The new deck/patio/covered back porch...

No matter what you call it, it's pretty cool. Literally. It keeps the house much cooler as the back window is shaded from the afternoon sun. Right now Mark is finishing up the stain. Then we'll have to put the grill and furniture back up there. But right now, it's like a giant dance floor and it's tempting to leave it empty for awhile so we can just enjoy it's "bigness".

I hate it when...

I go this long without blogging. Then I feel like I'll never remember all the good stuff that happened, or to take the pictures, or to remember the funnies, etc. So I'm going to jot down some randomness and try to follow up later. The theory being that if someone else knows, maybe I'll feel more accountable...

1. Jacob and Ethan's new room - still need to hang their bulletin boards and other accessories and take pics
2. Sarah's new room - same!
3. Pictures of the deck! It's done and Mark is almost finished staining it...need pics
4. Donut-selling neighbors
5. PTA convention
6. Babies to report - no, none are mine.
7. Jewelry show Saturday
8. Upcoming visitors

OMG...this is depressing. I have so much to catch up on! Must stop writing the list and get to work on the list!

Another First...

Ethan lost his first tooth today. It's been wiggly for a couple days. Fell out right after breakfast. No blood, no drama. Ethan ... in a nutshell.

The best news ever!

I haven't so much as picked up my tennis racquet since December and all this stuff went down with my arthritic and dysplasia-ridden left hip. After a seven-month hiatus from tennis and four months of working out with a personal trainer, I met my tennis coach, Dave, on the courts Tuesday for a one-hour session. My trainer from Lifetime, Tim, came to watch so he could see the issues I have with mobility first-hand.

I felt like a pseudo-celebrity with my own Dream Team there to work with just me...but then we started playing and I felt more like Darth Vader as I sucked air from lack of endurance.

At first, we just hit back and forth (which felt SOOOOOOOO good). Then Tim would ask to see me move a certain way. To the left and Dave would feed balls to the left. Then right and Dave would feed right, then approach shots, then back and forth (insert lots more sucking air here!!) At the end, I felt pretty good. Obviously, some balls I just couldn't get to, but c'est la vie.

At the end, they both agreed that I should get back to playing. Ladies clinics are M/W nights and aren't nearly as strenuous as a private hour-long session. Tim thinks the movement will be good for me. "Better than sitting on your ass at home" as he put it, giving you a glimpse of why my training sessions are actually kind of fun.

So, I headed home ... reveling in the news that somebody gave me the "OK" and basically, I felt like this:

Playgroup Friends

I met Bethany on the soccer field when Jon Chappell and I were coaching soccer for Chase and Jacob many years ago. Bethany had twins on the team and over the course of the season we got to talking, found out we were both stay-at-home moms and she invited me to check out her playgroup. Since then, I've been meeting with these ladies about once a week for almost four years! Between these seven women, there are 21 kids, 2 grandkids, and a baby on the way! And we were missing Cheryl and Karin and Phoebe! Even with all that, sad to say, our playgroup numbers are dwindling.We've seen a few members move or "graduate" because their kids are all old enough to go to school, so it's always special when we get together with the "old timers". This time, it was dinner at the Cheesecake Factory to say goodbye to Amy and Erica who are moving away.

Below from left: Bethany, Amy, Janie, Erica, Pam, Eva and me.


We may not have weekly meetings anymore but we'll be sure to have Moms' Nights Out and get together during breaks throughout the school year. It's hard to quit this kind of good therapy cold turkey! I'll miss you ladies!

Cheer Camp

Sarah was in a cher camp last week. Same one she did last year at her old preschool. There were about 15 girls and they learned two cheers each and gave a performance on Friday. They were all called the Zebras and split into two groups...the Megaphones and the Pom-Poms. Sarah's group was the Megaphones and was taught by Alyssa, a high school cheerleader at nearby SACS.




All the girls got awards on the last day. Sarah's award was the "Smiley Face" award because she always had a smile on her face when she was at camp.



Her friend Grace was there too and they were in the same group all week.



Outstanding! Sensational! Awesome!

I Heart Eden Prairie!

Top 10 Cities to Live!
CNNMoney.com
Jul 12, 2010

If you focus only on the averages, life in the typical American town frankly doesn't seem so hot right now. The median home continues to lose value. Cash-strapped state and local governments are cutting services. And unemployment, at 9.3%, is still high.

But those bummer statistics obscure one important-and encouraging-fact: There are plenty of outliers. MONEY found them through its annual search for the best places in America, which this year focused on the nation's small cities (those with populations of 50,000 to 300,000). Reporters crunched reams of data to find the optimal combo of job opportunities, fiscal strength, top-notch schools, low crime, good health care, lots to do, and many other factors that help make a town great for raising a family.

And because numbers don't tell you anything about charm and community spirit, reporters visited 30 of the highest-ranked towns in person. Those that made the cut landed on MONEY's top 10 list. As you'll see, these places are anything but average.

1. Eden Prairie, MN
Population: 64,000
Unemployment: 5.1%
Pluses: Plenty of jobs, very low crime, lots for kids to do
Minus: Long, cold winters

Why is Eden Prairie No. 1 this year? Not only is it family-friendly, it has a dynamite economy too.

At 5.1%, its unemployment rate is nearly one percentage point below the county rate and more than four points below the national average. It helps when you've got 50,000 jobs right in town.

Major employers include Fortune 500 trucking company C.H. Robinson, hearing-aid maker Starkey Labs, and the Minnesota Vikings, whose practice facility and front office are here. As for fiscal strength, Moody's gives the town a perfect AAA bond rating.

While it doesn't have much of a downtown, there's plenty of outer beauty: from gently rolling hills to 17 lakes that residents flock to year-round for swimming and ice skating. Town parks are laced with 125 miles of running, hiking, and biking trails.

No wonder residents rank among the healthiest people in the nation. Add in top-notch schools and safe streets and you've got a place that's tough to beat.

20th High School Reunion

Yes, my 20th is this summer. I made the decision last night NOT to go, unfortunately. I absolutely WANT to, but the logistics are killing me. I just wish it was a different weekend, really. Looking over the facebook group for our class, it was stated that pictures were needed for the slide show and I spent a day lost on Memory Lane while I scanned a bunch and sent them in. This was one of my favorites!



This is my friend Jay and I at a First Bank Junior Board event. The ten of us on the Board were asked to help with the event which included a silent auction but we could bring dates...who also ended up working. So they were all good sports. This picture always makes me laugh. My hair, his expression, the way his arm is angled towards me like he's about to goose me and I have no idea it's coming...You might have to click on it so you can see it better!

So I sent it to Jay, we laughed about it, and eventually I dared him to make it his profile picture which he promptly did. Then someone asked him if he was "Duckie" (from Pretty in Pink) and he didn't know who that was and I laughed even harder. What do you think?



I posted all the other HS pics on flickr so my friends could see (i.e. veto before I sent them to the reunion committee), but I'll share the link here too. Enjoy!

www.flickr.com/photos/shannonnault/sets/72157624305603699

Happy 4th of July

We had a great day. It was the only day in the last week where it hasn't rained! We were able to swim in the neighbor's pool, run errands, get some stuff done around the house. I cut Jacob's hair. He's thrilled with his new "do" at least temporarily. Of course it will be gone by 8/23 when school starts.



We had some friends over for dinner. Donny made fried chicken! I'd never had homemade southern fried chicken before and it was delicious! I contributed my garlic mashed potatoes. Laurie also made homemade strawberry shortcakes for dessert!

We headed outside for some low-key fireworks ... sparklers, smoke bombs, poppers and one or two bigger things which made a lot of noise and then the sheriff's deputy showed up. Luckily, we were pretty well done and didn't have anything crazy in the arsenal that would have given us a ticket. But we can't even have sparklers??? Seriously?

Earlier in the day I had taken some pictures of the deck progress. It took two days to get the roof up. The poor guys kept getting rained on and had to stop and start and stop and start over and over. But it looks fantastic now and the shade it gives is wonderful. Not only while we're outside, but the afternoon sun doesn't beat into that back window anymore so it's cooler in the house too.




There's finishing work to be done yet but it's really coming together and we are wondering why we didn't do this years ago!?!

Dad Life

Need a laugh?
Check out this tribute to dads.

http://vimeo.com/12714406

"These greens got nothin' on my manscape" LOL!