So long FRO, hello "what's his name"

When asked what was your favorite thing about Fro....

Aleah - "I loved him because he was the best car in my life"

Nicholas - "He was fast!" (ok, shhhhhh!)

Kathie - "He was super reliable and we had many grand adventures!"

"Fro" came to us under unusual circumstances as a 'temporary' vehicle 4 1/2 years ago and has served us exceptionally well. We have traveled to Oregon, over nearly every square inch of Washington, and all the way to Wisconsin. We are all very thankful for what Fro has done for us. But, Fro is off to serve as someone else's car now, and we are off to our many adventures in a new friend, who does not yet have a name, though many unsuitable options have been fielded. Anyone want a ride in "Butthead"? We'll get back to you on a name :-) Say hello to our 'new' 2006 Toyota Highlander....

Happy Summer!

So, as I was perusing Sean & Britt's blog, as I do from time to time for baby updates - I noticed that the last time our blog was updated was 3 months ago! That is not cool at all! In my defense, however, not a whole lot goes on out of the ordinary around here. Just a whole lotta daily livin'; you know, work, housework, schoolwork, laundry, meal prep, baths, play dates etc.

We have managed to fit in a few adventures though - you had to know! We went hiking at Devil's Lake, WI on the 5th of July and hit a trail described as "steep and difficult". But, my daring children wanted to give it a try, so what the hay, eh? We were about half way up and my Seattle diva pipes up with "pheww! I am SO gonna need a Starbucks after this!". That's my girl!

My birthday weekend netted a bit of fun: a family fun day at Fort McCoy, then a party at some friends' house (that's them below - Mark & Sherri), then back to the Lake for paddleboating. In classic Kathie fashion - I tried something new. Now, if you've never done it, I recommed putting yourself into a very heavy velcro suit, then jumping up against a velcro wall. It doesn't hurt - it's way too funny, because when you break free, you fall, then have to attempt to get up on a bouncy surface in a heavy suit. You can't tell from the picture, but I scored about 3 feet up the wall - possibly a world record. Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't stop laughing!

Zen travelers have trouble

Our vacation to California was fantastic, but had some, how shall I say it?, traveling hiccups. We started by nearly missing our plane in Minneapolis (mom read wrong boarding pass), then in Phoenix we were still sitting on the plane, needed to travel the entire length of the airport and the next plane was scheduled to board in 7 minutes. But, we ran at super-sonic speed (with the aid of moving sidewalks - I love those things!) and miraculously made it.

Then, on the way home - no trouble until we got to Minneapolis. Somehow the parking slip got stuck inbetween two of Aleah's books and we ended up dumping backpacks to try and find it. And, as we were driving home, got lost, nearly ran out of gas, drove for over an hour and were still in Minneapolis. At one point, we were laughing uproarously about what was going to happen next. When we rolled into a gas station on fumes, we asked for directions "to Wisconsin".

The vacation was filled with all our favorites - street fair, children's museum, football, cooking with Grandma (strawberry jam this time), the Living Desert, and of course, tons of swimming!

Spring aka "Mud Season" has sprung!

So, taxes are done (finally) and the snow boots are put away - wait! don't put them away just yet, you'll need them for the mud! As the snow melted (fortunately not too fast - no flooding), we were left with gunky mud. But, at two weeks before Spring, we finally got a snow with snowman makin' snow! Pretty sure we are done with the snow now though. And, now that Spring is here, Aleah is wondering where the flowers are. She is constantly looking for "signs of Spring". "Look Mom! a robin, that's a sign of Spring!" Can't you just hear her saying it?