It has been a while, I know (MOM!)...but I just haven't felt motivated to come on here and write anything. Mostly, it has been the uploading of the photos that I have been avoiding. Okay, well to be completely honest, I have had my nose stuck in the latest Harry Potter and couldn't be bothered. Hey, it was a great book and now that I am done reading it, here I am!

Erin's baby shower was a success! Mom and I worked really hard (with help from Cicely and Grandma on various things) on the favors and decorations and they looked fab, if I don't say so myself! The room was just adorable and I think everyone had a great time. I posted the picture of Erin, Cicely and I because who knows when we will get another one of these. There are many other pictures from the event on our flickr site.

Mike and I spent a weekend away this past Saturday and Sunday. As a Christmas present, Mike's parents gave us a gift certificate to a B&B in Sparta, WI. We went down on Saturday and kayaked 4 1/2 hours near there in Ontario, WI on the (appropriately named -- if you know that Dad and I were once in a tribe with this name) Kickapoo River. The water was very shallow due to no recent rain and because the weather was so beautiful, there were all sorts of strange people in canoes out there. But we had a great time and it was nice to get away. Benjamin stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa Schmitt and I think they probably had more fun than they let on about.

Other than those two things, there isn't much going on here. It has been hot and very dry in Rochester, but we don't mind. Mike ran 6 miles of hills tonight in 85 degree weather with some pretty bad humidity, but he said it went really well. There's nothing like a little extreme Minnesota (summer OR winter) weather to prepare you for marathons!

It is just a short time before Benjamin and I board a plane to Chicago for the weekend, but I've been meaning to get the newest photos online and blog, so here it is.

Last weekend I travelled down to Winona to visit friends from college for a fun-filled night. I finally got to see my friend Tina's baby, Eleanor, who is adorable! Tina and Samantha and I went to LaCrosse as a kind of post-baby-celebration. We had a great time. Mike and Benjamin drove down on Sunday and we all were able to hang out for a while.

Earlier in the week we surprised Mike's Mom for her birthday by showing up for dinner...and staying for two nights! While up in the cities, we played with AJ and Benjamin's uncles/aunt and even snuck in a little time away for some drinks and dinner with Joe and Jen.

The 4th was relaxing, we didn't really do very much. Mike ran a 5 mile race in Stewartville that morning and Benjamin and I came out to watch. He did really well despite some pretty bad humidity. Other than that, we just grilled some hot dogs and spent some time watching Benjamin play in his new sandbox from G&G Andrews.

The newest batch of photos also includes some shots of the All Comers Track Meet, which Benjamin has run in twice. The Rochester Track Club puts this event on for kids of all ages. We're still trying to get Benjamin to run the full length of the race by himself, he gets kind of overwhelmed with the whole thing. His favorite part is getting a mark from a marker on his hand at the end (a way for the volunteers to know he got a ribbon), he thinks it makes him very special!

As I said before, we are off to Chicago in just a couple of hours. We are throwing Erin a baby shower on Saturday and all sorts of out of town family will be in. Benjamin can't wait to see his "Great Ahma"!!!

The last couple of weeks have been very hectic for all of us. It has taken me that long to put any recent pictures on our photo site, so now there are a lot of new pics there.

Benjamin turned two on the 27th. Mike and I went to his daycare that day to celebrate with all of his friends. We brought party hats and cupcakes for everyone to enjoy. Benjamin was in love with the attention, especially when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him! That night our friends Eric, Reese and Sidney came over to help us celebrate some more. Benjamin was able to eat a second cupcake that night and was popular enough to receive many singing phone calls and one video call as well. We had his birthday party on the following Saturday, the 30th. Family drove all the way in from Illinois and Wisconsin. We had gorgeous weather, Mike made fabulous food, and everyone had a great time! Sunday was a very relaxing day for all of us. Benjamin spent time playing in his new sandbox and using all of his new toys and we just enjoyed sitting out in the yard without feeling like we had 100 things we should be doing. Benjamin is in his new BIG BOY bed, which he just loves. He has been sleeping so well in it, too. It is hard for us to walk into his nursery and not see his crib, he is growing up soo fast.

I also uploaded pictures from father's day. We had a picnic at a lake with Mike's parents, Dan and Jennifer. While I was out of town for a work-related conference, Mike and Benjamin went to a party to say farewell to some of Mike's running friends who are moving back to Norway. Benjamin had fun running all over the house and yard at the party.

The day before father's day was the annual cemetery walk for Rochesterfest, which I like to participate in. This year I not only played a character, but I also wrote my own script for the day. Basically this involves standing on a grave for about 4 hours in god-awful heat, reciting the same 6 minute script over and over to groups of about 20 people. It is grueling, but I love it.

I think that is about it. We are glad to have the month of June be done and gone, as it was a really rough one for both Mike and I. And now we have some exciting things to look forward to in July and beyond: including Erin's baby shower, a weekend away for Mike and I, more camping trips, a huge relay race for Mike, the state fair, and many visits with family and friends.