Jack and Cate Update -- July, 2008

Friday, July 4, 2008

Cate is excited to show her patriotism at the Lakewood Fourth of July Parade. Jack, not so much. Mark my words: If he should ever choose to run for public office, this image will surely be used to disqualify him.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Jack attempts a Fourth of July patriotic comeback while Cole apparently clings to life.

Friday, July 4, 2008

This is the photo candidate-Jack will use to rebut charges of his waning patriotism.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Simon Fruit, official parade photographer.

Friday, July 4, 2008

After the parade, the Peaslees opened their home for swimming and grilling. Now competent swimmers, the kids go absolutely ape-poopie when they see a pool.

Friday, July 4, 2008

You just don't see many see-saws any more, so you'll have to excuse the kids if they're a little confused.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Serious see-sawers typically wear protective eyewear. On the other end of the apparatus, I know I was... Hannah Peaslee, as always, was a gracious hostess.

Friday, July 4, 2008

We ventured out with the kids to experience their first live fireworks. Francie recommended a great park at Mockingbird and Buckner where we could watch (but fortuitously not hear) fireworks from Fair Park, Trinity River, and Lakewood Country Club. While we were waiting for Clair to arrive and the fireworks to get started, Cate opined: "This is even more boring than I thought it might be."

Friday, July 4, 2008

It's clearly been a long day of parades, swimming, eating, and not-napping if the kids can be cajoled into posing this way.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Jackson and Shriver got in the act, and they took my exhortations to stand close together a little too seriously (as boys are wont to do).

Friday, July 4, 2008

Claire (and her not-pictured brother, Michael) came for the fireworks show too. Although Claire is a couple of grades ahead of Cate, they're inseparable whenever they're together. No, it's not a trick of the quickly fading light, Cate really does have glow-stick-goo on her hands and leg.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Because I'm apparently the last person in America who's failed to see Disney's High School Musicalª, Cate and I went to see Disney's High School Musical on Stage!ª at Fair Park Music Hall. While it was entertaining, I think it's a good rule of thumb to avoid any show with an exclamation point in its name. She and Olivia Cook were troopers, and they were enthralled to the end.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Exercising her grandmotherly prerogative, Grandma Irene gave Jack a skateboard for his birthday. Related: Dr. Bergman is now on speed-dial.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

After Grandma retrieved us at the airport, we had an afternoon to kill before we met Scott and Peggy to celebrate Peggy's birthday. We decided to go the University of Minnesota to show Cate where I went to school. It was a beautiful day, and both Cate and I enjoyed taking a few photos.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

After playing more than twenty-five years in the absolutely-awful-in-every-conceivable-way Metrodome, the Gophers will play on-campus next year at the TCF Bank Stadium. (For the purists amongst you, don't worry about sullying our reputation by selling naming rights to a bank -- by kick-off next season, TCF and the rest of our financial institutions will be long bankrupt.) Some people assume that Minnesota is populated by a bunch of Midwestern hicks, but that's simply not true. As evidence, the new stadium will boast a first-class club room -- the DQ Club Room. So there.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Station 19 is an old firehouse just across the street from the new stadium. While I was in college, we'd go to a bar in the basement, but it might be most famous as the birthplace for softball (or, as my Grandpa Les would call it, 'kittenball' after the name of the fire station's team).

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Northrop Auditorium and the Northrop Mall -- the center of the University of Minnesota campus.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

If it weren't Summer session, the campus would be teeming with over 50,000 students. Seriously. Really. I'm not kidding, legitimate academic pursuits occur here.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

At the opposite end of the mall is Coffman Memorial Union. Typically, there would be several people here too.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Just one more near the mall -- Cate is standing above University Avenue with downtown Minneapolis in the background. A future student, yes? Maybe not -- You see, Minnesota keeps all but the most highly motivated newcomers away by cannily arranging for the average January temperature to be 4° Fahrenheit.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Downtown Minneapolis is just on the other side of the Mississippi River and the campus' West Bank. If you look carefully, there is definitive proof that Minneapolis is indeed inhabited.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Cate in front of the Tau Beta Pi "bent." Tau Beta Pi is the engineering-specific alternative to Phi Beta Kappa, and its Greek motto translates to "Yes, I'd be happy to help you with your math homework." On the right, Cate captured a sculpture outside the Electrical and Computer Engineering building. I like the photo's jaunty angle.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Much to my surprise, we could walk right off the street and into one of the Computer Science classrooms. Cate was a little surprised to see more than 250 seats (with built-in writing tables! snazzy!), and you can see that the University spares no expense with the lecterns. It's these little touches that separate your first-class institutions of higher education from the University of Iowas of the world.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

After celebrating Peggy's birthday in Minneapolis, we drove to the lake. There, Grandma Irene introduced us to the Wren who had moved into the boat lift.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Every day, we went for a swim in the lake. And when I say "we," I mean Cate and Grandma Irene. I took responsibility for tying the raft to the dock, which meant it was long-gone after the first night.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Even in the water, Cate does her best puppy impression.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

By throwing some bread crumbs in the water, Cate discovered there were dozens of small fish living under the dock. With a lot of patience, Cate was able to get the fish to eat out of her hand.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The lake house is a split-level built into the side of a hill. This is the backyard and the top-level entrance, and I've brilliantly hidden Grandma Irene behind a tree.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Cate was "having trouble sleeping" and wanted to be closer to Grandma Irene and me, so she took up residence on the living room couch. After many visits to check on us, she eventually fell asleep in this most uncomfortable of positions.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Kendra has a new puppy, Mater.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Actually, Mater is a hunting dog, so Uncle Brad has a new puppy. Further actually, Uncle Brad has to bond with the dog, so they've been sleeping together. You just can't make this stuff up.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Since we were at the lake without a boat, the Ziemer's took pity and offered us a boat ride. We had intended to do some tubing too, but Cate involuntarily decided against it. After all my trouble in Colorado, you gotta admit that it's an awesome hat. Awesome.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Grandma Ruth is always pleasant but stoic in our family photos, so I cracked a now-forgotten, smart-aleck joke -- she's doing her best not to bust out laughing.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Grandma Ruth treasures the multi-generational photos. Unrelated: just where is my hat when I really and truly need it?

Saturday, July 12, 2008

We visited Uncle Vern and Aunt Linda, and Cate was thrilled to learn that they had temporarily turned their home into a dog hotel. Using the ChuckIt!, Cate played fetch for more than an hour.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

She favored throwing the ball into the lake, and the dogs would swim out as far as she could throw it.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Our last night in Minnesota, Aunt Trudi and Uncle Brad invited us to eat The Neighbor's Italian Bistro in Mankato. Kendra and Cate approved...

Saturday, July 12, 2008

...while Corbin abstained.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Cate and I didn't get home from dinner until well past 11 PM, but luckily our flight the next day wasn't until 7 AM. We were up and atom by 3:30 AM so we'd be ready when Scott picked us up at 4 AM.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Cate was none the worse for wear in the morning. When she spotted it in the airport, Cate insisted I take her photo with the moose.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

On our last day in Minnesota, Grandma Irene noticed a couple slowly driving by the lake house, and she was able to sweet-talk them into coming inside to take a look. Four days later they made an offer and Grandma accepted it. After sixteen months on the market (and after Dad's death), the lake house was becoming a real burden for all of us -- we were thrilled to sell it even if we were sad to let it go.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

I'm not at all sure what happened to the boy who was timid around pools...

Sunday, July 20, 2008

...but he's apparently gone. Related: Josh seems decidedly impressed.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

We were surprised when Jack abandoned his devil-may-care, throw-caution-to-the-wind, body-flinging style for a more customary and genteel dive.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

He received a 3.8 from the North Korean judge.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Cate goes deep into the diving catalog and executes a half-turn...

Sunday, July 20, 2008

...in the kneeling position. With her youthful enthusiasm and shining personality, even the North Korean judge was smitten. He gave her a 4.1.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Even in the pool, Jack and Josh are packin' heat. Yes, they're native Texans.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

The pool party was for Gracie Huff who came to Dallas to spend a week with Grandma and the Most Reverend Waxenberg.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Josh, Tyler, Cate, Jack, and Jake give this party one thumbs-up!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Jack and Josh debate the finer points of vanilla versus chocolate.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Carol Waxenberg (may I now note that she's the pastor's wife) brazenly pressured her peers into mainlining whipped cream. Jack abstained; Josh succumbed.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

I hope I don't disappoint Pastor Bill too much, but Jack isn't always paying attention in church. Jack presented me with this skateboarding how-to after the service.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

One of the many, many (practically unending) Kids Camp activities was a visit to historic Chestnut Square in McKinney.

Friday, July 25, 2008

During the Kids Camp fashion show, each child had to wear something from their Grandparent's closet. Cate chose a shirt that reminded Grandma and Grandpa of a vacation in the Greek islands. Jack was especially proud of Grandpa's Twins shirt and a cap from the 2008 Olympic Games.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Despite the sun shower, Jack happily posed in front of the lake house for one last photo. Although he doesn't actually drink soda, he's always proud to be associated with it. During our drive to Minnesota, Jack commented: "Whenever I say 'Harry Potter', I think I should say it in British."

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Unprompted, Jack told Grandma Irene: "Thank you for letting me come to the lake house one last time so I can remember it."

Sunday, July 27, 2008

One last sunset from the deck.