Small Town Couple: Letter Home - September 23, 2012

Dear Mom and Dad,

We’ve had an eventful week! Because weekdays are busy with homework and activities, we decided to celebrate David’s 43^rd birthday over the weekend. We started the fun yesterday by going to the corn maze. But before we could go to the corn maze, we had several other “to do’s” that needed completing first. Jacob attended the Milaca mega meet Saturday morning. Milaca, located over an hour away, hosts approximately 5000 cross-country runners every fall. Needless to say, this is typically an all-day event. Fortunately, 8^th grade boys were the first runners at 10:00 a.m. Jacob ran two miles in 14:21 (7:10-minute mile). David drove up to watch and brought Jacob home after his race so we could finish homework and have some fun as a family (otherwise, he would not have returned until 4:00 p.m.)!

While Jacob & David were in Milaca, I took the girls to the church to practice the primary program. Charlotte had a violin solo so we attempted to tune her instrument right before the practice. It was a disaster – the violin was significantly off. In a panic, I asked a friend if anyone in her household knew how to tune a violin and she suggested a local music store. So after the practice, we went over to the store and they tuned it for us for free. What a relief! We finished getting the violin tuned about the time that David & Jacob arrived back in Maple Grove. So we all met for lunch then came back here so the kids could do their homework. We set the timer for 1 hour. Laurel and Mary were able to finish everything, but both Jacob and Charlotte still had things to do. We decided to stop anyway and go to the corn maze.

Because the temperature was only 55 yesterday, the corn maze was pretty sparse . . . just the way we like it :). We had a wonderful time finding all 20 designated spots within the maze and then running across the “kids” maze made of hay bales. Of course we enjoyed cheese curds and mini donuts before heading to the corn pit (or corn pool as Laurel likes to call it). The kids were quickly burying each other, rolling down the side of the corn hill, and generally goofing off. It was during the goof-off period that Jacob dived into the corn. A corn kernel went into his ear canal. We borrowed the maze’s first aid kit and tried to extract it with a pair of tweezers but only managed to push it further in. When we realized we were not going to be able to get it out, we packed everyone up and headed for urgent care. They had us in and out in less than an hour and got the kernel out easily. If only we’d had their little tool. The kernel managed to scratch the eardrum so David and I ran to the pharmacy to fill a prescription while Jacob and Charlotte finished homework. We closed the day by watching the first episode of Survivor.

The girls invited our neighbor, Meena, to the primary program today. I have been so impressed with our new primary presidency who were called in June and the program only reinforced my admiration for them. The program included two girls playing the flute, a primary boy accompanying on the piano, pieces by the activity-days girls only and the valiant boys only, as well as a violin solo by Charlotte, talks & speaking parts for all of the other kids, concluding with the children quoting a scripture. At one point, the nursery leaders brought all of the nursery kids up to sing a little song and they almost stole the show because they were so cute. Laurel had a talk and did a wonderful job; Charlotte played beautifully on the violin, and Mary knew her part cold. It was a beautiful program. Meena was very touched. On the way home she told me, “The kids kept singing about choosing the right – I think I need to stop having so many negative thoughts about my in-laws.” It was a beautiful day.

After church we grilled for David’s birthday dinner, opened gifts, and had cake. We managed to surprise David a little by giving him truffles, some movies, a game & puzzle, and some new shorts. However, the kids were most excited about his “big” gift: a one-year subscription to Netflix (a service that allows you to download movies & TV shows to your computer or TV). Since we don’t have cable with Disney Channel, the girls can hardly wait to start watching “Good Luck Charlie” with Dad’s new service.

Well I’ve rambled on long enough. I’ll close here. Know that we love you and miss you! Have a wonderful week.

Love,

David, Ella, Jacob, Charlotte, Laurel & Mary

Start of the 8th Grade Boys Race only . . . shows how big this meet is!