Stuffed to the Brim

My dad grew up on a farm in Minnesota. That being said, he knows how to do a lot of things like drive stick shift, fix things that are broken, make new things, and garden. I'm not talking froofy Grandma kind of gardening, although he has planted some sweet flower beds before. I'm talking heavy duty, very manly gardening. He asked me to help with that very masculine gardening this weekend.
We had big bushes in front of our house. I don't have a photo of those bushes (because when was the last time you took a photo of the front of your house?)

Here's a photo from my high school graduation and you can see the bushes in the background. Hey also, that's my family: Dad, Mom, me, Kayla, and her hubby Ben. Yay Family!

As you can see, those bushes are whack. haha get it? I crack myself up.

On Saturday, Dad took his electric saw to the bushes and we cleared everything but the base. That was the easy part! Then we had these nasty, scraggly stumps of 6 bushes. They were intimidating. We shoveled and pulled and strained but it wasn't moving. Dad explained that the root system of a plant is usually as big as the plant above the ground. With the help of a cable attatched to the back of Dad's construction van, we got the first one out!

The rest were easier since we knew what we were doing. Do you remember the scene in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" where they are repotting mandrakes? It was kind of like that but without the screaming.
When all 6 bushes were out of the ground, we bought new plants at Menards and planted those bad boys. And after we planted those, we got mulch and made it look really nice.

Now, the front of our house doesn't look like it's about to be attacked. When the front shades are open, you can actually see outside and that's a plus.
Clean up is the worst part of the job because you're like "Oh I'm done" and then the empty mulch bags and spare branches are like "Uh, no, you're not, sucker."

When we were really really done, Dad and I went to Chili's for dinner. I had these delicious chicken club quesadillas that I'm still dreaming about. Mom was staffing a women's weekend or she would have joined the party too.

The finished product

You can see Maxi in the doorway- that goober is always looking out for me.

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It feels great to be finished with my first year of college. Here are some random photos from college.

Erin, my future roomie, Heidi, my roommate from this year, and me!

The cutest barista made this creation in my coffee and called the other  baristas over to see :)

From inside the library (instagramed!)

From inside my history notes. That class STUNK.

My hair looked Killer Awesome that day. It was picture worthy. 

Jess let me help her with rainbow cupcakes our last night at school.

Once I was home, I recreated them with the help of my dad. 

This is my room when I was living there but trying to pack up. It's an embarrassment. 

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Last week, I went to a Bulls game with my friend Tyler. Not just any Bulls game- a play off game! They lost (by a lot) and now their series with the 76ers is 3-2 in favor of Philly. We'll see how it goes. I would like for them to win, but with the MVP Derrick Rose down with a torn ACL and Joakim Noah out with a sprained ankle, it's going to be tough. In last night's game, the Bulls won but Taj Gibson sprained his ankle. Seriously guys, stop getting hurt. Thanks. My favorite player is Carlos Boozer because when people cheer for him it sounds like booing or when people are booing it sounds like cheering to him. Either way, it makes me laugh. He likes to fade away when he shoots which is fun and fancy.

I bought that shirt at Target the day of the game with a gift card. Chaching! I love those things.
 PS- did I convince you that I know something about the NBA? I try.

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In other news, all is right with the Backstreet Boys fandom. Kevin Richardson is rejoining the group. He left the group in 2006 on good terms because he was refocusing his life on his family. He has joined them on and off for performances, but the band has confirmed he will be with them on the next album. BSB has been doing a lot with New Kids on the Block and they have formed the hybrid NKOTBSB and they tour. It's pretty sweet. AJ McLean was recently married and his wife is expecting. I like when exciting things happen in their lives. When I watched the Justin Bieber movie with Kate and Mags, we couldn't help but compare the craziness to the time of BSB and Britney Spears. We went nuts over them. JBiebs became popular seemingly overnight and part of that is social networking. Gahh I feel so old. Anyway, that movie convinced me and I am now a Beileber. I feel like I was one of the last hold outs!
Wowsa that was a lot of things.