Our one year anniversary!

It's hard to believe that one year ago Jason and I walked down the aisle.  We decided to celebrate our first anniversary on the North Shore in Minnnesota.  We started our trek in Duluth, a town that overlooks Lake Superior.  We headed for Canal Park first, a spot that attracts all the tourists.  You can watch huge barges come through the lift bridge here.  Somehow we timed it perfectly to watch a ship from Canada come through. 

Once the bridge dropped back down we went across to a beautiful beach.  The sand and water are clean - chilly but clean. 

 Duluth from the beach.

After visiting a few sites in Duluth, we hopped back in the car and headed farther North.

A season full of severe weather (already)

We've had a crazy spring. First it snowed in early May, then we went right into tornado season. In the past two weeks the tornado sirens have sounded a dozen times, mostly over this past weekend. Several tornadoes have ripped up trees and wrecked homes.  While we haven't had any significant damage in our town, Minneapolis wasn't so lucky.  On Sunday a tornado touched down in North Minneapolis.  It killed one person, injured 30 others and left a trail of destruction. 

On Monday I did a story about the storm damage.  You can check out the story here.  While out, I snapped a few pictures.  It's amazing what mother nature can do.  This tornado was on the ground for less than three minutes and managed do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

From defensive end to boxer

There has been a lot of buzz in the sports world about a Minnesota Viking that decided to switch careers.  Defensive end Ray Edwards went from his purple uniform on the gridiron to red silk shorts in a boxing ring.  The 260 pound football player fought his first pro fight at a casino this past Saturday night. 

We made the mini trek up to Hinckley's Grand Casino to watch the fight.  Edwards wound up winning after four rounds, but it was not an impressive fight.   Crowds were booing.  Jason was more entertained to see Joe Cortez, a notable referee that has a catch phrase, "I'm fair but I'm firm." 

After a disappointing bout, we went straight to the slot machines and entertained ourselves for a bit.

Our new hobby

Over the last few weeks Jason and I have developed a weakness for the ponies lol.  We have several race tracks near our house, which we have been fans of for several years, but this is the first year we put money on the big races.  We bet on the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, with pretty good success.  Well, it's probably more accurate to say we rotate our success.  For the derby, I picked the second place horse while Jason's horse was carted off in ambulance.  But in the Preakness my horse came in dead last, while Jason picked the winner!

 
Now our winnings aren't going to allow us to retire or anything, but having a bet on a race makes it really fun to watch.  The last leg of the Triple Crown race is the Belmont, which happens in a few weeks.  Maybe we'll both have good luck on this one!

A prickly trip

Jason is racking up the travel miles these days.  His recent work trip took him to a cactus filled park in Arizona to direct a photography video for his company.  Leading a crew of six, the goal was to produce a one hour dvd on different photography techniques.   They were in Sagaro park, near Tuscon.

Aside from shooting in the hot desert with 90 degree temperatures, he also had a few run-ins with a cactus!  A photographer shot this video of one of the crew members pulling cactus needles from his butt.  Not your typical work hazard, right?

Cuties.

When I went home I got to meet my best friend's son. Michelle was pregnant during our wedding last June, and welcomed Calvin into the world about two month later. Isn't he a cutie?

He's always smiling, and how can you not love his hair?

Calvin sat on my lap for his tasty dinner of carrots.

But Calvin isn't the only cutie we've hung out with lately.  Our friend's son, Jack just celebrated his first birthday.  He's a mover, crawling up a storm as his  'Very Hungry Caterpillar'  themed party. 

 What a cutie!

 He had his own birthday cake, which he enjoyed playing in.

Happy first birthday Jack!

Welcomed sign!

It's a good sign!  I saw a robin outside today.  It looked a little cold, but I'll take any sign of spring right now!