long time no post

Well, it appears spring has finally sprung in the land of the New Market Tuttles - although we had to bring our plants into the garage last night, but I digress. The grass is green, the trees have leaves and the dandelions are in full bloom. Life keeps on moving along and the boys are keeping us on our toes. Here is a recap in pictures of what we have been up to...

I went up to St Cloud with some Fabulous friends and landed at the Red Carpet for a great night of Tim Mahoney music


There is fun outside in the evenings and weekends


A surprise birthday party for mom


Playing with legos


Loving on each other


Joe took a liking to the computer - shocking I know


Kyle went out to VA and caught some pictures of 3 of our nieces


And our curly headed boy - who was being mistaken for a girl too often, got his very first hair cut!!!!


So there is a recap for you all. Still waiting for good news on the job front to share and the house is still on the market. Hope this finds you all well!

Mariah in MN

My college roommate, Mariah, came to visit in February and spent a night with us. It was so great! Even though it has been A LONG LONG time since we have seen each other, it was like no time had passed. I hope we get to do it again real soon! The next visit will be at her place in Colorado!

And the boys loved her puppy, Indigo.


The best way to spend a cool afternoon -


Don't you love the curls? I am just not ready to cut them off yet, even though they don't stay curly as long these days.


Joe says HI!

February in Pictures

I have nothing brilliant to say that these pictures don't already convey. February in pictures. Enjoy...

I've Been Interviewed

My beautiful cousin Nicole - who totally needs to get her butt up here and see us - is virtually interviewing me. Here are the tough questions she asked, along with my well thought out answers...

1. If you could go back in time and change one event in your life, what would it be and why?
I have a few - but the one that comes to me A LOT is the day before Pop Pop's surgery. Since my grandparents lived in Virginia, we didn't get to see them a lot, but whenever we did, Pop always made me feel like a million bucks. He always referred to me as Red - my one and only nickname in my whole life - and was always interested in what I was up to. So, him and Mom Mom called the day before surgery - it was either Thanksgiving day or the day before Thanksgiving 1993. The phone was being passed around the family and when it got to me, I passed. I don't know why. Maybe I didn't want to cry? Maybe I was just caught up in my 21 year old drama? Who knows. It turned out to be the last opportunity to talk to him. He died a month later. That choice haunts me to this day. I miss you and love you so much, Pop!

2. What is the best part of your life right now?
This is an easy one. My family. Watching Joe and Ryan grow up before our very eyes is so amazing. It also freaks me out when I see them picking up some of our bad habits and our sarcasm. But definitely, the best part of my life is my family!

3. What is your biggest hope for your sons?
Wow - that is a loaded question. While I was pregnant with Joe, every night I prayed for him to have a happy, healthy, long, loving, full and prosperous life. That would be my biggest hope for both of them.

4. If you were president, what would be your top 3 priorities?
Could you have picked some harder questions? Dang. I don't know. For sure to figure out a gas/energy alternative that doesn't raise other prices by putting farmers into a difficult situation and has long lasting positive impact on the environment. Secondly I would need to figure out a solution to this economic issue that is following us everywhere. New jobs, home loan situations, crooked CEO's, etc. But the solutions can't come so quick that all fall out aspects aren't looked at closely. Finally, a solution to the Iraq/Afghanistan/middle east turmoil. Bring our troops home as it seems like we have done most of the good that we possibly can. We have given them the building blocks and now they need to take them and move them forward on their own if that is what they want to do.

5. Is it easier for you to forgive or forget?
It is easier for me to forgive. I have a mind like a steel trap on some things - don't ask me what I had for lunch yesterday, so forgiving is much easier, but definitely isn't always easy.

Now comes the fun part. For all 3 of you that read my drivvle, if you would like me to interview you, leave the words 'interview me' in the comments along with your email if I don't have it. I will email you 5 questions for you to answer on your blog and you can play this game as well with your readers. No pressure, but it is fun!!

January is COLD

So, up nort' in the land of the frozen tundras, the family and I had a very low key month. For example - a rough Saturday morning committment turned into a nice afternoon with family and beers... (no children were harmed in the taking of these pictures)


Oh, and how can I forget Joe's first black eye - again, not printing details to protect the innocent...


We had a nice day at the zoo -


Did I mention that the COLD causes a lot of static?


The big highlight of January was Ryan and his team's entry at the Future City Competition. This competition begins in September with the submittance of a Sim City computer mock-up of the city that meets certain criteria - I am sure Ryan could go into great detail for you if you would like to know more. Before Christmas they had to submit an essay regarding how they see nano technology playing a major role in the energy and materials of the ciy and then they begin work on their scale model of the city made out of only recycled materials. The city also has to have moving parts generated by one 9V battery. They then bring that model to the competition to present in front of the judges. The judges are from some of the local companies like Opus, 3M, and Xcel Energy. Ryan was voted by his classmates to be one of the 3 presenters, but since he is not in grade 7 or 8 he was only allowed to present to the non official judges. He did a great job and we are so proud of him (even though we aren't going to Washington DC for the finals)!


Finally, some of you may have noticed a new 'widget' on the right side bar of this page. It is for the liz logelin foundation. This foundation is in memory of matt's wife liz and the goal is to financially help young widows and widowers with small children. If the mood strikes you, please donate to this great cause. Thank you!

2009 - Here we come

So before I move on to 2009 - let's wrap up the last of 2008. It's a long one, so I hope you are comfortable. When I last left you, we were getting ready to celebrate Joe's first birthday. It was a fabulous day. We got together with some family and friends, ate some good food, watched Joe open some fabulous gifts and tear into his cake.



(i know this one is blurry, but I couldn't resist)

The beginning of December we were all entertained at Ryan's Christmas program at school. True to form, it made my eyes wet. It was a great program and both boys looked so handsome.



Christmas was so much fun this year. Definitely different then last year when I was so exhausted from a newborn. Now I am just used to the exhaustion? Regardless - we all had a great time and the boys got some great gifts. We spent the day lounging around the house before heading to mom and dad's for dinner. Bill and Laura were also able to join us and that was so much fun.







So, it's not like me to post and not have an illness to tell you about. The day after Christmas Joe was diagnosed with an ear infection and Chicken Pox. Mind you it was 3 pox all on his leg. This was a reaction to the vaccine he had received on the 15th of December. One of the lucky 1% that develop the pox from the shot. Lucky Joe. Guess we should have bought a PowerBall that day.

That same night Kyle and I had plans to meet up with Matt and some of my creepy friends. Mom was kind enough to come over and hang with the boys so we could enjoy a great evening out



I took some time off during the holidays. During one of those days, Ryan, Joe and I went to Macy's in Minneapolis to check out the eighth floor display. The display was cute, but a little too young and cutesy for Ryan. As he put it "that was kind of lame". So I made him go through a second time. Santa had already started his vacation, so no torturous Santa/Joe picture this year

New Year's eve we went out and celebrated cousin Carol's 40th birthday. Another great celebration with family and friends. I didn't capture enough photos of the evening to do it justice.

And to finish off the year - here are some random Joe shots.

2008 was definitely a year of ups and downs. A lot of changes - going back to work after maternity leave, learning how to take care of a toddler again, job change for Kyle, Ryan starting the trombone and officially passing me up in the height category, and meeting a lot of new friends through a tragedy. Not one thing would I change (even though I wish I could change the painful events) as it has helped me to grow as a person and put life in perspective. I hope to take this momentum into 2009 - making it the best year so far.