The Dorris Family

Feeling a little Elfy!

2007-12-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

You will have to check out the Dorris Family as Elves!!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1393828445

Sledding

2007-12-02T21:45:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of our fun sledding outing this afternoon! I just LOVE this time of year. We had a beautiful snow and it was a great day for some fresh air!!

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T18:53:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Delights

On Thanksgiving Day we’re thankful for Our blessings all year through, For family we dearly love, For good friends, old and new.

For sun to light and warm our days, For stars that glow at night, For trees of green and skies of blue, And puffy clouds of white.

We’re grateful for our eyes that see, The beauty all around, For arms to hug, and legs to walk, And ears to hear each sound.

The list of all we’re grateful forWould fill a great big book; Our thankful hearts find new delights Everywhere we look!
By Joanna Fuchs

Here are some family pictures taken at Black Studios last night. We had a great time and they did a great job!

Halloween!

2007-11-06T14:45:00.000-05:00

Here is my little sniper. His little saying for the night was "I'm not freaky... I'm sneaky"! He would run and do a rolling dive through yards, it was pretty funny to watch. I would have taken more pictures but my batteries died after a few shots. :(

And here is my little Angel!

Happy 10th Birthday Kaiden!!!!

2007-10-16T17:44:00.000-04:00

Kaiden's birthday is on the 17th, which is on Wed! It is hard to believe that my baby is already 10 and in the 4th grade!!!! Here are some pics of Kaiden's party with his friends we had a couple weeks ago.

Another awesome cake from DQ!

Kaiden wanted to have a bunch of munchies, so we had typical things that you would find at a Super Bowl party.

The boys on the bus ride to the movie theater.

At the theater... We went to "Game Plan"

Then at home for the sleep over, they watched movies!

Party Like A Rock Star!

2007-09-24T14:51:00.001-04:00

Our local DQ did the cake... They do the best job ever! I just dropped off the invite with some of the things from the party and gave her complete creative reign to do what ever she wanted and this is what she came up with!! I just LOVE it!!!!!

Look at my little "Rock Star", I am sure she will love this picture in a few years!

We had Dancing!

and Singing!

Her pajamas said "Pajama Party Gone WILD!", which was pretty true!

The girls all loved Karsyn's kitty Angel

and by the end they were all wiped out!

Preparing for Karsyn's ROCK STAR birthday party!

2007-09-21T10:47:00.000-04:00

We are having Karsyn's Birthday party this Sat night. Her actual birthday was on Sept 11th, but she wanted to have a sleep over, so this is the first day that worked out. We invited 13 girls total. She wanted a rock star theme, so they are going to play DDR Dance Dance Revelation, and Sing Star. I think I have more fun planing the party as the girls do at the party. I will update pics some time next week.

Here is a copy of the invite (concert ticket)

And everyone has gotta have a back stage pass to wear!

A Few Updates

2007-09-21T10:30:00.000-04:00

Here are some pics from Kaiden's 1st Football Game of the season. It was very cold and wet, but it was fun to watch him in action!

Kaiden is the one on the far right!

After the game.

Mike's Mom Lori toughing it out in the cold rainy weather!

Karsyn and her friend Raelyn Shopping at the mall.

Weekend at the Lake!

Karsyn and Cheyanne had a great time playing in the mud!

Really, who needs an expensive mud treatment at the spa when you have lake mud!!!

Kaiden reading to Kale... He is so dang cute!

First Day of School

2007-08-24T15:23:00.001-04:00

The kids were so excited to meet their teachers and see their friends!

Here are some pics of their open house with their teachers:

Both teachers are new to our school, but we are so excited that the kids are in their class rooms. We are excited for what the school year will bring!

Here is a pic from this morning (On the official first day)

We had a chance to meet the teacher yesterday and see where the kids seats were. Kaiden was happy he got to pick his seat and choose back row next to his buddy Tanner. Karsyn was excited to be in the front row... 2 desks from her friend Raelyn. She is also right next to another friends little guy Alex! Both teachers seemed soooo nice, it made me smile all the way home!

Lots to catch up with!!

2007-08-24T15:09:00.000-04:00

First one of my good friends just moved to Salt Lake City, so I met her in Sioux falls on her way out. Here are some pics before she headed down the road:

Tammy, we are going to miss you and Aidan very much! But we are also very excited for you guys, and know the transition will be very smooth!!!

Mike left Sunday to fish a tourny in Devil's Lake ND, they didn't have very good luck, which meant that he came home early (which was exciting for me that he was home, but felt bad that they didn't do so well). Here are a couple pics from that trip.

Isn't this an amazing photo!!!! These 3 photos were taken from the tournys website. I am not sure who took them but they did an amazing job!!

San Diego ~ Beach Pics!

2007-08-14T13:44:00.000-04:00

San Diego Part 2

2007-08-09T13:05:00.001-04:00

San Diego Part 1

2007-08-09T12:52:00.001-04:00

Pics from the past few weeks!

2007-07-18T12:47:00.000-04:00

Some of the Walleye Mike caught in June!

Kaiden with Brian McCann (catcher for the Braves)
He hit a home run during the game, and then was chosen for the All-Star game!

T-Ball Buddies: Karsyn, Kennedy, & Raelyn

Karsyn running to first!

At the pool over the 4th of July!

Mike & I

Kaiden & Aidan (Mike's cousins little guy)

Karsyn & Ashlyn (Mike's other cousins little girl)

Lessons in Life!

2007-07-18T10:52:00.000-04:00

I don't usually like to post things this long, but this was an email that was forwarded from my Uncle John up in Canada, and it was so good I thought I would post it! I needed to hear some of these little reminders!

Lessons in Life
By Regina Brett
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over To 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting With your first paycheck
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past So it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, You shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything If you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is Up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after What you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't Save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness Except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster With these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you Is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, It will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you When you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, Not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you Really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - Dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile And saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, Beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end Is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, Dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, But it's still a gift.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! Life is too short and friends are too few.

Vegas

2007-07-10T22:31:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pics from VEGAS!

This is the wild and crazy group of ladies that I had the privilege of going to Vegas with! I love this pic. It was my self and my Mom, My mom's best friend(my Godmother), her daughter (my good friend), and her Mom, and Aunt! It was quite the crew!

My Mom and me at the Hawaiian Luau.

Jacki and I at the big slot machine

Here I am trying my luck, unfortunately I didn't have the winning luck with me on this trip!

My Mom and I at the Musical Comedy "Menopause", it was very funny!

Here is my Mom, my Godmother Sherri, and myself... Watching the performers sing in the Imperial Palace.

Jacki and I downtown on the old strip. That was my favorite part. I really liked the old school feel downtown.

Weekend to Minnesota!

2007-06-19T10:29:00.000-04:00

Okay sorry for making you all look at my ugly mug shot for so long. I couldn't handle seeing it anymore so it is time to take it down. Last weekend we went to the Cities for a baseball game and then to spend the weekend with some friends of ours. I will post about the game later, but here is the pics from the Lake!

The importance of using SUNSCREEN on your LIPS!!!!

2007-06-13T16:11:00.000-04:00

No I didn't get collagen injections in my lip!!!! I woke up with a great surprise this morning! My lip was huge with about 15 to 20 blisters on it and boy does it feel great! Some of my friends thought it was quite funny, so I thought I would give everyone a laugh for the day as well!

ENJOY!!!

A little bit of HEAVEN on earth!

2007-06-11T18:04:00.001-04:00

We spent the weekend at a good friend of ours on the lake. It was such a relaxing weekend, spent with great friends!

My Little super model

My Tree climber

Some of my best buddies!

Kaiden and I hanging out on the dock

We got PUPPIES!!!!

2007-06-05T19:59:00.000-04:00

11 TO BE EXACT!!!! Our lab had puppies on May 22, and yes it was planned. We had her bred to a beautiful White lab from one of the kennels in the area. This is Lilly's second litter with this same lab and we were so impressed with the last litter we decided to try it again!

Here are the 'lil girls!

And a whole lot of boys!
3 black...
and 5 white!

Poor Lilly is doing an amazing job keeping up with all 11 pups... Poor thing! (and I thought it was tough raising 2)

Any one that would like more info on bloodlines or is interested in having one of these cuties be part of your family, let me know and I can get you more info!

Any one that just wants some puppy snuggles while we have them here is more than welcome to come visit as well!!

Hmmm, 8 things about me hu!

2007-05-18T11:20:00.001-04:00

Tracy tagged me, and since I haven't posted in way too long, I guess I have no excuse!?!?

1) I am a citizen of both Canada and the USA - I was born in Alberta Canada and lived there until I was 10, from there we moved to Jacksonville Florida for 2 years, until my parents decided to move to S. Dakota (my Dad is from here).

2) I was a feisty little stinker as a kid. I always had to push my boundaries until I couldn't push any more. In 1st grade all of the 4th grade boys were afraid of me. My nickname was pincher/kicker. I would have babysitters in tears before the end of the night, and I even had a couple teachers in tears (not my proudest moment!). No one ever would guess I was like that because I looked too innocent, which always surprised me.

3) I have the most amazing family that lives all over the world, that mean so much to me! My parents have always been so great and supportive in everything that I have ever done.

4) My husband and I have been together since the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, I look back and see how we have changed and grown over the years and am so glad that God blessed me with having him in my life!

5) I started my senior year of high school 8 month pregnant with the most incredible little boy I could have ever imagined. I didn't plan the time line in my life, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world!

6) I finished high school and then went on to school for Graphic Communications. It was just Kaiden and I, and I have to say that was the hardest year of my life! Mike and I got married that following summer. Kaiden was almost 2!

7) We both quit our jobs, sold our house and moved to a new town to take a leap of faith and start our insurance business. We decided early on that we would look at any opportunity that came our way and not be afraid of the unknown, to jump in with two feet and to have faith in God that he would take us in the right direction! Guess what... I think he was right! It has been the greatest roller coaster ride we have ever been on, and I enjoy it more and more every day!

8) We feel like we are at a great place in our lives and I am 99% sure I am done having kids... We have a Dr consult next week to make it permanent!!!!

WOW, that was pretty tough! I am sure I have bored all of you to death... but I guess this is a little bit about who I am! Have a great weekend!

P.S And I guess if I have to play the game... So do you, I tag Val, Jennie, and Grace!

Pics from the weekend!

2007-04-30T16:11:00.000-04:00

Mike was in a fishing tourney in Chamberlain this weekend with a good friend of ours from the Cities. Here are a few pics of their weekend!

Oooooh look at the size of those fish! LOL

It was also a friend of ours 30th Bday, so I went down with a good friend of mine for the surprise party in Watertown! It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to see a lot of my good friends that I haven't seen in a while! Here are some pics of my weekend!

Bryan & Tim (Tim is obviously the Birthday boy!)

Jen and I

Jen, Brandon, Bryan, Christie & I

We played practical jokes on Bryan all weekend to pay him back on some previous ones he has pulled. Here Tammy & I bagged up his underwear and set it to sail off of his neighbors dock!

Here is Christie, Tammy and I chilling out!

Fishing

2007-04-15T20:55:00.000-04:00

My wife asked me to write a little about mine and Kaiden's weekend of fishing. I told her no, but I guess you can see who won! As I think Shanley has mentioned before I really like to fish for walleyes and compete in walleye tournaments as much as possible. This weekend was the first tourney of the year, so Kaiden and I headed for Chamberlain on Thursday afternoon to prepare for the tournament on Saturday. We pulled up to the boat ramp about 3:30 Thursday afternoon and had our first and biggest fish in the boat at about 4:30, of course I will never hear the end of it that he caught a bigger one than me once again.

Friday morning Bryan Gaikowski (my tourament fishing partner) joined us and we fished all day long with only one keeper so our hopes of doing well in the tournament on Saturday were pretty bleak. Our only hopes were to go back to the spot Kaiden caught the big one on Thursday and hope fish were still in that area. Friday night was the mandatory rules meeting for the tournament and Kaiden made out pretty good again, a few guys appreciated him fishing all day and having so much fun in a sport that has less and less kids enjoying it all the time. They filled his arms full of fishing rods, gift certificates, hats and fishing stories.

Saturday morning came and tournament hours are set from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Kaiden is going to sleep in since he can't fish with us during the tournament and go help with the weigh in starting as soon as teams start coming in which we guessed would be about noon (teams are required to weigh in after they get their limit). But the start of the tournament is delayed because of heavy fog and we don't end up taking off till 10:30am now to weigh in around 6:30pm. So while we are waiting for the fog to clear Kaiden calls and ask what to do with the tray that his room service was delivered on. Man life must be rough two days of fishing, catching the biggest fish, a bunch of gifts, and now room service.

The tournament went much better than we could have hoped for with such a poor performance on Friday's preparation. We went back to Kaiden's spot and caught a fish a little bigger than Kaiden's Thursday fish along with some very nice ones to go along with it. We were about the 25th team to weigh in and we are sitting in 2nd place with 111 more teams behind us yet to weigh in we had our fingers crossed to stay in the top 10. Over all we ended up with the second largest fish in the tournament and a 4th place finish. Even Kaiden was proud of us but figured we would have won if he would have been able to come with. Kaiden helped weigh all 136 teams in and was paid by the tournament directer for his hard work. A weekend I will never forget and I am so thankful that I have a great wife that allows me to fish as much as I do. Kaiden being able to come and enjoy it with me makes it even better.

Snow in April!

2007-04-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

This is a pic of a fortune from a fortune cookie that Mike got when we went out to eat the other day. It is kind of hard to read, but it says "If Winter comes, can Spring be far away?", I thought it was appropriate after the weather we have been having. We are having a crazy wet and heavy snow with huge SNOW FLAKES!!!! Yes that's right, we woke up this morning and it was back to snow pants, parka, snow boots, gloves, hats... Etc.! It has been snowing ever since! I watched from our office all day, and at 4 I left work early to go pick up the kids. No, not because the weather was too bad, but because I had just got caught up at the office, and thought it looked like a good day to go home early! I took a few pics of this craziness!

This is out of my front window on my way to pick up the kids from daycare!

This is what I had looking at me when we came in the house. I think the dogs were just as confused as us with the weather changes. I am sure Jake thought it would be a good day to come in and hang out with us. But that is defiantly not going to happen!!!

Kaiden went out to play in the snow!

and Karsyn was Sleeping Beauty! She was just too tired to clean her room, and said she needed a nap, so I told her to crawl into bed. When Mike came home I asked him to check on her, he said I had better take a look, and he thought I created a monster, so here is my little Diva out cold with her Bratz beauty mask on!

Here is a pic Mike took, I thought it was pretty!

Without further ado...

2007-04-10T10:24:00.001-04:00

Here are the answers to the questions below!!!!

1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends . .. Boxing

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward. Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons . Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside ... Strawberry

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the>>>entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at>>>the stems.)

6. Three English words beginning with dw . Dwarf, dwell and dwindle.

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar. . Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, bracket s, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh... Lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with "s". Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

Quiz

2007-04-09T10:11:00.000-04:00

This is a quiz for people who know everything! These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers.

I thought the answers to these questions were pretty interesting, I will post the answers tomorrow!

1.Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the>>>bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters "dw" and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter "S."

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

2007-04-04T17:18:00.000-04:00

Anyone looking to feel dumb today?

Take this test and see!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/ny-et5thgrade0227-quiz,0,1168479.triviaquiz?coll=orl-home-promo

I got half way through and decided I didn't need to finish to find out!!!

Nephews!

2007-04-03T22:33:00.000-04:00

Austin will be 7 and Mason will be 5

It is my nephews birthday party next weekend, Austin's bday is on the 14th and Mason's is on the 17th so they are having both at the same time,Kristin's is actually on the 11th as well! I am having a hard time thinking of something for them though, they really don't need anything and I hate buying toys, just for the sake of buying toys! I am open to any suggestions.

The Cousins!
They are the only cousins on both sides, and they are the greatest kids ever! We are so blessed to have them in our lives!

I've Been Edited!

2007-04-02T23:15:00.000-04:00

Well it was only time before my children grew to the age in which they started to be concerned about me sharing things about them. That time has come with Kaiden. I will now need to have my senior editor approve articles that involve him before posting (which is kinda cute, and makes me giggle). Come to think of it I may be in trouble already as I am already breaking the rules!

Amber, I am guessing this shirt will not be applying to Kaiden! LOL

Fishing Season is HERE! :(

2007-03-29T17:35:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of Mike and Kaiden fishing last year.

My husband is an avid fisherman and this time of year I am pretty much a fishing widow! He is in tournaments almost every weekend through most of the summer, it gets to be pretty old as well as expensive. The past few weeks it has already started with entry fees and all sorts of fishing lures that he just can not live without. We went to the Cities a couple weekends ago and Kaiden went shopping with him, only to rat him out once we all met back up (That's my boy!). We got in the car and Kaiden belts out in a disgusted voice, "Dad spent so much money on fishing lures that it seriously made me sick!". As I was giving Mike the eye, mike was giving Kaiden the eye. It was actually pretty hilarious!

Anyways, Mike took Kaiden out fishing last night and Kaiden came home pretty excited that he caught the most fish! Mike said they had a great time and it was great that Kaiden did so well. I only feel sorry for the poor girl that Kaiden ends up dating some day... As I think he is hooked on both hunting and fishing and history is sure to repeat it's self!

SPRING!!!!

2007-03-26T21:14:00.000-04:00

Whahoooo! The weather is beautiful and Spring fever has started set in! I got the itch on Friday to get some patio furniture for the deck... Thankfully Lewis had just received their shipment of patio furniture and I found just what I was looking for! I got it home and unloaded just in time when our wonderful friends from Colorado Springs arrived! Needless to say we had to spend the evening on the the deck with a bon fire and S'mores! It felt so good! I just love this time of year! It was so fun to have them here for the weekend. Trish if you read this... Thanks so much for your great wisdom and I always enjoy our deep conversations! I don't think we will ever run out of things to discuss!

Bye for now!!!

Karsyn's Drawing

2007-03-14T10:48:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture that Karsyn gave me. I think it is just too cute! I love her spelling on the picture. We are going to take the kids to Disney Land this summer... We are hoping anyway. Can you tell she is just a little excited.

If you can't make out the text it says "I gina go to Daney Land". You can click on the picture and it will make it bigger.

This past weekend!

2007-03-14T10:20:00.000-04:00

Here are the kids after playing in the mud in their swim suits getting cleaned up!

This last weekend we had our nephews stay with us! It was a lot of fun to have them here, they only live an hour a way but it seems we don't see them near enough! The kids had a great time playing out side in the beautiful weather and even more fun in the MUD!!!
Isn't it great to be a kids!

Winter is among us!

2007-03-05T17:42:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful, beautiful snowstorm; and I loved it!!!! The excitement of a little kid came over me as I watched the big beautiful flakes started to fall, and fall, and fall some more! The kids and I stayed home Thursday and Friday, it was so nice to hang out with them. We went into Ben Franklin to pick up some craft suppies and stayed busy learning how to crochet on Friday, which is something I have been wanting to learn for a long time! The kids played with friends and had fun in the snow. Here are some of the pics from the past week!

This is just down the street from out house, kaiden was making ramps to go off of with his sled~

These are pictures of out side of our office and Main Street in the town that we live in!
Doesn't look so pretty!

Names

2007-02-27T18:04:00.000-05:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

While I have a hard time believing that there isn't at least one other person with the same first name as me, I thought it was still interesting!

This is for Mike's Name!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
120
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Did you know he was a famous author that committed suicide?!? That was quite a shock when I googled his name and saw that!

Have a great day!

Father - Daughter!

2007-02-12T14:02:00.000-05:00

On Friday Mike took Karsyn to a father-daughter dinner. It was so sweet to watch the excitement! I told Karsyn of the news as I picked her up from day care and told her we had to hurry home and get her ready for a special date with her Dad. She instantly became gitty. She said "It will just be me and daddy?", when I said yes, she was all smiles and giggles. There is something about a Daddy and his little girl that is so precious!!! So we rushed home and got her all dressed up in her fancy red dress and fixed her hair. Mike gave her a red rose and they headed off to the dinner with a friend of ours and his daughter! It just melted my heart! When they got there they had their picture taken, had a wonderful spaghetti dinner, I think that they had some entertainment as well. All of the proceeds went to the Christian School, and they had the pictures ready for them as they left.

Checks!

2007-02-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

I saw the coolest checks this morning! There is a place online that you can upload your pictures and they will put them on your checks! The one I saw today was their wedding picture, it was very cool! If I wasn't so cheep, I would have to get some made up with my favorite little ones on them... But I get the free ones from Wells Fargo, and can't get my self to spend money on checks when I get them for free!!

I thought that some of you may want to check it out! Here is the link:

http://www.uniquechecks.com/shop/subcategory.aspx?SubcategoryName=PERSONAL-UC(Base)&CategoryCode

Winter Time Blues!

2007-02-05T15:07:00.000-05:00

I am having a hard time being motivated right now. I know I have a ton of things that I should be doing, and things that need to be getting done, but I can't get my butt moving. House work is building up, I have phone calls to make, my office is starting to stack up and I have the kids' schedules to keep!

I don't know maybe it's the time of year and the fact that it has in negative digits lately, or maybe I am just in a bit of a rut, maybe I am just being plain lazy!

Our New Office Space!

2007-02-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple weeks we have been busy getting our new office ready! I think we are pretty much finished! We are all moved in and situated. Of course we have a few minor things left, but it feels pretty good to be resettled and have a little more elbow room! Anyone who has been in our old space knows it was a much needed move. We are still in the same building, which was nice for the moving process in January!!! But it is the front of the building where Alltel was. The owners renovated it so it would work for what we needed, and I think it looks pretty good. You will all have to stop in and check it out!

This is the front entrance.

My office space.

Mike's Office

This is a back office space

Montana!

2007-01-25T09:32:00.000-05:00

I know it has been a while since I have posted and I apologize for that. Last week the kids and I, along with my parents headed to Montana to meet up with my brother and his wife, and some family from Australia and Canada! We stayed the first 2 nights at my brothers house in Hysham. The kids went out with Stacey and Tif to watch them work with their horses, and Karsyn. Mom, and I went to one of Tif's Basketball practice. She is the varsity basketball coach. It was a lot of fun to see her in her element!

We then went into Billings on Tuesday morning to meet Richard, Dyan, Drew, and Bristow at the airport. They were coming in from a week in Hawaii! After getting them all geared up in winter attire, we headed to the Billings house where my Uncle and his girlfriend met up with us. We stayed in Billings until Thursday morning and it was great! We all hung out played games and had a wonderful time! Thursday morning we headed to Red Lodge Montana which was a little over a hour away where we went skiing. Bristow, Kaiden and Karsyn had never gone before, and Drew was about 7 the last time she went. They had lessons scheduled to start at 10. Kaiden & Bristow decided to try their luck at snowboarding and everyone else was on ski's.

Karsyn picked up skiing very fast. She kind of surprised me how good and fearless she was. Kaiden struggled in the morning but by the end of his afternoon lesson, he too looked like a pro!!!! The next morning Stace and Tif joined us in Red Lodge for our 2nd day of skiing, Tif was working on picking up the art of snowboarding and it was so awesome to be able to ski with my kids. It was one of the best days I can remember in a long time!

By noon the kids were going up all 3 chairs and and had gotten it down so well, it really was amazing!!!!

We starting heading West Saturday afternoon so we could take in Tiffany's basketball game which was at 5:30 It was a great game in which the Hysham Pirates won!!! We came back to their house and had our Christmas gift exchange, had some munchies and hit the hay!

Then we headed for home Sunday morning, it was a long trip as we had some icy conditions but managed to make it home safely around 10pm.

The Dorris Boys!

2007-01-08T17:31:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of Mike and his two brothers. When Mike was a senior in high school they had the smaller pic taken, and then recently we re-staged the photo. I love this photo! I digitally edited the old photo into the new so they could be compared together!

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR

2007-01-03T20:20:00.000-05:00

Take twelve whole months. Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness, hate, and jealousy. Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.

Now cut each month into twenty-eight, thirty, or thirty-one different parts, but don't make up the whole batch at once. Prepare it one day at a time out of these ingredients.

Mix well into each day one part of faith, one part of patience, one part of courage, and one part of work.

Add to each day one part of hope, faithfulness, generosity, and kindness. Blend with one part prayer, one part meditation, and one good deed.

Season the whole with a dash of good spirits, a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play, and a cup full of good humor. Pour all of this into a vessel of love. Cook thoroughly over radiant joy, garnish with a smile, and serve with quietness, unselfishness, and cheerfulness. You're bound to have a happy new year.

-- Author Unknown

Christmas Day!

2006-12-26T16:18:00.000-05:00

Christmas Day was also great! We slept in til about 8:30 got up to see what Santa had brought the kids, had a great breakfast. We all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and then Kaiden sang it again to a friend of ours who's birthday is the same day! I thought that was very sweet of him to think of that on his own! after that we opened presents and had munchies! We put together the things that needed assembling. Kaiden got a Telescope, Karsyn a Karaoke Machine, so we had singing performances though out the day! Also games of cards and putting together a puzzle were happening though out the day. The kids hit the jack pot this year with a lot of great gifts that the kids where in awe over! We had Christmas dinner watched a movie and then I hit the hay. It was such a relaxing laid back Christmas!

Kaiden & Karsyn Singing a song

Next up... my Dad & Karsyn

Christmas Dinner!

Christmas Eve!

2006-12-26T15:59:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful, laid back Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve we had a leisurely day filled with games, food and family. It was great!

Karsyn looking beautiful in her Christmas dress

Kaiden modeling part of the present that Karsyn got him.

Karsyn with her Great Grandma & Grandpa Nielsen before heading to the Christmas Eve service.

Playing cards!

This is Karsyn's Poker face. She was having a hard time not letting people know if she had a good hand or not. It still makes me laugh thinking about this!

I stole a kiss from Kaiden when he wasn't expecting it! I have to be a little sneaky in order to get my kisses now a days!

The Nutcraker Ballet!

2006-12-15T17:41:00.000-05:00

A friend and I took our daughters to the Nutcracker ballet this year. It was so much fun to have a special girls night/Mommy & Daughter night. Karsyn really wanted to be on stage dancing with the dancers. She had seen the movie and looked at the book, so she was explaining to me what was going on which was pretty fun!

Here are some pics of the night!

This is Karsyn & Lilly before we left Madison.

Here is a couple pics from the performance!

By the end of the show Karsyn was out cold and I couldn't get her to wake up for anything.
It was pretty funny!

YEAR IN REVIEW!

2006-12-13T19:25:00.000-05:00

Well we have a very busy year and it makes me wonder where the time has gone! I can not believe that we are a week and a half away from Christmas!

Mike and I did more traveling this year then I thought I would do in a lifetime, which was so exciting. It started out the end of February when Mom & Dad, and Mike & I got on a plane and headed to the land down under for my cousin Kelva’s wedding! It was such a beautiful wedding and a great experience. On our way home we stayed a couple days in Tokyo Japan, which was also so wonderful. Then with a lot of hard work Mike qualified for a Mediterranean cruise through work. He was the # 4 agent in the State and in the top 9% of the company nation wide. I was so proud of him! We headed to Barcelona Spain and boarded the Royal Caribbean cruise ship which took us through Italy, France and back to Spain. It was an unbelievable trip with Rome being the highlight!

Kaiden has had a full year as well! He spent his summer in baseball, riding his horse, swimming and helping us out! He is now in 3rd grade and also started his first year of football which he enjoyed very much. He got all A’s with one B on his report card and his teacher was a little concerned that he may be a little bored at school, so we have been trying keep him progressing at home as well. He is now reading full novels and has a hard time putting them down! He never ceases to amaze me. Wrestling will begin in January and he is looking forward to that as well as learning to snowboard in Montana with family in a few weeks.

Karsyn has also been a very busy girl. She was in her second year of T ball, and swimming lessons, riding horse and her bike this summer. This is the year she has really come out of her shell and has really progressed a lot in everything that she has participated in. She started Kindergarten this year, which she absolutely loves, and started gymnastics and loves that as well. Karsyn and I went to the Nut-cracker Ballet this year, which was so fun to share that experience with her. Alls she could say was how she wanted to be on stage dancing with them! It was very beautiful.

Mike is continuing to grow his business and still loves every minute of it. He spent his summer fishing in Walleye Tourney’s, spending time with friends at lakes around the area, and hanging out with the kids. Hunting season has also been very busy for us this. It has been a great year, and Mike has really enjoyed reacquainting with hunters that we see every year as well as new faces that he has gotten to get to know!

I have had a great year as well. I enjoyed seeing the sight from around the world, spending time with the kids at the pool and at all of their events. I am finding that my favorite sports are continually changing to what ever season it is and what event the kids are in. I can.t believe how fun it is to watch them out there! I am also still working with Mike at Farm Bureau, helping Mom during hunting season with cooking and cleaning. And most recently I started with AFLAC insurance company. I am excited for the holidays but am anything but prepared, but as usually I am sure that every thing will come together as they usually do!

From our house to yours we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Lots of Love, Michael, Shanley, Kaiden & Karsyn Dorris

Halloween Pics!

2006-11-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

Here's the kids on Halloween!
Karsyn was a Monarch Butterfly. It is kinda had to see her wings in this picture.

Kaiden Was an Inmate!

Weekend summary!

2006-11-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well I know it has been a while since I posted, it has just been so busy! I am in the training process with Aflac right now and leave on the 27th for a week in Fargo for more training. I am very excited to get going with it and see where it takes me!

Anyways, this weekend I got to stay home for the first time in a while. The kids and I went to the movie with some friends, it was fun to hang out and spend some fun time with them. Sat morning I slept in, which was so awesome. I honestly don't remember the last time I got to sleep in. Karsyn went to a friends house to play, and Kaiden and I hung out at home and got ready for both kids to go to their friends birthday parties! I helped out at the birthday party that Karsyn went to and we did hair, nails, made bracelets and watched Barbie: The Twelve Dancing Princesses! It was a wonderful birthday party, but 10 screaming little girls reinforced that fact that I am glad I only have 2 children!!!!! Kaiden left for his party, which was a sleep over and they headed to S Falls for Gigglebees!

After Karsyn's party we headed home and just as I was making supper a friend called me to see if I wanted to head to Chester for a Poker Tourny. She sent her daughter over to baby sit and we headed to Chester. This is the first Tourny I have ever been in, but I thought it sounded kinda fun! We get to our table and started playing, and it ends up being myself and another man at the table, so they move us to another table. At that point there was only 3 tables left! So we keep playing and it is down to the final table. I thought to myself wow... I made it to the final table! So, I tried not to pay too much attention and just focus on the cards so I wouldn't Phyc myself out. Next thing I know it is the final 4, then the final 2. And YES I won the whole Tourny!!!!! There were over 70 people that started out! First prize was a 32 in Flatscreen tv!!!! It was so much fun! So that is the highlight of my weekend!!!

Sunday Karsyn and I made breakfast together, and the rest of the day was pretty lazy, It felt good! We just hung out picked up a little, Kaiden came home from his party, and Karsyn went swimming with some friends/neighbors at the community center. So as you can tell we had a very full but awsome weekend!!!

Pheasant Season is Here!

2006-10-24T15:57:00.000-04:00

Well we started off the season with a bang (literally)! We had a great opening weekend. We had some friends/hunters from Arizona and Minnesota! They harvested 72 birds. They limited each day fairly early, which gave the guys plenty of time to hang out and play pool. Between meals and regrouping the girls had some time to relax in the hottub, which was great! Here are some pics of the weekend!

Visiting Grandma O!

2006-10-19T14:24:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of pics from when we went to visit Grandma Great! She is looking so good, and it was so fun to visit with her and my Aunt Carol! I got to go through the scrap book that they put together for her 90th birthday and there were photos of my Grandma & Grandpa that I had never seen before! I defiantly will have to get my hands on them and get some copies made!

The First Snow!

2006-10-18T15:28:00.000-04:00

We awoke this morning with a beautiful surprise! The ground was covered in white and every thing looked so beautiful. Mike was on the ball and captured some nice pictures! I love the first snow, it was so peaceful. There was no wind and the big snow flakes fell so softly! Karsyn was so cute, she ran into my bedroom and said "Mommy you have to come see this there is a surprise out side!" Alls I could think about was 5 more minutes of sleep, so she said "I will make you a deal, I will go get dressed and then you can come see!". So she got all ready and came and got me to see the beautiful snow! It was a great way to wake up this morning!

The Toothfairy!

2006-10-18T14:59:00.000-04:00

The tooth fairy visited our house night before last due to Karsyn loosing her first tooth. After a week worth of working on it she finally got it out! She even managed to pull it all by her self! She awoke to find $2 under her pillow which she was very excited about, even though the Tooth Fairy didn't comply with her wishes. Karsyn had written a letter that she put with her tooth requesting $11 for the exchange of the tooth. Regaurdless she was tickled pink, and hey it never hurts to try for the bug bucks! The poor tooth fairy may go broke at the Dorris household as Karsyn discovered that her other front tooth is loose last night as well. The theme song for this Christmas may be "Alls I Want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth!"

Kaiden's Birthday Party

2006-10-16T17:47:00.000-04:00

Kaiden had his 9th birthday party with his friends this weekend. The party turned out great! We went to the Area 81 Crop mazes, the theme was based on Area 51 in Vegas which has to do with UFO's, Crop circles, and Aliens! They had a blast in the mazes and we took the bus with 11 boys all of whuch spent the night! There was 3 mazes with 6 check points in each maze, there was also a secret check point. We split them into 3 groups and sent them out. Mike went with one group, and I ended up going in with another group. They had tried on their own and got a little frustrated so I helped them out! When we got back home we had icecream and presents, then the boys snuggled in for a movie. They watched the movie signs! Which also goes along with the Alien theme!

Happy Birthday to my Sweetie!

2006-10-09T16:25:00.000-04:00

We had a great weekend! It was Mike's 28th Birthday on Sunday and we went to my families lake cabin on Roy Lake. It was very windy but it was so nice to just get away and relax! We got there Friday evening and some friends of ours came and spent the weekend with us as well. The guys went out for a while on Sat to try and fish but the wind was so bad it wasn't much fun, My friend Jenny and I stayed in the cabin, had a glass of wine and enjoyed our time together. Sunday they all left for home. We went in to see Gramma Great and we had a wonderful visit with her! We went back to the cabin made some supper and played sequence with the kids. We then watched a movie and went to bed! This morning we slept in a bit, then cleaned the cabin and headed for home!

It was so nice to spend some quality family time together!

Here is some pictures of the Birthday Boy!!!

Hope you had a great birthday and I love you!!

Antelope Hunting

2006-10-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of Mike and Brian's Antelope hunt! I guess the pics are a little deceiving because from what I understand Brian's is quite a bit bigger then Mike's?????

Going Crazy!!!

2006-10-02T21:50:00.000-04:00

Okay, so as you may know we had pictures taken last weekend! We are supposed to have the proofs ready to view any minute now and I just can't wait!!! I have been checking like every 5 minutes for the last 2 days to see if they have been posted. Nothing yet!!!! I guess I better learn patience!!!!

Weekend in review!

2006-10-02T16:29:00.000-04:00

We had a nice quiet weekend. Mike left early Friday morning and headed to Faith SD, which is West River to go antelope hunting with his friend Brian. I think they had a great time and both got their antelope. I guess Brian got a very big one. Mike came home Sunday night which it was nice to have him home again!

My Mom & Dad came down Friday evening for the weekend and Kaiden and Karsyn had a sleepover. Kaiden also had his last football game Sat morning so we all went to the game, which they won.

Mom, Karsyn and I went to Sioux falls to the Seratoma Butterfly House. It was very neat to see! It is a big emporium where they have hundreds of species of butterflies flying around, you can walk around and look at them and they can land on you. They were beautiful, and Karsyn was so excited as she just loves butterflies. She is planning on being a Monarch butterfly for Halloween, so when she saw them there so said "Mom, that's what I am going to look like!!!" After that we did a little shopping went for a Sonic Limeade. Did a little more shopping, got Karsyn a new winter coat and snow pants, the went for supper at a Mongolian Grill and headed for home.

Kaiden Spent the night at a friends house Sat night and came home Sunday evening. It sounds like he had a great time. It was out in the country so they got to play on go-carts and they played baseball! Sunday I did a little cleaning and relaxed with my parents it was nice having nothing going on!

What a Crazy Weekend!

2006-09-25T15:23:00.000-04:00

We had such a busy weekend, Sat morning Mike & Kaiden left for Kaiden's football game in Brookings and Karsyn rode down with Mike's mom Lori. It was awfully cold and a little rainy and Karsyn and Gramma decided that shopping would be a little more fun then sitting in the cold wet SD weather! I stayed home to cook and clean my house before the birthday party started at 2.

We had people start coming around 1 and had quite the houseful for Kaiden and Karsyn's party. It was so nice to see some of my good friends from high school and college along with their kids. I had 9 people that stayed with us Sat night so they could be here for the portrait party on Sunday.

The portrait party was awesome, yet crazy! We had 13 different portrait settings, plus she did a lot of extra photos here and there! We worked that photographers tail off and she did such a great job! I can't wait to see all the pics! She had so many different new ideas for each session it was a lot of fun to see! I would highly recommend her, and her website is www.thruhimphoto.com, She arrived at noon and left around 8pm, I'm sure it was a long day for her, but she seemed to really enjoy it! After she left I hung out with a good friend of mine from Watertown for a while, then cleaned the kitchen and crashed out. I was exhausted. This morning came tooo fast and I did not want to get out of bed.

It's a Slumber/Pajama Party!

2006-09-18T11:08:00.000-04:00

Well Karsyn had her birthday party on Sat. The plan was for it to be a pajama party and we were going to take the bus to the movie theater and then back home for cake and a sleep over for those who wanted to stay! We got all of the kids loaded in the bus and started out the drive way to find that tornados were being spotted in towns all around us... So we headed to the movie store instead. It worked out wonderfully and the girls were all awesome! There wasn't one fight the whole night! They watched movies, played dressup, barbies, babies, and in the garage with bikes, scooters and our puppy Jake. Then we had cake and presents and it was time for the girls to settle down and we put another movie on. The girls that weren't spending the night got picked up and the rest crashed out in their sleeping bags! The next morning the girls got up and played quietly downstairs until all of them were up and then had breakfast and waited til they got picked up! I think the girls had an awesome time!

I will post some more pics later, it is being kind of stubborn right now!

Here are the girls on the bus after going to the movie store!

It's present time!

Some of the girls hanging out playing!

Movie time

More Birthday Girl Pics!

2006-09-13T13:31:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple more pics of Karsyn on her birthday, she got a flower crown at daycare, and was so excited to wear it after gymnastics to Football practice!

My Little Birthday Girl!

2006-09-11T15:01:00.000-04:00

Well Karsyn is 6 today! She is growing up so fast I can't hardly believe it! It seems like just yesterday she was a tiny little bundle all wrapped up in my arms, and although I still enjoy snuggeling up on the couch with her, she has sure grown up! She is having her friend birthday party on Sat. which will be a Pajama party/slumber party and we will be either going to a movie or possible bowling??? Depending on what movies are playing.

Here are some pics of the birthday girl this morning before school. For some reason my camera was a little grainy, but they are still cute!

Extreme Makeover Update!

2006-09-11T11:33:00.000-04:00

Well we made it down to the building site Sat night. It was very cool to see the behind the scenes of how they do it! The had everything so well organized and it kind of reminds me of an ant colony on how so many people all work so well together on one project!

The VIP area was under tent with some seating and great food, where we could watch the progress! They Completely framed and enclosed the house and roof on Sat and was working on shingles and plumbing and electrical while we were there!

The only members of the cast was Michael and Eduardo, There was one other cast member on the roof filming but we couldn't see who it was! He is above in the 2nd pic eith a black shirt on.

This is as close to Ty that I could find!!! Pretty close hu!

I think we will head back there on Wed to see the reveal, when they bring the family back! I would like to see the finished project.

Extreme Makeover!

2006-09-08T10:40:00.000-04:00

I am so excited about the Extreme Makeover Home Addition being in South Dakota! This is one of my favorite shows that I hate to miss! What an opportunity for a deserving family right here in our area!

Mike's Friends is sponsoring part of the show through the company that he works for and got us VIP passes so we will be able to witness this amazing task first hand. Hopefully we will be able to help out in some way as well! I can't believe what an unbelievable experience this will be! They are doing the Demolition tonight and then we get to go to a special VIP Party tomorrow.

I will post more later!

The School Report!

2006-09-06T10:15:00.000-04:00

Well the kids had great first days! Kaiden was excited because his teacher was really nice and the kids in his class were nice too! Those were the two things he has been stressing about. He said recess wasn't much fun because it wasn't done yet so there wasn't anything to do. They have the blacktop and that was it. He said he played football, but he didn't have much of a chance to play with some of his buddies from last year which kinda bummed him out!

Karsyn was very excited about her first day too. She was most impressed with lunch and recess. She was so excited that at lunch there was a salad bar! and at recess she said the boys started yelling that the girls chase the boys... So they all started running after the boys!!! Oh, what a game... I think I am in for it! She liked her class and school but really couldn't remember what they did in class all day!

Kaiden's closing comments was "The new school rocks!"

Day two started off pretty good, Mike had to leave early for meetings, so we got the kids ready, then I sent them down to the bus stop. Last year the bus pickup time was 7:45, but it was gone by the time the kids got down there this morning. I was just getting out of the shower when the kids informed me that it was already gone, so I made a mad dash to get ready so I could drop them off at school this morning!

First Day of School!

2006-09-05T12:09:00.000-04:00

Well School finally started today in Madison! and the kids were so excited! Karsyn hardly slept last night as she had fallen asleep when we were on our way home last night and ended up on the couch. We thought we in the clear at 8:30 so we headed to our room so she wouldn't wake up and sure enough she woke up! So we put on Sleeping Beauty hoping she would crash out. Well she didn't, I think with that and the anticipation of school it wasn't going to happen. She was up 4 or 5 more times, to report that she couldn't sleep going from our bed to hers, and finally I went to bed with her and that did the trick. She bounced right out of bed this morning and didn't skip a beat!

Mike and I took the kids to the school, the outside still had quite a bit of work that couldn't be completed do to the rain and so there were cars and kids everywhere! We parked down the street and walked up to the school where we sent Kaiden with his class and took Karsyn to hers! She went in and unloaded her things and we gave her a hug and kiss goodbye, then headed over to see how Kaiden was doing! He seemed to be fine but a little embarrassed that his mom & dad where standing in the doorway waving and snapping pictures! (Don't worry we weren't the only 3rd grade parents there!)

I will fill everyone in with their full report of how their day went!

A Very Busy Weekend!

2006-09-05T10:17:00.000-04:00

We had a very busy weekend. It all started off on Friday, we had a birthday party for my cousins husband. He was turning 40 and they were back for my cousin Kayla's wedding from Washington. So we headed to my uncle Don's farm In Langford for a BBQ supper. Due to the tremendous amount of rain that we got, we had the party inside instead!

Sat. We had breakfast with my uncle Carl, then headed to Sisseton to see some friends of ours from college! They had a baby since the last time we saw them and their baby was already a year old! So he wasn't much of a baby anymore. It was great to see them again.

From there we went out for lunch and then headed for Dakota Magic which is where the reception and dance was held. We got checked into our hotel and had a little down time before we needed to go to the wedding. The kids went swimming and Mike checked out the Casino!

The wedding was in Sisseton and was very nice! Kayla looked so beautiful and her dress was so unique. It was one of the prettiest dresses I have seen! Then back to the Casino for a wonderful reception with great food and great company! The dance was great and Karsyn had waited all day to dance the night away... Which she did, she was the last kid standing from our side of the family. She even outlasted her brother. The biggest surprise of the night was my 90 year old grandmother who wasn't about to miss a thing, she sat and watched until the dance was over. She headed for bed around 12:15, then asked my aunt if she had a magazine so she could stay up and ready! That women never ceases to amaze me! At the wedding we got a chance to reconnect to a lot of family that we never see and it was so much fun to visit with them and get to know them a little more. I guess that is one of the drawbacks of having such a big family, it is hard to know them as much as you would like!

Sunday Mike left early to go to Roy lake and fish with one of his good buddies. We went to a birthday brunch in honor of my grandma's birthday! From there we headed to Roy Lake to check out my families new cabin and see how the fishing was going. This cabin has been in the family for years, and this summer it was time to retire the old cabin and put up a new one. It is a very nice place and I hope to have a couple relaxing weekends there some day!

We then headed to Mitchell and spent the night at a good friend of mine from high school. Kaiden had a State tractor pedal pull there on Monday, so we went the night before so we could spend some time with Christie and her boys. We checked out her new house that she just purchased and it was very nice. I am so excited for her!!!!!

Monday we got up and moving and headed for the Corn Palace, which Kaiden informed me was the world's largest bird feeder! We got him all registered and ready to go! The pedal pull was pretty fun to watch, I had never been to one before so it was interesting to see how it worked! Kaiden was in the 2nd round and there were about 30 boys in his group. He pulled 20.7 feet which finished him about in the middle. He wasn't too happy about that but you can't win them all and I guess it is a hard lesson to learn!

Football!!

2006-08-31T13:24:00.000-04:00

Well Kaiden is in his second week of football and is having a blast! They have been practicing 3 times a week at 2 hours a crack. He just got his pads and the rest of his gear last night so they could start working on tackling and actually get a feel for what the games will be like!

His first game will be on Saturday Sept 9th at 10 am! He is so excited to be able to play. Here is an awesome picture I got of him last night after practice. He was hot and tired and not too happy to have a camera happy mother standing by. But I just couldn't resist, he looked so dang cute in his uniform!

Weekend in Wisconsin!

2006-08-29T15:47:00.000-04:00

We went to a friends lake home in Wisconsin this weekend and had so much fun! We left Friday morning and made it there around 5:30 Friday evening. It was such a beautiful and private setting nestled in the trees! We hung out and relaxed over a cocktail while the kids got reacquainted and then had a nice relaxing hottub before going to bed. Saturday was spent on the water. We hung out on the Pontoon boat and spent the day skiing, tubing and knee boarding behind Bryan's boat, as well as jet skiing. There was a paddle boat and all sorts of beach toys that the kids had a blast with! For supper we made some munchies and drinks then headed out for a Cocktail Cruise on the Pontoon, which I guess is a tradition for Kelly and her family. It was so much fun and we got a nice tour of the lake. The weather was amazing! Then it was time for a Bon fire and smores and some more R&R! It was such a much needed quite and relaxing weekend, and it was so much fun to be able to share it with Bryan and Kelly and her three girls!

Here is Karsyn chilling out suntanning!

and Kaiden looking cool as always!

4 guys on a giant hotdog! How funny is that!

Kaiden being the stud that he is, hooked the hotdog up behind the
paddleboat and gave the girls a ride. It was too cute!

Here is Kelly and her youngest Gracie, she is Karsyn's age

Here are Kelly's older 2, Maddie is the oldest at 10
and Cammy is Kaiden's age at 8!

Here is our trusty captain of our cocktail cruise!

Karsyn watering the sand! Notice the red bucket in the background
that is the new home for a baby snapping turtle the kids found!

This pic speaks for it self.... Can you say Divas with attitude!
I wouldn't want to mess with us!

This years school year!

2006-08-23T20:42:00.000-04:00

Well Madison Elementary School was scheduled to start off the school year on Aug. 28th. The kids were both excited to be able to start the off the year in a brand new school! There was a lot left up in the air about when teachers would be able to move into their classrooms and for everything to be situated before the first day of school. Teachers weren't scheduled to be in their classrooms until a week before school started and we wouldn't know what classes the kids where in or be allowed in the school until the first day.

With Karsyn starting kindergarten this year I was a little concerned about her starting a year in utter kaios under the above circumstances. As the highly anticipated day grew closer, driving by the new school, suspicions of the school not being done in time started to grow, along with a lot of conversations on what would happen if it wasn't. Finally it was decided that school would be delayed until Sept. 5th. Karsyn was very disappointed and Kaiden was so excited that they had an additional week and a half before heading off to school. Now everyday I have 2 kids asking how many more days until school starts! For me I am glad, I am hoping that with that extra time, the teachers will have had some time to get situated and feel comfortable in their new setting and there will be less tension in the air for the kids, teachers, and parents. We also had classroom assignments posted yesterday so the kids know who their teachers and classmates will be!

Everything seems to be working out, as they always do!!!

Nephew Time!!!

2006-08-22T12:30:00.000-04:00

My Brother-in-law Jeremy came and picked Karsyn & I up Friday afternoon so I could babysit my nephews for the weekend while Jeremy & Kristin went to Lake Okoboji with some friends! Mike had to play softball in Madison at 10pm the the last tourny game of the season, and we had a wedding in S.Falls on Sat.

We got down their and gave the kids a snack, then got them ready for Karate, which was at 6pm, I was so excited to take them to karate so I could watch them! We got their and were waiting for class to start when an instructor told me that their session had been cancelled due to blackbelt testing... The boys and I were both bummed out, but we decided to go out for supper and a movie instead.

We headed over to Burger King and had kids meals and Icecream, the kids were great and ate like little champs just in time to make it back to the theater for Over The Hedge to start. The kids picked the front of the theater and sat through the whole movie, which I was very impressed about!

The wedding was at 5pm, and I still had to get some errands done before that, so Sat morning I got all 3 kids bathed dressed and fed and then ventured out to Lewis Drug, The Mall and Walmart, talk about a zoo and my stress level went up about 3 notches but we managed through. I then met Mike, his Dad, his Little brother Justin, and Kaiden at Shopko (Mike had an eye appointment there). I sent the kids with Lowell and Justin, and Mike, Karsyn and I went to the dollar store to get wrapping for the wedding gifts. While we were out, we went out for pizza. Karsyn thought it was pretty cool that she got to go out for lunch with just the 3 of us. It was fun! We then hustled home so I could iron outfits for all 3 boys and myself, plus get Karsyn's hair and myself ready before we needed to leave for the wedding.

The wedding was beautiful, everyone looked great, and the kids were so well behaved! I am sure everyone at the wedding thought Mike and I were crazy with 4 kids that looked about the same age!!!! We the then went to the reception and dance where we had a wonderful meal and the kids played out on the playground! There were tons of kids their ages so they had a great time! Karsyn wanted to stay for the dance so we let her dance with the other kids. We then did the $ dance and she and Austin got to dance with both the bride and the groom! About 10:30 we decided to get the kids home to bed, so Mike had one dance with Karsyn and then out the door we went! It was a fun night, and it was great to see some of Mike's family that we haven't seen in a while. And all of the new additions! Two of Mike's cousins had babies recently so it was so fun to see them as well!

What a Great Weekend!

2006-08-15T14:39:00.000-04:00

I had such a wonder full weekend and past week! My kids and family made a point to make my birthday a special event and they sure succeeded! Kaiden and Karsyn went to a benefit auction with my parents a couple weekends ago for a neighbor kid of ours(my parents) who was in a bad accident and is currently paralyzed. He has a little feeling in his leg and knees, so we are praying that we will continue to gain his feeling back. Instead of picking out things for them selves they did their birthday shopping for me! They each got to pick out an item and bid on it. This was very cool when they gave me the gifts because they told me about where they got it and how it was going to help out Josh. I was disappointed that I could be there so I am glad that my children were able to represent our family in the support we have for the family!

Kaiden got me a big Yankee candle and after buying it he smelled it and told my Mom, "I hope Mom keeps this at the office, 'cause it doesn't smell good". It is Rose scented and he didn't get to smell it before he bought it. I think it smells wonderful and yes it is staying at my office! I think of him everytime I look at it!

Karsyn got me a Chai Tea gift set, which is just awesome! I absolutely love Chai Tea and that is our special drink that we have together, as the kids love it too! Karsyn even had to have a Chai Tea Party for part of her last birthday. It was also a perfect gift!

The day before my birthday, my father-in-Law Lowell and the kids brought me a vase of 12 pink long stemmed roses. They were so beautiful and some of the most fragrant roses I have ever smelled! Lowell said he took the kids to the store and they got to pick them out. After a lot of arguing they finally picked them and I think they did a wonderful job. And finally my Birthday, we got up and headed for Sioux Falls. It was my Mom, Lowell and the kids. We headed out for day of school clothes shopping and I can't believe some of the cute clothes that we found!!!! Karsyn is very into skirts right now, so I got her some of those and decided that we can do tights and boots through the winter if need be! For Kaiden clothes aren't as exciting so we did a few less items but a little more $$$. He got the Broncos Jersey he had been wanting and a really cool pair of shoes, along with the standard t-shirts etc.

We had an awesome lunch and a Mexican restaurant and finished up our shopping so I could get Lowell and Justin back to Madison to play softball on Mike's team. They were short on players so they filled in for them. After the games Lowell wanted to take me out for a birthday drink, and since Mike had volunteered Justin to Ump the next set of games (which he was going to babysit for me), Mike went home with the kids and I went down for a Birthday cocktail! It was a wonderful day!!!!

Among that I got a lot of phone calls and emails from all sorts of family and friends to wish me a special day, so I was certainly spoiled and pampered and thanks to everyone for making it such a special day!! I am so blessed to have so many people that care about me and my family as well as for our health in which we so often take for granted!

26 and still kicking!

2006-08-11T08:54:00.000-04:00

Today is my 26th birthday! I hardly ever write about my self so this should be a stretch. I was born on August 11th 1980 in Medicine Hat Alberta Canada. I have one older brother which is 3 years older and my parents which are still together today! My brother Stacey and I are almost exactly the same distance apart as Kaiden and Karsyn and their personalities are also so similar it is scary!

Well I think I am going to take my babies school shopping today! I can't think of 2 people that I would rather spend the day with and shopping on top of that... What more could a girl ask for on her birthday! Every year I try to take each of the kids school clothes shopping and have a day that is just about them. They get all of the attention and pampering a kid could ever want. It is so much fun. They can try on anything they want, we eat at where ever they choose and get everything they need for school. This year they will do it together instead of separately, but I think they won't mind sharing the spotlight for the day!

Here are some miscellaneous pics of me when I was a little girl! I was a little chunk hu!!!!

Well I better go for now! I just wanted to thank my Mom & Dad for everything they have done for me and for raising me in such a wonderful and loving environment. I know I wasn't the easiest child to raise... So thanks again! XOXO

Canaries Game!

2006-08-10T15:45:00.000-04:00

We went to the Canaries game last night with Kaiden's baseball team! It was so cute watching them out there! I think they all had a blast. They got to hang out with the players for a bit before the game and then they sat with their families and watched the game. After the game was over the kids could go out on the field run the bases and get autographs from the player! Kaiden was pretty pumped about that. He got 2 balls from the players during the game, which he got signed afterwards! Karsyn had to wear a jersey as well and thought that Cagey the mascot was pretty cool.

We had a beautiful night to be at the ball game and an amazing sunset! I tried to get some pics of it, Gotta love those South Dakota Sunsets!! The game went until about 11, and then we brought Mike's little brother back to his brother Jeremy's house and headed for home! We got home about 12:30 and hit the hay! I was exhausted!!!!

Apple River!

2006-08-07T21:10:00.000-04:00

We got back from a weekend at Apple River yesterday afternoon. We had so much fun! It was Brian and Val Wilkens, My friend Christie from Mitchell and Mike and I. We left for Apple River Friday at noon and it was a 5 to 6 hour drive and is on the Wisconsin border. We got there around 6 o'clock, set up camp and grilled some brats. We stayed up around the campfire and and had a few drinks. We had people from other sites come visit and the whole grounds were one big party! The next morning we were waken at 5 am with firecrackers and rap music. Needless to say I wasn't too impressed! The weather started out over cast with the odd sprinkle.

We decided that if we were going to get wet we may as well do it on the river so we made a beer run and headed to pick our tubes and hit the water. The tubing lasted about 3 hours per trip. There were tubers everywhere. Each group had there tubes tied together. There were some pretty big groups. They sure knew how to do it, they had water proof stereos and had music going. We bounced around from group to group and partied with a bunch of different people. After we went down the first time we stopped for a quick lunch at the car then headed down again. By this time it was about 2ish and there were a lot more people, and people were starting to feel the booze a little more by now. Things started to get a little more wild! Every so often there would be a ton of people stopped in the middle of the shallow part of the river having big parties. They had bongs, chocolate syrup and whipped cream going. I didn't get in on that action but it was interesting to sit back and watch!

For as many people that were there and as much alcohol that was consumed I couldn't believe how mellow and friendly everyone was! We did not witness one fight or argument! I found that to be pretty impressive.

All in all it was a great time and it was so fun to just hang out with good friends! We will definitely be going again next year. We plan to pick a date early enough so we can get a lot more people to go!!!! There is fun in numbers right!!! Will you be there???

Missing the Kids!

2006-08-03T22:15:00.000-04:00

Well the kids have been away from home for one full week now, and boy does it seem quite! I sure miss their sweet voices and their hugs, kisses and cuddles. It's it night that I notice it the most. They left last Thursday with their Great Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen to stay in Woonsocket for a few days, I think that they were probably pretty spoiled. I here they got to go swimming a couple times a day in the new pool. They absolutely love going to their house! They also got to spend some time at their Grandma Lori's and see her new baby kittens... Which I understand were threatened to be sent home with the kids!!! (Not going to happen!) and from there on to Echo Valley Ranch to see their Gramma Lynn and Papa Ron. Karsyn got to have a friend from Springs come out to the ranch to play today and I guess she sure told my mom! She said Gramma is your floor dirty, we have company coming over you know. So when Mom went to town to her meeting Karsyn and Papa had to scrub the floor! I hope that isn't what I sound like when we have company coming over... But I am guessing that is probably were she gets it from!

Grandma O!

2006-08-02T10:34:00.000-04:00

We went to Britton this past weekend to see my Grandma O. She is my Dad's mom and is in the hospital right now healing up from a broken hip over the 4th of July. She turns 90 in September and is still in amazing shape both mind and body! The doctors couldn't believe it when they took her into surgery. They only had to do a partial hip replacement because her socket was still in such good shape which is unheard of for someone her age! She still lives on her own up until this point and I hope she can still stay there once she recovers from her fall. (The picture to the left is at my baptism)

My Grandma is one of the most amazing women in this world, she raised 7 children with a 20 year span between them. She has 18 grandkids and 17 great grandkids, with a couple more on the way! She is one of the most supportive and calming people I know no matter what the circumstances and has an awesome sense of humor! I would be happy to be half the women she is, and every time I see her I just can't believe what she is up to. Whether it is taking the train to Washington or traveling some where, she never ceases to amaze me. I am so proud to be her grand daughter!
(This is a picture of my Grandma with Kaiden)

The Baseball finale

2006-08-01T16:35:00.000-04:00

Kaiden played his final baseball game last Thursday night and they played a very strong team, the kids played a great game! The final score was 6-5 for the other team, due to a wrong call by the umpire we lost the game. This made it a pretty hard loss, but the kids handled it like super stars, which made me even prouder. I had a hard time handling the situation as grown up as the kids did, but managed through it! I guess you can always learn from your kids can't you!!!!

The team is going to Sioux Falls next week to a Canaries game. They get to warm up with the Canaries and then be announced during the starting lineup. It should be a lot of fun to see those little guys on that big field! After that all of our kids summer activities will be finished and it will be time to get the kids ready for school! Karsyn will start kindergarten and will also start her first year of gymnastics. Kaiden will be going into 3rd grade and also starts his first year of football. It is amazing how fast they grow up!

Here is Karsyn and her Uncle Justin. Justin has been staying with us for the past couple of weeks and will be heading off for his first year of college in Brookings at SDSU. I have enjoyed having him around so much, he has been a great help at our office and with the kids. I hope he plans to make a lot of visits during the school year... Even if it means him coming by when he needs laundry done etc.

Girls will be girls!

2006-07-25T21:32:00.000-04:00

I just had to post these pictures of Karsyn and a friend of hers from earlier this month. The Girls were playing dress up out side when they decided that it was bath time for their babies! And yes the bird bath was filled with water!

Now it is time for the babies to get all dried off! It was so cute watching them play!

Kaiden's Game

2006-07-25T15:17:00.000-04:00

Well Kaiden played one of his tourny games last night and it was off to a great start. The kids were fielding and hitting the ball amazingly well. It has been such an awesome experience to watch the progress that these kids have made over the season. I can tell that they have learned a lot, and I think they have had a lot of fun in the process! I have to give the coaches and parents a lot of credit because it does take a lot of time and dedication for both the kids (parents), and the coaches, the season starts in the beginning of may and goes through the end of July and they hit it hard from start to finish!

Anyways back to the game. We made it to the 3 inning and the score was 7 -0 for the Bluejays, when a great big wall of black clouds came barreling over. The coaches brought in the kids and everyone ran to their cars to see what this weather was going to do. They stopped things in the nick of time, because no sooner did we get in the car it started dumping buckets of ran on us! It was much needed rain. We have been so dry this summer, with very little moisture. By the end of the night we had just over 1/2 inch of rain in our gauge!

Because of how far in the game we were it was declared a win for the Bluejays. That means we play the near undefeated team with only one loss on Thurs! Last time we played them we only lost by a few points, and if we play like we did last night I think we have a pretty good chance of winning! Either way I am still so proud of everyone on our team!

I will try to take some pics and give an update of how the season ends!

Another Busy Weekend!

2006-07-24T16:10:00.000-04:00

This weekend Mike played in a softball tourny here in Madison. Some of his friends from highschool played on the same team so we got to see a lot of people we hadn't seen in a long time. It was so much fun to see everyone and their newest additions! It makes you really stop and think of how fast life changes! Life is no longer surrounded by where the party is, but more like where can I buy baby food! We were so excited that Rocky and Jackie came and stayed with us with their son Riley. Boy is he ever a cutie! He just turned 2 and he is all about baseball! He had his dad pitch to him and he was hitting the heck out of the ball! It was amazing to watch! He is also going to be a big brother early next year which is also very exciting.

After the tournament, which didn't last very long for our boys. They started playing at 10 and I think they were done by around noon! We invited everyone to come over for a small party to play cards and have a few drinks! It was a lot of fun! Mike's Little brother volunteered to be the DD, so he picked people up and took them home if they wanted. It was nice not to have to worry about people drinking and driving!

Sunday Mike wasn't feeling the greatest as he had been drinking beer from about 10 am till about 3 am, and spent the entire day as inactive as possible. I did manage to get him to go to the pool with the kids, Justin and myself! The kids were excited to show him their progress they made in swimming lessons! We got home and watched a movie. I took the movie back and bummed around and did a little shopping. After being stuck inside all day I needed to get out a bit.

Kaiden started complaining about a headache shortly after I came home, so I gave him some tylenol and told him to lay down for a bit, he went to get a drink of water and ended up getting sick to his stomach. He started to feel better after that and he haven't had another problem since. I am sure that he was wore down from the late night before, and with the hot temperatures he have been having, he was probably a little dehydrated.

Everyone was in bed by 10 pm, for some much needed Zzzzzzzzzz's

Kaiden's end of the year tournament Starts tonight, and then the final game is on Thurs. He is pretty excited, I will have to let you know how it turns out tomorrow!

WOW, Seven Years!

2006-07-18T17:35:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that Mike and I have been married for seven years as of yesterday! Boy how time flies when you are having fun! We had a pretty low key night, after putting the kids to bed Mike and I had a little camp fire in the back yard.

I was flipping through our wedding pictures, and it made me think back to how far we have come and even though it feels like just the other day, how much things have changed since then. Through all the memories and the good days, as well as the bad days, everything seemed to pull together and work out! Life if so amazing and I thank God everyday for the special people he has blessed us with!

Here are some pics from our wedding I thought might be interesting for some! I figure a picture can speak a thousand words right!

Here are the two men in my life. Kaiden looks so tiny, what a little man! He was just about 2 at our wedding and was the life of the party!

Here I am! I can't believe how stressful it is to put on a wedding. Good thing I will never have to do that again!!!!! Thanks to a lot of hard work from a lot of good friends and family we were able to pull off the bash of the year!

Here are my girls! I had 2 from Canada (My cousin Nicole, and Jacki). Then my good friends Amy, Christie, Lori & Stacy. They were awesome! Pretty good looking bunch hu!

And who could forget the boys! For groomsmen, Mike's brothers Jeremy and Justin, my brother Stacey, Mike's good friends Charlie, Rocky, Steve & Sean. For Ushers Ryan and my cousin Troy. What a rowdy but fun bunch of guys!

Look at this handsome little devil... I think he must look like his Mom, although now he is almost nine and I hear everyday how he looks just like his Dad. These are the pictures that show how things have truly changed in the last seven years!

One little happy family! Our wedding was very laid back and was held at my parents ranch. It was outside with the reception and dance that followed. We were truly blessed with the family and friends that made it from near and far... And I do mean far!
My girls stole away my husband minutes after our reception, but as you can see he was in good hands and they took very good care of him. It doesn't look like he was suffering too much to me!

Trying to stay cool!

2006-07-17T14:53:00.000-04:00

This weekend we stayed home, it was great to do because we are always on the go! This was a great weekend to do it as well because the temp was over 100 degrees with pretty high humidity all weekend.

Saturday Karsyn went to a friends birthday party, it was a hula party which was held at a pool. The girls all got Lei's and grass skirts. It was so cute! Karsyn had a blast and was very excited to be able to go! The Birthday girl is the one in the green skirt!

Kaiden went to the outdoor pool with a friend and from there went out to his buddies new farm, which was right up Kaidens alley. He also had a great time and got home around 9 pm

Sat night Mike, Lowell, Karsyn, my friend Lori and I went out for supper. We went up to Lon's Cocktail, which is a bar/restaurant here in Madison. The food was good and it was great to see Lori! Sunday was spent at home, we didn't;t even leave the house, it was catch up on house work day and everyone pitched in. I did floors, dusting and the kitchen, I had Mike and Kaiden on bathroom duty and Karsyn was on toys, her bedroom and dusting. The rest of the day was spent watching movies, playing dominos and being lazy. It was great!

What a fun weekend!

2006-07-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

We had a great weekend! Mike played in a softball tourny in Sioux Falls this weekend, so we all went down and stayed with Mike's brother and sister-in-law. We played cards on Friday night and on Sat. Kristin and I took the kids to Terrace Park swimming pool. It is an awesome pool area with waterslides, drop off slides, baby slides, a big sand area and tons of lounge chairs! The temp was mid 90's both Sat and Sun, so it was perfect days to hang out in the water, not so much to play softball in though! Kaiden was all about the big slides and talked me into going down with him, I made it down without a hitch the first time, but the second time was not a charm for me, as my tube flipped at the bottom of the slide and I went under, which totally made Kaidens day! Karsyn and Austin hung out in the zero entry pool, where the 2 smaller slides were, they quite enjoyed that and Mason didn't want too much to do with the water, he hung out with us and in the play sand area!

For a Christmas gift to Kristin and I, Lowell (Mike and Jeremy's Dad) wanted to take us girls out for dinner away from the kids and husbands, this was the first opportunity to do so with the 3 of us, so we ditched the guys and left them with the kids and headed down town Sioux Falls to look around at the shops and have a drink before going out for supper. Once we got downtown, we noticed people lined up on the streets in lawn chairs. We finally ask someone what was going on, and find out it is the start of Hot Harley Nights, and they were having a huge parade about an hour and a half from the time we were there. We walked around a bit and finally sat down for a beer. Lowell suggested to hurry before the parade started or we may get stuck down there for the rest of the night. We head out and tried to get over to Minnesota Ave, but all of the streets were closed and the National guards (Which were directing traffic) kept trying to send us around the block. We finally stopped and talked to one, which luckily was someone from my hometown of Springs, so he called ahead and helped us get out of there! We got over to the Sheraton, still trying to make it the interstate and got stuck amongst Harley's for over a half hour!!! It was crazy! We then went to Chilis and had supper, then headed back to play cards at J&K's house. It was a lot of fun!!!

Sunday it was back to the games for Mike, which at this point they were still undefeated, Kaiden and Mason decided that the games sounded like a better idea then the pool, so they went and watched the games with Jeremy and Lowell. Kristin, Austin, Karsyn, and I went to the pool again, it was very hot and was again a perfect day for being at the pool!

The team Mike played on ended getting first place and he had to go celebrate with the team at Buffalo Wild Wings, So we had pizza at Jeremy and Kristin's and then headed for home. Today Mike isn't feeling to hot though, as his age may be starting to show! He has been hobbling around hardly able to move all day, complaining about everything from quarter size blisters on his ankles, to aching knees, shoulders etc., My poor fragile husband!!!

Karsyn & my nephew Mason

My nephew Austin & Kaiden getting some rays!

Here is Mason being a goof. I'm sure he'll love this pic in about 10 years!
I will have to save it for his future girl friends!

Kaiden after going down the tube slide!

Kaiden after going down the drop off slide, he was a little water logged!

Karsyn chilling in the water.

Austin hangin' out.

Austin & Karsyn: Cousins looking out for each other!

Karsyn & Me!

Austin & Kristin!

The Kids!

2006-07-06T16:06:00.000-04:00

Mike Knee Boarding

2006-07-06T15:59:00.000-04:00

4th of July!

2006-07-06T14:51:00.000-04:00

What a great weekend! We left Madison in the old Motor home that Mike and his Dad had been working on. We went to a good friend of mine in Watertown, Jennie Davis's house for supper. I felt it only fair if I warned her that the Griswald's were coming to town. And Mike's catch phrase for the weekend was "That there Clark is an RV". We then headed for for a friend of ours Lake home. There is nothing more relaxing than having the sound of the lake around you! We had a fire on the beach and made S'mores. Life doesn't get any better than that. It was great to see old friends that we don't get to see often enough and catch up!

The next day was spent on the water. Bryan's girlfriend and her 3 girls (which are between Kaiden & Karsyn's ages) came down from the Cities. Kelly is such an amazing girl, Bryan better hang on to that one! She has also became a friend of mine, and it is always a lot of fun to get together with her and the girls when they are in town! Kaiden had his first shot at knee boarding and was up and going on his first try! I was in the boat watching. It was so exciting

Between boating, camp fires, fire works, good friends and food the weekend was complete! We headed home on Monday and had a nice quite evening at home. We were all shot from the days before, so we snuggled in and watched movies and had rootbeer floats!

On Tuesday the 4th, we slept in, which felt awsome! We then headed to Ramona to hit the parade and other 4th of July activities! It was the kids and myself and Jennifer Williams and her 3 kids. It was a lot of fun, the kids got a ton of candy, had a water balloon toss and played in the water from the fire hose! The 4th of July isn't complete without hitting a parade! We then headed back to town, and had a grill out at Jennifer and Dustin's. The guys played botchie ball and the gals, had fun watching the kids and the bigger kids (aka the men), while sipping on a cold drink, after that we headed to Prairie village to watch the fire works!

Kaiden's Baseball

2006-06-30T15:48:00.000-04:00

Kaiden is in coach pitch base ball again this year, with yes... Mike as his coach! His loving it, and is a pretty good little play player as well, if I may say so myself. They have 2 games and one practice per week. So it is pretty time consuming, but boy is it fun to watch! Kaiden had a great catch to get some one out last week and boy was he excited, after throwing it in with a grin from ear to ear he started jumping up and down. I sure wish I had the video camera going. He played again last night and lost by 3. They did a great job and I think they had a little fun in the process.

Here is a
Picture of
mike with
the score book,
and Kaiden is
on first.

First Sleep-over!

2006-06-28T10:37:00.000-04:00

Well Karsyn had her first sleep-over last night! Boy was she excited!!!Raelyn and her brother Dylan (One of Kaiden's best friends) came over at about 7:30. It was the first sleep-over for both girls, so it was nice that Raelyn's brother could be there with her as well! Every thing went without a hitch. They played barbies, dress-up, watched the Swan Princess movie, had a little candy, and some cereal for a bedtime snack! What more could you possible fit into one night?
It was a lot of fun to watch and listen to the girls from a distance.

Weekend at home!

2006-06-26T22:08:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we hung out at home, it seems like forever since we have been able to do that! Lowell came down from Watertown on Thursday night. He missed Kaiden's baseball game but was able to go to Mike's softball game. I was planning on taking the afternoon off on Friday so that I could take the kids to the pool. The morning was beautiful, around mid 80's and by 1 pm we were in the middle of a big rain storm! The kids decided that the indoor pool would do, and by the time we got there we had a half hour before the pool closed. It was still a lot of fun, and I so much enjoyed every minute that I got to spend with them!

Jeremy, Kristin and the boys came down from Sioux Falls Friday night to watch Karsyn play tee-ball on Saturday. She had 2 games for the tournament. It was fun watching the kids try to play ball! She is starting to get the hang of it and is enjoying it in the process!

Sat night we had a few friends and family over to grill out. The weather was awesome, and it was so fun to watch the tether ball and basketball competing go on through the night!

Europe Trip!

2006-06-26T15:14:00.000-04:00

Mike is going on his second year as an agent for Farm Bureau Financial Services, which is an insurance company. As a production incentive FB has reward trips for the top 11% of the company, that you can qualify to go on each year. This year the trip was a Mediterranean cruise that started in Barcelona Spain and had various ports in France and Italy! After a lot of hard work we qualified for this trip and just recently got home!

Our flight left on Friday June 2nd from the Sioux falls airport bound for Barcelona. The magnitude and beauty of the ship was unbelievable as we pulled up to it in our tour bus. We get checked in and find our room, which was awesome. It had an open air balcony with patio chairs which gave us the most wonderful views of every port we stopped at. All food was included and we had 24 hour room service, a formal dining room, a full buffet and a couple more dining options!

The first night we had a welcome reception with appetizer and cocktails for all of the FB people with an Ice skating performance. It was great to start to get to know some of the wonderful people that were there to experience this trip as well. From there it was to dinner and then to party in the hot tub. The next day we had a day at sea which was great to have the option to sleep in and relax after the previous day of traveling. Mike spent the day in the hot tub partying it up with other agents from around the US and I enjoyed sun bathing and watching at a distance from the upper sun deck. We had our first of 2 formal dinner nights which was at 9:15 that night. Needless to say Mike was in great shape to attend a formal dinner! He was well behaved and of course was the life of the party as usual!

Our next port was Naples. We took a boat to the Island of Ischia, which we toured for 2 hours on a bus then went to the thermal springs, which was just awesome, and relaxing. I think Mike needed a day like that after the previous night!

Next was Civitavecchia Italy where we deboarded the boat at took a bus to Rome. Alls I can say about Rome is WOW! The history and architecture is just so magnificent no words can explain. We saw Trevi fountain, the ancient ruins, the colosseum, St. Peters Basilica and much, much more. It is something I will remember and appreciate for the rest of my life!!!!!

Livorno was next on our list which we passed on tours and explored on our own with a couple friends from Oklahoma. We checked out some city markets, an indoor fish market and was hustled on the street by people selling watches, purses and sun glasses. This was a lot of fun to see what we could negociate final prices for! We had a great authentic Italian lunch and made it to the boat with plenty of time to spare for cocktails and hot tubing!

We than ported in Villefranche, which we were than bussed to Monaco. We had a tour of Monaco, the palace, and several other beautiful areas. Monaco was the cleanest, most beautiful, safe spots in all of France. We then went to the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo. The architecture and artwork was amazing, but the steaks were even a little too rich for Mike and Gary, so they settled for putting a few bucks in the slot machines and watching the high rollers play the tables.

Marseille was the final stop before heading back to Barelona. We again toured on our own, saw a few stands selling fresh seafood with the largest lobster I ever saw in my life. It was 50 Euro per kilo. Which we estimated at over $200 us. Can you say insane? The rest was just a lot of high end stores like Prada, Louis Vetton & Rolex. All things that where very high end and too hard on the pocket book! Everyone else decided to give up and head back to the boat, So Connie, Joe and I kept on looking for an open air leather market. We never ended up finding it, but stumbled upon a mall instead. It was very similar to ones like at home, so after trying to get lunch by people that didn't want to wait on us we finally headed back the ship!

We made it home without a hitch, and as fun as it was, it is sure hard to beat HOME! It was so nice to see the kids again and get back into the swing of things!!!

Australia

2006-06-25T16:33:00.000-04:00

At the end of February Mike, Myself and my parents boarded a plane heading to Australia for my cousin Kelva's wedding, after 30 some hours of traveling we finally arrived to Townsville AU. We stayed at Magnetic Island for a couple days accompanied by my Uncle John (from Canada). It was so wonderful to have those couple days to hang out and relax and catch up with John. We had plenty of exploring time on scooters, which was a lot of fun after I got the hang of steering those stinkin things!!!! After our time on the island we headed back to catch up with the rest of the crew that had arrived in. We had a good portion of our Canadian family (Joan & Dale, Richard & Kathy, and my cuz Brandon), as well as the Aussie crew. It was so much fun to see everyone. They are all so truly important to me, and I care about them all so much!!!

The wedding was gorgeously done, the flowers, the food, and all of the wonderful people. Kelva looked stunning (which was no surprise), and the speeches had everyone rolling!

after the wedding, we headed to Richard and Dyan's Station. With mango smoothie stops, tours of their new place, getting stuck in the mud and a cocktail stop, our 4 hour trip turned in to 12 hours. Dyan had a wonderful spread of steak and lobster awaiting us when we finally drove in at 10:30. We spent the next couple days at Wentworth Richard gave us great tours of their place never missing an opportunity for pictures whether it be of Emu, roos, cattle, or landscape! We also got to see a bit of Simons territory, and Kelva's new home! Mike's highlight of the trip (besides getting stuck in the mud), was Simon taking Mike up in the helicopter. WOW, what a rush! We had the privledge of being Kelva & Simons first house guests as a married couple!

On the way home we flew through Tokyo Japan and took and extra 2 days to check it all out! I booked the rooms online and was trying to save a little $$$. The place I booked looked very nice for the money on line. We get on the subway, and as we look at the map we discover that the stop we need is the very last one, and is as far away from any thing we would want to do as possible. When we finally get there we walk around this part of the city trying to find the location. When we get checked in we head up the our room. When we opened up the door, I think I can safely say that all 4 of our jaws hit the floor as our room consisted of 2 sets of bunkbeds 3 high and that was about it! Our bath room had a standard toilet, but the bathing area was Japanese style. Basically, you have a stool about a foot off the ground and a shower hose. Needless to say, no one was too impressed and all you could do was laugh (kind of). Mike was not too impressed with my booking choices and at 10pm in foreign city, we decided to tough it out and hopefully find a deferent hotel the following day. We head out to try and find a restaurant because we have not yet had supper. The area we were staying in was more residential, where the locals lived and nothing was translated. We finally go in a neat looking restaurant which had circular grills in which they set into the table. The people that worked there did not speak a stitch of English, so we lived life on the wild side and prayed and pointed to writing on the menu, which we then cooked on our grill at the table. We ended up with a couple different types of soup, meats, and deserts. My meat was marinated bacon. But all in all it was very good and a awesome experience!

After settling back into our bunks, the snore-a-than began between Mom and Dad. We tried ear plugs and it didn't dull the roar. Mike went down to see if he could get online to search for better accommodation for the following night. I suffered through and finally fell asleep after several yells to my parents to BE QUIET!!!

The next day, Mike let us know our options, which there weren't very many. We end up getting separate rooms at the Tokyo Hilton for about $250/room. By this point it no amount would have been too high to keep a descent quite room to sleep in!!! We spent the day touring around the area of the Hilton and it was great!