This summer is still going by crazy fast. How can it be so long between posts?!?!? Busy times. Last Saturday one of my co-workers had an open house. He’s the one on my links with the house he built last year that is as green as green can be (solar panels, geothermal heating, steel roof, let’s his yard go wild, etc). His house is almost an hour away so we made a day trip out of it. We started by following the Mississippi south to Wabasha – home of the National Eagle Center. They have several live eagles that you can get right up to and more facts about eagles than your brain can store in one sitting. Glad we saw it but I’m even more glad we never planned a trip to Wabasha just to see this center.
After that we hit Red Wing’s River City Days (a small town fair and art festival). We’d never been to Red Wing before – it seemed like a nice place to drive through 🙂 After that we hit Paul’s house which was way cool to see. He has a beautiful house and it’s great to see people take the initiative to protect the environment. As we left his house, driving down a gravel road, we saw a red fox sitting by the road before it slipped into a corn field. And then on Sunday Beth’s company had their picnic at the Minnesota Zoo. Check out the tongue on this beast – the zoo keeper better start brushing that tongue! Nasty. Megan was the only adventurous one to help with the feeding. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to finally meet Beth’s co-workers.
I have a box of old computer paper – you know, the kind with the holes going down both sides that you have to tear off, and all the sheets are also all connected so you have to tear them apart. So…I told Colleen this was her new drawing paper (actually I wrote a note on the top sheet letting her know that). And she wrote me back that day saying “no”. So I wrote back “why not?” and she wrote back “it takes a lot more time to get a piece and it’s not even white”. I laughed because it looked white to me until she got a piece of our new printer paper and put them side-by-side and she’s right – twenty years in a box, traveling from New Hampshire, to Purdue, to Chicago, to Minnesota has somehow turned it to a shade of something that isn’t quite white anymore. We agreed that as long as I tear the paper then she’ll use it…deal. I’m really trying to go through stuff that’s been just laying around forever…wish me luck!
Megan has taken over the role of being my biggest helper. She will spend (what feels like) hours helping me in the yard…picking things up and doing exactly what I’m doing…she is prone to spells of non-stop energy, so this if fun for both of us.
I heard something picking at my window screen the other day…glad it wasn’t a squirrel or chipmonk…
A few weeks ago when Colleen and Christopher were with Beth’s parents in St. Louis, one afternoon Beth and I went out on the town with the credit card…we bought a new oven (5 years of not knowing if 350 = 350 or 500 finally got to us), another set of bunk beds and mattresses. The idea was to get the kids to start sleeping in different rooms…oh well, maybe that will happen in a few years…(I took this picture in the dark – and captured the animals moving about)…
Guess who turned four???
Here’s what’s on Megan’s mind this year on her birthday…
My favorite food is…mommy’s macaroni and cheese
When I grow up I want to be a…firefighter (she tells Beth this all the time too – that’s my girl!)
My favorite restaurant is…Culvers
My favorite toy is…my baby dolls (all of them)
My favorite color is…blue and purple
My favorite song is…I’ve been workin’ on the railroad. This is her favorite because it is the longest song that she knows and that means mommy or daddy will stay in her room longer at night singing it to her. Stinker.
My favorite holiday is…Christmas, Easter, and 4th of July
My favorite season is…winter (because I “can go whee down the hill”)
My absolute favorite thing to do in the world is…play baby dolls
If I could do anything tomorrow I would…eat birthday cake
Hello – You guys are having the busiest summer! I hope Erik and I can do as much with our kid(s). Sarah has two teeth and is pulling herself up. I can’t believe how quickly she is growing up, and then I see your kids and REALLY can’t believe how fast time is going. They are such lucky kids to have you and Beth for parents.
Are all 3 sleeping in the same room now? I’m surprised that Colleen doesn’t want her own space.
Hope you guys are ready for the new school year!
What smart, happy children you have!! You are so lucky to have such a helper as Megan. Tell her that when she visits in October I’ll have plenty of things she can do around here since I’ll probably be hobbling around!!! Sounds like you had a fun day going to your friend’s house and all the attractions along the way. Glad you got to meet Beth’s co-workers – it’s always nice to put a face with who she’s talking about when she’s not at work. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer – not long before school will start!!! Can’t wait till October!!!