Luke wanted to be Waldo this year. How fun is that? Remember all the hours spent finding waldo in those cool "Where's Waldo books? Bob and I joined in the fun and created a where's Waldo page of our own.
Unfortunately Luke worked on Halloween - I should say fortunately because a lot of people enjoyed his costume. He didn't get out on Saturday because he needed to finish is application for MIT. It was due November 1st.
It sounds like he's leaning toward going to the U of M, but IF and that's a big IF - if they accept him he might change his mind.
Bob and I went as Waldo to our friends party, the kids did NOT know who we were. Who raised them kids? I didn't know there were people out there that are not Waldo fans. Anyways, Jim does a great job taking the gang through the neighborhood. Check out the trailer the ride around on. The die hard kids made three trips around the nieghborhood.After the party we came home and passed a cop car parked close to our house, she was waiting for back up. We passed a couple of young adults stumbling down the road. It looked like someone was having fun!
We decided to unwind in the hot tub. Shortly after we got in we heard sirens begin. At first we were thinking, "Thank goodness, it wasn't us getting a ticket." The sirens continued to circle the block, more and more cops circling with sirens. our thinking changed to "Uh Oh, someone must have been having a good party." Shortly after the helicopter was over the neighborhood, searchlights were going through the trees..... "Whoa.. maybe we better lock the doors!"
It turned out the neighbor 3 or 4 houses down had a party get out of control. Over 300 people showed up to his party - thanks to facebook. A few people who were not invited started scrappin' with broken bottles. Three people ended up being taken in for stabbings. The police released dogs to catch those who were escaping through the woods. An innocent runner had his arm mauled by the police dog. And we still haven't heard if the guilty parties were found.
All this in our quite, rural, neighborhood. To think we moved out of the city for this!
I have a goal to scan and save all of our family pictures, so I can create a heritage album. I'm not too sure how much the future generations will enjoy the book, being they won't know anyone. This is the first page I created.
Leona is my Mom's mom. It's so fun to see her as a young-attractive lady. Hopefully this is why we preserve our memories. I have very few memories of"Uncle Jack." He lived in my grandma's basement. There was a mystery about his room. We weren't allowed to go in. I always wondered why. Looking back I'm sure nobody wanted little children diggin' through a bachelors belongings. If my memory serves me right I think the older boys were occasionally let in. hmmm I wonder if they found anything that lead to life lessons or unanswered questions.
Anyways I love this picture, it represents a time I can't even imagine. Grandma was always an old lady to me. I wish there were stories to go with it.
Now that my computer is up and running I am hoping to do some more designing for Blind Sight Designs. Here is my latest layout using her Family Ties Kit.
It's funny how all summer the weather was cold and breezy... except for Memorial Weekend, The Fourth of July and Labor Day Weekend. At least that is how I will remember this summer.
We spent the weekend with my family out at Lake Alexander. Surprisingly, we got to visit with everyone's family this year.
Matt came out without the rest of his family... work... Brittany turned 21...
Jeremy and Angie stayed for the weekend, a pleasant surprise since they usually stay home and enjoy family time on Pierz Lake.
Tom and Dayna brought up Dayna's mom, Summer. She moved to Minnesota this a few months ago. She has such a positive outlook on Minnesota and Minnesota weather, we'll see how she feels after the winter cold stretch.
Mike came out with the kids... no Amy, I think she's busy studying. Gracie celebrated her birthday with a home made cake. Yummy! She was also wearing the cutest outfit, but she changed before I could snap a picture.
Sarah and the kids stopped by on Monday, they had just returned from their summer vacation in Arkansas. They brought back cool crystal they chiseled off the mountains.
Pat and Sarah were up for the first half of the weekend.
Jim and Dez brought out James for a day. We looked at some of her dress options for the wedding, talked about colors... etc. James starts kindergarten, along with Eli, this year. Soooo according to Dez she's ready to have another baby.
Johnny and Meagan were out for a little while. They were gone before I got a chance to sit and talk with them, but we caught up with them last weekend. John is back to school, so I'm guessing he left to study as well.
Even Jacob was out for the weekend. He is still in Fargo, but working in Jamestown. He spends the day compacting sand by remote control.
Meagan bailed on us, she had to work. Levi bailed on us... too poor to visit, but he should be home TODAY!!!! He has a short leave before he heads to Mississippi. Luke came along to visit Milissa, he probably would have bailed if she wasn't at the lake. He is back at the U of M today. Senior year, and I forgot to take a back to school picture....argh! Maybe his Dad can come through, more likely we'll have to fake it tomorrow.
And last but not least... Curt and Nancy and Mary and the kids were out. Curt is teaching in Randall this year.
That's the latest, I'll take time to add pictures shortly. Back to work and back to school...
March 2007 we took the boys to New Orleans hoping to find work that needed to be done. If you talked to anyone in the family, you know they weren't ready for our help. They suggested we enjoy what New Orleans had to offer, and to return home to promote "coming back to New Orleans."
Well we had a fabulous time enjoying the bayous, shopping, architecture, food, and New Orleans traditions.
This past summer our church's youth group was heading down to New Orleans for a rebuilding mission trip, organized by Youthworks. Two weeks before their trip they put a call out at Sunday mass looking for a volunteer driver. Since Bob has so much free time, and he didn't really rebuild the first time he was in New Orleans, and he really loved the experiences we had while we were there, and we love the enthusiasm of our youth director, and ..... well there wasn't really any reason for him not to volunteer, he volunteered. a couple days before he left he said they had room for one more chaperon, and I really had no reason not to help out.... SO we both headed to New Orleans with St. Joe's youth mission group.
We really didn't know what we were signing up to do. We knew no one other than Denise the youth director and only in a very professional manner. Our first lesson was taught on the road trip down. Red (girls) and Blue (boys) don't mix... ie. make purple! We had to make a detour to pick up an additional mattress. What were we thinking? In seven days I seen less of Bob than I typically see him in a day.
Here's a glimpse of our experience...
The city of New Orleans is a vibrant city that boasts some of the greatest entertainment and finest cuisine in the world. Residents welcome tourists to the city with hospitality and flair. But in 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans with devastating results. Eighty percent of the city flooded—much of it completely destroyed—leaving thousands of people homeless. Your group has a unique opportunity to partner with local ministries in their amazing recovery efforts. You’ll help wherever you are needed most, through work projects, children’s ministry and more. -youthworks
Bob's group helped Miss Margaret work on her house, painting and yard work. Her yard has not been touched since the hurricane in 2005. Bob has a great story she shared about how she was rescued in a boat and how the boat was found lying on a road sign two years later.
They also worked with the youth at Kingsley House, imagine 8 hours of piggy back rides.
My group work with Recovery School District. We painted the second floor hallway of Charles Drew Elementary. It hard to imagine a public school in such poor condition. The second and third floors were not even damaged by the flood, but the quality of the decor was way below standards.
BEFORE
AFTER the first coat
My Group
My group also worked with the youth of New Orleans creating and implementing "Kid's Club." I monitored the craft room... pop tab bracelets.
Both groups also spent time with the elderly.
We traveled all that way and my favorite part of the trip was getting to know the outstanding youth in our community. They are all leaders with an unending amount of generosity to share. We are so fortunate to have amazing children coming up behind us.
If you have never "payed it forward" whether it's with a church group or not, I would highly recommend it. The amount you gain is so much more than you can give and even greater than you could imagine.
A whole lot of fun. I spent the past week with a few of my favorite kids, and I think I can survive for a while. We went to Como Zoo, Como Town, Lake Josephine beach, Bunker Beach, Brunswick Bowl and Arcade, we played restaraunt, bocce ball, caught over 40 crayfish, went tubing, played badmitton.... FUN OVERLOAD!!!
I can hear the complaining already.... Auntie Nancy, it's not "a" ry....
Sorry, I just noticed I spelled the kid's name wrong. Oooops!
So Zachery is back to visit since his tour in Iraq. We had a busy couple of days with him. Hopefully he'll have time to stop back before he heads back to base.
On Sunday my cousin Curt brought his family over to visit. He was taking Milissa to tour the U of M. She's there oldest. What a mile stone, shopping for colleges. I wonder if it makes them feel old? According to Meagan we are the worst parents alive, because she didn't get to go on any college tours. Boo hoo.
We hung out with the rest of family. Lydia was a perfect little angel. Of course she had a lot of attention. My cousin Ang sent her baby, Garret (16), to Curt's house for a few weeks this summer, and he decided to hang back with us until the 4th. I'm not sure if it is a coincidence or not but... I do think the whole slew of them; Luke, Milissa, Garret, Zach (Korey's) and most of Luke's friends have similar personalities. They are very intellectual, or they think they know everything. At least they have each other to have meaningful conversations with, since the rest of us are SOOOO foolish. Just Kidding!!! well, maybe not! Anyways, I've enjoyed having Garret over, since we rarely see them, and when we do he is usually quiet. I guess that was just a comfort level, because he is a blast. Oh yes, he's helpful too, he even dusted by basement without being asked. Nice kid.
Bob's brother and part of his family came over to visit Zach. They live next door (Farmington) and we barely see them also, there baby is now the tallest in the family! Boy are our kid's growing up fast.
Luke came back from France on Monday. I guess he had a fun time. He has 4000 picture's! You'll have to ask him about it when you see him. His favorite story is his geochaching experience. He really suffered from jet lag, but I believe his back to normal now.
Maegan came home for the night to vist everyone.. always good to see her.
Then yesterday we took Zachery up to see his Mom. He met his new brother, Steven Holiday. That makes seven for Karen and she claims she's done. Finally!
Steven is doing really good. He was a little fussy when we got there, but he loved Zachery. As soon as Zach started palying with him he was all smiles and giggles.
Well, we are off the Jeremy and Angies for the fourth! Thanks to all those who serve our country.
Our first camping weekend without children.Can you believe we have never been camping without the kids? Not only that this was our first trip waaaaaay up North.We have never been further north than the iron range. I take that back Bob’s been somewhere north bear hunting… remember that’s where he found Big Foot.
Before we headed out Bob decided he wanted to check Craigslist for a tandem bike.We were lucky enough to find one…. in Maple Grove, the total opposite direction, but hey!Who’s on a clock anyways?
By the time we got out of town the storm was brewing, cars stopped all the way across 35 W as the hail came down. When we were just outside of Gilbert, a tire blew on the trailer.I believe Rodney cursed Bob before we left. We stopped at Rod’s house to change one tire and he told Bob he should have put on 2 new tires.Hmmm, is it Rod’s fault for cursing us or Bob’s fault for not listening? Anyways, therainhad stopped long enough for Bob to put on the spare. We pulled off at the West 40 Campground in Gilbert just in time for it to continue raining all night.Small favors. :)
We woke up to a beautiful morning.Since we were just of the Mesabi Bike Trail we took our new bike out for a spin.Getting to the path we had to ride down a HUGE hill.Yep… the whole ride I was thinking “we have to go back up that hill to get back to the campground.” The trail was pretty flat and after the first ten minutes our legs were numb.We spent a couple hours on the trail… then walked the bike back up the hill.
When we left the house around noon on Thursday we knew we had to grad tabs for the four-wheeler. It just so happened that after we pasted each destination bob would remind me.. "the next town we have to stop to tabs"... It was around 3:30pm when we past the DNR headquarters just north of Tower, when we realized again we hadn't stopped for the tabs. We pulled in hoping we could pick them up, but no luck, our closest option was Ely... and we were cutting it close to closing time... on a Friday.... No problem we bought the tabs in Ely with minutes to spare. It also allowed us to visit Ely...BWCA headquarters. What a cute town, it is very charming!
We finally got to BearHeadState Park where we spent the weekend camping with the Gale gang, mosquitoes, snakes, spiders, martins, and rain.With all that we still had a fabulous weekend.
Saturday, Bob and I trailered the 4 wheelers to Stony Spur Trail in Babbitt. The trail was empty and the ride was nice. It was very scenic, we ran through a lot of mud, it ended somewhere in the middle of nowhere with a toilet, shed, and fire pit. It ran into the Taconite snowmobile trail.When ever we stopped the mosquitoes would come out out the woods and swarm…even with bug spray! We didn’t stop long.
Sunday we rented a canoe and enjoyed a relaxing day on BearHeadLake.
We ran into the Gales on the way.Kaylee was just an infant when she came to my daycare, now she’ll be in kindergarten in the fall.Look how big she is!
We stopped at a boat in camp for lunch… Hobo dinners, my favorite camping meal.
When we got to the dock there were HUGE spiders (the picture doesn’t do justice) I asked Bob to take a picture. He was on the dock unloading the gear. He said something needed to be in the picture for perspective, so he put his face down below the dock and handed the camera back to me.Foolishly, I leaned over to snap the picture and I capsized the canoe.
Too funny, why can’t I ever have a dry ride in a canoe?I really think this time Bob set me up for failure.
We canoed over to Jim and Wendy’s camp… It really is a nice group camp, the kids had a lot of room to play, the dock was big enough for several boats, they had there own little swimming area…
the other side of the cointhey had snakes, there was a weasel looking thing (martin) that would steal there trash,the mosquitoes were awful, even worse then the norm around camp, the toilets were stinky… I didn’t use them, but I heard they were and the camp came with huge bear lockers to put your food in.Doesn’t that just say “look out you’re in bear country.” And they were all sleeping in tents! No thank you!
We took the canoe back to the landing and went back over to the group camp so Bob could fish with the guys.I guess the fishing was great; Bob caught his biggest bass ever!Not that he’s caught a lot in his life… ha ha ha.
Then around 7 pm it started to rain again we moved into the screen tent… it continued to rain… we moved into Jim and Wendy’s tent… it continued to rain… we put Kaylee to sleep and started watching a movie with Lilly… that’s when the fun began.
All of a sudden we hear noises outside of the Tent.By the way Jim and Wendy’stent is a fortress.It’s like a huge tent with an attached car port. Then over the whole thing is a rain barrier, not a fly, but rather anther layer that extends all the way to the ground.We realized we were inside, something was outside, there were no guys to protect us, and we couldn’t see what was out there because the fortress is closed for the storm….
Should we make an escape plan?? What are we running from??? skunks, raccoons, the martin, the BEAR!!!! Dang, why did we let the girls bring cookies into the tent? You know whatever it is it’ll want cookies when it’s finished.
After a lifetime of contemplating our crises, we decided to brave the situation. We had to reach OUT to unzip the tent, but we did and we shot the spotlight on all the coolers, nothing seemed amiss.So we HAD to look up front, where the noise was coming from.. we had to reach down near the sound to unlock the front zipper… We really were not very good at keeping each other calm, saying one thing, “I’m sure it’s just the martin coming back”… thinking another “It’s a bear!” all the while pretending nothing was happening so we would worry Lilly.She kept asking “what’s wrong as we were barricading the edge by the noise, looking out the back window.. scrambling for a plan. We remained calm on the outside.. “ the rain is getting in..” We’re watching the storm..” thinking to ourselves “where are the guys!!!!”, “How could they leave us stranded with children, in a tent, in the rain, in bear country!”
… so we reached down to unzip the front zipper, not knowing what we’d find and if the noise and light would attract or scare whatever it was… zzzziipppp …. Nothing…. We look around….. nothing….in the trees…. Nothing…coolers, buckets, pans,… nothing looks turned over…. The noise!!!.... it’s just the rain thumping the things right out the door.RELIEF!!!We zip the tent shut, take a huge breath and sit down to watch the movie, Goonies, with Lilly.
Less then 5 minutes later the guys arrive. Thank goodness I had a camper to go to that night. I’m not sure I could have fallen asleep in the tent. We said goodnight and headed back to our site for a peaceful night of sleep.It continued to rain until around noon the next morning. We got up had coffee, something to eat, and packed up our camp.We headed over to the group camp and no one was there. They decided to pack up early (in the rain) and head home.
Really we had a fabulous weekend up north in bear country… minus the mosquitoes, snakes, and spiders!
I have spent the last year playing with digital scrapbooking. Most of what I use I find on blogs or forums given away for free. Don't get me wrong, I spend more than I should on my hobby, but something about the word FREE motivates me.
So I finally decided to try the "freebie" thing. I think it's a great way to get started, and with the economy being what it is, I know I appreciate everyone who shares their talents.
Hopefully I did it right.
Here's a title I used on a birthday page. In the digital world it would be called word art. Enjoy it if you would like.
One nice thing about not working.... you can make time for all of the little things.
My niece Grace on her graduation day.
Thank you lauraskathi for the Freebie Kit: Black and White sampler Thank you Yin Designs for Freebie Template 114
My Godson Ryan on his graduation day.Thank you lauraskathi for the Freebie Kit: Black and White sampler Thank you Yin Designs for Freebie Template 114 Thank you Bethany for the Word Art
Where does the time go??? Do you remember those days??? It's amazing we still do!
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:
Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life--learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup--they all die. So do we. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned--the biggest word of all--LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all--the whole world--had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are-- when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Here’s Levi’s A School graduation news. He graduated as a "Gunners Mate". If I have that right, I believe it's a weapons specialist.
He is excited to be continuing training in the field he requestedRiverine…..As far as I can understand he is going to be brown water (off the ocean) infantry.Yikes!
By the way he graduated with honors... this is the same student who barely passed high school. We knew it was in there, and we are very proud of the commitment he's showing in the Navy. No more slacking? Wow, it's the old Levi... reeaallly old. We haven't seen honor work from him since 9th grade when he dropped out of all his Advance Placement classes because it ment too much homework.
I kinda think it was because they threatened him with the alternative to excelling... hard work! A constant reminder of what sailors do with down time. :) Bob and I couldn't help but laugh at the sight we passed on our way into his graduation.
Swab the deck... vs. palying with guns...
Well he wanted excitement.He shouldn’t be bored under these circumstances.The plan is a little while in Louisiana then a few months in Virginia before he’s sent into active duty.
If you want to know more check out the following links.I just “googled” it .
U.S. Navy Riverine Squadron 2 patrols the waters above Haditha Dam, Anbar Province, Iraq, in a Small Unit Riverine Craft.
U.S. Marines began patrolling the inland waters of Iraq soon after the beginning of the Iraq War, using a variety of patrol boats. In 2004 the Marines received a new type of fast boat, the small unit riverine craft (SURC), to patrol the waters of the Euphrates River and deny water passage to the insurgents. Beginning in 2006, the Navy established the Riverine Squadrons to assume this task from the Marines. A Riverine Squadron was deployed to Iraq in March 2007 and has been patrolling the waters of the river around the Haditha Dam.
I haven't even unpacked the camper yet but I wanted to share my pictures of the kids.
The weather was beautiful during the day, freezing at night, and we managed to avoid the showers while we were there. Most of the weekend we just hung out while the kids fished off the dock. Monday morning Mike cooked up the fish for breakfast. It did taste good, but I have to say it was my first fish fry breakfast. Maybe it didn't seem too weird since we usually eat breakfast a little before noon when we camp.
The rest of the pictures can be viewed at my new photo site.
Mother’s Day Weekend….. It has become one of my favorite weekends of the year.When we moved to HamLake (over 9 years ago) we passed the Blaine neighborhood garage sale signs for several years before we actually stopped to see what all the fuss was.Since then it has become an annual tradition.
It is unbelievable!At least, if you have never been to a neighborhood garage sale before, it is unbelievable! I f you look past the house we are shopping at you can see the tents lined up down the block. There is literally hundreds of homes participating. We start at 8:00 am and shop until 4:00 or 5:00. The first few years we were awe struck.We came home with loads of “junk”.I’m not lying; when I say loads… we usually take our biggest vehicles then return for the “big purchase items” at the end of the day.
They pass out maps, so you can locate port-a-potties and food concessions.We usually mark the maps with the items we need to circle around and pick up after the sale.As I was looking at our map this year… a Foosball table, a slide for the lake, a trundle for Sarah, Coke bottles for Tom, a Wii console for Loni, I was thinking it would be fun to look at all the maps we’ve gone through in the past.
Over the years we have decided less is more, promising ourselves that we are only shopping for things we need. We still managed to come home with a full load. I haven’t checked with all the girls, but YES… Dalona had to leave stuff at Mike and Amy’s.Foolish girl.One year she bought (free) a tire she though Matt could use.Then she had to pay to dump it.She bought a desk (also free), Matt said was junk, and we had to burn in the fire pit. This year she really, reeeaallly contemplated purchasing a console for the Wii. It was one of those fine pieces of furniture that was once a “shop” project.I thought it was beautiful.I have a couple matching pieces in my house from Levi.Apparently the guy’s wife had kept it in the garage for years so they were finally selling the piece.I suppose hand crafted furniture isn’t as meaningful to a spouse as it is to a mom. Anyways, it didn’t make it home with Loni.I wonder why, hmmm???? I was so amused that it ended up in Mike’s garage I forgot to ask why.
Sunday was Mother’s Day and Luke and Meagan helped me paint the “daycare room” normal colors. I am patiently, no, not patiently, waiting to convert it into the family room.It has been two years now! We were missing Levi and Dad for our celebration, but not for long.We were listening to Cable Radio… The Party Mix Station and The Village People “In the Navy” came on.We decided it was Levi’s way of joining us in spirit. Then Shakira came on and we laughed…Bob was there in spirit also.In case you didn’t know, Bob drools over Shakira! It was another great Mother’s Day weekend, even if it was just with half of the family.Here’s the dynamic duo changing the colors. So long yellow, parting is such SWEET sorrow!
Me and My Mom Can you see the resemblance? Love You Mom! Happy Mother's Day
Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts... I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom .
Family, food and fun!What more could more could anyone ask for?
It was fun to see everyone, it seems like we don't get together... all of us... enough.Around half of my relatives traveled from out of town, so the guys decided to come along and visit. Moms and dads equals kids. We had a full house. The weather wasn't nice enough to get outside but no one was complaining.
My cousin Tabitha even stopped over with her three children. The last time I remember seeing her was when we attended her baby shower and Dakota is 14 years old now!!! Time sure flies.Tabitha looks as young as ever, it’s hard to believe we are getting old. I’m sure she get’s the “She’s your daughter? You don’t look old enough.” Comment all the time.
... then I decided I need a cupcake tree. Hurry up garage sales :) ....
So adorable, cupcakes instead of a sheet cake. How fun is that? Well the kids loved them. I even caught Grandpa Tom sucking on a pacifier. When the party was done we were left with one cupcake. Wow! I am so impressed. I always have cake left over. I think the single serving, hold in your hand benefit paid off. Actually, I did thank my sister for bringing the kids, I'm sure they did their part to help eliminate left overs.
Speaking of kids. Here they are with Jessica. Doesn't she look like she's going to be a natural?
So is Jess having a boy or girl? I know you want to know. According to the doctor and the ultrasound she is having a boy. But weeeeee don't believe modern medicine. We have are own test. The old "hang a pencil from a string over your wrist" test. My sister in-law, Angie, swears by it. According to the pencil, Jess is having a boy and a girl is in the near future.
Congratulations Jess! I'm sure you'll love being a mom.
Yep, I wanted to avoid it until summer, because I heard it takes a LOT of time to start a facebook account. So why have I done it??? Hmmmm
My friends at the Ham Lake Fire Auxiliary posted pictures from our celebration dinner and I wanted to see them. .
I wanted to share a little bit about our guys. We celebrated forty years of volunteer firefighter service in Ham Lake. I can't remember, (funny huh?) but I think Bob's been a volunteer 8 or 9 years now. It seems like a long time but compared to our dear friend Marvin, it's peanuts.
Marvin B. has been on the station since day one and he was honored nationally. Michelle Bachmann honored Marvin before congress on April 21st.
“Madame Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Marvin Buchholz for demonstrating honor and loyalty to the Ham Lake Fire Department for 40 years. As a District Chief, Marvin has seen more calls to service than any other department firefighter and deserves our sincerest appreciation.”
Way to go Marv, our hometown hero!!!
And finally, here is a picture of two guys who couldn't be there because they are serving the country. It was a welcome surprise for all the guys to say hello via satellite.
I am a mom, wife, teacher, scrapbooker, reader... I enjoy life but never have enough time to do all the things I want to. This is the "Christmas letter" I never send in the mail.
After the party we came home and passed a cop car parked close to our house, she was waiting for back up. We passed a couple of young adults stumbling down the road. It looked like someone was having fun!
