tuckered out

Funny how everybody's cuter when sleeping.  I know there's snoring and drooling, which aren't too attractive, but Felix hardly ever does either.

aforementioned stay-cation

Some highlights of the stay-cation week!  Exciting.

The Friday preceding, we went to a Twins game with Papa Duane.  They actually won, and afterward there were fireworks.  Nate and Zach disappeared for a while to go exploring.

Did you know Minneapolis was, like, the milling capital of the world for a while?  It does not get cooler than that.  We went to the Mill City Museum on Monday.

Here we are inside.  I guess you can't impress us with a giant wooden grain of wheat.

Wednesday was Walker Art Center day, 'cuz one of the kids wanted to see the big cherry on a spoon thing in the sculpture garden.  Most of the modern art in the museum was just plain whackadoo freaky.  We posed modernly by the spoon art.

Thursday was Get a New AC day, plus Nate's b-day (yay!)...

...and Zach's last day of t-ball for the summer.  Everyone got trophies!

And finally, on Friday we went to Fort Snelling, where the kids learned how to march like the soldiers at the fort did in 1827.

It wasn't all big fun adventures.  Spending half a day on Thursday waiting for the AC guy to come and the rest of it waiting for him to install it and then pony up the cash they wanted wasn't enjoyable.  Neither was my chat with the sales guy for some roofing/siding company.  'Cuz he didn't seem to know that when the homeowner hides behind the bookshelf it means Go Away.  I didn't mean to talk to him, but after he rang the doorbell, he knocked super loud and urgent-like.  Shoot.  You see, when I ran for cover after hearing the ding-dong (or maybe ours dings with no dong?  like ding ding?  gosh I can't recall) I thought I saw a clipboard in his hands.  Sales dude!  I felt confirmed in my choice to hide.  But that follow-up loud knock made me doubt myself.  I thought maybe it really was a neighbor informing me that our house was aflame or whatever.  But I shouldn't have doubted myself.  He was odd straight off and asked me if the USA got any more medals today 'cuz he had seen that the Olympics was on inside.  Hey sicko, don't start off a sales call by admitting you snooped through the window.  So I sent Peeping Tom packing, likely to frighten some other poor homeowner with his obnoxious mega ding dong and Big Knocks.  Hmmf.

Yesterday we went out for supper with my family to celebrate Nate & my dad's b-days and to give a send off to dad and my big bro Andrew, who are flying to Finland this evening for a 10 day exploration of the fatherland.  Pretty cool, and something my dad has wanted to do for a long time.  They're even gonna stay with some distant cousins for around half the time there.

alligator pond

When I was young my little bro and I would jump from couch to chair to table and such, because if you touched the floor the alligators would get you.  I've been wondering if they'll make that an Olympic sport.  During prime time NBC airs the 'normal' event footage, but the daytime coverage has been kinda weird.  If table tennis is an olympic sport, then something like jump roping should be, too.  Maybe on an obstacle course with alligators.

We watched most of the gymnastics.  It was fun to see team USA win gold, but I would have been okay with that poor heartbroken Russian girl winning individual gold.  I think the Russians' movements generally flowed more smoothly.  Less staccato than the American kids. 

Nate is off this week.  We're busy stay-cationing.  No vacay this year, mostly due to all the economy stimulating we've been doing this summer.  For Nate's b-day yesterday we got a new AC.  The previous fix-ups didn't do the trick.  So, we've been checking out some cool local stuff.  Like museums and junk.  Go team twin cities!

mowed over in the greek yogurt aisle

I've been trying to eat healthier lately.  More fruits and veggies, less processed carbs...it's not fun.  Never been a yogurt eater, but this greek stuff is tolerable.  You gotta be on your toes when you buy it, though.  I thought I'd read some labels the first time I got some, but hoards of women with flailing arms swarmed in from both sides and snatched them away greedily.  So I scooped some into the cart and ran away.  I keep hearing that a cup or two of coffee helps prevent lots of icky conditions, so how hard is it to start a coffee habit?  And wine in moderation is a friend of the circulatory system, so I could try to drink more than 4 or 5 glasses a year.  I'd rather drink pop and eat donuts, though.

You Can't Go Home Again or watch 80's movies

We recently watched E.T. and Flight of the Navigator with the kids.  Thought we'd introduce them to some of The Classics of our childhood.  It was a little weird to see them again.  Maybe it would have been better not to, as some of the magic of what you thought you remembered about them gets flushed down the toilet.  Actually, I didn't even see E.T. till high school Spanish class, 'cuz there are naughty words in it.  "E.T. telefono mi casa!"  But anyway, all I have to say is special effects and synthesizer and I'm sure we're simpatico.  At least The Princess Bride still holds up well.  Speaking of, a while back the yahoos at youtube took down our Little Princess Bride video for copyright infringement or whatever.  Lame.

post Pan-O-Prog parade

Keep Off The Fish!

What a steamy week.  Feels like you're wearing a wet suit 5 seconds after walking outside.  Blech. 

Anyhoo, we had a nice impromptu visit to Iowa over the weekend to check up on Nate's mom & grandma who are recovering from surgeries.  They are tough ladies!  The kids are getting old enough to play some fun card games with the family.  Once the go karts are out of gas, anyway.

Sunday afternoon Nate & I drove up to the Mille Lacs Lake area again.  I blogged about a previous trip there, back in June of '09.  Even up in north central MN it was too hot to go hike in the state park and revisit our old buddy the tower-of-chicken-wire, but we did drive a bit further north to see the big Garrison walleye.   

We drove by it many times while I was growing up, and we never got out to snap photos.  But hey, that was the pre-blogging and facebook era.  No one can resist the urge to photograph a 15-foot fiberglass fish now.

They even have a bossy little sign on it-

I like how they specify that you mustn't harass the fish, including the fins, tail, and mouth.  'Cuz before I read the fine print, I was all set to dangle from it's teeth.  I had to settle for gently touching the tail.

Happy 4th to ya'll.  Don't blow off any digits.

Cat on a Hot Asphalt Roof

Last week stunk.  The AC petered out on Thursday and our hot water heater sort of imploded on Saturday morning.  Shelled out mucho dinero and had both issues fixed on Monday.  And just our luck, those days without AC were toasty and humid.  We had to make more use of the windows, which Felix took advantage of by knocking out a loose upstairs screen to go explore the magical wonders of the roof.

Naughty beast.  Some day we'll let him back in.  We went to Canterbury on Father's Day and won 60 cents.  Lost a little more than that.  We were by the winner's circle at the end of the last race and a jockey gave Adrienne his muddy goggles.  Maybe he was just being nice, or maybe he was intimidated by her height and girth.

Rounding out a banner week were the 4 a.m. storms Tuesday that rocked the house and hail that made us fear for our windows.  Straight line winds of 60-80 mph, they say.  One of our willow trees partially lifted up and looks pretty bare on one side now.

3 storm chasers went through yesterday while we cleaned up, hunting for damaged roofs and cracked siding.  We came out pretty good compared to many in our area.  Trees are down everywhere and slammed into a few houses.  This pic is from a local news article - it's a street just northeast of us.

Ahh, June in MN.  Hoping that's the worst we see this season.

from the Messed Up files

Article: The Global War Against Baby Girls

"In terms of its sheer toll in human numbers, sex-selective abortion has assumed a scale tantamount to a global war against baby girls."

Scary stuff.  We haven't really learned from the past.  We just decide it's okay to kill a different group of people.

Movin' on up

Or down, rather.  We've been working on transforming the basement bedroom from Nate's office/collectibles room to a real bedroom for Michael.  He moved in a couple days ago.  I think he's going to like having more space and a bathroom to himself.

Ugh, painting...we hate painting.  Nate redid the trim too.  But it's done and looks pretty good.  Nate made the shelves when he was a teenager.  To his chagrin, the Star Wars action figures & sets that previously decorated them have been relegated to the closet to make way for Lego Technic etc.  It's the first time since '99 that there haven't been Transformers or Storm Troopers or sports cards actively displayed somewhere in our home.  Poor Nate.  I can't say there isn't a piece of me that's giddy, but I won't gloat.  They are not really gone.  Just like herpes, they merely lie dormant.  The kids will move out eventually, and then I bet the Empire Strikes Back.

Last week I went to an awards ceremony at Michael's middle school where lots of kids were honored for various things.  He and 15 other kids received an award because their History Day In MN projects went to regionals.  He created a website about how the automobile revolutionized society.  No one from his school advanced from there, but it was cool anyway.

And he got braces last week!  We're metal mouth buddies now.  The school year is winding down, too.  Thursday is the last day.  Yay, no homework for 3 months!