Traditions and Birthdays

The two girls not only share a bedroom, they nearly shared a birthday- Sadie's is February 16th and Meghan's is February 18th. This year, they decided a trip with friends to the Mall of America would be a good way to mark Sadie's thirteenth year and Meg's ninth. To be honest, the thought of spending more than 15 minutes in the Mall of America is enough to give me hives. However, the thought of my very first 'girl's weekend' with my girls (and a night at the Marquette) was enough to fortify my reserve.

Prior to departure, we needed to have a family dinner and cake served on the "You Are Special Today' plate. My Mom brought home the first 'You Are Special Today' plate about 25 years ago. Every since that day, nearly every piece of birthday cake in my family has been served on that plate. Prior to Jack's first birthday, I purchased my very own plate and we have used it ever since. Traditions are important- they offer a chance to bring the past forward and give a foundation for the future. This year, Sadie decided to eat her dinner on the red plate. I guess 'You Are Special Today' applies to dinner or dessert.

As for my first all 'girls weekend' with Sadie, Meghan and pals, it is a tradition in the making!

Who Can Turn The World On With Her Smile?

And So It Begins

I have to tell you, writing the first blog post of your very own blog is a little mind bending. Where should I start? A funny aside about my food obsessed yellow lab, George? A touching story about taking my two daughters and their friends to Minneapolis for the weekend? A tidbit from our family archive when we took our five kids across Lake Superior, in a boat, to Isle Royale? I opted to keep it short and simple. A first blog post should be a little like cocktail party conversations- a brief overview, a funny anecdote and a promise to get together soon. Here are the players you will get to know over the course of my blogging adventure. Trust me, they are a brilliant bunch of people, critters and places.

 Ted- captain of the ship, leader of the pack and the man with a plan.

Jack (with a bearded Ted): the first-born, snowboarder extraordinaire and a true renaissance man.

Will: the second son, brilliant photographer and relatively effective dog wrangler.

  Sadie: the first daughter, math whiz and empress of the universe.

Charlie: the third son, voracious reader and master of the ski hill.

Meghan: the youngest child, strong swimmer and beautiful free spirit.

George: food and Chuck-It obsessed.

Henry, Gus and Seamus: the Three Stooges.

Wine:  "Wine is bottled poetry." Robert Louis Stevenson

Kitchen: time spent in pursuit of a beautiful meal.

Garden: quiet, restful and as close to meditating as I'll ever get.

Lake Superior: beautiful, fierce and sacred.

Bayfield: Northern Wisconsin, no stop lights and a stellar cast of characters.