The Little Mermaid

Add this to the Remember This pile:

This morning, Rachel put my sunglasses across her chest, and said, "Look!  I'm a mermaid!"

Arizona Adventure

Although I returned from Arizona on Monday, things have been a bit crazy getting back to normal and preparing for my next mini-getaway to Sioux Falls with my sisters-in-law this weekend.  (This month has not been lacking for fun things to do, that is for sure!)

We looked forward to our trip for almost two years, and it definitely met all of our expectations!

I had never been to the desert before, so I was excited to see saguaro cacti.  We took many of these drive-by photos from our car!  We did find, though, once we got near our destination of Oracle, the elevation was high enough that saguaros were replaced by their prickly pear cousins.

Check out this fire I built on the first night.  All of those seasons of Survivor were finally used for something!  OK, so I did have a lighter and toilet paper to start it, but it was still an impressive little fire. :)  Arizonans are very proud of their starry skies.  We didn't burst their bubble and tell them that we can also see the Milky Way anytime we want to. :)  It does make one realize what we take for granted living in the country!

After a delicious breakfast at the Oracle Patio Cafe Saturday morning, we took a little hike in Oracle State Park. We also toured a historic ranch house.

Soon it was time to be present as Sarae got married!  Isn't she a beautiful bride?

 The next day, we toured Biosphere 2, which is now used for research for the University of Arizona. Eight people lived inside for 2 years in the early 1990's, attempting to survive on what they could grow inside.  I was out after I read that they could only have one cup of coffee every two weeks or so!  It was a very impressive place, and unlike anything I had ever seen before (although the rain forest did remind me of the Omaha Zoo).  Learn more about Biosphere 2 here.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to our friends the cacti and return home.

It was a weekend of wonderful laughs, food, and all-around good times.  We didn't see any snakes or scorpions, so that was a good thing for sure.  These women are part of my crazy tribe and there's no one else I would rather be stuck in Biosphere 2 with! I can't wait until our next adventure!

Leaving on a jet plane

When I was 19 and my friend Rachel 18, we decided on one of our many summer walks around Eureka that we were going to do something exciting.  Our friend Tonya was a nanny north of New York City. Why not, we thought, save our money and buy plane tickets to New York City the next summer?

And so, we told Tina (Tonya's sister) and our friend Amy about our little crazy plan and they hopped on board, too!

In May 1999, we all boarded a plane to New York City and spent three days seeing as much of Manhattan as we could.

It still amazes all of us that 1.) Our parents allowed us to go! and 2.) We all survived!

Here we are at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

It was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life. I still love New York!

What has me thinking of this adventure?  Tomorrow, Rachel, Amy and I will once again board a plane, but this time to Arizona to our dear friend Sarae's wedding.

So much has changed since our first big trip together and I can't wait to make new memories with these wonderful friends!

(Mini) Wedding Scrapbook

If you are my Facebook friend, you have already seen these photos.

If you are not, thank you for your patience!

I asked Angela for a few sneak peeks because I just couldn't wait any longer. And, with the bride and groom on their honeymoon, they probably have more important things on their mind than wedding photos. :)

Amanda gave me free reign on the bridesmaid dress and I had so much fun choosing it and actually finally wearing it!  I loved it even more when I was going to take it to the dry cleaners last week and the tag said Hand Wash.  Ah!  Even more love. I think I might just make it my new work uniform and replace the black yoga pants!

It was so much fun to get all of us dressed up.  I don't see my guys in suits very often, although the boys really didn't mind dressing up, to my pleasant surprise.

I may be able to talk them into wearing them for their Spring Concert in May.  

Landen just has one request--a different tie to change it up a bit.

Mom can handle that!

Time for Tuba

Landen participated in his first small group music contest in Redfield Saturday morning.

The 5th grade band received a 1 rating on their performance, which in letter grades would be comparable to an "A."

Landen received a 1 rating on his solo, "The Jolly Coppersmith," too.

I was his accompanist, which made it fun for me as well, and also fun to practice with him at home these past several months.

It sure brought back many happy memories of growing up and going to Selby music contest every year!  In fact, the judge I had every year for my flute solos was one of the band judges on Saturday!

We're bringing up the next generation of family musicians and we're so proud

of Landen's hard work these past months in preparing for contest.

Getting my fix!

Stitch Fix really isn't NEW, but it is new to me!  I would occasionally see people modeling their "fixes" on Facebook and Pinterest, but I was leery of jumping into my own "fix." Just like those cassette tape clubs of long ago (remember BMG and Columbia House?), I didn't want to make too big of a commitment.

A few weeks ago, a friend said that she had tried Stitch Fix and loved it.

I decided I didn't have anything to lose by sprucing up my summer wardrobe, which had been looking pretty tired.

It did a little research first. It would only cost me $20 down, which would be discounted off my first order, I could schedule a fix for however often I liked, give a range of my preferred price point, and could quit any time.  I scheduled when I wanted my first "fix" to arrive and would have three days to try everything on and ship my returns back for free.  If I decided to keep everything, I would receive a 25% discount.  

I filled out the online survey and paid my $20 down (which is taken off the first order). I didn't know what to expect with the information I gave my personal stylist. It turns out that she figured out my style pretty well!

I received my first shipment yesterday. It was like Christmas morning!

After trying everything on (and that is a rule for Stitch Fix, as some things may not look like your style until you wear it), I decided to keep everything but the necklace and blue chambray top.

The shorts are actually a pink pinstripe. I dismissed them right away, but after trying them on, loved the fit and shot of color in my wardrobe.

Have you always dreamed of having your own personal stylist? 

Try Stitch Fix!

If you do, do me a favor and tell them Laura sent you. :)

Melius Most-Read:Diary of a Spider

Although there are other Diary books, the only one we own so far is Diary of a Spider.  

It's a clever look into the life of Spider, and his unlikely friend, Fly.

We like the illustrations and diary entries that make up this story.

There's some great survival advice, too.

If you hear a vacuum, STOP, DROP and RUN!

Mr. & Mrs. Koenig

I am still overflowing with joy for my sister and her new husband, married April 11, 2015 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

Their wedding day was a blessing for all in attendance, and a lot of fun, too!  It's on joyful occasions like family weddings that one feels the true blessings of family and friends.

In some moments in life, you can look around and realize that in that one moment, all is well with the world. I think Saturday was like that for all of us.

I can't wait to see the pictures from super-talented photographer Angela Johnson.  Until then, here are a few from my camera!

I stayed overnight in Aberdeen on Friday night, so Dad was in charge of dressing the kids Saturday morning.  Look how great they turned out!  Even the boys liked being dressed up!

They danced until they couldn't take one more step.

For that matter, we all did.  You know if the Kallas family is involved, the dance floor is going to be full all night!

More photos to come!

Easter 2015

It was a most Happy Easter!

We started out early with Easter Sunday mass, and both boys were even able to be altar servers.

The Easter Bunny was good to us, too, and he left plenty of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs for mom. Yum.

Look!  Everyone is smiling at the same time!  

This year we hosted our parents once again and my sister and soon-to-be Uncle Vince.

We usually dye our Easter eggs before Easter Sunday, but we decided to wait and dye our eggs after Easter Sunday dinner when we were all together this year. 

Rachel was not interested in putting color on her white egg. She just wanted to eat it. After that, she decided that putting color on them was alright, too.

 Nathan always insists that our eggs are judged, so Dad served as judge for the Prettiest, Ugliest and Most Creative eggs. Nathan threw out his decision, however, when he chose three identical orange eggs for all three prizes. ;)

 Then it was time for the Easter egg hunt in the backyard!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Our family wishes you a most Blessed Easter Season!

Melius' Most-Read: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

We have a few of these "mouse" books and they are always a hit at story time. 

Moms can relate to the chain of events quite well, I think, with how one request and then another and another from a child can lead far away from the original task at hand.

We like the cute and detailed illustrations, too.

We don't like to host live mice in our house, but these books are keepers. :)

Signs of Spring

Our little seedlings are doing very well!  Rachel was especially excited to see how they "make" plants. Learning from our mistake last year, we propped our zinnias up with pencils this year so that their stems wouldn't kink with bending over. We lost a few before we caught them in time, but so far so good on the rest.

 Below we have cucumbers and basil.  If all of the cucumber plants grow, some cucumbers might actually make it into the house this year!  Last year it was always an exciting discovery for my girls to find a cucumber on one of our two plants.  It was finders keepers and first come first served as they sat on the swings and gnawed on their cucumber treats.

My strawberry patch was choked out by weeds, so I dug that up last weekend.  I am undecided if I will start new strawberry plants or try raspberries instead.

There will also be a small vegetable garden in our backyard again, provided I buy enough sour cream and raisins to pay my garden tiller in pie!