The green lawnmower

Growing up in a two-story blue colonial with white shutters, nestled on 20 acres of land in a rural town, much of my childhood was spent outdoors.  Climbing trees, naming a specific grouping "the kingdom" because of their perfect, ladder-like limbs, chasing butterflies through the dandelions, trekking to the pond to catch slimy frogs and sticky toads, my sister and I loved playing outside.  But there's one memory that sticks out in my mind a bit more than all the others and that involves a green, riding lawnmower. 

If you grew up in the 80's or 90's, you know that everyone and their mother had a power wheel.  From pink Barbie-like cars, to red Jeeps, power wheels were the much coveted, coolest toys to have.  Over and over again, after riding our cousins' super cool, Jeep power wheel, my sister and I begged our parents for our very own.  And much to our disappointment, we never got one.  However, looking back it's clear that we didn't need one.  

Around the ages of 6 and 8, my dad taught us how to drive the green lawnmower on the "ride" aka the "not cutting" setting (which I now realize was a bit risky hah).  Donned with a black seat and a red lever that you pushed from the turtle to the rabbit to increase speed, this green machine instantly became our favorite toy.  We loved driving that thing.  Back by the pond, through the trees, around the swing set and over the mound that felt like a rollercoaster, we were in our very own power wheel heaven.  But, here's the funny part.  Being the little sister I hardly ever got to drive.  From "timing me" as I ran upstairs to grab her favorite toy (which I am pretty sure I have Full House to thank), to delegating the chores we were assigned on Saturday mornings, my sister was pretty good at getting me to do what she wanted.  But my favorite, was how she convinced me to let her be the sole driver of the lawnmower.  

Sharing the bucket seat and clinging on for dear life, the machine would jerk forward as my sister stepped on the gas pedal and directed us toward the swing set.  Coming to an abrupt stop, she'd say, "Min, let's pretend the swingset is the grocery store.  I will drop you off, you can get the groceries and I will pick you up later." Entranced in the story, I'd slide off the seat, say, "Ooh!  Okay Stephi! That sounds fun!" and run towards the make-believe grocery store.  "Bye Stephi!" I'd wave, "See you soon!!" And off she went.  Round and round the yard, stopping ever so briefly to say, "Okay Mindy, keep shopping! I'll come back and pick you up in a bit." Only to race off again.  I'd keep playing in the sand box, collecting "groceries" until finally, when she had her fill, she'd come back, pick me up, and maybe, maybe then I would get my turn driving.  

I love telling this story because we have so many fun memories of riding that lawnmower.  But I also love telling it because it gives me an opportunity to give my sister a hard time about all the years she tricked her innocent, little sister into doing anything and everything she wanted... ;)  I like pretending to be all angsty like, "look what you did to me back in the day."  But honestly, I did it all (and would do it all again) because of how much I love her.  From riding the green lawnmower, to joining game nights with friends in high school, to visiting in college, and being roomies for a few months before my wedding, my sister has always welcomed me to share life with her.  Now, living only ten houses apart, less than a two minute walk (I timed it) we are still doing life together; and I love it more than I love donuts (that is a lot).  She's my ultimate favorite person to be cranky with, knows just what I need to get a good, tummy hurting laugh and she's most supportive, "always has my back and will beat up whoever hurts me" big sister.

So, my dear sister, may this memory of our very own power wheel be a little ode to you.  Thank you for always letting me be a part of your world, even if it meant dropping me off at the "grocery store" so you could drive around like a wild woman.  I love you.  So much so, that I might even let you time me to see how long it takes for me to get you a glass of wine.  ;) 

Milwaukee Photo Scavenger Hunt

Just as I predicted in my March to-do list, this month has most definitely been crazy!!!! But this month, is particularly special in it's craziness because most of it is due to the celebration of my lovely sister (shown above) who turned 30 last weekend!  In honor of this milestone birthday, she decided to not be overwhelmed by the number but instead turn it into an awesome month in which she would accomplish a bucket list of 30 random items.  I have had the pleasure of accompanying her in checking off some of these items like, going to the Milwaukee Roller derby, having dinner with our relatives, and the latest and greatest adventure- a photo scavenger hunt!  My sister, Steph, has been wanting to do a photo scavenger hunt for YEARS, and so we decided this was the year to do it.  Excited to celebrate my sister in such a fun way, I went to work on planning the event.  

From finding the perfect spot to host the event- at our friend Robert Klemm's restaurant Industri Café, to invites, RSVPs, choosing appetizers to serve, and most importantly, creating the list for the hunt, everything went off without a hitch.  

With a quick meeting at Industri at 2:00, lists and rules were distributed and the teams were off and running.  For the next hour and half, 4 teams of 4 were scattered throughout the city gathering as many photos and videos from the list that they could manage before 4:00.  Walking like ducklings in a row, acting out an earthquake scene, taking a mustache selfie, and even making an attempt at a mechanical bull are just a few of the activities you may have seen had you spotted us out in Milwaukee that day.  Here's just a taste of the craziness and fun that went down last Saturday. 

Taking a nap on a bench or chairs & "I can't believe we all fit in here!"

Team selfie wearing mustaches & another "I can't believe we all fit in here!"

All four teams completing the  "jumping on a bridge" photo with at least 3 people in mid-air

In case you can't already tell from these images, let me tell you it was a BLAST.  Finishing as many items as possible and racing back to Industri by 4:00, we gathered for drinks, appetizers and a viewing of the results.  Many laughs were shared as we viewed each team's pictures and videos, and tallied the scores. It was so much fun to see what everyone came up with, and most importantly to see my sister thoroughly enjoying the celebration.  (Not to mention, it was in fact my team that pulled out the win!! woohoo!) 

If you've never done a photo scavenger hunt… I highly recommend it.  It was a great way to get out into our city, be a little crazy, and celebrate with friends.  

Want to plan one?  Here's a few recommendations:

• Set a time limit.  This keeps it from getting too long, anyone from getting bored, and brings the group back together.
• Make a list with both photos and videos.  The videos were pretty fun to watch.
• Mix in some location specific assignments.  It was fun to have a chance to be explore Milwaukee, and also run into the other teams at different points through the hunt.  (Note: We used cars for our hunt.  That way we had more flexibility to be all over the city.)
• View the photos/videos as a group!!!! What's the point of capturing the images if no one else will see them?? This was a highlight.

Need some more ideas?  Here's the list that I came up with.  It's a mix of ideas from my own head, as well as others that I found online.  If you happen to love it, feel free to use it!  Then tell me how it went, I'd love to hear about it.  

I am so glad that my sister put this item on her birthday bucket list - it was a highlight of my month, and an activity I look forward to planning again in the future. 

Thanks for tagging along- now go plan your own hunt!! 

xoxo

In Love with Life: A huge Birthday Balloon

Growing up, birthdays have always been a bit of a celebration in my family.  A 'Happy Birthday' banner placed on the mantel, often accompanied by a balloon or two, were always a pleasant surprise when we came downstairs on the morning of our special day.  And you could never get through the day, let alone the morning, before mom and dad would come into our rooms, with a smile and a hug, singing Happy birthday to you!!  Another exciting element of the day was being given the power of choosing our favorite meal to eat on our birthday night.  Interestingly enough, even when we were little we, didn't choose chicken nuggets or ice cream or something.  My sister often chose Cheeseburger Pie, and my favorite was Chicken in a Basket.  (Much to my dismay, they do not create the potato shoestring baskets that made this meal- otherwise this would still be birthday meal of choice.)  Coming home from school, the birthday fun would begin with dinner followed by a tasty dessert (also of our choice) and then the fun part, presents!! Sometimes grandpa and grandma would be there to partake in the fun as well.  It was really great.  And in addition to the birthday fun on the actual birthday, we were given the opportunity to celebrate with our friends in one way or another.  I remember several tea parties, probably a few at chuckie cheese, dress up parties, surprise parties in high school, and lots of other memorable moments.  My grandpa used to say, "You girls are lucky!  Your birthdays go on for weeks!!" 

Since then, a birthday has not gone by without a celebration in our family.  As I prepared for my sister's upcoming birthday last week, my husband commented- 'man, you guys and your birthdays... they're so extravagant!"  I never really thought about it that way until he said that.  We really have been blessed to build a discipline of celebration around our special days.  I know it may sound a bit ridiculous, but I think it fits in perfectly with the mentality of choosing joy.  You can either let each day go by without choosing joy or fun, or you can make a point to be happy, and have a blast!  

So here we are, me 26 and my sister just turning 29, and we still put a solid effort into coming up with new ways to celebrate.  This year, I was pretty excited about what I came up with to bring a little joy to my sister's special day.  And thus we meet, the Big Balloon. :) 

I have seen many pictures of huge balloons on wedding pictures, or on various images from my Instagram feed, but never have I seen one in person.  I was STOKED when I found out that I was able to get one of these beautiful things at a local party store.   I felt like a kid in a candy shop when the clerk presented me with the 36" of pink joyful goodness.  :)  Clutching the balloon with fear that it might escape my grasp, pushing it through my car door, as well as trying to drive without the balloon bopping around in my sight in my rearview mirror- made getting the balloon home a trip.

But the best part of all was surprising my sister.  Bright and early on her birthday I decided to grab a few donuts, the balloon, and be at my sister's house before she went to school.  And the funnest (yes I said funnest) part was, I didn't just ring her doorbell, instead, I called her and said "Hey, can you do me a favor?  Can you look outside for a second?"  A little confused, she peeked out her bedroom window and saw me standing there in her driveway with the huge balloon.  She was ecstatic, she kept giggling over the phone and said oh my gosh, oh my gosh, that balloon is huge!

Before heading off to school I took a picture of her (image above) and her "balloon buddy" as we referred to it for the rest of the day.  It was so so fun to bring joy to my sister and celebrate her in a way as random as giving her a big balloon.  [And it was also a ton of fun to make her lug that balloon around everywhere with her for the rest of the evening... I called the photos "Steph and her balloon parts 1, 2, 3, and 4" see images below]  She means the world to me- she's my best friend.  Such a loving, caring, beautiful, encouraging woman, who I could not live without.  I am so blessed to have her in my life, and so thankful to have the opportunity to bring her joy.

So, cheers to the little things in life that make people happy, like huge balloons.
My hope is that this week, you might take the time to celebrate those you love, and find joy in the small things.

xo

Triggered Memories

Tonight I am blogging from what used to be my bedroom for 3 months, at my sister's place. We decided that it has been awhile since we had a sleepover, and a random Wednesday night was what we picked. My sister and I have a really special relationship. She is not just my sister, she's my best friend. She knows me inside and out, makes me laugh when I'm cranky, let's me share her clothes, pretty much everything you could want in a sister.

For the past 3 years, I had been living on my own. I had a cute 1-bedroom apartment, in a brick story-book apartment building, that had great character, and a perfect location- just a block from the nearest Alterra. I loved it! I had never lived alone prior to this and I absolutely loved it. It gave me a great opportunity to really get to know myself, and experience what living on your own is like. You can make messes wherever you want, when you want, you can move your bedroom around just so your bed is in the perfect spot to watch Avatar on the TV in the living room while falling asleep (yup I did that), heck- you can even walk around naked if you want. :) Overall, living alone was great.

This past August, life turned into a whirlwind of change, and my time of living alone was up. My position at work was eliminated and I was preparing to get married. I personally did not believe in living with my fiancé before getting married, so I knew that I was going to figure something else out. As this was all happening with me, my sister was in the process of moving out of her old place into her own super cute, 2-bedroom apartment. So what ended up happening worked out PERFECTLY. In the process of ending a lease and starting a new lease, my sister ended up in my joint for a month. Picture this: two queen beds and two dressers in a one-bedroom apartment. May sound cramped, but thankfully I had a big bedroom and really it was great. It was like a sleepover with your best friend for a month- we had a blast. At the end of that month she moved into her place, and 2 weeks later my lease ended and over I came to her house. Unlike my place she had two bedrooms- so I had a separate space to call my own.

Living with my sister for the 3 months prior to getting married was one of the biggest blessings that I experienced in preparing for the next stage of my life. As I was sitting here tonight, with my sister having already fallen asleep I walked around the apartment and the familiar scent filled my nose. I stood there for a moment in the darkness of her living room and let the memories flood back in. So much happened in this place in the 3 months that I spent here. Putting together wedding invites, wrapping bridesmaid gifts, putting together seating charts, fabulous dinner and sleepover for my bachelorette party, what had to have been the best bridal shower on earth (really I must tell you about that another time- I had a cake with the most adorable shoes on it, as a gift from my bridesmaids), and primping and putting on my wedding gown, all took place in this space.

I look back on those 3 months with the fondest of memories. I could not have had the best experience in preparing for my wedding. Besides all the fun that happened in this apartment, the ultimate reason that these memories are so great is because of the blessing of being able to spend so much time with my ever-so-loving sister. I am thankful for a wonderful sister who even though we don't live under the same roof anymore, welcomes me into her home no matter what the hour, who runs over to my house when I'm having a hard day, who buys me a bottle of wine and bubble bath after a stressful interview, and who still wants to have sleepovers even in the middle of the week.

I am thankful that the simple moment of breathing in the aromas that fill this space triggered such fond memories and reminders of how blessed I am.