Photos on the Road

I love it when Will sends photos of Abby and Daniel to me when I am on a work trip!

Yesterday Will sent me this picture of part of an essay Abby was working on for school. (Will is a GREAT dad and spent a lot of time with Abby -- teaching her about the structure of a well-crafted essay and patiently encouraging her to write neatly).

And my sister sent me this photo of Abby with a gorgeous border collie puppy.




And today Will sent this adorable picture of baby kitty Daniel.



It's fun to see these photos when I'm away from home!

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Location:6th Ave,Kearney,United States

USTA National Championship Tennis

We've had a great time at the USTA National Championship Tennis Tournament. I was just looking at USTA's web site and found a fun photo of Will. Click on the following link and fast forward to photo #20 -- http://www.usta.com/2011-usta-league-35-adult-nationals-day-1-action/.

Our Champion

Last night we enjoyed the players party that kicked off the tournament. Will plays his first match this morning and again this afternoon. Wish him luck!

Silly Stotts

Daniel has been so incredibly silly this trip and keeps us all laughing!

The Beautiful Desert

Yesterday we spent the morning at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The drive there was GORGEOUS! Who knew a desert landscape could be so incredibly beautiful?

Look closely at this mountain. It is COVERED in cacti. A forest of cacti is pretty darn cool!

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is currently highlighting raptors -- birds of prey. I particularly LOVED this common barn owl that can be found around the world. (Check out those talons!)

And I'm pretty fond of this lucky photo I took of a great horned owl flying.

In case you didn't know, deserts are REALLY hot.

One-Eyed Jack -- Or Why You Should Always Listen to Your Parents

We call him One-Eyed Jack right now. Wednesday night Daniel was having his bath and kept standing up. I told him not to stand in the bathtub. Abby told him not to stand in the tub. And Will told him not to stand in the tub. Well, he kept doing it and fell down. He has a cut on his eyebrow and his eye is quite swollen.

Airplanes and Buses

Daniel (and Abby) were quite excited for our trip to Arizona. Here they are looking out at the luggage being loaded onto our plane in Minneapolis.

When we arrived in Phoenix, Will and Abby took care of getting our luggage.

Daniel was delighted when we took a bus to get our rental car. He told people sitting by us that he thought the bus was going to Starbucks!

Another Abby Outfit

I forgot to get photos of the last couple of days of coordinated looks. But to sum up, you missed a really nice black and white ensemble coordinated with a black and white kitty and a blue, red and yellow outfit coordinated with a spectacular parrot.

Today's look was brown on top and white on the bottom -- just like a Springer Spaniel!

Daniel's Airport

I am well aware that one of my jobs as Mom is to believe that my children are geniuses. But I must confess, "My children are geniuses!!!"

This morning, as we were getting ready for the day, Daniel called to me, "Mom, come look at my airport! I made an airport!"

I wasn't expecting much, but was really impressed when I entered the living room and saw the airport Daniel had made combining his two favorite things - airplanes and an egg box!

So with no further ado, I give to you the genius that is Daniel Min Jae Richard Stott...

How cool would it be to pull up to a translucent, egg carton-shaped terminal? Pretty cool, I say!

Abby's Fashion Look Book -- Outfit Number Two

Today is school photo day. Abby paired her new sweater dress with her rainbow dolphin.

Abby's Fashion Look Book -- Fall Outfit Number One

Abby has a newly discovered interest in fashion. It involves getting dressed and then choosing a stuffed animal to coordinate with the look. Here is what she wore to school today.

Back to School

Today is Abby's first day of THIRD GRADE! Wow! She was so excited this morning and even ate breakfast with her backpack on.

Daniel, as always, was happy to go to school too.

Abby's summer was packed full with interesting camps, including RAC (Rochester Athletic Club) Adventure Camp, Camp Moon Hwa (Korean culture camp), two different nature center camps -- one on bugs and the other on archaeology -- art camp, theatre camp and Engelhardt Camp (an entire week being pampered by Grandpa and Grandma Engelhardt).   Abby and Daniel also enjoyed a number of sleepovers and adventures with Noni and Granddad.

As a last hurrah before the new school year, we spent the day in St. Paul on Friday with Noni and Granddad. We went to the fine King Tut exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Abby informed me that her science fair project this year will be on mummification. I'm not exactly sure how that's going to work, but check back in several months and see for yourself.

Bedtime

True confession -- tonight, I needed my children to be in bed and away. Will was super dad and let me hide in my office with a glass of wine and a piece of dark chocolate as he tended to Abby and Daniel. I actually locked the door! It was that bad!

But as the dog scratched at my door whining, I realized that hiding was not an option, so I emerged and found sweet children and husband/dad preparing for bed. Even the dog looked peaceful!

A gentle end to the day.

Our Champion

Yesterday Will and his tennis team won their Section championships and will represent USTA Northern (Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and part of Wisconsin) at the 2011 National Championships. It was a rather exciting end to the three day tournament with the team championship coming down to Will's doubles match that went into a third-set match tiebreaker!

Abby LOVES Tennis

This is Abby captivated by Will's championship doubles match at sectionals.



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Location:4th St SE,Minneapolis,United States

Engelhardt Camp

Grandma and Grandpa Engelhardt promised Abby she could stay at their house for one week this summer -- we refer to it as Engelhardt Camp! Abby has been so excited and was more than pleased to start camp today!

Like with her other summer camps, she received a t-shirt!

We had a nice day in Decorah (and a CRAZY delicious lunch that Grandma Engelhardt made). We could tell Abby was getting antsy for us to leave. She finally came up to me and said, "When are you going to leave? I want some time alone with Grandma and Grandpa!"

We took the subtle hint and drove home. As Will, Daniel and I were pulling into our garage, Grandma Engelhardt called to share the following Abby story. We laughed and laughed!

     Grandma: "Abby go brush your hair before we go to Mabes for pizza."

     Abby: "I'm only allowed to brush my hair once a day!"

Milk Truck

Daniel loves milk trucks. We regularly watch a video on YouTube of a milk truck in Scotland. But today Daniel got to see the real thing at Grandpa and Grandma Engelhardt's neighbor's farm!



Needless to say, Daniel was enchanted!

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Location:Clay Hill Road, Decorah,United States

Saturday Morning Library Visit

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Location:Civic Center Dr SE,Rochester,United States

Itasca State Park

We spent a long weekend at Itasca State Park with Noni and The G-Dad. Abby loved walking across the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

And Daniel loved hiking and collecting flowers!

A Visit from Southern Californian Family

Great Aunt Carol and Cousin Heather came to visit Abby and Daniel (oh, and to see the other Stotts, too!). We had a wonderful visit, and we really think they should come back to visit whenever they want!