Rob and Emily Raleigh

I am regretting not doing the Plan A last night of Tylenol PM. I woke up at 4am and didn't fall back to sleep until about a half an hour before my alarm went off. I'm ready for a good long snore fest.

If things had gone my way, and I had no other obligations than to merely exist, this is how I would have spent my night:

After not sleeping well the night before, and having a busy (yet enjoyable) day at work, I had the whole evening planned. Come home. Eat some food. Watch some TV. Take a Tylenol PM at 9:30. Promptly go to bed.

However, the Motivation Bug bit me at some point between 5:30 and 6:30pm. Exact time and circumstances unclear. It started with packing up a few items that I had kept out, knowing we'd be using them regularly. Then I thought it might be a good idea to clean the microwave and the countertop it sits on. After all, the microwave came with the apartment, so it should be clean for whoever moves in next. After that was done, I cleaned the stove and I was so proud of how beautiful it looked that I went ahead and started emptying all the cupboards. Before I knew it, I was washing the cupboards and the cupboard doors and the walls and the the drawers and... then I realized it's after 10pm and I missed my 9:30 Tylenol PM bed time.

Tomorrow... I will come home early from work so I can take Rob to the truck rental place. From there he will take the truck to his parents' house where he and some friends will muscle a heavy piano down a flight of stairs to the truck where it will sit until the professionals bring it in to the living room of our new house! I will likely continue my cleaning spree until no trace of Rob and Emily exist in the apartment. I just have to hope that the Motivation Bug strikes twice.

The Raleigh family was busy this weekend! Saturday was our now-annual Raleigh Christmas. Raleighs from all over converged at a park in Durand, WI where we enjoyed a build-a-taco buffet, a white elephant gift exchange, some horse shoes, and of course, bocce ball. All of the children, and most of the adults, competed to see who could swing the highest on the park's swingset. The grown-ups may have been able to go higher, but our stomachs are no longer what they used to be; especially with a layer of taco to begin with! It was a beautiful day with perfect weather.

For Father's Day, Wally and Cheryl made plans to ride the Minnesota Zephyr, the dinner train that takes its passengers through Stillwater in a 1940s and 50s theme. Dress was semi-formal so we all came looking our best. We were served a five-course meal, and were entertained by a quartet who came through each car dressed in 40s and 50s clothes, singing songs from that era. Between courses, we went to explore the rest of the train cars. The most impressive ones were the dome cars which offered a full skylight view. I know my dad would have enjoyed every thing about the Zephyr. Perhaps we'll have to arrange a ride with him before the Zephyr takes it's last trip! Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I feel like this summer is already half over and it hasn't even officially begun. Our weekends are booked through August, and I know those remaining days will be filled soon.

Last weekend Naomi was in town to attend Meredith's 30th birthday party. We ran some wedding related errands, which included a trip to a huge fabric warehouse in Brooklyn Park. I've never seen so many bolts of fabric. She managed to get everything she was looking for so she's one step closer to her big day!

Mer had a fun idea to celebrate her 30th. She had the girls over in the afternoon to receive 15 minute massages from a massage therapist. We felt very relaxed afterwards. Later in the evening other guests came over for grillables, karaoke and poker. Even Rob was persuaded to do his best Sanjaya performance of all time. He was perfect! That's the best part of karaoke; it has more to do with presentation than musical talent.

Rob left yesterday for a trip to the Boundary Waters. His only goal is to not lose anything at the bottom of a lake. Soon after he left town, I went to attend Amber's all-day bachelorette celebration. Four of us went to the Albertville Outlet mall for some shopping, came back to have dinner with a few other ladies at the Olive Garden, and ended the evening with a little party at Sarah's house.

More busy weekends coming, but I think what I'm looking forward to most this summer is closing on our house. We're less than three weeks away!

Today Rob's brother Scott joined my Useless Organ Failure Club. He spent the day at Regions Hospital recovering from his overnight apendectomy. It's funny because it was just yesterday that I was thinking about when I myself went through this. The doctors say his appendix actually ruptured while he was waiting for surgery. What also sucks is that his trip to New Mexico planned for this weekend had to be cancelled.

Angie, Cal, Rob and I stopped by the hospital this evening to see how he was doing. He was pretty doped up on morphine, but he still had his good humor going. While Scott drifted in and out sleep, we speculated the importance of this seemingly useless organ. Someone suggested that maybe the appendix had something to do with fighting disease and evolution, and another comment was that perhaps it is where the soul is. I don't know about Scott, but I'm pretty sure I didn't lose my soul on an operating table. When we left him he was still waiting (after many hours) to see the doctor who would explain how to change the bandage and ultimately give him the OK to go home.

Feel better soon, Scott!

Last weekend Rob, Matt, Mike, and Joe went on their annual Superior Hiking Trail trip. They left on Thursday evening for Grand Marais. The weather cooperated for them on Friday, however by Saturday night it was snowing! On top of that, there was some knee pain that made staying another night unappealing. Saturday night they packed up and drove home.

Meanwhile, I spent the weekend in Duluth. Mom and Dad moved all my stuff out of my old room so that Tim could move in and exist comfortably for the summer. It was weird to go into the room I spent nearly 10 years in, and see my brother's dirty clothes on the floor, and his stuff in my closet. All my things were in boxes and I was told to go through it all and throw out or donate to the church garage sale anything I didn't want, and to take home what I wanted to keep. After a day of sorting through boxed memories I went to Deb's house with Naomi and Joanna. Naomi's birthday was last week so I brought her favorite wine. We spent a low-key evening in catching up.

There is a blooming cottonwood tree in our neighborhood sending little white fluffs floating through the air. It reminds me of a field trip I took in kindergarten. When we returned to school, the teachers gathered us on the lawn and gave each of us a little ice cream cup before the buses arrived to take us home. Cottonwood seeds were everywhere, landing in our hair and hovering over our ice cream. I watched in horror as one of my classmates continued to eat her ice cream despite the fact that it was covered in white cottonwood seeds. When I turned my attention back to my own ice cream, I realized I had l been looking away long enough for my own ice cream to collect a layer of fuzz.