snerk

"My mascara's coming off!"

Had some fun on Lake Waconia over the weekend when my brother Chris and his fiancée Jenny took us out on their new boat.   Except Michael the water-phobe, the kids all tried tubing.  Zach wasn't too keen on it, but the middle two were.  Had a good laugh when Adrienne, who's just started to wear a little makeup, realized her mascara was running down her face.  Heaven forbid somebody see you in the middle of a lake without luscious long thick eyelashes.

 

2014 obligatory first day of school pics

Today was the big day!  The kids were jittery and excited and couldn't eat much for breakfast.  I don't have a shot of them together, 'cuz they leave at 3 different times.

 

Didn't get a good shot of Adrienne; it's too dark.  She's an 8th grader, already in her last year of middle school.

Nicky's in 5th grade, his last year of elementary school, so it's the last year that he and Zach (in 1st grade) will ever be in the same school together.

Michael the sophomore got to have a lazy morning because the 'little' freshmen always start the first day alone for a few hours.  Starting tomorrow, he'll be the first to leave, at 6:45.  He spent his extra time this morning tormenting poor Skippy, who's still pretty intimidated by him.  Michael positioned him just so on the couch, and he wouldn't move while Michael was there.  Now that everyone's gone, I think Skippy's as happy as I am to have a few hours of peace and quiet.

2 teens!

Adrienne turned 13 this week, so we've got two teenagers in the house now.  Her present was cold hard cash that she spent at the mall with a friend.  The girls flitted from store to store while I tried to keep up.  The hat is from Claire's, where they went twice, cuz once was not enough for their overpriced junk charming accessories. 

I remember my 13th birthday well.  My hamster died, and I was crushed.  Nobody loved any rodent more than I loved Ginger.  Anywaaay...Adrienne truly enjoyed her special day, and Nana and Papa were up here a few days to help celebrate, too.  Now, on to school next week...

He didn't want to wear the hat

"It's a shako, mom."  Yeah, yeah.  I suppose they have funny names for every little thing.  Got the marching band pics back tonight.  They've been practicing hard all summer and will perform their program for the first time at the home opener next week.  Moo!  I mean, Roar!  Go Tigers!  It's just that the high school is basically in the middle of a cow pasture, and the noxious air is stifling.  Maybe the away team will pass out.  We switched to a big tough conference this year, so we can use all the help we can get.

Yep

northern MN getaway

We had a little family getaway to the Iron Range last week.  We toured a couple museums and mining sites in the Chisholm and Hibbing area.  It's pretty up there, but the Minnesota state bird (yeah, the mosquito) proliferates in the shade of all those trees.

The Hull-Rust-Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine

 

On Saturday we drove about an hour south to the area in north central MN that my dad hails from.  We visited my grandparent's graves, and then went to an extended family reunion where I met some second cousins who share the great-grandparents who are also buried in the small cemetery with my grandparents.

The last of my grandparents passed away almost 30 years ago.  I'm so glad my kids are growing up with the blessing of grandparents in their lives!

Michael the Marching Tiger! And a new family member...

Michael joined marching band this summer.  They had two weeks of practice before the city parade, and after that, the rest of the summer rehearsals are to learn formation marching for the fall football season.  So here he is at the parade last Saturday...

He's the trombone in the middle.  And afterwards at the fairgrounds...

 

Ahh, he just looks so old all dolled up like that.  My 'lil baby all grown up and marching around in uniform.  I was a pretty excited proud giddy mom.

So who's the new family member?  Because we didn't have enough mouths to feed already, we adopted a four-legged friend a couple weeks ago.  Meet Skippy...

Skippy is a small goofy terrier mix, only about 9 lbs.  He's a rescue from north Mpls.  He hates the kennel.  He likes the kids, except Michael, who intimidates him for whatever reason.  Yep, his ears are big, and he's missing some hair in a strip around his muzzle.  He must have previously worn a head halter that rubbed it all away.  Besides 'claiming' the vacuum cleaner the very first day, he hasn't had any accidents.  We'd been pet-less for about a year, so, we're still getting used to the pitter patter of tiny paws thing.  And occasional yippiness.  Yippy Skippy!

it was a dark and stormy June

smarter than the average bear

This is so, like, two weeks ago, and therefore ancient news in the digital age.  But it still kills me, so I'm postin' it.

I read in an article that the bear chilled out for about 20 minutes in the hammock after raiding some trash cans.  All in a good day's work...