September Times

September brought a Moon Walk to the family picnic and Mitchell's first day of Kindergarten with Grandpa on hand to take photos of him on the bus. We also made it to the First Thursday where the kids got to sit in a mini street rod. Lots of good times and warm days.

Uncle Brent and Aunt Wendy gave Mitchell and Maria a Barbie Jeep. Grandpa and Grandma got a new battery and they have been cruisin all over the back! Mitchell has also found new courage while riding his 4-Wheeler and Grandpa spends a lot of time following him around the Sigmeth acres!

September 1st was a celebration of Grandpa's Birthday!

State Fair 2009

I had several second thoughts with the H1N1 around, but the food cravings and a day with the family at the fair won out! Mitchell and Maria were very well behaved and had a great time! Maria had Mini Donuts and Mitchell chose fresh fruit--what the heck?! I told him Grandma would be very proud that he picked such a nutritious treat! He also had a pronto pup, or "corndog on a stick" that he ordered. And after not wanting anything else he ate most of my Dole Whip cool treat! Maria watched a lot of people and gave them smiles. She liked the horses--one cow almost laid a cow pie right on Chuck! We spent some time on the kiddy rides - people kept giving me their extra tickets, so we had enough for both kids to go on one more ride! We also went through the John Deere farmer's market so the kids could get their JD visors. We got to see a couple larger than life Backyardigan Characters (Uniqua and Pablo). Mitchell was amazed at the crowd...he wanted me to lift him up to see everybody down the street! We drank lots of water and used lots of wipes!


Today is our family picnic at the Sigmeths. It is my signal that the summer is over--every year on Labor Day weekend we all gather for a last hr-rah. We usually bid farewell with, "See you at Christmas!"

Memphis-St.Louis Trip

Chuck and I took a whirlwind trip with Amy&Doug Dombeck down to Memphis. Grandma & Grandpa Sigmeth graciously accepted the responsibility of Mitchell & Maria Thursday evening around 4:30 pm through Sunday about 8:30 pm. Amy borrowed her dad, LeRoy's 1994 conversion van - what a great set up. The Dombecks and the Hoffmans share the month of August for wedding anniversaries and decided to take a road trip. You know the honeymoon is over when you take a couple with you on an Anniversary trip!!!

With Amy & Doug as our tour guides we saw Graceland, had the best BBQ at Interstate BBQ, took a stroll on Beale Street, & survived a flat tire (with assistance from our good samaritan, Henry). Saturday morning we took off for St. Louis and stopped at the Arch - the gateway to the West! We had a great time at Union Station for dinner as well as a late night stroll around the city of St. Louis. Chuck loved the city and it's architecture and I enjoyed the nice soft beds and sleeping through the night without kids waking me up to accompany them to the bathroom! On the way out of town we stopped in Jherico for a bathroom break - we are happy to not have disappeared from the face of the earth! We had brunch at Lambert's-home of the throwed rolls!

As you can see there are no photos. South of the Minnesota border I happened to delete them all. Very disappointing! I'm thinking of taking another trip there someday with the family...as long as we bring walkie talkies and follow the Dombecks so Amy can say, "As you look to your left you will see..."

More Up North photos

Maria is already in the Driver's Seat!
Maria and her daddy riding in the caboose!
Casey Jones and his crew riding the Nisswa Express!
Good Exercise!
Grandpa and Dad trying to bring the kids out in the lake behind the paddle boat. No go! Had to paddle by hand!

Up North - Brainerd

The little fisherpeople going out in the boat with their dad and mom. This lasted about 5 minutes...Mitchell was directing the driver, "Too fast! Too slow! Faster, Captain!"
Chuck would get a worm on the line of Mitchell's Superman pole and then after a couple casts Mitchell would be done. Chuck did more fishing with the Superman and Princess poles than he did with his own!
The day of the Turtle races in Nisswa...Mitchell loved Babe the Big BLUE Ox.
Mitchell and Grandpa waiting for their turn to race Mitchell's turtle...they wore matching race caps. They picked a very tired turtle as Mitchell was racer #212 and Maria was #221. It's a pretty big deal on Wednesdays up in Nisswa! Mitchell has his T-shirt on for the occasion. You can also see Grandma in the background taking a photo.
Uncle Brent and Grandpa went to pick up the boat and we were waiting for them at the end of the dock. Mitchell flagged them in with his Superman cape.
A little quiet time with Grandma--she brought along all kinds of great activities to keep the kids busy when they weren't fishing or playing in the sand OR when others in the house wanted to get a little extra sleep. (Thanks, Mom!)
Maria having fun in the sand with her new suit from Grandma & Grandpa.
Mitchell caught a keeper! We had a fish fry Friday night. They caught enough for everyone to have a taste--Mitchell and Maria loved the fish!
The scenery from the back patio. Mom got to sit and relax once in a while...
Grandpa walking Maria down to the lake for fishing.
First day at the house on Gladstone Lake. The kids got new boots from Grandma & Grandpa and Chuck took them to the end of the dock to learn how to fish. It was a lovely week with the family. Thank you Family!

Maria's Braids

French Braids!!!

And believe it or not, I did them! I am getting kind of good at them. I keep asking her if she would like to get a hair cut though! I even told her she could get it cut from the same lady who cuts Grandma's hair, but she still wanted no part in it. (I know where she gets her Girly-Girl stuff, and I am so thankful Grandma takes care of the nail polish and fancy dresses!)

Water Slide Photos

This is Mitchell and Maria's second week of swimming lessons. It has been much warmer and the sun has even come out! The teachers do such a good job with them. Grandma got to come watch them one day last week and then she took us to the Bakery for a treat! Last Friday Chuck had the day off and the teachers were trying to get the kids to blow bubbles in the water. When that didn't work with Maria, the teacher said, "Can you get your nose wet?" and Maria wouldn't cooperate. Then Chuck yells out to her,"Maria, get your nose wet!" She dipped her hand in the water and put water on her nose!

Today they went down the water slide for the first time--both of them. They were nervous, but then were excited they made it! Mitchell says that Catherine is his favorite and Maria likes Sylvie the best!

Maria feels like a princess when she wears her jewelry! Mitchell likes to be a puppy or kitty by the name of "Ginger". I think this picture was taken the day he was the princess's cat, Ginger! He also likes to show us he can curl his tongue - he calls it a "Hot Dog Sandwich". I think that's another term he made up, or heard from Grandpa!

We will be celebrating Mitchell and Maria's learning to swim with a trip to see Auntie Barb and Jimbo to swim in their pool. The kids will also get a chance to be in the lake at my friend Paula's house next week. It will be good practice for our vacation when we go to stay at a house on a lake up North with Grandma & Grandpa and we hope Uncle Brent and Aunt Wendy too!

Chris has a new gig at the Anoka theatre: Lyric Arts. He is a stage manager and a manager of all of the stage managers! We spent his birthday at Elsie's for dinner and bowling - what a good time! We all always look forward to spending time with Brother Chris, and now his girlfriend Allie too!