Amazing Race 2011

As promised . . . an update from this weekend:

The dueling pianos were at the Bullpen in Lake Norden Friday night.  We went with Sister1 and Donna and Damian (Donna is my new business partner - - remember?  Remember?  Shop Opening up on May 21?!) for dinner.  I also had some of my high school friends show up which was an added bonus.   The Piano Duelers were not the most talented that I have heard but nonetheless, I was thoroughly entertained and thought it was a great time.  And since, I may never get around to actually doing a segment of "small town restaurant reviews" - - here is my short review of the Bullpen:   I like it.  Thumbs up.  The food was great.  The waiter was fun and attentive.  He even called me "killer".  Boyd is still convinced he was referring to the steak but I think we all know it was directed at me with a wink.  ;)

I have no idea what was so funny.  Is it Boyd?  Or is it my large forehead vein?  

Now on to the Amazing Race.

It was a great time.  The weather was great, the company was fun and the competition was intense.

There was knockout, hula hooping, leap frog, sprints, sharpshooting, etc. There was laughter, bantering and even vomiting.  (the vomiting was not because of the food, or the flu  . . . . it was strictly too much heart going into an event)  I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking.

Leapfrog race.

Another view of the Leapfrog

AND more leapfrog

The Sprint.  Mandy and Ryan Dede are obviously not competitive.

Timed Section of putting together the bolts and washers.  I THOUGHT I was rocking this event until we counted at the end and I scored 5th out of 6 teams.

The adult knock-out game.  Kate gave it her all.  I think she got 3rd.

Shannon got 2nd place.  She lamented - "I can't believe I lost to Boyd!"

The beanbag toss.  We make even the 5 yr. old girls  feel the pressure.

Boyd and Graham were able to perfect their wheelbarrow race from last year.   Here is how this one works:  a small child gets into the wheelbarrow and the chosen adult operates the wheelbarrow out to a pile of junk (and yes, we have piles up junk . . it comes in handy during these types of circumstances) where the child jumps out of the wheelbarrow (or is dumped out) and he or she runs up to the top of the pile and grabs a brick that has their team number taped onto it.  They then race back to the start line.  This is actually more difficult than it sounds and has considerable strategy worked into it.  Boyd and G won.  They were incredibly proud.

 Colleen and Brooklyn

Chad was on my team.  We nominated him for this event. Its by far the most grueling.

Boyd and G took this race very seriously. 

This picture makes me smile.  

The first place winners of the wheelbarrow race.

hula hoop competition.

Dustin was on my team.  We did not score any points on this event.

Paintball sharpshooting

Wesley teaching Brooklyn how to aim.  Boyd's probably whispering "miss it!" 

G's turn.  Chad, Dad AND Boyd are helping out.   It looks like G's got it figured out.

The football toss.  

The birthday cakes.  Sister1 takes great pride in her cake.  

O doesn't look too thrilled to be the center of attention.

Oh my . . . I think he is embarrassed.  I make the same expression when I'm feeling shy.

Did he just fall asleep?

G was more than happy to be sung to and promptly blew out his candles.

All-in-all it was a great weekend.  Ry was missed as always.  He would have thought it was great and been the boys' biggest fan.

Easter Sunday was finally somewhat warm.  Boyd couldn't take it any longer and got the motorcycle out.

This week, I will be busy getting shoppe stuff ready for the Expo (Saturday).  I just got an adorable shipment of handmade items from my friend Kelly in Mpls.  It made me even more excited for the Grand Opening.  Now, if only Boyd could finish the floor so we can paint it and then start arranging.  Employment can be such a pain.  :)

Until next time . . . .

2011 Fashion-Accessory-Must: Helmets

G and O had birthdays this week.  I am always unsure of what to get them but after spending considerable time with them the past 2 months, it was easy.  HELMETS.   To my delight, they were a hit.  Whew!  O wore his helmet right into Applebees.  Oh to have the fashion risk/devil-may-care attitude as the boys.   Right after giving the boys their helmets, Oli walks straight into the table and whacks his head . . . . I may need to get him one also.   I doubt we can hold off until his September birthday.

Graham tried to wear his to bed.

We are doing a birthday party for the 2 boys out at my parents this weekend.  It is the "Amazing Race".  I will not give too many details at this time, but it is an Easter tradition with my family that involves some major competition, taunting and usually some crying.  It promises to be a good time.

Oli has loved the balloons that are in the house.  He kept losing his grip and I kept having to retrieve them from the ceiling until my aha! moment of tying them to his wrist.  I was a hero.  For a full minute.  I realized my folly after he was following Hobbs under our bed and could not get the balloons to follow him.  "Help!  I'm 'tuck!"  All of this happened while I was trying to get ready for work.

Have I mentioned how CRAPPY the weather has been?  Its hard to stay optimistic when it is dreary, cloudy and cold.  The other day I woke up to snow outside my window.  On my way to the car to head to work, a big wet snowball dropped from the tree straight down my shirt.  It was truly a happy crappy Monday.

The boys have been interesting.  I have never before called poison control but had the honor after Owen informed he had 2 big drinks from the Listerine.  I also have to keep my purse out of Oli's reach because he has been eating my gum.  Not "chewing" my gum . . . EATING my gum.

FYI - - I have no idea where this post is going.  I also have no idea of the "theme" of my blog.  I had actually intended on it being "creative" etc . . . but so far that has not happened.

The Shop. The Shop.  The Shop.  It consumes my every thought (all 5 of them).  I WILL TRY and get some updated pics this weekend.  I'm nervous for the opening.  What if no one comes?  Or worse, people come but then think its stupid.   I hate being nervous.  I hate when the insecurities start to raise their ugly little heads.  Maybe I should wear a helmet to the grand opening . . . . that way, if my part of the shop is a "flop" it will actually not seem too bad since "the girl with the helmet" was in charge.  Seriously . . . can you really be too critical of someone's efforts if they wear a helmet as an accessory?  I might be on to something . . .

I just might get around to doing a "small town review" this weekend . . . . .  Lake Norden's Bullpen has the dueling pianos on Friday night.  I cannot resist checking this out.

Stay tuned (pun intended)

Signs of Spring. Yes, Really.

There are signs of spring in South Dakota.  Although at the moment it is snowing.  I find this extremely cruel.   Sister1 and I brought Oli and O to Rock and Kim's place to see the baby chicks.  The boys thought it was the coolest and little Oli was as gentle as a 2 year old could be.  

All chicks survived our visit. :)

I smell something funny.

I do.  I'm not sure what I'm smelling . . . is it me?  Is it the dog? Is it my cute daisy blanket that I bought at the senior citizen garage sale?  Is it odd that I smelled something funny and then thought to myself: I should write a post? Or is it even more odd that I'm not too concerned about the smell and am just going to light a candle instead?

Updates.  I am working tirelessly with shop stuff.  And yet, sometimes I find myself pacing - not sure what I should do next.  But, as long as I'm moving and being nervous . . somehow that justifies my lack of progress.  Donna started painting today.  I will be finishing it tomorrow.  It looks great. 

In other news.  G lost his very first tooth.  I had forgotten how momentous this event was.  He was ecstatic.  He just started pulling on it outside of the shop (I had dragged Sister1 and G there to check it out.  Again) and then starts spitting blood.  RIGHT OUTSIDE MY SHOP.  Sheesh.  I was afraid it was going to look like a crime scene.  But, oh my.  The grins.  So cute.  I was terrified of losing teeth as a child.  As in - - I was a BIG CRY BABY.  I remember only eating soup and mashed potatoes to keep the wiggly tooth in as long as possible.  Later in life - - around 10-12ish I had to have permanent teeth pulled because my mouth was crowded. This consisted of getting shots and then wearing gauze and drooling everywhere for the next 2hrs. I had to have 8 teeth total pulled (not all at once of course).  UGH - - so awful. I would pray and pray that Jesus would return before I had to go to the dentist.  He never did.  Unless, I missed it.

ANYWAY.  G was sooo excited to tell people - which then was sad because he said he really wished he could tell his dad.  Dang.

Boyd and I went to the circus with the boys.  Its been years since I've been there.  All in all, it went well.  I even managed to not buy the stupid light-up toys for the kids even though the circus was SHOVING IT DOWN our throats that EVERYONE had the coolest toys except our nephews.  To the boys' credit, they handled it very well.  One comment on the circus . . . . has it always appeared to be an elaborate Vegas striptease - scantily clad women flying in the air, ordering lions around and riding elephants?

These are called "elephants"

Great kiddos

On to another subject.  I'm forcing Sister1 to be crafty with me occasionally. We made wreathes on Tuesday.  They turned out pretty cute despite my lack of creativity skills.

 This is now for sale . . . . it can be yours for $100!  I jest.  Sort of.  It very well could end up for sale.  Most everything does eventually.  I promise it will not be $100. :)

Introducing . . . Shoppe on the Corner

So . . . now, I'm concerned that my "big news" isn't really all that BIG per se.  However, it is big news to me and since this blog focuses on ME . . . I shall continue to call it MY BIG NEWS.

I am OFFICIALLY opening a shop!  I am joining forces with Donna Marchand.  She has a line of clothing called Posh Tales - darling little girl clothing line and she is also starting to do a women's line too.  I will be doing a similar concept to Front Porch Finds which I did in MN - for those of you not familiar, I sell "cool crap".  The main difference from Front Porch Finds is that I will do a monthly sale and it will be in a SHOP and not out of my home. 

Boyd is thrilled - - I'm not sure how long that will last since I have several projects for him to do before the grand opening.

We will be advertising our new endeavor at the Women's Expo on April 30th at the Watertown Mall if any of the locals would like to get a taste of what it will be like.  Donna has lined up the entire Expo.  She is obviously an overachiever. I should probably talk to her about this.  I don't like the bar being set too high.

Our grand opening will be Saturday, May 21.  You may stop now for a minute to go and write that in your planner.  I will wait . .. . still waiting . . . do it.  Write it down.

We are trying to think of some fun ideas to keep everything exciting.  Please email me ideas at slknudsen7@yahoo.com.   We plan on throwing a big Thursday, Friday and Sat sale once a month and featuring a vendor for each month.  Maybe a story time once a week?  Maybe a craft tutorial once a month?  Private parties?  Seriously . . . shoot us some ideas.  We are in full brainstorming stage right now.

I will try and maybe post a few interviews of the vendors we already have lined up - so you can get an idea of other products that will be featured in our little shop.  I am very excited about our vendors.  You will be too.  I promise.

I KNOW. I KNOW. I should be tying up loose ends since I am, in a way, homeless.  However, who can pass up such an opportunity?! I am truly my own worst enemy.

I have already informed my mother and sisters that they will be volunteering their time every month for the rest of their lives.  I am also their worst enemy.

Here are some pics of the shop.  It is under construction at the moment . . . but my oh my. . the ideas we have for adding character . .. turquoise.  That is all I can say.  But even just mentioning the color makes me smile.  Stay tuned for more updates.

This is the front of the shop.  

I can't stop dreaming of window displays

almost time to paint!

That is it for now.  Boyd let me stay back from MN this weekend to gather my sanity.  I have to visit the storage units.  I hate the storage units.

News.

I have news.  Really big news. 

And not just an update on the Stillwater house. 

Or a nerdy list of books to read.

Or a small town restaurant review.  Wait. I haven't done one of those yet . . . its in the works. 

Patience people!

Oh my . . . . I'm excited.  And nervous.  And overwhelmed but  . . . once again . . . excited. 

The news is . . . . . . coming.

Soon.

Just wait.

P.S.  I'm not pregnant.