Keeping it Green!

and the boring details. We contracted a new garbage company in the last month. After we were getting nickle and dimed by the mega giant, BFI, I contacted Veolia. They didn't have a fuel surcharge and were't nickle and diming us for our trash collection.
Well, in the last year, we've had a ridiculous increase in the quarterly cost of collecting our trash. Ramsey County was one of the culprits, charging a huge tax, but when I took a closer look the fuel surcharge went from 0 to 65 in 8 short months. We were getting ripped off!
So, along comes the Garbage Man, door to door. Guaranteed ZERO fuel surcharge and minimal collection fees $22/month! Same size barrel, for what were were paying $39/month with Veolia. Sign me up!
This morning, I saw first hand why they don't have a fuel surcharge, their truck is just a little bigger than our mini-van sitting in the driveway.
(and bonus, they don't charge for that extra junk that you might try to sneak in once in a while!)

Target Field

We went to the Twins game the Friday night before the Fourth of July. Our kids have never stayed up for fireworks, so that night was a big treat! We arrived late and there was no line to sit in the big glove.

Target Field is beautiful at night.

Emily had her ears plugged, in anticipation of the fireworks. She really doesn't like loud noises.



It was a really fun night and a great time with the kids. They loved their first time watching fireworks.

Macalester Nursery School circa 1971-72

one of my facebook friends asked me a couple of months ago if I by chance went to Macalaster Preschool back in 1971. She thought that one of the girls in the picture looked like me....or at least like Emily.
She was right! I can't even believe how much Emily looks like I did at the same age.
There's a couple other kids in the class that I continued on to Highland Catholic with, Bruce Masters, Bridget Maher and Nancy Oswald. I would love to know who all the other kids in the picture are......

Target Field Fireworks

Two Years

Seems like a long time, but it has gone by in the blink of an eye....



Thinking back to two years ago, here and here..... +
I miss my Dad.

More Sibling LOVE!

A shot last night from around the campfire....I love my 50mm/f1.2 lens! Couldn't have gotten this shot without it!
on a side note, me and my three siblings are rarely together, ever....last night we were.

Sibling Love

The Graduate

Emily's very first babysitter graduated from high school last week!

Congratulations Claire!

Target Field

We went to our first Twins game this season at Target Field and it couldn't have been a more perfect day! Dan couldn't go, so we took my nephew, Patrick with us. He's a big sports fan! To avoid parking downtown and to also avoid the lightrail, we drove over to Minneapolis and took the bus.
We walked 2 blocks down 7th Street, rigth into the Plaza.

Then headed up the stairs to our seats. Emmy and Louie were so excited!
the view from our seats was great!

Across the field is the Budweiser Beer Drinking Deck.
View of the field from our seats:
Louie and I walked the whole concourse. Our seats are directly above the little red spot on the MLB Logo. You can see Emily's white Twins cap....
a
a view from the expensive seats....directly behind home plate.
A wide angle shot from our seats.
the scoreboard with the largest TV monitor at any field in MLB.
I guess this thing lights up to show their hands shaking when the Twins hit a homerun. They had a tough game on Sunday and I don't recall if they hit one...

Louie got a souvenier "inaugural season baseball."
Emily had to sit in the front seat of the bus, all by herself on the way home! She was talking to everyone that got off and on the bus.
We had a great time at the game and couldn't have asked for better weather! Outdoor baseball is back... I remember going to Twins games with my grandparents at Met Stadium when I was a kid. They were big Twins fans!

The Wisconsin Dells

We took a short vacation to the Wisconsin Dells a couple weekends ago with some of the Pelletier cousins (the second generation Pelletier cousins). We stayed at Christmas Mountain Village and resided at the House on the Hill (the townhome portion of this HUGE resort was built on land that resembled the streets of San Francisco. It was CRAZY!)
On Friday, we went to the Kalahari waterpark on Friday and then went to the pool at the resort on Saturday. After naps, we headed out to miniature golf.

Auntie Drea is having a new baby boy cousin in May, the little girls spent a few minutes on Saturday feeling his kicking to get out!

Miniature golf

Hole in one!

after dinner, all the dirty kids went up to take a bath in the giant bath tub....

after the other kids got out, we turned the jets on and Becca and Louie enjoyed the bubbles. She washed his hair