Sunday, July 31, 2011

Mini Vacation

We are on a mini vacation. I have so been looking forward to this. I could  hardly wait to sit and do nothing all day for days. I know, I know, what am I doing on the computer if I'm on vacation? Right? Well, turns out I am not very good at doing nothing. Don't get me wrong though. I am loving it! We are at a little fishing resort. It's a sweet little spot in the middle of the woods. The water is nice and there are plenty of fish for Tim and Landon. There are also FIVE dogs that live here and wander from cabin to cabin looking for handouts.They are all old and slow, so that helps a lot! No little yippers. I am looking at two of them looking at me right now. Yesterday when Tim and Landon were out on the boat fishing, (I don't fish) I went swimming, laid in the sun, read my book, drank a beer, petted the dogs, talked to a few neighbors, (There are only a few cabins so it's really secluded. LOVE THAT!) and then I thought, now what? Thank goodness for wireless internet! I didn't know what to do with myself. I was also all set to sleep in. I was up at seven this morning. Wide awake. So, I made a crumb cake and waited for Tim and Landon to wake up. I am now sitting on the deck with my coffee and two dogs and the momma bird who has a nest full of babies right above me. I just might get used to this.

The Jolly Fisherman Resort


Our Cabin

Landon couldn't wait for Tim and started
fishing out of the boat from the dock.
Got a fish on his first try!

Gonna try this!

Love this.



A sweet spot of wild flowers by our cabin.

Doing nothing!

Thank goodness for wireless internet!
Turns out, I'm not very good at doing nothing.

They caught fish!


Any day that I don't have to cook supper,
is a good day for me!

Serious Fishing.

Life is good.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Our Little Slugger

Wheaton Warriors!
Landon is in the middle row,
third from the left.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Who's On First?

Whoever wrote the book, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus," knew what they were talking about. I never understood how Tim and I could be having a conversation and be on complete opposite ends of the communication spectrum. Sometimes it feels like we are both speaking an entirely different foreign language. It is so frustrating. Then yesterday, as I was listening to a conversation between two of my Day Care kids, it was clear as day. They were playing "restaurant" and the little boy who was the "chef " was having a hard time pronouncing "burgers." One little girl was getting very frustrated with him and when he tried to fix the problem, it just made it worse. Here is the conversation:

Boy: Burgers!
Girl: Boogers??
Boy: Burgers!!
Girl: Boogers??
Boy: Burgers!!!!
Girl: I don't like Boogers!
Boy: Well, ya want some cheese on it?


Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could fix all our communication problems by simply adding cheese?

Monday, July 18, 2011

I'll Take That Bet!

Landon's grandma bet him $2
 he wouldn't pull out his loose tooth.
Guess who won that bet?

Hay Days

Someone in Herman has a fun sense of humor!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Chuckle For The Day

Spotted this sign on the door at Buger King in Alex.
Come on. That's funny!!
(Click on the picture for a closer view if you can't read it.)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

I'm Getting Braver

Guess what I've been doing? I've been walking around half naked. O.k. not really, but it sure feels that way! Wanna know what I've been doing? I've been going sleeveless!!! I know! I know! I can hardly believe it myself. A couple of weeks ago, the temperature out was about 234 above, give or take a few dozen degrees. It was cotton pickin' hot! I put on one of my tank tops and it felt sooooooo good. I had forgotten what it could feel like to be comfortable in the heat. Now we aren't talking itty bitty tops here. Just a regular shirt without sleeves. Funny ten years ago, that shirt would have felt like way too much coverage. Back then showing your belly button was cool. I was cool. These days, showing your butt crack is cool. I am not cool these days. I did join the gym with the intentions of toning up, but it's gonna be awhile before I look like the Hulk's sister. Well, maybe not that toned, but you know what I mean. Anyway, so what made me decide to throw in the towel and join the sleeveless world? I did a little people watching, and came to the conclusion that 5 out of 10 people who go sleeveless, really shouldn't. But do so anyway. That's when I decided, what the heck. Let's make it 6 out of 10. Majority rules.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Puppy Dogs And Fish Tales

Puppy Dogs.
A few weeks ago, after much, much thought and consideration, (and praying!) we decided to find Ole and Lena a nice country home. While we loved them, we just weren't around enough to give them the time and attention they deserved. They wanted so badly to run! Every time we tried to even walk them, they would break loose and run away. Landon was tired of chasing them and Tim was tired of paying all the fines to bail them out of the pet jail. The barking was never ending and bark collars didn't even phase them. It was causing a huge amount of stress in our family. They needed/deserved a home where they had acres and acres to run and play and bark freely.While I was the one who suggested it, it wasn't hard to convince both Tim and Landon it was for the best. I made a few calls and found a shelter that said because they were black labs, fixed, shots, etc. they had families that would take them that day! I requested a country home and that they be kept together.  I was assured that would not be a problem. Because of that, I can sleep at night. I understand some will never understand this, but I refuse to dwell on it. It was the best choice for our family and it is what it is. Rock and Roll Ole and Lena! Rock and Roll!

Fish Tales
That weekend Tim, Landon and I were in Walmart. (Imagine that!) When we go together, Tim and I take separate carts and meet in the middle somewhere. Sometimes Landon goes with me, sometimes with Tim. This time he went with Tim. When we met in the middle, guess what was in Tim and Landon's cart? Freaking fish! We have already been down this road twice and the end results are never good. I end up taking care of them and they end up dying.(I know nothing about fish!) But, because of the situation, I bit my tongue and let it go.They got a blue male betta and a brown female betta. Because they are "hardy" and "low maintenance" Tim said they can just live in the big fish bowl with a few toys and fake plants instead of the big tank and the whole nine yards. This helped me bite my tongue big time! I am now the proud owner of two fish. The fish bowl needs to be cleaned and the water changed every week.  Because the bowl isn't huge I have been using our culligan water. I think the Wheaton water had a lot to do with the previous fish's departure and now that we have a water softener, I just can't imagine that being good for them! So, there I stand once a week at the water cooler holding the water pitcher for 2,875 minutes. I use the room temp. water setting (which pours really sloooooow, vs. the cold water) because I think the fish would be much happier in it. I can't imagine taking an ice cold bath! Today was the day the bowl needed cleaning. I decided to turn the cleaning of the bowl into a little nature lesson for my Day Care kids. I showed them how scoop the little fish out and put them in another container of clean water where they would be safe while their bowl was being cleaned. Because I was trying to hurry a bit, I didn't bother with the slow room temp. water and used the cold fast water. I dumped the fish in the cold water in a clear container on the counter so the kids could watch them. I turned to the sink and began to wash the fish bowl. Behind me I heard, "Oooohhhhh....look at them gooooo....oooohhhhh....heeeey.....why aren't they swimming no more?" I spun around and found both fish laying on their sides at the bottom of the container. Inside of me, I was freaking out!!! If they were dead, why weren't they floating on top? Why were they on their sides on the bottom?? Were they in shock? Were they dead? What in the world??? I wasn't sure what to do, but I calmly(only on the outside!) reassured the kids that they were just sleeping and taking a break. Then I turned on the warm tap water and filled the container to the top, silently praying and praying.... "Come back to life! Pleeeeeeease come back to life!!!" It was a miracle!!!! They came back to life! (Now I know how Mary felt when Jesus came back! Well, o.k. maybe it wasn't exactly like that, but it was a miracle all the same!) They slowly started swimming again!!! I couldn't believe it! I had no idea fish would do that. I know nothing about fish. What I do know is, apparently I'm not the only one who doesn't like cold baths!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Let's Go Hunting!

Hunting is huge here in good ol' Minnesota. As a result, toy guns are found in most homes. It's as natural as barbie dolls and yellow tonka trucks. To most Minnesotians. (Is that a word?) But, not to me. Having grown up in a non-hunting home the first 12 years of my Mn. life, I wasn't exposed to guns. Real or toys. Having spent the next 20 years in a state that had a lot of violence, most incidents involving guns, I have a real fear/hatred for them. So, imagine the tension/anxiety that comes from marrying a hunter! I posted awhile back about giving in and buying Landon a few dart and toy guns. Occasionally he will let the daycare kids play with them. They LOVE them! One of their favorite games is "Hunting." They take our stick ponies (A horse head on a stick) and pretend they are rifles. I draw the line at what they can shoot at though. We have a picture of ducks flying over a lake in our daycare room. They can shoot at the ducks in the picture, or at the ceiling at imaginary ducks. They also can shoot at the stuffed animals and pretend they are deer. They can not shoot at each other or the cats. If they do, they lose their pony/rifle. One little daycare boy has been begging me to get "daycare guns like Landon's." Every time I go to Walmart, I look at the silver toy pistols and the long brown plastic rifles. The thought of ten little kids running around with those guns actually makes me feel physically ill. I just can not do it. But on my last trip to Walmart, I spotted some really cute water guns! They were the perfect size, not too big, not too small and they came in bright yellow, red and purple colors! They were just right! I scooped up a dozen and threw them in the cart! I could hardly wait to show the little boy who had been wanting them so badly. He and his sister were the first to arrive this morning. I showed him the guns and he picked up a red one and grinned. He wasn't overly excited, but he's a little shy and it seemed like he really liked them. He and his little sister took the water guns into the daycare room to play with. After a few minutes, I noticed that the little boy was holding the gun backwards. Not by the handle. Also, he was running it over one of our wood puzzle boards. He also had a board out for his sister and was showing her this new game. Turns out, he thought the water guns were the perfect saws! After a few minutes of "sawing," he said to his sister, "Want to play hunting?" She said, "Yeah!" and they both went and got a stick pony and started shooting at the picture on the wall of the ducks. Guess he wasn't impressed. Sigh. Back to the drawing board....(One the plus side, I know what I'm getting him for his birthday!)

Friday, July 1, 2011

Fishin' Contest!

Landon won a new fishing pole in a fishing contest for biggest fish, when we were in Akeley last weekend. The photographer from the paper said she would send us a paper. I was waiting for the paper so I could post the picture. Today I received a newspaper clipping of Landon's picture. It wasn't from the photographer of the paper. It was from a lady who purchased a purse from me! She recognized Landon and our last name from when she made out her check to me.
I am tellin' ya, those folks are just too sweet!!!

The Caption Says...
"That's the biggest! That's the biggest!"
Landon Siegel, 9, of Wheaton,
declared of his rock bass.
And he was correct.
Siegel's 10-ounce whopper
took top honors
in the kid's fishing contest.