Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Fun week


I was SO glad I only had one day of riding this year. The combination of sun, head wind, and hills about did me and my left knee in. The hotel was more my speed this year. I think the cousins enjoyed themselves there, too.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Love the Google ad magic

I usually pay no attention to the ads that line the right side of my Google mailbox when I'm reading my email but this one caught my eye today:

Preventing Runner's Diarrhea

Andrea and I have been discussing our running activities and I guess Google knows more about my training plan than I do.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Little Napoleon Dynamite

Working on phonology with a little guy this morning:

"Tell me three things that start with the L sound."

"Letter......lucky.....ummm.....Liger?"

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Hope is not yet beach bum material


You have to sort of like the beach to be a beach bum, right? Hope was quite perturbed that we took her to the (free) lake today instead of the (pay-to-get-in) chlorine-clean swimming pool. Here she is giving an up close inspection of funky lake water.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Three movies I want to see but probably won't

Baby Mama

Hellboy 2

Encounters at the End of the World

I think I want a cat

Gary goes green

"I have over 900 miles on the computer since Memorial Day," he announced one morning.

Not that the old Jetta he was driving was a gas guzzler but he has saved the family some money by biking to work. However, the money he is saving on gas is likely to be wiped out by bike gear purchases for winter riding since he intends to become a year-round bike commuter. And that's going to happen sooner rather than later because in Minnesota summer is only about two weeks long. And I hate to break it to you but snow's on the way.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Summer school

Having fun but I'll be glad when it's done. The students will be happy about it, too.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Tooth fairies forgot

Hope lost her second tooth at the park yesterday, kept track of it all day, brought it home and placed it carefully in a Ziplock bag and put it under her pillow.

And the tooth fairies forgot all about it.

One thought the other had it covered and vice versa. We told Hope that it must have been a pretty busy night. That tooth fairy, she's pretty good at getting her job done but she isn't up to Santa Claus standards. We will hope for better luck tonight.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Safety tip for the week


Always swim with a cute buddy.

It's probably the bird flu


Yeah, still sick here. Missed my 25th class reunion. Stayed home and spent the weekend coughing, sleeping, and blowing my nose. It wasn't a complete bust. Hank and Hope were feeling well enough to play with friends, and neighbors weren't so completely scared off by my coughing fits that they avoided us.

The elderly neighbor dog came by to visit, too, and it's hard to say who was wheezing more -- me or her. Speaking of elderly dogs, if you have one who needs some extra TLC, I have an 8 year-old boy here for hire. He's very good.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Family traditions must go on


Doesn't matter how sick you are. When we are in town for the 4th our tradition is to head over to the top floor of the nearby parking ramp and watch the fireworks from all the surrounding communities. From there we can see fireworks in six cities including downtown Minneapolis. Oh yeah, the displays look teeny tiny, like a small lollipop, but more and more neighbors and their dogs join us up there every year and it turns into a fun time. Even the local police have figured out that it's a good place to be on the 4th. Officer Friendly showed up and let all our kids run in and around the police vehicle. (Seeing the computer next to the driver seat I figure that he spends a lot of his time surfing the internet, don't you?)

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Mrs. Bickerson's Query of the Day

The North Memorial ER is surprisingly not very busy at 4 AM on Thursdays.
Agree
Disagree
  
pollcode.com free polls

Extra credit: True or False? Taking a hit off your 8 year-old son's nebulizer in the ER is considered inappropriate and hospital staff would prefer you get your own appointment if you think you're so sick.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Summer colds are the WORST

I need a cure. I've tried almost everything including zinc, vitamin C, Afrin, DayQuil, running, going to work, wood-chipping, and putting the children in front of the TV with the remote and a Costco-sized bag of chocolate chips. I haven't tried hitting myself in the head with a hammer. Yet.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Double duty


Hope's practice went well enough and she was in a good enough mood today to agree to share her cleats with Hank so he could wear them at his ball game today.