It takes all kinds . . .

I love to people-watch. The variety of people in the world -- heck, just in my neighborhood -- is amazing to me. Some so very much like me and some very, very much not!

• We took the family to The Mall of America {or "The Mall of The Merica", as Joe calls it} the other day and I saw at least 4 or 5 heads full of really bad 80's hair. What's with that? Please tell me that's not coming back!
• I was watching Rebekah at swim practice yesterday morning {while also working on a little project}. Now, in the vicinity of the outdoor pool at 9 am there isn't the variety of people that there is at, say, 3 in the afternoon. You've got the swim team kids at practice, a few lifeguards in red suits and a half dozen or so lap-swimmers {the pool isn't open for general, fun, playful swimming in the morning -- only lap swim, swim team practice and water aerobics}. If it's a water aerobics day, you can add to that about 20 ladies {I'm not being sexist here, it's just quite rare that you find a man in a water-X class} in sunglasses. Occassionaly, there's a swim team parent or two {like me!} watching practice in shorts and a t-shirt, often looking like they maybe brought their kiddo to practice straight from bed {I often fit in this category!}. Practice starts at 8:30. So, as I sit in my chair yesterday morning watching my little fish in the water, out walks a surprise: an overly-perfumed woman in a bikini with a pink bag with "Victoria's Secret" written on it in big letters made from sparkly silver sequins. Now, most lap swimmers wear one piece Speedo-type suits {or if you're a guy, usually tight-fitting trunks}, a swim cap and goggles. There are a few exceptions, but 99% of the adults you see in the pool in the morning hours are pretty much "in uniform". So, this lady didn't quite fit the mold. {I'm reminded of the Sesame Street jingle, "One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong."}. I thought she was going to get in the pool and start swimming laps, so I watched and waited . . . Turned out she just wanted to "lay out" {at 9 am?} and work on her tan and read the newspaper. You see plenty of that at the Y, but not usually at such an early hour!

Weekend in review:

Friay::

Friday was the long-awaited, month late celebration of Lydia's birthday. She decided instead of having a few friends over for a birthday party, she would pick one friend and go to the Mall of America for a few rides, time at the American Girl store and a treat {DQ}. Without any hesitation she picked her best bud, Frances {just like last year}. Fran, Lydia and I headed to MOA after lunch on Friday and spent the afternoon having a great time. As we approached the mall, the girls were really excited and Fran said, "Look I see the beautiful star with the red and blue ribbons coming out of it." Can you tell neither of them spend a whole lot of time at the Mall of America? They were so excited. Who would have ever thought the symbol of for MOA {a star with red, white & blue ribbony things coming out of both sides} would be called beautiful? Only by a pair of 7-year-old girls, probably!

While we were at MOA, Jacob and Rebekah {and Joe, a little bit} had a lemonade stand on the corner again like they did last Friday. They brought in just under $20 this week and were disappointed, since last week they brought in over $35. I told them I thought $20 was still pretty good and they got over their sorrow pretty quick.

Here are Fran and Lydia ready for the roller coaster:

Best Buds!

Waiting for their 2nd trip on the log chute
{Fran didn't get very wet the first time, so they had to go again and switch seats}:

They are in the right two seats. See 'em?:

Friday evening::

This is what happens when the bathroom door gets left open:

Superman rides again:

Joe's slightly dirty feet after a fun afternoon outside:

Saturday::

Rebekah in her 1st race of the day (200M Medley relay).
I know it looks like she's smiling at the camera, but really she's racing, Kirb just happened to capture the picture right as she came up to breathe and it looks as if she's looking and smiling. I don't even think she knew he was right there or that he was taking a picture. Funny!

After one event, with her supportive, mohawked big brother:

{If you didn't see the video of her in the 25M Freestyle, click here or scroll down a little to the next post}

Sunday::

On Sunday we went to Ava's baptism and subsequent party. It was a great day . . . would have been absoluetly perfect if we weren't all missing Ava's grandma so much. She would have loved to be there.

She was pretty cooperative, I'd say:

With the pastor, her parents and godparents {Russ & Michelle and David & Melissa} after the service:

We were super, super busy but had a great time over the weekend. Hopefully we'll have a teeny bit of down-time this week to help with the recovery!

super saturday

what a fun [but VERY busy & tiring] saturday we all had. the big girls and i went with my mom and my cousin brie to the mall of america for the grand opening of the newest american girl store!! a year ago at thanksgiving my parents and i took the girls [there were only 2 of them at the time . . . well, i guess anna was there too since i was pregnant] to chicago to go to american girl place there! it was great and they LOVED it and were thrilled to learn, this summer, that we were getting an american girl store in minnesota! what big news! anyway, it opened at 9, so we wanted to be there before that. we arrived at the mall about quarter to and actually go to the american girl store about 8:50 or so. well we saw a big line in front of the store . . . a couple hundred people i would guess.

we went up to one [of the many] security guys and asked which was to the end of the line and he said, "the overflow line is over there" and pointed around the corner to another group of a couple hundred people lined up in a totally different area! yikes!

there was a lot of estrogen in that place . . . tons of girls carrying tons of dolls [some girls even matching with their dolls], tons of excited moms, lots of grandmas and even a few dads and brothers [but not TOO many!] it wasn't as big or as much of an "experience" as the chicago store, but it is great to have a store close to home. [no more "shipping & handling" charges!!] my mom commented that there sure didn't seem to be any sign of a recession at that particular place today! lots of money was being spent . . . you had to wait in another horrendous line to pay for your purchases. amazingly we got in and out without spending a penny . . . but christmas lists WERE made! i promise you that!

then we shopped a little before heading across the street to ikea for lunch. a super fun surprise awaited us there when we saw a facepainter who was fancy-ing everyone up! rebekah went over to ask how much it costs and she said "just a big smile" so we got in line. now this was no run-of-the-mill facepainter . . . this lady was an artist! here's a little proof:

lydia was a princess (that's a crown) and rebekah was a butterfly! i got my face painted too, but i won't blog that one . . . if i would have thought of it in time i could have had her disguise that big zit on my face, but i never think of that kind of stuff at the proper time. oh well!

a super fun day was had by all . . . kirb took the boys, and anna, to the nwc football game. it was chilly and they didn't win, but it was an experience and it wore the kids out. hopefully a good nights sleep will be had by all! nighty night!