Summer Song 2006

Seems like every summer has its own song for me. This year it's "Over My Head" by The Fray. I don't know a whole lot about them other than that they are from Denver, but this song sends me everytime I hear it. I particularly like the rolling bassline. It's the perfect windows-down-in-the-car song, and if it's playing when I arrive at my destination, I just have to sit and let it finish before I get out of the car.

Here's the video for the song. The kid was well cast (I read he is the singer's little brother), and the storyline is one that we can all relate to - the awkwardness and trial of middle school. If you've got a few minutes, watch and enjoy a great summer song.

Shameless Self-promotion

The 11th annual Kaleidoscope variety show is next week, of which yours truly is a part. Encompassing music, dancing, comedy, and drama, the show always features patriotic numbers and a different secondary theme each year. This year it's K-Country Time, a tie-in with Mandan's 125th Anniversary celebration and the annual Mandan Rodeo Days.

Last year, we did "These Boots Are Made For Walking" in full Nancy Sinatra regalia. The go-go boots were sexy and fun. This was us goofing around before we went on:

Two years ago, we did "Singing in the Rain" and did an additional performance of it at the Mandan Band Shell. Here's a pic:

As usual, this year I've put together two numbers for the Chours Line: "Air Force Song" using ribbons, and "Thank God I'm a Country Girl" complete with adorable pink and white western boots. Of course, everyone loves the high kicks, and they're in there as well. We have a couple of dancers in their twenties, a couple of grandmothers, and everything in between. These women work so hard, with rehearsals starting every year in March, and we have a lot of fun. Not to toot my own horn too loudly, but many people tell us that the Chorus Line is the highlight of the show.

Hopefully I'll have more pictures to post after the show. Here's another one from 2004 of Jennie Lacher pinning my hair for a patriotic high kick dance:

This is a great show that benefits the Musicians' Association. You may know about the Mandan Band Shell performances they sponsor every summer. This year's Kaleidoscope includes a segment by the AMVETS honoring the flag, a steel guitar number, and Mandan's Top Ten by Phil Parker, who will also M.C. the show.

Kaleidoscope
7:30 p.m., June 28 & 29
Mandan High Auditorium
Admission $8.00

Rift - All Ages Show

Happy Birthday, Irene

I wish I had a better copy of this shot of Irene. It's gorgeous, but you wouldn't know it from this scan of a performance program from 1997. Click the link to see a current pic, which appears to be a self-portrait at work.

Anyway, I'm sure you're celebrating with liquor, chocolate, and a camera somewhere in Manhattan tonight, and I'm thinking of you.

Happy Father's Day, Dad

Happy Birthday, Rod

Today is Rod's birthday. He's Brad's oldest brother and still a bachelor, although I heard a rumor that he might be dating someone. Maybe he'll be hopping up to Washburn to see Rift play their streetdance tonight.

Happy 44th, Rod!

Happy Birthday, Rachel

Happy Birthday, my friend!

As promised, here is a better picture of you. This was at the Woodhouse for your 19th birthday in 1989. That's Greer Evans sitting next to you. Adorable.

Here's another one, this time from 1994.


And here's one of the two of us from 2004.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Rachel! Thanks for 20 years of being a great friend. I'm thinking of you today.

Happy Birthday, Shari

Happy Flag Day - er, I mean, Birthday - Shari! Here's a human flag for you. This was the 2005 North Dakota All State Dance Team at their performance in Grand Forks last November.

Let us know how you celebrate.

File Under C*U*T*E

"Ok, hands up!" said Connor.

This supersoaker is almost as big as he is. Even though he's pint-sized, his expression has a menacing look about it. Maybe it's the shades.
Or maybe the wide stance. Whatever it is, I think he's got the look and the attitude down.

Happy Birthday, Little Bro

To celebrate Curt's birthday, I found some old pictures of him. Here is my favorite shot of the "young" Curt from 1989.

Here is a shot of him and his future wife, Alicia, at his Junior Prom from the same year. Note the mullet and the Chevy El Camino in the background.

And here's one of them and their daughter, Kassy, at Christmas this year.

Curt is spending his birthday shingling his roof. Happy 34th, Curt!

One Person's Trash...

...is another person's treasure.


So I've been away from the blog for a bit taking care of a major project: a huge rummage sale. It was a few years in the making, so we had tons of stuff to get rid of. There were housewares, furniture, baby & toddler stuff, and a lot of clothes (kids' clothes, maternity clothes, and my entire wardrobe from 25 pounds ago). I worked about a week pricing everything; then it took a whole day's work to set everything up.

In the end, it was worth it because we made $900 in two days. Whooo-who! Most of that will go toward a new bedroom set we ordered. We saved out $20 for each of the boys to buy a new toy because it was hard for them to see some things go. At one point, Dylan said he wanted to "buy back" a toy, one that he had outgrown a couple of years ago.

One thinks one has pretty good stuff, and it's a little weird to peddle it off to other people who rifle through one's things, judging each item's quality and value. Most of those things will never have as much value to anyone else. One of the things I was not expecting was that so much of our stuff got redistributed right into our own neighborhood. Our neighbors bought a lot.

Many people asked if I saved any baby things. I didn't allow myself to do that because if I went down that road, there would be so many things that I could find a good reason to keep. Also, I figured it was better for it to be put to use instead of saved away in a box somewhere. I guess there was one thing: I kept a quilt that was hand-made for us by a friend when Dylan was born.

There was also plenty of cleanup in the days following the sale. Even though we sold tons of stuff, there was still enough left to fill 14 boxes, which I had to pack up and take downtown to donate. Then we had to return all the tables we had borrowed, and yesterday we broke down a mountain of boxes to take to recycling. It really feels good to PURGE the house of all that STUFF.

Then there was the best post-sale chore of all: making the deposit at the bank.

Old Home Week

I got a big surprise this morning when Shari showed up unannounced, as she usually does about once a year. Brad and I were sleeping late, if 9:45 a.m. can be called late, when the doorbell rang. He went to get it, and I paid no attention. Next thing I knew, Shari was diving into the bed for a big hug. How nice to see her! We talked for a little while and made plans to get together again in the evening, at which time I was going to take a picture of the two of us to post here.

Unfortunately, those plans fell through because of cheese buttons, and I was forced to go back and find the oldest picture I have of Shari (see above). That's Shari, Rachel, me, and Byron Velander (long story, maybe some other time) in November 1988.

I need to apologize to Rachel for posting a picture in which she looks so ridiculous. Not that the rest of us look any better, either. I promise to post a better one soon. In fact, I came across some really good old pictures that I hope to post in the near future. It was fun to go back to the old photo albums.

Anyway, Shari didn't miss much tonight - a dull evening of VH1 Classic. They play "alternative" videos on Sunday nights, so I caught videos from The Smiths, Concrete Blonde, Love and Rockets, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Damned. Hopefully she'll be back for a longer visit later this summer.

Recently, there has been a flurry of reunions with the people who mean the most to me and live far away. Toni, Rachel and Shari all in the span of about a month. Cool. I feel special.

They're Gone

Rachel, Darius, Tess and baby Josie were briefly back in Bismarck this afternoon before they caught a flight to Oregon, just long enough to sift through some more boxes of clothes, do a load of laundry, eat chinese take-out and take some pictures. It was so nice to see them, and so nice of them to make a stop in Bismarck. It was a whirlwind visit, but we'll take what we can get since they live overseas.

If a person can have a best friend in the world, Rachel is that for me. I'm so glad we have been able to stay close for so long - I met her 20 years ago! - despite the fact that we've lived in the same town, at the same time, for only a few months, back in the late 1980's. I have so many great memories, but even better are the memories I look forward to making in the future. She's the best kind of person, and I'm honored to be her friend.

I just wish we'd stop having to say goodbye all the time. (sniff)

They'll Be Back

Rachel, Darius, Tess, and Josie were here and gone already. Their Bismarck stop was short but fun. Everyone was jet-lagged but looked great, especially new baby Josie Greer. I got to dress her this morning and hold her while she slept. I'm sure she'll get lots of lovin' from the rest of her family when she meets them today at the graduation. So far she seems to be an easy-going baby who only cries for legitimate reasons, except for the drive into town from the airport, during which she was so furious about being strapped into the carseat that she cried the whole way. Hope it goes better on the four-hour drive to Redfield!

Tess, Dylan and Connor hit it off right away and had a lot of fun playing. They got along together really well this time. Darius got to see a bit of last night's Rift gig, and Rachel and I spent a few hours sifting through my boxes of baby clothes looking for things they can make use of for Josie. Above, she models an adorable and cuddly outfit that Connor briefly wore. Apparently, it is the very shade of blue that the KLM flight attendants wear. Rachel and Darius were also grateful for the beer and wine we had in the house. Liquor is a scarce commodity in muslim Sudan.

They'll be back through here on Monday because they fly out of Bismarck to Oregon.

They're Coming!

Today's the day. Rachel, Darius, Tess and baby Josie arrive this afternoon for a very short visit to Bismarck. We're so excited and honored that they are coming out of their way (sort of) to see us.

Here's the story (Morning Glory): They have been living in Sudan, where they work in the field of international aid. They try to make it back to The States every year. Last year, our family traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, when they were back. This year, Rachel's nephew, Taylor, graduates from high school in Redfield, South Dakota, so they are flying in to Bismarck and driving down to Redfield. Bismarck is their first stop after about 24 hours of traveling. From here they will go to Oregon, New Mexico, and Nebraska before returning to Africa. However, Darius is changing jobs, so they are going to Ethiopia instead.

Whew! My life is rather mundane and stationary here in Bismarck, so I like to say that I live vicariously through my globe-trotting friend Rachel. She's always been like that, too. I'm sure I'll be writing more about her after their visit. For now, I'm counting down the hours and minutes (2 & 44) until they get here.

I Love A Parade

Here's what I was doing on Friday night. This was the Just For Kix entry in the Band Night Parade. That's me at the head of the far right file. We combined dancers from the two Bismarck programs and the Mandan program, for a total of 180 kids. It was pretty impressive and quite the undertaking for us to pull off. But we did it! We had a fun little routine choreographed to "Rockin' Robin" (Jackson 5 version), but the younger kids were very distracted. Hey, look at me! I'm in a parade!


Here's a photo of one of my dancers and me after the parade.

The Next Generation

This is Dylan (center) and his friends Nick & Ethan. They come to play at our house every Wednesday after school. The kids call it "Dylan Day". A few weeks ago, our old king-size mattress was in the living room, and they used it as a stage for their band. They closed all the blinds and set up stage lighting (note glowing light sabres in the background). Nick played drums, and Dylan played guitar. They lip-synched to the song "Perfect" that they played on Connor's Little Tykes CD player. It was so cute.

When I asked if I could take their picture, Ethan didn't want to be in it because he was running the CD player. He said he was the manager. I said he could pose with the band anyway.

I have memories of a scene similar to this when my friends Lisa Tacket and Joanne Bournival and I used to sing along to my parents' Beach Boys cassette in our living room. We stood on stools and sang at full volume. Help me Rhonda, help, help me Rhonda...

Manah Manah

Following Shari's lead, I'm posting one of my favorite Sesame Street sketches. I don't even know what this character's name is, but he reminds me of Animal from the Muppets, all floppy and bouncy.

Connor always walks around singing his own theme song. For about a year it was Darth Vader's theme (Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun-Da-Dun, Dun-Da-Dun). Since I found this video on YouTube last month, it has become his new theme song, and also kind of a catch-all phrase for our family. "What did you say?" "Manah manah!"

The Evolution of Dance

There's a ton of stuff that circulates the internet via email. Most of it is goes right into my recycle bin, but this is worth looking at. I was laughing out loud. I've done most of these moves myself at one time or another, so it's ok because I'm laughing at myself, too.

This guy is actually a very good dancer. I especially like the transitions he works in between the different sections.

Enjoy!

Main Squeeze

Here's a new picture of Brad, much better than that previous one I had to post. Rift was sounding great on Friday. I was having fun playing "Name That Tune" with a co-worker who came out to the gig. Finally, someone who could beat me at that game. Thanks, JB.