A Favorite Gift

One of my very favorite gifts ever given to me is my Mother's ring. I wear it everyday and it so special. My birthstone is the big amethyst (February) which is, coincidentally, also my Mom's birthstone. (How cool is that?) The smaller stones respresent my girls.....three green emerald stones for Kari, and Kim and Kristin (May), an aquamarine for Amy (March), and an opal for Jennie (October). I love my daughters, and each time I see this ring, I am reminded of how beautiful, wonderful, and special they are to me. It is, especially, meaningful because they had it made for me. Thanks, girls. I still love it!!

Feels like Fall

Jennie and I had a gorgeous weekend at the lake. She was recovering from her wisdom tooth extraction and I was thrilled to have her company. Grandma and Bob came up on Saturday, too. We had the fireplace going in the kitchen and it was warm and cozy inside, although a little nippy in the air outside. It was sunny both days and the sky was blue. The best part was that we had a bonfire Saturday night and Sunday afternoon and burned a lot of the brush that has been collecting. We both brought reading material and movies, so we relaxed, relaxed, relaxed. That being said, I, also, got mowing and trimming done!

The Holmgren's gave us a tour of the remodelling project in their cabin. It will be so great for them. Another bathroom, another bedroom, a laundry room (!), furnace and air conditioner, on-demand water heater and fireplace, an island in the kitchen with more cupboards, an expanded open space inside that will double their old living room area, and, best of all, a screened-in porch area on their present deck. They are excited for the change.

There were some trees up there that were gorgeous and it sure felt like fall. It is my favorite time of year at the cabin.....sweatshirt weather. I heard Jennie say the same thing. Too bad I have to close it down soon. Boo hoo!

Wisdom Teeth

Remember that old song about War....What is it good for?

Well...since Jennie had a wisdom tooth pulled today, I am thinking the same thing. Wisdom teeth....What are they good for?

She came through like a trouper. I was thinking about her at almost the exact moment she got to the office. We were in a school assembly at that time. As a parent you hate for your kids to have to go through moments like that in their lives. I got off the bus about a mile from the oral surgery office, so went directly there instead of home and she was still in recovery. I felt a huge sigh of relief seeing her with Mom and knowing the surgery was done and she was awake from the anesthesia. Went to Mom's and ate supper with them. She was getting picked up by Tom. I was glad to know that she would be in capable hands tonight. I am planning to go to the lake with her tomorrow and helping her to spend a quiet and restful weekend at the cabin, reading and watching movies, etc. And eating soft foods, of course!

The tooth that was extracted was coming in sideways, scraping the tooth next to it, and was causing her pain. I had expected that she was getting all four removed, but they decided that because she was almost 27, the top ones were still pretty far up and probably wouldn't descend any more. The decision was made to just pull one tooth. At $650 for one, I think Jennie was glad. She said she couldn't imagine having four done at once, affecting all corners of her mouth. She was pretty swollen, but kept applying ice. After going through all the braces stuff and surgery for an eyetooth that broke through her upper gum when she was younger, I think she was ready to endure this.

All I can say is.......yglck......Wisdom teeth.....What are they good for!?

Big Brother

I know it's goofy, but I was addicted to the tv reality show Big Brother. For the last few weeks (since I got DISH and free Showtime) I have even been tuned in to the late night live feed of the house. It is finally over. The finale was tonight. Hayden won the half million dollars and Lane won $50,000. Britney was voted favorite houseguest by the American public and she was awarded $25,000. Poor Enzo. He left his wife and baby daughter for 3 months, was definitely a super good player but came home with no money. WOW! I thought he was hilarious, but didn't care for the "f-bombs" that came out of his mouth every second, but then, he's from Jersey, so I guess you have to expect that, huh? He'll probably get some kind of agent and make some money some how for his "Bra-gade" and "Meow meow". Sounds nuts, I'm sure, if you weren't a fan and didn't watch. It was an entertaining few months. Amazing how you start to feel like you know these people. I feel okay about who won, but probably would have voted for Lane myself, since he just seemed like a good all-around person. Nice guy. Now that it's over, maybe I can "get a life" again....huh? (I'll bet Tom votes for that one!) Good sport that he was, he seemed to get a little into the show, too. Anyway, Whew! It's over.

The Revelation

Okay, I'll admit that sometimes I just don't get it. But, for the most part, I don't think of myself as a "dense" person. This one really made me stop and think, however.

A few weeks ago, Tom and I went to an Estate Sale and bought several items with the thought that we would resell them on Ebay and make a little profit. One of the things we bought was this old game. The copyright was like 1956 or something, and it reminded me of the board game Clue. There was a board with a floor plan of rooms and little metal weapons and you had to guess who the "killer" was. The box was in pretty decent shape, too. The only puzzling thing to me was the stupid name of the game. It was Mr. Ree!

Just the other night, I had the light bulb moment. Seriously, it took me almost a month before I fugured it out! (MYSTERY!......duh)

The Grandpa Dan Show

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Kari and Amy had been warned. They got several messages that something exciting was coming, but didn't really know what to expect. The rest of us had been forewarned and were very excited for the premier episode of the Grandpa Dan Show on Skype to be delivered at exactly 7:30 p.m. in Champlin, and exactly 8:00 in Quito, Ecuador. Jennie, Kim and Kristin had been installed as helpers, although their instructions were very last minute. Diane Mars and I were there as audience members to enjoy first-hand what goes on behind the scenes. It was a bit of chaos and craziness to be sure, and I could swear there was some hyperventilating, but it was obvious, Grandpa had done a ton of preparation and work to get this show on the road.

The marquis went on, the lights and music started up, and Jennie announced that the show was about to begin. Then Grandpa Dan and his puppets were introduced with about 25 costume changes. The "shy" puppets wouldn't talk to anyone but Grandpa, but they loved to sing and weren't shy doing that at all. When Grandpa started spilling all kinds of words out, his sidekick sock puppet started singing, "You Talk Too Much" ! Since the show had to be performed twice, some of the kinks got tweaked for the second presentation. The early show was for Hannah and Hailey. Hannah laughed and did a lot of interaction (which wasn't planned into the script at all). Good thing Mom was there to do some quick translation. She left at one point to get a snack, but the live show "had to go on without her". After all, there was a time schedule that was being followed and Ecuador was next on the billing! The music must have been soothing because it put Haileyto sleep in her mother's arms. I can just imagine, "You've Got a Friend in Me" was a good tune for rocking her back and forth as Amy stood there watching Hannah and next thing we knew.....she was out cold.

In Ecuador, the boys were squealing and Kari was laughing like crazy with them. I think they really enjoyed the silliness and thought it was pretty neat to have a show brought to them from St. Paul via the computer. Agustin was wondering how Grandpa had so many arms....until he saw the aunties at the end of the show and realized they were helping out with all the puppet changes. etc. Next week all the kids and moms are supposed to bring their favorite sock to the performance. And.....the Lollipop Twins will be the stars of the show. There were a ton of characters introduced like: Stinky, the Pirate, Silly, the King, the Policeman, and many, many more all created by hand and with lots of imagination by Grandpa Dan.

I felt privileged to be able to witness the Big Show and I'm glad it was a huge success. Wonder if the kids will be excited for next Tuesday night!?

I personally think my favorite part of the whole evening was when Hannah volunteered during the middle of the show that they have "a new radio and music" and Grandpa said, "Who cares?" Well....since I gave her that CD player and music for her birthday....I cared and was thrilled to hear it! Ha ha.

Happy Birthday To Me, I'm Three!

What a fun time we all had indulging our little Hannah for her third birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. She handled all the fuss and excitement like a little trouper. There were tons of presents, but she was so patient about opening them. I never heard her whine or complain about anything. She had tokens for games, and danced and sang with the other kids and Chuck E Cheese himself! She even posed for a few pictures. There were decorations, balloons, pizza and pop. I think the "present of the day" was Baby Alive....no surprise that her favorite would be a doll, huh? She got a little taste of Christmas early with all the nice gifts everyone gave. There were 19 adults and 12 kids in attendance. Kim had to miss because she was on a camping trip for her work. We all wished Kari, Andres, Agustin and Nicolas could have been with us! One thing is for sure.....she is definitely loved!!

Minnesota Nice

Tom and I went to the Fair on Wednesday. The weather was perfect with no humidity. It was a great day for people watching and that's one thing we do well. Tom was asking about how people figure out which "costume" they are going to wear. It's true....We saw lots of old grannies (older than me even) with the sprayed and sparkly goofy hairdos. At least they are having fun, huh? We didn't get there until 2. First thing, I got my free Kare 11 backpack...it only took 7 minutes in a line that started a block away. We made an effort to watch our calories, and shared stuff, but my favorite was still the cheese curds and the corn. I enjoyed seeing the famous local celebrities....Joe Souchery and Dave Dahl, Amelia and Frank from channel 4. We watched the Amateur talent show and saw some great acts. Lots of walking and sitting, but a very enjoyable time. We enjoyed walking the Midway at night with all the lights, too.

Modern conveniences

Kari and Andy left on Sunday the 15th of August. Tom was aware that I have a hard time saying goodbye and that I am preoccupied most of that travel day thinking about them riding for long hours in airplanes and making connecting flights, etc. (Even though they are definitely pros at it by now.) So....he suggested we go on a Sunday drive. We invited Mom and Bob and they jumped at the opportunity. We drove down to Lake City and Lake Pepin and then to Wabasha. We came home on the Wisconsin side. One of the stops we made was in Pepin to see this log cabin. It is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls. It was pretty cool thinking about her family actually living here, esp. after all those years watching Little House on the Prairie. I know, however, that even though it would have been a much simpler life, it was probably a hard one, too. I personally would miss my computer, internet, tv, cell phone, car, digital camera, and most of all, my indoor bathroom! Every now and then, something like this helps me reflect and put life today into perspective. That is when I can stop complaining and say a little prayer of gratitude.