The North Shore

We biked up the shore of Lake Superior ast weekend. It was a beautiful northern Minnesota day- sunny and 60s. It's a little weird for me that this is August weather, but I have to admit, it was great biking weather. Nora had a great time.

Playing near the Split Rock lighthouse:

The view from near the lighthouse:

Hanging out at Iona's Beach:

God, I love those two.

Rainbows

Daddy took Nora to a toy store on Friday night and told her she could pick something out. We were waiting for our food at the Greek restaurant down the street and Nora was a little more rambunctious than could be reasonably corralled with crayons and a photocopied picture of Artemis, goddess of the moon. So what do Nora return to the restaurant carrying? It is an adorable umbrella. And it fits her personality. This is what I found her playing with later on. Her "pretty jewelry" is actually hair ties that I knotted together. A hair tie makes a convincing ring, if you put a tiny clip on the outside as the jewel. Necklaces...bracelets...the possibilities are endless. Well, actually the possibilities are quite limited, but it kept her happy for a long time.

Busted

The other morning, I was getting ready for work and Nora was helping me. We brushed our teeth and I had just spit my mouthwash into the sink when Nora very seriously laid her had on my leg.
"Mommy," she said. "You forgot to floss."

A New Favorite Activity

This is at Bagley Park, about a block away from Nora's school, on the campus of University of Minnesota Duluth. I rode my bike to school this afternoon and picked Nora up, thereby discovering that my cardiovascular health is somewhat subpar. Either that or Nora has been eating cement sandwiches.
This weekend, Nora also caught her first fish (a bass) and immediately asked, "Can I touch it?" I was proud.
This evening, during dinner, she looked over at the dog and said, "Suma lick her butt. Is she hungry, Mommy?" I was less proud of that one.

Goosesteppin' to her own drummer

Parents in the audience will recognize this face as "literally saying cheese." It should be a developmental milestone, but apparently the Denver folks thought it was too ethnocentric.
Also, clearly I am a dork. Do not let the rockin' boots on my toddler mislead you.

Summer in Duluth

Things are great. It's hard to talk about being here without sounding like I'm bragging, but seriously- it's awesome. I never thought that I would appreciate a cooler summer, having lived in California (twice), South Carolina and Georgia. Even Pennsylvania requires air conditioning for a couple of months.

We don't even have air conditioning.

It doesn't hurt that I hate shorts with the fire of a thousand suns. I've never really been a sun worshipper like some (lookin' at you, Kristin....) and remember hiding under the beach chairs in San Diego as a child. So maybe I've just found my latitude. Or maybe I just haven't seen winter yet.

Nora loves her school, especially now that they're moving her up to the pre-school this week. We at home are hoping that the peer pressure helps initiate potty training a bit. We're trying not to do it until she's ready, but those stinkbombs of diapers are getting old....

Nora also loves riding her tricycle around the neighborhood. Her favorite destination is the school at the end of the block. They have a playground with four (FOUR!) slides. I admit, it is pretty awesome.

Eric bought a mountain bike and has been riding into Hartley Park a few times a week as a break from studying. We also got a YMCA membership and they have a Kid's Club so great that nora cries when you come to pick her up. It's a good incentive for working out. They also have a warm therapy pool that's open for free swim sometimes. I haven't introduced her to that yet, but it's definitely on the list.

Work is great. I'm on call, it's a bad weekend and I still went out to breakfast with my family, rounded in a leisurely fashion and was done by noon. That being said, it's pretty intense when I'm there, which is why I appreciate being 80% time.

Oops! Nora just woke up from her nap. We're off to ride bikes, go to the beach or do something else awesome....

Crazy Eights

So I got tagged. Here it goes....

Eight things I did yesterday:

1. Ran on a treadmill. Granted it was only for 4 minutes and I was in a sling that off-loaded thirty pounds of my weight, but still...

2. Took lots of clindamycin for the MRSA abscess ON MY FREAKING FACE.

3. Showed up for a 7:00 meeting that didn't exist. For the second week in a row.

4. Was told by a teenager that I "seem pretty cool." (Really?)

5. Got a running shriek from a little girl when I picked her up at daycare and felt like a Beatle.

6. Saw this video in a work-sponsored format:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkBepgH00GM

7. Played the piano. Poorly.

8. Worked with dying people and their families and somehow felt peace and joy that has never existed at work for me before.

Eight things I'm looking forward to:

1. A potty trained toddler

2. Not feeling like an intern on July first

3. Being able to ride my bike faster, hike more and run up stairs

4. Having another kid. Someday. When amnesia reagarding certain two-year-olds has set in

5. Making friends

6. Having our yard cleanup done so that we can start with the fun part of reclaiming a yard gone to seed.

7. Oddly, Monday

8. Also oddly, winter.

Eight things I wish I could do:

1. Sleep past 7:00

2. Build a greenhouse today, right now, right here. Or maybe I should change my answer to "learn patience"

3. Walk in the woods every single day. Preferably without limping, but I'm really not picky

4. Write a book

5. Figure out why the dogs just went completely ballistic

6. Raise parrots again

7. Travel outside the hemisphere

8. Ride my bike to work

Eight shows I watch (or watched and still love):

1. The Office

2. 30 Rock

3. Six Feet Under

4. The Boondocks

5. The Daily Show

6. Flight of the Conchords

7. Space Ghost's Cartoon Planet

8. Who needs television? I guess this is why the dogs freaked out:

That would be a freaking bear in our freaking driveway. Seriously, while I was writing this. Eric just ran in with the pictures on his phone. He was out in the front yard pulling a dead tree out of the ground with his truck. (Of course he was- why not?)