It's Mad, Mad, Mad...

Greetings! The Ribclan family has had another adventure filled week. Or maybe it was mostly me?! Last weekend I managed to get away before the big hunting season (Sept-Dec) and visit my friends, Heika and Milly, down in Mad-town. Yes, that's not their real names--you may know them as Michelle and Linnea. I was thrilled to have time with these 2 wonderful, very dear friends and their families. I always miss them so much in between our visits...

On Friday, I had dinner out with Heika (sehr gut!) at a fabulous place with even better wines and food. It had been some time since we were last together, so we easily got engrossed in conversation (until 2am!) and had a ball catching up. The next day, I got to play with her little lion, Leo (lots of tower building and truck action--fun!), enjoy a super "giada-esque" breakfast by Chef Michelle, and then see Leo do some funky jumps at his gymnastics class. He is a hoot, and was working his charm on a little lady at class. He was all about holding her hand and managing the equipment with her. I really enjoyed my time with Heika, Tom & Leo, in their awesome home (all of your hard work shows--it's gorgeorus!).

Later Saturday morning, I "larked" over to my best senior citizen center friend, Mildred, house. We were excited to go to the Church's annual pie social with our "red hat society" friends. Once at the social, there was plenty of conversation all about the new Pastor, who's pie wasn't "quite right" (for Pete's sake, everyone knows to use lard in their crust!) and that family that just moved into town. We also proudly passed around the newest Church cookbook, complete with our submitted recipes. Later that day we went over to Pearl's house and joined in on the bridge club's weekly game. We truly enjoyed the kuluko punch and admired the detail on Pearl's new housecoat. By golly, we sure were exhausted by the end of the day! By 7pm, we were in bed!
Ok, really, Linnea was feeling a bit crappy and we had some adventures around town on Saturday, but otherwise we kept it pretty low-key. (Probably good since it was game day in Mad-town, and it truly becomes a zoo!) Even so, just time with her is all I need to be a happy camper. We had some big time laughs with Mitch, her husband, and enjoyed her sweet little Grey lots. I also got to enjoy some of her cooking, which is fantastic (yes, L, this includes your bluberry bread!). Surprisingly, we celebrated my b-day early when she gave me tickets to one of my fave bands, the Foo Fighters, who are touring with Bob Dylan! Wow! We're going to go together, so now I'll have even more time with her this fall--what a treat!!!! On Sunday, she and I got out for some shopping and lunch--very girly, very nice! I definitely had a blast, even when we took it easy.

The rest of the Ribclan is doing well. Little B has got a pretty wild look right now. How to describe it? Well, have you ever seen the movie "Mask"? I don't need to say more than he's reacted to a mosquito bite on his forehead, and the swelling looks a bit like the kid in Mask. Despite his odd looks, he's happy as a lark. According to our Dr., whom he saw today, his swelling is either a reaction to the histimine of the bug bite or is a resulting infection to the bite. Funny in an odd way (especially as mom/dad make him pose for pictures!). He's also been doing lots of dancing--funny moves to music or the simple sounds of newspaper under his feet. No doubt, this boy likes to groove. He also likes to wake up early lately...(5'ish)...I think he knows we're in hunting season.

Kdee has been having a great time at school. She's done well on the early testing they do and seems to really like her teacher/class. As is par for the course, she is a bit more tired lately as she transitions back into this schedule, but has rebounded a bit faster this year (than her first year). She watched a bit of the "Rockstar Supernova" finale with me the other night and correctly picked the winner. When I asked her why she thought the guy should win, she actually had pretty solid answers: good "blending" voice and looked natural/impressive on stage. I didn't expect so much of an answer from her, so it was a fun conversation. And speaking of fun, last weekend she enjoyed time at one of her good friend's birthday party and an overnight at Evan's...always a great time.

As for ribB, well...THE season is upon us. Tomorrow is the bow opener and he is truly wild with excitement!!!! So, the Ribclan family is heading north this weekend for some good ol' hunting fun. ribB even plans to take Kdee out in a "blind" for an evening hunt, her first time out with him. (No, she won't be actually hunting, just sitting with him, learning and watching.)He's prepared that she may not want to be out there for long, but he's excited all the same.

Until later, I hope you all have the weekend you're hunting for!
Pictures: 1) Leo jumps! 2) Leo dates! 3) me & Grey 4) Milly & Ethel