appologies

I read my latest entry to my husband this morning.

He said, "You can't write that. It's fiction. It's a blog. You can't write fiction on your blog."
I said, "I am using artistic license. It's my blog. Who cares what I write? Besides, most of it happened..."
He said, "Yeah, except the part that makes us sound like neglectful, selfish fatties lying in the middle of the Mall of America surrounded by more packages than we can obviously afford."

(OK, He didn't use those exact words, but that's what he meant. Again, artistic license.)

I said, "What do you mean?"
He said, "That part about Yaya running down the corridor groping hairy man-legs. She was asleep."
I said, "So?"
He said, "It's a blog. You can't lie."
I said, "It's my blog... so?"

10 minutes passed. I web surfed. I felt guilty.

So , here I am. 'fessing up. It's not all true. But a lot of it is. I obviously had too much sugar. I was drunk with blogging power. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.

MOA

Today, we went on a mini family vacation to the MOA.








Not that MOA. This MOA. In Bloomington, MN. The Mecca of Consumerism.






While there, we went to "The Park at MOA." It used to be "Camp Snoopy," But recently, they lost the rights to use that mild mannered little dog as their mascot - it's all about money, no doubt - so now it's just a generic "park." It's still damned expensive. The general consumer did not benefit from the loss of the mascot. Maybe the MOA is saving up for a new mascot...?






So, we broke open the piggy bank and took the girls on a few rides. One of their favorites was the "Tree Swing." It's suprisingly charming. It's a giant tree constructed from some sort of brightly colored plastic polymer that has many bright red swings dangling from chains that are attached to "branches" on the underside of the "canopy." When everyone is safely buckled into their swing/chairs, the tree top raises several feet into the air and begins to whirl around, swinging the riders through the air.
This elicited giggles from our two older girls. Giggles and shrieks and belly laughs and the chanting - "Again! Again! We want to do it again! Again!"
We didn't let them. We are heartless and cruel. We forced them to ride a giant ferris wheel instead.
The ferris wheel elicited giggles from the two older girls. And Rick. Giggles and shrieks and belly laughs and chanting, "Again! Again! We want to do it again! Again!"
I left and went to H&M.






All of that giggling and shrieking and shopping can build up quite an appetite. So we headed off in search of food. We found ourselves at The Rain Forest Cafe. It was a loud and yummy and expensive and exhausting event. Everyone was full and happy. Then, the dinner event was put right over the top on the Fun-O-Meter when we gave in to the pleading of our darling girls and opted to finished dinner with a "volcano" dessert.
For those of you who have never dared this world of chocolate chaos, let me explain: It is 15 lbs of chocolate cake and a gallon of vanilla ice cream covered in a vat of chocolate fudge and caramel syrup then smothered in mounds of whipped cream.
As if that riotous explosion of sugar and caffeine wasn't enough, the restaurant folk top the whole dessert thing off with a sparkler - yes, a real Fourth of July sparkler - and then, every single server in the enormous restaurant chants "Vol-ca-no! Vol-ca-no!" as one small, anorexic server struggles this chocolate monstrosity to the table. They keep chanting "Vol-ca-no. Vol-ca-no!" until the sparkler goes out. By its' self. It takes a while. The girls were thrilled. They chanted, "Again! Again! Let's do the volcano again!"
We didn't let them. We are cruel and uncaring parents.
Instead we let them loose in the hallways of the MOA.





Directly outside the Rain Forest Cafe there are several plastic creatures that help "create the ambiance" of a rain forest. (My personal feelings regarding the amount of toxins used to create this atmosphere is for another time... ACK!) Among these plastic injection-molded oddities is this very 'gator.
Now, I did not take this photo, and these girls are not my girls, but the reaction to this thing was exactly the same. Go figure. Noni and Via dangled their little bodies over the edge of the plastic injection-molded leaves and vines while machines pumped "fog" into the gator swamp area. The gator "roared." They giggled and shrieked. They chanted, "Again. Again..." They thought it was the greatest show on earth.









Yaya, however, was not amused. She ran shrieking in the other direction, tears streaming down her pink cheeks. In her blind three-year-old fear, she grabbed the first pair of hairy man-legs that she ran into. Her crying slowed. Then, she looking up and realized that these legs did not belong to her father. She ran on - grabbing new, hairy man-legs. She ran, grabbing and shrieking her way halfway down a very long corridor.
Now, most reasonable people would have chased their 3 year old daughter down the hall to catch her and comforted her in her moment of terror. We are not most reasonable parents. We had been stuck motionless from laughing. We were weak. We were unable to move. We tried to go after her, honestly, but we couldn't. We were already crashing from the sugar overload. It was pathetic, really. Two largish adults lying in a heap of shopping bags and left-over boxes at the feet of a plastic 'gator, the fog rolling over the edge of the plastic leaves...
Don't worry. She eventually came back. Children are amazingly adept at following their parents voices in a crowd. We held her and comforted her, and after a quick nap on the nearest bench...
We all headed off to do a little more school shopping.
Ahhhh. Vacation. You gotta love it.

the budding artist

Via has decided that from this moment forward she will be known as a photographer. She took these lovely photos of the fence. I'm not sure how she got the angle that she got, but it works in a very ... artistic way. It gives me a slight case of vertigo. I think that she is feeling a little left out because Noni and I have been doing our "art thing" a lot lately. Daddyman love and interest only goes so far, I guess... I've got to find the right thing that we can connect on, I guess. Hmmmm.
I love this curious girl.

powderhorn park arts festival

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We had the best day yesterday! I have a new partner for arts festival-ing (My own new word. hee hee.) Her name in Noni. Sometimes known as Nonifolani. We saw this great artist. Her name is Amy and she makes these crazy people. She calls them: Peepwool. You can see all of her lovely madness on line at www.peepwool.com I want all of them. She also makes really rockin' hats.
Besides the peepwool gal, we saw lots of great art. It is such a wonderful, relaxed atmosphere. No one is in a hurry. Everyone is just sort of hangin'out lookin' at cool stuff. Noni and I ask lots of questions. What do you like? Why? What do you think that the artist was trying to say? I don't know either - let's ask. It is totally fun. She is cut from exactly the same cloth that I am. We laugh and dawdle and drink loads of lemonade.
Daddyman took Via to see the new Harry Potter movie. They've read all of the books together. Then they both re-read them all, alone. Quietly. In their own little corner of the house. Where no one can find them if we need them. I don't know how they do it. It's a little annoying.
Nora and I want to make our own peepwool. We are going to go to the Salvation Army and Goodwill to find some old wool sweaters right now. See you soon.
PS. Someone let Daddyman and Via know where we are when they emerge from their reading shells.

collapsed

http://www.startribune.com/slideshows/rich_media/1344505.html
(This video clip really shows what it was all about.)

I am still sort of in shock... I can't begin to wrap my head around this event. I am angry and sad. The world around us is forever, dramatically changed. A solid structure that so many had come to count on has broken, like a child's toy. And lives are forever changed. There is not only a hole in the road, but a hole in the lives of so many families that are still looking for their loved ones. I came downstairs this morning to see my husband sitting in front of the computer, weeping. He was reading the list of bios of those still missing. I asked him if he knew someone, and he said, "No. I just feel so much saddness for those who did."

extreme make-over: pre-teen edition

So....
We've been getting ourselves set for a new school year (for those of you keeping track, our last day of school was today.) Via was in need of a little TLC, so we did a little of this and a little of that. We cut and curl and created a new wardrobe of hip and cool clothing that fits really well... she looks like a million bucks! OK, when hasn't she, but everyone needs a boost now and again... especially when your sisters are driving you crazy and your mom asks you to help too much and you have to do your homework when every other kid in the neighborhood is on summer break, but your stupid year 'round arts school is still driving you into the ground.
PS The photos were taken by little sister Noni. Art direction by Via.

garden glee

I love my garden! But, alas, I think it is soon at it's end. It has been so damned hot! I water and everything looks lush and gorgeous, but they summer growing cycle has really been sped up due to the ridiculous, alien-temperatures that we've been having in Minnesota lately - it's sort of strange.... I must say that I do enjoy the heat. (Even though my people are not genetically predisposed for this kind of humidity...)
OK. So it took a couple of decades, but I love diggin' in the dirt. The hollyhocks in the photo are a vintage variety that I found at a fund raiser/plant sale for the Friends School of Minnesota. (They have a rockin' selection of goods. Oma and I waited in line for over an hour just to walk through the door. The plants were gorgeous, they were very well organized...) I have already made my wish list for next year. And I've planned where I am taking out more grass to expand my garden. And I've spotted a few places that are in the shade, and need something to love. I can't wait to start again next season.
Ahhh. I better just take a deep breath and enjoy what this summer still has to offer.