Sledding

We were lucky enough to get to spend some time with our Grandson this weeken. We bought him a sled for Christmas and he was anxious to put it to use. We wanted to take him to a popular sledding hill in town, but he had been ill for over a week so we were a little reluctant to take him out. We finally decided that we should let him at least go out in our yard and break in the sled. Here he is all dressed waiting for Gpa to get his stuff on. He went down a small little bank we had by our steps. He loved it! He looked back at me and I snapped this picture. What a big, happy smile!

He just wanted Gpa to push him down the small hill, but it was getting quite cold.

So, it was time to come in and get some hot chocolate.

The next day we did take him to the sleddin hill in town and I'll just say.....we.will.be.going.back!

Prom Night

Terra and I went to Lake Linden's Grand March to see her cousins (my nephews). Cory and Chris looked so handsome in their WHITE tuxes! Cory, Terra and Chris.

Always gotta be foolin' around! Ha!Ha! It doesn't look like Cory liked getting his hand licked. Love the look on Chris' face--looks mischievous!

Good thing Sarah is not whimp!! She handled 99% of Terra's weight!

Everyone looked fabulous. Hope they all had a great night at their prom!

Cory and Chris said they would take Terra next year!! I would so love to see them all go and get Robert to go too.

Mother's Day Photo Shoot

My daughter came out of her room on Saturday and announced that she was meeting up with her cousins to go have a picture taken for their Oma for a Mother's Day gift.
Just after that a big black vehicle drove up in my driveway. We couldn't figure out who it was....until Robert got out and waved to us.
I asked him why he was there and said that Chris had told him to meet for a picture for Oma.
There was some confusion....who was taking the picture? Where were you guys going to have the picture taken? Who set this up?
I met Rob's friends and we chatted for a few minutes and then Cory, Sarah and Chris showed up.
It seems that I was taking the picture and we were taking it in my yard! No matter, I sure didn't mind. I love all these kids and sure wish they would come around more.
So, the following pictures are of Oma's grandchildren.

Aren't they a good looking bunch?!

Love you guys!!

Another Horse Show

We went to Escanaba this past Sunday to watch Nathan in another horse show. He was in two events...lead line trail and lead line. The difference between the two is that he has to maneuver his horse more. Here he is before going into the barn. He sits up on that horse so nice and tall.

Look at that posture. He gets so serious sometimes, but then he will turn his head and stick his tongue out at you. I guess he's just a silly one.

This picture shows his hands better and how he needs to hold the reigns. He's just so stinkin' cute!

It's kind of a dark picture but this is inside the barn where the lead line trail course is. He had to walk his horse thru the poles and on the left were some cones he had to bring his horse thru.

He got a fourth place and was so happy to get his ribbon.

Here he is with his horse, Lakers Chocolicious....."Doc". He is a beautiful horse and Nathan is so small next to him!

There was a horse that was spooked while Nathan was riding inside. It knocked down it's handler and took off with a two year old girl on it. The littel girl didn't want to ride anymore and the horse just wasn't able to be settled down. That's what scares me about this sport/hobby....these horses have good and bad days......you never know when something will spook them. They are such big animals and I worry about my little grandson getting hurt.

I love this picture of Nathan and Pepper. You can just see how much they love each other.

It was a fun day and we were able to take Nathan home with us when he was done with everything. We took him to get a cheeseburger because he said he was starving and then headed back to Calumet.

This Saturday he is going to be introduced to the Little Dragons karate class. I know he'll have fun doing that and of course, I will post pictures.

Our New Hang Out Place

This is our new hang out spot. We finished the fire pit and really love it! You can't see the pond in the photo but we are able to enjoy sitting around the fire and enjoy the pond too!

Here is a better picture of the finished fire pit. My hubby did such a great job. I'm so lucky to have him (most days....hehehe). He and our grandson filled the areas between the bricks and the steel ring with sand then started collecting twigs for our first fire.

Coals all cooled down after the first fire.

We haven't had another fire since the first....it's actually been too warm and we have been getting to bed earlier but we will have more. Can't wait to make s'mores out in the back yard and not have to wait to go camping to make them!

Happy Couple

Don't they look so happy?!!! This is Michael with his girlfriend, Brooke. She is an orthopedic surgeon resident (Michael, correct me if I'm wrong) at a hospital in St. Louis. We haven't officially met yet but she makes my son happy and that makes Mama happy. Just look at the big smile on his face!
She looks like she's easy to talk to and she is a dog lover so.....she'll fit right in.

Her dog, Romulus got in this picture with them. Isn't he gorgeous.....the dog. But the guy is good looking too.

Hopefully we'll get the chance to meet Brooke soon. I think she will like our little town.

Snowshoeing

My husband and I got up early yesterday with the intention of taking a ride by the lake to see if we could spot any eagle movement. It was so nice out that we decided a snowshoe trek would be fun. We drove further north, parked the truck, got the shoes on and headed into the woods. It was beautiful out there. Just the two of us....out in the woods....snowshoeing. This is my view...I have a good one. I always snowshoe behind my husband. He walks faster and he likes blazing the trail. He likes to go ahead and check out where we may find a high point to look out and have a good view.
Our tracks. (Don't pay attention to the date on the picture. I didn't reset it when new batteries were installed.) We came back to these tracks about 30 minutes later and the sun had melted them quite a bit. When we started it was about 30 degrees, when we finished about two hours later it was well over 40.

Here is Mr. at a high point. We were trying to get up high enough to get some pictures of the lake. It wasn't really high enough to get some good pictures, so off we went again.

Finished up the walk and headed back home.

On our way home we ran across these guys hanging out on the road. They didn't want to move at first but then got out of the way.

It sure was a beautiful day with the sun shining and warming everything up. Now, we just have to wait for the snow to go and camping is just around the corner.

Busy Days

It was a usual day today. Got up with hubby and made his lunch and went back to bed. Got up again, made my daughter's lunch and drove her to school. Got home and made breakfast and enjoyed that while watching HGTV. Then I got ready for work.
After work my boss and I loaded up two carpet tubes in my car. Carpet tubes are 12' long......they hung out a little. Then ran to our local hardware store to pick up paint (for the tubes) and then to the rink to drop everything off for the ladies who were working on props for the ice show. Then I had to hurry and get home before 5:45 as my daughter was getting picked up by a young man to go to the girl's basketball district finals.
The rule is....if I don't know him, he needs to come into the house so we can meet him. I'm sure my daughter was terrified that we would embarrass her but I think it went very well. She was a little nervous so I had to introduce myself and her Dad to him. He shook my hand and said "hello" to her Dad. I was okay with that. Of course I had to ask how long he had been driving. See, I'm not really worried about who she was with (at this time) but I was more worried about her being with a new driver. Well guess what?! He's only been driving since September! Nervousness set in. Oh boy.....what do I do now. At least the roads were clear and dry and they were getting there in the daylight. Do I dare ask him how he would handle certain situations? I decided to let it go and trust that he is responsible.
She called a couple times to fill me in on the game and then again when they were leaving. They showed up right on time--safe and sound! When the boys were out I always worried about them. I never went to sleep until everyone was home. If I did fall asleep before they got home I would check on them if I woke during the night.
So we start the dance of dating. Ughh.....

Looking Into The Past

My Dad and I were looking for a cool picture of my brother and I holding a HUGE lobster. We came across these beauties. The first picture is of my older sister's 1974 school picture. Love the glasses.
This next picture is of ME! I always hated this picture and I still do. Big ole chubby cheeks. My Mom says I'm beautiful but she has to say that.:) School picture from 1974.
This last picture is of my brother. School picture from 1974. I just told my Mom "How could you dress the poor boy in a purple turtleneck!" I'm sure he took a beating at school for that shirt.

It was so fun going thru my parents pictures. There were a lot of pictures of his family from years and years ago. I have never met my great grandparents. I was born on my great grandmother's birthday. I'm glad I got a chance to at least see them.

Still haven't found the picture I wanted but we'll keep looking. Then I'll put it up on the blog.

Family

So, we had our family portrait taken. This is just the hubby and I. We don't usually like our photo taken but we hadn't had one in such a long time that we decided it was time. I'm not very photogenic but the hubby is. We had our daughter with us and she helped to get us to smile....she's such a cut-up. We had an individual photo taken of her also because we had the boys senior pictures on a wall and no Terra....so, we had hers taken with her ice skates. We are planning another photo session this summer as we want to get our grandson in there with us.
Well, in May we will celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. I want to surprise Mr. with a weekend getaway. I've been looking on-line to find someplace not too far from home but far enough that it feels different. Not a shopping place...maybe a quaint bed and breakfast somewhere on a lake. I want to do this for him because he is such a wonderful man. He does so much for Terra and I. I know....that's part of the Dad/Hubby job but really....have you ever been around when I come up with a crazy idea for a craft project. He definitely keeps me grounded. He also has become a great cook for us. 10 years ago when he started a new job, he got off work before me.....so a cook was born! He was not really enthused about becoming the family cook but...when you get home first....you get to cook. I have to honestly say he's never cooked a bad meal! So whisking him away for a weekend where he doesn't have to cook will be enjoyable for him. We've come a long way...both our second marriages. Getting two families together is not an easy feat especially when dealing with exes. But, we got thru and it certainly has made us stronger....individually and as a couple.
So for family away that hasn't met my Mr.---here he is. Isn't he a handsome one. So glad we came across in an ice rink---just at the right time. This may sound corny but, I saw him across a room and he was laughing. His eyes are what brought me to him. A friend of his introduced us and we talked long into the night. HISTORY!

The next photo is of his family....This was taken this past Christmas. Everyone was there!! I love this picture.

My husband's Dad had been ill and we were so afraid we were going to lose him but he is a Finlander (which translates into "a stubborn man") and he is doing well. The only boys missing are mine and the extra little one by me is my grandson Nathan. We had Grandma and Grandpa, all four of their children with their spouses and the kids. My sister-in-law usually just gets the grand kids out for a group picture but this time she got us all out there. It was a mild day, but cold. Of course cold....we live in the Copper Country.