Making A Weekend Of It

We're getting on toward the end of our month of the arts. On Friday, the 4th, we went up to Mystic Lake Casino to see Yanni.

The performance theatre is massive! We'd been there once before but sat more down in front and didn't realize what all was behind us. He put on a good show. Two solid hours of music.

Two of my favorites are actually with vocalists...Nightengale...

...and Aria.

We stayed overnight up in Shakopee and then met the gang in Hopkins at Stages Theatre for a performance of the children's play "Giggle, Giggle, Quack". We all got there in plenty of time for a picnic in the park before the show.

There was a little gate of some sort the kids were having fun on and I tried to get their stink-eye faces...

...but got them laughing too!

We were practically in the front row for a cute show. Afterwards, Natalie was a girl after my own heart seeking an autograph from the star of the show.

Both kids had a good time...

...and so did the six adults accompanying them!!

To All The Moms...

...and especially, mine. Happy Mother's Day!

Beasts!

It turned out as we feared. There's no such thing as a new washer to match an old dryer. And the color black seems to be very not cool in appliances so we're stuck with platinum.

They still fit in the same space but they're taller and deeper so they seem just huge!

Swimming With Natalie

We went to watch Natalie during her swim class last week. Her teacher was a different one than she was used to so there was a little time getting used to her and the water...

...but then, a lot of splashing going on!

Mamma Mia!

I seem to be running behind on my blog posts! A week ago already we saw Mamma Mia! again up in the Cities. 

It's such a fun show!

My favorite Abba song is "Does Your Mother Know?"

It's a very colorful cast.

This is also on our list of favorite productions because then when we got home we watched it all over again on DVD. No such thing as too much Mamma Mia!

To The Gates Of St. Peter

We spent Friday afternoon visiting Kate, Maya and Brian. Maya didn't seem to mind being passed back and forth between relative strangers.

When you get ahold of her she'd rather stand up than sit in your lap. Her legs are so strong!

Kate had one meeting canceled but one more to attend. Maya napped 'til shortly after Brian got home at which point he started egging her on.

Not quite sure who was having more fun.

We all packed up and went to El Agave for supper and Maya was just the best little patron. The only trouble was when she'd bob for something and bump her nose on the table.

Super Baby with a super mom and dad!

Tuesday Evening Interlude

Jon and Mindy had a conference for Natalie to go to on Tuesday night so I stayed with the kids while the parents were gone for all of about twenty minutes! But before that we had a delicious spaghetti supper...only thing was, no one told me I was supposed to dress for dinner!

It was such a beautiful evening. We were out on the deck and creating some bubbles.

Natalie could get some big ones going when she blew

r-e-e-a-a-a-l-l-l-l  s-l-o-o-o-o-w-w!

                        

Somehow, by the time it was time for dessert we had a rockstar on our hands!

Fire!!!

We old ladies took a trolley ride with Harvey to the fire station on Monday. We saw the pole we all imagine the firefighters sliding down...

...and we looked at the big, red engine from afar.

Jill was willing to pose for me...

...but Harvey was happiest when he was at the park!

The Verdict Is In

Kaput! That's what our 2 1/2 year old wash machine is.

The repairman just left after telling us the part required to fix it is about half the cost of a new machine and even if we wanted to go that route there don't seem to be any parts available right now. So now the challenge appears to be finding a black washer that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to match the dryer. But one thing we know, we won't be buying another Frigidaire! 

Who Knew?

We were at Home Depot on Friday and saw this display for Fish Fertilizer.

Am I the only one that didn't know fish needed to be fertilized?! :)

Sneak Peek

There's a fair amount of work to be done yet on decorating Jill's bathroom but a request has been made for just a peek at the change. This is looking towards the shower before... 

...and here is after.

Just wait 'til you see the rest!

Done!...Well, Sort Of.

Yesterday at 4:10 the last crew working on Jill's bathroom was on their way!

The job that was estimated to take 7-10 days is done in a mere seven weeks! To be fair, there were some delays waiting for certain materials but I don't think we expected it to take quite this long. And to be truthful, the whole project is not really at its end because it seems to have spread into my bath and most of the upstairs. So there's wallpaper to remove, painting to be done, major purging and reorganizing and then finally, new carpet to be installed. BUT!....at least we're not waiting on someone else's schedule. If there are delays now we have only ourselves to blame. Pictures for this post would be appropriate but I'm going to wait until more of the fine tuning is complete.

Break-in!

We've come to think of our (non-functioning) hot tub as the Chipmunk Apartments. They've made themselves at home in there and sometimes sit just peering out their little window down there on the bottom. Yesterday I noticed there must have been a much larger intruder into their space since this board had been pried out.

One of this summer's projects is to get that thing demolished and hauled away. But maybe if we wait long enough some critter will destroy it for us!

Not A Fanilow? No Need To Read On

Since back in the 70's (yes, before many of you were even born!) I've been a nut about Barry Manilow. Some people are of the belief you have to be a little nutty to appreciate his music. 

We've seen him in concert several times in the past but he was in the Cities Friday night for the first time in 20 years and we're SO glad we went! Every single song was an old one we wanted to hear. We figured he's close to 70 but still looks...

...and sounds terrific! Do you remember Copacabana?

For a lot of the songs he had some neat stuff on a video screen behind him. His dress these days is a little more subdued than back then.

He did this one neat thing where he sang live in conjunction with an old video clip.

How cool is that?! Of course he got a standing ovation for Weekend In New England and I totally agree with him when he says "I still got it!" Here is another of his big songs but if you ask me they were ALL big hits!

He's really an entertaining guy. He has a great sense of humour and loves to tell funny stories on himself.

Here's another oldie for the oldies out there...

...and one final clip. I must apologize for the jumpiness. I got into the blue area on the zoom.

So there you have it. Friday night with Barry Manilow.

It was so worth every penny we paid! And that evening was just the kickoff to our month of music and theatre. Yet to come is Mamma Mia! at the Orpheum, Yanni at Mystic Lake, the play "Giggle, Giggle, Quack" with the Greats, Lorie Line in Zumbrota and South Pacific at the Rep. We're certainly not going to be short of entertainment! 

Monochromatic...But Harvey Might Like It!

Sometimes when I put a meal together I haven't thought much about how it'll look. Apparently, tonights theme was "Shades of Orange."

I don't think Martha Stewart would give very high marks on presentation!

Guess Who Now?

If she was smiling behind that mask you'd be able to tell it's Claire because when she smiles it goes all the way up into her eyes!

Today's the day she's having her tonsils and adenoids out just like Harvey. Good luck, Claire! Thinking of you all day long.

Easter Fun

I feel like I didn't take my camera out much more than Mindy did but I did get a few shots that might be share-worthy. Here I think the kids were trying a new chiropractic technique on their mom.

Brian and Maya were patiently waiting for dinner.

The rest of us had ham. Maya had prunes!

Natalie was in a cuddly mood...

...and Harvey wanted to play a little ball. Grandma Connie would be proud of his shooting form!

When all was said and done, Maya said it best...

..."What a fun day!"

Happy Easter Everyone!

The Good Lord has blessed us with a bunny...er, I mean...sunny day this Easter morning.

We'll each be celebrating with our families this afternoon. I hope you'll be with your friends and family too!

I Didn't Even Know It Was Loose!

Claire lost her first tooth a few days ago.

It came out and accidentally went down the drain when she was brushing her teeth but that didn't matter to the Tooth Fairy. She still came and left a little prize!

Ouch!

I went into Clements yesterday for a $17.95 oil change and came out $700 later!

In all fairness, since I just went over 50,000 miles I knew there were some extra things that needed to be done and there were other things that I'd already neglected having checked. Plus, there's a rattle in my steering column again that I wanted them to check out and they found some loose parts that needed to be replaced. But it all added up to a little more than I expected!

Of Titanic Proportions

We saw "Titanic" when it first came out back in 1997 and we saw it again today but this time in 3D. The 3D part of it wasn't that great but the story was mesmerizing all over again! The first time I checked my watch was two hours into it and I feel like I hardly blinked the whole time. Even though I knew how it all turned out I found myself clutching the armrests and holding my breath. That might be one of my all-time favorite movies (next to The American President).

We went to Victoria's afterwards and had good food but a little questionable service. At one point I felt like I needed night vision goggles and then later the lights were suddenly cranked up taking away any ambience. I'd guess we'll go back again though.

THAT Was Easy!

Most are familiar with the Staples slogan about easy rebates and rewards. And they truly are easy to redeem.

But look at the paperwork you get at the checkout to cash in on these offers! 

I might almost be embarrassed handing that ream of receipts to a customer.