I Dare You!

Liz had a wonderful, exhausting week and weekend. First quarter grades came out, and she made the A honor role again. :) It was crunch week for the Martin County West production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, and there were many late night rehearsals preparing for opening night this past Friday. (More on the play when I figure out how to post videos on the blog - hopefully tomorrow.)

After 4 performances this weekend, Liz was exhausted and tempted to pass on the Martin County 4H Awards Banquet. However two of her fellow cast members, Blake and Caleb, are also 4H Federation Officers, and they persuaded her to come. Good thing they did! Kia Harries, regional 4H coordinator, presented Liz with the "I Dare You" National Leadership Award! This award was created by William H. Danforth, the founder of the Ralston Purina Company, and is given to people between the ages of 15 and 18 who demonstrate leadership capacities, while striving "to be their own self, at their very best, all the time." Liz was thrilled, to say the least.

Liz also gave a presentation with her friends Alexis Janssen and Karen Suter on their 4H project last fall, when they video taped Christmas greetings to the troops from our area who were stationed in Iraq. They made a DVD of the greetings, and sent it to all the local soldiers in time for Christmas. As a way of saying thanks, the troops sent each girl an American flag that had been flown over their base camp in Iraq, and a small "Alladin style" lantern. The three young women gave a great presentation on the project. They showed amazing poise and public speaking ability! It probably helped that all three had been on stage all week.

Congrats on an awesome week, Liz!

"Ringing" with the Winter Wonderettes

With harvest pretty much behind us, Joe, Liz, Carl and I escaped to the cabin for two days. Highlight of the weekend was definitely the performance of "Winter Wonderettes", performed by the Lakes Community Theater at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Spirit Lake, IA.

Community participation was a must! We laughed, sang along, and sympathized until the second act. Then the cast came into the audience looking for volunteers! Carl was drafted, even though he wasn't on the aisle. He was on stage ringing a bell whenever he heard them sing the word "Jingle" (or any derivation thereof!). Fortunately, I had my camera with me.

There's nothing like live theater, and we have never been disappointed by a production at the Pearson Lakes Art Center. We're looking forward to more theater there over the winter.

Speaking of home front...

Here's the front of my home!! haha

Awesome Day for Tennis!

Today was Liz's best tennis day of the year! Up until now, she's lost every match she's played. The coach has been trying different player combinations in doubles, and Liz didn't do well switching partners every other match.

Well, she's found a doubles partner that she loves to play with, Alexis Janssen. Alexis and Liz are already friends, and are in dance together, and their personalities really well matched.

Today Martin County West (our team - the Mavericks) played against Fairmont in "the Battle of Martin County". Liz and Alexis played awesome tennis, and won their match 6-2, 6-3. They were very evenly matched with their opponents, who also played well, but it was our girls' day. Overall, the Mavericks won all 7 of their matches today.

Even better, it was 72 degrees, sunny, with a slight breeze. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning!

Liz's New Baby

It doesn't become hers until the weekend before her birthday, but Liz has a car! We sealed the deal this weekend. Here are a few pictures for you to check out the new wheels!

It's a Chevrolet Cobalt. It has ABS brakes, airbags, and some nice features like a stereo system with controls on the steering wheel, and a console shift. Needless to say, Liz is a very happy camper. She has nicknamed the car "MJ", which stands for "Maude Josie". Named after her great-grandmother, because Papa Joe suggested it, and Josie, because she just think it looks like a Josie!

I especially like the "Thanks Dad" picture!

It's a Small World After All...

You know how I've always said that EVERYBODY knows somebody from Trimont? Well, Carl's roommate, Nathan, is no exception. His grandmother came along to help him move in, and she asked Carl, "Are you related to John Rabbe?" He answered, "Well, sometimes, he's my grandfather!" Turns out that Nathan's grandparents, Pat and Gary Stark, live in Mora, Minnesota, and know John's sister and brother-in-law Mary and Ron, and his cousin Tom Heuer. They, in turn, introduced Pat and Gary to John and Joyce in Arizona. The Starks winter in Fountain of the Sun, and have played golf with John in the past. They also attend the same church as John and Joyce in Arizona.

Carl says Nathan is quiet, like he is, and a nice guy. Tomorrow is the first day of class. Carl hopes to hook up with the statistics professor tomorrow and try to get into that class this semester. And just for excitement, Carl gets his second Japanese encephalitis injection tomorrow afternoon. Gotta be ready for future study abroad, I guess!

Carl's Dorm in the Carlson International Center

What a day!

At Carl's request, we began the day going to worship at Dawn's church, where many of the congregation greeted him warmly by name. What a wonderful service. And they are such a welcoming group of people!

After a quick change of attire at Dawn's, we had brunch at Gustavus, and then proceeded to get Carl moved into his dorm. Vwaire, Carl's next door neighbor and suitemate, is a senior from Nigeria, who also happens to be his Collegiate Fellow (CF, f.k.a. Resident Advisor). He's a warm, fun, intelligent man who went out of his way to make Carl and all of us feel at home.

It was kind of a circus, trying to fit everything into his room. The wire mesh shelving units we had brought were not strong enough to hold Carl's printer and iHome clock radio, so Dawn and Liz ran back to her house and returned with a book shelf and low table courtesy of Grandpa and Grandma Nilsen's old Gramercy condo. They look great in the new room, the shelf supporting Carl's electronic gear and book collection, and the table holding up the fridge, microwave and providing storage underneath for the food box.

Carl left before we did, as he had an ice cream social and campus tour to get to, so we locked up after cleaning up the moving mess. When Carl called tonight, he seemed happy, tired, and excited to get started on his college adventure. He had been to dinner with the President, who then gave an "E Plurius Gustavus" speech to welcome the new transfer and freshman students.

We had one piece of bad news today. A family friend, Ken Treitline, who had driven a truck for us for many years, died last night. Ken was only 54 years old, and had a heart attack last evening. Two of his children are friends of Carl and Liz. In fact, Lindsey is on the MCW tennis team with Liz. On the way home, Liz, Joe and I stopped to visit with Zach, Lindsey, their older sister Michelle, and other members of the Treitline family. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to them! We will truly miss Ken.

Carl reports that he plans to set up a new blog to report on his Gustavus activities, so look for an email from him soon giving you his new link. In the meantime, have a safe Labor Day!

Liz Wins a State Fair Trip - But Has to Pass!

Liz took four projects to the Martin County Fair, and her Crafts project won her a State Fair trip - for the 3rd year in a row! This year, however, Liz has to pass on the State Fair trip - she has tennis tournies on the first and third days of the State Fair encampment. Liz takes her tennis very seriously! Here's a picture of Liz presenting her project to the judge, who promptly tried to convince her to go out for the school yearbook or paper, to go into graphic design or something for a living. Liz told her she just created it when she was bored one day! (Click on the picture for an up-close look at the project.)

The other photo is Liz and her friend Rebecca Steen.

Tennis schedule for this week - practice every day until the big Worthington Tournament (that's actually held in Pipestone!) on Friday. I'll post pictures of tennis as soon as I get some!

97 Degrees and "Raining"?

While the rest of Minnesota was sweltering this week, Phroggy and the Richfield Fire Department was providing some much needed cooling off for the kids in the Richfield Parks Summer Program. Dawn is the one at the top of the ladder! (Click on the individual pictures to see them full size.)

Home Waits to Welcome You, Carl!

Just a reminder of what home looks like after all these weeks! The house, the dog, and a lot of excited family members are anxious to welcome you back home! Even the apple tree (Liz's) got all decked out in your honor. (Only the grass is pouting that you were gone so long - it stayed brown and crunchy. Maybe you'll bring rain back with you from Peru.)