Late Spring and Summer!

School ended. Vacation began. While Bryan stayed home to work on a summer class he's teaching, a wedding party in Howell, Michigan was the kick off to the girls' and my summer break. Our cousin Emily Jarvi and her husband John Risk had a party celebrating their wedding, which took place in the Bahamas in early spring. The party had an elegant atmosphere, photo booth fun, and a good dance space: Kate's dad danced with all four of his granddaughters, and we got to take a Jarvi/Beamer/Menchaca photo, alas without Bryan.
After time to see a lot of family at Emily and John's party, it was off to Kalamazoo, Michigan, famous home of Bells Beer, the Waterstreet Coffee houses and the marvelous mayhem that is the MacInnis family. Luckily, close friends Julie, Joey and the I guy (Issac) live nearby in St. Joseph, so they came for swimming with our clothes on in the MacInnis' well maintained pool, Mindy's curry, Avatar and talk-talking. Next time, hopefully Bryan and Shawn can both be there.
Pilgrim Center, a camp in Green Lake, Wisconsin is a part of our summers. Bryan was a counselor there in the early 90's, and we spent part of our honeymoon there. Analeise and Brooke have gone there most of their lives, either for family camp or for kids' camp. This year, Analeise attended Junior High adventure camp, which meant she got to sail, go horseback riding and complete a challenge course. Both girls got to make candles, swim, canoe and experience life without computers, video games, telephones or TV's. Loads of mosquitos, laughing and fun!
While the girls were at camp, Bryan and I packed things in the house, took long walks, and on their last day, we headed to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We had brat sandwiches and delicious but too-big malts (are you asking, "what's too big for a malt?"), at the Charcoal Inn North and then headed to Kohler-Andrae State Park. The park is full of tall, soft sand dunes left by the same glaciers that carved out the lake bed and then melted to create Lake Michigan. There's a great sandy beach, and if you're so inclined, places to camp. Restful. Windy. Beautiful. A great place to nap and play in the waves.
Now it's time to dig in and get ready for Finland. Our long to-do list will have to be all done before the end of July, as that's when we leave for Tampere.

Brooke's 11th birthday

Brooke's eleventh birthday celebration started early with a new-used bike and the arrival of my mom and dad, Becky and Denny. Their visit included:

• Analeise showing Mom how to collect wild ramps, which Mom turned into frozen, dried and soup form before a few hours were over;
  
• taking in our housemate Alizabeth's art at a show in a new downtown gallery;
  
• a visit to the National Eagle Center, along the Mississipi River, in Wabasha, MN;
  
• sandwiches followed by homemade, yummy and yet inexpensive ice cream at the Nelson Creamery;
  
• an early birthday celebration at Aunt Donna's with cake brought by Mike, Gus and Rudy and a blue-sky, spring day walk to a park adjacent to White Bear Lake; and
  
• time off from school for Analeise and Brooke so they could spend time with their grandparents.

While the girls were in school, I went to the cities with my mom and Dad, who took in the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Minnesota Science Museum. After the museum, a delicious lunch at St. Paul's Ruam Mit Thai on Saint Peter Street was followed by a stop at Borealis Yarns, a shop mentioned in the book, Knitting the Threads of Time by Nora Murphy, which Becky and then Kate recently read and would recommend to anyone who likes to knit.

Brooke's actual birthday started with a game of hide-and-seek for her gifts. After Bryan left for work, she wanted a relaxed morning, which closed with her and our housemate Alizabeth biking to the Acoustic Cafe and meeting me and my dad there, where she could have a sandwich for free. This left Analeise and my mom to have lunch at home by themselves. After that, we met Bryan in Eau Claire, where Brooke wanted to go to Target and a Chinese restaurant. The day finished with us watching the movie of her choice, Fantasic Mister Fox, fun - fun.

The next day, Grandma Becky and Grandpa Denny left for home, and Brooke brought brownies and cake to share at school.

It took more than another week, but finally, Brooke got to have her friends over for a sleepover. Seven giggly, friendly gals were here for a night of:

• nachos for dinner
• a Mentos/Coke explosion
• smores by the fire pit and Kate Hearley's delicious cookies
  
• talking, drawing and a pillow fight
  
• movies (Princess Bride, Bedtime Stories at night and Spy Kids 2 in the morning) and not too much sleep
  

The final stretch of lucky Brooke's drawn-out birthday will include a visit from Bryan's mom and Dad, Susan and Grant. We're looking forward to their stay here. They'll get to see Analeise in the play, Once Upon a Mattress and Brooke in the 3rd-5th grade music program.

Holy Week!

Holy Week:
- a lovely Seder dinner at Leni and Julie's on Palm Sunday
- Analeise reading during our church's Maundy Thursday service
- visiting the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Saint John's Bible exhibits at the Science Museum of Minnesota on Good Friday
- practice for the children-led Easter service at our church on Saturday (and an Easter egg hunt)
- Analeise and Brooke flying a kite with our housemate, Alizabeth
- decorating pysanki eggs on Saturday evening
- Easter baskets and the early service at our church on Easter Sunday... Brooke lit the Pascale candle, read prayers and helped with throwing balloons during a fun part of the service. Analeise led the "Time with Children."
- Easter breakfast at our church and Easter dinner with the Hearley's.

Happy Spring!

http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/
http://www.smm.org/scrolls/

Spring Break March 2010

Today we went to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul, Minnesota. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend it. The girls loved the seals, who jumped up, apparently looking at them. The seals even spent time staring at them through the glass. Brooke also favored the giraffes and took quite a few photographs. I especially loved the baby orangutan and the water plants in the conservatory.

After Como Park, we headed for ice cream at Sebastion Joe's on Franklin Street in Minneapolis, less than 10 miles from the zoo. I'd recommend this spot as well. They've been making specialty ice creams for over 20 years, and while they offer approximately 30 flavors in their shop, they rotate options, with a selection of over 130 flavors at their disposal. Flavors we tried today: Nicolet Street Pot Hole (Kate - chocolate overload yumminess); Oreo (Brooke); Green Tea (Analeise); Danish Nut Roll (Bryan). If you visit us, twist my arm just slightly and we'll head to Sebastion Joe's, which, by the way, is quite close to the Walker Art Center, a modern art and sculpture museum.

Fulbright news!

We found out a week ago that Bryan's Fulbright application to teach at a university in Tampere, Finland was successful. We'll leave in August 2010!