In other news…

Here are a few more miscellaneous things that happened in the past few weeks.

Laura’s class has started producing “Rush City Student News,” a weekly rundown of the top stories from Jacobson Elementary School. Laura came up with the Pet-of-the-Week segment.

The rest of the student news videos are on Mrs. Karvonen’s Class Blog.

Valentine’s Day means gifts and carmel rolls for breakfast.

Karl enjoying a boys’ basketball game on February 15. He’s been to a few games with Oma and Opa this year in addition to last night’s game with Deborah.

I think we are caught up now—sorry about the gap in posting and then the deluge.

MOA Playathon

Last Saturday, we spent the morning tubing at Elm Creek Park Reserve with the Elliots and Jennifer, Brian, and Damon. Alas, we don’t have any pictures to share, but luckily the Elliotts do.

After tubing and lunch, we proceeded south to the Mall of America for the annual MusicLink Playathon—a fundraiser that Laura has participated in for a few years now.

Karl informed us that this fountain is where he’s going to take his first girlfriend for their first kiss. What a romantic.

Basketball and Cupcakes

On January 26, Deborah, Karl, and I drove down to Shoreview to see Colin’s basketball team take the court. You’ll have to read the Elliotts’ blog to get a recap of the game.

After the game, the boys thought ice cream sounded like a good idea.

Deborah called home as we pulled in to the Dairy Queen parking lot to ask Laura what she had been up to while we were gone. “Oh, just making cupcakes,” Laura replied nonchalantly.

I didn’t think Laura had any interest in baking, but I guess there’s no better time to try out new things than when your parents are forty miles away. Regardless, the cupcakes turned out pretty well and Laura has baked a couple more times since then.

Knowledge Bowl

Laura’s Knowledge Bowl season started out on a high note on January 14 with a first place finish!

Laura’s team wrapped up the season with a second and a third place finish. Great job, Laura!

Bakery Buddies

On January 10, Wyatt spent the day with his grandma and grandpa. What better way to celebrate than to have lunch at the bakery in Cambridge with his Aunt Deborah in tow.

Vikings vs. Packers—Game 2

The following week, the Elliotts invited us over to catch the big Vikings-Packers rematch. This game didn’t quite match the excitement of the previous game, but the boys found other ways to have fun.

I got really excited after halftime when Spider-Man made an appearance. He’s my favorite.

Karl and Deborah stayed overnight while Laura and I went back home to let the dog out. We missed out on a delicious breakfast.

I also missed out on an appearance by the Batman! I am so disappointed.

NFL pajamas are popular with this crowd.

Vikings vs. Packers—Game 1

We’ve been busy the last month—too busy to blog and too busy to take too many pictures… But I’ll try to get caught up in the next few posts.

As Vikings fans, we’ve been conditioned to expect the worst. So we were all a little nervous watching the grand finale of the NFL season: the Vikings versus their arch-rival, the Packers.

(Photo by Laura, the only stick-in-the-mud who didn’t wear purple.)

It’s been a long time since the game, but I remember it being a fun game to watch. The Vikings won, and bought themselves a playoff berth. I think Nate being in Minnesota was the good-luck-charm we needed. So if the Florida Meissners would just come to their senses and move to Minnesota, the Vikings could finally have that Super Bowl victory. It’s all up to you, Megan.