Bye Bye Beanie

God bless you Venus, 8/1999-11/4/2008

We had to take Venus into the vet this morning because she was having trouble walking. At first, we suspected one of the kids had hurt her leg, but that was not the case.

She had a blood clot that was causing paralysis in her hind legs. There was nothing that the vet could do for her, and we made the decision to put her to sleep since she was obviously in pain and not herself.

It was a tough situation for Erik and I who remember her as a skinny little kitten with long legs. I think it was even harder because it was so sudden. She was fine over the weekend, but we noticed something was wrong last night when she didn't come running when the food bowl was filled. That was when we noticed she was having trouble standing on one of her back legs. By this morning, she was having trouble with both legs.

Beanie was a great cat and will be missed greatly by our family.

Halloween

The kids had great Halloween this year. Ella was a butterfly. The wings were not easy to find because she did not want fairy wings. They had to be butterfly wings. I finally found some adult sized ones at JoAnn. I shortened the elastic straps and they worked just fine.

Tate was a pumpkin. The costume was Ella's two years ago. He had definite opinions about what he did not want to be, but he finally agreed to a pumpkin. He was adorable.

I was unusually warm for Halloween this year so we saw a lot less hockey players and a lot more Hannah Montanas (not usually a good choice in 30 degree temps).

Erik and Grandma took the kids out and they made it the whole street this year. Tate had been refusing to say "Trick or Treat" until he realized that people gave him candy when he said it. By the end of the night neighbors were not only getting "Trick or Treat" but "Thank you" and "Happy Halloween."

Now we'll see how long it takes them to get through all of their candy.

Great Book

I realize not everyone is a reader, but if you are, I have a recommendation for you. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos is a delightful book. I will admit that I am not always a fan of literary fiction, particularly books that have received a lot of critical praise like The Poisonwood Bible, but this book is perfect. It is light and easy to read with a strong plot, numerous references to pop culture that help keep it grounded, and characters that you would like to invite over for coffee. It is nice to know that good writing can also be enjoyable to read.

Happy Birthday Tate

Tate turned two last Wednesday. He had a pretty full day. It was his third day of swimming lessons which he loved. Then he got to go to his favorite restaurant for dinner--Applebee's. (We really don't go there that often, but both of the kids love it.) Finally, it was home for presents and cake.

He got more presents than a two year old probably needed, but so far, they have all been a hit. He got a tricycle, a tee ball set, and a couple of water toys from Mommy and Daddy. Papa gave him a water table. Aunt Beth and Uncle Frank sent a Rascals bat and ball. (He does call it his Rascal bat.) Grandma gave him a Diego track and a stuffed frog. Aunt Megan got him a Sponge Bob baseball mit and ball and a couple of other balls. And Ella picked out a giant Elmo card for him. More pictures are in the photo album. Enjoy. (venus)

The Flower Girl Dress

Here is the dress that I found for Ella to wear in Karen's wedding. (Erik's cousin for those who don't know.) It is white, but not bleach white, and has embroidered flower accents on the bodice and skirt. It is by Talbots Kids. I found it on eBay when I was looking for an Easter dress for Ella. It was worn once, and I got a great deal on it.

Also, there is an attached sash that ties in back, but it is about two inches. I don't see why we won't be able to attach the blue sash to it with either pins or a couple of concealed stitches. 

A Family Trip "Up North"

We've lived in Minnesota for almost two years now. Last week, we had our first Up North experience. We stayed in a condo at Breezy Point Resort on Pelican Lake just north of Brainerd. It seems everyone in the Twin Cities goes Up North at least once a summer (and almost weekly if they or their family has a cabin).

Now that we have been there, I can understand why. The lakes are beautiful. The woods are peaceful. The wildflowers and wildlife are pleantiful. Now I sound like Garrison Keillor. Erik would love to have a small cabin on lake so that he just go out and sit by the lake at night. Maybe someday.

We biked, hiked and canoed. We were bombarded by the giant Minnesota mosquitos at Crow Wing State Park and encountered stealthy ticks at Itasca State Park. But the highlight for us was seeing the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Due to the amount of rain we have had lately, the lake and therefore the river were high. Most of the rocks that you can use to walk across the Mississippi were submerged. Since I was carrying Tate in a backpack carrier and Ella was too small for the current, Erik and Megan were the only ones to cross. The rest of us settled for the first bridge across the Mississippi...a flattened log about 25 feet downstream.

Ella dangles her toes in the Mississippi River. See more pictures soon on sorensen4mn.smugmug.com.

The Memorial Day Storm

Well, winter has finally ended...it took until May. Now we get to deal with spring weather and that means thunderstorms, hail, tornados...the usual when you live in the midwest.

If you haven't heard, Minnesota got hit by some severe weather on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We are thankful that we only got hail and strong winds in our neighborhood. The next community to the east, Hugo (which we share a zip code with), was hit by a tornado. One little boy died and his sister is still in critical condition.

Erik and I were in Indianapolis for the 500, but Ella and Tate were home with Grandma. Our house like all others in southeast Lino Lakes, Centerville and Hugo did suffer storm damage. We will be getting a new roof, new siding, new screens and a couple of new windows as a result. Our vinyl siding resembles our poor hostas that were just coming up...shredded. In a couple of places the holes in the siding were 6-8 inches across.

I will post something more exciting next time, but there are new pictures of the kids on SmugMug. (sorensen4.smugmug.com password venus)

When will winter end????????

Oh well, so much for resolutions. The kids have kept me from being a regular at the Y. I swear Tate had a runny nose for almost two months. We have joined the Science Museum so that should get us to downtown St. Paul more often. And I have seen a musical (My Fair Lady) and a play (Persian Women by the U of M/Guthrie Theater junior BFA class) so far this year. But not the level of cultural activity that I would have liked.

I of course can chalk it all up to the unending winter we are having in Minnesota this year. Last year we had two weeks of weather in the fifties by the end of March. This year, no fifties and barely any forties. The kids and I are going stir crazy. Just an FYI...keep the markers away from stir crazy 3-year-olds. Ella decided to make a mural on one of wall in the basement when two of her friends were over. I was already thinking about paint that area with chalk paint. This will just force the issue a little sooner.

My big news is new carpet!!! Finally the early 90s berber is gone from my living room. Also we recarpeted the room that we were using as a guest room. It is now our office and the guest room is in the basement bedroom which works out better since it is more private and a little bigger. Our bedrooms with have to wait a couple of more years. I'll post pictures later.

New Year's Resolutions

Well, it's a new year and time for resolutions. I could say that I want to exercise more, eat less and save more money, but I would probably break all of them before the month is up.

Instead, I would like to try to have a more balanced life. That includes going to the YMCA more often to exercise and to play with the kids. It also includes exploring more activities in our community...going to museums, using nature centers and doing more outdoors like hiking and canoeing, finding places to volunteer. It includes trying new recipes at dinner every once in a while. And it includes doing more for myself so that I stay recharged with the kids...more time scrapbooking or needleworking, maybe try a little writing, join a book club.

I plan to use this blog to let you know if I am keeping to this resolution or not. Feel free to remind me if I start to fall behind.

Happy 2008!

Happy Holidays from the Snowy North

Wow...Apparently this is going to be the year of a real Minnesota winter. We have about eight inches of snow on the ground and the temperature hasn't even reached freezing since Thanksgiving. We didn't see these temps last year until January, and we didn't see much snow until February. The problem for snow lovers this year is that it is too cold for a major snow storm. I've learned that the cold air pushes the storm fronts south.

We are having a good time despite the cold. Ella loves getting bundled up to go play in the snow. Tate isn't so sure about it, but it could have something to do with his resemblence to the younger brother in A Christmas Story when he is all bundled up.

Since this is my Christmas letter as well as the first post for this blog, I better catch everyone up on what has been going on in the past year. We have been very fortunate this year in terms of travel. In addition to visits to Indy, Chicago, Wisconsin Dells and St. Louis, we were able to go on two vacations this year. In May, we flew to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The kids really enjoyed this trip. Both of them loved the beach and gathering seashells. Ella liked putting them in her bucket, and Tate liked putting them in his mouth. (I think we are finally past that stage.) Then in September, we flew to Vermont. It wasn't quite peak folliage yet, but by the end of the week the spots of color was gorgeous. This vacation was more my style with some hiking and canoeing.

Erik's mom was able to join us for both trips which the kids loved since we didn't get to her as much we did when we lived in Indy. Of course, all of that has changed since Thanksgiving. She was able to sell her house in Indy (after five and a half months on the market) and moved to the Twin Cities to be closer to the kiddos. She has settled into a great townhouse in White Bear Lake -- about seven minutes from our house.

Erik has not had to travel for work as much this year, which has been great for me and the kids. It is really nice to be able to have someone else chase after Tate for a couple of hours a day. He has taken on more responsibility in his current position as a finance manager now that most of the transition work that he was doing has wrapped up.

Ella started preschool this fall. She goes two mornings a week and absolutely loves it. She loves her teachers and all of school friends. I usually get a rundown of who was absent each day. Ella likes nothing better than to have everything and everybody in their appropriate place. She has also been alternating between swimming lessons and gymnastics. Which she likes better often depends on the day, time, angle of the moon...what can I say, she's three.

Tate has grown by leaps and bounds this year. It felt like one minute he was just starting to walk and the next he was climbing onto the kitchen table. He is really starting to talk and his vocabulary is expanding everyday. He doesn't always have the patience to learn actual words. He usually prefers phrases. His most recent being "Oh no Mr. Bill." He started going to an early childhood class this fall which we both enjoy, and believe it or not there is another Tate is his class.

As for me, I am just trying to keep up with Tate (he's like an energizer bunny) and Ella. I have made some good friends up here and am starting to recognize the same moms at various activities. I've done a little volunteer work at church and at Ella's school. In my spare time (what little I have), I try to read, scrapbook or do some needlework.

We hope all of our friends and family across the country (and the world Steve and Cody) are doing well. We look forward to hearing from you and will try our best to keep in touch.

Also, if you haven't already seen them, we are posting photos in an online photo album at sorensen4.smugmug.com. (password: venus)

Happy Holidays!