Memorial Day BBQ

MJ was our food courier when we biked to a neighbor's
for a Memorial Day picnic. :)

Fiesta!

We are lucky to be friends with the Ibarra family. Nicole is one of Anna's good buddies in her class. Nicole's family rented a big hall to celebrate Nicole's 7th b-day and her little sister's baptism. They had about 200 guests with a live band and authenitic Mexican food, made by Nicole's very talented father. This night was the latest we've stayed out with the kids: 11 p.m.! They didn't do the pinata until 10! Needless to say, it was lots of fun and we all slept in late the next day.

Kids in the Garden, Week 1

This summer I'm helping head-up our church's gardening program for kids. Instead of Sunday school or Bible school, we'll be gardening each week at the church plots. The first week was splendid as we planted peppers and tomatoes and talked about walking on garden paths and taking care of plants. Anna and MJ sure enjoyed it!

Before.

After.

Gov. Dodge State Park, Part II

Uncle Todd always brings special treats for his nieces!


In the car on the way home after a beautiful day outside.

Gov. Dodge State Park, Part I

We met Todd and Julia here (45 mi. west of Madison) for the day on Saturday and will be camping with friends there in June!

Mineral Point

We met Todd and Julia in Mineral Point, Wisconsin -- about 45 miles west of Madison -- for lunch over Memorial Day weekend. We then followed them back to Gov. Dodge State Park near Dodgeville (see next entry). Mineral Point is a town on the National Trust for Historic Preservation, deservedly so! It's one of the oldest communities in Wisconsin with many buildings dating back to the mid-1800s. "Why do they call it Mineral Point?" asked Anna. Well ...

"During the 1820s, prospectors were swarming over the hills of Southwestern Wisconsin looking for lead. After lead, or "mineral," was discovered here, a "lead rush" began and the mining camp that formed around the diggings eventually was called Mineral Point. Tradition dates permanent settlement by Europeans to 1827." -- from http://mineralpoint.com/

So it's full of history but also an artist community full of art studios. I know that we will be back to check it out in more depth this summer.

Horses and carriage with a twist --
the driver had two colts along with their mothers!

The Bauer gang in Mineral Point.

Graduation

Congrats to Mary Jane on her SECOND graduation from Middleton Preschool! She'll have another one next year. :)

Receiving her diploma from Teacher Joan and Teacher Sally.

Teacher Sally, we love ya.

This was taken while the kids had their arms around each other,
swaying to a song called Friends Forever.

More Cousin Love

Heather is an amazing mom. (Of course, she was raised by the best.) Her instincts are spot-on. She is so calm, gentle and loving. That's one reason why Charlotte is such a good baby. And Heather is enjoying all her moments with Charlotte. I am SO proud of my sister (and Chuck, too!) for the fantastic parenting. And I'm so grateful she made the trip to Madison. We ended up doing quite a bit of fun stuff -- going to the Union Terrace on the lake, a picnic, soccer game, shopping and out to eat. Charlotte, we can't wait to see you and cuddle with you in August in your new purple dress. (I didn't get a picture of Uncle Scott and Charlotte. He had to travel for a good part of the time when Heather was here, but check out Heather's blog for a pic of Uncle S. and more good shots of the trip: http://www.themalcomsons.blogspot.com/.)

We celebrated Charlotte turning two months old at our house.

"Tickle, tickle!"
An example of the constant flowing cousin love. :)

Charlotte fit right in with the gang.

Our happy cousin/niece.

Cousin Love

The cousins met for the first time when Aunt Heather brought Charlotte to Madison for a visit. First of all, Charlotte traveled like a pro. And we were all cheered by her smiley disposition -- and amazed at the resemblance to her dad! She does look like Heather, too. But her cousins just loved her to pieces, even at times when she wasn't really wanting to be loved to pieces. Anna and MJ doted over her, talked to her (and she cooed back!), tried to pick her up as Heather and I advised against it, brought her toys and books and just generally admired her. They loved her so much that when she left, they were both in a funk. In fact, I found Mary Jane crying on the couch one afternoon when they were gone. I asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I miss Charlotte." Thank you so much for visiting us, Aunt Heather and Charlotte!

The cousins, united.


MJ: "Every time Charlotte cries, I know what she wants
because she's my cousin."


Anna: "Charlotte is the cutest baby that I've ever seen.
I couldn't find a cuter baby!"

Preschool Family Day

We celebrated the end of the year at preschool at a potluck picnic. It was cold outside! But we still had fun.

The ever popular hot dogs are always a hit!


Anna and MJ doing the "Tootie Ta" song on the Karaoke machine.


The highlight -- MJ won the raffle! She got to come home with a pot painted by her and her preschool friends. (She won last year, too!!)


Aunt Heather and Charlotte joined us at the picnic.
Charlotte was so good!!

Piano Recital

Anna in her Chinese silk
from Chicago's Chinatown,
Played her heart out
for a crowd
on a $100,000 Baby Grand.

You should have seen her eyes
light up,
her confidence,
her grace.
You should have heard
her tap those keys
with a smile upon her face.

A Song about Cats and
My Hamsters --
delivered to perfection.
She practiced hard all year
with her signature conviction.

Thanks to Grandpa for our Kimball,
Thanks, Mrs. LeCount, for all you do,
Thanks to God for fingers nimble,
We're proud of you Anna Sue!

Anna with her teacher Jane LeCount.

Family Portrait

It ain't perfect, but it's us ...
on our way to Anna's piano recital, May 15, 2008.

Soccer season

Anna's soccer team, the Twanging Snarps (all the 1st grade teams in the league are named after Dr. Seus references), is in full gear. A lot of the kids she knows from our neighborhood, and MaiaLynn is in her Brownie troop. The Snarps have done well, but mostly they just have a lot of heart. Two weeks ago they played a game in yucky, wintery conditions. Tough kids!

Anna and Joey, a fellow Snarp.

May Brownie Meeting

Troop 549 earned two badges at our last meeting -- Girls Sports and My Body. We learned all about proper stretching, exercising and taking our pulse. That was pretty fun since the girls would run around playing freeze tag, stop to take their pulses, and be AMAZED when their pulse number was higher! We also talked about bike safety and the importance of wearing a helmet this summer. This was our last official meeting for the year. Our troop earned 9 badges and had a ton of fun. Way to go, Brownies!

Back row: Alexa, Sophie, Lauren, Rebekah, Megan
Front row: Jamie, Maia, Anna, Kayla

The Brownie helpers, MJ and her friend Sarah, the daughter of my co-leader. They will go to kindergarten together in 2009.

A Visit from some Hoosiers

Aunt Marj, Uncle Bob and Tracy stopped by for a quick hello on their way home to Indiana from a Wisconsin wedding. Thanks for paying us a visit -- it brightened our day!

Mom's Birthday

May 7. My mom would have been 65 years old today.

This past week I've been thinking about what her life would be like, had she beat cancer and been with us still. I know she would be active. Mom was always interested in staying healthy, exercising, eating well. She might have gotten back into jogging, but at the very least she'd be taking her walks on the Kipton trail, maybe with Dad or her friends Joyce or Jan or just alone thinking about her day and her plans. She'd ride her bike, take yoga classes in Oberlin. She'd be into fresh foods and healthy cooking. The farmers markets would be a favorite spot -- maybe she would grow another garden like her and Grandma Born did when Heather and I were small. She'd probably subscribe to Eating Well or one of those magazines and share recipes and ideas with Heather and me. She'd be reading books ... all kinds! When I think about the books I've read lately, I think she would have loved Animal, Vegetable, Mineral and Into the Wild and Eat, Pray, Love. She'd catch all the good movies (and would continue to make lists of both books and movies that she wants to see!). She'd go out to coffee with family and teacher friends. I could see her going back to her school and volunteering. In fact, my guess would be that she'd have people knocking on her door for school advice and consultation in running TAG. After all, she was a master teacher. And of course summers would be all about boating with Dad, spending time in new ports, hiking and biking on various islands and in Michigan and Canada. She'd probably also ramp up her traveling, especially those trips to Maryland and Wisconsin to see her grandkids. Oh, and let's add Indiana in there since she'd probably continue her annual trip to visit her sister Marj, drink lots of coffee and talk into the wee hours. Maybe Marj and Mom would also take some trips together!

I do know that Mom would have LOVED being a grandmother, every part of it. Even when Mom was very sick, and I was pregnant with Anna, she told me, "I think I'm going to buy a pony and cart for the grandkids. They would really have fun with that." I keep looking back to that statement because it's one of the few times mom alluded to being a grandmother. She had been so sick and not very lucid, so she just wasn't able to process the fact that I was pregnant. But that comment came out of nowhere one day when we were at the hospital. She said it so matter of factly as if she were going to beat the cancer and as if the pony and cart were in the cards. And I look back on that and think, what other surprises would mom offer? I know she would do so many enriching things with her granddaughters. Books would be big on the list. But rather than buy a lot of stuff, she would make a concerted effort to just BE with them. I can take clues from when she watched my nieces and nephews when they were small. I'm still in awe of how she spoke to them so respectfully, listened to them and made them feel important and special. I ache thinking about how my kids have missed that. I ache deep down for Heather and Charlotte and me and Anna and Mary Jane. How nice it would have been to have Mom -- comforting and playful and laughing. Mom would have enjoyed unrushed moments with her grandkids as if each one were more precious than the last.

Everything wouldn't have been perfect. She would have mourned the death of her own Mom a year ago. She spent so much time with Grandma. And she might be dealing with lingering problems from cancer or other old-age aches and pains. But I can tell you that she would take it in stride and just plain enjoy her life.

Why would I even sit here and contemplate the impossible -- as I watch a succession of birds from cardinal to chickadee to various sparrows flitter in the tree outside, with a light rain falling on my redbud tree? -- Why would I painfully lay out before me what could have been, the potential of a life so cruelly taken? Well, first because this pain flows through my blood and is a part of me. Seven years after her death, it's not a sharp pain but more a background ache that's always there. I can't deny it. I have to embrace it and use it in contrast to the lovely life I am living and be glad that I can still, with my sorrow, be grateful. But also, as I've tried to recreate a possible present day life for Mom, it's allowed me to realize that -- in a way I can't explain -- her soul and spirit are here. For example, in many ways Heather and I are living out aspects of Mom's healthy, happy lifestyle with our love of cooking and eating good food, yoga, exercise, nature and being outside. Mom's in us. (Sometimes I even look down at my own hands and catch myself thinking of Mom.)

Even with the deep, deep sorrow we feel at the loss of Mom. Even with the sometimes gut-wrenching heartache, the empty feelings, the big hole in our lives ... even with all that, the world is still full of great possibilities! Maybe that's Mom's biggest legacy: that I am able to look out my window and truly feel hopeful. In fact, perhaps -- somewhere down the line -- there's a pony and a cart waiting for us all.

Happy Birthday, Mom. We miss you.

Grandma Peg's

Out in rural Stoughton, Wisconsin, there's an oasis on a hilltop overlooking pristine fields and a pond where the Koch family resides. Carina and Shelley were sweet to take us with them to their Grandma and Grandpa's acreage. We had a delicious homemade lunch. The apple cake was even made with apples from their 40 acres! We took a ride on the ranger (a MULE, basically a big ATV), sat on a cool tractor, checked out various garden sites on the land, dressed up in frilly antique clothes and hats and just felt very welcome. It made me want to set a goal of getting a place in the country down the road sometime. Thanks, Grandma Peg, Shelley and Carina!

On top of the world with my friend.


Two ladies who lunch.


Checkin' out the tractor.


A farmer's work is never done ...

Lambing Season

MJ and I ventured to a A-Z farm in Oregon, Wisconsin with MOMS Club -- http://www.a-zfarm.com/. If you've ever wondered what it would sound like to have 179 baaaing (actually, it sounded more like maaaing to us) lambs in one barn, we can tell you. It sounded like Spring! Black and white, leaping and nursing (sometimes at the same time), these fellows epitomized rebirth and rejuvenation this time of year. MJ loved learning about sheep as well as turkeys, chickens, pigs, ducks and a fuzzy white horse that was losing his winter coat.

Since I love being on farms, I had just as much fun. Visiting A-Z got me psyched for my new job with the University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms -- http://www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org/. As communications director I'll get to meet with farmers and visit different kinds of farms around the state. Plus, it's part-time and I can work from home. Perfect. You can take the girl from the country but you can't take the country from the girl.