Cross off two!

In October, I'm going to cross off two things on my list. I can't talk about them now, because one is a surprise. I'm working my way through the list!

Uncle Alden

My uncle from Long Beach came to visit. He arrived in MN on Thursday before Labor Day. By Thursday afternoon, he and my mom were in Duluth site seeing. Steve and I met them for dinner at Little Angies in Canal Park and met them at Mars Lakeview Arena for CJ's last summer hockey game of the year. They stayed at Steve's parents' house.

Friday morning, they went to At Sara's Table for breakfast with Steve's dad, Bill. We met in the early afternoon for a tour of Hawk Ridge, Seven Bridges Road and Brighton Beach. We had dinner with the whole family, including my mom, Uncle Alden, and Steve's parents at Blackwoods before Nick's football game in Proctor.

On Saturday morning, my mom and Alden went to the Boundary Waters with some of my mom and Jay's friends and had a quiet memorial for Jay. In the evening they came to our cabin for dinner, campfire, card games, and a good night's sleep in the northwoods of Minnesota.

Sunday was filled with food, boating, tubing, more card games, and a long good-bye to Uncle Alden.



My favorite picture is this one with Alden and Katie. More pictures can be found here on Flickr.

Here's Uncle Alden's view of his time with us at the cabin (interviewed by Andrew).

Girls' Weekend 2009

Kari had a great idea, but I'm sad she couldn't join us! It was raining and about 50 degrees when we kayaked in August this year. We stayed in a slough except for when we had lunch which was on the very windy (read 'colder') lake. Dreamweaver is a pot-smoker.

The best part was staying at the Reiten Boatyards. We had a great time talking and listening and eating and drinking. We learned about 36-day underwear from Jill. We helped Laura with her chemistry experiment - making the best Mojitos. We laughed. We snored. We had a great time.

Pictures: Flicker

Read about last summer's trip here.

Allie "Cat" Miller

One of the things on my list is to get a dog. Well, cross it off the list. Allie is here! She came from a puppy farm in Gonvick, MN. She had never been inside a house nor was she part of a family. She needs a lot of love and we are just the family to do it! So far, she's a great dog!

Girl's Weekend 2009

We have a plan! Kari had a great idea. We're going to kayak again with Living Adventure, but it's just a one-day trip. We'll stay in Bayfield for the weekend, and kayak all day Saturday through the mainland sea caves. I can't wait! A bunch of my friends are coming, too!

A bunch of 39 year olds

My friends from high school rock! Eight of us got together last Friday at Don Pablos in Roseville. It's so fun to talk about our families, jobs, and ourselves and compare notes. Some topics we covered are those that I didn't expect for this visit. I'm not ready to talk about spider veins and saggy girlie parts. AAaarrrgggggh!

This was a planning meeting for our trip to celebrate our 40th birthdays. I think it is just so much fun that everybody wants to go in September. That's when everybody else is 40 and I'm still 39! I LOVE THAT!

We're a pretty good looking group, I think!

Wendy, Vicki, Shannon, me, Melanie & Liz!

Happy Mother's Day!

I love it when a man makes breakfast and I get to sleep in! It's a perfect day! Three kids gave me handmade gifts - paper flowers, a broken clay bowl, an ancient coded message painted on fleece and a Chinese Warrior made in Art Class. Two sang a song for me!