The Zoo, Bon Jovi, and an incredible gift

Talk about a perfect day.... We woke up to a rainy, pissy day in southern MN. Mike had to work half day and I lounged around all morning enjoying the fact that I got 120 projects corrected during my evenings this week and had NO papers to grade! WOO HOO! I can't tell you have good that feels. I called Mike and we started talking about the afternoon. He had looked at the weather and noted that just 30 miles north, it was clear and sunny. That was enough for both of us. We decided to head up the MN Zoo and, if nothing else, enjoy the weather! Turned out to be a perfect day. The dolphins are not doing shows for awhile, but we could still go in and watch them train. We also love the bird show at the zoo so we made it to the last days performance. A new Russian exhibit was also opened and we checked out the bears. The whole time we were walking through the zoo, Connor was belting out Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. There is nothing quiet about that child and he didn't care who stared. While he was singing it over and over and over and over....I noticed he was not singing the words exactly right. I finally asked him to talk the lyrics out to me. Connor's version of the chorus of Living on a Prayer: Ohhhhhh, I'm half way there OH, OH. livin' on a prayer Take my hand, a bucket I swear. OH, OH, Livin' on a prayer! .....a bucket. A bucket of what I wonder? Today FROM THE HEART presented the Hilstad family with a check for $19,000. Can you believe that? I still can't get over it. What a huge testimony to Lisa and how her earthly spirit certainly touched so many people. The rest of the weekend will consist of a BBQ with my parents, and a trip to see Night at the Museum. We almost saw it at the zoo today, but it was outrageously expensive on the Imax big screen. I should probably do some laundry too....but it might have to wait until I am really, really bored.

Weekend

We took Friday off this week. We kept the kids out of school and headed up to GRAND SLAM in Lakeville. This indoor sports arena packs a serious amount of fun into a small place. Batting cages, laser tag, mini-golf, video games, bumper cars, and a ball room/climbing area made this place a boys heaven. I did not pose them like this.....I swear! We had a great time and left very sweaty! It was the first time playing laser tag for all of us and we all agreed it was a blast! They let us go alone as a foursome once and that scared Connor a little. It was too quiet and they really cranked up the fog and there were areas where we couldn't see a thing! Got to be a little much for him. You would go a long time without seeing anyone because it was 2 levels. The boys enjoyed the pitching machines just as much as laser tag. There were different speeds and Mike even tried 65 miles an hour...I won't comment on how that went! (In his defense, it looked like a bullet coming out of that machine) We enjoyed a sinful dinner and glass of wine at the Olive Garden and even made a stop for some strawberry plants, a trellis for my clematis, and some new pots. Saturday was a busy day. We had soccer for both kids and it was FREEZING! I wore my winter coat and mittens and was wrapped in a blanket and I was still cold. The things we do for our children..... Saturday afternoon was the Shriner's parade. Many of you know that my dad and brother are both Shriners so we went downtown for that. Noah and Connor were asked by our neighbors to ride along with them in their Volkswagon bug in the parade. Our neighbors are the founders of Grandparents for Education and are just getting support from the community so they asked the Shriners if they could march in the parade as well. My dad Tonight Mike and I are hoping to watch THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. We rented it last night and never got around to watching it because I couldn't stop wacthing THIS. So, although it about kills Mike to pay a late fee on movies we rent, he's going to have to this time because I hear good things about this movie so I must watch it before taking it back! In other news, I finalized plans to go and see my sweet friend in Indiana right when school gets out. I can't wait. It's been a horribly tough spring without her. Mike and I will also meet her and her boyfriend in Chicago this July. Is there anything better than Chicago in the summer? See you soon TK! Hope your weekend is peaceful. LB

Connor's Kindergarten Performance

Connor is nearing the end of his first year at the "big school". He's had such a great year and we feel very fortunate to have had Mrs. Meyer as his teacher. She's nearing retirement and I think we nabbed her just at the end of her time at Washington! I sure hope I love teaching as much as she does when I am nearing the end. Connor said to me to the day before, with no expression and zero feeling.... "You are going to cry. It's all about moms and dads and love and stuff". 100% boy that kid. They sang, they danced, and Connor got to be a duck. I did not get photos of that because he was moving too much and I still only have my zoom lens (Connor accidentally broke my other lens) so everything ended up blurry. We enjoyed dirt dessert after the big show and went home with all kinds of treasures that he had made throughout the past month. Mother's Day went well. Sorry for no post dedicated to it. Took a little break from picture taking. We had lots of yummy dinners, I spent a leisurely Sunday flower shopping with my mom (I am feeling purple this year), and Mike bought me a speedlight for my camera. Now I have no excuses for bad indoor pictures. Between you and me, I am scared of it! I have no idea how to use one, I just know every site that I have read and researched says I need one! Help! Have a great week, LB

The Race

Race From the Heart was today! Boy, what a long time coming this race was. So much preparation by so many people. And considering it was the first race for this inaugural event, it was incredible that there were very few glitches, amazing weather, and an huge number of participants. I arrived at 6:00 a.m. this morning to help with set up. Many of the stores in town donated food, water, paper products to this event. The deliveries began bright and early and I got to work cutting oranges and bagels. I also handed out medals to finishers of the 5K. My friend(the tall one)came home from ND to run in the race. She had lots of company as many people from all over came to support the family. Lisa's husband Jon started both the 5K and the half marathon: Most of Lisa's family was there supporting the runners: Angela and Hilary, Lisa's nieces. Travis and Julia, Lisa's son and niece. The Owatonna Baseball players came and helped work at the race and provided the human tunnel the finishers ran through. Travis, Lisa's son in the above picture plays on the team and to see these young men support their teammate was an awesome sight. The best volunteers ever, Margo and Nichole, awaiting race finishers with me. Nichole's husband ran the marathon and Nichole was able to present him with his medal. She didn't tell me she was going to hug him and I cried when I saw it! Picture tons of people cheering while Al runs through the tunnel, with his wife standing at the end, placing the medal around his neck. I just thought it was such a great moment. You have no idea how hard a marathon is, unless you run them, OR unless you are at the finish line and see first-hand what these athlete's bodies go through. My co-dependency was in full-force and it was hard for me to see people almost pass out or throw-up due to the sheer amount of energy it takes to complete these things. And this was only a half marathon! My friend Jill finishing the 1/2. Could she be cuter? Seeing that many runners (upwards of 750) and so many friends and family of Lisa come together in support of her family, together with Lisa's spirit of generosity and love was so unreal. Emotions ran high, but the experience is something I will never forget and the images will stay in my mind for a long time to come.