Rules, rules

I think I need to vent.

Everywhere we go here in Minnesota, we seem to get into trouble.

At the pool, first attempt:

"Sorry, but your daughters cannot play in the three-feet deep end of the big pool unless they have passed a swim test with a lifeguard and received a wristband."

Ten minutes later: "Sorry, but are those disposable swim diapers? Um, the Minnesota Department of Health requires all children to wear plastic diaper covers while in the water. You'll have to leave now."

At the pool, second attempt:

"Sorry, but that little toy wheelbarrow is not allowed in the water. Buckets are OK." (Never mind that the wheelbarrow was smaller than many of the buckets I saw in the pool. Never mind that my child is now screaming ballistically because I took it away, and since I can't really hide the toy, we now must leave.)

At the pool, third attempt:

"Sorry, but we don't allow snacking around the perimeter of the pool. You'll have to go upstairs to the patio area."

At the library:

"Sorry, but we don't allow strollers in the library."

At the children's center for the gym I joined:

"Sorry, but your child has been crying for exactly fourteen minutes and sixty seconds, at which moment we must come to get you."

"Sorry, but your son is not wearing shoes and socks, but he is instead wearing flip flops; therefore, he cannot play with the other kids outside." (Never mind that there are precisely zero postings or mention of any of these rules.)

At the entrance to swimming lessons:

"Sorry, but your children [i.e., the twins] should not push the automatic door button repeatedly." (Never mind that I was wrestling them away and firmly saying, "Stop!" at that very moment.)

At the lake:

"Sorry, but we don't allow flotation devices in the lake." (Never mind that we ourselves didn't bring the floatie, but that it was given to us by a random stranger whose daughter had been using it for over an hour and who decided to share with Madeline.)

"Sorry, but we require you to be in the lake with your daughter. And also you are sitting too far away." (Never mind that Madeline was sitting at the water's very edge and I was, in my opinion, sitting reasonably close.)

At the music school:

"Sorry, but the stringed-instrument instructors request that the parents remain in the lesson so they can reinforce things at home." (At this point I politely explain that this, in theory, is a great idea, but that the reality of two visiting two-year-olds at the weekly lesson would trump any reinforcement I could attempt to provide at home.)

OK, venting done. The rules are each reasonable, but there are many of them. We really are having a great experience here. It's just that it's taking a while to learn the ropes!

This Week as a Facebook Status Update

(Think Facebook.)

What's on your mind?

Jennifer:

--was informed by an electrician that a chunk of the wiring in our home is original to the house. "1950s?" I ask. "1920s," he replies.

--Eclipse. I saw it. That's all I have to say.

--$5 movies. Refillable (and affordable) popcorn & drinks. Seriously? Seriously.

--lives in the land of the Super Target. They're practically on every street corner.

--finds the lakes in "The Land of 10,000 Lakes" to be spectacular--swimming, sand, playgrounds, clean lake water, and, best of all, completely free!

--was shocked to have Clara enter my room one morning to tell me that "a strange woman is standing in our kitchen holding Madeline, and she says she found her in the street." (Suffice it to say, the gate in the backyard is now relatively fixed!)

--was thrilled to have Isaac wake up from thirteen hours of sleep with a diaper that was completely dry. Until I realized with complete dread that I will soon have to begin potty training. Twins.

--met a new neighbor by knocking on a door and asking if he could first help push the van out of my garage and then assist in jumping its dead battery.

--thinks the phrase "Minnesota Nice" is founded on pure truth.

--is thrilled to have found a great babysitter living right down the street.

--has spent the day watching the kids jump delightedly on their new trampoline.

--has had the tooth fairy visit three times this week, but only one of the teeth was actually present for the taking. One of the teeth was swallowed, and the other fell out in the deep end of a pool, during swimming lessons.

June in Review

June came and went in a blink, and somewhere in that brief time, we moved to the North Country.

But not before Clara earned her gymnastics trophy, for a year's diligent effort.

And not before Emma sang in her last chorus concert at her beloved school (sniff, sniff):

The beloved school, which we already miss:

The goodbyes on the last day of school broke my heart. I still can't think about it without getting misty-eyed:

Emma with her teacher, who has worked with her since kindergarten:

Emma and one of her closest friends, H-, watching the buses pull away. I can't even convey the depth of Emma's sadness at that moment. (Or mine, for that matter.)

Clara and her teacher, who also taught Emma. We adore this lady.

Clara and her kindred spirit, L-:

And with another good friend, E-:

We attended many goodbye dinners and parties with friends and coworkers. I have pictures for only a few of them.

Here is Brian with his fellow graduating chiefs, as well as their selected Attending of the Year, at his Chief's Banquet. It was a great party.

Brian and I at the Chief's Banquet. (We're aging. Every time I look at a picture of myself, I think, "Really? I look like that now?")

My dear friend Cindy hosted a goodbye potluck. Left to Right: Kelly, Jen, Cindy.

With my sweet neighbor Lexie:

With my neighbor and close friend of six years, Erin:

The neighborhood crew went out for dinner. Cindy's older kids provided the babysitting for the seventeen children requiring care, so that we could all go out!

A few men at the potluck dinner. Apparently leg-crossing was a requirement for this discussion.

Isaac, after consuming at least five popsicles.

By the third week in June, every corner of our house looked like this (note the four-year-old in the midst):

The truck, brimming over:

Our neighbors plastered our car with some signs:

The trash heap was second-to-none:

With the truck packed and gone and a few days remaining in Brian's residency, the kids and I had nothing to do but play with friends. We organized a goodbye get-together at a local splash park.

Emma and her friends:

Nathan and two of his best pals:

Clara's favorite three girls from school:

Emma and her dearest friend of five years, E-:

With H- again:

Clara and our darling neighbor girls, L- & K-:

Emma:

One of our friends' parents brought a cake, which we devoured:

Clara and L- again, saying goodbye on our last day:

The night before we left, Brian had a graduation dinner at the Rotunda:

Brian's parents traveled 3,000 miles to be there:

My parents, who live nearby, joined us as well:

Terrible picture, but here is Brian delivering his graduation speech:

Our kids spent their final night at Cindy's, and we left from her house the next morning. Here is a collection of her kids and mine, with Cindy in the center, saying goodbye:

One week later, in our new-old house and mostly unpacked, we gave the twins each a special present. The present was in honor of the wide, flat sidewalks that run around the neighborhood--something that, sadly, we didn't have in our Virginia neighborhood. While Isaac ran away screaming when I pulled out the camera, Madeline was proud to show off her present:

On the 24th of June, our realtor called to tell us that the contract on our home had closed that morning and that "we were no longer homeowners in Virginia." I cried. And then I went to unpack a few more boxes. Onward we go.

Irony

May in Review

May was a busy month, as it usually is.

The girls had their final music lessons with their wonderful teachers. Kiley, on the left, was Emma's violin teacher for one year. Andrea, on the right, taught piano to Emma for three years and to Clara for two. We will miss them.

Nathan went to New York for a week after the Outer Banks, to hang out with his cousins Andrew and Emily.

Cousins and buddies. It doesn't get any better than that.

I spent hours upon hours upon hours wrapping pictures and breakables.

The girls and I had a girls' night, complete with a movie, fabulous ice cream sundaes, and pedicures. Isaac tagged along for our girls' night, and he insisted on the purple toenail polish.

We had a girls' night because Nathan and Brian went to the annual Father's & Son's campout with our church group.

Nathan got his coveted soccer trophy. He learned many soccer skills this season, especially that repeatedly pushing the opponents lands you in timeout on the sidelines.

We said goodbye to beloved preschool teachers. Below is Miss Michelle, from last year, whom we will miss greatly.

And we'll miss Miss Tabitha, Miss Michelle #2, and Miss Linell lots, too.

The preschool graduate in front of his school.

And wearing his graduate hat.

Madeline started climbing out of her crib. She became quite adept at it. And since we were moving, we decided it wasn't worth the effort to haul the cribs with us and set them up again, only to move the twins to beds a short while later.

So, sadly, we said goodbye to our cribs.

Brian dismantled the cribs while I watched quietly and contemplated the end of an era.

We sold many pieces of furniture & household items on Craig's List, or gave them away to friends, or just trashed them. Among them: the cribs, an armoire, two dressers, a grill, two propane tanks, patio chairs, a computer chair, a bike, a hiking backpack, a kitchen table, four chairs, a microwave cabinet, water jugs, a daybed frame, a recliner, and, finally, this:

"Car Bed."

Car Bed has a special place in our hearts, but there was no special place for it on the moving truck. You see, Car Bed doesn't flatten down or tighten up in crowded places. So Car Bed got left behind with our sweet little neighbor boy. We know he'll take good care of it.