Family
Heartfelt updates about family milestones and everyday moments. From taking Mazie to college and annual visits to the Renaissance Festival to Swedish‑pancake breakfasts and VR outings with the kids, this category celebrates togetherness.
- Jamie: Mango Smoothie with Crystal Boba
- Tammy: Açaí Berry Spritz Tea Tapioca Pearls
- Mazie & Nora: Passionfruit Smoothie Tapioca Pearls
- Tyler: Cookies & Cream Smoothie Crystal Boba
Nintendo NY
One of our must stop places for Tyler and I in New York was Nintendo New York! We got here on Sunday right at 11a when they opened. The store is filled with cool Nintendo history, characters, games, and of course plenty of gear to buy. We shopped and roamed around for 90 minutes taking it all in, including selfies with Link and Bowser.
Tyler and I visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. It is strange to experience things that are so vivid in my mind but are things that happened before Tyler was born. This is all history to him. Everything is so well done here. I strongly recommend experiencing it.
Tyler and I visiting with Lady Liberty!
You must have a New York bagel! So much cream cheese. Cinnamon & Raising with plain for me. Liberty bagel with Oreo cream cheese for Tyler from Liberty Bagel in Midtown.
Tyler and I commemorated our New York 2023 trip with a special and extremely exclusive POAP! Only two issued. 😊
In the midst of a blizzard Jamie decided that it would be a good idea to take the older kids that had just finished sledding for an hour to town 11 miles away. After clearing the Mazda CX-9 of snow and getting it warmed up Jamie pulled out with Mazie, Nora, Tyler, Levi, and Elsa. The snow was deeper than Jamie expected but they made it up the driveway and turned right onto the dirt road. The road had no clear markings and with the blizzard the snow had blown over everything. There was only snow in front of us and not being able to see the road Jamie drove right off the crown of the road putting the passenger side wheels in the ditch. Mazie, Nora, and Jamie attempted to dig the wheels out and push but the Mazda simply slid further into the ditch. Hector came out to help and we proceeded to make no progress, simply sliding further into the ditch. Denny then came to the rescue with his pickup and tow strap. First attempt to pull the Mazda out actually pulled Denny’s truck into the ditch too and left him stuck. Luckily the crew was able to get the truck unstuck, and a 2nd attempt to pull the Mazda out was more successful. Denny pulled in the truck and Jamie managed the Mazda until we got all wheels back on the road. Finally, after nearly an hour, both cars returned and everyone rejoiced.
I made Olson Family Vacation 20 Blizzard Rescue to remember it.
“To be normal you have to be abnormal.” — Tyler
Mazie and I enjoying the giant snowflakes earlier today. ❄️
We went on a tour of St. Olaf today as Mazie works through her decisions on where she wants to go to college. It is a really pretty campus.
Family game of Five Crowns tonight. Tyler won with just 66 points! Tammy had 86, Jamie with 108, and Mazie with 178.
Dog Gone
With the “snowpocalypse” bearing down on us we decided to make it a movie night. We all love movies about dogs, especially Tyler. Tammy had Dog Gone on her “to watch” list for a while. Then I saw the Walker family had watched it and suggested we would like it.
Good movie about growing up and the, the relationship between parents and their kids, and of course about a great dog.
Tyler wanted his favorite cheeseburger from Lions Tap for his birthday dinner 🍔 and to eat in the Tesla while watching Abbott Elementary. ✅ Eating in the car was something he found fun during the pandemic.
Countdown at Mission Manner
Tyler enjoys escape rooms and for his birthday we went to Mission Manor and did Countdown!
We had a slow start with not much happening the first few minutes. There were a lot of locks and obvious clues, but it wasn’t clear what to do with them. Then we started rolling and we escaped the room in 45m 55s, with 14m 05s remaining on the clock!
And, a first for the Thingelstad family, we had NO CLUES! A total “clean sheet”! 🙌
And a first for us at an escape room, Mission Manor produces an actual score. With 2,240 points we hit the highest level of Escape Gods. 🤜🤛 We were only 60 points short of the record for the room, which if we would have finished just 1 minute earlier we would have beat.
I’m sure that we’ll be back to Mission Manner to do the two other rooms. Room 47!
Mazie completed her first sewing project making this summer dress with the expert guidance of my Mom who has known her way around a sewing machine since she was young on the farm. It was awesome to see the sesne of accomplishment on Mazie’s face wearing something that she made!
Tyler is learning to play chess. ♟️
Neeva recently introduced AI search results. It works well for something so new. This search is a good example I was doing for Tyler where the AI was great. The references to sources are key.
Morning bowling at Tuttle’s with niece Nora. Mazie won. Let’s ignore the rest of the scores.
Bubble Tea Time
Our niece loves Bubble Tea so we all enjoyed one at Chatime in the Mall of America.
The Writer of the Family
Mazie has a talent with words. Her writing is engaging and her creative use of words paints a vivid picture in your mind. We try to do whatever we can to encourage her to exercise the craft. She wrote a short story to share with the family for Christmas this year.
Izzy Baltimore never ceased to be amazed by the water. How it swirled and flowed as if with a mind of its own. How it danced through the air in sparkling droplets as it cascaded off a rock or twig jutting out of the current. How it lept from one spot to the next, refusing to reveal its never-ending destination.
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