The Escape Artist

We've entered a whole new realm in parenting. Quinn learned that he can climb out of his crib. A few nights ago we put him to bed, then went about putting the twins to sleep. A few minutes later we hear a soft thump and Quinn comes walking out of his room with a smile on his face. When we asked him what he was doing he said "I wake up". We asked him how he got out and he described it as "I fall down". He was very cute and it was hard to keep from smiling. With this newfound skill, it took us three or four more tries before he was tired enough to fall asleep.

Quinn had the time of his life a few days ago when the Mayo hangar at the airport was open to the public and he got to see all the planes, see them land and take off, walk around inside them and sit in the front seat of the helicopter. Maybe we have another family pilot on our hands.

Fourth of July

Out in front of our house after a long walk around the neighborhood.

Quinn swimming with the sharks in the backyard.


A few friends in the Rochester ward invited us to their home in Stewartville (south of Rochester) to come over for the Fourth. We had a great time eating hot dogs, drinking lemonade and sampling various red, white and blue desserts. Molly made a great jello salad with red and white stripes and blueberries...mmmm.

Quinn at the parade with a decidedly patriotic look on his face.

Stewartville has a great parade with clowns, fire trucks, tractors, beauty queens, giant fiberglass cows and trick-riding shriners on motorcycles. Quinn was mesmerized while mom and dad skimmed their favorite candy out of his bag.


We already knew Quinn would be alarmed by the fireworks so when the neighbors started setting things off and Quinn was hiding in the garage, we knew it was time to go. According to him, the fourth of July was "too yowd". The Gassins, our friends from Milwaukee, had us over for a barbecue on the third with some fireworks afterward. The sparklers and snap pops were a big hit with Quinn but the racing car with the erupting engine pushed him over the edge. The rest of the fireworks went back in the bag for next year.

Settling into life

As we settle into life in Rochester, we've come to enjoy a few favorite places. We're just a few minute's walk from the mighty Zumbro river. Quinn's a big fan of throwing rocks into the river and Mike and Quinn go exploring up and down the river in the canoe. It's beautiful and quiet and peaceful if you can block out the fact that the mall is about 50 feet behind us.

Another favorite - the playground at the end of our street.

And, the bike trail takes us along the river to downtown Rochester. It's become the perfect way to calm everyone down at the end of the day and Mike's no-stoplight, no-traffic route to work on his bike. He starts work for real tomorrow (after finishing two weeks of orientation) and we all look forward to a predictable schedule and a reliable paycheck.

Molly's familiy, Ralph, LeAnn and Ty came to visit and put in some hard work repainting the more creatively colored walls of our house. They were a great help. Don't let this discourage you from visiting. Room and board comes free of charge, no hard labor required.