Elisa's Visit

For her birthday, Elisa's sweet husband Matt bought her a plane ticket to visit us in Minnesota. We have had so much fun! We went to the Mall of America with all of the kids and actually went on a ride in the Nickelodeon amusement park and ate at Noodles & Co. (and maybe shopped a little while bribing the kids with the rides and food). We stayed up late talking with Travis, which was really fun because Travis wasn't on call and got to spend some time with Elisa too. We went window shopping at a lovely boutique mall, ate lunch at a couple of yummy restaurants called Burger Jones and Yum Bakery, and bought some treats and snacks at Whole Foods and Trader Joes, which are both within one mile of my house! We live in St. Louis Park, which is an idyllic suburb of Minneapolis. Travis's commute is only 12 minutes without traffic and without his walk from where he parks. We took several walks in the perfect spring weather and soaked up the charm of our lush, tree-lined neighborhood. Elisa stood guard while I cut branches from a bank of lilac bushes lining a nearby gas station. Lilac bushes line the freeways here. They are as numerous as dandelions, so I didn't think anyone would mind. Now every room in our house smells of lilacs.We also walked around Lake of the Isles, one of our favorite nearby lakes. Elisa took some great pictures, including the best family picture we have ever had since adding Sarah. Elisa even schlepped out her beautifying equipment and colored and cut my hair along with giving Michael and Anna much-needed cuts. I hadn't had a haircut in eleven months! I look and feel so much better. And my new poppy red glitter toenails are fabulous. Anna has red glitter toes too, and with Elisa's assistance, we learned about buying flip flops at Target to show off our new glitter toes. We had a ball! Thanks for the visit Elisa! I love you!

Participation Medal

Michael's 1st medal won--very exciting

I can't think of a caption. I just keep chuckling. Travis might cry. We're glad Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup have got a hoop now! I think this picture shows where we're at.

Anna entertaining Sarah while Michael plays his game on the other side of the court

Michael Max's 7th Birthday

Michael with his car cake. He and Anna planned this cake weeks before his birthday.

This is Michael's birthday banner. I didn't know when I made it that it would become a tradition to hang it every year. Anna has a banner in shades of pink and thinks Sarah needs one of her own.

Like all kids, Sarah loves balloons and cake, so Michael's birthday was a fun day for her. Travis stayed up late making a big poster for Michael and hanging pictures of Michael all over his bedroom door. What a cute little boy he has always been!

Fun presents from Aaron and Angie and Will and Piper

Michael's got his own Playmobile airplane. Now he doesn't have to borrow Anna's (which she doesn't like to share) and their games have become more fun. Michael had a great birthday. Travis and I felt like he needed a little extra attention this year. The whole family went to watch his baksetball class in the morning. After basketball we ate at a sub shop called Jimmy John's for lunch, which Michael has been talking about for 9 months since he ate there when we moved here in June. While Emily took Anna to her violin lesson, Michael and Travis turned our basement into the Cougar Den with their decorations. We had a great time watching the game together (I can't remember which game that was four weeks ago!), and got to drink rootbeer in the basement while we watched it. We ate Michael's favorite dinner, spaghetti, had cake and ice cream, and went to Chuck E Cheese's in the evening. It was a full, Dastrup-style birthday celebration. Michael got his Playmobile airplane, rollerblades from Grandma and Grandpa Thompson, Myth Busters Explosions (we've watched all seven hours at least once) and a great storybook called Wolves in the Walls from Aaron and Angie, money from Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup (very exciting--the possibilities for spending it are endless!), and a Bakugan from Anna. I think he had a special day, and he's a pretty special boy.

Playing Hooky

My kids all have colds, and Sarah has a slight fever. Yesterday morning I was writing notes to their teachers so they could keep a baggy full of cough drops in their pockets. Anna said they had to bring cough drops to the nurse (even with a note), and then go to the nurse every time they wanted a cough drop. I started to suggest we just quietly put them in her pocket without letting the teacher know, but she was so horrified that I suggested breaking the rules that I backtracked and tried to undo my words. Of course that wasn't a good idea, I would never break a [stupid] rule. (Or use the word stupid.) It felt like a good day to keep my phlegmy, coughing kids home, but no one was that sick. So we went to the Russian Museum of Art (with free passes from the library). There are a lot of Russians in Minnesota, and it's the only Russian Museum in North America. Sarah fell asleep in her stroller, and we had a great time. There was a matriyoshka exhibit (nesting dolls), and an early color photography exhibit of the Silk Trail commissioned by Nicholas II, who was the last tsar of Russia. It was amazing. I don't know why I'm drawn to this language, culture, and art, but I am. We ate our home-packed lunch in the car, shared a chocolate croissant at a bakery called Artisan, then walked around Lake Calhoun because it was a balmy 36 and the sun was shining so brightly. The kids just frolicked in the sun, they were so happy. Until Michael's feet got cold because he wasn't wearing boots and his shoes have holes and he wouldn't stay out of the puddles. I think all kids need to play hooky with their moms every now and again.

Cabin Fever

On one particularly cold, snowy, house-bound day, my kids discovered the laundry chute. They began dropping stuffed animals with homemade parachutes and crash helmets, but soon that was boring and they needed something more exciting--or more messy. It was Anna's idea to dump a whole bag of styrofoam peanuts down the chute. It was exciting for a few seconds, but the next hour of clean up wasn't so fun. Every kid has to learn how miserable it is to clean up a pile of styrofoam peanuts that they dumped. It was even harder to clean up in a crowded storage/furnace/laundry room. We might have a repeat from Michael or Sarah, but I think this lesson sunk in for Anna.

Mo Bed!

More Bread. Sarah is a do-it-herself-er. If Mom is not responding (quick enough), she'll just get it herself. Then it's usually taken away, but not before she has stolen a few bites. This is the challah that I make. We have discovered how scrumptious French toast is when made with this bread and topped with warm buttermilk syrup. I have been using a recipe book by Beth Hensperger called Bread Made Easy. It's a wonderful book about bread making, but don't be fooled by the title. There are no one-hour loaves in this book. Every recipe and variation that I have tried has been delicious.

Ice Skating at Lake of the Isles

I can't believe we got two pictures with everyone standing! Michael spent a lot more time sprawled on the ice than he did standing, but he had a great attitude. Anna managed to make it around the "rink" a few times, and was very happy about it. Emily hadn't skated in ten years, and was never any good, but it was good to remember that she can skate forward. We couldn't compete with the 3 and 4 year-olds decked-out in full hockey attire and looking like they were born on skates, but we had a great time. Travis nobly held Sarah while the rest of us skated. This is one of many free outdoor rinks in Minnesota. This one is part of a frozen lake. We have two ice skating rinks and two hockey rinks (roughly made, but I think they deserve to be called rinks) in our own neighborhood! We bought some skates for $5 off of Craigs List for Anna, but Michael and Emily used skates that are left in the warming house for people to borrow. Our wonderful afternoon was free! We love this place.