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.