"Aunt" Nicole put together this beautiful video of David and Zoe
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
The World Traveler
Aaron just returned from a two-week trip to Nicaragua with Roy's parents. He had a wonderful time and is still talking about everything! If you ask him a question, he'll answer, "Si", and he pronounces "Nicaragua" like a native speaker. He's so much more independent now, doing things for himself and making his own decisions. He's really grown a lot, although he still doesn't like to take out the trash. I can't possibly tell about his trip, so here's a link to Aaron's pictures, from Aaron's unique point of view.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Duff Girlz
It's time again for the annual Duff Cousins Weekend, filled with giggling and cultural events. Here's a short video of last year's festivities in Decorah, IA.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Florida Trip
In February we took a whirlwind trip to Florida for Roy's cousin Carolina's wedding.
The Plan: Rent a minivan with Roy's parents and drive to Florida all together
Monday: Snafu with rental place, Roy's dad found a better deal online, with pickup in CR
Wed-Thurs: Driving straight through to arrive in time for Rehearsal at 5 p.m. Thursday. We tried to see a lunar eclipse on Wed night (in Tennessee), but the clouds got in the way.
Thurs Noon: Arrived in Coral Springs, FL. Spent time at Tia Ligia's house, where the kids got t-shirts from Carolina saying "Coin bearer" and "Ring bearer". Checked into La Quinta Inn, very nice accommodations. Went to Aaron's tux fitting, minor tailoring to be done by Friday. Lily's dress fit well but straps were too long - dropped it off at the seamstress' house, to be done by Friday. Rushed to hotel to get ready for Rehearsal. Kids did a great job at Rehearsal, of course! Rehearsal dinner afterwards at Romano's Macaroni Grill. VERY good food.
Friday: FUN DAY! While Grandma Myriam stayed behind to do the wedding cake, Roy, me, Aaron, Lily and Grandpa Dale went down to the Miami Seaquarium, about an hour away. A relative's mother-in-law works there, so we had free tickets!! LOTS of pictures from the Seaquarium in the video at the bottom.
Friday evening: Pickup Aaron's tux and Lily's dress. Kids go swimming in Tia Ligia's pool, with quick warm-ups in the hot tub!
Saturday morning: Aaron gets into his tux, dubbed "The Monkey Suit"; the pants are a little short, but the jacket sleeves are better. Lily's dress straps are just right, and her dress looks good. We have a family photo shoot in Tia Ligia's backyard. Aaron and Roy's cousin Daniel head to the groom's house for pictures. Aaron is SO excited about riding in Daniel's Mustang.
Saturday afternoon: Lily gets to ride in the limo with the bride and her 5 attendants, the junior bridesmaid, and Tia Ligia and Uncle Pat too! The wedding starts about 20 minutes late, but it's Florida time! The kids do a wonderful job. Aaron is the ring bearer, and Lily is the coin bearer or "treasure girl" as she calls it. She carries the "arras", which is a small ornate box that holds thirteen gold unity coins (arras) which are given to the bride by the bridegroom, signifying he will support her. This represents the bride's dowry and holds good wishes for prosperity. These coins become a part of their family heirloom. The kids walk down the aisle together, and Lily later brings the "arras" up to the stage. Carolina and Carmine are married in a traditional Catholic wedding.
After a few pictures at the church, the wedding party sets off in the limos to Carmine's parents' house. Lily rides in the limo again, but we're going back to Tia Ligia's house! Roy's cousin Christian volunteers to drive behind the limo and pick Lily up, just so she can have another ride in the limo.
Saturday evening: The reception has a "Rockstar" theme, complete with VIP passes for every guest, CDs of Carmine & Carolina's music, and party favors. The kids each have gift bags waiting for them with activities to pass the time. Myriam's cake is gorgeous, and she even had time to make a groom's cake for Carmine. It's a replica of his favorite black hat, complete with silver buckles. The wedding party is announced, and here comes Aaron, with Lily on one arm and the flower girl on the other! Carmine and Carolina have their first dance with the guests surrounding them. Dinner is excellent, with choices of Prime Rib, chicken or salmon. There is a slideshow of Carolina and Carmine growing up. Carolina's family is Latino, from Nicaragua. Carmine's family are New York Italians. And there was an Irish priest! Sounds like the setup for a joke, right?! We dubbed the reception "West Side Story", as the two families were seated on opposite sides of the room, with the dance floor in the middle.
The DJ gets the music started early. Aaron and Lily love to DANCE! And they're pretty good at it, too! Roy even gets me out on the dance floor a few times. Finally, at 10 p.m., Myriam asks why the cake hasn't been cut? Oops! The bride and groom cut the cake, and it is delicious! We get back to the hotel very late and fall right into bed.
Sunday: We mentioned going to the beach today, so Daniel (Roy's cousin) and his girlfriend Angel volunteered to take us to their favorite beach in Fort Lauderdale, about an hour away. The ocean is calm and we can see the sand on the bottom. Aaron and Lily get in the water, and Lily sputters, "Why'd they put salt in it, Mommy?!" I told her GOD did, and the ocean has the most colorful fish because of the salty water. The kids swim and collect seashells. Aaron makes a friend but doesn't ask her name. They start digging in the sand until the waves get a little bigger and start filling in their holes. Lily takes some time to tan. Even with SPF 50 she already has a tan line going.
We walk to a place called Sloppy Joe's for lunch. It's a restaurant on the 2nd level of a store, so we can see way out in the ocean. Gorgeous! The food is excellent. Aaron even had popcorn shrimp! After lunch we start looking for t-shirts for the kids. Lily finds a pink and blue tie-dye one, but Aaron wants one with sharks. When the beach starts to get insanely busy, we had for the van. Parking is so scarce by now, that we had three cars waiting for our spot. One woman spotted Roy with the remote in his hand and asked if we were leaving. When he said yes, she jumped out of the passenger side and came and stood by the van, then blocked the spot so her husband could park there. Yikes! Another car had to back up just so we could get out of the parking space.
Then we went to the Discovery and Science Museum. WOW, that place is cool! Lots of hands-on activities for everybody: fly an airplane, test wind resistance, take a ride on the NASA moon rover, check your weight on different planets, and even a volleyball game on a big screen! Aaron found a shark t-shirt in the gift shop too! Daniel bought some Astronaut Ice Cream (freeze-dried), which wasn't too bad, but the Astronaut Strawberries were better. We spent so much time on the exhibits, we didn't get to the IMAX movie we had planned to see there. Luckily it rained while we were at the museum, and it had stopped by the time we left. We got back to Coral Springs later than we planned, but we had a great time.
Monday morning: One last breakfast with Uncle Pat, Tia Ligia, Abuelita, Christian and all of us (including Roy's parents). On the way back, we managed to stumble upon the Russell Stover Factory Outlet somewhere in Florida. Not very much chocolate made it all the way back to Iowa though.
Monday-Tuesday morning: Driving home. We came up through St Louis to avoid driving through a major snow/ice storm. The roads were cleaned off by the time we made it to the Missouri/Iowa border. We were NOT excited to see all that snow again. The next day, Lily begged to wear just a jacket and sandals, because she missed Florida so much! Enjoy the video of our pics:
The Plan: Rent a minivan with Roy's parents and drive to Florida all together
Monday: Snafu with rental place, Roy's dad found a better deal online, with pickup in CR
Wed-Thurs: Driving straight through to arrive in time for Rehearsal at 5 p.m. Thursday. We tried to see a lunar eclipse on Wed night (in Tennessee), but the clouds got in the way.
Thurs Noon: Arrived in Coral Springs, FL. Spent time at Tia Ligia's house, where the kids got t-shirts from Carolina saying "Coin bearer" and "Ring bearer". Checked into La Quinta Inn, very nice accommodations. Went to Aaron's tux fitting, minor tailoring to be done by Friday. Lily's dress fit well but straps were too long - dropped it off at the seamstress' house, to be done by Friday. Rushed to hotel to get ready for Rehearsal. Kids did a great job at Rehearsal, of course! Rehearsal dinner afterwards at Romano's Macaroni Grill. VERY good food.
Friday: FUN DAY! While Grandma Myriam stayed behind to do the wedding cake, Roy, me, Aaron, Lily and Grandpa Dale went down to the Miami Seaquarium, about an hour away. A relative's mother-in-law works there, so we had free tickets!! LOTS of pictures from the Seaquarium in the video at the bottom.
Friday evening: Pickup Aaron's tux and Lily's dress. Kids go swimming in Tia Ligia's pool, with quick warm-ups in the hot tub!
Saturday morning: Aaron gets into his tux, dubbed "The Monkey Suit"; the pants are a little short, but the jacket sleeves are better. Lily's dress straps are just right, and her dress looks good. We have a family photo shoot in Tia Ligia's backyard. Aaron and Roy's cousin Daniel head to the groom's house for pictures. Aaron is SO excited about riding in Daniel's Mustang.
Saturday afternoon: Lily gets to ride in the limo with the bride and her 5 attendants, the junior bridesmaid, and Tia Ligia and Uncle Pat too! The wedding starts about 20 minutes late, but it's Florida time! The kids do a wonderful job. Aaron is the ring bearer, and Lily is the coin bearer or "treasure girl" as she calls it. She carries the "arras", which is a small ornate box that holds thirteen gold unity coins (arras) which are given to the bride by the bridegroom, signifying he will support her. This represents the bride's dowry and holds good wishes for prosperity. These coins become a part of their family heirloom. The kids walk down the aisle together, and Lily later brings the "arras" up to the stage. Carolina and Carmine are married in a traditional Catholic wedding.
After a few pictures at the church, the wedding party sets off in the limos to Carmine's parents' house. Lily rides in the limo again, but we're going back to Tia Ligia's house! Roy's cousin Christian volunteers to drive behind the limo and pick Lily up, just so she can have another ride in the limo.
Saturday evening: The reception has a "Rockstar" theme, complete with VIP passes for every guest, CDs of Carmine & Carolina's music, and party favors. The kids each have gift bags waiting for them with activities to pass the time. Myriam's cake is gorgeous, and she even had time to make a groom's cake for Carmine. It's a replica of his favorite black hat, complete with silver buckles. The wedding party is announced, and here comes Aaron, with Lily on one arm and the flower girl on the other! Carmine and Carolina have their first dance with the guests surrounding them. Dinner is excellent, with choices of Prime Rib, chicken or salmon. There is a slideshow of Carolina and Carmine growing up. Carolina's family is Latino, from Nicaragua. Carmine's family are New York Italians. And there was an Irish priest! Sounds like the setup for a joke, right?! We dubbed the reception "West Side Story", as the two families were seated on opposite sides of the room, with the dance floor in the middle.
The DJ gets the music started early. Aaron and Lily love to DANCE! And they're pretty good at it, too! Roy even gets me out on the dance floor a few times. Finally, at 10 p.m., Myriam asks why the cake hasn't been cut? Oops! The bride and groom cut the cake, and it is delicious! We get back to the hotel very late and fall right into bed.
Sunday: We mentioned going to the beach today, so Daniel (Roy's cousin) and his girlfriend Angel volunteered to take us to their favorite beach in Fort Lauderdale, about an hour away. The ocean is calm and we can see the sand on the bottom. Aaron and Lily get in the water, and Lily sputters, "Why'd they put salt in it, Mommy?!" I told her GOD did, and the ocean has the most colorful fish because of the salty water. The kids swim and collect seashells. Aaron makes a friend but doesn't ask her name. They start digging in the sand until the waves get a little bigger and start filling in their holes. Lily takes some time to tan. Even with SPF 50 she already has a tan line going.
We walk to a place called Sloppy Joe's for lunch. It's a restaurant on the 2nd level of a store, so we can see way out in the ocean. Gorgeous! The food is excellent. Aaron even had popcorn shrimp! After lunch we start looking for t-shirts for the kids. Lily finds a pink and blue tie-dye one, but Aaron wants one with sharks. When the beach starts to get insanely busy, we had for the van. Parking is so scarce by now, that we had three cars waiting for our spot. One woman spotted Roy with the remote in his hand and asked if we were leaving. When he said yes, she jumped out of the passenger side and came and stood by the van, then blocked the spot so her husband could park there. Yikes! Another car had to back up just so we could get out of the parking space.
Then we went to the Discovery and Science Museum. WOW, that place is cool! Lots of hands-on activities for everybody: fly an airplane, test wind resistance, take a ride on the NASA moon rover, check your weight on different planets, and even a volleyball game on a big screen! Aaron found a shark t-shirt in the gift shop too! Daniel bought some Astronaut Ice Cream (freeze-dried), which wasn't too bad, but the Astronaut Strawberries were better. We spent so much time on the exhibits, we didn't get to the IMAX movie we had planned to see there. Luckily it rained while we were at the museum, and it had stopped by the time we left. We got back to Coral Springs later than we planned, but we had a great time.
Monday morning: One last breakfast with Uncle Pat, Tia Ligia, Abuelita, Christian and all of us (including Roy's parents). On the way back, we managed to stumble upon the Russell Stover Factory Outlet somewhere in Florida. Not very much chocolate made it all the way back to Iowa though.
Monday-Tuesday morning: Driving home. We came up through St Louis to avoid driving through a major snow/ice storm. The roads were cleaned off by the time we made it to the Missouri/Iowa border. We were NOT excited to see all that snow again. The next day, Lily begged to wear just a jacket and sandals, because she missed Florida so much! Enjoy the video of our pics:
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Ah, water.....
Sometimes nothing feels as good as a hot shower!! And brushing my teeth!!! We had our water back on by 8:30 this morning, despite my pessimisticly whiny last post. The Water Dept guy was very nice and fixed the problem - the master valve was off (outside where the city had been working before), so he had to put a very long pole down the valve and twist it on. He came in to check the water pressure to make sure it was full blast, which is was! He even patted Loki a couple of times. The roadblocks were removed this afternoon too, so we can get to our driveway from either direction again. It was weird having our street so quiet, with no buses or cars zooming past us.
Later on the kids and I discovered the only toilet in the house wasn't
filling with water - uh oh! So, we spent the day at Aunt Sarah's!!
Roy got a replacement part at Menard's and the toilet should be working
much better now. Hopefully our water woes are over?!
My new 2008 Scion xB was delivered yesterday, and as soon as it's not minus bazillion outside I'll take some pics and post up more details - YAY!!!
Later on the kids and I discovered the only toilet in the house wasn't
filling with water - uh oh! So, we spent the day at Aunt Sarah's!!
Roy got a replacement part at Menard's and the toilet should be working
much better now. Hopefully our water woes are over?!
My new 2008 Scion xB was delivered yesterday, and as soon as it's not minus bazillion outside I'll take some pics and post up more details - YAY!!!
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Like Moses in the desert....I need a rock!
The City of CR has been doing some repair work to a water leak on the city's side of our yard and our neighbor's yard. (i.e. Not our cost!) Our street is blocked off right after our driveway, and they had a huge hole dug down to the water main.
On Thursday, our water was off from 11am-7pm, but they told us it would be. It was back on Thursday night, and everything was fine yesterday morning.
Lily and I got home around 5 yesterday to find the street still blocked, but no work trucks or backhoe, and the hole was filled back in. The water pressure was low, but working in the kitchen. We weren't home very long, and though nothing of it.
We went to Scion Hockey Night in Ames, where the Cyclones suffered a last minute defeat by 1 point. We hung out at Old Chicago with our buddies, and headed home.
We got home very late, around 1:30 am. Guess what? NO WATER, NO NOTE, NOTHING.
I woke up at 5:30 am very thirsty, and found we only have milk (eww) and Dr Pepper Cherry Chocolate (EWW) to drink.
So, at 7:15 this morning I called the Water Dept Emergency Line and someone is coming to check it out.
It's 8:03 and he's not here yet.
On Thursday, our water was off from 11am-7pm, but they told us it would be. It was back on Thursday night, and everything was fine yesterday morning.
Lily and I got home around 5 yesterday to find the street still blocked, but no work trucks or backhoe, and the hole was filled back in. The water pressure was low, but working in the kitchen. We weren't home very long, and though nothing of it.
We went to Scion Hockey Night in Ames, where the Cyclones suffered a last minute defeat by 1 point. We hung out at Old Chicago with our buddies, and headed home.
We got home very late, around 1:30 am. Guess what? NO WATER, NO NOTE, NOTHING.
I woke up at 5:30 am very thirsty, and found we only have milk (eww) and Dr Pepper Cherry Chocolate (EWW) to drink.
So, at 7:15 this morning I called the Water Dept Emergency Line and someone is coming to check it out.
It's 8:03 and he's not here yet.
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Warning! Undersocialized Homeschoolers
While at a local restaurant, I saw a middle schooler with a t-shirt that read, "Warning! Undersocialized Homeschooler." We love our homeschool friends and all they do, even if it's not a choice I'd make myself! This video pokes fun at the "cliches" surrounding homeschooling, from a homeschool dad - comedian Tim Hawkins.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Newsweek Video
A couple of weeks ago a reporter from Newsweek came to our church to interview some of us for an online piece on Iowans in preparation for the caucuses. Roy and I were army-volunteered to interview (thanks Sarah!), but thankfully we made it to the cutting -room floor.
The video prominently features our pastor, Richard Marsceau. It also happens to show lots of our friends at church, plus Sarah holding David, and me holding Zoe. The reporter told me my little baby was so cute, but I had to correct her - "She's my niece!"
Click here for the video (updated link).
The video prominently features our pastor, Richard Marsceau. It also happens to show lots of our friends at church, plus Sarah holding David, and me holding Zoe. The reporter told me my little baby was so cute, but I had to correct her - "She's my niece!"
Click here for the video (updated link).
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Whiners on Parade
Sick, sick, sick! Everyone in my house is sick, except me! Could it be a flu shot? Nope, only Lily got one of those, and she was vomitus muchus yesterday. Papa Bob watched her for us, which consisted of snuggling on the couch most of the afternoon. Roy is very ill today, and Aaron seems to be hopping on board too. Me? Nope! I think it's all the Airborne I've been cramming down my throat. I got the Target/generic brand, which just isn't as tasty, but I've been drinking it anyway. Get away Sickies, eww! And wash your hands WITH soap!
So, everyone except Mommy is sick. What does that mean? WHINERS ON PARADE. Lily was sick yesterday, so Roy kept her home today. Lily was feeling better today, but Daddy wasn't. When I called to check on Lily, she said there was nothing to do, and Daddy wouldn't play any games with her. The guilt trip earned her a quick game of Candyland before Daddy said it was naptime (for both of them). I got an email from him this afternoon that said, "I just want someone to take care of me." WAAH, you're a grown up! He went up to bed at 6:00 p.m.
Since no one was hungry except me, I ordered a delicious pizza with
mushrooms, ham, black olives, and green olives - YUM!! The other
members of my family are boring pepperoni-pizza only people. Eww.
Aaron and Lily are on the couch fighting over who gets to pick the TV show. Aaron has a temp now, but no upset stomach - yet. Lily is still Miss Whiney-pants because she feels better but not 100%. They're both trying to eat some ramen noodles and/or Jello. Eww. Is it possible to whine and eat at the same time? YES IT IS.
I'm counting the minutes until bedtime.
So, everyone except Mommy is sick. What does that mean? WHINERS ON PARADE. Lily was sick yesterday, so Roy kept her home today. Lily was feeling better today, but Daddy wasn't. When I called to check on Lily, she said there was nothing to do, and Daddy wouldn't play any games with her. The guilt trip earned her a quick game of Candyland before Daddy said it was naptime (for both of them). I got an email from him this afternoon that said, "I just want someone to take care of me." WAAH, you're a grown up! He went up to bed at 6:00 p.m.
Since no one was hungry except me, I ordered a delicious pizza with
mushrooms, ham, black olives, and green olives - YUM!! The other
members of my family are boring pepperoni-pizza only people. Eww.
Aaron and Lily are on the couch fighting over who gets to pick the TV show. Aaron has a temp now, but no upset stomach - yet. Lily is still Miss Whiney-pants because she feels better but not 100%. They're both trying to eat some ramen noodles and/or Jello. Eww. Is it possible to whine and eat at the same time? YES IT IS.
I'm counting the minutes until bedtime.
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Friday, November 16, 2007
Drama Queen
Since Lillian is starting Kindergarten next year, it was time for immunization shots yesterday. She was all geared up for it, and Papa Bob had promised he would take her our for ice cream if she didn't cry. She brought her Carebear along for moral support.
The first part went fine. Her height/weight ratios are great, and she's very smart. The doctor we go to often has students working with her. The student doc asked Lily what a curtain is, and she said, "It's so people can't see you, for your privacy." That one wasn't a typical 5 year old answer! He asked her to copy a square, then to draw a person. She did all of it, but acted like, "Duh, I can do that, can't you?" She also hopped on one foot and did the sobriety-check walk (heel-toe, heel-toe steps).
The time came for shots. 4 immunizations plus a flu shot. The flu shot was the one that did it, I think. They did them all at the same time, with both the nurse and doctor each taking a leg. She said she only felt one poke, but they kept "pushing on it, and it really hurt, and I DON'T want any ice cream Mommy." She alternately fussed and wailed out of the doctor's office, even when I told her she might scare some "little kids", which usually gets her to put on her big girl/brave face. NOT TODAY. She said her leg burned and it felt like a bruise too.
I promised to get her some pain medicine, then we'd go to McDonald's. We went to Walgreen's for some children's ibuprofen, and she wouldn't even walk! I put her in the cart, but it bent her legs too much. She finally sat up on the edge of the cart, holding on with both hands. Not the safest position, but by this time I was picking my battles. We got drivethru at McDonald's, then came home to rest. She was all propped up on the couch, with her blanket and her Carebear. She called Papa later and said maybe she was ready for ice cream, but we were watching the twins last night, so maybe tonight or Saturday.
When we were watching the twins, her pain reliever wore off about 8:35 p.m. Whew! She turned into a puddle, couldn't sit, couldn't walk, she was done. I know she's dramatic, but WOW, that took the cake. She fell asleep on the way home, so I carried all 43.6 pounds of her in the house, dosed her up again, and helped her into her pajamas, since she wouldn't do it. Drama Queen!!!
The first part went fine. Her height/weight ratios are great, and she's very smart. The doctor we go to often has students working with her. The student doc asked Lily what a curtain is, and she said, "It's so people can't see you, for your privacy." That one wasn't a typical 5 year old answer! He asked her to copy a square, then to draw a person. She did all of it, but acted like, "Duh, I can do that, can't you?" She also hopped on one foot and did the sobriety-check walk (heel-toe, heel-toe steps).
The time came for shots. 4 immunizations plus a flu shot. The flu shot was the one that did it, I think. They did them all at the same time, with both the nurse and doctor each taking a leg. She said she only felt one poke, but they kept "pushing on it, and it really hurt, and I DON'T want any ice cream Mommy." She alternately fussed and wailed out of the doctor's office, even when I told her she might scare some "little kids", which usually gets her to put on her big girl/brave face. NOT TODAY. She said her leg burned and it felt like a bruise too.
I promised to get her some pain medicine, then we'd go to McDonald's. We went to Walgreen's for some children's ibuprofen, and she wouldn't even walk! I put her in the cart, but it bent her legs too much. She finally sat up on the edge of the cart, holding on with both hands. Not the safest position, but by this time I was picking my battles. We got drivethru at McDonald's, then came home to rest. She was all propped up on the couch, with her blanket and her Carebear. She called Papa later and said maybe she was ready for ice cream, but we were watching the twins last night, so maybe tonight or Saturday.
When we were watching the twins, her pain reliever wore off about 8:35 p.m. Whew! She turned into a puddle, couldn't sit, couldn't walk, she was done. I know she's dramatic, but WOW, that took the cake. She fell asleep on the way home, so I carried all 43.6 pounds of her in the house, dosed her up again, and helped her into her pajamas, since she wouldn't do it. Drama Queen!!!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Saturday, November 03, 2007
There goes the neighborhood
Our neighbor had a Haunted Yard for Halloween this year. He made everything himself, out of wood, PVC pipe, and styrofoam, including the fence. Take a look:
Bill had planned this for months. He waited until the kids were in school to set everything up, so they were VERY surprised when the got home from school. He had a crew of 8 actors to jump out, stalk, and otherwise scare people from 5:00-10:00 p.m. Two air compressors were in our shed, so no one could hear them, and he even changed our front porch bulb to a lower wattage blue bulb, to create more of a shadow on one side of the house (Roy ok'd that, but didn't tell me!). The only thing that didn't work was the lightning effect, due to a blown fuse. Otherwise, it went off without a hitch!
Bill had planned this for months. He waited until the kids were in school to set everything up, so they were VERY surprised when the got home from school. He had a crew of 8 actors to jump out, stalk, and otherwise scare people from 5:00-10:00 p.m. Two air compressors were in our shed, so no one could hear them, and he even changed our front porch bulb to a lower wattage blue bulb, to create more of a shadow on one side of the house (Roy ok'd that, but didn't tell me!). The only thing that didn't work was the lightning effect, due to a blown fuse. Otherwise, it went off without a hitch!
Monday, October 22, 2007
The faith of a little child
On Sunday morning, Lillian brought her little pink purse to church, with her little pink wallet. Usually we'll give her a dollar for the offering plate, but she said she had money already - she put in her only $2 bill.
Then at lunch, Papa Bob had a $2 bill for each of the grandkids! I pointed out that she gave her money to God at church, and he gave her another $2 bill!!
Then on the way home Sunday evening, we saw lots of black smoke up ahead-something was on fire. We turned off on our exit before we saw what it was. The kids were riding with Roy, and he told me Lily said, "Daddy, should we pray for the people in the fire?" So they prayed. Turns out it was a semi that had flipped on it's side and was completely on fire. But you know what? The driver made it out before the truck caught on fire! I told Lily later that the driver was safe - her prayers worked!!!
If you're up for a heart-wrenching, completely inspiring, guaranteed bawl-out-loud crying jag, click here.
Then at lunch, Papa Bob had a $2 bill for each of the grandkids! I pointed out that she gave her money to God at church, and he gave her another $2 bill!!
Then on the way home Sunday evening, we saw lots of black smoke up ahead-something was on fire. We turned off on our exit before we saw what it was. The kids were riding with Roy, and he told me Lily said, "Daddy, should we pray for the people in the fire?" So they prayed. Turns out it was a semi that had flipped on it's side and was completely on fire. But you know what? The driver made it out before the truck caught on fire! I told Lily later that the driver was safe - her prayers worked!!!
If you're up for a heart-wrenching, completely inspiring, guaranteed bawl-out-loud crying jag, click here.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Knobbly Knees
What do two Scottish descendants and their lad and lasses do on a sunny Saturday afternoon?
Sarah and I took Lillian and the twins to Celtic Fest at Usher's Ferry in CR! We saw our cousin Pete in a kilt (yikes!) and learned a lot about our Scottish heritage and traditions.
One tradition that I had no clue about was the Knobbly Knees Contest.
Somehow I was picked out of the crowd to be a judge - maybe it's the reddish hair?? Now, having never seen a "Knobbly Knees" contest, much less even heard of one, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
It's a contest where men or boys (kilts required) come up on stage, and a judge or two feels their knees to see how "knobbly" they are. Yes, I was a judge, and I felt lots of knees, including some very rough knees, and some very ticklish knees, and some very knobbly knees! Bribes were abundant - a dollar for each judge tucked in the top of each stocking, a bit o' whiskey offered from a flask pulled out of a sporran. There were lots of taunts and barbs between the contestants too, such as, "A real Scotsman would never give away TWO dollars."
The man that won the contest had very knobbly knees, it felt like 3 knobs on each knee! His prize was a bottle of Scotch or whiskey and the title of reigning champion for the year. All I got was a dollar!
Pics are posted here.
Sarah and I took Lillian and the twins to Celtic Fest at Usher's Ferry in CR! We saw our cousin Pete in a kilt (yikes!) and learned a lot about our Scottish heritage and traditions.
One tradition that I had no clue about was the Knobbly Knees Contest.
Somehow I was picked out of the crowd to be a judge - maybe it's the reddish hair?? Now, having never seen a "Knobbly Knees" contest, much less even heard of one, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
It's a contest where men or boys (kilts required) come up on stage, and a judge or two feels their knees to see how "knobbly" they are. Yes, I was a judge, and I felt lots of knees, including some very rough knees, and some very ticklish knees, and some very knobbly knees! Bribes were abundant - a dollar for each judge tucked in the top of each stocking, a bit o' whiskey offered from a flask pulled out of a sporran. There were lots of taunts and barbs between the contestants too, such as, "A real Scotsman would never give away TWO dollars."
The man that won the contest had very knobbly knees, it felt like 3 knobs on each knee! His prize was a bottle of Scotch or whiskey and the title of reigning champion for the year. All I got was a dollar!
Pics are posted here.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Small World
Due to my work schedule, and Roy being in Kenya, Dale and Myriam took the kids overnight Friday. We met in Manchester for the kid hand-off, and I stayed at home Friday night. Saturday I drove up to Garnavillo after work and stayed last night. The kids and I drove back today. That's WAY more driving than I'm used to, usually Roy drives when we go up there. I finally found my way around the construction in Strawberry Point, so was later than I planned last night. On the way home, we took the posted detour. Duh, me.
We went to the Elkader Evangelical Free Church today. We've been there a few times, when we're staying in Garny for the weekend. I mentioned to a friend there that Roy was in Kenya, so he added him to their prayer requests during the service. It went something like this:
"This lady over here is a Duff from the Volga Duff's, and her husband Roy is on a mission trip in Africa with some eye doctors. She has that square car out there." After the worship service, a man from the Volga area talked me up about the Probert and Duff families being the first in Volga, about how they inter-married between the families, etc. He mentioned all the work my cousin Pete had done in Volga and that I should go see it sometime. Then he said I got the Scottish red hair, so I talked about the Celtic Fest, and they wanted to go but didn't this year. SO, after we left Roy's parents' house, we went to Volga and saw the new fountain, and we went to the Highland Cemetery and found pretty much all the Duff tombstones, including my Grandma Lillian's. There were lots of Robert Duff's there, kinda weird. Aaron was fascinated by all the tombstones. We saw old tombstones from the 1800's. Visits to the cemetery may seem morbid to some people, but I think it gives us a sense of our history, and respect for the people who lived before us. I only wish we'd gotten some flowers for Grandma Lillian's stone. It's been 5 1/2 years since she was gone, and with our Lillian's 5th birthday this week, I've been thinking about her.
We went to the Elkader Evangelical Free Church today. We've been there a few times, when we're staying in Garny for the weekend. I mentioned to a friend there that Roy was in Kenya, so he added him to their prayer requests during the service. It went something like this:
"This lady over here is a Duff from the Volga Duff's, and her husband Roy is on a mission trip in Africa with some eye doctors. She has that square car out there." After the worship service, a man from the Volga area talked me up about the Probert and Duff families being the first in Volga, about how they inter-married between the families, etc. He mentioned all the work my cousin Pete had done in Volga and that I should go see it sometime. Then he said I got the Scottish red hair, so I talked about the Celtic Fest, and they wanted to go but didn't this year. SO, after we left Roy's parents' house, we went to Volga and saw the new fountain, and we went to the Highland Cemetery and found pretty much all the Duff tombstones, including my Grandma Lillian's. There were lots of Robert Duff's there, kinda weird. Aaron was fascinated by all the tombstones. We saw old tombstones from the 1800's. Visits to the cemetery may seem morbid to some people, but I think it gives us a sense of our history, and respect for the people who lived before us. I only wish we'd gotten some flowers for Grandma Lillian's stone. It's been 5 1/2 years since she was gone, and with our Lillian's 5th birthday this week, I've been thinking about her.
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