You better believe it. Dan turned 29, we stopped going to rock concerts, and we bought a minivan. Our noble goal was to share one vehicle this school year . . . and we discovered within a few days of me returning to work that it would not be possible. So one fine Friday I met Dan over at Morrie's Auto and we purchased the van. A million words ran through my head, including "soccer mom", "mid-thirties", and "old person". But those words were countered by "affordable", "roomy", and "practical". Now I know why commercials use the second group of words instead of the first.

Alan had some great new experiences at Morrie's Auto, like crawling around on a (seemingly) sparkling clean, white tile floor. You may read this and think I am a bad mom, but we were there for 3 hours. Our 8-month-old go-getter cannot stay in mommy and daddy's arms for 3 hours. He also received his first helium-filled balloon, which kept him occupied for quite a long time. Thank you, Morrie's. He also caused all the salespeople to stop and talk to us about their kids! I love it!

Alan was visited last Saturday by none other than Miss Hottie Auchtung. You may say, "Hottie. Why, that's an awfully strange name. I bet she gets a lot of comments." Well, okay, it's actually a nickname. And although she is pretty hot, that's not how she got it. It turns out her niece couldn't say her real name, which is Heidi. So she called her Hottie. And in some circles, the name stuck. I may very well be the only one left who still calls her this, but so be it. She's my Hottie. And she came to meet my Alan. We had fun grilling out, touring our future house, and talking and talking. I am so glad you have moved to the Twin Cities, Hottie!

The second picture I posted is of when Grandma Gloria picked Alan up from day care on Thursday, and babysat so I could blissfully shop for groceries alone! This is an action shot of them playing next to Alan's toy center. Alan throws all the toys down on the floor as far as possible away from himself, and whoever is playing with him is expected to pick them up and return them so he can throw them again.

Look for an upcoming trip to North Branch hopefully sometime in the near future. Until then . . .