Liesland News

School Choice

2008-08-19T15:49:00.002-04:00

We have never been sure what to do with Mari when it comes to school. She did not do so well when she went in for her observation day at the Waldorf School, but I guess that we were hoping she would grow out of the emotional roller coaster she is riding.

We recently heard that there may be some opening at the Waldorf School and we were thinking of having her go in for another observation. Susan decided to ask Mari about it. I think it went something like this:

Susan: Do you want to go to school?

Mari: Yeah, I am 3.

Susan: OK. You would be in nursery school, so you would have to go by yourself. Dad and I would not be able to go with you.

Mari: OK. I want you to take me. Last time dad took me I was scared.

Susan: OK, but I won't be able to stay there with you.

Mari: I think I will wait until I am 4.

I guess that answers that.

Growing Up

2008-08-18T23:46:00.002-04:00

We have been noticing some changes in the kids lately -

Elliot has been acting more and more like a little boy. He is becoming more independent and playing more with Andrew and Mari.

Mari has been having conversations with Andrew and playing well with him and his friends.

Andrew has been a lot more boisterous lately. He has been getting up early and staying up late (for him).

Fun times.

All Clear

2008-08-01T12:05:00.003-04:00

This morning the city picked up what was left of our fallen trees. Here are the numbers:
1 - Fires used to dispose of a lot of wood
4 - Chainsaws used to help clean up
5 - Trees affected
16 - People who helped with clean-up
29 - Bags of yard waste
80 - Total number of person-hours put in to get things cleaned up

Now we just need to plant some grass.

Tree Pics

2008-07-22T10:46:00.002-04:00

My dad came over last night to start cleaning things up. He was able to get the Mulberry tree totally liberated from the pine, but apparently the Mulberry and the pine were very close, because it looks like the Mulberry can stand on its own.

Attacking the Play Set

2008-07-20T22:19:00.002-04:00

This evening we had another tree fall on the play set. Since we put the play set up a few months back, this is the second tree that we have had fall on it. I almost have all of the first tree cleaned up and disposed of, and now I have to deal with this one. The one that fell tonight was a nice-sized, but fairly young Oak. I would bet that it was 40 or 50 feet tall, but not very thick. It snapped about half way down (or up, I suppose), so I have not yet figured out the best way to clean it up.

Tonight we also lost the dead pine tree that has been standing watch over our back yard. I knew it was only a matter of time for this one. I want to get it cleaned up soon, so we can try to salvage the Mulberry Tree that it is trying to take with it.

While we were out surveying our damage our neighbor pointed out that about the top 1/3 of one of our white pine trees broke off and landed in his back yard. Our back yard looks a little different than it did a few hours ago.

We only got to look at it for a couple minutes before bedtime tonight, and I can't wait until the morning to get a better look and start coming up with a clean-up plan. I will get some pictures as well, to share.

We See Trouble Brewing

2008-07-16T14:52:00.004-04:00

Mari and Elliot have really been in each others' faces lately. Last night for about 10 minutes Elliot was just chasing Mari around pulling on her clothes, pushing her, and hitting her. He also tried to take a nice bite out of her shoulder earlier in the evening. We can tell that they are going to have an interesting relationship.

Pacified

2008-07-05T23:21:00.002-04:00

When I entered a few posts about our trip, I forgot to mention one interesting thing that happened while we were away: Elliot quit the pacifier.

All of our kids have used pacifiers. We are not huge fans, but they liked them, and they helped them all sleep, so we used them. Mari still uses hers, and if Andrew had his druthers, he would still be using one as well (the pacifier fairy came when he was four and switched his pacifiers out for Elizabeth, the stuffed frog, which he thinks is a bear). Elliot won't have anything to do with his. We haven't even tried giving him one in the last week, and all has gone well. Yea!

New Pics & Gallery

2008-07-02T22:47:00.002-04:00

I just added a few new pics to our 2008 Photo Gallery.

I also created a new gallery with a few pictures from our trip.

Returning Home

2008-07-01T11:55:00.002-04:00

After a great trip, we loaded up the car yesterday morning for the trek back to Cincinnati. It was nice to come home to a clean house and some cool weather. The kids did great in the car and now we are just trying to get back into the swing of things. When I get the time, I will post some picture from our trip.

Des Moines Happenings

2008-06-28T23:26:00.002-04:00

The past few days in Des Moines have been a good time. We have been spending a lot of times with Mimi, Papa, and the Reagens. There has been some flooding here of late, and we have seen a lot of the leftovers. We have also come across some rivers that are still exceeding their usual banks.

Des Moines or Bust

2008-06-23T22:35:00.003-04:00

We left Minneapolis this morning and headed south for about 4 hours. We drove past some ruined corn fields and flooded rivers, and arrived at Mimi & Papa's in mid-afternoon. A good time is being had by all.

More Minneapolis

2008-06-22T22:40:00.003-04:00

Today started like yesterday, at the lake. We played a little at the playground and walked around and explored a little.

After breakfast we met some friends for brunch and then hung out with more friends in the afternoon.

Raspberry Island or Bust

2008-06-21T23:50:00.002-04:00

Last night could have gone better. The lovely barbecue pizza that we had for dinner yesterday kept me up half the night, and now everyone else is having some digestive issues. Digestive issues aside, we were up early this morning and headed out on a walk around Lake Harriet. Even though the lake is close, it took us forever to get there and back because Elliot insisted on walking, and pushing the stroller.

It was great to get down to the lake. This is the same lake that Susan and I used to walk around when I first visited her in Minneapolis. This morning we walked around the lake for just a few minutes because the kids were taking a long time. We settled in at the beach where the kids enjoyed the water, even though it was a little chilly.

After nap time, we headed off to Martin and Courtney's wedding. It was at the Minnesota Boat Club, on Raspberry Island, in St. Paul. The island was a little island on the Mississippi with a great view of St. Paul. The wedding was outside with the city as the backdrop and was followed by a lovely dinner, good cake, and some dancing. We headed home a little later than we had planned, which I think is a good thing, because that means we were having a good time.

Minneapolis or Bust

2008-06-20T23:44:00.001-04:00

We started off this morning spending a few more hours at camp gray. Jeff was up early with us and we at breakfast, walked around camp a little, and then we were off.

We had about three or four more hours to Minneapolis, and the drive went well. Elliot has been taking his naps in the car. Mari has not. We arrived in Minneapolis in the middle of the afternoon. We are staying with Maribeth, Susan's friend from high school, and her husband Eric. We stayed with them last summer as well, and had a great time.

After we got settled in we decided to go for a walk to a pizza place. Just as we were leaving a storm blew in, which made our walk interesting. There was not a lot of thunder and lightning, but there was a lot of wind. It was a nice contrast to the many hours that we had been spending in the car. We enjoyed a lovely barbecue chicken pizza, and then headed home for bed.

Reedsburg or Bust

2008-06-19T23:35:00.002-04:00

We left Cincinnati at 9 this morning, cutting across IN, IL, and stopping in Reedsburg, WI. Our friends Jeff and Rebecca Hoeben are co-directors at Camp Gray and we are staying the night here on our way to Minneapolis. We arrived at camp just before dinner, joined the campers for dinner, and then got settled in to their house. Day one went well, and we are off to a good start. The drive went well and it is always fun to be at a summer camp.

On a side note, Jeff also had another friend passing through, Cameron. When we were sitting around chatting this evening Cameron mention that he had spent some time at the South Pole. I thought it was pretty cool to be talking to someone who has actually been to the South Pole. You can follow his exploits at offyonder.com.

Mari is Three! ! !

2008-06-18T13:19:00.003-04:00

Mari turned three yesterday. We had a nice, little party, with a few family and friends. The kids enjoyed another piñata, which I fear may be becoming a tradition. Mari ended the evening by staying up until 11, which has left her in a very pleasant mood today.

What's Shakin'?

2008-06-04T23:26:00.002-04:00

Man, what's Shakin?

Things have been hopping around here. Not much doin', but we are keeping busy.

We never made it camping this Spring, which has been a little disappointing.

Elliot is walking, which is awesome. I enjoy his walking because it makes my life so much easier. He gets around a lot better and on more surfaces, which is nice.

That's all I got for now.

Elliot is Getting Older

2008-05-22T11:52:00.001-04:00

If you can't see the video, Click Here.

New Pics

2008-05-02T10:09:00.002-04:00

I just added a slew of new pics to our 2008 Photo Gallery.

In other news, Elliot is probably officially walking, which is nice. He is not yet to the point where he walks more than he crawls, but he is almost there.

Video Vault VI

2008-04-25T11:13:00.001-04:00

Andrew's Message

If you can't see the video, Click Here.

Belly Dancing

2008-04-14T10:48:00.003-04:00

Things have been going well for us this Spring. The kids love to be out, and so do the parents.

Andrew - Andrew is doing well. His school year is coming to an end. He has really enjoyed school this year. We are trying to figure out what we should do for school next year.

Mari - Mari is as wild as ever. She is still on an emotional roller-coaster, which I would guess is not going to end soon. We are also trying to figure out what to do with her next year.

Elliot - Elliot has been growing up a lot lately. He is communicating a lot more and seems to be learning more words. He isn't talking, but he knows what more words mean when we say them. He has been standing a lot lately and has just recently started moving his feet, a little. He appears to be on the same timeline as Andrew & Mari were.

Susan and I have been spending most of our time parenting. She did get to go to a belly dancing class last Saturday night, which sounded like a fun time.

Journey

2008-04-09T10:49:00.002-04:00

Here is a good post in a blog that I follow:

Motherhood Is A Journey

Video Vault V

2008-03-25T15:29:00.001-04:00

Mari Talking

If you can't see the video, Click Here.

Easter Happenings

2008-03-25T15:16:00.003-04:00

We had a busy Easter weekend. Erin and kids came to town on Wednesday morning. I was supposed to work until 3 on Thursday, but Rod called Thursday morning and we had a couple of showings, so I took the afternoon off. Friday we hit the Natural History Museum, a nice alternative to the busy Children's Museum. Saturday we had Kelli, Emory, and Oliver over for dinner. Sunday we hunted for eggs, ate candy, went to church, and went to my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Mikes House. Monday we ate some more candy and hung out at home.

Erin and her kids left this morning and I headed back to work.

Susan just called and said she is lonely.

Video Vault IV

2008-03-18T21:04:00.001-04:00

Andrew Singing

If you can't see the video, Click Here.