Mike's Doppleganger?

My friend Kory sent me this ad, thinking that it looked like Mike. What do you think?

Last Week of April!

We had a nice weekend at home. We went to a Little Gym party on Saturday, and signed A up for gymnastics in the fall. She will be taking a night class, since she will be starting full days (until 3:30) at Little Flowers in the fall. Mike took a trip to Home Depot, and got a new blade for the table saw, so all is ready to go with the trim in the garage. I am so anxious to get the truck back in the garage, oh, and I suppose to get the basement finished too, but that doesn't even seem like it will happen anymore.

Tomorrow, G and G are coming over in the afternoon to hang out with B, while Mike and I attend A's open house at school. She's excited to show us what she's been working on lately. I don't think I blogged last week that Mike had his first fastpitch game of the season on Wednesday, but he did, and we all went to cheer him on (and to play on the adjacent playground). It always pleasantly surprises me how much my kids enjoy being at the softball field- they must have gotten that from their daddy! Mike has another game this Wednesday, but I think I'll keep the kids at home, and shoot for an early bedtime. That's about all we've got going on this week, which is fine by me! I'm going to have to take some good pictures; I haven't taken many lately.

Summer Scheduling

Convention Grill burger, fries, and chocolate malt were awesome! Totally worth the pressure of a post squeezed in under the wire. I just got done registering Annalise for summer swimming lessons at Foss. It was crucial that I register immediately at 8 am when online registration opened, since the only class I want is at 10 am on Fridays, when Bennett will be in Book Buddies. Getting all of our summer activities scheduled has been quite a feat!

Here's my little science girl, adding citric acid to baking powder dissolved in water. It bubbled!

Posting Under Duress

Well, I guess I do work well under pressure. I would like to go to Convention Grill tonight for a burger. However, stipulations have been placed on this event, that I must post to the blog for Eric and Katie to attend the night's occasion.

Annalise's birthday parties all went well. I think I already blogged about her party with Mike's side of the family when we were at Rachel's wedding in Brainerd. Next, we brought a snack to school on her birthday, and shared memories of her birth and pictures over the past four years. We held her first party with friends on Sunday the 13th at our house. It was an art party, and Annalise and her four guests all completed a painting project (an animal planter, in which we planted wheat grass seeds). We had oreo-covered marble cake with white frosting and ice cream, and played outside for awhile. Annalise decided to have a gift exchange, which was an idea we saw at a few of her other classmates' parties, where everyone brings a gift, and then they all get a gift. Annalise and her school friends were all pleased with the exchange. We were fortunate to be able to celebrate with Uncle Steve, Aunt Bridget, and Maren at G and G's, since they were still in town after their hockey trip to Colorado. We had dinner, followed by more cake and ice cream, and Annalise received her very first chemistry set from the new PhD, as well as Horton Hears a Who and tickets to said movie with G and G. More on that to come, but I think I've already blogged enough to count for today's update. Ha!

Blog Post Coming SOON

I know I've been really awful, and it's not because we haven't had lots of stuff to tell you about. I don't know why I've been so bad actually. A post is coming, probably tonight? Hang in there.

Spring Break 2008!

Our family has been BUSY!!! Let's see if I can remember everything...Friday night-kicking off our week of family fun, Mike and I, his sister Darci, and cousin Zac went to the Wild game, while Sharon babysat the kids. We sat in Mike's company's club seats which were very nice, and got to watch a good game, which was Darci's first hockey game ever. Saturday morning I got a haircut and in the afternoon, Annalise and I went to her friend Orrin's birthday party at Edinborough Park. Saturday night, Mike went to his friend Blake's birthday party (not spiderman-themed, and not at Edinborough Park), but rather a boys out on the town type of event, where sleeping over on Blake's floor was required. Sunday must have been low-key, because I can't remember anything from it, and Monday was a fun family day at the zoo. Monday night, A's teacher from Little Flowers babysat, and Mike and I went to a movie (Atonement) at the cheap theatre, because we are behind on current releases. Annalise and Bennett had such a good time with Summer! Tuesday started out with a successful trip to the children's dentist for Annalise, followed by a visit to Nickolodeon Universe and the Teddy Bear Band on Toddler Tuesday at the Mall of America. The kids really liked the TBB, and then we hit the park. Right off the bat, B freaked out on the carousel, and that caused us to drastically truncate our amusement park experience. A went on Blue's Skidoo with Mike, and then we headed to lunch. We'll have to take A back sometime by herself, as we have plenty of points left to use. Tuesday night, Summer's assistant at Little Flowers, Megan, babysat for the kids, and Mike and I went to Fujiya with Eric and Katie. A good time was had by all.

Wednesday kept us at home (oh, Mike worked from home this whole week, I guess that wasn't clear) because our countertop guys and our plumber returned, and finally got the garbage disposal installed (the soapstone was too thick for the drain ring thingy). The radiator is going to need some adjusting because it's tied to the kitchen heat, and once it was hooked up, the kitchen got HOT. Oh, I just remembered, not all of us had to stay home on Wednesday. Thanks to Mike hanging out with the kids at home, I got to go out to lunch at Salut with my friend Becky, who was also on spring break. We then did some fun shopping for ourselves at 50th and France, and the Galleria in Edina.

Thursday, we hit the road for Madison, and stayed at a hotel for some pool fun. Friday, I went to my sister's Neuroscience PhD thesis defense, while Mike hung out with the kids again. Bridget did such a great job explaining her research- I actually understood most of what she said. Afterwards, Steve and I picked up Mike, A, and B, and their cousin Maren, and brought them back to campus for cake and champagne, to celebrate my sister now being a DOCTOR! Congrats, again, Beeper (oh, Dr. Beeper). Annalise and Bennett got to meet their fourth babysitter since last Friday, and stayed at Bridget and Steve's while Mom and Dad, Bridget and Steve, Steve's parents, Mike and I went to Eno Vino for tapas! It was a really nice evening, and I do love tapas! We picked up the kids and left Madison at 9:45 to head home for at least a little sleep in our own beds, before heading to Brainerd, to conclude Spring Break 2008.

Mike's cousin Rachel got married in Brainerd on Saturday. The wedding was great overall, and the reception was so kid-friendly- snacks, a kid corner with stuffed animals, coloring books, and little prizes, glow sticks, etc. The kids had a wonderful time, and Annalise commented the next day at the hotel, "that wedding was such a good wedding for kids!" On Sunday morning before everyone headed back to their respective homes, we had a family birthday celebration for Annalise's 4th birthday. We had a donut cake, yogurt, Craisins, fruit, yogurt granola bars, juice- pretty much all of her favorite things. The kids went swimming for a bit, and then we had a smooth drive home.

All in all, a really wonderful family week, and date week for Mike and me too! Thanks so much to Eric and Katie, Mark, Danielle, and the three kings for doggy duty over the weekend!