Summer 2009

OK...I totally suck at this blog-thing. I'm not even going to apologize. I'm just moving on.

The thought of having my posts out of chronological order absolutely eats a hole in my soul. Therefore, I feel that I need to do a quick summary of our summer before we move into fall. Also, due to the fact that I don't journal, scrapbook, or even keep updated photo albums any more, I fear that this very site is the only documented proof of my family's existence.

Well, not really. But you get the idea.

Here is what we've been up to since my last post over 2 months ago (!!!!!):

Will and Maddie turned 11 at the beginning of June. I've decided that this is a really great age. They actually still LIKE to be with us, and they are not yet embarrassed by us. And sometimes they each will still grab for my hand while out in public.

I'm trying to savor every second of it.






My family put together another "Karen & Carolyn's Team" for the Relay for Life this year at Eureka's bi-annual event in mid-June. We've walked in every relay since 2001, the year before my mom, Karen, died of inflammatory breast cancer. It's still as emotional and inspirational now, as it was then. Earlier this spring, it was the 7th anniversary of her death, and a couple weeks ago, she would have been 62. Some days it feels like a lifetime ago; some days it feels like just yesterday.




Maddie's wish for braces finally came true at the end of June. She's been talking about this with excitement for the past several months. And as an 11 year old, the best part is being able to pick the colors of rubber bands. For those of you who are not braces-savvy...you can pick up to 3 colors at once from a palette of about 30 different colors. The rubber bands then get changed at each monthly appointment. She started out with a very fashionable combo of blue and green. More recently, she's changed to her swim team's colors of red, black and yellow.

Will is still trying to lose some baby teeth before he'll be able to start. That is perfectly fine by me...I like that we only need to finance one mouth at a time.


Sometime in mid-July, I came home from work to find that the kids has decided to release our pet turtle, Sparky, back into the wild (aka Crow River). They said they decided to do it so he could be happier in a more interesting environment with a bunch of other turtles.

But I'm pretty sure they did it because it was time to clean the aquarium.



Not that this has much to do with our summer, other than the fact that Maddie has developed an intense love of all things Hollister, but guess how much these tiny little shorts with worn spots and holes costs?!?!?

48 bucks. Can you believe that???

At $5 a week allowance, that poor kid will need to get a job to support her clothing habit.


The kids wrapped up another season of swimming at the beginning of August. They both had finals in Mankato and Will was on the state relay team at the U of M. As always, it was a really fun season and the kids did great! We've only been done with the near-daily swim routine for about 3 weeks, and I already miss our "other family" at the pool. What a great group of friends for both the kids and the grown-ups!





Will and Bill spent several days in Wisconsin at Cub Scout camp. I managed to get a pretty good run-down of their experience. There was canoeing, archery, guns, tents, rock climbing and some extensive, long, and dramatic story about a turtle, a salamander and a "pit of death".

Sounds like an 11 year old boy's dream, huh? Actually, maybe even a 39 year old man's dream...


That about wraps it up for now. The latest Gallagher venture was a little road trip to Seattle and Yellowstone.

But that's a story for another time. (Let's hope the other time is not Thanksgiving...)