Friends

I am writing this in our house which is full of teenagers. Rachel is the captain of the speech team and the "official" end of season party was canceled due to sick family members. So she just invited the whole team here. It has been a fun evening.

We barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs and the kids all brought chips, salad, pop and dessert. They played apples to apples and a variety of improv games. You know you are dealing with high schoolers who speak as recreation when they can create scenes on the go and laugh and joke about the process. It is so much fun to watch them work through situations verbally.

It is also wonderful to know my daughter feels comfortable inviting ten - fifteen teenagers over to the house with less than twenty four hours notice.



The weather this week has been wild. We had rain, snow, wind, sunshine, cold and warmth. But my garden continues to grow. My onions have sprouted and the strawberries are beginning to bloom. And on Wednesday Jeff and I will drive to Morris to pick up Stephen for a short break at home. Stephen will be home for four days before heading to Washington. He'll spend a day at the University of Washington checking out the computer science graduate department. Then he'll spend a week visiting my family (Forest is particularly excited to get to spend some time with his cousin). Then he will travel with my folks to Colorado to visit my Opa (grandfather) and Aunt and Uncle. He will fly from there to Utah (Salt Lake City) then travel to Logan where he will spend the summer doing computer human research at Utah State University. We're so excited for him and the opportunities he is pursuing.

Enjoy the spring, it sounds like many areas of the country are getting wild weather.
Diane

May! Life slows down, maybe?

The speech season has concluded and we are all grateful for the season to be done. While we were very excited and proud for Rachel to make the state meet. It did mean that the speech season was very long.

We made a whole weekend of it. Rachel drove down on Friday with the team and the obligatory stop at the Mall of America. Jeff and I drove down and enjoyed the time together. We joined the team for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and had a delightful time.

Saturday after spending the night at a motel that reminded both of us of our grandparents met the team at the college. Jeff and I watched a variety of speeches and were very impressed with the quality of the performances. Rachel and I watched the creative expression finals together. She was inspired and impressed with the finalists.

We then went and spent time with Sarah and got to see her on campus and on in her turf. That was wonderful. She looks so comfortable and at peace even in the midst of school busyness.

We also spent time (and used their guest room, thanks) with Ben and Brandy Utter in St. Paul. They shared with us their favorite restaurants and places. A wonderful, busy weekend.

I am now beginning to work in the garden, my peas are now about 3 inches high. I am getting ready to do summer reading class visits but work is a little slower, I hope.

Here are a few pictures from the state meet, in the arena waiting for results to the final round to be posted.





Have a wonderful May!
Diane