The cousins visited over the weekend, and on Saturday morning we decided to take a hike!  It was a long hike, down a big hill, which meant that it was an even longer hike up a big hill to get home, but by the the time we arrived back at…

Sunday Night at the Beach has officially started!  Everyone is delighted!  The Little Cousins were visiting for the weekend and they really wanted to go to the sandy beach.  There were so many of us we needed to take two vans to transport everyone there, so we sent the first…

While at the Minnesota History Center I discovered a recipe for “Raisin Sandwiches” that involved mixing raisins with peanut butter, mayonnaise, diced carrots and cottage cheese.  Just the thought of that mixture makes me swallow hard.  It seems like a textural and taste mismatch.  Shudder. Also while at the Minnesota…

The Banana and I needed to take a quick trip to the retail district last night to pick up a couple of items needed for this weekend.  We took Mr. TOF with us.  Our second stop needed to be extra quick because we only had about 20 minutes before we…

Sometimes they are just wild and crazy:  jazz piano music with muppet motions, while one sibling creates a new hairstyle and two others whirl around dancing like deranged monsters (not shown on this particular frame).  Sometimes it’s best just to snap the picture and leave the room.

The Saturday before Easter is Egg Drop Day here.  Highly anticipated as always, this event is a big deal because the stakes are high!  If your egg survives the drop you do not have to do any evening work, and these kids really, really hate family chores.  This year the…

Easter morning.  If we aren’t traveling for the Easter holiday, we often first visit a beautiful church in our community that has an amazing organ, a big choir, handbells, and a brass ensemble to start our day of worship, and then we attend the latest service at our normal church.…

Last week Mr. TOF and I read one of my current favorite picture books, Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems.  I love the words in this book.  Mr. TOF was captivated by the picture on the book jacket where the author talks a bit about his process of illustrating the book.…