Happy New Year!

Mt. Rushmore!

Bad blogger--

Summer flew by. We didn't get a fraction of the BIGFUN we had planned & hoped for. The kids are back in school. I am back at work! Lots to document & catch up on. New laptop! Learning the Mac world. There is another blog/webpage option available that I hope to check out sometime before my 30-day trial expires. Off to a trumpet lesson & then football practice...I'm heading to book club at Jenny's.

Add this to the list...

...of things I never thought I'd see! I open my new Creating Keepsakes magazine & idly flip through a couple of pages. Lots of Thanksgiving & Fall stuff...and a full-page add featuring a 3-D, practically life-size Martha Stewart-label SKULL & CROSSBONES. Hmmm. Apparently you can decorate them with the sold-separately glittering set. They are repulsively arranged as some sort of centerpiece complete with dried moss. This is most definitely a side of Martha that I've never seen before.

This is SO cool!

So today the kids & I stopped by the library. The Chanhassen library--we were in the area and somehow I keep heading there for our library trips instead of the Chaska library. Hum. Still not used to living in Chaska, I guess. ANYWAY, this is the cool thing! I see this sign [left] with all these little things that look like gift cards or something on a rack below. It totally catches my eye because it reminds me of the National Park Service signs I saw a lot of in my youth! Kind of old school. Anyway, I am blinking in an effort to focus because at first glance it appears that you can actually check out passes to many area museums and other interesting places. Of course I assume I am reading it wrong or something...I mean, I've never heard about this! What's up? So I ask the librarian, who very kindly explains that YES indeedy, you can obtain up to 4 passes for these area attractions by simply swiping your library card! Wowsa. That is extremely, brilliantly cool! I love it. I am thinking about how I stayed home from the Science Museum on Monday because I kind of didn't want to spend the money now that our memberships have expired. And I am thinking about all the families in our area who don't have the option to take advantage of some of these awesome places, and now they could go! If they can afford the gas, I suppose...but still! This is really, truly one of those things that makes me love living in Minnesota. Check it out here if you are interested! [wow, I just added my first link to this Blog.]

Am off to READ one of the books I checked out! Even though I can't find many books for my 10 year old these days, I still love the library. Note to self: Re-enact those organized days & keep a list of "Books to Read" in your planner--and carry said planner--with you so you don't wander aimlessly trying to think of potential good reads on the fly while wondering how long you can safely leave your kids in the Children's section unattended. Today may have been a record--even wandered through the Biography section.

In an attempt

...to get back on track with the blogging thing, I have been updating like a crazy person. Jim & Joan are leaving the state today. Life is going to slow waayyyy down without visitors (not a bad thing by ANY means). Time to get back on track for summer FUN, Keeler-style. :-) Right now the kids are watching TV & 'relaxing', as they like to call it. Time to light a fire under them! We have a new slip-n-slide to get set up! Karate classes to attend! Friends to contact for playdates! I mean, we are talking things to DO!!! As much fun as we've had since school got out now it's time to get down to the serious business of ENJOYING the ephemeral quality of a Minnesota summer. Because one thing I have discovered is if I blink it is going to be fall...and I am NOT ready for fall, much as I adore the season. No, not yet!

I can almost remember a great quote about summer...but not quite. Need to find it & put it here. Great place to collect those quotes I love.

Off to make our experiences LESS FLEETING. I love it.

Food for thought...

"One of the surest ways to enrich life is to make experiences less fleeting, so that the most memorable, interesting, and important events are not lost forever a few hours after they occurred."
Mihaly Cxikszentmihalyi, Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention

For Ryan

Who loves this picture. Just him & his grandpa.

Let the feasting begin--

Tonight Jim & Joan took us out to dinner at the place of our choice...we chose Famous Dave's BBQ! The kids are big into RIBS. I knew the menfolk would be so happy and I am all about those corn muffins (yum!). Should have waited to buy that reality check until next week! Tonight was the last night of their visit and it was a nice, relaxed evening. Robert was able to get away from work to meet us at the restaurant--work?--the man was golfing all day! For work. (Really.) Afterward we stopped by Excelsior--mainly because I can't resist it there, especially at that time of night during the summer. Just love that little town. It was kind of cold (weird for MN in July, huh?) so we didn't stay long. Back to the house and I burned a photo CD slideshow from my beloved Picasa program to send along with Jim & Joan on their travels. And what did my little ears hear? A rousing game of Farkel downstairs with the grands! [Joan won] Good grandkid-grandpop&Joan time. Big plans for next year = meeting up @ Wisconsin Dells. Oh, yeah!!! Serious waterparks at those Dells. Good times await.

4th of July Festivities

Posted a little late & out of order, to boot. Some blogger I am! Just trying to get a tiny bit caught up. Went to the Chanhassen Parade (we were ready to try out the Chaska parade, now that we are Chaska residents, but discovered that Chaska does not actually have its own parade--who knew?). Robert rocked it by taking our EZUp & chairs to set up hours ahead of time, plus he scored a spot just in front of a tree. Go, Robert! For the first time, Evelyn joined us in her wheelchair and Cyndi came along, too. They scored rock star parking right next to our 'spot'. The parade was long & it was hot-hot-hot but...truth be told, I just love a small-town 4th of July parade! Especially during a non-election year (not so many political candidates, thankfully). Here is our dinner on the porch afterward...I think you can tell who still has energy for fireworks later and who is ready to go home for a nap...but I'm not going to point any fingers here! Cyndi & Joan helped tie the cute little ribbons on the napkins and get the table set up. I thought it looked so cute! We had "All-American" burgers, "That Good Salad" (yum), corn on the cob, and Cyndi brought a cherry pie for dessert. YUM-O. And our neighborhood fireworks were fairly amazing!

Today....

I should say yesterday, I bought a reality check. I mean a scale. It is going to help me pay attention...so hopefully I will be happier with those infrequent pics of me!

Love this porch!

We finally started using our screened porch for some entertaining. Love it! Hard to guage the mosquito effectiveness since there are hardly any this year (amazing) because of the draught conditions in MN. But it's good nonetheless...great ceiling fan keeps a breeze going! We bought some folding tables after Robert measured & decided we could fit two not-too-wide tables on the porch to accomodate some entertaining. Yes! Bring it on. Got the cool candle holder and striped tablecloth @ Target on clearance. FAB-u-less (to borrow their marketing phrase).

Blongo Ball

Jim & Joan here in MN from June 25th through July 10th. Here is a good moment after a fierce game of Blongo Ball. Notice the extremely high weeds in the background--that is the empty lot next door. We are bracketed by two empty lots and have enjoyed the space around us. Once built upon, the good part will be the lack of weeds! And hopefully good people for neighbors. :-)

Let's do this again

Relaxed, happy family. Love these three peeps.

Surfer Boy

The water at Pismo Beach was so doggone cold I could barely stick my feet in! Ryan & Sophie were far braver and gave the boogie boards a good try the day before...but today there was no way they were going back in. Just too cold! Robert rented some wetsuits, which Sophie did NOT enjoy wearing, but Ryan finally squeezed into one and it made all the difference. Could have stayed there all evening watching him boogie board...hardly anyone else on the beach at that point. It was awesome! So much fun.

Beach House, Pacific Grove

One goal, which we achieved, was to head to the beach as often as possible during this trip. No holidays or rain--or nap schedules!--interfered. After almost 8 years of living in Minnesota, we are finally smart enough to just go. And sit. And enjoy it.

Ryan announced that he plans to move to California and buy a house on the beach after college. All right!!!

Here is Hooper, all grown up now. Kid magnet. Kids are on the sand dune outside the beach house. Love that view. We could stay forever. The weather could not have been more gorgeous. We lucked out. Went twice to Monterey/PG...fun visits with Tom & Chris, always so great to see them! One visit to the Aquarium (awesome as always) and one trip to the wharf.

Ride on...

I'll have to ask Sophie how many times she rode this human kite ride...more than 10, for sure. We parked it in a nice shady spot nearby. Still can't get over my 6'3" 15-year-old nephew (in the shades)...he is one cool kid. Love that Davis family.

Cute.E.Pie!

Man, that Beach Boardwalk was fun. Sophie was PUMPED to be over 50" tall at long last!

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Maureen took this pic of us. This was one of those better-than-you-could-hope-it-would-be days of our trip to CA. Robert spent most of it--slight exaggeration, a great deal of it--on the phone for work, dealing with the kind of serious crisis that could only occur on Day 3 of our family vacation (the same day he discovered his cell phone had been stolen).

LOVED the Beach Boardwalk. This was Friday, the day before the 100th Anniversary of the place. I hadn't been there since my early teens, to the best of my recollection. We ate corn dogs & cotton candy, and Mike & Mo hosted a tailgate in the parking lot. I'm still thinking about those hot dogs...they were that good & I'm not a big hot dog fan. Adam & his friend Clinton were total good sports to go on some rides with our two. LOVED that the kids got wristbands and we could just escort them around the place. Picture-perfect weather. Top-notch people-watching, too. It was just good fun.

SuperCaliPatriotic

About to leave for the airport, we snagged everyone for a superCUTE cousins photo shoot in the backyard--might be the last family photo shoot in Mimi & Poppa's back yard.

Sparkle On, Sister

Sophie, I hope I never forget what it was like to experience your dance recital weekend this first year you were on a dance team. To say you were in your element is something of an understatment! Part of your team's [Sparkle Sisters] commitment was to dance in all FOUR recitals over the weekend. You were in 2 numbers [one tap, one jazz] in each recital, plus the closing number with all teams together. After we added in the dress rehearsal, we logged MANY hours at Chaska HS! I thought you'd be wiped out[I was]. I thought you'd need a break [I did]. I thought you might even--gasp!--be tired of dancing by the time the weekend was done. Not quite!

Love that team name and love that you really do 'sparkle' when you get onstage, Soph. You girls even spent the time between recitals learning each other's dances and goofing around--onstage. Must have heard "Little Suzy ___, walking down the street, couldn't find a partner so she stopped in front of me!" a hundred times in the hallways. I asked you what it felt like when you were up there dancing. You told me you could see the audience, especially those in the front rows, and you liked to get them to smile and look at you. A few even pointed you out and you told me you could tell they thought you were a good dancer! :-) Another thing that made me smile was how much you loved wearing your stage makeup. I thought you'd be soooo ready to get those false eyelashes off, but nope. You asked me if you could just keep them on "just a few more minutes, please!" So very glamorous.

Love, love, love seeing your passion for dance! You worked really hard and learned a LOT. Remember, we're you're biggest fans no matter what, sweetheart!

Easter 2007

Easter with Extended Family. It was so cool that Amy surprised Mom & Pat by flying in for the weekend!

TEN

TEN YEARS OLD. TEN??? Seriously? Seriously. WOW. Ryan, you're in the double digits as of today. I've been a mom for 10 years. Hmmm. I should have this mom thing down, shouldn't I? Hmmm.

Ryan, when we prayed for you to come into our lives, we had no idea what to expect. We couldn't love you any more than we do! You are amazing. So smart, talented, funny, loving, goofy and super handsome to boot. You're what they call "the whole package". :-) Not perfect, just perfectly you. God created you--unique, an individual--He has a big plan for you, Ry! I can't wait to see what it is.

You @ 10: Video games rock your world, love math, into Pokeman, cartoonist, 4th grader, purple belt in karate, 78 pounds, almost 5 feet tall, let me cut your hair but you're liking it long, avid reader, pumped that you got a Nintendo DS (you're welcome), dig the trampoline, Eragon fan, Lego & Bionicle fan, birthday dinner at Rainforest Cafe, planning a sleepover.

THINGS WE DO--Play Games

I'm trying to remember to take more pictures of the 'everyday' variety...here's an example. The bed pillows are all messed up, no one is looking especially great, we're all tired from a busy birthday/Easter weekend. Too tired for a before-bed game of Uno? NO WAY! The kids love hanging on our bed with Robert before bedtime...actually, they prefer to wrestle all over our bed, usually completely trashing it in the process. I say, wrestling is for the floor. Uno, I'm OK with. :-)

Happy Kids--This is what it's all about. Today is Easter...He is Risen!!! Goal was to get to the 9:00am service @ church, but Mom (that would be me) wasn't quite spruced up & ready with enough time to spare to get there on time...so, the 10:00am service it was instead. It was actually nice to have some extra time to sip coffee and for the kids to run around a bit instead of dashing out the door like we usually do (as though escaping a burning building).

Only about a million things have happened in 2007 so far...perhaps I am exaggerating? Perhaps. A BIGGIE--HUGIE--is illustrated in the picture above...Mimi & Poppa have officially bought & moved into 3044 Walden Drive...only ONE lot between their completely adorable new house and ours! Too close? Time will tell. So far, so good. HAPPY KIDS who could not wait to walk to their Mimi's house after school last Monday....and Tuesday...and Thursday! :-) Love it.

We are blessed indeed.

Miss Amy is 40!

Fabulous & Forty! Wow, I know I am older & everything, but seriously it's hard to believe we are really 'that old'. I mean, I totally get it now how people say the don't 'feel' a certain age. Because, while I know I am no spring chicken--and my mirror backs me up on that one!--I certainly don't feel Forty-Onederful. BUT--back to Amy. It was so cool that she came to Mpls to celebrate her birthday! Her friend Nancy threw her a lovely party and it was fun to get to meet Ame's good work friends who came. Always too short of a time together, but awesome to have a mid-winter visit! We are dreaming of heading to SLC to ski & hang with Auntie Amy! Hopefully next winter? Here's hoping!