Star of the Week

Each student in Mrs. Lundeen's second grade class takes a turn being the "Star of the Week," and this past week's star was Karl. The kids bring in photos, items of personal interest, and favorite books to share with the class. Karl went one step further, though, and played "The Drummer's Reel" and "Malagueña" on the guitar for his classmates.



On Wednesday, Deborah composed an adorable poem about Karl that Mrs. Lundeen read to the class. And Thursday, Deborah and I joined Karl in the cafeteria for a lunch of chicken noodle soup and sandwiches.

Today, Karl came home with the friendship poster that his classmates made for him.

Freedom Teeth

Hey everybody! Laura got her braces off last week, and now her beautifully straight teeth get to take a break from braces for a few years. As soon as all her permanent teeth come in, she'll get a new set of braces to correct her overbite, but in the mean time she gets to enjoy eating popcorn and pizza crusts with abandon!

She was a little nervous before her appointment...


…but quite happy once her braces were off. Now she just has to wear a retainer to keep everything straight.


Since we were so close, we drove to St. Paul to have lunch with Matt (it was Tuesday). Yay for Brueggers!

Here's a reminder of what her teeth looked like on the day she got her braces on last December:

The Defeat of Jesse James Days

Today Matt, Karl, and I headed down to Northfield for a little reminiscing and to watch the annual reenactment of the defeat of the James-Younger gang. Laura stayed home because she had no interest in seeing our old apartment or watching live shoot-em-up action. She also wasn't interested in going to St. Olaf because their library would have very few books for her. Ouch. Oh well, the three of us made the best of it without her while Laura hung out with Pam and Fred.

Our first stop was the St. Olaf bookstore, where Karl got a new St. Olaf football jersey and a Viking helmet. Then we had lunch in the caf (which was ranked the best in the nation by a Newsweek/Daily Beast poll; too bad it was built after we graduated…). Karl got lots of "ahhh, isn't he just the cutest?" looks from all the college kids.

Then we toured the campus. Anyone who's been there knows it's the most beautiful place on earth. Karl was only interested in chasing squirrels, however, and didn't care which buildings we lived in or we went to class, blah, blah, blah. He was a good sport about posing for pictures though.

Old Main

Running up and down hills in front of Holland Hall

Then we went downtown for the Jesse James Days festivities. We watched part of an old-timey baseball game, where people played by 1870s rules. They didn't wear baseball gloves, so the if the ball was caught after one bounce it counted as an out. Pitching was also underhand. And, if you can believe it, it was even more boring than baseball is today.

This is Karl and I while we waited for the James Gang to arrive. It was so hot that the horses sweat, the men perspired, and I was completely glowing.

"Get yer guns, boys, they're trying to rob the bank!" Little did Jesse James know that Northfield had lots of Union Civil War veterans who knew how to take care of nasty bank robbers like them, so the gang left Northfield with one man dead and no money.


By this point in the day, Karl was crabby wreck, so it was time to go home. We needed dinner though, so we took advantage of Laura's absence and ate at a Leeann Chin, which Karl referred to as his equivalent to Laura's IHOP (Subway equals Laura's Perkin's). It cheered him right up!

Yay for the First Day of School!

This week our newly-minted 5th-grader and 2nd-grader headed back to school, which means we made it through another busy-fun-frantic-beautiful summer.

These carmel rolls have become our default celebratory breakfast, and we all feel that the first day of school should be a celebration!

Laura and Karl both grew and changed so much over the summer that their teachers are in for an especially big treat! Just look at these darlings!

Penelope was a little sad that her buddy had to leave for the day. I was a little sad that my appointed dog letter-inners and letter-outers had to leave for the day. Nothing ruins a nap more than those jingle bells!

Ahh, the fun begins!

Finally--Wisconsin Dells!

Laura's lifelong dream came true this past week when we spent a few days in Wisconsin Dells. We stayed at the Wilderness Resort, which has water park after water park, indoor and outdoor, and we hit all but one, many of them several times. Laura's plan was to either be at a water park, eating, or sleeping at all times, and that's pretty much how it went down.

The drive there was easy-peasy since the kids are both very good movie watchers and book readers. This picture was taken in Harris on the way to Wisconsin. I don't think those smiles ever left their faces the entire way there.

At last we made it to the Promised Land.


In an incredible stroke of bad luck, Laura got sick on the second day there. We knew something was wrong when she ate very little of the BEST BREAKFAST BUFFET I HAVE EVER SEEN. I mean, there were endless maple syrup possibilities, and this poor girl quietly said she wasn't very hungry. For breakfast. Her largest meal of the day. Then she said she was cold. Laura is never cold. I was not cold. I felt her forehead with my arm, and sure enough: fever. However, Laura's fever for waterslides was even stronger than her sick fever, and she insisted on going to water parks. She walked a little slower up the steps, and she lazed in the sun a little more than usual, but she carried on with nary a complaint.


The sun was warm, the water was warm, and there were very few people there. Perfection.

Matt tried to stay in the shade as much as possible but was a very good sport about being outside. With absolutely no Apple products.

Karl just made the most of wherever we went. This kid takes full advantage of all swimming pools, slides, hot tubs, and any other water-spilling amenity.

After a few hours that morning, Laura's energy had petered out. I have never, EVER, seen her look like this at a water park, and I knew I would need photographic proof or no one would believe it. Don't you just want to hug her?

Whenever anyone got tired, we would go back to the hotel room for a nap to recharge. Well, the kids and I needed rest and Matt needed to play with his iPad. He gets crabby if it's been too long.

And then we'd go back for more water fun. Luckily, Laura was feeling much better by the end of the day, and got to enjoy that awesome breakfast bar the next morning. We wore ourselves out during our 3-day Wisconsin Dells marathon, but it was a blast. I'm sure we'll be back!

State Fair/Milk Run 2011

Yesterday we resumed our Milk Run tradition (last year we had to miss it because I had to work), and it was extra-special because Karl ran in his first official 5k race! It went very well, with Karl keeping a very steady pace until his nice hard kick in the final stretch, finishing with a time of 31:14. He beat 20 people in the "men under 20" age group. Not bad for a 7-year-old first-timer!

Angie came with Colin to run too. Unfortunately Jason had to stay home with the other two boys because Justin was sick. Here were are before the race.


While we were running, Laura and Colin hung out with Matt. Apparently it was very mellow.

And here we are after the race. Usually Karl (and Angie) chat the whole time he runs, but yesterday was serious business. He didn't talk very much, except to comment on how fun the downhills are, and how cool it is to grab a cup of water, drink while running, and then slam the cup on the ground.

With the race out of the way, it was time for some fair fun! The kids always wait on these rocks while Matt runs back to the car with the jackets and sweatpants, and Angie goes to change clothes. I just wear my sweaty running clothes all day. I figure if I can't shower, why bother changing?

First stop: Giant Slide! Laura RAN up those stairs like a shot. She'd been waiting a YEAR for this.

Karl was not far behind.


Matt and Colin

On to the Kidway! The kids were much braver this year, and Laura rode her newfound wave of bravery as she tried all the rides she was too scared to go on before.

The kids lost steam pretty quickly, though, and soon the toll of the early morning became very clear. Suddenly our sweet children were exhausted. And they showed it.

Our happy family right before we left. I don't even think we made it to noon. The day peaked quite early, but it was worth it. Congratulations on your first race Karl!

Bunker Beach

We teamed up with the Elliotts to go to yet another water park, this time at Bunker Beach in Coon Rapids. It was a gorgeous day to be outside, and I soon realized that I've reached another parenting milestone: I no longer have to go down water slides with either of my kids. It is so nice to just sit on the side and watch without freezing in between rides, but I've given up the right to complain about all the stairs I'm forced to climb.

As soon as we got there, Laura found this group of water slides and just started running up stairs. No hesitation from this girl anymore.


Karl and Colin were water park buddies for the day.


Bunker Beach has a HUGE wave pool that ranges from 0 to 6 feet. Each kid found an appropriate location according to their height, and rode those waves. Laura and Karl said their experience in the Gulf of Mexico was very helpful.

Aqua kids on a break: Laura, Karl, Colin, and Justin

Angie and her boys.


At one point in the day, while Laura was doing this…

The boys were doing this:

And what should you do when you've been playing in water for 3 ½ hours? Why, you dance of course!

The three of us were exhausted by the time we left (although I have no idea why I was so tired; I did nothing but sit and coo at Baby Adam). Laura referred to this excursion as the "appetizer," because next week we're going to the Dells!