Lot's and Lot's

It has been quite busy since last I posted....but I promise to be brief!! Give me a break I can do it!!!! :)

Let me where shall I start?

Dave has been having some issues with his ears and decided it was time to try the ear candles again....come on you have to admit it is a little weird looking.....but if it helps! So long as he doesn't set the carpet on fire!!!

On Friday night we were back at Sarah's house for the second coat of paint. I promise an update as soon as we make the next trip and get it all put back together.....she loves it so far!! Now she wants to start in the rest of the house!!!

This week we got a LOT more snow and the snow blower is getting a work out!!


And for some reason this year we have ICE. In the 21 years we have lived here we haven't had ice like this,ever. Guess the summer calls for a little insulation installation!!!

This morning we woke up to visitors behind the house. We had just been commenting on the fact that we have not seen as many deer this winter as in the past. This morning it was 3, and this evening we saw 7.......great for the plants when they start coming out!!!

And then while cooking breakfast I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye. Yep, Blowfish was doing a little hunting out back!!!! This pic was taken from the living room window.

Here he is with the zoom.... glad to see him around. For him to be hunting in the day time is proof there is a little too much snow. It makes it much harder for them to find food. This morning he was after a red squirrel. No luck though,at least while we were watching. We also heard them throughout the day today hooting.

After breakfast we headed here.....................yep, that is the Pyramid (Steelcase).....Dave had to change over some testing.

I did ask before I took this pic as I wanted to make sure I wasn't giving away any secret projects!!

Every year around this time the boys have had enough of winter and head to Arizona for the annual Ward-Hahn bike extravaganza....note I said boys!!! :( Well, they head out soon and Tom needed to dig out the vehicle and trailer. It was a little buried!!!!

I guess he worked yesterday for quite awhile digging out the trailer!!! Today we headed over so Dave could lend a hand!!!

Thor is FREE!!!!!!!!!!! and ready to go!

And if we hadn't had enough digging snow,when we got home it was in the upper 30's and the driveway was SLOP!! I took the spade and chipped as much as I could and Dave shoveled it off....OMG that is the longest 400 feet ever!!!! Sure feeling it tonight!!

The very best part of the day was yet to come. Sarah, Jesse and Amy were going to a John Mayer concert and we got to watch Lukas. So Dave put him to work on the rest of that ice!!! Is this against the child labor laws!?!?! He really LOVES it outside and LOVES the snow, and he is so cute walking up and down the drive pushing one of 2 shovels that he liked.

Stay Tuned because where there is one picture of Lukas there are surely more to follow.....Till then!!!!

Close the Mall here she comes!!

Wednesday morning I surprised my mommy and met her and my sissy at the mall. I really don't do malls, and I don't usually play well with others!!! What I mean by that is that I am an alone shopper. I scan and move on.......they, on the other hand, are lookers!!!! Our first purchase was at Sears (no not tools!!) and if how things went was any indication of how the day would go we were in trouble!! The poor guy had to ring us up like 4 different times...the register kept freezing and they ended up getting a manager over to reset it each time.......we made jokes!!!!!! Sorry, whoever you were, hope the rest of your day went better!!!!! :)

Apologies to all the customers at Kohl's because this woman was on the loose!!!! OK ,and because how often is someone taking pictures throughout the store???..........

Of herself wearing GIANT silver balls around her neck............


......or of her mommy wearing a really BAD hat ( don't worry she did not buy it) ...I think it was at this point mom started asking others opinions instead of ours!!!...........


Or someone taking a little snooze in the fitting room, ( sorry mom).........

Or someone trying to get dressed in another fitting room????

We had fun and did make a few purchases.....including one at Penney's that made the Sears one look easy!!! We lunched at Panera, and although it doesn't look like it they were busy!!! After we refueled we hit up a few more stores and then I left them alone. I am pretty sure they were there a little longer!!!!

I will end with a little personal note......Nance how many miles is it to your school!!!???

Weekend update!!

Just a little update on the weekend. Our friends Tom and Ann have a dog named Merck who had a owwie....It sounds like a Dick and Jane book doesn't it!?!? :) Anyways this doggie had surgery...and all turned out well. Except for the fact that he is now the most pitiful looking thing!! Don't you agree?

The collar is because he keeps licking open his incision. It pushes his ears forward, and he has a hard time moving around. Because he can't look down he trips on the steps. As you all know I am not a huge dog lover but while I smile, I do feel bad....... and look Schafer his ear is all healed too!!!

And as you can see even his mom isn't treating him with all that much sympathy. Honestly this has now been 3 weeks so hopefully soon he will be better!

So we left the dog and headed out on our stated mission...........LITTLE MEXICO. For those who are not local, this is our most favorite restaurant. Two years ago they had a fire and the place burned to the ground. We have missed it and tried a lot if other places....none compare. They have been going to reopen for a number of weeks and finally it happened 2 weeks ago....... We waited patiently and couldn't wait anymore. We walked through the new front door!!!!!

Where we were informed it was a 2 hour wait......2 HOURS!!!!!!! Come on it was 5:30 and already a 2 hour wait.....have I said that enough yet??? So it was off the another restaurant and margaritas to wash away our sorrow. Here you can see Ann was fine with us waiting a few more weeks to try again!!!!

In other news we helped Sarah with a new project at her house. She has been wanting to paint her bathroom for a long time now and this weekend was the time. Here is what it looked like before.

Progress was being made...............

Paint was getting poured and applied.....

But, beyond that you will just have to wait to see the end result!!!!!

Lukas part 2

Told you I would be back soon!! So after we celebrated g-ma's birthday my daddy had a surprise for her and my mommy. For g-ma she was surprised when daddy told her that I was going to her house to spend the night, and mommy was shocked that they were going out for the night. So besides the great books I got for g-ma, and the cd mom and dad got her, and the charms aunt Ya Ya got her, and the camera from g-pa ,she got to have me over for the night!!! Wasn't she lucky?!?! And yes, you heard me right, another camera for g-ma!!!!

G-ma said she got to wake up with her 2 favorite Valentines. I slept through the night and when I woke up at 6:30 g-ma wanted to cuddle on the couch for a while.......and at 8:00 she took me in and laid me next to g-pa so she could start breakfast.
I was trying to talk to g-pa about trimming his facial hair.......we had a long conversation and I pointed out the changes that I thought g-ma would like!

I am starting to find my words...I say fa when I see the fan and when there is a smoke detector I say dedede (or something like that). Of course, I say mommy and daddy. On Monday g-ma came to visit in V-burg and we had a lot of fun. When I was at her house she and g-pa were a little worried because they thought I was a little tipsy When g-ma got here I was also having hives. A trip to the doctors and yep, I have another ear infection!!!! But in true Lukas fashion I wouldn't let it get me down!!!!

And yes, I find it fascinating to pull things around....and around....and around. Here I found g-ma's camera bag very interesting.

Mommy and daddy are changing the living room around and so most of my toys are here in the corner. I found it to be a great place to hide from g-ma!!!

Oh NO, she found me!!!!!

Whew......have you heard enough?? I had a really great time with the whole family. Next time I hope it won't be so long between posts.

Bye for now!!!

Lukas here!!

Hello, Lukas here!!!!! I know it has been a REALLY long time since g-ma let me take over the blog. I guess she has had a lot to say. So, once again it is my turn to have a word. First let me say that the birthday party I had........AWESOME!! It was so nice that so many people came to celebrate my first year. Oh, and that cake thing, it was so delicious...I could hardly wait for another chance to have one of those!!!

Let's see where to start? Saturday was my g-ma's birthday and my mommy and daddy and I surprised her by showing up at my aunt Sarah's house. G-ma didn't know it but g-pa and aunt Sarah had planned a b-day party for her. How do you like her hat???

I really had a great time exploring ...or should I say walking around the house. I really LOVE balloons and had alot fun with them.
And while I was walking around g-pa was chasing me.......he is so much fun!

While we were playing mommy and aunt Ya Ya were working on dinner prep. I took the balloons in there to cheer them up and brighten their day.

So that I wouldn't take a tumble down her steps the adults put aunt Ya Ya's coffee table in front of them. Covered it with a blanket so I couldn't knock my noggin (as g-ma puts it) and it made for the perfect spot for Charlie to hide. G-pa was showing me where he was.

Who is Charlie you ask? He is aunt Sarah's cat and he liked the strings from the balloons almost as much as I like the balloons. We had fun together!!

During dinner we shared a toast to g-ma with some moscato d-asti.........

It was really tasty!!!!.......Hmmmm right...like they let me have any of the good stuff!! All I got was the glass!

Whoops so maybe I was a little to aggressive with the drinking thing!!

Don't worry I can fix it!

And remember when I mentioned earlier that I really liked that frosting stuff.....well there was more of that at this party too......that is some yummy stuff!!

I swear somewhere I heard that you can use this stuff as a hair mousse. Mommy and daddy said I heard wrong!!!??!!!

I was planning on sharing with daddy, but instead I decided it was the perfect opportunity to honk his nose!!! What a little frosting never hurt anyone. Oh, and once I get a hold I don't like to let go.

This is the card aunt Ya Ya got for my g-ma ......... when you opened it it hooted like an owl!!

WHAT"S SO FUNNY??!!!

I don't get it???

Well anyways g-ma asked me to cut it off at this point. She said that I can fill you in on the rest of the evening and also the great visit we had at my house yesterday because she has to run some errands. She will have to teach me how to upload my own photos so I can do this myself !!! So stay tuned it won't be long!!!

Play Ball!!!

On Friday night we went to the big city of Wayland to watch my nephew Travis play basketball. It has been a really long time since I have been to my alma mater.

Here he is relaxing.....I mean watching the girls game....before the start of his game. I am sure he was listening to some classical music!! None of that rap crap for this boy!!!

Here he is with some of the team and friends. We met one of his friends Bryce when we bought a mattress at the team fundraiser...yep no candy bars for these boys!!. We happened to have Lukas with us that day and both boys thought he was a real cutie and were taking pictures of him.

The cheer squad!!! Hey, what's with the camo??!!?? The new school colors!


He SHOOTS......He SCORES.....oh wait he's just warming up!!!

The team was 13-o at the start of this game........now..... 14-0!! It was a very physical game and it was fun to watch!! I did find out that taking pictures while they are playing is alot harder than it looks!!! I have a whole lot of really great blurry shots!!

After the game he was absolutely thrilled and not at all embarrassed to have his picture taken with his
MOST FAVORITE aunt.

And here he is with his parents, my sister Nancy and her hubby Mike....

We had a great time and it was so fun to watch them win again.....Keep it up guys.

The next day was my birthday and it was spectacular and I will share some of that with you later. I know that my sis will blame it on my advanced age but I swear to you they changed the Wayland fight song!! Back in the day I went to all the football games and many of the basketball games so you would think that the school fight song would at least have sounded familiar!!!!!!!!

It did NOT!!! HMMMMMMmmmmmm