Tommy's Old Fashioned Malt Shop

If you are under thirty years old and are willing to save every dime you make, put off having babies, pray and patienty wait for the right timing, you can make your dreams come true.

My Nephew Brett and his wife Emily are taking that leap, that risk, that first step in an awesome adventure by opening an Old Fashioned Malt Shop in downtown Chaska.

They had a Friends and Family night to help train the cute, high school waitresses
and to work out the kinks, like the fryer breaking.

The Grandma's were there, one to help get the place clean

and another to show support

and big Sister was there in the middle of everything, helping, organizing, making malts and laughing her great infectious loud, happy laugh. If I ever open a business, I'm hiring Melissa to help me launch it. She's just that good at everything she does.

Tom was there. I'd like to know how many hours he's invested to help this dream become a reality? Dad's are just that way. Plus the place is named after him.

Then, there were the great burgers,

and malts.

We tried the Strawberry,

the Coffee Chocolate

and Emily's favorite, Hot Fudge Butterscotch. Yum!

Jenna liked all three

but for Ava it was all about the Strawberry!

If you're ever in Chaska, go say "Hi" to Brett and Emily and help make their dream a success!

A Needle and Some Thread

Shayla loves to make crafts. She loves to take a box and turn it into a dog bead, or some glitter and water into paint. She loves to glue, and cut (remember the bangs-at-the-root trim fiasco in Kindergarten?) Around her room you'll find string tied to necklaces, tied to fabric, tied to headbands, tied to a sock and finally tied around a Webkins as a leash.

So, it should come as no surprise that sewing is her newest passion. What was shocking is how, on her own she drew this nightgown

for her American Girl Doll,

cut it out using Dad's lefty scissors

and then with a needle and some thread

and a whole lot of love, created a gown for her own baby.

Then, sewed the arms onto a matching gown for herself.
My amazing talented designer girl.

Inspired, I grabbed the scissors and created a Poodle Skirt for my baby
for "Blast to The Past Day" at school.

Shayla quickly picked up the scraps already dreaming of her next project!

God's Zoo

On Friday the girls and I plus one friend took a drive down

to the Minnesota Zoo.

There we discovered huge Otters from Russia,

gigantic Grizzly Bears,

and long, lean Leopards, looking for an escape route.
Apparently, everything is oversized in the Frozen North!

Meanwhile, over in Asia the animals are odd.
The Takin is a cross between a goat and a cow.

There also was the random tuft of animal fur, the shedded summer coat
of the Asian Wild Horse.

My monkeys were happy to walk for three hours

and pose for pictures whenever I asked.

They laughed with each other

and picked caramel corn instead of an occasional flea!

They oohed and aahed over anything pink

or cuddly

and looked right into the eyes of a Gray Wolf and called him "pretty and sweet."

Then stretched out their arms

as if to embrace the "Kitty"

or to hold the perfectly surreal Seahorse.

I couldn't help but think about the Buffalo we had seen on our

South Dakota Trip roaming wild in God's Zoo.

How one walked right to my car window

to say hello and rolled his eyes when I screamed.

Or the Prairie Dogs popping up here and there

looking thin compared to their City Cousins in prison.

There's something surreal about watching the Antelope play with no borders

and looking at a lovely tree only to discover later

a hidden surprise underneath, a Mule Deer.

God's creation, wild or caged is marvelous in the details!

Veteran's Day

My parents drove down to spend time on Veteran's day with my girls.

The school ceremony started early with donuts, coffee and Sunny Dee, and lets just be honest, it's not orange juice, it's Kool Aid and it's yummy. There was a flag ceremony, Taps and the unnerving gun salute.

Then there was the ceremony inside the gym where the Veterans sat by the podium while the 801 kids completely covered the gym floor, sitting in rows of Red, White and Blue shirts.

We sang patriotic songs with our hand over our heart while the students did sign language, making the gym come alive, much like fields of waving grain.

A Bag Piper marched slowly in ...

while his screechy lament filled the air,

changing the tone to one of sorrow.

Before the 5th grade essays were read by the fidgeting kids wearing boutonnieres, the Vets introduced themselves and identified their pint sized hosts. It was hard to not get teary-eyed watching the kids stand tall as the Grandpas, Dads, Brothers and Moms took the mike. When the four Great Grandpas struggled to their feet and announced that they had fought in World War Two, I was proud to see my Dad start the clapping and standing ovation and I too felt proud.

Proud of my Dad who was just a kid when he joined the Navy. A plucky kid who after a month of going unnoticed, drinking coffee and shooting the breeze was finally assigned a job chipping paint on the ship. It didn't take long for him to decide that this wasn't how he wanted to spend the next four years, so he approached the Chief and talked his was into a chance to be a Radioman.

I have no doubt that he was good at it. He's good at everything he does. He's a hard worker with a gregarious personality, likable. He's the guy you want in charge. As a Teacher and a Coach he made the difference in many lives. And not just the jocks had knicknames, even the shy kids were affectionately called "Dog" and slapped on the back. He made his athletes work hard and he didn't put up with BS.

Today these "kids" stop to visit, email him and send pictures of their kids. They debate if they should call him Mr. Miller or Don. He's always glad to see them, interested in how life is shaping up, wanting success for them. I love to hear my Dad's laugh and I love to see him with his Granddaughters, enjoying them, basking in the rewards of a life well lived.

Today, I'm proud of my Veteran, my Dad!

Beautiful Scenery

A few months ago we planned a trip over fall break to The Black Hills. We had hoped to be able to stay at Dave's brother's mountain vacation home. It's the second highest residence in the state of South Dakota. When the time came to travel we had three car loads of eager vacationers.

The girl's ooohed and aaahed at The Corn Palace

enjoying pictures of past glories.

The cousins took turns holding each other's hands and chasing around sweet Ava.

They stood still long enough to pose with me in front of the impressive facade of husks.

Then, they watched movies all the way to Rapid City.

For me, I had trouble deciding what I liked better, the wide open plains

that stretched on forever,

the winding mountain roads alive with deer leaping,

the unexpected snow,

the Loft nestled into the trees,

the view from the wrap around deck,

or watching my girls spend time with family and friends.

Quite honestly, I couldn't take my eyes off of both. One moment I'd sigh as I watched my pajama clad little ones snuggle in next to the fire giggling

and in the next moment I'd step out and breathe the overtly crisp air.

Then, I'd return to try and make Ava grin

marveling at the depths in her eyes,

In the morning, I'd smile watching Auntie Rachel play teacher

and then at night I'd find my husband standing in the cool air, perfectly still and quiet except for the snapping of his camera.

Taking it all in.

Jenna's Perfect Pumpkin Party!

It seems impossible that my baby could already be six years old. It feels like only yesterday that I was trying to figure out how I was going to take an infant, an almost two year old and a 3 1/2 year old to the grocery store. Now, I can look back at those days and almost laugh. I can fondly recall how nice the manager at Cub Foods was the two times I lost my keys. I must have looked a sight with my hair in a ponytail, my sweat suit stained with baby throw up and one hand on Shayla at all times to keep her from darting. The bags of groceries were stuffed into the cart, next to the infant carrier and unused coupons spilled from my purse as I rifeled through it, trying to find my keys but coming up with a Dora toy and a pacifier instead. I can remember the joy as he handed me my keys and then told me about the "free" kids cookies in the bakery section . Future shopping changed for me in that moment as I learned how effective bribery can be for a parent. To this day, I feel no guilt and when my kids expect chocolate as a reward, I know it's my fault. When they turn 21, I'll pay for a month of Weight Watchers so they can sort through thier food issues. In the meantime, I chose to celebrate my baby turning six, with a party, 17 girls, and a big chocolate cake!

The number's were on the floor ready for a candy walk

The plates awaited cupcakes and the cups cider

the girls snuggled with their auntie

and Jenna opened a present as she waited for her guests to arrive.

Then we danced, and hopped and crawled

and made silly pumpkin people

and played a game that involved a detective and a pumpkin smasher.

Here's a lil pumpkin that's already been smashed.

This detective had a lot of work ahead of her as pumpkins were smashing all around.

Jenna giggled as she blew out her candles, enjoying the attention

and the girls seemed happy to share chairs so that they could all fit around my big table.

In the end, Jenna's Pumpkin Party was a perfect way to celebrate the life of my little sassy, sweet, six year old. And I was able to celebrate how far we've come!

Halloween 2009

This year Dave and I were recovering from the dreaded flu, H1N1. With coughs that had turned into Bronchitis we weren't really in the mood to carve pumpkins or do Halloween. Quite honestly, I'm never in the mood to carve pumpkins. I'm not a fan of the guts touching my hands and after doing the majority of the work on the girl's carving in past years, I usually just pick the easiest pattern and bang it out quick. Dave is always a sport and guts all five pumpkins, thinning down the walls. This year, I was pleasantly surprised when Shayla chose to do one of my standards, the BAT. Katie chose my other favorite, the CAT. I drew on the pattern with a sharpie and then they did the rest! Jenna even freestyled, creating a cute little face. So, I chose an easy bear and within an hour we were done. It was even fun and set the tone for the rest of Halloween!

That night the girl's hurried to dress themselves, needing just a little help with make-up.

A Black Leopard, a Snow Princess and Cleopatra took the place of our normal kids.

These strangers were very excited and spent quite a bit of time jumping up and down.

Later, these three cuties stopped by to visit and reminded me of how much my girl's have grown and how much work it used to be!

At the end of the night, Cleopatra took off her jewels to sort through her loot, offering her Mom treasures of Almond Joy's and Mounds!

This guy wore his costume all night. Scary!

The snow princess scored the most candy, walking all through our development with a friend. They each thought it was great when I allowed them to eat two pieces before bed. At this rate they should finish their last piece by the fourth of July! By nine I was watching a Movie, grateful for big girls who are good kids even on days when it's OK to be a little bad, girls who don't like coconut!