Munsinger Clemens Gardens

I moved to the St. Cloud area nearly 14 years ago to attend college at St. Cloud State University. The very university that is located directly across the Mississippi River from the beautiful Munsinger Clemens Gardens.

And can you believe that it has taken me nearly 14 years to take the time to actually walk through these gorgeous gardens?
My ulterior motive was to get some frame-able pictures of this little rug-rat...
As well as this little pip squeak...
I'm not completely happy with the pictures that I ended up getting of the kids but I did get a TON of awesome flower pictures.
Another reason I wanted to scope out the gardens is because this is also where I did the photo shoot of these adorable little girls.
My kiddos did enjoy exploring the gardens even though it was nap time and they were a bit grumpy.
They were also surprisingly patient while I snapped picture after picture of all of this brightly colored bliss!
ClematisDuring our exploration, Grant was all about the fountains. I would even go as far as to say he was a bit enamored with them.
Mostly because he was having fun throwing all of my change into them. He even found a lucky penny that he got to make a wish upon and toss into the water.I did NOT get even ONE good picture of the kids together! Either they wouldn't stand or sit by each other or they were making cheesy faces or the sun was too bright and they were squinting (some pics even had all of these things going on!)This one is not bad but Grandma and Grandpa need one that is up an down....argggggggggggg!This here is little Mae Mae's newest 'pose'. Nice, huh?!
We did spot this pretty fella in the tree above us. I think it is a peregrine falcon but not completely sure.
Russian SageOne of the sections of the gardens is the 'White Garden' I am usually one who LOVES color but there was something timeless and classy about this all white flower garden.
Hydrangea
I am also a huge Hollyhock fan...And I L-O-V-E me some lilies!
ClematisI spy...
...a Monarch butterfly!Goodbye!

i heart faces - 'Surprise!'

What do you get when you are in the car, on the way to a grad party, you have to stop off at the gas station so Daddy can pick something up, Mom is in the front (passengers) seat with her camera, everyone is getting bored waiting so Mom whips out the camera and says,
"Show me your happy face."
"Show me your sad face."
"Show me your grumpy face."
"Show me your silly face."
"Now show me your surprised face."?If you couldn't tell, this week's photo challenge theme over at i heart faces is 'Surprise!" I can't wait to see what everyone has in store this week. Make sure to head on over to www.iheartfaces.com to check out all of the other surprising entries!!!!

Demo Derby - Glory Days

Tonight is one of the nights I look forward to every year...going to the Demolition Derby at the fair. One of the reasons being because it has been an annual event for our family but the other reason being because I actually got to participate in it about 11 years ago (isn't it terrible that I can't remember exactly which year!?)Back before I even knew Duke and while still going to college, I worked at a little bar & restaurant called the Riverboat Depot. A few of the friends that I met while working there ran Demo cars and when I mentioned that I thought it would be fun to do it some day, they took me seriously and offered to help me build a car.
Thinking back, it is even a surprise to me that I actually went through with it. I NEVER would have been able to do it without their help though. There is A LOT of work that goes into building a Demo car and there isn't much reward other than the adrenaline rush you get from smashing it up!
The guys thought it would be funny to put their nick-name for me on top of my car when I wasn't looking. Very funny!!!
And the bumper said 'Freeze This' because there was a fellow bartender that said I would 'freeze up and never actually go through with it.' Well, I was determined to show her!
And that is just what I did! I was in the heat with the mid-sized cars to start off but I ended up getting stuck up on the railroad ties and couldn't get unstuck so I didn't get to smash the car up too much.
But I was able to get into the consolation round (anyone that could get their car running was able to get in and try for a chance at the feature).
I ended up winning the consolation heat and I made it into the Feature...against the 'big dogs' aka all of the veterans that stick a lot of money into their cars and actually know what they are doing. I can't recall who actually took these pictures but that was my car right in the middle of that smoke.
I lost reverse and my car started on fire (like big flames that took the fire truck to put out, not just the fire extinguisher) but I ended up getting 3rd place overall and boy was it FUN! 1000 times more fun than the bumper cars :) I get excited just thinking about it.
The next morning we went back to the fairgrounds to pick up what was left of my car.
Isn't that just CRAZY!
This is one of those things that never even had the chance to make it on to my Bucket List and was more fun and exciting than I ever could have imagined.
It does seem a little surreal looking back, especially now that I am a mini van driving mother of two. And the whole thing is a little a lot redneck but absolutely no regrets! Can't wait for tonight. Just hope the weather holds out.
The END!