iBand

No more little Johnny lugging that big cello or french horn case to school every day. iBand.. compliments of North Point Community Church.

Happy New Year!

"When You're 5..."

It seems like in the last year Julia has asked a million times when will she lose a tooth. Her question always becomes more frequent when the tooth fairy makes a visit to our house. Our reply is usually "Julia, you'll lose a tooth when you're 5." A few times she's even told us she has a loose tooth and when we check the wiggle factor, her tooth is tightly snug in it's place, to which we reply, "Julia, you'll lose a tooth when you're 5."

We just got home at noon today and she told me she had a loose tooth. I quickly glanced, ready for my reply, when I noticed her front bottom tooth hanging out. My eyes almost popped out of my head. She hadn't said anything to us recently about a loose tooth so it came as a complete surprise. I told her I wanted to touch it and check it out but she quickly said, "No, it can't come out yet, because I'm not 5!" I told her there was no way it was going to stay in for a few more weeks as it was practically hanging there. So with a little tiny wiggle, it fell out. Julia was beside herself. After watching Jake & Abbie so many times, she sprung into action. She ran for a baggie and put her tooth in it and dashed to her room and placed it under her pillow. Then on her way back she grabbed the camera and when she approached me she said, "Now you can take a picture to show everybody what I look like, just like you've done with Jacob and Abbie." Her excitement is so contagious! She had to tell the principal at school, the check-out lady at Hy-Vee, and numerous other random people through out the rest of the day. Later this afternoon she told me she had another loose tooth. Sure enough. The one next to the one she lost is loose too. Julia said, "I think it wants to come out because it was buddies with the one I lost." It was a little rough getting to sleep tonight because of all the excitement of the tooth fairy coming to pay the first visit to this little girl. She's wondering if she'll get more money because she's 4. I'm thinking she will.

Kids - You Never Know What They Will Say!

After picking up Julia from preschool, she says "Do you want to see the papers I did at work today?

Julia was telling me what she wanted to do the next 2 days and then she said, "Can you keep that straight in your brain? Because sometimes I'll ask you a question about what I said and it's like stuff just gets scrambled in your brain because you don't remember."

Abbie finished reading me a book and I asked her how that could really happen and she said, "Because it's a fake book."

Abbie said, "I guess I can't marry Brayden because he doesn't believe in what I believe. Did you know he doesn't believe in Santa? I guess I'll just have to marry Ike."

When I asked Jacob if he was going to play in his basketball game or go to the Farm Bull Sale he said, "Don't you know I was born for the bull sale?"

Jacob cleaned and organized his room and he had a pile of things to sell on a rummage sale. Then he said, "You and Dad need to get rid of some of your things too otherwise you're just using us kids and that's illegal.

NO SCHOOL?

Julia's cut & paste activity

The students are working hard whle Miss Johnson instructs her class.

Miss Johnson is reading a story while the kids draw a picture of what she's reading about.

Abbie's busy working on a reading activity.

The kids were dismissed from school on Wednesday at 12:30 due to predicted snow and wind. On Wednesday night, we received a call for no school on Thursday and following the rest of the schools in the area, received a call for no school on Friday.

So when friends came to play today - what did they choose to do? Play with toys or games? No...PLAY SCHOOL!

Miss Johnson had fun teaching her students - everything from the calendar to reading, writing, spelling, math, science, and don't forget recess time! Miss Johnson is a very creative teacher and the students had a blast! These kids' teachers will be glad to know they were "challenging their brains" during this break.

My Privacy

Christmas is always an interesting time to see what one will find when the presents are opened. Abbie got a diary for Christmas and it has sure been a hit. She's been busy secretly writing in it all the while making sure nobody is peeking.

Julia has been carefully watching and waiting for the opportunity to get her own. So one day this week, she was able to take her money and go shopping. Besides the snowman socks, a Princess wallet, pens, and jewelry, she chose her own "diary." When she saw the blue notebook with a magnetic latch, she immediately turned with wide eyes and exclaimed, "My own Privacy! I for sure have to have this because Abbie has one." Julia immediately went to work in her diary when she got home. She was busily writing and at the same time saying, "Nobody can see my privacy." Brent asked her what she was writing and she said, "No, this is my privacy. Nobody can see my privacy. Besides, all it will say to you anyway is Blah, Blah, Blah!"

Here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

End of an Era

2 Tickets ALDS Twins vs. Yankees Game 3 - $164.00

Parking next to the Dome - $25.00

Dome Dogs and other - $30.00

Gas to Dome and back - $64.00

Seeing the last Twins game in the Dome with my Son - $Priceless

Removing Home Plate to take to the new Target Field Twins Stadium

Parade Time

Sioux Valley had their homecoming already this week and ended the week with a parade and football game tonight. This was the first year Julia was alone on the side lines which meant no more candy collection competition from Abbie...except that Julia brought a friend along anyway and the candy collection was still good.

You know you are in small town school when your teacher drives her John Deere tractor to school to drive their parade float. And Abbie's first grade class all held onto a fire hose working to put out the fire from the Garetson Dragons.

Happy Birthday, Mom

As you may have noticed, I am about 3 months and 30 thoughts behind in keeping with this blog. My mom's birthday was last Tuesday so I thought I'd dedicate this one to her. No, I'm not late in wishing her a 'happy birthday', just late in letting you know about it.

As you may not know Mom has always liked music. She would always play the piano for us kids and make up songs with our names inserted as if they were written just for us and all of us brothers learned to play an instrument or two.

Growing up in the 70s, people liked to buy electronics combined with furniture and they were so heavy, they could not be moved unless absolutely necessary. Our home was no different as we had the 'living room stereo/picture frame holder hutch" It was about 6 feet long, 3 feet tall, and seemed to weigh 800lbs. It was terrible if you lost a toy behind it for it was not readily retrievable without multiple brother help. This magnificent piece of acoustical furniture featured a state of the art 4 button, 8-track player with 6 tape storage, in the middle was a large vertical radio with a 3 inch dial to smoothly run the arm up and down the dial, and on the right was the record player.

We had many fun times with that old stereo. I can remember having many records with the likes of: Eternal Echoes, BJ Thomas, Elvis, Tom Jones, Grease soundtrack, Star Wars-Empire Strikes Back Soundtrack, Statler Brothers, ABBA, Lowell Lundstrum, Johny Cash, Burrel Ives, and Anne Murray. Ooohhh...Anne Murray...any time that smooth, alto voice would grace the halls of our house, Mom would be heard singing along. It was remarkable at how much mom would sound just like Anne Murray.

So here's to you, Mom. Anne Murray from 1973. Thanks for the memories and Happy Birthday..last week.

Your #1 Son.

What a Summer!

Tennis Lessons, Bible School, 40th Anniversary Celebration, Black Hills vacation, fireworks, fun on the lake, weddings, birthday celebrations, four-wheeler rides, jet skiing, lemonade stands, fishing at the river, golf, swimming pool, play time with friends, camp fires, horse rides, s'mores, corn on the cob, visits with cousins, bike rides, baseball games, lawn mowing, overnight guests, ice cream cones, lazy mornings, laughter, story telling, hard sleeping, and some nights of tucking kids in a little too late, but what sweet memories.......

It's Looking to be a Great Start to Summer!

Number 9

Jake turned 9 today. Mom made a delicious, 1 millionth scale, replica Twins Metrodome cake. (Don't check my math...it sounds good and it's close enough) And with Jake turning 9, we had a convenient candle for every player position. He had some friends over after school to play Wii, baseball, eat pizza, and of course cake. To end his baseball party, we gave him two tickets to this Friday night's Twins game against Seattle. So if you aren't doing anything this Friday night, you can tune into FSN and watch for Jake and I as we'll be 20 rows up behind home plate. Not sure if we'll get back again this summer so we'll be taking this one a little slower as this is the last year with the Twins playing in the Metrodome. A lot of good memories, over the years, attending games and two world series in that place.

Jacob's also been playing Spring soccer. Every game so far, Monday's and Saturday's, has been blistering windy cold...and it's Spring! His Fall games last year were warmer than this Spring. The girls have been trying to tough it out watching from the sidelines under blankets and coats but sometimes don't make it and head back to the car with mom. Dad, of course, can wait it out and then has to defrost, when it's over, back home. His soccer ability seems to be taking after me a little bit in that his finesse sometimes involves blasting the other kid to the ground while trying to clear the ball out to the other end of the field. He got a little worried because the ref gave him a pre-warning, warning that if he knocked a kid down again he was going to get a warning. I told him that was alright because you gave that kid a pre-warning, warning too and next time he may back off of you. He seemed fine with my logic.

Baseball practice starts next week....here we go!!