Pencil Sharpeners are for Cowards

Laura competed in her third and final Knowledge Bowl for the year, and her team took first place again! SWEEP!


Here she is getting ready for action.

When her pencil broke in the third round, she simply worked out any math problems with the tiny nub of lead that she had. Others may be surprised, but I wasn't. I've seen her bring home math papers that she did in crayon. I wish I was kidding…

Way to go, Laura! Those kids in Pine City and Mora didn't stand a chance!

Super Speller

I wasn't aware that spelling was one of Laura's super powers, but apparently it is. Yesterday she participated in the school spelling bee, which is comprised of the top twenty spellers in 5th and 6th grade, and she placed second after eight grueling rounds! She was disappointed that she didn't get the top spot, but handled being runner-up with all the grace she could muster (but don't EVER say the word "bolero" around her…).



Here are the highlights, so you can see her in action:



Great job Laura! We had so much fun cheering for you!

Saturday in Saint Paul

Deborah was busy today helping the PTO set up for an activity this evening, so the kids and I headed down to Saint Paul for an afternoon of activities without her.

First up, Karl was eager to do some ice skating at Landmark Center. Laura was not quite as excited, though last weekend she did some skating with Oma, Aly, and Emily and enjoyed herself.

Just like the last time we skated here, Karl seemed right at home on the ice…

Meanwhile, Laura and I stuck close together. I’m not a great skater, but together we had a good time.

Next, it was on to the Science Museum for the Omnitheater movie “Wolves.” It was a big hit with the kids—Laura called it her favorite Omnitheater movie yet.

We ended the afternoon at Laura‘s favorite downtown destination, the Saint Paul Central Library.

We were disappointed that Deborah couldn’t be with us, but we had a pretty fun day anyway.

Knowledge Bowl: Two for Two

Laura had her second Knowledge Bowl meet of the season on Thursday after school. And just like the first meet, she and her team took first place!

There are three rounds to each meet, and between the rounds the competitors relax in the cafeteria.

Here are the champs, hamming it up with their trophy.

Laura was very pleased that the next day her team photo was prominently placed in the “Friday Folder”—the newsletter sent home with every elementary student.

Keep up the great work, Laura!

Knowledge Bowl Super Star!

Rush City has a Knowledge Bowl team made up of 5th and 6th graders. There are three teams of six kids, and they compete against teams from Mora and Pine City by answering various questions about math, geography, literature, etc. Yesterday was the first Knowledge Bowl meet of the year, and it happened to be at Rush City. It was SO fun to watch Laura catch her groove. In fact, her team got FIRST PLACE!

Laura was often the "go-to" person on the team for the right answer.


The proud winners! Way to go Laura!

Snow Tubing!

The big finale of Nathan’s Minnesota visit was supposed to be a trip to Wild Mountain on Friday evening to do some snow tubing. Unfortunately, Nathan got sick and those plans got scratched. To alleviate Laura and Karl’s disappointment, Deborah called up the Elliotts and arranged an impromptu trip to Elm Creek Park Reserve.

Justin’s collar bone is still on the mend, so Jason kept him at home. And Deborah woke up on Saturday morning feeling sick, so the whole crew didn’t make it out. But we still had a blast!

Here we are riding the “magic carpet” to the top of the hill.


This was taken after the last run of the day—Laura was so exhausted she couldn’t lift her head.


Thanks for meeting us on such short notice Angie and Colin.

Celebrating the Holidays with the Meissner Cousins

Steve and Nathan flew in last week from Florida to spend some time in Minnesota snow, but unfortunately we've had a freaky non-winter and there was only a dusting. Oh well, any snow is more than Nathan usually gets, so it worked out well.

Emily, Nathan, Aly, and Karl quickly headed to the playroom at Pam and Fred's


The annual "pass the present" game is always a hit.


Since Kathryn stayed behind in Florida, Steve had to fill in. The kids loved calling him "Kathryn" during the whole game.


The two Meissner boys battle it out.


Aly and Laura

After presents, we had dinner, and after dinner, I had to cut into this incredibly crumbly, messy, chocolatey dessert. That tablecloth will never be the same…

We loved having Steve and Nathan in town, and we already miss Nathan's adorable Southern drawl and his spectacular dimples. We worked pretty hard to get him to elongate his "OHHHHs" but I don't think it stuck!

So Long 2011! 2012 is Here!

The best thing about having kids is getting to party with them on New Year's Eve. The Elliotts booked a couple rooms at an awesome hotel (with a swimming pool!) where we could celebrate all night long. Unfortantely, when we got there, Jason and Justin were away at the hospital, tending to Justin's broken collar bone that he broke while playing with Colin (we can't believe this is the first broken bone with those boys!).

Colin, Laura, and Karl didn't waste any time getting in the pool.

After some swimming, it was time for a pizza break.

After more swimming, we went up to the rooms to PARTY! First we played Mad Libs. Thanks to Karl and Colin, the stories we came up with had lots of poopy toilet diaper subtexts. Then it was time for SORRY! By this time, Justin had made it back with his cute little sling.

After games, the kids settled in to watch "Rio." We wondered how long they would last (it was about 10:00)…

Meanwhile, I was partying like a rock star.

Guess what? All the kids were awake at midnight!


After a rough night (don't ask), it was back to the pool for more swimming. Even Baby Adam and one-armed Justin got in on the fun this time!

After we checked out of the hotel, we went to the Elliotts to watch the last Vikings game. Karl feels right at home there when football is on.

Happy New Year everyone!

Brown Christmas 2011

Despite all our hopes, we never got more than a dusting of snow and our Christmas landscape was warm and brown. It didn't take away from our fun and festivities, though! On Christmas Eve, we went to the Elliotts' to celebrate with my family. Laura quickly sat down and checked out the gifts.


All of the Lundgren grandkids who were present were very cooperative for a picture (Thanks, Scott!), but unfortunately Baby Adam was asleep and missed the photo session. Colin, Justin, Laura, Karl, Wyatt, and Scott


Justin and Wyatt are the same age and are always best buds when they're together.


Aunt Carolyn, Laurie, Jennifer


Mom and Aunt Carolyn


This is what our tree looked like after the kids (finally) fell asleep.


This was the first year that Karl stayed up late and went to the 10:30pm candlelight service at church (Laura just wanted to go to bed so the two of us stayed home), so Christmas morning at 7:00 felt very early for this boy. I think he emptied his stocking while still asleep. He perked up when it came time for the big presents, though.


Here's a taste of how our Christmas morning went: