Abby was home this past weekend and reminded me I had fallen behind on the blog. I forget how those college students depend on the news from home.

This time, I will journal backwards... So Abby brought her friend, Amy, home from UWL this weekend to take her to Miller Park and see a Brewers game. Jeff also attended the game with Terry, Paul, Kayla, Nate and some of Paul's family. Because Terry was involved, there was plenty of food and no one wanted for anything. They didn't get to see a good game, but I think all had fun. I stayed put here in the Falls strolling back and forth between the softball field where Paige was playing and the track field where Bryn ran. Bryn was put in her first meet Friday since her surgery. She ran the last leg of the 4x800 relay and got a very decent time! She's earned her spot back on the Varsity team now.

All this past week we didn't see much of Bryn as she rehearsed with the band for the musical, Fame, put on this weekend. She'd have all of 20 minutes between track practice and pit band practice to grab something to eat. So basically she was gone from 7:30 am to 10:00pm. She's looking forward to sleeping again this week.

One of my co-workers will be leaving Norman Design this week. Really sad about it. Obviously, John wants me to work full-time. I'd like to get a lot more out of my job if I'm putting that much time into it, so I think I'll pass.

Paige's softball team is undefeated! Paige is doing very well pitching. And a game doesn't go by without someone commenting on how fast she runs those bases. She's earned the nickname Spidey for her crouching stance and the way she holds her hands out when leading off base. And the coach calls her Wheels for her speed.

Last weekend I traveled to Indy to help celebrate Meg and William's 40th birthdays. They rented a bar & grill, hired a DJ and invited about 100 people to their 80s themed party. I rode with Kristin down there and with Kristin and Craig on the way back. It's nice the ride is so long so we could have a great conversation! The highlight of the party - without a doubt - was Meg's best friend, Betsy, karaoke-ing to Michael Jackson.

And the weekend before that, Jeff and I flew out to New York City! Bryn and Paige were already there on their band trip and we did get to run into them for pizza Friday night and at the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Ctr) on Saturday night. We had dinner Friday night with Melissa, my first co-worker at Norman Design, who now lives and works out there. We toured Central Park, walked through the Guggenheim Museum, took in a Broadway show and ferried out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Out hotel was in the best possible spot: we could walk 6 blocks in any direction and be in Times Square, Central Park... So nice.

On Monday, Bryn was let out of school to play with the high school Wind Symphony for the Wisconsin Music Educators Conference in the Capitol in Madison. She had a great time.

Paige passed her umpire test Tuesday night, so will be scheduled to umpire at Little League games during the summer.

Wednesday was an absolutely beautiful day and both Jeff and I were able to watch the freshman softball team scrimmage against Germantown. Paige looked good pitching.


Abby was able to hitch a ride home from La Crosse Thursday night for Easter weekend. The girls had a lot of fun outside enjoying the warm weather that night.

Everybody was off on Friday except for Jeff. I went to the Y in the morning, then us girls did a little shopping to prepare for our upcoming trips. We made stops at Target, TJMaxx, and JCPenney. It was a lot of fun. Jeff rented the Best Picture winner, The Hurt Locker, from the library and we were excited to watch it that night. I found it quite boring and went to bed after the first hour. Jeff watched the rest, but wasn't so impressed either.

I woke up early Saturday morning and found myself grocery shopping amongst a store-wide Easter Egg Hunt! The store puts wrapped Easter candy throughout the aisles. Not a bad deal - there were lots of leftovers! Back home, it was a big laundry day to make sure Abby had hers done to go back to school the next day and Bryn and Paige's done so they could pack it up to leave on Monday for the band trip to Boston and New York City. Jeff is suffering from spring allergies with a headache, watery eyes, and congestion.



Abby, Bryn and Paige had to get up at 8:00am this morning to search for their Easter baskets. The Easter Bunny did something different this year: a scavenger hunt. The first clue was on the kitchen table. They had to figure out clues which led them to a page in the Bible, a message in Paige's email, and finally to the passenger seat of their car: "I call shotgun!" It was fun to watch. We all got ready and headed to church at Elmbrook, then for Easter brunch at the Odyssey. We got our turn to be serenaded before we left. Abby got invited to Mark's for Easter dinner this afternoon while Paige and Bryn finish checking things off their packing lists.