PK Does a 10K

You read it right - Panod ran a 10K this weekend. And the weather - well, let's just say that if there was actually a way to explain the weather he had to run in, I would place it somewhere near a hurricane snow storm. The snow that was falling was more like small hail pellets, and the winds were driving it into the racers faces at 40-50mph. It was just awful weather to run in, but he really did not complain at all. He did do his nervous laugh a couple of times in the car after the kids and I pulled up to drop him off, but he braced himself against the wind as he got out of the car, and posed for a quick picture before heading off to the race. The kids and I could not stay for the nearly two-hours that it was going to take for the race to start and Panod to run the course. (Ian had stayed home sick from school the day before, and he was clearly fighting a sinus infection.) So, we took off and had breakfast at the Highland Cafe & Bakery. The food was good (and warm), but all we could think about was how cold poor Panod must be as we watched the winds and snow whip by the windows of the Cafe. We were able to get back to the race and park the car where we could sit in it and watch the racers come across the finish line. We were not able to find Panod in the large crowd, but he called as soon as he got across. He managed to run the race in 1 hour, at a pace of 9:40/mile! We are so proud of him!!
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Taylor's 12th Birthday

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I don't think that anyone who has helped make Taylor's day so special can believe that she is already 12. It has been a wonderful day!

I have to rewind to last weekend, first. The weather was beautiful! The neighborhood kids got motivated and they tried to break the world-record for hopscotch. With Taylor and a neighbor at the helm, they were able to get it up to 500! It stretched down the street, around the corner, and around another corner. The best part is that the kids kept making the adults do the hopscotch. The pictures are at the beginning of the birthday album, and they are hilarious.

Yesterday, Panod went ahead and gave Taylor a present a day early. He got her a real rocket! They spent part of the day yesterday putting it together. It was a great lesson for Taylor in following directions, and she did a great job. They finished the rocket today and then they went and fired it off this morning. Everyone was thrilled to see it take-off and land safely (though farther away than they had planned since it was a little windy.) It was also launched again this afternoon, and we were able to get pictures of that one.

After lunch today, the four of us met Grandma, Bumpa, Uncle Rob, Aunt Jen and Cousin Kane at Chuck E Cheese. We spent the afternoon playing games and opening presents. Grandma and Bumpa got Taylor her own fishing pole and a really nice tackle box. She can't wait to use them this summer! And Uncle Rob and Aunt Jen went with the world-record theme and got Taylor an incredible 2008 Guinness World-Records book! The best part is that it has pictures of all of the incredible people and the things that they have accomplished. This is sure to be a huge hit not only for Taylor, but the entire neighborhood gang.

Taylor's last gift was given to her this evening. I was able to track down a gently used unicycle, and I think that she is going to be great at riding it. She has wanted to try and learn how to ride one for a couple of years, and this one presented itself late last week.

Thank you so much to the family and friends that have had a hand in making Taylor's day special. And to those who couldn't make it today, we love you and we think of you often.

Enjoy the pictures.

Mother Nature Has an Interesting Sense of Humor

Yep - that's snow. Eight inches of the wet, slushy stuff fell on Monday & Tuesday (4/01/08), and left us with a mess to clean up on April Fool's Day. The kids are on spring break this week, so the timing has worked out well for them to take full advantage of what will likely be the last snow fall of this winter/spring.

Panod and I got the privilge to go and see the Blue Man Group play on Saturday night, thanks to UrbanPlanet. This was an amazing show! Even though a majority of the group we went with had seen the show in Vegas, we all really enjoyed it. It was humorous, exciting, loud and the opening act, Mike Realm, was fantastic.

Anniversary Roses

It was our anniversary yesterday, and Panod came home with a dozen beautiful roses last night. Unfortunately, I had a horrible A&PII exam today so I ended up focusing on that instead of the celebratory day at hand. But, we're being treated to an evening of Blue Man Group this weekend (thank you UrbanPlanet!)- that will be a blast!

Snow & Bunnies

Taylor & Ian hugging a snowman they made on the parkway today

We have had more snow in the past couple of days than we have had nearly all winter. The greatest part about getting the snow in March is that it always melts within several days.

Today was a day to enjoy an Easter egg hunt, and make a snowman. The Easter egg hunt was held at the Java Train coffee shop - just down the street from our house. Last year the hunt was outside, but this year the eggs were hidden inside of the shop because of the snow. Half of the shop is currently being renovated, and it was a nice open space that worked out well for the kids. The best part was that grandma was able to join us - and she brought the kids bubbles! We all stayed at the coffee shop after the egg hunt, and we ate lunch together. It was nice to hang out with our neighbors, their children, and my mom.

When we got home, the kids and I didn't even go inside. I snowblowed our driveway, the neighbors driveway, the sidewalk - really anything I could find. I have this sick love for snowblowing. My neighbors don't understand it, but they benefit from it so they try not to make too much fun of me. While I was doing that, the kids were busy playing in the snow, and making sure that all of the snow I had just gotten off of the driveway, ended up right back on it, again. When the snowblower finally ran out of gas, we decided to make a mad dash for the parkway and build a snowman. Panod had to be summoned to come and help us get the middle and top pieces on because they were too big for us to lift up.

And here is the easiest pie recipe I've ever made. I gave it try tonight, and it is sooooo good! The recipe calls for a piecrust that is already baked, so I just grabbed a graham cracker crust.

Sugar Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 1/4 cups half-and-half cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix cornstarch and sugar. Add 4 tablespoons butter and half-and-half. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy. Add vanilla.
2. Preheat oven broiler to high.
3. Pour mixture into piecrust. Drizzle 2 tablespoons butter over top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Put under broiler until butter bubbles--watch it carefully as it doesn't take long. Refrigerate.

I got this lovely recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sugar-Cream-Pie-I/Detail.aspx

New Babies, Great Dachshund Video & Snow

I have got to stop drinkin' the water around here! Seriously! Our neighbors across the street had a baby boy last week, and our next-door neighbors had a baby girl early this morning. With all of the other little ones running around here, there is going to be a large group of kids ruling the neighborhood in a couple of years. Many congratulations & sleep vibes going out to the happy new parents.

Panod and I felt it necessary to share this dachshund video on the blog. This is the coolest thing I've seen in a while - and I now want to spend my spring break trying to build one.


I was in touch with our family down in the Atlanta area during the storms over the weekend. The tornado that hit the city was close to them, but everyone is O.K. It sounds like they have shut-down the city today and asked everyone to stay out so that the clean-up can begin. Now that we know the family is O.K., the next question can be asked: is the Varsity still standing?? It is right there near the Olympic Village - ack!

While we are on the topic of the weather, MN is getting a good old fashioned March storm today and tomorrow. It was supposed be mostly rain, but it looks like NOAA has just issued a snow advisory for us. With 3-5 wet inches possible before tomorrow afternoon, that can only mean that chicken and dumplings are going on the stove this afternoon. I'll try and get some pics up tomorrow of the snow, before it all melts away.

Today @ 1:30pm

2008 Minneapolis Auto Show - Lori Breaks a BMW M5 Worth $83,000

I don't know how Panod managed to get it on video, but I seriously tried (not really) to damage one of the sweetest cars on the floor of the 2008 Minneapolis Auto Show this afternoon. I love the BMW M5, and I deeply respect this vehicle and all of its technical glory. That being said, I went and did this....



O.K. - the car is fine. I had gone and hit a button on the roof that popped out and folded down - scaring the crap out of me. The thought of breaking something in that car just about gave me heart-failure! I jumped out and Panod jumped in - only to laugh at me, because I hadn't actually broken anything.

And although Panod and I took two hours to comb through all of the cars together this afternoon, somehow we didn't even make it halfway through the cars on the floor. We had a great time and we got to see most of the cars we were really looking forward to seeing, but I will make sure that more time is set aside for next year. Here are the pictures: