3+ years have gone by

I haven't given this blog a thought for years. Thought I would just do a quick update. Connell is 12, Liam is 10 and we are all doing well. We went to DC this past summer for a family vacation.

Summer of 2013

Ray and I took a trip to Andalucia, Spain for a little over a week. The boys have started their summer activities. We have also been making use of our membership to the zoo and the Minnesota Historical Society.

Late Summer 2012

Well, we have both turned the big "40", made it back from our 2 week vacation to France and Belgium, Liam got glasses and Connell has just started orthodontic work! Oh how time flies!

Happy Easter!

Somehow the time has gotten away from me. It's 2012 already -- the school year is almost done. The boys are anxious to finish and move on to 1st and 3rd grade and Ray and I are anxious for our trip to France and Belgium in June.

And now the summer is nearly over...

I really don't keep up with this blog like I used to. But let me summarize our summer so far...

Both boys were busy with lots of camps -- zoo, sports, Camp Invention, chess, swimming lessons, etc. They also played a lot with the neighbor kids.

In July we had a surprise as one of the two French teenagers that I had arranged to come to the States for 2+ weeks didn't work out with the family I had placed her in. Therefore within 2 days of the stay, she moved in with us instead. It created a lot of stress for the boys as they had to be quiet until she got up at 9 am (which meant 3 hours of tiptoeing around) and they couldn't play in the basement with their computer and toys since she was housed down there. I had a great time practicing my French with her (as her English was very limited and she would instantly turn to French around me).

You can see some photos above -- They are with my folks the day we went to Owatonna. Then there is our family with the iconic Minneapolis sculpture. And then there is one of the four of us playing some mini-golf (I won). The boy is the French boy, (Robin) and the taller girl hosted him. Finally, there is a photo of Justine and Connell playing Monopoly.

Summer is here!

Although the weather isn't feeling very "summery" quite yet, summer is indeed here. We have several camps planned for the boys, swimming lessons, playing with the neighbors, etc. Connell has a camping trip with the Boy Scouts and I'm sure there will be some other fun things.

All I want for my birthday is my two front teeth...

Connell finally lost the other top tooth last week. So now he is pretty toothless! The tooth fairy has been bringing him $2.00 for the last couple of teeth. He was a little depressed as the first tooth only earned him $1.00.