Letter Home - November 26, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We had a good week and a very enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend.  Last Tuesday was Mary’s Fall Festival so I, along with 20-25 other mothers, went to the school for an hour to run games for all the first grade classes.  I got to do the classic Musical Chairs and the kids had a great time.  There were so many activities planned, Mary didn’t make it to all of them because an hour really isn’t that long.  However, she was all smiles so it didn’t seem to matter that she missed a few of the games. 

Despite being the week of Thanksgiving, we had all of our regular activities.  So the girls went to piano on Monday; Jacob went on Tuesday; Jacob had an orthodontist appointment on Wednesday and Laurel & Mary had gymnastics Wednesday night.  I should have known something would fall through the cracks and something did – pumpkin pie.  David, Charlotte, and I like pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but because half the family does not, I always make something they’ll enjoy too.  So the brownies with chocolate frosting got made, the stuffing got made, the jello got made, the turkey got thawed, and the French bread got prepared all before Thursday, but the pie did not.  Fortunately, I thought something like this might happen so I picked up a Strawberry/Rhubarb pie from Sam’s club.  I still wished we’d had the pie because I like it, but our holiday turned out well without it.

We ate on Thursday about noon.  I’m getting pretty good at fixing all of the Thanksgiving meal items.  David and Jacob went to our ward’s annual turkey bowl Thursday morning and had a good time.  We spent the rest of the day watching movies and playing games.  On Friday, we pulled out our Christmas decorations and started putting things up.  It seems to take longer every year so needless to say, bins are still scattered around the house because we’re not done yet.  The kids have done the ornaments so I guess the rest of the decorations are up to me :).

On Saturday we joined David’s Dad and siblings for the extended family Thanksgiving.  We started early, ate at noon, and were home by 3:00 p.m.  So David and I went to see a movie that evening while the kids all showered for Sunday.  Jacob woke up with pink eye in both eyes on Saturday morning so he didn’t go with us to see the family.  We picked up antibiotic drops so he’s better today and went to school.  David, however, is still battling a nasty cold and it sounds like Laurel might be coming down with it.  Because the temperature dropped into single digits over the weekend as well, I’m starting to think this may be a hard winter.

Well this is all of our news.  Have a wonderful week!

We love & miss you!

David, Ella, Jacob, Charlotte, Laurel, & Mary

Letter Home - November 19, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

I feel a little out of practice writing your weekly letter after being gone.  And I forgot to take a picture of something so I’ll find some past pictures that you haven’t seen and send those!

Hope this letter finds you both doing well!  Life is good here.  It’s supposed to reach 57 today – unseasonal for Minnesota in November to say the least.  And it supposed to be nice all week so our holiday is looking good.  I am feeling much better this week than last week.  Just had to catch up on so many things after being gone, but am back into the swing of things now.  I still haven’t grocery shopped for Thanksgiving yet so after I write this, I’m off to the grocery store.  Luckily, I picked up a turkey when they were on sale so it’s just the extras I need to get today.

I found everything in order after being away, but I do sense the kids missed me.  David had them doing the dishes each night while I let them put their dishes in the sink so they can start homework faster.  And David gave them cereal for breakfast a few times while I always cook breakfast.  And some of Laurel’s first words to me after I walked in were, “Mom, I don’t have any clean pants!”  So I threw a load of laundry in within minutes of my return.  That’s all okay by me – it feels good to be appreciated :)!

Charlotte started a math club on Thursday which should be fun.  She will learn different math methods for the next couple of months and then compete in March.

Laurel had activity days (primary) on Saturday.  There are 15 activity day girls but not all can make the regular Tuesday time slot so the leaders try to have a couple of Saturday events each year.  Only 3 girls showed up which was nice for the girls, but I felt bad for the leaders.

Jacob spoke in church yesterday and did an excellent job.  We were so proud of him.  He spoke up, spoke clearly and slowly (instead of accelerating from nerves) and looked up occasionally – he did a wonderful job!  He and both David and I received so many compliments about his talk.  He hates doing them so it’s a relief that he’s off the hook for another 6 months.  He’s jealous that adults only have to speak every 3 years or so.

Well this is all of our news.  Sorry it isn’t that exciting.  We love and miss you so very much.  Please take care of yourselves.  Thank you so much for that blissful week home.  I came back truly rested physically and mentally as my time with you was so relaxing.  Having some withdrawals from playing marbles . . . I’ll have to get my kids to play with me I guess.  We did fit in a couple of games of 7’s yesterday which was a lot of fun.

Love,

David, Ella, Jacob, Charlotte, Laurel, & Mary

Letter Home - November 2, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

Mom, we were so pleased to hear that all went well with your cataract surgery!  I’m getting excited for my trip home.  Very much looking forward to a little R&R as well as some mean games of marbles so get the board out and start selecting your dice :).  I am also feeling some anxiety for David while I’m gone.  We’ve just survived another typical, crazy-busy week.  I hope David survives while I’m gone as it feels like everything takes two of us right now.  I’m sure it will be fine, but I’m also sure he’ll be happy to see me return.  That’s never a bad thing :).

Jacob knocked a bracket loose playing football with the neighbor hood kids so I took him to get that fixed on Monday.  A note came home on Monday reminding me that I had signed up to help in Mary’s classroom on a regular basis starting in November so I helped out there on Tuesday from 11:25-11:55, ran home for some lunch, and then returned to help with the Read Naturally program at 1:20.  I did Wednesday envelopes Wednesday morning, returned in the afternoon to help Mary’s class get into their costumes, then tried to spot my kids in the Halloween parade with the other 500 parents that afternoon.  I then spent all of Thursday creating 60 gratitude journals to give out at our November RS social (which I’m going to miss because I’ll be flying back from Wyoming).  I got them all done and passed them off that afternoon so I’m feeling quite unburdened today.

Halloween was great fun.  I’ve enclosed some pictures so you can see the costumes I made for the girls.  We have received many compliments on our creativity.  David took the girls out at 6:00 and they didn’t return until 8:00 p.m.  Mary had to stop by the house once during that time just to unload because she couldn’t carry her sack any longer due to weight.  Jacob spent a boring night doing homework and watching TV while I handed out candy.  We didn’t have that many trick-or-treaters so we gave Jacob our leftover candy.  The girls were quick to note that he got ALL chocolate while they got lots of less-desirable things like licorice and tootsie rolls.  What can you do?

Laurel has kept me laughing this week.  There is a battle over same-sex marriage going on here right now so lots of lawn signs (vote yes to ban same sex marriage or vote no which means to allow same sex marriage).  The girls trick-or-treated at a home that had a “vote yes” sign so Laurel told the lady who answered the door that she really liked her sign.  I bet she got better candy at that house for her comment.  Then yesterday she also made us laugh.  We give our neighbor girl, a 5^th grader, a ride home every day.  Serena was telling us about her homework so I asked if she had more this year than last year in 4^th grade.  Serena came back with a strong, “Yes!”  Followed by an immediate “uh-oh!” by Laurel in the back seat.  While I laughed, I actually think Laurel will be okay next year since Serena had the cushy teacher and Laurel has a tough one, meaning Laurel will be better prepared for 5^th grade.

Jacob starts basketball tonight with his first practice.  Please pray for his team that they win a few games (unlike last year).

Well I’ve rambled on long enough.  Hope life is treating you well.  I’m so excited for my visit!

Love you,

David, Ella, Jacob, Charlotte, Laurel, & Mary

We were so busy last weekend, we didn't have a chance to carve pumpkins and honestly, I didn't see how we could do it this year.  But the mother side of me just could not forgo this tradition.  So even though we didn't have time for it, we made it work.  I picked up pumpkins at Target on Monday afternoon; I gutted them while the kids did their homework; the carving began about 8:00 p.m.  We had our traditional donuts the next day because I had to order them from the Target bakery.  It wasn't smooth, but it was fun and most importantly, we got it in.

All for one & one for all!

Aw, the life of a teenager . . . doing homework on Halloween

Mary was Star of the Week last week . . . here is her poster.  Note her favorite place is Wyoming.  I also love the guinea pig!

Letter Home - October 28, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

Wow – any thoughts of having a more relaxing week after surviving two birthdays went out the window by 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.  Mary and Laurel were both home all day Monday because each threw up on Sunday and I wasn’t sure if it was over or not.  Fortunately, by noon, they were both able to eat something and keep it down so they could return to school on Tuesday.

My goal for the week was to complete the girls’ Halloween costumes before our ward party on Saturday.  Between straightening the house after the weekend to catching up on laundry, not much sewing took place on Monday.  My friend who is moving called late Monday to ask if I could help on Tuesday, so that day was shot as well.  I had already set up Wednesday to scrapbook with a friend that I haven’t seen in 6 months so I kept that appointment, which meant little to no sewing took place on Wednesday.  Essentially, I had Thursday to sew because I was scheduled to go on an all-day fieldtrip with Charlotte on Friday and the party was on Saturday.

I was so nervous I woke up at 4:00 a.m.  I didn’t answer the phone or check email – I just worked on the costumes, determined to finish them that day.  I went to bed at midnight, but had made three beautiful 3-Musketeer costumes by the time I was done.  The girls were thrilled and received many nice compliments on how cute they were as a trio at our ward party.

Charlotte and I spent the day outside on Friday at a local park reserve.  The sixth grade was broken into small groups and rotated between various activities.  Charlotte’s group (which I tagged along with) first learned about wilderness survival.  Her group was broken down even further and had to build a small shelter and then were allowed to start a real fire.  From the survival class, we went to the archery range where Charlotte managed to hit the target several times and then the foam animals they brought out.  We ended the day with an orienteering course.  It was very fun, very hands-on, and the kids loved it.  I just wish it had been a little warmer.  We roamed around in 30-40 degree weather all day, making it hard for me to feel warm even that night after we returned.

Jacob wasn’t bothered by the cold.  The scouts had a campout Friday night and Jacob came home and told me how warm it was.  I guess that’s why you camp out when you’re young because I know I wouldn’t have thought it warm enough to sleep in a tent that night :).

As I said, Saturday night was our ward party and trunk-or-treat.  The costumes were a hit and the kids all enjoyed collecting candy before Halloween.

We hope your surgery goes well this week, Mom.  Hope you both enjoy the week.

Love you,

David, Ella, Jacob, Charlotte, Laurel, & Mary


Mary's Letter

Letter Home - October 21, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

What a crazy, fun week we’ve had!  Because of a Minnesota teacher’s holiday called MEA, the kids were off of school on Thursday and Friday.  Jacob ran in is last cross-country meet of the season on Tuesday, October 16.  It was one of those freakish fall days where the temperature reached 70 degrees.  And of course, it was the longest race at 3 miles that consisted of 3 loops up and over a BIG hill.  Jacob ran the distance in 24 minutes and was disappointed with the result.  However, I overheard some mothers of the top runners saying how much slower they were this year versus last year because of the heat - so apparently, everyone was slower than expected.  We’re just proud of Jacob for running the whole distance and finishing the season doing his best!

Wednesday was Charlotte’s birthday.  Because we have gymnastics right after school followed by YM’s/YW’s right after that, we decided to celebrate in the morning.  David and I rousted everyone at 5:30 a.m. so we could sing to Charlotte and enjoy chocolate cake & ice cream for breakfast.  Charlotte then opened all of her gifts.  She hosted 6 girls for a birthday party last night (Saturday).  The girls ate pizza and enjoyed ice cream sundaes before doing a session at Feed My Starving Children where they managed to pack 16 boxes of food for kids in need.  I was impressed with Charlotte’s friends in that they could not stop talking about how much fun it was to help others.  The party was a big hit.  After our FMSC session, the girls came back here for night games before I took them home.

As I mentioned above, the kids had Thursday and Friday off of school.  Oh how we love those days off of school!  It was so delicious to sleep in a bit and have a relaxing schedule.  Because I want to expose them to some culture, we attended a play Thursday night at the Children’s Theater downtown.  The girls and I liked it while David and Jacob more or less tolerated it.  I hope someday my son appreciates my exposing him to these things :).  During their days off, the kids played with friends as well as finished homework and cleaned up the yard and house.  It was a great weekend.

We love you.  Have a great week!

Love,

David, Ella, Jacob, Charlotte, Laurel, & Mary

Charlotte's party at Feed My Starving Children

 L to R: Shrea, Laurel, CeCe, Megan, Charlotte, Anna, Joy, Cameron, Mary

 Wake up Sunshine!

 Central Park - 3 miles - 24 minutes

I Never Promised You A Goodie Bag

I heard about this book on NPR (where I hear about most of my most interesting books).  I enjoyed it and would recommend it.  This book will be meaningful for those who have lived long enough to understand from personal experiences that life has its ups and downs.  So really, it is appropriate for everyone.

Here are a few quotes I want to remember:
"I saw the shadow side of having fixed expectations.  They are an awfully hard thing to live up to.  If you spend your time measuring your reality against your fantasy, you're inevitably going to lose the joy of just being in the moment.  This holds true for events, relationships, business, and life.  Bunny taught me that some people just don't know how to be happy, and they will never look at the bright side.  And that's not a person I want around me in any situation."

"It's amazing how disarming a simple aplogy can be, not an 'I'm sorry but' which feels conditional, but an honest 'I'm sorry,' which is limitless."

"It took me a long time to learn that sometimes in life things just happen, without our permission or planning.  Even the most beautiful things can happen that way.  Maybe the cake bride loved her wedding cake because it really was perfect -- but more likely, she loved her cake because she sincerely wanted to be happy.  Perception is reality.  She was in love and her life felt full; that was her perception, and that became her reality as well.  We all have the choice and the power to create the reality that we want.  That is a life lesson that I carry with me every day."

"You can't control what may happen to you in this life, but you can control who you want to be after it happens."

Letter Home - October 14, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

This will be a long letter because so much happened this week.  I’ll try to keep it interesting.

First off, I met my old work team for lunch on Monday.  We’ve met a couple of times over the past 13 years since I quit Target and it’s always been fun, but perhaps it’s been too long since this time around it felt a little forced.  My old boss and my old co-worker have both survived cancer during the last year.  But other than talking about our health, I don’t have anything in common with any of them any more.

We also had conferences for all four kids this week.  They are all doing well in school and we remain very grateful that things come easy for all of them.  However, I guess the fun of hearing what great kids I have has rubbed off a little because in some ways it seemed like a waste of time.  I reminded myself that this year I went so they could feel good about themselves and show me their work instead of going so I could find out how they were doing because I already knew they were successful.

Jacob had another cross-country meet on Thursday – this one in Elk River.  I wasn’t able to attend because of conferences so David went alone.  The race was 3200 meters (or 1.988 miles).  As Jacob was leaving for the bus that morning I told him to shoot for 13:00.  I figured this was a lofty goal and even if he didn’t reach it, he’d achieve a new PR (personal record).  Lo and behold, that boy hit a 13:00 even.  I about fell off my chair.  That is a 6.5-minute mile.  Not only was this a personal record for Jacob for that distance, it was probably his fastest race EVER.  We were so proud of him that Laurel and I picked up a dozen donuts as a surprise the next morning to celebrate.

The kids had Friday off of school so Mary started her birthday celebrations on Thursday by taking birthday treats for her class and having me join her for lunch (one of our family’s birthday traditions).  On Saturday, her actual birthday, we opened gifts and had fettuccine with hotdogs and onions for her birthday lunch (usually we let them pick out their birthday dinner, but I didn’t think I’d feel up to cooking after her party so we did lunch).  And then from 2:00 – 4:30, we had an art party for Mary and her friends.  My amazing friend, Michele, let me bring 8 little girls to her house where she took them through three projects and then let us leave while she cleaned up.  The girls LOVED the party and I loved not having the mess or stress (I owe Michele big!).  The party was perfect – just perfect.  We came back here to open gifts and have cupcakes & ice cream before sending them all home.  This was probably the best party I’ve ever thrown for Mary.

Saturday was a big day for Charlotte as well.  The Young Women showed up at our house at 8:00 to “kidnap” her for a “welcome to Young Women’s” breakfast.  And then Saturday night, the Beehive Advisor hosted the 4 girls in the class for a Halloween party where they made homemade pizza and decorated sugar cookies.  Today, the primary sang Charlotte’s favorite song to send her off, had Charlotte tell about her favorite temple (the Billings, MT one) as well as tell about a project from her Faith in God program AND she was interviewed by the Bishop.  I think it’s safe to say Charlotte feels very loved already by the Young Women’s leaders and confident she’ll be missed in primary.  It all makes me very happy – feeling loved at church is so important.

Well this is all of our news.  Have a wonderful week.  Know how very much we love you and miss you!

Love,

David, Ella, Jacob, Charlotte, Laurel, & Mary

Mary 7th Birthday

Charlotte - morning of being "kidnapped" by the YW

Elk River: 3200 meters (2 miles) - 13:00

Charlotte's Letter

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

This week we were really busy. We started off the week with piano. (Like we always do.) The reason that this week’s lesson was special, was because we got to choose songs that we are going to play at Barnes and Noble (A bookstore.) around Christmas time. I only chose one song this week, but we can play two songs so I am going to choose another one on Monday. We also got ready for my birthday and Mary’s birthday. We got together our goody bags and finalized the details. Mom also set out Mary’s presents.

On Tuesday mom tried to set us up for Spanish Lessons, only to find out that they had canceled the sessions. We were disappointed, but mom said that we could do them this winter. Wednesday all I did was play with my friend, and do LSRC. I am on on my birthday, and I am really excited. I also found out that our friends that live in the cul-de-sac behind our house are moving. They have 7 kids, and 5 of there 7 kids are our friends. Laurels best friend is part of that family. They are moving to Dallas, Texas. We are all really sad.

I also started violin on Tuesday. You wouldn’t believe it. It is during my recess!!! It is okay, but the time is kind of annoying because between media helper, LSRC, and now violin I am inside for recess all of the time. On Thursday I again just played with my friend, and sense Friday we had the day off of school, I again just played with my friend.

Saturday we got up early, but we could only open one of Mary’s presents because dad and Jacob had to go rake leaves for people in our ward. We went upstairs to play with Mary’s new toys. Then we heard a door slam. Mary went into the hall to see who it was. She said “ha.” Then I said, “When you say ha, is it a good thing or a bad thing?” Then they came and “attacked me.” It was fun!  They “kidnapped” me. We walked for a while and they said things like “we are travelling through the forest to an ancient land.” Then we got in a car and didn’t put on seatbelts. We whipped around corners and stuff. Then they took off the blindfold. We were at one of our church members house. We had pancakes for breakfast, with chocolate chips, syrup, peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, orange juice, or milk. It was a lot of fun!

Then it was time to open the rest of Mary’s presents. It was really cute when she opened a doll present and screamed. She then had her party. I didn’t get to help (or go) to/at the activity part because we didn’t have enough space in our cars for Laurel and I to come. We got to do the sand art when they came back though, and it was fun. It seemed like a great party.

That night I went to a beehives party. It was fun! We made pizza and decorated cookies. It was a great week!

Love you!

Your Granddaughter,

Charlotte Rolfs.