Tiny Dancer

Kate the great had her second annual dance recital! This year her routine was a "jazz" style routine with the theme of the animated "Hello Kitty". It was too cute, with Japanese music and adorable moves. She sparkled like a star and did a fantastic job. She absolutely loves her dance classes and just revels in the performance aspect. Too darn cute! Nick loved gifting his little princess with some pink and purple roses at the big event.

Here is Kate in the car seat in the "Theatre Outfit" that she surprised me by picking out herself. Pretty much right on target for the dance crowd - black leggings, black t, and a funky hat. Very Audrey Hepburn of her in "Funny Girl" :)


Kate and her Daddy with the flowers he surprised her with.


Kate in her Hello Kitty Costume, complete with stage makeup.

Kate and her Kitty Krew. :)


Too darling!

A Superior Trip

Oh how we love the North Shore! A couple of years ago, Nick and I had gone on a trip to the northern shores of Lake Superior and just loved it. This year, we decided to take the kids along for a mini family vacay. We rented a log cabin that perched directly over the rocky shore of Superior. Our views stretched to the horizon and we spent WONDERFUL days with the kids just hiking around the trails and exploring. We saw waterfalls and little critters, climbed over rocks and tossed pebbles into the lake. We made huge family breakfasts in the log cabin, grilled out for dinner, and gazed at the velvet blanket of sky at night with no light to be found anywhere except for the MILLIONS of starts - complete with shooting ones. It was an absolutely fantastic trip with memories I will treasure forever. We had so much fun that we stayed an unplanned extra night - we did not want to leave! And Liam still regularly asks for "the wood house".


Liam pitching a huge rock into the lake.


The kids scaling the staircase at Split Rock Lighthouse.

Gooseberry Falls

A great hike.

Nick and the kids at Gooseberry Falls.

Superior trip

Kate at the Lutsen lodge playing air hockey. Fierce concentration! :)



Sweet Kate enjoying a Shirley Temple on our one night to dine out on our trip.

Liam enjoying a chocolate milk treat on our one night dining out.


The kids playing on the shore after throwing lots of rocks back into the lake.


Kids trekking into the cabin.

Mooore Superior

Reading and snuggling in the cozy quilted bed after baths and a long happy fresh air day.


Starting the day off with some puzzles.

This was our view from the cabin. Coffee in the morning to this....not too shabby.


Just a lovely pic from one of our hikes.


Liam checking out the cascade.

Continued Superior-ness

Nick and Liam on the flow at Cascade.



Kate and Mags on the flow at Cascade.


Look closely! You can see Nick and the kids on the outcropping over the falls there!

Kate taking a picture of me taking a picture of her.

Liam on the Moose outside of one our favorite shops in Grand Marais - the Gunflint Mercantile. Terrific place! They are online!

Even More Superior

We had lots of fun family game time at the cabin. Here is Kate playing "Guess What I Am" - kind of like 20 questions, with props! :)


Liam playing "Guess What I Am"


Nick demonstrating proper dunking technique to Liam. O-R-E-O


We were playing "Old Maid" (remember that game?) and Liam LOVED it. He thought it was absolutely hilarious whenever he got the Old Maid. He actually wanted to get the old maid card. Too funny.

Liam and Nick on the chair lift up to the Alpine Slide.

And More Superior Times

Kate on the chair lift going up to the alpine slide.



Nick and the kids with the alpine slides. Ready to go! Lake Superior in the background.


Kate and Mags on the gondola ride up to Moose Mountain.


Maggie showing off her "road rash" from the alpine slide incident. Kind of hilarious, actually.

Liam and his camera that we gave him for the trip (disposable). He took it very seriously! :)

More Superior Times

A hike on Moose Mountain




Nick and the kids on spur trail Moose Mountain. Fun hike!


View from Moose Mountain - lots of damage, still, from the ice storm in March which was quite devastating.

Kate curling up with a book in the cabin.


The view from our cabin. Insanely beautiful.

Bring on the mortar boards!

Kate and Liam graduated from Preschool! Well, Kate graduated FOR REAL. She is moving on to Kindergarten in the fall! I cannot believe it. I just cannot believe it. She is smart and sweet and darling and fun and tall! She went to kindercamp at the start of summer and loved it. Liam still has two years of preschool left, but they both put on a great performance at their final show/graduation ceremony. Too cute. Liam is hilarious and a smarty pants. He is rough and tumble and a snuggle bug all at once. He melts my heart daily.


Here is Kate on her final class trip to the zoo.



Me with my kindergartner to be!!!! WHOA!


Liam and Nick at Liam's graduation show.


Liam the big boy with his diploma.

A Toast to Kids

Wine Celebrations! Nick and I were fortunate enough to attend the famous Twin Cities Winefest for the second year in a row. This is an amazing event that raises money for pediatric health research and care and is so lovely and so much fun. This year we went to the Grand Tasting with Mom, Dad, Patrick and Jillian where there were over 80 vineyards (with about 3-5 wines from each) offering samplings. That was a fun night!!! :) The next night Nick and I joined our good friends Jeff and Megan for the fine wine dinner and auction, which was a blast. It was so nice to get dressed up, enjoy a nice dinner, and dance to a live band in the name of fundraising! :)


Here we are at the fancy dancy fine wine dinner. Delish.



Here we are at the Grand tasting - lots of fun was had as evidenced by my goofy grin.

Water bugs

The Lake and Pool are Open! Mom and Dad are officially moved into their retirement palace. :) The lakehouse is stunning and they are having a great time setting it up "just so". We are thrilled to take regular advantage of the pool and the lake with lots of kayak time. In addition, the boat is in on the St. Croix river this year (rather than the lake which is a little low thanks to some drought conditions here in Minnesota). We have had a couple of lovely jaunts down the St. Croix which is a federally protected natural river and is absolutely gorgeous.


Gramps and Kate captaining the Kanpai on the St. Croix.


I took Liam for a spin. He loved it, and insisted on helping me paddle (not so easy with the 3 year old helping! :)


Kate was big enough to ride in the double kayak with Uncle Pak!


Maggie going solo.


A view from the fire pit out onto the point. This is Nia and Gramps' property.

Come fly with me

I got to visit several college Theta chapters as College District President of Theta. I am getting to know my territory and am continually impressed by the poised and bright young women, as well as the dedicated, intelligent, and warm advisors that I continue to meet across the country. Lucky me! I visited University of Nebraska, Kansas State University, University of Kansas, Westminster College, and University of Missouri this spring. These ladies are doing amazing things with their lives and, while I certainly have the opportunity to inspire them, they really serve as inspiration to me.

Here I am with some ladies from the chapter at Mizzou as they celebrated their 100th chapter year.



I am very proud of this young woman, Taylor. She was my advisee last year and was just awarded the highest honor that Theta has to bestow - the Bettie Locke Hamilton Founders Scholarship! I could burst with pride! Watch for this one - she will change the world!

Ever After Gowns 2009

Ever After Gowns celebrated it's 5th year serving young ladies in the Twin Cities by providing them with a free, elegant boutique experience in which the teens get to select free formalwear for their Prom! It was the best year ever and we helped over 300 young women. I am so honored to be able to serve these ladies and work with so many great volunteers as President of the organization. What a blessing in my life.

Here is a pic of one of our guests, her personal shopper (holding the dress she chose), and a media representative who covered our event for a cable show, Girl Talk! Look at those SMILES!!!!!!

Insert Sheepish Look Here....

I know. I have been a terrible blogger. After years of fairly faithful posts, I have been woefully tardy in my updates. It seems I HAVE reached maximum capacity, finally. My schoolwork, in addition to raising two kids, running a nonprofit, and working for Theta has me "maxxed out".

The good news is - I have a small (6 week) summer break starting NEXT week. So as soon as I finish this FORTY FIVE MINUTE presentation of an organizational analysis of Major League Baseball (not kidding) I will post all kinds of fun pics and news. A family vacay, preschool graduation, and tales of the 3-year-old's civil disobedience will all be discussed soon!

In the meantime, if you have stuck around through my lapse, thanks! :) Talk to you soon!

-Maggie