you are just fine in the garage...{BRAD}

We live up on a hill here in PA.  And for those of you who have been out to PA, this probably does not come as a surprise to you.  PA is full of rolling hills, much different from the flat lands of MN.  We can even see the mountains from our house.

One of the things I love about living where we do is that we have the best seats for the show.  Thunderstorms!  Because of the hill we sit on, when a storm is brewing we can literally see it roll in.

Yesterday, after a whole day out in the sun, the wind started to pick up and we could see a storm on the horizon.   We still had some outside things to do, so Brad decided we should just go into the garage to finish up.  We left the door open so we could see the storm unfold. 

Shocking GeeBee did better with the storm than Max.  He was freaked out.  I am pretty sure that Max was ready to take cover in the basement bathroom with a few days’ worth of food.  Even when Brad said…”you are just fine in the garage” Max sat with his hand on the door to the house, ready to take cover!

hey max, you are never going to guess what is over here...{JEANNI}

With warmer weather comes more outside chores.  In a 1950s world Brad would be doing all of these chores…but with grad school and traveling for work I have become the grounds crew.   Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t the work that I mind, it is that when you are dealing with “the outside” there tends to be a few more yucky things around.  (Does it come as any surprise to you that the “Easter Bunny” brought me a bug wand that sucks up spiders and other creepy crawlies so that I don’t have to get close to toughing them?)

After mowing one day, I had decided to water some of the new plants that I had planted.  The water faucet is located on the side of our house behind some rather large trees and rose bushes.  I had to go into the trees and reach back as far as I could to turn it on.  (My fear…this is where the nasties live, and I am pretty sure they are not as afraid of me as I am of them.) 

When I reached back to turn on the water there was a quick rustlings of branches.  I screamed!  After I realized what it was that scared the living day lights out of me, I said…”hey Max, you are never going guess what is over here!”

i can't believe you are repainting already...{JEANNIE GARLAND}

When we first moved into our house, Brad and I spend about 5 days painting.  We wanted to get a fresh coat on the walls before all of our stuff was moved in.  Over the next couple of weeks I finished painting the rest of the house, and by the end of the summer we had painted every square inch of our house.

Who knows if it was the rush to get everything done before we moved in, or my need to have everything look “just right”, whatever the reason, I was unhappy with Max’s play room. 

After finally deciding how I wanted the room to look, I ran a few ideas past my friend. Although Jeannie Graland talked me out of some of my crazier ideas…like adding a ladder, she was anxious to see the end result. 

Even though you said, “I can’t believe you are repainting already” this blog is post is for you Jeannie!

i could use my poop-con...{MAX}

Sometimes I wonder, do little boys ever grow up to be old enough to not mix words around and say funny things?

A few days ago we were all in the car.  Max was busy yapping to us about Legos, which he is in love with!  He was trying to tell us that he wanted to buy some new Legos with his own money.  He then told Brad and I…”I could use my poop-con.”

Although Brad and I both knew he was trying to say coupon, we couldn’t stop laughing.  Poop-con came right out of his mouth as if it was the most natural word in his vocab.  (If we didn’t start to laugh, I am not even sure he would have realized what he said.) 

I hope Max never gets too old!

you should blog your tulips...{BRAD}

Ask, and you shall receive.  Well the Kutz family asked for a better climate than Duluth MN, and boy did we receive.  I often remember spending Easter at my grandma Leppla’s house running around bare foot in the grass with my cousins, stopping only for a peep or to pick some lilacs.  Well today our whole family was able to feel the cool grass between our toes as we hunted for eggs.  Today was in the 80s, warm and sunny. 

Another added benefit of living in PA is the deer population.  Now before you plant lovers out there accuse me of losing my mind let me state that the benefit is the lack of deer.  We have such a small deer population here that my plants have not only survived but also flourished.

 We are able to experience gardening fetes never seen in Duluth, such as tulips.  Ya…sure…it isn’t the cold that always kept us from seeing our bulbs bloom each spring.  Oh no, it was the deer.  As we pulled out of the driveway this morning on our way to church Brad says to me…”you should blog your tulips.”  I asked him why.  (Although I love tulips, that isn’t the type of exciting material that I usually put on the blog.)  His reply, “in our married life we have planted tulips every year at every house, and this is the first time I have actually see them bloom.”

number 36, for slashing...{LACROSSE REF}

Lacrosse season is well underway, and again Max loves every minute of it.  Being one of the youngest on the team, Max is learning that he needs to be a bit more aggressive. 

The coaching staff has started to teach to team to “poke” a little bit more at the other team.  Of course during the game, when excitement is running high, the coaches will shout out “poke check”, reminding the players to give the opponent a good poke with their lacrosse stick.  (this is a legal move that causes the player to drop the ball)  Max being a rule follower, does just want the coaches say…except, this time the excitement was a little too much for our Max. 

Max was called for his first penalty.  He wound up and gave the opponent a great big whack.  (which is not legal)  That’s right, our little number 36 was called for slashing! He had to sit 2 minutes on the bench before returning to the game.  (much like a penalty box in hockey)

Oddly, Brad and I were a bit proud to see our little guy be such a big boy.  Now we just have to get him to keep it legal! 

this isn't an April Fool's joke, this phone call is real...{DR.WEINBERG}

Our house usually doesn’t celebrate April Fool’s Day…but this year was different!

At 6:00 a.m. I received the strangest text, 2 hour late start today.  I thought that surly Brad had gone crazy or was playing a joke on me.  I texted him back asking if there was a little ice on the road from all of last night’s rain?  (ha ha ha)  I quickly got a reply back with one dreaded word that explained it all…SNOW.

What?  That is right, we had 3 inches of snow on the ground.  I really thought for one moment that maybe I had dreamed this last year, and I was really still living in Duluth. 

At 6:30 I received a phone call confirming Brad’s text.  Dr. Weinberg, our superintendent, sent out a global phone message stating that school would be 2 hours late this morning.  His parting statement, “this isn’t a April Fool’s joke, this phone call is real!”