The holidays started off with a great celebration at Taylor's school called Colonial Days. Colonial days is an event that takes place at Taylor's school every year around this time, but with this being our first time participating in the big event, we weren't sure what to expect. We do know that Taylor has spent a majority of the past two weeks pouring herself into learning about Colonial times. The kids even get to come up with a name for an individual and a job that they may have held during those times. On Thursday, everyone set up a booth in the atrium with items they would have made from their trade. After about 20 minutes in the atrium, we all poured into the gym where the kids all did a class presentation & a dance! Grandma & Panod got to join in on the fun & I owe all of the picture credit of Taylor dancing to Grandma, who was kind enough to stay and take them while I had to run and pick up Ian at school. Thanks Grandma!
Sunday was a day to make phone calls to family, make a big dinner (thanks for the ham, dad!), and to let the kids each open up one present. The kids each opened up a model car - Taylor got a Nissan 350Z & Ian got a convertible Mini Cooper. By about 7:00pm last night, we did our annual Christmas Eve viewing of lights. This year was different - we had a destination. We had heard about this house over in South Minneapolis (Longfellow) that had coordinated music to their lights using a computer. It was the most amazing light display we've ever seen! We must have spent at least 30 minutes there laughing, and oooo'ing & aaahhhh'ing! If you'd like to see the house we went and saw, check out this video on you tube or watch the report on WCCO news.
Today was a blast. The kids woke us up at 7:00am on the dot & ran down to open presents. Taylor received some much-loved Dr. Who goodies & Ian received some really nice Thomas stuff. We went on to have breakfast & then headed out the door to Uncle Rob's house to gather with more family for a while. The food was wonderful and the company was even better....Ian even decided that Kane is his cousin, and not Taylor's! lol
A special note to our family that we could not be with today: We love you and miss you very much. Please know that we think of you often. Thank you to you and your families for the love and support we receive from you every day. You are our greatest gift.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Need a good Christmas morning breakfast?
I found a recipe for Baked French Toast on the web awhile back. We have had it several times now & I've changed it around a little to fit our taste. We will likely be having this on Christmas morning and thought we would share the recipe...
Baked French Toast
INGREDIENTS
* 1 (1 pound) loaf of day-old French bread, cut diagonally in 2 inch slices
* 6 eggs
* 1/2 cups milk
* 2 cups half-and-half cream
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3/4 cup butter
* 1 1/3 cups brown sugar
* 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
DIRECTIONS
1. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange the slices of bread in the
bottom. (I usually have to squish the bread a bit in order to get
it to fit. Sometimes I have two or three pieces leftover that I
cannot fit) In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, cream,
vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over bread slices, cover, and
refrigerate overnight.
2. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup;
heat until bubbling. Pour over bread and egg mixture.
3. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes. (This tends
to spill over for me, so I recommend putting a baking sheet
covered in aluminum on the rack below the French toast while it is
baking)
Sunday, December 17, 2006
One week to go...
Merry (almost) Christmas!
Taylor and Ian have one more week before school is out for winter break. They are looking forward to the time off of school, but Taylor does have her science project due when winter break is over. We're still not sure about a topic yet and she has to turn in her sheet stating the topic of her science project on Thursday! We'll be sure to update on how things are going.
Ian had a field trip to go and see a play with his school on Friday. They took the bus and it apparently went right past Panod's office. The only reason I know this is because when I picked Ian up Friday afternoon, his teacher told me that Ian started jumping up and down on the bus and yelling, "That's my daddy's work! That's my daddy's work!" Ian also had a good time at the play and said that it was very funny.
On my end of things, my last day at CVA will be on Wednesday! It has been an interesting and very educational three years working in the IT department, but it is time for me to move on to new challenges. I have been accepted to St. Kate's this fall for their Physical Therapy Assistant program. I will also be taking a few classes starting next month at a local community college in order to get the ball rolling. I am very excited to have this opportunity! I also need to say that Taylor has been a very big inspiration in making this decision. Watching her go through the motions of heading off to a new school over the last several months - how hard she has been working and the rewards she is finding in her newly found self confidence has sparked something in me. I told her how I felt the other night, and while I'm not sure she fully understood what I was trying to say, I hope that someday she will.
I don't have much time for a lengthy update, but we do have some fun pictures to put up from our annual family Christmas party we went to today. We have attended this party since before Taylor was born, and it is always such a blast to see how big all of the little ones have gotten in the past year. We had some seriously good potluck food, the kids did a pinata, and then there was Indian bingo.
Taylor and Ian have one more week before school is out for winter break. They are looking forward to the time off of school, but Taylor does have her science project due when winter break is over. We're still not sure about a topic yet and she has to turn in her sheet stating the topic of her science project on Thursday! We'll be sure to update on how things are going.
Ian had a field trip to go and see a play with his school on Friday. They took the bus and it apparently went right past Panod's office. The only reason I know this is because when I picked Ian up Friday afternoon, his teacher told me that Ian started jumping up and down on the bus and yelling, "That's my daddy's work! That's my daddy's work!" Ian also had a good time at the play and said that it was very funny.
On my end of things, my last day at CVA will be on Wednesday! It has been an interesting and very educational three years working in the IT department, but it is time for me to move on to new challenges. I have been accepted to St. Kate's this fall for their Physical Therapy Assistant program. I will also be taking a few classes starting next month at a local community college in order to get the ball rolling. I am very excited to have this opportunity! I also need to say that Taylor has been a very big inspiration in making this decision. Watching her go through the motions of heading off to a new school over the last several months - how hard she has been working and the rewards she is finding in her newly found self confidence has sparked something in me. I told her how I felt the other night, and while I'm not sure she fully understood what I was trying to say, I hope that someday she will.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
A Winter Weekend
While we missed the fun that the rest of the Midwest seems to be experiencing this weekend with the first big snowfall, we still managed to have some fun this weekend.
Earlier this week Ian and I set out to Choo Choo Bob's on Cleveland & Marshall. Immediately upon our arrival there Ian went to work on the six (yes, six!!) train tables they had set up, while I set off to find Engineer Paul for some tickets to see the movie, Trains, at the Riverview Theater on Saturday. While the train movie is free, you have to have tickets from CCB's in order to be admitted to the Riverview. We ended up spending 45 minutes at Choo Choo Bob's - it was during the early afternoon and I'm guessing that since that time of the day is nap time for most Thomas the Train enthusiasts, that must be why it was probably the most peaceful part of my week last week. I would highly recommend going to CCB's on an early weekday afternoon vs. hitting it up on a weekend.
Saturday morning, Ian and Panod headed off to the Riverview with their free tickets in hand. Apparently there were some clips from The Polar Express, Thomas the Tank Engine, and other train movies. This was our second experience with these free train movies and I'm sure we'll be going back again.
While Ian and Panod were over in Minneapolis watching the movies, Taylor and I headed over to the Como Zoo for the unveiling of the Winter Carnival button. It turns out that all of the submissions for the design of the button were done by CVA students this year. The student who won had graduated back in May and it was a treat to see her again. We bought our buttons, watched the Polar Bears lick the banners, and headed inside for the rest of the celebration. Taylor made some arts and crafts, we danced to the Teddy Bear Band, and we entered some contests. Taylor ended up winning a really great stuffed camel and a $50 gift certificate to Schuler Shoes, a local shoe shop! She also had this great caricature drawing done of her - it made me laugh so hard because it is so good!! Before we left we had to go the new Tropical exhibit. We've already been a few times, but there's always something interesting to watch in there.
I have a few pictures from the zoo to share & that's about it for now. ((((All our love))))
Earlier this week Ian and I set out to Choo Choo Bob's on Cleveland & Marshall. Immediately upon our arrival there Ian went to work on the six (yes, six!!) train tables they had set up, while I set off to find Engineer Paul for some tickets to see the movie, Trains, at the Riverview Theater on Saturday. While the train movie is free, you have to have tickets from CCB's in order to be admitted to the Riverview. We ended up spending 45 minutes at Choo Choo Bob's - it was during the early afternoon and I'm guessing that since that time of the day is nap time for most Thomas the Train enthusiasts, that must be why it was probably the most peaceful part of my week last week. I would highly recommend going to CCB's on an early weekday afternoon vs. hitting it up on a weekend.
Saturday morning, Ian and Panod headed off to the Riverview with their free tickets in hand. Apparently there were some clips from The Polar Express, Thomas the Tank Engine, and other train movies. This was our second experience with these free train movies and I'm sure we'll be going back again.
While Ian and Panod were over in Minneapolis watching the movies, Taylor and I headed over to the Como Zoo for the unveiling of the Winter Carnival button. It turns out that all of the submissions for the design of the button were done by CVA students this year. The student who won had graduated back in May and it was a treat to see her again. We bought our buttons, watched the Polar Bears lick the banners, and headed inside for the rest of the celebration. Taylor made some arts and crafts, we danced to the Teddy Bear Band, and we entered some contests. Taylor ended up winning a really great stuffed camel and a $50 gift certificate to Schuler Shoes, a local shoe shop! She also had this great caricature drawing done of her - it made me laugh so hard because it is so good!! Before we left we had to go the new Tropical exhibit. We've already been a few times, but there's always something interesting to watch in there.
I have a few pictures from the zoo to share & that's about it for now. ((((All our love))))
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Happy Holidays
Nothing says Happy Holidays like the first round of conferences with the kids' teachers. We learned a lot about their daily schedules, and how well they are both adjusting to their new surroundings. We came home with so much great stuff that the kids had been working on, I decided to go ahead and share them on the blog!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Bluefin Bay
We took full advantage of the days off of school that the kids had last week, and we set off for a full weekend of relaxation and adventure at
We also took trips to both the Split Rock Light House & Grand Marais. We decided to hit Split Rock on Saturday since we received an email (did I mention that the rooms all had free wi-fi!) from my dad letting us know that there was going to be a lighting of the lighthouse ceremony that afternoon. The lighthouse has been decommissioned for many years now and they only light it up one weekend a year - the weekend that marks the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald 31 years ago.
Grand Marais was fun, too. We went into the Trading Post to look around, and we found many neat items for the outdoor enthusiast. We also went into the Ben Franklin. If you've never hit the Ben Franklin in Grand Marais, it is like taking K-Mart and smooshing it into a store with about 1/4 the square footage! It was hilarious to see the toilet paper stacked to the ceiling, in the same isle as the Tylenol, baby teething rings, and rugged outdoor socks! The last stop for us in Grand Marais was Sven & Ole's Pizza. While we were not very impressed with the pizza itself, we had a blast joking around and playing games while we were there.
The pictures below are mostly from a stop we had on our way up in
Ian's favorite part: the loft in their room
Panod's favorite part: the lighthouse
Lori's favorite part: the good time we had at Sven & Ole's
Toby's favorite part: the heated floors in the room & the windows that went all of the way down to the floor so that he could see out
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Happy Halloween
Happy Halloween!!
Taylor (Dalek) & Ian (Chip the Chipmunk) on Halloween nightWe have been so busy with getting ready for the big day - sorry for the lack of updates!
Taylor and Panod have been wrapped up in creating the ultimate Dalek costume from the show 'Dr. Who.' They cut cardboard, glued styrofoam, painted a lot of things gold and even made it have the correct weapons. We had hoped to be done before the Boo Bash celebration on Grand Ave. in St. Paul on Saturday, but we didn't make it. Taylor grabbed an old costume for Boo Bash, and we asked Grandma to join us and we all had a blast. It was a bit cold, but there was free hot apple cider and other treats to help keep us all stay warm. I hope that we make this a family tradition for many years to come!
Sunday, we spent a good part of the day cooking and getting ready for the neighborhood Halloween party on Monday. We found a great and easy recipe for Meringues, and using confectioner's paint, we painted little black eyes and a mouth on each cookie. If you use the recipe from this site, add one more egg white to what they recommend.
Monday night was spent finishing up Taylor's costume, and cutting pumpkins at the neighborhood Halloween party. The food was wonderful, and the pumpkins all turned out great! And those of us who felt the need to watch the Vikings during the party quickly lost the urge to yell for our team, and started yelling at our team!
Yesterday was the big day - Ian went as the chipmunk, Chip & Taylor finally got to wear her finished Dalek costume! The windchill was in the teens last night, and Ian only lasted about thirty minutes. But Taylor and Panod headed back out after Ian and I were done, and they quickly filled up Taylor's bag to an insane amount of loot! (Guess Panod and I will have to help her get that down to a reasonable amount.) The neighborhood kids were all so cute, too!!
Here are the Halloween pictures
Tomorrow we will be using some free passes that will allow us to see 'The Santa Clause 3' over in Roseville a day before it opens. We will be sure to update the blog and give our feedback on the movie.
**UPDATE** Santa Clause 3 -- not so good! Recommend Happy Feet as a better alternative.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
First Snow Flakes, First Play & First Birthday!
As promised by our beloved meteorologists, we received our first snow flakes of fall here off and on for the past several days. That also means that it has been unseasonably cold, but still festive all the same! A few pics of our front yard are below.
Another first - Taylor had her first play, Bubble Gum At The Bus Stop, at her new school last week. The whole class did a great job! Apparently, they had to put the play on four times that day in order to let everyone see it! Taylor played a secretary who sat on a piece of bubble gum, thus making her stick to the bus stop bench, and forcing her to miss her bus! She really did a great job! Ian and I are looking forward to future works from Taylor's class! The pictures of the play are in the same album as the first snow pictures.
Yesterday, we got to help our little nephew celebrate his first birthday! What a blast! He was such a great sport - from the greeting of the guests, to the all-mighty face smeared cake, the inevitable bath that followed, and finally the presents, he really put on that charming four-toothed smile that just seems to make us all smile right back at him! We really enjoyed the food, and the company. Thanks guys for having us over!! Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Finally, we had Grandpa Bob stop by for some brunch this morning. He and Gunner were making the rounds down here in the cities, and we were lucky enough to be one of their stops. The kids also got to see his new truck, which is always fun. It was a short trip, but it was great to see them!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Full of Fall Activities
Como Lake starting to get some colorFriday night was a big night for our sci-fi loving family! Not only was Dr. Who on and we had our neighbors over, and we all shared some great pizza - but it was also the season's first Battlestar Galactica! Oh my, my! This one was about as tasty and mind-blowing as they get. If anyone out there ever needs to chat it up about a little BSG, we are always game!
We've also really been getting into the season of fall this week. Taylor and Ian made Halloween shirts that turned out really well. They also made shirts for a parade they were in on Saturday! St. Paul Public Schools celebrated its 150th Anniversary with a parade that included all of the district's schools, and a party in Central High's stadium. Since our family has two kids in two separate schools, we had to split up and march in separate parts of the parade. We had a blast that morning, and the children really enjoyed representing their schools!
Sunday was busy enough as well - Taylor and Grandma went out for some "girl time." They hit the Walker, had some lunch, and did the Barnes & Noble thing for a bit. Afterwards, both Taylor and Ian had to go and get haircuts since their school pictures are coming up this week. Ian is never one to express a deep love for the barber shop, but this time there was no screaming or crying, so there is clearly some progress being made there.
I can't wait to see if our forecasters are right about the weather later on this week -- they are talking _SNOW_! I'll be sure to post some pics if that really does happen!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Go Twins!
As I type this, Ian and I are watching the Twins play their first post-season game, after clinching the division title. All four of us have enjoyed watching the games over the past couple of weeks, and the kids are learning a lot about the game of baseball. Ian and I even got the honor of going to a Twins game a couple of weeks ago, after I won a ten-pack of tickets from Cities 97! Things are going well for the Twins -- let's hope their skill continues into the post-season.
As for going-ons right now, it looks like we've got some severe storms headed our way this afternoon. It is odd to have strong storms this time of the year, but I suppose that mother nature needs to even things out from giving us such a quiet spring and summer. Taylor had a birthday party on Saturday that she really enjoyed. It involved art and an ice cream cake, so it was a hit in Taylorland. And poor little Ian -- he came down with an ear infection on Friday and missed a day of school. He's taking his antibiotics and feeling much better now.
I hope to have some pictures of the leaves up here in the next couple of days. The trees are peeking in their color now and we would love to share them!!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
We have been a little busy!
Panod, his parents & Ian in Miami, FL this weekendI was trying to think of everything that has gone on since the last post. I'll try to get everything on here, but if I forget something that you know about, please let me know!
Ian's school had an ice cream & pizza social where we got to go and meet some of his friends & see his school. He really enjoyed showing Taylor his school and we really enjoyed meeting some of his new little friends.
Taylor had an open house at her school a few days after Ian's event at his school. She showed us some of the art projects she has been working on (I'll have to scan some of those in when they come home), and she gave us the grand tour of the classroom. She's clearly proud of the school, her friends, and especially how hard she is working!
This past weekend was a milestone in our little family -- Ian finally got to meet his other Grandparents! He and Panod took a flight down to Miami over the weekend to see his parents & it sounds like they had a BLAST! Ian found a real coconut on the beach, saw the ocean for the first time, went swimming in their pool, and enjoyed Grandma & Grandpa's company. Panod's web album of pictures can be found here.
And while Panod and Ian were away this weekend, Taylor and I took off to Brainerd to go and see my dad. We had a pleasant drive there and the trees up there have already gotten so beautiful with their fall colors! We were treated to the finest in dining cuisine & enjoyed our walks in the woods with the dogs & grandpa -- even if Toby enjoyed running away more than he should have! I have some great pictures that I will get up and post here shortly.
Lastly, today was Grandparents day at Taylor's school. Taylor would really like to thank Grandma for taking time off of work today, and braving the morning rush hour in both Minneapolis & St. Paul in order to make it over here this morning. It sounds like the grandparents even got to spend some time in the classroom with their grandchildren, where there became a deep level of appreciation for Taylor's teacher and the level of work that the children do on a daily basis.
Otherwise, all is well on our end! We are glad to be back home together after spending a few days apart. Taylor has another fun birthday party to go to this weekend where they are going to hit the art crawl here in St. Paul! How cool is that?! Oh - and Dr. Who is returning to SciFi this Friday!!!! That is the big event in our house this weekend.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
A Post From Taylor
Hi, this is Taylor. Today was a nice relaxing day. There wasn't a lot to do, so I decided to collect some leaves. And here's what they look like. And my little helper, Toby, decided to help me by telling me which angle to take the snap shots from. I'm going to use these leaves for a project at school. I'm going to make a leaf creature!
Have a great week!
Have a great week!
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Fall Has Settled In
We have to start with the updated state fair pics - if you click on the picture link in the blog posted before this one, you'll get all of our state fair pictures. I just added the new pictures to the album that is already there, so it is all updated and ready for your viewing pleasure.
With that being said, the fair is finally over! Every year we start talking about the big event in Feb. or March. Then we get to day 7 or 8 of the fair and we are sooooooo ready to be done. The kids are ready to be done by then too - until we remind them that school starts the day after the fair ends. While the extra income is nice, and having beer and cheese curds for breakfast is swell, the best part of the whole darn thing really is our neighbors. I feel like we grow closer to them every year and in that sense it never gets old.
Whew! Getting heavy here and I haven't even gotten to the first day of school yet!
I originally named this photo album 'Ian's First Day of School', but then I remembered that we also have got a picture of
Both of the kids have had a very smooth first week at their new schools.
Ian's first day was on Thursday and Panod took a ton of pictures. I was unable to be there for the big morning, and it was actually a good thing - once I saw the pictures of Ian while I was at work that morning, I started crying a little! lol I would have been a basket case if I'd actually been there. *sniff* As for Ian - he's been amazing! He really seems motivated to learn, and to please his teachers & his peers. We've also come to realize that there is a strong possibility that he may be left-handed, which is a surprise. He's able to use the mouse to the computer right-handed with no problem, but when he goes to write or draw the pencil goes in the left hand.
This weekend has primarily been about catching up on sleep. We're all still getting used to being up so early and the sleeping-in was a hit in our house. This morning we all got up and made some brunch before we headed off to the Science Museum of Minnesota. I was able to get four free passes through the
That's about all that's happening in our little neck of the woods. Take care, thanks for reading, and enjoy the pictures.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Great Minnesota Get Together!
It is finally upon us! The Minnesota State Fair has arrived in our little neck of the woods. That can only mean one thing: if it's edible we should batter it, deep fry it and then shove it on a stick and charge $6 for it. We are talking fried macaroni on a stick, fried hot dish on a stick, fried candy bar on a stick, teriyaki ostrich on a stick, fried alligator on a stick (all of which we've tried and enjoyed).... you get the idea. The four of us have spent the past six days marooned here at home while we park cars. The kids did get out for an afternoon last Saturday with grandma. They hit McDonald's and a movie and it sounds like they had a blast. We also spent a majority of the day yesterday in the fair. It did rain a good majority of the time we were there, but that kept the crowds away and were pleased with that part of it. The one thing I'd like to go to again with the kids when we go on Thursday is the birthing barn. It was sooooo great! We were watching a cow give birth, but she was having a hard time pushing and we were having a hard time seeing - even with all of the large tv screens they have in there. We will try it again and see if we have more success.
We have had some interesting nights here - mostly just on the weekends with people who have had too much to drink. Otherwise, we are getting to meet so many fun people from so many walks of life. If the fair didn't symbolize the end of summer so much, I'd love it more than Christmas!
The pictures we've gotten so far are not the best and there are not that many since we've had so much rain - it makes it hard to keep the camera out and ready. But the rest of the week looks sunny and I expect to finally put the camera to use the next couple of days. The link to the pictures is just below here - enjoy!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
State Fair Here We Come!
Update 8/21/2006 @ 9:17pm:
Pictures! Pictures! All hail Picasa!! Just click the picture below and it will take you to the pictures from the past week. Enjoy!
The four of us have just spent an entire weekend cleaning the house and the garage in preparation for the Minnesota State Fair! It starts this Thursday and there is sooooo much to be done!!! First thing - I have to point you in the direction of the State Fair web site.Taylor
Pictures! Pictures! All hail Picasa!! Just click the picture below and it will take you to the pictures from the past week. Enjoy!
The four of us have just spent an entire weekend cleaning the house and the garage in preparation for the Minnesota State Fair! It starts this Thursday and there is sooooo much to be done!!! First thing - I have to point you in the direction of the State Fair web site.
Next line of business - we have got a good number of pictures to put up, but neither blogger or kodak gallery are in the mood to let me get them up right now! Most of them are from last weekend when we spent A Day Out with Thomas over in
There are a few more pictures from Ian's t-ball last Monday. It was supposed to be his last one, but they still have one more to make-up tomorrow for when they missed one due to bad weather. It was a kids vs. parents ball game, and while the parents were tough, the kids eventually proved to be too much. The kids won 9-0 last I'd heard!
As for posting during the State Fair - ideally I'd like to post every couple of nights, but more than likely I may not have time to post until around this time a week from now. We are planning on going on Monday (in a week) for our first time in, so we'll have some fun pictures to share. I hope to hear from some of you that you are planning on stopping by! We really do enjoy seeing the familiar faces of our family and friends.
Take care & be well.
Monday, August 07, 2006
A summer vacation with a surprise ending
I know that my over exhausted mind will not be able to type up the happenings of the last week in a manner that will do it justice, so hang in there with me...
Last weekend (7/30) we took off for a fun-filled week of camping in a tent at William O'Brien State Park! As excited as we were, the 110+ heat index kind of put a damper on our enthusiasm, but we pushed ahead. And we packed fans. We also knew that it was expected to rain for a day or two while we planned to be out there, so we also packed a large tarp, warm clothes, books, card games, and yes, even the gameboy and dvd player. We may have cheated a little, but I think that everyone really had a good time. The one full day that we were there during the heat was Monday. We ended up retreating the 45 minutes back home that morning in the air conditioned van to pick up the lantern we had forgotten to pack and some firewood we had sitting in the shed. After that, we spent the rest of the day at the water park at Wild Mountain, about 45 minutes north of the camp site. Taylor went on every single water slide - she even did the speed slide!! Ian went on every slide but the speed slide, but he really enjoyed the water playground and lazy river the most. Panod and I also had a great time and by the time we got back to the camp site that night, we were too tired to care about how hot it had been earlier that day. That night and on into Wednesday morning it rained. A lot. I heard estimates of 5 inches after we got back home!! We did manage to stay pretty dry and warm. Tuesday was my birthday and we just enjoyed the cool rain, and made spaghetti for dinner on the screen porch. Panod and kids also managed to find a way to get me some really cool toys for my bike as presents. And since I've been riding into work this summer, I couldn't wait to put them to use! Wednesday gave way to cooler temps and blue skies, so we did a lot of hiking, biking and swimming the rest of the week. We had some unexpected visitors pay us a visit in our porch and just outside the tent a couple of nights - raccoons!! We knew enough to throw out our trash at night and put the food in the car to try and keep them away, but they still had to come and make sure that there really wasn't anything to eat. But the bats we would see at night were cool and Panod and Ian got to watch a toad eat a bug! Saturday afternoon we headed back home. Back to voicemail, email, snailmail & satellite. Little did I know what was brewing....
Sunday was, in my mind, a day to catch up on laundry, do some grocery shopping and maybe even grab a quick nap on the couch before mowing the lawn and grilling out some dinner while we got caught up with our neighbors. I really had no idea. I really thought that Panod had gotten me up from my nap on the couch because he had a serious craving for fish tacos over at Se Salt in Minnehaha Park. And he wanted to bring the ladder ball. And Taylor wanted to bring the camera. I really must have been half asleep, because I still didn't get it. It wasn't until we walked through the pavilion and I saw my family & our neighbors that I got it! SURPRISE! They got me! And I understand that Panod was the ring leader!! Even Taylor had known since before we left to go camping! How Panod, my family and the neighbors all pulled it off is beyond me. I really did enjoy having everyone come and celebrate! Thank you! Thank you!
Now for the fun part - you can look through the camping pictures and the party pictures here. Enjoy and thanks for reading!!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Sand Lake 2006
*Click here for all of the pics we took*
*Click here for the Dave & Mary's pics*
*Click here for the Bill & Cathy pics*
There are few things in our lives that tell us that it is definitely summer like the annual Urbanplanet Sand Lake retreat. We have discovered that though the drive may be long, the water - like the beer - is always cool and refreshing. Not to mention that the company is always good, too!
Our drive up Friday afternoon was uneventful, quiet and quick - just the way we love it! We did stop in Hinckley for a quick potty break, but didn't stop again until we reached our destination. We were pleasantly surprised to find that a majority of the UP crew had already arrived and that the rest were on their way. Usually not everyone is able to get there until Saturday afternoon, so it was nice to see everyone a day early! Taylor and Ian ran off with the kids while Panod (a.k.a. PK) and I set up camp. By the time we got the tent up the food was already flyin'! I can honestly say that the grazing pace that the food is rolled out for the masses to feed on is one of the coolest ideas I've been able to experience. Think of it like a buffet that changes every couple of hours and everyone takes turns prepping something that they brought to share.
Saturday started off early with some sunshine and very little wind. I had discovered the night before that my allergies seem to get worse up north, so I darted off to the nearest Target first thing that morning to grab my favorite pill to battle my throbbing and drippy face. I was able to get back to David & Mary's and find that both kids had already been swimming and that the ladderball had been fired up. The afternoon continued with kids playing, games of ladderball going on, swimming off and on, and eating - lots of eating! Then everything involving the children came to a halt when the word _TUBING_ was brought up! We have no idea how Dave & Mary managed to get every single kid a turn at tubing - Peter even got to go skiing! Those on the boat had a blast, those that were tubing were returned unharmed and smiling, and those of us on the shore had a great time watching it all.
Saturday night was pretty much a blur for me once the medicine I had taken earlier in the day wore off. I clearly remember the kids making smores, but not much beyond that. I ended up curling up in bed with Toby and the kids while Panod stayed up and did the sauna thing. On the way home today we both talked about the fact that I am going to be kicking myself for the next year that I didn't stay up and sauna with everyone! There is nothing like sitting in a hot room until you can't take it anymore, dashing out the door and into the freezing cold lake while screaming like the loons on the other side of the lake!
Sunday we welcomed in the day with a ton of pancakes, egg bake, sausage, & donuts. That was quickly followed by more ladderball, swimming, reading, and kids playing. We started to pack up and head out later on in the afternoon about the same time as everyone else & we made the trip back here to the cities in just over three and a half hours! That's record time for us!
A few quick notes before I finally head off to bed:
* Stray dogs don't care about the screen placed between them and the dog food inside the screen porch. Next time, we'll keep the food in the van.
* Mosquitoes love Ian's little forehead!
* Taylor is scary good at ladderball
* Getting stung in the eye lid by a bee is horrible, but five year old girls are stronger than that dumb ol' bee!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
More Summer Activities
This week the kids have really kept us busy! On Monday, Grandma got to come along with me and Panod to see Ian play t-ball and
Wednesday we bolted to the beach at
Thursday was a fun morning for Panod and the kids - they went to Choo Choo Bob's on Marshall & Cleveland. We had received a flyer from them stating that there were going to be free train movies showing at the Riverview in
Saturday morning was about as fun as it gets. All four of us headed off to the Riverview to see the free train movies with the tickets that Panod and kids had gotten. The movies were a blast - there was Casey Jones, Thomas, Donald the Duck with Chip & Dale, old black & whites.... everything! And the place was pretty packed, too! There were so many families with four-year-olds dressed in Thomas shirts in tow - it really was cute. It sounds like the Riverview did this during the time slot that they usually have Saturday morning story time, but they will be returning to story time after this Saturday. We may have to try that out, but I have a feeling that it might not be as big of a hit as the train movies were.
It has been very hot here the past several days - the humidity alone reminds me of
Tip of the week:
I learned that 400 lbs. is actually extremely heavy this weekend.