Looking Back...

This year I actually remembered to post this blog address to our Christmas Cards (New Year's cards actually...) so "Welcome" to those of you who have never visited before. We hope that you enjoy looking back through old entries over the past years and enjoy the entries yet to come.

As you will see I am not the most consistent with entries...it depends on how busy we are with day to day life. Feel free to check back occasionally or take a few easy steps to become a follower of the blog and get an email when there is a new post if you are interested in keeping up with our comings and goings.

Despite good intentions it was difficult to find the time to post to the blog while actually going to the places and doing the activities we would eventually be posting about over the last few months!...So what you will see over the next few weeks is a sort of retrospective of our late summer and fall 2011 along with some of the recent winter weeks...And yes, it is winter even though there is no snow and I for one will admit that I am grateful for that!

I will start with a look at late summer and our annual trip to the Renaissance Festival. Each year we continue a family tradition that I grew up with and head out to Shakopee, MN for the Festival to take part in the fun. We get into the spirit of things with our own costumes like so many other visitors do. It makes the experience so much fun and we are never hard pressed for Halloween costumes if we need them on short notice!

Collin again took Daddy on in his favorite activity at the Festival...Sword Fighting. If you have read our earlier blogs you can see that he truly loves this activity and Daddy has been willing each year to "fight" Collin. (Click this link to see his first sword fighting experience.) Each year Collin is victorious, which he loves as well. At the rate Collin is growing these days, I imagine it won't be too long before Daddy puts up a real fight and Collin still wins.

This year Collin also wanted to try something more daring and was all smiles getting secured into the harness for the giant trampoline. Between the energy from his own jumping, the bounce of the trampoline and the bungee cords securing him he was flying like the superheroes he loves! As scared of heights as I am, I have to admit it looked really fun...maybe next year we'll all take a turn!

A great time was had by all and we look forward to it again next year!

Fun without sun

Plenty of fun in the sun happened this summer...and some even without the sun.

On a warm but rainy day, jumping in the puddles and trying to "skip rocks" across them was the perfect activity. Sometimes simple is best!

Fun in the sun

Plenty of time was spent outdoors this summer, including the Fourth of July weekend. We spent one day at the lake with the Butcher family and the other at Uncle Mike's new apartment on Lake Waconia where he had a big bash...

Yes, that is one of the biggest 'slip-n-slides" you have probably ever seen...about 65 feet down a steep hill leading toward the lake...no, it did not all fit in my picture. It was enjoyed by grown ups and kids alike, especially Collin and his "buddy" Tyson.

We finished up the day with fireworks, although I think the mosquitoes had more fun than the spectators that evening. Ah, the ups and downs of a MN summer!

Mummy madness

One family adventure earlier this summer was to go the King Tut exhibit at the Science Museum. Cousins Kalie and Riley spent the weekend and joined us for the event...

We learned all about mummies during the omni-theather movie, then walked through the exhibit itself. As they did not allow photography in the exhibit area, here is my best Egyptian picture of the day, Queen Kalie!

We also took some time to see what the rest of the museum had to offer, especially the hands-on activities...Nice job, Riley!

Fun was found both inside and out, including the outdoor garden maze (picture). What a great day!

Trying something new

Collin continues to love hockey and will actually start in the Anoka program as a Mite this fall (pictures to come I am sure...). He also resumed swimming lessons this summer, completing the "torpedo" level and will be a "titan" next year.

In addition to keeping up those interests, Collin asked to try something new...Karate! (Picture-Before class with some friends).

There is a studio just down the street from our house...a location close enough to walk to which is a definite perk. So, you may find us walking down the block toward lessons as we learn what the world of Karate is all about.

He has enjoyed it so far and done well. Moving from just having the uniform and no belt, he earned his "white belt" by attending classes (picture), trying hard and showing respect.

At intervals, he earns "stripes" (picture) to this belt as they mark progress.

When he earned enough stripes, he was able to test (below) in front of the class and achieved "one yellow stripe belt." Congratulations, Collin!

What's taken so long?

As it has been quite some time since the last Rosenau Review blog, it seems fitting to start with the reason for our long absence...school!

Since we've been "gone" from the blogging world, quite a bit has changed. First, Doug completed his MBA program at Concordia in May...it was a lot of work and we are very proud of him for this accomplishment! We enjoyed the ceremony and did a dinner cruise in Stillwater that evening to celebrate.

Later in May, Collin also graduated from his first year in pre-school at St. Stephens. After a concert for the parents there was cake with his classmates and their families and a chance to look back at some memory books created throughout the year.

He'll be back again this year to see his friends and teachers. Th pre-school program was only in existence for two years as of last year, so as the program was growing it was located in a room of the church. This year the classroom moved from the church and is now across the street at the actual "big kids" school...he is very excited!

As for myself, I completed the first year of my MA program for Counseling Psychology at Bethel University. However, that passed without much fanfare, which was fine because I was quite tired! No pictures to include, as they would mostly consist of my sitting in my pajamas in front of this very computer writing a paper around midnight or on the couch with some very, very large textbooks...That said, it went well and after a month off I am gearing up to start classes again in September.

We enjoyed our school year and the conclusion of it....more posts to come on how we've spent our summer break!

Making the best of it...

So, it's spring, huh? Funny, I can't tell by looking out my window... After the warm weather finally melted almost all of the snow from our yard, we had started playing outside and enjoying the warmer time outdoors. Baseball/tee-ball was a favorite and Collin would set up his tee and grab the bat and do his best to swing for the fences. It is becoming apparent that we need to get a more sturdy bat and tee as the plastic ones he started out with as a toddler have started to crack with his new found pre-school strength swing. But, as one can expect in Minnesota, the pleasant weather did not last for long, and our yard is now covered in snow again. What we did find when we went outside today, however, was surprising. Though the rest of the grass is still covered in about 3-4 inches of snow, the spot where Collin has always set up for batting practice was clear all the way to the (still brown) grass. This was not an area we shoveled and there is no "logical" reason based on sun/shade patterns this should have happened. A reminder from God that spring is, indeed, here after all? Prior to the thaw, we've done our best to enjoy the rest of the winter months after the holidays. Doug completed his last MBA program class and is officially a graduate, though he will not walk in the ceremony until later this spring. Collin (pre-school) and I (grad school) continue to hit the books, but we all still find time for fun. Here's a peek at how we've spent at least some of the last few months: Skating lessons have been fun for Collin and he is now "Sam 3" which he is very proud of. Rumor has it there is a hockey program in Anoka he'll be eligible for this fall, so I guess we'll see........... We found an opportunity to do some real dog sledding in Bloomington as well when they had an annual city celebration. Sometimes we tried to pretend it was summer and buried each other in the snow....it's the next best thing to sand at the beach, right? We went ice fishing, but only once before the lakes got too soft. Daddy caught the only fish, but we all had fun trying! And, of course, we made it to a Wild game.

This was Collin's first professional NHL game and

even though they lost (badly) we had a great time!

We hope that you and yours have also found a way to enjoy the last few months and don't worry, it will feel like Spring soon!