Collin the Cub

Tonight Collin officially became a Tiger Cub. His first pack meeting was held at his school. I'm fairly ignorant about these things, but I've been informed that this is the first step in the scouting program. He received a neckerchief (sp?) tonight. He's been excited about this for some time. Hopefully, this will pan out for him since our athletic endeavours have not faired so well.

Pics from Lanesboro Trip

No less than seven deer ventured into the back yard of the B and B while we sat outside
Labyrinth in the backyard of the B and B
Preston, MN was a little slice of Americana on the Root River Bike Trail
The Root River Trail is on an old RR bed. This is one of the many bridges we crossed.
They had to cut through some rock for the original RR bed.
Leaves strewn on the path
Waterfall over the dam in Lanesboro
Looking out over the Root River Valley
This is an endangered species.
Typical examples of architecture in Lanesboro
Downtown Lanesboro
This church is on the same hill where our B and B was situated. Notice how high this was compared to the rest of the town.
Looking down the hill from our B and B
Hillcrest Hideaway Bed and Breakfast
Hwy 16 from Lanesboro to the Mississippi Valley is gorgeous
Bridges over the Mississippi in LaCrosse
Friendship Garden in LaCrosse
Fountain in Friendship Garden

An Escape

Well, after two years (I know it's been longer than that for some of you out there), Craig and I finally got away for a long weekend without the kids. We weren't sure we'd be able to go. I didn't pack until the night before because things were looking iffy. In the four days before we left, the following happened:
-My dad got sick (he and mom were supposed to babysit).
-Our truck started making funny noises (mechanic said the problem wasn't critical and we could still drive it)
-Cami had GI problems
-Evan complained of a tummy ache (ended up being nothing)
-The babysitter we'd hired to help my mom on Sunday cancelled
-The babysitter we'd hired to help my mom on Saturday fell ill (she got better and was able to help)

I've decided that from now on, as much as I like bed and breakfasts, I need the flexibility of a motel cancellation policy so we're not out our money if we have to cancel.

Anyway, we drove about 5 1/2 hours to Lanesboro, MN. Check it out at www.Lanesboro.com. We stayed at a B and B with four guest rooms. The B and B was great. The breakfasts were yummy . The hosts were friendly. The other guests were nice. We had a two room suite. The only thing I didn't like was that our room was immediately next to the kitchen where the hosts could see our comings and goings- not a lot of privacy. They had a resident kitty who enjoyed the company of strangers. The B and B was situated in the middle of town on a San Francisco type hill. The road to get up there was basically vertical. The advantage was that it was quiet on top of the hill. Walking up the hill in dress shoes at night, however, was rather interesting.

Friday night we went to see a performance by a professional-grade theater troupe of "The Odd Couple." It was very well done. Saturday we biked 20 miles on the Root River Trail to Preston, MN. The trail took us through meadows, forests, over the river on old RR bridges several times and through cut rock. It was mostly level. Every kind of biker imaginable was out: Serious bikers from the MN Bike Club, elderly people out for a leisurely ride, families with babies in trailers making frequent stops (been there), long trains of ladies more interested in visiting with each other than biking, etc. It was challenging returning up the hill to our B and B with jelly legs from biking. Saturday afternoon we browsed through some of the quirky shops in Lanesboro. Saturday night we ate dinner in a restaurant where we'd never take our kids. It was one of those places where you pay a high price for a small bit of food arranged artistically (sp?) on your plate.

Sunday we drove to Winona and went through the neighborhood where I grew up. We were going to stop and knock on the door of my old house, but it looked like the owners had company. I'm awed how the neighborhood had changed from a pasture-like setting to a wooded setting. Trees grow a lot in 30+ years! We drove past some other nostalgic locations in Winona and then drove along the Mississippi to LaCrosse for lunch and shopping. Craig fell asleep on a chair in the mall while I shopped. We then drove down to the Mississippi and walked along the river. We took the scenic ride back home.

Lanesboro is beautiful. It is located in hill country. The hills are covered with trees just beginning to change into their autumn hues. It's a completely different atmopshere from where I live now- which was just what I needed.

Grandma and Grandpa basically survived with the kids. Let's just say that Evan got a DQ treat for good behavior and Collin was not so fortunate.

I'll post pics later in my next post.

Beverages for the less refined individual

Thursday evening we were at a party. Craig was getting the boys something to eat when they announced they were thirsty. Craig asked them what they wanted to drink and Collin replied, "HICK juice."

"Hick juice?" Craig asked. He had no clue what Collin was talking about. "I've never heard of hick juice."

But Collin insisted that there was indeed hick juice and that he wanted some. Finally Craig asked him to point to what he meant. Collin led Craig over to an assortment of boxes of Hi-C fruit juice.

Collin is in first grade and it's been drilled into him for a long time that when he doesn't know a word, he should sound out the letters to figure out what the word says. So, to him Hi-C should be pronounced "hick."

We got a kick out of this.