Another one of my favorite things.



THANKS TY!!! Ryan's brother got us this SWEET hammock for our wedding/christmas gift. Needless to say we are IN LOVE. We go out and lay on it almost every day ... and maybe I have taken a nap or two out on it myself in the afternoon sun.

Because sometimes it just feels good to drink from a fancy cup









Who doesn't love fresh fruit smoothies topped with Reddi Whip? Hello, amazing.

Just one of my favorite things

Mid-day runs. One of my favorite things right now is mid-day runs with my girlfriend Katie. She works from home as well, so we will frequently get together for a short 3 mile run somewhere in our neighborhoods, or, if we are feeling adventurous, we might head out to the chain of lakes! With this amazing-perfect-run weather we are having, and the melted lakes, it makes for a gorgeous run.

The Bandshell-- where they host concerts in the park EVERY DAY in the summer.


There's me! :)


View of the bandshell from the other side of the lake...


Oh wait, that was zoomed in. Here's the real view:


Shot of the City Skyline


Our running path. Yes, we have our OWN path. There is a separate path for the bicycles! In the summer this is all grown over...but for us its still spring. no leaves yet!


Poppies! I think?...

At our house, Milk is a must. Even the thought of not having a drop of milk in the fridge makes my cute husband shudder. He loves milk. He's even taken on my dad's phrase: "Gotta have Milk!" (if you know my dad ... you know its the WAY he says this that makes it so classic!).

Anyway, so its BIG time news in our house that we have lasted for 2 WHOLE DAYS with no milk!! I feel bad, like I am neglected my husbands needs just a little bit, but things have been THAT crazy that we have not been able to run to the store, even for MILK. No need to worry, we are headed out tonight to get our grocery needs taken care of, and I'm sure soon enough we'll be back to our normal state of 3 gallons in the fridge.

MACYS DOWNTOWN FLOWER SHOW

The MACYS downtown Minneapolis has an open 8th floor where they host all sorts of things -- like the "Day in a life of an Elf" that I talked about in December. In the spring, a local flower Goliath, named Bachmans, hosts an amazing flower show. We met up with my friend Mary and her cute family to admire the gorgeous flowers.

Here, go on tour of the Flower show with me--- these are just a few of the hundreds of flowers they had on display.

My friend Katie also went and took some sweet pics as well. If you want to see more, click here

Springtime in my yard.

I have come to be amazed by the things that are growing in my yard. Isn't spring such an inspirational time of year? Here, all these things have been buried under mountains of snow for 6 months, and yet, here I am finding rebirth.

Our Daffodils were the first things to bloom...


Next, our first tulips...


And soon enough our trees will have LEAVES-- Isn't it amazing?!




I also love love springtime because it means I can go for BIKE rides with my cute bike-riding husband!! Ryan gave me a bike for our wedding gift ... but since the weather turned cold so quick last fall, we just now got my new bike! Isn't she a beaut?? I am in love.



I am pleased to introduce you to Ariel...

Easter

I love love love Easter.

springtime.
flowers blooming.
resurrection of our Savior.
family dinner.
bunnies.
cadburry mini eggs.
Easter baskets.
angels.
grass.
rebirth.
Easter Alive pageants.

Who doesn't love Easter?

We had a fabulous first Easter in Minnesota. Since I love family dinners for Easter, and knew we wouldn't be hosting any family this year, we invited our "Minnesota Family" -- the other fun couples in the Minnetonka Ward to come over and share in the Easter Celebrations. We had a feast! And an Easter Egg hunt-- which actually got SUPER competitive among the boys. Good thing Tricia won, right? The Easter bunny even showed up to join in the fun with us. It was an Easter to remember, for sure.




Like my centerpieces?




Dessert was pretty great, too.


Ryan said he ordered this Easter bunny just for me.


The hunt.






So, this is the end of Ryan Robisons roll out -- I wish I had caught this on tape. Ryan was running away from Sam who was trying to steal his eggs and leaped over our fence in the backyard, and then rolled out and up. It was awesome.


Sam counting the eggs. He stored them in his pocket for safe keeping.


The whole gang.




Ryan and I also exchanged Easter baskets. Ryan got me the best basket ever -- a watering can! He also got me the most gorgeous purple Hydrangeas! I was super excited. We put LOVE notes for each other in our Easter eggs to make it a little more personal and special; a tradition I think we'll do every year from now on!






Join us next year for an Easter you won't forget!

Priorities

Owning a new home with a deck like ours, its imperative to have a BBQ. So naturally, the first thing we did when the weather started getting nice in Minnesota is look at BBQ grills (ok, let's be honest, Ryan has been looking at them for the last 6 months). We were elated when we finally found "the one". Yes, it was love at first sight, and it's performance for our inaugural grill was superb. I would be a little concerned that Ryan has formed too close of an attachment with his new toy, but I think its a good sign that he hasn't named it yet.

Please, come out to visit us--- dinner will be on us!

Proud Papa --- err I mean Owner.


Master Griller in Action


The Spread. I made mom's home-made potato salad.


Check out that burger. The works.


We love spring!

APRIL FOOLS ... NOT!

Seriously, with all the April Fools engagements, pregnancies, etc on Facebook, that's all everyone is doing all day-- "APRIL FOOLS!"

So, naturally, when I leave a voice mail for Ryan with the following message:

"Hey babe, its me. Um, I hit my knee on the desk and ended up passing out, falling down and hitting my head on file cabinet. Can you call me? Love you, bye."

His response was:
"Hey Ky, I got your message. At first I was totally worried, but then I realized, APRIL FOOLS, good one!!"

Too bad at that point I had to tell him:
"No really baby, I passed out and hit my head. Can you come check on me?"

The best part is that Ryan had been trying to come up with a good April Fools joke all morning --- and then was a little bummed that I beat him too it. Sorry, baby. This is for real.

Wondering what really happened?

I was on the phone with my mom, I had her on speaker phone, while I was at my desk. I went to lift my leg up onto my chair, and I bumped my knee on the desk. It hurt pretty bad, but I didn't think I had hit it that hard. I guess I did because I started feeling dizzy, and the next thing I knew I was face down on the ground. I woke up really disoriented-- I thought I was dreaming or something, then thought I had fallen asleep at my desk! Then I realized I was on the floor! I heard my mom calling my name--- she had heard the fall. I told her I passed and she informed me I needed to call someone. Which is when I called Ryan.

I'm still not sure why this all happened, but it did. I'm feeling ok today, but have been taking it easy. I am super sore-- I think I jarred my neck when my head hit the file cabinet. I have a goose-egg bump on my forehead and I'm hoping it won't bruise too bad.

Anyone know a good physical therapist in Minnesota? Or Chiropractor? ...