Anna's Big Week

This was a big week for my "baby." You see, Anna turned 5 on Tuesday. Honestly I still have to shake my head because in some aspects I look at her and think "where did the time go?" Other times I swear the morning of her birth seems like a million years ago. From the day Anna came into the world our lives have been in overdrive and she has been a force to be reckoned with. For the first months of her life she wanted no one but me. My first weeks back to work after my 12-week maternity leave tested poor Bill to the edges of his limits. At about 3:00 each day he would start calling me at work inquiring if I truly was coming home at 4:30 (Anna provided a lovely background noise at this point). Generally I would get a couple more calls and each time Anna let her presence be known. Then from the minute I walked in the door she would latch (literally and figuratively!) on to me until I put her to bed at night.

I am happy to say that she is quite the daddy's girl now but she seems equally content to have mommy time and "girl's days." She also is like looking at myself from about 35 years ago! Fiercely independent, passionate about her likes and dislikes and a girl of many many many words. I love it!

Anna is so proud of the fact that she is now 5. Kindergarten looms around the corner and I finally realize that she is more prepared for that day than her mother is. As a parent you find yourself longing for the day when your baby walks and suddenly they are running FROM your arms. You can't wait to hear their first words and suddenly it seems you can't get in a word edgewise. You long for them to become more independent and dress and feed themselves but find the words "I can do it myself" remind you that they really are growing up and no they won't always need you. These are the thoughts that have been tumbling through my mind this week. Bittersweet indeed.

.

Beware of Flying Rocks

I was sitting at a photo shoot for a client yesterday and my phone rang. I looked down and was surprised to see my mom's cell number on the screen. I knew they were well on their way back from Yellowstone and wondered if maybe my dad got antsy and they pushed to get home early (they were due home to Mankato today). As soon as I heard my mom's voice I knew something was wrong. (Note to Mom: Please in the future when traveling - especially with one of the grand kids - and something goes awry make sure to say RIGHT away when you call that there is nothing wrong with ANYONE. I don't need any help with the gray hairs.)

Turns out right after they left their campground somewhere near Keyhole, WY, the Coach basically shut down - everything quit working. Luckily they were able to limp it into a nearby parking lot. A call for a tow left them with an estimate of $1,500 just for the tow. My mom said they "lucked out" and it was only $1,200. I don't fully have the story straight but from what I can gather the mechanic came to them. The diagnosis - a hole in their radiator. The proposed treatment - with any luck a repair otherwise a full radiator replacement to the tune of $4,000 - 6,000. Yikes!

They spent the day in the truck parking lot while the mechanic worked to repair the hole - a hole he figures was caused by a rock thrown up on a gravel road they traveled on to get a look at Devil's Tower. When they traveled to Texas last Winter they encountered much snow as they headed south and with few plows it seems Southerners fight snow with salt - lots of salt. They figure the salt got in there and corroded the radiator thus making it vulnerable to getting a hole. The good news is thank goodness this didn't happen when they were in the mountains in Yellowstone. Who know how they would have got it fixed.

Talked to my mom today - they spent last night in Sundance, WY and were approaching Rapid City, SD with plans to make it to Sioux Falls by evening. They should be back home to Mankato early tomorrow afternoon.

Prayers and crossed fingers for a safe and uneventful return home.

Summer in Yellowstone

On Saturday Ryan embarked on vacation with my parents. Destination: Yellowstone National Park. They are camping in their Coach Motor Home and pulling their vehicle. The plan was to arrive in Yellowstone on Monday June 9th. They did indeed arrive on that day on the heels of over 10 inches of snow! Don't believe me, look below.

My dad snapped this photo with his phone yesterday and sent it to me. My mom called me right after and told me that more snow was in the forecast. Hmmm so much for the new sandals I bought Ryan right before he left. :-)

The good news is they are still having a great time and making the best of their trip. The bad news is the snow closed the roads leading to where they are staying so on June 12th they are officially "snowed in."

Can't wait to hear of Ryan's adventures when he gets home!

Girls Really DO Just Wanna Have Fun

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Lyrics

What a fun day Anna and I had this past Saturday. With Ryan en route to Yellowstone with Grandpa and Grandma and Bill at work it was time for an all out "Girl's Day." The day began with Anna bouncing onto my bed a little after 8:00 and announcing, "Mom this is gonna be my best day ever!" I wasn't quite as bouncy as her at this point—more bleary eyed than anything but I agreed the day would be good. After getting Anna situated with a TV show and some breakfast and myself a cup of caffeine with a little tea, sugar and half & half mixed in for good measure, I showered and got ready for our day. Anna got herself dressed and her purse ready with the dollars she had earned from grandpa earlier in the week. At this point I had heard at least five times about this being the best day. You gotta love a 4-year old. You would have thought she was getting to spend the day with a princess but nope it was little ole me, her mom. Why oh why can't we stay fun in our daughter's eyes all through the teen years?

We hopped in the car and headed south to Ridgedale Mall in Minnetonka. First stop was the food court for some lunch. She sat and ate so well that I actually got compliments from two people on her—nothing makes a parent feel better than a compliment on your child because of course you take it as a direct reflection on you whether it was intended that way or not. (These are the things we file away for those days when we feel quite the opposite as a parent). Then it was off to the shoe store to see if they had the sandals she is looking for. No luck but found out the store in Maple Grove has them. We then headed to Children's Place where Anna picked out 4 outfits and a new swim suit. Next it was on to JC Penney's where she picked out a few more things. Satisfied that she was now properly outfitted for summer we headed back toward Maple Grove to her most favorite part of the day. Getting pedicures!

The nail salon treated her like a little princess and she sat in her pedicure chair with a permanent smile on her face. Definitely one of those moments you file deep away so as to always be able to recall it. But just in case my memory fails me I did snap a photo with my Blackberry.


After we were done with our nails we headed to get gas (thank goodness - I paid $3.74/gallon and now it is $4.09 by my house), stop at Trader Joes for dinner provisions and then at a Red Box for a movie. After a dinner of grilled steak, broccoli and cauliflower and potatoes (Anna's menu) and a bath we settled in with popcorn for our movie. The perfect end to a perfect day. My dear sweet Anna, THANK YOU for "the best day ever."

Play Ball!

Ryan is back playing baseball this summer but it seems he has moved into "the big leagues" if you will. In years past he started out with T-Ball and then moved on to coach pitched ball. It was pretty laid back and the boys all wore matching t-shirts. Pretty low key. This year we signed Ryan up for baseball with the Maple Grove Parks and Rec and quickly discovered this was serious ball.

First off the boys wear a full uniform - shirt with name on the back, pants, socks, hat and shoes. The most "interesting" part of the uniform is the athletic cup we had to purchase for Ryan and explain its use and purpose. Of course in typical last minute fashion for Bill and I, we approached the first practice with the pitching machine and the warning to "have a cup or you can't bat" with no cup and Bill working. What to do, what to do. To make this even funnier we had just seen only a week or two earlier an episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos" where a little girl grabbed her brother's athletic cup from his closet, asked "what's this" and promptly put it to her face like a mask! :-) I consulted about what to do with another mom at work who promptly laughed her way right out of my office. This was not going well for me. So in a panic I called Bill and he said let him miss the pitching machine if necessary and that he would take Ryan "shopping" the next day. Big sigh - saved by the man of the house!

Now the other indication that this is serious stuff is the fact that there are games two nights per week (Tuesday and Thursday) AND practices the other two nights. Luckily we get Fridays off but we didn't get Memorial Day off. And today as I was perusing the web site it appears there are playoffs too. There are also optional Saturday clinics for pitching, etc. and a fee based clinic to hone your skills. Unfortunately I think this has turned out to be a bit more than we realized. But the important thing is that Ryan is having a great time and has made some new friends. So while he isn't the fastest runner or the best hitter I think he would give all his team mates a run for their money on best attitude. Play ball Ryan, play ball!

Mother Nature Pays a Visit

What a wild day of weather yesterday was. The day started out absolutely gorgeous. Blue sky and not a cloud to be seen. This was a warm welcome to the less than stellar weather we have had in Minnesota. Spring has made brief appearances but has basically made itself scarce. Of course the sunny skies motivated us to get our flowers for the outside purchased and planted so it was off to Lowe's we went. We had so many flowers to get between the window boxes, the planters, the sidewalk edging and the hanging baskets for the shed. Needless to say we spent longer shopping than planned and by the time we were done everyone was starving. After a quick lunch it was home to plant.

Because Bill and I are the treasurers for Ryan's Scout den, we had a meeting set up for 4:00 to meet with another pack officer to go over "official business." We had a few things to do to get ready for the meeting ad before we knew it 4:00 was here and no flowers were planted. We got done meeting around 5:30 and had noticed the weather seemed to have taken a dramatic turn. A quick peek at the weather/radar and we knew things didn't look good for us.

After a tornado touchdown (that left a 2-year old boy dead and his sister in critical condition) in Hugo, a suburb East of us, last Sunday I think our nerves are all a little frazzled and we are on high alert for severe weather. We quickly called Anna home from playing outside and started watching the sky and the TV simultaneously. I honestly have to say that between the sirens going off, the rumbling sky and the churning clouds the feeling in the air was ominous. We sent the kids to the basement and Bill and I went back and forth between the TV and the deck watching the storm approach. It literally was roaring down Interstate 94 right in our direction. It got to a point where the weather forecasters were saying which highway overpass it was now at. When it got to Weaver Lake Road (one exit north of our exit) on Highway 494 I started to get nervous. Reports were saying golf ball size hail. Yikes!

By now I was racing around closing windows. The TV reported the storm was now to the Bass Lake Road exit (we live right off this road) and I was telling Bill to get inside. I ran to the front door to close it and just froze in my tracks. The sound I heard was one I never have - a roar headed straight for us. It was the hail making it way to our neighborhood because only seconds later the sky opened up and the hail came down. I yelled to Bill to ask him if he heard the roar and he did too. I commented how loud it was but what must a tornado sound like when approaching? I hope I never find out. Bill and I couldn't believe the hail - it was bigger than either of us has ever seen. The kids couldn't believe how loud it was in the basement.

In 5-10 minutes it was over and all that was left was a HUGE mess. Hail everywhere and leaves littering everything. The neighborhood looked so pretty only minutes before that. Now all we have all over is leaves. I can't imagine the mess where debris from homes, etc. is blown around as well. We collected hail and saved it in our freezer and also took lots of pictures. We will have to have our roof looked at just to make sure it wasn't damaged. Because we don't have aluminum or vinyl siding our house isn't full of dents but I can't say our neighbors in the area fared as well. It served as a reminder of why we must respect Mother Nature.


Close up of hail on the deck.


Hail on the deck and around Anna's Playhouse.


Hail in the yard & by play structure.


Hail on the deck by the pool.


Some of the hail collected from our yard.


Close up of hail.


Close up of hail.