August 2008

August was such a fun month that I have to report on it. It started out with watching the Tall Ships arrive in Duluth. It was a windless day, so the ships could leave their sails unfurled, even as they navigated the narrow canal. It was a grand sight, but I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the ships. They seemed so small beside the tall buildings and thousand-footers and they looked lonely without any other tall ships around them. They weren't useful and imposing anymore, they had been surpassed by all of the modern advances of technology and were now just a tourist attraction. Still, it was awesome to tour them and imagine what it would be like to be out in the middle of the ocean or the lake with no land around at all and the foam speeding away under the prow. Someday, I am going to sail on one of them, preferably the Niagara, because on this ship, you sleep in a hammock and get a sea chest, just like a real sailor! Also, you get to climb the rigging! Frank loved watching the ships come in, too. His favorite part was when the ships fired their cannons. He kept saying "do it again!" Even now, from time to time, he will remark, completely out of the blue, that seeing the tall ships was fun and tell me about how they fired their cannons. They apparently made quite an impression on him.

At the end of August, we went to the State Fair again and also the Renaissance Festival. Frank had a wonderful time at the fair. We were joined by Emeric, Mike, Pat, Kelly, Pat's parents and Sean. Frank was excited to see Sean and they played with the stroller wheels while we waited an Incredibly Long Time for the bus. When we eventually got to the fair, we ate all of the traditional fair foods: corn-on-the-cob, pronto pups, lemonade, Sweet Martha's cookies and of course cheese curds. Frank remains a huge fan of Sweet Martha's and also enjoyed the corn very much. In between eating, we saw the pigs and cows and the fish pond. We went on the Sky Ride and down the Giant Slide. Frank liked the Sky Ride, he thought it was fun to be up so high. It made me a little nervous, I couldn't help thinking about what would happen if the wire suddenly snapped! But I liked the slide and Frank was nervous on that one, so we were even.
This year was Frank's first time at the Ren Fest. We went on the swan swing and watched the joust. Frank cheered and clapped for the horses. I tried to get him to cheer for the knights, but he only said "No! Horses!" Oh well. He was entranced by the fire eaters. We tried to have him fence with his aunt Patricia, but he found the helmet too distressing. So, after we had gotten him all suited up, and he was about to enter the ring, he freaked out and wouldn't stop crying and we had to take it all off again. He will have to wait until next year to defeat Patricia.

So, it's been almost a year since I posted here! Sorry about that. I cannot possibly write about everything that has happened, so I won't try. I will only begin again and firmly resolve to write something once a week, at least. Haha - we'll see.

Anyway, Frank is becoming a more entertaining, if less useful, sidekick every day. He is excelling in the comic relief department, but falling far behind in the helpful department. Everything he does, especially the bad things, are hilarious. It is very hard to discipline him while trying not to smile. Usually, I fail to restrain myself and burst out laughing, but that only makes him more upset! For example, yesterday he wanted me to get a screwdriver (which wasn't the proper thing to use at all) and fix a toy broken beyond all my powers to repair it. I tried to explain to him it was hopeless and, besides that, we didn't have any batteries. But he would have none of it - he kept insisting that if only I would give him a screwdriver, he could fix his toy. Eventually, he began yelling at me every time I opened my mouth to speak.

me: "Frank, a screwdri-"
Frank: "No!"
me: "Frank, a scr-"
Frank: "NO!"
me: "Fr-"
Frank: "NOOOO!"

So then he had to go on time-out, but he looked so funny yelling at me - he was so earnest and his hope for his toy was so useless (the wires had been severed and I am not good with electronics), that I was laughing at him pretty hard before he went to his time-out chair. He was very indignant about it - which made me laugh all the harder. Poor Frank! His life is so hard.

Halloween Party Pictures

A Crime!

Looking for clues

Sherlock Holmes and Hugh Heffner

A cheerleader mummy

Some More Mummies

A Samurai, Little Red Riding Hood and a Fairy

A Small Skeleton

Halloween

This year we hosted our second annual Halloween Party. Frank missed most of it because he had to go to bed. He didn't know what to think of Andy's Ben Franklin costume. He was scared of him at first! But then he got used to everyone in their strange get-ups. After Frank went to bed, the grownups had a lot of fun. We wrapped each other up as mummies and ate brains. Sherlock Holmes searched for clues and Miss America 1982 won the costume contest. I got to try my hand at mixing cocktails for real. I think I did a good job - people drank them and asked for more! And now I know how to make Black Cats and Vampires. There was a good mix of people, too. It's amazing how small the world is! Especially the nerd, historical interpretation and theatre worlds and how much they overlap. For example, Gwen (a seamstress who specializes in costumes) and Kelsey (who works at the Fort) had a long conversation about corset stays and what the best material for them is. This same Kelsey also works at the Library that Emeric studies at. wow. After the party died down, Emeric and Mike stayed awhile longer and talked about a lot of stuff. I think that was the best part of the party, not that all the rest of it wasn't totally fun! But one of my very favorite things to do is talk with my friends late at night about whatever and having a little sidekick that goes to bed far too early often prevents me from doing that.

It was a good party and I'm already looking forward to next year's.

On Halloween, we carved pumpkins and went trick-or-treating. Frank figured it out very quickly! He didn't want to be carried at all. He tried to walk from house to house all by himself, but he was too excited and kept falling on his face. When his uncle James went up to the doors, he toddled right after him and held out his bucket for candy. If anyone tried to take his candy away or even just hold it for him, he got Very Upset. He held onto it all night long, right up until he went to bed. Then Andy and I ate all of his candy. That's another thing my little sidekick is good at: getting Halloween Candy for me!

We did eventually make it to the State Fair

Yum!!! Sweet Martha's Cookies

The Space Tower

With a bit more planning, Patricia and Little Frank and I all got to the State Fair the next week. We went on the Space Tower and ate Cheese Curds and Sweet Martha's cookies. Frank rode around on my back, so he got a good view of everything. He enjoyed the Space Tower and was not at all concerned to be going up so high. His aunt, however, was not so calm and almost hyperventilated. She also spent some time running away from bees again. A good time was had by all.

Como Park! and the Zoo!

A few weeks ago, Patricia and Little Frank and I all decided to go to the State Fair, but there was no room for us on the bus and we didn't have time to wait for the next one! So, since we were all set for a fun day in Saint Paul, we went to Como park instead. Here is a picture of us on the carousel. Frank was a little worried about it, but very brave! After that we went to the Zoo and saw the seal show. Well, Frank and I saw it. Patricia was too busy running away from all of the bees. Then we went to the Conservatory, where Frank wanted to get right in the pond with the koi. He also tried to go swimming in the Japanese Garden. There are some more pics of Frank in the Conservatory, but they are on Patricia's camera. I will post them when I get them...

Little Frank's First Birthday

On August 8th, Frank turned One. He immediately became the Avatar of Chaos. So now, instead of just being my cute and helpful sidekick (which he still is, though not quite as helpful anymore), his mission is to destroy any sense of order I might manage to impose anywhere, especially in our apartment. It's a constant struggle. As soon as I win a small battle for Cleanliness and Order, such as sweeping up all the Cheerios that have been thrown on the floor, he strikes a mighty blow for Entropy, perhaps by pulling all the books off the shelf or taking the pictures off the wall. My only hope for victory is naptime and bedtime!
Anyway, to celebrate Frank's first year, we had a big party. There were nautical decorations and a beautiful cake with a sailboat on it that was made by my mother. Nearly all of Frank's many friends and relations were able to attend, so the house was full. Frank received many wonderful presents and ate his cake with relish, but the highlight of the party was the Puppet Show, Captain Frank and the Terrible Kraken! It was incredibly exciting! The special effects were spectacular and the acting worthy of a Tony. The acclaimed puppeteers Andrew and Emeric delighted both young and old alike with their interpretation of the exploits of the famed Captain Frank. Captain Frank not only defeated the Terrible Kraken, he and Casey Bunny (his loyal and ingenious first mate) also lulled the Dread Cthulhu back to sleep in the watery depths and tricked a fearsome dragon. It was a show not to be missed!

Just call me Cinderella

Little Frank had his Biggest Adventure Yet when we moved two weeks ago. Now that we're pretty much settled in, I figured it was about time I posted an update. Frank and I like it here, and so does Andy. Andy and I are the Resident Managers at our new apartment complex, which means we are Totally In Charge of Everything. I've been very busy showing apartments and managing the current residents and especially Cleaning. Today I went to the store with one of the other employees who knows how to clean anything and everything, while Frank was having adventures elsewhere with two of his crazy aunts. We bought five tons of cleaning supplies, including a vacuum cleaner and all different kinds of mops and brooms. So, even though I don't have fairy godmother or a bunch of mice and birds to help me out, I will be great at cleaning. Also, Frank is learning how to be my Office Assistant. He's extremely good at handing faxes to me, but he needs to practice his filing and typing skills. I will post some pictures of the new place soon...

Birthday Parties, Cast Parties, Tea Parties and Plays

We have had quite a busy past few days! Andy and I had a really fun weekend. Frank was left out of a good deal of it, because most of the fun happened way past his bedtime in the form of Birthday and Cast parties on Friday and Saturday nights. The rest of the fun happened while Frank was napping, and consisted of geeking out (I think that's a great term, Emeric, so I'm going to copy you) and a tea party on Sunday. The tea party was at my friend Dawn's house and it was Lovely. We had scones and lemon curd, cream and preserves, followed by dainty chicken salad and cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches and then cunning little desserts: tiny strawberry tarts and heart shaped lemon bars. And of course we had tea, mostly iced. So Yummy! It was so nice to sit in Dawn's gazebo and chat about pretty much everything, from babies and weddings to pirates and ninjas.
Another highlight of the weekend was the puppet show and the singing at Kieran's birthday party. We are Totally going to have a puppet show at Frank's party! And the singing almost inspired me to learn how to play the guitar. I think playing and singing adds so much to a party, I wish everyone would do it all the time.
As for Frank's recent adventures, he attended his second theatrical performance (Andy's play) and enjoyed it until halfway through the first act. Then he started yelling at the actors and had be to taken away for a long walk. He hasn't had an Adventure since then, we will have to make it a point to go on one soon.

Cottage Cheese

Little Frank tried cottage cheese for the first time today and he does not like it. At all!

Fort Snelling

The disorganized Clump


In formation to march


Andy's hat is too big for Little Frank

On Tuesday we took Andy's lunch to him at the Fort and stayed for a little. It was a beautiful day. Bright sunshine and brisk wind, it felt like we were really on the prairie (except for all the trees). Frank was very interested in Andy's musket and all its equipment. He wanted to fire it, but it was too heavy for him, so we just watched the drill and tried to march in formation. We were good at it, but nobody else was and it turned into an unorganized clump. I think the soldiers should be stricter with the visitors.Then we went with Andy to the HQ, where he drew a Treasure Map to the Fort. Next time we visit him, we'll look for all that treasure.

A somewhat Yucky adventure in which Little Frank was not involved

Last night after Frank was in bed, Andy and I were watching 12 Angry Men, when something black fell out of the ceiling and landed behind the TV. We couldn't see what it was, but after a while, we saw a little black mouse trying to climb up the wall. I think I'm generally a pretty brave person, but I'm totally afraid of mice! Except when they're in cages or outside where they belong, then they're kind of cute. Anyway, it was really creepy to have a mouse in the house, so Andy tried to catch it in various ways involving some mousetraps and a bowl, while I curled my feet up under me on the couch so it couldn't get my toes. The mouse was too smart or scared to be caught like that though. Eventually, Andy had to hit it with a shoe. Poor mouse! I wish we could've caught it and put it in the woods. Frank missed the whole thing, being asleep. If he had been awake, he might have been traumatized by the murder, or he might just have thought the mouse and my reaction to it was hilarious.

Ta Da!!!

Here it is, my own blog. The plan is to post at least a couple of lines twice a week, and maybe a few pictures, for far away friends and relations and those that are nearby, too. Of course, we may be so busy having adventures (both astounding and otherwise) that I might forget once in a while. We shall see...