Lauren's License!

So, the driver's appointment had been set for a few weeks. Lauren finished up her class and returned home yesterday about 2:30 p.m., and we were going to do some last-minute practicing before her behind-the-wheel examination at 3:50 p.m. After grabbing a bite for lunch, we noticed sirens going off! Yes, severe weather was upon us. Moving 40 miles per hour, this storm was breaking trees and dropping hail. A few minutes later, we lost power. The rain did calm down enough for Lauren to drive to the DMV and take her examination. Of course, the weather didn't cooperate completely; it continued to rain, lightening, and thunder during the entire examination. 15 minutes later, however, Lauren emerged a licensed driver. All is still well here; we're just keeping up with our Prinivil.

Hannah Goes to Camp!

On Sunday night, we took Hannah to camp. It was fairly clear during the day that her excitement was mounting; she was busy packing--up and down the stairs a number of times in record time. Of course, when we arrived, we were disappointed to immediately stop and wait--in a LONG line.

After a quick stop at the camp store to buy this year's T-shirt, we headed over to Peterson Cabin to choose bunks, to begin unpacking, to make nametags, and to hang out with the camp counselors. It was a gorgeous day--perfect for camp!

After dropping Hannah off at camp, we were famished. We decided to stop in at one of Michael Perry's favorite restaurants, The Pickled Trout--now called Larabee's Lodge (see note on 5/23/05). The food was good, but the view was even better. This was our dinner table view. --not a whole lot to complain about. (You know . . . it's reminiscent of boating near my in-law's house on Long Lake . . . oh, well. I guess we'll go to Florida now--although the sights won't be nearly the same.)

After dinner, Lauren thought it would be a good idea to play pool, so we did. After two games, she had improved her aim, and it was dark enough so that she could get in some last-minute "night driving" time before her big test tomorrow.

Saturday's Trip to the Cities

We did some shopping in the cities on Saturday. The temperature skyrocketed to 94 degrees. Of course we talked about the "urban heat island" as we walked Nicolet Avenue in search of "goodies" to bring home.

We had to take a break from our walk to feel the cool water in the fountains on our way towards the Hyatt.

In fact, we found as many fountains as we could.

Scattered Showers + Sunset = Rainbow

Mom and the girls hangin' out on the porch.

After a hard day's work, Lauren and I spent some time relaxing and contemplating the flower garden.

Lauren's First Real Cheesecake

Using the food processor turned out to be a great idea. The ingredients mixed well and became very creamy--achieving this result through hand mixing or even with an electric mixer would have been difficult. The recipe Lauren used can be found on packages of Philidelphia Cream Cheese. This recipe substitues Oreo cookies for the traditional graham cracker crust.

Lauren is a very careful cook. She makes sure things are exactly right before moving on to the next step.

We decided to alter the Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe a bit in that we used a 9-inch springform pan rather than the 9" X 13" pan called for. When Lauren's cheesecake was ready for the oven, we knew we'd need to add extra baking time. We ended up baking this beauty for just under two hours.

And what a beauty it turned out to be! Everyone wanted to dig in immediately! It was a pity to wait until the next morning to sample this luciousness.

Irma arrived yesterday, and she has been playing cards, crocheting, and watching us cook. Here she is playing solitare after her approving of Lauren's cheesecake by eating one of the first pieces.

Picking Up Lauren

We drove to New Holstein on Saturday, stayed with Dave and Sandy, and then picked up Lauren on Sunday morning. The first half of the drive to New Holstein was in heavy rain--near zero visibility at times. Luckily, the weather let up long enough for us to grill three pork tenderloins. Dave and Mary, Dave and Sandy's neighbors, joined us for dinner. Lauren was ready to go at 9 o'clock Sunday morning, and we hauled all of her stuff, including her bike, up north for the summer.

Dave takes a little break from dinner.

Unfortunately, this picture was taken after most of the pork tenderloin, Greek salad, ciabatta bread, and new potatoes with herbs de provence had been eaten (we were too busy to take a picture earlier).

A couple of New Holstein John Deeres got together and produced this little cutie--they call her Sprinkle. The big male on the right is especially proud of his little daughter.