My friend Trish says she's tired of looking at the snow photos on my blog.
I don't blame her. We didn't see snow in Duluth for the entire month of March! Seriously. Check out
the facts if you don't believe me!
Spring has sprung early in "The Northland" and we're lovin' it!
I'm hoping to blog a little more frequently now that the weather is nicer. So, let's start things fresh what we've been up to lately.
The basement renovation project is still underway. We've put in a bathroom, a dog shower, and we have a gameroom that's almost ready for gaming. We've been moving boxes from storage area to storage area down there in order to put in new concrete floors throughout. The whole thing has been a huge transformation. When it's done, I'll post photos!
Today's photo, is the OTHER project we've been doing. This is our third floor. It used to be cluttered with dozens of bins filled with legos, and a big old TV. Not anymore. This will be a bar/fly tying area. The window wall will have a full-length countertop where Paul and Mason can tie flies. The little white alcove where the holes are? That will house a wall mounted faucet and sink and an upper cabinet. We're getting a ginormous sectional and a new TV set to finish out the room. We're hoping it will be ready by the end of April!
Yes, we love our projects. But we're looking forward to a project-free summer. Unless my parents need help at their new house. Oh, and there's a few things we need to finish at the cabin....
I decided to take a few minutes this morning to take photos of my magnolia tree, for no reason other than I wanted to do it. I've been shooting photos at Cal's school all week. It's been fun. But I wanted to get back out and shoot some nature. These are all different shots, and I did different things with each in post-processing. Again, no real reason. Just for fun. Enjoy!
Mason had at least one slice of pizza each day we were in New York. He's our "Pizzatarian".
And one of the most surprising highlights of our trip...two visits to "The Doughnut Plant". It's a small little shop that's been featured on the Travel Channel as having some of the best doughnuts in the country. We agree wholeheartedly! The chocolate ones were amazing!
My friend Trish says she's tired of looking at the snow photos on my blog. 
Just in case you thought I'd stopped taking pictures...I haven't. Here's a shot of 12 year old Zachary Bonner from Tampa, Florida. This boy has his own foundation, The Little Red Wagon Foundation, which works to help underprivleged kids. He does online schooling, which allows him to tour the nation, talking to kids his age about the importance of philanthropy. Such an amazing kid...I was happy to have met him at Cal's school today. Here's a story from Good Morning America about Zach's work. 
Mason participated in his first race today at Spirit Mountain! He did one Giant Slalom course and the Slalom course (shown above). Mason joined the development racing team in December, but hasn't wanted to do any of the races (they are optional), just the practices. I didn't want to push him into it unless he felt ready. So today, he was ready. Me? Not so much. This was an all-new experience for me, because even though my brother was a high school ski racer, I never saw him race! Three kids were transported to area hospitals during this event, and I saw many other close calls. Mason managed to get down safely, and I spent the afternoon playing team photographer. (I took more than 600 photos of "our" racers.) We just might do this again.
These are my three favorite shots from Mason's camera. He did a great job, don't you think? I like these shots much more than my own!
