Naturally Optimistic

Okay  - so it wasn't "vacation," but it might as well have been. My kids got to hang out with cousins & grandparents, eat popcorn every day, go have fun "Sassy Strawberry" frozen yogurt treats, make craft projects, play with video games (Dahlia is seriously ridiculously good at Wii bowling - what the heck?!?0, get spoiled by grandparents, see Great Grandma (what an excellent 'title'); there were train tracks, board games, super-yummy meals, sleeping over (in Mommy's bed - SHOCKING!), ETC. We love going to Grandma & Grandpa's house. We played, created, enjoyed, indulged, etc. And then I had to drive home. Bahhhhhhh. I absolutely LOVE my parents. And my sister. And her kids (duh, of course my family/kids). We have so much fun. I feel a TAD BIT like I'm a lazy loser as my Mom & Dad prepare food, activities, etc while I 'zone out' and knit or run errands or whatever....but seriously - we all love it. If my kids constit...

A new update ....let me know if you want/need access.

Saturday (as most of you readers know) we had our 3rd 'Mini-Austin' reunion. Hosted by Laurie (who never updates her blog...), it was a fantastic time to hang with friends, herd children, make several trips to the potty & of course reminisce. Thanks for hosting, Laurie! Can't wait for the next one!! We missed you, Kate !

Dahlia & I had a great time this weekend. It was our Girls Adventure, so to speak. We went to visit Grandma & Grandpa (Papa) Rossow in Austin. We originally picked this weekend because Steve was supposed to be skiing in Montana...but his trip didn't end up happening. Ours did because it was already planned! Friday we met Kathy & the Triplets at the MN Zoo. It was a nice break for us & we got in for free on her membership. Dahlia hadn't been there before & enjoyed running around. We walked the Tropical Trail & the Minnesota Trail - so we saw lemurs, birds, turtles, fish, a big snake, wolves, lynx, puma, mountain goat, deer....& I forget what else. We also took a gander at the snow monkeys. We had lunch with them there & then got back in the car to continue our journey. Dahlia slept from Apple Valley to Austin - which rocked. The weekend consisted of playing, lounging, eating, hanging out...it was great. Dahlia loved playing with Papa & Gramma ...

Austin was hit by a tornado last night. The north side of town - Mapleview, Todd Park, Nature Center areas. Sounds like most of the damage was at Todd Park, UBC, Morem Tree Service & the Nature Center. Haven't gotten *too* many details but it sounds like it could've been much much worse. My folks were without phone & electricity til about 5am this morning. I know some power was still out (where my Grandma lives, for example) as of this morning. Hopefully everything's okay. My gosh they get the severe weather down there - tornadoes, floods, ice storms, blizzards...it's starting to make Duluth seem REALLY boring! Sheesh. We can't even get an inch of rain!