Bubble Butt

My grandfather Ralph Kraay died yesterday, so I decided to go to the Twin Cities to be with my mother and the rest of the family.

Originally I was going to go by myself, but my mother said that my grandma would enjoy seeing the kids. So at the last minute I decided to bring them along, which meant a lot more time packing, and a three hour car ride that was far from relaxing. By the time I finally made to Prior Lake in Minnesota, I was exhausted.

But my grandmother was very glad to see both the children, and they certainly helped lighten the mood. As case in point, I'll offer this little snippet: Just now Sofi was squirming around and jumping up and down, with her hand behind her butt. Grandma D asked if she needed to go the bathroom, to which Sofi replied "No.... Sometimes I get bubbles in my butt... and I'm popping them."

It's this kind of stuff that helps lighten everyone's mood.

Ralph Kraay 1922-2008

In memory of my grandfather, Ralph Kraay.

Ralph Kraay, 86, of Prior Lake, formerly of Owatonna, died Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at his home. He was born June 2, 1922 in Prairie City, Iowa the son of Cornelius and Susie (Aartsen) Kraay. Ralph moved to Hollandale when he was one. He married Harriet Elaine Medd on July 19, 1946. He joined the Merchant Marines and served during WWII. He farmed on his father’s vegetable farm with his brother-in-law, Leonard Silvis, in Hollandale for 11 years. The couple moved to Owatonna in 1957 where he and his brothers did vegetable farming as Kraay Brothers Inc. until his retirement. In 2002 the couple moved to Prior Lake to be closer to their family. Ralph enjoyed his family, friends, traveling, and his motor home. He is survived by his wife, Harriet, of Prior Lake; five daughters, Diane (Don) Stutesman of Red Wing, Marcia (Wayne) Svenby of Prior Lake, Carol (Roy) Kraft of Cross Lake, Rebecca (Ed) Treinen of Savage, Paula Gainey (special friend Mark Finholt) of Burnsville; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; brothers and sisters, Gertie Silvis of Morago, Calif., J.C. (Doris) Kraay of Owatonna, Sue Veldman of Hollandale, Bob (Till) Kraay of Owatonna, Jim (Darlene) Kraay of Owatonna. Ralph was preceded in death by one sister, Eva Posthumus and an infant son, Paul Scott Kraay. Visitation will be at Michaelson Funeral Home on Monday, July 14, from 5-8 p.m. Memorial services will be held July 15 at 3 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church with the Rev. Orlin Mandsager officiating. Ralph’s body was donated to the Department of Anatomy for Anatomical study in Rochester. Memorials are preferred to Trinity Lutheran Church, EPES and Friends of Guatemala Scholarship Fund.

He went to school only through the eighth grade. He farmed with his brothers on a family farm most of his life.

Playground Milestone

Today marks another first in Sofi's path of growing up.

Today is one of the rare days in which I fill the day with lots of plans and tasks against my better wisdom, and yet somehow they actually manage to get done. We ran lots of errands today, starting with a stop at the bank in which I deposited a paycheck from First Lutheran Church, and Sofi deposited what she has collected thus far in the "savings" section of her piggy bank into her youth savings account—a total of 99¢. Then we went to The Pearl, an ice cream parlor and confectionery, a destination chosen by Sofi where she wanted to use another 99¢ that she'd been collecting in the "spend" section of her piggy bank. For that price she was able to get one HUGE pixie stick (a tube of orange flavored sugar that was over a foot long) and two wax pop bottles (little bottle shaped containers made of wax with sugared water inside), one of which she shared with Isaac (who enjoyed sucking on the wax as much as drinking the sugar). After that we went to the library, and then had lunch at the coop followed by some grocery shopping.

A very full morning, somehow pulled off without any meltdowns (certainly stopping at The Pearl didn't hurt, nor did the library, and certainly having lunch at the coop helped as well).

Isaac then fell asleep on the way home, so after we got home I put him in his crib to finish his nap, put in an Arthur DVD for Sofi to watch, and went out and mowed the lawn before it started to rain.

Again, I somehow managed to pull the mowing off, finishing it before Isaac woke up. When I got inside Sofi announced to me that she wanted to go to the playground across the street... by herself! Since I couldn't leave the house with Isaac sleeping anyway, I decided to grant her wish.

Despite her reassurance that she would look for cars when she crossed the street, I was nervous, as I've never really let her go anywhere other than in the backyard without me. Unknown to her I watched her the entire time from the picture window in the front room. And she did as she said: she looked for cars when she crossed the street. Once across she stopped and looked around, as if pondering what to do next with the new found freedom. Then she ran to the playground and swung on the swings, without anyone to push her.

She didn't stay as long as I thought she would, probably only five minutes. But she came home content.