Happy Anniversary Alfred and Nathy-Boo!

Today is Alfred and Nathy-Boo’s first anniversary. Since I didn’t post about their wedding a year ago, I figured this is a good occasion to do so.

The air was moist and warm, droplets of imagined rain clung to the ferns. Munchkinhead and I ducked under a banana tree leaf and giggled. Paradise. Nearly everywhere you turned there was lush green foliage or a burst of flowers. Hard to believe it was 40 and rainy outside. No, we weren’t in a jungle. Munchkinhead and I were just pretending we were in a jungle. Where we really were was the rehearsal for Alfred and Nathy-Boo’s wedding.

A truly exotic location, Des Moines, Iowa.

I’ve been to quite a number of weddings over the years and I have to say that this one was by far the best wedding I’ve attended.  It was well-organized, beautiful, economically, delightfully representative of the bride and groom, tons of fun and just over all amazing.  And I’m not just saying that because it was my sister’s.  Alfred knows I’d tell her if I thought she could have done better.
Alfred did pretty much all of the planning herself. The venue was delightful: the Des Moines Botanical Center.  A beautiful glass dome arcing high above succulent gardens with a small stream where colorful fish flipped their tales. Banana tree leaves and spindly flowers waved in the breezes created by people walking down the cobblestoned paths.  The moist, warm air inside hid any indication of the cold April gloom covering the outside world.  Why fill a church with expensive flowers when you can have the convenience of an indoor garden?

Alfred’s dress was, of course, absolutely beautiful.  A simple woman of logic and practicality, she is nothing of the diva that her two sisters are. Her dress showed this perfectly, classic, yet elegant, with just a touch of sparkle in the purple embroidered flowers at the bottom of the white satin.  Being as cold-blooded as the rest of her clan, she has had a matching bolero for the reception.
Her bridesmaids dresses also exemplified an important part of her nature, her consideration for others. Knowing that the fairer sex is prone to fluctuations in body size and shape, and having her bridesmaids coming from across the country, Alfred chose an adjustable option for the dresses. Purple satin corsets with matching long skirts.  Of course, Mommy made all the dresses, her own, the bridesmaids and Alfred’s.

Standing at the front of the garden with the other bridesmaids, I couldn’t help but tear up. Not only did Alfred look so beautiful and happy, but Daddy was tearing up next to her. How could anyone not get misty eyed seeing that?

The ceremony was short and sweet, presided over by the pastor from our home church in Milwaukee who came all the way to Iowa on Easter weekend just to marry Alfred and Nathy-Boo. And then the bride and groom walked together down the aisle to music from Star Wars. Geeks.

And then the real fun began, the reception. Every person had a gift to take home with them, lovely nameplates cross-stitched by the bride herself.  Alfred and Nathy-Boo also made all the centerpieces for the dinner tables, out of Legos! No one can tell me they’ve had better center pieces.  The small cake above the mountains of cupcakes was also Lego-themed, with a small corner of icing peeled back to revel bricks beneath  and a Lego bride and groom up top.
The cupcakes provided lots of amusement throughout the night as the cake part, and the fillings inside were quite delicious, but the frosting was a bit too much for anyone. Tables were covered with mounds of frosted peaks carefully removed from little cakes. Mugs overflowed with the pastel swirls, looking like fancy lattes.  One of our aunts had close to a dozen cupcakes and left a fine frosting display around her table place.

Alfred and Nathy-Boo’s music was perfect. All their favorites. I don’t think the dance floor was empty the entire night.  A ridiculous line formed across the middle for the “Time Warp”.  Munchkinhead and I waltzed to Metallica and danced with Daddy to the family theme song. Mommy and Daddy danced to their song. Alfred and I played air piano to “November Rain.” And we all polkaed.

It was a fabulous night. Wonderful to see so many family members and old friends and an absolute blessing to see Alfred and Nathy-Boo so happy. Congratulations on a fantastic wedding and on your anniversary!

Photo by Jill Brown

Welcome to the Family

MWAHHHHAHHHAHHAA  - well, it would be an evil cackle, except he knows exactly what he's getting into.  And, he still did it.  He must really love her.

Congratulations Wendy and Nathy-Boo!

Nathy-Boo (finally) proposed to my beautiful little sister!  Happiness all around!   He did it in a really cute way, but it's not my story to tell, so I'm trying (and failing) to get Alfred to write a guest-post.  My favorite part of her phone call was when she was telling me about the ring, "it's got a big stone in the middle that's diamond or fake diamond or whatever; I don't care it's sparkly and I like it..."  If only Nathy-Boo had known earlier, he probably could have saved some money. ;)   And apologies for the picture - Nathy-Boo really doesn't like having his picture taken, so this was the best I could do.  Most of the rest look something like this: 

Anyway, YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(and you know I'm already trying to think of the best wedding present)

The Kids are Leaving Two by Two

Hurrah, hurrah?  No, Boo!  Boo!

Alfred and Nathy-Boo left today.  Now who will Munchkinhead and I play games with?  We were very sad when they left.  At first.  Then Alfred started talking and rambling on like she does and we couldn't follow anymore so we let go of her and just said goodbye.  They made it safely to Iowa City today and will continue on to Weeping Water soon.

Friday, it's mine and Munchkinhead's turn to head out.  We still have time for plenty of fun.  And we'll be back here with Alfred in about two weeks for the Metallica concert.  Yay!

In the meantime, we miss you Alfred and Nathy-Boo.

A Very Wisconsin Weekend

What a great weekend!  I love being home.  Last night, after going out for dinner (I had two glasses of milk), we all sat down at the kitchen table to play games.  With Mommy and Daddy's new record player playing in the background, Mommy, Daddy, Alfred, Nathy-Boo and I sat down to five handed Sheepshead while Munchkinhead played Backgammon with herself. 

First we were playing four handed.  Mommy really doesn't like playing Sheepshead with Daddy because he remembers every card played and days later will complain about how you should have let trump instead of hearts on the third hand or something.   But Daddy promised to be nice because we were teaching Nathy-Boo how to play.  (He's not from Wisconsin.)  Besides, Alfred made enough stupid plays to distract Daddy from getting mad at Mommy.

You can see Mommy's concern at Daddy's kibitzing in this picture.  She has the go-first-chapstick and is trying to decide what to lead.  We kept forgetting who was supposed to lead, so we used the chapstick to mark the leader.  (And by "we" I mean I kept trying to lead when it wasn't my turn.)

If you're interested in learning Sheepshead, this is a great book.  My favorite part is the chapter that actually starts, "Did you move away from Wisconsin and now you can't find anybody to play with?"  Nathan's holding the book in the picture.

Today, Munchkinhead, Nathy-Boo and I played board games while the rest of the clan watched the Packer game.  (Yesterday it was us and Mommy while Daddy and Alfred watched football.)  Alfred thinks a Packer game is a good reason to wear pajamas to church!  I think her lack of decorum may be even more infuriating than her lack of fashion sense.  At least the Packers won!
After dinner (homemade pea soup, yummy), the kiddies borrowed Daddy's grandpa car and headed for the epitome of Milwaukee, Leon's. :)

Leon's is an old-fashioned drive-in frozen custard stand.  No indoor seating, just a building with a parking lot.  You drive in, park, walk up to the line, wait for your turn at the window, place your order, plunk down your spare change (Munchkinhead and I each got a 2 scoop cone for a total of $3) and then walk off with the most delicious treat. 

My sorority sisters and I used to drive in from Waukesha (about half an hour) for Leon's, even though we had 3 other custard places out by school.  It is the best frozen custard ever.  You've had Culver's or something and think you've had frozen custard?  Wrong.  You haven't had custard 'til you've had Leon's.  And please, don't call it ice cream.  Leon's is so good that there is always a line, even at 10 pm on a freezing cold night in the middle of December.  (Trust me, I've been in it.)  Or, as you can see below, at 6 pm on a freezing cold night at the end of December.

Our Snowman

What do you do when someone can't make it to Christmas Eve? Why, build them out of snow, of course!

Last year, it was Wendy.

This year, a good friend of mine wanted to come, but he had to work. (He also has like 8 families in Cali that he has to divide the holidays with, but I'll blame it on work and pretend he would be here if it weren't for that, because then I feel more special.)

Here I am, making the base. It took two of us to role it into place by the end.

Alfred, Munchkinhead and Nathy-Boo starting to sculpt. It took all four of us to get the middle up there and the two tallest of us to put the head on.

Alfred working on the laptop bag.

Munchkinhead sculpting the arm.

TaDa! Nathy-Boo and the finished Snow-Trizzle.

Looking up at hand and bling. :)

The sculptors and our creation.

The original Mr. Trizzle.

A Milwaukee Favorite

Yesterday, I went with Munchkinhead, Alfred and Nathy-Boo to the Milwaukee Public Museum.  We love the museum and have been going regularly since we were little.  Well, not Nathy-Boo, he's from Nebraska, not Milwaukee.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun.

We saw the traveling Titanic exhibit with real artifacts from the Titanic.  It was kinda freaky in some places, especially where it made it seem like we were under water.  When we entered the exhibit, we each got a card with a real passenger on it and at the end got to see if we survived or not.  I didn't; Nathy-Boo didn't; but Alfred and Munchkinhead did.

We also went to a planetarium show about the Christmas Star.  It was really interesting.  Before the movie, a guy comes out and does a planetarium show with stars on the IMAX dome.  I was super excited because Orion is currently visible late at night.  That's my favorite constellation and he isn't always visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

We all have our favorite parts of the museum.  I love the Streets of Old Milwaukee, though we got there 15 minutes after the little candy shop closed.  (That's ok though because St. Nick brought us Violets, Necco Waffers and popcorn balls!  And Mommy has clove and cinnamon ribbon candy already.)  Wendy loves the European Village,  which is currently decorated for the holidays, including the spinning Polish Christmas tree hanging high up in the town square.  (It's upside-down.)  Katrina loves seeing the monkeys, sloths and bats in the Rainforest.  Sadly, the Howler Monkey wasn't working. :(   (Those pics are from last year's visit.)

Other favorites include the T-Rex eating the Triceratops, the walk-in igloo and of course the movies: How to Dig a Hole To the Other Side of the World and the Dinosaurs movie. 

Another, recently fun addition to the museum is listening to Alfred tell us what's wrong with exhibits.  She is, as she put it when saying perhaps we shouldn't put our glasses on those skulls, an emerging museum professional.  She'll graduate in May with a masters in Museum-something-or-other.  I know she hates the errors in the 28 year old claymation dinosaur video, but what really irks her is the prehistoric mammal collection.  Apparently,  there isn't much right in that exhibit and it needs to be updated based on some "new" discoveries that were made in 1992.  She gets especially annoyed when they mess up things on the prehistoric rhinos and other creatures she knows a lot about.  Oh well, I still like the museum.  (Although, I'd like it better if the gift store still sold Astronaut ice cream!)

So what do you do at a museum you've gone to so often you notice when something's been moved?  Well, besides visiting all your favorite places, looking for what's changed, and, if your Wendy, pointing out what's wrong, you act out the exhibits!

Totem pole at the top of the now down (once up) escalator to the second floor.

 

Skulls at the entrance to Latin America.

 

Big bird catching a beaver in North America.

 

1950s Museum curator.

 

Mask, I think in Latin America exhibit.

 

Cactus.

 

Poor baby bear is being attacked by bees!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

I saw my first Christmas lights of the season this past week at work.  There are several banks located inside the Federal Secretariat, and one of them had hung garland and lights outside its door and window.  It nearly made me cry.  It really is Christmas time!  Another bank had put a Christmas tree in front of its door, complete with ornaments and lights.  It was very pretty.

I really do love Christmas time, even though Christmas is only my fifth favorite holiday.  There are so many Christmas things to do at home that I can hardly wait to get there.  I have to attempt to hide the sandwich cookies that Mommy better make, so that no one else can eat them.  I said attempt, because it will not work.  Mommy will catch me and make me put them back.  But, I have to try, all the same.

Katrina and I are already conspiring about where to hide the plastic Abominable Snowman, and Wendy's already trying to guess where it'll be so she can get it and put it back where it belongs.  (Where does it belong?)

The plastic canvas snowman and snowlady have to take the plastic canvas choo choo from their plastic canvas gingerbread house to the stable to see baby Jesus.

A few various Santa Clauses, elves, and little musicians need to form a train behind the three wise-men, on their way to visit baby Jesus.

We have to turn on all of Mommy's sound and motion activated fiber optic toys, dancing reindeer and singing what-nots at the same time and then wait for Daddy to enter the room.

I'll hang my pretty silver ballerina ornament on the tree by a blue light.  (Or move it, if Mommy already has the tree decorated before I get home.)

Katrina and I must whine about how the Christmas tree is fake and it's no fun that the tree doesn't rain.  Hopefully Mommy will have that Christmas-tree scented room spray again, so it'll at least smell like Christmas.

Wendy, Katrina and Nathan and I have to build a snowman, if there's snow.  It won't have to look like Wendy this year, because she'll be home!  We also need to go to the Museum and see the Streets of Old Milwaukee and the European Village all decorated for Christmas.  I love the upside-down Christmas tree in the Polish house!

I have to drink off-white egg nog and eat red cake.  And make my Christmas dress!  (Unless I decide to wear my new natives; they're green.)

We have to spend the whole day, every day, listening to wonderful Christmas music!  "And a beer... in a tree."  Mommy has to watch White Christmas with us.

Daddy Bunny will help me open my presents on Christmas morning.

But most important of all, we get to spend time together, the whole family.  The big, big group on Christmas Eve, and the little group on Christmas Day (and the surrounding weekends).  I love Christmas; I love spending time with my family.

36 Hours in Paradise

No matter where I'm coming from, no matter how long I've been gone, landing at General Mitchell International Airport always makes me cry. I'm just so happy to be home. The plane comes in low over the city. I look out the window down to the land and water below. There's the Hoan, and the Firstar building. We continue east out over lake Michigan and begin our turn towards the airport. As the plane descends, it seems as though we could just reach right out and touch the deep blue waves. A full 180 and the land comes into view again. There's my high school, and the football field. I can name the streets below like its a google map. There's Lake Shore Drive, and Packard, and Ramsey. There's my parent's house! And as we graze across the telephone poles on Pennsylvania, I know we'll soon be on the ground.
It wasn't any different this weekend. And also as usual, the trip felt far too short. But, it was absolutely wonderful! Before we were even in the out of the airport parking lot, before I could even ask, my sister piped up, "should we go home before we go to Leon's?" And that's how the weekend began, with frozen custard and my favorite people at 9:30 on a beautiful balmy night. And the weekend just kept getting better. The next day was Grandpa's surprise party! Where do we start? The gorgeous 80 degree weather, or the hundred-something relatives that came to my grandpa's birthday party? The weather speaks for itself. Even though it rained a bit twice, the sun quickly came back out and our spirits were not dampened.
By far, the best part of the weekend was sitting around listening to my grandpa's cousins, i.e. my first cousins thrice-removed!, talking about when they were younger, the relationships in the family and the cultural rivalries of their day. I was particularly amused that my great-grandparents were upset when my grandma and grandpa started dating because my grandpa is Polish and my grandma is German. Now it seems half the South Side is Polish/German! I certainly had plenty of friends growing-up who's mix included Polish and German. The really ironic part is that we're not quite sure what country some parts of the family are from because of constant wars and border shifts.
The old photos cousin Claudia brought were especially delightful. She even had the passports/entry documents from my great-great grandparents. These were my grandfather's maternal grandparents. The papers were from Ellis Island, dated 1918, and my relatives had marked the signature lines with their "x"s because they couldn't read or write. My great-great grandmother's had a picture in it. My great-great grandfather's did not. She looked to be a portly woman in her 50s or so, but I really have no idea on her age. Mommy tells me this is about as far back as we can trace this branch of our family. (I would like to point out, for my readers who may think that all "white" people can trace their families back super far and know where they've come from, that this date is only the beginning of the 20th century, we don't know exactly what the last name was because of spelling variations, and we're not actually sure what country they're from.)
Cousin Claudia's being there was in and of itself a very special treat for Grandpa. At first I didn't understand why Mommy introduced herself to Cousin Claudia and then took her around and introduced her to everyone and explained who they were. Then I found out, my grandfather's family had sort of split back when he was a kid. Her parents the the parents of the other cousins lost contact. Standing in the background, I listened to the cousins try to sort out what had happened.
One of the cousins was talking about how her parents always fought, and how her dad was only nice when he wasn't drinking, which wasn't often. Others had similar stories. Cousin Claudia figured that's why the family got split. She knew her mom didn't like all the drinking and stuff. It appeared Cousin Claudia had been quite young when the parts of the family lost contact, yet she still remembered some other relatives that the other cousins knew. It was neat to hear them exchange stories. It also turns out that Cousin Claudia knows all my grade school teachers (we moved when I was 10) and may have even served on the same committee as Mommy back in 1988!
Other excitement of the day included following around my adorable second cousins (my cousins' children), taking pictures of them; eating cheese, snaps and shampoo raisins; and answering questions with things like "yes, I'm the one that was in Africa," "no, I'm not the one that just got back from China, that's Katrina, she's over there."
After getting home from the party, Mommy, Wendy, Katrina, Nathan and I played games! We were up 'til past midnight. Nathan does a very good Elmer Fudd, and Mommy does a great Mae West.
The next morning, it was off to the airport. Far too soon. As we soared higher and higher into the sky, I watched the familiar places shrink away from me. Goodbye Daddy's office, goodbye 794, goodbye church, goodbye home.
(Original Post)
Bed
Cheerful
Lena Horne - The Lady is a Tramp (especially the part that says "hates California, it's cold and it's damp)

Le Spirit Enfant

There's a magical place that I know. Like a fairy tale gingerbread house, but less assuming. No gumdrops to light the way, no candy canes lining the path, just some grass and a plain lamppost. But they say, "don't judge a book by it's cover," or the magic by the house in which it lives. Standing outside, you might think you're a sophisticated adult. But passing through the magical portal, you experience a transformation. No mushrooms needed.

"Knock knock" or "ding dong," whichever you choose, a smiling face will greet you and welcome you inside. One step, then the other. And as you move forward, the spirit enfant inside comes to life. Each passing moment melts away the hard exterior baked on by the outside world. Seriousness evaporates, fear drips off, self-consciousness wafts away. There is no evil here, no stern faces, no strangers. Warm smiles and hugs for everyone. You are engulfed by the love. And then.... the silliness ensues!

Every inner child is free here. Even the most determined scrooges can't help but succumb to the power of this Neverland. The house and the yard are both big enough to run around and games of tag or "give me back my (teeth, blankie. etc)" are frequent. More likely than not, someone is singing or dancing. Little green men watch from various posts, while Abominable snowmen and polar bears wait to be found. Loud laughter and the smell of popcorn might lead you to a room with flowing beverages, copious amounts of food and a stack of games as high as a munchkinhead. If Paul entices you upstairs with mention of the fire he's lit, you'll find a truly magical creature. A beautiful queen that never ages, using her special gifts to create beautiful wonderment. Her king is probably downstairs, reciting poetry and snapping little green men in half.

There's a room full of water, where the pink sunset surrounds you on every side. If you look closely at the sea green below you, you can see fish and birds by the waterside. The water laughs gayly as it rolls down the river, and you'd swear you can hear it breathing as it stops to smell the flowers. On very special nights, the soft November Rain beats against the walls, and winds up running down your cheeks. During Summer, shouts of "Mommy! Look!" fill the backyard as limbs go flying through the air. And in Winter, all the snowmen, elves and Santas traverse afar to see baby Jesus, his mother, and the old Shepard.

Deep in the dungeon of this castle, there's an amazing place. More powerful than a British telephone booth or Al. All you have to do is step inside, and *poof*, you are automatically transported to a tropical island. A cool breeze, palm trees in the distance, a drink in your hand. Your body relaxes almost instantly as you sink into the bubbling hot water, the sensual music easing your mind. Ahhhhh.

People travel from every corner of the world to come to this enchanting fairy tale world. Whatever ails they might face are healed. Terrified by goblins and mummies, sprained fingers, confusing themselves with telephones, it's ok. It all becomes part of the game. It's a news story, it's a lazer, it's just Daddy. It's all ok, because it's all magic.

And soon, I'll be there too, just 2 more days! I can't wait! I'm so excited! Milwaukee, cheese curds, frozen custard, warm weather, sunshine, lake air, and family! Home!

It's my grandpa's 80th birthday (or 39 a couple times and then some). We're throwing him a BIG party, but shhhhhhh! don't tell; it's a secret. I'm looking forward to the taco salad; my auntie Gail makes the best taco salad.

I don't think my sisters and I have been together since January, when Wendy finally came home sans Nathan. This time Nathan's coming along, too. We knew he was keeper when he didn't run off after his first visit to our house. Mommy and Daddy and all us kids, plus Grandma and Grandpa and all the aunties and uncles, most of the cousins, plenty extended family. This will be such a wonderful 36 hours.

(Original Post)

Kitchen

Happy

Traffic on Telegraph

Gotta Get Broom Off Roof

an event that could only happen here!

One time when we were little; ok, not so little; ok it was Yesterday!
Wendy and I decided Nathan couldn't come all the way to Wisconsin and not play roof volleyball. However, it was the middle of a long period of lake effect snow which had accumulated quite a bit, including on the roof. The cold temperatures also contributed to our problems by making the balls a bit flat, but we decided to try anyway.

First serve that makes it on the roof, goes right over the side - great, we can play!
Second serve on roof, oops! ball stuck. So we get out the broom with the nice telescoping handle and manage to get it on the roof so that the broom is behind the ball and the handle is hanging off the end of the roof. Luckily, Nathan has a nice vertical jump and is able to grab the handle, bringing broom and ball off roof.

Third serve on roof, (yes, there was a third, but not a fourth) ball got stuck higher up. So we tried our first method. Well, the broom got on the roof again, but this time so did the handle!
Problem, it's winter, it's snowing, there's too much snow on the ground to put a ladder there, not to mention the ladder's put away. Time for drastic measures (that's Daddy's brand new telescoping handle on the roof!) gotta get broom off roof.

Now, once upon a time we used to crawl out my bathroom window to go on the roof. So I went up to the bathroom to discover, since then, the window's been replaced, it's now about 6" narrower and quite a bit smaller than before - it was already a tight squeeze back then. So I went window hunting. Wendy had a new window too, bigger though so promising. The screen doesn't come off... next stop, Katrina's room. One look at the windows, uh nope. Back to square one. Okay, If I wiggle enough, I might fit through, gotta get broom off roof.

I took down the curtain rod, took off the screen and opened the window only to discover that when the pane is cranked open, it moves towards the middle, making the window even smaller, great :\ gotta get broom off roof.

I cranked the window back a bit so it wasn't open all the way but then wasn't in the middle of the space either. Somehow, in my big poofy jacket, I stepped from the counter top, through the window, onto the roof. Then it was time to grab hold of the house as tight as possible, one broken leg = no Africa. I quickly gave up on walking and sat down, slowly pushing myself towards the front. (My bathroom window is towards the back of the house on the side, the broom was on the front of the other side.) gotta get broom off roof.

I got to the front and crawled, on my hands and knees as close to the house as I could, until I got to the spot above the broom and ball. Then I went back to sitting and scooted to the objects, scooped them up and launched them off the roof down to Nathan and Wendy. Then I had to begin the trip back. Crawled back to the window and then, the most dangerous part, jumping from the roof into the bathroom, onto the smooth floor, shoes covered in snow. Just as I feared, sliiiip sliiide into toilet, ow! But I am ok! And the broom is off the roof! And I had an adventure!

(Original Post)

Accomplished

Museum

I am at the museum right now with Nathan and Wendy. This is in the Discovery World. We just saw an Imax film on Beavers! It was way cool. I want a pet beaver; they are uber cute! I think we should get one and drain the swimming pool and refill it with fresh water and then the beaver can live in it! What fun! My favorite part of the film was when the beaver went looking for a mate and found a skunk. The beaver took one look at the skunk, said "un uh" in its cute little beaver voice and then ran the other way. I like beavers.

We looked at maps and found Cudahy and Weeping Waters (Nathan's town) and even Steele-Swarthout! Yup, we could zoom in that far on the map. I was like, "hey, it's circle drive!"

We also saw How to Dig a Hole through the Center of the Earth and the clay-mation dinosaur movies. The Howler monkey in the rainforest didn't howl at me, but there are new moving creatures where the front desk used to be. We played the caterpillar game and I won; I became a butterfly and had baby butterflies first!

Wendy is now inserting my credit card into some weird machine, so I better go.

Good-bye all, from the Museum!

(Original Post)

Enthralled