Internet Probs

Just want to let everyone know our internet has been screwy and I haven't been able to get online to post anything. I have read all your comments and appreciate them. All of the animals are fine. Stef did a great job. I will post more when the internet stays on for more than a few minutes at a time!

Up North

Up North is where my Dad's parents lived. On the farm. Now I go to visit my Aunt Candice and my cousin Travis and his family. Travis has three boys and one on the way. The two older boys are the same ages as Niko and Deklan. We were able to go to Tiago's third bday party while we were there. My other cousin Tina was also there with her family, but my camera ran out of batteries and I didn't get any pics of them.


The boys always have a good time when we visit.

Gma n Gpa

<
This is my grandma, better known as Gma. She HATES to have her picture taken. Hee Hee Hee.

This is my grandpa, better know as Gpa. He's not quite as shy.

We always play croquet when we are at Gmas.

We also went bowling this time. This is a pic of Deklan after his first spare.


Deklan also beat Gpa in a game of Chess for the first time. I didn't get a picture of that game. This is the second game. Gpa got him this time.

My favorite past time at Gma and Gpa's is sitting on the swing and looking out on the backyard watching the birds and the squirrels. Gma told us she likes watching the squirrels mate. I think that is a little weird, but to each his own!

I just had to show this pic too. It cracks me up. Not sure why. They look like an old couple. Maybe the Odd couple?

Colfax

I lived in Colfax, Ia from 2 years old to 14. I hadn't been back in many, many years. I have dreams about it all the time though. I bribed the kids with a trip to Colfax's great swim pool to go with me. This first picture is from the base of Cemetery Hill looking down the road at the trailer Park I lived in. Our house is gone, but our lot was the one with the blue trailer with the mini van in front of it. The tree was a lot smaller when we were there!!

Here is a picture of the kids rolling down Cemetery Hill. I used to slide down this hill in the snow. See the tree to the left? I carved my initials into it with my friend Lisa Hopkins.

Here is a view of the street I rode my bike up and down as a kid. Those lamp posts in front of the trailers were there when we were there. The one in front of our trailer was broken though. My cousin Tina was visiting and some boys came over to flirt with her and broke our lamp.

While we were waiting for the pool to open, we stopped by Trainland USA. This place opened up when I was 5 years old. I wasn't sure if the boys would like it or not, but they wanted to check it out. They ended up having a GREAT time. Basically these people turned their entire basement into a huge train track system. It's pretty cool.

Finally the pool was open. I spent a LOT of time here as a kid. This brought back a bunch of memories. The best thing about the pool is the high dive.

Here is one last pic of Colfax. They also had a bit of flooding.

De Ja Vu

The summer of 93 was the summer before my senior year of high school. The year of the BIG floods. The flooding wasn't as big in Des Moines this time, but it was definitely awful in Cedar Rapids. It is a good thing we went to the Dam when we did. 1 day later they shut it down and flooded the area. Here are some pictures of the Des Moines area.
Grandma's basement had a few small rivers running through it while we were there, but nothing too serious.

Roller Skating

Thank God I have boys. I have no idea how my parents hauled a carload of junior high girls to the skating rink every weekend. I shuddder at the thought. Now this is my boys favorite thing to do in Iowa.

Saylorville Dam

We rolled into Ankeny, Ia just in time for my Uncle Mike's surprise birthday party. It was held at Saylorville Lake. We had a boat and spent a lot of time on this lake when I was in highschool. I thought the boys would really like seeing the dam.
I got in a lot of trouble at this dam, rather, if I had been caught, WOULD have gotten in a lot of trouble. Oh wait, my mom reads this blog doesn't she.....

Blast from the past week!

I am in Iowa for the week visiting family. Misty wanted to see some pictures of my gma and gpa and I thought it would be fun to take pics of our whole week. I will start posting pics as soon as I get the right cord for my gma's computer. I also wanted to say HI to my Aunt Claudine. I talked to her yesterday and she says she enjoys reading the blog. Thank you. She also asked an important question... Who is taking care of the animals while you are gone? Stef is taking on the role of 4 people for the next week and a half. I'm a nervous wreck, but I know he is doing a great job.

Hungry Puppies

I'm going to try a movie of Lala feeding 10 babies. Let me know if it is too difficult to watch (download).

Every time she eats the puppies go crazy on her.

Dish detergent

The Borax/washing soda recipe didn't work so great in the dishwasher. It left a chalky film on everything. I even used a rinsing agent and then some vinegar, but it didn't help. I'm tying one more time. I'm going to use less of the "soap" and see if it helps.