The real reason we went on vacation was to see our Montana friends, one of the families that we grew close to during residency in Wisconsin.  Both of our families were in the muck of residency together, although in different programs, and we also went to the same church and…

On our first night of traveling we stayed at a hotel in Bismarck.  Grandma Robbie and Grandpa Ron were able to come for just a bit to watch the kidlets expend massive amounts of cooped up energy in the pool that evening. The next morning, after a delicious hotel breakfast,…

I had been looking forward to driving across western North Dakota and eastern Montana on vacation, and it didn’t disappoint.  Although I am getting fonder of Northern Minnesota’s lush trees all the time, there is nothing like nearly 180 degrees of sky to just clear out a person’s brain.  It…

While in a national park, I am a mountain seeker, a waterfall seeker, and a wildflower seeker.  I am not so much of an animal seeker, but the kidlets had a great time keeping their eyes open for interesting animals.  While traveling in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, we spotted:…

I have to go to potty.  Yeah.  Yeah. Noah’s being mean and I’m not. I hate mosquitos.  Itch.  Itch. Dee dee doodle dee dop.  Chica Chica boom. I’m so thirsty, so very thirsty. I’m so bored.  So very very bored.  And all we’re doing is driving.  Driving.  Driving. All of…

Our Bismarck friends spent the weekend visiting while my friend Siri and her husband Jeremiah ran in the half marathon.  It was an action packed weekend for all 8 kids in the house.  The weather was a bit dismal at times, but for the most part it did not slow…

After painting a few days and touching up the closet and basement walls many times over, I was feeling a bit stressed.  Stressed enough to beg and plead my loving husband to help me with the entryway, a job far more intricate than the closet and basement wall.  In fact,…

I haven’t blogged much in the last couple of days because I have decided to tackle some painting projects around the house that have been bugging me for months, and in some cases YEARS.  For example, Mr. SP”s closet was a horrid blue grey color with icky mauve trim.  It…

His latest trick is to say “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!” as loudly as possible whenever he’s riding in the car.  The streets in my city are bumpy, really bumpy, and when he says this long vowel as loudly as he can for as long as his breath lasts, his voice bumps up and…

Yesterday it was 102 degrees in Minneapolis.  It was 62 degrees at my house.  It was 55 degrees next to the lake with a very, very strong east wind whipping up the waves into a lovely green-blue surf that sparkled in the sun and crashed onto the beaches.  Can I…