September 15, 2008

Nothing really all that new has happened since last time I posted. I am busy getting ready for a garage sale that I am having here with Trish this weekend as part of the Cannon Falls City-Wide Sales. I guess there are over 100 sales. Wow! I think that is pretty good for our little town. I just hope that people will find it worth it to come out there. If not, I think all the clothes are going to go to a consignment shop.

Ashlyn really didn't want to take the time to take a First Day of School picture. She was eager to get to class so she pouted. That's okay though...this is a typical look for her unfortunately. :)



This next picture is maybe a little creepy for some. This past Saturday night while it was raining a little, I peeked my head out the sliding door in the basement and found this guy right at the door. This was about 5 minutes after I picked one up off of the garage floor and put him outside. I remember when I was younger and I would spend the summers at my Dad's place. They had a big in-ground pool. Almost everyday my step-brother and I would be out there fishing out the salamanders, frogs, turtles, mice and sometimes even snakes out of the pool before we could use it. I think I remember my step-sister out with us too once-in-a-while.
I saw this guy the other night and had a flash-back. With the pond close-by, I was wondering if I was ever going to see some of these.

And speaking of the pond...today I tried to get a shot of the 8 ducks hanging out in the water. Once you start driving by, they all scatter, but I tried. I can't stand that green algae stuff on the top of that water.

Well, that's about it for now. I am thinking it's time for bed. Goodnite!

Tooth - Less

September 8, 2008

Luke finally lost his first tooth last night. I saw the other tooth coming in behind it so I just pulled the other right out. I did not realize how loose it really was. The tooth fairy came last night right before I went to bed and left him 4 quarters! She is the best!

Most of August - A Little Bit of Now

September 5, 2008

So, I know...I have been a horrible blogger lately. There has been a lot going on. On August 1st, we closed on our first house owned in Minnesota. We moved in that same weekend...I had the flu. Yep...I was sick. We had a ton of help though, thank goodness. I felt horrible that weekend. Where would we be without family??? We love the house, although the payments are going to be quite scary for a little while. Still haven't had to pay electric or gas. Yikes. We are still getting this put in order. I am planning on painting and bordering a few rooms and we still have pictures to put up. It'll get done. I haven't taken any pictures yet. I wanted to wait until I got a few rooms done. We also have to paint the front door and man doors on the garage.

Funny...for as busy as it seems I was, I don't think we did anything real significant. Just work and house stuff.

Chloe is growing fast. She is teething right now...has been for some time now. She is getting all 4 molars and 2 canine teeth. It has not been fun. She's got an attitude now. Great. :) Chloe is going to go to ECFE on Thursday nights starting in a couple weeks. That should be interesting.

Ashlyn started dance this past Thursday and I think she likes it. I hope so because I paid for half the year already. She's cute in her little outfit. She start preschool this coming Tuesday. I can't wait. :) She met her teacher last night and is all set to go.

Luke started 1st grade this past Tuesday. He is liking it so far, but you can tell he's just tired by the time 6 or 7 rolls around. Talk about cranky. Our new driveway is so long now, he rides his bike up to the end and leaves it along side the driveway then he rides it back after the bus drops him off. He learned on his first day about being peanut-free. His class has the 4 1st grade kids in it that have peanut allergies. They put them all together in a class on purpose so they can watch closer. I am glad they do that...however, my son only likes peanut butter sandwiches on his field trips. I guess I will be ordering the schools. It has taught me how to read labels. :) It makes me feel good that they care enough to watch them. When I was sick with my allergies and Asthma in school - no one really cared back then. Luke also is so excited because he finally has a loose tooth on the bottom. It'll be out within the next week, I hope.

Here are some pictures from.....well, since last time.

Luke and Ashlyn taking care of the dishes for me at the farm.

Sophie trying to escape to Uncle Lincoln who was standing right outside talking to Cary. We babysat overnight one weekend. (This pic is in the new kitchen looking out onto the deck.)

Chloe trying on Mommy's sunglasses. Here we were at Sophie's 1st birthday party.

Luke's 1st day of 1st grade. (The front door that we need to repaint - in a different color)

Gettin' on the Bus

Ashlyn ready for dance class.

The next photos are of our "photo shoot" with Chelsie. They were done the end of June, but I didn't have them back yet to post with the last entry.


I think that's about all I have now. I am trying to get the house in order so we can have a housewarming party in October. I am also preparing for my garage sale with my BFF Trisha. It's part of the Cannon Falls City-wide sales on Sept. 20th. I hope we have a good turn-out. We have a ton of girls clothes up to 3T-4T and some boy stuff. I mean a ton!

My next goal is to get this house in order to take picture and hopefully that'll be the next post.
I will apologize now for any miss-spellings or weird mistakes. I'm not goin' back to correct them tonight. :)

150th Quilt

July 24, 2008

I just wanted to add this post too...this is a picture of the quilt that some ladies at our church put together for the 150th Anniversary. My mother-in-law was a part of that group. You can't see them, but on the sides of the quilt in the yellowish part, there is a last name on each little square in yellow thread. The last names are those of the member households of the church. It's a lot more beautiful in person.

July

July 24, 2008

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would give some quick updates......

Over the forth, we were busy as always. The day before we went to the Cannon Valley Fair so the kids could do the Pedal Tractor Pull and then spend 4 hours on rides because it was wrist band day. They had a blast. Chloe stayed with grandma. Ashlyn was first on the pull and she did good and went onto the next round, but she didn't get as far. She was not far from 3rd place though...that girl could go. Luke didn't go all the way through the first time, but he did good for his first time, I thought. He probably would have gone the whole way, but his foot slipped off the pedal and then he couldn't get going again. We'll have to practice up for next year.

Ashlyn

Luke

Luke & Ashlyn on the Ferris Wheel

Luke & Ashlyn on a kiddy tilt-a-whirl with some friends.

Then the forth of July came and we spent the day at the parade, then at great-grandma Helen & great-grandpa Kerry's for lunch. We went home for chores and then headed out to see fireworks at the fair grounds.

Getting their candy bags ready for the parade. Lincoln's grandma lives on the parade route in an apartment so she saved us spots under a tree. It was the greatest spot ever!

My patriotic baby.

Fireworks. People were setting them off at their houses all around us. This is before the real ones even started. I laugh at this picture all the time...Luke is so dramatic. :)

Then a couple days later, our niece, Josie Rose, was baptized. It was a nice service and a great lunch afterward. She did so well. Especially since it was so hot in the church.

Pastor Nick introducing Spring Garden's newest member. Her sponsors are her Uncle Justan and Aunt Tara.

Then of course still going on in July is T-ball. It's over next week already. Luke is doing great. They started pitching to the kids now and he loves it. This picture is from July 14th...my 31st birthday, but this past Monday, he had a great hit.

Yep, I spent my birthday at T-ball. Funny, that's where I spent my anniversary too. :) That's okay though! It's fun. Lincoln got me patio furniture for the deck for the new house and Mom & Kerry got me a folding picnic table! I can't wait. I also got a lot of gift cards and cash to help out with some house stuff. I'll probably be using those to outfit the bathrooms and to get new flatware.
Lincoln is still playing softball every Thursday...usually 2 games each Thursday. I haven't gone as much as I wanted to this summer. Just too busy.


The rest of July was loaded with everything. I was crazy busy at church getting ready for our 150th celebration along with trying my best to help my sisters-in-law plan a baby shower for Lincoln's sister. They did most of the work planning so I tried to make sure I did a lot at the shower so I felt like I helped. :)

I wish I had pictures (I should scan the paper), but our church's 150th celebration was this past Sunday the 20th. It was a great day. There were probably close to 500 people there for the service and the afternoon events. We had a huge picture done, a hog roast and a play. Clinton and Bonnie were in the play. Clinton and I...and his cousin Jenny, were in the Swedish Singers group. Yep...I sang Swedish...in front of a bunch of Swedes. I'm German. Oh-well. :) It was a really fun day. I was just amazed at all the people that came to join us. I think Lincoln's grandma was really taking it all in. Hopefully we made her proud.
The day before that, Saturday, we had a baby shower brunch for Serene. She was in town this past weekend. That was a ton of fun too. Almost everyone we invited came and there were hardly any leftovers. The games were fun and she got a lot of great stuff she needed and wanted including a start to her baby library! Serene is due in early November.

Serene and her cousin Monica. The the left is Lincoln's grandma Addie and to the right is Monica's daughter, Ella. Sophie is in the lower part of the photo. I think she's probably reading the books.

Look at how happy this girl is!!!! So excited for her!

Chloe after the shower. She still like to sit in the Bumbo at grandma Chris' house. She slept through the whole shower which was actually nice because she is getting her molars and is a clingy bear right now. I love it sometimes, but that was not the day for it. Grandma Chris worked her baby magic and get her to go to sleep.

Just a random picture of my daughter in my shoes...dancing.

In June, we had our pictures taken at church for the new directory that is being put together. Of course they try and sell you thousand of dollars worth of stuff. I did purchase 3 pictures (I got a discount because I am staff) and thought they were okay. I got one of Chloe because it actually looked good and I never got her 1 year picture rescheduled after she screamed the first time around.

This one was ordered to go in our new house...when I get the time to frame it and hang it. I believe this is the pose we picked, but in color, for the directory.

So, July has been busy. Now that my busy time at church is done, I am focusing my extra time on packing the house and getting ready to move next week. We close on the 1st of August. I am taking the 4th - 8th off of church except to do the bulletin so I can unpack and clean at the new house and clean at the old one. I've kind of stopped killing myself cleaning every week knowing that I can do a major clean in this house after all the stuff is gone. It's sick, but I love moving only because it forces you to go through everything and figure out what to do with it...keep it (resurrect it) or throw it...or sell it in the garage sale that you think you are going to have, but don't have time to have it. :) I've also been busy having my teeth worked on...fillings and oh, yeah...the root canal I had done today. Ouch. And that ouch isn't because of any pain...it was the price tag. Maybe they can just take all my teeth out, give me fakes and be done with it. It's inevitable that my teeth will just get worse. It may save me a lot of $ in the long run.

I guess that's all for now. The next time I post it'll be from the new house. Until then....

My Grandma Ethel

July 1, 2008

I have always loved the 4th of July...as long as I can remember. My grandma Ethel (my dad's mom) was born on the 4th of July. That woman was the best. She babysat me when I was a baby up through when I started going to school. I believe that is why we had this special bond that I always cherished. A bond I wish my kids could have with any of their grandparents. I miss her so much. I can't even remember the exact day she passed away, but I know it was in May of 1996. I remember her funeral was right before Memorial weekend. I also remember what a shock it was to have to say goodbye....I had just said good bye to my grandfather (my mom's dad) 3 months before. Whether my parents (meaning my real mom and my real dad) agree with me or not, I believe that I would be a different person now if I would not have had her and my aunt supporting me...I don't remember any divorce stuff...I barely remember going to school back in Brooklyn Center. I credit my parents for handling themselves with me in mind and I credit my grandma and my aunt for being there. I think if I would have remembered all that stuff...I wouldn't be as grounded as I am.

Every 4th of July, I have a secret memorial for her as I sit and think of her with every firework that goes off. That first 4th without her was the toughest ever. That year I went to St. Paul to the State Capital with my boyfriend at the time and for some reason I remember that one like it was yesterday...because it was only a couple months after I had to say goodbye to grandma.

I feel guilty because I haven't been to her grave site since the summer before I got engaged to Lincoln. The last time I went there was...4th of July weekend back in 2000 on the way home from the lake. I need to go back there.

I'm a little sad still...because I miss her, but I think of the 4th of July more as a celebration of who she was and what a great woman she was. (well, besides that it's Independence Day :)
I'm glad the 4th has a different meaning for me...because it's a meaning for only me as I sit among everyone in town watching fireworks.

(wow - kinda a corny post. :) Ah - Oh-well.)

Have a Happy 4th of July, everyone!!
Happy Birthday, Gramma Ethel!

Pictures

July 1, 2008

You should check out the blog at the right named, "Treeline Photography". Chelsie come down again, a year after her last time, and took some awesome pictures...as usual. I loved having her down here. Thanks for a great time, Chelsie, and thanks so much for making the trip!! I LOVE your work!