Parent Work Night

Last Thursday evening was parent work night at Ian's school. We all went, and we all enjoyed learning about Ian's classroom. He was so sweet and a little overwhelmed when we first arrived at his classroom, but with some gentle guidance from his teacher, Ian was able to remember what it was he had wanted to show us about where he spends his days learning. Ian showed us some work called vertebrate's, the pink tower, and the movable alphabet. Taylor worked on her homework for most of the time we were there, but she got everything done and Ian showed her around before we had to leave.


Ian is taking out the movable alphabet.






Ian is showing Panod how to use the movable alphabet.



Ian and Taylor are exploring Ian's classroom.

It's official! The XC60 is here...

Anybody who knows me or has had the ability to sneek a peek at my laptop's desktop knows how I feel about the Volvo XC60 concept vehicle, which is anticipated to be released here in the states in 2009. Well, those kind Volvo folks have released pics and specs ahead of the official release of the production vehicle at the auto show in Geneva. Why Geneva? I have no idea. But the pictures are showing me things I was really hoping to see on the production vehicle. Yes, it looks very similar to its cousins - the Mazda 7, & the Ford Edge (A.K.A as the Ford E Coli in Loriland) but it is on the same platform as the Land Rover L2, and the safety technology cannot be beat. This "softroader" has won a special spot in my heart. Now let's just hope that one of the diesel engines can make it all of the way over here, too.

Please click here to read all about the good news on the Autoblog website.

02/28/08 UPDATE -

O.K., I get it now....
From Edmunds Insideline: Geneva Auto Show

"As the first international auto show of the year, the 2008 Geneva Auto Show is guaranteed to feature plenty of notable world debuts. And it's not just the latest from BMW and Mercedes either, as the Geneva auto show is known for its showcase of international designers who bring their latest concept cars to gauge public reaction."

I understand Geneva because a majority of the XC60's sales will not be here in the states, and getting the international opinion on the vehicle is likely crucial to Volvo.

A Lunar Eclipse!

From Moon

Check out the lunar eclipse! We were able to play with the camera enough to get a couple of really fun pictures. The kids had a blast watching the moon disappear tonight.

Kidfest at Como

We also have some pictures from Kidfest over at the Como Zoo this past weekend. There were scavenger hunts, a dance for kids, and a few of the newest baby animals received their names. Ian wanted nothing to do with dancing when we first got there, but he ended up wanting to go back and dance after a while. Taylor on the other hand could have danced the entire day away. She really does a good chicken dance! We also bumped into our neighbors while listening to the Indonesian Performing Arts Association of Minnesota. Joko and his wife, Tri, are very good friends of our neighbors, and Taylor played the Indonesian music she learned from Joko and Tri back in December.

And here's the funny for the day: it was -15 this morning when Taylor and I got out the door at 7:30am to head off to school. Yes, that is a minus sign in front of that 15. That was bad, but it got worse. Cars don't act right when it is that cold out. I don't care if it is a new car or an old car - it is going to let you know that it doesn't like that much cold. My car decided to turn on the windshield wipers by itself! Better yet, THEY WOULDN'T TURN OFF! Now, when it is that cold out and your wipers are going while you are trying to drive and your car hasn't really warmed up yet, you end up getting a very smudged windshield. I couldn't see anything and I had to pull over! It was so bad! No matter what I did they just kept on going... until I turned on my right turn signal. Silly me - I should have known!? And after I got out of class today, I called Panod to tell him what my car had done - only to have him tell me a similar story about his truck! Cars hate the cold just as much as we do.

Happy Valentine's Day '08

We woke up to two inches of snow on the ground this morning. Taylor and I are rushing around to get out the door since it will probably take longer to get to our schools with the snow - but it is beautiful. The four of us somehow got through the making of 66 valentines last night for the kids to take to school today! And I have a test on the lab portion of my A & PII class today -- it's on the heart, of course. Happy V Day to you & yours.

Check out this fun link on Neatorama. All these cool things remind me of my test today!

What a Handsome Bunch!

This picture of all of the UrbanPlanet kids was taken during the annual UP Super Bowl party by Panod's boss, who also happens to be very skilled at photography. (Hint- the cupcakes were not consumed until after this picture was taken.)

Valentine’s Day Soiree at Como

The four of us braved the -5 temperature outside tonight to head on over to the Valentine’s Day Soiree at the Como Conservatory. We have never been to it before, but I think we'll plan on going again next year. It is so wonderful to walk into the warm and tropical areas and get a reminder of what summer not only feels like, but also what it smells like. But for a special treat, the Valentine's Day Soiree occurs during the evening when the conservatory is usually closed, and the paths are all lit with candles!

Kane Has Good News!

My nephew has something he wants to share with you...

So Much to Update!

We would like to share some of the things we have been up to since the last Aug. post. I'm going to post some links to pictures and we have even evolved into movies as well!

We had my brother & his wife celebrate their little guy's second birthday back in October...

Kane Turns 2

And then there was Ian's class trip to the HANC Nature Center in Roseville...

HANC - JJ Hill

The kids and I picked out pumpkins before Halloween...

Halloween Pumpkins

Ian had his first day of hockey...

Ian's Hockey

Taylor had an incredible performance of Indonesian music - performed by the 6th graders...

Taylor Indonesia

Taylor had her piano recital...

Taylor's Piano Recital

Here are some pictures from Christmas...

Christmas 07

I took a trip to Atlanta with my mom to see our family for a few days, just after Christmas...

Atlanta 07

Ian had his 6th birthday in January...

Ian's 6th Birthday

Taylor and I celebrated the winter carnival by taking a look at the snow sculptures. We also tried snowboarding for the first time, but we didn't get any pictures of that. That's good, because we were really, really bad at it. I think we've decided to stick with what we know we are good at - skiing!

Winter Carnival 2008

The kids are doing very well in school. Taylor had her science fair and has been working very hard at piano. Ian has been working very hard on his reading and writing, and he has been doing some impressive work at hockey this winter in the Mighty Kids program. Panod's job is going strong this year (YEA!), and I have changed schools and majors. (Better to do it now rather than changing in the middle of a program.) I'm now at St. Paul College, and I am enrolled in the nursing program.

Here are some of the videos we've shot recently. They are all of Ian, so we'll be sure to get some up of Taylor, too.






That's about it for us!