Auntie Rachie's owl collection to the rescue

Hannah: What is Hooter's?

Me: It's a restaurant with a lot of owls in it.

Hannah: I think Auntie Rachie would really like that place.

Aunt Debbie: I think Uncle Kevin would probably like it more.

Best Friends Forever

BFFs

It's a term that is thrown around pretty casually these days....best friends forever....but it is one that has given me much thought over the years.

When I lived in Iowa I had many close friends. My "BFFs" were Rachel and Kelley. I also had incredibly close friends in Shannon, Renee, and Julie. I would consider Rachel and Kelley as my Iowa BFFs even though the three of us never hung out together. It was either me and Rachel or me and Kelley.

When I was two months shy of eleven years old we moved to the suburbs of Seattle. Out there, if I had to pick one (or more) BFFs, it would definitely have been Breanne and Bryan.

Then, after 9th grade, we moved to Arkansas. In Arkansas, hands down, my BFFs were Dawn and Stephanie. I had many other close friends as well...Stefani, Ricky, Scott, etc....but Dawn and Steph were my BFFs.

In college I was very close with Becky and Molly and their friends but I would say my BFF was Carrie. I was also very close with Cyndi but unfortunately we didn't have as much time to get to know each other as we could have.

After I moved to Massachusetts my closest friends were the Walkers. Deb and Michael are much older than me (Deb was my 10th grade teacher) and their daughters, who are my most beloved little sisters, were much younger than me.

I met Lincoln two months after I moved here and not only did I fall in love with him but he also became my best friend. I had other friends through work but I never really hung out with anyone on a regular basis. For the first half of our marriage that was certainly enough. And had nothing changed, that would certainly have continued to be enough.

But then I met Tracy.

I met Tracy the spring before Hannah started kindergarten. That fall our kids were in the same kindergarten class and since then we have been inseparable. She is definitely a BFF.

So where does that leave my other BFFs?

And that is a question that has plagued me for years.

What defines a BFF?

Someone that you're friends with forever? It is in the title after all? BFF stands for Best Friend Forever.

But what if you drop the second "F" and just had Best Friend.

What does Best Friend mean?

Is it your one and only best friend in the entire world? If you had to save one friend from drowning on the Titanic who would it be? Or can you have multiple best friends?

So let's review.....

Rachel: My mother babysat her while she was pregnant with me. I have literally known her since I was born. I am still in constant contact with her and think of her more as a sister than as a friend. My youngest childhood memories are all of her and she (and her husband) are the godparents to Jake.

Kelley: Ahhh....my later younger years. Kelley was older (and wiser). We had such good times together and I am so glad that she was a part of my life. After we moved to Seattle we kept contact through junior high and most of high school but drifted apart a little over the years. She and I were each other's personal assistants at our weddings but since then we haven't been in touch much. I think about her often but unfortunately don't get to talk to her other than on Facebook (although I'm hopeful to see her in a few weeks when I'm back in the Midwest).

Breanne: Another great friend. She and I were inseparable through much of junior high and early high school. Unfortunately we drifted apart after we moved to Arkansas. I greatly value her friendship and I'm glad we've reconnected over Facebook. She was a huge part of my teen years.

Bryan: Ahhh....this is a tricky one. Bryan and I met in 6th grade but didn't become good friends until junior high. After that he was my rock. My everything. The one I could turn to with any sort of problem. I could confess any secret to him. One wiggle of his ears would solve any problem that I had and he was the sweetest, most wonderful person. When I moved away to Arkansas he gave me an old jacket of his. When I called him crying about how miserable I was after we first moved he told me to put on his jacket and pretend that it was him hugging me. I can't tell you how much that helped me through things. Despite the distance Bryan and I continued to be best friends throughout high school and most of college. We attempted dating in college and while it was wonderful it was probably for the best that it didn't work out. That still didn't stop us from being best friends. Whenever Bryan introduced a girlfriend to me she was instantly bitchy because of our close relationship. My boyfriends were also threatened by my relationship with Bryan.

When I first moved to Boston I briefly dated a guy named James. He was nice. I think we went on about three dates. And then one night he threw a hissy fit because I was talking to Bryan on the phone. Well that was the end of that. A few months later I started dating Lincoln and we went on a trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. I remember sitting with him at an outside table at a restaurant and telling him I knew we had a great relationship because he was the first guy ever that I would be willing to give up my relationship with Bryan. Luckily he never asked that of me and when we got engaged he actually planned on asking Bryan to be one of his groomsmen even though he had never met him just because Bryan was so important to me. I told him that wasn't necessary but I have never forgotten that gesture.

Unfortunately Bryan got married a year after us and about two years later he informed me that "since his marriage he was re-evaluating his friendships" and thought it best that we not talk anymore. I haven't spoken to Bryan since May 14, 2003.

I still count him as one of the most influential friends in my life.

Dawn and Stephanie: You can't separate one from the other. Dawn and Steph were my BFFs Junior and Senior year of high school in Arkansas. I can't say enough about them except that they made my life wonderful and made me love living there when nothing else could. I had other great friends there - Sheri, Andrea, Scott, Ricky, and so on and so on - but they were the best. I've unfortunately lost touch with Dawn over the years. Mostly because she's not on email and Facebook, but I'm still in touch with Steph. I haven't seen either of them in years but I still count them amongst my BFFs.

Carrie: I had many great friends in college but my BFF would definitely have been Carrie. I don't know what I would have done without her. I can't put into words how I feel about her but she was a wonderful, funny, perfect part of my college experience.....so much so that she was part of my wedding party ten years ago. Unfortunately, once again, we've drifted apart over the years.

Tracy: Tracy. What can I say about Tracy? We met when our kids were in kindergarten together and we've been inseparable ever since. I have her listed under "family" in my phone groupings and people often mistake us for sisters. She has a standing invitation to Friday Night Mexican night and a key to our house she can use anytime. The treehouse is pretty much hers whenever Mom and Dad aren't visiting. She is definitely my BFF.

And here is where I get confused. BFF is a term that is easily thrown around but "best" friend seems to me like it should be singular. Who is my one best, best, bestest friend in the entire world?

Well, that's a tough one.

In a day-t0-day "who would you want to call up and hang out with" way, I would totally say Tracy. We do everything together.

In a "who has been your one true constant friend for the past 33 years and the one person you would be devastated without" way, I would totally say Rachel.

In a "God-damn it, why is his wife such a horrific bitch?" sort of way, I would say Bryan. But even with that he wouldn't win out over the others.

So.....

In a tsunami, or the sinking of the Titanic, who would I choose to save after my 33 years of friends in 5 states? I would have to say, I would go down trying to save both Rachel and Tracy. But if we had only one floatation device I would give it to Rachel. Tracy and I would just have to hang on and hope a boat arrived soon.

SEE!!!! They're dangerous

Last November I finally came to terms with my fear of hardwood floors. When I was in 3rd grade my friend Rachel and I were playing at her house, I slipped on the hardwood floor, and broke my finger. Back in the fall we put in hardwood laminate in our office. Now technically it's not hardwood but it still freaks me out a bit. AS IT SHOULD!!!! Check out what happened to me last night. I was walking across the floor in the office, slipped, and came down really hard on the open drawer of my desk. Check out this bruise.

32 years

For 32 years my best friend in the entire world has been Rachel. And tonight, when I was in an incredibly dark place, with the dark clouds overwhelming me once again, she was there for me. In those 32 years I could not ask for a better friend. And more than that, she's been like a sister to me. I love you Rachel. Thank you.

Like mother, like daughter - courtesy of Rachel

My best friend Rachel has been in my life since before I was born. My mom started watching her when she was pregnant with me and she continued watching her right up until elementary school. Rachel and I spent hours and hours playing and one of our favorite things to play was "restaurant". We had two aprons - one yellow and one green - that were just our size. They had a spot for a pen and a note pad on the chest and across the skirt of the apron were dozens of slots that were just perfect for crayons.

A few years ago Rachel had a replica of the apron made for me as a gift. Okay, the gift may have actually been for Hannah but it was also a gift for me since it was a nod to our childhood. Over the years Hannah has played with it when she is playing dress-up around the house but the other day Hannah was packing to go to a sleepover at her best friend's house and she asked me if she could take the apron with her. My first thought was that I didn't want it to leave this house because I was worried it would get lost or ruined but then it occurred to me, Hannah is having the same fun with that apron and her best friend as I did when I was a little girl.

I think that is so cool, and the fact that Rachel gave me such an opportunity to share something with my daughter that meant so much to me as a child, is why she is still my best friend 32 years later (and counting).

Smart cookie....warm doggie

Leo has discovered what Auntie Rachie and Hannah have discovered before him.....the best place in the house to sit is on the heating vent.

Christmas Eve books

Every year Auntie Rachie and Uncle Kevin give the kids book for Christmas. We usually let them open them on Christmas Eve so that the kids can read them in bed that night. Rachel really scored this year, particularly with Hannah. She immediately took one of them and snuck off to the kitchen table to read for awhile before we sent them up to bed.

Hannah really is a little me sometimes. I do the exact same thing.

Five years

Mom and Dad just arrived for a week long visit. They try to come out to Boston every few months and the last time they were here was for Hannah's birthday in August. This time they're here for Jake's birthday which is next week. Five years ago when they flew out here it was because I was about to give birth. It seems so strange that it has been five years. They've been out here for Jake's birthday in previous years but for some reason this one seems like such a benchmark. Five really is when a kid leaves "toddler" behind for good and moves into being a "child".

I can remember perfectly their arrival five years ago. I ended up having to schedule an inducement when I delivered Jake. Unlike when Hannah and my two nephews were born Mom and Dad knew in advance when the baby would arrive. With the three older grandkids Mom and Dad would hop on the next flight as soon as we went into labor but they were never present when my sister and I gave birth. This was the first time they were going to actual be here for the delivery and Lincoln and I actually had Mom in the room for us when Jake was born. I think it meant a lot to her to see one of her grandkids being born and it was certainly special for me to have my mom in there with us.

The night before I was going to the hospital to have the baby - at the time we didn't know if it would be a Jacob or a Rachel - I should have been in bed trying to get some rest. Instead I sat up in what used to be the craft room (it's now Hannah's bedroom) and spent hours painting flower pots to be used as favors for Rachel's upcoming wedding. (Yes, if Jake had been a girl he would have been named after my friend Rachel.) It was the most calm, zen-like experience painting all those dozens and dozens of pots and knowing that Jake/Rachel would be born the next day. I just sat there largely pregnant and very uncomfortable, and painted pot after pot after pot. I think I was probably up well past midnight and Mom and Dad arrived somewhere around 11:30 p.m. if I'm not mistaken. We had to be at the hospital about 7:30 a.m. the next morning.

Anyway, I just can't believe it has been five years....

Finally coming to terms with what happened in the 3rd grade (subtitled: Admitting I was wrong)

When I was in the 3rd grade I was having what the kids today would call a "playdate" with my friend Rachel over at her house while my parents were at a Super Bowl party. Rachel's entire house consists of hardwood floors and we were playing dolls upstairs when I ran into the room and slid on the blanket we had down for them on the floor. I fell and broke my pinkie.....on the growth bone. In such a way that I had to go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN seventy miles away to get it set. For any of you men reading this you've probably already guessed that means my father had to miss the Super Bowl but I digress, as usual.

Ever since that happened I have had a bit of a fear of hardwood floors. When we built our house I was adamant that we would not have hardwood floors in the house. The rational part of my brain realizes that the linoleum in the kitchen is just as slippery but it didn't matter. And I realize that my kids probably spend more waking hours at their grandparents house then ours and that there house is also all hardwood floors. But I still feared those damn hardwood floors. We always sent the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's in "no-skid" socks from Old Navy or if Hannah was wearing tights we made her keep her shoes on or wear "no-skid" socks over the tights while at Grandma and Grandpa's. When I was over there with them and watched them come down stairs I practically had a heart attack every time.

Lincoln put up with my craziness and we have carpet all through the house except in the kitchen and bathrooms. Last year we turned the dining room into the office and I've finally come to the conclusion that it would look better as a hardwood floor. I told Lincoln we should change it and he just laughed and said "Oh NOW you want hardwood in here but not when it was a dining room?" And he was right. It made no sense for it to be carpeted in there and now we have a million stains. Although to be fair some of the stains aren't from eating at the dining room table and are from the kids having drinks in there when their desk was in the dining room.

Today we finally changed it. We had hardwood laminate put in and the old, nasty stained carpet ripped out. It has taken me many, many years to come to terms with it but I'm finally okay with "hardwood" floors. I realize these are just fake ones but this is a HUGE step for me.

And one picture of Hannah getting creative with her office chair and the kitchen stools while we wait for the room to be done.

Such a dilemma

A week from Saturday is the 10-year anniversary of when Lincoln and I started dating. Since we still feel like we're dating we celebrate it every year in at least some small way. Ten years, of course, has to be celebrated with something big.

This morning Lincoln mentioned to me that he has planned a romantic, overnight surprise getaway for me for our anniversary. I felt obligated to tell him that I too have planned a romantic, overnight surprise for him. Hmmm....what to do, what to do.

Neither of us are willing to reveal our plans to the other so we've brought in a 3rd party mediator. Rachel is aware of both of our plans and has weighed in. Once I discuss her response with Lincoln we'll have to decide how to proceed.

What problems to have in a marriage......whose romantic getaway should we go with? We can only be so lucky.

Tubing - A photo essay

The next generation of Lentz tubers (Sorry Lincoln but when she's in Decorah she's a Lentz....not a Snow):

Hannah in her tube:

Hannah and Auntie Rachie:

Stylin' on the river:

Hannah, Grandpa Dan, and Daddy on the river - three generations of tubers:

Hannah and Daddy....passing down tradition:

My little river girl:

Cleaning up lunch....a true tuber always has an (empty) beer bottle or two in hand:

Tubing and other fun stuff

Yesterday Hannah went on her first tubing trip down the Upper Iowa River. Every year Lincoln, Rachel and I always go tubing. Sometimes other people join us and sometimes we go by ourselves. This year Dad and Hannah joined us. Hannah was very excited as this was the first year that she was old enough. Unfortunately it was a less then optimal year. The river was very low and we ended up scraping our butts a lot and actually had to walk certain parts of the river. Then once we got past the College Ave. bridge the water came to a virtual stand still. We ended up having to paddle most of the way through the stretch from College Ave. to just past the high school. Unfortunately that is also when the sun went behind the clouds and it started to get very chilly. I think Hannah enjoyed the first part of the trip - and I have great pictures to prove it - but she lost her love of the river towards the end. I asked her if she wanted to go next year and her answer was "I'll have to think about it".

After our four and a half hour tubing trip (which usually takes us about three hours) we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up. Mom had been babysitting Jake all day and they had a great day touring all the local parks and even went to the public swimming pool. After we all showered Mom and Dad took the kids back to the park and out to dinner while Lincoln and I went out for a "grown-up" dinner at La Rana with Rachel. After that Lincoln and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at the local theater. I swear, the smell of that place hasn't changed one bit since I moved away in 1988 (in a good way).

This morning Lincoln and the kids went down to the hotel pool while I took a nice long hot bath. I took Jake for a hair cut at 11 a.m. but it wasn't at the usual place that we go to while in Decorah. I couldn't get him into the usual place so I randomly chose another place that I remember having existed here in Decorah since my childhood but was a little panicked for Jake when we walked in and the place was full of old ladies getting their hair set for the week. Luckily the lady who cut his hair - the youngest one working there - did a great job with his hair and he looks wicked cute.

After Jake's haircut Lincoln and the kids and I met up with Grandma and Grandpa at Mabe's for lunch. I believe that is the fourth meal we've had there since Sunday. Right after that we headed out to pick up some flowers and do the "graveyard tour". Whenever we're in Decorah I always buy flowers for Gretchen's grave. Gretchen was the old lady that lived next door to us in Decorah and she was totally like a grandmother to me and Rachel. We loved visiting her and she always had crackers for us. Graham crackers for Rachel and Saltines for me. This year, unfortunately, I've had to add Grandma Lentz and Uncle Linus to the graveyard circuit. We drove out to Elma and I put flowers on both of their graves before driving out to Linus's accident site to show Lincoln. Whenever I visit Gretchen I'm sad but I don't cry. She has been dead for 12 years and we moved away 21 years ago. With Linus and Grandma, however, I was bawling like a baby. It was so sad. After driving out to the accident site we went over to my Uncle John's and Aunt Sandy's for a quick visit before heading back to Decorah.

Once back in Decorah I headed over to the spa for some steam therapy and a hot stone massage. It was pure heaven. I got a 15 minute steam treatment, an 85 minute hot stone massage and purchased three things of bath salts for less than I would pay out in Boston for just the massage. It was a nice break for me and it felt great after the tubing trip yesterday not to mention all the time we've spent in the car the past few days.

Once I was done at the spa we headed over to the Urgent Care Center at the hospital. No one was seriously ill or hurt but it was the only way to get Jake in to see the doctor. He started out with some scaly skin on his elbows last week which has turned into a itchy, nasty rash all the way up and down both arms. We got a prescription ointment for him before heading out to dinner and then back to the hotel room to pack up. Mom and Dad are coming up to play cards tonight so that the grown-ups can have some time to visit without the kids. We're staying in a suite at the hotel which has a separate room for the kids so once we put them down to bed we can stay up in the main room and hang out.

I promise to have pictures of our trip up eventually but unfortunately I've had trouble loading them on the blog using Lincoln's computer. Tomorrow morning we head up to Lin and Jim's at Lake Mille Lacs in Minnesota which will be another 5 hours in the car. Hannah told me the other day that if she has to get in the car again she's going "to blow up" but they did okay on the 45-minutes to and from Elma today so hopefully she's past the explosion stage.

Home Again

We are finally in Decorah. After a couple great days in Madison with Rachel and Kevin we headed over to Decorah to meet up with my parents in Decorah. No matter how long I've been away from Decorah it always feels like coming home.

Last night we had a blast with Rachel and Kevin playing cards and hanging out. Rachel is headed over to Decorah today as well and tomorrow we're all going to go tubing. This will be Hannah's first year on the river and I'm not quite sure how she's going to do but I think she'll do fine. It could be interesting. Jake will be hanging out with Grandma Dena while we're on the river.

That's about it for now. This afternoon we got moved into our hotel room. This is the longest stretch that we'll be in one location - three nights - so I unpacked everything and got us reorganized. It's nice to have everything unpacked for a few days.

I'm not sure what our plans are for the afternoon and evening but I'm sure we'll figure something out. Sometimes it's just nice to relax. Maybe we'll take a few beers down to the pool and sit in the hot tub. That sounds great right about now.

Having fun in Madison

Last night we had a great dinner with Rachel and Kevin and just hung out around their house. The kids went to bed kind of late but after being in the car all day they needed to get out some of their energy. The kids slept upstairs together and Hannah was put in charge of Jake, a duty she took very seriously.

The four grown-ups stayed up late drinking wine and beer and just having a nice long chat and a lot of laughs. We were up a lot later than we should have been but Hannah came through for us in the morning and she got up with Jake bright and early. After everyone got up we had a great breakfast of scrambled eggs and some delicious cinnamon rolls that they got from a bakery down the street.

After breakfast we all showered and headed over to a local mall. Rachel and I got pedicures while Lincoln and Kevin took the kids to the toy store to get something as a reward for how wonderful they were in the car. We met up again afterwards and headed to a small Farmers Market. One of the stands had "hours old" cheese curds and they were absolutely delicious. Very squeaky.

We left the Farmers Market and after a quick stop back at the house to drop off some stuff we went to a place called The Old Fashioned in Madison near the Capitol building. Unfortunately there was a long wait for a table but the kids did really good and we had an enjoyable meal once we were seated. Our original plan had been to head for the New Glarus brewery afterwards for a quick tour and some ice cream at a nearby place but we ended up running out of time. Instead we headed back to the house where Jake took a nap (I took a short one too) and then we loaded back up into the car and headed out to see Monsters vs. Aliens at the local dollar theater. The weather here today has been cloudy, cool, and only in the mid-60s. Not terribly pleasant for the middle of July but at least it isn't raining.

Now we're headed down to the park just down the street for the kids to ride their bikes and play on the playground for awhile. I think the plan is to do take-out and play a few board games after dinner. Tomorrow all of us, minus Kevin, will head over to Decorah. Less than 12 hours until we'll be eating Mabe's pizza and planning our tubing trip. I can't wait!

We're here!!!

We finally made it to Rachel and Kevin's house in Madison, WI. Our 11 hour day turned into a 12 hour and 45 minute day. We hit some really bad traffic going around Chicago. Add a lot of crappy weather and it made for a less than fun ride but the kids did fantastic. Lincoln got the crankiest out of all of us towards the end but with the exception of my 90 minutes of driving earlier in the day he had done all the driving up until that point. He deserved to be cranky. We stopped just outside of Chicago to get gas and switch drivers before I did the last 90 minutes of our drive for the safety of everyone on the road. And when I'm the safer driver that's saying something.

I think that had we been able to avoid the traffic around Chicago and the 90 minutes of sitting in the Great Potato Wedge Debacle it would have actually been closer to a ten or ten and a half hour drive instead of eleven.

We got to Rachel and Kevin's house at 8:00 p.m. Central Time and they had some cold beers, a nice bottle of wine, and a fantastic dinner waiting for us. Now Hannah and Rachel are dancing in the living room while Kevin and Jake are playing with "rods and balls" (i.e. Magnetix). Lincoln and I are sitting on the couch drinking and watching the four of them. We have happily passed off parenting duties to Rachel and Kevin for the next 12 hours.

On the road

This morning we left for our drive to Iowa. Yes, we're driving to Iowa. It's going to be a long few days but I think we're up to the challenge. And to be honest, we're only going to Madison, WI before we stop for a few nights. Today we're driving as far as Youngstown, OH and then tomorrow night we'll be at Rachel's house in Madison. We're staying with Rachel and Kevin in Madison until Sunday when we head over to Decorah to meet up with Mom and Dad. After a few days in Decorah we'll pack up on Wednesday morning and head up to my aunt and uncle's house on Lake Mille Lacs in Minnesota. We're spending two nights there before we head back down to Decorah on Friday morning to hand off Hannah for her three week trip with Grandma and Grandpa. Friday evening we'll head back over to Madison for the night before starting the long trip home again next weekend. The four longest days (two out and two back) will be about 12 hours each.

Last night we got the car packed up (more on that in another post) and cleaned the house. My friend Tracy will be housesitting for us while we're gone so not only did we have to get packed last night but we had to clean the bathrooms, vacuum the house, and change the sheets. When we were packing up the car last night we let Jake play in the front seat and he entertained himself rolling the windows up and down and opening the sunroof. Of course that meant the key had to be in the ignition and of course we forgot to turn it off last night so when we came out at 5:15 a.m. this morning we discovered the passenger side window down, the sunroof open, the keys in the ignition, and, of course, a dead battery. That threw a little bit of a kink in our schedule for this morning but we ended up leaving at 6:22 a.m. instead of our scheduled 6:00 a.m. and I can certainly live with that.

The car is fully loaded with toys, games, a DS Nintendo, two DVD players and plenty of books. Hopefully that should keep all of us entertained as we drive halfway across the country over the next two days. Hannah is happily watching a movie right now and Jake started out with the DS but said "I'm bored with this" before we even got to the end of our street. I also asked him if he wanted to take a pillow in the car and he thought about it very seriously for a few seconds and then said "Nahhh.....I don't think I'm going to sleep." He truly has no concept of how long we're going to be in the car. The other nice thing we have with us is Lincoln's laptop. Right now we're cruising down I-84 through Connecticut and I have the laptop booted up in my lap with a Verizon Wireless card plugged into the side. Of course what this means for everyone who reads this blog is that you'll be getting LOTS of updates over the next few days as we head westward. After breakfast today I'll try to load some pictures and video that I took earlier this morning.

I'm not sure they're ready for us again

Next week we are heading out to drive to Iowa and Minnesota. We'll be stopping in Madison, WI for a few days as well to visit Auntie Rachie and Uncle Kevin. Here are a few pictures and a video from our last trip to their place in 2007. I'm not sure why there are no pictures of Rachel. Look how young they are! And check out how short Jake's hair used to be.

Auntie Rachie will be so proud

In Hannah's 2nd grade Memory Book she listed that she wants to be a "college professor" when she grows up.

My Mom's Life

A couple of weeks ago Hannah "interviewed" me for school. I wasn't sure what it was for until she brought home the final product today. Below is her work....spelling, grammar and punctuation are all hers.

My Mom's Life

My mom was born in Decorah Iowa It was a small town with a lot of relitives nearby. Her parents names are Dena and Dan. She has 2 sisters named Rachel and Debra. It was a nice little town

When my mom, Diane, was a kid her best friend was Rachel. They loved the monkey bars and playing kick the can. She was bossy and friendly when she was a kid. She had a lot of fun.

When my mom grew up she met her husband at a 2 year old's B-day party. He liked her right away. They both liked The Blue Man Group That is what I learned about my mom.

The darn press....they're always getting their stories wrong. Isn't that what all the celebrities say?

Yes, I was born in Decorah.

Yes, my parents are Dan and Dena.

Yes, I have two sisters.

No, they aren't named Debra and Rachel. Their names are actually Debra and Denise. Denise, however, re-married a few years ago and no longer participates in our family. Since Hannah hasn't seen Denise in a few years, but always sees "Auntie Rachie", I can see where she got confused.

Yes, Rachel and I loved playing on the monkey bars.

No, I have never played Kick the Can.

Yes, I was bossy (and friendly!). I still am.

As for meeting my husband (as opposed to her father....LOL) we did meet at a 2 year old's b-day party although Lincoln thinks he was 3 years old. And we did both like Blue Man Group. In fact it was our first date.

I guess she got enough of it right that I won't demand a retraction but we'll have to work on her attention to detail.

A Presidential place to rest my head

This morning I've been emailing back and forth with the hotel where we're staying when we're back in Decorah this summer.  I had called them about my confirmation and realized that they had us down for a different room then I had originally requested.  After getting everything straightened out we're now in the room I thought I had reserved back in February.  When the GM wrote me back she told me they now call that the "Obama Suite" since that is the room he stayed at when he was in Decorah.  

I wonder if he ate at Mabe's too?  Georgie would probably know the answer to that one.  Rachel, you'll have to look into that and let me know.