Thanksgiving Accomplished

Anna and Michael were adamant that I take pictures of our Thanksgiving food and put it on the blog. They are aware that "everyone else" posts more often than we do. I think it's funny that we have no pictures of people from our Thanksgiving, but that probably shows how very dominant food is at Thanksgiving, especially when you're preparing the entire meal. Travis did help on Thanksgiving Day and made the potatoes single-handedly. During the holidays I'll miss our prettiest dishes that are all in storage. The Nutter Butter turkeys were fun. I made them for my nursery kids at church. Sarah quacked whenever she saw them (I guess she thought they were ducks) and kept taking them out of the fridge to eat. We had a lovely Thanksgiving and even put up our tree in the evening. It's Christmas time!

Halloween . . . finally. I never promised to be prompt when I began this blog. Travis was actually in Albequerque (job interview) with his brother Brigham and his family on Halloween. Some friends in our ward (who belong to our church) came Trick or Treating with us because we live in a very friendly neighborhood full of small houses that are close together--ideal for Trick or Treating. This is Sunshine Park across the street from our house. The yellow leaves have been gorgeous this autumn. They're mostly gone now, and I'm afraid the warm spell we have been enjoying is gone for good.

More with Grandma Thompson

My mom has been gone for a week and a half, but I wanted to post a few more pictures from her week-long trip to Minneapolis. We had so much fun while she was here! Travis was in Utah for a few days for a couple of job interviews, so we were lucky to have her company while he was gone. We tried to soak up as much of Minnesota's beautiful autumn as we could, but it snowed twice! We played a lot: walked along Lake Harriet, went apple picking, went to the temple on a ward temple day (where the kids had activities so Mom and I could go), went to the Mall of America, discovered the Galleria (gorgeous mostly window shopping mall), went to music lessons, Mom did my hair with coaching from Elisa over the phone, played with our bunnies, talked a lot about where we might take a job, and just had fun. It was very relaxed and wonderful to not be painting and prepping a house for sale, packing, or unpacking!

Apple Picking

Something we really wanted to do this fall in Minnesota was go apple picking, and the timing was perfect when Grandma Thompson was here. We wish Travis could have been there. The weather was a little chilly--and it snowed the next day--but we had a lot of fun. We picked Harrelson apples and honey gold apples, which are a lot like golden delicious but bruise very easily. Sarah was very happy to take a nibble out of any apple she found (and our bunnies know where they are and make a beeline for the apple bags when they're out of their hutch). We also had to try Minnesota's famous Honeycrisp apples, available only locally. We ate a yummy dinner of pulled pork sandwiches and chicken dumpling soup with various apple desserts and hot apple cider. Then the kids played in a giant hay stack and we rode a tractor to pick our own pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. I'm so glad we didn't miss out on apple picking while we were in Minnesota.

11 Years

Wow. Travis and I have been married for 11 years! I turned 32 in August and Travis realized that since we were sixteen when we met, we have officially known each other for half of our lives. I am so blessed to be married to this wonderful man! When you get married in mid-September, your anniversary is always at the beginning of a busy school year. Sarah probably has strep (Michael is antibiotics for strep now), Michael has a cello group class at 5:15, and we have a 1st grade parent info night at 6:30. Even if we don't get to go out on an anniversary date this year, it's wonderful to stop and think of how I've been in love with Travis for sixteen years.

Back to School

School has been in session for one week in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, and that was met with complaints by Minnesotans who are used to starting after Labor Day. Michael is in first grade at Peter Hobart Elementary, which houses K-3. Anna is in fourth grade at Susan Lindgren Elementary, which houses grades 4-6. I am very impressed with both of their teachers and their schools. Most importantly, they both seem happy. In the evening of his first day of school, Michael did notice, "School is taking most of my time!" It's a sad reality. It's either school or work from here on out, Buddy. That's why we cry when they get on the bus.

Bunny Love

We love our bunnies, which we named Tilly and Molly! I'm still determined to believe they're both girls. They were only in this wardrobe box (where Sarah is trying to drop a bag of lettuce because she knows they like lettuce) for a couple of weeks while their hutch arrived. I haven't taken a picture of it, but it's very spacious and happily situated in the basement instead of our living room. Travis and Michael did a great job putting it together. I also built a bunny run in our backyard. It cost only $18 but three trips to Home Depot to get it right. We can easily move it to mow and can even take it with us when we move. The bunnies are very happy in it, and they haven't escaped since we added plastic stakes to keep it close to the ground. We put them outside for a few hours every day as long as it isn't too hot (or too cold in the winter). They love to graze on grass. There is a wild cottontail that likes to come visit whenever Tilly and Molly are outside. We watch from the kitchen window so that we don't frighten it. They are very sweet and fun to play with. I am pleased to say that so far I don't regret this impulsive adoption!

Biking Family

Though the season is short, biking is really popular here. Green trails connect cities and lakes and the walking paths and biking paths around lakes are separate, which make them safer. We decided that the one thing we would really regret not doing here is biking as a family. We bought Travis a used bike for his birthday, got mine tuned up (it's been a few years), and bought a trailer so that we could pull Sarah. She keeps her helmet on and usually falls asleep while we ride. It's so slick that I hardly even know I'm pulling it--until we got up hill. Anna and Michael love being bikers. Michael has outgrown his bike, but he's still cranking along with bent knees and a great attitude.

Pets

This week we've had a lot of "pets," which resulted in a really impulsive purchase I hope we don't regret. It all started with Michael's grasshoppers. He had three hoppers in his bug house and kept them by his bed. Sarah was enthralled and he was so pleased to finally have his own pet (Anna has a beta fish named Bubbles) that I felt a little sad he didn't have a pet that he didn't catch by himself. There are a lot of little cottontail rabbits here. I decided to mow the lawn, which is usually a job Travis does. I felt horrible when I realized I had mowed over a rabbit burrow. Two baby bunnies bounded away, and two more were still in the hole. I didn't know how old they were or if they were okay . . .. I caught the last one before it hopped away because I thought the kids would like to see it. I'm guessing it was no more than three weeks old and very sweet. We kept it for a day but it wouldn't eat anything, so I tucked it back in its burrow and hoped its Mom would find it. I'll cry if I write what ended up happening to this bunny (or to one of its siblings), but nature isn't always pretty. The kids had so much fun with this sweet little bunny that I decided it might be a good time to buy the lop-eared bunny that I always planned to get some day.


We found some on Craigs List--two of nine progeny born to two supposed female bunnies. We're hoping ours are truly sisters. It was pretty impulsive, but we're excited about them. We don't have a cage yet. This weekend they've been living comfortably in a wardrobe box. They are absolutely adorable and very gentle. We met the parents and they were too. They'll live in a cage in our basement but we'll let them get out to hop around. We'll see where we live next--maybe they'll be inside bunnies, maybe outside. We're hoping Uncle Jed isn't allergic!

Sarah has been really cute with them, but she's a little grabby so we have to watch her carefully. She is a little upset that we won't let her eat the little treat balls that they leave behind whenever they hop. We sweep them up and dump them in the garbage and she toddles over to the garbage and howls, sure that we have thrown away chocolate chips or some such yummy chocolate treat. I hope she never discovers that they really aren't treats. And yes, I did forget how much rabbits poop! We're still working on names. We'll post when we can all agree!

Cat and Bat

We attended an elaborate neighborhood picnic this week. Somehow Nestle was a sponsor and provided the meat and free samples of Carnation Instant Breakfast and T-shirts. There was a bounce house, face painting, cotton candy, and a firetruck, and it was all free! I can't remember ever buying cotton candy for my kids, so they were very excited. They each waited in line for an hour to get their faces painted, then we went home and they had to take baths and wash it all off. We have a very nice neighborhood full of families who have lived in their homes for a long time, and there are playgrounds everywhere.

Minnesota Zoo

We bought a pass to the Minnesota Zoo. It reminds us of the Bronx Zoo because it's spread out with a lot of land for the animals. Sarah wasn't sure about the petting zoo in the farm, but Anna and Michael loved it. I think we'll go many times before it gets too cold.

Voet for Me

That's not a typo, that's Michael's campagin slogan for their election for Bedroom President. Anna was hysterical when he stole it from her because "Vote for Me" was her original idea. Anna is trying to carve out her own little space in the bedroom shared by three, and she thinks bedroom rules and a president will help. She has a much better deal than Michael because she already has the top of a low set of bunkbeds. Her ideal for their bedroom is perfect silence, which is challenging because Michael is incapable of silence in any setting--not that he should always need to be quiet in his own bedroom. I have to share the first paragraph of Anna's speech, which is as far as she has gotten: My fellow candidates, it's a pleasure to stand before you today, but as time runs short, so does my speech. However, I still state the fact that I'll be perfectly . . .. Michael was too noisy for her to finish her speech. Elections are coming up soon, with two candidates and two voters. I just can't predict the outcome!

First Ponytails

2908 Webster Ave

We have been in Minnesota for a week and a half. I have finally found my camera cord so I can post some pictures. We are renting a house in the city of St. Louis Park (just outside of Minneapolis) for one year while Travis completes a cornea fellowship at the University of Minnesota. We are so grateful for all of the wonderful help we have had on both ends of our move! We were really touched by all of the service from our Brownsburg friends. While Travis drove the Penske truck, my mom rode in our van with me and the kids. Our original plan was to move in Sat at noon, but we bumped up the move to Friday night because Travis was able to skip work on Friday and arrive an hour before the kids and I. The forecast promised heavy rain for Saturday, and we were able to entirely move in on Friday. Five wonderful men (from our new ward in our church) came over with only an hour-and-a-half notice of the new plans and we were able to completely move in. I am still overwhelmed by all of the service we have received. Everything fits in our house, and we didn't need a storage unit. I love our house! It looks smaller from the outisde than it feels inside. My dad and brother Jed arrived on Saturday at 10 a.m. We were so happy to see them and they and my mom were amazing! Without them we would still be living in chaos. We had a scary start with a two-day stint in the hospital with Sarah. She had a fever of 106.9 and they admitted her. They never discovered the source of her fever, but she is all better now. Travis got a nasty case of strep--which I have now and am trying to get my old doctor or even my husband to call in antibiotics for me. Travis is back in Indy to finish his residency which ends June 30. We wish we could be there to celebrate his birthday today and attend his graduation from residency, but gratefully his dad is coming out for his graduation. So the kids and I are by ourselves for a couple of weeks, getting settled and learning our way around. We miss Travis and my family and I have to cook again now that Grandma and Grandpa aren't feeding us :). We went to the Mall of America and Downtown Minneapolis while my family was here, but somehow we didn't take many pictures. I think it's going to be a great year!

Nine Days Left

We are very busy getting ready to move to Minnesota, but we have taken time to enjoy our peonies. They are my favorite flower, and we have so many this year that I have pitchers of them all over the house and there are still tons outside. They bloomed last year when Sarah was born, and suddenly it's the end of May again and she's turning 1. We're going to miss our home a lot, but we'll always have our memories of the four years we spent here.

Goodbye to Good Friends

I had so much fun going to dinner with many of my good friends from the Brownsburg Ward a couple of weeks before our moving day. A few people had to leave before we took this photo. I am really going to miss all of my wonderful friends. Thanks for spending this memorable evening with me!

Mini Marathon

On May 2 Travis ran the Indianapolis Mini Marathon, which is the country's largest 1/2 marathon. The weather was cloudy and cool with no rain, perfect for a race. He beat his last year's time by 16 minutes and felt really good. I'm so proud of him! It's always an emotional experience watching marathon runners finish a race. Travis's parents were here and so were Travis's brother and his wife and four kids. They woke up very early to drive up from Cincinnati to support him. We spent the rest of the day playing tennis and enjoying the perfect May weather. Travis's parents split their time with us here and with David's family in Cincinnati and then we went to our niece Amie's baptism in Cincinnati last weekend. My camera's batteries were dead, but (with some arm twisting) Michael let me use his.