Rick's 50th Birthday Celebration!

Man of Honor....Mr. Rick

Jensen's got skills...

Kate playing ball and Sam in the tree fort.


Darin, Jodi, & Mary

Girls just wanna have fun...Kate and Megan

Mary and Sam

Jake, Jensen, Darin, & Randy

Darin, Randy, Sam having fun!

Holly, Jodi, Randy, & Megan

Campfire where the kids tried to burn themselves to death-all part of the festive fun!

Meeting of the Rick Minds...

Silly Grant!

All the Siblings made it!!

Good food and family...

Chris and Gale chattin it up.

Jamey and Kate being silly...so cute!

Happy Mother's Day!

Rick and I traveled to Red Wing to ride the bike trail to Welch (about 22 miles round trip). It was cooler than I expected so Rick saved me by bringing a wind pullover. It was a beautiful, partly sunny day. Along the way we saw bald Eagles (bird in flight in above picture), turtles, cows, heard all kinds of birds, beautiful wild flowers, and turkeys. Then we returned home (while I napped in the car!) and watched the finale of Celebrity Apprentice! It was fun! Missed my kids though. They'll be down next weekend! yay!

Somebody's Graduating from College Today!!

I believe it's my nephew Brice Hemmer!

Congratulations on making it this far!

You must be a real WIZ by now!!

And Soon You'll be Kicking up your Heels!

Some Things I Did Today!

This is the view today from my deck. I was sitting down to rest after washing windows

and I couldn't resist the urge to go for a walk in the woods. It's just so beautiful this time of year!

What you see in the background is part of the golf course in Mantorville. Lots of golfers taking advantage of the weather today too!

Bluebells!

All kinds of beauty!

Down by the river it's covered in Bluebells! Looks like Carpet!

The one of many Deer paths I followed on my walk.
So serene and beautiful today. Just imagine the birds chirping and a babbling brook. That's what I saw today on my walk.

Antsy....

I don't know...the weather is making me antsy. I can't get my windows washed or my flowers planted. I'm sick of being indoors by myself. Feeling the itch to be with people! I miss the challenge of my business and wishing I had more to do besides domestic stuff (ugh!). Just bored in general. I need some excitement. Who's got it and where can I get some? Any ideas? Lemme know.

Welcome to Your New World Audrey!

Proudest Grandparents Ever! (Rick and Jackie Hemmer with Audrey)

Proudest Parents Ever! (Chris, Brianna, and Audrey Lewis)

Picture Perfect! We love You Audrey!

Awesome, Inspiring, Motivating, & Amazing!!

Susan Boyle- Britain's Got Talent!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRmM1J1sfg

Here's an example...

In case you're wondering what I've been doing lately...

Here's an example of one of the fun unique necklace pendants I created.

These along with beautiful earrings, bracelets, & many customized suncatchers

will be for sale at Thursdays on First in downtown Rochester. I am hoping to be selected as one of the vendors for the summer. It's very time consuming and takes a lot of creativity but is lots of fun too! I have just been playing with ideas so when I get the go ahead I'll be ready to create many more. I have too many beautiful examples to post so you'll have to come take a look and see. You would have first pick of the most beautiful!!

Feelin' like Mexico...Sorta

Such a warm and sunny day (if you're out of the wind-which I can be on the backside of my house on the deck) I decided to grab a book and a Pina Colada and dream of being on the beach in Mexico! It was quite serene with the birds chirping and the sun on my face! ahhhhh....sigh.

This is how the people of the world should live despite our differences...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rooyt3ptNco

.......WHAT IF.....

If you received an invitation such as the one above...would you accept?

We might just do that, but let's get your opinions first.

P.S. I'll have to forfeit my winter vacation...would you? It's gonna kill me.

Beg Your Pardon??

Guess the state of Minnesota has trouble getting addresses correct...Sheesh!

Je suis le plus fier de mes enfants. C'est que je vis pour. Jes vous aime!

Happy Birthday Jamey (on March 21)!

Jumpin Jamey! It's My Birthday!

Still A Kid at Heart!

You are the Ultimate Warrior! And we are DAMN PROUD!!

Enjoy your day in whatever fashion you choose!

Happy Spring!!

Nothing says Spring like the return of the Robin and collecting sap from the Maple Trees!

Happy Spring Everyone!

Thank You God! And May We All Be Blessed!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271552717/bctid1913313052

Dans votre nom je prie

Le cher Seigneur, s'il vous plaît amener la bonne fortune sur ma famille ce mois. Nous avons besoin de votre aide maintenant. Je prie pour votre assistance dans l'expansion de sécurité de l'emploi et affaires. S'il vous plaît le Sourire sur nous avec toute votre Gloire, et nous diriger vers le chemin de succès. Dans votre nom je prie...

Cindy's Closet: Hola!

Cindy's Closet: Hola!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/momecats/sets/

Looking into a crystal ball...

I wish I could see into a crystal ball to know what is ahead for me. It's kinda fun to know that I have some new experiences ahead of me and a little more freedom to choose what path I'll take. A little guidance to know what I SHOULD do would be helpful. That's where the crystal ball would come in handy. Maybe I should go see a palm reader-Ha!

Our last couple days in Mexico...

Pink Flamingos in an ecological park at the XHU-PA Palace Resort where we had lunch & leisure after visiting Tulum.

Beautiful view of the beach area seaside at the Tulum Mayan Ruins

Closeup view of carvings & Paintings in some of the buildings.

Broader view of the Mayan Ruins at Tulum

Another view of the seaside at Tulum

Tulum Mayan Fortress

Entrance to the fortress of Tulum

Some of our New friends we met in the Mayan Riviera

Rick at the entrance to the Mayan Fortress Ruins in Tulum

My view from my lounge chair all day on Thursday (after our Romantic Couple's massage in the beautiful and amazing Spa!)

Can't get much more relaxing than this...it included several umbrella drinks too...Yummy!

Shout Out to GRANT!

Happy Birthday Grant! In honor of your birthday your uncle Rick and I went to a historical site located in Tulum, Mexico. See if you can find it on a map to see how far away we are from you right now! I thought of you the whole time we were learning about the Mayan people that lived there. We learned about what great mathematicians and architechs they were. It reminded me of you and how you like to learn about everything new in the world. I wish you could have been there with us but we will share pictures and stories when we get back home. In the meantime, I hope your day was just as special as you are. Uncle Rick and I will come to visit you real soon to bring you a gift and celebrate your being one year older. Love you MUCH!!

Unclerick and Auntie C.

Wednesday is Snorkeling Day...

So today we went to Maroma Marina to the world's 2nd largest coral reef (Australia has the largest). It was amazing and the water was so clear and warm! Rick and I chose to lay in the sun afterwards instead of riding horses, atv's, speedboats, or ski doo's. Later in the afternoon they fed us a wonderful buffet lunch complete with drinks. We spent a bit more fun in the sun and then headed back to our resort. Back to our room to clean up and dress for Dinner at the mediterranean restaurant was exquisite (All the restaurants have been so far) and then we took in the Mayan fire dance show down by the sea at 9:00pm (show every night in different locations). I was just getting warmed up and ready to party and Rick was yawning his fool head off so we went back to the room because I can't go party by myself-or can I ?(MICHELLE-WHERE ARE YOU?!) I want to check out the dancing in the evening so tomorrow night is on for me! There are a ton of people from the midwest here so I can meet some friends! Here are some pics from last night and today....

I'm a babe! Ha!

Leonardo DeCaprio wanna be


I think he's getting tired of me taking his picture...can anyone say cheese?

Our evening (Tuesday) at the Mexican Restaurant having Mayan coffee! What a show!

Dressed for dinner at the Japanese Restaurant. Oooohhh soo goooood!

Mayan Fire Dancers. The show was right by the ocean! Amazing!!