Piano Contest 2011

This weekend Laura played "Camilla the Camel," a piano piece she's been working on since this fall, in front a judge at the Minnesota Music Teachers Association contest. I had to work, but Matt reports (from listening right outside the door, since no one else is allowed in the room) that she did a great job. It'll be a few weeks before we find out if she "won," and would continue on, but Laura, as ever, is totally cool about the whole thing.

She was so cool that she played "Angry Birds" before it was her time to play. This girl has nerves of steel.


Good luck, Laura!

An Afternoon at the Opera

Last weekend, Pam and Fred were very brave and took all four Minnesota grandkids to Orchestra Hall to see the opera, "The Magic Flute." We got a report that all the kids were well-behaved, which is probably overstated but I mostly believe it because they've all had plenty of experience going to concerts and plays. Laura and Karl said the opera was "very long," but Karl talked nonstop about the day so I know they had fun. And Laura had her new updated glasses so she could read the subtitles this time (a little over a year ago, we had gone to a show with projected subtitles, and this poor girl did not have any glasses yet, and couldn't see the words. So sad...).

Cultured cousins: Karl, Laura, Aly, and Emily. Laura went with a "Bohemian Chic" look for the show, so she wouldn't have to wear a fancy dress that requires tights. I think she pulled it off quite nicely!


The kids got to experiment with different instruments before the show. Karl reported to his guitar teacher the next day that he had learned how to play the cello the day before. Well, quite the prodigy, I'd say!

Aly and Laura


Karl and Emily

The Tummy Tooth Fairy

In the past week, Karl has lost both of his front top teeth. Unfortunately, he lost the second one last night while he was eating pizza, and promptly swallowed it. Oops. He was quite disappointed, because he had grand plans to save all of his baby teeth (against the strong wishes of his mother--gross), and now his collection will be missing one. He was so angry that he just said, "forget it" to all the tooth fairy business, but he was happy nonetheless to find a dollar bill under his pillow this morning. When I asked him if the Tooth Fairy came, he said, "no, but the Tummy Tooth Fairy did!" The Tummy Tooth Fairy apparently has the magical powers of retrieving teeth from kids' bellies who accidentally swallow their teeth. Yuck again. Oh well, Karl has an adorable toothy grin right now, but it won't last long because the permanent ones are already making their way through!

The Benefits of Being a Working Girl, or, Meet My New Baby

I've discovered that wonderful things happen now that I have a job. On the days I work, I don't have to worry about dinner or laundry. I get to use the skills I learned from my spendy St. Olaf education, and I can say at the end of my work day that I've actually made people's lives better.

But the best thing so far? I finally got to get rid of the Malibu and buy a nice new car, without feeling guilty about it! On Monday, we headed down to St. Louis Park to pick up my new VW Passat! Karl was a little sad because he didn't want to leave our old car behind, but once they drove it into the showroom and Karl got see it up close, he was ok. We bought the Malibu when I was pregnant with Laura, and I have to say it was just a tiny bit hard to get rid of the car I brought both my babies home from the hospital in, but I got over it pretty quickly. Fahrvergnügen!

The Family Fun Never Ends!

Our holiday festivities have finally come to an end, and we were so busy that the kids are actually looking forward to going back to school! On Wednesday, we went to Matt's cousin's house to celebrate Christmas with Fred's family, and for the annual Meissner Family Caroling. It was also Matt's Uncle Wally's birthday, which meant Dairy Queen cake! (Note:The exclamation point is for the kids' benefit. I didn't want to confuse Laura by acting excited for Dairy Queen.)

Yesterday we went to Pam and Fred's to celebrate with all the Meissner-Schneider cousins. They are a goofy bunch!

Playing "Pass the Present" is always a highlight.

The four oldest grandkids put on a music recital. Laura, Aly, and Emily played piano pieces and Karl played his guitar. We found out that all four of them are quite the hams.

Here's the complete set: Laura, Aly, Emily, Karl, Kathryn, and Nathan

Karl's Dream Day

Life couldn't get any better for Karl yesterday. It started with sledding in the morning, and THEN Matt put together the Star Wars AT-AT that Karl bought using gift cards from his birthday and Christmas.

Just look at this!

Then Karl changed into his Adrian Peterson jersey because there was a Vikings game coming on. Steve and Megan came over to watch the game, but the boys had to take some time to play with the AT-AT first.

Karl has been so excited to watch a Vikings game with Steve, since Steve is as big of a fan as Karl (Matt and I do our best to be good Vikings fans for Karl, but we just can't muster the enthusiasm that Steve and Karl have). Last night Laura even watched the game, but made sure she had a book with her (those who follow our blog know that Laura can only watch sporting events with a book in hand). Poor Megan had to put up with Penelope all evening. Penelope remembers that Megan is a sucker for petting dogs, and she takes full advantage.

Karl showed Steve how to play "Angry Birds."

To cap it all off, the Vikings won! Who would've thought? We think it was the magic of Steve and Karl being in the same room that gave the Vikings all their luck. And since it wasn't a school night, Karl got to stay up and watch the WHOLE game. He went to bed at 10:15. What a rockstar!

Christmas Vacation Fun

The kids have been enjoying their vacation from school, and I know this by the amount of time they've been spending in their pajamas (comfy pajamas make happy children). Here's a sample of what Laura and Karl have been up to:

A typical evening in our house involves Matt and Karl playing "Angry Birds" on their iPhones (no, Karl does not officially own an iPhone, but he has pretty much claimed Matt's hand-me-down, so we refer to it as "Karl's iPhone." It's really mine. I guess.)

On Monday, we went to Matt's cousin Kristen's house to celebrate Xavier's 2nd birthday.

Karl and Nathan


Laura, Aly, and Emily eagerly await the cutting of the cake.


Karl, Xavier, Nathan

Tanya monitoring the gingerbread cookie decorating. Laura went a little crazy with the sprinkles.


Since Steve and Megan are in town from Alabama, Laura, Karl, and Nathan went sledding with Opa yesterday.

Nathan couldn't quite make his silly photo-face with his mittens on, but he still tried!


We think Nathan is going to tell his parents he wants to move back up north after the fun sledding trip!