Down on the Farm

The petting farm, that is!

Ballet Class

Elsie was fun to watch at her new ballet class.  She really liked to fall down during practice, inspired a few others to do so as well.  But she did a bit better with the all in line exercises below:

More dances:

A visitor from Norway!

Back in the spring of 2003, I was blessed to meet a young lady (only 14 at the time!) named Elisabeth while I was volunteering in Lillehammer, Norway.  She was kind, brilliant, artistic, and I felt privileged to have her as a guide while trying to find my way in Scandinavia.  Her family even invited me to spend a weekend at their home, allowing me a unique experience of "real" life in Norway.  I especially loved the antics of her two little brothers, and a tour of the Royal Norwegian Farm (her father was the vet there).  I was very sad to say good-bye to her when I returned to the USA in May.

A few years later, Elisabeth took a trip to the United States to visit her American aunts, and I was thrilled to be able to drive to MN to see her again.  It was just a quick lunch, but it was so nice to reconnect and see the beautiful young woman she had grown to be.

You can imagine how thrilled I was this spring to hear that Elisabeth was planning a solo trip to the US.  When she asked if she might be able to visit us in Wisconsin, I was overjoyed at the opportunity to spend some real time with her again.

It had been at least eight years since we last met, so I was a little apprehensive as we waited to pick her up from the bus stop.  Though we have kept in touch, I can't say that I understand enough Norwegian to translate most of her Facebook posts correctly, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  After all, since we last spoke she had grown up, moved away from home, gone to college, and traveled the world.  I'd graduated, started work, gotten married, and had two children!  Needless to say, our lives were very different.

Luckily, it was immediately apparent that we still had much in common.

Elisabeth was a great sport, and watched FROZEN with the girls.  Apparently it isn't such a big deal in Norway, so she hadn't seen it (Elsie was appalled to learn this, and demanded an immediate viewing).  Elisabeth enjoyed the fact that it took place in Arendale, a real city in Norway, though Elsie's chatter kept her from hearing much of the story...

Elisabeth made chasing two girls around town MUCH easier!  I tried to convince her to move to America to be our full-time Au Pair, but she seemed to think that she needed to finish college first...

I am pretty sure Elisabeth enjoyed the zoo's carousel as much as Elsie did!

Elisabeth helped Sylvie feed the goats at the zoo.

Add caption

It was a very sad morning when the day came for Elisabeth to go back to MN.  Sylvie couldn't get enough cuddle time, and Elsie did her best to convince her to stay longer.

After Elisabeth got on the bus, Elsie didn't want to leave the bus stop.  She was VERY concerned that her new friend would decide she missed us and wanted to stay longer, so Elsie didn't want us to leave until we KNEW Elisabeth wasn't coming back.  Luckily, we didn't have any plans, so a stroll down State Street, a quick stop at a coffee shop, and some cuddles with badgers made everyone feel better.

Add caption

Congrats, Elsie!

The first day of 4K was an exciting one- we had a late morning, then needed to zoom right from swimming lessons to school.  Why not add a little excitement since emotions were already running high?  When we walked into the swim school, we were greeted with a plaque naming Elsie Swimmer of the Week!  She was nominated by her teacher, Miss Romina.  We took home a t-shirt, certificate, picture, water bottle, and a free family swim pass so that she can bring Daddy to see her swim, too!  Congrats, Elsie!

She was a little nervous to start at her new school, and spent the morning being reassured that Sylvie and I wouldn't leave before she was ready.  As soon as we got in her room, though, she found a bucket of animals, started lining them up on the floor, and said, "You can go now, Mama.  I'm playing."  And the end of the day recap- her favorite part of the day? "When you left me at school."  I guess this place is a good fit for her afterall!

July Miscellanious

Funny sentences by Sylvie:
"All done, walk!" -wanted to get out of the stroller
"Mama up now!" -wanted to be picked up
"Sylvie shoe hat go out." -wanted to play outside
"Mama, more button?" -looking for a belly button on Mama's back
"Mama cup, Daddy cup, Elsie cup, Sylvie bottle!"- at dinner

Elsie started swimming lessons.  The pool is indoors and heated to 90 degrees, and she still shivers the whole time. This is her teacher, Romina, the day she passed into Level 2 by swimming 5 feet on her own.

Sylvie loves standing in the huge windows to watch Elsie swim.  "Elsie, water, mama?  Splash splash!  Elsie swim!"

Elsie lining up her animals on "boats".

Elsie was reading, so Sylvie grabbed a book and joined her on the chair.

Funny quotes from Elsie:

"Mama, put ALL your bones on my bed!"- when Mama tried to read bedtime stories leaning on bed, instead of laying down.

"Mama, see these lines on my hand?  They are my tubes, and they are filled with my blood.  It goes all over me.  If you could see my toes (in shoes), you would know I have tubes there, too!"- sharing knowledge of anatomy  

"Sylvie, it is time to be quiet, now!  I am trying to sleep!  You are waking me up, and I will be very, very tired tomorrow.  I will have to take a very long nap if you don't go to sleep soon!" -talk between sisters at a joint bedtime

"Brussel sprouts?  They are my very favorite!  Hooray!"- at dinner

It's how I roll...

Celebrating after passing into a new Swim level!

Waiting for family pictures to be taken.

Snuggle with Grandma RJ

Busy artists...

Old picture of Elsie and her teacher, Miss Kerri

Picking flowers with Annie

Not sure when this is from, but I do remember that Lexie was supremely happy to share her cage, and kept rubbing her head on Sylvie's hand between bites. :)

A mystery at the Cooper's

This is never the sort of text you want to see when heading home from the office:

Apparently a true IASIP moment had happened right at home.  We may never know the culprit.

On a positive note, our new flooring had coincidentally arrived that very day!  

A Fairy Garden Party

Far, far away, in a magical place, 

lives a cute little fairy with a smile on her face! 

She waits for her friends in the afternoon sun- 

won't you come June 14th for the 4th Birthday fun? 

With fairy food to eat, crafts, and garden games to play, 

your arrival at one o'clock would make Elsie's day! 

Only those in proper magical attire will get through the gate, 

so fairies, elves, wizards (and family), please don't be late!

In lieu of gifts, Elsie collected donations to the Heartland Farm Sanctuary.  She followed up her birthday party fun with a tour of the facility when we dropped off the supplies.  She got to pet goats, lambs, llamas, pigs, ducks, chickens, and even a rooster named Baby!  She was able donate money in addition to many physical donations like office supplies, animal carriers, and cleaning supplies.  A big bag of cracked corn was donated, and for weeks after our visit, she would pull me aside and say, "Mama, I bet the animals are eating my corn today!" and offer a huge grin.  She was also thrilled to learn that "her" money would most likely be going toward a new "swimming pool" for the birds, a thought that filled her with joy! 

A big thank you to all our lovely friends for making her special day so magical!