Wow! What a trip!

Two family reunions in two states in two weeks. After hurrying home to get to a fiddle performance, we're still digesting all the fun we had on our trip. While we're restarting school and preparing for another fiddle performance tomorrow night, I'll leave you with a bit of silliness from our adventure.

"Calvleen" at Grammy & Grampy's 50th wedding anniversary

Kathleen's Uni-ride

She recently graduated... to a larger unicycle, because she's going against her mother's wishes ...and getting bigger.

Kathleen's donation

They're teenagers!

Gramma & Mr. Merle

Today's creation
by Kathleen


Coming soon to a little mountain town in Cali.

Twist Tie People

I found these little people hanging from my computer screen the other day.

Their names are Katherine and Kathleen.

Kathleen made them for her friend, Katherine.

The real Katherine isn't into gymnastics or anything, but her doll version sure is.

Back bend

Push up

Hand stand

Mary Kate (left) added herself to the growing bunch of girls hanging around.

I think they're all playing leap frog at the moment.

Twistie idea from this library book.

Armed with a handful of twist ties and embroidery thread, the girls are now showing more of their friends how to make these funsies for themselves.

Some are made to look like themselves--others are more out-of-this-world with bright orange skin and neon-colored hair.

They giggle at their Travolta Stayin' Alive poses,
and marvel at other balanced contortions.

Good simple fun.

A Christmas wish to you from Kathleen

Kathleen has been taking guitar lessons for a couple of months and wants to spread a little of her Christmas cheer.

Let me just say that I am so happy her teacher comes to our home for lessons!

Kathleen's dream bedroom, etc.

So I was sorting through piles of things that have overtaken one of our horizontal surfaces in the school room and found a handful of Kathleen's old drawings.

"Old" as in WAY back when she was in 5th grade.

Last year.

When she was, you know, still just a kid.

Her dream bedroom -- a treehouse loft

with several modes of entry/exit.

A knotted rope

A climbing wall

A ladder

For a crash landing or perhaps just a little fun:

A mound of colored foam blocks.

And, of course, an outdoorsy mural.



Moving along...

I also found Kathleen's first gig poster creation among the piles.


When I found this next picture, I figured it had to be Mike's...but, to my surprise, it is Kathleen's.

Hmmm...go cart innards.

A mechanical drawing? By Kathleen?
Looks like her brother is rubbing off on her.

Kids' artwork leaves a lasting glimpse of what has occupied their active imaginations.

A new affection

Kathleen

Any guesses?

Clues:
- The number of tuning keys/strings may give it away.
- It's not a guitar.

Ringing in 11 years

a.k.a. The alarmingly long, nostalgic birthday post

Our 1999 model turbo-charged twin engines.
On the right: our subdued first born, who had to be "invited" out by my doctor and first appeared with a knob on the side of his head since he had attempted an innovative lateral birth position that didn't agree with my unimaginative framework. Just like him to be so inventive.


On the left: our enthusiastic second born (by a minute), who included her twin brother with her in utero calisthenics by giving him swift blows to the head with her feet. (This claim is backed up with ultrasound footage. She was caught on tape even before she was born. I can hear her now, "Is nothing sacred?")

Showing early adaptability, she was also thoughtful enough to incorporate her parents in her eternal extra utero workouts by urging them to bounce her around in her everlasting free time. In so many ways, she let us know that it was our obvious oversight in not teaching her how to walk immediately upon birth.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Celebrating their 11 years by taking a step back in time.

Day before delivery

Profile of 11.5 lbs of baby

Days old

One week: Mikey...calmly meditating, I think

One week: Kathleen...live wire


One week: a frequent site.

Gramma helped us from the start...until Grammy & Grampy relieved her.

Mike, we didn't call you "drunken sailor" for nothing.


3 weeks: Baptism
Grammy & Grampy and Aunt Weezy & Uncle Kevin traveled from MN for the occasion.

Scandalous photo shoot

2 months: a visit from Grandpa Terry & Grandma Doogie

2 months


Gramma came back for more...as did Grammy!


. . . : : Have milk, will travel : : . . .

As long as the babes had their milkshakes on tap, they didn't seem to care how long or where we traveled. So, we started their roadtrips early.

2 months old: Gulf Coast trip (400 mile RT)

3 months old: to Dubuque to meet Great Grandpa Hardie

We headed up to MN to Grammy & Grampy's and as far as Duluth on this trip (2400 mile RT).


5 months--Colorado Reunion in July (1640 mile RT)

The two K.M.R.s met at the lodge in Colorado.

After this trip, Joe started grad school.
Mysteriously, we were never seen again--until Christmas...


...when we flew to California to be with Gramma again and meet Uncle Chris and more family (3000 mile RT).

In the above photo, I was keeping a very new inside secret (literally)...until the end of August, that is. But that's a whole different story.


Well-traveled one-year-old twins
~ Roadtrip veterans ~
~ Sky miles under their diaper tabs ~
~ From Lake Superior to the Gulf Coast ~
~ From the Great Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean ~
~ 10 states visited ~
~ Traveled over 7400 miles ~


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now, back to our regularly-scheduled 2010
wherein the twins have since
~ rid themselves of diapers ~
~ lost scads of teeth ~
~ and started learning algebra ~


11th Birthday -- March 9, 2010
The Birthday Dinner Contention


There was no question that Mikey and Kathleen wanted to have barbecue for dinner. So, after all the debate they had earlier in the day about which barbecue joint they wanted to go to for dinner (guess which one got her way), they must have also decided that they didn't want to be embarrassingly predictable. So, instead of the obvious, they ordered breakfast plates of eggs, waffles, and pancakes.

Back at the ranch...
Loving Gramma's photo book creations


Off they went on their gift-finding treasure hunt with clues written in verse with help from Jimmer.

New reads

Bike jump Fly Box

RipStik

Eleven tricky candles


One quadruple chocolate mousse cake
(Guess who talked her brother into this one.)

Mikey was certainly all over this mousse cake idea Kathleen mentioned to him, but I suspect somewhere in the discussion they had a communication breakdown that led him to believe the cake would actually look like a moose...or maybe even four moose (mooses, meese). How would I know such a thing? Because after he blew out the candles he said to me, "Oh, I thought the cake might be shaped like a moose. That would have been really cool."

Mousse. Moose. Those darned homophones.

11 beautifully fun years
with our turbo-charged twins

Dear Mikey & Kathleen,
You were such enjoyable, precious little babes.
Now, the fun continues as you grow into such interesting young people.
Thanks for being such good traveling buddies. And thank you for teaching me all there is to know about being young again and learning afresh...all the important things in life.

Love,
Mom