Summer is here

Warm weather has finally come to MN. It has been slow in coming. I think last week was the first week we have had to turn on air conditioning. We have been out and about with Aurora introducing her to many firsts. First playgrounds, first camping trip, first time in a pool, first parade, first overnight trip to Grandpa's, first boat trip and the list goes on. She is amazing. She is put in all the new situations and she just takes off and experiences the moment! There are times she just wants to watch for awhile but she eventually gives the task a try - like swimming in a pool and running through sprinklers. Then there are moments when whatever we are doing for the first time she seems to have known all along that she was going to love it - I got this look on her first boat ride last night like "This was the life I was cut out for - riding fast in a boat and the wind blowing through my hair."

Jonah and she have their moments of fighting but for the most part they get along great. They look out for one another and share about half of the time....I couldn't ask for more at this stage. Aidan is the big brother - always coming to their rescue and trying to mother them...sometimes a little too much. :)

Anyway, I will try to post more often - it is always on my mind. The first two weeks of summer break went by fast - we celebrated Aidan's 6th birthday and then he had Ocean Odyssey camp at the MN zoo. Quite the haul for the week driving back and forth, but he loved it so it was worth it. We have also been out to many new parks - water parks and playgrounds. Playing with the neighbor kids and going to soccer games. So please forgive me if I don't always get new posts up - we are out living in the moment.

Good Neighbors

I have wanted to write a note to everyone. We have been doing fine. As you all may know our small town of Hugo was hit by a tornado Memorial Day weekend. Quickly followed by a severe hail storm. One child was killed, his sister is still in critical care. About 50 homes were destroyed, many more had damage. Many of the other homes were damaged by the hail, including ours.

Every year about this time our little town celebrates Good Neighbor Days. I will agree that this year it is especially appropriate. The purpose is for our community to come together and honor our citizens, people we call “good neighbors”. Time to visit with your neighbors and realize how important a caring community is. Last Saturday there was an organized clean up day – volunteers came from all over. By midweek before that Saturday, City Hall had to turn volunteers away. From what I know they could only accommodate 1000 volunteers. In today’s paper, in little print below a clean up picture, they explained City Hall turned away over 4000 additional volunteers. It is wonderful to know human goodness is still there and alive! The volunteers that came almost had to tell homeowners to stop thanking them so they could get on with their work. But when you live in a little town that has a big heart…thankfulness runs deep.

Throughout the days since the tornado all sorts of stories have been printed. Around town I see insurance tents set up to help with damage claims, car rentals. We have been visited by numerous contractors to get started on repairs to our house. People donating almost anything to those who lost their homes, free daycare, meals, places to stay…. At Aidan’s school there are 2 kids – one in second grade and another in third grade who lost their homes. They are classroom buddies to his kindergarten class. Tomorrow they will have a ‘shower’ for the two kids. Teachers asked if families could bring in clothing, toys, etc for these two kids.

I agree with our paper – the amazing stories from after the storm just can’t be recorded. But looking through the pictures, reading the letters of thanks from so many individuals, the accounts of people setting up food stands to help feed people immediately after the storm, the man who woke up the next morning and saw over 20 people in his yard cleaning up downed trees - it just is truly amazing.

So that is what I wanted to share – what our little town is like – fours street lights and all!

We are celebrating Aidan’s 6 birthday early – kicking off the day at the Good Neighbor’s Day parade as usual! Friday night there will be city fireworks and over the weekend we will be sure to visit the small fair grounds in back of City Hall. But above all, we will be thankful for good neighbors.