Maddox Goes to School

I've been doing a little babysitting for Maddox this summer so Heidi can get in some extra shifts while daycare is available, and he's been so much fun! Last week, I had "work to do" at school (Maddox's phrase as we drove to Cannon Falls), so he spent some time in my classroom while I tried to take care of some of the many piles that accumulate during beginning-of-the-year prep.

He looked so cute sitting at a first grade desk as he had a snack and watched Barney on my TV.

I took out a variety of toys for him, but he had the most fun with a fly swatter (don't worry - never touched by dead fly parts) and some magnetic letters. He was serving me an O and M for supper while I was cutting out some laminating. How does he balance like that?

He also had fun at the chalk board, but it was quite a stretch! He loved all the playground balls, too, and found it very entertaining to use a foam bat like a golf club to hit a soccer ball around the Commons area - kind of mixed sports equipment, but he didn't care. I'm afraid he'll be ready for kindergarten before we know it!

North to Alaska!

We just returned from a fantastic trip to Alaska to celebrate our 35th anniversary. The weather was cool and Chuck got skunked fishing, but...

the scenery was beautiful,

the glaciers were awesome,

our friend's home and float plane on a canal in Anchorage were amazing,

our ATV ride at Denali National Park was great fun (don't we look professional?),

and hanging out with our old friends, Janice and Greg, was the best!

More pictures and details later!

Happy Birthday, Heidi!

Another birthday - Heidi is turning 27 on August 6th! Summer is definitely the time for birthday celebrations in our family. We got together at our house on Monday night for a birthday dinner (minus Kyle and Andy - we missed you, guys!), and we had a great time eating and hanging out around the kiddie pool. Funny how your activities change when there's a 1-year old around.

Heidi is not a fan of cake, so we had brownies and ice cream for dessert.

Maddox loved the corn on the cob!

He also loved the whale pool, once we added a few buckets of hot water.

"Swing me, Grandma!"

"Oooooooh - that's cold!"

Once again, I went digging for some "young Heidi" pictures, and I came up with a few good ones.

June, 1997 - This is the first one I could find that wasn't from prom or drumline. Corey is barely 18, and Heidi is 15, almost 16 - still just a baby!

July, 1998 - 4th of July parade. Corey, Heidi, and Jenna dressed up crazy for drumline, one of their main activities in the "old days."
August, 1998 - Quite a catch at Beacon Shores (Heidi or the fish?). This picture is actually in the fish photo album at the resort.
Christmas, 1998 - Hanging out at Ted and Pat's. I'd say you guys haven't aged much in the last 10 years, although you've maybe matured a bit (I would hope!)- still lookin' good!

Congratulations, Heidi, and we're looking forward to helping you celebrate many more!

Another Birthday :-)

Wow, these birthdays seem to roll around faster and faster. This year, my birthday started VERY early in the morning. I've been occasionally helping Heidi and Corey with some babysitting this summer, and when I do, I have to be at their house at 5:30 am when Corey leaves for work. Heidi works nights, so she gets home around 8:00 am, checks in with Maddox, and then heads to bed. I stay until around 1:00 pm when Maddox joins her for a nap. Anyways, I agreed to help out on my birthday, and when I arrived, Corey had a cake waiting for me. Now I love chocolate, but 5:30 in the morning is way too early even for me to start eating cake! Maddox and I each had a piece later in the morning, though, and he even sang "Happy Birthday" to me - how sweet!

I set the timer on my camera and snapped this birthday picture of us reading a book. I don't know why it turned out fuzzy - I sure didn't move the camera since it was sitting on a shelf. Oh well - you get the idea, and the wrinkles don't show!! Maybe fuzzy is good...

As Maxine says, "Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up!"

Since I've been posting baby pictures of everyone else in the family for their birthdays, I decided to go on a search for the very first picture I could find of me.

I'd say this was probably taken on my first day home from the hospital, so I may be a week old (moms stayed in the hospital longer in the olden days). Big brother Ted doesn't look too impressed!

July, 1949

This was a Christmas card picture of all three kids:

Teddy - 4, Janie - 2 1/2, and Joycie - 6 months

December, 1951

Fast forward to this year's family celebration at Olive Garden. We had a great dinner, and Maddox entertained us all, as usual. Chuck surprised me with pearls for my present this year, and also a pink bike helmet. Hmmmm, I wonder if I should wear them together? That would be a real fashion statement as I bike down the trail. Too cool!

I can't forget our annual July friends celebration. We got together on Tuesday (Linda's actual 60th birthday!) and since it was a really hot day, we went to MOA and stayed nice and cool inside. We had lunch at the California Cafe - yummy! We were short one this year due to Jo's unexpected gall bladder attack and surgery. We'll just have to go again when she's all recovered.

On Wednesday, I went to a workshop in Minneapolis with 9 other teachers from Cannon, and Maureen brought along a carrot cake for me. We went to Culver's on our lunch break, and she brought in the cake, along with paper plates and napkins, and served us all. I was glad they passed on singing!

Thanks, everyone, for helping me celebrate another year. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family and so many great friends!
And again, as Maxine says, "Being 'over the hill' is much better than being under it!"