Accalia's first soccer practice went off without a hitch, and Accalia really enjoyed herself. I tried to keep Cole and Ella entertained by kicking and throwing around the balls we brought. I think Ella had the most fun lying on top of me on the field and giving me kisses - definitely one of the highlights of having a 22-month-old.

Ella didn't nap at all today, so she fell asleep within minutes of us getting home. She's been asleep since around 7 p.m. other than half waking up to nurse. She'll probably be extremely hungry in the morning since she missed out on supper.

We had a full and happy house this afternoon. All three girls from next door came over. The four-year-old came over a little before 3 p.m., and the other two (6 and 5) were over once they came home from school. Even with three extra children in the house, it was so much more peaceful than it was when Mercedes would come over. I think part of that is because Cole now has a playmate and isn't trying to work his way into the action. I think another huge part is that the three girls are used to living with multiple children and don't have to work to get past the differences that go along with playing with friends as an only child and playing with friends as multiple siblings. There are definitely benefits and challenges to both.

We've seen more of the girls this past week than we have in the month or so since they moved in. I'm just amazed how it is that you can live next to three other children and rarely see them, especially when much of that time has been in the summer with no school in session. I thought it was rather funny today that the three girls devoured most of the candy in the dish on our table. The dish was still pretty full of parade candy from nearly two weeks ago. Previously, one of the girls had told me that they weren't allowed to have candy, so hopefully their mom won't be too annoyed by their snacking over here.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at their house to hear what the girls tell their parents about us. I think we talked about nearly all of the things that set us apart from mainstream parenting over the course of the afternoon. The oldest commented several times about what a big house we have and how messy it is, most likely referring to the Lego and Lincoln Log strewn living room. I replied that we didn't think it made a lot of sense to pick up toys until we were finished playing with them and that all of our different messes just show how much fun we've been having throughout the day. Cory laughed when I told him that and said they'd probably start trying to use that one at home when asked to pick up their toys. We also talked about cloth diapers since the oldest wanted to help me hang up diapers on the line. Then we talked about homeschooling because the oldest asked me what grade Accalia was in this year. Then the oldest asked me if the kids were able to do anything that they liked, and I told her that we try our hardest to find ways so that everyone is able to do the things that they want to do. Not sure what prompted that question, though.

So tomorrow will see another soccer practice and hopefully packing for our weekend in Mankato.

Accalia's soccer practice was cancelled today. Not to worry, though! She has practice tomorrow and Thursday. She's so eager to get out there and meet the other girls on her team. It looks as if there are five other girls.

Otherwise it's been a pretty quiet evening. All three kids are still awake, and they're all so calm and happily playing. I was hoping Ella would go to sleep early so I could take a shower tonight, but I guess taking a nap at 4 p.m. kind of nixes any early bedtimes.

Anne asked how Accalia is doing since Mercedes moved away and if Mercedes has come back to visit. Mercedes has not returned, and I didn't really expect her to be back. Her mom and step dad didn't really strike me as the type to make an effort for things involving a child. Accalia hasn't really mentioned Mercedes except for one day when one of the neighborhood girls came over (those visits don't happen nearly as often now that Mercedes isn't next door). Actually, lately Accalia has been doing a lot of solo activities. She'll go up to her room and play up there, or if I go outsides with Cole and Ella then Accalia will often just stay inside or go back inside before we do. She goes through phases of wanting to do activity books or workbooks, and that's something she's been doing with the majority of her time these last couple days. Thankfully we have a huge supply of that sort of thing. I think it was probably receiving this freebie in the mail that peaked her interest in workbooks/activity books again.

Speaking of freebies, here are a couple things that Cole has really enjoyed:

- free Planet Heroes dvd
- free K'nex sample set.

Yesterday would have been Mary's 61st birthday. The hardest part of these past (nearly) three years has been knowing how little - if any - the kids remember of her and how much Mary has missed seeing. Accalia wasn't even 5 1/2 yet and Cole had recently turned two when Mary died. So many changes since then...

Myron seems to be moving right ahead with life, and if he's happy then I'm happy for him. I just wish this new life didn't seem to be at the exclusion of the rest of us. Sure, Cory will still get his Sunday call from Myron, but he rarely sends emails or replies to the emails Cory sends. Myron hasn't stayed with us since Ella was a baby, and it feels like pulling teeth to get him to even come and visit. We think he's going to come in October to watch Accalia play succer and Mariah play at a nearby volleyball tournament. Honestly, it seems as if his life revolves around Bev and her kids now. We're adults, of course, and don't need the involvement of a parent as we did when we were younger, but it really hurts to see Cory feel as if he doesn't always have a father.

Speaking of soccer (to help change the subject), I'm not sure if Accalia will have her first practice in just under an hour. It's been raining all afternoon, but it seems to be letting up now. I have no idea what sort of weather cancels practices or games, so I guess if we don't hear from a coach we'll drive to the practice field just to see if anything's going on.

The four-year-old girl from next door was over for much of this afternoon to play. Cole was so happy, and it was really cute to watch those two running around. Accalia played with them for a while, too, but I know she would have loved to have someone her age there.

Ella fell asleep around 4 p.m. since there was so much activity earlier today. Ella is my first child to have this interest in putting things up her nose. During lunch she shoved a noodle up one nostril - way up there. She was very uncomfortable, and I started to try to get it out with a tweezers since Ella would hand me the tweezers and hold still for me - for about two seconds. So then I just held her other nostril shut, and she snorted the noodle right out.

I'm really, really hoping we can get some extra money and fix the dryer. It apparently wasn't the starter switch since that attempted repair did nothing. I hung out clothes this morning but had to run out and grab everything off the line when it started raining. Then my drying rack broke, so I lost my main means of drying clothes and diapers inside. Sigh. Right now there are clothes and diapers drying everywhere.

I guess I'd better go and get Accalia's soccer things together. Ella won't be happy about getting up from her nap early, but Cory won't be around until after practice ends.

Cory had originally planned to just take a couple hours off this morning while I went to my eye appointment, but he ended up taking the entire day. He spent a good chunk of the day catching up on notes from his private counseling, so it wasn't entirely a vacation day for him. My appointment went fine - eyes look great, prescription hasn't changed, etc. The best part of going there is being able to listen to XM Radio. I know, it's the little things for me.

Today was hot (90s) and humid, and the kids spent a good portion of the afternoon playing with water outside. I suspect there won't be too many more days like this. Tomorrow, in fact, is supposed to be in the 70s and rainy. Accalia's keeping her fingers crossed that it won't rain for her first soccer practice.

With his fifth birthday looming, Cole is gearing up for the big day. He's getting more and more excited, asking how many more days, if we can do this or that, etc. I have to find a time to wrap his presents. It'll probably work best in the morning when he's sleeping in. Now if I can find where Cory put them...

So that's about it. I'm going to get ready for bed now.

We had a good weekend. Starting off with Friday, I could tell by mid morning that the kids really wanted to do something out of the routine. I suggested a walk on one of the hiking trails near the lake. Accalia and Cole jumped at the suggestion and immediately went about packing their backpacks with snacks, water and a couple small toys to keep them company. Accalia carried this bird guide with her, and Cole carried this plant identification brochure with him. We discovered that, as a combined force, we pretty much suck at identifying plants. We had plenty of fun with the other things we could identify, though. I think the biggest thrill for the kids was discovering that the path we were walking on was covered with snails. I told them we'll have to see what sort of environment snails need to live and then remember to bring containers along next time in order to bring some home.

Yesterday was, of course the Weird Al concert at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. Cory was so excited, and it turned out to be a lot of fun for all of us. I was a little unsure of how Ella would do for the two hours, but she pretty much sat in my lap the entire time when she wasn't trying to dance or play peek a boo with the man sitting behind us. Cory and I couldn't figure out why there were senior citizens filling the row right in front of us. We thought maybe they were confused about which concert they were at, but they all seemed to be expecting the show and even enjoyed themselves. Guess the appeal of Weird Al covers many ages.

Before the concert, we stopped to visit Mark and Shannon for a bit. The kids rarely see those cousins - usually at Christmas and if we go up to Mitchell - so they had fun, especially jumping on the trampoline in the backyard. We were back in Yankton at about 11 p.m., so it didn't end up being a very late night.

Today has been a fairly quiet day - just catching up on laundry and dishes. Cory did a little grocery shopping, and the kids and I went to the sporting goods store to take advantage of a great sale of soccer cleats for Accalia. She's so excited about soccer starting, and she'll have her first practices this week.

Tomorrow Cory is taking a couple hours off in the morning so I can go to the eye doctor. My appointment is at 7:40 a.m. Ugh. I'm hoping all of the kids will just sleep while I'm gone, but I don't know about Ella since she fell asleep around 7 p.m. due to no napping today.

Other than that, it looks like a pretty typical week. We're heading to Mankato for Labor Day weekend and will do a little celebrating of Cole's 5th birthday (Sept. 3) while we're there. We'll also get to see Heather and her new little girl!

Wow. It's hard to believe that 10 years ago today I was a month shy of 21, halfway through college, and preparing for our wedding. Here we are 10 years later with three children and a decade filled with so many memories that this blog entry could never do them justice.

I came downstairs this morning to discover a vase bursting with a dozen red roses and a card and letter reminiscent of the letters Cory and I wrote to each other when we were dating/engaged and separated due to school and work. I really need to bring down that shoebox filled with letters and read through them again. Cory's brother and wife gave us a wedding time capsule that we filled with things that I don't even remember now other than letters written to us by parents, siblings, friends. We're supposed to open it today, though, so I'm looking forward to that.

Cory sees two clients tonight, so we probably won't get a chance to sit down and talk much until after 8 p.m. He'll be home for a quick meal around 6 p.m. between clients but, as anyone with children can attest, the dinner table really isn't the best place to have uninterrupted conversations.

It's another rainy day here. We have to run out soon to do a couple errands, and that's about it.

For some reason, I started receiving a free subscription to Hallmark Magazine. It's actually a really enjoyable magazine to read, and I've been looking forward to each new issue. Today I started reading the September/October issue and came across this really neat quote about saying yes from the editor-in-chief, Lisa Benenson:

"It's kind of amazing what can happen when we just say yes, and yet it's so seldom the thing we do. Yes is tough, after all - at least it has been for me. It generally means I have to step outside the carefully established routines that get me through my day; it means I have to share time I don't think I have. But when I stop to remind myself of the things I've said yes to, I realize that responding that way has always made my life better. Saying yes has brought me new adventures, new friends and closer relationships with my husband and kids. Every time."

What a great quote! So true, too. I've been guilty of saying no to the kids just because, and that's really a sad thing when you think about it. Just because I'm the adult and can prevent them from doing something - whether it's using up the last of the flour to make a creation or take 15 minutes from my sometimes productive computer time to hang out in the yard - that must be such a disempowering feeling to be told no when it's something perfectly within everyone's reach.

When I talk about saying yes, I don't mean to requests like, "Mommy, can I have the scissors so I can cut Ella's hair as short as Cole's?" I mean those requests that often feel like just another "to do" that gets added to the list throughout the day and can seem overwhelming on those days when you're feeling overwhelmed. Saying yes almost always makes the moment, the day so much more and so much better.

It's another stormy, rainy, dreary day, and I'm loving it! And yes, Mel, Yankton has been getting some particularly interesting weather lately. Neener neener! Granted, it's not a good day at all to hang out clothes and diapers, so we'll have a bunch of stuff hanging around the house.

We had a fierce thunderstorm this evening - lighting, thunder, hail, torrential rain - and the worst of it came down as we were coming home from eating out at Yankton's charming Fryin' Pan. We were only a few blocks from home, but I pulled over under the canopy at a gas station so we could protect the van from the hail. That's what we poor folk who have no garage do to protect our vehicles, ya know. We heard on the radio that lightning struck a house at about the same time as we were seeking shelter. So, other than that and some urban flooding (laughable term for a town like Yankton, I know), we came out unscathed and with our flowers and garden freely watered.

We went out to eat tonight as an early anniversary celebration since Cory has clients in the evening on Thursday. The hostess brought Ella a booster seat (Ella apparently looks too big/old for high chairs at this point), and at first Ella refused to sit in it, opting instead to proudly sit on the regular seat and sip ice water from a glass glass. It was so cute to see how excited she was to do the exact same thing as the rest of us. All three kids helped me eat my salad, concentrating mostly on the croutons and dressing, and Ella and I shared a meal of chicken strips, coleslaw and french fries. When we eat out, I usually pick a meal like that because Ella doesn't always eat enough to warrant getting her a separate meal.

Otherwise, our day consisted of doing a little grocery shopping in the morning and lots of laundry throughout the day. Stopped briefly at the library, too, to pick up a book for me as well as one Cory requested. I also did a bit of LLL work, which lately has held no thrill for me at all.

There's not a lot going on the rest of the week. The streets and parks will be much quieter around here beginning tomorrow with the return of school. On Saturday, we're going up to Mitchell to see Weird Al Yankovic perform at the Corn Palace. Jealous much? Yeah, that's what I thought. Seriously, though, Weird Al is an artist that Cory has loved since childhood, and Accalia and Cole loved watching his television show when we got it on DVD a while ago. I think it'll be a fun time as long as Ella is willing to hang out for the concert. We'll probably stop to see Cory's brother and family beforehand.

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder and rain beating down on the roof. It was such a cozy feeling to be covered up in bed with the little ones until I remembered that I had left clothes on the line last night. Ugh. Thankfully Cory had brought in the three pairs of jeans before they were soaked, and the towels left on were no big deal.

Big congratulations to Heather and Jeremy on the birth of their daughter, Evie Grace, this morning! I don't know if I have the spelling correct, and I can't wait to see the little darling in under two weeks!

As the kids were finishing up lunch, the doorbell rang and one of the neighborhood girls was there. We haven't seen much of her since Mercedes next door moved, so the kids were really excited. They played together all afternoon, going back and forth between our house and hers. Cole came walking in the house once they were finished playing and could barely drag himself to the chair.

That's really about it for today. I think that we'll do a small grocery shopping trip tomorrow. I'm not feeling quite 100% but don't have the body aches that I did yesterday.

Riverboat Days 2007 is now over, and we had a very fun and busy weekend. Since the Yankton School District begins classes on Wednesday, most in the Yankton community consider this to be the last big summer event. That's rather sad since there's still more than a month before fall actually begins.

We started out the festivities in the late afternoon on Friday with Accalia and Cole participating in the kiddie parade where the Captain and Belle of Riverboat Days lead the kids a few blocks to the amphitheater at Riverside Park where the opening ceremonies take place. Accalia and Cole dressed as pirates since that was this year's theme, and here they are at home trying to look like mean pirates:


Here are a few pictures of Accalia and Cole walking the parade route:




Then we went home for supper. Ella and I were very excited to be home and eat turkey burgers:


After that we headed over to the mall parking lot so Accalia and Cole could ride a few rides at the little carnival that had also been here at the start of summer. After that we headed home for a little bit before the fireworks display. All three quickly went to sleep once we got home.

Saturday morning was the start of the big parade. It was a cool and rainy start for sure, but thankfully it didn't rain for the entire two hours. Here are a couple pictures as we waited for the parade to begin:



Accalia was getting a few shout outs from people in the parade, and she had this look of excitement and confusion each time someone called her name. Ella had her picture taken by a photographer from the newspaper, so we'll just have to see if it turns up in the paper. We came home with bags of candy.

We decided we were going to hang out at home in the afternoon rather than heading to the park like we've usually done after the parade. Accalia was dancing in the early evening, so we wanted her to have a chance to just relax and not be totally exhausted for the two hour performance. Accalia packed up a bag of coloring books and crayons to share with the seven other girls in her group, and she had a great time hanging out with them. Here's a picture of Accalia on stage from behind. Cory wanted to get a more panoramic shot of the audience, but there were too many dancers backstage for him to do that.


This morning we headed over to the park so the kids could do a few things like jump in the bouncie house and ride the train. Ella even wanted to do those things, which is quite a change from the start of summer when she was more interested in just watching. We had lunch there and wandered around for a bit. Accalia even had a wax mold of her hand made:


Accalia and Cole also posed for a picture at a mural that the owner and some of the students at the art studio she attends painted a few years ago:


On our way home, we stopped to look around the Excelsior Flour Mill in downtown Yankton, which had opened to the public this weekend after being closed for more than 50 years. There were a lot of things there about the steamboat history of Yankton, and it was really neat seeing the chalkstone walls.

We've spent the rest of the day just hanging out at home, with Ella taking a huge nap this afternoon and me catching up on laundry and dishes that I ignored yesterday. I'm feeling pretty rotten right now, and I think it's just a touch of mastitis. So I'm just taking it easy now and will hopefully wake up tomorrow feeling much, much better.

I had written in an earlier post that the kids and I would be heading to Mankato today to spend a few days with my parents and be there right away to welcome Heather's baby tomorrow. Plans changed, but we'll be going to Mankato over Labor Day weekend. This will be a really quiet week, I think, since all summer activities are over. Cory and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on Thursday, so that will probably be the biggest event.

It's a really, really humid day today (70 degree dewpoint), so we don't have to be out long before we're sweaty and red in the face. Today we've ended up being out quite a bit, and it really wore Ella out. This morning we had the oil in the van changed. While that was being done, the kids and I went for a walk around the downtown.

After lunch, we met up with Karine and her girls at a park now that they're home from their six weeks in Iceland and France. The kids all had fun seeing each other again, although after an hour everyone was drenched in sweat and Ella was more than ready to come home and nap.

Yesterday Cory received a letter from our bank letting him know that a $210 check I deposited for him on Saturday (one of three from his contract work) hadn't been included and that amount was deducted from the original deposit. Since Cory remembered sending all three checks with me and I remembered giving all three checks to the teller, Cory talked with the bank today and thankfully straightened it out. Turns out the misplaced check had gotten stuck with one of the others and hadn't been scanned.

I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a bit less humid for Accalia's afternoon dance rehearsal. Thankfully that's only supposed to be about an hour.

Ella had a late and long-for-her nap this afternoon (3:30-5:30), so she is quite awake still. Ditto Accalia and Cole without the benefit of naps. Shortly before Ella went down for her nap, I gave her a bath. She had smeared lotion all through her hair. Ella very much enjoys smearing things on herself - lotion in her hair, glue on her legs, lip balm in her ear.

Anyway, since Ella was napping and Cole was fine with staying at home with Cory, I took Accalia for her dress rehearsal (bun intact and looking pretty fine) and was able to sit there and watch her without also trying to keep another child or two content. Then Cory had to leave for three hours of seeing clients, so the kids and I were on our own for the evening. Around 9 p.m. we went outside to wait for Cory and saw a HUGE spider spinning a web on the front steps railing. I hope it's still there tomorrow so I can get a picture of it and maybe even identify it.

Tonight I'll be going to bed with a clean kitchen which is an enormous accomplishment for me. Must have been that iced coffee I made for myself that gave me that extra motivation.

Tomorrow Accalia has her last art session of the summer, so there'll be a little party for her there.

Over the weekend, Cory and I took a personality test that I came across in a magazine a few months old. It turns out we both have fairly similar personalities, which I could have told you before taking the test. There's one distinction in our personalities, though, that is most likely responsible for how different we react to things and approach resolutions. Cory is very much a black and white thinker. He sees things as being very much black and white with little or no in betweens. He's also a firm believer in following rules. I, on the other hand, tend to see many different options than an either/or and don't follow as closely the belief that just because an authority figure has said something means I have to do it. I told Cory that knowing that about the two of us really helps me see clearly why he reacts to things the way he does (thinking in particular about when one of the kids does something that doesn't especially thrill him). Oh, and here's the quiz we took in case you want to take it. I'm predominantly a negotiator type with director being my secondary type while Cory is just the opposite. It's apparently a fairly common couple combination.

Techonology is rebelling against me today! We've had some issues with our phone and being able to make calls, so I called the phone company today and they'll look into it. Now, though, I can't even get through to make local calls and I need to make appointments for an oil change and to have the dryer looked at this week. I can't use my cell phone at the moment either because it's charging. Grr...

Now, though, I have clothes to hang out and dishes to do and pirate costumes to put together for Accalia and Cole since they want to participate in the kid's parade Friday night to kick off Riverboat Days.

Ella was a bit on the cranky side today. She napped early and went to bed early, so perhaps she just needed more sleep. Hopefully a full night's rest will take care of the baby grumps. She's been busy with so many things over the past week or two. She's hit another developmental plateau that requires lots of extra attention, much like when she first discovered how to climb up on chairs. Her love of opening the refrigerator, of playing with water in the sink, of standing up on chairs to reach as many things off of counters as she can have been very time consuming for me as well since they seem to come with extra messes of all sorts. She's also expanding verbally, and her current favorite is to declare all things that are hot. She'll let me know if her carseat is hot, if my coffee is hot (not to worry, Ella only samples my iced coffee), if her food is hot, and so on. She's also enjoying taking part in conversations, even if she isn't always understandable in her replies.

It's been a fun weekend around here. Our dryer broke down Thursday, so I've spent a lot more time dealing with hanging out clothes and diapers. It's not so bad, and the weather has definitely cooperated for drying clothes. I suppose I'll call a repairman tomorrow, though, since hanging out clothes by the end of September may not be an option.

We went swimming yesterday at the rec center, too. Cory and I were going to suggest to the kids that we go to the beach, but Accalia beat us to the punch. It was actually nicer, I think, to be indoors swimming and avoid the heat, humidity and sand. Yesterday was a pretty uncomfortable day.

Neil Gaiman is one of Cory's favorite authors, but I have yet to read any of his adult books. Accalia, Cole and I have been enjoying some of his children's works, though, including this one.

We'll be busy this week with dance rehearsals for Accalia's Riverboat Days performance. Tomorrow is her dress rehearsal, so that means I'll be attempting another bun in her hair. Her hair's a little longer than it was in May, so that may make it a tad bit easier.

After the majority of Riverboat Days activities are down on Sunday, the kids and I are heading to Mankato for a few days. My friend Heather is scheduled to have baby #2 on Monday, and I want to be there as soon as possible!

Okay, going to get ready for bed now.

Last night before bed I thought it would be fun for all of us to go to a park today. That was without consulting the forecast, of course, which calls for rain/storms most of the day. And it has been raining for most of the day. Go figure. So we decided to go to the aquarium after lunch and check on the fish, turtles and snakes. Our small aquarium was packed with people, most of whom I assume must be campers looking for things to do that take them away from the rain.

I'm so happy it's raining, though. Even if August has continued to be hot and humid just like July, it has a completely different feel to it for me. Maybe it's the fact that the unofficial end to summer is only two weeks away with the start of school for Yankton kids. It's days like Monday when I was talking with another mom while waiting for Accalia to get out of dance that I realize how used to not being part of the school system I've become and how often I run into people that have no clue that Accalia isn't preparing to return to school. This mom and I were talking about the fall semester of dance, and she wanted to know if Accalia was going to take more than one class and if I thought it would be too much for her with school and all. I hadn't thought at all of her worries when Accalia decided to take two dance classes this fall. There was no need to worry about her being exhausted from a full day at school and having to fit yet another thing into her schedule. God, I love Accalia being able to pursue her interest without worrying about her time and energy being taken up by uninportant things!

Yesterday Ella didn't nap before supper, and I knew she was so tired as I took her out of her high chair and brushed off kernels of corn off of her dress from the sweet corn we had been eating. While I was clearing the table, Ella climbed up into our green recliner. After a few minutes I looked over and saw she had falled asleep. That is the first time she has ever done that. Other than falling asleep in the van when we're traveling, she doesn't fall asleep without nursing first, which is just fine with me. Just like Accalia and Cole, she'll move on to another way of drifting off to sleep when she's ready for it. Here is a picture of her fast asleep:



Of course, Ella only took an extended nap and ended up staying awake until past midnight.

Here are a couple pictures from last weekend of all of the nieces and nephews on my side:





Just one more picture - Ella and Brooklyn with my mom:

It's an overcast, rainy at times and extremely humid August day. Accalia and Cole have been craving hot cocoa and brownies, so that's what they snacked on early in the afternoon. We did a little grocery shopping this morning and now have a big bowl of apples on the table, and Accalia's eating an apple with a spoon right now.

Speaking of food, last week Ella discovered she could open the refrigerator door by herself. That's her biggest delight right now - walking to the refrigerator, opening the door, surveying the contents and picking out something to eat. She usually picks out a carrot, so I have a bag of sliced up carrots right in front for her. Her other frequent picks are slices of cheese or lunch meat. She also realized she could get water out of the water pitcher on the top shelf. That's a bit messier if I'm not there to help her out a bit. This morning I discovered the veggie bin was completely full of ice cold water.

We had a good weekend in Mankato even though it was rainy most of Saturday and the kids didn't get a lot of time outside. Cory and I had our lunch date at Olive Garden and had a fabulous time. We were only out for an hour, but it was pretty nice sitting at a small table for two rather than one for five and being able to dive right into our food without cutting up or cooling off three other plates first.

Other than that, we spent time visiting with my brothers, their wives and all of the kids and, of course, with my parents. It was a pretty low key weekend. We even got to see Heather and Aidan for a few minutes on Sunday when they stopped by to drop off birthday presents for Cole and myself (birthdays in September) as part of getting prepared for the new baby's arrival in two weeks. We'll be back in Mankato to see the new baby. It'll be so nice to hold a newborn again!

Accalia has dance in about an hour. I'll get her registered for the fall semester of dance tonight, too, and am hoping that neither of her two classes falls at the 5 o'clock hour like it has since last fall. That's rather inconvenient for us with trying to eat supper between Cory's schedule and ours. Ah well. Cory may have a completely different schedule in the fall.

Better get back to clearing off the counter in the kitchen.

So far everyone we know of in the Minneapolis area is safe and sound. Cory's cousin's husband only works three blocks from the bridge, so we were most worried about him. Thankfully he had already crossed the bridge and arrived home before the collapse. Just yesterday morning I had been talking with someone about the Meridian Bridge that crosses the Missouri River here at Yankton and the new bridge they're constructing nearby. I mentioned that one of my worst fears is driving on a bridge and having it collapse or our vehicle somehow going over the edge. That fear of mine is part of the reason that Cory gave me a flashlight that also has a glass breaker and seatbelt cutter. Just trying to be prepared and not completely paranoid!

While I'm at it, I'll throw out the other bit of sad news for the day. We found out that the dog at the corner house (three houses down) died yesterday. He had gotten sick, but I don't know what happened. He was young and huge and energetic. When the kids and I would go for walks, we'd walk on the other side of the street if he were out because he'd bound up to us and jump on us, and I wasn't quite strong enough to push him off myself very well.

The kids went to the last story time of the summer this morning. The tradition is that after stories and a short cartoon, the kids go outside to play a few games and then the summer assistants surprise the kids by hiding up on the library roof and throwing water balloons down. The kids love it. No one came away from that too wet, though.

Tomorrow we're heading to Mankato for the weekend. Have to keep sorting laundry and start packing. Shouldn't be too difficult!

Accalia and I were coming home from the store when I heard on the radio about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Cory and I have been glued to the news since then. We've been trying to get in touch with a lot of people we know who may have had reason to be driving on that part of the Interstate. If you're around that area, drop me a note to let me know you're okay!