Ode To Us...

Damon and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary this last week. It is hard to believe that 4 years of us being married has already past. Here are some of my thoughts regarding the total of 9 years that we have shared together:

• There is never a dull moment: "Manda, do you think you could pull this screw out of my foot?" ... Yep, it was pushed through the shoe and foot. "It was a two for one special today - we took both the appendix & gallbladder." Yep, may as well take them both while you're in there. "Hi honey, I'm in the ER but I know what it is this time. I cut my hand at work." Yep, we didn't just cut our hand once but twice - in the same spot. I'm so thankful that hospitals, ER's and doctors don't intimidate me. (Thanks Dad!)


• There is never a lack of something to talk about - ever.


• I'm recalling when neither one of us wanted to fart around the other... (You all remember those days?!)


• In 5 years we've had 3 awesome dogs - only one that continues to keep us on our toes.


• We've become Godparents, an Aunt & Uncle to the best addition to the family!


• Yep, I will get my snowmobile stuck 3 times within 1 city block. Thank you for always showing me your patience!


• Innovation is Key: Why buy it when you can make it? Snowplow on bike as kid = homemade snowplow on Rhino as adult. Thank you Rog and Deb for always allowing kid #1 to try new things - he is handy!


• I love my wife (Damon's addition to this blog) Thank you Willie and Kathy for raising such an outstanding individual (Manda's addition to this bullet :))


• Humor is a must - how might we get through the day without it?


• Getting into trouble is more fun in pairs.


• Family and friends are such an important piece of our lives. Whether we are BBQing at the house, workin' and playin' at the farm or out on some adventure - we couldn't imagine anyone better to share those times with than our families and friends.

So here's to my best friend - I can't imagine my life without you and I'm so glad you decided that I was worth chasing all those years ago! I look forward to the next 50 years together!

"Love doesn't make the world go round - love is what makes the ride worthwhile."
~Elizabeth Browning

Tuttle Easter...

After Easter with my family we headed to Bemidji to spend Easter with Damon's parents. We had a great time! On Sunday morning Rog hide Easter eggs for the puppies and for Damon and I. It was fun heading out to the back yard to find eggs! The doggies rather enjoyed it too!

Here's Ned discovering an egg - you know they have lotsa nummy treats inside!

The puppies all wanting to see if there is anything in the yellow egg!Damon and Rog found an egg (Yep, Rog can hide his own Easter Eggs -
he helped us find the last few! :)) And of course - the Tuttle Crew had some projects to keep them busy! Cutting down unwanted branches and trees in the yard. We had ourselves a little fire and enjoyed the nice weather.Thanks for having us, Rog and Deb, we had such a relaxing time! And the meal was awesome - I'm so glad we're close enough to have holidays together!
We can't wait for our next trip to Bemidji!

Johnson Easter...

Easter at the Johnson's was on Saturday. Here are some highlights of the evening...

Anthony playing outside on the tractors ... Farmer Hanson!

Anthony got a new toy... Uncle Erik and Auntie Manda had a
b-l-a-s-t playing with it! I believe that we broke the toy attempting
to get fun pictures.... oops! Sorry Anthony!

What great photo shoot opportunities - not everyone thought this was as great as Auntie! :) As you can see from the smile on his face ... it was a fun! :)

Anthony was laughing and carrying on in this picture - what a goon!

Deep Fry Night...

We had a deep fry night a few weekends back. It was great fun to have the family together and eat some nummy food! Of course we thought we would only do a few different items because we always have too much. Well, this time wasn't any different from the last - lotsa food! :)

Erik making Wantons - I'm horrible at doing this! I can't quite get the idea of the triangle!

Dinner music...

The cook...

The feast!

The Living Room...

Yep, it is definitely lived in! I'm still not completely done with everything; however, it has been so nice coming home and enjoying our space. I no longer HATE my curtains and love that we have some matching furniture - it was a great investment! :)