Mama the Moose

I must say I'm a bit sad that MEA weekend has already come and gone.  It's already Sunday night -- way past my bedtime -- and I'm in a bit of denial that Monday morning will come again and the work week will begin.  It was so nice to have a few days off to spend time doing the fun, non-work related things in life.

On Friday Mark and I took off to the great city of Bemidji where our relationship started! (Okay, great city may be a stretch.  However, if you haven't been there for awhile like us you really should check it out.  So much has changed physically with the town and there's great places to shop and eat at.)

We had lots of fun driving around campus, looking at our old houses (I can't believe what we use to call home!)  and reminiscing about our college days. Mark even let me play Tonja car games on hour long drive, which was great!  (I really come up with awesome games to play, but not everyone likes being a good sport about it...)  

Our first date way back when was the horrendous movie Random Hearts at the Amigo Theater and then a slice of pie at Perkins.  We ended up skipping out on the pie, but we did take in a show at the old Amigo.  City of Ember was the movie I chose because I wanted to see it for class - we teach the book in 7th grade - and I really wasn't sure about the rest of them - Sex Drive? Mark wasn't too into the movie and I was ticked because they had changed so much from the book and added Hollywood-ized "things" that didn't need to be added.  Don't you hate when they do that?!

While we had a great time doing this and that, basically putsing around, Anthony got the chance to hang out with his auntie and uncle.  They took him to a pumpkin patch and made a HUGE deal about having to change one major poopie diaper.  Hopefully Manda will post an update on her blog and continue to exaggerate the story...

On Saturday a benefit was thrown in honor of my parents and the fire that destroyed their home this past July.  My parents are very giving people and have a hard time accepting things from others.  It was good to see them on the receiving end of things for a change.  

Anthony had a great time as always.  Uncle Erik got him a huge bucket of sidewalk chalk and they had fun drawing outside.  Fortunately, for Anthony, he finally got to see some realistic drawings.  The cow I grew in the garage always confuses him.  Is it a cow?  Dog?  Horse? Rabbit?  I would be unsure, too, if I was him.  It's pretty hard to tell the difference between the stick leg animals I end up creating.  Luckily for A, Uncle Erik drew some pretty cool jack-o-lanterns and "icky" skeletons.

So many people in my hometown worked together to make this benefit happen for mom and dad.  I really appreciate that.  It's nice to know they have great individuals surrounding them. These ladies - Diane, Patty, Marilyn and Annie - did a fabulous job before, during and after the benefit.  Thank you.

Manda put together a great slide show of photos so that everyone could see the devastation of the fire, the demolition that took place and how far they've gotten on the house since July.  She did a great job of not only telling their story, but throwing in some facts that will stop you, hopefully,  in your tracks.  

Did you know?

* A house fire is reported every 80 seconds in the US.

* Some 3,000 people die in house fires every year.

* The heat and smoke alone could kill you.  Most victims die from the smoke or toxic gases - not burns.

* There's usually not a lot of time to get out; typically you have around three minutes.

* Approximately half of the residential fire deaths occur in houses that do not have smoke alarms.

* If you have smoke alarms in your house you are 2 to 3 times more likely to survive.

I know it's really easy to think that it will never happen to you and your family.  Hopefully you're right.  But just in case the unimaginable does happen be sure you have working alarms and a family plan.

Lastly, I'll end with a picture of Anthony to wrap up our wonderful weekend up north.   (I know I'm biased as his mom, but he's so cute!  Just looking at him makes me smile.)  His favorite new line today is "Mama the moose".  Hopefully that's because he loves the moose my sister has on her fridge and not because my waistline has "fluffed" out a bit lately. However, I'm still not sure how he made the connection, but I do know a certain someone by the name of Mark continues to encourage it because he thinks it's hilarious.  What could daddy be?  Mark thinks "Daddy the dragon", but I keep shooting that one down.  Any suggestions?