National Night Out

What happens when you don't go to the neighborhood meeting? You get picked to host the National Night Out neighborhood party! My parents were there and technically they sort of volunteered us but it all worked out fine. I was amazed at the amount of people who came. We had about 70 or more people mostly adults that showed up. I didn't take any group shots because I didn't want people to feel uncomfortable but they were all in our front yard under our shade trees.

Here are some photos of the area where all of the people were gathered. Spencer took these photos a while ago. We have a lot of shade available especially in the evening.




Just try and imagine this area filled with 2 picnic tables, a patio table, 4 card tables and another patio table with food and lots of patio chairs and other lawn chairs. It was packed pretty solidly.

We also had some visitors to our party.



A Minnetonka police officer came and talked for quite a while to the kids. She was available for adult questions too but there didn't appear to be any.

The former owners of our house also joined the party and Kathy works for a different city but her job is to bring McGruff the crime dog around and so she made a special stop to our party too.


It was a fun night- we met lots of our neighbors although without the name tags I have no chance at remembering all of their names.

Did any of you attend a National Night Out Gathering?

We're all okay

I know many of you have seen the news about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis today, and I can reassure you that we're all okay. I was in traffic at the time of the collapse, and I do have to cross the Mississippi every day, but I cross the river further south on 494.

Minneapolis straddles the river with the main downtown area on the southwest side. The bridge that collapsed is on I-35W which runs essentially through the middle of the University of Minnesota campus. You can take a look at the location here. The marker is on the Cedar Avenue Bridge immediately next to I-35W. Just downriver from the Cedar Avenue Bridge is a pedestrian bridge where the crowds are gathered watching the scene--including, according to the news footage, a couple of guys in white shirts, ties and black name tags leading some group prayers.

We just got a call from the Relief Society Presidency making sure that I made it home safe. They and the bishopric have been calling around to all the ward members that work over that direction, and thankfully all of those calls have been positive so far.

Harry Potter 7

Well, after receiving our copy of the book by mail on Saturday. Nate and I started reading. (Spencer is waiting until he finishes reading 5 and 6). In the past we have traded off on reading - we were not allowed to read more than one chapter ahead of each other. This book is really good though. Nate stayed up pretty late (or rather EARLY) on Saturday/Sunday reading. Then I caught up to him while I stayed home from church (Spencer has been sick.) For a good portion of the end of the book we just read it silently together. We finished reading last night.

My review? WOW. Intense at times but I enjoyed it. The best thing that I can say about it is that I am ready to read it all over again. And it also makes me more interested in the previous books too. I was nervous that after reading the final book that I would not care to read the rest of the series anymore. It is a great wrap up to the books and I think I would now be comfortable buying the audio versions of all of the books.

I hope that the rest of you Harry Potter fans enjoy it as much as I did.

A nice visit...

We have enjoyed a busy and fun week with Nate's parents. The fun activities began with an evening boating and also included several other fun things including:

1. A very large BBQ with a lot of yummy food
2. A chance to watch fireworks on the lake
3. I had help during my genealogy classes (thanks to you both!)
4. I now have a green family room and a red wall up my stairs- hurray for paint!
5. I learned how to make fresh salsa
6. My genealogy newsletter is now easier to email and to produce- thank you so much Jay!
7. My plants can and are being water much more efficiently now
8. A nice evening at the St. Paul Temple
9. We discovered a good locally made BBQ sauce
10. And we just enjoyed having our first house guests since we have moved in

Thank you for coming- your absence has been noticeable today.
I don't feel like I got a lot of photos of your visit (a few pics here and there) but I did get a nice shot of the two of you leaving- at least I am trying Regan!

Our home is welcome to anyone else who would like to visit. We even have overflow sleeping quarters at the neighbors (my parents) if necessary!

Birthday

We had a nice evening on Saturday celebrating Gpa Ashford's birthday. He even managed to avoid one of Jenna's normal birthday party standards and didn't have to wear a party hat. We had a nice evening of presents, pie and some Totally Insane Card Game.

Cookies for Nate....

A guy came to our door yesterday holding what looked like a paper grocery bag.

I opened the door and he says to me, holding out the bag, "Cookies for Nate".

"Excuse Me?" I said because I didn't think I had heard him right.

"Cookies for Nate" he repeated.

Well, on the bag is Nate's name and address and I start to peek inside the top of the bag and he says, "There is a card inside."

"Okay, thanks." Still confused I brought the bag in and called for Nate.

There actually were cookies inside. They were sent by his company to congratulate him on his promotion (Way to go Nate!) that he received last week.

I have never heard of Cookies by Design before so I had to take a few photos.

The card inside was nice because it was actually in part to the family thanking us for sharing our Dad with them (the company).

Happy (belated) 4th of July!

I hope that everyone had a fun 4th of July.

We had a very large BBQ at our house with about 50 adults and 20 children (including us). Nate was up at 6am starting up the smoker for the brisket- which I think was his best batch yet. The comment was made that it was a guy's BBQ due to the amount of meat prepared. We had brisket, chicken, brats, italian sausage, hamburgers and even a few hotdogs. There was some "girly" food like vegies and fruit too.

Can I hire someone to photo events that I host? No, I do not have any photos of the day. I was busy eating, visiting with guests, eating, refilling supplies, eating, ...you get the picture.

I did get some fun photos at night. We were able to watch fireworks on a friend's boat. The night setting on my camara did some amazing things with the glow-in-the-dark bracelets. (Michael's sells them 15 for $1)

Fun, Fun, Fun

We have been enoying a fun filled week that started out with fun at the lake just after Grandma and Grandpa Ashford arrived.



Yes, we even got them on the jet ski! It may have been their one and only ride they will ever take on a jet ski so I made sure to have my camara ready.



Does he look ready to go or what!

They also got a ride on a inflatable raft behind the boat but I was on the jet ski at the time and didn't get a photo of that.

Swimming at last!

So for the last two weeks the kids have been taking swimming lessons. It was amazing to see the progress they made! Spencer can finally swim! He has previously struggled with staying afloat. It was SO cool to watch him jump off the diving board and be able to swim to the side- I had to call Nate at work the first time he did it. He can also swim the width of the pool now. And this was only the level 2 swimming class.

The teaching style was so much better than what Spencer had while in Utah -I really wish that I would have signed him up for swimming lessons last summer but life was in such a transition mode that lessons were not a high enough priority.

Jenna did swimming lessons for the first time so she was in level 1. She LOVED it. She loves being in the water and she is able to float by herself and was doing a few strokes unassisted. The teacher commented on how she liked Jenna's CAN-DO attitude.

I didn't manage to get any photos of them in class but I am going to try some photos of them when I take them swimming at the beaches and the pool this summer. I am going to try and go at least once a week so that they don't forget what they have learned! We went tonight and let them jump off the boat with life jackets on and you could still see how much they learned- but no still no camera with me. I think I need camera toting lessons from Regan- she always seems to have hers around.

I may also sign them up for another session at the end of the summer. They offer lessons during the school year also but we tend to be so busy. It is great to be in a place that has indoor swimming pools so you can swim year round. It is also great to be in a place that values the skill of swimming- with so much water around everyone should really learn to swim.

A Weekend Getaway!

Nate and I have now been married for 10 years! I can't believe it has been that long. We have never gone on a vacation that was just for fun without the kids. (It took us until this year to take a "just for fun" family vacation to Florida.)

Nate found a cute bed and breakfast that was about 2 hours from here so that we could get away but not have to travel too far. We went to Spicer Castle- sounds impressive doesn't it?

The first night we participated in a Murder Mystery Dinner. It was so fun to play with some of the other guests. We all dressed up for our parts and enjoyed a delicious meal. Who was the murderer? It was me! I was pretty surprised but so was everyone else because I was pretty good at diverting the attention away from the details about my character. Here is a photo with all involved. It was funny because at breakfast the next morning we had to reintroduce ourselves to those we had met last night because we only knew each other as our character names.



While there we enjoyed wonderful meals, a dinner cruise on the lake, an afternoon free to wander and we went to see a movie... It was a fun weekend and I would encourage all couples to take time to get away and don't wait 10 years to do it!



And here is a photo from the lake side.

Disconnected

I have never really thought about how much I rely on my computer and using the internet. While taking down a tree for me this weekend my dad and brother accidentally took out the cable connecting me to the virtual world. (Luckily it wasn't the power lines.) I didn't think this was a big deal- a couple of days without the internet...

Well, no internet means no phone since we use Vonage. I was able to forward my calls but didn't realize that I had to actually forward them and not use the simul-ring function because calls were going straight to voicemail.

No internet also meant that I had to find the phonebook I never use to look up Comcast to find out when they were coming to fix the problem. I normally use google or the online white pages for that.

No internet meant that I had to wait a couple of days to pay bills since I do that mostly online now. Yes, I could go to my parents or elsewhere to do this (and I did) but I use Quicken and that is loaded on my computer so I had to check what was do at my house and then use the computer next door. I know that this does not sound like a big deal but it sure felt inconvenient.

No internet also meant that I couldn't catch up on my favorite online comics or on the family blogs and I was already behind since Nate and I went out of town for the weekend and were unplugged from technology then also.

It is amazing how computers and the internet have changed our lives. No electricity would have really messed me up - I may need an emergency plan for lack of power if that were to happen for several days.

New Toy

We purchased a jet ski last Fall from my sister's future in-laws. The kids have been dying to try it out. So we finally got a chance last week. Here are some pics of the evening- I opted to wait for our next outing and stood lifeguard and photographer while listening to the kids' excitement. You could hear Jenna over the sound of the jetski as they went by- Yeeeaaahh!

How is the reading coming?

Okay, I am getting excited for the final Harry Potter book. I have not had the time to sit and read all of the books over again. It used to be so much easier when there were fewer books! But I have been checking out the audio books from the library. The narrator is awesome for those of you who haven't listened to the books. Nate and I normally try to find the CD Books for road trips.

So anyway I am currently on book 4 the Goblet of Fire in my quest to at least listen to the books before the new one comes out. Spencer is enjoying listening to the books too. He is currently ahead of me in book 4.

Once I reread or more likely re-listen to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince it will be fun to guess what happens in the last book. I don't know if I truly believe what happened in the last book at the end...but I won't get into that now.

Is anyone else re-enjoying the Harry Potter series?

May arrived in a Whirlwind around here...

I must apologize for the lack of posts this month. We have been sooo busy around here.

The fun around here began around Nate's birthday. Here are a few photos. Jenna had fun planning the evening. She insisted that everyone wear party hats.



Jenna also planned the game which was freeze dancing. I tried taking pictures but just couldn't capture the excitement. We were all supposed to dance to the music from the keyboard until she stopped the music and then we were supposed to freeze. It was cute how excited she was about planning the night.

Here is Nate sporting a new BBQing apron and making his yummy chicken recently.

In other excited news we had 3 karate promotions this month. Lucky for me they all happened at the same time. It was hard to get photos of the action but here are the before and after shots.

before... (Spencer's belt was blue with black stripe, Nate's belt was green, and Jenna's belt was gold with black stripe)



and after... (Jenna is now a green belt, Spencer is a purple belt, and Nate is a green with black stripe belt.)


Two big changes happened as a result of this promotion. My nights have been freed up a bit because Jenna and Spencer are currently in the same class. Also Jenna now has sparring gear. Sparring has been an adjustment for her (and me to watch) but the other kids are gentle with her.

My life has continued to be full of doing family history. I have been finishing up a class from BYU. I attended a conference on doing German Genealogy with my mom. I taught a class on Finding your Origens at our Family History Center here last week. This week begins the Genealogy classes that I will start teaching at our home on Thursdays for members of our ward. I am also writing a Family History Newsletter for our ward.

We have been enjoying the Spring weather here- now that it has arrived. Our poor dog just hates the thunderstorms here so we have now had to buy here another kennel (we lost parts to the previous one in the move) to put her in when we are not at home. In her nervousness she really tore up the frame of our door to the garage when she was home by herself. It is really sad how much she shakes and wants to hide.

We have also enjoyed a bunch of wildlife here. Kali found a bunch of baby rabbits near the house this week. A few of them were able to get away from her and we let the kids hold one of them. (Of course they washed their hands soon after.) The neighbor also called them over to see a turtle that was laying eggs in her yard. There are a lot of geese families in the area too. When we go out fishing with my dad, the kids are getting good are recognizing what kinds of fish we catch. Jenna doesn't do much fishing- her roll could be called "fisherman support" but she likes to go out.

Well, there is a snapshot of the highlights of this month thus far- sorry for the lengthy post.

FHE at the Metrodome

We had a lot of fun cheering at the Twins last night. Spencer and Jenna had never been to a baseball game before. They both asked a lot of questions about baseball and started to catch on. Although Jenna kept getting the sports terms mixed up "Did we get a touch down?". It was also fun to watch them cheering and doing "the wave." Unfortunately the Twins lost. We left after the 10th inning when the game was tied. It was just getting a little late and the kids needed to go to bed.










It was a whole family activity. My parents and my sister joined us for the game. Jill was the photographer so I don't have any shots of her. She just came for the food though- how often do you get a chance to eat baseball dining? She actually brought a book with her! She put it away though once it was time for food.

Part of why we went was because "the guys" from Nate's work wanted to go. I think they enjoyed watching my kids reactions. One of them returned from getting food with hats for both kids! They loved them as you can see.

Yuck.

Can I just say how much I HATE mice. Not enough to buy a cat- but almost. They just give me the creeps. I have them in my kitchen in the lower cabinets and downstairs. I think that they are getting in through the garage. I am about to call an exterminator.

Well, I just thought I would let you all in on my newest stress. Other than that things are just plugging along. We are enjoying the Spring weather- finally!

Other news- Spencer just finished a 450 page book called The Sea of Trolls. Unbelievable! I guess it takes the right book. Now he has started on the Hobbit. Jenna at her dentist appointment (a month or so ago) found out she has a tooth that is just starting to wiggle- now that was a wake up call that she is growing up. Nate is enjoying his job and keeps busy with his church calling of ward clerk and is managing to fit karate in also. I am living and breathing Family History right now. I am taking a class and finishing it in lightening speed. And I am writing a monthly newsletter for our ward, then in the month of May I am teaching a class at the Stake Family History Center, and I am going to start teaching classes for our ward at my house.

The month of May will be interesting- good thing it hasn't begun yet. It will also include my brother moving into a new house, opening fishing weekend, a brother moving back for the summer and probably a karate promotion for at least Spencer.

We are headed to a Twin's game tonight- perhaps I will remember to take some pictures.

"Great" Grandma Pictures

In the last 2 weeks my kids have seen one of their great-grandmas and their only living great-great grandma so I needed to take some photos.

This is my "Grandma Ruth" (My mom's mom) She was nice enough to watch my kids while my mom and I did some family history research nearby.



This is "Oma", doesn't she look great for being 98! She is my mom's paternal grandmother (that sounds so formal but it seems the clearest way say it). She surprised everyone by traveling several hours in the car last week to visit a couple of us (Someone else obviously drove her). It was really surprising since she hasn't gone anywhere in years!

She HATES having her picture taken but I kind of forced this one on her. Not many people have met their great grandparents much less their great-great grandparents.

Highlights from the last week

Well we have had a busy week. It started off Easter at our house and Nate made an amazing brisket and chicken. We invited some families in our ward over to join us since they didn't have any family nearby. It was a nice day.

Here is a picture of the kids before church.



We also celebrated Jenna's Karate Promotion. She is now a Gold Belt with a Black Stripe (a piece of tape on her belt) but she is on her way to becoming a Green Belt soon and she is really excited. Once she is a green belt we get to buy more pads for her because she will get to spar- yikes!







A quick comment about the photos- Spencer took the karate photos at promotion. It helped him to pay attention and be supportive of Jenna. I took the outdoor one but the other three were taken by him and I simply cropped the close ups. I think he did a good job. He took a ton of photos but that is the beauty of digital camaras and yes a lot of them didn't turn out but taking decent action shots in Karate is really hard and I haven't had much success either.

A Night at the Museum Review

So it is Spring Break and we hadn't done anything really fun yet so we decided to hit the dollar movie theater (what are they called now since they cost more than $1?). A Night at the Museum was playing and I KNEW the Spencer was going to like it. Spencer is the one who is ALWAYS asking to visit musuems- they are his favorite places to go.

Well, he was not disappointed- he was on the edge of his seat the whole movie. (Except for when he ran to the bathroom because he drank his drink too fast in his excitement.) After the movie he couldn't stop talking about it. I asked him what his favorite part was and he replied "There are just too many good parts to pick one!" But perhaps my favorite quote from him was, "If that is what the job was in real life, that is the job I want to do."

It was enjoyable for everyone- my parents joined us too and my Dad even stayed awake :) now that is a good sign. Jenna got a little tired and a little nervous but she was laughing a lot too (although some of the jokes were over her head she laughed as though she understood them).

Final Four Mania

Ok, so I haven't been following the tournament as much as in years past- but I have done pretty well since I spent a total of maybe 5 minutes filling out my bracket. Yeah Ohio State won today! In our family bracket I picked them to win it all. So they made it to the big game hopefully they can bring it home! Now if I can just get Florida to win tonight I can build up more points for my team.

I wish all of you NOT in our family bracket the best of luck if you still have teams playing. For those of you in my bracket- YOU ARE GOING DOWN!!!

(I hope.)