Back to School

Ruth and Jared started back to school this week.  Ruth will have a crazy busy year with a heavy work load in addition to her activities.  So far her favorite class has been AP Government, but she's also bonded with her AP Language teacher over being fans of "The West Wing."   Jared is excited about band and Chinese.  After the first day he proudly declared that he could count to ten in Chinese. When I asked him to do it, he said I'd have to wait while he went and got his paper.

Cosplay PreJudging

This weekend was the first round of judging for the Comic Con cosplay competition (you may remember my lengthy post about the process last February). Chuck went with me this time as my handler, and it all went pretty smoothly.  This was the first time I've worn this costume and I ended up having to make last minute modifications.  I still had a few problems, but on the whole I'm happy with it.   There is a lot of competition this year, but, being an original design puts me in a different category than most, so that helps.

So, what am I?  I'm a re-imagining of the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz in a clockwork/steampunk style.  My clockwork heart even beats.

Recovery Week

This week involved recovering from our vacation and back to school shopping. I spent some time volunteering at the high school in my new capacity as PTA secretary and Ruth and I also worked a lot on our cosplays as prejudging is this Saturday.

We have a lot of peaches this year; too many evidently because our peach tree split in half.   After doing a lot of research we decided that it was worth trying to save the tree.  It was harder than we had anticipated but a few bolts and some silicon later and the tree is back together (minus about 40% of the branches and all of the peaches on one side). 5 days later and it's looking good.   

While writing this blog I found these random Jared selfies on my phone. 

I had a long battle with my new airbrush.  Learning new things is hard. 

Minnesota Adventure

Unexpected Flight

Our flight out to Minnesota was oversold, so they offered us $400 per ticket to take a different flight. As a result we ended up waiting a few extra hours at the Salt Lake Airport.

The good news is that our new flight was direct with no lay-overs and on a much fancier airplane, and we make $1600 of travel vouchers out of the deal.

Guthrie Theater Tour

The Guthrie theater in Minneapolis boasts on of the largest costume collections in the US. They had a few of the animals from Lion King on display as well.  

They wouldn't let me put on any costumes but they did let us stay and look at the collection as long as we wanted.  I loved looking at all the armor to see how it was constructed. I could spend a week there.

Zoo and Conservatory

We had a fun day at Como Zoo and Conservatory with Grandma Barnum.  Ruth and Jared are in this photo at the head of the pool.

We opted not to feed the giraffes for $5. 

We enjoyed the tropical butterfly house. Jared had a butterfly land on his butt. 

Mall of America

There is a 20 foot talking Paul Bunyan featured in this log flume. 

One of our favorite rides was the  Ninja Turtle ride. Jared and I are in the front two planes. By the fourth time we road this Jared had figured out how to make his plane spin upside-down.

The Mall of America is a Pokemon Go Mecca!  We would play when we needed a break from all the rides.  I got three new Pokemon that day.

Here we are waiting for the Pepsi Roller Coaster. We road it like 8 times. I think it's my favorite roller coaster ever.  (Jared is at the age when he can't just smile for a picture)

Shooting ghosts.  Jared would tell you that our guns were broken but the truth is, we just aren't very good. 

Dinner with Chaz

Chaz and his boyfriend met us for dinner.  We had a nice visit.  Later in the week we went and visited Chaz at his work.  Chaz is working at a fancy burger place an expensive part of the city. He seemed to really like his job and his manager came and told us what a great employee he is and that they are taking care of him there. 

Roadside Attractions

Lots of the little towns in MN have interesting roadside attractions.  Of course we had to stop and take pictures with them while we made the 3 hour drive north to  and from the cabin.

Two Days at the Cabin

Our first day was overcast but nice. 

Ruth caught a bass. 

Because it was overcast the lake was really calm but a little too cool to swim. We all took turns taking out the paddle boat. 

Jared learned how to drive the boat.

Ruth drove the boat too.

We spent quite a lot of time just zooming around the lake, which is quite large.

Minnesota Institute of Art

We went to the MIA on two separate days. On the 2nd day Aunt Denise came along. 

We saw Monet, Renoir, Picasso, and this Van Goth. Just some highlights in an amazing collection. But while I loved this Van Goth, I think my favorite was the Art Deco collection.

Have to pick the nose.

The MIA was also a great place for Pokemon Go. 

We accidentally set off a few alarms while we were there. We did meet a very nice security guard, who had to talk to us more than once. ( Don't stand too close to the Monet - Don't try to see the back of the Art Deco radio.)

Did you ever wonder where Arbor Day took place in the year 1989?  Well, wonder no more. 

Selfies, and selfie photo bomber. 

Family Gatherings

We got to visit with all of Chuck's sisters while we were there. We went to church and ate dinner at Dennis's house and we were able to get reacquainted with our cousins, the Wards, who have kids similar ages to ours.  We also spent a day at the zoo with Grandma Barnum, and a day at the museum with Denise.  We spent a lot of time watching Olympics with Grandpa B, who is recovering from triple bypass surgery and is recovering very well. I also went on a fun ride with Laura in her convertible to see the snowman. And on Friday we had a big family gathering where all the family was there.  The sad thing is - the Barnums don't like pictures and don't take pictures.  I surreptitiously snapped this one. 

6am Flight Home

We had a smooth flight home.  Our last flight from Denver to Salt Lake was on a little "express" airplane.  We were up in middle of the night to make our flight, so a little sleeping on the plane was in order. 

Scout Camp

The only interesting thing that happened this week is that Jared went to a week of scout camp. His favorite part was boating, his least favorite part was siting through the merit badge classes.  He is the Senior patrol leader and he learned that some boys were much more helpful than others and he also learned that his mom is a much better cook than scouts are.

The 24th of July is a state holiday here, and one of our favorite ways to celebrate is to visit the parade preview.  There weren't any amazing floats this year, but there is always enough to entertain.

Chuck and I took our first couple's ride on Saturday.  We didn't go far because I'm still just learning but we had a good time. 

We've spent a few evenings out playing PokemanGo. There are 5 pokestops at or near our local library and there have been 30-50 people there every evening playing together. 

Family selfie while waiting for Mary Poppins to begin

Motorcycle Class

I spent 17 hours this week going through the Basic Ridercourse at the local Jr. college.  That included 12 hours over 2 days on a motorcycle in the hot sun.  It was difficult, physically, mentally, and emotionally.  It helped that everyone in the class was super encouraging and supportive and by the end I tested and passed.  I was already certified because of my scooter riding, but I now qualify for one level higher certification and I gained some very valuable experiences and skills.  Today I am sore and achy and bruised.    While I was away at class, Chuck continued to fine tune the controls on my bike.  I'm excited to give it a try when I recover.


Youth Council

We found out last week that Ruth was awarded a seat our city's youth council.  Youth council is a group of teenagers in our city that take part in local government, participate in service project, are mentored by city officials, and represent our city.   Ruth had to apply, including getting letters of recommendation, and then went through an interview.  She had her first meeting this week.   Ruth also went on a date to Lagoon and has been doing a lot of other fun things with friends.

Pokemon Go

Along with the rest of the nation our whole family has been playing Pokemon Go.  We've gone on walks and rides to find Pokemon.  It's been a crazy phenomenon to see so many other people out and about playing the game.  I've never seen anything like it.

Another good thing that has happen this week is that our baby kingbirds have finally flown the nest.  For the first time in over six weeks we can go into the backyard without getting swooped at.  Free at last.

Happy 4th

After three weekends busy with Les Mis, for the 4th this year we decided to stay close to home. I thought a hike would be fun, but Ruth was going to go to camp the next day, so instead of heading out into the heat we decided to find something fun to do indoors.  We went mini-golfing as a sketchy glow-in-the-dark golfing place. Then we topped that off with a round of bowling.   In the evening we drove down the road to a park and watched all the fireworks in our neighborhood. People must have a lot of money to spend on them because they were crazy. 

Ruth spent the week at camp.  She had no complaints when she got home; that's high praise from Ruth.  She also had her date on Saturday (the one from Les Mis) which I also got very little information about other than it was "fine". 

Last week I bought a motorcycle, a Honda nighthawk, (and it's so beautiful), and this week I was brave enough to try to learn to ride it. Chuck was nice enough to sit in a hot parkinglot for an hour talking me through it.  I have a long way to go but am sure I'll get competent eventually.  I plan on taking a class next week. 

We've had fun this weekend playing Pokemon Go as a family. In fact, as I type this, Chuck and Jared are off on an expedition to catch more of the little guys.