Thursday, July 31, 2008

some summer things

I think I have mentioned before but we are loving summer. Ari & Noah especially. We keep ourselves busy...

we got to the beach and say "cheese" alot

we got grass in our backyard.. oh yea that is nice and it was fun to watch all the action from the comfort of my chair with snacks to boot.
scary picture i know but its the look of awe and wonder as I now run.. yep run. personal best so far 4.36km whoa!and we go to the beach again... we are so good at the beach and love to play by the water!

and if only i had some photos the place where we spend most of our time is at C's park... she has the best toys, the coolest pool with slide and it's where we enjoy passing our days...

Sunday, July 27, 2008

life

summer is flying by.. hard to believe its almost august. things to do this month:
-having my grand opening of my Norwex business. i would love to send you an invitation.. let me know if you would like to come. it's going to be a good way to just start this venture and you'll get to hear about these amazing products. so yea let me know.
-want to go camping.. am i crazy?? yes.
-doing some sewing projects. will share later.
-doing an online art journal class in august hosted by Rachel. so excited about that.
-reading my script and learning to master the song i have to play on the piano.. tickets are already on sale.. you can check it out HERE
-enjoying two of the sweetest little goof balls who are absolutely madly in love with summer.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

faves

I'm stealing a page from Crystal's blog and now bringing you a few of my favorite things in no particular order:

-Polka Dots - especially on fabric and paper
-Ikea
-The color White
-"Hoot" my green owl
-My vintage green chair in my dining room
-Boursin Cheese
-The opening of Pony Party. I have been waiting since I have become a fan of Rachel's blog. It's all handpicked vintage items. Yum! Go check it out and oh my did you see the Owl S&P shakers or the vintage recipe box.. major drooling here.
-Pita Chips
-Fresh Flowers
-Red Wine
-Fresh Salsa
-Coffee
-Love THIS IDEA
-German Salami
-Harry Potter - sad that i am on the final book.. i don't want it to end
-The New Coldplay especially the song "Lost?"
-Diet Coke
-Salt & Vinegar Chips
-Vintage Anything
-LOVE these sites: Here and Here
-I love THIS and would like it even better if it was around my neck.

Not to forgot how much i love my friends.. you have all been so much to me over the last little while. Thanks for sticking it out with me as I remembered who I am..

Saturday, July 19, 2008

many thanks

many thanks to the old and new commenter's from my last post. i truly appreciate it. i realized it's one of the reasons i love blogger. i have been thinking lots lately and kind of feel silly. why was it that i was willing to allow people who don't even know me to run me down... makes all that i have learned seem for nothing. so no more and in the words of a dear dear friend.. poo poo on those who try to tear me down.. poo poo.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

rough

i'm having a bit of a rough time blogging lately... i have lots to say but am so afraid of how i say things and the effect it will have. it has come to my attention that i have some readers who don't like what i say or who i am or whatever.. this has been hard for me to "get over".
it's hard for me because i am feeling like people are expecting my life to suck or me to fail so that they can be happy. this puts tremendous pressure on me. and makes me afraid to blog.
for so long i have really put alot of weight in vulnerability and just being raw and real.. i don't want that to change. its part of who i really am.
i know who i am is a good person.. i know i have wandered off the path in my life. i know its me who puts the biggest expectation on me. i know i need to just rise above and remember who i am and all i am meant for. so be patient with me... i'll be back. i just need to heal a bit first.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

scrappies

lately thursday nights has been my only scrapbook night. some of these go back to May. did finish the first two just this week. love preserving memories this way. i also uploaded more to my webalbum that you can always check out here if you get bored :)

Friday, July 04, 2008

coming to a stage near you.....

ME! A couple weeks back I did something I don't normally do.. well actually I used to do it but never thought I would in this capacity. I went to open auditions for our Community Theatre.. Flatlands Theatre Company presents Little Women this fall... And yes yours truely will be gracing the stage in the part of Mrs. March or Marmee as she is so warmly called.


I am excited and just so thankful. I loved auditioning... it was so fun to be on stage again. I think this will be a great way to get involved in the community and to meet new people and just do something meaningful. Just saw THIS which makes it so official. So make sure to head over to the concert hall at the end of November and take in a good show. See you there!

Thursday, July 03, 2008

the difrans family vacation

well we are home again which is good news on this trip as it means we didn't get lost again.. yeesh. it was a good time. we went with some friends to minneapolis. four adults and three 2 year olds makes for some crazy times. the boys did really well. driving was not as much of a nightmare as i had expected. they did manage to sleep a bit.they had moments but dave kept them occupied and entertained mostly by making up games which involved throwing things around or sticking out his tongue. i know i know they are easily amused.
first day involved getting lost a couple times - mostly when we stopped for "breakfast" in Fergus Falls. all we were looking for was a mcdonalds with a play place so the kids could burn off some steam... yep none of those between home and wherever. finally we settled on just good old rotten ronnie's and let them run laps of the restaurant.we made in to Albertville and hit the outlets - well we didn't really do them justice but i did stock up on clothes for the boys. hit the road for our hotel which was near mall of america. found it. freshened up and then went to MOA for supper at Famous Dave's which in our books was not so famous - hair in food, crazy tired kids, and a really spicy bean incident for a toddler (not mine) did not make for a great time. can't really blame the kids they were done before we even got there. wandered lego land for a bit and headed back to put the kids to bed.
noah & ari did great. our hotel was amazing and we were so thankful for the suites. we put the kids to bed and still could watch tv in our room. there was an attempt at target that night that ended in tears and total failure. got miserably lost due to some poor directions and missed exits.. ended up in the ghetto asking directions at a sketchy gas station. it was horrible... bought beer which was a highlight after all that. gotta love being able to buy beer just about anywhere.

sunday we took in the buffet breakfast at the hotel.. so good and easy and convenient. even managed to stock up for lunch for the boys. we decided to hit up Como Town. So armed with our mapquest directions we set out... this was get lost mistake number two.. why wouldn't mapquest have taken into consideration THE BRIDGE COLLAPSE... yeah no alternate directions. it was horrible cause once again we were lost and we went south and then north and then we went east and west.. the worst part (sorry to any minnesotans who might read this) NO ONE KNEW WHERE ANYTHING WAS.. seriously no one knew two streets ahead of them or behind them. It was horrible. After fanagaling the horrid directions we kept getting and in total melt down mode (my meltdown) we found Como Town. It was fun. It's an amusment park and zoo aimed at 2-12 year olds. We bought tickets and set out to find the rides our little guys could ride. They wouldn't have it. Nope. Terrified. Noah managed to ride one although I think he was in total shock. We did ride the train a few times. Dave says they really are having fun.
There was an awesome playground that the kids had alot of fun playing at. We should have just plunked them here the whole time.After lunch which included Noah falling and banging his head we decided the heat and tiredness would be best put to bed.. we packed up and drove on. less than a minute later they were sound asleep. We stopped at Northern Brewer in St.Paul. Wade gave Dave a magazine from there and he has drooled over it ever since. Dave says it was awesome but really overwhelming. He did manage to buy a couple things and got his buddie James to purchase a whole starter kit. We plan on opening a little brewery here in the West part of our city.
After getting bad directions and getting a bit lost again we ended up finding our hotel....
Kids didn't nap too long and after we got back we decided a trip for me was in order and we entered the Ikea Zone. I LOVE ikea. I miss Ikea. I used to go to Ikea just for fun in Vancouver. Dave entertained the boys with fun cart rides while I shopped. It was a great time. The boys were so good and I got all the stuff I wanted... TV unit, Shelf thing for my dining room, end table, lamp and some small stuff. I felt refreshed and ready for more. We ate mexican that night which was pretty good. We also played in the pool that evening which Noah & Ari loved.
Getting to the Minnesota Zoo the next day was EASY and we didn't get lost. The Zoo was amazing. It was alot of fun. The boys liked most of it especially the water.. all the water. There was water everywhere. We saw Grizzlies, Foxes, Tigers, Moose, Birds, Fish, Sharks, Dolphins, Monkeys and visited James' favorite The Farm.. where we saw pigs, cows, goats, chickens and bunnies.
It was really hot that day and the kids were pretty tired after the morning at the zoo so we ate lunch there and decided to head back.. We managed to keep them awake till we got back to the hotel and from there Dave and the boys had a nap and I got in some shopping at MOA. Really happy when I am shopping.
We decided to use the grills at the hotel in the courtyard for supper and it was alot of fun. Just letting the kids run around and not having to make them sit quietly somewhere. I have realized I just need to give my kids dump trucks and dirt and they can be happy for hours.
So thats our trip in a nutshell.. Drive home was a bit more tiring. The boys were just so tired. Towards the end they wanted to sleep so bad they would shut their eyes as tight as they could and then cry cause it wasn't working. I felt bad for them. They sure are troopers.
Well that was our trip.. of course so much I didn't write about. We had fun. I am so glad we went and made me realize my kids are much more flexible than I give them credit for... Although I must admit an adult vacation is in order.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

home again home again..

well we are back from our vacation.. a mini one at that. i have lots to share but need some time to write and collect my thoughts.. other new things on the horizon too. so stay tuned. its going to get better.. and i am NOT pregnant so don't even go there :)