Day 3 State Special Olympics

We had to be there earlier Sat. and got a closer parking lot spot.  I was hoping we could just swiftly go up the bridge and into the field without Callie getting too freaked out about the buses.  No such luck.  She tried riding Austin's, our helper for the day, back but was having trouble staying on.  As we neared the bus she kept saying - not by the bus - on the bus - like the field trip.  She jumped on the bus and all was well.  Apparently to her being in the monster is better than walking by it.  Definitely an analogy of some sort, but I was much to tired to connect the dots.

Callie had her long jump and as she has done at every practice she jumped once then again and again in the pit to the end.  She had an audience by the second jump who found her "style" adorable.  Then, for some reason, she only jumped once the last time.  She took a silver, which was awesome.

Christian had his 200 meter run first and really ran the whole way taking a gold medal.  Then took a gold for the 50M.  Really surprised us all as he is usually pretty cavalier about his running.  He was really proud of himself as well he should have been.

Our first state meet was exhausting and stressful, but I'm glad we did it and we will do it again.

Toddler Tornado

Today our grandson Dominic, or as his mother refers to him, the Toddler Tornado arrived.  He was wide awake when they dropped him off at 5AM on their way to the airport.  He napped about an hour this afternoon, so hopefully he'll sleep like a log.

We went to the Minnesota Zoo and met Melissa and her 2 girlies there too.  Was a good time and a beautiful day to be there.  This year summer seemed so long in coming that I'm enjoying every nano second of nice weather.

We took Shannie who was a total trooper.  The goats absolutely loved her chair and pushed on the wheels, chewed on the arms - it was pretty funny.  She didn't seem to mind nor was she particularly amused by it, but we were.

When we got home Jacob asked me where Dominic was going to sleep.  I said he would take the bottom bunk, while Jacob slept in the top.  He did the fist pull in move and said - yes! it's like having another brother!  So, apparently the other 5 brothers weren't enough?

Good day

We did something with Shannon today that I don't think I would have considered trying before her surgery. We went on a 1 and 1/2 hr. river boat tour. It would have been much too risky to try before her surgery due to her "fussiness" - which was actually very serious pain I'm sure. She can sit much more comfortably in her chair now. Jonathan and Jill came with us, which was awesome as well.

Shannon was also able to spend two evenings with Linda and Paul for the first time in a month. It was great to have her out of the house - and I can't imagine how great it was for her to be at Linda and Paul's - her second family.

Jacob went to his open house at the new school he will be attending. He's very excited and we're excited for him. This school is a great fit for him. Hopefully, Ella, who is on the waiting list, will get in soon as well. This school starts a month before our local school and apparently many parents use it for a month of free day care and then drop out right before their local school starts - tacky! Anyway, that'd be to our advantage if it gets Ella in.

We tried to make this past week a really fun one for Jacob - Valleyfair, a movie, lunch and dinner out and the riverboat ride. Right now dad has them at the Y pool. He is counting the days till school starts - so - here's to hoping that excitement lasts.

Summer field trip!

I promised myself this summer I wouldn't let it slip by without taking advantage of all the fun free things there are to do. My plan is to find a new place to explore weekly and we thought it'd be fun to concentrate on the Mississippi River and all there is to see and do in, around and about it.

Today we went to Lilydale Regional Park - Jacob, Ella, Jill and I. We didn't park quite in the right place, so had a pretty long trek, but, that's not necessarily a bad thing. We started at "Bruce Vento's View". We saw a waterfall, Echo cave and a brick oven, went fossil hunting and walked to Pickeral lake. There were many signs along the way to learn about what we were seeing.

I'm so glad that, save a few exceptions, Ella and Jacob have a blast together. When we were raising the first batch of kids they had little need for friends, pre-teenage years, as they were content playing with each other. So far, that is usually the case for Ella and Jacob - they are really compatible and just have a blast together.

Mark has been uber-busy working on Shannon's new bathroom. It is a huge undertaking and as with every project in this old house has tons of bumps along the way - nothing is ever plumb. It is only 3 weeks until her surgery - spine fusion - a very serious surgery for the 60 degree curves, 2, in her back.

Next week Mark and I are going to Chicago to visit good friends for 3 days - a post-wedding/pre-surgery getaway if you will. We are greatly looking forward to it and trying not to get too ahead of ourselves thinking about the immense impact Shannon's surgery will forever have on our lives.

Today - we had lots of fun exploring!