Super Rachel Zana's Spot

We were so exited to take a little weekend trip down to The Cities last Saturday.  I spent the greater part of Saturday singing at the state fair with the Arrowhead Chorale as part of the Minnesota Voices concert sponsored by the American Composers Forum.  (It was very fun, and…

We were all driving in the car on our way home from some morning appointments today.  From the middle of the van, Mr. Sneaky Pants was listening to me describe an article I had been reading in a magazine about old houses: Mr. SP:  I really, really wish we could…

It is the season of crab apples!  Our trees are loaded again this year.  I love lying in my hammock in the late afternoon, gazing up at the ripening tiny orbs above me, breathing in their fruity scent and appreciating their slow change in color.  I bask in the knowledge…

On our way home from our state park outing, Dot called us.  She was on our way back to our house, but had some car trouble just outside of city limits.  We zipped right down with our van full of smelly kids to rescue her and the dog.  When the…

I won't lie to you and tell you that our hike at Tettagouche State Park was uneventful, last Saturday.  In fact, it was fraught with minor catastrophes in addition to the shoe episode below.  About half way through the hike, at the point where we were farthest from our diaper…

On Saturday, in an effort to be independent and helpful, Sarah tried tying her shoes when she got out of the van to go to the bathroom before our family went hiking.  Unfortunately, as you may be able to tell from the photograph, she miscalculated and tied two wrong strings.…

We were walking in our neighborhood a few days ago, and as we stepped off the sidewalk into the curb before we crossed the street, Sarah looked up at a yellow-beige  house with chocolate brown trim on the corner and said, "Mama!  Look!  That house has the same color of…

I've been TERRIBLE about updating my reading sidebar list!  Tonight, however, I spent some time listing some of our recent favorites.  Although nothing new had been listed for almost a month, we have kept our librarians busy!  I love being able to search out books on the public library's website…

       Raspberries are in season!  We have been picking raspberries and making jam.  And picking raspberries and making jam.  And making jam.  And making jam.  And making jam.  We go through a LOT of jam at our house.  Obviously, we've been eating a lot of raspberries, too.  Raspberries that…

Because everyone has been taking terrific afternoon naps around here, last week we were able to take an extra long evening trip down to the rocky beach, where Dr. Peds had fun kayaking, and the kidlets had fun jumping on rocks, and the Mama had fun taking pictures of clouds.…