Keeping up with the Algers

Listen to What I Say, Not What Think (A Lesson in Teaching Your Children and Learning a Few Things Along the Way)

2011-08-20T17:33:00.004-05:00

So, I ran another half marathon in August. And I’m seriously starting to think that I have to stop being too damn optimistic about these things. Really, if I’ve discovered anything in my rather short life of distance running it’s that running a half marathon (and beyond that I’m sure, though I’ve never done it) is much like going on a camping trip. Once you start you’ve committed yourself to venturing out into the great beyond, with only the supplies you need, and not quite sure what to expect before it’s over.

For comparison sake, allow me to brief you first on the characteristics of the prerace routine for my best half marathon thus far. I did the training, though not as much as I should have. I ate OK, though not as well as I should have. I had a series of terrible (TERRIBLE) long training runs. I’m sure my running companions were starting to wonder if I was indeed putting any effort towards the training at all. Then, the cherry on top: Two nights before the race I threw my back out doing laundry. Yes, I do laundry, and if my family is lucky I even cook for them once in awhile. It was so painful I could hardly sleep that night. Over the course of the next 36 hours I went to the chiropractor, used icy hot, and popped enough Ibuprofen to make my kidneys go belly up on the shoulder of I-94 somewhere between St. Cloud and Fargo. I woke up the morning of the race, after having a terrible night’s sleep due to said bad back, thinking “This is ridiculous. I can’t do this. I’m going to get out there and get stuck in the middle of the route when my back gives out.” Yet not wanting to bow out for as far as I’d come, I went, and I started, and I expected to fail, and I finished with a PR in just under 2:05, a whole nine minutes faster than my previous race. I was amazed. And I was pumped to try that again.

Though I was signed up for another half marathon two weeks later, I set my sights on a half marathon in early August, two and a half months out. The course was fairly flat and I was becoming less of a newbie at this. If I could do what I had done with a bad back, just think of what I could do if I trained like I should and didn’t do any laundry until the race was over. I was sure I could reach that sub- 2hr time that had been eluding me up to this point. So I set out to do just that. I ran, I cross trained, I strength trained, I did speedwork, I had good long training runs, and I drank water like it was Captain Morgan on a Friday after a rough week at work. Though I did do laundry (I figured that might be a problem), I went into the day of the race with no doubt I had a sub- 2:00 finish time in me.

Shakespeare once wrote, “the course of true love never did run smooth.” Though it referred to the A Midsummer’s Night Dream love quagmire Lysander found himself in, you can really apply it to any type of course you’re trying to navigate in life. And in this case, my course was this race. I’m really not certain exactly what caused the complete unraveling of my performance and sanity. Maybe it was the humidity, or the lack of consistent water stops, or maybe it just wasn’t my day. Or maybe I was so prepared to do well, that I forgot to prepare for all possible outcomes. The pinnacle of despair was when the “lady in the dress” jogged past me around Mile 10. I first saw her around Mile 3, when I passed her on the trail, thinking, seriously woman, cute dress, but there is no way you are beating me to the finish line. You see, besides all the training runners do, we also have our little mantras and motivations that help us to the finish line, and sometimes mine include picking certain runners out of the crowd as targets. Maybe they’re wearing something that catches my eye, or maybe it’s that blonde from 5th floor freshman year who was less than friendly (Reindeer Run 1997), but I get it in my mind “they are not beating me today.” And on this day, it was dress lady. Usually this strategy works wonders for me, but not on this day. I was beyond help far before Mile 10. Even before Mile 9, when a couple people yelled out “you’re almost there!” I wish I had a camera with me to capture the moment, really, because then I could have played it back when those words would have ACTUALLY been useful to me at Mile 12 ½. And when I finally crossed the finish line, my son shouted out those words that summed up my feelings perfectly. “What took you so long, Mom??”

Now, not long ago I pulled my daughter out into the hallway between swimming events at one of her more lackadaisical meets to give her the “there’s no crying in swimming” speech. Even though the very essence of my speech made her burst into tears, the point was that her lack of confidence was causing a complete breakdown in her performance (though I don’t think it came out that eloquently). Had my daughter had any inkling what I was thinking during this race, she may have pulled me off the race course and given me “the speech” in return. And I probably would have cried too. Not out of pride because she was using my advice in the appropriate manner, but because it was hot and I was tired and whining like a 5 year old. So, clearly I was struggling with practicing what I preach but I still couldn’t help but think that maybe I need to approach these endeavors with a little more conservatism; similar to my expectation of help with household chores. If I go in with lower expectations for the outcome, I’ll be better prepared for the challenges along the way. Because clearly going into a race with the mindset of Mohammed Ali before a boxing match was not working for me.

So, I will continue along this journey of distance running I have started, hoping to find a happy medium of race preparation somewhere between overconfidence and utter despair. And regardless of how I am feeling I will smile at my daughter each time I pass her on the route, and she will know none the wiser. Until she reads this post some day and gets really pissed about that time I went all Bobby Knight on her at the swim meet.

But really, I’m sure I’ve had worse parenting moments than that. Hopefully she remembers one of those instead.

Summer

2011-06-28T08:37:00.008-05:00

OK, somebody pinch me. Is it REALLY almost the 4th of July? My friend Heidi reminded me on Tuesday morning as we were out running that the days are now getting shorter. Great. Summer is finally arriving and now we'll have less of it to enjoy. Minnesota (in my best Newman voice).

Those of you keeping up on my New Years resolution have surely realized by now that I'm not keeping up with my New Years resolution....Posting on the blog once a month? Not happening. I think about it every so often, does that count for anything?

Anyway...here are some photos/updates of the summer so far:

Steve- got a new job. Instead of being the Dean of Students, while still teaching and coaching, he will now be the Dean of Students/Activities Director. I'm still going through the withdrawal of not being a coaches wife anymore. Not that I necessarily embrace the title, but what can I say? It's all I've known for the last eight years. And I don't have a photo to go along with this. Maybe I'll capture a "first day of school" photo in August :)Oh yes, and as a bittersweet ending to his coaching career, he helped coach the Girls Track team to a State Class A Title. I DO have a picture for that:

Head Coach, Jeff Portugue, and Assistant Coach Steve

Signe- swimming, swimming, swimming, and playing tennis. Surprisingly, I don't have any swimming photos because the only meet we've been to Steve and I timed for the events. Hard to hold a timer, clip board AND camera.

Isaac- Learning the ins and outs of Tball, though is a little perplexed as to how they can play a game and nobody wins at the end....We're a little perplexed about some of his fielding techniques:

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But he does have a pretty sweet swing:

Since it's still June, the last day of June to be exact, it appears I have only missed two months of posting. So what have I been doing in that time? I ran a couple 1/2 marathons and a 5K with Signe. When I am not running in normal "Chelsea running" style, I am letting my running friends talk me into all sorts of crazy things, like running up hills, going to spinning class, and going to strength classes which render me immobile from the waist up for 3-4 days. I always thought I resisted peer pressure better than that. Here's a picture of some of us at the Minneapolis Marathon and Half Marathon on June 5th:

Suzie, Brenda, Shannon, me, Heidi

Since July is, um, tomorrow, I guess I better start reeling the creative juices again right away. Happy 4th of July!

Look, Mom, no training wheels!

2011-03-27T13:57:00.003-05:00

Isaac asked Steve this morning if he would get his bike down from the hook in the garage so he could ride it around the cul-de-sac. So, it really wasn't that warm, but at least the sun was shining....Anyway, Isaac also informed Steve that he would not be needing his training wheels anymore. We said, "OK" then began to reminisce about teaching Signe to ride her bike without training wheels, like the time she bit Steve when he was trying to help her ride, or the time she ran away from me and into the house, locking the door behind her. Because of this we (well, maybe just I) assumed it might take a little time to get the hang of it.

Look, Mom, Dad took my training wheels off.

Here we go!

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Just Under the Wire

2011-02-28T22:16:00.003-06:00

OK- so I stated on Facebook last month that one of my resolutions this year was to update the blog at least once a month. Well, wouldn't you know it here we are with only two hours left in February and I haven't posted anything yet this month. And I have nothing exciting to report....But, I'm going to do something different this year and try to stick to at least one of my resolutions. (The other, which was to do a better job at being on time when I go places is working out...okay....)

Highlights of the month:

Isaac jumped off the diving board all by himself. This is a major feat as he would hardly put his face in the water the last time he was in swimming lessons (July). I wish I would have captured the scene on video as he slowly shuffled to the edge of the board, peering suspiciously at MacKenzie Wenner, who was in the water down below waiting to catch him. But to our surprise she counted to three and off he went! No 10 minutes of coaxing, only to end with one lifeguard lowering him down into the arms of the other, while the other parents with dare devil children give you the sympathetic "I'm sure he'll do it next time" look. Way to go Isaac!

Here is a picture of Signe's basketball team, and Coach Steve (and "Assistant Coach" Isaac) who went 3-0 this past weekend at the Sleepy Eye 4th Grade Jamboree. Way to go girls!

I am still training for the Irish for a Day 10-mile race on March 12th. And, even though there's now only 1 1/2 hours of February left, I'm seriously considering taking Trisha up on the offer she gave me at the basketball game tonight of running tomorrow morning at 5:00 AM! I'm not sure my body knows what to do at that time of the day, but I guess we'll see!

Whew! Well, that takes care of February! March promises to be more exciting I'm sure. Steve turns 39 (like the real 39, not like the way I say I'm still 29), I'm running a couple races, and no doubt Isaac will do or say something note-worthy (like this morning when he came out of the bathroom and told me he forgot to poop). I'd like to say you'll see that updated before March 31st at 10:30 pm, but really, who am I kidding anyway....

The Swimmer

2011-01-31T21:10:00.012-06:00

Signe decided to join the Mankato Mantas Swim Club this fall. She has always been a pretty strong swimmer, but I'm amazed at how much farther she has come in a few short months. I may whine a little bit about how early we have to be at the pool for meets (or the fact that Signe, ahem...beat me across the pool a few weeks ago doing both the freestyle and backstroke) but we have been so pleased with her progress and what a positive experience this has been for her. Below are two videos of Signe swimming this past weekend at the Prior Lake Storm meet. The first is the 50 Backstroke (she's in the top lane next to the pool edge) and the second is the 50 Freestyle (she's in Lane 4).

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On a separate, yet related, note many of you may recall my post on Facebook around Christmas time where Steve and I decided we were going to challenge each other to a 100 meter dash. I was feeling fairly confident at first. I mean, I just ran a 1/2 marathon a few months ago after all! But...after Signe took me to the cleaners in the pool I'm starting to doubt myself. Maybe it's because I'm not a sprinter. Or maybe it's because, as Saints swimming phenom, Ashley Lager, pointed out the other night "no one really knows how hard swimming is unless they do it." (Not that I'm trying to come across as young and hip--I mean I got my butt kicked by a 10 year old after all-- but I can't think of a better way to describe those words than "true THAT.") I do know one thing, though--I have some training to do. I may not win this race either, but that's OK. Steve has to win sometimes, right? :)

Speaking of Ashley, click here to read a story about her and her sister, Alissa (also a stand-out swimmer/diver for the Saints) in the St. Peter Herald this week. Ashley is one of the reasons Signe is really into swimming; and it all started by her simply inviting Signe to a swim meet when she saw her in the hall at the high school one afternoon after school. Nice girls, and always excited to see Signe and hear her swimming stories :)

A few photos with the new camera

2010-07-07T23:03:00.005-05:00

As many of you know we were in search of a new D-SLR camera for some time. After a bit of debate in the camera aisle at Best Buy a few weeks back- I was Team Nikon and Steve was Team Canon- we settled on a Canon Rebel T1i. Actually, since we were buying it for Father's Day I figured I should at least give Steve the ability to pick out the camera he wanted. I know what you're thinking: what a gracious wife I am :)

Anyway, I haven't taken any classes yet but have learned a few things by "reading the manual." By "a few things" I mean my ability beyond the point and click function is ever so slightly improved. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Mr. Alger Goes to Washington

2010-06-16T13:57:00.007-05:00

Without the tricky political plot, that is, although he and his group did have breakfast with Senator Franken and Congressman Walz. Did they engage in any political banter? I doubt it :) Steve has been sending pictures here and there, mainly to show Isaac that he does indeed still exist. Here are a few we've received:

Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery

Standing at the Lincoln Memorial, looking across to the Washington Monument

Touching the head of Testudo the terrapin, the University of Maryland mascot. Apparently the football players touch Testudo's head before each game for good luck. I don't know. This statue looks much less intimidating than the official mascot photo if you ask me:

More photos to come. In the meantime, Isaac is still trying to figure out why Steve took "Boy" (his imaginary friend) with him to DC. This has been a DAILY topic of discussion. Steve offered to send him home on another plane, but Isaac decided he could stay and keep Dad company. Can you see him in any of the pictures? He's there somewhere :)

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2010-06-05T11:19:00.002-05:00

Signe ran her 2nd ever 5K race this morning, the Livestock 5K in St. Peter, and finished 2nd in her age group. Way to go Sig! I hope you continue to enjoy running as much as I do :)

Running Pains

2010-06-04T09:47:00.005-05:00

So, as most of you know I took up running again last fall. I used to run a lot in college, but my habit fell by the wayside for the most part once I had kids. Well, last September my friend Kelly and I decided we were going to run the Halloween 5K, so we started training and went from there all the way to a 10K the end of April. Currently signed up to do the Mankato 1/2 Marathon in October (I'm also doing the Twins Cities Marathon 10 mile run two weeks before) we decided to continue building our mileage and run more races over the summer. Well, my foot decided to be uncooperative with that effort and I ended up with a stress fracture on May 15th. After walking in a surgical shoe for 3 weeks, I have now disgressed to crutches and a larger, what I like to refer to as "Storm Trooper", boot. (See photo below). Although extremely frustrating I guess there's not much I can do other than be a good patient. So, I will heed to Dr. Lundquist's advice and stay off my foot as much as possible, even if this means Steve will have to do pretty much everything for me! :) Hopefully, this will all be a distant memory in a month or so and I can slowly get back into race mode, but until then, as Principal McGee ("Grease") would say, "if you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter!"

Happy Birthday Isaac!

2009-11-04T20:54:00.002-06:00

The big number 4. I can't believe it. Where does the time go? Happy Birthday Buddy. We love you so much!

Happy 9th Birthday Signe!

2009-08-31T22:34:00.003-05:00

Signe wanted to go to Dino's for her birthday dinner tonight, so Grandpa, Grandma and Seth, and Steve and Laurel (a.k.a. "Teve and YaYa") joined us. Great fun was had by all. Happy Birthday Sig! We love you :)

Signe's New Bling(s)

2009-08-22T21:10:00.007-05:00

Today, Signe finally decided she was up for sitting in that chair by the window at Claire's Boutique and getting her ears pierced. For the past couple of birthday's (she turns nine in 9 days) I've asked her if she wanted her ears pierced for her birthday. She has always said no, however her aunt's wedding is coming up next week and she thought it would be pretty cool to have some sparkly earrings to go with her bridesmaid dress. So, happy early birthday Signe :)

I'm totally up for this....

I think I'm up for this....

I'm not sure I'm up for this!

I love them!

Like Father, Like Son....

2009-06-15T20:01:00.002-05:00

What else can I say? :)

Memorial Weekend Camping Adventure

2009-05-24T22:26:00.006-05:00

Photo highlights from the weekend. There are more on Facebook (they're easier to download on there!)

Jillian Michaels is ready to kick my butt....

2009-05-17T21:43:00.008-05:00

Those of you directed here from Facebook who have never been to our blog before, welcome. To those of you more familiar with the site you know I have been lacking in the posts lately, but decided recently that needed to change. I found the perfect opportunity too: documenting my latest weight loss/get back into shape routine, courtesy of Jillian Michaels, the Biggest Loser phenom. I got the idea from one of my sister's Facebook friends, who did Jillian's "30 Day Shred" and seriously, the results were amazing.

So why am I sharing all of this with you, you ask? Those of you who read my last Christmas letter know that I tend to lack the really serious motivation to get back into shape. (Remember how I would actually wear my workout clothes to bed so that was one less thing I could talk myself out of in the mornings?) Jillian has promised to get me into shape in 20 minutes a day for 30 days. So I can do this in the secrecy of my own basement and if I fail only I know I'm a failure. But, if I can put myself out there to the blogging world and I fail, well I probably haven't failed you because quite honestly you all have better things to concern yourselves with than whether I lose a few pounds or not, but I know I will have failed in front of a bunch of people. I hate that feeling. And I don't want to fail. My sister is getting married at the end of the summer and I don't want to look like the frumpy mother of two who is pushing 34. So, whether you like it or not you are all my motivation! So please check back to see how I'm doing as I will provide updates throughout the month and we'll see what happens....

To start, we better get a hold of where I stand right now:

Day: 1

Chest: 37"

Waist: 32"

Hips: 43"

Weight: 157.6 (ugh-- let me point out that the heaviest I've ever been is 170 lbs, and that's with the assistance of an 8 lb baby and non existent ankles). Jillian claims you can lose up to 20 lbs, but I think that's if you don't eat for 30 days. Anyway, here I am in all my glory.... (thank you Steve for taking the pictures and thank you Kim for letting me use your scale)

And thank you to all of you :) See you in about a week and a half....

Lazy Saturday Morning

2009-05-16T09:16:00.008-05:00

While Dad is away this morning, freezing his buns off at a track meet, SURELY the rest of us were hard at work back home....

Isaac?

Lounging on the couch watching cartoons, complete with his "treasure map" in hand....

Signe?

Watching cartoons in Mom and Dad's room (pay no attention to the fact the bed is not made yet, remember the title to this post is LAZY)....

Scout?

Nope, unless you count the work my jaws are doing on this bone.

Finally, Isaac wanted to take a picture of the ceiling fan, so I thought I better include it:

Happy Weekend everyone!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T11:26:00.002-05:00

In all the chaos of this morning, I managed to get a pretty decent shot of the kids and Scout before we all headed out the door. Even Scout is in the spirit, with her St. Patty's carnation! (For those of you not on Facebook, Scout is the newest addition to our family as of March 1st. She is a good puppy-usually- and fits in well at the Alger house!)

Look Alikes?

2009-01-23T12:34:00.003-06:00

People are always saying that Signe looks just like me, but have never been able to see it. The other night I was going through some old photo albums and low and behold, there was my 2nd grade picture staring back at me. So, here you have it. Mother and daughter, same age, same grade. Do you see it? I'm not sure I do....Maybe if I squint my eyes a little :)

Santa Did It....

2009-01-17T08:35:00.003-06:00

Isaac's new thing when he does something he shouldn't is to tell us "somebody did it." i.e. "Isaac, who dumped the applesauce on the floor?" "Somebody did it." The other day, that "somebody" was Santa Claus. Can you imagine? He must be restless after his big holiday season!

"Isaac, who put the address labels all over Dixie?"

"Santa did it!"

Winter Wonderland?

2009-01-11T18:07:00.005-06:00

OK, I love snow as much as the next Minnesotan, but this is getting to be a bit much! Alright, so the snow isn't so bad, but let's not forget the recent ice storm as well which adds to the excitement of the season! Since the most recent snowfall wasn't too bad we decided to shovel the driveway instead of plowing it. Little did I realize it was GLARE ICE, which made the task all that more difficult. The kids enjoyed it, though. Who knew you could ever sled on the driveway?

Signe, Isaac and our neighbor Jaden

Alger Pizzeria

2009-01-02T21:06:00.005-06:00

Signe thinks her pizza is looking pretty good!

Isaac strategically places the pepperonis

Up here Isaac!

Ho...Ho...Ho....

2008-12-27T08:36:00.006-06:00

And how many times did you watch "The Christmas Story" in the 24 hours it was on this year? I think I managed the whole movie one time through, but it took 3 different showing times! One of my favorite parts is the mall scene where they stand in the long line to see Santa Claus. Santa, who is clearly sick of the holidays already, keeps repeating, in a very mechanical tone, "Ho...ho...ho..." I think this is a good way to explain my feelings by the end of the day on Dec. 25th. Not that I don't love watching my children enjoy the innocence of Christmas from their eyes, but let's face it; there is a lot of preparation that goes into these two days. Too much. I'm already trying to figure out how I can make the holidays less hectic next year. Any suggestions? Send them my way.... In the meantime, a few pictures from the joyous season:

This was actually Thanksgiving night, before all the real chaos started. How it's supposed to be!

Eating M&Ms at 7:00 am. Hey, it's Christmas.

Isaac's favorite gift: all of the tissue paper leftover.

The Twelve Days of Sickness

2008-12-19T09:12:00.003-06:00

Back in March of 2006, our family went through a little episode of illnesses where all four of us managed to be sick at the same time. It was completely unbelievable how many doctor visits, medications, days away from work/school we experienced, so I wrote a little song about it, to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

Fast forward to December of 2008. Not all of us are sick this time, but we've definitely had a week of illness lurking around, which has included many of the same things as the previous adventure: doctor visits, medications, days off of work/school. I thought it would be appropriate, and since it's the Christmas season and all, to reprise the song I wrote in 2006. Hopefully by the time Christmas rolls around, this will all be a distant memory!

"The Twelve Days of Sickness"

Twelve days of sickness,
Eleven sleepless nights,
Ten medications,
Nine loads of laundry,
Eight combined missed days of work and school,
Seven trips to the clinic,
Six temperatures taken,
Five barfing incidences,
Four crabby Algers,
Three strep throats (one recurring),
Two hacking coughs and, (deep breath....)
A yeast infection on the neck (yes, you read that correctly) turned bacterial spread to the armpit, ears and belly button!

Merry Christmas everyone!:)

My back hurts, Dad!

2008-12-10T20:10:00.004-06:00

Steve did something to his back when he was reffing a basketball game on Friday night....Let me back up a bit, his back has been "bothering" him for some time now, to which I would say "why don't you go to Dr. Uhler (the chiropractor) and have it checked out?" "No! It's not that bad!" I guess running up and down the basketball court isn't good for a back that's just bothering you (who knew?) So, after coming home from the game Friday night barely able to walk, he was finally convinced he needed to go see Dr. Uhler, which he has done twice this week. Part of his regiment is applying a heating pad to his back for 15 minutes or so. Isaac has caught onto this whole experience quite quickly. Today, when Steve picked him up from daycare, Isaac informed him that his back hurt and he needed to go home and put the heating pad on it. Complete with the pain-staken look on his face. Too funny....

2008 in Review

2008-12-04T21:26:00.010-06:00

I can't believe how quickly this year went by! Here are some Alger Family highlights. See you in 2009!

Just being goofy....

Momma's boy :)

Bocce Queen!

What're you looking at?

Happy 40th Birthday Grandma and Grandpa Alger!

My sister did this to me.

Halloween with Cousin Ian the Cowboy

Christmas Day with G.G.

Family Photos

2008-12-03T20:14:00.006-06:00

So, we had family photos done back in October, but I'm just getting around to posting some of them. I know it's hard to remember now, but we had some pretty warm days in October. This was not one of those days. Because of that, the kids were not quite as cooperative as we would have hoped, but we still managed to eke out a few good shots of them. (Steve and I are just "extras" :)

Finally, some pictures!

2008-12-03T15:37:00.004-06:00

Here is a couple pictures of Mr. Reid Wills, one which includes proud big brother Ian!

The Thanksgiving Watermelon

2008-11-26T21:30:00.004-06:00

Tonight Steve was prepping the turkey by soaking it in a "brine" of salt, brown sugar and water. This is why he is the master chef on Thanksgiving. I would never be this creative. Not the point of the story, though, so moving on. He brought the turkey in from the garage, still wrapped up in it's Jenni-o packaging, mainly green in color. Isaac could not get over this thing sitting on the counter and kept telling Steve (in a tone of voice like he had just seen a ghost) "Look at the huge watermelon!" :) We thought this was cute, so I was going to post a picture of him standing next to it. Do you think I'd charged my camera battery yet, though? Ugh! It's charging as we speak. Since I can't capture that one after the fact, you'll just have to use your imaginations!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends! Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, watermelon included.

Speedy Delivery

2008-11-26T12:58:00.003-06:00

We have another new baby to report in our extended family. Signe's godparents and my good friends, Kelly and Mike Kennedy, welcomed their daughter Tatum Jo Kennedy on November 25th at 6:15 am. Why the title to this message? Because they got to the hospital around 5:50 am! Dr. Penkus was swimming laps at the YMCA when he got the multiple pages from the nurses. Kelly said the nurses were speaking in code so she didn't know what message was actually being translated to him. We figured it had to be something along the lines of "get up here now!" We were trying to figure out how he would have gotten the page if he was in the pool, though, and Kelly decided she was going to ask the nurses to find out. (Kelly's family has had some exciting childbirths this year. Earlier this year, her older brother and his wife had their second child....in the car on the way to the hospital!) After all of the quick-paced panic, though, everyone is doing well. And I haven't charged the battery in the camera yet. I will have to post pictures later.

Welcome Reid Loren Wills!

2008-11-23T21:40:00.002-06:00

This morning at 12:35 am, Steve's sister Ann, husband Brian and our nephew Ian welcomed a new addition to their family. Reid Loren (Loren is Ann and Steve's dad's name) was 8 lb 15 oz and, I think, 20 1/2 inches long (I could be wrong on that last stat). Steve and Brian's mom, Meredith, were at the hospital when he was born and got to see him right after they wheeled Ann out of the operating room. Where is the picture, you ask? Here's a word of advice to everyone: check the batteries in your camera BEFORE you leave the house. Once I get some I will post them. He's a cutie and everyone is doing great!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

2008-11-04T06:21:00.000-06:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Buddy! I can't believe how fast time flies! Dad, Signe and I love you and hope you have a great year learning lots of new and exciting things!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T08:24:00.000-05:00

We had quite a full day on Halloween. I helped out at school, we carved pumpkins (nothing like waiting until the last minute), Cousin Ian came over to visit and then, of course, there was trick-or-treating. Isaac even did a couple of his scary dinosaur impressions when he was out and about.

Signe and her Big Partner, Chantell, from Gustavus, before heading out to a Halloween party on Thursday.

Here I am, helping out a group of Second Graders explore the inside of a pumpkin on Friday. As you can see, I definitely do not have control of the situation. We'll see if Mrs. Bly invites me back:)

Mrs. Bly and Lathe read "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" to the class.

Mrs. Bly's Second Graders (Signe is in the back row, second kid from the left- the tiger)

Isaac the Dinosaur, Ian the Cowboy and Signe the Tiger

Excited for trick-or-treating!

Halloween Fun Run

2008-10-25T10:29:00.000-05:00

This morning Steve, the kids and I went to watch the annual Halloween Fun Run. They have a costume contest as well, so you always see a lot of unique outfits! Laurel and Seth were running and our neighbors were walking, so we wanted to go cheer them on! We also saw a lot of other people we knew too. Good job everyone! Signe wants to do it next year, so maybe we'll be in the photos next year:)

Uncle Seth as Lt. Dangle from "Reno 911"

Auntie Laurel as a bunch of grapes- she won "Best Female Costume"- way to go Laurel!

Linda Zuhlsdorf- Looking good, Linda!

Noelle Neubauer- this cat broke away from the rest of her group and is racing to the finish line!

Joyce Harvey as a tiger and her daughter Maddie in the background.

The rest of the cats- Kim and Kaylee Neubauer and their friends Heidi and Heidi's daughter

Sam Stuewe as Buzz Lightyear. Not technically part of the race, but decided to join midway through with Mom! Hey, if everyone else in costume is running, why not me?

Signe's Birthday Pizza Party

2008-10-19T17:09:00.000-05:00

We've gotten into the routine the past few years of having Signe's birthday party in October. With the start of football and school the end of August, we never seem to find a good time to fit it in then. I think Signe likes this though, because it makes her birthday stretch out over a month and a half. (If you know Signe, you know that her world revolves around her birthday). This year we took some friends, Mom, Dad, Isaac, Grandma Cindy and Auntie YaYa (Laurel, for those of you who don't speak "Isaac") to Dino's Pizzeria in lower North Mankato. It was wonderful! They got to make their own pizzas and ice cream sundaes and boy were they creative! So, while my mom was reminiscing about the good old days of simple birthday parties, I was sitting back and enjoying the kids having fun and making a huge mess in someone else's domain! :) Check out the pictures below:

The whole gang (from front left, going clockwise): Sydney, Abbey, Adeline, Signe, Trinity, Lexi, Amelia, Isaac, Carter, Jeremy and Rebecca

Isaac, enjoying the party from the next table!

Isaac, Carter and Signe, anxiously awaiting to make their pizzas!

Jeremy, Rebecca, Sydney, Abbey and Adeline getting instructions on pizza making

Trinity, Lexi and Amelia

Sydney, Abbey and Adeline

Trinity, Lexi and Amelia get pizza making tips from Master Chef Steve!

Bon Appetit!

Making ice cream sundaes

We hope everyone had a great time! Happy Birthday Signe!

Monday morning

2008-10-06T20:16:00.001-05:00

Usually the kids are pretty good about getting up in the morning, but we had a particularly busy weekend so it took a little more time to get going than usual. Here is a picture of them after the third time I had gone in to wake them up. Notice that they both somehow ended up on Signe's floor in the middle of the night, which also may have contributed to their early morning grogginess!

Steve Junior

2008-10-06T20:09:00.000-05:00

Steve spent a good deal of time of Saturday aerating our lawn. Isaac was completely fascinated with the concept of aeration and since he couldn't join Dad he decided to "help out" by doing a little aerating himself on his big wheels....

Isaac's First Bike Ride

2008-09-29T21:33:00.001-05:00

It never ceases to amaze me that you can hardly turn your back without your children reaching the next milestone. Would you two please slow down a little bit??? You're going to be teenagers before we know it and I don't think we're at all prepared! Anyway, we reached another milestone on Saturday. Isaac took his first ride on his "new" bike. It's still a little big for him, but you can't pass up a freebie from the neighbors. He was a little frustrated at first because it wasn't as easy to manuever as his trike, but before long he pretty much had the hang of it. I just have to hold onto one handle bar to help him steer. As you can see, he's pretty excited about his new set of wheels....

Congratulations Steve and Laurel!

2008-09-26T19:52:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to announce that the Rasmussens are gaining a new family member next August. My sister Laurel got engaged to Steve Sturlaugson on September 13th. That's right, there's at least 5,000 names you can choose for your son (based on the 10,000 baby names book), and my parents are going to be two-for-two with son-in-laws named Steve. Good thing we're already used to this idea and have been calling them Steve Lee (Alger) and Steve Todd for some time now. Welcome to the family Steve Todd! Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into? :)

We have already been dress shopping twice, and Signe has quickly discovered how to make this process all about her! She has found a number of "perfect dresses" and has even drawn a few for her teacher on her "Weekend Sharing" assignment she does each week at school. Laurel kept asking Signe which wedding dress she liked when she would try one on. Each time Signe would say "That's my favorite one." Finally Laurel pointed out "you say that about every dress I try on!" Signe's response? "But I like them all!"

Here is a picture of the newly engaged couple. They celebrated by going to Perkins with Mom and Dad. I don't know how they stood that kind of excitement after the big proposal....

First Day of School

2008-09-06T23:17:00.000-05:00

We have been taking a picture of Signe on the front steps each year on the first day of school. (I've offered to take Steve's picture as well, but he hasn't taken me up on that yet). This year, she started 2nd grade. I've posted the picture below, although I do have to say that the smile is probably forced because she was upset with me for making her come outside since it was cold out! (Signe, when you read this someday I just want you to know that you really, really, really wanted to wear that Hannah Montana shirt to school, versus something a little warmer!) Anyway, you don't realize how much your kids change until you look at pictures and compare them year to year. Check out her kindergarten picture below that. (The 1st Grade picture is evading me at the moment).

Happy Birthday Signe (and Mom)

2008-09-01T16:36:00.000-05:00

Happy 8th Birthday Signe! I feel I'm much too young to have an 8 year old, I just want to say. Yesterday, Aug. 31, Sig's actual birthday, we had a family party as we do every year around this time. I am also thrown into the mix, since my birthday is Sept. 7th. It's a way to celebrate without really celebrating, because let's face it, after 21, are birthdays really that exciting anymore? Although, it is nice to celebrate the privilege of blowing out another year's worth of candles. This way, when my actual birthday comes around and I have to do something unfun like work or go to class (can anybody think of a better way to celebrate than 4 hours of cost accounting?) I feel like I at least got a little celebration in there. Here are some photos of the day:

You can't see the candles, but they say "8" and "33"

Isaac, all wrapped up.

Uncle Peter and Cousin Ryan