The Great Minnesota Get-together

After last year's trip to the fair, I watched the weather channel with a careful eye, and we decided not to rush off to Saint Paul until later in the day. For once, the decision panned out, and we got to the fair just as the rain stopped and enjoyed a relatively dry evening. Thing 4 performed and had a blast. Uncle Don and Aunt Vicky even made it to the fair to watch. It seemed a bit odd not to spend all day roaming the fairgrounds, but we were all a bit less irritable than normal. Alex was too tired and sore from volleyball practice to really enjoy the fair. At home she plays volleyball for a couple hours once a week. Here, she dove into 4 hours of practice 5 days a week. Ow.

I can think of nothing worthwhile to blog about. Sad.

Our new little bundle of joy...

I love exchange students. They come already potty trained and with their own spending money. We fetched Alex from the airport Wednesday nite, and headed for a day at Maul of America and the Park formerly known as Camp Snoopy. For your info, the past couple times we have laid down hard-earned money to go to the park, we have done a birthday package. The price is better, and the 5 hour time limit on the wristband is plenty if you plan for a good day. Middle of the week meant short lines. You also get some free game tokens and a cupcake. They were pronounced good, although apparently loaded with food coloring.


Hey! Scroll Wayyyyyy down and sign my guestbook. I saw that widget at Holtieshouse and had to go get my own!

More shameless kid promotion

Things 2, 3 and I performed at our home fair talent show Monday, all placing in the money, but only Thing 3 winning a trip to state (again) Hard to lose when you're the only kid in your category, but I think she did better this year than last, so go figure. I found myself with a camera but no batteries, so I stole some from g'ma, then had no media card, so couldn't take video. Bummer.
Not to be outdone, Thing 1 joined us the tonite for the Karoake contest (less pressure?) and won. Thing 2 also performed and did an awesome job, but I forgot the camera in the car. I placed in the money, so we have a little spending jingly for the trip to the Maul ofAmerica (named coined by Daynoter John, all credit where it's due) I retrieved the camera in time for Thing 1 to sing, so I got her loaded on youtube. I tried for better quality, but the file was too big. Oh well...

So a week has come and gone again. I've been on a purge. We've taken bags to the thrift store, cleaned closets and drawers, and I haven't wanted to stop for fear I'll bog down!

Thursday we hit a nearby talent show. For once I will play the irate stage mommy and assert that my kids were robbed. The sound man was hopeless, as was his system. The CDs we'd played in the car on the ride over would not work in his machine. Later they got a different player, but not until both my kids had to sing different sons or arrangements that threw them off. Thing 2 chose to go with the same song, but the other CD had background vocals, which are a DQ for state fair competitions. Thing 3 did a song from last year, so she missed some words. Oh well, they sang for grandma and had a blast. By the time they got through my bracket, the system was squeaking and humming something fierce. It kicked out one guy's cd halfway through his song and stopped dead on another gal's. My CD worked fine, just hit the middle o' the pack, I guess.
So finally, I got video. These were taken on the still cam, and seemed OK when I put them into iMovie, but the compression seems to have taken it's toll. The still cam couldn't seem to do some of the songs in one clip, so they're pieced together. Ya get what ya get. If I wanted to take the time and effort to pull out iPastor's big dog video software, I'd get better quality, but spend a lot more time. So, here ya go...

Counting blessings...

I drove home from Watertown on Wednesday with a vanload of sleepy, worn-out kids. We had another dental appointment over there, so we decided to bring a couple friends and check out their newly remodeled municipal pool, which now has a waterpark nearly as large and just as nice as any we have been to previously, with the added bonus of costing far less than any of the others. We met my brother and his wife at McD's (fine dining is irrelevant with that many kids along) then headed to the pool. It was awesome. Plenty of options for all ages and thrill-seeking levels, and lots of lounge chairs. You could get as wet as you wanted (or didn't want) and relax next to the pool or sand pit in comfort. Wednesday was one of the first overcast days in a while, and it was midweek, so it's quite possible uncomfortably packed at other times, but our trip was an overall success, despite the loss of my favorite sunglasses.
After swimming, Uncle Don, who had a good night at the casino previously, wanted to treat for a movie, so we saw the Simpsons. Pretty much a 90 minute episode, but fun. The kids were all blissfully (for me!) quiet and tuckered out as I drove home, disturbed only by freakishly large flocks of turkeys, then pheasants, alongside the road. It was odd enough I wondered if someone was shooting a wildlife tourism commercial in the area. I actually had composed some thoughts about what I deemed blogworthy, when the radio station broke in with a news report of the 35W bridge collapse.
Perspective is a humbling thing. No-one gives a rat's patootie about my happy little mommy day when it is unknown how many mommies are trapped in the rubble or underwater. We now know of three dead mommies and at least one missing, along with her daughter, not to mention the daddies, brothers, sons, sisters. Patric Reusse of the Star Tribune had a similar perspective he shared in Thursday's edition. All our loved ones have checked in safely, their routes taking them elsewhere or elsewhen. Timing is, indeed, everything.
I slept poorly last night; iPastor came to bed a little later than me, which is not unusual, but for some reason it threw off my sleep pattern. I finally gave up at 5:20, planning to walk the dogs. iPastor had closed the window (despite the recent heat it has been cooling off beautifully at night!) so it wasn't until I got into the bathroom that I heard rain. Rain!!! Very badly needed rain. No storms, hail, or wind (yet?) but a nice, gentle soaking rain. So the dogs got a quickie trip out the door to take care o' business, and I get teatime on the net. I have to work soon, but I managed to steal an hour for myself. I've already encountered two of our foreign kids online, so its been a treat.
This song comes to mind with events, both literal and figurative, so I'll leave you with the words of Bart Millard and Mercy Me:

Bring The Rain

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You
With all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You?

Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times

So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll
be days When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am yours regardless of
the clouds that may loom above
because you are much greater than my pain
you who made a way for me
suffering your destiny
so tell me,
what's a little rain?


Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
is the lord God almighty
is the lord God almighty
I'm forever singing
Holy holy holy
you are holy
you are holy

Same old...

Not much new hereabouts. I feel like I've been making some progress on little projects some days. Others are a waste of oxygen. Of course, all bets were off when HP 7 came in the mail. I got that knocked out and was satisfied all around. With that distraction out of the way, I've been able to get back to some work. iPastor has been all handy and stuff lately as well. He installed some carpet in the student room and got some little outdoor projects in hand. I've been trying to glean and clean closets. With summer here, the girls wear shorts and skirts far more often than pants, but when they do have jeans on, I'm seeing lots of ankles, so I've been trying to empty the drawers of items that don't fit.
Also in the mail came our copy of Sweet Land. I missed it in the theater, so it was the first time through for me. Our family is all present in the depot scene, although after spending two days on set iPastor's screen time is whittled down to a flash of him carrying a crate full of chickens. My girls are planted in a little family behind the lovely leading lady as she's studying an English primer. I'm not too far back from them in a cluster of ladies. Mostly I recognized my really big hat. It was fun to see all the familiar faces in the church scenes, and the church itself. Zion Lutheran was one of the first parishes in the county, and years after it closed, the Norwegian Historical society expressed interest in shipping it to Norway as part of an exhibit on emigrant life after they left the homeland. When that happened, it sparked an interest in refurbishing it and keeping it functional, which the families of the original parishioners did, so now its used several times a year for weddings and other special events, including Christmas and Memorial Day concerts where I usually wind up singing.
On the 19th, Arnold's Park held its premiere party, but we had to miss that. Bummer. iPastor had a good shot in the original trailer, so we'll have to wait patiently for that one to hit screens or shelves to see how the final edit came out.
Today Nina's dad is hauling our trailer out to the dump, as our only vehicle with a hitch is kaput. After I get that emptied, I can start reloading it. We've had a heck of a time with bikes. I buy cheap ones and my brother brings garage sale bikes for the kids. They break, then I let the neighbor boys scavenge them for parts. Choppers are back, and the kids seem to be having great fun creating ridiculously large ones. But now I have a shed full of frames and rims, as well as other miscellany that has seen its time come and go, so that's the next batch for the dump. I've been piddling with laundry and other things while I wait for him to bring the truck, and I suppose I should log off and not let this become a bigger distraction.
So, with that in mind, onward and upward. Excelsior!

Psalm 8:3-4

As I walked the dogs tonight I looked up into a clear night sky and was reminded of one of the things I like about small towns: stars. I wish I had a little better than ye olde idiot-proof, point-and-shoot camera, to capture the depth and glow of that sky tonight. Something like that needs the KJV:

3When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For Crying out Loud...

Nina's family got an inflatable waterslide to keep the kids entertained this summer. Today, her little sister, Eliza, fell off the thing, broke her arm, and had to go have surgery to set it and pin it. Enough!
***
We, on the other hand, got the kids safely off to camp. Thing 3 was a touch apprehensive, but as soon as we got there she was distracted by new friends and her big sisters promised to be there if she needed them. Good kids.
***
On the way home, iPastor and I took Thing 4 for supper at Cafe Persepolis. The website could stand a healthy dose of spell/grammar check, but has cool pics. Good food. We were just discussing finding new places in our greater regional neighborhood, so we started tonite. We also dropped a load of coin at home depot. The bathroom needs a little help, so we got some tools to get going.
***
Thing 4 is not going to know what to do without his sisters. He was lapping up the attention tonite, though, so I'm sure he'll survive.
It's late now, and I must sleep. Ta!

Summer in the City

Summer in our city, anyway. Not the urban hub of hot weather activity are we. However, we do have great fun. Saturday nite we had a pickup frisbee game with representatives from most of the houses on that side of town either participating or spectating. It was great fun. The one bar in town was having its anniversary party in the parking lot, so we all got a free live band whether we wanted it or not. In a moment of mommy softness, I allowed the big kids to stay out for "night games." We do have a curfew in town, due to some unfortunate incidents with bored teenagers a few years back, but they can be in someone's yard. They came in tired out and slept hard.
Yesterday we cleaned out and washed the van in anticipation of the trek to camp today. When that was done, we decided to take a quick trip to the lake in the clean van and see if the dogs would swim. We haven't had them out yet. It was a moderate success; the dogs paddled about a little, but were far more interested in all the interesting smells along the shore. The water was nasty, too. Lac Qui Parle is a shallow, dam-enhanced lake full of geese and pelicans. It was like bathwater, but decidedly greener. That beach can be so nice early in the year or during a rainy summer. Unfortunately, if it's a wet year, a good part of the park stays closed and flooded, so you don't get to enjoy the beach so much. Kind of a double-edged sword, that. Since I had the good sense to wander around gravel roads after washing the car for the first time in ages, I pulled back up to the hose and rinsed the dust off. I also got out the power washer and had my semi-annual fun of hosing off the area rugs. Nothing says "clean" to me like 1300 PSI! (Yes, I know, it's just a little weenie household model.)
Well, I'm off to try to weasel out of work so I can ride along to camp, and maybe sneak in a trip to home depot on the way by. This time it's church camp. It's old hat for Things 1 and 2, but this is Thing 3's first year, and she's pretty excited. All the old cliches about how quickly time passes pop to mind. While we played frisbee the other night, I was startled to see all these little boys who are suddenly young men. I've been watching them grow for years, but it seems like baby fat has melted off, jawlines have appeared, and they've added several cumulative feet to their height overnight. I'm already having apoplectic fits about the curves appearing in all the appropriate places on Thing 1, and the evidence that Thing 2 is not too far behind. Now Thing 3 is old enough for sleep-away camp. Yikes.

Cranky!

The dental work went fine. Thing 3 had an office visit yesterday (fillings and a crown), but Thing 4 went to an outpatient surgery center for all his work this morning. One of the possible side affects from pediatric anesthesia is irritability. In spades, apparently. Oy. Thing 4 woke up hard from his dental work. He was a bit freaked out from his IV (fluids) and pitched a hissy until they removed it. He was upset but unable to really articulate any specific pain or discomfort, as he was still groggy. The nurses chalked it up to disorientaion. He sucked down about 3 glasses of juice and water which he saved to upchuck in the van on the way home. He then had a case of puke euphoria, and turned into a chatterbox, alternating between talking a blue streak about the new game dad bought him, and screeching at his sisters for various and sundry infractions on his personal space, his possesions, or his private oxygen supply.
We've recently done some rearranging and put a much smaller TV in the living room, now that we use the projector or movie watching. We hooked up a VCR, and with the lack of cable hereabouts, the kids have been dragging out the old VHS movies. With 5 years between kids, all the sudden the old Disney tapes have been rediscovered. Tarzan, and his crew are new again. Cranky pants and his sisters have settled in to enjoy. I think I'll join 'em. G'nite!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Greetings from Watertown, South Dakota! Things 3 and 4 require some extensive dental work that has been referred to a pediatric dentist and oral surgeon on this side of the border. Thing 4 needs pretty basic work, but enough of it that they want to sedate him and do it all at once rather than subject him to multiple visits. We had to schedule over two days, so we got a hotel room. The hotel has a pool, which is awesome for the kids, a hot tub for mom, and free wireless internet for dad. When we first got here and the hotel was nearly empty, we got speeds of around 1.2 meg. It's calmed down a bit with more ppl on the pipe, but still nice and zippy. We've been cussing our ISP (curse you MVTV Wireless, curse you!) for quite some time because our services is quite unreliable and slow. Unfortunately the ISP's proverbial butt is covered by it's sale of "unmetered" (not unlimited) service of UP TO 1 meg, so when we complain of our 356 up and down connection, our choices are basically "take it" or "leave it." Whee. Qwest DSL doesn't come so far, so our other option is dialup. Hooray. So for today anyway, in between relaxing by the pool and having supper and perhaps drinks out with my brother and his wife, we are enjoying the speedy goodness of wireless.
We went out for supper and are now enjoying Mythbusters. We shut off our cable earlier this year, so it makes TV new again! We gather around the set together just like the old time radio. I think I'll go back to watching Jamie and Adam shoot things. Cool.

Now is the summer of our discontent...

Noble motivations aside, the Things right now are the crabbiest little bunch of Bickersons I have ever seen. Unfortunately, that behavior is contagious, so Mama's cranked up, too. I assume this will pass with the heat, but only time will tell.
Our 4th was fun. Saw friends, enjoyed works, and rolled down a hill. Every grownup should do that once in a while to remember what it's like (ONCE in a while; twice made me want to hurl.) We also had large fun with a projector, A PS2, and a game of Guitar Hero.
Thing 4 turned 4 this week. He's all boy right now; baby's all gone.
Yesterday I packed the grouchy kids into a vehicle with broken AC, and trekked halfway into the next county to witness the baptism of the new nephew. Cute as a bug. It was a bluegrass service, which apparently means country music with a banjo and a harmonica, because it didn't sound like bluegrass to me until they put down the instruments and sang some a capela stuff. Nice, but just not quite there. Picky me. Afterward, it was off to the in-laws house to enjoy some supper and visiting until the sun went far enough down that I didn't have to drive into the glare. On the way home, one of the small towns in between was having its fireworks display for the local festival, and it gave the kids something to watch for a good 20 miles.
Now it's off to church. Hopefully it'll cheer some of us up.

Looky what I got!

Woohoo! I gotsa button! Me likey. Many thanks to Michel for making me feel like somebody extracts something from the drivel I post (and promises drinks!) Now I guess the idea is to pass along the love, so let's see...

To Bossy: Often I can't follow WTF she is saying, but she spews forth comments that make me snort coffee over my keyboard. And one of her handles is Rocker Mom, so who better?

To Britmum: With bonus rockin' for her
Gran.

And to Kelly: Who has to deal with other people's kids en masse on a daily basis, which really rocks.

Copy/paste that button and Rock On!!

Mama's little Sinead

In the interest of camaraderie, Thing 1 has shaved her head along with Nina. Nina never actually lost all of her hair, but the remaining straggles were bothersome, so this afternoon, Nina's dad shaved them both.
Otherwise, the week has been fairly uneventful. No pics or video from the contest. User error. There were three real contenders. The other two placed. My mother-in-law says I got screwed, but she's biased. I may try again in Milbank or Big Stone.
Got the kids collected from their daycamp yesterday. Spent a few hours with the kind folks who've been harboring the fugitives for the past two weeks. I'll have to commission a medal or something.
Thing 1 wasn't home 12 hours before she was begging a sleepover at Nina's. She did her share of chores before she left, though, so I guess it's all good.
Potluck tomorrow, so I'm off to put together taco salad fixings. You all enjoy your Sunday.

Can't trust that day...

At least good ol' Cliff was thoughtful enough to come check under the laundry chute where I'd been standing admiring the empty space I'd made, when the next load came down and buried me.

Monday Monday, can't trust that day....especially when I awoke this morning with an odd sense of optimism. Hmmmm. This is atypical Monday behavior on nearly anyone's part. Must have been that power nap I got yesterday. Thing 4 snuggled in next to me while everyone else was gone, and we zonked out for nearly 3 hours. Got a little recharge I guess. I've always been a fan of the siesta mentality: sleep through the heat and work when it's cool. Unfortunately, the rest of the Midwest doesn't operate on those hours. ANyway, I got quite a bit accomplished last evening, and awoke with grand designs for this week. This could be dangerous...

Fuzznut is back. I was dreading another kitty memorial post. Our cats usually have a tendency to go walkabout a few days at a time and then one day you realize thay've been gone awhile (except for actually finding MamaBob last year). Fuzznut had been missing a few days, and the Things were starting to fret when a neighbor kid reported seeing her at the local river swimming hole. Yesterday while I was powernapping, a neighbor parent had a batch of kids out swimming, and Fuzznut sauntered up to them and was promptly brought home. She settled right back in as if she never left, enjoying the clean litter box and gravy train. Now she is hopscotching on the keyboard. I could use a short vacation from the madhouse now and then myself, but I'll pick a luxury resort over a van down by the river.

Well, I'm not going to accomplish any of those great things sitting here. Any of you in my neighborhood: I have a contest in Willmar on Wednesday, c'mon out and stack the audience for me!!!

It's about time...

...for something to happen that's interesting enough to post about.
No such luck.
But I'll post anyway.
I spent Saturday night at my first 20 year class reunion of the summer. I went to school through the 8th grade in my hometown. It's small enough that they invited anyone that they could locate who'd been in the class. When we moved away, it was only 17 miles to the north, so I was frequently back to visit friends. The reunion for the class I graduated with is in August.
Sunday we drove. A lot. We cruised from my folks in extreme SW MN, to the southern 'burbs of the Twin Cities, then it was a speed run to the office supply store, then home 2 1/2 more hours in the van. With no AC. Yuck. Gotta get that looked at.
Got to IM a bit with Alex today, and get a ballpark estimate on her arrival (3rd wknd of August).
Now, it's off to tame the laundry dragon. If you don't hear from me in a few days, it won.

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye...

...or breaks a nose, I guess. There is a sad old hideabed on our porch. Last night we had some storms roll through, producing some lovely lightning. I pulled the bed out and flopped thereupon with the iPastor to watch the light show. Before too long, we were dogpiled by the three awake Things and, fittingly enough, two of the dogs. All was well until, siblings being as they are, the giggling gave way to some roughhousing. One reflexive kick later and Thing 1 went squealing to the kitchen with a bloody nose. Before too long the squeals dissolved to giggles, and after spattering me with snorted blood at least once in a fit of laughter, we got the bleeding stopped and the floor mopped and life returned to what resembles normal around here.
***
Yesterday's Netflix gem was a little Irish film called Waking Ned Divine. I never got the chance to see it when it came out a few years back. It was a fun little flick, worth an hour and a half of your time.
***
We spent the bulk of our Sunday at the park in Montevideo for Nina's benefit picnic. She had a blast, and it was amazing the people that little girl has touched in her 8 years. Friends and coworkers of her parents, most of her school, all of our church, people from EF, and perfect strangers who saw a poster or read about her in the paper packed the park for food, games, carriage rides and music. The Things and I, and even iPastor in a rare appearance, performed along with several other groups and a soloist over the course of the day. There wasn't a dry eye in the park when Nina got up to sing "My Savior, My God" with Thing 2. I'm a pretty proud wife/mama today, it was a great day for Nina, too. Thing 4 provided entertainment by raiding the goodie tent for cotton candy about a dozen times. My cafe employers were running the tent, and I warned them I would be missing work if I had a kid with a tummyache today. So far he's still sleeping off the sugar crash. I have a feeling Nina slept like a rock last night, too.
***
Our church is on deck to serve coffee at the little community center today, then it's back on the hamster wheel for us. The kids are working odd jobs to pay for camp, iPastor has been bumped to full time to help his supervisor cover for one of the other plants they guard, I'm on all week, and I have the first of two class reunions this summer on Saturday. If it's a bit scarce around here, we'll catch ya on the flipside.

***

Someone sent these pictures from the picnic Sunday.

Who can I make cry today?

Besides me.

8th Grade formal on the last day of school. Next year Thing 1 is officially a high schooler. She's at orientation for her first payroll job (McDonald's) today. *sigh*



Where are you going my little one, little one
Where are you going my baby my own
Turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of the door
Turn around (turn around)
Turn around (turn around)
Turn around and you're a young girl
goin' out of the door

Where are you going my little one, little one
Dirndls and petticoats, where have you gone
Turn around and you're tiny, turn around and you're grown
Turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own

Where are you going my little one, little one
Where are you going my baby my own
Turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of my door

Two go out, only one comes back...

While cleaning out the outdoor toy bin, we came across a couple of kites that had been languishing far too long. The kids earn reward points at our Sunday night kids' program at church, and are able to redeem points for goods, these kites included. There was a stiff breeze this afternoon, following a squall and a downpour, so we decided to give the kites a try. One was too small to get much loft from the strong wind. Perhaps a tail will better balance it. It was fun for some short-string stunts, though. Sponge Bob and Patrick adorned the slightly bigger one, and it took off in the breeze easily. After a good half hour passing the kite around, Thing 2 lost it from her grasp and it bobbed and soared along the current in the air. Thing 2 followed after it for a good half a section. It reminded me quite a bit of myself in a cow pasture many long years ago. I was able to retrieve mine way back then, but she couldn't locate where hers finally went down. I watched her disappear over a knoll, then a few minutes later, reappear running between rows of new corn, learning a lesson about letting go. It was a lot of energy to expend on a two-bit kite, but she gave it a try and gave up when it became more than the kite was worth. Even with the loss, it was a good bit of fun for as long as they've lain unused in the porch.

School's out!

From a long weekend to a long week. After four days off, Tuesday was a little hard to take, but I managed to slip right back into the old rut and get to work. This week includes a groom's supper and wedding dance, so it'll be nice to see Sunday roll around.
***
We did a bit of rearranging on Monday, and so far the rest of the week I've made no real progress, but haven't backslid either.
***
The kids are done with school until August. Countdown until the first cry of "I'm bored"...
***
Under "C": "I have tater tot gravy in my ear."
***
I don't drink a lot of "road coffee." My schedule allows me to have coffee at home or work. Occasionally, if we're on a long drive or traveling at odd hours, I'll take my chances with a cup of convenience store java, but those times I usually opt for my beloved Starbucks Double Shot Espresso and Cream which I blogged lovingly about at the blog the domain ate last year (lots of caffeine packaged in four bladder-friendly ounces! hooray!) Recently, I needed java at an odd time, and swung through McDonald's drive-through. I had a surprisingly lovely cup of coffee. Small, three creams, just right. Just a handy tip for you coffee lovers out there.
***
Well, back to work now. You all enjoy your weekend off. Don't mind me. Really. I'll be fine.