I decided this year to sew my bestest girlies some sexy little red and white polka dot aprons - each a little different. I was nearly done with all of them when Daner cut tiny little holes into nearly all of them. He later told me he was "just pwacticing!" Instead of starting over I patched them all up and gifted them despite the "love bites". I am blessed with wonderful girlfriends and I love our little progressive restaurant nights... in fact I loved this one a wee bit too much!Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Year of the Apron
I decided this year to sew my bestest girlies some sexy little red and white polka dot aprons - each a little different. I was nearly done with all of them when Daner cut tiny little holes into nearly all of them. He later told me he was "just pwacticing!" Instead of starting over I patched them all up and gifted them despite the "love bites". I am blessed with wonderful girlfriends and I love our little progressive restaurant nights... in fact I loved this one a wee bit too much!
Monday, December 28, 2009
2010
My New Year's resolution for 2010 is to learn the very simple lesson Owl learned in one of my favorite children's books "Owl At Home". If Owl can figure it out I can too, right?
Owl's house had an upstairs and a downstairs.
There were twenty steps on the stairway.
Some of the time Owl was upstairs in his bedroom.
At other times Owl was downstairs in his living room.
When Owl was downstairs he said, "I wonder how my downstairs is getting along? I am always missing one place or the other. There must be a way," said Owl, "to be upstairs and to be downstairs at the same time."
"Perhaps if I run very very fast, I can be in both places at once." Owl ran up the stairs. I am up," he said.
Owl ran down the stairs. "I am down," he said.
Owl ran up and down the stairs faster and faster. "Owl!" he cried. "Are you downstairs?" There was no answer.
"No," said Owl. "I am not downstairs because I am upstairs. I am not running fast enough."
"Owl!" he shouted. "Are you upstairs?" There was no answer. "No," said Owl.
"I am not upstairs because I am downstairs. I must run even faster."
"Faster, faster, faster!" cried Owl. Owl ran upstairs and downstairs all evening.
But he could not be in both places at once.
"When I am up," said Owl, "I am not down. When I am down I am not up. All I am is very tired!" Owl sat down to rest.
He sat on the tenth step because it was a place that was right in the middle.
Taken from Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel 1975
Owl's house had an upstairs and a downstairs.
There were twenty steps on the stairway.
Some of the time Owl was upstairs in his bedroom.
At other times Owl was downstairs in his living room.
When Owl was downstairs he said, "I wonder how my downstairs is getting along? I am always missing one place or the other. There must be a way," said Owl, "to be upstairs and to be downstairs at the same time."
"Perhaps if I run very very fast, I can be in both places at once." Owl ran up the stairs. I am up," he said.
Owl ran down the stairs. "I am down," he said.
Owl ran up and down the stairs faster and faster. "Owl!" he cried. "Are you downstairs?" There was no answer.
"No," said Owl. "I am not downstairs because I am upstairs. I am not running fast enough."
"Owl!" he shouted. "Are you upstairs?" There was no answer. "No," said Owl.
"I am not upstairs because I am downstairs. I must run even faster."
"Faster, faster, faster!" cried Owl. Owl ran upstairs and downstairs all evening.
But he could not be in both places at once.
"When I am up," said Owl, "I am not down. When I am down I am not up. All I am is very tired!" Owl sat down to rest.
He sat on the tenth step because it was a place that was right in the middle.
Taken from Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel 1975
Hot Cocoa Stand
When we first started talking about buying our current house (we lived across the street at the time) I fantasized about opening the anti-lemonade stand, a hot cocoa stand. See, the city park across the street has a wicked sledding hill that attracts dozens of families most weekends in the winter. What a great way to keep our kids outdoors in the winter. Last winter we opened the stand two times and the kids helped, but were not that enthusiastic about it. This year Ava was a great little shop owner. She donned her typical dress with tights and threw on a housecoat under her coat. She helped design the sign for the stand and asked customers if they would like home of her Daddy's homemade marshmallows in their hot cocoa. Dane's contribution? He drank up the profits. This year we added a fire for sledders to warm up by. It was a huge hit. Each kid banked $8.00 for their college funds in about two hours :)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
A Christmas of Firsts
We didn't start this Christmas season trying to go the tradition busting route. We did make a decision early on in the holiday season to spend Thanksgiving at our own home instead of on the road as we expected Christmas to be the typical rush around between car trips holiday. Little did we know that a major storm would cause us to spend Christmas at our Fergus Falls home as well.
Perhaps it was our decision to throw out our 15 year old plastic Christmas tree purchased from a bankruptcy sale when Best went out of business that tripped all of the change this season. Last Christmas our cat decided to climb the wobbly tree to the very top causing the tree to crash to the ground and years of collected ornaments to smash to smithereens. This year we traveled to Parkers Prairie and purchased our first *real* tree. The experience was amazing and turned into a nearly all day event. We roasted hot dogs by a campfire, took a horse sleigh ride and enjoyed being outdoors on a fabulously sunny winter day. We found the perfect tree. Perfect.
The kids hid under the dining table and studied their father as he drug in the tree, tried to set it up only to find that it was one foot to tall, then drag the tree back outside to cut it down. I love nothing more than opening each little box of ornaments and discussing who gave it to us, or where we were when we purchased it. What a joyous thing to share with a child. I don't see us ever going back to a plastic tree. I could care less about the needles on the ground. The smell made it all worthwhile.
As you know, a nasty storm hit the Midwest over Christmas. Nearly ever major road in North Dakota and Minnesota was closed. We spent the holiday at our house hunkered down. We did our best to make the holiday special for our newest niece and cooked up a big Christmas Eve meal. It was not a traditional Christmas, but a great one.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
"The Christmas Dream"
We signed Ava up for dance classes at The Edge Performing Arts Studio in the fall. She wanted to take ballet and tap. Special ordered tap and ballet shoes later she went to her first class. After the first couple of classes they started practicing for the BIG "Christmas Show". I started to hear other parents talking about last year's Christmas show being 2 hours in length with practices every day for a week before the show. I started to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into. As the months went by we received a practice schedule for THE SHOW. Sure enough, 3 hour practices five days in a row plus two "shows" on Saturday. Yikes. For a 4 year old? How would she handle that schedule? Would she be a tired little wreck by the time the actual show came around?
Another month passed and we got our bill for THE SHOW costume. $50.00. A Wizard of Oz "Dorothy" costume still clearly marked $20.00 from Target. Gulp.
Finally, we entered the week of practice. Low and behold, Ava was fine with the schedule. Her mother was not. Screaming kids everywhere. Practices that started a solid hour after they were to begin. Older dancers throwing out f bombs around the little kid classes. Noise, noise and more noise. I am positive I sent out multiple text messages to friends to "bring alcohol", "bring sharp objects", or both, during the hours spent on the 1980's sectional next to the pile of sweaty dance gear.
The day of the show Ava was very excited. She put on her beautiful dress and we carefully applied black eyeliner, mascara and bright pink blush. What a cutie pie. We arrived an hour and a half before the first show, as required, and waited an hour for something to happen. A half an hour before show time the kids were rounded up and stuffed backstage. I spent the next hour worrying that Ava was scared or lonely or crying backstage. The show started a solid twenty minutes late because someone was parked in the fire lane and we couldn't start until the offender moved her car (with North Dakota plates no less). After multiple pleas an elderly lady in front of us stormed off grumbling under her breath. FINALLY the show was about to start.
The show itself was pretty amazing. Dane was speechless.
Ava's portion was about 65 seconds long. I refuse to calculate how much time and money was spent per second, but the thought did cross my mind. The experience was priceless for Ava though. She took the stage (albeit for a SHORT TIME) in front of 150 people. That takes some serious guts. But, I think we'll try a different activity after the new year!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The Amazing Cheese Stick Tradition
This could possibly be the strangest birthday tradition ever. I didn't plan it. It just sort of happened. When Ava turned 1 we happened to take her to Applebees. We figured a cheese stick would be a good match for a big 1 year old and we snapped a shot of her nibbling on it. Every year since we have braved the inevitable cold on December 15th and sat down at Applebees for the obligatory cheese stick picture. Tonight will be no exception. Some day I will create a scrapbook for Ava that contains every silly cheese stick picture and every birthday we were blessed enough to share with each other. Family rocks.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Ava's Party
Last week it was 10 below zero and we were starting to wonder if the snow princess sledding party was going to turn into the "yeah! let's all play in the basement" party. Today the sun was shining and at 1:00 it was nearly 25 degrees. Jason set up his fishing house in the park across the street and stocked it with little kid chairs and a propane heater (which we never needed because it was so warm). He drug the firepit from the backyard into he driveway and stoked a fire.
When the girlfriends arrived we hit the hill. I was so impressed! I lost count of how many times we skipped up and skidded down that hill. After about an hour some of the girls were crawling to get up the hill so we called it quits and went inside for hot cocoa and princess cake. Ava felt like a million bucks today. What a blessed little girl.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Ava's Sledding Snow Princess Cake
After a lot of patching because I moved the nearly finished cake to the counter and then gracefully dropped a plate from the cupboard directly onto the skirt, this is the final product. Buttercream with fondant overlay and candy pearls. I had WAY more help than I wanted. 'Nuf said.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Christmas Program - Daner
The build up to the Christmas program began this fall. The Shover preschool Christmas program is a big deal, a real big deal. It is not any different than any preschool program I suppose, although I've never seen any other. The standard fare. More cute than your eyes can absorb singing corny Christmas songs out of tune while vaguely gesturing with their hands. But this year was going to be different. This was the year that we were going to be the parents who, potentially, were going to have the "crier". See, there is a crier every year at the program. The kid who looses it over the thought of being on stage facing overeager parents with video cameras. This year Dane would perform in his first program and my money was on him being the crier.
In the weeks before today Dane would change his mind. One day he was going to star in this little B movie, the next day he had convinced himself that he would rather do anything, anything other than stand on that plywood platform covered in 1970's carpet.
This morning as I dropped him off at daycare he was staunchly in the "anything, anything other" category. He dressed in his Daddy Shirt & Tie, which I am guessing he figured would look just as cool in the folding chairs watching his classmates as it would participating in the program. He looked the part.
We arrived at the program. Dane was whisked away by his (awesome) teacher and reemerged on the stage a card carrying member of the big boy club. His little eyes searched around the room looking for his Dad. He locked eyes, smiled and....stayed on the stage. No tears, no wailing, no bolting for the door. He stayed on the stage for the entire program. He refused to sing, but that is a minor detail, so is the fact that he spontaneously untucked his shirt and was attempting to unbutton it when I gave him my coldest iciest stare to stop him. I was proud of him for doing something out of his element. I was unconcerned that he chose not to sing. I will no longer worry about him being the crier at future events, but I will worry about him being "that kid". That kid who takes his clothes off on stage.
I love my little man.
In the weeks before today Dane would change his mind. One day he was going to star in this little B movie, the next day he had convinced himself that he would rather do anything, anything other than stand on that plywood platform covered in 1970's carpet.
This morning as I dropped him off at daycare he was staunchly in the "anything, anything other" category. He dressed in his Daddy Shirt & Tie, which I am guessing he figured would look just as cool in the folding chairs watching his classmates as it would participating in the program. He looked the part.
We arrived at the program. Dane was whisked away by his (awesome) teacher and reemerged on the stage a card carrying member of the big boy club. His little eyes searched around the room looking for his Dad. He locked eyes, smiled and....stayed on the stage. No tears, no wailing, no bolting for the door. He stayed on the stage for the entire program. He refused to sing, but that is a minor detail, so is the fact that he spontaneously untucked his shirt and was attempting to unbutton it when I gave him my coldest iciest stare to stop him. I was proud of him for doing something out of his element. I was unconcerned that he chose not to sing. I will no longer worry about him being the crier at future events, but I will worry about him being "that kid". That kid who takes his clothes off on stage.
I love my little man.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Christmas Photo Shoot
In October it seemed like a great idea to stage an outside Christmas photo shoot for the 2009 Christmas card. On December 1 it no longer seemed so great. The unusually warm weather in November quickly gave way to cold icy wind. Even though you will not see snow on the ground behind my squirmy looking family pictures, I can practically see the ice in the air. The location is the Prairie Wetlands Center right outside of Fergus Falls, MN.
The children in these pictures are not my own. MY kids would have stood still and looked into the camera with their beautiful angelic faces. MY kids would not have needed both of their mother's hands elbow deep up their noses to retrieve boogers before the shoot, and my kids most definitely would not have stuck out their tongues at the camera!
Please note that Ava was not happy with this whole arrangement. She is typically a camera hog, but the only thing on her mind, which is painfully obvious from the photos, was the inside.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Dancing under the harvest moon
I swear three weeks ago we decided to spend the rest of our summer weekends hanging out at home and traveling no more than the miles it takes to get ice cream at Granny's. But, when the decision was made to celebrate Grandma's birthday in conjunction with the Green Lake labor day party, it was impossible to say no. One "camper cake" later ( pictures to follow! ) we made our best attempt at surprising someone who has made a living of not being surprised by anything. This party was no exception.
As the sun went down on the campgrounds, droves of children came out of the woodwork. Suddenly fifty kids were playing football, driving mini 4-wheelers and were generally engaged in trying to permanently injure themselves. Ava, probably tired from her first week of preschool, was generally uninterested. She made her way from camper to camper meeting new friends and quickly leaving them behind. A pet bunny that a camper had brought along for the weekend kept her interest for a while as we loaded up plates full of food from the 15 foot long table of potluck offerings. Once the food was largely devoured a DJ began setting up shop on a hill between the lake and the campgrounds. The expanse of freshly mowed prairie looked surreal against the backdrop of flashing lights and mobile disco ball. Both kids were apprehensive, but once Hannah Montana started blaring across the lake, Ava perked up. Instantly a group of 5-7 year old girls hoarded together on the "dance floor" unsure of what to do with themselves.
I couldn't help but remember the years of junior high and high school dances and the liberation of dancing without a real care in the world. All these girls needed was a little encouragement...in the form of a 30 something mother with a couple of glasses of box wine in her system. Two hours and many Black Eyed Peas songs later I was dripping in sweat with a permanent smile on my face. Ava and Dane danced with no rhythm, rhyme or reason, just like their mother. Dane showed off his break dance skills for everyone while Grandpa Ron sang old old school karaoke. I am sure I looked like an idiot. In fact, I am positive about that. But the feel of wet grass underfoot and the harvest moon up above were an amazing combination. As darkness fell the fireworks went up. We moved off to the side and snuggled down into the grass - one child in each armpit - and watched the show while adding our most convincing "ooohhhhhhs" and "aahhhhhhs".
At exactly 9:30 the switch flipped and Dane began begging LOUDLY to go to sleep. Ava joined the frantic chorus and we retired to Auntie & Uncle's camper to break down the dining room table into a not so comfy bed for the night. I had all intentions of rejoining the campfire, but it never happened. I did wake up around 3:00 AM when Auntie & Uncle decided to leave the campfire themselves and settle down for a solid 3 hours of sleep.
What a joyful evening followed by an early morning "I love you" from Dane before he decided to wrestle with Uncle who would have really liked a couple of extra hours of sleep. Oh well!
We are now back at home in Fergus. The kids are watching a movie, well, Dane was watching but he fell asleep. The suitcase is unpacked and I do think we will stick to our plan this time and leave that suitcase in the attic until Christmas. What a wild summer! Time to try our hardest to have a more "selfish" fall and spend less time in the van and more time soaking up the weather.
As the sun went down on the campgrounds, droves of children came out of the woodwork. Suddenly fifty kids were playing football, driving mini 4-wheelers and were generally engaged in trying to permanently injure themselves. Ava, probably tired from her first week of preschool, was generally uninterested. She made her way from camper to camper meeting new friends and quickly leaving them behind. A pet bunny that a camper had brought along for the weekend kept her interest for a while as we loaded up plates full of food from the 15 foot long table of potluck offerings. Once the food was largely devoured a DJ began setting up shop on a hill between the lake and the campgrounds. The expanse of freshly mowed prairie looked surreal against the backdrop of flashing lights and mobile disco ball. Both kids were apprehensive, but once Hannah Montana started blaring across the lake, Ava perked up. Instantly a group of 5-7 year old girls hoarded together on the "dance floor" unsure of what to do with themselves.
I couldn't help but remember the years of junior high and high school dances and the liberation of dancing without a real care in the world. All these girls needed was a little encouragement...in the form of a 30 something mother with a couple of glasses of box wine in her system. Two hours and many Black Eyed Peas songs later I was dripping in sweat with a permanent smile on my face. Ava and Dane danced with no rhythm, rhyme or reason, just like their mother. Dane showed off his break dance skills for everyone while Grandpa Ron sang old old school karaoke. I am sure I looked like an idiot. In fact, I am positive about that. But the feel of wet grass underfoot and the harvest moon up above were an amazing combination. As darkness fell the fireworks went up. We moved off to the side and snuggled down into the grass - one child in each armpit - and watched the show while adding our most convincing "ooohhhhhhs" and "aahhhhhhs".
At exactly 9:30 the switch flipped and Dane began begging LOUDLY to go to sleep. Ava joined the frantic chorus and we retired to Auntie & Uncle's camper to break down the dining room table into a not so comfy bed for the night. I had all intentions of rejoining the campfire, but it never happened. I did wake up around 3:00 AM when Auntie & Uncle decided to leave the campfire themselves and settle down for a solid 3 hours of sleep.
What a joyful evening followed by an early morning "I love you" from Dane before he decided to wrestle with Uncle who would have really liked a couple of extra hours of sleep. Oh well!
We are now back at home in Fergus. The kids are watching a movie, well, Dane was watching but he fell asleep. The suitcase is unpacked and I do think we will stick to our plan this time and leave that suitcase in the attic until Christmas. What a wild summer! Time to try our hardest to have a more "selfish" fall and spend less time in the van and more time soaking up the weather.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A birthday gift to me
In October I turn 34. THIRTY-FOUR. t.h.i.r.t.y.f.o.u.r. Ugh.
I have so many things to be thankful for - two beautiful naughty ungrateful wonderful children, a loving husband, a solid career, a super fabulous sister and much much more. But, I also have my Grandmother Helen's arms. God bless her and her chubby German arms but I am not ready for them at 34. So, here we are. I have developed a consistent running schedule again and I feel great about that but it is time to learn some new tricks.
Enter from left stage, Amanda DeYounge, personal trainer. A drop dead gorgeous blonde with energy to spare and legs the size of my pinkie (on a skinny day). I purchased 16 sessions with DeYounge to prepare myself for the big 3-4.
Today was our first session, and regretfully, I may have called her crazy. I meant it in a good way. GOOD CRAZY, ya know? I cannot wait to see what develops over the next 15 sessions - I will keep you posted!
My burning thighs and I are going back to work.
I have so many things to be thankful for - two beautiful naughty ungrateful wonderful children, a loving husband, a solid career, a super fabulous sister and much much more. But, I also have my Grandmother Helen's arms. God bless her and her chubby German arms but I am not ready for them at 34. So, here we are. I have developed a consistent running schedule again and I feel great about that but it is time to learn some new tricks.
Enter from left stage, Amanda DeYounge, personal trainer. A drop dead gorgeous blonde with energy to spare and legs the size of my pinkie (on a skinny day). I purchased 16 sessions with DeYounge to prepare myself for the big 3-4.
Today was our first session, and regretfully, I may have called her crazy. I meant it in a good way. GOOD CRAZY, ya know? I cannot wait to see what develops over the next 15 sessions - I will keep you posted!
My burning thighs and I are going back to work.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The Sound of Music
We purchased tickets for The Sound of Music several weeks ago and it was a good thing since the show quickly sold out. The anticipation of the evening show wore on Ava all day. I couldn't help but wonder at what age kids start to have an appreciation for time because it clearly has not developed by age 4.
She couldn't take it anymore about an hour before the show and protested by buckling herself into her car seat in the van, arms crossed and pout prominent. Dane followed suit and within minutes the sky opened and rain poured down in sheets. I wished I had strapped myself into the van pre-rain too. We attempted to kill the last hour by hitting McDonalds for some chocolate milk but the drive thru was too quick - we were still early. We rushed into A Center for The Arts under the cover of floral umbrellas rummaged from the trunk of my car.
Once inside the theatre Dane struck up a conversation with a man behind us who was wearing a Harley t-shirt. Dane explained that HE left HIS motorcycle at home. Ava's eyes were glued to the stage through the entire show. It is unsual for her to watch something without asking a million questions. Dane made it one hour before deciding nuns, dancing children and yodeling were not his cup of tea. I can only guess that DadO was feeling the same way because they walked home during intermission!
Ava's intent study of the play ended abruptly seconds into the Reverend Mother's solo of "Climb Every Mountain" which left her writhing in pain in her seat hands firmly clamped over her ears moaning "I cannot handle it! I cannot handle it!" The volume and pitch of the song were intense but powerful, too powerful for Ava's little ears.
We arrived home at 10:00 p.m. We tiptoped past Dane's bedroom and covered our giggles because he was singing to himself. As we settled into my bed the reprieve from the questions ended when Ava asked, "Where did they find all of those acrobat robots to be in that play?" That was not a question I could have ever anticipated. After much discussion I realized the word acrobat and the word actor do sound similiar. But robots? Ava explained; "Mom. They had this cord attached to their necks and like a black thing by their mouths. The kids even had these like battery things on their backs. Robots, duh." Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. The remote microphones apparently look much different to a child, who surprisingly wasn't frightened by a stage full of singing and dancing robots but was quite confused by it. It was now 10:30 p.m. I was hoping the very strange discussion of The Sound of Music was over when Ava's final question came - "But why were those lady vampires singing so much?" Vampires? Well, I guess the nun's black habits do bear some similiarity to those worn by vampires.
It was now 11:00 p.m. and Ava drifted off to sleep after mumbling, "I love you more than jewels - and I promise I will buy you a crown with diamonds and jewels on it....I guess they probably sell those at Target...or Pamida....or the grocery store....."
I spent the next hour laying in bed wondering how to re-write the Sound of Music to incorporate robots, vampires and acrobats.
She couldn't take it anymore about an hour before the show and protested by buckling herself into her car seat in the van, arms crossed and pout prominent. Dane followed suit and within minutes the sky opened and rain poured down in sheets. I wished I had strapped myself into the van pre-rain too. We attempted to kill the last hour by hitting McDonalds for some chocolate milk but the drive thru was too quick - we were still early. We rushed into A Center for The Arts under the cover of floral umbrellas rummaged from the trunk of my car.
Once inside the theatre Dane struck up a conversation with a man behind us who was wearing a Harley t-shirt. Dane explained that HE left HIS motorcycle at home. Ava's eyes were glued to the stage through the entire show. It is unsual for her to watch something without asking a million questions. Dane made it one hour before deciding nuns, dancing children and yodeling were not his cup of tea. I can only guess that DadO was feeling the same way because they walked home during intermission!
Ava's intent study of the play ended abruptly seconds into the Reverend Mother's solo of "Climb Every Mountain" which left her writhing in pain in her seat hands firmly clamped over her ears moaning "I cannot handle it! I cannot handle it!" The volume and pitch of the song were intense but powerful, too powerful for Ava's little ears.
We arrived home at 10:00 p.m. We tiptoped past Dane's bedroom and covered our giggles because he was singing to himself. As we settled into my bed the reprieve from the questions ended when Ava asked, "Where did they find all of those acrobat robots to be in that play?" That was not a question I could have ever anticipated. After much discussion I realized the word acrobat and the word actor do sound similiar. But robots? Ava explained; "Mom. They had this cord attached to their necks and like a black thing by their mouths. The kids even had these like battery things on their backs. Robots, duh." Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. The remote microphones apparently look much different to a child, who surprisingly wasn't frightened by a stage full of singing and dancing robots but was quite confused by it. It was now 10:30 p.m. I was hoping the very strange discussion of The Sound of Music was over when Ava's final question came - "But why were those lady vampires singing so much?" Vampires? Well, I guess the nun's black habits do bear some similiarity to those worn by vampires.
It was now 11:00 p.m. and Ava drifted off to sleep after mumbling, "I love you more than jewels - and I promise I will buy you a crown with diamonds and jewels on it....I guess they probably sell those at Target...or Pamida....or the grocery store....."
I spent the next hour laying in bed wondering how to re-write the Sound of Music to incorporate robots, vampires and acrobats.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Running
Running schedule for the upcoming week....I think my toe injury has completely healed so this will be the test...
Fri: 2 miles
Sat: rest
Sun: 2 miles
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: 4 miles
Fri: 2 miles
Sat: rest
Sun: 2 miles
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: 4 miles
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The County Fair
I was propelled to the Tri-County Fair by memories of my childhood. Treats of this type were not common place growing up where money was never in abundance. My mom would pack a picnic lunch and we were allowed a limited number of ride tickets that we hoarded for the Tilt-O-Whirl and The Bullet. As a farm kid it seemed that we left "the city" at the end of the school year and rarely saw classmates or friends until school started again in the fall. The fair was a chance to see classmates and catch up with friends surrounded by the mystery of carnies.
The current Tri-County Fair is still held in the same place as when we were kids. The buildings look the same and even the mid-July date is the same. What is different is that the carnies are now old neighbors, former teachers and, well....my parents. The Fair Board purchased amusement rides last year to avoid the increasingly difficult task of finding a reliable travelling fair to come to the area. The Board members, spouses and others from the community run the rides. Gone are the strange looking mysterious people operating the rides, replaced by strange looking mysterious friends and family.
We hit the fair around 7:00 pm and the kids instantly jumped into the flying Dumbo ride with its pink glossy elephants. The rides themselves look like they were manufactured in the early 1920's and it wasn't without a little trepidation that I placed my two most precious assets into the Pepto Bismol pink whirling death machine. They loved it. Rides were $1.00 each and we quickly went through $20.00. I rode the mini Ferris wheel with one kid tucked under each of my arms for support (my support, not theirs). The kids enjoyed moving ride to ride and barn to barn with their cousins.
Dane learned that trying to pet a rooster who has been sitting in a sweltering tin barn for a week is probably not the smartest of ideas...not that it stopped him from reaching in a second time before the indent on the top of his hand had even plumped back up. Ava marveled at the baby miniature pony who was hardly as tall as her Auntie's boxer dogs.
Dane drew attention after he decided his shirt was too dirty and stripped down to his khaki capri shorts and crocs. The kids found time to sneak in hugs with Grandma and Grandpa despite being on duty and they even got kisses from Great Grandma Lillian.
Every kid should get the chance to spend an evening at a small fair to study the wonders of blue eggs (what kind of chickens lay blue eggs Ava wondered), to get nibbled on my soft goat lips and to get a little sick to the stomach on rides. As the night wound down the kids were obviously overtired and we were all happy to go to Grandma's house and nuzzle into bed. As Ava wrapped her arms around my neck I couldn't help but turn my head away before whispering, "I love you". Man that kid really smelled like cow barn.
The current Tri-County Fair is still held in the same place as when we were kids. The buildings look the same and even the mid-July date is the same. What is different is that the carnies are now old neighbors, former teachers and, well....my parents. The Fair Board purchased amusement rides last year to avoid the increasingly difficult task of finding a reliable travelling fair to come to the area. The Board members, spouses and others from the community run the rides. Gone are the strange looking mysterious people operating the rides, replaced by strange looking mysterious friends and family.
We hit the fair around 7:00 pm and the kids instantly jumped into the flying Dumbo ride with its pink glossy elephants. The rides themselves look like they were manufactured in the early 1920's and it wasn't without a little trepidation that I placed my two most precious assets into the Pepto Bismol pink whirling death machine. They loved it. Rides were $1.00 each and we quickly went through $20.00. I rode the mini Ferris wheel with one kid tucked under each of my arms for support (my support, not theirs). The kids enjoyed moving ride to ride and barn to barn with their cousins.
Dane learned that trying to pet a rooster who has been sitting in a sweltering tin barn for a week is probably not the smartest of ideas...not that it stopped him from reaching in a second time before the indent on the top of his hand had even plumped back up. Ava marveled at the baby miniature pony who was hardly as tall as her Auntie's boxer dogs.
Dane drew attention after he decided his shirt was too dirty and stripped down to his khaki capri shorts and crocs. The kids found time to sneak in hugs with Grandma and Grandpa despite being on duty and they even got kisses from Great Grandma Lillian.
Every kid should get the chance to spend an evening at a small fair to study the wonders of blue eggs (what kind of chickens lay blue eggs Ava wondered), to get nibbled on my soft goat lips and to get a little sick to the stomach on rides. As the night wound down the kids were obviously overtired and we were all happy to go to Grandma's house and nuzzle into bed. As Ava wrapped her arms around my neck I couldn't help but turn my head away before whispering, "I love you". Man that kid really smelled like cow barn.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Glendalough State Park
The night went well. Once we were able to get Dane to stop crying about sleeping on a different bed than Mama he passed out, only to awake two times during the night just to check if he could sleep with Mama Now.
We started the morning with kayaking on the creek between Annie Battle Lake and Blanche Lake. The width of the creek varies dramatically from as narrow as the width of the kayak paddles to wide enough to allow for the kayak to drift sideways with ease. Ava sat snuggled in front of my seat, fingers gently tapping the surface of the water. It is easy to forget how difficult the paddle back up stream can be with the swift water propelling us to Blanche Lake. The glimmer of the mother-of-pearl from inside of clam shells caught my eye as we navigated along. Fish of all sizes cruised past us. Common sense took hold and we turned around to check how strong the current really was. I realized I hadn't paddled much in the last couple of years and that Ava is no longer a little passenger - upstream was not easy! Returning to Annie Battle we paddled through the reeds, observed fish and talked about what it would be like to be a fish. Are the plants observable from above seemingly reaching for the surface of the water, similiar to our trees? In fish world do they have roads that they follow between the trees?
We parked the boats and Daddy returned to camp to pack up a lunch and get swimsuits. The natural progression of things we went from, "Can we take off our shoes and walk on the sand" to "can we roll up our pants and walk in the shallow water" to "can we roll up our pants a little higher" to swimming in jeans and sweatshirts. The temp outside couldn't have been more than 65 and it was 9 in the morning. We ended up swimming, picnicking and sunning until early afternoon. The lakes at Glendalough only allow non-motorized boats so the only sounds to be heard are kids enjoying themselves and the thunk of paddles hitting the side of old aluminum canoes.
Dane decided we should swim in the "lazy river" we had earlier kayaked. Life jackets in tow we allowed ourselves to drift from Annie Battle, under the road bridge and down the mouth of the creek where Daddy waited to pluck us from the water. The kids nervous laughter as we passed under the bridge was as breathtaking as the water temp. I couldn't help but think "this is the kind of stuff every kid wants to do but has parents that are smart enough to say no." We took this ride so many times I lost count. Finally we talked the kids into a return to our shady camp as Dane's cheeks were getting suspiciously crimson. Without even noticing it the temp had reached 75 dgs.
Back at the camp Dane begged to go hiking (which really only involves him sitting on his Daddy's shoulders while the rest of us hike. A couple of yards into the hike Ava received a call on her cell phone a pink Barbie toy phone that, upon answering the phone, yells "Don't ya just love being a princess?". Ava took the call. It was Dane. He wanted to talk "business" but didn't he know she was busy camping and hiking with her family? Sheesh. Dane called every 200 yards or so until I advised Ava to tell the caller that she was on vacation and any calls could really wait until she was back in her office. Before we were advise the caller of such, Daddy told us to look at Dane. He had fallen asleep on top of Daddy's shoulders his head resting on top of Daddy's head his arms hanging slack at his sides.
We rounded out the day by feeding seeds and graham crackers to the many chipmunks ("chippies") in our camp, finishing our hike to a different creek system for another swim, and a long campfire discussion over marshmellows. A kid stopped by to show us his huge wounds from pulling leeches off of his body. Where did he get leeches? Oh, only on the very creek we had just returned from. Showers were not in the plan, but it did not take long to convince the kids it was a good idea.
Bedtime came easy for all of us and we were relieved to wake up to an overcast sky and a cold breeze to cool our sunburns.
We started the morning with kayaking on the creek between Annie Battle Lake and Blanche Lake. The width of the creek varies dramatically from as narrow as the width of the kayak paddles to wide enough to allow for the kayak to drift sideways with ease. Ava sat snuggled in front of my seat, fingers gently tapping the surface of the water. It is easy to forget how difficult the paddle back up stream can be with the swift water propelling us to Blanche Lake. The glimmer of the mother-of-pearl from inside of clam shells caught my eye as we navigated along. Fish of all sizes cruised past us. Common sense took hold and we turned around to check how strong the current really was. I realized I hadn't paddled much in the last couple of years and that Ava is no longer a little passenger - upstream was not easy! Returning to Annie Battle we paddled through the reeds, observed fish and talked about what it would be like to be a fish. Are the plants observable from above seemingly reaching for the surface of the water, similiar to our trees? In fish world do they have roads that they follow between the trees?
We parked the boats and Daddy returned to camp to pack up a lunch and get swimsuits. The natural progression of things we went from, "Can we take off our shoes and walk on the sand" to "can we roll up our pants and walk in the shallow water" to "can we roll up our pants a little higher" to swimming in jeans and sweatshirts. The temp outside couldn't have been more than 65 and it was 9 in the morning. We ended up swimming, picnicking and sunning until early afternoon. The lakes at Glendalough only allow non-motorized boats so the only sounds to be heard are kids enjoying themselves and the thunk of paddles hitting the side of old aluminum canoes.
Dane decided we should swim in the "lazy river" we had earlier kayaked. Life jackets in tow we allowed ourselves to drift from Annie Battle, under the road bridge and down the mouth of the creek where Daddy waited to pluck us from the water. The kids nervous laughter as we passed under the bridge was as breathtaking as the water temp. I couldn't help but think "this is the kind of stuff every kid wants to do but has parents that are smart enough to say no." We took this ride so many times I lost count. Finally we talked the kids into a return to our shady camp as Dane's cheeks were getting suspiciously crimson. Without even noticing it the temp had reached 75 dgs.
Back at the camp Dane begged to go hiking (which really only involves him sitting on his Daddy's shoulders while the rest of us hike. A couple of yards into the hike Ava received a call on her cell phone a pink Barbie toy phone that, upon answering the phone, yells "Don't ya just love being a princess?". Ava took the call. It was Dane. He wanted to talk "business" but didn't he know she was busy camping and hiking with her family? Sheesh. Dane called every 200 yards or so until I advised Ava to tell the caller that she was on vacation and any calls could really wait until she was back in her office. Before we were advise the caller of such, Daddy told us to look at Dane. He had fallen asleep on top of Daddy's shoulders his head resting on top of Daddy's head his arms hanging slack at his sides.
We rounded out the day by feeding seeds and graham crackers to the many chipmunks ("chippies") in our camp, finishing our hike to a different creek system for another swim, and a long campfire discussion over marshmellows. A kid stopped by to show us his huge wounds from pulling leeches off of his body. Where did he get leeches? Oh, only on the very creek we had just returned from. Showers were not in the plan, but it did not take long to convince the kids it was a good idea.
Bedtime came easy for all of us and we were relieved to wake up to an overcast sky and a cold breeze to cool our sunburns.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
I remember taking this picture of Ava when she was 2. It was one of the last hot days of summer and I remember noticing how beautiful her skin looked with the sun highlighting it, how faded her hair was from three months of outdoor play and how scabbed up her little chubby knees were from tipping her Radio Flyer tricycle. I snapped this shot hoping to never forget how much fun we had that summer. I could take the same picture of her today and get the same warm fuzzy buzz from the joy of sharing a summer with a child.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Precious life
Today a quick browse of newspaper articles revealed mutliple tragedies over the weekend - a baby sleeping in a tent with his parents on his first camping trip driven over by a fellow drunken camper in a car, a 21-year-old drowned while swimming and a 10-year-old run over by a boat while tubing. I normally try to avoid focusing too much on this type of news. I realize that it is real and it happened and some family, instead of swimming in the backyard pool, is planning a funeral or standing by a hospital bed right now. But today the news was a little too much.
How do we find a way to suck the most we possibly can out of each day with our children? I left work at 4:00 o'clock and picked up the kids from daycare. We drove up the house, bypassed the front door, stripped down to t-shirts and undies and went for a swim. Those are the moments when life is pure and sweet and time stands still.
Tonight I'll say a prayer for the family of the baby in the tent and then I'll roll over and hug my babies tight.
How do we find a way to suck the most we possibly can out of each day with our children? I left work at 4:00 o'clock and picked up the kids from daycare. We drove up the house, bypassed the front door, stripped down to t-shirts and undies and went for a swim. Those are the moments when life is pure and sweet and time stands still.
Tonight I'll say a prayer for the family of the baby in the tent and then I'll roll over and hug my babies tight.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
My Mom's Store
My mom has a store in Ashley, ND named "Prairie Connection". It is like no other consignment store on earth. Today we bought: a stuffed monkey, a swimsuit for Ava, a sweatshirt for myself, and a bag of rocks (future craft project in waiting). This bag of stuff cost us $8.50. What a deal! But wait....the "store" owed me $35.00 for items I had consigned so we actually walked away from the store with a bag of goodies and some extra cash to spend next time we come home. After 12 years of runing the store my mom is starting to think about selling it. My sister probably described the feeling best when she said, "It must be like perpetually moving. Packing and unpacking boxes for 12 years." I can understand why it would get old, but what a great place!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Vacation
The first day of vacation was off to a rocky start. The kids were fighting and the parents weren't doing much better. But, after that first 24 hours things perked up. And after watching Daner sort through Grandpa Ron's fishing tackle box with him for an hour, and after watching Grandma Kris playing with the kids at the park, the mother of the pack decided it was time to let go of stress and enjoy herself. She constantly reminds herself to "live in the moment" as clique as it sounds, she has learned that it works. Live in the moment. Hug and kiss the kids. Make homemade play-doh. Make stupid crafts that have no point other than the process itself. Drink a beer at 3:00 in the afternoon. Play in the sand. Read a book. Don't plan on the day before it even starts...just live.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Why?
Today I decided it was time to create a blog. Facebook and Twitter have not covered every minutia of my life and, thus, "This charmed life" was born today. Jason picked up the kids from daycare and they fought over who Mama would take out of the van first. Once that was resolved adequately, Ava burst into tears because I gave Dane a hug first. This evening should be...charming.
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