A Home in Mound

I was excited that the RNC was holding their convention here a couple weeks ago, so I packed the family up Labor Day morning to check out what was happening in downtown St. Paul

Cecelia wasn't very thrilled with the trip. Whined nearly the whole time.



We were there before any crazy action was going on, but did see the tail end of a protest march on the Iraq war.



Again, we were there pretty early, so we got a good parking spot, and headed for Keys Cafe. I was looking forward to catching MSNBC's Morning Joe. They were broadcasting from there live every morning of the convention.



Alas, hurricane Gustav upset the programming, so they decided not to broadcast that morning. Needless to say, I was disappointed.




We did get this great shot of Maeve where Joe Scarborough normally sits!



After breakfast, we tromped around downtown St. Paul.

An interesting side story (without pictures) When we pulled out the stoller, and started down the street toward's Rice park, a wheel fell off the stroller. After trying to do without it, we stopped at a corner in front of USBank to try to remedy our stroller wheel situation.

As I said before, the streets were quiet. There was a noticable uptick in police presence, and there were several "independent" media types. I believe they were getting all set for the large protest that was going to be taking place that afternoon.

At the corner we stopped at, I had the stroller on it's side, and was studing the wheel situation, trying to pound the thing on with my fist. There were 3 independent media types standing nearby. One of a phone talking about how not much was happening. I muttered out loud, "Not much happening? We got a broken stroller here!" They very kindly came over to see if they could offer some assistance. One had a U-bolt bike lock, so we managed to pound the wheel back on with that.

Just as we put the stroller back on it's wheels, a security guard came out of the bank walking rapidly towards us. I then heard him say to the walkie-talkie "Oh... it appears they were just putting a wheel back on a stroller" I guess the bank got nervous with a stroller and some crazy guys in front of their door.

Later, had to check out the Peanut characters.



Cecelia gives Lucy a hug.



We wore our Obama pins just so everyone knew where we stood.



This is the St. Paul hotel. We were walking by as some of the Arizona delegation were on their way to Xcel. The hotel has a lovely garden with a Elephant shrub. Isn't that cute?!



At Rice Park, MSNBC had their big set setup. I thought it was funny how ugly the chair the host sits in was... with all the black tape on the wheels.



Here's where the delagates and other get admitted to the Xcel area.



They had several blocks fenced off like this... normal people like us couldn't get close to the Xcel.



This was the closest we got.



A couple days later, Janet stayed home, and I grabbed Cecelia to head back to watch Morning Joe at Keys Cafe! Thanks Janet! We had great seats, and you could totally see me on national TV!



Mika and Joe interview Gov. Pawlenty.



The other fun thing we did was go to Civicfest which was at the Minneapolis Convention Center that week. The Seward Concert Band played, so we got in free. It was pretty cool, with a replica of the White House the size of a living room, a mock up of Air Force One, and lots of cool things.

The one thing I was really excited for was the mockup of the Oval office. Here's me pretending to be President of the United States, firmly making my point to Prime Minister Putin of Russia.



Now here I am calling my wife.



Here I am, bored, with no one to yell at.



Here, my beautiful aid points to where I need to sign.



Since the Senator dropped by, I felt I should get a photo. He was very kind to oblige.

Just came across these pics... sorry for the late posting! (I know... I can hear some of you snickering about all my political posts of late...

Anyway, Maeve is off to school! Fortunately, she will be in the same class that she started last year. The difference will be she's going 5 days a week, where she went 3 days last year.



Maeve is always excited to get on the bus. She's getting good at climbing up those steps herself.



While Maeve's at school, Cecelia makes a play-doh Maeve.



The bus is back... here comes Maeve!



She's our big girl!

Trying to catch up on some pictures I took recently, hope you enjoy!

It's amazing how much they get around. First, they get recognized by Amy Klobuchar when she wins her Senate race two years ago, Al Franken recognized them as he was preparing to run for Norm Coleman's seat. Then a St. Paul blogger notices them two summers ago.

God I love my family... (well most of them anyway....)

I don't think I have ever blogged so much about politics before, so I apologize to those who are turned off by many of my recent posts. When I see something interesting, and believe you may find interesting, I gotta go with it.



Watch CBS Videos Online

You can find more in this story here....

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/10/eveningnews/main4437797.shtml

Hattip - Patricia Bauer via, our friends, the Parkers

I guess Sarah Palin will finally get asked some real questions from a real reporter today for ABC. Here are some questions(*) for Sarah Palin from a parent with a child with Down syndrome -

• Have you rewritten your Will yet? If so, how did it feel to disinherit your son, Trig, so that he may be eligible for Medicare and other programs when he is an adult(**)?
• Tell us what it was like when you sat with Trig's teachers and therapists to set up yearly goals for such a small baby.
• Have you had to fight for any school or county services for Trig? What was your experience filling out the paper work for those services?

Anyone else have questions?

*these are not meant to be hostile questions, but are often the subject of discussion we have when we talk with other families with children with Down syndrome. I would sincerely be interested in her responses.

**this is the case in Minnesota, Alaska law may be different.

Friends and family,

We are very excited to have our third trip to the Buddy Walk in a couple weeks. The Buddy Walk is an exciting event where families and friends of people with Down syndrome come together, show support, and raise awareness about Down syndrome. This is especially timely, as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, has a 4 month old baby with Down syndrome. We hope this brings more attention to wonderful people like Maeve, and educate the broader public about the potential good people with Down syndrome can have in our lives, communities, and the world!

You may have noticed the fun graph, on the right side of our page, tracking how much money we've raised. It's been stuck on 21% for a couple weeks now. So we would love you're help on getting to that magic number of $500!

The money raised here goes to the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota. They have been the most wonderful organization for our family so far, in educating us about Down syndrome, and helping us network with other families. They are definitely worthy and deserving of your support.

We hope you will consider a small donation, and would love it if you could join us for the Buddy Walk, which will be Sunday, September 21st at Como Park in St. Paul.

Again, thank you, and we appreciate your support!

George Matthew, Janet, Maeve, and Cecelia Linkert

UPDATE - Oops, forgot to leave the link! http://www.firstgiving.com/teamhero