Ben can't get enough of the outdoors, which is fine with us because we have been spending every spare minute working on our yard. This is the first year I can actually remember really enjoying working in our yard. The first couple years in our house, my mom would help me do a couple flower planters and clean out our flower beds, but she did the bulk of the work and dragged me across the finish line at the end. This year, I have spent lots of afternoons out there as soon as I get home from work. We have cleaned out three flower beds and done lots of new planting. I put in a perennial garden in the front yard and some new bushes in the backyard. I also did several potted annual flowers to put around the house, and a tiny herb garden. It's lots of work, but for some reason, this year I thought it was fun. We still have lots to do, as we plan to replace the rock in all our flower beds. I''ll post a picture when we're all done.
In between all that, Mike finished up another school year and I finished my semester of grad school AND we also had a really fun trip to Minneapolis to visit my sister and her family, and Mike's brother and family. We had a blast. On Saturday morning we went to the Mill City Farmer's Market and ate WAY too much. Then for dinner that night, we checked out the Town Talk Diner, which we saw on the Food Network. It was every bit as delicious as Guy Fieri said it was. After a couple days in NE Minneapolis with my sister, Nate, Will and my mom, we headed south to Rosemount to see Grant and the crew. We went to to the Minnesota Zoo and out for ANOTHER awesome meal with the Minnesota Gilbertsons. (Are you noticing a food theme? We really do have other interests. I swear!) It was a really great trip and I was sad to see it end. Here are some highlights.
Mike and Ben near the water front at the Mill City Famers' Market
Ben taking a bath with Will (My sister calls this the "obligatory bath with your cousin" picture)
The outside of the Town Talk Diner
Ben being scared of the goats at the Minnesota Zoo
After we got home, I had to go back to work on Tuesday while Mike began his first week of summer vacation. I love that he and Ben are spending so much time together this summer, but I will admit that sometimes it's really hard being married to a teacher. I am jealous of his afternoons with Ben and the freedom that 12 weeks off brings. I sometimes see kids in NDSU or UND sweatshirts at Target at night as I am rushing to get diapers and get back home and I think of my best friend and I home from NDSU making Target runs at 9pm, going to Perkins until 2am and sleeping until noon. We totally had it made and we didn't know it!
Even though I have to go to work, I am looking forward to the rest of the summer. We have lots of fun things planned; including the birth of my new nephew (any day now!), a reunion with some college friends in July and a week long vacation with my family in the Detroit Lakes area. Happy Summer!!
