A Royal Event

What do you mean your family doesn't dress-up in medieval costume on festive occasions...? Doesn't everyone?! Okay... I suppose I'd better provide a little context for the picture above.

Yesterday we attended the birthday party for our neighbor Lucas - he's 4 years old :o) Lucas decided that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with a costume party for the parents and friends that emulated his medieval play castle on their front lawn, hence a theme was born. After all, for last year's third birthday Lucas had received armor including a helmet, breastplate and sword - so why not continue the theme of the gallant knight?

We had no problem finding costumes as I have my ornate and beautiful kurtas from India to use as "royal" attire - add some miscellaneous costume jewelry and a crown from Burger King and voila! The Royal Family was born.

We all had a fun time, especially Natalie, my 12-year old niece who's been staying with us every other week and helping to take care of the neighbor kids, including Lucas, his brother Jack, and their new brother and sister twins born just 8 months ago. A full house under the age of 4! Natalie and I (Uncle Mike) have been enjoying the summer and spending time exploring the town, going out to movies, and having picnics by the lake.

What a fun summer to spend with my family! Thanks, Bemidji, for always welcoming me home :o)

The Ambassador

Weekend With Uncle Mike

This past weekend I had the privilege of hosting my sister, Becky; brother-in-law, Jim; and nieces Nicki (15) and Natalie (12) as they came down to Minneapolis for the weekend from Erhard--a small town between Pelican Rapids and Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Becky runs her own business designing custom greeting cards, websites and recruiting materials for an international recruiting firm while Jim is a regional supervisor for a copy & duplicating company based in Minneapolis with an office in Fargo, North Dakota. They arrived late Friday night and we stayed up talking, laughing and watching episodes of The Office on DVD (thanks Ryan!)--a fun night, indeed.

Now the best of the weekend was that Jim and Becky were here to attend Jim's annual office holiday party on Saturday night which left the girls to stay with Uncle Mike. Woohoo! A slumber party was in the works :o) After an excellent birthday lunch for Jim at Buca di Beppo, we dropped off the "old folks" and proceeded on Uncle Mike's tour of the downtown skyway, shopped at Target (of course), and then headed over to the Utrecht art supply store to pick up sketch pads, pencils, paint canvas frames and other crafty fun stuff. We also took a moment to stop by St. Mary's Basilica and walk through the amazing cathedral and look at the sculptures and artwork. Dropping in to visit my neighbor, the Basilica, has become one of my favorite "moments of spontaneous spirituality" while living downtown. I embrace the beauty and silence within its walls, and take several deep breaths giving thanks for those moments of serenity. In return for my gratitude the bells of St. Mary's serenade me each weekend :o)

So Uncle Mike and the girls spent the evening eating pizza and ice cream, watching movies, and playing with the new sketchpads. By midnight Uncle Mike was fast asleep on the couch (now who's the "old folk"...) and eventually the girls zonked out as well. Sunday morning brought chocolate chip pancakes, a few lunch leftovers, and the return of Mom & Dad. Before I knew it the troops were packed and gone... time always flies when you've having fun.

How thankful I am for my family and the times we spend together--and now it's so nice that I'm only 3 hours away instead of 32! Making it a priority to spend quality time with friends and family is always an investment that pays off in happiness and joy--and for that I will always be thankful. Peace.

The Ambassador of Goodwill