Happy Spring!

Happy Spring! We're on day 2 of the kids' week-long break from school. Jon's back to work now, but did manage to finally have a weekend off. He had lots of paper-reading and basketball games (March Madness) to watch, but we did some fun things, too, including a 5 mile roller blade ride together (Jon skated and the kids and I biked). It's good to be outdoors and see the snow disappear, though of course it's muddy and the doggy-print trail on our carpet is fast becoming a doggy-print super highway.

A week ago we picked Bill up in Minneapolis and brought him to Eau Claire for a few days. He had his spring break last week, and spent it visiting with us until Mom and Dad picked him up Thursday and brought him to Rhinelander. Tuesday night we took him to a Hmong restaurant where he "dared" the waitress to have her mother cook the dish spicy. I thought for sure he was in trouble, but he was up to the challenge. Then he accompanied us to Skate America, where Longfellow School was having a fundraiser / family night. Apparently Bill hasn't skated much, but he did alright-- better than me. I'm pretty sure I haven't roller-skated since I was a gradeschooler in the 1970's, but I gave it a try... I fell a few times and looked like a doofus, but my image is such that I don't think it was adversely effected in any way... actually, after awhile I was able to let go of the railing and enjoy myself a little. I stopped skating, though, after I witnessed a really bad accident. A woman's plastic hair clip shattered when her head hit the floor, after her oafish husband (who'd been showing off, skating backwards) fell down onto her. Plus they had us all "reverse" and start skating the opposite direction... crazy.

The next day I had work and the kids had school, so Bill had us drop him off at an internet cafe, so he could work on a paper. He could have used our computer at home, but as we have a mere dial-up connection and he is spoiled up by his wireless laptop, that would not do (kidding, Bill; Susan wouldn't stand for it, either!).

We thought we'd end up taking Bill back to Minneapolis after his visit in Rhinelander, but he was able to catch a ride home with a couple of friends.

Brother Bob came over on Saturday for a visit. We felt really bad that he ended up getting a $35 parking ticket for parking on the wrong side of the road... we have odd/even parking in the "winter", though right now there's no snow on the street and the need to keep one side clear for plowing is purely hypothetical.

Sunday Emma and I picked out new bicycles for ourselves. I haven't had a bike since last year, when four of our bikes were stolen (in three separate incidents). The first bike (Michael's) was taken from the school bike rack, but that was kind of our fault because we forgot it there overnight and it wasn't locked. The second incident was another of Michael's bikes (a $10 thrift sale bike), this time taken when he left his bike outside overnight on the sidewalk in front of our house. That incident was frustrating because we had asked Michael to bring his bike in the night before, but he didn't see where he left it so just brought his sister's bike up to the house instead, and didn't tell us that his bike was unaccounted for.

The worst theft was the third incident, when me and Jon's bikes were stolen. Those were expensive bikes (purchased ten years ago, but still!). They were taken right from our house, where we had them under the eaves by our door. We filed a police report on those, but they never turned up.

Jon is waiting to get his new bike, because he wants a nice one. I picked out a basic, good quality bike for myself, nothing fancy. I plan to use it for my commute to work, and figure it will pay for itself in gas saved. I even bought my first ever bike helmet. (I had my first serious bicycle accident last year, injuring my arm enough to require a month or so of physical therapy).

We had already gotten Michael a replacement bike last year, still in good shape. Emma needed a larger bike, so we got her a new one this year. Also, we bought a bike lock and are using it now, so hopefully these bikes will last us for a few years!

Notice that in the photo I've attached, showing Emma's new bike, she's missing one of her two front teeth! That just happened a couple of days ago.

Well, we look forward to seeing Laurie and Mark this coming weekend. And Easter's coming up fast, so we'll see more of you then, when we visit Rhinelander!