Saturday, April 27, 2013

The month of April!

The month of April was a very busy, very fun month for us.  The main reason for that is because we had Grandma Marnie come and stay with us for 3 weeks.   She left 2 days ago and the whole family is missing her already.

Some of our April activities included:

-A trip to New Orleans for Brandon and I to celebrate our 8th anniversary. 

This was so much fun for us.  Another great reminder that I really did marry my best friend.  (Thank you to Suzi, Dee and Grandma Marnie for helping with the kids while we were away.)

If you ever make it there do not skip visiting Cafe Du Monde.  You will seriously regret missing out on the best beignets ever.

-Other highlights included: relaxing, french market, pralines, Brunch at Court of 2 Sisters, anniversary dinner at Muriels, Ghost Tour and just taking in the sights.

-A trip to the Cleveland zoo with Grandma, me and the kids!

This was a fun day because we just decided to do it on a whim.  Funny story about this day, It was a kinda humid day.  To get away from the humidity we decided to duck into the rainforest.  The problem was that it was more humid in there than outside.

-Lots of shopping

First off, I want to make a plug.  JcPenneys is my new favorite store.  I don't know why they are failing.  They have great prices.  If you haven't been there in a while, GO!!
We also went to: Ollies Outlet (for books), Target (of course), Bed Bath and Beyond, Costco and others.

-Lots of home improvements!

YAY!  We painted our living room, dining room, office and Meghan's bedroom.   All these rooms were dark and ugly before.  They are much brighter now.   Our office used to have blue/green plaid wallpaper. Really???  Why would someone do that to a room??  We hired a great painter.  He was fair and worked hard.  If you need a painter, let me know.  I will give you his information.

For the house we also got:
-a grill (let's cook out soon!)
-a new dishwaher (The original one was from 1988.)
-a clubhouse for the kids
-a disk swing for the kids (That I hung up in the tree by myself!)
-a picnic table
-Cabinets for the family room
-a slide and sandbox for the backyard (ok, we didn't buy these.  Thank you Dave and Ann.)
-New pictures for the walls.
-a new toaster (The old one only had 3 legs.)

-Aunt Suzie came to spend a few weekends with us.

She helped watch the kids while we were on our trip.  Then she came another weekend to visit with us.  We had a LCR night filled with family and food.  Don't know what LCR is?  It is this game where you sit around laugh your ass off.  Come visit and I will teach you!  We also did the normal stuff which included shopping.  It was so fun to have her here.  I hope she comes back soon.


-Flag Football games, Irish Dancing practices and concerts.

Owen has been playing flag football and loving it.  He plays on a kindergarten team at the Force center in Rocky River.

Both boys have been doing Irish dancing for over a year now.  Their big recital was just yesterday. Super fun to watch!  They really are good boys.

-Tried some new baking recipes.

3 words: Chocolate Oreo Truffles.  You must try these, yummy and easy to make.   I will gladly give you the recipe.  Just ask!  Actually it is Marlene's recipe, I stole it from her!  I also made a chocolate flourless cake for the first time.


Looking back on April I learned that all my favorite things in life begin with the letter F.

Family, Friends, Fun and Food.   Aren't I a lucky girl to have all four?

(Oh, I also like sunny days!)






(These are the videos from the Irish Dance recitals. Owen is helping Seamus during his recital. )