wordless wednesday: little cabin

I miss this cute little cabin at Riverside Point Resort in Park Rapids.  We got away Saturday to spend the night between picking Nate up from camp Saturday morning and dropping Alex off Sunday afternoon.  We enjoyed paddleboat rides around Fishhook Lake and sitting in the swing just doing nothing but being together.  The resort allows pets so Mia was able to join us. Jamie even got an overnight pass to stay with us and make a trip to The Evil Walmart.  We went to church together at a new church near the camp:  Lakeside Christian Church.  What a treat to spend some time all together!  

[So much for "wordless!"]

weekEnd: end of May

It's been a couple weeks since my last blog...  and I was doing so well, too!  Our weather has had it's ups and downs the last week.  Hot & humid days in the extreme with temps over 90.  Then a cool down last night - today's high more than 20 degrees cooler than yesterdays!  MUCH more comfortable with drier air and temps in the 70s.  Sunshine and lovely.


Planted some annuals last week which suffered from lack of careful watering.  Always so sad.  And so predictable.  Sigh.  The weeds in my back gravel patio type area are so hard to kill!

Lots of lasts happening around here!  Jamie had her last All-City Orchestra Concert last week - she officially wore her Moorhead Orchestra hockey jersey for the last time with the other seniors.  Although the orchestra program reached another high participation mark with 744 students, there looked like a lot of seniors at the high school this year - they will be missed!  


Jamie also had her last Wonderful Wednesday youth group meeting - she was honored, gifted with a beautiful study Bible and prayed over.  The end of the school year is in sight as she cleaned out her locker for the last time Friday and received her $10 deposit back!  She has all her beautiful artwork at home now - which we will proudly display at her Open House next Saturday.  


She & I visited Northwestern in St Paul last week for Summer Preparation Days which included workshops for both parents and students.  Jamie got to meet with her advisor and register for fall classes.  She's been invited to participate in the Eagle Scholars program which enables her to take special honors classes!  Pretty exciting for mom, nervous-making for the student.  But when she saw the three special classes she could take in the fall she got a little excited too.

A last word about Jamie (maybe):  she got her tattoo yesterday.  Not a sentence I ever thought I would be typing!  She has been thinking about it and working on it for at least a year, possibly two.  It is her own design and the artist did a great job on it.  


Alex had his last two middle school field trips this week:  one with the orchestra to Minneapolis for a Twin's game in the new ballpark!  (too bad they lost)  They left from school in the afternoon and got back about 1 am.  He got up and went to school the next day for a field trip to our regional science center!  He has his last three days as an 8th grader this week - then on to the high school!


We really ramped up the house preparation for my parents' visit and Jamie's open house.  Mostly cleaning.  If you've ever had a graduate, or been to an open house, you know what I'm talking about.  We take a pretty laid-back approach to these things, but I'm sure things are going to get a little intense around here before the week's over.  No, kids, you ain't seen nothing yet!  I'm so glad my parents can come to visit and celebrate - and help!  


The medical updates:  Jamie's wart is Gone, gone, gone.  (yay!)  Now she has a cold!  Nate had two appointments with Dr Dan (our dentist) with one filling.  Mia got her annual shots and heartworm test plus an unexpected cyst aspiration and she's back on steroids for her allergies (the antihistamine didn't seem to be doing anything).  She's much better.  She did get to ride in the truck twice - exciting!  Alex's teeth look awesome and his next appointment is to talk about retainers which means he must be getting near the end of ortho!  Our medical insurance changes the 1st of June.  ugh.  I hate insurance.


Ashlee's summer job is at Fat Straws - we don't have them here, but Ashlee took Jamie to one last summer and she says they have much the most AWESOME tea & smoothies EVER.  The drinks are "bubble drinks" and are served over black Japanese tapioca - which you suck up in the fat straws.  She is taking not one, but TWO, mission trips this summer!  We're still looking forward to having her here in August - possibly even helping move Jamie in at Northwestern.


Our most recent Favorites:

• The LOST season & series finale - Kathryn came over to watch with us.  We watched a RIDICULOUS amount of Lost last Sunday night.  I'm still trying to figure out what happened.  The Dancing with the Stars season finale - yay, Nichole!!  And all things Glee!
• Mary Kay Lip Balm (& Lip Mask) - Satin Lips rocks!!  And I probably shouldn't tell you, but we had a fun Even Complexion Mask party last night - so fun.  I just asked if anyone wanted to do a face mask and got two takers - Jamie AND Jeff!  So fun.  (And what a great product!)
• Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse Torte - oh what a delicious cake recipe from my friend, Toni!  Let me know I should share this yummy one.
• Jamie's southern sweet tea!  She found a recipe online just to make us miss her all the more this summer.

We have a new preacher (they generally call them pastors in this part of the country) at the church we've been attending on Sunday mornings.  Well, he's new since the end of January - which is almost not new anymore.  He is preaching through the book of Mark - and I mean really preaching through the book of Mark.  A verse at a time.  We broke into Chapter 2 last Sunday -  it was real milestone!  Our whole family likes him and his preaching.  I was especially moved by last Sunday's sermon.  I thought it was really excellent and I heard the stories about the healing of the paraplegic and calling of Levi the tax collector in a whole new way.  I know I'm probably only halfway through my life, but still it amazes me to hear the scriptures speak in a way I haven't heard before.  This sermon about forgiveness is worth a listen.

We're growing and going and wishing you the same.

~L

weekEnd and menu monday

I think I've been behind on blog posts this (last) week since I posted my Wordless Wednesday picture on Thursday and didn't realize it till Friday!!


Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!  Last week was good for employment in our family.  Kathryn now has TWO (2) jobs - one at Strategic Fundraising.  She's raising money for the Republican Party which is both funny and hopeful for some members of our family given her usual political tendencies!  ;-)   Ashlee also got a summer job last week - so congratulations to both our girls!


AP Tests are over for the year.  Yay!  Nate had a rainy, rainy day for his AP US History Exam - which was pretty darn grueling.  Tough way to start your AP career.  Jamie sat for three exams this year, which I believe is a new family record.


It was soooo rainy and cool most of last week that by the end of the week we were ecstatic to see sunshine and temps in the 70's - FINALLY!!  Oh, we all have such spring fever now.  I bought plants for the flower bed on Mother's Day more than a week ago now and they're still not in the ground.  We're not officially frost-free until Memorial Day weekend, but most people are ready to chance it now.  Nate pulled all the dandelions out over the weekend so I'm ready to go.  It took Alex awhile to mow the lawn - his "new" electric mower had a hard time with the very long grass.  He could only take a couple passes at a time in the backyard before he had to empty the bag.  I thought we might have to bale it!  


The boys were busy outside over the weekend - they washed Jamie's (very dirty!) car as well.  Nate's waiting for Jamie to leave for camp to take over and clean out the inside of the car.  I think he's afraid she'll be in such shock she won't be able to drive properly.  Nate got some more practice driving Saturday - picking Kathryn & her laundry up for a visit and taking me to the banks for deposits.  He's going to be a good driver.  Alex rode along with us to stop up at Kathryn's to see her new kitty.  "Pumpkin" has beautiful green eyes and just three legs!  He's so cute and cuddly.  If I liked cats, he would be the one.


We celebrated Jeff's birthday yesterday - with a new quiche recipe (Broccoli & Cheddar - below), Iron Man 2 at the Fargo Theatre and a delicious Triple Chocolate cake from Hornbachers.  I would have made him a rhubarb cobbler, but it didn't have any chocolate in it so that just would not do at all.  What was I thinking??!  Look for an Iron Man 2 review from Jeff this week - in short, we all liked it.  It was a good thing Jamie kept asking me to pass the Milkduds though - my Sunday afternoon nap is a hard habit to break!  We got a little intermission in the middle when SOMETHING happened to the projector that had to be straightened out - the theater treated everyone to a soda or popcorn - nice! Be sure to check out Jeff's summer movie preview.  

I think Jeff liked his gifts.  I had my friend, Marty, make this custom puzzle pen for him.  So nice.  It didn't end up really being a surprise as the pen arrived from California sooner than I expected, Jeff accepted the package and I didn't hide my surprise quickly enough!  *snort!*  We also got him a pair of reading glasses that fold up to fit in a case the size of a large lighter.  We gave him these babies before church so he wouldn't have to pick up the large-print version of the bulletin!  hee.


Favorites for the Week:

• The Real Simple website, and particularly the Real Simple Daily Thought Newsletter delivered by email.  
• And another daily email, even as I UNsubscribed to MANY in the last week, I love Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac daily email.  You can also click through to listen to the daily radio program (the email is the program transcript).
• New recipe:  Cheddar & Broccoli Quiche (below) - so light and delicious. We served with fresh fruit and cinnamon toast. And a surprise that 4 of 5 of us liked it.  Jamie & Alex didn't know they liked quiche. Not Nate's favorite thing.  

2 frozen pie crusts

10 eggs (1 t salt)

1 pint whipping cream

1 16oz bag frozen broccoli florets, steamed

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Steam broccoli until just tender. Drain. In blender,

blend eggs, salt and cream. Divide broccoli and cheese

in both crusts. Pour half of egg mixture in each crust.

Bake @ 350o for 1 hour or until done.

*notes:  I will probably use fresh broccoli next time - I don't like the amount of stems in most frozen bags.  And I didn't use the full 16 oz.  Also, for our family of 5, I will likely cut this recipe in half and just make one next time.  We did finish all of one, though - so two will be nice for company.  (Do you like quiche, dad??)

On The Menu for this week:  Sour Cream Pork Chops, Mushroom Pot Roast, BBQ Quesadillas, Freschetta Pizza Night & Jeff's Unfried Chicken.
  

Just a day less than three weeks left in school for this year.  Then graduation for Jamie and summer break for the boys!  Alex picked up his application card to be a pollinator for Pioneer last week and Nate sent his card expressing his intent to return this summer so hopefully everyone will be working for at least part of the vacation.

Our weeks remain full and happy. Wish the same for you.  Write when you can.  We think of you often and wish we could be near everyone we hold dear all the same time this side of heaven!

wordless wednesday: 1800 Spring!

1800 CentreSquare
early spring 2010

WeekEnd Review

Spring came to the Valley the ornery way it usually does.  A few days in the 40s, maybe 50 followed by a few days below freezing again.  The kids have shed their coats for good - regardless of the temperature.  The sun is glorious when it's out, the wind is brutal from the north.  I saw lots of snow geese headed back north this week though, so I'm sure warmer weather isn't far away.


The river (Red River of the North) crested last Sunday about a foot lower than the earlier forecasts.  A cooler first few days of spring helped slow the melt.  Flood preparation seemed to go so smoothly this year on both the Moorhead (MN) and Fargo (ND) sides.  City leaders and citizens alike learned so many lessons with last year floods and then both cities have made some critical changes since last year so everyone seemed to take this high water in stride.  Jeff and I joined the other sightseers on the Main Avenue bridge to look at the water.  I've lived here long enough to have seen a few major floods on the Red, but it's still an awesome sight.  See more pics on my facebook.

The River usually only runs through that center section of the train trestle.  

Alex planned a "Miller Theater" night last Sunday, complete with popcorn and snacks.  The basement family room had been tidied up and everyone had their own seat with special trays and tables set up for the goodies.  We watched "Mission Impossible 3" from our augmented movie library (Jeff had some good ones he brought with him!) and it was a very nice family night.  Alex is good at Event Planning.  Anytime I can't quite figure out how we're going to get it all done in a day, I just hand the list to Alex and he plans it out for us.

Nate spent last Friday night at his friend, Caleb's house.  They live in far North Fargo and while their home is not threatened by flood water, they live near a golf course that pretty much goes under when the water gets this high.  I believe the boys enjoyed a lot of video game time together and some outdoor boy bonding activities.  :-)  

Jeff and the boys are really into their xBox games.  They have several action/army type games that I'm not particularly crazy about, but Jeff assures me that they develop important leadership skills.  (yeah.  right.)  When they take off for the basement, Jamie and I just go upstairs to try to find a chick flick on TV.  We can usually still hear them even two floors up!  Not sure, but I think Nate is the player to beat on most of these games.  He's pretty darn good with strategy and really good with the controllers.  (I don't get it.)

Jamie and I have been filling out forms this week - starting with her FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  That one is all online, but we have writer's cramp from several others.  She has done such a good job getting all her stuff together and taking care of college business.  She's pretty set on attending Northwestern College in St Paul.  She'll apply to MSUM here in Moorhead as a backup, but her plan is to head to the Cities in August.  We need to go down there May 27 for some info about registering, etc.  We have New Student Orientation August 20 - 24 (with events for parents over the weekend!) and her classes begin Aug 25.  She will be leaving for Pine Haven right after graduation the first weekend in June to work for the summer.  She's been assigned to split her time between indoor and outdoor crew.  She's very excited.  Her mama feels the time slipping away!  

This was also haircut week for us.  Everyone got a haircut - Jamie got hers colored adding some pretty red highlights, I got a couple inches cut off mine and added some bangs.  Alex got his cut against his will.  We could no longer see his eyes as his bangs were down over his nose when he wasn't doing that thing where he swings his head over and swoops the hair to one side.  It's still pretty darn long in my opinion - longer than Jamie's! - but I think our stylist found a pretty good compromise between mom and son. It's a very in style cut with boys right now.  If you've seen teen heart throb, Justin Bieber, you've seen Alex's hair. (but don't tell him so - he's not a Justin Bieber fan!) Jeff's is a "caesar cut" which he got last time.  (HE pretty much looks like George Clooney - with George's gray and all - now that's more like it as far as I'm concerned!)  And Nate is getting "the usual" from his barber this afternoon.  He's the easiest - very little variation and no "stylists," thank you very much.

Tomorrow evening we're celebrating Earth Hour - turning off our lights from 8:30 - 9:30 pm (CST).  At this point we don't have much of a plan for what we'll do.  But we're doing our part to conserve and recognize our power usage - join us and let us know what you did or learned!  

Be cool and stay warm,

<3

~L 

weekEnd

weather report:  gray, rainy, drizzly, wet.  And the river is on the rise.  The weather service is predicting a 10' rise on the Red in the next week - a pretty fast rise that will take us to "moderate" flooding.  Both cities have been preparing for pretty serious flood fights for the second year in a row.  Jeff is planning to take the boys to help fill sandbags tomorrow.


jamie left on her Symphony Orchestra trip yesterday afternoon.  The schedule was a pretty busy one but I did get a text msg this morning:  "I JUST WATCHED BALLERINAS AT THE ORCHESTRA CONCERT. Ask me about the animals and hula hoops when I get back..."  Can't wait to hear all about it!  I'll see if I can't get her to post her own blog post. 


With Jamie gone and Jeff to work early this morning, Nate "overslept" and didn't have to take the bus to school!  :-)  He's been pretty spoiled having his sister drive him to school every day.  He's very motivated to get his license this summer!  He & I practiced driving a couple afternoons this week.  He is going to be a very good driver.  Poor Nate had to deliver his papers in steady rain this week.  He was pretty soaked by the time he was done.  Of course, he's happy anytime it's above freezing.  Nate helped me prepare "Minestrone Hotdish" for supper Thursday night.  Nice mama/son time - he has always been so good at helping.  Even when he was very small.  I've always enjoyed anything I get to do side by side with Nathanael.  He is finished at school early this quarter - he doesn't have a last period class so he's done at 2.  Most days he finishes up his homework in the library and rides home with Jamie, but occasionally I get to pick him up early and enjoy a little time for just the two of us.  


Alex has diligently been staying after school this trimester for some extra help with Algebra (meh!).  He's making extra effort to stay organized and get assignments turned in on time, if you know what I mean.  I wish you could hear the song he has been composing on the laptop!  He has a program that allows him to layer multiple instruments.  He's been working on it for weeks now - and it's really quite impressive.  He is taking the Standard Gift to a birthday party tomorrow - Hollywood Video gift card & theater candy in a very cool microwave popcorn bucket.  It has been his "standard" for several years now - his friends actually look forward to receiving it and it has certainly made my life easier!  


Entertainment this week:  Jeff and I watched "Glee" online and found it so addicting we watched all of the available episodes and are looking forward to the show's return this spring!  Cute show - and of course we LOVE the music.  


We saw quite a few of the Academy award nominees before the Oscars, but we definitely renewed the "to see" list during the show Sunday night.  First on the list was "Precious," which we watched one rainy afternoon this week.  Devastating poverty, powerful redemption.  Gabourey Sidibe was really wonderful - can you imagine being nominated in the same category as Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren for your first role?  I'm looking forward to seeing her again.  As far as I'm concerned Mo'nique earned every bit of her Oscar - I haven't seen a character that has moved me so much in a very long time.  A warning (mom):  this is not a movie for sissies.  ;-)  


All kinds of birthdays this week!  We celebrated my mom, Ashlee, my dad and my niece.  I can't wait till Madeline gets our card!  hee.


What an absurdly long post - I'm so grateful to have so much to write about. Life is so brief and so remarkable.


<3