A Whole Decade

Birthdays on a school day are weird. I don't know. But M had a pretty darn good birthday anyhow! 

She got to open one present before school. Her new Disney Loungefly. 

She LOVES it. She had chosen Donuts as her birthday theme a while ago but we actually had a friend pick it up for us at WDW in June and have been hiding it at my office ever since. 

She was tickled that the sky was "pink and purple" just for her on her birthday morning. 

I made them take a picture together in the downstairs office before they went across the street. Luckily we had brought her birthday treats over for the most part yesterday.  

Birthday treats are difficult because she has kids in her class who have a pretty wide range of allergies. I was leaning towards just a trinket of some sort but she really wanted a treat. 

She ended up with these ice cream cups. But we also got a pack of vanilla ones too for friends with dye restrictions and allergies. C approved of the walrus on the package. 

After school, she did her homework and went to the piano. Her bestie Vivian has lessons right before her, so before she left, her teacher played Happy Birthday, and we all sang. Apparently, they sang to her in class and in music class. Then our family sang again, so it was a pretty well-celebrated day. 

At all school Mass it was all about JPII and I love JPII. When M was born on his very first feast day as a Saint I was not sad about it. We used to celebrate both of them with Papa Johns pizza but M has recently determined she doesn't like pizza so... we had Wing Stop instead and I don't know how to tie that in to living liturgically. 

She picked a Nothing Bundt Cake Confetti Cake. Decorated like a flamingo obviously. And you can see her birthday shirt, donut 10 again. 

**We all had hats on because I don't know, something my parents and brothers were talking about. We have a birthday teams meeting for everyone's big day. 

I took no pictures of her with her other gifts except this one of her new Magna Doodle where she drew the Vikings logo. (We will not talk about Sunday's loss or the fact they are not top of the division right now.) 

I am actually really mad at myself for not taking better pictures of her day. At least I was in the moment but I could have taken a few... 

I think her favorite present is her Owala. My parents got her the bottle and we got her a boot to go with it. If there's any kid who needs the boot it's M. I mean to be honest, don't really get me started on the trendy water bottle thing and why this brand is the way to go now that Stanley's aren't a thing anymore. But she's happy and at the end of the day she's drinking water so can I really get mad? I didn't have to buy her Sephora so... I think I am winning. 

But she had a really great day and we all slept well! I hope her next decade is every bit as fun and joyous as her first! 

10!

My Sweet Girl, 

Happy Birthday Baby! 

I am so glad you're you. You challenge me daily in the best ways but also frustrating ones. You just know what you like and want things the way you want it. 

This is the school year we're focusing on effort. I know it must be so difficult to have C as your only sibling sometimes: in many ways, he is setting you up for the real world more than you know. The world is full of people who can annoy you and seem to be good at all the things and sometimes we have to work really hard to just try to keep up. For what it's worth, spelling is a good skill to have but spellcheck is really great too!

You are the best and kindest friend--I appreciate that quality in you so much and I am so thankful for you to have that skill, I pray that you will always be a good friend and welcome people into the fun along with you. 

Piano is giving you a run for its money. You wanted to play so badly but now that you're in the thick of it, you don't love it. But I think you will. And Taylor Hanson told you to keep playing so... sorry kid. That's your activity right now as soccer has come to a close. Keep going. You'll get there. 

People have been asking me how I feel about you being ten, since you're my baby and all. But either I am in denial or really well-adjusted because it just feels obvious to me that you're ten. You're ready to be a full on tween and I am so excited to watch you grow this year. It goes by in a blink of course but I just really enjoy who you are right this second and I wouldn't want time to stop at all. You're growing just as you're supposed to. 

I love that you love art so much still. It makes my heart so happy! Keep playing Barbies as long as you want. Did you need new ones for your birthday? Absolutely not but I am still so tickled you wanted them since others in your grade are asking for crazy things like Kendra Scott necklaces, Sephora and other things you don't know or care about. You might be 10, but you're still a kid and I am so so glad. 

It continually cracks me up that you're such a high-needs sleeper. And you know what? I am okay with that because you get good rest. As long as you're in a bed, not too hot, have a white noise machine, a fan blowing in your face, your eye mask, a blanket, goat and Shu Shu you're golden. Ha! Goal for this year is to learn how to snooze in a car. That would help!

You love: Art. Taylor Swift. Pop music in general. Pink. Purple. Singing. Playing outside. Spending time with friends. Strawberries. Donuts. Pandas. Camp. Shorts. Chicken Tendies. Cain. Dancing for joy. 

**I still feel bad that I couldn't get tickets to take you to the Eras Tour. But... sometimes we just can't do everything we want. I really hope that doesn't come up in therapy sometime in years to come!!**

I love you so incredibly much. I am so glad you're mine. Happy Happy Birthday M! 

Love, Mom 

First picture of our ten year old with her special donut! 

More Fun Stuff!

 Friday was Fall Fling for Middle School. 

The 6th graders went bowling. 

C had fun but an expert bowler he is not. That's okay. 

Saturday brought the ability to sleep in!! And it was glorious! 

We all went out for lunch and then to the bookstore. These people were all very pleased to pose for this picture too. 

After Mass that evening we split up boys and girls. 

The boys went with some friends to see Back the Future II in the movie theater. They had a great time! 

M and I went to our local minor league hockey team's opening game. We also had a great time! 

It was kind of crazy because we were down by 2 for a good long chunk of the game and then we thought we tied it up but the refs took away the goal. (They shouldn't have.) But then we did tie it up for real so we went to overtime! 

And then 14 seconds into OT we scored and won! Very exciting start to the season! 

Yesterday I saw a show and otherwise just kind of hung around with my kiddos. And it was lovely!! 

More Weekend Fun

Apparently, we are just working for the weekends over here! 

Friday night we went to see a concert. (I know. 2 Fridays in a row, what am I hip or something?!) 

This time the whole fam went and it was to see Matt Maher, Ben Fuller, Cain, and Zach Williams. 

M got a Cain shirt. We love Cain and she is actually right now working on a project about them so it worked out we could add pictures of them to the slideshow!

C has always loved Matt Maher. As do we all. 

Matt was up first. I love him so much! It was excellent!

Ben was second. You could tell he was the newcomer because he got this tiny little stage here in the back. Though the venue was way smaller than I expected and our cheap seats were actually quite wonderful, very easy to get in and out of. Which I am thankful for! Somehow there wasn't anyone else next to us in our row for about 7 seats either which was kind of nice. 

Ben put on a nice show, I love his story. I bought a tee shirt of his for me. I didn't put mine on at the show though. :) 

Then Cain. Which was a BLAST! So high energy and fun. M was delighted. I was delighted. 

Proof Husband and I were there too!

All of those acts were the "openers." I admit, Cain was our big sell for driving to this concert. It was about 2.5 hours away. We've seen Matt Maher from the fourth row before. We also saw Zach Williams when he opened For King and Country's show. 

So when it took a long time, like 45 minutes for Zach Williams to come out we were fading fast. It had been a long day and week for us! 

We probably stayed for a decent chunk of his set but decided to leave about 10:00 pm. Remember we still had a big drive home yet. 

But overall it was really great. I love personally hearing my kids sing and praise the Lord. It was so funny to me, the people we were seated next to were ALL In for Zach and didn't seem to know who the other 3 acts were. And we were like, yeah, Zach is lovely but let's go home. 

One lady even complimented me about how blessed I was to have children with beautiful voices to praise the Lord. And I have thought about that a lot. I am absolutely so blessed. 

After a sleep that admittedly was a little short for my liking, we had M's final soccer game. 

I am a little sad soccer is over, but I am also not sad that we don't have any more practices or games if that makes sense. I enjoy low-stakes soccer! 

Then yesterday to continue the Arts and Cultural October we're having, we went to see Addams Family. 

And we had a really nice time there too! 

The best news is that today is a no-school day and I don't think anyone is particularly sad about that one bit. I am not anyway. :) 

What I Did Last Weekend. The Long Version.

So. It's well-established that I like Hanson. 

Unless you're new here I guess. So to recap: I like Hanson. Yes, like Hanson Hanson. Yes, in 1997 they wrote and performed Mmmbop. Yes, it's very catchy. But hey! The lyrics are also really great, you just probably missed it.

"You have so many relationships in this life

Only one or two will last

You're going through all this pain and strife

Then you turn your back and they're gone so fast.

Oh, so hold on to the ones who really care,

In the end they'll be the only ones still there.

When you get old and start losing your hair

Can you tell me who will still care?"

They've also been writing, producing, and performing their own music ever since 1997. Releasing new music often. I've seen them perform a few times. And blogged about it here in 2013, 2017, 2021, 2023, 

Well, I got to go see them again last weekend. I admit. It's going to be awfully hard to top. 

I drove up to my parent's house last Thursday. It was an entirely boring drive. 

Apparently, Thursday mornings are a good time to drive because there were no cars going my way. 

And when I got there my brother was there from Washington DC! I hadn't seen him since last Christmas and when I tell you that was just as sweet as Hanson I am not lying. 

We with my mom wrapped 29 Play-Doughs for the Confirmandi. 

My other brother came over and brought fresh from the oven pie! And we all went out to dinner. 

Honestly and truly, I know for a fact that seeing just my original little family of 5 hasn't happened since 2021 for my grandfather's funeral. (Height of COVID quarantine rules so we couldn't bring the kids out of state due to school policy.) And before that I couldn't tell you. 

Do not get me wrong. I love my family I created. Husband and my kids are my favorite people. But it was really nice seeing my brothers and parents and not having to be wife and parent in that moment. 

Oh and I did I mention the ducking? Have you seen the videos of buying bags of tiny ducks and hiding them all over the house? Well, we did. 225 little tiny ducks. In the best places. 

They really enjoyed finding the ducks too. It was kind of like the stages of grief. It was hilarious. Then maddening but back to hilarious. 10/10 would recommend hiding tiny ducks. 

I am pretty sure there are still at least 20 hiding somewhere. 

ANYWAY. For this tour Hanson is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their Underneath Album which is my favorite of theirs! They had two nights in every stop: acoustic night one and electric night two. I am broke so just went to electric. (Which was good but I think the acoustic set list was even better, at least in Mpls.) 

As a member, you can also request a Meet and Greet. You guys my world was SHOOK a week before the show when I found out that I was not only granted the meet and greet but also the REPORTER. This means I got uninterrupted time with the three guys to ask them whatever in the heck I wanted!!!!! They do this for one person at each tour stop. 

But I had to be there early. Our Uber was on time and we headed downtown. 

When we got there so many people were already camped out. But I didn't need to because of the meet and greet. 

So here is where my brother is a saint. He was whatever about seeing Hanson anyway. But then I ditched him for like 3 hours and he spent time at the restaurant/bar next door by himself. This wasn't a big deal to me but was to him. I felt bad especially since there was so much sitting around waiting. 

At some point in this alley they checked us in and I got my pass. See the R for reporter?

In sixth grade, I bought this book at the Scholastic Book Fair. And Sam Cole told me it was a waste of money because I wasn't going to like them in a year. Well, Sam Cole (who I am still facebook friends with btw) jokes on you, because I even got the book signed now! 

We weren't allowed to have our phones out for the meet and greet or the reporter interview. 

But it was a core memory moment I will never forget. 22ish minutes with them (19 minutes audio recorded) and not to toot my own horn but it was super chill and fun. I was not awkward, asked good questions and we had a great conversation. 

I might be making it up but they just pick people out of the blue so I could have been a nutter. So there's a point where Taylor sat up in his seat and engaged in the conversation more than before and it was just really amazing. I sat on the same couch as Isaac and across from Zac. I made eye contact with each of them. We laughed. We chatted. It was amazing. 

Then I got to go in to the venue early. I could have gotten a front row standing spot. But I knew my brother would NOT appreciate that. And he'd already given me the gift of being there for me. 

I bought the first round of Hansons Brother Beer Co (they make their own Beer too!) Mmmhops and Pink Moonlight. And I parked myself in front of this column so we could lean for part of the show if we wanted to. (We did.) 

We liked the beer. Phantom Planet opened for them and I knew two songs. But when it was time for Hanson I was a happy camper!

I took this picture of us during Mmmbop. 

The only downside of our spot is we were by a lot of people who were whatever fans. And for the most part I could ignore that. Except when they were disgruntled with some of the songs chosen because "they didn't know this one." They honestly didn't play anything outrageously obscure. So that was weird.

Also, can we agree at a standing-room-only show that one should not wear a top knot? Like that's just rude. 

Okay one more thing: I'm getting old. I wish I had sprung for the more expensive VIP balcony with seats! Lol. 

I am a fan. I do not have an Mmmbop license plate though. That might be overkill for me. 

And then I refreshed the website like crazy for days until my official picture was posted! 

Proof. I met them. It was real. 

Saturday I had to return home after lollygagging as much as possible. It was SO good to see my family it was hard to leave. I got home after dark but the sun setting in my side mirror was lovely. 

Sunday was Confirmation Mass! Woohoo!! (And hooray for us having a Bishop!! We were his first Confirmation as a Bishop which was kind of cool.) 

I got all the certificates, holy cards and Play-Dough set out for them. 

If you were to really zoom in you would see C wearing a vimpa--he was on Miter duty. Which was also really cool. 

And then suddenly it was Sunday night. Confirmation was over. Hanson was over. None of it seemed real. But it was. It happened. I was there. 

A top-notch weekend if I do say so myself. 

The Wild Robot

So C has loved loved The Wild Robot books since he first read one in second grade! He continues to keep up with the series even though they are definitely below his reading level. 

The movie came out last week and C had been counting down the days. We went the two of us on Tuesday. (It's discount day at the theater!) 

We laughed. We cried. It was just an absolutely breathtaking movie--gorgeous animation and a truly heartfelt story. 

Even though the books are written for like 7-year-olds, I barely got through the book in time! His teacher has the 11th commandment: Thou shall not watch the movie before reading the book. 

We loved it! My editor who has never read the books LOVED it and said it was the best kid's movie he has EVER seen. 10/10! 

And time with my guy is also 10/10. 

An Installation and Weekend

Friday was the Installation of the new Bishop. 

Tickets were hard to come by, I only got one on the second round, and then someone who was a flag bearer had an extra ticket so I was able to the night before snag one for C. 

The kids had a 2-hour early out, which was not related to the installation but helpful! Husband came to pick up M and then C and I changed into nicer clothes and headed to the Cathedral. We got there about 1:15 and parking was already getting scarce. 

The Mass started at 2:00 pm and it was lovely. Long. But lovely. He's a picture of the nuncio. (That was admittedly so cool!) 

Here is Bishop-elect walking around with his letter proving it says his name. 

And here he is in his new seat! Praise be to God! 

One big takeaway was the Litany of Saints while Bishop lay prostrate. I don't know if he took a power nap or what, but it was 9.5 minutes long! So slow!!! 

After the installation, we went home and watched Sister Act. 

It's my favorite movie after all and I was so so sad to hear of Maggie Smith's passing. 

Saturday brought a soccer game and the Back to School Block Party. At which I took no pictures. And you know what? That's okay. 

Yesterday we went to see our friend play football. He did such a nice job and today is HIS 10th birthday! (M has a lot of friends with Fall birthdays!) 

And the Packers lost to the Vikings at Lambeau. And you really love to see that! 

They can just live at the bottom of the division forever as far as I am concerned! 

We also had Confirmation Rehearsal and that went well. We are all geared up for next week with the Bishop, it's his first big thing as Bishop so I am trying to make sure it goes well!