Honeywell Field

Jimmy: Hey Dad can I ask you something?

Dad: Yes Jim what is it?

Jimmy: Did you ever play in the championship game at Honeywell field?

Dad: No Jim I did not.

Jimmy: Well, I can not believe it, but here we are!

No matter that the actual championship was rained out days before and in reality there was a dead tie going into the game, we where at Honeywell field about to embark on the first ever ( of many) championship games. The day was a bright and sunny 80 degrees, the field had been previously attended to by a world class field guy, the foul lines were straight , the bases squared to home plate and the lights were on, it did not matter that it was 10:30am... there was a scoreboard!!

The game featured the Lions Park Squirrels and the Gearity Park Royals, Jimmy was on the Squirrels. When I pointed out to him that I thought their team was the squirrels because of the gray uniform, he told me "not really"... so, I inquired as to the formation of the name. Now there is not a chance I can do this justice in prose but I will try. Jimmy informed me that the reason they are called the Squirrels is because when the opposite teams gets a strike the squirrels all bunch their hands up around the shoulders, tilt their wrists, move their upper lip back and chirp like a squirrel. Go ahead, I know you want to try it - come on join the team! Or... it could be because they are a bunch of squirrely 7 yr olds that are just learning to play baseball... you choose.

Jimmy had a great game went three for three with 4 RBIs and one stolen base. ( We still have it at home). Kay and Billy were drinking slush's like they were going out of style and cheering for the concession stand folk.

The Squirrels were the home team & the games go from 10:30 to 11:50. At the bottom of the third it was Squirrels 18 Royals 6. The Royals came to bat at the top of the fourth; it was 11:05 & 6 pitches later they were out, the game was over and the score was 38 to 38... Did we mention that fielding is not a strong suit at this age?

A dead tie. How did that happen? Crummy accounting ,we are in America. Makes you wonder if Enron has had a lasting affect. No matter... Jimmy got is teammates in a circle and told them, (and I quote) ' Guy's we did a great job, we made it to Honeywell field, next year we will kick their butts, I am going to Dairy Queen".

So much for Honeywell field and the big leagues.

The Griswalds Family Vacation - Part Duh

OK...where were we??? ......Wait, we need to take a minute to interrupt your regularly scheduled blog with an update ... I have to apologize, as I read over the last few months of blogs, they seem to be getting dry-er and dry-er. This was fact made particularly more clear as I read a friends blog who was lamenting about the same strange form of creative absence as we have been feeling. Hang in there, stick with us. We don't want this to fall into being another mindless, self promoting family site. I think the emotional and intellectual exhaustion of raising 3 kids, being in school and working full time are starting to deplete any creative brain cells we have left. We'll bounce back, I promise! The other foot note is that blogger did something to the functionality behind posting photos and now, once you post them, its nearly impossible to move them in the blog to the "right" spot, so.. I am giving up. We picked the best photos of vacation but they aren't necessarily going to coordinate with the commentary beside them.


Kay has become a master of temporary tattoos and the boys are loving the attention. Kay even wrote Billy's name in Sharpie above the tattoo on his arm. They returned the favor by COVERING her back in tattoos. Nice.










OK, back to "where were we?" ...The next few days of vacation were great, we did a picnic swim lunch at Lake Michigan, we went tubing, we rode bikes, we went on a hike, we played badminton and basketball and went to the park. We ate ice cream and chips and slept until 9 every day. It was exactly how vacation should be.

Backing up a bit, I am not sure that I gave a good background to this place. Glen Lake is where we spent 2 weeks every summer as kids. My aunt/uncle/cousins would rent a cabin right next to ours and we'd spend 2 weeks doing everything I just listed above. It was magic. Now, my parents and aunt own 1 each of the cabins we used to rent. They are on the same piece of property and share lake shore. Its magic all over again.

Not sure about you, but bringing your kids to a place that was special to you growing up and then being able to see/experience it again through their eyes is unbelievable. You feel old and young all at the same time. How lucky/blessed are we that we can give our kids the same magic summer experience we had ?! A big thank you to my Mom and Dad for providing this!!









(photo of Mom & Dad:)) OK, on to the main event. Each day we woke up to..."5 more days to my birthday" "4 more days to my birthday" 3 more days to my birthday".. finally Grandpa starting asking each morning "Kay, how many more days until your birthday?" Until, finally, the answer that was shouted through the land?! 0!!!! Yep, Kay celebrated her 6th birthday in grand style. She had 2 parties (a breakfast monkey bread party with Kara, Grandma & Grandpa, Sue, Lynn, Dadu and us and THEN a kids only party at Tammy's country club where they could watch movies, do arts and even order their own dinner. All while the grown ups ate a nice peaceful meal on the other side of the country club. Now, that's what I call a good plan".



Kay is not your typical 6 yr old girl. Yes, she asked for colors, crayons, paints, sparkles, makeup, etc. But, there were no requests for clothes or shoes or hair stuff or the like. Nope, Kay had her heart set on 1 thing and 1 thing only. You guessed. A hermit crab. Yep, she hounded us for 8 weeks prior to her big day with this request. Lest you think us bad parents, we finally relented, so on her 6th birthday we went to the pet store and brought home Gladys, the hermit crab. Why Gladys? Glad you asked. Kay has been missing her Kindergarten teacher in India, Gladys Ma'am. So, there you have it, a tribute to her 1st teacher. I am sure Gladys Ma'am would be proud.


We ended our trip with a quick 2 day visit to my sisters house in Grand Haven. It was the perfect ending. The kids got some intense play time with their cousins, the dad's got to golf and the mom's did a mini spa afternoon (hair cuts, eye brow waxing and pedicures). We even indulged in a few late night movies for the kids and I will never forgive Jeff for getting me addicted to Mad Men. Go check it out on AMC, its good!







Here's our final vacation snap. All the Murphy/Basil cousins sitting still and smiling.

It was a good no great vacation!!

My Music Store

We interrupt the summer vacation blog with the following update from Jimmy's trip to the music store.

Many of you know Jimmy's obsession with music and he has been lately driving us crazy with questions about guitars, drums, keyboards and now the cello.



We need to get his guitar repaired and he insisted on going to the local music store to have a 'talk' with them. He even wrote down all his questions

Here is a recap:


Jimmy: Hi I am here to ask you a few questions.

Really Mellow Clerk Guy ( RMCG): How can I help you?

Jimmy: Do you have any cool guitars that are not so expensive?

RMCG: Well we have some used guitars that are around $150.00

Jimmy: Who used them and are they any good?

RMCG now with a funny smirk on his face: I do not know who used them and the guitars were all fixed here in our shop.

Jimmy: Do you have any Gibson guitars?

RMCK(smirk is growing): Well we are not a Gibson distributor but we could locate one for you if you want?

Jimmy: How much are they?

RMCG: They are about $1500.00

Kay: That is alot

Jimmy: That's because they are really cool

Jimmy: OK I saw a couple of stratocaster guitars can you tell me about them?

RMCG looking at Dad with a dazed look in his eye: Well we have this green on and the left hand one.

Jimmy: Are they any good?

RMCG (smirk grows again): Why... yes, yes they are.

Moving on through the store....

Jimmy: Is this the drum room?

RMCG: Yes, yes it is.

Jimmy: Can you fix my drums they are from Indian where we used to live and need to be fixed and I need a new Tom Tom, a couple of cymbals and a new foot petal for my bass drum.

RMCG: We do not usually repair drums. ( Another glance at Tom ...Who is this kid?)

Jimmy: Well if you do not repair drums can you fix my guitar and do you have amplifiers that will work with my guitar?

RMCG: The average charge for fixing a guitar is $30.00 and we have several levels of amplifiers that will work.

Jimmy: How late are you open?

RMCG: 9:00pm

Jimmy: Ok thanks for your help I will be back

Tracy got the download at dinner. Jimmy ended this update with "Mom, I really gotta get back into lessons and music, this is killing me!"

What I did on my Summer Vacation part I

The trip to Target ended up yielding more than just a DVD player however the family truckster was packed and fully loaded as we prepared for the cross country journey and family bonding experience. The destination was Grandma and Grandpa Hickey's cottage in Glen Lake,Mi a mere 14 hours away. The new DVD player was functioning, the cooler was packed with snacks for the kids and caffeine for Mom and Dad and at 5:00pm Central Standard time the journey began.

There are several things that can change the balance of power and one of the is traffic. So it was no real big surprise when at 6:00 we were just crossing over the Mississippi River barely 15 miles into the trip. Tom was already frustrated and Tracy was surprised by this. We hadn't spent so much time in the car to go so little since our Bangalore days. We even had to take a rest stop in Hudson, that's a mere 50 miles from our house. Not an auspicious start to a long road trip. But, never fear .... the ride after that was uneventful. 2 full length movies, an eat fresh (subway) dinner stop, and one potty break and low and behold, we arrived at Sue's house at the reasonable 10:30pm hour. The kids went nuts. They were racing circles through her house, insisting on a tour, found the cable kids station and basically creating a ruckus. But, after a glass of wine and unplugging our hearing aids, they kids all fell asleep mid sentence.

The next morning was a purposeful strategy of get up late, get the kids outside, wear them down and then deposit them in the car for the next 8-9 hours. It worked. We had a leisurely breakfast with Sue and headed to the zoo. The Green Bay zoo is great! Its like a cross between the Como Zoo and a nature center. They have 1 of just about everything (moose, badger, black bear, etc - this is Green Bay you know...) but the MAIN attraction are the giraffe's, they have a pair (husband & wife) who you can feed. They built this huge tree house thing and you stand on it and feed them Rye Crisp. They have these long slimy black tongues and they let you scratch them behind their ears. Its was pure kid-dom. Very fun.

Our drive through the UP (say ya to da UP, eh!) was relatively uneventful. We watched 5 full length movies & ate A&W for lunch (a Murphy tradition that its not officially vacation until you have a Papa burger and root beer for lunch, but does raise the question, what does A&W stand for...as posed by our inquisitive 7 year, anyone know the answer and I'll treat you to a Papa burger meal....). The drive was gorgeous, right along Lake Michigan, through small towns and over the Mackinaw bridge (wow, holy cow, wow, look at that, oh my gosh - all from our little engineer that could...Billy). We tried to stop outside Traverse City for an ice cream, but apparently their smoking laws are archaic. We found a small roadside diner that looked like the perfect place for a traditional ice cream sundae and float. But...NO.... the diner was crammed with smokers of all ages, all eating and smoking at the same time. There is nothing like that to ruin a perfectly good ice cream craving. We settled on bags of chips and soda from the gas station. We arrived in Glen Lake about 8pm and just in time for Mac & Cheese a late night swim and more hugs all around. Glen Lake is directly across Lake Michigan from Door County. But... the time zone it one hour ahead, so ...if the sun goes down here at 9pm in the summer, its 10pm there. Perfect kid and summer vacation timing... it goes unsaid that there was another glass of wine and kids falling asleep mid sentence:)

The 4th of July!!! Yippee!!! Tammy, Jeff, Georgia, Joey and Herbie made the drive up from Grand Haven and arrived just in time for the BIG Glen Arbor 4th of July parade. My cousin Jamie, her husband Kurt and their 2 kids Kara and Reese (pictured to the left) also made the trip from Detroit.This is THE parade of the year in our family. Its a traditional small town parade, every car, float, boat, bike, person that goes by is throwing candy and the kids go nuts (this year, one float threw out fully cooked hot dogs in buns with ketchup all wrapped in aluminum foil...nice! Not to mention the float that comes around after it with bottles of cherry coke:)) We had bags full of candy, we were all dressed in holiday appropriate t-shirts and by the end were full of dirt, melted candy and water from spray guns. All in a days work:) We rushed the kids home and a full afternoon of swimming followed. Once again, a few glasses of wine/a bonfire/kids falling asleep mid sentence.

Sunday was a tough day. The dads all went golfing, the mom's stayed back and the kids decided to get creative. It was lemonade stand day. In pure marketing genius, we decided to do a gift with purchase ... buy a glass of lemonade (25 cents) and get a free piece of candy (our ill gotten gains from the parade). It was masterful. We got ride of the candy and they kids felt like they were making money. Some of our customers caught on right away though and we had more than one comment of ..."yeah, that's the candy I threw out at the parade yesterday"... But, we netted $14 in all, not a bad days work. Jamie, Kurt & Reese had to head out. Kara got lucky and was able to stay the rest of the week with her grandma so that she could play with us. Yippee!! Again, swimming, wine, kids falling asleep mid sentence. (see all the cousins on the hamock)

Monday was a bit crummy weather wise, but that wasn't going to stop us...Jr Ranger Program, here we come. 7 adults and 7 kids set out bright and early to earn our Jr Ranger badges. This is the most unbelievable National Park program. You head to your local National Park, pick up a packet and spend the day visiting specific parts in/around the park to answer the questions, riddles, games and activities in your packet. All the material is totally age appropriate; its interactive (sort of a high octane scavenger hunt) and everyone learns something new. We loved it! Plus, the best part was the swearing in ceremony. Yep, at the end the kids had to hold up their right hand (note, some are still working on that distinction - no worries, it wasnt a part of the test) , take a pledge and became Jr Rangers. They got a badge, certificate and Ranger pin. Too cool. In hindsight, I wouldn't have tried to do it ALL in one day, but then again, that's was vacations are for ... nothing in moderation... (wasn't that Oscar Wilde's quote - everything in moderation, even moderation - I love that one....) Again, wine (adults) sleeping mid sentence (kids).

Tuesday saw Tammy and troupe off and back to Grand Haven. We said good bye and reconnoitered our schedule for the next 5 days...

More to come on that in What I did on my summer vacation part II :)

Take me out to the Ballgame

It was off to Milwaukee to visit Pete, Laura, Ben and Alex a water park and an outdoor baseball game featuring the Brewers and the Giants.

The car ride was from hell and the kids put enough pressure on Tracy and I that immediately upon returning to Minnesota it was off to Target to buy a portable DVD player.

The first night was a real treat because we went to an official Wisconsin Friday night fish fry. We had to wait for about an hour and Pete and I were debating the issue about why this particular restaurant was not an all you can eat fish fry, which is the norm. Well when we were finally seated and the fish was brought the pile on the plate told us why it was not and all you can eat, I mean this was a serious pile of fish. The battle ensued and when the dust cleared we had to bring fish home!

The next day was at the water park and the kids had a ball. We had to drag them away from the rides and pools and force then to eat lunch. Then it was off to the ballgame. I was very impressed with the efficiency and determination shown by the tailgaters. Now for some people I will explain the 'art" of tailgating. It is a term that dates back early in American culture and centers around a group of people who attend an outdoor sporting event and bring with them everything that they own and create an outdoor kitchen and dining room. The term refers to using the tailgate of the car or vehicle as the table from which to serve the food and place the lawn chairs around.

The new tailgate's have taken this to the next level. Being that most vehicles today do not have a tailgate the person simply loads their SUV with the needed equipment and upon reaching the stadium it is a race to see who can get set up and cooking the fastest. I would have to save that 43 minutes from parking to eating a brat cooked over the coals, no propane here, was quite impressive. Not to mention setting up a Packers Bean Bag toss and having chairs and kid food and cold beer, well done Pete. The kids seem to have enjoyed themselves and took to the tailgating like fish to water and Jimmy even found some friends to play catch and to pitch to him. The Brewers won the game on the bottom of the 9th and it was a perfect finish to a great night.

The next morning it was off to the Peterson family farm where Billy was in heaven with all the animals and pets. The kids played with the horses and Laura's Mom made the most incredible cream puffs that we had to eat two just to be sure. The car ride home further added to the need for the portable DVD player and we are now ready for the big road trip to Grandma and Grandpa Hickey's cabin in northern Michigan more on that to follow!

Up North and Fathers Day and Tracy's Birthday

Three of my favorite things!

We headed up to the VanMeter's cabin over the weekend with the Buckley's and the place was overrun with crazy Korean kids. We all arrived late afternoon on Friday and the kids wasted no time getting into the groove.

Karen and Jeff along with Sherra ( Rich was at home with Robbie) and Tracy and I all met in Seoul as we were all there to pick up our kids, how cool is that!

Here is the brood

The kids had a ball we adults had some great fun as well and you should have seen the stick Jeff had at the bonfire on Friday night.

The group is like an old glove and it was fun reconnecting. We had a blast tubing, swimming and Jimmy and Lesia gave water skiing a go and although no one actually got up the kids did great. We had the most incredible dinner on Saturday night with a little Australian influence from our friends Duane and Leanne, a dessert called Pavlova, not so sure how proud we all were when we realized that there were no leftovers!!

The weekend was full of fun, good friends and laughter.

Sunday of course was Fathers Day so we all got packed up and headed our separate ways to be with our families and celebrate the day. Tracy and the kids had a pile of great Fathers Day gifts for me and we had a great dinner but mostly it was fun just being home with the family. To all Fathers everywhere ,Happy Fathers Day.

Monday followed with Tracy's birthday and a pool party reunion with the 'boat people". Nothing says Happy Birthday like a Dairy Queen Ice Cream cake!

It has been over three years since one of the parties actually counted and this was was no exception. The Milbrath's were in town on vacation and along with the Peterson's and Fosters we all reconnected and celebrated Tracy's birthday. The kids, Kay especially went all out and created some great gifts. Happy Birthday Tracy we love you !!!

Deep Thoughts - Does Love makes things Real ?

I've been ruminating on a couple deep thought blogs for the last month. Of course I never have time to actually get these on paper, but let me give it a go today.


Deep Thought # 1 - Does Love makes thing Real? What happens when that Love moves on?

We have a number of friends that are currently moving out/ moving on from Bangalore and its got me thinking, a bit sad and overall reflective.

In the Velveteen Rabbit, love is what makes him real. Is that true for our experience in India? (or for our overall life experiences in general?) While we loved our experience: India, Indians, the culture, the food, the history, the craziness .... at the end of the day, the reason we loved our 2 1/2 years there was because of the people, our friends and connections. They are the ones that made it "real" to me.

They also say that friends are the family you choose for yourself.

So, now that many of our "family" members from the last 2 1/2 years are moving out from Bangalore, I am feeling conflicted. My ties to that wonderful experience/reality are moving on. Does that make Bangalore less real to me? I do still have good friends there, but the quanitity that reside in Bangalore are shrinking fast. I am losing my connection to that wonderful time/place in my life. This makes me sad. This close, intense and very "real" experience no longer exists. Maybe I was haboring false hopes that even while we moved back to MN, this reality was still alive and well and available for me to tap into. In a few weeks, that wont be the case anymore (at least it wont be the case with the same intensity).

But, it also means that I now have family all over the world. Brazil, Costa Rica, Bavaria, Quebec, Mumbai and yes, still Bangalore. This is opening a window of new experiences that is cool in and of itself, but not very "real" yet.

I am not sure how this makes me feel. Can you feel homesick for something that doesnt exist anymore? (ie late nights on the deck with red wine solving the world ills, long lazy Sunday brunches, pedicures, martini's on the way home from work, etc)

I am sure that to many people this will sound like ... "well "duh" you are just getting to this NOW?! You moved back to the US in January". Maybe I am a slow learner. But, it makes me sad that the people I love in Bangalore wont be together any more. It makes me hopeful that we'll get new cool experiences with them, but it also feels like the door just closed a little further on our wonderful time in India.

So, what am I going to do about it??? Hold my friends here close, hold my remaining friends in Bangalore even closer and reach out to my family around the world in new ways to stay connect and create a new reality for all us.

MS150 - Recap and THANK YOU!!!

Well, its official, we have completed another year of the MS150...successfully, I might add!
It was a record year on many accounts - Over 3,300 riders (plus hundreds of volunteers) raised over $2.5 million dollars.

I raised over $1,700 and am feeling pretty good today. (Thanks to Wendy and my other riding buddies for looking out for me:))

Day 1 was a race against dark clouds. We spent a cold night in our tent in Proctor and got on our bikes early and anxious to warm up. We rode the Munger Trail the whole day and raced towards the black clouds that were heading north. We did well and escaped riding in the rain. We met with some new friends, George & Cathy, and had an easy 1st day. (Small world, George is from Rochester and knows our friends Heather & Brian - our neighbors in India!!)

Tom, Annemiek and the kids joined us for a picnic in Hinckley in the afternoon. Annemiek rode her bike up from the cities and Tom kept us hydrated and fed with beer, wine, salmon deviled eggs, beef jerky, humus, crackers and cheese. Cynthia also stopped by and gave us some killer massages. Thanks to our support group for your efforts, its great to know we'll end the day seeing smiling faces:)!

After our support group packed up and headed back to MPLS, it started to rain (and rain, and lightening, and rain) Needless to say this put a damper on our partying and we all retreated to our tents and fell asleep for the night. (not that a bunch of 40+ yr old people who just biked 75 miles are a whole lot of fun to begin with.....)

The morning in Hinckley was a gorgeous cloudless day. They changed the ride route on the 2nd day and I have to admit, it was pretty damn boring. 4 county roads, 4 turns and miles and miles of farmland. The way was easy until the post lunch heat hit (lunch being 9:30am since we are up at 5:00am both mornings with a 6:30am start on our bikes). Word to the wise, a balmy 80 when you are not on your bike feels a lot more like 90+ when you are on your bike, have 35 miles of a 150 mile trip left and are on hot black top. The good news.... my friends kept me motivated and kept me going. Thanks to Ned, Wendy, Dick and George for "waiting up" for me when the hills looked a little too long and the cars were moving by a little too fast:)

We ended in Nowthen (really, thats the name of a town in MN, google it...), ate a bit, got a massage and signed up for next year:)

Overall a fun, relaxing, stressfree, injury free weekend. (Another personal accomplishment... I managed to read the latest copy of People, US Weekly and In Touch. Nice.)

Cant wait to do it again:) ...only 363 days until the next ride....

Thanks to all of you for your support of friendship, well wishes, good vibes and of course...the money:)

LOVE!
Tracy

(I'll post photos soon!)

Summer Lovin havin a blast

The school year has come to a screeching halt, the summer schedule is already double booked and finding time to breath is difficult, why is that I ask?

The Kammans, Greg and Des had us over for dinner, drinks and relaxation and it was a blast, so much so that first Annual Kamman/Murphy Cookoff has been scheduled for August more info as the date rushes up at us...

The last week of school was full of many goodbyes, graduations and in the middle of all that Grandma and Grandpa Hickey stopped by for a visit on their way to Michigan.

Kay was the student of the week for finals week and Grandma Hickey went to class to read a book and to help Kay show her adoption book. Kay of course had to stand in the middle of the book so no one else could see until one of the kindergartners said "move!" and she did and they all responded with a loud "thanks Kay!". She was very sad that she was leaving Mrs. Houston's room and had to bring several going away presents to Mrs. Houston. Kay told Mrs. Houston that she was going to bring a special gift to the picnic and we all were wondering why Mrs. Houston was sick and missed the picnic. I mean who does not think it adorable when a child brings her teacher gifts, all hand made out various used household items like paper towel, toilet paper rolls and chewing gum. Kay received full marks, a diploma and when we picked her up Mrs. Houston announced here is the next group of first graders!!!!

James had a fun filled packed last week of school and interestingly enough there was no homework, what is up with that? Just because it is the last week does mean in my book to teach the kids to slack off, that is for the high school years not in grade school mister... get out a book and start reading, don't give me that look or it will be no, .....sorry just trying to stay in good parenting shape. Jimmy has been looking forward to summer vacation and to becoming a second grader. The morning of the last day he got early to make Mrs.VanBatvia a thank you card which read" Dear Mrs. VanBatavia, thank you for teaching me a whole bunch of stuff. Hope you like your new class next year and I will miss you as my teacher. Maybe I can stop by and see you. Have a fun summer To: Mrs.VanBatavia From: Jimmy 9". It was totally his idea to do this, he's a sweet kid.

Then upon reaching the classroom on Friday he announced " Who's ready to party?!" and party they did. The first graders all got together at a local park for lunch, games and family time. The event was totally chaotic and at point I asked Jimmy " Hey Jim when do we get to eat lunch?" His response " When Mrs. Johnson blows her whistle" and sure enough a little while later a women who I presume to be Mrs. Johnson blows a whistle and all the kids stop what they are doing and run to the basketball court and sit down and then all the parents started to attack Mrs. Johnson because who in their right mind would not want that whistle!

Billy on the other hand has been on vacation since his announcement regarding spongebob ( see earlier post) and has been waiting for his sibs to catch up. He has been doing some art work and working on his channelling skills. He has successfully channeled Charlie Chaplin and recently tried to channel the gate keeper from the Wizard of Oz...

Bill will start gymnastics this summer and is looking forward to playing at the park and riding his bike

More summer loving to follow

OH My How They Have Grown

Cast my memory back there Lord, do you remember when we used to sing Sha la la la la la la la la te da, my brown eyed kids.......

Yes the kids have almost finished their first year of school half in India, "you know we used to live there Dad", and the other half in Minnesota and they have not stopped being obsessed by the entire experience.

Jimmy

He has been growing (as usual) and experienced being the King in their Rumpelstiltskin 1st grade play. As you can imagine, he has emerged as quite the ham and quite unimpressed with his villagers. He also has jumped a grade in reading. He came home with what Dad thought was a name tag around his neck and when asked what was the name tag doing around his neck he replied " Dad it is not a name tag it is a reading license" so there.

Jimmy was featured as the " Student of the Week" in his class and created a photo and written display for the class. He likes pizza, his favorite color is blue, (no green...) and he loves his dog. Jimmy is looking forward to this summer because it will be fun and I can stay up late because there is no school. He will be taking pitch by coach baseball and going to a summer camp at the nature center and participating in his first ever Korean Culture Camp. Jimmy has created a sign for his room which states " No girls, no food and no Jewelry, no kidding". We will see about the staying up late thing....

Kay

The Pook has been really busy lately with trying to create as many pieces of art as possible out of what ever she can get her hands on. He room is a disaster zone and we rarely go in there. If we can not find something we simply ask Kay where is the item we are looking for and she goes and gets it, yea I know scary. She was very excited to be

in the signing concert at school. She could hardly sleep and first thing she did the morning of the show was call he friend Ella and ask her " Ella what are you wearing today" I kid you not see the photo:

There were several different outfits chosen and discarded until Kay finally announced " Dad is it springtime?" To which I replied " Well Kay yes it is " OK then I will wear this dress because it is colorful and that is what Spring is ...colorful, right Daddy?" She is 5 and it will be a long haul can you imagine Prom? The final touch was the shoes which were red because " you know Daddy the shoes can really make the outfit"

The one good thing about being the Pook as that you get to be center stage and Kay loved it. She is looking forward to summer because she "can dig worms in the yard and you can find caterpillars in that pile of wood behind the garage and put holes in Mom's Tupperware dishes and bring the caterpillars into my room" Kay will be also be attending the Korean Culture Camp and starting gymnastics in June. Look for Kay in the next Olympics because as Kay says " Sure why not"

If you come to visit us this summer a word of caution " Enter Kay's room at your own risk" Insurance disclaimer forms are on the center island....

William

Billy makes several trips to library each week and each time he checks out a book about cars. The last time we were there he checked out a book titled " Engine repair and replacement" you get the picture.

When young William is not chaging the oil on the family truckster or drinking chocolate in chocolate milk he is channelling Charlie Chaplin. He does a great job except for the not talking part. However with training and persistence Billy will prevail.

Billy as you all know is staying at home and being as he states " I am home schooled, right Dad". Bill and I have been working on reading and comprehension. I must say that the other day i think it all came together for Bill when he said to me " Dad I know why they call Spongebob Squarepants, Spongebob Squarepants?!" To which I replied why is that Bill? and his response was "Because he is a sponge!" It was perhaps my proudest moment. He also told Tracy the other day "My brain is thinking all the time. I cant stop it!"

This summer, William will be starting gymnastics with his sister and will also be attending the afore mentioned Korean Camp. Bill is looking forward to summer because it will be warm, he can ride his bike and follow Kay around digging for worms & catepillars. We are thinking the nature summer camp we signed them up for will come in handy.

So, there you have it, the latest update on the LoudAmerican children. Stay tuned for summer updates:)

Mothers Day

Thank you to everyone that made my Mothers SO relaxing AND fun... In particular thanks to Tom, he coordinated my day so that I could get in a long bike ride, get a pedicure, have a massage, drink lemon drop martini's AND eat Mexican food. And, he did all this while desperately trying to get his homework done, watch 4 kids (Jessie came over for a play date) and move brush out from under the trees. He is superman and I need to come up with something REALLY good for Fathers Day. (open to suggestions here, please send them in).

I love you Tom!

Each of the kids made cards at school. They are too perfect.

Jimmy's card - Titled My Mom

My mom is very fantastic.

She is a very good bike rider. Her favorite subject is reading. People think that my mom is a hard worker. My mom's skin color is light brown. She is not much of a TV watcher. My mom is an eater because she likes and loves salad. We like walking with mommy. We like to nap with her. My mom is really really fun. I love my mom

By - Jimmy

This included a hand drawn portrait of me with my hair sticking out since "that's how I look in the mornings". Nice:)

I was a bit worried about the "My mom is an eater" part, so I am glad he put the salad caveat out there... I love you Jimmy!

Kay's "booty" - I gots LOTS of booty from Kay, 2 cards, a hand drawn"book" and a home made tshirt. She took an old white tshirt of Tom's and a sharpy and went to town. She even sewed beads on the front. Take a look for yourself. I wore it to work today (ok, I wore it until I got in the car and took it off. I'll be putting it back on before I pull into the drive way tonight. BUT... she was so excited I was wearing it to work, I couldnt let her down....) Her card say "I LOVE YOU MOMMY" in letters about 4"'s tall and with a comment that I "make the best noodles. I love you Kay!

Billy gave me a homemade card that he also signed with a picture he drew of him and me together. He gave me some little pansies. He also gave me hugs and kisses all day. I love you Billy!

But, the best part came at dinner. We were talking about how old people were and Jimmy said:

"you are a LONG way from old Mom".

Who could ask for a better ending to a great day?!

MS 150 Training/Fundraising update

Its been a month since my post on the MS150 and its only a month until the event itself. Time Flies! I thought I'd give you a fundraising and training update as well as put another plea out there:)

Training - Going fairly well. I have been able to get out on my bike 4 times a week. Last weekend I did 25 miles on Sat and 18 miles on Sun, so I was feeling pretty buff. The mid week rides usually include the kids in the burley and a stop a Dairy Queen. I don’t get as much mileage in, but I am pulling an extra 75 lbs so I figure it evens out:) This weekend I am hoping for a 25 mile ride both Sat and Sun. NEXT weekend I am going to try and join Wendy on a 35 mile on Sat and then do a 25 mile on my own Sun. Wish me luck!!

Fundraising - THANK YOU to all of you that pledged already, your pledges have helped me meet my fundraising minimum required to ride, so that I is a BIG relief. However, I am still a bit away from my annual goal of $1000. SO, if you haven’t pledged yet, please do. Its easy and a great cause. www.ms150.com

In the meantime, Happy Mothers Day to all the mommies out there and enjoy this wonderful spring weather!!

There are no "surprises" left in my life

Now, I KNOW that I am hard to buy for. I am not a consumer. I hate shopping, I even dread the occassional Target run (yes, I made for a horrible buyer back in the day). I like my house empty and all the walls painted white. I could wear the same clothes for days, wash them and put them back on and be perfectly happy. I love not wearing jewerly, shoes and makeup. I am a Mothers Day gift nightmare. Knowing this, I asked for 2 very appropriate gifts - Lemoncello (for Lemon Drop Martinis) and a new paint job on my bathroom. I fully do NOT expect to get any surprises for Mothers Day or my birthday. Tom, on the other hand, keeps trying. He has some "plans" and he has a not very secretic posse in the kids. Our car conversation last night...

Kay - Dad, can we tell Mommy about her necklace yet or is it still a secret? (keep in mind, I am IN the car with them....)

Daddy - Kay, let's talk about it later, its a secret

Kay - Oh, that's right...

We proceed to talk about other things for a few minutes - school, Kay's spring sing, Jimmy's paly next week, etc...

Jimmy - Kay, tell me what the surprise is (he can be a little slow sometimes)

Kay - No, its a secret

Jimmy - oh come on, please please please

Kay - Ok, its something you wear

Jimmy - I know, we are getting Mommy clothes!! Hey Mommy, you are getting clothes for Mothers Day, they are something you wear so that makes sense

Kay - No Jimmy, its NOT clothes

Jimmy - But it makes sense, then tell me!!

Kay - (Pantomiming a necklace around her neck like its charades)

Jimmy - Oh, Oh, I know! Its a necklace!! Mommy, you are getting a necklace

Kay - Jimmy!!! Its a secret, now you've ruined :(

The moment passes. Hours later, at home ... I am looking for dental floss. We only have about 8000 mini sample size containers in the house from dentist appointments and I cant find a single one. I ask Tom...

Tom - I hid them

Tracy - Why?

Tom - Kay was using them for a project and using them all up

Tracy - What project?

Tom - Its a secret, you'll find out on Sunday...


So, it seems I am getting a dental floss necklace for Mothers Day. I am glad I am "in" on this little surprise so that I can react appropriately (so much for a diamond pendant) :)

Another Quiet weekend around the house

yeah... right....

In my weekly quest to get the kids out of the house for a substantial amount of time on the weekends (so that Tom can study), Angela and I declared it Mommy/Kid day. We set off on Saturday with a full schedule:

Will Hale Concert

McDonald's for lunch

Tennis Camp

The Will Hale concert was fun. Its billed as a "rock concert for kids" and he does a great job of getting the kids involved (ie active!). The theater held about 25 people total and we were by far the loudest. Not that the others didn't know Will (he knew many of the kids by name) but my kids talked TO him the entire show. I mean they stopped talking when he wasn't playing, but when he stopped, they started. Questions, comments, interjections, requests, complaints, the whole 9 yards. In fact, Will announced "I haven't had hecklers before, but I kind of like it..."

He has invited Jimmy to bring his drums for the next concert and be his drummer. I am not sure knows what he is in for...

McDonald's for lunch, while a treat for the kids is pure hell for parents. Add to it, we were at the Midway McDonald's at high noon on a Saturday. The people watching was diverse and super interesting, but it was crowded, dirty and a general mess. 4 kids meals, 1 salad, 1 ice cream and 4 large fries later, we were ready to wear off our calories at tennis...

Tennis Camp - my favorite weekend activity is coming to an end. It was the last Saturday until September and included a big awards ceremony and treats (cupcakes anyone?) We brought a special thank you for our favorite coach Sharon and got a tour of her office. We also got a certificate and hugs all around. I am serious, I am really going to miss tennis. It was a "free"90 min's I had each week while the kids got trained, exercised, socialized and taught. The perfect outlet for both of us (parents and kids).

Saturday night was an impromptu family dinner with our gated community neighbors. The kids ran wild and the parents opened a few bottles of wine. The highlight of the night was an overheard conversation between "the boys". Jimmy and Anders were talking about school which led to a discussion about girls which lead to a discussion about crushes which went something like this:

Anders: Jimmy do you know about something called a crush?

Jimmy: Yea I do

Anders; What is it?

Jimmy: It is when you see a girl and then get red in the face and there is a cloud around your head with a light bulb in the cloud.... that is a crush.

Andres: Oh

God help us..

Sunday was miserable. 40 and rainy AND Jimmy & Tom had a 2 hour father/son archery lesson at the local nature center, which turned out to be surprisingly informative if you had never rosined up a bow before.

The bow was somewhat from the 20th century and the resistance however was not, but this was a Father son affair so the details were not so important. We arrived in our rain gear and assembled with the rest of the "class" and proceeded to the 'archery range". Now I must interject here that this class is being taught at a nature center by a group of conservationists and nature lovers. These people were extremely nervous when handing over the bow and arrow as they claimed it was a loaded weapon. Well in a since it was in that there was a bow and an arrow and when you put the two together you in theory could shoot someone or something with it.

Back to the class we are taught about proper holding techniques, proper names for each part of the bow and the arrow. The the proper way to hold, load and shoot.

Then It was off to the range, which was a made of area with 6 targets four about 16 feet away and 2 about 8 feet away. I mentioned before about this potential weapon well let me put it this way if the targets would have been more than 16 feet away there would not have been enough power to hit the target, follow what I am saying.

Well all kidding aside Jimmy and Dad had a great time and Jimmy was one of only two people to hit the bulls eye and was quite proud. He commented that he wish he could have hit the bulls eye as many times as his Dad but was proud of his accomplishment all the same. We are signed up for the next session later this fall and Jimmy wants to practice with his Dad's bow in the backyard ......

Ketchup "For Sale"

There has been this blue sign hanging off different portions of our house over the last week or two. Every time I ask the kids about it, I get the answer "we are selling ketchup". This has me puzzled...

Now, I know Billy loves ketchup, we go through about a bottle a week. He has ketchup on his hotdogs, his rice, his noodles, his tator tots, he has even asked for ketchup in his sippy cup (in his chocolate milk, eww....) but I was concerned about him starting to "sell" ketchup. Is this how dealers get started? 1st they try the drug then they start selling the drug to support the habit?!?! Am I raising a future drug lord?! (we arleady know he's in for grand theft auto, so having 2 felonys does not sound appealing....)

So, I keep asking ... "telling me why are we selling ketchup again??

Finally, an answer that makes sense. Jimmy says "Look... we are selling Pet Shops, you know, the Littlest Pet Shop toys?"

Ok, I guess it pays to pay attention to what is actually written on the sign and to what my kids are actually up to. If I had, I would have seen that immediately.

Kids = 1
Me = 0

(At least I dont have to worry about becoming an unauthorized ketchup dealer)

Freedom's just another word for ....

Thursday was another typical day here at the Loudamericans Headquarters in GV,Mn. We had a quite dinner planned with Dee, Mike Wendy, Lucy and the Loudamericans. It seems that everyone arrived at the same time and Nicki took advantage of the door being open and bolted the quiet freedom of a dog on the run.

There was one fleeting moment where we saw her and actually had her in our grip but somehow a mysterious jogger went past attention was diverted by one of the younger ones and the inevitable " Where did Nicki go?"

Well .... she went down over the highway to check out St.Louis Park and the nature center. Tom was driving all over the neighborhood, Minnows (& then Wendy) was walking Lucy in hopes of seeing and or drawing out the Nickster but to no avail. The calls were made to the humane society, animal protection and police. Tracy bribed the neighbor kids with $5 if they found her and our gated community friend Kristin went for a long run looking for her. Jimmy, ever so attached to the dog say's " well Nicki is gone ... can wel get a new puppy?"

The following morning at 10:20 Sharp, the Human Society opens at 10:00 we got a call from a wonderful lady named Charlie and her son Eddie. They live over in SLP by the nature park and were kind enough to let Nicki bunk with them on Thursday night. They came over Friday to check up on Nicki. Jimmy thanked them for returning our dog and gave the fudgicles for their troubles. (Can you say "phew" ... needless to say we didnt get a great night sleep knowing Nicki might be "at large" but in typical LoudAmerican fashion, we now have 2 new friends...)

Friday night found Tom and Tracy out to their first concert in over three years and were treated to a great night with Lucy Kaplansky. The group had a great time and we are now looking forward to the Boss in May.

Saturday was full of events. The morning found us at the Mall of America at 8:00 for the Frazer walk for Autism followed by a few rides at Nickelodeon world and lunch at Tigers Park with the Van Meter's. Saturday night was a quite affair after returning home from a Benilde-St. Margaret's event honoring Mr. J for his 200th retreat. Jimmy did a good job sitting through his first ever full Catholic mass. The couple times the pac man noises drowned out the Priest can be overlooked as first time issues! We had a nice dinner with Uncle Jim Fellows.

Sunday was a dreary day with the Miller's arriving as we tried to resurrect a traditional Indian Sunday brunch but not being able to go outside put a damper on the events. We are all waiting until the Fischer's get settled and get out thier tent then the good times will roll!