Rob and Emily Raleigh

It's been a busy week here!

Christmas comes biannually for the Raleighs: once in December, and once in the summer. Last weekend was the Raleigh Christmas celebration in Stillwater. As usual we had enough food to feed the troops in Iraq with some to spare, Christmas stockings for each person, a few yard games, a playful chihuahua, and lots of people who share the same last name. Rob brought home made root beer in a keg for all to enjoy. It was a "just add water" recipe but it was still really good. Wally had a special gift for everyone which was a pine tree sapling in honor of Grandpa Raleigh who took such great pleasure in planting trees every year.

Our Father's Day plan included a brunch at an Eagan restaurant to honor Wally and our newest dad Cal. Later that day Cal and Angie went for a bike ride at a nearby park and left baby Claire with us! They were only gone an hour and Claire slept through most of it, but once she was awake there was no consoling her. She wanted Mommy and Daddy back! I also managed to call my dad to wish him a happy father's day and I found out all about his summer projects and plans. There is no rest for the retired.

This week has been rough- not a lot of sleep, busy at work, etc etc etc, but I had a little shopping spree with my admin co-workers that de-stressed us all. Retail therapy really does work. After returning from that I met up with Lisa for a light dinner at Panera. It was so nice to talk with her. I feel much better than I did earlier this week!

If there's one thing I love about owning a home, it's sitting on the deck on a warm summer evening. We sat out there for a couple hours just talking and playing with the dog. It was the perfect start to the weekend.