Naturally Optimistic

Today Dahlia & I are hosting a "Fancy Tea Party." My step-mother-in-law (Dahlia's Grandma Trudy) & our Swedish cousin Maude will be attending. I'm making a quiche & we've decorated the front porch & some placemats. I plan on wearing a tiara - why wouldn't I? We'll have lemonade, but likely no tea because I don't think anyone here drinks it! ha! Looking forward to it. Hope I get everything done in time! Photos to come soon!

Last Thursday we had our annual ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) fundraiser which was a dance. It was a "dress up" dance so Dahlia went as a Fairy Princess (duh!) & I decided at the last minute to put together a "gypsy" costume. Steve wasn't feeling well so stayed home, August, Dahlia & Steve's Mom Carolyn had a great time! I even "won" a Cooking With Kids basket during the raffle.

Last Sunday when we were in the Cities, we decided to take on Underwater Adventures. We went with my parents, the Johnson 5 (minus my sister) & my sister-in-law Allison & her son Anders. It was SO COOL! I had never been there before & had a great time! I've often heard Peder & Sarah talk about it so was anxious to check it out. The weather was crappy outside so it was perfect to enter the darkness & see all the cool creatures living underwater. I loved the "tunnel." What a great concept! It was amazing how up close & personal you could be with fish, sharks (oh my - the teeth!), huge HUGE turtles, etc. I loved the atmospheric music. I could've stayed there for hours, meditating. The sea horses were also VERY cool. They're so cute. Dahlia really liked them. August loved seeing everything overhead in his car seat. Pefect! We went through at the beginning of the day & at the end of the day (what a great concept!) & of course Dahlia ha...

Steve & I hadn't been to Applefest for 6 years! That was the first fall we were together. So it was time to return. The weather was gorgeous & it is always good to get the kids out of the house on such a beautiful day. It started off great - BOTH kids were ASLEEP in the car within 10 minutes. That NEVER happens. Especially with August (that kid just never sleeps anywhere, except perhaps outside...). Steve & I were actually able to have a nice, quiet, long overdue conversation. The scenery was beautiful. It was really very very nice. After finding parking (ugh) we headed down to the festivities. Our fist order of business was finding some apple crisp or pie. The line was long but the wait was WELL worth it! The apple crisp torte was fresh & hot! The ice cream & caramel toppings were delicious. We spent the afternoon wandering around, looking at the booths & people watching. August & Dahlia were very well behaved. Thank God for the double stroller! Dahlia ...

On Saturday, despite all the work we have to do around our house, we decided to have some fun together as a family. It's been a while since we've gotten to do that. We got on our bikes and headed to the Lakewalk where the 1st annual Lakewalk Festival was happening. They had stations set up all along the Lakewalk where you could pick up your "Passport to Fun" and then get it stamped at various other spots along the Lakewalk. It was a "treasure hunt" of sorts. There were clues and you had to find each station in order to get a stamp. It was quite clever. We got 16 out of 27 which made us eligible for free ice cream & to be entered into a drawing for local gift certificates, etc (we must not've won because I haven't heard anything). Dahlia had fun checking out the animals from the zoo (a snake, a guinea pig & a ferret), dancing, sitting in a fire truck, people & dog watching...and of course eating ice cream! After we were done with the Lakew...

when I was growing up it was common practice to do "May Baskets." Small, sometimes dixie cup sized, "baskets" filled with candy & a few treats. Maybe some flowers or something. No big deal, but it was fun. We used to deliver them to friends - ring the doorbell and run away. I don't really know the origins of this tradition - I'm guessing English/German/Scandinavian...but in Austin it was done - do any other Austinites remember this? When I moved to LA people had NO IDEA what I was talking about. Likewise here in Duluth. My husband thinks it just sounds weird...like, duh, Easter Baskets (they are so very different). One year, shortly after the Bogotts moved into their house by us, I found two small Easter baskets (or maybe it was just one, I don't remember) on our back patio. I will never forget how the melted chocolate looked on the goldfish cracker. I always remember that incident and think of Andrew running across the field between our houses to de...