Good times rolling

Well, these past weeks and weekends have been full and fun, and I'm finding it difficult to slow down. I've found myself having a mentality of, "I gotta get out, I gotta have fun now . . . because soon I'll be either a) feeling huge and probably won't have the energy that I do now or b) more home bound (and happily so) with baby."  So yeah, we're cramming a lot of good times in, with the help of many wonderful out-of-town guests. We started with brother Tay, who we succeeded in teaching Dutch Blitz and managed to squeeze in many games during his stay.  Then we loved having Trevor's parents in town, and got to share some good meals and lots of laughter. Next was my parents, during which we had a b-day extravaganza (to celebrate my dad's, mine, and my bro's all in a couple days).  Again, we succeeded in evangelizing Dutch Blitz and enjoyed some very intense games (only minor injuries were incurred). We next had some great times with brother J, which included a dinner with his friends during which I laughed so hard I was almost bawling and my stomach hurt the next day. It was great - the topic at hand had something to do with baby-related matters that might be indelicate to record in this public forum and isn't that funny when I re-tell it anyway. The evening was a hoot. 

We're thankful to all who take the time to come this way, we are blessed and thank you!

These weeks of Lent have been admittedly less reflective than usual, but we have been able to take part in Wednesday soup suppers, which always bring a calm centering to the middle of any week (not to mention delicious conversation and sensational soups). If anything, I increasingly notice the families and how they soak in the meal, the memory verse, and the activities. I'm so thankful to have grown up attending such events, so now as I think of raising a child I look forward to continuing these traditions as a family. I'm going to be honest - I also notice that often the parents don't really seem to eat because they're so busy feeding their kids. So I especially savor my soup on Wednesdays. 

In other memorable moments, I took Friday off to be domestic and cook breakfast for our brothers and their friends who were here going to the NCAA tournaments, run errands, catch up on life . . . and had a rather odd day. I took a nice morning walk in which I slipped on ice (again, yes) and did quite a number to my tailbone. Anyways, no lasting harm done except having to slow down and ask for more help. =) I also ended an era of my life when I went to Caribou and . . . turned myself in. I've been an imposter employee for some time now, hardly working and basically just enjoying my discount card. So yeah, I quit (and handed in the discount card).  It was a mix of emotions, but I mostly feel thankful for the 2 1/2 years that I got to be part of the "Caribou Club" - I'll miss belonging to that community, but maybe I'll find myself back there again someday. It was a good, long run. 

Yesterday Trevor and I felt like real Minnesotans when we joined some friends at the State Theater for a live broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion." The 2 hours flew with singing, dialogues, hilarity, and relaxation.  I'd go back again for sure, and would recommend the show to anyone who can laugh at good ole midwestern humor. 

So, here we go into another week - in less than two weeks we'll find out if we need to paint our green room pink! 

And in randomness . . . 

I don't have a very representative collage of pics from the last month, but here are some.

At Original Pancake House, celebrating dad's birthday. I think this was pre-caffeine or something, our eyes look a little half closed.















At IKEA. This was our second trip there, much more successful and relaxing than the first (which was at about 4pm on Saturday - should've known!). Here are the guys hanging out on the lawn and garden furniture. Now we just have to assemble the furniture. Sometime. I think IKEA was a very bonding experience this trip, and it was incredibly much more fun and bearable with the support of family!