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)