February is here & half way over. Which means spring is just around the corner.
We got the official results of the State Lego Robotics tournament. Kevin's team came in 18th place overall out of 40 teams. So they didn't do too bad after all. They did get a medal for their Geothermal Bridge Ice Melting challenge as they came in 2nd place for that.
This month I took my old broken gold jewelry (necklace chains) to "The Gold Guys" store at the Mall of America. I walked out with a check for $220, so I took that check and set up my photography business checking account. With that I also applied for my Certificate of Assumed Name with the state, and got my Tax ID number. I'm officially official. Today I applied for a Small Business Grant for Women. Hopefully I will qualify for that, as that will help get a few more things for my Photography Business. I have a photo studio shoot coming up next week. I'll be photographing an adorable 3 year old girl. I'm excited to work with her. Hopefully, she'll be in a good mood for it.
Kevin turned 12 on the 7th of February. He chose to go bowling with the family for his birthday. We had a really good time. The kids really enjoy it, and the bumpers helped me out tremendously. I won the first round of bowling with a whopping score of 94. The next round Ken won, and my score was 112. We all improved on round 2.
I've been experiencing with different short-med length hair cuts. The first one I really liked, the second one had too many layers, and I really like the one I just got. I am however going to grow it back to shoulder length as not being able to pull it back in a pony tail is driving me crazy. Shorter hair is much more high maintenance than mid length to long hair.
In November, you may have remembered that I wrote a book about the Maya and the Tulum ruins in Mexico. I am now on round two of edits! The first round I organized paragraphs, order of topics, deleted repeated information, and deleted information that I could live with out. In this process, I was able to shorten my book by 12 single spaced pages.
Tonight the hubby is taking me out for a Valentine's date. We haven't had a Valentine's date in I don't even know how long. He was in charge of planning everything, so we'll see what he came up with. His first idea was to take me an ordinary restaurant. One we can go to anytime...he mentioned this to me (actually, he said "choose between Houlihan's, Green Mill, or Granite City")...my reply was "go back to the drawing board, it's Valentine's, Woo Me." Then he asked what movie I wanted to see. I told him one that would be a good theater experience. So, I do know we are going to dinner & a movie, I just don't know where or what movie. I told him not to tell me as I wanted it to be a surprise.
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, October 9, 2009
How did it suddenly become Oct?
So far we are getting robbed of a decent fall season. Not much of a summer & not much of a fall. I can't complain too much about Sept. Sept. we had great weather. The leaves are turning and early in the morning we are to get snow.
The youth kickball season came to an end. My 7-9 grade team took 1st place. My 4-6 grade team lost their final game which ended up putting them in 4th place. Oh well. They were a great group of kids. My 4-6 grade team all went out for Dairy Queen after our last game. The little girl on my team gave me a great big hug. Coaching was pretty rewarding. My 7-9th grade team had an end of season party at my co-coaches house. We cooked hot dogs and the parents all chatted in the kitchen & the kids all chatted in the tv room. Those kids were a pretty good group of kids too.
I got all the scores and stats in and updated on the kickball blog. http://eagankickball.blogspot.com I just have to wait for the awards to get shipped to me and then I'll be planning an awards party for the kids. It's going to have to be somewhere indoors as the weather is pretty cold to do something outside.
My adult league kickball season is pretty much over too. We had 2 rainouts, and I'm not sure when or if we'll even make those games up at all.
Now that kickball is all over with you may wonder what I will do with my time? National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. Oct I will finish my outline for the book I plan on writing in November. I'm going to be writing about the Mayan Ruins in Tulum, Mexico. They are the most visited ruins, yet the least written about. I've been doing research on it since I got back from Mexico in February of 09, so hopefully it will all come out onto paper in November.
I had a birthday at the beginning of Oct. I celebrated for 4 days! I celebrated with friends the day before my b-day playing bingo. I didn't win anything, but 3 people at our table did. I had to celebrate my last day of being 40. On my birthday, I met up with friends at a nearby bar. My neighbor guy ended up showing up. He knew the DJ, so he told the DJ it was my birthday & the next thing I know, the whole place is singing Happy Birthday to me. The day after my birthday Ken & I went to Osaka's a Japanese seafood & steak house with another couple. The food was delicious! I had fillet mignon, lobster, shrimp, scallops, and fried rice. We did the Hibachi menu, so they cook the food right at your table. The chef does all sorts of fancy tricks. It's very entertaining. Then on Sunday (2 days after my b-day), I treated myself to a movie at the theater. I went and saw the movie "Fame". It was nothing like the original movie. The only thing the same was it takes place at the same school, and they had the singing, dancing, musical scene in the cafeteria. Otherwise, it was completely different characters with completely different stories. It was entertaining, and I enjoyed it, but I was expecting it to be more like the original.
The youth kickball season came to an end. My 7-9 grade team took 1st place. My 4-6 grade team lost their final game which ended up putting them in 4th place. Oh well. They were a great group of kids. My 4-6 grade team all went out for Dairy Queen after our last game. The little girl on my team gave me a great big hug. Coaching was pretty rewarding. My 7-9th grade team had an end of season party at my co-coaches house. We cooked hot dogs and the parents all chatted in the kitchen & the kids all chatted in the tv room. Those kids were a pretty good group of kids too.
I got all the scores and stats in and updated on the kickball blog. http://eagankickball.blogspot.com I just have to wait for the awards to get shipped to me and then I'll be planning an awards party for the kids. It's going to have to be somewhere indoors as the weather is pretty cold to do something outside.
My adult league kickball season is pretty much over too. We had 2 rainouts, and I'm not sure when or if we'll even make those games up at all.
Now that kickball is all over with you may wonder what I will do with my time? National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. Oct I will finish my outline for the book I plan on writing in November. I'm going to be writing about the Mayan Ruins in Tulum, Mexico. They are the most visited ruins, yet the least written about. I've been doing research on it since I got back from Mexico in February of 09, so hopefully it will all come out onto paper in November.
I had a birthday at the beginning of Oct. I celebrated for 4 days! I celebrated with friends the day before my b-day playing bingo. I didn't win anything, but 3 people at our table did. I had to celebrate my last day of being 40. On my birthday, I met up with friends at a nearby bar. My neighbor guy ended up showing up. He knew the DJ, so he told the DJ it was my birthday & the next thing I know, the whole place is singing Happy Birthday to me. The day after my birthday Ken & I went to Osaka's a Japanese seafood & steak house with another couple. The food was delicious! I had fillet mignon, lobster, shrimp, scallops, and fried rice. We did the Hibachi menu, so they cook the food right at your table. The chef does all sorts of fancy tricks. It's very entertaining. Then on Sunday (2 days after my b-day), I treated myself to a movie at the theater. I went and saw the movie "Fame". It was nothing like the original movie. The only thing the same was it takes place at the same school, and they had the singing, dancing, musical scene in the cafeteria. Otherwise, it was completely different characters with completely different stories. It was entertaining, and I enjoyed it, but I was expecting it to be more like the original.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Happy 10th Sam I Am!!
10 years ago my youngest caveman was born. Aw....Wow! How did he get to be 10 already! He was really excited for his birthday. He got 3 cards in the mail that had money in them. That seems to be his favorite these days. Prime Green Solid Paper Money....
The last month he's been earning dollars off of me from helping out. He got a liking to that and ran with it. I asked him to clean his room this weekend and he could earn a dollar. He got right to cleaning his room and then said
Sam: Mom, I cleaned my room. Do I earn $20?
Me: No, you earn $1
Sam: Do I earn $10
Me: No, you earn $1
Sam: But I don't have a $20 bill in my wallet
Me: Well, neither do I. You only earned $1
Sam: Oh, fiddlesticks, I wanted $20
Me: If you want $20 you'll have to mow the lawn.
Sam: Nah, I'm too young to do that.
Hmmm....So much for that.
His birthday money went right into his wallet. I didn't even get to see it, and when he did let me look, he was very guarded. I think I have a money hoarder on my hands. If he keeps this up, he can support me when he grows up. From all the allowance he's earned off me, plus his birthday and Christmas money. I guess the days of slipping it into my wallet & telling them it's going in their bank account is over. It gets to their bank account eventually. Just consider it a small loan...My mother did that to us..eventually she ended up giving us money, so really it just went back and forth from wallet to wallet through out the years. So, I guess I'm just handing down tradition. Well, those days are over. I guess now they'll have to pay for their own movies and McDonalds, now that they have more money in their wallets than I do. Besides, most of it started out in my wallet anyway. So it all evens out in the long run.
Sam had a great birthday day. He got a present from his bus driver, his teacher, and his daycare lady. He had his favorite for dinner tonight, French fries, apple sauce, and deli ham. He had a two-layer rectangle shaped chocolate cake with white fluffy frosting and green & blue icing. He had 10 multi-colored candles, so it was quite colorful. He didn't eat any of it, he just likes the pomp and circumstance of the birthday cake tradition. Which is fine with the rest of it, it means we get to eat more cake. We do a pretty good job of it too.
He got a watch, blendy pens, fake money & cash drawer, and the Dr. Suess Happy Birthday To You book. If you ask him what his favorite presents are he'll tell you the watch & the real money. Yep, he's 10 alright!
The first 10 years of his life were definitely challenging and boy did they go by fast. I sure hope the next 10 don't go by as quickly.
The last month he's been earning dollars off of me from helping out. He got a liking to that and ran with it. I asked him to clean his room this weekend and he could earn a dollar. He got right to cleaning his room and then said
Sam: Mom, I cleaned my room. Do I earn $20?
Me: No, you earn $1
Sam: Do I earn $10
Me: No, you earn $1
Sam: But I don't have a $20 bill in my wallet
Me: Well, neither do I. You only earned $1
Sam: Oh, fiddlesticks, I wanted $20
Me: If you want $20 you'll have to mow the lawn.
Sam: Nah, I'm too young to do that.
Hmmm....So much for that.
His birthday money went right into his wallet. I didn't even get to see it, and when he did let me look, he was very guarded. I think I have a money hoarder on my hands. If he keeps this up, he can support me when he grows up. From all the allowance he's earned off me, plus his birthday and Christmas money. I guess the days of slipping it into my wallet & telling them it's going in their bank account is over. It gets to their bank account eventually. Just consider it a small loan...My mother did that to us..eventually she ended up giving us money, so really it just went back and forth from wallet to wallet through out the years. So, I guess I'm just handing down tradition. Well, those days are over. I guess now they'll have to pay for their own movies and McDonalds, now that they have more money in their wallets than I do. Besides, most of it started out in my wallet anyway. So it all evens out in the long run.
Sam had a great birthday day. He got a present from his bus driver, his teacher, and his daycare lady. He had his favorite for dinner tonight, French fries, apple sauce, and deli ham. He had a two-layer rectangle shaped chocolate cake with white fluffy frosting and green & blue icing. He had 10 multi-colored candles, so it was quite colorful. He didn't eat any of it, he just likes the pomp and circumstance of the birthday cake tradition. Which is fine with the rest of it, it means we get to eat more cake. We do a pretty good job of it too.
He got a watch, blendy pens, fake money & cash drawer, and the Dr. Suess Happy Birthday To You book. If you ask him what his favorite presents are he'll tell you the watch & the real money. Yep, he's 10 alright!
The first 10 years of his life were definitely challenging and boy did they go by fast. I sure hope the next 10 don't go by as quickly.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
101
On May 9th this year my grandmother will be 101 years old. Last year she had a big huge party for her 100th birthday. Wow, she is pretty amazing.
Today I was flipping through the pages of my 11 year old's composition book from school. Here is what I found on one page.
My Summer - Wyoming
I went to Wyoming to celebrate my great grandma's 100th birthday. She rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Then the whole town made a talent show for her. The fire fighters also celebrate. Every fire truck engine, rescue units, and marshals went by the motel with their lights and sirens going off. Then 100 fireworks blew up the night.
Yeah, that is pretty much what happened last year. It was just cute to read it from the view point of a then 10 year old.
Today I was flipping through the pages of my 11 year old's composition book from school. Here is what I found on one page.
My Summer - Wyoming
I went to Wyoming to celebrate my great grandma's 100th birthday. She rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Then the whole town made a talent show for her. The fire fighters also celebrate. Every fire truck engine, rescue units, and marshals went by the motel with their lights and sirens going off. Then 100 fireworks blew up the night.
Yeah, that is pretty much what happened last year. It was just cute to read it from the view point of a then 10 year old.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
11....Wow, he's 11
My oldest cavechild turned 11. It is hard to believe that 11 years have gone by. He celebrated by going to a tubing hill with with two of his best friends, Lizzy and Anthony. He also invited two other kids, but they could not make it. The kids had a great time tubing. It was above zero degrees, and a bit windy, but not bad if you were moving and shaking.
I was a bit nervous that his friend Anthony would not make it to go sliding with him. Anthony's parent's don't speak English and it is hard to communicate getting together. But we made it. Good thing Anthony speaks clear English & has his own cell phone. So it was a bit challenging to get him to come with us, but we made it work.
Lizzy and Kevin are apparently good friends. Her mom got lost, so she showed up late, but she ended up catching up and having a great time with the boys. She's not a girly girl, so I was glad she had fun as she was the only girl that came with.
We dropped the kids off at their homes and came home. Kevin had a surprise visit from Grandma & Grandpa Bley, so he felt pretty special about that birthday surprise.
Last night we did our traditional watching the movie "The Titanic". 11 years ago, on Feb 6th, my hubby & I went and saw the movie "The Titanic". We caught the late movie, figuring it would be our last chance to go to the theater before the baby was born. It's a great movie and five hours after we got home from the movie, my water broke. 8 hours after my water broke, and Kevin was born. So it's tradition to watch "The Titanic".
All in all, it was a great 11th birthday. I just can't believe 11 years has gone by so quickly.
I was a bit nervous that his friend Anthony would not make it to go sliding with him. Anthony's parent's don't speak English and it is hard to communicate getting together. But we made it. Good thing Anthony speaks clear English & has his own cell phone. So it was a bit challenging to get him to come with us, but we made it work.
Lizzy and Kevin are apparently good friends. Her mom got lost, so she showed up late, but she ended up catching up and having a great time with the boys. She's not a girly girl, so I was glad she had fun as she was the only girl that came with.
We dropped the kids off at their homes and came home. Kevin had a surprise visit from Grandma & Grandpa Bley, so he felt pretty special about that birthday surprise.
Last night we did our traditional watching the movie "The Titanic". 11 years ago, on Feb 6th, my hubby & I went and saw the movie "The Titanic". We caught the late movie, figuring it would be our last chance to go to the theater before the baby was born. It's a great movie and five hours after we got home from the movie, my water broke. 8 hours after my water broke, and Kevin was born. So it's tradition to watch "The Titanic".
All in all, it was a great 11th birthday. I just can't believe 11 years has gone by so quickly.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Groundhog's Day
Today the Phil the Groundhog saw his shadow. Which means six more agonizing weeks of winter. I sure hope it isn't as harsh as January was, but it is only 4 degrees right now, with a windchill of -14 degrees. I'm not sure what Phil's odds are, but it seems like no matter what there are always six weeks of winter. I think we just need a reason to celebrate spring coming sooner than later, since January's are always so long and difficult. So we follow tradition and drag the little critter from hibernation and either blame him for a long winter or hail him for an early spring.
Groundhog's Day has always been a fun day in our household, as my mom's birthday is on Groundhog's day. I wonder if she saw her shadow today? Maybe she will bring us an early spring.
Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you didn't see your shadow!
Groundhog's Day has always been a fun day in our household, as my mom's birthday is on Groundhog's day. I wonder if she saw her shadow today? Maybe she will bring us an early spring.
Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you didn't see your shadow!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Crazy Week
It's been a busy week.
Our week started out with a trip to the MN Zoo. It was a beautiful day and the animals were having lots of fun. I got great zoo pictures. And as always, we always have fun at the zoo. Kevin's favorite things are the Komodo Dragon and then petting the sting rays and the sharks.
The oldest cavechild has been sick with a nasty head and chest cold. Poor guy was just feeling miserable. He ended up missing a whole entire week of school. I ended up taking him to Urgent Care twice last week. The first time he checked out fine, doctors orders were to just go home and ride out the virus. Nothing we can really do, except to keep on with the cold an cough medicine. Take a spoonful of honey to coat the throat, and get plenty of rest. Later in the week we went back. We ended up seeing the same Urgent Care doctor. Turns out he ended up with an ear infection and a bit of wheezing in his lungs. She prescribed him an antibiotic and instructions to feel better. The antibiotic has kicked in and he is feeling back to normal. So off to school tomorrow he will go.
The littlest cavechild had a big science test at school this week. So we were busy helping him study. He had to know all about bones in the human body. He said when he took the test he knew the answers and didn't just have to guess at them. Yay!
We shopped for Halloween costumes. Hit the jack pot. Kevin is going to be a ghastly ghoul. He'll be wearing rusty chains, a scary mask, and a sythe. He will be oh so scary. Sam is going to be a Clone trooper. He's pretty excited about that, since his latest fascination is Star Wars. This year for Halloween we are going to make our usual neighborhood candy run. Then we are going to drive to Summit Ave, in St. Paul. They have really big fancy mansions on Summit Ave. They are known for giving out the best candy and having the best Halloween decorations. So we are excited about going there.
I had a dental tooth cleaning appointment and you all know how I feel about sitting in that torture chair. I survived.
The week ended with the cave hubby's birthday. I was busy shopping for a great gift for him and planning his birthday date. I hired a new babysitter to watch the kids (the kids loved her). I bought the hubby a book all about the history of hockey. I also bought him a MN Wild hockey puck, a MN Wild Hockey t-shirt, and a MN Wild hockey jersey. Then I took him out for dinner and to a Wild hockey game. We had so much fun. This was my first Wild Hockey game that I have been too. Our seats were great. We had a great view of the ice and we were on the corner where the Wild shot twice at the goal. The Wild won 2-1. So the hubby had a great birthday.
Our week started out with a trip to the MN Zoo. It was a beautiful day and the animals were having lots of fun. I got great zoo pictures. And as always, we always have fun at the zoo. Kevin's favorite things are the Komodo Dragon and then petting the sting rays and the sharks.
The oldest cavechild has been sick with a nasty head and chest cold. Poor guy was just feeling miserable. He ended up missing a whole entire week of school. I ended up taking him to Urgent Care twice last week. The first time he checked out fine, doctors orders were to just go home and ride out the virus. Nothing we can really do, except to keep on with the cold an cough medicine. Take a spoonful of honey to coat the throat, and get plenty of rest. Later in the week we went back. We ended up seeing the same Urgent Care doctor. Turns out he ended up with an ear infection and a bit of wheezing in his lungs. She prescribed him an antibiotic and instructions to feel better. The antibiotic has kicked in and he is feeling back to normal. So off to school tomorrow he will go.
The littlest cavechild had a big science test at school this week. So we were busy helping him study. He had to know all about bones in the human body. He said when he took the test he knew the answers and didn't just have to guess at them. Yay!
We shopped for Halloween costumes. Hit the jack pot. Kevin is going to be a ghastly ghoul. He'll be wearing rusty chains, a scary mask, and a sythe. He will be oh so scary. Sam is going to be a Clone trooper. He's pretty excited about that, since his latest fascination is Star Wars. This year for Halloween we are going to make our usual neighborhood candy run. Then we are going to drive to Summit Ave, in St. Paul. They have really big fancy mansions on Summit Ave. They are known for giving out the best candy and having the best Halloween decorations. So we are excited about going there.
I had a dental tooth cleaning appointment and you all know how I feel about sitting in that torture chair. I survived.
The week ended with the cave hubby's birthday. I was busy shopping for a great gift for him and planning his birthday date. I hired a new babysitter to watch the kids (the kids loved her). I bought the hubby a book all about the history of hockey. I also bought him a MN Wild hockey puck, a MN Wild Hockey t-shirt, and a MN Wild hockey jersey. Then I took him out for dinner and to a Wild hockey game. We had so much fun. This was my first Wild Hockey game that I have been too. Our seats were great. We had a great view of the ice and we were on the corner where the Wild shot twice at the goal. The Wild won 2-1. So the hubby had a great birthday.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Happy Birthday to Me
Well, I did it. (I hope my sisters don't faint or pass out for too long when they read this. After all their years of trying to convince my children.)
Today I came clean and told my children my REAL age. My oldest child looked at me and said "really"? I said "really". Then he shrugged and acted like he had known all along I wasn't turning 29 today.
I then told my youngest child. He actually didn't believe me. He said "Ha, ha, good one mom. You are 29 today. You told me you were born in 1979." I told him that I was just kidding about all that. He still didn't believe. So then I told him that I was just pretending to be turning 29 just like he pretends that sometimes he is 2 years old.
They both gave me the O.K. to keep pretending. They are such good kids!
No matter how old I am....my two sisters will ALWAYS be older than me. Thanks for not being too mean to me on this birthday. The cards were hilarious. My oldest sister tried to get me with a big huge card filled with lots of teeny tiny confetti. Her plan failed though. The card was so big and thick that I was actually expecting two very big numbers to pop out to tell me how old I was turning. Instead the confetti did a good job of that. My mom and grandmother also chimed in the birthday banter. They got me pretty funny cards too. One thing our family has, is a good sense of humor.
Today I came clean and told my children my REAL age. My oldest child looked at me and said "really"? I said "really". Then he shrugged and acted like he had known all along I wasn't turning 29 today.
I then told my youngest child. He actually didn't believe me. He said "Ha, ha, good one mom. You are 29 today. You told me you were born in 1979." I told him that I was just kidding about all that. He still didn't believe. So then I told him that I was just pretending to be turning 29 just like he pretends that sometimes he is 2 years old.
They both gave me the O.K. to keep pretending. They are such good kids!
No matter how old I am....my two sisters will ALWAYS be older than me. Thanks for not being too mean to me on this birthday. The cards were hilarious. My oldest sister tried to get me with a big huge card filled with lots of teeny tiny confetti. Her plan failed though. The card was so big and thick that I was actually expecting two very big numbers to pop out to tell me how old I was turning. Instead the confetti did a good job of that. My mom and grandmother also chimed in the birthday banter. They got me pretty funny cards too. One thing our family has, is a good sense of humor.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Vacation Summary
http://www.flickr.com/photos/81125618@N00/
Here is the link to my Flickr photo's from Gracie's 100th and then the rest of our vacation. And then the link to our 4th of July celebration on picasa.
At the end of June we traveled to Wyoming for the 3 day celebration of my grandmother's 100th birthday. We also took our family vacation in south west Wyoming.
Here is the summary of our trip:
Day 1-3 Driving, driving, and more driving! We like to take a slower pace driving out since it's the beginning of vacation and we want to take time to be tourists. Stops included, Blue Earth MN, Wall Drug, SD, Buffalo, WY. We hit our final destination of Meeteetse in the late afternoon Friday & got ready for the birthday dinner. We got bussed out to the dinner location. The view was spectacular, and the dinner was really good. Later in the evening we watched the Birthday Fireworks show, went to Cowboy Bar ,and then sat around the camp fire at the Oasis with some of the relatives.
Day 4- Birthday Open House: We did the meet & greet with the birthday girl. We toured the museum and visited the Gracie exhibit. Later in the evening we went and listened to the people performing for open mic night. After it got dark we had to shut the microphone off and then we sat around the campfire and some people continued to play guitar through the night.
Day 5 - We attended a very special church service dedicated to the birthday girl. After church was over, we watched the rebellious young 100 year old get her annual Harley ride. She hopped on the back of her friend's Harley, smiled, and away they went! They had a good ride and everyone cheered them on. Then we had a big BBQ and finished up visiting with family. Near sundown I took my nephew's new wife up Wood River Road for a wild life drive. Later in the evening we joined the birthday girl and other folks at the Cowboy Bar for a night cap.
Day 6 - Our last day in Meeteetse. We visited the whole day with the grandma's. The kids enjoyed playing with their cousin Alice. Later that evening we went to dinner at the Cowboy Bar/Outlaw Cafe for our annual order of BBQ ribs. Yummy, the best ever. Gracie, Helen, Spuddie, and Phil accompanied us. I had to practically wrestle my mother and threaten the waiter just to have dinner be our treat.
Day 7 - We departed the grandma's and headed south of Jackson Hole, Wy. We made a stop at Shoshone for the best ever Malt. I had a chocolate & huckleberry malt and Ken had a mint and chocolate malt. Heaven in a glass! We toured Atlantic City and South Pass City. In South Pass City, Ken ran over a log and we ended up getting our van checked out in the South Pass City garage. We were sure glad to see that 1 out of the "about 7" population was a mechanic. He gave the van a check and informed us no damage was done, we were good to go. So onward to our cabin in the Wind River Mountains.
Day 8 - Toured the Mountain Man Museum in Pinedale, Wy. Toured the dam at Freemont Lake, and went fishing. Ken caught a nice sized lake trout.
Day 9 - We went hiking in the mountains. I ended up out hiking all the guys. The trail was pretty steep and the boys got tired out. Ken ended up having a stomach ache. Hiking back up hill was a bit challenging. We started to get eaten up by mosquitoes and went through plenty of water. So I was a bit glad we didn't make it all the way down the path.
Day 10 - Horseback riding! We had so much fun doing this. This was the first time the kids have been on a horse by themselves. They did really good too. Sam was pretty nervous beforehand, but once he met his horse, he felt better about it. He ended up really loving it. Kevin was a natural. He had so much fun. He even had fun flirting with the blond trail guide. I hadn't been on a horse in over 20 years. It felt good being back on one. Ken did good too. He rode horses a few times as a teenager, and hadn't been on one since.
After the horse ride, we went on the ski lift to the top of the hill. We had a 360 view of the area. It was pretty breath taking. The ski lift operator took his mountain bike up with him and rode down the hill. CRAZY!!! He made it down alive and then went back up for more with the group of people that went up the ski lift after us.
Day 11 - Boo Hoo! Vacation is over. :( We packed up and headed home. We decided to drive straight through home. Ken drove the first 11 hours and I drove the last 8 1/2. We stopped in Hot Springs, SD for a picnic and stretching of the legs. So we walked around the area a little bit.
We made it home safe and sound and weary travelers. Sunday we just spent the day catching up on much needed sleep and unpacking.
It was nice having a 4 day work week, but it was hard to get back into the groove after such a nice long vacation.
For the 4th of July, we went the Air Guard Museum at Fort Snelling. Then we went to the actual fort at Fort Snelling and celebrated our 4th there. It was a good time. In the evening we sat in our cul-de-sac and watched our neighbor set off fireworks he had purchased in WI. It was a pretty good show. Today (July 5) we went back to the Air Guard Museum so that Kevin could sit in the cockpits of the planes since they were closed up the day before. He was in military aircraft heaven. He got to sit in the cockpit of an F4 Phantom, a Hercules, the Mustang, and a Huey. He had a really big smile on his face. He also got to talk to a man who had served in both WW2 and Vietnam. He had piloted 11 different aircraft in his military career. Kevin was quite impressed talking to him and he enjoyed talking to a youngster with so much enthusiasm for the air craft. Sam was bored the whole time, but came along because he's such a good sport.
 |
| 4th of July, 2008 |
Here is the link to my Flickr photo's from Gracie's 100th and then the rest of our vacation. And then the link to our 4th of July celebration on picasa.
At the end of June we traveled to Wyoming for the 3 day celebration of my grandmother's 100th birthday. We also took our family vacation in south west Wyoming.
Here is the summary of our trip:
Day 1-3 Driving, driving, and more driving! We like to take a slower pace driving out since it's the beginning of vacation and we want to take time to be tourists. Stops included, Blue Earth MN, Wall Drug, SD, Buffalo, WY. We hit our final destination of Meeteetse in the late afternoon Friday & got ready for the birthday dinner. We got bussed out to the dinner location. The view was spectacular, and the dinner was really good. Later in the evening we watched the Birthday Fireworks show, went to Cowboy Bar ,and then sat around the camp fire at the Oasis with some of the relatives.
Day 4- Birthday Open House: We did the meet & greet with the birthday girl. We toured the museum and visited the Gracie exhibit. Later in the evening we went and listened to the people performing for open mic night. After it got dark we had to shut the microphone off and then we sat around the campfire and some people continued to play guitar through the night.
Day 5 - We attended a very special church service dedicated to the birthday girl. After church was over, we watched the rebellious young 100 year old get her annual Harley ride. She hopped on the back of her friend's Harley, smiled, and away they went! They had a good ride and everyone cheered them on. Then we had a big BBQ and finished up visiting with family. Near sundown I took my nephew's new wife up Wood River Road for a wild life drive. Later in the evening we joined the birthday girl and other folks at the Cowboy Bar for a night cap.
Day 6 - Our last day in Meeteetse. We visited the whole day with the grandma's. The kids enjoyed playing with their cousin Alice. Later that evening we went to dinner at the Cowboy Bar/Outlaw Cafe for our annual order of BBQ ribs. Yummy, the best ever. Gracie, Helen, Spuddie, and Phil accompanied us. I had to practically wrestle my mother and threaten the waiter just to have dinner be our treat.
Day 7 - We departed the grandma's and headed south of Jackson Hole, Wy. We made a stop at Shoshone for the best ever Malt. I had a chocolate & huckleberry malt and Ken had a mint and chocolate malt. Heaven in a glass! We toured Atlantic City and South Pass City. In South Pass City, Ken ran over a log and we ended up getting our van checked out in the South Pass City garage. We were sure glad to see that 1 out of the "about 7" population was a mechanic. He gave the van a check and informed us no damage was done, we were good to go. So onward to our cabin in the Wind River Mountains.
Day 8 - Toured the Mountain Man Museum in Pinedale, Wy. Toured the dam at Freemont Lake, and went fishing. Ken caught a nice sized lake trout.
Day 9 - We went hiking in the mountains. I ended up out hiking all the guys. The trail was pretty steep and the boys got tired out. Ken ended up having a stomach ache. Hiking back up hill was a bit challenging. We started to get eaten up by mosquitoes and went through plenty of water. So I was a bit glad we didn't make it all the way down the path.
Day 10 - Horseback riding! We had so much fun doing this. This was the first time the kids have been on a horse by themselves. They did really good too. Sam was pretty nervous beforehand, but once he met his horse, he felt better about it. He ended up really loving it. Kevin was a natural. He had so much fun. He even had fun flirting with the blond trail guide. I hadn't been on a horse in over 20 years. It felt good being back on one. Ken did good too. He rode horses a few times as a teenager, and hadn't been on one since.
After the horse ride, we went on the ski lift to the top of the hill. We had a 360 view of the area. It was pretty breath taking. The ski lift operator took his mountain bike up with him and rode down the hill. CRAZY!!! He made it down alive and then went back up for more with the group of people that went up the ski lift after us.
Day 11 - Boo Hoo! Vacation is over. :( We packed up and headed home. We decided to drive straight through home. Ken drove the first 11 hours and I drove the last 8 1/2. We stopped in Hot Springs, SD for a picnic and stretching of the legs. So we walked around the area a little bit.
We made it home safe and sound and weary travelers. Sunday we just spent the day catching up on much needed sleep and unpacking.
It was nice having a 4 day work week, but it was hard to get back into the groove after such a nice long vacation.
For the 4th of July, we went the Air Guard Museum at Fort Snelling. Then we went to the actual fort at Fort Snelling and celebrated our 4th there. It was a good time. In the evening we sat in our cul-de-sac and watched our neighbor set off fireworks he had purchased in WI. It was a pretty good show. Today (July 5) we went back to the Air Guard Museum so that Kevin could sit in the cockpits of the planes since they were closed up the day before. He was in military aircraft heaven. He got to sit in the cockpit of an F4 Phantom, a Hercules, the Mustang, and a Huey. He had a really big smile on his face. He also got to talk to a man who had served in both WW2 and Vietnam. He had piloted 11 different aircraft in his military career. Kevin was quite impressed talking to him and he enjoyed talking to a youngster with so much enthusiasm for the air craft. Sam was bored the whole time, but came along because he's such a good sport.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Happy Centennial Birthday Grandma Gracie
100 years ago today my Grandmother Gracie was born. She resides in the same town in which she was born. Talk about a woman who has seen change. Many of the things she used to own and photographs of days gone by are on display in a museum. My mother has scanned many photographs of the "good ole days". I enjoy viewing them from time to time. Amazed at the dresses, the hats, and the hair styles the women of the old west and frontier days wore. They were a very classy group of women.
My Grandmother has lived an amazing life. I am not sure what exactly her key to finding the fountain of youth has been. I attribute it to many things. I think the biggest thing is she has the spirit many women would love to capture. When people meet her she leaves a lasting impression. She is the coolest woman that I have ever met and I am lucky to call her Grandma.
This morning I called her to wish her a very happy birthday. I was her first caller. I'm glad I caught her when I did. I'm sure her phone was ringing all day long with birthday wishes from relatives and friends that adore her. She had plans to celebrate through out the day and the week. She's a very busy lady.
As we were talking I was telling her about my Kick Ball team. She said it sounded like fun and if she was 30 again she'd love to play on my team. I told she could still play, we'd just put her in the outfield and make sure she didn't have to do much running. She figured we'd better put her so far in the outfield that the other team wouldn't even know she was part of the opposing team. Then she said that lately these days she tires more easily and that was frustrating. She guessed now that she is 100 she'd best slow down the pace a tad bit. I snickered at her and reminded her that she indeed was 100 years old. In which she replied "Yep, you better live it up while you can, once you hit 100 it all starts to go downhill."
I thought I was going to pee my pants when she said that. I laughed so hard. I think that is the most positive endearing advice I have ever heard.
She is having a great big celebration in June when family and friends can take some extra time to spend with her and celebrate her life with her. I am looking forward to that. This time when I visit I am going to carry my video camera with me at all times. You just never know when she will get a wild hair and decide to let someone take her for a motorcycle ride. She did that last summer while were visiting. We had camera's, but only to take still photo's.
I think the two photographs of her I enjoy the most that show the true Gracie. The most amazing woman I know, are these two.
These show the classic yet strong woman she is. I am happy to call her my hero.
My Grandmother has lived an amazing life. I am not sure what exactly her key to finding the fountain of youth has been. I attribute it to many things. I think the biggest thing is she has the spirit many women would love to capture. When people meet her she leaves a lasting impression. She is the coolest woman that I have ever met and I am lucky to call her Grandma.
This morning I called her to wish her a very happy birthday. I was her first caller. I'm glad I caught her when I did. I'm sure her phone was ringing all day long with birthday wishes from relatives and friends that adore her. She had plans to celebrate through out the day and the week. She's a very busy lady.
As we were talking I was telling her about my Kick Ball team. She said it sounded like fun and if she was 30 again she'd love to play on my team. I told she could still play, we'd just put her in the outfield and make sure she didn't have to do much running. She figured we'd better put her so far in the outfield that the other team wouldn't even know she was part of the opposing team. Then she said that lately these days she tires more easily and that was frustrating. She guessed now that she is 100 she'd best slow down the pace a tad bit. I snickered at her and reminded her that she indeed was 100 years old. In which she replied "Yep, you better live it up while you can, once you hit 100 it all starts to go downhill."
I thought I was going to pee my pants when she said that. I laughed so hard. I think that is the most positive endearing advice I have ever heard.
She is having a great big celebration in June when family and friends can take some extra time to spend with her and celebrate her life with her. I am looking forward to that. This time when I visit I am going to carry my video camera with me at all times. You just never know when she will get a wild hair and decide to let someone take her for a motorcycle ride. She did that last summer while were visiting. We had camera's, but only to take still photo's.
I think the two photographs of her I enjoy the most that show the true Gracie. The most amazing woman I know, are these two.
These show the classic yet strong woman she is. I am happy to call her my hero.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
My baby is 9
Yesterday was the official turning 9 day. Happy Gave Birthday to me.
I always have a hard time on the kids birthdays. I just hate the fact that I can not stop time and they inevitably grow up right before my very eyes. Each year goes faster and faster. Time slips away incredibly fast. So last night to reflect on days past and babyhood lost, I watched 3 hours of video from when they were wee little ones.
I think this poem written by a friend of mine describes it best:
Sand Eaters
By Sasha Fletcher
Days start sooner and sooner
the spinning earth moves too fast;
Night shadows earlier than ever before!
Hour glass drippings
turn to minutes then seconds
as sand eaters devour the time.
Little gold diggers
grab and steal treasures
gulping and chewing
numbers painted in squares on the wall.
Eating the little grains of sand
--My Time!
the sand eaters never get full.
My children on the other hand love the fact that they are getting older. As they get older they become more independent, more bossy, more smelly, smarter, bigger (they stand up to my shoulders now), and did I mention more smelly?
The birthday boy received presents from other people through out the day. To them let me just say thank you. Thank you for the remote control car of which I ended up sitting on the remote and breaking one of the knobs off of because the kids left it in a great spot for me to sit on and now the stupid car will only drive backwards. Also, thank you for the water tube gun that he filled up in the bathroom sink. I walked by just in time to prevent the "this will shoot the ceiling with water" demonstration. He looked at me with the "rats foiled again by the mean mom" look, emptied out the water tube, and decided to use it for a cane, and hobble around like Yoda the rest of the night.
He has by the way changed his name from Charlotte the spider on Charlotte's Web, to Chewy from Star Wars. Then when you ask him where he is from, he will reply "Italy". He had to do a research project for school and well, he's learned a lot about Italy. Apparently enough to pretend that he lives there.
I always have a hard time on the kids birthdays. I just hate the fact that I can not stop time and they inevitably grow up right before my very eyes. Each year goes faster and faster. Time slips away incredibly fast. So last night to reflect on days past and babyhood lost, I watched 3 hours of video from when they were wee little ones.
I think this poem written by a friend of mine describes it best:
Sand Eaters
By Sasha Fletcher
Days start sooner and sooner
the spinning earth moves too fast;
Night shadows earlier than ever before!
Hour glass drippings
turn to minutes then seconds
as sand eaters devour the time.
Little gold diggers
grab and steal treasures
gulping and chewing
numbers painted in squares on the wall.
Eating the little grains of sand
--My Time!
the sand eaters never get full.
My children on the other hand love the fact that they are getting older. As they get older they become more independent, more bossy, more smelly, smarter, bigger (they stand up to my shoulders now), and did I mention more smelly?
The birthday boy received presents from other people through out the day. To them let me just say thank you. Thank you for the remote control car of which I ended up sitting on the remote and breaking one of the knobs off of because the kids left it in a great spot for me to sit on and now the stupid car will only drive backwards. Also, thank you for the water tube gun that he filled up in the bathroom sink. I walked by just in time to prevent the "this will shoot the ceiling with water" demonstration. He looked at me with the "rats foiled again by the mean mom" look, emptied out the water tube, and decided to use it for a cane, and hobble around like Yoda the rest of the night.
He has by the way changed his name from Charlotte the spider on Charlotte's Web, to Chewy from Star Wars. Then when you ask him where he is from, he will reply "Italy". He had to do a research project for school and well, he's learned a lot about Italy. Apparently enough to pretend that he lives there.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Birthday Extgravaganza
My littlest caveman turns nine on Monday. So this weekend we celebrated the last of the single digit years.
We went to a hotel with a pool per the birthday boys request. I survived a whole 36 hours without my laptop! I spent all morning getting everyone ready. Then did some last minute birthday shopping (which was good, cuz he liked those gifts the best).
In the afternoon we checked into the hotel. We went swimming right away. We spent about 2 hours in the pool and today my arms are a bit sore. It was nice because we were the only ones in the pool the whole time. Which was perfect for the 4 of us. We brought our noodles, dive rings, and some cloth floaty round type toys. So we were throwing those back & forth across the pool to each other. Kevin was pretending we were battleships and trying to sink us. We forgot to bring the goggles, so the kids were spazzing about that. Luckily the hotel had an extra pair, but they were diving goggles, so they cover the nose. So they took turns wearing them for a while.
After swimming we changed. I took a shower cuz I went into the hot tub and apparently there must have been too much chlorine cuz when my skin dried it turned white and was very itchy. But that didn't happen to anyone else. Not to mention my hair was really sticky. So after my shower, Kevin & I ran to get McDonalds for the kids. The boys had McDonalds and then we did the cake & presents. Sam really liked his loot. I was very disappointed on how the cake turned out. I made it from scratch and it was dairy free. It was a bit dry. Not moist like my other cakes I have made. I think next time I make it I will modify the recipe.
After all that we went and played $10 worth of quarters in the video games at the hotel. Then the kids settled in for bed. The hubby and I went to Green Mill right next door to the hotel. All we had to do was walk across the parking lot. Sweet. So we took our cell phone and left a cell phone with Kevin. Sam fell asleep right away & Kevin called us every 2 minutes. So DH & I tried to enjoy an hour together. We had buffalo wings, and dinner & a couple of beers. We got back & Kevin fell asleep right after we tucked him back into bed.
Then this morning, we went out to breakfast at Denny's. We all had HUGE breakfasts. I'm still not hungry. Then we took Sam to swim lessons, came home after that & took naps.
So it's been a busy weekend for us.
Here is a pic of the happy birthday boy.
We went to a hotel with a pool per the birthday boys request. I survived a whole 36 hours without my laptop! I spent all morning getting everyone ready. Then did some last minute birthday shopping (which was good, cuz he liked those gifts the best).
In the afternoon we checked into the hotel. We went swimming right away. We spent about 2 hours in the pool and today my arms are a bit sore. It was nice because we were the only ones in the pool the whole time. Which was perfect for the 4 of us. We brought our noodles, dive rings, and some cloth floaty round type toys. So we were throwing those back & forth across the pool to each other. Kevin was pretending we were battleships and trying to sink us. We forgot to bring the goggles, so the kids were spazzing about that. Luckily the hotel had an extra pair, but they were diving goggles, so they cover the nose. So they took turns wearing them for a while.
After swimming we changed. I took a shower cuz I went into the hot tub and apparently there must have been too much chlorine cuz when my skin dried it turned white and was very itchy. But that didn't happen to anyone else. Not to mention my hair was really sticky. So after my shower, Kevin & I ran to get McDonalds for the kids. The boys had McDonalds and then we did the cake & presents. Sam really liked his loot. I was very disappointed on how the cake turned out. I made it from scratch and it was dairy free. It was a bit dry. Not moist like my other cakes I have made. I think next time I make it I will modify the recipe.
After all that we went and played $10 worth of quarters in the video games at the hotel. Then the kids settled in for bed. The hubby and I went to Green Mill right next door to the hotel. All we had to do was walk across the parking lot. Sweet. So we took our cell phone and left a cell phone with Kevin. Sam fell asleep right away & Kevin called us every 2 minutes. So DH & I tried to enjoy an hour together. We had buffalo wings, and dinner & a couple of beers. We got back & Kevin fell asleep right after we tucked him back into bed.
Then this morning, we went out to breakfast at Denny's. We all had HUGE breakfasts. I'm still not hungry. Then we took Sam to swim lessons, came home after that & took naps.
So it's been a busy weekend for us.
Here is a pic of the happy birthday boy.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
My baby is 10
10 years ago I birthed my first caveman child. Wow, where did the last 10 years go? All day I just kept thinking about the day he was born and the last 10 years. So it was just a bittersweet day. He was so excited to be turning 10. He had a great day. Everyone at school wished him a happy birthday and he just had everything go his way. No homework was given out either. After all your birthday should be a happy day.
Tomorrow I will be busy cleaning up the mess I made in the kitchen from all the birthday preparations and post birthday bash.
Tomorrow I will be busy cleaning up the mess I made in the kitchen from all the birthday preparations and post birthday bash.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
