Life is good when you're Karen

When Karen was little we as her parents worried that she would be able to find her way in life. She was so shy and never seemed to stand up for herself against a sometimes very harsh world. She proved she could this past week by finishing up her 6-month internship in Music Therapy after 5+ years of study and hard work. A party was definitely in order and was planned in (where else) but Eau Claire. She sent out invitations through email and Facebook, we rented a pavilion right next to a beautiful lake in Carson Park where the football games were held and fired up the grill. Friends came and we all celebrated. It was so great. She got worried at one point because Michael and I and my mom were sitting off to the side after eating and she thought we were bored. I told her I hoped that someday she would understand the thrill of enjoying life by watching your children enjoy life especially when they have worked so hard to achieve their dreams. Extra special was the job she secured when she got back to the Twin Cities. With the economy the way it is what more can one ask for? "Good times, good times" (private joke for Karen). The two girls in the one picture are fellow music therapy majors not yet graduated.

5 Feet High by the 4th of July

When I was a kid we were traveling through Iowa on a July weekend to visit relatives and my dad was looking at the scenery and pointed out that the corn in that particular field was 6 feet high. My brother and I didn't believe him (we were 6 and 10 at the time), so he pulled the car over and proceeded to walk out into the cornfield to prove it since he was 6 feet tall. I could write a book with all the goofy things he use to do to amuse us. In with all our Kodak pics we have one of him standing in a cornfield on an Iowa highway. You can just see the crown of his head and almost hear him yelling, "See! 6 feet high by the 4th of July!" When I look at my tomato plant which is 5 feet high I think of that day mostly because I have never had any, and I mean any luck growing tomatoes. This year however, there is going to hopefully be a bumper crop looking at the size of that thing. The only problem at this point is there are no tomatoes on it, only leaves and flowers. Maybe it needs a boyfriend???? (since writing this one week ago I have 4 little tomatoes. yeh!)

Music in Moline

Michael called me from work Wednesday and asked if I wanted to do an overnight in Moline, Illinois. I actually wanted to stay home and clean my house but decided maybe I needed a break. Moline for me is not a very exciting place as opposed to what Michael sees it as which is close to a day in Chicago. He keeps telling me there is lots to do but I can't find it. Hoping to some day as I know a return trip is definitely in my future as long as I stay married to the man. Anyway, we did find a Blu's Festival down on the Mississippi riverfront with lots of venders and lots of music. We had a pork tenderloin sandwich and sat by the river watching boats float by enjoying a free concert (it cost us $5.00 to get through the gate). The Guardian Angels were there (remember them, Minneapolis?)keeping order along with some police. We decided to try and walk back to the hotel, made it about 3 miles until my feet gave out and called them to send the van to pick us up (thank God for cell phones). I was getting nervous anyway after a giant slushy container was pitched at us from a moving car going in the opposite direction. Fortunately they missed. Nothing is greater than soaking in a hot tub after a day like that which is exactly what I did.