The Minnesota Zoo has opened its new exhibit, Russia’s Grizzly Coast, so we’ve been spending a lot of time over there (it’s 5 minutes from the house) checking out the three grizzlies. They’re only a couple of years old, so they’re pretty playful. They like to spend time in the water, which splashes up against the glass in the visitors center. Here’s a picture Laurie shot of one of the bears.

What a daredevil! Jesse sees a mountain and she just has to climb it. We think she might be part mountain goat — albeit a vegetarian mountain goat. Look at the concentration on her face! Wow!

Jesse, Laurie and Art went hiking in Interstate State Park on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border for Fathers’ Day. The park runs along the bluffs overlooking the St. Croix River. We saw buzzards, bald eagles and one lonely chipmunk. Jesse was fascinated by all of the inch worms we saw on the stair railings and benches. Katie decided to stay home and go to a friend’s graduation party. She, of course, is now out of the will. We all went to Art’s favorite Thai restaurant for dinner, then on to ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. Not a bad day.

Jesse got her top braces on Friday the 13th, her first day of summer vacation. She chose pink and black braces because she just liked the colors together. She looks awfully cute! She will get the bottom ones on later, after the top braces have worked their magic for a while. She will have to wear the braces for about two years — coincidentally, that’s about how long we’ll have to be making monthly payments to the orthodontist. Ouch.

We had some sad news at the end of May — Art’s Grandma Griffin passed away at age 89 in Jacksonville, Ala., a town with infinite charm, but, in Grandma’s mind, one in which no one had the ability to cook a New England boiled dinner. The whole Coulson clan gathered for the memorial service, including Art’s brother, Jim, sister, Sally, his Dad and stepmom (all shown above), as well as Art Sr.’s brothers Dick and Jon and sister, Margie Ellen, and their families. It was good to see everyone, but a sad occasion nonetheless. Aunt Rita had a great idea after the funeral — the whole family went to the Sonic drive-in for sundaes in honor of Grandma. She loved to stop for a hot fudge sundae on her way back to The Meadows after shopping or going out for dinner. Rest in peace, Grandma.

Yes, it’s been a couple of months since we went to Europe, so I thought it was about time that I posted a couple of pix. Enjoy:

Katie in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City

Katie in St. Mark’s Square, Venice

Katie and the Eastview HS Band at the cathedral in Chioggia, Italy

Art at the Hohensalzburg (Salzburg Fortress), Austria

Art and Katie in Mozartplaatz, Salzburg

Art at the Colisseum in Rome

We went out yesterday and bought a new, environmentally friendly commuter vehicle — a SYM RS50 scooter. Art plans to ride it back and forth to work and to use it to run errands, weather permitting. He topped off the gas tank for the first time today and discovered he was getting 110 mpg, a bit more than the 90-100 mpg the scooter was rated. Not bad. He figured the payback on the scooter will be about six months, given the rising cost of gas. Plus, it’s a load of fun. Jesse wants to ride it everywhere. And, yes, we all wear helmets all the time on it. Safety first!