That's a wrap!

Well, another summer is in the books and another school year is up and running. This is a significant school year for our family as it marks some major milestones. Our baby is in full-day kindergarten. She is in heaven and LOVES every minute of it so far. Our other "baby" (who is not AT ALL a baby!), our very first baby, is a senior in high school. A SENIOR! On the one hand, I saw it coming -- he has lived more than 17 years. He has progressed, one year at a time, from kindergarten to first grade, to second grade and so on. From elementary school to middle school and then to high school. I'm not a complete idiot and I get how time works! But, on other hand it has caught me completely off guard. How can it be true? I don't think I have fully internalized the reality of it yet. All my people go to school all day, 5 days a week. 3 of them to high school and 3 of them to elementary school (praise the Lord for a year of respite from having a middle schooler!) I have a decent amount of time where I am not responsible for any short people and can pee and go to Costco without a sidekick! This day has been nearly 18 years in the making. I still am not sure what I think about it, though. I could become completely giddy and overwhelmed with excitement or burst into tears at any moment. It's a bit of a crap shoot. Consider yourself warned!

A few weeks back we were having some car trouble, so, if I wanted a vehicle to drive during the day (which, with 6 kids who needed to get shuttled to various activities, I did!), I had to drive Kirbs to (and from) work. So, I'd drop him off in the morning and drive the 3 or so miles back home to get on with my day. Well, one afternoon I drove on campus (in case you didn't know, he works at a local university) to pick him up after work and as I entered campus, I looked left. On the left, when you enter the campus, the first thing you see is the (beautiful!, new) athletic complex. On the football field that afternoon were lots of (big!) men in purple uniforms. At that moment it hit me (HARD!) that one year from that very moment, my "baby" would be out there with them. Donning a UNW uniform and practicing football. Living, not at our house with us, but on his own in a dorm! That wasn't an easy moment.

Summer is hard. This summer was hard! I don't know if summer is hard for me because it is hard for our family, or if summer is hard for our family because summer is hard for me. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Even with the hard of summer, it went by shockingly fast. I think there were a few backpacks that never even got unpacked before being packed back up again for the next school year. Before I knew it we were at the fair eating too many fried foods and trying to get to bed earlier, so that our return to the school year routine would be slightly less brutal. There were certainly some great things about this summer :: Rebekah had the time of her life working at camp all summer. There were walks in the woods and backyard bonfires and bike rides. We had a wonderful, just-what-we-needed time at family camp (although we missed Jacob who couldn't go with us due to football practice, but was well taken care of by his grandma)! We did some swimming and played at the park. We celebrated birthdays (my grandma's 90th, most notably!). We spent time with friends and grilled lots of stuff . . . but it was still a hard summer!

This summer wasn't only hard on our family. It was hard on our world. Locally. Nationally. Internationally. There is lots of crap going on in the world. And also lots and lots of good and beauty. That is how life is! (More on that in another blog post, possibly.)

We undertook some major house/property stuff this summer . . . . and into the fall. We removed 4 trees from our lot (a couple diseased, one old and decaying, and one that was just a nuisance and was in the way of some changes we want to make with our driveway). Tree removal is a spendy and loud endeavor! We got a new roof (unfortunately we had some shoddy workmanship when we replaced the roof a few years after moving in to the house, following some hail damage, and it was in BAD shape and also causing some leaking in our living room). Sara was disappointed that the house didn't really look any different once the new roof was on. I don't know what she expected, but clearly the new roof was not living up to her expectations. Also, when your very efficient roofing crew of 8 or so guys shows up at 7am and all get up on the roof to start ripping off old shingles, your kids will be a bit upset that their summer sleep schedule has been disturbed by quite a bit of noise that cannot be ignored! It seriously sounded like they were going to come right through the roof and join us inside the house! Roofing is a spendy and loud endeavor! We have a couple more projects coming yet this fall. Replacing/repairing the living room ceiling, which has nasty water damage, and replacing our old, rotting porch windows. Once the budget recovers from those blows, we will take on the driveway project (hopefully sometime in 2017). There's always something to do when you live in a 90-year old house!

flasback friday

State Fair 2006 ::

We're going to the fair today, so I thought it would be fun to re-live some fair experiences from years past. Have a great weekend!

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2503. clean laundry
2504. towel hooks up in the bathroom
2505. 8 years of marriage for Luke & Jenn
2506. 86 years of my grandma
2507. Joe and Vince together again :: a great reunion
2508. school patrols in training
2509. freshly mowed lawn
2510. coffee
2511. a glorious breeze
2512. the start of the fair
2513. birthday dinner {for 4 August birthdays and an anniversary}
2514. a good book and staying up late to finish
2515. the library
2516. fair-themed storytime at the library with "the littles"
2517. audio books
2518. family camp! our favorite week of the year!
2519. coffee and donuts to start the day
2520. school shopping with the 2 big girls
2521. hearing the state fair fireworks from our house


Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2475. yummy brunch and a walk in Stillwater with my fabulous Bible study ladies
2476. witnessing a group of older ladies {70's, 80's even, maybe} leaving their weekly coffee date. ALL on bicycles. complete with helmets. totally made my morning!
2477. kids playing in the rain
2478. a cool breeze
2479. free back to school haircuts for 3 of our kiddos {thanks JC Penney}
2480. finally getting the word on Ev's surgery after a long morning of praying and waiting and praying and waiting and praying some more
2481. seeing Ev up and around again
2482. impromptu visit from out-of-town family
2483. glorious, amazing weather. i LOVE it!
2484. wearing jeans again
2485. feeling the warm sun on my back on a cool morning run
2486. life-long friends
2487. Carbones pizza {my favorite!}
2488. my 20th HS reunion
2489. how 2 decades can level the ground of life for everyone {or nearly everyone, anyway}
2490. organizing school supplies for another year
2491. Redbox {and free redbox codes make it even better}
2492. kids and oragami
2493. book club
2494. a 2 hour nap following a late night at the reunion
2495. Anna chasing a bunny in the our yard trying to catch it so she can keep it as a pet {thankfully the bunny was quicker than the preschooler! I'm not really a pet girl!}
2496. another good preschool home visit {our 10th home visit from Roseville Lutheran Nursery School staff. I can't believe it's our 10th time with a kiddo starting a year of preschool there! Yikes}
2497. 2 years of life for my nephew, Schaeffer
2498. 32 years of life for my sister-in-law, Jenn {Happy Birthday!}
2499. Monday morning coffee
2500. state fair week :: the fair starts in a couple days and we LOVE the fair! we love watching the preparations {since we drive by the fair grounds all the time, living so close and all}. gates closed off. trucks arriving. food stands going up. so exciting!
2501. a blessing-filled envelope from a friend in the mail last week
2502. a nice article about my dad in the paper on Sunday

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday {or maybe the one after that} for the next installment.

flashback friday

state fair 2006::

the 2011 state fair started yesterday . . . our favorite time of year :: fair time! are you going to the fair?

thrifty thursday

Well, it's opening day at the Minnesota State Fair. We LOVE the fair in our family. But, the fair is anything but "thrifty". It costs an obscene amount of money to take a family of 8 out for a day of fair fun. Gate admission went up this year, everyone wants to eat something different (and LOTS of it!), the rides multiplied by 5 ride-loving kiddos (ok, Rebekah will gone on her share, but I'm not sure she actually qualifies as "ride-loving"). So, if you want to be truly thrifty you should probably skip the fair. But, we're going! There are a few ways to save a bit while you're there though.

It's too late for this one (sorry), but you can buy advanced fair tickets. Discounted admission tickets, ride tickets and state fair coupon books are on sale at various places for the couple weeks leading up to the fair. We always get a coupon book ($4 if you pre-buy . . . and worth every penny! Even if you pay the $5 full price it's well worth it, so get one the minute you step inside the gate) and save on a few of our favorites and usually risk trying a few new coupon items too. Our kids all did the summer reading program at the library, and one of the prizes is a state fair admission ticket, so, thankfully, all the kids that are old enough to be charged admission have also earned their own ticket by reading over the summer! We buy our ride tickets in advance too and then limit the number of rides the kids go on. We're sneaky (although the older ones are catching on) and always say something like "Do you want it to be a 3 ride day or a 4 ride day?" Like it's up to them or something. We knew all along that it was a 4 ride day, but it makes them feel like they are in control a bit.

Plus, there's free stuff all over the fair if you know how to find it. Our favorite :: in the southwest corner of the food building you can get a sample of fabulous ice cream -- we'll head there straight away when we arrive. Even if it is 7:30 am. That's what the fair is for, right? One year we got free bike helmets for all the kids. The line was pretty long, but, do you know how much 4 nice quality bike helmets cost? Yup, it was worth the wait. I'm not sure if they are doing that again this year (that would be nice since now we have 6 kids and a few of them have grown out of their 2008 bike helmet), I'll have to check.

So, although we do a pretty good job of getting some decent fair deals, the fair really isn't a thrifty place. So, just throw it out the window, for the most part, for a day (or two or three, depending on how hard-core you are about the fair) and enjoy your time at "The Great Minnesota Get-Together". You'll be glad you did! And, in case you wonder, we'll be there next Wednesday, the 31st. Maybe we'll see you there.

Check out this site for helpful thrifty fair tips.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here.

"One Thousand Gifts":

774. how quickly kids heal
775. a REALLY clean garage {thanks babe!}
776. fallish weather {my favorite, by far!}
777. the state fair
778. dry diapers in the morning
779. dry Elmo undies all day long
780. cough syrup with codeine
781. the return of wearing skirts and boots {and even some long sleeves!}
782. thoughtful friends who bring extra folders and take a couple kiddos for most of the day
783. my mom!
784. a perfectly-timed puke bucket brought bedside
785. a day off with only 2 things on the "to do" list {ok, maybe 3}
786. sibling love
787. my dad's safe arrival home {he's been gone again}
788. tom thumb mini donuts . . . the perfect way to end a day!

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here.

"One Thousand Gifts":

770. no more staples in Jacob's head
771. the minnesota state fair
772. garage sales {the ones that drain your bank acoount -- but not too much, and ones that add to it!}
773. family camp!!!

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

flashback friday

mmmmm::giant pickles on a stick
the fair starts in 13 days
are you going?

State Fair, take 2

We went to the fair for the 2nd {and last} time of the year on Sunday. We were excited. We got up and ready early and were off. We were in the fair grounds, ready to "do the fair" by 8:30. I was much less crabby this time and things were just generally looking better then they did for our first fair attempt of the year.

The kids on some tractors. They must have each sat on at least a couple dozen tractors over the course of the day!
A typical Joe moment. He just sat down and decided he wasn't going to go anymore. Thankfully, it wasn't as crowded as when he laid in the middle of the sidewalk when we were at the fair the first time . . . on the ever-popular Thrifty Thursday . . . in the middle of the afternoon . . . right by the food building. You can't get much busier than that at the fair. The funny not-so-funny thing is that we'd only been there, maybe 23 minutes or so at this point! Maybe it will be another long day after all! Thankfully, he did get over it relatively fast and we were back on track.
Poor buddy. It must be tough, huh?
Rebekah enjoying a ride on the swings. She said she could see most of the fairgrounds from up there.
The kids with Fairchild, the state fair mascot . . . or is it Fairborne? I'm not sure. They just look so much alike! In any case:
Strapped to my back. This was Anna's vantage point for most of the day. I think she was just gearing up at this point to eat her first ever state fair cheese curds {we didn't think they were developmentally appropriate last year . . . you know, since she was only 5 months and had only ever had breastmilk. Cheese curds are not our pediatricians recommended food for beginning solids!} But this year was a different story. She tried them, and she LOVED them!!! Her legs would kick like mad and I could tell without even being able to see her how super excited she was about them.

Little piggies:
{looks like they all "stayed home", and I'm quite sure none of them "ate roast beef"}

My "baby" and my best friend:

Yup, Al, Justin and the kids joined us at the fair a little before 11. It was so fun to be there with them! It's an annual tradition that we try hard to keep each year!

The boys on the giant slide:

Rebekah:

Best friends . . . with shirts to prove it:

An extra-cute mother-daughter pair
You gotta love those pigtails:

The fair at night:

We stayed from about 8:30 in the morning until about 6 in the evening. Thankfully, though, my mom was there with a friend in the morning and left about 2:30 and willingly took away the 2 crabs {who will remain nameless} while the rest of us stayed and enjoyed a few more hours of fair fun! They had fun with Ama and we had fun without them! Kirb had to work at the Northwestern College booth in the Education Building from 5-9. Well, I supposed "had to" isn't quite accurate. He volunteered. What a guy! So the remaining 3 kids and I took off about 6ish and Kirb biked home about 10:30 after enjoying the fair night-life a little following his shift! A great day was had by all and much unhealthy food was enjoyed by everyone: Sweet Martha's, cheese curds, Hawaiian Shaved Ice, french fries, cotton candy {2 visits to the cotton candy booth, if you must know}, big pickles on a stick, deep fried pickles, mini donuts . . . I'll have to make a few extra trips to the Y in September to recover! But it was all worth it!

We drove by the fair today and it's just so sad to know it's all over for another year. Oh well, the years go by so fast these days, it'll be fair time again before we know it!

State Fair, take 1

I love the state fair! We are fair people. I can't remember a year when I didn't go. Most years we go multiple times. The fair is something we look forward to, as a family, all summer long! Our kids look forward to the fair almost all year and each time we drive by the fairgrounds {which is at least 3 times a week, usually} they ask how long until the fair starts again.

We went to the fair on opening day. Last Thursday; "Thrifty Thursday". Everyone was excited! We were geared up to spend the majority of the day there. Admission is cheaper. Rides are discounted {4 tickets, rather than 5}. Plus, since it's the first day, it's still super-duper clean on the fair grounds.

Well, it's wasn't quite the day we all hoped for! It retrospect, and looking through my pictures, it wasn't all bad. But, in the moment, I was pretty crabby and didn't have as much fun as I had planned on having {the best laid plans . . . }. Getting in to the fairgrounds with 7 people is a feat in itself, so here we go: 2 adults, 3 kids walking, 1 in a stroller and a toddler strapped on my back. I had a headache and was starting to get crabby before we even got out of the van . . . about a mile from home. {NOT a good sign!} About an hour in {we arrived about 9 and left a little before 5} Joe started saying that he wanted to go home {typical Joe} and then at one point, about 3ish, he stopped walking and sat down on the sidewalk, put his head in his lap, cried, refused to move and really wanted to go home! If you've ever been to the state fair it's really not a good idea to just up 'n decide to stop moving. There are LOTS of people and a little guy could easily be trampled sitting on the sidewalk! So, we picked him up and kept going, reluctant though he was! Then Lydia went one too many times on the crazy mouse {previously her favorite ride} and got a tummy ache.

Turns out 5 kids {and 2 adults} don't always have the same ideas about what would be fun to do/eat/see/ride next, which can cause a tad bit of turmoil. We wanted to stay together as a family rather than head in 7 different directions, so there was some complaining about that. At one point we split up. Kirb took Joe, Jacob and Beka and I kept Anna and Lydia. We were apart for a half hour or so and then met back up at the cow barn . . . I love those cows. So pretty! By the time we left we had a few kiddos in tears, my headache was worse {despite the Advil} and we were pretty tired.

But, on the upside, we did enjoy some mini donuts that were very tasty, saw the parade, ate some french fries, got weighed {we do this every year and keep printouts of the kids weights -- they are each still under 100 pounds, but I'm sure by next year at least one of them will have tipped the scales into the triple digits. I won't mention which one is the most likely candidate.}, went on a few rides, got free samples of ice cream {well, everyone but Jacob. Actually I told him to take one too and then I ate 2!}, saw some animals, ate some more stuff and put lots of miles on our feet.

Enjoy a little bit of our day at the fair with us:

Lydia & Rebekah share a soft pretzel with cheese.
Our first food of the day . . . it was nummy!

Bob Joe the Builder:

Joe at the Little Farm Hands {one of our family favorites}:

Anna sportin' her John Deere:

The whole {crabby-ish} bunch:

Anna's had enough of this photo shoot:

Beautiful skies above Falcon Heights:

Joe enjoys the pirate ride:

Kirb took Rebekah, Jacob and Joe to see Gigi Marvin, one of the women on the USA olympic hockey team. Gigi grew up in Warroad and Kirb's first job was working for her dad at his restaurant, The Patch. So, he's known her since she was just a little thing. Now she's all grown up and famous. And yet, she remembered him right away. Does that make him famous too? How about me, does it make me famous?

Some tiny little piglets:

And the MUCH larger version that they can aspire to grow into {or not!}:

Joe loved the goats:

Crazy mouse, take 1:

We'll be going to the fair again on Sunday, so we'll hope for less crabiness, good weather, more great food and an overall enjoyable day. We'll be with some terrific friends, so hopefully that will help too.

Here's to good times at the fair!