Sledding on Christmas Day

Papa took this action shot of Archer on the new sled that he got for Xmas that morning.  What a look of sheer joy!  This is what Christmastime is all about.  Happy Holidays!

Fannie Goat & Nilly Goat

Archer was in his first operatic performance this week, planing Nilly Goat in the 1st/2nd Grade Theater production of "The Three Nanny Goats."

He did a FANTASTIC job, even though he couldn't keep his hands off of his beard.

We're all very proud!

Tiger Cub Scout Archer Bennington Reporting for Duty

Archer's Halloween

Okay...sorry, everyone.  I've been so distracted by my other two blogs that I have been remiss in updating photos of the boy for all to see.  Here are some great photos of Archer as Harry Potter on Halloween.  He even had a wand (a great stick found by Papa), and a snowy owl that he tried to balance on his shoulder, but pretty much just carried around with him.

Archer covered a lot of trick-or-treat territory this year!  He was accompanied by his friends Hannah & Henry, Julia & Nina, along with Papa, Paul, Jo, Heidi and Daddy, of course.   Nana and I stayed home and handed out candy, and tended to the traditional hot cider & chili.  All in all, it was a great Halloween!

Archer's favorite people

Who does Archer love more than his cousins? Nobody, it seems.

Archer and his buddies

Archer and his friend Anthony. at the pool. I've never seen either of them not moving for this long before.

Archer and Kai at the Apple Valley Water Park field trip. Enjoying turning their teeth blue with Fun Dips. Fun Dips are fun!

Todd's 40th Birthday Party

He was surprised, all right...I can't believe we pulled it off. My mom did a lot of the work in preparing for the party, since I couldn't really be cooking things in front of Todd, etc. Thanks, mom! The greatest thing about the party was when Stacie (Todd's sister) showed up with "the cousins." They live in California, and he didn't think he'd be seeing them for a few days more, so it was a GREAT thing when she and the kids casually walked over and said "Happy Birthday." Archer had fun with kids of friends that he doesn't see very often. He was very excited about being in on the surprise when he found out about it (that afternoon), and immediately made himself very busy creating a card for his dad and running around with our friend Lynne and her daughter Sofia buying last minute ice, etc. Thanks, Lynne, for employing Archer and convincing me to throw a party for Todd in the first place! Thanks, Stacy, for picking up the cakes! Thanks Stacie, for lugging three kids to Minnesota four days early! Thanks Everyone who showed up to make Todd's 40th memorable!

(Click on the images to make them larger)

Picking Strawberries

We like to pick strawberries at a local farm every June. It's hard to restrain ourselves from picking 40 pounds at a time, there are so many and they are so beautiful. Unbelievably, they are also pesticide-free and safe to eat right off of the bush. Archer typically leaves the farm a few pounds heavier than he was when he showed up...but this year he was surprisingly disciplined. Mom made two crisps with the berries when we got home and we froze many of them for smoothies later. We'll pick blueberries in late July...stay tuned!

Easy Riders

So, this is really cute picture and everything, . Randy, Julia & Nina's dad and our next door neighbor, had a gathering for like-minded (i.e. Honda rather than Harley) motorcycle friends last month. Randy's the greatest sort of biker... his Honda is quieter than our car and he always wears a helmet.

Field Day at the Metrodome

What an incredible day! Thanks to the gym teacher at Archer's school, Mrs. Jackson, we got to have Track & Field Day at the Metrodome! [Her husband works for the Twins...] We are the only school in town that gets to have the whole dome to ourselves for an all-school event like this. This is most of Archer's kindergarten class in the dugout with his teacher.

We spent all day on the field playing games. It was a great time... Nana and Papa showed up, too, so it was very special for Arch. The games were mostly about different sports, but some of them were just fun/silly, like the "getting dressed and undressed relay," and the "stacking cups and unstacking cups relay." But the kids got to run the bases, play lacrosse, do soccer and football drills, and everyone's favorite, "Snake Bite!"

I just love Archer's school!

Arbor Day at Waite Park Community School

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Farm Field Trip

Here are Archer and his buddy, William, on the bus and very excited about going to the Hugo Animal Farm. We had a wonderful time! What a great field trip, especially for the kids who have never really been out of the city. One of Archer's classmates, Jerremeesha, told me on the way home that she had never been to a farm, and now she wants to be a farmer. She loved the piglets.

The farmers told us how they take care of their animals, what kind of chickens lay which kind of eggs (did you know that eggs come in every color in the rainbow?), how often they sheer their sheep, etc. The kids went on a hay ride, took a hike in the woods, and got to hold kittens and puppies that had recently been born in one of the barns. Many of them fell asleep on the way home...what a great day to volunteer at Waite Park School! Yeah for PTA-funded field trips!

So Just How Tall is Archer?

Archer's kindergarten class had a field trip today to a farm in Hugo...it was wonderful...more on that later. I got this great photo that so clearly illustrates how much taller Arch is than the rest of the kids his age. It's significant. Luckily, it doesn't seem to bother him at all, and

Yes, no more photos have been taken since May Day

I just couldn't not include this picture that Todd took of Cole and Archer painting a huge puzzle piece together at Powderhorn Park after the parade on Sunday. I wasn't there for this (I was waiting in line for the port-a-potty for, like, 45 minutes), but I guess the pieces will all be fitted together for some sort of public art piece.

This Friday I'm going along with Archer's class on a field trip to a farm in Hugo (yes, the Hugo where his Nana and Papa live). It will be a LONG bus ride, but I'm hoping to get lots of good photos of my kindergarten friends. I've volunteered in all three kindergarten classes at Waite Park throughout the year, so I know almost all of the kids. They are so much fun!

Saturday is the big Friends' School Plant Sale at the fairgrounds, and Sunday (Mother's Day), we're going to the Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival at the Washington County fairgrounds. Yes, that is what I want to do on Mother's Day. I want to pet llamas and buy hand-dyed yarn. And eat lamb-burgers, while Todd shops for locally farmed goat meat. Yes, I do...really!

More May Day Fun

Todd took this picture of Cole, Archer & Kefelin taking part in the May Day parade action as the interactive gigantic spiderweb went by. The spiders were somehow related to our burgeoning green economy or some such thing...very inspiring, I'm sure...but the kids just thought it was cool.

This is Kefelin and Archer waiting for the May Day parade to begin on Sunday. Kefelin lives only about a block away from us, but we didn't realize it until we met his family at the parade sitting with a large contingent of Northeast neighborhood folks that we ran into completely by accident.

A good time was had by all. For more pictures of the parade, see my facebook page. It's a fabulous event every year...full of seasonal good cheer and lots of community spirit.

On Saturday we went geocaching at William O'Brien State Park. Archer is doing his "old man" impression here in the Visitor's Center. The more hearty among us (Todd, Archer & Nana) hiked while Papa and I drove. It was a beautiful day and there were many wildflowers coming up all over the woods. Finding the cache was more difficult than we thought it would be and we required help from some passing children who were much more used to the whole geocaching culture than we.

What an action shot! That's Archer dancing around with his friend, Julia, as they watch They Might Be Giants - Here Come the ABCs. We had Julia over while her mom and dad took her little sister to urgent care after she slammed her head into a shovel while playing. Julia lives next door and is in first grade at St. Charles. She and Archer play together almost every day and he prefers only his cousins to her as playmates. This is a huge compliment for Miss Julia because there is no one in the world that Archer loves more than his cousins (Lauren, Madison & Keaton) in California. They have become the stuff of legends in our household.

Family Movie Night at Archer's school. These are , Erika and Evelyn. It's a cute picture so I had to post it...and . They are extremely sweet girls from his kindergarten class. I don't think he caught a second of Madagascar 2. He sure ate a lot of popcorn, though.