fall y'all

She can pull off polka dots and horizontal stripes

Got to love a good Sunday night speed blog. I could spend time thinking about an elegant way to paint the story of our weekend in vivid detail talking about the crisp, colorful leaves and precious little voices of childhood. Or, I could just do my usual.  Here you go.

not our yard

The girls and I took a field trip St. Mark's Rummage Sale followed by a tour of the Raptor Center where we saw one-winged eagles,  blind owls,  featherless falcons, and few other damaged birds we had never heard of before. Did you know that eagles' nests can be 18 feet wide. Holy %$&!  We also hosted a party for Jake's tennis team  and their families so that was a typical Seltz rager, you know with racquet stringing contests, Federer videos on YouTube, debates about which balls are better (Penn vs. Wilson ) and of course everyone leaving by 7:12 p.m. It's not the first dud of a party we have thrown, but I would be lying if I said I was not thrilled when people packed er' up and headed out by dark. The girls loved the festivities here; Nor made "salads" with Aiden by pulling up about 182 divots of grass and Henny insisted all the ladies hold her and swoon.

Girl Day with Momma!

HC and T. McB

Today we volunteered at a soup kitchen, but by "soup kitchen" I mean I fed this family three meals and did the dishes. Tonight my dad & Mekensie came over for a gourmet dinner of tennis party leftovers and we went to the Purple Light Vigil for pancreatic cancer awareness at the State Capitol. It was a touching ceremony as we honored survivors like my dad and remembered loved ones like Grandma Audrey and Uncle Rick. If you have never had the opportunity to have both of your parents diagnosed with cancer, have surgery, and go through chemo, I would highly not recommend it. Thankfully, they are both still here years later to shower my kids with toys and constantly remind me of things not to put on my blog.

Bill P and his granddaughters

celebrating life

Purple Lights

after school snack

 

In between screaming tantrums and sister fights over the soccer ball, pink ball, and jump rope, I got a few cute photos. It's like reality, only more peaceful.

halvsies

everything is all mine!

As the forever youthful Kris Jenner said in regards to kids, "one is like one. two is like twenty". Her wisdom rings true this week as Nori is at the cabin and Henny is enjoying only kid status. It's a  flashback to three years ago when we just had baby Nori.   It's different. Whenever Jake is gone, Nori says we are a "half family" so with her gone we also feel like a half family. But I know she is going balls to the walls at Rock Lake, so it's good for her get alone time with G &G. Hen is enjoying the spotlight keeping us entertained with dancing, laughs, and lots of new words.

We had a dishwasher flood again this week, so we finally kicked it to the curb and a got a new one, a Bosch (which I hope stands for Boss Wash). Steve & Liz closed on their new house in Saint Paul and babysat so Jake & I could go on a date. I really missed him while he was gone and now I am making him pay by smothering him with attention. Jake won a gift basket at work with gift cards so we are wasting no time using them. We dined on pasta and unlimited red wine at D'Amico's before desserting at Cafe Latte where I went on a cocktail-induced hunt for some lady's lost wedding ring. Guess who found it after crawling on the floor and  pushing back tables to search hidden crevasses?  If I only took that much initiative looking for my lost cell. Or with anything in my life. We also got to sleep in the next day so you can already tell this was a great weekend, so I'll just stop there.

Congrats to Missy who completed her first half marathon and raised money for clean water in Africa!

foosie, do not touch these when I am gone!

made with love for our international dad

pajama mafia

she ties herself up to my bedpost

HC "helped" me with my closet re-org

25 shots and not a single smile

he's back!

Hong Kong Harbor

I had hoped Jake would do his first ever blog post on his trip to Hong Kong, but the odds of him getting around to it any time this year are slim. So I will take the liberty of telling you about his trip based on what I remember from his photos. Disclaimer: I was half watching 19 Kids and Counting when he went through them, so forgive when I misstate facts.

Jake had a very productive trip and learned more about the local government and economic issues in the area. You can read all about it his forthcoming reports..zzzzzz.  He even spoke at the international CFA conference which is probably why he came home with dozen new Linked In "friends", some of whom are Aussies or in his mind,  free places to stay for the Australian Open.  He said the food was good, but not great although he enjoyed the duck with pancakes and inexpensive sushi.  Stay tuned for pics of the cute outfits he brought the girls!

Victoria's Peak and some of the 8,000 skyscrapers

proof he was there

Sampan boats in the harbor

swanky hotel lobby in Macau with live jelly fish

Anyone read Cantonese?

 

The Ladies Market where he found our gifts

Immaculate subway system with glass doors for safety

bombed at world's tallest bar, Ozone

 

Who is she? Why is his arm around her? Maybe she is the owner of the bra?

Mountain top Buddha

The End

hong konged

kids dine al fresco

Dare I say we made it? Jake is en route to MN so assuming we survive until after lunch tomorrow, I can check 10 days as a single mom with two kiddos off my reverse bucket list. We did great and had lots of quality girl dates.  It helped to have family & friends to keep us busy and I was already used to being them with morning, noon, and night so it wasn't that different. The hardest thing has been my pain flare up which has been affecting my sleep and mood. I am trying everything and it's testing my patience.

Highlights of the past week include Nori starting ballet/tap dance. She looked so pretty in her pink leotard and was so careful to gracefully follow the teacher. I almost cried when Henny yelled "Ning Ning!" every single time she saw Nori through the door. Kinderflip starts this week too, so I will have a dancing gymnast on my hands along with a loyal toddling cheerleader. We read books, went to the park, played outside, and snuggled. We celebrated the September birthdays with our friends over  a pasta dinner and continued the party the next night with a pool party and fish fry. Also, I finally got my lip waxed by a guy from NE Mpls. 

meanwhile, baby chair-capades inside

at least I spelled everything correctly?

Ho Donkey,  Missy & Ang tun another year wonderful

I call her lil' Clicker, don't ask

quality time with Decko the Gecko

little sister "helping"

pretty girl

she loves to bounce and say "hop"

last hurrah in the pool until 2013

Motherhood = lifeguard duty

Wild in Winona

leaving on an airplane

 

In case you are wondering Jake made it to Hong Kong, got into a bus accident with another bus (his neck & back cracked but people on the other totaled bus were injured), rode a steep tram, rode in a Sampan boat, met our friend Ross’s brother for supper (random) but did not eat shark fin soup or emu tendons. Tomorrow (today for him) he is off to Macau the Las Vegas of Asia.

All is well in Winona! We are little light on the vegetables and a little heavy on the treats but we will remedy that soon. Hey, we feel like we are on vacation, too. Reverse vacation where I never rest but still eat whatever I want. We staying at Gramsie’s house so she is cleaning up messes and washing dishes in our wake. The girls have enjoyed playing outside in the big backyard, the farmer’s market, raspberry picking, the apple orchard, time with grandparents, and lots of love. Luh-uh-ove!

rub a dub dubby, two men in a tubby

riding bareback

early morn berry picking

berry baby

in Wisconsin y'all

wait for Foose!

The Berry Patch

apple dipped in cider

HC = honey crisp and Henley Cate

Great Grandma Sylvia has lots of candy

yum!

Dogs love Darlene

Henny sits in Papa Michael's 1st grade chair

Swing set at G& G's

just like Mommy