Sate Fair Fun

Today we made our annual sojourn to the Minnesota State Fair. We soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed a quantity of tasty fair food, all within about 4-5 hours, by which time Wes was officially sick and tired of being strapped into a stroller. Corrie and Jack love the "Little Farm Hands" exhibit every year, as well as the "Miracle of Birth" center, where they get to touch and admire baby farm animals. Wes was very excited by the various animal barns, and used the opportunity to rehearse all of his animal noises. This year was the first time that we attended on the fair's opening day, and so that led to a few interesting sightings as exhibitors were still moving their animals into their proper places. In fact, we were caught in a minor pig stampede in the swine barn, as some poor souls were trying to herd their pigs into the proper pens while observers with giant strollers (like us) stood in their way.

My favorite fair food continues to be the very tasty and very fresh Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies. The kids continued to love the best bargain at the fair -- all-you-can-drink-for-$1-milk. As an added bonus, our very own Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar served the milk to Joel. What more could we ask for, really? Though, then again, we got to witness Al Franken kissing babies last year. We'll have to contemplate which one ranks highest on our scale of political excitement.

It was a good day.

Cow Crossing

Daddy and Daughter

Can't believe I have to wait another year for these . .

Wes looking less than thrilled about the Swine Barn

Corrie looks a bit crazed in this picture . . . maybe it's the excitement!

Hotdish on a stick. With gravy for dipping.

Tattoos

Having Fun

Farm Girl

Sportin' the John Deere Hat

Little Farm Hands

Excitement Abounds

The curriculum has arrived.

The Bascom Children Recommend . . .

1. The Music Man

I grew up with plenty of exposure to this classic, thanks to my mom's family and their over-the-top obsession with this film. As an adult, however, it had been many years since I'd seen it until I stumbled across it whilst perusing the instant viewing options on Netflix. I played it for the kiddos on family movie night, and the rest is history. They *love* this movie. They sing the songs (loudly) all of the time - and I do mean *all* of the time, including the times that we are trying to pick up toothpaste and note cards at Target. I did get a few strange looks as Jack was belting out the line " . . . I have my standards where men are concerned . . ."

2. The Adventures of Robin Hood

Starring Errol Flynn, this old version of Robin Hood is perfect for Corrie and Jack. The plot is easy to follow, and there are a lot of fight scenes and corny laughs. It has inspired a lot of Robin Hood and Maid Marion play around the house, along with Corrie's new burning desire to become an Olympic archer. Watch out world.

I Know

I know, I know, I know, I know, I *know*. I haven't blogged for 5 months, and therefore am the biggest blog slacker that every blogged. I also know that this means that no one even checks this site for updates anymore, except for maybe my parents (hi mom and dad!). Here is the Reader's Digest version of the last months: we had several wonderful visits with family and friends, Jack turned 4 (in June), Wes turned 2 (this week), and life is good. The kids are growing, eating a lot, learning, enjoying summer, and generally thriving.

We are now gearing up for the homeschool year with Corrie entering 1st grade, and Jack starting to learn some of the basics. I have placed giant orders for curriculum, and am eagerly awaiting the beautiful rumbly sound of the UPS truck. Joel has been promoted and will be opening a new store, which means we will probably not see much of him until after the holiday season. This is obviously a bummer for the short-term, but a great thing for him (and all of us) for the long term. To top it all off, we have enjoyed a beautiful, cooler-than-usual summer, with a lot of time spent outside and around various lakes. We are thankful. Here are a few snapshots of our days, in no particular order:

6 Years Old - How Did That Happen?

The First Violin Recital

On March 10, Corrie participated in her first violin recital. She was beyond excited and couldn't wait to get on the stage. My only fear was that she would drop her violin on the way up to the platform, because she was such a bundle of crazy energy. As it turns out, everything went well. The violin was not dropped or harmed in any way, and she did a great job on her piece. The only thing that she forgot was her post-performance bow, which is a shame, because bowing is her specialty. Here is the video of the big moment . . . I apologize for the poor quality, but you can get the general idea.

All of the students with their brave teacher.

Corrie enjoying the post-recital refreshments.

Yes. Definitely.

Corrie: "Mom, if I was thrown in the fiery furnace, would you call the fire department?"

SoCal in January

It was almost impossible for me to wrap my mind around the fact that Wes was wandering the backyard at my parent's house in *January* dressed like this. Yes, I grew up in Southern California, but the 100 degree temperature difference between our new home and old home was unbelievable.

9 Things to Love About Joel (on our 9th anniversary)

Drumroll, please . . . . .

9. He makes me laugh. Hard. Regularly.

8. He comes home from work singing disco songs that he hears all day on the 70's satelite radio station. (This invariably leads back to #9)

7. He is always complimenting my appearance, even when I have the most horrid case of bed head, and am wearing clothes that have been soiled or stained by one of our offspring.

6. He makes a really good batch of nachos. Nachos are important in a marriage.

5. He listens to me. One reality of life for a stay-at-home (not to mention homeschooling) mom, is that there can be a distinct lack of adult interaction in one's day. Joel comes home from work, where he has been talking and listening all day, and never fails to listen to me blather on about the kids, politics, theology, or whatever is rattling around in my head at the moment.

4. He is a great source of information on everything from the Old Testament to good wine. Very handy for a gal like me.

3. He is a great daddy to our little ones. He is always willing to take care of the kids in any way, whether that be by changing a diaper, supervising bedtime, or helping with a math lesson.

2. He encourages me to try new things, and to break out of my habits (OK, ruts). Without Joel, I would be deprived of so many things I now enjoy . . . like foreign films, Indian food, and any number of vegetables.

1. He is committed to Christ and His Kingdom, and is my brother in Christ, as well as my husband and dearest friend.

Cold

Really. Truly. Cold.

Here are the facts:

Bitter cold this morning with 8 A.M. temperatures around -9 below (wind-chill -23 below) then 0 degrees (wind-chill -11 below) at noon and +4 degrees (wind-chill -9 below) at sunset (4:33 P.M.). Winds today will be from the East-Southeast at 5 to 10 mph.

We encountered our first ever frozen pipe today, which was thankfully thawed by my hair dryer. I bundled up in my coat-that-looks-like-I'm-wearing-a-down-comforter and headed off for a hair cut this morning. The traction control system on the van was working overtime, and I saw a car that had obviously skidded off the road and right into the side of our local library. I also saw kids jumping up and down to warm themselves as they waited for the school bus. I recalled being "cold" in Southern California when it would sometimes be in the 40's as I waited for the bus in high school. Little did I know what it means to be *cold.*

Mercies, Great and Small

Today we are drowning in used Kleenex, children's Tylenol, and (adult) Benadryl. A nasty cold has descended upon us. I am the only member of the household who remains unaffected, which is a tremendous blessing considering the fact that I spent the entire day with a screaming one year old glued to my hip. We were forced to ask our small group from church to relocate tonight's meeting (normally held in our home), as Wes seemed destined for a trip to urgent care. As it turns out, though, he improved quite a bit this evening and calmed down enough to play a bit and pad around the house in his Christmas jammies. I was grateful for this small mercy, and we were all happy to see the snow falling beautifully outside just before we tucked the kids in for the night.

Speaking of mercy, I ran across this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and felt it should be passed along:

"A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes - and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent."

Thankful, Thankful

Our Thanksgiving Day was quiet and lovely. Joel has been working through the typical insanity that surrounds grocery establishments at holiday times, and so we decided to spend the day at home -- just the five of us. We started the day with some special breakfast foods and a viewing of the Macy's parade. Corrie was enthused beyond measure to see Ariel dancing around on roller skates in her fantastic bikini costume during a performance from The Little Mermaid Broadway show. Jack glanced at a couple of balloons, but otherwise entertained himself by bouncing around the room. Wes, as he typically does these days, entertained himself by trying to climb on any stationary object in the vicinity.

After the parade viewing went by the wayside, we gathered the kids and had them tell us what they are thankful for this year. We started a "Thankfulness Book" with them last year, thinking that it would be fun to look back at their responses in the future. This year, the items included Mommy, Daddy, grandparents, and birds. This reminds me . . . Corrie came back from our home school co-op last week with a thankfulness tree. On each leaf she had written something that she is thankful for. I looked over the leaves, smiling at each sweet thing she had said, until I saw a leaf with "Corrie" written on it. I asked her if she was thankful for herself, and she replied, "of course." Can't say we haven't endowed the child with a good sense of self-esteem.

After some rest, and a viewing of the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a very tasty turkey and some nice side dishes, including one outstanding green bean dish with a butter and white wine sauce. The children ate very little of our exciting feast, though Corrie did eat a copious amount of cranberry sauce. We had pumpkin pie for desert, and we all watched Jack as he very meticulously ate all of the whipped cream off of his slice without tasting one bit of the pie.

We always miss being far away from our families on days like this, but it was a good time of laughing with our kids, feasting together, and pondering all that we have to be thankful for.

Corrie is currently fascinated by pilgrims.

Jack enjoying his breakfast. Or is he? And can someone please explain to me why my children cannot keep their food on the plate? Notice the runaway bacon.

Wes is happy and ready to eat.

Bring on the food.

Reformation Day / Ho-Down / Halloween

We love our church. Our small OPC church plant in Saint Paul is filled with great people, of all different ages, who occasionally enjoy defying (or at least stretching) the Presbyterian and Minnesotan stereotypes. An example of this was seen on Friday night, as we held our second annual Reformation Day celebration. The event was commemorated with a dinner and square dance in the church basement. And, since Reformation Day coincides with Halloween, costumes were welcome. There was a lot of excitement out on the dance floor, demonstrating that we are not *always* the "frozen chosen." Our kids had a great time -- especially Corrie, who was a square dancing pro. She did experience one moment of terror when one of the men from the church entered the room dressed as Darth Vader, but she recovered when she realized that it was only "Henry's daddy."

Here are some pictures of our little barnyard critters, and one happy cowgirl.

Fall is Here

Minneapolis is truly beautiful right now. Our backyard ash tree is dropping it's yellow leaves. All around our neighborhood, maples are turning bright red and there is a very satisfactory crunchiness to our walks. Our days have been busy, filled with good things like school time, violin lessons, trips to our newly refurbished neighborhood park, and cheering for Wesley, who is on the verge of walking. We also enjoyed a good visit from Grandma and Grandad, and are now looking forward to this week's arrival of Grandma and Papa. I am trying to soak in the last days of semi-warmth before they vanish for a *long* time.

I think he's angry with me because I don't have a picture of him standing and almost-walking.

We went to the pumpkin patch / apple orchard with Grandma and Grandad.

Not surprisingly, Jack enjoyed the wooden train.

Happy Wes.

Pumpkins!

Corrie in studious mode.

A nice walk 'round the lake.

We also visited the quaint town of Stillwater with the grandparents. The kids loved this horse and walking along the St Croix river. I, however, was wishing for a return trip without kids in order to browse the great antique stores. Double strollers and antiques do not mix.