The story of a girl...

This is the story of a girl...

who woke up on a Sunday missing her Dad.  Not just any Sunday, but his birthday when he would have turned 81.  And she was sad... and the skies were mottled and gray, dripping with her grief...

Until she noticed the pink around the edges of the grey, or what some would call the silver lining.

And so she started to think of happier times.  The crazy, goofy, silly times they had shared.

And how last year a great, big, huge, gathering of people squeezed themselves together in 1 tiny house to celebrate eighty years of a life well lived.  And the girl smiled, knowing exactly what she would do.

So she gathered up her family and went back to that tiny house.

And even though her father's shoes and his hat with the big cow on it were exactly where he had left them, she smiled.  With her family at her side she packed left behind belongings, cleaned up the yard, and sat wrapped in her memories.

Then the family loaded up the car and visited the Dad in his final resting place.

And when they tired of swatting at mosquitoes they left and enjoyed one last stop.

A little ice cream...

And a little cake to celebrate as the girl knew her daddy loved to do.  And even though she still missed him, her sky that day, was no longer dripping with grief. 

It is time

"Lord, it is time. The summer was very big. Lay thy shadow on the sundials, and on the meadows let the winds go loose. Command the last fruits that they shall be full; give them another two more southerly days, press them on to fulfillment and drive the last sweetness into the heavenly wine." - Rainer Maria Rilke

Next of Kin

I get this question a lot these days- how is your mother doing? Where is the "easy" button when you need one? The truth is, its never been an easy relationship between my mother and I, for either one of us. And with Dad gone, I am fully awakening to just how much he was a buffer for us. So we are both navigating the edges of this new landscape together, her and I. It's still not easy, but as much as I am finding my way, I can't lose sight of the fact that she is too.

So this is me trying.  I'm reaching, beyond the usual "Westra World" confines and blogging on my old resurrected blog.  Since my outlet is writing, I decided to share a bit of honesty about this journey.  For today, feel free to join me HERE.

Keeping score

We wrapped up our weekend in the cities with some back to school shopping. I don't know why we keep trying, but going to the Mall of America, is a colossal waste of time with Nolan. It is completely too much stimulation, noise, crowds, etc., for him to take in. He gets irritable and frenzied in his actions. We recognize the signs sooner, but each time we take him I guess we think this may be the time he will actually handle it.  Score after this excursion, Mall 1, Westra Family 0.  In fact the light rail train ride from downtown out to the mall and back was the best part of the whole mall experience.









The other challenge we face is how to juggle a little adult fun with the kids in tow.  Rick would love to just take his camera and walk downtown taking photos.  I managed a few on the way to dinner.  Show at the orpheum?  

Cool building shots?


Stop at First Avenue?


Hard Rock Cafè?

No.  Just no.  Score, kids 1, parents 0.



Dinner was Pizza Lucé and a giant Ruby Rae.  Zesty just scratches the surface of this pizza.   Score, Westra Family 1+

Monday we hit the outlet mall at Albertville on the way home.  We have much better luck not being enclosed in a mall with Nolan.  He lasted long enough to get some jeans and shoes for school.  Sadly, I knew he would not last long enough for me to get into the Coach store.  They had a huge clearance sale going on and made everyone stand in line outside the store.  When someone would come out the store, someone else could go in.  The line hardly moved, but when I saw the sale prices, I could see why.  Score, Westra family 1, mommy 0






Finally.  Two tired out boys, begrudgingly got dressed on a rainy, overcast Tuesday, for the first day of school.



Nolan, 4th grade


Colton, 2nd grade



Score, kids (0) so they think... parents +++++++ to infinity and beyond... 

Ushering summer out...

If summer must go, this was the way to do it.  We ushered summer out with a spontaneous trip to Minneapolis to see the Twins play at the new Target Field.


We actually "Hotwired" out hotel rooms and got great accommodations for under a hundred dollars a night.






Nolan started waking at 4 am to ask if it was time to leave for the Twin's game which started at 3 pm. We are so on to him. We darkened the room, moved the clock and told him he couldn't go if he asked again. He lasted till 7 which was a bit better time to get up.  These Joe Mauer statues are everywhere downtown.  Uber cool.






We were lucky to be just blocks away from Target Field.  Of course, we had to be there at 11 if you understand the persistent nature of Nolan, even though the gates wouldn't open until 1 pm.














Nolan never left his first-in-line spot by the gate.  And he was duly rewarded for it.  One of the ushers noticing our Moorhead Hockey coats talked with us quite a bit.  So when Jim Thome hit a ball out of the field during batting practice,  the usher got it and gave it to Nolan, still waiting at the gate.  His streak of luck continues.  Thome proceeded to hit two home runs during the game.




Finally inside and Target Field does not disappoint in any way.  No words necessary, the photos say it all.






























If you don't have quite the lucky streak going for you, never fear, super dad has been known to snag a baseball or two.  It was equally as fun to see the joy spread around the seated fans as they realized it was an 8 year old shouting and leaping over getting a ball, as it was to actually see his daddy hand it to him.



I was 21 when Rick took me to my first Twins game.  And now a "few" plus years later, its like a rite of  passage for our kids to go when they are young.  On reflecting back on the events of the day, Colton duly noted, the only thing missing was Grandpa.  Dad being a huge Twins fan would have taken such delight in knowing his grandsons were there.  In spirit, I am certain he was with us as well.
PS... Madi and Alex, it wasn't the same without you either.  We could not leave without thinking of you and getting you a little something... 

Of mice and ... shrieking women

I laughed last week when Rick said he thought he heard a scratching noise coming from the inside of the hall closet and was looking for a mouse in the wee hours of the morning.  I was convinced it was the tassels on the corn scraping against the window, and with a smirk on my face contentedly went back to bed.

Gosh I hate it when he is right.  I found out the hard way, as in the -oh my freaking out heck, something furry just ran across both my bare feet ... #$%@^%... kind of way.  I so wish I were kidding when I say that.


But there I was, in the laundry room folding clothes to put in our suitcase.  I was standing with my feet under the ledge of the counter I use to fold my clothes on, and something moved as I took a step back.  In a flash I saw two beady eyes and saw a blur of fur as I felt it go running across, BOTH my BARE feet...  and I screamed.  And screamed.  And jumped on the counter shrieking for Colton to bring me the phone.

I called my husband... and he LAUGHED.  Then told me he'd be home AFTER lunch to take a look.  No way could I sit there for two hours with that monstrous hairy thing on the loose.  Did I mention how ginourmous that thing was?  HUGE, I tell ya.

So next I texted a friend whose hubby was home.  He graciously came and searched the basement, brought some traps, and provided me with enough sanity to leave my perch on the counter.

But no way in heck would I go back downstairs.  I had the biggest case of the heebie jeebies I have ever had.  Well Nolan was not afraid and went and got the suitcase, and some clothes to pack for the weekend... but then SHRIEKING began once again.  Poor Nolan, he said he was fine till part of the floor MOVED.  Thankfully, hubby arrived shortly thereafter.  The mouse hunt was on.

I heard toys rattling, furnitures moving, the lining on the couch ripping as no object was left unsearched.  After another sighting of the beast, it was finally contained in the office.   After nearly a day of wreaking havoc on the house, the big hairy mouse was trapped in a live-trap, and ushered outside a couple of blocks away, to his new home in the field where he belongs.


Would you like to see the little ginormous furry mouse? If you squint your eyes and look in the left hand corner of the wall you can see the gray blob with the c of a tail sticking out.  Ew, ew, yuck.

I think I had the bags packed in 2.7 minutes after that and we hit the road for our Labor Day Weekend adventure.  But just to be on the safe side, we left 3 traps in the basement... thankfully they were empty when we returned.  But the closet with the scratching?  I won't be going near it anytime soon.

When it all lines up

Do things every just fall into place for you? Do you always know when they do? Or do you focus on all the things that go wrong instead?

I sat with my camera during Nolan's first football game of the season, without even shooting any pictures for the longest time. The team seemed to stay at the line of scrimmage without moving much from there and our view was limited from where we sat.

Without the action falling into my lap I wasn't all that focused on the game. I had two cute girlies sitting next to me keeping me quite entertained.  But at some point I decided to get up and move down to the other end of the field.

I tried to grab a few shots of Nolan in motion, in action as the quarterback, but my camera was too slow. There is a delay between the time I press the button to the shutter actually opening and taking the photo. In other words, I wasn't getting anything. I turned to go back to my seat.

And then Nolan got to play defense. I lost him in the line up and couldn't see his position. I watched the football get snapped from the center on the other team and put in the hands of their running back. In two seconds flat the play headed straight towards me... the running back and the middle linebacker from our team, hot on his trail, grabbing him and moving him with the ball out of bounds at my feet. I snapped as I looked at the number on the back of the jersey.

#57. It was Nolan literally at my feet with a good play.  With the score at 13-12 with our team, the Redskins in the lead, we had to hold them to win the game.  A few short plays later it was over and the victory was ours.

It was really such a small moment, and yet, everything lined up to ensure that I was in the right place at the right time.  I found out later, that Nolan had maybe 3 plays like that during the game. I just happened to have one of them land at my feet.

When was the last time everything lined up just right for you?












Nolan on the sidelines practicing a reverse play.


My two friends Thea and Tessa, who come sit with me on my blanket and keep me entertained.  See how far away the action is from where we sat?



Nolan getting ready to play defense...



I was so relieved to see I got the first part of Nolan moving the opposing running back with the ball out of bounds.  He was stoked to see it too.






I know, 57, the number given to wear as a QB?  Don't ask.  Doesn't he look for real though?