T-Day Weekend Video Clips

And, the best for last:

Happy Birthday, Addie Ray!

She's been around the sun three times!



Happy birthday, sweet girl. We miss you.

Addie et al in Florida

Looks like the gang had a great trip to Florida -- check it out! :)

Matchy Match

Nice vest, guys. :)

Seattle 08: An Ab Workout

Seattle 08: Hat Tricks

Seattle 08: On the Town

Seattle 08: The Music Room

Seattle 08: Not the Blocks!

Seattle 08: Reading to Addie

Seattle 08: "Uh-Oh" and "Up!"

Seattle Trip 08: Highlights

More photos to come, but here are some highlights from our Seattle trip!

Each morning, Addie was dying to wake up everyone in the house to play. When she was persuaded to let Uncle Mason sleep a little longer, she decided to camp out in front of the guest room door to wait for him. On her back is the little cheetah backpack we bought her at the Ljubljana Zoo. She named him "Philosopher," which impressed the heck out of all of us.

I was excited to get some kitty-time with Frida.

And there was LOTS of Guitar Hero, although I'm not exactly sure why that necessitated Mike's wig. :)

A Visit from Guitar Man

Two weeks ago, Dad was in town for a conference and tacked on some extra days to hang out with M and me. I got half a day off from work and we had a really nice time -- a great mix of going out and just hanging out.

• We played a little Guitar Hero and got the best BBQ take-out in the state.
• We had a great meal at Chino, did a little MOA shopping, and attempted to go to the MN Zoo to visit Emmet. Too bad I didn't realize how early the zoo was closing in April (we pulled into the parking lot at 3:57 only to see the sign announcing the off-season closing time of 4:00).
• On the one sunny but slightly cool day Dad was here, he was a great sport about sitting outside. M and I were craving some patio time after a long winter and, although I could tell he was shivering a little, Dad hung in there for a good hour.

So, two fun stories to share:

First, a week before he was here (so this was early April), we were chatting on the phone about logistics.

"Bunny [blogger's note: she's a GREAT gardener] said I HAVE to bring the camera and take tons of photos of your garden," Dad said. "She's really excited to see how it looks this year."

I started laughing.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, um, you know we still have snow on the ground, right? Minneapolis got eight inches on Monday."

I could almost hear him slapping his forehead. "That's right!"

"So, you know. Everything's pretty much dead."

He then proceeded to tell me that Bunny had planned a big gardening project for the weekend and I got very, very jealous.

The other funny story is this: When he was here, we (of course) ended up talking about Addie. Mom had recently visited Seattle and told me that Addie knows where all of us live. Evidently, you ask her, "Where's Uncle Phil?" and she'll say, "Alana" (Atlanta). You ask about Uncle Mason and Auntie Laura, and Addie says, "Baby soda." You ask about Aunt Donna (my aunt in Texas), and -- this cracks me up -- Addie responds, "Obama in Hooston."

So I was relating this to my dad and we laughed about the Obama part. I then mentioned that when I saw Addie over Christmas, we had a great time and I could tell that she loved me, but it was clear that she didn’t know my name. (At one point during the holidays, my awesome sister-in-law LSB asked Addie, "Who do you want to go to?" And Addie gave me a huge smile, pointed at me and said, "That lady!") I know that she's little and that she loves me anyway, but given how often she asks about "Unca Masin," I felt a little sad.

As I related this story to Dad and said, "I know it's no big deal, but … you know."

He says, "She doesn't know my name either. Know what she calls me?"

I shook my head.

He gave me a big smile. "Guitar Man."

How cool is that?!? :) Thanks for an awesome visit, Dad!

Via Cellphone

Ah, the fun of picture messaging! :)

Addie [hearts] Uncle Mason, Part II

The proof:
Look at that little smile. :)

Addie [hearts] Uncle Mason

Just had to share this excerpt from an e-mail from Mike to M about our holiday time in Florida:

Man – Somehow in those final days you made some kind of lasting impression on Addie! She talks about “Unca Masin” every day. She now knows that you are in “baby-soda” but has to ask about you anyway.

RSSIMHRN for January 11

Remember these? :)

Ever since an impromptu Dan Zanes jam session in Ormond with Dad, Mike and LSB over the holidays, I've had the happy zydeco rhythms of "Wonder Wheel" stuck in my head.

It was a lot of fun to learn -- Mike pulled up the chord progression from the Dan Zanes site (how cool that Dan makes the chords for his songs available online!), and we all sat in the studio at Dad and Bunny's place and sang along. The funniest thing was that Addie, for whom this little performance was intended, seemed far more interested in the picture of Mr. Zanes on Mike's laptop than in the music. She kept pointing at it and saying happily, "Da Zane!"

Seattle Trip: Couldn't Help Noticing...

... the similarities in these two photos, taken about 30 years apart. :)

Seattle Trip: The Lovely LSB

Seattle Trip: Addie's Self-Portraits