Weekend everyone!
And a beautiful weekend it is supposed to be. Woohoo! We really don't have all to much planned except for on Monday we have some friends over to remember one of Duke's close friends, Kevin, who passed away 13 years ago on Memorial weekend as a result of a motorcycle accident. I didn't know Duke "back then" so I have to go by the age of our older dog who was born the same year as the accident and was named after Kevin. His name is "Kevy"...I know strange name for a dog. Here is a picture of the old guy.

Yesterday, we had the retaining wall put in around the concrete patio we had built last fall. It is looking pretty cool! I have to run to town and buy some more black dirt and some flowers and...voila! We will have a finished product. Okay, not quite "finished." We do not have a patio set to put on it yet, but that is small potatoes. I will take pictures and share soon, I promise. I have also been enjoying the spring by working in the yard, planting my flowers and just general "yard maintenance". Have I ever told you that my favorite season is SPRING???? Well, if not...now you know!

The kids are absolutely loving the nice weather we have been having. Poor Tootie just can't figure out why she doesn't have to wear a jacket or sweater outside anymore. Yesterday I picked them up from daycare and she insisted that she put her sweater on to go outside. It was over 80 degrees! I tried to take it off her because I was hot in a 3/4 length shirt but NO WAY was I getting that off of her. Funny girl.

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids enjoying some outside time. These were taken the day of the "Nose Picking" incident.

Check out this adorable scruffy little guy! I am thinkin' a haircut is in store for this weekend also! I think that is the longest his hair has ever been. His Daddy thinks we should give him a "hiney" but I kind of like it a little longer on top. We'll see. Since I give him his hair cuts, he may end up with a "hiney" anyway!

I better hop to it and get in the shower. Lotsa weekend to enjoy! May you all do the same :)

25 Random Things About You

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Everyone knows what Face Book is, right? Well, for those of you who are not on FB, one of the really fun things on there is to write a "note" about yourself. The note that I have had the most fun with is "25 Random Things About You." I had the idea today to share my 25 Random Things About Me with all of you and have created a Blog Carnival for you to join in if you would like. I would love to read about all of your randomness so I don't feel completely nutzo, wacko, crazy, looney, coo-coo...you get the picture. You'll know what I mean after you read this:

1. I hate watermelon
2. I can never buy the 1st thing of a particular item that I pick up off the shelf. I always put it back and grab the one behind it...unless it is the last one and a good deal of course!
3. Even at 31 I am still able to stick both feet behind my head...I know, TOO MUCH INFORMATION!
4. I love Mexican food...Chipotle is my fav!
5. The summer after 5th grade I bought a pony named Tony...my dad paid halfsies so I guess that gave him the right to sell him at the end of the summer!
6. I am ALWAYS at least 10 minutes late for everything so it is best to tell me to be there a half hour earlier than necessary so I am sure to show up on time!
7. I have been dying my hair for over 14 years...not really sure what my natural color is...I'm guessing somewhere around "mousy brown"
8. I love gossip magazines and Entertainment Tonight.
9. Every time I type definitely, I spell it incorrectly (definately)...Thank god for spell check!
10. I am a "Lifetime Member" at Weight Watchers...lost 27 lbs after having Grant but still have 6 lbs to go before I get to that since Audrey.
11. I have had glasses since 7th grade. I wear contacts most of the time and want Lasik so bad.
12. Someday I would love to tour St. Jude.
13. I have an obsession of taking pictures of my kids. Thank goodness for digital!
14. I am a coupon clipper and a clearance shopper...anything for a good deal and I'm not too proud to admit it!
15. I always feel indebted to people if the do something nice for me. I'd give away everything if I could afford to.
16. I drove a demolition derby car at the Benton County Fair about 10 years ago!

17. My fav shows are: The Bachelor, Greys Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, The Practice, Biggest Loser, Brothers and Sisters, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and SVU (not that I have time to watch them all)....but Friends will always be #1
18. My biggest fear is CANCER. I HATE that word and don't ever want to see ANYONE have to suffer because of it.
19. I drive a mini van, said I never would but here I am...it's a Chrysler T&C so at least it is a top of the line mini van!
20. I hate dusting with a passion.
21. I've broken my nose twice.
22. Back in the day I used to party like a rockstar...not so much since having kids. The parties I go to now involve cake, ice cream, pinatas and lots of kids runing around like wild banchees...not too far off from the bar scene I guess!

23. I used to love to ride motorcycle...but since becoming a mom, the luster has faded. Too scared of not seeing my children grow up.
24. When I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian. Now my dream is to do photography on the side and be a stay at home mom. I can keep dreaming, right????
25. If you haven't figured it out already I have two children and they are my EVERYTHING!

Okay, there it is folks! Now it is your turn!!

I am using Mr. Linky (as does I ♥ Faces on their weekly photo contests and the ever famous MckMama uses on her "Not Me" Mondays)

I am guessing that I better explain how Mr. Linky works for those of you not familiar with it. And don't be scared. It is really easy once you get the hang of it.

Okay...so here's the skinny! First and foremost, you need to write a post with 25 random things about yourself on your blog. Once it's posted, open up that specific post by clicking on the name of that particular post in your blog. The address in the top of your internet browser should look something like this: http://tootie-fruity.blogspot.com/2009/05/25-random-things-about-you.html Now open up my "25 Random Things About You" post in another tab in your browser or in another browser if you don't do tab's.
In the first box that says "Your Name" you can put either your name or your blog name but keep it short (like less than 15 characters). Then in the next box that says "Your URL" copy the address that we got in the paragraph above (the address that brings you directly to you "25 Random Things About You" post) and paste it in the box. Then click "Enter". Shazam! You will have just added your post and Mr. Linky will allow anyone who comes to my blog the ability to click on the link you just created to your 25 Random Things About You post.

Easy peasy, huh? Now I want to see some of you "lurkers" come out of the shadows and join in. I know there are people who are checking in because I can't possibly have checked my blog 2500+ times. Have I ever said Thank you for stopping by? If not, here goes..."Thanks so much for stopping by!"

Pick Your Favorite Face - I ♥ Faces Week 19 "Blurb Book Photo Contest"

This weeks contest over at I ♥ Faces is Pick Your Favorite Face Photo and the winning photos will be featured in a Blurb Photo Book! How cool would that be? Pretty stinkin' cool if you ask me!

So, now the question is..."How on Earth will I ever pick my favorite face photo?"

Welllll.....as it turns out, I didn't have to do any picking after all.

Tootie did all of the picking for me!

Make sure to head on over to I ♥ Faces and check out all of the other fantastic faces!

"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

Made it into another collage!

Yippee! Another picture of mine made it into I ♥ Faces photo collage!

I am tellin' ya, I am DETERMINED to win one of these photo challenges! You don't win anything excep bragging rights but I am perfectly happy with that. I am just on a mission.

I ♥ Faces Week 18 - Laughter

Laughter. Isn't is one of the MOST beautiful things? Well, I surely think it is and that is why I was so excited when I saw that this week's I ♥ Faces photo challenge is...yep, you guessed it! LAUGHTER :)
Adult Entry:
Some of you may recognize this picture from the Lego Land post. Just a little editing, change it to black & white and voila! There you have it. The picture is of my beautiful Aunt Kala enjoying a fun-filled day with her son. Can't you just feel the love?

Kids Entry:
This is my little Tootie (aka Audrey) when she was almost 11 mos old. I fell in ♥ with this picture the minute I saw it. How could you not with that huge 4 tooth grin and cheek dimples?


Make sure to head on over to I ♥ Faces by clicking on the link below and check out all of the other beautiful laughing faces!

Leggo My Eggo

My little Beep Bop isn't feeling too hot today. Actually she is hot, she's just not feeling well. She has had a fever off and on (only off because of Tylenol) since yesterday afternoon. She slept in until 9:30 am this morning and was miserable when she woke up burning up with a booger crusted face. Poor baby. She's back down for a nap now so I thought I would share a few pictures I took of her about 2 weeks ago. I bought a new lens for my camera...a Canon 50mm prime lens. There is no zoom at all on the lens so if you want to zoom you have to "zoom" your whole body. You may be wondering why the heck I would buy another lens and lens that doesn't zoom for that matter. The answer is simple. It takes awesome pictures in natural light! I am still learning a lot about how it works, but I'm loving it for indoor shots! This entire montage was taken the first day with the new lens and it goes a little somethin' like this...
Tootie decided she wanted to try the Cadbury Egg that the Easter Bunny brought her so I bibbed her up and let her go nuts!

Mmm Mmm!

Tasty!

Look, there's a bird!

Say cheeeeeez chocolate.

Uh-oh! I'm makin' a mess.

Hey, it's actually kinda liberating.

Who do you think you are?

Don't mess with my egg-o...

...or I'll be forced to give you one of these!

Hope you're having a great day. I know I am enjoying my time with the kiddos...sick or well...I love spending the day with them.

Toodle-oo!

Lego Land!

Have you ever been here???

This was Grant's second trip to the Mall Of America (MOA) and this time he had a BLAST! We went down with my aunt Kala, and her three kids. The older girls took off shopping and the boys had a day of Lego building, rides in Nickelodeon World, treats galore and a special prize from the Harley store.

As soon as we arrived we ran into Sharky from Underwater World.

When the boys were 2 (by the way, they are only 2 weeks apart in age) we brought them down to Underwater World. Although they don't remember it, they sure warmed up to Sharky much more quickly this time around!

As soon as we finished eating (and we were barely able to do that because Grant was begging tirelessly) we headed straight down to Lego Land! In case you didn't get a good enough view from the first picture, here is one more for good measure.

Can you believe this dirt bike and it's rider are built strictly out of Lego's???? Blows my mind. Oh, and when we first arrived, Grant thought we were going to be able to build these. Dream on little man! Your Mama isn't that talented or patient!

We scaled things back a bit and convinced the boys to build robots. Good choice. Easy for the Mommies :)

Grant lost interest in the robot quickly so we created a car that he could race on the track.

Check out this creation! This Mama is pretty creative with her Lego-mobile building, don't-ch think?!?

And let the racing begin.

Can you tell that Grant was totally in his element here?

He was all about racing his Lego-mobile.

And he kept bragging that his was so awesome because it never broke when it crashed into the wall at the end of the track. Guess what happened next? Yep, crashola! That is okay

That is okay since it was "Mommy to the rescue!" After it was all rebuilt, it was off to more racing!

Even us big kids were having fun. I just love the pure happiness captured in this picture. Doesn't a smile like that just warm your heart? It does mine!

After building our little fingers to the bone it was off crash some bumper cars!

The boys were waiting so patiently. But once it got going, poor Grant kept looking at me to tell him which way he had to turn to get unstuck so there wasn't much crashing after all. I think we are going to have to have a little Demo Derby 101 lesson from the Queen of Derby herself. Yep, "back in the day" I drove a demolition derby car at the county fair! Little known fact about little ole moua! So, I digress...back to the fun!

The boys really got a kick out of this semi-truck ride. It was more like a mini semi-roller coaster. The funniest part about it was on the first ride when Grant was "driving" the first truck, he really thought he was pulling everyone!

There is my little lead driver tootin' his own horn!

Evan was back a few cars and was intently making sure he stayed on track...or he was just having fun pressing his face up against the glass. Not too sure about that one but either way he was having a blast!

On the second ride the boys took the back truck and decided to ride together. Wanna know the funny part about this one? Well, you are going to hear it anyway. Grant thought he was pushing everyone while he was driving the back truck! I'm tellin' ya. I do not know how that ride moved if he wasn't in one of the drivers seats! He he!

On the way out, and while we were waiting for the girls to arrive from their shopping spree, we hit the Harley shop. The boys were even offered to sit on the bike! You don't hear that very often so they jumped at the chance!

Grant really thought he was something up there on that big bike!

Here he is stylin' and profilin"!

Don't they both look at home on there?

I just love that the boys get to grow up together and that we live close enough to be able to let them spend so much time together.

I think this one is funny because it looks like Grant is leaning down and starting up the bike!

And this picture just makes my heart smile. I love to spend special days like this with my special boy.

Oh, and I didn't tell you about his purchase at the Harley shop, did I? Well...he just fell in LOVE with a little stuffed animal puppy-in-a-purse. It was a denim Harley purse, but a purse with a little puppy in it none the less. I figured his dad would think it was sissy but how could I say no to him lovin' that little puppy so much. By the way, he named it Lightning. That makes it tough, doesn't it?!?