tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15549372455190440852024-03-05T04:18:58.694-08:00Boz BlogDanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.comBlogger282125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-15486790783948477052011-11-13T19:19:00.000-08:002011-11-13T19:19:51.057-08:00D - Parent/Teacher ConferencesWARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Annoying "My kid is better than your kid" post to follow!<br />
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If Mike and I looked as if we had gained a little weight a couple of weeks ago, it was really just our chests puffed up with pride after the glowing parent/teacher conferences that we had. I know it can be REALLY irritating to listen to others brag on their kids, so feel free to quit reading now. You'll still be my friend. I just don't want to forget what their teachers said because it filled our hearts with such pride.<br />
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Our first conference was Miss Katie's. Truly, we weren't worried in the slightest going into this one. We already knew that we had a people-pleaser, perfectionist, smarty-pants, so we pretty much knew what we were walking into. In addition to confirming all of this for us, her cute little teacher told us, <em>"Katie is just a pleasure to have in class. She's such a leader. All of the kids love her and look to her as an example. All of the boys want HER for their girlfriend. She's just sooo sweet!"</em> She also told us all about Katie's reading level and how she has her in the advanced reading and math groups in class. We were just so proud of her. <br />
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When I was telling Katie some of the nice things Mrs. Winegeart said about her, there was only one thing that stuck out in her mind - ALL of the boys liking her. <br />
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<em>"What???? She said that???? Which boys? Did she say 'Ryan?' I can't believe ALL of the boys like me!"</em> <br />
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Oh, my! I had no idea the can of worms I was opening by telling her that. She went on and on and on that whole night. I think Mike may have died a little bit inside. :-)<br />
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Annoyed yet? I still have one more kid to go!<br />
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Noah's conference was just as great - maybe even a little better. You see, we had lower expectations. Noah has quite the reputation around our house for being lazy. It is so hard to get him to do things to help out. It's a constant nagging effort to get his shoes and socks out of the living room, his wet towels off the bedroom floor, his empty wrappers or apple cores into the trash can, etc, etc, etc.<br />
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So, we went into his conference prepared to talk to his teacher about how lazy this kid is and hoping that was perfectly normal 4th grade boy behavior and getting some sort of plan for how to motivate him. Turns out, he saves up all that laziness for us. Apparently he's completely worn out from being a superstar at school, so by the time he gets home he just has nothing left to give. ;-)<br />
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Ms. Agee started out by telling us just how amazing he is. <em>"You just have such a great kid! He's the class leader in AR points and has already lapped some of the other kids around our scoring track. He's our student council rep, and I'm not surprised at all because he got almost all of the votes. Everyone likes him. He's making really good choices in friends. They are all nice kids and keep away from the girls and their drama."</em> <br />
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And more... <em>"He was the 2nd place AR point leader in the ENTIRE 4th grade for the first 9 weeks. Today we had the top 3 scorers stand up during our huddle time and talk to the other students about reading and encourage them to enjoy it more. We didn't give them any warning that they were going to do that, and Noah's talk was AMAZING! All of the teachers were standing around with their mouths hanging open and Ms. Knapp (his reading teacher) and I were arguing over just whose student he was."</em><br />
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More still... <em>"He's one of the smartest kids in our class, but you would never know it by the way he treats the others. Some of the other bright kids like to show others how much smarter they are, but Noah GENUINELY wants to see the other students succeed. He is so encouraging and happy for their successes. He never looks down on any of them."</em><br />
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Wow! I worked hard to not tear up on that one. I did KNOW all of that was in him, but sometimes it gets obscured by all of that laziness. It's always nice to hear it from someone else. She was pretty amazed when I told her what I thought we would be talking about and said she's often surprised by what parents say their kids are like at home.<br />
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One of the things I questioned was his AR goal for the 2nd 9 weeks. His goal for the first 9 weeks was 40 points - he got 120 points. I was completely shocked when he came home telling me that he and his teacher decided to set his goal for the second 9 weeks at 40 points. Huh? Did I miss something? Why is she letting him get away with that??? Make him not be lazy! Make him challenge himself!!!<br />
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Turns out, it wasn't laziness there either. Noah and the teacher recognized that he got the majority of his points last quarter from 3 Harry Potter books that had high point values. Since he's now tested on ALL of the HP books, he doesn't have those massive points to count for him anymore. She said they were concerned that he would start having a harder time finding books that interested him in the school library and that the librarian actually would have to start pulling books from a back room stash that they have reserved for kids reading above the school's level. Wow. Wow. Wow.<br />
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Mike wants me to add that his teacher questions have never been about grades, but that he is generally most interested in how our kids treat both the other kids and the teacher. Given the great reviews there, he couldn't be more pleased.<br />
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Here are some of the quotes from Ms. Agee's written conference notes:<br />
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<u>Strengths:</u><br />
<ul><li>A real leader in class. Motivates/encourages others.</li>
<li>Noah has a firm knowledge of basic math facts which will be helpful with future concepts.</li>
<li>Rises to challenges willingly and enjoys his "lightbulb moments."</li>
</ul><u>Goals:</u><br />
<ul><li>Continue to work on automaticity of multiplication facts.</li>
<li>Show mastery of math concepts by scoring "Advanced" on math OCCT again this year.</li>
<li>Keep up the exceptional behavior & work habits.</li>
</ul>And Ms. Knapp's written notes:<br />
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<u>Strengths:</u><br />
<ul><li>Noah turns in quality work. He takes pride in his work. He has a joy for reading that has rubbed off on others in his class!</li>
<li>Noah is friendly, respectful, and considerate towards authority and peers.</li>
<li>Noah shows support to all peers and is always cheering them along.</li>
</ul><u>Goals:</u><br />
<ul><li>Continue to show master of Reading concepts</li>
<li>Continue to keep his positive outlook on life!</li>
</ul>Well, I'm one proud mama, and Mike is one extremely proud dad. In fact, he's the one that forced my hand and had me blog all of this so we don't forget it. Hopefully you don't hate us too much for all of the bragging. It just couldn't be helped. Sometimes it's not good enough for parents to treasure things up in their hearts. Sometimes they just have to see them all typed out!Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-13621767196771454712011-09-07T12:31:00.000-07:002011-11-13T12:28:27.509-08:00D - Memories of a Great ManI wrote this a couple of weeks ago and never actually posted it. It's now slightly out of context but still really meaningful to me, so I wanted to go ahead and include it here.<br />
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I am currently driving (well, riding) in the van in what I hope to be the final hour of a very long day of traveling home from CO. As I play solitaire on my iPad, it's not long until I find my mind drifting to happy memories of my precious grandpa.<br />
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I guess it's been 3 years now since he passed. Is that right? How can that be? I can still imagine hugging his skinny little waist in his button-up shirt and feeling his arms around me as I soak in the comfort that comes from being with someone who loves me so unconditionally.<br />
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The funny thing about my memories of him is that they come to me so randomly. Playing cards is an obvious one. Cutting up a salad was always his job, so that's a frequent reminder. Every time I see it, I always like to imagine that the Cheshire-cat grinning moon that was out shortly after he died is him looking down on me and smiling like only his ornery self could do. Wiping off my table after meals reminds me of the time he told me he would get some caulk and fill in the ridges in my table that, while I love them for the way they look, he found obnoxious because they collected crumbs. I have many other random memories, but, the funny thing is, every random memory is a happy one.<br />
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The reason I started writing these thoughts, though, is that I was struck with the thought that I only have vague recollections of ever seeing him quietly reading his bible. This is certainly not to say he didn't do it. My grandma is probably screaming in her head right now as she reads this. The point is, I'm certain this is something he did, it's just not something that I remember seeing.<br />
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What I do remember is that he lived his bible. Any time I am asked to think of someone in my life who I've seen model Christian wisdom, strength, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control, he is my example. Wow! When I started that list, I really didn't even plan on going through all of the fruits like that. But as I started them, they just kept rolling out and I found myself marveling that they were all true. What an amazing legacy.<br />
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Oh how I miss that beautiful man. I am so very thankful for who he was and for who he continues to be for me - a true inspiration. A tangible, touchable, huggable example of God's love here on earth. How I long to be with the source of all that beauty.Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-79004462528647062142011-07-31T20:36:00.000-07:002011-07-31T20:36:02.644-07:00D - A Decade LaterSee this kid?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6-EVXivzanC-6PWNZlBGRTcyAmohOAdBHYMMJ2yxGRojYZue6p_a7W9CEeaKAroaDBpGTkosLYnmasBm7atURzZwSWnjLW1wCGg8sS-V8Eo_YWQSZFPQTOnN57-yepsSHvwlyfO5FqAQ/s1600/Noah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6-EVXivzanC-6PWNZlBGRTcyAmohOAdBHYMMJ2yxGRojYZue6p_a7W9CEeaKAroaDBpGTkosLYnmasBm7atURzZwSWnjLW1wCGg8sS-V8Eo_YWQSZFPQTOnN57-yepsSHvwlyfO5FqAQ/s320/Noah.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
Well, 10 years ago today, he looked a little more like this.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZYXHFCjF-YLbBYFviLz-Xadp6EMkHOK7vmKjMKFfK8ImqiBnRB307KCPWNw7Rx3xEovr5AZz6qxGdwZDs-trnck1XCvKJnl4a8ngrpNaEebdK2y5tHRoV1j9TxeoFxviR2kyQ2Cd_PPU/s1600/noah_sleeping2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZYXHFCjF-YLbBYFviLz-Xadp6EMkHOK7vmKjMKFfK8ImqiBnRB307KCPWNw7Rx3xEovr5AZz6qxGdwZDs-trnck1XCvKJnl4a8ngrpNaEebdK2y5tHRoV1j9TxeoFxviR2kyQ2Cd_PPU/s320/noah_sleeping2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I believe my first words upon seeing the little guy were something like, "How big IS he???"<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCgVAiVrnnrXNCSben5MY6wRBR35F5_Wv4hyYALRPPyQkgEjSzZ3C6uHQGsC7Bgpc6AjGCLKdALwQLZcsS3c06XddawjPthxesnDdJLYhXFS2v4LSsLN6EH3ZWEDNXDN9-_oTPW4otJl1/s1600/gap2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCgVAiVrnnrXNCSben5MY6wRBR35F5_Wv4hyYALRPPyQkgEjSzZ3C6uHQGsC7Bgpc6AjGCLKdALwQLZcsS3c06XddawjPthxesnDdJLYhXFS2v4LSsLN6EH3ZWEDNXDN9-_oTPW4otJl1/s320/gap2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
You see, at the time, he seemed HUGE. And, in baby terms, he was. 9lbs, 7 oz to be exact. Big, no?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJm61HZeeS4SAVjhWy4Qa9bQSoLS_10S0jsqGIYn9cL6Hj-Tcv3DPQ8b_U_k5wGlEHue6aA4nmhhSntNRI7rhhuomLYoD56fXTXvu0okCsMCuSuz6GpIRnEEU83QXLbDigvuPfxivoWmkO/s1600/fam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJm61HZeeS4SAVjhWy4Qa9bQSoLS_10S0jsqGIYn9cL6Hj-Tcv3DPQ8b_U_k5wGlEHue6aA4nmhhSntNRI7rhhuomLYoD56fXTXvu0okCsMCuSuz6GpIRnEEU83QXLbDigvuPfxivoWmkO/s320/fam.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
It turns out, he was small.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5kvTM_oEzFR14ZBtxKG95f8s9T6IBoGiP5kmx3lUqenbx_Lj49DWVWgkEeCodUYG0hyI1aTFL8Uu4zsuynx1xCVD_tKS3WDTlGPAxnYAHDMKCRbnCePNtYjIilPkjnMXm7ZYwYoZt5ML/s1600/MOM%2526KID.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5kvTM_oEzFR14ZBtxKG95f8s9T6IBoGiP5kmx3lUqenbx_Lj49DWVWgkEeCodUYG0hyI1aTFL8Uu4zsuynx1xCVD_tKS3WDTlGPAxnYAHDMKCRbnCePNtYjIilPkjnMXm7ZYwYoZt5ML/s320/MOM%2526KID.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
He was my baby.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGXbw_-m7P1C9vyTMcFc3bV7aLXelvA9elvJP_HvvpXwTegwukQRL0RuBtPSlvu4UH-pc9pycHIjx30iTmKnkro7wPiugP2Tj8lURLC5MBJRD6vPBuBAffd2hHxlPjZpu2_pHegCSqBUn/s1600/mom_noah_in_chair.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGXbw_-m7P1C9vyTMcFc3bV7aLXelvA9elvJP_HvvpXwTegwukQRL0RuBtPSlvu4UH-pc9pycHIjx30iTmKnkro7wPiugP2Tj8lURLC5MBJRD6vPBuBAffd2hHxlPjZpu2_pHegCSqBUn/s320/mom_noah_in_chair.JPG" width="291" /></a></div><br />
I'm crying.<br />
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You see, I just loved that little guy so very much. And now, I love this big guy so much that I can barely see this screen as I type. Wow.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm51uD-c-1EZhjVS2Kynsu1qL9jVJZlwC8j3pNQCCcqA8A64lS0_1vJ4eIuXM99wATqOe0uxxJQjinSj3kk0xD6r98Je2Rd0TaAkcWAGOecKPhsrKcdULTUEbPOKPBIWQvtOcCHVoOjRMj/s1600/DSC_9866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm51uD-c-1EZhjVS2Kynsu1qL9jVJZlwC8j3pNQCCcqA8A64lS0_1vJ4eIuXM99wATqOe0uxxJQjinSj3kk0xD6r98Je2Rd0TaAkcWAGOecKPhsrKcdULTUEbPOKPBIWQvtOcCHVoOjRMj/s320/DSC_9866.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Thank you, God, for my precious, precious boy with the great big heart, encouraging attitude, adventurous spirit, and competitive nature. Thank you that he wants to do what is good. He wants to be the best possible son, brother, cousin, friend, grandson, nephew, christian, athlete, student, Harry Potter spell-caster/wand-maker, monster truck driver, fisherman, frog-hunter, tether ball player that this world has ever seen. And you gave him to me. Thank you for the joy that he has given me and the many, many lessons I have learned that have come with the privilege of being his mother.<br />
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PS - I am neither sappy nor emotional.Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-36625355444340778302011-07-10T12:59:00.000-07:002011-07-10T12:59:24.358-07:00D - Summer - Part 1<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, you know you're doing a lousy job of blogging when you look at your "10 latest visitors" stats and see that #10 was here 18 days ago. Oops! Sorry folks. So much for my New Year's Resolution. I guess in a couple of months when you check on me again, I will at least have this one up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Summer has been very busy for us. I'm not entirely sure what we've been doing, but I know it's been enough that the "lazy days of summer" has no meaning around here. We have been spending our time with friends, swimming, going to the Y, Sonshine School, the ice skating rink, the lake, the movies, church camp and who knows where/what else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mike and I both celebrated birthdays in June and we had our 16th wedding anniversary earlier this month. The kids wanted to be sure our birthdays were special, so here is Mike's little party:</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsTqeUqXDhPWh7MBPolyvc0W0_OpzBqMd5vJrjTKNfgu65eNVtv6_IIwdJN68XN9wqXy1E3LC8TCNOj4XqeBbcfoRxnitAEu45R62z_ifxAzfKUYXAaGO16AYfwE3ba1_BXoGCAKhlQXT/s1600/DSC_8724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsTqeUqXDhPWh7MBPolyvc0W0_OpzBqMd5vJrjTKNfgu65eNVtv6_IIwdJN68XN9wqXy1E3LC8TCNOj4XqeBbcfoRxnitAEu45R62z_ifxAzfKUYXAaGO16AYfwE3ba1_BXoGCAKhlQXT/s320/DSC_8724.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQhaLmYsXKvaIbjAbe6ZbxAbAFKSrskjnPlcGk2oUpcqZuEm8Ae3ke6IJwh6kNoNKOd17dJsjjCvhM0kS612we9DQ-ulkm5H7wn5XLWtG0NH3vSRJe-Bvqr8BkzXc5xxPI0lmux1Mz2DP/s1600/DSC_8725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQhaLmYsXKvaIbjAbe6ZbxAbAFKSrskjnPlcGk2oUpcqZuEm8Ae3ke6IJwh6kNoNKOd17dJsjjCvhM0kS612we9DQ-ulkm5H7wn5XLWtG0NH3vSRJe-Bvqr8BkzXc5xxPI0lmux1Mz2DP/s320/DSC_8725.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And Katie made sure that I had mine as well:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<span style="color: blue; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsH3EEzZNmQDiB63v5CcDcbjmqrxVYHI2hrC1NXlyriTeC3MlYzYsIRGMgO6K6LYYra5qiQfMFWnS5ZsPUPQAGmJfb21XmF_ScSnxQ8EHpADl7pW_4L5LhHuWvjq0yRTuU2HxNK8hcHSV/s1600/DSC_8763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsH3EEzZNmQDiB63v5CcDcbjmqrxVYHI2hrC1NXlyriTeC3MlYzYsIRGMgO6K6LYYra5qiQfMFWnS5ZsPUPQAGmJfb21XmF_ScSnxQ8EHpADl7pW_4L5LhHuWvjq0yRTuU2HxNK8hcHSV/s320/DSC_8763.JPG" width="212" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"></div></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">W<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">e've not yet managed to get away for a family vacation, but Mike and I did escape for some couple-time back in June. Mike had to go to a conference at the Four Seasons in Dallas, so I tagged along while my VERY wonderful MIL took our kids to Ardmore to visit the fam there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's not often that we find ourselves being pampered in quite the way we were that weekend. Not only were we in an AMAZING hotel, but they made a mistake with our room and wound up upgrading us to an $800+ per night hotel suite. Wow!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A view of the living areas (yes, that is supposed to be plural)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpCDJB2z5nusL__3g1P9czpN2vIrEWd27ayyoo_5zFONBZ_T6Rnij111uZhQNFSXoBW0BTLZzC09dnfvc3pT2qqh3zmL5SMnRjp5WBNZKzAYFFputXg-DqrvNOa8ewes-nWHpHW6ydb-8/s1600/DSC_8727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpCDJB2z5nusL__3g1P9czpN2vIrEWd27ayyoo_5zFONBZ_T6Rnij111uZhQNFSXoBW0BTLZzC09dnfvc3pT2qqh3zmL5SMnRjp5WBNZKzAYFFputXg-DqrvNOa8ewes-nWHpHW6ydb-8/s320/DSC_8727.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi005ZDUdrKpejyLM-j-rbCNUngGy_z3cs_ZDBaRn_KQAmc4w3MhATagnGr5GlH6xeb5iJlwCNwD0G94B6QgWvNs5ZCWiKVtC4dUC8fWHkOLbbO7kMNSe4lAEATBjlpGjbDb7cVe7AxLjPF/s1600/living+area.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi005ZDUdrKpejyLM-j-rbCNUngGy_z3cs_ZDBaRn_KQAmc4w3MhATagnGr5GlH6xeb5iJlwCNwD0G94B6QgWvNs5ZCWiKVtC4dUC8fWHkOLbbO7kMNSe4lAEATBjlpGjbDb7cVe7AxLjPF/s320/living+area.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOmeCeRmycGs8XxZkZ91lTFZ56oGD2ctaygizXB0cOJXsCTh-N0dzSsQL56CzSMZUhfuJHDDDsFqbPZBVsn7O-IHgBLLPwWgSH8PjDAn8kPHXVM0YkxpOWbGOxshrMeyBhr655HyvMAtQ/s1600/DSC_8727.JPG"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bedroom</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGzvFSotvjKDzbIcbsSM_S6_Cv7GjJVjaGiUkyRiftmyeMz5ePoLQkEW7zex9FmJM7TnZ_XoblL3u2u61sljsk9vREc66CmKB_hq6Ut9-nRQR_GsS8_C5FjoOxceL4q6Qg_YInDoiov82/s1600/bedroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGzvFSotvjKDzbIcbsSM_S6_Cv7GjJVjaGiUkyRiftmyeMz5ePoLQkEW7zex9FmJM7TnZ_XoblL3u2u61sljsk9vREc66CmKB_hq6Ut9-nRQR_GsS8_C5FjoOxceL4q6Qg_YInDoiov82/s320/bedroom.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our largest balcony (of the 3)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBr_bk5mXyiihlQ-WxOtz5cRQx9lohUTs7KwhDvF5TreLGralPWhBjEAPyNiT-4wofr-_w7F3DH7MI7OQyfdyNAEY_IuOENs7-0_p35z3Sj9Ia-LMy3lN7foprahgeCdFju6nKURhre7Ms/s1600/balcony+table.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBr_bk5mXyiihlQ-WxOtz5cRQx9lohUTs7KwhDvF5TreLGralPWhBjEAPyNiT-4wofr-_w7F3DH7MI7OQyfdyNAEY_IuOENs7-0_p35z3Sj9Ia-LMy3lN7foprahgeCdFju6nKURhre7Ms/s320/balcony+table.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And the gym (that, oddly enough, I was very excited to get to use)</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uH22cmypyvNLqdBGNhbzkOV6_FxxFpF-eA9CWsVaHvSzDDXIUozkcUbdMFwO8M5hjUPpdSOXlVwE7Powit_J8J4JTDJxqJha28oZrZnvgJy839auEQ_mh-6cQ1rTAgoSuKsu7MZOHclQ/s1600/gym.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uH22cmypyvNLqdBGNhbzkOV6_FxxFpF-eA9CWsVaHvSzDDXIUozkcUbdMFwO8M5hjUPpdSOXlVwE7Powit_J8J4JTDJxqJha28oZrZnvgJy839auEQ_mh-6cQ1rTAgoSuKsu7MZOHclQ/s320/gym.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I guess we didn't get any pictures of the bathrooms (Yep! Again with the plural.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm not really sure what the kids did in Ardmore or what Mike did at his conference, but I was here.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbVGuiDLASdJRRO2mp14vXzKvkoCairOJMHJ2TiyOXICIz1_4AYXfvu6XAvhN-M8mkfc3TcmDnqLaWRqYImv9yyFC7f4wC8HgsZYmOU7OU46V0XPWpjl0tSNAgpUnyveaY-i3_BOxKLnn/s1600/pool.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbVGuiDLASdJRRO2mp14vXzKvkoCairOJMHJ2TiyOXICIz1_4AYXfvu6XAvhN-M8mkfc3TcmDnqLaWRqYImv9yyFC7f4wC8HgsZYmOU7OU46V0XPWpjl0tSNAgpUnyveaY-i3_BOxKLnn/s320/pool.JPG" width="212" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">b</span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">y the pool</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">reading a book</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQbZ3sUtvw-qJS2Drdrp9oP-LpAdvFI4GGQvRo0mAgl7eYHjNZtpyd1Y0x8U5aHZcmki-MviBNMWYYHtESJIE055NhPDeHkBO5uJ7wDZfBs2DZ9YUuSpQBmrEEpOeYqjlxRUgFlBJrSld/s1600/DSC_8734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQbZ3sUtvw-qJS2Drdrp9oP-LpAdvFI4GGQvRo0mAgl7eYHjNZtpyd1Y0x8U5aHZcmki-MviBNMWYYHtESJIE055NhPDeHkBO5uJ7wDZfBs2DZ9YUuSpQBmrEEpOeYqjlxRUgFlBJrSld/s320/DSC_8734.JPG" width="212" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a WHOLE book</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxgUyajIkO0ebiVKXxxFfmh5faF0yFAVa0LNhM4whiPdqEh6xSu6eDZH1P-DtMbhLIj4MFrwNxmXKdFhA_KvjpPTjhx6FbAFS36AvYSc-MNZvbdP7hE9VsBeKx1IXmNW6DsWYIymqBA2F/s1600/DSC_8733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxgUyajIkO0ebiVKXxxFfmh5faF0yFAVa0LNhM4whiPdqEh6xSu6eDZH1P-DtMbhLIj4MFrwNxmXKdFhA_KvjpPTjhx6FbAFS36AvYSc-MNZvbdP7hE9VsBeKx1IXmNW6DsWYIymqBA2F/s320/DSC_8733.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">and people checked on me and brought me things </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">and life was good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh....and Mike was there some too.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMLy40dDEAlhkCeL2AAqWrgHmT3mq3FMWkH8A27g8Mu4_NxwwlTb7Ur1QdP8K2t195rBsnN9v2BQtaRiA4_Gbptg9ynwSkYh_Jnm6Ep0_ma99xjkBaqOIy7QrpxoyFcGjDYlh7t3J662u/s1600/mike+feet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMLy40dDEAlhkCeL2AAqWrgHmT3mq3FMWkH8A27g8Mu4_NxwwlTb7Ur1QdP8K2t195rBsnN9v2BQtaRiA4_Gbptg9ynwSkYh_Jnm6Ep0_ma99xjkBaqOIy7QrpxoyFcGjDYlh7t3J662u/s320/mike+feet.JPG" width="212" /></span></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-32807078578220611782011-06-06T15:37:00.000-07:002011-06-06T19:07:03.461-07:00D - My Kid in MotionToday the YMCA began the first day of their Kids In Motion summer program. It offers different activity classes for kids to participate in while their parents are working out, and my kiddos went to it last summer as well. Noah has really been looking forward to it.....Katie, not so much. Last year she spent some time in tears over it. After all, it's intended for kids ages 7-12 and she was.....well....5. <br />
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Her main problem with it is that it is full of little competitive games - relay races, Red Rover, hula hoop contests, things like that. While she did LOVE the yoga class they offered, she hated those little games. Because she has an older brother who is INCREDIBLY competitive and athletic, she has been losing every competition she's ever been in for her entire life. She has NO confidence in herself, and refuses to compete....EVER. It makes me crazy. It breaks my heart to see her put herself down and not even try just because she doesn't want to lose. But I'm on a bit of a tangent here.....<br />
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Anyhow, she was dreading it a bit. I told her to give it a try for just 30 minutes today, and if she hated it, we would just not go on Mondays. So, she begrudgingly gave it a shot. She admitted to crying just a little (though she tried her best to fight the tears) when they started playing Red Rover, but the nice college girl told her she didn't have to play, so she was happy then.<br />
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Now I'm finally getting around to the whole point of this blog!<br />
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When I went to pick her up, the sweet college intern told me that Katie did great, and that "Wow! She is fast!" This came as no surprise to me because we've been watching her run down the soccer field for a couple of years now. Katie was beaming with pride, and she and Noah excitedly told me about how she had run a relay race against an 11 year old boy who had a head start on her, and Katie still beat him! Noah said more kids were chanting "Katie" than for any other kid out there!<br />
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In her pride, Katie, the girl who HATES it when I tell stories about her, informed me that this is a story she doesn't mind if I "put on the internet." So, there you have it!Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-21109032139883140102011-06-05T14:16:00.000-07:002011-06-05T14:16:38.908-07:00D - Land Run & Mother's Day TeaI just want to quickly highlight a couple of fun days the kids had at school this year. They both had awesome years full of great grades, good friends, and wonderful teachers. Noah's teacher, Mrs. Crampton, was one of my favorite that either kid has ever had, and Katie just loved Mrs. Carter. Thanks for the great year, Washington Irving!<br />
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Now, if these pictures don't bring back memories for you, you weren't raised in Oklahoma.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOE8U1735Os01N51OyMY0KjdYNQFV7aaziuQqefEnSMjoY1l1392GtM8np6YMW2dhotM43aaF5Oep0lXVVB9i7RQGiu23dXvit3d5Vj7sXiiiOqtMAExzgsrTPHpL8b6OSHzc16dWMi_z/s1600/Class+before+run.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOE8U1735Os01N51OyMY0KjdYNQFV7aaziuQqefEnSMjoY1l1392GtM8np6YMW2dhotM43aaF5Oep0lXVVB9i7RQGiu23dXvit3d5Vj7sXiiiOqtMAExzgsrTPHpL8b6OSHzc16dWMi_z/s320/Class+before+run.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo07e4yNfreS8ZxWSM0A3W1MX7Ft_-qnRjFY41ZF_JtGi9PTjSsDvxALjPMQZ3_LLw8XCvpKAAw0wJKoPmEyg7vYhP188M3c5dqPgWyPpLzdJjjxFI021D1bpHLyvIjisC-b6-4lcsHBzC/s1600/N+at+wagon+before+run.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo07e4yNfreS8ZxWSM0A3W1MX7Ft_-qnRjFY41ZF_JtGi9PTjSsDvxALjPMQZ3_LLw8XCvpKAAw0wJKoPmEyg7vYhP188M3c5dqPgWyPpLzdJjjxFI021D1bpHLyvIjisC-b6-4lcsHBzC/s320/N+at+wagon+before+run.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's right, it's Land Run time!!! Noah got to participate in this year's 3rd grade run back in April. His "family" of all boys got together and built this wagon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8qzTHyBauYG2RmAQjJ17KfyxlNzwjpXyvQpdjBLGbMIZbC4TK2-sI3yiJ1YZvzcDZRSD5p_CBjq8NvBqBkxLdPeOTc2OXCTpNuG9f6Zq4a-_wEj9uFk31GdU7SNgLIueRJovu-_cqxQJ/s1600/N+running+with+wagon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8qzTHyBauYG2RmAQjJ17KfyxlNzwjpXyvQpdjBLGbMIZbC4TK2-sI3yiJ1YZvzcDZRSD5p_CBjq8NvBqBkxLdPeOTc2OXCTpNuG9f6Zq4a-_wEj9uFk31GdU7SNgLIueRJovu-_cqxQJ/s320/N+running+with+wagon.JPG" width="256" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Funny thing is, he didn't get to help build it because he was at LTC, yet he still wound up being the one pulling it. How did that happen, you ask? Because he was the 2nd fastest kid in the family. The fastest kid ran ahead and claimed their land while Noah got the wagon there as quickly as he could. ;)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2cX5cWLO4bYuAC6PaCImqiA2KAcfT-_o562UkzIoD0KUSRmv8M3x8z0AxW29RXDRhILGsGhTxv47JaOZuaJSS0lJDEt4rSqFRCnOaT4FmEnN0ZKhot1C-2ZgMGFM6bemimXybrPeWyk-k/s1600/N+oklahoma+or+bust.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2cX5cWLO4bYuAC6PaCImqiA2KAcfT-_o562UkzIoD0KUSRmv8M3x8z0AxW29RXDRhILGsGhTxv47JaOZuaJSS0lJDEt4rSqFRCnOaT4FmEnN0ZKhot1C-2ZgMGFM6bemimXybrPeWyk-k/s320/N+oklahoma+or+bust.JPG" width="256" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once there, they were able to feast on their sack lunches.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlOcuOwI1904I2_yAPK4xZ5JAnyAXCVNBujgG3ERfIDcnCYnDUs_Z76g1ee9URncVNErxpg6_3YHLMho_A0IZhin8vTUpkEm19Ac1t3F7xVvOys6pWgXFOZgtMHh31Lm2D1w2d8kOV5hp/s1600/eating+with+Mrs.+Crampton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlOcuOwI1904I2_yAPK4xZ5JAnyAXCVNBujgG3ERfIDcnCYnDUs_Z76g1ee9URncVNErxpg6_3YHLMho_A0IZhin8vTUpkEm19Ac1t3F7xVvOys6pWgXFOZgtMHh31Lm2D1w2d8kOV5hp/s320/eating+with+Mrs.+Crampton.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>This day was the highlight of their year-long study of Oklahoma history, and they loved it!<br />
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Katie's special day was special for me too - her Mother's Day Tea. I was greeted at her classroom door where I walked a red butcher-paper-carpet and was announced by my beautiful daughter over a microphone and handed a carnation by that same cutie.<br />
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She melts my heart!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then she escorted me to my table where I found all sorts of cards and crafts that she had made for me. So precious! Next, she went through the food line and served me cookies and fruit and punch. She was so sweet and smiling from ear to ear the whole time and was so anxious to do everything right and make sure I had a wonderful time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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They also did a little program where they sang songs and did a poem, but I have no pics of that. I pulled out the video camera for that one, and I can't possibly be expected to do both!!!<br />
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It was a really special day for both of us. I love you, Katie Elisabeth!!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-23819838488358077172011-06-05T13:42:00.000-07:002011-06-05T13:42:10.461-07:00D - LTCEaster WeekendThis year marked a huge turning point for us as a family with our first LTC experience. Easter weekend as we have known them shall be no more. (Moment of silence as I mourn the loss of favorite holiday traditions) That said, I really am excited about this new stage of life as we start to grow our babies into teenagers and then adults who will someday be the leaders in their churches. (Sniff, Sniff)<br />
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Because I am really reluctant to change my routines and do anything new (Surprise!), I tried to talk my gung-ho son into easing us into LTC by not being in too terribly many activities. So, Noah ONLY participated in Bible Quiz, Small Chorus, Service Challenge and Puppets this year. <br />
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He started out in February(?) really fired up, but soon the tears started flowing every Sunday as he "never had ANY free time to do what he wanted to do!" His main complaint every week came from Bible Quiz. He just HATED it! Truth be told, I thought it was way too much to ask of a 3rd grader to prepare for a 200 question quiz over the book of Revelation with no study guide, but we decided not to let him drop out because he was committed to a team. So.....he stuck with it. I wound up joining the coaching team and became more familiar with what was expected of him, and he and I worked hard every day those last couple of weeks before LTC.<br />
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Fast forward to LTC weekend...... As we entered the ballroom for Bible Quiz, Noah's first event, a massive storm was forming outside. Not 10 minutes before the event was to begin, the entirety of LTC as well as all of the guests of the hotel where the event was held were encouraged to file into the ballroom as it was the storm shelter, and a tornado was likely. Yikes! It was crazy crowded in there! The whole group (I've heard 2,000) sang praises for about 45 minutes as the storm passed us by. It was beautiful.....and mildly frightening!<br />
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Once given the "all clear," we began the test. I was a judge at another table and was able to see Noah throughout the competition. It was so fun to watch. I could see the energy and enthusiasm in his body language and just knew he was loving it. Was I ever right! After the 4th test, he came running over to my table and told me that he had just taken the multiple choice section for his team and hadn't missed any of them. He was so pumped and yelled as he ran back to his table that he was DEFINITELY doing Bible Quiz again next year. Oh.....Yay????!?????!<br />
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Turns out, his team got 96 out of 200 correct. Maybe not the best percentage, but they were proud. His coach and I were so disappointed for them though because we think they were only 4 questions away from getting a bronze medal. As it is, they got absolutely nothing for all that hard work. So sad! BUT, Noah had a wonderful first experience. <br />
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His Small Chorus sang beautifully and got a gold...<br />
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And his puppet team got a silver. Noah really loved puppets and did a great job as a sports announcer ("NB") interviewing a basketball team. He was also very proud that a picture of him and his puppet wound up in the Christian Chronicle for all the world to see!<br />
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We got really lucky on Noah's schedule and were able to leave Arkansas early afternoon on Saturday. We hustled home so we would have time to dye some Easter eggs.<br />
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Fun, as always!<br />
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On Easter morning, the kids endured having pictures made before diving into their Easter baskets. Isn't she pretty???<br />
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They've learned to be pretty good sports about that.<br />
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At church that morning, Noah's puppet team did their show during bible hour, and then we headed home for a quick lunch. While there, the kids decided that they weren't interested in going to the church's egg hunt that we always attend. I was a little disappointed because I like traditions, but it was awfully nice to have a little down time on such a busy weekend. Because it was rainy and cold outside, we had to do our own egg hunt in the house. Odd.<br />
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We did manage to slip outside for a family pic because that is what we do.....<br />
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And we finished off the weekend by going to the LTC awards ceremony and then watching Noah's chorus perform after church. It was such a busy time but so very important. Noah, of course, ended up loving it all, so I have no doubt there will be many crazy weekends like this in our future.Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-64434680443494933432011-05-22T13:10:00.000-07:002011-05-22T13:10:12.735-07:00D - 2011 Spring SoccerA couple of weeks ago we wrapped up yet another fun soccer season. Noah played with his same coach he's been with since he was 5, and Mike coached Katie's team for what he is claiming to be his last time. We'll see.... ;-) As always, it pretty much took over our lives. It's amazing how much it dictates our schedules, but we really enjoy doing it as a family. <br />
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Noah's team finished up 6 & 2 - a major reversal from their 2-6 fall season. It was lots more fun for everyone. My favorite thing I witnessed this season was a time when Noah had the ball and his coach was yelling from the sidelines for him to pass it. Instead, Noah took a shot at the goal and missed. When he got back to the sidelines, coach rubbed his head and told him, "I told you to pass!" Noah said something about how that's what he was trying to do. The coach totally called his bluff and said, "No you weren't. I've coached you since you were this tall (hand held low, of course). You were going for the goal." Sheepish grin from Noah. Ha ha! I loved it. Way to go, Coach Don!<br />
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As long as I'm thinking about those early days....<br />
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And now....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While the pictures may not show as dramatic a change in our little Katie-bug, her soccer playing has certainly changed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From her first games in 2006 filled with tears as she ran down the field....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTHXXMM491bGqMZkSMQR4DCtIhqn8qsMQD97Sr8YOJzmbuGGXLyGCVKT4wiaUYa6nr97cZZVUrZJ5PVSzHDEuiLsHwVioa7DdeoUxMPAmff18xa9hBns0jRm15nlGAAW16ZolF85IvZ3O/s1600/Sept+08+Katie+crying.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTHXXMM491bGqMZkSMQR4DCtIhqn8qsMQD97Sr8YOJzmbuGGXLyGCVKT4wiaUYa6nr97cZZVUrZJ5PVSzHDEuiLsHwVioa7DdeoUxMPAmff18xa9hBns0jRm15nlGAAW16ZolF85IvZ3O/s320/Sept+08+Katie+crying.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
to today when we call her "fearless" because she never hesitates to chase down the ball - even against the biggest kid on the other team. She also generally finds a way to throw that big kid to the ground. Maybe that's not terribly legal, but it's really fun to watch!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUxwZmaC-Bk7TfybpU1hxJbLea1QQHy4f12W7HTRRfVNGjyXzVG2tzTZ7DCy8WjWwlmH5aiuBF6o-zmak7ZxfnV-JRUginDil7b-nsqZDjiolnvA8Q5ETVgJa-iOC0JbZcEN1l1UFIn_W/s1600/Katie+fearless.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUxwZmaC-Bk7TfybpU1hxJbLea1QQHy4f12W7HTRRfVNGjyXzVG2tzTZ7DCy8WjWwlmH5aiuBF6o-zmak7ZxfnV-JRUginDil7b-nsqZDjiolnvA8Q5ETVgJa-iOC0JbZcEN1l1UFIn_W/s320/Katie+fearless.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another then.....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FanE2rnv9U0yljSVcXYLIA7JOz91N0BePKnreOygssfzU0N0oi46t2nG2kPNEoKjm4OpwC_IIIUP70dB-zzmLxCUM_3e6CDxMNsh7-DQdNLLD0qTWQqOxcw3Y1cxj_K2V33RBerqmsv3/s1600/funny+katie+soccer+oct+08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FanE2rnv9U0yljSVcXYLIA7JOz91N0BePKnreOygssfzU0N0oi46t2nG2kPNEoKjm4OpwC_IIIUP70dB-zzmLxCUM_3e6CDxMNsh7-DQdNLLD0qTWQqOxcw3Y1cxj_K2V33RBerqmsv3/s320/funny+katie+soccer+oct+08.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And more nows...<br />
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Did I mention she's really FAST???<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkf8YYSiXmvFBSBZh54UnJPu1srmJtkBy_UXkSpqIoNEFHW8-nhhGZ1ItzWyw0BG7sLQ6MqUZCVfmgGpBrQLiXuX32t2obFqTgezh74Ol3qix8u3WkxU3gpkLoD1jTR2PRGB2r7CVTh3Z_/s1600/Katie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkf8YYSiXmvFBSBZh54UnJPu1srmJtkBy_UXkSpqIoNEFHW8-nhhGZ1ItzWyw0BG7sLQ6MqUZCVfmgGpBrQLiXuX32t2obFqTgezh74Ol3qix8u3WkxU3gpkLoD1jTR2PRGB2r7CVTh3Z_/s320/Katie.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The girl.... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg258kQwEx0YPlDqyc0uUSc53KsP9YhLwrBN2wApVcSyOrW9yRKTFI7B08bdVaDJt6fbRmNAnttuBqzrTlu0Cw9ID_nI0wK-ezr7jzVQw_j6Od7Gealpo-C3Cz26NaybikzWItmQbA41yBQ/s1600/DSC_5887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg258kQwEx0YPlDqyc0uUSc53KsP9YhLwrBN2wApVcSyOrW9yRKTFI7B08bdVaDJt6fbRmNAnttuBqzrTlu0Cw9ID_nI0wK-ezr7jzVQw_j6Od7Gealpo-C3Cz26NaybikzWItmQbA41yBQ/s320/DSC_5887.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The team....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbq52rtI3ACJdFl-7SAOB6p7U7q8WPY5pJBrfCT8Dj3d25BN-Bccj9nYGC-o2PgY4X_ShfAEqNqOzJ4tg7mbZdnTkaRrST_FK4quTwVSoIVcSVG0ZNx7v_SZo4IomEl3Nj-ZFxViYxzcUr/s1600/DSC_5931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbq52rtI3ACJdFl-7SAOB6p7U7q8WPY5pJBrfCT8Dj3d25BN-Bccj9nYGC-o2PgY4X_ShfAEqNqOzJ4tg7mbZdnTkaRrST_FK4quTwVSoIVcSVG0ZNx7v_SZo4IomEl3Nj-ZFxViYxzcUr/s320/DSC_5931.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Katie has declared this to be her final season of soccer too. She's not playing if dad's not coaching. Thus the "We'll see," that I mentioned earlier. :-) To be determined in fall 2011.....Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-64420477613523060982011-04-19T15:46:00.000-07:002011-04-19T15:46:29.461-07:00D - Bye, Bye Dumpster TreasureWell, this is a red-letter day in the Bosley household. You see, over15 years ago, my proud newlywed husband walked in the door of our apartment with a real treasure. He had found a perfectly good set of tv trays just sitting by the dumpster. Can you believe it? I guess I'll blame it on the fact that we didn't have just loads of extra money back then (as opposed to now, of course), but for some reason I agreed to let them stay.<br />
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Flash forward 15 years to today:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-loSqkS2WTdsPoaNlfPQr1Jvd5VvwBVlSyfpuxDzYD6o6S2S-2WtdlzE0TP7M00jkXKeSnAeCXEcTXU4gzHsLGrlxas2_NOizwwVqNNfclg_K3Wn2JgBjiet2CIiV869C6Lzvdbn1lDB/s1600/DSCN0265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-loSqkS2WTdsPoaNlfPQr1Jvd5VvwBVlSyfpuxDzYD6o6S2S-2WtdlzE0TP7M00jkXKeSnAeCXEcTXU4gzHsLGrlxas2_NOizwwVqNNfclg_K3Wn2JgBjiet2CIiV869C6Lzvdbn1lDB/s320/DSCN0265.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I can't help but wonder what the poor saps who abandoned these perfectly functioning trays would say if they had only known just how many years of entertainment-filled dining they could have enjoyed if they had only held on to these babies. But, "Out with the old, and in with the new," I say! Unfortunately..... I only say that about once every 15 years or so.<br />
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PS - I'm thinking a weekly blog post may be too much of a challenge. You'll notice the degree of interest of these articles seems to be declining. Next week I may have to blog a picture of the hair Mike just pulled out of our shower drain. Stay tuned!Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-69522978552059127382011-04-13T10:50:00.000-07:002011-04-13T10:52:13.595-07:00D - A Poem in my PocketI babysit for a friend's daughter a couple of mornings each week and yesterday she showed up all excited about a special thing they were doing at school that day. It was "Poem in your Pocket" day. As an English major and someone who used to do a great deal of reading, I LOVED this idea! So much so that I am now on day 2 of carrying around my own poem in my pocket. I realize that I'm a geek, but I am just loving pulling it out at red lights and reading it over and over.<br />
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On day 1 I dusted off my old Robert Frost book and made a copy of "The Tuft of Flowers." Day 2, I've got "Mending Wall." In my enthusiasm, I even forced Mike to read yesterday's poem because it reminds me of him. He didn't get much of it, but found himself thinking, "Maybe I like poetry?" Then I forced him to listen as I went line by line explaining it to him - poor guy!<br />
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I admit that poetry was one of my least favorite classes in college. But now that I'm older and perhaps a little wiser, I think I may appreciate it more. It certainly made me slow down a little yesterday and appreciate the beauty around me. I guess today I may have to go build a fence... Regardless, it's been a fun little venture for me. So, thank you, Clegern Elementary!<br />
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And remember, "Men work together whether they work together or apart" and "Good fences make good neighbors" - just a couple of little pearls of wisdom for you! :-)<br />
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PS - Here's a picture of Katie for those of you who couldn't care less about poetry!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmfCfeExewYthZv0QfAne812bdbjenl1l3LS0Q9xxgnmM3h0dBF8l2LLU4kodpZuUS-QsslWYdwCBXWmpKn-yE-VHzknlr0YBDLE1-ToU-HNGe9pWlbfj9Pv9A5qmiq4YstX40VcgWrbA/s1600/DSCN0264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmfCfeExewYthZv0QfAne812bdbjenl1l3LS0Q9xxgnmM3h0dBF8l2LLU4kodpZuUS-QsslWYdwCBXWmpKn-yE-VHzknlr0YBDLE1-ToU-HNGe9pWlbfj9Pv9A5qmiq4YstX40VcgWrbA/s320/DSCN0264.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-66196318056504595762011-04-06T12:10:00.000-07:002011-04-13T10:54:48.763-07:00D - Pics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, believe it or not, I seem to be at a loss as to what to say this week. I guess we've slowed down a little. Actually, that's not true. Because it's soccer season, we are in high gear, and I guess it doesn't really leave time for doing a lot other than that. Fun stuff, but maybe not so interesting blogging week to week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, I'll just show a couple of pictures this week. Remember a couple of months ago when I mentioned that we are turning into hillbillies? At that time, I didn't realize that would include our life in town as well. This was a proud moment for Mike as his one and only boy took to the street in front of our house in his first solo tractor drive.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHKeThbmoK1zyRE1dveVhg6rq0JKBZUSfzdHrBaImc9WQbU_zJbyMUeNB1VBjKDze1QU1N98u_eJDHrQm_Szobx4xp0lQ7nWyEStg4QSSzuYmH44ZCQx1-rBCfHC9eQ6piZ-7vZ0eguP2/s1600/N+riding+tractor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHKeThbmoK1zyRE1dveVhg6rq0JKBZUSfzdHrBaImc9WQbU_zJbyMUeNB1VBjKDze1QU1N98u_eJDHrQm_Szobx4xp0lQ7nWyEStg4QSSzuYmH44ZCQx1-rBCfHC9eQ6piZ-7vZ0eguP2/s320/N+riding+tractor.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWVioG1c-p743kSS4TaZimlzTKaWipjCb_a-ql9BKN9c7SPXZi7plvtsisRAaVYyPM14IV_fjTg8Zep5t7V91BG8IWMjrzX_sSKFf0P6Z4N0dGEJ29jxMuXMKRS4StrcJgm6ojIYccApt/s1600/N+tractor+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWVioG1c-p743kSS4TaZimlzTKaWipjCb_a-ql9BKN9c7SPXZi7plvtsisRAaVYyPM14IV_fjTg8Zep5t7V91BG8IWMjrzX_sSKFf0P6Z4N0dGEJ29jxMuXMKRS4StrcJgm6ojIYccApt/s320/N+tractor+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And I'm not sure what to say about this kid. She's either a diva, or a grandma before her time. She's decided she "needs" glasses, so she's sporting some of my reading glasses here along with her sleep mask. She cracks me up, but don't tell her. She's very sensitive and sees NO humor in being laughed at - even if she's trying to be funny. And Oh! help us if we laugh when she's NOT actually trying. So, shhhhhhhhhh.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gb11vKWdMq8JK5JYReO-V01L0zs-bbq8-fAKIpmBubVS-VcUGuCueVjUHG1UcRliAh8LjQOCqSgK31oYiIHWkf2JZtWszI00xKpzLmwFdP-oLD40e70AC6I-LKl2SGT50yfuqXR_iB8x/s1600/DSCN0258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gb11vKWdMq8JK5JYReO-V01L0zs-bbq8-fAKIpmBubVS-VcUGuCueVjUHG1UcRliAh8LjQOCqSgK31oYiIHWkf2JZtWszI00xKpzLmwFdP-oLD40e70AC6I-LKl2SGT50yfuqXR_iB8x/s320/DSCN0258.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-13706035182261481362011-03-28T12:38:00.000-07:002011-03-28T12:38:52.693-07:00D - Girl's Week Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, most of you know all about the exciting "Mancation 2011" that is currently underway. Mike and Noah are approaching the end of their week-long journey to Las Vegas and back. I guess Mike is actually going to be forced back into the world of blogging if he wants those memories preserved, because how could I do justice to these adventures when I wasn't even there???</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRL4tVLu8KyjrfTYI8VWmhBfU-Np1N8PQP4XGcnm1AiHk7mR6H60vZYcPOTriMd4x-4a8_lQ98r1ilbbqX4Ak5DLfEaeg7HiSeIfsK_5PX7YoVZgLU2An2YCvQKVSKlgT4afFxtwhBoDOh/s1600/grand+staircase+national+monument.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRL4tVLu8KyjrfTYI8VWmhBfU-Np1N8PQP4XGcnm1AiHk7mR6H60vZYcPOTriMd4x-4a8_lQ98r1ilbbqX4Ak5DLfEaeg7HiSeIfsK_5PX7YoVZgLU2An2YCvQKVSKlgT4afFxtwhBoDOh/s320/grand+staircase+national+monument.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6L-KfmYGdioVRgcOwfFPsZQlr2BPcrK01kbyZqQFb1cZmFdroSk8HTeQnHOuwkl5fFOVLY4cZoIJ60f5LZB3DHtMbXPXMYdPemPwihsXmdZRwcEpsd44qh_vQv4xd7_tF-f8ciKvdnjlC/s1600/m%2526N+at+sand+dune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6L-KfmYGdioVRgcOwfFPsZQlr2BPcrK01kbyZqQFb1cZmFdroSk8HTeQnHOuwkl5fFOVLY4cZoIJ60f5LZB3DHtMbXPXMYdPemPwihsXmdZRwcEpsd44qh_vQv4xd7_tF-f8ciKvdnjlC/s320/m%2526N+at+sand+dune.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcW0o6ebILRS-0gL7CyaIcUs5SJ2Qk6EbaDiuXfEoDn-c17KQ1qCmsUe_T8Rrq8UaQBOnIgQDV1ljZmv_mA9InR1YYqqL_wU8dQQM-pIY37Xq9BaQBO4na6OQSri4KVyuWByKVYQoiX0b/s1600/blue+thunder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcW0o6ebILRS-0gL7CyaIcUs5SJ2Qk6EbaDiuXfEoDn-c17KQ1qCmsUe_T8Rrq8UaQBOnIgQDV1ljZmv_mA9InR1YYqqL_wU8dQQM-pIY37Xq9BaQBO4na6OQSri4KVyuWByKVYQoiX0b/s320/blue+thunder.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Several have asked me what Katie and I are doing to compete. Yeah.....right. You do realize that Mike is the fun parent in this family, don't you?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Let's see.....we started out the week at the dentist...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78Qgey9KFRDp7YdxoCoEYFTcyfJNcWKnCSVvEpkhpJHM4DboOcH36dwh5wvOFHUOh0Cm6jdK-FHD23P7Q_bSIgm9r-J9yX9ARZU7KxoEkk3x4_hRLWyYQ_iit7kQwNMcZK63BnZ5IsO3H/s1600/K+at+dentist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78Qgey9KFRDp7YdxoCoEYFTcyfJNcWKnCSVvEpkhpJHM4DboOcH36dwh5wvOFHUOh0Cm6jdK-FHD23P7Q_bSIgm9r-J9yX9ARZU7KxoEkk3x4_hRLWyYQ_iit7kQwNMcZK63BnZ5IsO3H/s320/K+at+dentist.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
I decided that perhaps I should try to do a little better after that. So, the next day we had pedicures.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJg8w7uCi6a6pdm-YBr4dvR2f_aVtBK2frtLy7JSL9YPuuVmZxPHBwjkAbqxKFEEoVDJjQ5vJCrX2oQFSDTvoDVaVd08JmZ4487Gwi6bcYuk9fzlrxebQwoM0U-ahcPTadEDx_LFFoqMf/s1600/K+pedicure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJg8w7uCi6a6pdm-YBr4dvR2f_aVtBK2frtLy7JSL9YPuuVmZxPHBwjkAbqxKFEEoVDJjQ5vJCrX2oQFSDTvoDVaVd08JmZ4487Gwi6bcYuk9fzlrxebQwoM0U-ahcPTadEDx_LFFoqMf/s320/K+pedicure.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Better, yes? Then we had our first all-Bosley-girls-night-out by going to Olive Garden and a movie with Granny.<br />
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After seeing pics of our boys' adventures, these little outings were no longer enough for Miss Katie. She needed to get out of town and do something fun and exciting. Despite the weather trying to deter us, we did just that. <br />
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On Saturday we drove to Lawton and stayed in a hotel where we swam and watched movies. We enjoyed a little fine-dining at Cracker Barrel,<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPsHy6qphxIfZ3JuMWLjPiB27AM2R8tfts_Lb0hjJjMlymSRbpAFraulyyji_tP6pZQx-KPJj1R203hIFxjaPWF6uZ0fhu9gOjmuUj2lVVsF0dBnWxVmNzwtBx37BCwIbtgoxYv-jOAcT/s1600/Crackerbarrel+game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPsHy6qphxIfZ3JuMWLjPiB27AM2R8tfts_Lb0hjJjMlymSRbpAFraulyyji_tP6pZQx-KPJj1R203hIFxjaPWF6uZ0fhu9gOjmuUj2lVVsF0dBnWxVmNzwtBx37BCwIbtgoxYv-jOAcT/s320/Crackerbarrel+game.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">and drove through the Wildlife Refuge</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKNLQSKOOuQpJ_hy2EQ5MA38ln8iNhqd3Vn5wH6GphCvsKFNSLDHTg27lOd1JW7AGZgBPEsK1PCW_d9dC85tpZXQWLLQyfibrMhQmG4CWtpo4tQwZ5jeG-d6TgPkpv5bSJlMUP4nFvwP1/s1600/Buffalo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKNLQSKOOuQpJ_hy2EQ5MA38ln8iNhqd3Vn5wH6GphCvsKFNSLDHTg27lOd1JW7AGZgBPEsK1PCW_d9dC85tpZXQWLLQyfibrMhQmG4CWtpo4tQwZ5jeG-d6TgPkpv5bSJlMUP4nFvwP1/s320/Buffalo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
(hilarious pic of Buffalo "Bobo" had to be indluded here)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlXnJu0Fak8-3UIdtvJiJmTXreACeuH4h1rrYpcAefQQtigkH_D2P8znJtwcJzzRdL2iSSE6aPQ7NCuM1nqkJXIx5dwuZP9Wz0d13VRMyGfgdqcFWmbmsWjx0dPncTD3Uos4k-EdUiu62/s1600/Buffalo+bobo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlXnJu0Fak8-3UIdtvJiJmTXreACeuH4h1rrYpcAefQQtigkH_D2P8znJtwcJzzRdL2iSSE6aPQ7NCuM1nqkJXIx5dwuZP9Wz0d13VRMyGfgdqcFWmbmsWjx0dPncTD3Uos4k-EdUiu62/s320/Buffalo+bobo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">and played on the rocks on Mount Scott.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W2_8ZsMu9kYHFgFgjKwPqnpAJQ1r6ijTQits9rs1CbUdQxVKshBAtjNp3_V765nzLhgn2RgSg5CLkqM02HEyNDhmfDql9hujdFat5orq4ApqeWOOzAn1RNON-i7iYlacvj1Eijq5OLcv/s1600/K+on+rocks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W2_8ZsMu9kYHFgFgjKwPqnpAJQ1r6ijTQits9rs1CbUdQxVKshBAtjNp3_V765nzLhgn2RgSg5CLkqM02HEyNDhmfDql9hujdFat5orq4ApqeWOOzAn1RNON-i7iYlacvj1Eijq5OLcv/s320/K+on+rocks.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TL50oOjBC9_52U-KTH-OPVsQ1zXwe6kkmwK4i19WOOtMJOEdHaSr3jqqs0zveMhTtiTJRoaP1G-yJ3ZDxzHtVvlBaSZufktbz5SBU4NXwePh5-NucptPBtjLhMU12iD5aZcRN4mWOIzg/s1600/K+on+rocks+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TL50oOjBC9_52U-KTH-OPVsQ1zXwe6kkmwK4i19WOOtMJOEdHaSr3jqqs0zveMhTtiTJRoaP1G-yJ3ZDxzHtVvlBaSZufktbz5SBU4NXwePh5-NucptPBtjLhMU12iD5aZcRN4mWOIzg/s320/K+on+rocks+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_T86oTLv_YUK0xJ6dgX2hvH__5RWcjiNzIufpm0DW2Von9wOX_Xg892sGS_7Aj0t-bHxaEultYDUDdXRtKsDHDMnxvz5yUHyqEF5YIWE89V0B47LpZTyKxf3Z3dkWUzOuu7PBcFSXBMfz/s1600/K+at+Mt+scott.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_T86oTLv_YUK0xJ6dgX2hvH__5RWcjiNzIufpm0DW2Von9wOX_Xg892sGS_7Aj0t-bHxaEultYDUDdXRtKsDHDMnxvz5yUHyqEF5YIWE89V0B47LpZTyKxf3Z3dkWUzOuu7PBcFSXBMfz/s320/K+at+Mt+scott.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
As you can tell from the pics, the weather was lovely. But you should be impressed that there actually are pictures here. I'm not exactly used to being the one preserving memories for us! I even had to learn how to use the timer on my camera.<br />
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See?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJSleyAStQClkGYfPcxyi78wXB9zyZMnEm1zAfy8IVzBiGVkdm8trksCvgbAAt-furejXDqZIZdW7R7pyHdwiVE469cOIYVmRLAwpbuD1cdpmf7_psDeq7l631GzK_i_iJ-za1UcN5g2Y/s1600/K+%2526+mom+in+fort+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJSleyAStQClkGYfPcxyi78wXB9zyZMnEm1zAfy8IVzBiGVkdm8trksCvgbAAt-furejXDqZIZdW7R7pyHdwiVE469cOIYVmRLAwpbuD1cdpmf7_psDeq7l631GzK_i_iJ-za1UcN5g2Y/s320/K+%2526+mom+in+fort+tree.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6p6_roVIRfNeR-mjbIr2wBj0iLwd5QLWrJlczRYWKW9lhtOn_q8rCuQJ7qAibcI92HIy8curOAW7swjms3W_e902qsDygsxJaetdJp6ONpcZsFQ9eCQ9hyBfonPOclPRkjzUlpZL00Ae/s1600/K+%2526+mom+on+rocks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6p6_roVIRfNeR-mjbIr2wBj0iLwd5QLWrJlczRYWKW9lhtOn_q8rCuQJ7qAibcI92HIy8curOAW7swjms3W_e902qsDygsxJaetdJp6ONpcZsFQ9eCQ9hyBfonPOclPRkjzUlpZL00Ae/s320/K+%2526+mom+on+rocks.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We actually had a lot of fun even with the cold and the fog. Katie LOVED climbing around on the rocks. I'm pretty sure she's half mountain goat. She told me about every 5 minutes, "This is SO much FUN!!!"<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbVcx5OX8_62HAEN3VS6cNfN7plz4QqxGJ06nR9qCqDV7YaEFunhg7DWoVHDmRSvWxZR3B9P0an9SODvIFlfzdwC6jWzBCNf4gQqVx_7y8cA5WRz9Nu7gcW6Nir_upTtfA79Az-bdrD-k/s1600/K+head+over+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbVcx5OX8_62HAEN3VS6cNfN7plz4QqxGJ06nR9qCqDV7YaEFunhg7DWoVHDmRSvWxZR3B9P0an9SODvIFlfzdwC6jWzBCNf4gQqVx_7y8cA5WRz9Nu7gcW6Nir_upTtfA79Az-bdrD-k/s320/K+head+over+tree.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Today she's been begging me to take her and Noah back there this weekend. She loved it so much, and can't wait to share it with her best bud! I'm not sure how anxious our boys are going to be to jump back in the car, but we'll have to do this for her soon.<br />
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</div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-80340895115848865372011-03-28T11:43:00.000-07:002011-03-28T11:43:27.442-07:00D - A Merry Thunder ChristmasIt is always a challenge for me to think of a good gift for my mother-in-law because she's not really a lady who wants a lot of things, doesn't eat out much, and isn't into girly pedicures or other sissy things that I like. This last Christmas as I struggled to find her something, I came up with a brilliant idea. She likes basketball, she's pretty adventurous and fun and likes to do different types of things, plus she likes my kids a lot. So, why not a Thunder game out with the fam?<br />
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It turns out, in order to get these REALLY good seats,<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xQsBq-nY191CuhQMxfte-1HrAu8rpWlKxC1v0gE_QKMTr-jXKXuqMoLe2NNGNJOEVWitj20MNHAZzVlwriMP0roidr1IAqAAO6I5LJy4XfmyhmmDZRFM2skkBSSU_IEvlqxbpMFl5Bvy/s1600/Thunder+game+high+seats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xQsBq-nY191CuhQMxfte-1HrAu8rpWlKxC1v0gE_QKMTr-jXKXuqMoLe2NNGNJOEVWitj20MNHAZzVlwriMP0roidr1IAqAAO6I5LJy4XfmyhmmDZRFM2skkBSSU_IEvlqxbpMFl5Bvy/s320/Thunder+game+high+seats.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
we weren't able to go until March. She was really patient and waited and waited and waited, but the day finally arrived!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyX8Q-5vnX77RqpY4qGwptzwlRgRO871DIgvSZWG9j3XDmYotyFJ8EsDKemq86xHW9l4WBQICL02e4vn_kNnFpS3mek0QgKttMjxVh48eu-dGEnMF5wy28e2bHKfkkku1kGzROlU5ujPp/s1600/Thunder+game+walk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyX8Q-5vnX77RqpY4qGwptzwlRgRO871DIgvSZWG9j3XDmYotyFJ8EsDKemq86xHW9l4WBQICL02e4vn_kNnFpS3mek0QgKttMjxVh48eu-dGEnMF5wy28e2bHKfkkku1kGzROlU5ujPp/s320/Thunder+game+walk.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We also gave her her very own Thunder tshirt which she wasn't sure if I was serious about her having to wear or not. I guess she didnt' realize just how big of a dork I am! OF COURSE she had to wear it!!!<br />
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I guess I didn't realize how big of a dork she was either.....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJkEbjyC-sxTI5IXAcCYvMUzkjoYfMQKKoFLOP1xWhtzRw-CFL1cm2YJm_SBtBDs2XIx5ox5cvoC7SJwXgsMGhhpwrfRmDv_FlSPoguEsblIx4D1i_AdJ8hMLrK8BU8duJFoxhQUfdCUm/s1600/Thunder+game+Jan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJkEbjyC-sxTI5IXAcCYvMUzkjoYfMQKKoFLOP1xWhtzRw-CFL1cm2YJm_SBtBDs2XIx5ox5cvoC7SJwXgsMGhhpwrfRmDv_FlSPoguEsblIx4D1i_AdJ8hMLrK8BU8duJFoxhQUfdCUm/s320/Thunder+game+Jan.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Before the game we took a little walk along the canal to kill some time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EFBvpU_crVplHqf6h3bvgZsF5MGhPPYYrXy8lHirWcRGFsgFv8fUuRr2wHRsVCluAXFlr1FwQtvd9rtKydStFch3de_WyPXAo6etnxsS8pu-vEMDn5vRWEYAXQCNCAtAvInyARd9ACsE/s1600/Thunder+game+N%2526K+by+pond.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EFBvpU_crVplHqf6h3bvgZsF5MGhPPYYrXy8lHirWcRGFsgFv8fUuRr2wHRsVCluAXFlr1FwQtvd9rtKydStFch3de_WyPXAo6etnxsS8pu-vEMDn5vRWEYAXQCNCAtAvInyARd9ACsE/s320/Thunder+game+N%2526K+by+pond.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The highlight of the game for Noah was when he won a free tshirt by shooting hoops in a Chuck e Cheese style game before the game started. He scored over 80 points and now has an adult XL shirt to prove it. Don't know exactly when he's going to be able to show that one off....<br />
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We had a really good time despite the fact that the Thunder lost in the last seconds of the game to a team they should have EASILY beaten. It made for an exciting ending though. Merry Christmas!Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-68095707677174085772011-03-22T11:21:00.000-07:002011-03-22T11:28:30.246-07:00D - Sweetness and Generosity and Chuck e CheeseAs a reformed sibling-rival, I just love it that my kids get along pretty well most of the time. It's a relationship that works for both of them. Noah hates to be alone - Katie always wants to be with Noah because he's her favorite person on earth. But sometimes they take it to a new level and just really amaze me.<br />
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Last week on Spring Break, we travelled to Houston to my parents house with both of my sisters and their kids. As part of our tradition, we took the whole crew to Chuck e Cheese. Noah has gotten really bad lately about playing all of what I refer to as the "gambling games" where you just put in a coin and hope that whatever gimmick of that particular game decides to grace you with a lot of tickets. I cannot convince him what a waste this is since he runs through his coins so quickly and doesn't get to play the games he actually enjoys all for the thrill of getting a $5 toy that he's bored with by the time we get home.<br />
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Well, this time was no different. By the time our pizza had arrived, Noah had one more coin and the other kids had many, many to go. He was really bummed and sad through his whole meal. When he finished eating, he slumped off to spend his last token, and Katie came over to me asking if she could please give him ALL of her tokens. At first I tried to talk her out of it, but then I remembered who I was talking to. Katie's love language is definitely gifts. She has such a generous spirit, and I decided not to take away her joy by telling her that Noah had to learn his lesson.<br />
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She ran up to him excitedly, and gave him her cup of tokens. He said, "Thanks," and took off to start playing games. I stopped him and asked him if he realized what she had just done for him. When he realized that he was holding all of her coins, he just drooped and said, "I can't take these." I told him that he had to because it made her so happy to give them to him. I also suggested that he just check in with her from time to time and ask if she wanted one.<br />
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Well, (No, I can't tell a story quickly.)...he forgot to check in with her. He found me later all sad and hating himself because he had spent all of her coins and never offered her one. I told him he could repay her by getting her a toy with all of the tickets he earned. Now it was his turn to be generous. Once he got up to the counter, he spent ALL of his tokens on her. I told him he could get himself something, but he was just so anxious to do something kind for her. It made this mama so proud and that sister so happy!<br />
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I am so thankful to God and also to my husband that I have these wonderful kids who constantly teach me lessons about God's love and kindness. I really learned something that day, and I hope they did to. What an honor it is to be their mom.Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-9155144696914035422011-03-09T11:18:00.000-08:002011-03-09T11:18:00.193-08:00D - Bubbles & BuckbeakHuh? You ask. Let me explain.<br />
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We've entered a tough stage with our eldest child where he is feeling pretty independent. He doesn't want us (me especially) to tell him what to do all the time and gets pretty angry with me when I try. I've been trying to teach him that it's okay to get angry with me, but he still has to respond with kindness so we can work the situation out. As a way to signal to one another when we've crossed over into our unkind voices (yep - I'm guilty too), we've come up with a code-word system. As one of us flares up, the other says, "Buckbeak" (my Harry-Potter-freak sister's suggestion) to remind the other to be kind.<br />
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Katie thought this was fun and wanted in on the action as well. She didn't like "Buckbeak" though and wanted her word to be "Bubbles" because she likes that word.<br />
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She and I were having a talk the other day and she started singing, "Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles." I thought, "okay, I'll tone it down a little." Later that night as we were leaving a restaurant, she started again with the singing of "Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles." Since we hadn't been talking at all, I told her that she can't sing that word if it's going to be our code-word. I reminded her how earlier in the day when she started singing it, I started talking nicer and that's how we have to use that word.<br />
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She got an "Oops" sort of look on her face, and said, "You did? I think maybe I was just singing my song then too." So, "Buckbeak" it is.Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-85337322300426647792011-03-07T16:19:00.000-08:002011-03-07T16:19:22.483-08:00D - Privacy, Soccer, Kitchen Updates - Yep! RandomnessSo, I suppose the blog is secret, hidden and private now. I really don't know how to check that - seeing as I have permission to see it and all. It's kind of strange to know exactly who you are writing to. It was rather fun to write to the world at large, but now I know exactly who checks in. Odd. But, Hi, y'all!<br />
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Things have definitely picked up here in the last week as soccer season has started up again. Noah's coach has been out of town, so I've been coordinating practices, uniforms, snacks, game schedules, etc. for two teams, and Mike has been coaching both teams' practices until Don gets back. This has meant a great deal of pizza for the Bosleys! Hopefully I can get things under control a little better next week.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Another recent event which lead to a great deal of fine dining for us was the discovery that we have had a slow leak under our kitchen sink for some time. We had no idea until Mike felt like the kitchen was cooler than usual one morning and decided to look at the vent under the sink and discovered that the cabinet bottom had collapsed. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-oj2sZFV14NMBSxg3aH6CZlcq0pn5xL5xbDdfBLdV8RaKql5TedMykKqfN_yMZd039vltWeFU8Nsk_AiwDD-rnEoSKYx4nPmSTvrY0AkC-N-t6TcOwO_aMkHZkT_QSaJSGmCg3YucmQoa/s1600/2011-02-22+08.26.37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-oj2sZFV14NMBSxg3aH6CZlcq0pn5xL5xbDdfBLdV8RaKql5TedMykKqfN_yMZd039vltWeFU8Nsk_AiwDD-rnEoSKYx4nPmSTvrY0AkC-N-t6TcOwO_aMkHZkT_QSaJSGmCg3YucmQoa/s320/2011-02-22+08.26.37.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBRkvqTgWKJ8of0yfE9uqMP8_nSBlgFF79Xxoe9gzkggpNi0FEYjaaPEeKtegt-HWPk7NG12YSXanMR6hfM-TwFXcuEyvy6GsFujpexA6rGCP73K_tPn8JcMuE8cjjG9JLAejl_d4XUlv/s1600/2011-02-22+09.39.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBRkvqTgWKJ8of0yfE9uqMP8_nSBlgFF79Xxoe9gzkggpNi0FEYjaaPEeKtegt-HWPk7NG12YSXanMR6hfM-TwFXcuEyvy6GsFujpexA6rGCP73K_tPn8JcMuE8cjjG9JLAejl_d4XUlv/s320/2011-02-22+09.39.55.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">He found some mold as well as wet insulation and studs and called in our neighbor who owns a roofing/construction business and had him give us some advice. Things wound up not being quite as awful as we had first anticipated, but it did lead to a week's worth of drying out/demolding/rebuilding. Let me tell you, a kitchen out of commission is no fun!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9j_FHcxjUd24LI1ujrH10maKX00fsLftkiJV9ZXaVycqKT0mw6axHhOVbboQZbeNepMN3FHjz8tS7o48wNcATYOId121H4yIE73nVs4nInB8kemOq6rG_iRXxyYhjDRqtX2_XvSHaCfw/s1600/DSC_2811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9j_FHcxjUd24LI1ujrH10maKX00fsLftkiJV9ZXaVycqKT0mw6axHhOVbboQZbeNepMN3FHjz8tS7o48wNcATYOId121H4yIE73nVs4nInB8kemOq6rG_iRXxyYhjDRqtX2_XvSHaCfw/s320/DSC_2811.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0AGsJGRBjYoICtpRlLO-UvXTR768YrauxjD_vKsvvil6yGc8zbE-evUusIYlMaXbOQymnB8n6sjklnXCfUbdh47K61_yqHdUcNaUCTKycj4QyBCRPDRP7lidLTu50u9yzPJV5erhEn_i/s1600/DSC_2851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0AGsJGRBjYoICtpRlLO-UvXTR768YrauxjD_vKsvvil6yGc8zbE-evUusIYlMaXbOQymnB8n6sjklnXCfUbdh47K61_yqHdUcNaUCTKycj4QyBCRPDRP7lidLTu50u9yzPJV5erhEn_i/s320/DSC_2851.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
But while we were at it, we decided it was time to start considering some kitchen updates. Since we'll be moving in a couple of years, we realized that the old appliances that all have something on them that doesn't quite work were going to have to be replaced. The first update was a new oven and a new built-in shelf for our microwave. It looks so much better now! It's funny how long you can let something go in a state of disrepair and actually become blind to just how bad it looks.<br />
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For example, our built-in microwave quit working years ago. Since it was huge and built-in, there was no readily available replacement that could just slip in there. So, our lovely solution was this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTYSBrd8eWNjHvYdGq31eSY5Va3vMfIuSvFtxmmZaeUMEQLmkyYheH4MXqwl9hSWxl8ee7a5n4yd5fZ1K58CEPcmdZKcdRLwWCxEOUtWjuYm4i-6gD4Hrg_Od8dkD9umWdVFdSVF5HtwE/s1600/oven+%2526+micro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTYSBrd8eWNjHvYdGq31eSY5Va3vMfIuSvFtxmmZaeUMEQLmkyYheH4MXqwl9hSWxl8ee7a5n4yd5fZ1K58CEPcmdZKcdRLwWCxEOUtWjuYm4i-6gD4Hrg_Od8dkD9umWdVFdSVF5HtwE/s320/oven+%2526+micro.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Just stick a too small microwave in the open hole and pretend it looks good. I'm so embarrassed that we left it that way for so long. But now, thanks to some hard work,<br />
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(& after a few slight setbacks....)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha4b5tTDUa27w1rU5IYK6cYsVGph6q9ME_6WX77gu9m6JA8KsPnvap0hlcQoUe8khkKn4UoWTcknY7QkfL7WNLHdfkfL57QYCjYHXD2S56qLWlZqoe8YdUT3gVsZxvc1VgiPHMo6xFw5N/s1600/2011-02-26+17.10.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha4b5tTDUa27w1rU5IYK6cYsVGph6q9ME_6WX77gu9m6JA8KsPnvap0hlcQoUe8khkKn4UoWTcknY7QkfL7WNLHdfkfL57QYCjYHXD2S56qLWlZqoe8YdUT3gVsZxvc1VgiPHMo6xFw5N/s320/2011-02-26+17.10.55.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here's the new look.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSyKv9hPm3Jc9brX4KB5OYwiX3RjJcWGI8TE3ykDx7A0vDon8TCWT92SHcooslhaB84Tnq0lZkPuHW23lFldSYPim2Et_WXA5JzMnxX4jW1387WOZOsI2eDpfQER5Q5GhGHzHPDHZrGSN/s1600/DSC_2861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSyKv9hPm3Jc9brX4KB5OYwiX3RjJcWGI8TE3ykDx7A0vDon8TCWT92SHcooslhaB84Tnq0lZkPuHW23lFldSYPim2Et_WXA5JzMnxX4jW1387WOZOsI2eDpfQER5Q5GhGHzHPDHZrGSN/s320/DSC_2861.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
A definite improvement. I think it will look even better if we get a new microwave with a stainless finish. I'm sure we'll get right on that...<br />
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Well, I've managed to tap out quite a few words for someone who thought they had nothing to say when I first sat down. Have a great week, all!Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-67817087139321163792011-02-27T15:32:00.000-08:002011-02-27T15:32:08.289-08:00D - Going Off the GridAs much as I really hate the idea, I think I'm going to take the blog private. I've been spooked by articles and friends that talk about revealing too much information about my family to the world at large. And since I'm not really one to hold back little details like names, ages, photos, city, state, street, social security #....anything anyone wants to know, I guess I should heed their advice.<br />
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So, this week I'm going to turn on the restriction settings. Please email me, facebook me, comment on the blog, whatever, if you want to keep reading. And PLEASE keep reading! I know I stink at reading my friends' blogs when I don't get their updates in Google Reader. But check in occasionally, okay?Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-37421027543672466482011-02-27T15:25:00.000-08:002011-02-27T15:25:28.385-08:00D - A Very Serious AllergyWhen I was young, my family was NOT a pet family, but I loved, loved, loved cats. I would try to catch the precious little wild kittens that lived around my grandparents' house, & I definitely ordered enough books from Scholastic to get the "free" poster each time one of the fuzzy little guys was available. Eventually, my mom caved and let me get one (& then another, and still another, seeing as they never stayed around the house before running off or being run over).<br />
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So, I'm not sure when/why/how my body changed on me, but I can no longer be in a house with one of these little lovelies without turning into a sneezing, swollen-eyed, closed-off-throat absolute beauty.<br />
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Over time, while witnessing my various reactions to the feline family, Katie has decided that she too is allergic. I was at a baby shower with her a month or so ago, and by the time we left I couldn't even talk over a whisper because my throat had closed off too much. I went straight to the nearest pharmacy to get that taken care of, and K decided that her throat was really hurting too. To humor her, I bought her some of those yummy Ludens lozenges that we all ate like candy when we were young. These REALLY helped her.<br />
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So the next morning when she woke up with a cold, there was no convincing her that she was sick - it was just her serious cat allergy which was clearly far more grave than any measly condition I might claim to have. Fast forward another couple of weeks to another cold/sore throat for Miss K. This time we hadn't been anywhere near a cat, but she had seen one cross the road when we were driving to school. Now THAT, my friends, is an allergy.Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-36735809161229080912011-02-20T14:34:00.000-08:002011-02-20T14:36:01.482-08:00D - Snow! - Take 2In case you've been dying to know whether or not I played with my kids during the second snow week, the answer is "uh-uh." I was all set mentally to make it happen, but it turns out one good week of playing in the snow is pretty much all they are interested in. The second time around, they were perfectly content to stay in the house, play wii games together, watch movies and do school-project crafts. Yay for me! They actually never even asked to go outside.<br />
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But as things began to melt and we began to go stir crazy, we left the house and stopped off at Lowe's to buy one of those elusive snow shovels that they were out of before the snow fell. Noah and I decided that it would be awesome for him to shovel the driveway of our neighbor across the street. She's single and had just been driving on it as it was. Since Noah is working on his LTC Service Challenge, we've really been focusing on how serving others is such a big part of what God calls us to do.<br />
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So......off he (and Katie) went to do the job.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0MApwbK0W9DeEjj19ATlZDFqd9mwjTP3gx0p6XjbjtsZ3zG2RYRlmXiSb_gG26Y4MxO5eHxPefZwbx8cj21HX8BXNuTmxGZ1vk91xjIp3DTqRqe13pydQxP6VBY3jeJLZI2LvS5LIf2Ln/s1600/DSCN0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0MApwbK0W9DeEjj19ATlZDFqd9mwjTP3gx0p6XjbjtsZ3zG2RYRlmXiSb_gG26Y4MxO5eHxPefZwbx8cj21HX8BXNuTmxGZ1vk91xjIp3DTqRqe13pydQxP6VBY3jeJLZI2LvS5LIf2Ln/s320/DSCN0229.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpTgSkCRUuFgOdKF6i7VB86xApnVg6BagKVj6b0h1Fy_lN4rM1IMl3roJKD5uw87SaJjKZhBlF4HeFua5j3XSJZZLce1hpKMAZAAfpfBZOK08QVMgM0X0-l2YSTL61wcMp8Cihuzg-N5d/s1600/DSCN0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpTgSkCRUuFgOdKF6i7VB86xApnVg6BagKVj6b0h1Fy_lN4rM1IMl3roJKD5uw87SaJjKZhBlF4HeFua5j3XSJZZLce1hpKMAZAAfpfBZOK08QVMgM0X0-l2YSTL61wcMp8Cihuzg-N5d/s320/DSCN0231.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I was really proud of them. They did the whole thing without complaining. Actually, that part isn't true. Noah had to do a little complaining because Katie would shovel some snow and throw it behind her on the driveway, so he would then have to pick up what she had just done. She said it took too long to walk all the way over to the grass to dump it. :)<br />
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And, as it turns out, this project wasn't just an act of kindness. Because our nice neighbor caught Noah out there, she gave him a $25 gift certificate to take his family out for pizza at Old Chicago. Huh? Where else can I drop them off to do some work out of the goodness of their lucrative little hearts?Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-28177506998733984802011-02-13T11:09:00.000-08:002011-02-13T11:09:44.188-08:00D - Facebook Highlights 2010 & A New Look<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">One of the things I most want to preserve on this blog is all of the funny things my kiddos say. But since I didn't do any blogging last year, the only remembrances I have are those that I put on Facebook. So I'm adding my Facebook highlights from last year to have them on the blog. Sorry that you've already seen this!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_JF5ihO1ykgbdBm1o2xecJW88Bz5UGyhJRKzPTbXLla_xFZJwwr0L5vZpqcrEFcOE0SK7CdRv96KHrf6WKtXeLWZT9usa73PdoYt_e-_SYLMPq2RX4m1nJBdZEBl_VTgiweEoWAMd2yK/s1600/My+Year+in+Status+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_JF5ihO1ykgbdBm1o2xecJW88Bz5UGyhJRKzPTbXLla_xFZJwwr0L5vZpqcrEFcOE0SK7CdRv96KHrf6WKtXeLWZT9usa73PdoYt_e-_SYLMPq2RX4m1nJBdZEBl_VTgiweEoWAMd2yK/s640/My+Year+in+Status+small.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But don't you like the new look of the blog? Look at me starting to catch up to all you cool peeps!</div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-61403544130579582202011-02-08T12:40:00.000-08:002011-02-08T12:40:56.671-08:00D - Snow! - Take 1Well, it turns out that it only takes about 5 posts to catch up on a year's worth of family fun. Hmmmmm. I guess my life isn't all that exciting after all. From here on out it's all downhill, so I guess I'll ramble on a little about the weather. That's what you do when you have nothing else to talk about, right?<br />
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Well, it's cold here. And I hate being cold. I freeze all summer long because I'm not dressed appropriately for the frigid restaurant temperatures, so I actually somewhat look forward to winter when I can layer up. What I don't EVER look forward to is snow. I'm not like you fun moms who are out building snowmen and sledding with your children. I just layer the clothes on my kiddos and watch them from the window. "Ahhhhhhh. Aren't they cute?," I say as I laugh at their antics.<br />
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But since Mike is a much more fun father than I am a mother, he took the kiddos out to play. See? Proof.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52G_EmNTASkXz3SWq1W4GV96oPMF7vTBgcTqIY4Wrpfdq9UnE2sJUZ5bOrpkgwi7osBh5SXDouW3c_ZK2Y_BPLck95EXEfubRHg4FIDPIigL9Cyx_-asPesqePXYBo6eBRI09_1jxdWex/s1600/mn%2526k.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52G_EmNTASkXz3SWq1W4GV96oPMF7vTBgcTqIY4Wrpfdq9UnE2sJUZ5bOrpkgwi7osBh5SXDouW3c_ZK2Y_BPLck95EXEfubRHg4FIDPIigL9Cyx_-asPesqePXYBo6eBRI09_1jxdWex/s320/mn%2526k.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SJKOmRpy2Lqr4X7gvdBndSz31I0ZEw9bWGNcdw8iE_qz-i-qcPQS9dSkq2pQiaOl9gsmzz3_XGsTAwgr2DAQSLGx4Vcd4mCvLC1tGIc2JApr8Ky_ryYVKRbQxCAqimZaq-KEqJlc88Br/s1600/N%2526K+in+tow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SJKOmRpy2Lqr4X7gvdBndSz31I0ZEw9bWGNcdw8iE_qz-i-qcPQS9dSkq2pQiaOl9gsmzz3_XGsTAwgr2DAQSLGx4Vcd4mCvLC1tGIc2JApr8Ky_ryYVKRbQxCAqimZaq-KEqJlc88Br/s320/N%2526K+in+tow.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
And my sister, too, is more fun than I. She and her fam came down to play. I hear tales of exciting snowball fights and snowmen. More proof.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmK1pWlS__r39IVDqRzRP5npvMgE2QiiqoOXAdkJgMDGkO-HbAmyScnEKtNieBfqG8Fq-5cmHKIEzCxMvOv6GF_t4URSVcQdbx7IC4u9F9hPOhleXGdZZlyzHSi9ep7XW_sBdPHRuwF3qx/s1600/snowman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmK1pWlS__r39IVDqRzRP5npvMgE2QiiqoOXAdkJgMDGkO-HbAmyScnEKtNieBfqG8Fq-5cmHKIEzCxMvOv6GF_t4URSVcQdbx7IC4u9F9hPOhleXGdZZlyzHSi9ep7XW_sBdPHRuwF3qx/s320/snowman.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lpmvC0u6XMQSUffI_QIyYNvrmJo2IoH8IAtc54VdUfCt5kjLpinCi0DLZo7Cv34X93pJxi0Hyb7JKIUHQBSsGaYIhDcM5cGYncuTEf3ZYNWGhTuniKNXtESi7dvP11K-ogE5YzKyaK7J/s1600/snowball+fight.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lpmvC0u6XMQSUffI_QIyYNvrmJo2IoH8IAtc54VdUfCt5kjLpinCi0DLZo7Cv34X93pJxi0Hyb7JKIUHQBSsGaYIhDcM5cGYncuTEf3ZYNWGhTuniKNXtESi7dvP11K-ogE5YzKyaK7J/s320/snowball+fight.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJ9C2rWiNlKxChgjNiv1Zr-9iyOPgf-6hLEeNAgbztM8XhNpUTUSJ7a4t6udF6m_OjP5mTuMrutcERclIbyYnAaBdR-i8_el5eRMDFaYXRbgWx1RtXPk0rVANsXa0fFRSYc6o3ZXDmJox/s1600/fergs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJ9C2rWiNlKxChgjNiv1Zr-9iyOPgf-6hLEeNAgbztM8XhNpUTUSJ7a4t6udF6m_OjP5mTuMrutcERclIbyYnAaBdR-i8_el5eRMDFaYXRbgWx1RtXPk0rVANsXa0fFRSYc6o3ZXDmJox/s320/fergs.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeUkwdsNABd8pkMTAwLFJmSM371WWOuJo1NdzCKG0PdFazgFJ6ye2suWup3dv2d69ji0P3d8RlnN7UdfiSCPY8C87iSxBehr7zmG0YCbcz2LWannvSnlSlPYeXakFXxP_x-WHkoVR0eWW/s1600/mary+and+clay+and+snowman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeUkwdsNABd8pkMTAwLFJmSM371WWOuJo1NdzCKG0PdFazgFJ6ye2suWup3dv2d69ji0P3d8RlnN7UdfiSCPY8C87iSxBehr7zmG0YCbcz2LWannvSnlSlPYeXakFXxP_x-WHkoVR0eWW/s320/mary+and+clay+and+snowman.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
But this picture....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrX6Z67rz41IvZ4e3ZrjekJR0ltoaHS9JbiWwMb3ykQjgkt_3F79HQc3N4Mav3pqdezxPENTp21FsnlzFgk7M4knooyXaoQhjqjIMJfEaU5i32uNj6DbeA6YzL_P7pRMYR2i4hXyKNanpC/s1600/N+eating+snow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrX6Z67rz41IvZ4e3ZrjekJR0ltoaHS9JbiWwMb3ykQjgkt_3F79HQc3N4Mav3pqdezxPENTp21FsnlzFgk7M4knooyXaoQhjqjIMJfEaU5i32uNj6DbeA6YzL_P7pRMYR2i4hXyKNanpC/s320/N+eating+snow.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
....that one there, really got to me. It sparked a memory from long ago of another time when I was looking out the window, watching this same kid eat him a big ole' snowball.<br />
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This one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioM9ez2Ge_9kyVY2c1XunSz954ULqi5iajnWSJOj8TYoOsHmtsai_mkORuHCb47G1iXMfJOb10O6R0MC-ZOXjStIrzBT266RHA3W_AFER6v8jz2hS-v7weOvRSSmVVfIGnHvXWmsW9l6eh/s1600/little+noah+eating+snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioM9ez2Ge_9kyVY2c1XunSz954ULqi5iajnWSJOj8TYoOsHmtsai_mkORuHCb47G1iXMfJOb10O6R0MC-ZOXjStIrzBT266RHA3W_AFER6v8jz2hS-v7weOvRSSmVVfIGnHvXWmsW9l6eh/s320/little+noah+eating+snow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
How can that be?<br />
<br />
And when I was searching the computer for that one, I stumbled on this one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnn94CIEPeFggQBKJ5AFB_5Haz6KDyrxveE4nXdzpawcy-SiHxM66I90Yp4bGhWyrsQ16aIomblmhORd98tABEqpYsHehh_aAFOo0uYoNSMz5YXaW1oCu1BC7OuOdOnWcGRNfXg263J-9X/s1600/little+noah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnn94CIEPeFggQBKJ5AFB_5Haz6KDyrxveE4nXdzpawcy-SiHxM66I90Yp4bGhWyrsQ16aIomblmhORd98tABEqpYsHehh_aAFOo0uYoNSMz5YXaW1oCu1BC7OuOdOnWcGRNfXg263J-9X/s320/little+noah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And this one, which proves I once was willing to brave the frigid temps to be a fun mom.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hr24kV1OrqJOgh7swSi4_dSya575NAY62m1T4_aIyV0BUhbyNJdnDx09vju_BjITjjZNjCovPicwwXEXJB7DPq02COdBM36vCO0CXJbRGGqconosYz8-Zm8olNDAy6Za6QMGtNUp0DLt/s1600/mom+dad+noah+snowman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hr24kV1OrqJOgh7swSi4_dSya575NAY62m1T4_aIyV0BUhbyNJdnDx09vju_BjITjjZNjCovPicwwXEXJB7DPq02COdBM36vCO0CXJbRGGqconosYz8-Zm8olNDAy6Za6QMGtNUp0DLt/s320/mom+dad+noah+snowman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Which tells me that I may have it in me to do it again. Maybe tomorrow I'll be more fun than I was last week...... or maybe I'll just stay inside with this chick who also doesn't like to layer up and we'll just eat us some brownies!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt2imDfrulCSVQA6Mu1bMOc-Dov899p04zkW2kpD3kezz2SYAy6WPIryl3Qzfv6j0O0ExYvWxrwcGkVEWOqcKrFC9yVwIz_CRMUC7lqVsQrzAi9cfZmUPeetihxOmfWYx9NvV061ptd_8w/s1600/k%2526+Brownie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt2imDfrulCSVQA6Mu1bMOc-Dov899p04zkW2kpD3kezz2SYAy6WPIryl3Qzfv6j0O0ExYvWxrwcGkVEWOqcKrFC9yVwIz_CRMUC7lqVsQrzAi9cfZmUPeetihxOmfWYx9NvV061ptd_8w/s320/k%2526+Brownie.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-16951901863351500192011-02-01T14:54:00.000-08:002011-02-01T14:54:09.997-08:00D - The Land, The LandHaving grown up in Ardmore on 60 acres, Mike has never quite been at home living in "town," watching his high-fallutin' cable tv and not having to hitch up the wagon to go to the store. Oh, he's made due by fishing in our pond, catching crawdads in the creek, and photographing all kinds of wildlife that the rest of the people around here have no idea lives in their vicinity. But there just seems to be something missing from his life.<br />
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Well, no more. Back in November, the Fergusons and the Bosleys joined forces to buy 'em some land. Ahhhh - the land, the land!<br />
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Here we are, signing our lives away.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJt_bPQOWAtVqjPIjs1FeIihX6LoBKPdww2wJTzsnmycJvmvWW2UAeqTei1lOyFHaayHw-RdTX4wmJIiUA6oMeoUJOoTzJc-CSTET_vSp9B7r3IhX9FLYvVY5Wg6T1SCnZS9RBJ0oXVBB/s1600/closing+pic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJt_bPQOWAtVqjPIjs1FeIihX6LoBKPdww2wJTzsnmycJvmvWW2UAeqTei1lOyFHaayHw-RdTX4wmJIiUA6oMeoUJOoTzJc-CSTET_vSp9B7r3IhX9FLYvVY5Wg6T1SCnZS9RBJ0oXVBB/s320/closing+pic.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> Our celebration picnic the next day<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGfkRV2nsJ6Ts7oOeucMT8Na6RMCfKKTIqsXoneeaQQ_GCkrsRmzQ-9RtBrx514gS4ytir9ms2oTgvPEr0OnmYayoXJWo5xrGCROxBx1A6zLRkJ949TWa5DSEewD2qAvp6Twr0dIu-NMoc/s1600/picnic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGfkRV2nsJ6Ts7oOeucMT8Na6RMCfKKTIqsXoneeaQQ_GCkrsRmzQ-9RtBrx514gS4ytir9ms2oTgvPEr0OnmYayoXJWo5xrGCROxBx1A6zLRkJ949TWa5DSEewD2qAvp6Twr0dIu-NMoc/s320/picnic.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOd77OeteX5xZ0rLT04I1F57oywiscGuSPQbYP11qoFViJXUlYyaPmUlU0lP1PVmG52fFYal1F-BIYVb2MVU6dp7ddmn0HaHi_UzeZhW2gMCAiQbdUVGArWrOBtk7XWr0O47Ge1isLcGTl/s1600/picnic+group+shot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOd77OeteX5xZ0rLT04I1F57oywiscGuSPQbYP11qoFViJXUlYyaPmUlU0lP1PVmG52fFYal1F-BIYVb2MVU6dp7ddmn0HaHi_UzeZhW2gMCAiQbdUVGArWrOBtk7XWr0O47Ge1isLcGTl/s320/picnic+group+shot.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We each bought 5 acres and we plan on building on it sometime in the next couple of years. <br />
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If you look REALLY closely, you can catch a peek of Lake Arcadia in this one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8TPSCVspBHU5-cIMJq7BAamP1Bjyrb9q0ZSiQ9quDXKMSitmP7oKDFyqO9JoeqxSZB0seYdyppgY176iHb1hB_aJXJsP1BahH9bx6hZRry3MgVzYi6x2lJ0AqfxpG5g9wG5ZeHgh36tx/s1600/lake+peek+in+summer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8TPSCVspBHU5-cIMJq7BAamP1Bjyrb9q0ZSiQ9quDXKMSitmP7oKDFyqO9JoeqxSZB0seYdyppgY176iHb1hB_aJXJsP1BahH9bx6hZRry3MgVzYi6x2lJ0AqfxpG5g9wG5ZeHgh36tx/s320/lake+peek+in+summer.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <br />
And if you climb a tree in the winter, you can see it even better!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Witgp2WE2MXhyphenhypheneu2x4yq9QOViv-HAsl9UKni6pvBoEGrAlxa159vPXeIw0bH8IL0ZQeXFuaSv61buqemoJcpJWF4NdnRtONhg_ydeW6ODS8dA2bm1z8GJpJFUlejbQSSy_G9MBDADvAx/s1600/lake+view+from+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Witgp2WE2MXhyphenhypheneu2x4yq9QOViv-HAsl9UKni6pvBoEGrAlxa159vPXeIw0bH8IL0ZQeXFuaSv61buqemoJcpJWF4NdnRtONhg_ydeW6ODS8dA2bm1z8GJpJFUlejbQSSy_G9MBDADvAx/s320/lake+view+from+tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But Mary and Neil have the real waterfront views around here. Just take a look at their pond!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRp_jiaN8ITKPSXRlT-ns9dBVA2AuLa3F-ma62Ih3_dZTulIJfMqnQ8NXgfktGpubNgT3MtPWms4kJBsfzNMosIEFi3Lhyphenhyphen56Wop8ddGDIwU3hNjFSwGMCo9BvzfTUj5IXskPdHxAyP9fpp/s1600/M%2526N+pond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRp_jiaN8ITKPSXRlT-ns9dBVA2AuLa3F-ma62Ih3_dZTulIJfMqnQ8NXgfktGpubNgT3MtPWms4kJBsfzNMosIEFi3Lhyphenhyphen56Wop8ddGDIwU3hNjFSwGMCo9BvzfTUj5IXskPdHxAyP9fpp/s320/M%2526N+pond.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We have a lot of work to do to get this land the way we want it, and Mike has put us all to work. This is how we have been spending our Saturdays this winter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First, some fine dining in the back of the van,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZILTIcyI1h1xcKupBwFnqT3YHDkL5a0YOvXaB0_hv3WsmN3J8hpYeKAuPeIBuiDaUoryI8Fz1XXmjAv5Rqc8POTZDL1X40JKPK8ypsCzNshn0YbAi9ES_pp2jYUmtg5iVbPdxFUSGeubK/s1600/van+picnic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZILTIcyI1h1xcKupBwFnqT3YHDkL5a0YOvXaB0_hv3WsmN3J8hpYeKAuPeIBuiDaUoryI8Fz1XXmjAv5Rqc8POTZDL1X40JKPK8ypsCzNshn0YbAi9ES_pp2jYUmtg5iVbPdxFUSGeubK/s320/van+picnic.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
followed by a lot of work. Mike has the fun job of using his chain saw and pole saw to clear the mess from around all of the trees of any size.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESWjvxppeO5-ra7gW7gq4mCUDXFQcNmwCP_WCLJhxgqPkKADVKe394iRUpefdfXZRU8nCIpzeGl7alFXsOEHYhq1VXFbfNEAWqUsgi7nM_tXrMJBbzeNR1i_wWNhIj2jUYJ2B7SPiPtpi/s1600/tree+clearing+in+progress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESWjvxppeO5-ra7gW7gq4mCUDXFQcNmwCP_WCLJhxgqPkKADVKe394iRUpefdfXZRU8nCIpzeGl7alFXsOEHYhq1VXFbfNEAWqUsgi7nM_tXrMJBbzeNR1i_wWNhIj2jUYJ2B7SPiPtpi/s320/tree+clearing+in+progress.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I then have the pleasure of hauling all of the discarded limbs to a massive pile that we will eventually have to shred into mulch. Fun!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSLcnhV_rdsktZqzT7_3-c6cTunuRlFWeEWS848-HAvyczzGZo5pIsxrYaBSnxPhAhLJVwoajo-IKgRQ2um77sKqfay1tJwG3x0B07nvGmXK_SCr2qsaeKTvk_AoAsBPri8DTsEHY1o6sm/s1600/mom+hauling+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSLcnhV_rdsktZqzT7_3-c6cTunuRlFWeEWS848-HAvyczzGZo5pIsxrYaBSnxPhAhLJVwoajo-IKgRQ2um77sKqfay1tJwG3x0B07nvGmXK_SCr2qsaeKTvk_AoAsBPri8DTsEHY1o6sm/s320/mom+hauling+tree.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The kids aren't immune to work either. Oh, no! Noah was so proud of downing his first tree. You can tell by the sunlight that it took him an entire day to get this down with a hatchet. He was pretty proud of his huge blister too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidP-Fz0rBEYDqsv_Bbe54k7Et_ikwjykMJ0Mivz3hCo5bRyOQqUFz8LN5T4JO39DSAy4hUujzmuuAkmlv0Tqr6qXkTDDta3CDEjXI92HuoQ2iIxmSM6w_rUmYOJqbk13TpYcf2kZk2Tc8v/s1600/n+hatchet+job.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidP-Fz0rBEYDqsv_Bbe54k7Et_ikwjykMJ0Mivz3hCo5bRyOQqUFz8LN5T4JO39DSAy4hUujzmuuAkmlv0Tqr6qXkTDDta3CDEjXI92HuoQ2iIxmSM6w_rUmYOJqbk13TpYcf2kZk2Tc8v/s320/n+hatchet+job.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2RRESFeTCxofHW2nKX4e3k3dGfgb4HMisSFYgL20KRRneA0MIjSHm4knAoLjeWPDpGOMk3G5ofBmI0I2FUy5EFnOUqHche110A-2WuiCdjrqzXWnbXKYUTEtT_CT3vuxIXPwc4dbI2-j/s1600/n+hatchet+job+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2RRESFeTCxofHW2nKX4e3k3dGfgb4HMisSFYgL20KRRneA0MIjSHm4knAoLjeWPDpGOMk3G5ofBmI0I2FUy5EFnOUqHche110A-2WuiCdjrqzXWnbXKYUTEtT_CT3vuxIXPwc4dbI2-j/s320/n+hatchet+job+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4bhkEjJTmIWjTwY99dI1ObsZX-u-CG1ryqihKhIvMg-wU3GJZsMQG28gy52QP5nNAhyphenhyphenK3pWrkAJW5mtmHcDVLC_dxNPxx97RngdStogAcgyL0QY6Bf8eqrHi65QO5DRmC700FdDWFqAM/s1600/n+hatchet+job+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4bhkEjJTmIWjTwY99dI1ObsZX-u-CG1ryqihKhIvMg-wU3GJZsMQG28gy52QP5nNAhyphenhyphenK3pWrkAJW5mtmHcDVLC_dxNPxx97RngdStogAcgyL0QY6Bf8eqrHi65QO5DRmC700FdDWFqAM/s320/n+hatchet+job+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And even our baby girl is hard at work. She is an evergreen removal machine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VMTV_YHTewHyS69Joet2R4i6hgHO5qrgctDjwOaJ6-xmEWiTCmqOj4RFirOpYKzT-krO4pvUG0E89J68VSKxKt_I1_0KnYUfID0lu69bP3TVaaGLULuaZgnaFd4xG8BS86czFiuI7HAt/s1600/k+clipping+evergreens.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VMTV_YHTewHyS69Joet2R4i6hgHO5qrgctDjwOaJ6-xmEWiTCmqOj4RFirOpYKzT-krO4pvUG0E89J68VSKxKt_I1_0KnYUfID0lu69bP3TVaaGLULuaZgnaFd4xG8BS86czFiuI7HAt/s320/k+clipping+evergreens.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once they earn their keep, they are allowed to have some fun. They love to ride their bikes down the big hill.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlzEk43Yk4WleHmq03C-S5wnP0wcVYM4t7XRMJx91SfqPFgOcczd00q8RWUGLqw0CPT7G4FzPHH_76O2TDSmtPn5yxcOSYffqVL_zo5eZlhPIBfXjMyaR35YiYebW0CuU2KsXKp8E34JL/s1600/n%2526K+bikes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlzEk43Yk4WleHmq03C-S5wnP0wcVYM4t7XRMJx91SfqPFgOcczd00q8RWUGLqw0CPT7G4FzPHH_76O2TDSmtPn5yxcOSYffqVL_zo5eZlhPIBfXjMyaR35YiYebW0CuU2KsXKp8E34JL/s320/n%2526K+bikes.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And swing on the tire swing</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3TU7VMmhw8D8MRkxyWv3JwzuipEJHS7yQw9uUHwd1T7GzYGpEXOPHOtscK-6afaq1lt6tCZC3lSX-g707cj0qC7IhogsYSEvy4jOW1dS0iXi1JzRr9OOl9SQLA_5cZhc2uh1nq5DykVz/s1600/tire+swing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3TU7VMmhw8D8MRkxyWv3JwzuipEJHS7yQw9uUHwd1T7GzYGpEXOPHOtscK-6afaq1lt6tCZC3lSX-g707cj0qC7IhogsYSEvy4jOW1dS0iXi1JzRr9OOl9SQLA_5cZhc2uh1nq5DykVz/s320/tire+swing.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Mike has Noah all set up to be a full-fledged country boy with his new bb gun and bow & arrow.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YKiCW51t-_8nHI6NPAQOX6gPrrvXwab4FqGdXf4gkTV2COUgc1ZFdeiHkw9lF9uS1p-qVzXylfU5kRn0JRH3qQyXk_6BM5QWd6eoq_nbB_Lg0K9TDbqushbp2nW0iEsPd7YS05KF-iHF/s1600/n+bb+gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YKiCW51t-_8nHI6NPAQOX6gPrrvXwab4FqGdXf4gkTV2COUgc1ZFdeiHkw9lF9uS1p-qVzXylfU5kRn0JRH3qQyXk_6BM5QWd6eoq_nbB_Lg0K9TDbqushbp2nW0iEsPd7YS05KF-iHF/s320/n+bb+gun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVax6w94GAX7b99IdGp52gNlZdu5wc2zP8TFlZHxqi38m-Gwz1ZRGSu2hNbRXwU7wIRNjqiPefs8VQjQN901__R7qhyjxK9fG2BYyvISZeiZGWD4y5NVpuCQmYoFPGbxvXRxe2MLrnTUI5/s1600/n+bow+%2526+arrow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVax6w94GAX7b99IdGp52gNlZdu5wc2zP8TFlZHxqi38m-Gwz1ZRGSu2hNbRXwU7wIRNjqiPefs8VQjQN901__R7qhyjxK9fG2BYyvISZeiZGWD4y5NVpuCQmYoFPGbxvXRxe2MLrnTUI5/s320/n+bow+%2526+arrow.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Even Katie is embracing the new life.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6lVPlLrWvL81Y1fwS_DV01jXW11uEsVcAxEZ0QJxY48w2iVeU6bd0DPY7lZ9TJUZCOk_XK2LW1RyOXRa_du5jocIEq4CSwsuEUupnbpIS2NSgv6Vq-fKxdim_evQ9FtLyVqIbKV0-lD3/s1600/k+climbing+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6lVPlLrWvL81Y1fwS_DV01jXW11uEsVcAxEZ0QJxY48w2iVeU6bd0DPY7lZ9TJUZCOk_XK2LW1RyOXRa_du5jocIEq4CSwsuEUupnbpIS2NSgv6Vq-fKxdim_evQ9FtLyVqIbKV0-lD3/s320/k+climbing+tree.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like the fire pit she and Mike built?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kpIBfZPf5u3pTAfdruKCF1GThUTaiD0S08Rf4qI0PxpskFAtxcMHiR43fHC6F_YNidB59SveyVhXNRyKJ1J95M70p-Z-zNYLHh16_dc0R2TZg5vAopHF9gJngMP4H3WwpvEKyqPPbsmK/s1600/M%2526K+firepit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kpIBfZPf5u3pTAfdruKCF1GThUTaiD0S08Rf4qI0PxpskFAtxcMHiR43fHC6F_YNidB59SveyVhXNRyKJ1J95M70p-Z-zNYLHh16_dc0R2TZg5vAopHF9gJngMP4H3WwpvEKyqPPbsmK/s320/M%2526K+firepit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yes, the hillbill-ification of my family has begun. But I'm not joining them. Not yet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdBbFNK7qROLoj2S7r9BLwEYY_Lh9D9Vh6n1PArlMFsdpIbSZP3tvcDJygVPvKhODAZc8NVCqPTTK1Q-PLKQRHkjYa1ZF0-wA7QW-too0Ev2ST8RFhhtB1-8JwJhHm6kX2GEeV3CjKfFf/s1600/hillbillies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdBbFNK7qROLoj2S7r9BLwEYY_Lh9D9Vh6n1PArlMFsdpIbSZP3tvcDJygVPvKhODAZc8NVCqPTTK1Q-PLKQRHkjYa1ZF0-wA7QW-too0Ev2ST8RFhhtB1-8JwJhHm6kX2GEeV3CjKfFf/s320/hillbillies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-80906036470808859592011-01-24T09:26:00.000-08:002011-01-24T11:41:50.533-08:00D - Christmas 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The funny thing about traditions is that it is wonderful for the family but not so very interesting for a blog. You see, we do the same thing year after year, so I've already told you this story both <a href="http://bozbuzz.blogspot.com/2010/01/d-favorite-night-of-year.html">here</a> and <a href="http://bozbuzz.blogspot.com/2009/01/m-my-favorite-day-of-year.html">here</a>. So, I'll try my best to make this short and sweet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are my two favorite clowns grilling our steaks and shrimp for our Christmas dinner.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICz1ZrTVCxP6X1sTkm4y0TIOB2ITnV9Ahyh4x7TOWDbB1HnexugXCPRQiabFvw_Wom_LL21TmJvZDvjmNaC5C0GLSjM35DyYTiEpe2qV3SVChLkM5q-t8_bfMGfF7He-RI7OSXrOpM1hq/s1600/DSC_8756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICz1ZrTVCxP6X1sTkm4y0TIOB2ITnV9Ahyh4x7TOWDbB1HnexugXCPRQiabFvw_Wom_LL21TmJvZDvjmNaC5C0GLSjM35DyYTiEpe2qV3SVChLkM5q-t8_bfMGfF7He-RI7OSXrOpM1hq/s320/DSC_8756.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Eating our "fancy" meal in the living room in front of the tree.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GGsYxbaRerM7TvCmxWEGaGHyM3MLdDWHXy41CnUVIlNPmjZZL2JRBwSoAlKgyHjRtljPWyz_cJlqIN9zqlLzNTIYaxR_aRRqM7rUG6_akOrWRHomhRQyCLgyNAL6vTDEbpHwUH-QNgy_/s1600/DSC_8809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GGsYxbaRerM7TvCmxWEGaGHyM3MLdDWHXy41CnUVIlNPmjZZL2JRBwSoAlKgyHjRtljPWyz_cJlqIN9zqlLzNTIYaxR_aRRqM7rUG6_akOrWRHomhRQyCLgyNAL6vTDEbpHwUH-QNgy_/s320/DSC_8809.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Still a clown while posing for pics as dad gets the camera set up<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGVPQRu7tLMx3F3b52-eDUKYDJ1tbW-9TxtPlQ74XS3UUsZjjIHTvDD3_EM2vJAtHcEqJCv2PzuoGcDeML2mxe3SDw_ydjZsrxm1Q1nsE4hqOdnnyodSCnMH8gtZIjkMclSHePVlOXG_E/s1600/DSC_8917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGVPQRu7tLMx3F3b52-eDUKYDJ1tbW-9TxtPlQ74XS3UUsZjjIHTvDD3_EM2vJAtHcEqJCv2PzuoGcDeML2mxe3SDw_ydjZsrxm1Q1nsE4hqOdnnyodSCnMH8gtZIjkMclSHePVlOXG_E/s320/DSC_8917.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Ahhhhhh. Enter little sister to ensure some sweet pics<br />
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The fam<br />
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Oh, wait! She can be ornery too.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But this year for your viewing pleasure, we're including a brief video of our big night. Such fun!</div><br />
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We had another wonderful Christmas. Noah's favorite gift of the year was from his dad - 2 tickets to the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas in March. He's INCREDIBLY pumped for their big road-trip "mancation." Katie's favorite gift was a pillow pet she got from Mary and Neil. Hmmmmmmm. Methinks I could have saved a lot of money on her if I'd known exactly how high her expectations were.....Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-50993517562601032692011-01-21T15:39:00.000-08:002011-01-21T15:39:21.964-08:00D - Errrr, Ummmm, Make that "Elk"Oops! Mike told me that all of the "moose" that we were seeing in Colorado were actually elk. I guess they were still really cool. Here's some of his favorite pics.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc-1FDfrB5_gP_SoEmyzT4XGEfgxx5usJ-BUKrXhBSrq8G0G8zaGj5CQ5SR3ScEMKYXV46O7hnuiW4Pu-lPz3XSP5MlUnaN1z0auj8EZJxe7qFiaT3jsB0jDkUSK04zNyayregNXhSWdU/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc-1FDfrB5_gP_SoEmyzT4XGEfgxx5usJ-BUKrXhBSrq8G0G8zaGj5CQ5SR3ScEMKYXV46O7hnuiW4Pu-lPz3XSP5MlUnaN1z0auj8EZJxe7qFiaT3jsB0jDkUSK04zNyayregNXhSWdU/s320/DSC_0124.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1554937245519044085.post-84284043593517256012011-01-16T15:15:00.000-08:002011-01-17T14:34:50.687-08:00D - YMCA of the RockiesLast September we had the pleasure of driving to Colorado to attend the wedding of one of my oldest and dearest friends. Susan and I met at Sooner Youth Camp back when we were in our early teens, and we have been great long-distance friends ever since. She has such an adventurous spirit, and I am always marvelling at whatever bold and unexpected turn her life takes. We could not be more different! I have learned to expect the unexpected with her. So, when she called to tell me she was getting married and I had barely even known she was dating anyone, I just laughed, packed our bags, and we drove to Estes Park, Colorado.<br /><br />Fun pics as we crossed the state line...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZTKEJlpO6PO-ZQp6k-f0v3-v6lNu-uinehKMpXFyvB7Tw5wKhZzp5i7IWr4XMJne8lUYhI1GkuHDKeHe2SZdHKQJCp6DhGpvAaLXjc8KyA_LghpDTUDkjeuQA8wjyPNs0Dv_xSS0CHqV/s1600/1+K+%2526+N+co+sign.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562906485129488210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZTKEJlpO6PO-ZQp6k-f0v3-v6lNu-uinehKMpXFyvB7Tw5wKhZzp5i7IWr4XMJne8lUYhI1GkuHDKeHe2SZdHKQJCp6DhGpvAaLXjc8KyA_LghpDTUDkjeuQA8wjyPNs0Dv_xSS0CHqV/s320/1+K+%2526+N+co+sign.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxVMmR5_lR8bkTqju8j_3XP4o8tY-uLUir2QwpS68fgS6cmADqwBtl0R2p16QjZfNQvytMQ9dDo32mVkaLgeZNdqmWNqvbC5kzCjyNS_zvLa5Bn3mHtWtudofPbauLrQA1XyruqkB6QFK/s1600/2+fam+co+sign.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562906481824398834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxVMmR5_lR8bkTqju8j_3XP4o8tY-uLUir2QwpS68fgS6cmADqwBtl0R2p16QjZfNQvytMQ9dDo32mVkaLgeZNdqmWNqvbC5kzCjyNS_zvLa5Bn3mHtWtudofPbauLrQA1XyruqkB6QFK/s320/2+fam+co+sign.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We had no idea what to expect when we heard she was getting married at the YMCA of the Rockies and she wanted us to stay there in the cabins. I mean, we are members of the Y and all, but I have no interest in spending the night there.<br /><br />As it turns out, we were truly impressed with what we found. It was a HUGE resort facility set in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. There were multiple lodges as well as hundreds of individual cabins. We didn't get to do much there since we were there for a short weekend, but it had so much to offer. Each day had activity classes offered every hour such as arts and crafts, horseback riding, zipline, etc. It was so impressive. It would be such a wonderful place for a family reunion or something similar.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQO-Q2OvzqsVuGkS9VNqa7EnhKZUNAvLXLH_BBocaTP3wERJHn210XQVXp3YlI0AzRLMPN-RB7t9mHWso6Ifr4dmGGzHmqKvFRsdEQ7Kr6vDpjxwyV5xxN2eVAveuQ-AOGZAEKwDd3hink/s1600/3+ymca+of+rockies.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562906086407152290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQO-Q2OvzqsVuGkS9VNqa7EnhKZUNAvLXLH_BBocaTP3wERJHn210XQVXp3YlI0AzRLMPN-RB7t9mHWso6Ifr4dmGGzHmqKvFRsdEQ7Kr6vDpjxwyV5xxN2eVAveuQ-AOGZAEKwDd3hink/s320/3+ymca+of+rockies.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Our little cabin<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgiWEqwk0OcLB0pw3kjqdhhjqx46c3M_hyphenhyphenQqw6hoWHZMTacwgeNu8YCv5fFACA4i_i7ZD7bmcu0v0gEfCmAEgIK8eVM5yApG8x7OiPerSfgocrBykycEOcjkky6PMPTh0RWIeont6DNK4d/s1600/4+cabin+outside.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562906079596491010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgiWEqwk0OcLB0pw3kjqdhhjqx46c3M_hyphenhyphenQqw6hoWHZMTacwgeNu8YCv5fFACA4i_i7ZD7bmcu0v0gEfCmAEgIK8eVM5yApG8x7OiPerSfgocrBykycEOcjkky6PMPTh0RWIeont6DNK4d/s320/4+cabin+outside.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYltjIsgIl5SwWgSCEdnjSmsY7kOoYzFakSZDygjz1UJf5NpjCUlgyDNIz-4gRo46lkkNukPtqcPI0tB76hqctkyGQwB-k1LE2PETPaIEIb8F0lZ9qoMx4F1taewTWECFR6G5Vm1MJ8wB/s1600/5+cabin+inside.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562906077992204866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYltjIsgIl5SwWgSCEdnjSmsY7kOoYzFakSZDygjz1UJf5NpjCUlgyDNIz-4gRo46lkkNukPtqcPI0tB76hqctkyGQwB-k1LE2PETPaIEIb8F0lZ9qoMx4F1taewTWECFR6G5Vm1MJ8wB/s320/5+cabin+inside.JPG" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>The best part of all - Bunk Beds!!!!<br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievwcyJRAiZf8FBFhmmA5tVxxsTSwqizYj0uC9CSpl2bwbSg-511KXXH4DSseY6uOL2kdKjjdKjVwvkGTk8-INjTdpfzJ7ZnKnLbQJyApql6rIFbNCPD2OOLjdLAVkrZO4JKSTmOjYwatM/s1600/6+bunk+beds.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 213px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562906070917899746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievwcyJRAiZf8FBFhmmA5tVxxsTSwqizYj0uC9CSpl2bwbSg-511KXXH4DSseY6uOL2kdKjjdKjVwvkGTk8-INjTdpfzJ7ZnKnLbQJyApql6rIFbNCPD2OOLjdLAVkrZO4JKSTmOjYwatM/s320/6+bunk+beds.JPG" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>We arrived here late on a Friday night and had dinner with Susan and Lonnie and some of the others who were already here. Saturday was a free day for us until the rehearsal dinner that night, so we made the most of it.</div><div></div><br /><div>After a yummy breakfast in our cabin,</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcnq6oix65FHTGCMvdLemeJAtmf3dw7iV_kBSLLrbm40OdF5zbtGICjdykHK9P4D1UieKAGMq8xD8j6oTBul5P1W4zlotHeQgzSa4wyDb4JVCF9wB8CJCM_kqDZ458NROhpD7Qjoq8nq_/s1600/7+breakfast+in+cabin.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562906067964865922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcnq6oix65FHTGCMvdLemeJAtmf3dw7iV_kBSLLrbm40OdF5zbtGICjdykHK9P4D1UieKAGMq8xD8j6oTBul5P1W4zlotHeQgzSa4wyDb4JVCF9wB8CJCM_kqDZ458NROhpD7Qjoq8nq_/s320/7+breakfast+in+cabin.JPG" /></a><br /><div><br />We went on a beautiful (though extremely frightening to yours truly) drive up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. Why aren't there barriers to prevent you from driving off the side of a mountain??? </div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokE3kB5qZXbTY3NmFa7JwJLImcvJ1X7e94zZ65EDuUhAjRYfv-whcFTGNe3Rg616FeH8kIaBjfQuK4vgTfRAhiyrhu9STcRZVwwAYFFZgbrExtyMA0NNqIq064gj6AUfT-RPCaJrHZEwQ/s1600/RMNP+2.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 213px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562919455849060690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokE3kB5qZXbTY3NmFa7JwJLImcvJ1X7e94zZ65EDuUhAjRYfv-whcFTGNe3Rg616FeH8kIaBjfQuK4vgTfRAhiyrhu9STcRZVwwAYFFZgbrExtyMA0NNqIq064gj6AUfT-RPCaJrHZEwQ/s320/RMNP+2.JPG" /></a></div><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpWhNAyh2kC77Xv1JAexiBdOnfSAgBwzhwgjcwHkGET0mRzfz1qkk_uajB5vDAvNgwXyjSa89X5S3F5yVgWOoIj8vdSQdh895zfpMgrj7_fcZ_QUKMdMrnOZ_nESoW5nX7Aca-lqo51pG/s1600/RMNP+1.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562919465135886562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpWhNAyh2kC77Xv1JAexiBdOnfSAgBwzhwgjcwHkGET0mRzfz1qkk_uajB5vDAvNgwXyjSa89X5S3F5yVgWOoIj8vdSQdh895zfpMgrj7_fcZ_QUKMdMrnOZ_nESoW5nX7Aca-lqo51pG/s320/RMNP+1.JPG" /></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TVsZ4BJgjK-7Symr9M6bwng8OlHA0HlbIu5UT4qHIEqDm80DXZo3F0v_nfow3GmbWCpjjrV1QETb4lOGjx94H7tLqGam4d7uhq6ZUmyHM1H-bW-evy7V0s0kY1mceBf1Jqelo6G-Vmaq/s1600/RMNP+3.JPG"></a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TVsZ4BJgjK-7Symr9M6bwng8OlHA0HlbIu5UT4qHIEqDm80DXZo3F0v_nfow3GmbWCpjjrV1QETb4lOGjx94H7tLqGam4d7uhq6ZUmyHM1H-bW-evy7V0s0kY1mceBf1Jqelo6G-Vmaq/s1600/RMNP+3.JPG"></a></div><br /><p align="left"></p><br /><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TVsZ4BJgjK-7Symr9M6bwng8OlHA0HlbIu5UT4qHIEqDm80DXZo3F0v_nfow3GmbWCpjjrV1QETb4lOGjx94H7tLqGam4d7uhq6ZUmyHM1H-bW-evy7V0s0kY1mceBf1Jqelo6G-Vmaq/s1600/RMNP+3.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 229px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562919234521668818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TVsZ4BJgjK-7Symr9M6bwng8OlHA0HlbIu5UT4qHIEqDm80DXZo3F0v_nfow3GmbWCpjjrV1QETb4lOGjx94H7tLqGam4d7uhq6ZUmyHM1H-bW-evy7V0s0kY1mceBf1Jqelo6G-Vmaq/s320/RMNP+3.JPG" /></a></p><div>When we visit the mountains, the only thing Katie ever wants to do is have a picnic on top of a mountain. So, we obliged her with a meal very much on the side of a mountain. I got after Noah every time he took a step backward without looking. He kept scaring me to death!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pr8vQQHiaxbYVXzIQlIDpTfFqYUxmk9SZSlJgklkC_ms5aHeZ-5ot0lcllT9jsWh1hdt7_f9lnGiFCSRfmVwfRR2WFCm3sxU-q4tBkVdjT9THpsr3MtOe7FkZ_UOCJotLKe-cZfuveex/s1600/8+lunch+on+boulder.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562905828397286674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pr8vQQHiaxbYVXzIQlIDpTfFqYUxmk9SZSlJgklkC_ms5aHeZ-5ot0lcllT9jsWh1hdt7_f9lnGiFCSRfmVwfRR2WFCm3sxU-q4tBkVdjT9THpsr3MtOe7FkZ_UOCJotLKe-cZfuveex/s320/8+lunch+on+boulder.JPG" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JaRXMG1u5I1ZTxbXiVSRYlG4sqwMvIaDbOTri5_sgLuRo7T6HFPe50QEBn3qfuBkVqT7WqYyxDEGFlWmeoM57ROnosNR8icyh4vhMOyXZlXbLMADxZ39CfsXNguJoe5gQZVL3vL5706K/s1600/9+fam+on+boulder.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562905821429090802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JaRXMG1u5I1ZTxbXiVSRYlG4sqwMvIaDbOTri5_sgLuRo7T6HFPe50QEBn3qfuBkVqT7WqYyxDEGFlWmeoM57ROnosNR8icyh4vhMOyXZlXbLMADxZ39CfsXNguJoe5gQZVL3vL5706K/s320/9+fam+on+boulder.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div><div>Despite the fact that we saw many moose right up close and personal, somehow this is the only picture I can find right now. We really enjoyed hearing them from our cabin as they sounded their trumpets. Pretty cool experience for these Okies! These guys were on top of the mountain above the tree line.</div><div></div><div></div><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-dxIkOBOMh2PVwmC66d7A4QZl16pGaZ42qSHhZ8ohFD96SCYJoB7JfB7hP4Dfca-H-OKTQV59gNiQWQpt6lukQFZZlsIjVeuryxvwXAN6HCej5_5fhiCKeyu4t8RTlBBRVaZmpzbWZVS/s1600/10+moose.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562905815309537378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-dxIkOBOMh2PVwmC66d7A4QZl16pGaZ42qSHhZ8ohFD96SCYJoB7JfB7hP4Dfca-H-OKTQV59gNiQWQpt6lukQFZZlsIjVeuryxvwXAN6HCej5_5fhiCKeyu4t8RTlBBRVaZmpzbWZVS/s320/10+moose.JPG" /></a></p><div>After our mountaintop experience, we headed back to the Y and took the kids to play disc golf. I think Noah may have died if we didn't try it. From the moment he saw the goals, he HAD to play. We all had a really good time with this.<br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE-D0pu4EjTVG-SD2mM-kp9WKxq7bKdw30Giz4gUlTB76bUl_w1QD-c6Yxh4WFw-ZFo2tp4czaKkYwqxwfGfuWoEVEMHReEAUXKJC1ocVcChZuOTK4Jg0c7FyChkp4B9XmNlWU0zO4qRR/s1600/11+N+frisbee+golf.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562905815317566898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE-D0pu4EjTVG-SD2mM-kp9WKxq7bKdw30Giz4gUlTB76bUl_w1QD-c6Yxh4WFw-ZFo2tp4czaKkYwqxwfGfuWoEVEMHReEAUXKJC1ocVcChZuOTK4Jg0c7FyChkp4B9XmNlWU0zO4qRR/s320/11+N+frisbee+golf.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4bMOFvBlYETxFNLTcERTbwVySjIOsBjlqL6O6fjM8fxeWUbRbyOz2DXyn5f6ziLf1ouNNhLoN9tcbL8CY-74-_cwyvMkwycm_jdM7afnjv5VBgo_ULr_tpvV74VMVVR89lOmY0IFz3EJ/s1600/12+K+frisbee+golf+front.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 229px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562905811975621330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4bMOFvBlYETxFNLTcERTbwVySjIOsBjlqL6O6fjM8fxeWUbRbyOz2DXyn5f6ziLf1ouNNhLoN9tcbL8CY-74-_cwyvMkwycm_jdM7afnjv5VBgo_ULr_tpvV74VMVVR89lOmY0IFz3EJ/s320/12+K+frisbee+golf+front.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div></div>This one is random, but it's one of my favorite pics Mike has ever snapped of Katie.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4DiZe5eP_aEfWhKdC3T1OxJi3vv-e1OMWm4_D9QmmdpCr2bimGuR-HjcvD0560oSesh_PIVPB1brOpa5ooPmhOrX9AxkDzOS3K0h6e2dXJzuPtxsUu5TGX4-z7zjzX3VoxDcbmn_IWGl/s1600/13+katie+closeup.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 213px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562905436629084754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4DiZe5eP_aEfWhKdC3T1OxJi3vv-e1OMWm4_D9QmmdpCr2bimGuR-HjcvD0560oSesh_PIVPB1brOpa5ooPmhOrX9AxkDzOS3K0h6e2dXJzuPtxsUu5TGX4-z7zjzX3VoxDcbmn_IWGl/s320/13+katie+closeup.JPG" /></a> </div><div></div><br /><div>That's pretty much it for the fun family activities. The rest of our trip was spent on wedding related activities. I think this is the first outdoor wedding I've ever attended, and it was just beautiful. We are so very happy for Susan and Lonnie and so thankful we were able to be there.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhtZpFlF-wXKpCqMt5IfkK8Y-9JFdVr1BuLyv6Ol6gpk1WudSxJQ44vipbsQiLHnZ5zDAF64gNlB3AVCiSLi3_mH4hpUGmRzAaHr3vZDbEuwZDEQBRMWRhVtH6MVwMzcTHvzY9lMCaj7l/s1600/15+wedding+location.JPG"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sshwuerPZrXj1hOfMCPEtb3DIx_1-FfDIgLAXxmR9aXe_eEAAjGpVR-kQzb8cLIzJvWmn8GusngfjLnQ4R-7HDCriIMYVujqzstytsKJ6D1GE6vwVkY1gHgsN87cfSR8cJPp1Kots0P3/s1600/17+Susan+%2526+lonnie.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562905420275273026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sshwuerPZrXj1hOfMCPEtb3DIx_1-FfDIgLAXxmR9aXe_eEAAjGpVR-kQzb8cLIzJvWmn8GusngfjLnQ4R-7HDCriIMYVujqzstytsKJ6D1GE6vwVkY1gHgsN87cfSR8cJPp1Kots0P3/s320/17+Susan+%2526+lonnie.JPG" /></a> </div></div></div></div></div>Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04263326838461415835noreply@blogger.com3