Biking

My three guys!

Ready to ride! 

Loaded and ready to head to the starting point--26 miles away!

The cool breeze coming from the tunnels feels GREAT

Light at the end of the tunnel

Taking a break

Waiting for our cheese curds and sweet potato fries.
Sounds like a high energy snack, huh?!

On our way to MN, we stopped in WI and biked a 26 mile trail.  Three years ago we had biked the same trail.  It was really fun to see how much the boys had changed since then.  That summer when we last biked the trail Carlin was just a little shorter than me.  This year he is a couple inches shorter than Wayne.  He was among the last to finish last time.  This year he was the first one back.  This year Kyle is just a bit shorter than me.  Last time he had a single speed bike.  His bike this year was much easier!
The country side was beautiful.  The temperature was about 66 when we started.  It did warm up and got a bit humid.  When we would get close to the tunnels we could feel the cool air from the tunnel coming down the trail.  The last tunnel felt great.  The ceiling drips water and we were pretty hot and sweaty so it felt really good.  (There isn't much order to these pictures and I was getting annoyed trying to figure it out!)

Graduation Party

We had a great day for Deidre's graduation and party. Rain was predicted for both events but it was so kind as to hold off until after. Wayne and I both had a good time getting ready for the event. While I cleaned the freezers in the garage, he worked on a chess table that he was building. (He's got his priorities straight!) Actually the chess set ended up being a hit. Several would stop by to play for a bit!

Wayne had the garage looking pretty good and we used one side of it to set up the food tables. Just outside the garage we had a tent set up. It was just a great day for seeing everyone and catching up a bit. I think it seemed a little unreal to Deidre that all this was for her. She was pretty pleased and is VERY happy to be finished with high school! She just sounds like a different kid this summer. I say "sounds" because she has been at Gma's and Gpa's since her party.

Wayne's Mom and Dad got to come on Tuesday before graduation. They were an incredible help--and tried to help me keep my sanity. Thank you for coming! His older brother, Kevin, came and brought Nick and Amanda. And Amanda brought sweet little Kylie! Thank you Elliott for sharing them with us! Warren and Lauren got to come for the graduation ceremony. Next year will be our turn to go to their place for graduation! And thank you, Elizabeth, for the outfit you got Deidre for her party! It was so cute on her--even without shoes!

I'll post a few pictures from that big day. Guess I'll post pictures of the guests attending graduation first! lol

Catching up!

Please bear with me while I try to update our blog with past events. Hopefully I will do that frequently here since our blog has grown quite stale over the past year. I finally feel like we are coming up for air again! It will be good to see you all again!

She Graduated!

I was trying out the telephoto lens

I had borrowed. We sat clear at the top of

the bleachers and across the football field from

this stand! Not bad!

400+ kids filing out of the gym!There she is! She was helping with the boy next to her.
Walking up on stage to get her
certificate

Friday was Deidre's graduation! It has been quite a trip down memory lane. I'm one that always, ALWAYS puts things off to the last minute--and then go crazy trying to get them finished. My delayed project this time was putting together a scrapbook for Deidre. It was just her school years--but she started preschool at the ISD (Intermediate School District) at age three! It was fun taking a trip down memory lane and seeing just how far she has come.

When Deidre was in first grade she had an aide start with her. That was a tremendous help. From second grade through fifth she had one aide with her the whole time. We still claim that special lady as a very special part of our lives. Middle school and high school were a struggle, but she made it through.

This next year Deidre will be moving on to an adventure that we are all very excited about. She will be starting a work training program through a transition center in the area. For the first time in many years we feel very positive about the assistance she will be receiving. She is excited too, that she will be training with others that understand her!

It just feels unreal to be at this stage of life with a graduate! It seems like just a couple years ago we were laughing about the fact that she would graduate in the year 2010! And here it is already!

Her party was loads of preparation, but the actual event was so much fun! Wayne and I both enjoyed it--and are already looking forward to doing this again! My only thing is--I just wish I could hang onto this time a little longer! I'm anxious to see where they go in life--but I enjoy this time, too!

How Times Have Changed

Remember the days when going on long (or short) car rides meant counting license plates, singing songs, finding things that start with ABC, annoying your brother (or sister) and threatening them with crossing your line on the seat? It's a whole new world out there now.

Just a fun example was this past weekend. We had planned to head up to Auburn for Sunday. I send a message on FaceBook to a dear friend in the area letting her know I would see her the next day. Within 10 minutes she calls me and wonders if we can come up Saturday evening instead and stay the night. We pack up and head out.

While we travel Carlin is finishing up homework on his laptop. Kyle is playing games on my laptop. The gameboys are on board. Wayne is on his cellphone, I'm on mine. And, of course, the GPS is directing us! Our car rides are definitely quieter then they were when we were kids!

Robotic Season

The first two pictures are taken in the pits area.

It is the first day of competition, making sure

everything connects.

The picture below is a set up of the field.

Carlin's teams robot is the blue one on the

far side of the field.

The picture below is what you see quite often

on the field. (Carlin's team have on the yellow shirts.)
Sometimes you don't have much time between matches

and you work on fixing your robot and hope it runs again

by the next match. In this picture they were next up. They

had to repair a chain. Other teams really pitch in to help wherever!

The first Saturday in January the Robotics Team learn what their game is. This year their game is soccer. Heads get together as they begin to plan the robot. All the guidelines have to be studied. An overweight, oversized robot can be disqualified from participating. No one wants to spend weeks building a robot that can't participate!

The kids get to work designing, building, programming, electrical, etc.... They are at school until 7p.m. every day and all day on Saturdays. This year Wayne got involved with the team and he would go in at 4 and spend the evening down there.


I'll post a few (of the many) pictures getting ready and participating in the competition this last weekend. This weekend will be their second competition.

Snow Days!

We have been enjoying our snow days to the fullest. Life has just been so busy and it just felt good to have a couple days off! So far this year we had just had enough snow to barely cover the grass--for a day maybe! Tuesday it finally started coming down pretty good. It was enough that they dismissed High School and hour early so the buses could make their run and head to the elementary schools on time. They canceled for Wednesday, but then called off Thursday, too. It was to be student head count time too which may have been why they called off Thursday. We already have off Friday through Tuesday for President's Day and Teacher's Inservice.
Yesterday we bought some new sleds--since our other ones have long since expired. We went to the one hill in town and spent the afternoon sledding. I didn't think to take my camera with me though.
Usually this time of year we are heading up North to go skiing. This year Wayne's schedule at work is busy enough that we thought we had better stay put.
Carlin was the only one going crazy on our snow days. They wouldn't let anyone back into the school for after school activities (Thank You!) so he couldn't work on robotics! :) Today, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday they get to work all day on their robot so they are happy again!

Happy New Years!

Happy New Years to all you dear people! Looks like my New Year's Resolution had better be updating my blog! It has been way neglected since Face Book came along.
We have been enjoying our Christmas vacation at home this year. Even the kids have commented on how fun it has been to just stay home. We didn't have to fight bad roads going anywhere. Days of sleeping in and staying up late. Many hours spent on the computer--but that will change once we are back in school.
Wayne has finally got to build his router table. He has waited forever to find time to build it. This past year has been busy enough for him at work that he wasn't able to use his vacation time until the past two weeks. He will have 2 1/2 weeks off total. Last night he finished hooking the dust collection up to it. I'll have to post pictures of his projects soon.
I have spent the past few days changing the looks in our upstairs bathroom. It isn't that many years old, but already the walls needed some updating--and I needed something to paint. We changed a wall in our living room too. I had painted in with sandstone paint. One thing I learned with sandstone--it works best with darker colors!! I had used it in Deidre and Carlin's rooms and it gave me no trouble. When I painted the living room wall with it--well, it looked awful. I used a salmon colored paint and all the sandstone is dark. It ended up looking like a really dirty wall. Wayne sanded it off and put some drywall compound on it. It is painted Cabin Red now and looks pretty sharp. (if I do say so myself!)
Monday will be back to work and school for all of us. Carlin will be starting his build season for Robotics so he will be pretty scarce around here for a couple months. He really enjoys it though. Last year he got to drive the robot during competition. It will be fun to see if he gets to this year.

What's Up?

It's finally time to sit down and get caught up here. Since starting the school year I haven't taken the time to update.
This year has actually started off quite well. Last year it took me most of the year to figure out how to keep up with the "busyness" of the year! This year it is still crazy busy, but I've kind of got it figured out now. I just try to remember that by Thursday night, I can finally come up for air! Here is a little bit of what our day to day consists of:

Monday afternoon Carlin's Robotics team meets. I usually pick him up anywhere from 3:45 - 5:00. We have supper--I'm learning that soup or a crockpot meal works well on this day! Shortly after 6:00 we head to the Middle School where both boys are in the youth orchestra. (Except there are older people, too!) Carlin (on violin) is in his third year of Symphony Orchestra and Kyle (on cello) is in his first year of Philharmonia. Kyle's teacher is a former Barrage student--an amazing teacher!

Tuesday night--tonight Carlin is staying at school for a welder's club. He hasn't been around too much of that before, so will be interesting to hear what he thinks of it. Kyle has piano lessons at 5:30. He keeps asking when he can quit, but I tell him not for a couple more years. His teacher really challenges him--and he usually doesn't take too long to have his songs figured out! Except for this week--maybe if he actually sat a practiced he would have better luck!

I am still working at Kyle's school this year. I am lunch assistant with three fourth grade classes. Tomorrow will be my first time to sub for special needs this year. I usually do quite a bit of subbing during the school year. In November I will sub for most of the month.

Deidre is a Senior this year! I still can't adjust my thinking to that one! Not sure what's ahead--but we've got this far! This last Saturday she had Senior pictures taken. I can't wait to see them!

Wayne has been really busy at work this past summer and fall. He has kept busy enough that he can't get his vacation time used up this year! Sunday was a 20 hour day for him and yesterday was 14 1/2. Hopefully now it will settle down a bit. I'm just glad he has a job to keep busy with!

All for now. Just got a call from Carlin--needs a ride home! I think they keep busy with all the running for them so when they turn 16 we really are ready for them to do their own driving!

They're Back!

This is part of what we picked on Monday. I need to pick more tomorrow. Can't wait to get salsa made!
This feels more like it! When it was just Wayne and I home, I did laundry once a week or so. Convention is over and now it's time for laundry!

Aaaahhhh!!! It feels so good! My kids are finally back home and so far I'm loving every minute (well, most!) of it! It was piles of laundry yesterday and loads of tomatoes to greet me in the garden, but it feels so good just to have life somewhat normal again--whatever that may be. I'm not sure how many loads of laundry I ended up with, but there is always plenty after Convention!

I picked five dishpans of tomatoes and started cooking them down for salsa. I'm not sure when we will get to that, but hopefully in the next few weeks. Tomorrow we will pick that much again at least. They are just loaded out there!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

Time to catch up here! I have loads of pictures from our trip to MN, but I'll try not to bore everyone with too many! I'm finally having (taking) time to get some on here this morning. We saw so many people while we were there, so I'll break it up a little here.
The first day in MN we got to catch up with the friends in the area at a picnic. In the afternoon there was a game of softball. Each team lined up according to age--youngest to oldest. Wayne could hardly believe it when he was second to last!!!! I think it's finally catching up! (and no, I was not last--I took pictures! HA!)

Fun Times Catching Up!

Our trip to MN has been FULL! I'll try to catch up with pictures when I get back home. We arrived in MN Friday and headed to a picnic that was going on that day. It was a chance to catch up with friends and relatives in the area. They had a game of softball going in the afternoon. That game was an eye opener for Wayne. Each team was going to bat through all their players--from youngest to oldest. He looks around and (oh, no!) realized he was second to last on his team! (He can still run pretty fast--for an old guy!)
Saturday we headed to the Cities to take Marilyn back to her brother's. We visited there a while, then on to see Amanda and Elliott in their new house. From there it was on up to John and Jenny's! That was a fun afternoon. Wayne and John, (along with Warren, Jerry, and Jim) go way back. It was fun to meet Jenny--besides on FB or the blog world. The kids had a good time, too. We weren't too early getting back to the farm that night!
Sunday afternoon we headed back to the Cities for a funeral. Saw lots and lots of familiar faces there. Afterwards we went to Dean and Lois' and caught up with more cousins. Several of our boys are close in age--14 and 15. I think they all had a good time. It has been fun getting acquainted with all the kids!
Yesterday we worked at the house in town some. Today has been a nice relaxing, lazy day! Feels great! Strawberry pies are made and we'll head to Kevin and Candace's later on here.
More updates later!

To Grandma's House We Go....

Today we are all heading to MN to Wayne's folks. All three of the kiddos are staying all summer. Usually they go in shifts, so this will be quite a different experience--for me! A few years back all three were there for three weeks and that seemed pretty strange--but kinda fun, too! Deidre is worried that I will have too much time to go through her room. Kyle, on the other hand, HOPES I will go through his room and clean it out for him! Smart kid!! I have lots of cleaning out that I want to do for myself, so hopefully I will have time to get to their stuff.
The kids have lived on the computer since school was out, but I told them their days were numbered for that much computer time. They love the farm though, and there is so much more to do there (that is exciting!) The pictures are good evidence that they need something (else) to do!

Too Good To Pass On!

We had to go back for more--strawberries, that is! The first day was such good picking. We headed out yesterday afternoon for more. Today is supposed to be rain all day and they won't be as good now. It took half an hour to pick 26 lbs.! We only picked about a six foot section of row! Now today's project is making strawberry and strawberry/rhubarb jam! Yummmm!

Strawberry Daze

We were asked to go pick strawberries today, but none of us could get real excited about it. When we called before going, the kids were hoping there wouldn't be any more! They were still available and actually the picking was great. It didn't take long at all to pick 25 lbs. When we were leaving the kids saw this sign and insisted on taking a picture--for Dad! (U-Pick--we picked ours!)

Teacher's Appreciation (last week)

This project was fun, but a lot of work! I do want to make them again someday. I am in the PTO at school so we try to do lots for the teachers. A lady brought in her chocolate fountain and parents sent in fruit for it. It seemed to go over very well!

We really are still here!....I think!!!!

I think we were missed while we were on Spring Break!
This message was waiting for us when we got home!

Deidre and little Miss Cadence
It was so good to see these special people!
We miss them!

Marina and her artwork

"The boy in the red shirt" (Kyle) and Paige
They hit it off well!

All dolled up! So sweet!

Hudson and Paige
Hudson had fun with Carlin, but I missed getting a picture
of the two of them together!

Leaving Grandma's

Morgen and Kaela
Cousin entertainment!

Rod & Luanne Erickson
Congratulations!

One big happy family!

Happy Birthday, Carlin!
Thanks for the Coconut Cake, Aunt Elaine!
It was great!

Uncle Roy, Mom, Dawn Peterson, and Blanche

Daddy Rick & Caiden Man

Elaine and Stuart

Cousins are great! My son learning
how to play Poker!!!! He
had a great time!

Thanks for letting us entertain you, Paul!
Happy 50th!
Glad you enjoyed the clown!

Here come the clowns! (except I forgot to post a picture!)

Part of the tribe!

These pictures definitely aren't in order! Slideshow
wasn't wanting to cooperate, so this is what we get!
Enjoy!

Greetings to all of you out there! (If you are still there!) I wouldn't be surprised that not many are still checking this out since it has been forever since I have posted anything! I have posted a few things on Face Book--it just seems the quicker way to post, but I do like keeping up on here, too.

April flew by with a special trip over Spring Break to NE. That was such a special time seeing so many special people. We had a family reunion and six of us seven kids were there. Our cousin, Dawn, was also there. It was special to get acquainted with her (and her family). I think there were 45 of us there.

On our way home we got to stop in IL and see our other special "family"! The kids have grown so much! It was fun to see the "big" kids and "little" kids together!

Stay tuned and I will try to get caught up a bit!