Koningshoeven

For Father's Day, Polly gave me a great life experience. She bought me tickets to a beer seminar and tasting where I got to meet a real Trappist monk who runs the brewery operations for Koningshoeven, the only Trappist brewery in the Netherlands. Father Isaac was in the US promoting their anniversary beer, which is being brewed to help establish and fund Trappist monasteries in Africa. It is called Isid'or and is quite tasty. I recommend picking up this limited edition beer if you can find it in your area.

Our host was gracious with his time and had quite the sense of humor. He was knowledgeable about beer, even though brewmaster duties are now handled by a commercial brewery. In all, we sampled 5 Trappist brews, including a dubbel, tripel, quad and Witte beer. We also made some great new beer enthusiast friends, who we hope to see the next time we hit the Minnesota beer scene. Cheers!

The Casto girls come to visit

This week my cousin Lindsay and her little baby girl Lila came to visit us from NJ. Lindsay was here about 7 years ago when we first moved to town. She was driving cross country and stopped in to visit us for a day or so. I think the weather this July was only slightly warmer than her last visit in November!

We had a grand old time taking the girls to all our favorite summer spots: Lake Harriet, the park, the pool, the Como Zoo, Bryant Lake, Burger Jones (yum) and even to SPLURGE. I don't think Lila knew what to make of all the running around- she was quite a trooper. And of course, she had her first Cheerio here with me :-)



It was so nice having a visitor- it doesn't happen too often so we all get excited to try and do it all. We were close this time!

2nd Annual (if its up to me) Lobster Feast

Thanks David & Delphine for another amazing night under the stars.
We needed sweaters, but the food was hot, the fire pit even hotter!








Strawberry Shag Cocktail
3 to 4 large fresh strawberries, stemmed and thinly sliced, plus 1 whole berry reserved as garnish
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 large sprigs fresh basil, plus extra for garnish
Ice
1 1/2 ounces vodka
1 ounce lemon juice
3 to 4 ounces chilled soda water
In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and sugar, toss well. Let sit for 15 minutes.
In a cocktail shaker, combine the basil and the strawberries and any juice collected in the bowl. Gently crush using a muddler or a wooden spoon. Fill the shaker with ice, then add the vodka and lemon juice. Cap the shaker.Shake vigorously. Pour into a large glass, then top with soda water. Stir. Garnish with a strawberry and fresh basil.

Addie in the First Tee Program

This summer, Addie is taking her first golf lessons through the First Tee program in Minneapolis. She goes with her friends, Ella and Emerson. Each week, the kids practice a different skill. Last week they learned how to putt. This week, they're working on chipping. Next week, they'll go to the practice range.

After a little practice, the kids then have a little competition to show off the skills they learned. It's girls vs. boys and the girls have won two weeks in a row. Addie came home today with a Nike golf ball, you know the kind Tiger Woods plays with. She was so proud of herself.

Here is Addie practicing her chipping at the Glen Oak Golf Course. Good follow through. She looks like a natural.

Get in the hole!

St. Paul Saints

Thursday night was the kick-off for the long 4th of July Weekend and a group of us decided to go to the St. Paul Saints game with the kids. Nothing like a tailgate to start a long weekend. We did make it into the game, but not past the tot lot so I am not even sure who they played. The kids had a blast all playing at the tailgate; maybe next time we just hit up an empty parking lot!

Lifelock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend my second NASCAR race. I went because Insignia was sponsoring the #19 Best Buy Dodge. The Insignia team was out in force to support our driver, Elliott Sadler, and to celebrate the launch of our new line of TVs. This is a picture of the Chicagoland grandstands from the hospitality area. Overall, we had a great weekend!



One of the many highlights for me during this weekend was taking part in the Richard Petty Driving Experience. It's where they put you in a real race car and drive you around the track at 165 mph. It gives you a new respect for what these guys do for a living. Chicagoland is a 1.5 mile track. We did three laps in less than 2 minutes. It was quite exhilarating.



Elliott and everyone at RPM were very generous with their time in talking with fans and employees. Elliott did a great job of representing Insignia the entire weekend. I got to interact with him several times during the event and can say that he is a great partner for us.



Here is a picture of me in the Insignia/Best Buy pit area. This is where the magic happens during the race. Racing is a game of adjustments and winning pit stops are measured in seconds. They give out awards to the racer who spends the least amount of time in the pit area during any given race. It takes a team effort from guys in the pit to win in NASCAR.



If you're not first, you're last. When I saw this on our pit tour, I had to take a picture. I love that they have a sense of humor about their sport. Would have been better if there was a Wonder Bread car on the track.



A lot of work goes into getting the car ready for the race. Every team is constantly making adjustments based on how the car is running and on race day conditions. Each car also has to rigorous inspections to ensure that they meet NASCAR standards and that no one is cheating. These are pictures of the #19 car that I got during our pit tour. Boy, was it loud in the garage area!



Driver introductions. Elliott looked sharped in his white Insignia fire suit. It's almost race time!



The #19 car on pit road prior to starting the race. Elliott would spend a lot of time here on this night as the team couldn't quite figure out some traction and suspension issues with the car.



Here are the cars approaching the starting line of the race. It is pretty awesome to hear the roaring engines of 43 cars as they speed by. Elliott never recovered from his poor qualifying time and finished 30th. He fought the whole night and we had a lot of fun cheering him on.

My 3.

Happy Campers

June and July are camp months in MN.
We have been very busy taking advantage of all the amazing camps at out local high school- every morning from 9:30-12 and then lunch til 1. Addie has enjoyed a week of each: Bubbles and Goop, Fort Building, Science for the Young; I believe we are signed up for Drama Camp next! Its such an amazing program- all taught by teens and young adults. I am blown away at the options and the very moderate cost to take part.
Our other option is through Parks and Rec and we cannot ever say enough about these camps. Again, taught by nice young adults, Mary is dressed and ready for Sports Camp- she has liked golf the best so far. Addie also went to a doll camp this week and built and stained furniture, made an outfit and all the school accessories (that is a little pencil and eraser made out of clay and felt on the desk). I've been blown away and feel so lucky to have so many great options.
I am just not sure what I am going to do when Mac wants to go to Pokemon camp...

Happy Fourth of July!