Family
Topics
Apr 26th
This was written a few days ago.
I’m sorry that I’ve been MIA on the blog for so long. Between the changes at work and life in general I haven’t had a lot of time to come back here, which makes me sad. Also, even though there are constantly things running through my mind during the day that I wonder or want to talk about, none of them are really enough for an entire blog entry. And then when I finally get a chance to sit down and write something, nothing comes to mind, and I end up wasting the time checking facebook or catching up on the 100+ items in my Google Reader instead of writing.
Things are going well at work. We launched a new company website this week, and I think it’s a pretty big improvement over the last one. One of the features on the new site is a blog, and I’ve asked to be involved with that. I think that will be a fun project. If you have any insurance questions/issues you have wondered about or want to discuss, please let me know! We’ll be constantly looking for ideas. I think sometimes we’ll tackle current events (how would an event like the nuclear reactor meltdown affect your business if you were in the evacuation zone, and would there be coverage?), and sometimes we’ll talk about insurance concepts in general (what is Professional Liability insurance, and do I need it?). My contributions will probably center around business insurance topics, and other people will write about personal insurance topics.
Other than that, things are going well. James is going through a phase where he thinks it’s fun to scream at things, and boy does he have some good lungs. We are working on getting him to use his inside voice, but I know it’s important for him to experiment with making different sounds, so we are also trying to let him do that some times. He also has started biting me occassionally again…I think his upper molars must be coming in (he’s been in a MOOD in the evenings lately). He’s still pretty adorable most of the time, though. This morning while Ryan was changing his diaper and getting him dressed he would make a noise to James, and James would repeat it back to him (rolling his tongue, making a “ba” or “tuh” sound, etc). One step closer to talking.
He runs all over the place now, and is very independent. Last night we went to Barnes & Noble, and he did not want to hold my hand or be held in the parking lot; he wanted to walk on his own (or swagger, I should say). Of course that’s not safe in the mall parking lot, so I carried him screaming into the building. But after that he had a lot of fun playing in the kids’ section with his friend Odin.
He also LOVES to read books. He will sit and look at a book from beginning to end and then back again over and over, and he will take a book and bring it to us and ask to sit in our lap so we can read it to him. He gets very angry if we can’t drop whatever we are doing to read, but we are working on patience. It’s hard when he doesn’t realize that the world doesn’t revolve around him (which is a developmental thing; he won’t realize that until about 18 months or so). His favorite books lately are The Big Red Barn, Bunny My Honey, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider (because I sing the song).
He is some kind of crazy dancing kid. He will sway back and forth or bounce up and down whenever he hears a good beat (last night he was sitting on the floor when James Durban was singing on American Idol, and he went crazy rocking back and forth to that drum beat).
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That’s about it for news around these parts. We went to Ryan’s parents’ place last weekend, and we plan on going to Roseau for Mothers Day weekend, as long as Ryan’s not on call. I hope not; I would love to get up there to visit soon!
Birthday up north
Mar 6th




We are driving home right now. The weather people had been predicting 2-4″ of snow, with flurries off & on. As you can see from the photo, this is not a flurry. The roads aren’t terrible, but they sure aren’t good.
The other photos are from the small birthday celebration we had this morning for James. Fruit cocktail upside down cake (Yum!) and a farm toy and animals. He later got a super-cute barn that my grandparents made to hold the animals and stuff. I love it, and I think he will too.
I have pictures from the snowmobile races we went up to see on the camera, and will add them later.
Has anyone invented a teleporting machine yet so we can shorten this drive?
Another one!
Jan 24th
My youngest sister is moving to San Francisco today (her plane should be landing any time now). I am so so excited for her. And after my (and a couple others’) urging, she has started a blog to chronicle her life there. She writes really well; it’s like hearing her tell you a story. I love it, and I hope she keeps it up. Welcome to the blogging community, Kim!
ps. Anyone out there have experience in/with San Francisco and have some advice for her?
Going home
Jan 22nd
It’s funny; I haven’t lived there in 11 1/2 years. Besides my family and our family friends, no one knows me there any more. Some of the stores have changed. Some of the houses are gone, replaced by dikes to keep the river from flooding the town again. Some of the streets are even gone, and have been for years. It is drastically changed (for a small town), and yet I still call it home.
I count Duluth as my home most of the time, but any time we are talking about going to Roseau I refer to it as “home.” It is where my family is concentrated. It is where I was raised. I swam in that river (gross!), I skated in that hockey rink (not very well), and I rode my bike through those streets (after I got it to town – we are country folks). I went to school there for 12 of my 13 years (kindergarten was in a neighboring town). I got my first jobs there (waitressing, working in a hardware store, then a grocery store). I have so many memories of that town. Most of them are good memories (or I have rose-tinted glasses for looking at them).
I am going back this weekend (I’ll actually be on the road when this shows up on the blog), to say goodbye to my youngest sister before she heads off to school on the West coast. It is her first time moving away from that small town, and I simultaneously hope the best for her and think it will be a great experience, and worry that she will be overwhelmed in the big city. I think back to when I moved to Duluth for school. There was a learning curve (and Duluth is much smaller than San Francisco, where she is moving). I made stupid mistakes and people occassionally laughed at me because I was such a small town girl. But I found people to help me figure things out, and I got through it. I’m sure the same will be true for her. But I still worry. It’s part of my job.
I’m glad to be going home. I miss it, and the people that live there (my parents, sisters, grandparents, family friends…). We don’t get there often enough, usually. That’s why it’s on my list to spend a week with my family sometime this year. I’ll make it happen.
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Oct 29th
Dear Mom & Dad,
I miss you. A lot. I wish that I could see you more often, and that we had more time when we do get to see each other.
Thank you for doing such a great job raising us (if I may say so). You showed us the value of hard work, and that you don’t need to be rich to have a great life. Those are two lessons that are very important, and that I hope I can pass on to my children.
You both mean so much to me. I wish I was better at expressing it. Whenever I have a question about what I should do, I think of you. What would Dad do? What would Mom do? What would they tell me to do? I don’t always listen (what else is new?), but I do always consider what I think your opinions would be.
I love seeing you with James. I know you have many grandchildren, but seeing you interact with him gives me a whole different perspective on how much you love all of them. They are lucky to have you as grandparents. Since having a baby I have a much better idea of how much you care about us kids. I don’t think I could have ever fathomed it before. I feel so lucky to have you to care so much for me.
I love you,
Becky
ps. The next time you are going to do something crazy (like pull the pontoon boat full of people behind a 6-wheeler (ATV) at night on gravel roads) give me a call, would you? I hate missing that stuff!
Things that make me happy: my car edition
Oct 11th
I logged into our bank account this morning, and saw this:
Do you see that? That is how much is left to pay on my car before it is all mine! I am so excited about this, it’s kind of unreasonable. But thinking about how much we can save/pay off other bills if we don’t have a car payment will do that to a person.
Now if we can just make the (very small) car last…
Happy Monday, folks!
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Oct 8th
This picture is a couple (few?) years old, but these are the people who have had the biggest impact on me; on who I have become and on who I want to be. I love my parents and my brother, and James and Ryan are my life now. But my sisters have shown me who I want to be (and who I don’t want to be, at times). I don’t know if they realize how important they are to me (I try to tell them, but I’m “the emotional one,” so I think they don’t take me as seriously).
We don’t always get along (and that’s been ongoing since we were kids), but I love these ladies. They are so so amazing and strong. I hope they know that.
How is another weekend gone?
Aug 15th
Here are a couple pictures from my weekend at my parents’ place:

All the girls ready to go out for the night. Note to self: hang out with people closer to my size so I don't look so huge.
This weekend Ryan’s parents & sister came up. We all went to the zoo today, and it was a lot of fun.

My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades. (He tried to eat them shortly after this photo was taken, so we aren't applying to Harvard just yet)

What you can't see is that he is reaching for the camera. He's trying to eat it, along with everything else he can get his hands on.

We tried to tell him it was rude to chew on the giraffe's face while we were at the zoo, but he didn't care.
Another development this weekend: we now have (1 or 2) consonants. We’ve for sure heard the “d” sound. I never realized how excited I would get about someone making consonant sounds. It’s kind of ridiculous. But awesome.
Hope you all had a great weekend. It finally cooled off a little here (the high today was in the low 70s). I’m loving it.





