Making Nachos

This video is from about a month or so ago of Maya making nachos on the grill. She got the recipe off a Betty Crocker calendar. Unfortunately we don't have video of the finished recipe because Maya lost interest and ran off to do something else leaving me finish it. As good a cook as she may be she's not real good at seeing things through to fruition at times.

Proud to be Saint Paul song

How Saint Paul got its name

Proud to be Saint Paul

Maya had her end of the year school concert this morning and it was a good one entitled "Proud To Be Saint Paul." Maya was cast as a Dakota Indian, a casting decision we believe has something to do with her complexion. Of course we hope she doesn't get type cast into these Native American roles because lets face it, there really aren't that many Indian acting jobs to be had - especially since westerns have gone out of style. Really the only Indian acting gig you can land is if you get the job of the crying Indian in the don't pollute commercial, but how often does that come along? Anyway... The concert was exceptional and Maya did a great job. I'll get some video up a little later on this afternoon.

If left to her own devices....

If left to her own devices this is what Maya would do for every waking minute she is at her grandma's house. Why go outside and play? In fact why go out and contribute to society in any way when you can sit in front of the t.v. and watch endless episodes of iCarly on Direct TV? This is why we don't have cable. It is at this point that she can hear nothing, feel nothing and there are absolutely zero brain synapses firing and yet for some reason she's developed an insatiable desire for a Nintendo Gameboy.

Zaheeda and the Bike

This is just like the good ole days when Zaheeda used to head out on the bike and then get all bruised and bloody.

Racing

Maya ready and waiting for the starting gun of the relay race.

At Grandma & Grandpa's

Track Meet

Maya had her first track meet last night and she got second place in the 1 mile and 200 meter. We were really impressed, especially with her one mile run since she's never actually run that far before, but she kept going and didn't give up.

More Scrabble news

Last night Maya beat me in Scrabble. I attribute this to a lucky triple word score on her part towards the end of the game making her victory for all intents and purposes an absolute fluke.

Soccer Goal

Maya & Annah in the sun

Annah and Maya both slipped into their shorts and t-shirts this afternoon to enjoy the nice Spring heat.

Our Crazy Duck

We have this duck that hangs out in our tree in the back yard. We have more wildlife oddities happening in our back yard than you would expect to see at the zoo. We have turkeys, ground hogs, owls and now a duck in a tree.

Running

Watching Maya run around the track makes you want to hum the theme to Chariots of Fire. Next week is her first competition.

Scrabble

For her birthday Maya got a Scrabble game and last night we went head to head and she was pretty good - but not good enough. Sure she's only in fourth grade, but I had to whoop her lest she begin to think that now that she's a big ten-year-old she's smarter than the authority in the house. Part of parenting is finding those unique teaching moments and breaking the will of the child - it all builds character.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Maya!!! She's the big One 'O' today! Our plans are to go to Kahns (her favorite restaurant) for dinner but she has violin, running and soccer practice tonight so we don't know if we'll be able to fit it in. Hopefully we'll get some thunderstorms so the running and soccer will be canceled and we can celebrate.

Soccer starts tonight

The new soccer season gets under way tonight and Maya is on team England again. Orrientation is tonight so she'll be getting her shirt, meeting her coach and finding out the practice schedule. Last year she excelled at being goalie because she wasn't afraid to jump on the lose ball and take a kick to the ribs. We'll have to see what positions she plays this year. It's my hope she doesn't play goalie so much this year because for most of the game all she does is stand around and do nothing - and whats the point in that? She can do that at home.

Annika and Maya at The Mall

This weekend for Maya's Birthday we took her and her friend Annika to the Mall to go on some rides and they went on just about all of them - a few times.

Violin makes you smart

Lydia forwarded this story to us out of Tuesday's Star Tribune.

Thursday Running Practice

Thursday night meant another running practice. This running thing is really working out well, she burns off all kinds of energy.



Maya's Cheering section.

Maya & Mom

Running Practice

Busy day for Maya this afternoon as she had to hurry off to Saint Joes for violin practice after school only to rush home, slip on her shoes and get over to running practice at the High School. The weather was a little hit and miss - a little sun, a little wind and even a little rain and hail but she really had fun.

Here she is pictured below - the blur on the left.

The Ladies