LinnasMinute

Happy Mothers Day

2007-05-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you
I thank you for your choice.
I thank you even though I have no idea who you are.
I thank you when she is in my arms and all the worries of the world fade away.
I thank you when I look at her and see my soul mate and my best friend.
I thank you when I held our kids when they were babies.
I thank you as I watch her be a great mother to our kids.
I thank you but we won’t call you mother or grandmother that is reserved for someone we love dearly who raised her into the person she has become.
I thank you and pray that God has blessed you with Peace, Joy and love.
I thank you for your choice to give her life.

new blog page

2007-05-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have created a new blog.
http://petesrealm.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Beautiful

2006-09-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

Today is my beautiful wife's birthday.
My wife is strong and very caring.
She is a great mother. She does a great job of keeping us above water no matter how deep it gets.
She is my best friend. After a rough day at home she still listens me complain about little things at work.
I thank God everyday for bringing her into my life.
For 13 years she has put up with me and all my quirks.
Lori I wish you a very happy birthday.

Love Pete

Steve Irwin

2006-09-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

I was sad to hear about Steve Irwin He gave my family a lot of enjoyment and education.
The real sad part is the kids I biggest fear is to not be there for my kids. Sorry my last couple blogs are sad but thats where I am. Give your loves ones a hug and tell them you love them.

PJL

Maya we will miss you

2006-08-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

I was not going to blog because Lori and Breanna have already blogged about Maya. Maya was very sick and we had to be put down. I will miss her very much. Maya pretty much ran our house. I remember when she was a puppy taking her outside for potty training. The idea was to carry her to one spot and then she would go in the spot. Well she did and anywhere else she wanted to in the back yard. She always thought she was a lap dog even when she was bigger then even my lap. She was always good with the kids. She was born on my birthday which gave us a special bond. Dad your right grief is painful. I just hope that Bobo, Rush and Maya are having a great time in heaven.

PJL

2006-07-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Awesome

2006-07-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Luke standing by Brett Favre's Locker

2006-07-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

Luke touching Lambeau Field

Vacation

2006-06-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

I am on vacation. I have no set plans and only a couple things that I have to do. I have to get the 5 year old to camp at 9:00 am and pick him up at 1:00 PM. So far I have removed a virus from my laptop. I went shopping for a couch ,paint, graphite,low voltage lights, and a skeleton. Yes I said a skeleton. When were up visiting the parents my son saw a skeleton in a gum ball machine. I told him that he could not have a skeleton from the machine because it would be a waste of money. On the way home he said he needs a skeleton to make his video. So the hunt was on. We looked at Walmart we found everything else he wanted but a skeleton. So after camp today we went to Toy's R Us and found a lego skeleton. Now he can create his video. Both of my kids have great imaginations. On Wed I have a doctors appt. I set this appt up more than 6 months ago.

PJL

My Dad

2006-06-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

This is where I am to write why my dad is the greatest dad in the world or why it great being a dad.

One of the things I love about my dad is that he is not perfect. Yes that's what I said. Why is that important to me? This is important because I am not the perfect dad. If my dad was perfect what kind of pressure would that put on me. We all have faults. We do the best we can. If you can admit that your not perfect you can learn to be better. One important thing I have from my dad is unconditional love. I know that no mater what happens I am loved. That is such a wonderful gift to be given a child. You see people doing everything in there life to please their father and end up resenting him. If you know you have that love you can just live your life. So when you fail there is always a safety net to catch you. I will pass this gift on to my children. Thank you dad for giving me the freedom to fail and loving support to be the best I can be.

Happy Fathers Day.

We had a good day today. In the morning Lori went for a walk with Jane. The kids and I went to McDonald's. The kids played in the play area. We then went to the school and flew the airplane I got for fathers day. It worked pretty well. It got to hot so we went home. The kids wanted to have a celebrate Pennie day. We took Pennie to the movie cars. She was on call for work and of course got paged and missed the whole movie. We went out to eat and then to target where Pennie got a portable AC unit. The first unit was damaged and Pennie and I brought it back and got another. I set it up and I hope it helps keep her cool this summer. The kids where going to sleep downstairs but the 5 year old got sick and now their both in here with me.

Back to the doctor

2006-06-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well I still got the bug. I got a new symptom cold sweat on the back of my neck. I tried to see an Ear nose and throat doctor. They told me I had to see a general doctor first. I have been waiting 6 months to get a new doctor covered by my insurance. My appointment for the new doctor is in two weeks. They got me into see an intern doctor. She had the worst bedside manner. It was like an assembly line. I wanted to tell her I looked up sweat on the back of the neck it could be a heart attack or diabetes or a sinus infection (I am a hypochondriac). She just faxed a prescription for another antibiotic. Well I hope this one works so I can blog about other stuff.

I had a rough day besides the doctor thing, at work the computer they gave me to replace my current computer because the hard drive is dying won't turn on any more. A vendor upgraded a system at work and it does not work correctly now and the programmer did not get back to me so that I can get the payroll system to talk to the upgraded system.

I was glad to get home. We went to Old Country Buffet. Lori went walking. The kids and I watch myth busters it all good except when the 5 year steps on my groin(yipes)

PJL

2006-06-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Breanna at Graduation

It's good to live in Green Bay

2006-06-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

If you would have told me when I was growing up that one day I would be able to drive and get a good burger and fries. Then drive a little bit farther watch the Packers, eat my lunch and listen to the Brewers I would have said you were crazy.
Some times I take for granted that I live in Green Bay. So my dream did not come true completely I just missed the Packers. I watched a couple players running around and listened to the Brewers. I will get to a practice this year.

I went to breakfast with my daughter this morning. It was her 5th grade graduation breakfast and ceremony. Luke and Lori joined me for the ceremony. We were very proud. Boy time flies it seems like she was just in kindergarten.

PJL

It's Back

2006-05-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well I spoke to soon when I said I was over the cold. I went to the doctors yesterday he said that I have a sinus infection and gave me a different antibiotic and a steroid nasal spray. We took Luke to check and see if he is ready for kindergarten. He did very well and they said they would have no problem with him starting kindergarten. We went to our potluck supper for Breanna's First communion class. Poor child is a lot like her dad when she was doing her memory work she got flustered and over thought things. She only got 1 wrong on her test and it was a tough question. Do we earn forgiveness in communion she said yes. The pastor tried to get her to say that it was a gift from God. I think she won't forget that now. I took our van in for a recall repair and had the brakes checked. The lady just called and told me 258 dollars ouch. Lori is calling her to find out why it's not covered by a warranty.

PJL

Pigeon?

2006-05-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the famous pigeon of pigeon falls. I am not one to spread rumors but I heard that it may not be a pigeon at all. This may have to be investigated.

back again

2006-05-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well I might have beat the cold. Just thought I would check in to let people know I am a live. I have been playing a game called aces high 2. It's an airplane game where people around the world get together to fly air planes , drive tanks and work to together to win a war. Breanna and I have been going to her first communion I have enjoyed the class and hope she does well on her test next week. Thursday I gave my sister a ride home from the hospital. She had treatment on her arm. She sure is funny when she is loopy all drugged up.
It looks like the treatment will work over time. My beautiful wife went shopping for flowers with her mom. The kids and I cleaned the family room. Well I have to go take the kids grocery shopping and eat at subway.

PJL

Regret

2006-05-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

Today I found out that someone I cared about has past away. He was the father of the girl I dated in high school. He was always good to me. He took me hunting and ice fishing and four wheeling. I regret that I lost touch with him. After the relationship with his daughter ended I kept my distance from the family. He got divorced and moved away from his family. I know that you have to move on in life (part of the healing process) but I do regret loosing touch with him.

I am still sick. Hoping to get better soon. Sorry to hear that Mom and Dad have the bug also. Called my brother and he told me that he is fasting to clean out his system. I might try that. The last time I tried that with my beautiful wife we got very cranky.

PJL

I Hate Colds

2006-05-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday I came down with a nasty cold. I tried the cover the cold with medicine and it kind of worked. I dreaded going to sleep. I have to wear a cpap mask and when your nose is stuffed wearing a mask is scary. I took some nyquil and put on the mask and started to panic. I went down stairs and I tried sleeping sitting up in a chair. It was wierd I was watching VH1 and every time I would wake up the same video was on their rotation is in sync with my sleep cycle. Sunday I was down for the count. It was a beautiful day but all I could do was blow my nose and cough up a lung. The family was great my daughter was room service and nurse and my wife cooked comfort food and made a great shake. I got to see two good movies. I did fall a sleep without mask a few times during the movies and when I did not have a headache. The other problem is the medicine gamble. What pill is going to work this time. You take the gamble and if it does not work you have wait 3 to 4 hours to try again. I was able to keep the mask on last night. I took dayquil and am at work. I am still coughing up junk and blowing my nose. Makes you want to live in a germ free bubble.

PJL

Dangers of cleaning

2006-04-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided to continue the on going task of cleaning my office. After moving a old entertanment center I smelled something musty. There was a stain on the carpet. I have no idea were it came from. After vacuming and using lysol I went to the internet to see what to do. It went from just clean it with their product to calling the bio hazzard team to come clean it up. I put down a think layer of lysol and today I will be getting something to remove mole from a carpet. I will also pick up a test kit to see if I got it all. Last resort will be to cut the carpet out yuck.

We had a great Easter. Lori cleaned our room and I did not know we had that much space.

PJL

Addicted to Hooters

2006-04-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Giggle Giggle. Really I am. I am not talking about the short shorts or the low cut shirts. Yes my beautiful wife is ok with me going to Hooters http://www.lorisminute.blogspot.com/ I can't get their BUFFALO CHICKEN sandwich out of my head. Did you ever have a love hate relationship with a certain food? I know people love the wings but I love the sandwich. I get the chicken and the sauce without the bones throw in a slice of Swiss cheese and buns and it is the perfect meal. I get the 911 sauce. I use to get the 3 mile island sauce but that’s where the hate comes in. My stomach hurts. I could not eat this every week or I would end up in the hospital. I also love the curly fries. So I take my super duper stomach pill and heal up for the next time.

Yes they do really have good food.

PJL

Stranded on a deserted island

2006-03-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

You know the question "what one thing would you bring if you were stranded on a deserted island?" I have been thinking long and hard about this (at least since this morning) and I wonder if you can guess what it is? To help you, I will eliminate some obvious choices.. there is a spring for fresh water and plenty of coconuts and some other fruit tree so I will not starve or go thirsty and since I am a creature of habit by nature, I will be ok with eating the same thing every day. (Sure will miss my daily dose of soda since there are no vending machines on this island, and if there were, I have no quarters. This would be torture and this being a U.S. island, there is no torture allowed).

At first I thought I would bring a first aid kit but then I thought why prolong death? Besides, what is in that kit that can save me from a huge shark bite with major body parts missing? Then I thought a book, but one book is not going to be enough and although I love to read, I can write my own book using some bark from a tree and some twig I dip into some plant liquid. I will also use this method to write letters to my loved ones if I do not survive the shark attack. I will simply write the word 'JAWS' and they will know what happened.

I thought about bringing a camera so I can take a picture of myself thin so people back home will know that I was actually thin some point in my life . It might be hard to look at with the missing limbs from the shark attack but, hey, no one is perfect and there will be proof of my thinness. But, a camera is not the one item either.

Perhaps a fishing pole? Yeah right, I cannot stand to put a worm on a hook much less filet a fish and besides I am now a fruit eater and that is all I need.

Maybe something to start a fire, but I am not cooking, I have fresh water, there are no marshmallows to toast and since I am on an island where it is really warm, if I get cold I will put on the turtleneck sweater that I was wearing because those are the only things I wear.

Have you guessed yet? Chocolate would be a very good choice but it is not the number one choice and I can only choose one thing. Suntan lotion would be good but would run out of eventually, ditto for insect repellent. Perhaps a mirror to reflect the sun when the airplane carrying my husband searching for me but what is the chance an airplane is going to fly over?Besides, I will write a giant SOS sign on the beach using empty coconut shells. If I am bored I may write other messages, such as "1-800-GEICO" or "Can you hear me now?" but the SOS will always be there.

The one thing I would bring is the first thing I brought into our new house when we bought it. If it were my busband, it would have been the tv. my daughter brought in her Barbies and the dog found a spot to do her business. But me, I brought in a picture of my family and that is the one thing I would bring (now updated with Luke's picture as well) because I would be afraid I would forget what my kids looked like and seeing their faces everyday would inspire me to push on for the day of rescue when the boat arrives with Pete and his new wife, Jennifer Love Hewitt who I said he could marry in the event something were to happen to me and he, being a good husband, always listens to me. I would be holding the picture and he would dump her on the island and take me back home to my family where I would get prosthetic arms and legs and then all is right with the world. (But if George Clooney rescues me, Pete can keep ol' Jennifer what's her name).

What one thing would you bring?

That's right I gave blood

2006-03-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I gave blood. If you saw me as a kid when it was time for a shot you would understand how strange it is for me to give blood. They asked a lot of personal questions before you can donate. I have nothing to hide but it can get quite embarrassing. The question I really like is "do you feel healthy". I want to asked define healthy. The lady took my blood pressure and the bottom number is a little high I wanted to say what do you think I am about to get a needle stuck in my arm.
The good thing is I fill the bag pretty fast and they have juice and good cookies.

Today I went to get Breanna from Pennie's. When I was there I put up a ceiling fan. The install went well when I pulled the chain it made a horrible noise. After taking down all most everything,I saw that one of the wires was rubbing on the motor. It took longer to find the screws I dropped than to put up the fan.

I am having fun with my DVD burner and editing the many movies.

Well gotta go

PJL

Will it float?

2006-02-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

Luke and I are playing the David Letterman game, 'Will it Float?' No, we did not order the game or the dvd version but are using our own supplies we found in out house. It all started when he wanted to take a bath with his aircraft carrier which is bigger than him to see if it would float. (it does!). Then we brought up the airplanes where we found out some float and some do not, the same thing with the toy people. We also noticed the measuring cup and the lion cup from Disney on Ice show float until we fill them with water and then they sink. He is still playing in the tub while I write this.

We had a good weekend. Breanna spent the night at a friends house for a birthday party and then on Sunday we took my mom out for a birthday lunch. We went to the Tumbleweed and it was very good.

Tonight Breanna has her rehearsal for her dance recital. She is excited because tonight they will get the costumes.

We are still waiting for the insurance company to find out if they will pay for any of Luke's dental work. I have blocked it from mind for the time being.

Wed. we are meeting with our financial person from Metlife. We keep thinking of dropping them but we are meeting with a new person who seemss really nice so we are giving her a chance. (THe last person met with us and was supposed to get back to us on questions we had and then called back six months later to see if we could 'meet and introduce ourselves'. I told her that we had already met in her office and we still waiting for questions to be answered but never mind. I heard she is no longer with company.

Pete has been happily burning dvds and they all seem to work on the dvd player including the portable one we got for Christmas. He keeps talking about doing the taxes but hasn't started on them yet...maybe this weekend. This reminds me I still need to do the art projects for Luke's Art show which is also next week. (Breanna's recital is Monday and the Art show is Thursday).

Have a good one....Lori

Who would make the cheese?

2006-02-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

I thought I had better blog while I have a moment since it has been so crazy here and we have a busy couple of weeks coming up.

Yesterday in addition to Luke's presschool, there was a storytime at the school he will attend in the fall. While the kids were being read to, the parents met for a meeting with a teacher for tips on getting the kids ready for school and to swap ideas. Pete and I are struggling with whether to send him all day or half day. Half day would be perfect but held at a different school and he would have to take the bus there and back.

Last night we went to see 'Disney on Ice' at the Resch Center. We did not get home until after nine so the kids were ready for bed. Luke liked the monkeys the best, Breanna liked the figure skating and I thought there was too much skating going on until I remembered it was an ice skating show. (Seemed like last year there were more props and that is what I meant...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).

Tonight both Breanna and Pete have hair cuts and then we are all going to meet my mother and her sister who is in town from Mondovi (a small town between Eau Claire and LaCrosse) to celebrate my mother's birthday. Her birthday is really Sunday but her sister, niece and her husband are leaving Friday and I thought it would be nice to have a party for mom while her sister is in town.

When I talked to mom yesterday to see how things were going with her sister (any catfights, hair-pulling or name calling????) she said, 'No, nothing like that, Lori'in a voice that says she knows I am joking but she does not think it is funny. Since I do not have a sister and I have been reading my father-in-law's blogs about his computer-hating sister I am not sure what happens when a sister comes to stay for a week.

Pete took BBQ meatballs along with cheese, crackers and eclairs for lunch at work since it was his turn to bring the Wed. lunch. He says it was a big hit and everybody liked it since it was all gone when he went to get the crockpot.

I just heard on the early show this morning about the minimum tax thing that will affect a lot of middle-class taxpayers this year and for the next several years especially if you live in a state that has high property taxes and we do. Joy. The financial analysts suggestion to avoid this in the next few years is to move to another state with lower taxes and buy a smaller house'. Hello???? This makes no sense unless one were to find the exact same job and pay. Can you imagine if everyone in the state of Wisconsin moved to another state? Who would make all the cheese?

That's all for now....Lori

24 hours stress free

2006-02-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

It happened this week where we had about twenty-four hours without stress, where everything felt right with the world.

It started out with Breanna being sick and not being able to breathe so we took her in and found out she has bronchitis. Then we got ready for the big blizzard of '06 by purchasing food and supplies to last at least through the weekend. Wednesday was a day I was not looking forward to because we had Luke's parent teacher conference so I sent Pete because I went last time and it was the worst day of my life as a mother. But, it turns out it was a great conference and Luke is doing so much better. This is where the 24 hours of stress free time starts. I am so happy with this news that I start to weep. Pete said the teachers even made a point to say on Valentines Day, Luke was the only kid out of four classes to thank each of his classmates for the valentine cards and also wish them a Happy Valentines Day. Of course, he still needs to work on some things like helping to pick up, but otherwise this news made my year.

Fast forward to Thursday morning. Luke has a dental appointment with a new dentist that specializes in working with kids. After deciding on whether to go because the Blizzard of '06 was starting, Pete and Luke headed out. THey came back to the house three hours later and this is where the 24 hours of stress free life ends with a punch in the gut. The dentist says he needs about $6000 worth of dental work!!! He is only four years old!!! Our first reaction is probably what most people would think, "The teeth are going to fall out anyway so why bother putting the money into it ?" Well, I called our originaly dentist who first saw Luke six months ago and recommended the new dentist and he said Luke did need extensive work then and he had not even taken any x-rays which this dentist did. I asked if all of this was really necessary and he said yes because if the tooth gets infected, it could cause serious problems especially if if the infection gets into the blood stream.

So, Monday I am calling the dentist to see if any of the teeth would qualify for fillings (she wants to pull or do root canals on seven teeth, four in the front and three in the back). I do not want to put Luke though this. If we pull the front , what about speech problems? There are so many questions.

Anyway, Pete and I are going to talk to a few more people, and figure out some type of plan.

At least we had one stress free day.

Lori

2006-02-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

I just got done reading John's blog about dumb dogs and thought it was very funny. It got me thinking( as a good blog should) and I have a belief that some dogs feign (sp?) dumbness. You know how some (notice I did not say all) guys do a really bad job at laundry so the wife will think he is totally incompetent and do the laundry herself? I can also say I know I should learn how to change the printer ink on my printer but I think Pete can do it so much faster than I can so I pretend I cannot possibly learn how to do it. I think dogs do the same thing. My dog Maya knows how to sit on command and will only do so for food but when I tried to show my mother how well Maya obeys this one command she knows, she absolutely refused to sit. I had the feeling she was thinking, "See, you cannot make me sit!" This is the same dog the pretends to be asleep so when I leave to room just for a second, somehow she opens the gate and eats a whole cake before I get back. This is the same dog who will act like she has arthritis an cannot possibly make it upstairs to go to bed but if the doorbell rings she is the first one there and jumps on the poor person at the door. I think she ate the toy for the same reason kids act out....for ATTENTION! She got to go to the doctor and see all her friends, she got to eat special meals which I had to cook for her for three weeks...yeah, she is no dummy...we are the dummies for allowing her to train us instead of the other way around! Sometime I will write about our dog, Rush, and comment about how dumb he was.

We had a nice weekend. In a nutshell , we spent some time at Pennie's house, I finally bought a pair of jeans that fit (I have five pair at home but they do not fit so what good is it to have five pair when I cannot wear them?) and we watched a little of the Olympics. Pete, Pennie, and Luke went to see a movie while Breanna was at a friends house and I bought my one pair of pants. I consider this a good weekend.

Happy Valentines Day to everyone. The kids got cute cards from Pete's parents and my mother as well.

Have a good one....Lori

A Luke Story

2006-02-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

We were watching the Super Bowl commercials and after seeing the one with Jessica Simpson delivering pizza about twenty times I asked Pete, "Wouldn't it be nice if she would deliver pizza to our house?" Before Pete could respond Luke said, "yeeeahhhhh".

2006-02-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

We had a good weekend. We went to church Sunday where there was a guest pastor since the current one is on vacation. The last time we went there was a guest pastor for the same reason. I am assuming the current pastor goes to church more often than we do but so far I am not so sure.

After church we went grocery shopping and then home to watch the Super Bowl. I really wanted the Steelers to win for three reasons;1. I did not like the way Holmgren left Green Bay 2. I saw an earlier program that showed the coach of the Steelers ten years ago consoling his young daughters when they lost the Super Bowl saying "You cannot win them all" and 3. I wanted the Bus to get his ring.

Last night I went to watch Breanna at dance class and then I had to go to a meeting at Luke's school because they are having an Art Show where they show artwork the students have done this year. I signed up to make two things which I am excited about. The next time we meet we will be setting up for the show and it sounds like it is a lot of work but the kids really like it.

Pete is all happy because he got some money for his birthday and decided to get a dvd recorder(burner) which he purchased yesterday. Last night he burned a dvd from the dvr where Breanna had recorded a musical from Disney. Sure enough this morning I got up and she is watching it on the dvd player her granparents gave us for Christmas rather than watching it on the regular tv. Everytime she had to leave to go change or put the dog out or whatever, she paused the player. Times sure have changed since I was a kid getting ready for school.

Luke came into our room this morning wearing his batman cape and his pirate hat demanding something (always a blur when I first wake up). I always thought Breanna wore a lot of costumes, but Luke wears something different several times a day. At least he stopped wearing Breanna's dresses which Pete is happy about.

Have a good one...Lori

Pink Elephants

2006-02-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Pete's birthday yesterday and I think he had a nice day. Luke brought home a worksheet from school with an elephant on it so I suggested he color it pink and give it to his dad for his birthday since he is fond of saying "Pink Elephants!". Luke thought that was a good idea so he colored it (it is amazing we found a pink crayon but we did), wrapped it and gave it to him after we sang "Happy Birthday". (glad we did not videotape this because it was the worse rendition ever).

Before we had cake, we went to eat at Pete's favorite restaurant called Pasquale's. It is one of those old buildings and it used to be a bar so it has a long bar on one side and tables on the other. It has high ceilings with old hanging lamps, black and white checkered floor tiles and chrome bar stools and chairs. The walls are covered with war memorbilia from WWII. We sat by the big picture window which looks out onto the street and we could see the bridge with all the traffic. In the middle of the street is an old fashion lamp post with a clock on it which lit up. We had a great meal but it was very filling. We were stuffed!

From there we went to the mall. Pete gave Breanna a list of things he would like so she and I headed to the computer game store where we found two of the games he wanted. We then stopped at Radio Shack for a small screwdriver set that is nice for working on computers and toys (probably trains, too).

After we had cake, he called his parents to thank them for the card and they started talking politics which is always fun for him so I think that was Pete's dad gift to him. My brother called to wish him "Happy Birthday" late at night which is the norm for him. My mother also dropped off a gift which he really liked as well.

While Breanna and I were shopping, Pete and Luke bought Maya a bone to chew on since it was her birthday, too. She is eight years old!

Luke is confused about Regis and Kelly calling me. He thinks because they are on the tv, they cannot call so I explained to him how it works. He wanted to know why they would call(good question) and I said so we could win a trip and stay in a nice hotel with a pool. He reminded me he cannot swim yet but he will watch me swim so then we got into a discussion about him taking swimming lessons which he says he is not ready for yet. He says he is like Grandpa Linna and likes to sit in the hot tub. (I wonder if he would like saunas?)

That's all for now....Lori

Glob of Goo

2006-01-30T10:25:00.000-08:00

This was a fairly quiet weekend but there was some progress. The bed was moved to the basement where Pete continues to try to fix it. I agree it is too nice to give up on just as long as it is not done in my dining room. So,he will try a few other things. I put my nativity set and the victorian angel and santas given to me by Pete's parents this year in the curio rather than packing them away. So, the living room is back to normal with the exception of a blob of goo that is stuck in the carpet and we have to somehow remove.

Sunday I could not resist and looked for open houses because you never know when the perfect house might become available. There were two both within a mile of our house. One was the one we were scheduled to see when John and Betty left but cancelled and since they were having an open house, we went to see it anyway. Pete thought it was great and I thought it was ok..too pricey and too many steps (ranch with walkout basement) but it did have a first floor laundry and walk-in showers. Neither Pete or Breanna smelled smoke but I did as soon as I walked in. The other house was also nice but no first floor laundry. It did have two options to put one in off the family room or one of the bedrooms. Anyway, neither seemed perfect so we will keep looking.

I made lasagne last night for the first time in about six months and also bought some frozen garlic texas toast. The last time I bought frozen garlic toast about ten years ago and it was terrible but this time it was pretty good and not too expensive. I have to remember things can improve.For instance, the same thing with frozen pizza...used to be terrible but now it is not too bad. Either that or my taste buds are more tolerant than they used to be. Since I stopped driving about ten years ago I am stuck in a time warp and think everything is the same.

Luke and his class went to the theater to see "Clifford the Big Red Dog'. This will be his first time on a school bus so he was excited about that and the show. He said he had a good time.

I finally sent in a postcard to Regis and Kelly to try to win a trip for the family. We really need a vacation. Today was the first day of the contest and they did not call but I will not consider myself a loser until the last day of the contest. Then, and only then, will I go to John's loser party.

The other thing I did this past weekend was about ten loads of laundry (Pete informs me there is more). I found a penny in the dryer and decided it was my payment for the job. (I would do laundry more often if I would find more money!).

Speaking of laundry, time to go start another load, this will be load number 12...I really need to get a life!

Lori

i win by brea

2006-01-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

your probably wondering what the tittle is about and what did i win . well you have to read on . It won't be right out in the open well mabye it will . Are you bonceing off the walls ? scraching you head like crazy . Am I driveing you nuts, bongo ,or just plain silly? I'm driveing myself nuts ! This is so insane! Out with it girl out with it. what am I writeing oh yah what did I win. I won opps i got to go bye . JUST KIDING ! Ok I'll tell you since your probably laughing your head off . Well every year we have a oprea at are school so we have to find a colored paper with a drawing of the oprea on it . each color means a diffrent prize. 12:00 i'm in my class room theres one more left in the class room destine found the first one. I spoted what I thought was it and so I waited and waited till right before lunch and went over to see if that was it .Kayla .h got up and I said no but she walked right past it and i pulled what I thought was it and it was it ! I got the gold one and so I got the grand prize a jar full of whoppers or maltballs . the crazy object breanna htsyas (hope to talk to you all soon )

2006-01-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

It was a good week. After rereading my last blog and seeing all the things I still had to do, I did about half of them so I feel like I accomplished something.

Pennie spent Wednesday with us as part of her vacation. She took me out to breakfast where we had to wait FOREVER for the the food and then the waitress gave us coupons we could not use. We went to pick up Luke at school who has not had a 'thumbs up' day for awhile and in fact, if memory serves, he has only had one. When I went to get him on Friday the teacher said she could not remember if he had a good day because most of the class had a tough one. I give up. If we were not commited to the carpool situation, I would put him to a different school.

Back to Pennie, we went to the movie 'Brokeback Mountain'. Although the subject matter is not ideal, I was expecting an Oscar caliber film and was disappointed. We both gave it a five on a scale of one to ten.

It was nice to get out on a weekday so thank you Pennie!

Luke and I were outside most of Friday afternoon. He played while I took down most of the Christmas lights. Pete sure put up a lot of lights. Of course, I could not find a place to put them in the garage so I made three piles, lights, rope lights and extension cords.

Breanna had a good week at school. Each classroom had two tickets that were hidden somewhere in the room. She thought she saw one up on a shelf but could not get up in the middle of class to go get it so she had to wait FOREVER until class was done. She went up and sure enough, she found the ticket and was able to turn it in for a prize at school. (This makes her ineligible for the Loser's Party although she is a Packer fan). She was happy she finally found a ticket since the school does this every year and she has never found one before.

Pete has been playing his computer game every night. I have doing the soduku game in the paper every day. I checked for open houses today and there were none. After reading John's blog I am thinking I won't look anymore. I wish we had the money to help them out and return the favor. Maybe they could move into our house and we will get a smaller house as my poor eyesight makes it hard to keep this house clean.

The inflatable bed has one more chance to work and then we are putting it away so I can get my dining room back.

Lori

The land of the 'still and still nots"

2006-01-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

I am thinking of all the things I have to do and haven't done.

The property taxes are still not paid.

The inflatable bed is still not working.

The living room is still not back to where it was before Christmas.

I still have not made a dentist appointment for Luke.

Maya is still sick.

I still have not decided whether to walk the marathon although I did talk about it with a friend last night so I made some progress.

I still have not finished cleaning my bathroom.

I still have not done the laundry (might as well just lump all household chores into this one).

I still have to call my mom.

I still have to write some Thank You notes.

I still have to come up with a budget plan.

I still have to get Luke's birth certificate to the school (finally found it!).

I still have not listened to my new cd I got for Christmas.

I still have not opened the yoga video I got from Pete (and I asked for) three Christmases ago.

I am still eating too many cookies.

I still have not sent in the postcard to win a trip from Regis and Kelly even though I have all the clues.

On the flip side, I still love my family, I still feel pretty lucky to have the life I have and I still wouldn't trade places with anyone.

I still have to make lunch!

Have a good one...Lori

Welcome Back to the Family

2006-01-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

We almost lost an important member of the family.(I am blogging about this after noting John has already mentioned it in his blog). I was reading John's blog and discovered he was taking George, the statue, to the antique dealer. The first time I walked into the parsonage to meet Pete's parents, the first thing I saw was George and immediately liked him (the parents were nice, too). Anyway, I quick ran downstairs and asked Pete for a favor...to stop whatever he was doing and call his parents to see if we could possibly have George. I supposed I could have called but in my excitement was having trouble speaking English. He obliged and we got him in the nick of time. Whew! I have been looking for something like George since we bought our house and have not been able to find anything so I am happy we will have the real thing. John and Betty will be able to visit anytime.

Speaking of John and Betty, I looked at the open houses this weekend and there was nothing available. I was happy to see new listings which means hopefully every week there is a possiblilty of the right house becoming available. There were three homes with first floor laundry but all were on the east side.

Pete has been a busy man this weekend. He worked on two computers for friends of ours, trying to fix the patch on the inflatable bed so we can get it out of the dining room and working on his bathroom in the basement to get it the way he wants it.

Breanna had a girls night out with Pennie Friday night. They saw a movie, had dinner and then went shopping.

Maya was sick last night and not doing well today. We are keeping an eye on her and hoping for the best. I hope we do not have to take her to the vet...poor puppy.

Right now we are watching the playoff games and currently, the Steelers are all over the Broncos. I would like to see Bettis get a ring.

I hope you all had a good weekend...Lori

To walk or not to walk?

2006-01-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

We went to Breanna's conference and it went well. She mentioned blogging more so she can improve her keyboarding skills and we all agreed that was a good idea. We also signed Luke up for Kindergarden even though we are not sure if the school right down the street from us will have half day. (They pick a school and send all the half day kids there).

We finally made it to my mother's house for chili. She also made ham since I do not eat chili(thanks, mom). I told her she could be invited to John's loser party because she always enters the Reader's Digest contest but never wins anything even though she has been doing it for years.

Due to my early blogging, everyone found out about John and Betty's decision about waiting until the fall to move to the area except the realtor!!! I had called him right after I talked to Betty and left a reather long and detailed message about their decision and said if he had any questions, to call me. Sure enough, I got a call from him today regarding another home visit and he had not yet gotten the message I left yesterday. I filled him in on all the details and he seemed fine with it and would continue to e-mail.

I am trying to decide if I want to train to walk in the marathon this year. For those of you who don't know, I walked it two years ago and missed walking through Lambeau Field by ten minutes!!!! This year they are extending the race time for those who walk and to encourage more people to do the race. The guy who runs it sent me an e-mail giving me free registration since Lambeau had closed and I walked all that way for NOTHING! I have to decide by this weekend because that is when I would have to start training. I can do it during the week but it is the long walks on Saturdays that take a lot of time. Any comments on this would be appreciated. I'll let you know my decision this weekend. I really need to get back in shape. Half a marathon is not an option, it's all or nothing, baby!

Have a good one....Lori

2006-01-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

It was a long but exciting weekend looking at houses for John and Betty. It is amazing the range of homes we looked at; some not good at all,and others soooooo close to what they are looking for. Betty just called to tell me they decided to wait until fall so they can take their time getting used to the idea and getting ready. Hopefully, Pete and I can keep and eye out for something that will be perfect for them. We sure enjoyed having them here and miss them already. Meanwhile, when we go to Crystal, we can help pack of few things and bring them here for storage if they want us to (or not). It is such a hard decision and I am not even making it!

Tonight we have Breanna's parent teacher conference and registration for Luke for kindergarden. We are hoping there will be a half day option available at his school because we think that would be ideal for him. Afterwards, we are going to my mom's house for chili which she has made twice for us but we have not been able to get there to eat it. It is supposed to snow today, but we are going!!!

Until next time, Lori

House Hunting

2006-01-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

What a weekend we had house hunting. We only went to open houses to see what was out there and what the market is like. Supposedly it is a buyers market in Green Bay because there are so many houses for sale and builders keep building more homes.

Saturday we were disappointed with what we saw, none seemed to be in move in condition but Sunday brought better results. Since I was still sick, I stayed home with the paper and whenever Pete and the kids got done looking at a house, he would call me and I would tell him which one to go to next. Pete is great at house hunting because he looks at all the structural stuff as well as what his parents needs are. Breanna votes as well on the one she likes.(Luke said one was particularily(sp?) smelly so that one was tossed).

We spent some of the money we received from Christmas on a new digital camera and printer. We had been looking to get one for awhile and decided now was the time since our old one seems to only last a few pictures before the batteries need changing. Hopefully we will have a system so I can e-mail them or post them on the blog on a regular basis since I was having difficulty with the old camera. The new one prints great pictures and Pete was thoughtful to buy a camera that has a large picture window so I do not have to look through the viewfinder which is hard for me to do now. We printed out a few pictures and they look pretty good!

This week on Wed. I am room mom at Luke's school so I hope I am feeling better so I can go. Breanna has dance. She had a sleepover at a friends house Friday and since she came home has been "so bored" unless we were out looking at houses. She has kept in mind that Grandpa and Grandma love storage (don't all Linnas?).

Have a good one!

Lori

2006-01-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

It is Friday and Luke and I are both sick with colds and sore throats. I only hope it is not strep because that means I have to go see a doctor and get a prescription that is supposed to work within 24 hours but for some reason takes about three days for me. Anyway, I kept Luke home from school today. He had a good day Wed. at school. I have a system worked out with his teacher, if she gives me thumbs up that means he did well, if not, then I stay and talk to her about what happened. So far he has a winning record of 1-0 so he cannot be invited to Grandpas loser party.

Breanna is on flag duty at school where she and another student put up the flag in the morning (very important to not let the flag touch the ground!) and take it down after school. She is doing so well in school and I am so proud of her. We have all been having trouble getting back into the swing of things since we had two weeks off and sleeping in late but she is always up and ready to go to school.

We had a good New Year's and are now looking at houses for John and Betty. I am waiting for the Sunday paper to see if we can go to any open houses. Pete got the number for the house down the street from us (very nice blue ranch) but has to call on it and another one near Lambeau.

I took the ornaments off the tree and Pete and I took the tree out to the curb.(Wish we had a video of that whole scenario). It was a nice tree. Luke asked us why we took it out and I told him Christmas is over but we will get another tree next year. He then said he wants Easter to come soon. Easy come, easy go, I guess.

This weekend we will try to get over our sickness and get better.

Have a good one, people.

Lori

2005-12-27T14:32:00.000-08:00

So far, we have had a great Christmas except for Pete who fell on the ice and bruised his ribs to the point where even putting on socks or getting out of a chair is difficult...poor guy!

We had a nice time at my mom's house and came home to find the stockings full. Luke checked his stocking carefully and when he saw he had candy, he exclaimed, "I have been GOOD!"

In the morning the kids were waiting for us to get up. Pete had to find a tape for the video camera so that took awhile before we could finally open the gifts. Maya was on her new pillow chewing a bone the whole time. After we got done with the gifts we loaded the car and went to Crystal Falls where we had a wonderful lunch, opened even more gifts and played canasta while hearing the Packers lose on the tv. Pete and I went to the hotel after midnight and you know you are in a small town when they leave you a key at the front desk with a note saying fill out the information and hand it in in the morning. The room was nice and we slept in late since there were no kids or a dog to worry about.

Then we stopped at the store for Betty before going back to the house. Pat took the kids sledding and they all had a great time. Pete and Pat put together the hall tree and then it was time for us to go before the freezing rain started. We got home safe and sound. We have been fortunate over the years to have wonderful driving weather over the holidays. The last time we were caught in a storm was when I was pregnant with Breanna and we had Rush with us in the Probe. We did a cheerio in front of Wal-Mart in Iron Mountain, made it to Pembine to a hotel that took pets.

We have so much new stuff.
I keep walking around the house asking, "What are we going to do with all this stuff?" and Pete responds with "Play with it!".

Today we took a car load of carboard to the dump so that was a good job done. Tonight, Pete wants to see what stuff is on clearance so we are going out for a bit. We forgot to talk to everyone about when we are going to the Tundra Lodge so we will have to talk about it over New Year's.

Have a good one, people!

Lori

Bust the Budget(Merry Christmas)

2005-12-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

Well it's Christmas Eve. I did stretch the budget bit but I can't remember because when I was help cleaning I bumped my head so hard on the kitchen chandelier that I blew a fuse. It's so hard to Christmas shop because we tell the kids wait it Christmas and that list can be very long. I went shopping on Thursday at night because they said it was going to be so slippery on the roads Friday. I was shopping until 1:30 am. Not a lot of people out at that time. It's hard to get around with the people stocking shelves and the stores where very hot. I finished on Friday and the roads were not so slippery but packed with cars. The kids are bouncing off the wall. We are going to try with Luke going to church. Lets hope the service is good but short. Looking forward to seeing famliy tonight and on Christmas Day.

PJL

no comments by brea

2005-12-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

hello how come nobody but grampa (thanks grandpa] comented . I can't wait to see you all . I hope our christmas tree dosen't fall down well we are gone or when santa puts the presents around the tree. Wait got to look at the clock nope not time yet . At 3:00 we are going to church and grandma starks house . I can't wait because I got a new dress and shoes . wait oh not time yet . i gess i'll just blog till it's time to get dressed . Wow that would be a long blog but it makes time go faster.
I only had two days of school but thats because was I sick on monday.we're tracking santa and I hope he dosen't mind . We made cookies for him and we're going to put out carets for the raindeer. wait let's check the time nope not time yet about one or two more hours . thatsnot as long as it was this morning it was six hours from then. this is the longest blog i
have done . It 's a record! i ended this at twelve forty eight. the crasy oblect breanna.

Meet Daisy

2005-12-23T19:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Pete and the kids worked on cleaning the basement while I cleaned the main floor and Luke's room. (You guessed it, we were expecting company, therefore the cleaning had commenced). Anyway, Luke came upstairs from the basement and wanted me to meet his new pet, Daisy. Daisy is an insect that was (and still is) living in the basement. He named it so I wouldn't kill it. He and Breanna decided to put it in their insect cage. This morning I see there is a bowl of water and a cracker in the cage. Meanwhile, the cage is in the family room and Maya really wants the cracker that is in the cage. Now Daisy is in Luke's room. So much for cleaning his room.

THe company we had was the lady I carpool with and her two daughters, one who is Luke's schoolmate. We are both making dessert for Christmas Eve dinner so we decided to make a pumpkin cake roll. She had never made one and since I had made a couple, we decided to make them together. They both turned out well. Jane has really turned into a wonderful friend and I enjoy her company. Since we are the same age and are stay at home moms, we have similar interests. (Although she comes from a family of 13 - ten are girls!)

While we were baking, Breanna was trying her hand at babysitting and Pete dared to go finish his Christmas shopping. I "suggested" a maximum amount to spend, but he told me to mind my own business (hey, the budget IS my business!). He returned later to say he is finally done shopping.

Mom called to tell me church is not at the usual 6:30 but rather at 4:00 this year. THis will be nice because we can go to her house after, eat and open gifts and take our time going home rather than trying to get home at a decent time so we can get up and get to Crystal at a decent time. Pete is relieved we are staying longer in Crystal as well since we do not have to rush home. The last few Christmases have been too short of a visit.

I read an article that keeping warm helps to keep colds away...this could be a strong argument to turn up the heat in the house. (Something about when you are cold, the nasal passages are more suseptible to viruses...this according to US NEWS). Turn it up, people!

Happy holidays to everyone...Lori (&Daisy).

"Polka!"

2005-12-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the mall to do some shopping. Breanna went with me so we could try to find something for Pete but everything I suggested she turned her nose up yet she did not have any other ideas except for another Packer hat which I vetoed because he has at least a hundred hats (I know this because I pick them up all the time) and as far as I know he only has one head!

So, we met up with Pete and Luke who were in the play area and Breanna wanted to join them so I went shopping by myself. Pete showed me a picture of Luke sitting on Santa's lap. He asked Pete if that was the real Santa and Pete said he did not know but he could ask Mrs. Clause. Luke asked Mrs. Clause and she said he was the real Santa and Luke was very happy and proceeded to talk Santa's ear off(Luke did not devulge what he and Santa talked about). When I was done shopping, I met Pete and the kids at the play area and Pete said he had to go pick something up so I stayed and watched the kids. Breanna was teaching Luke and another boy, Caleb, who was maybe three years old, how to play Marco Polo. She said, "When I say Marco, you say Polo, ok?" She said "Marco!" and Luke and Caleb looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders and then Luke yelled, "Polka!" and we all laughed.

Finally we went home exhausted.

Lori

sunday the week before christmas by brea

2005-12-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

it's the week before christmas all kids are going wild including my brother . I have to shop for dad and luke and not done for mom yet .
I can't wiat to see you all . tonight we going on a bus ride . tonight or tommrow I will tell you about it . On wedsday I have a sing-a-long at school nd my chritmas party . Thursday and Friday I have off.
ttyatot what des this mean? use what I wrote above to figrue it out tell me in the coments. the crazy object Breanna.

where is pennie ? by brea

2005-12-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

pennie where are you ? we have not herd from you. I'm now writeing on moms comuter before bed . today crissy came over and tommrow I might go to her house . she's really nice, christmas is a week away . I'm so exited . Yesterday we saw old tapes and one of them i don't remember.
breanna the crazy one

I am Back

2005-12-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

With Lori's help I got the password and I am now back. Our system is down at work so I am taking some time at lunch to write a blog. If you ever want to see something cool or scary, suck up rope lite and christmas lights into a snow blower. It takes a lot longer to remove them. I am very cranky today not much sleep last night.

Some things I have been thinking about. Do you ever wish that God could go back and pick a different Adam and Eve? It seems unfair that we have to fight with evil because of two people picked. We should vote on the a better couple. Could any human do any better? I wonder why God picked flawed people right from the beginning. I know that freewill is part of the answer. Freewill is hard to understand. I try to compare it to raising a child. It hurts when you see you child make a wrong choice and so much joy when they make a correct one. You can't have one without the other. When you ask to a scientist they are okay with a robot that does everything correct everytime but are waiting for the day when a robot thinks for it's self including learning from it mistakes. I guess the only human that could do better was Jesus. God sent us Jesus to show us how to make good choices. Instead of complaining about Adam and Eve I should be thankfull for Jesus who forgives my sins.

PJL

2005-12-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

We have had a good couple of days. Luke did well in school and has his Christmas program Friday. I have to remember to ask Pete to charge up the camcorder so we can record it.

After school, Luke and I made gingerbread cookies and then decorated them. They are better than I thought they would be. (Luke licked off the frosting).

Last night we took a picture of the kids and the dog in front of the tree (still up!) for the Christmas letter. It turned out well even though Luke is wearing his dragon costume which he embellished by putting Pete's big, black gloves on his feet and another set on his hands. Now we just have to print out all the letters. My printer does not seem to work too well for pictures so tonight we will try Pete's or Breanna's printer. I finally finished the top ten list for the letter as well. It was tough to get motivated to do it this year because I could not think of anything but finally came up with a solution that we are all happy with.

We took Pennie's flute in to get the pads replaced. She warned us to get them replaced but I procrastinated and wouldn't you know, last week while Breanna was practicing, one fell off. THe kid has gone to band the last week without a flute. We hope to get it back the end of this week.

Pete got the snowblower started last night and blew out the driveway but not before it ate a set of CHristmas lights...oops! I am glad he did not get hurt getting the lights out of the snowblower. (Another 911 call avoided!)

While Luke is at school tomorrow, Pete and I will try to get some Christmas shopping done. I thought we were done, but there are always a few more to get.

The reason Pete has not blogged in awhile is because he cannot remember his password...I told him but now he is too busy. Hopefully soon...

Have a good one....Lori

Timberrrrr!

2005-12-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

This weekend we got our tree. We checked our usual places but they did not have a tree over nine feet so we went to a place Pete and Breanna went to a few years ago and they had a 12 footer they were itching to get rid of. I wanted to keep looking but I was outvoted by Pete and the kids.

We got it home and in the stand. Pete put lights on it and on Sunday we started to decorate it. All of a sudden I heard Pete say, "Look out folks, she's going over!" Sure enough the tree fell over....thankfully we were all on the other side.Luke said, "Cool!"

After an hour of arguing on how to fix it, we decided to anchor the tree to the bannister and the top railing in the balcony and finished decorating the tree. The tree is so big, the ornaments look lonely.

Fast forward to Monday. I am trying to get the ornament boxes put away and pick up the branches that were sawed off up of the floor in front of the front door and I notice the angel on the tree is leaning over. I check our anchors and they are pulled taut (The stinkin tree is so big, I cannot tell if it is leaning or not, all I see is tree). I quick get more rope to anchor and call Pete to see if he has any suggestions (answer: wait until he gets home). Luke and I had a play date at our carpool house and I was afraid when we came back the tree would be down, and quite possibly, the bannister as well. It was still up when we got back. Pete called to check in and I said things were still holding up. He stopped and purchased some fishing wire and when he got home, attached it to the tree to the bannister. He checked the base and figured out the pins were digging into the trunk and splitting the wood, therefore causing it to lean. He went and got some wooden boards from the garage and inserted them into the stand and now, we think the tree will stay up. Time will tell.

It is not such a bad tree I guess.

Lori

Where in the world is Pete Linna?

2005-12-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

I am sure many of you are asking this question since it has been awhile since he blogged. I am here to tell you he is alive and well but busy. He is putting up plastic on the windows, working and is still cleaning the basement from when he did his very first blog (There is a lot of stuff in our basement!)

Last night I went to Breanna's dance class and met another mom who I knew of in high school and she knows my brother very well. She sought me out to specifically tell me how nice Breanna has been to her daughter who was in kindergarden last year and Breanna befriended her. They are both in the same dance class and are still friends. It was nice she made a point to tell me and I told Breanna after class.

While we were at dance, Pete and Luke braved the cold to go to the store to get some supplies for the troops at home as we were running low on medical (allergy) supplies.

The kids put out their shoes and also my shoes and Pete's shoes to see if St. Nick would fill them while we were asleep. The kids woke us up this morning to tell us that he had been here and they were very excited and happy we all got something except for Maya who did not have any shoes to put out.

This weekend we watched the Packers lose to a team that played awful which made the loss even worse. We went to church and heard a good sermon about if you believe in God, anything is possible. We told Breanna on the way home about things that happened to us over the years that as we look back on it, surely it could not happened, but it did. The time I remember is when Pete and I drove out to Mackinaw Island, we were coming out of Gladstone and we were behind a semi truck turning right. A car pulled out thinking there was no one behind the semi into our lane and we somehow avoided hitting them. We were close enough to see the faces on the people in the car, and Pete calmly drove the car around the vehicle, we were temporarily on the gravel side road and back onto the highway and on our way. We looked at each other as if to say, "Did that really happen?" Then on the way home, we looked at the intersection and there were two telephone poles and a sign that we should have hit but were not there when we went on to the gravel.

I will let Pete tell his story of him and Eicksteadt which is even better.

And all is right with the world.

Lori

2005-11-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. The food did not turn out the way it was supposed to, but in the end it all worked out. I got to spend time with Pete's family on Thursday and spent all day Friday helping my mother paint her family room which she has wanted to do for a long time. It felt good to do something for her for a change rather than her always doing something for me.

Sunday Pennie and I did a little shopping at Target and would have done more but I spent enough at Target and I had to call it a day and not go anywhere else. Then we went home and watched the Packers lose and I made dinner just in time for the halftime show so at least that worked out right.

Last night I went to Breanna's dance class to decide on the costumes for the recital in March. As we talked about the costumes, I reminisced over the last six years and all the different costumes she has had (this is the last year she is taking dance.)

I also went to school with Luke yesterday and it went fairly well. He played with the dinosaur skeletons at a table with another boy and pretty much spent the whole time at the table. I am going again with him on Wednesday.

This morning we played Superman where I was the mother who lost her baby and her cat and Superman came to the rescue (several times this happened, I cannot seem to hold on to the baby or that darn cat!).

The house is back down to 65 and we are all FREEZING! It was nice to have a warm house with good company. I think next year I will make the turkey a day earlier so on Thanksgiving day it will be really good because it is always better the next day. I also found a new way to make the ham so I am going to try that as well.

Have a good one....Lori

Happiness is a clean kitchen floor

2005-11-21T16:23:00.000-08:00

Breanna was in the Holiday parade and since it ended up being warmer than they said it would, she cooked because I made her wear two of everything (two shirts, two sweaters, two pants, two socks). On the way to the parade we kept thinking something was missing and realized last year Pennie was with us but she was on call this weekend. We did pick up Breanna's friend who also marched in the parade. She did not make it on tv but it was still fun.

Later, Breanna and I went to my friends house for a sleepover where we made Christmas cards. I felt like we were at a bed and breakfast. She had a nice comfy bed with many blankets(not to mention her house is not set at freezing temperatures like ours is) and a basket full of magazines to read by the bed. I read one article in Oprah magazine entitled, "Does this hairdo make my hips look big?". This was such a strange title, Breanna and I had to look at it and we picked out the body shape I was most like and tried to decide if the hairstyle she had would work on me. (Answer: Hard to say since the woman had frizzy hair and mine is flat).

Sunday we came home to fine Pete had cleaned the kitchen floor for me!!!! This made me very happy.

Monday Luke and I went to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese for one of his classmates (also our carpool person). We had a good time and he is one tired boy.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and we will see everyone Thursday. I will turn up the heat that day.

Lori

Stop Licking your Chicken!

2005-11-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

The other night I made my parmesean chicken and Luke was licking the ketchup off of it so that is how the comment "Stop licking your chicken!" became the title of this blog.

I was room mom at Luke's school yesterday and tomorrow we have his parent/teacher conference. I am afraid to go but it must be done. I feel like I am going to the principals office or something.

Saturday Breanna walks in the city Christmas parade as part of her school group. She was in it last year and is looking forward to it this year. However, I think it is going to be much colder this year. I would really like to stay for the end because the UW Madison marching band is performing their 'Fifth Quarter' performance and I have always enjoyed it.

Luke wanted to play in the snow today so I shoveled while he played. We only got about two inches (if that) but he had fun and I had fun watching him.

I e-mailed John saying if no one else wanted the five tapes, we would take them for the car VHS player for the kids to watch on trips. I doubt we are getting a dvd player for the car this year(I always think about it for Christmas every year but something else comes up) but since we have the VHS player, why bother??? Hey when I was a kid, I had to entertain myself by looking out the window or looking at my brother so be happy with the VHS player kids!!! My parents grew up without cars, imagine that!

I'm ok... breathe in, breathe out...I guess I am the one that needs a breathing treatment.

Have a good one.
Lori

Luke's First Movie

2005-11-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

We had a nice day today. We raked the leaves in the backyard and brought them out to the curb where the kids jumped in them (I guarded from the road while they played). I took video of them playing and I am hoping I did not record over something. Then we went and ate, then to Shopko to see if they had any blue lights left for our bushes out front. We then took Luke to his first movie in a theater 'Chicken Little'. He kept asking if we could go see it so we went and we all liked it. He did a great job sitting through it and watching it. The theater was full with parents and kids laughing so that made it even more fun.

Pennie responded saying she thinks we should all stay in Green Bay for Thanksgiving even though she is on call but to save her some fixings so we will be having it here at the house. I am thinking of serving it around one o'clock if that is ok with everyone (should be enough time to get here but not too late in case people want to go home/hotel before dark).

Have a good one....Lori

All Aboard!

2005-11-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

Luke and I had a nice day today. He brought up his train set from the basement and we put it together. We did not have enough track so he went down to the basement a few more times until we had enough. Finally we got it all connected and the train worked the first time. We used his lincoln log set for a wood pile so the train could stop and pick up wood and we dropped it off at the dragon post (which was part of his castle and the mouth would open to take the wood or drop it off the next time the train came through). Later we parked the Millenium Falcon at one curve so we could say we were going past it, over the bridge to the dragon post. We must have played with it for three hours today! I am so glad he is finally playing with it since we bought it for him two years ago. Sometimes I forget he is only four years old.

I am trying to figure out how to put pictures on the blog and hopefully will do that soon with Pete's help.

Have a good one people! -Lori

The weekend and Luke's Pumpkin Story

2005-11-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

We had a pretty good weekend. We went to church, grocery shopping and did some house cleaning while watching the Packers lose. We are still shredding documents. I have been shredding daily and it seems like I have hardly made a dent in what needs to be shredded. I think I will invent a new shredder that shreds by the stack or go ask a neighbor who has a wood burning fireplace if I can throw everything in their fireplace and burn it!

John and Betty stopped in for a moment on Sunday to drop off a computer for Pennie. John was not feeling well but is doing better now according to Pete, but Betty is now not feeling well.

Sickness seems to be going around...my ears are still plugged from my cold so it is difficult to carry on a conversation. Maya was sick at five this morning so I put her out and in her crate, but she was barking (I did not hear her) but Pete did and got up with her and spent the rest of the morning in the family room. Maya seems to be doing better now but I will sleep in the family room with her tonight just in case she is sick and Pete can get a full nights sleep.

We both did some online Christmas shopping, I paid the bills (finally) and sent Pennie an e-mail asking if she would rather we eat at Old Country Buffet in Appleton for Thanksgiving since she is on call.

I will end with Luke's Pumpkin Story which he told me several times yesterday so I know it by heart.

Once there was a boy Luke. He planted a pumpkin. It grew and grew and grew. One day he snuck past his mama, got a big knife and shovel. He carved a hole in the pumkin. It was so big he jumped into the pumpkin and scooped out all the seeds of the pumpkin with his shovel. Then he tood a giant saw and carved a face. Luke put a giant candle in the pumpkin and plugged it in so it lit up. The end.

Have a good one....Lori

It's Friday!

2005-11-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

So far the week has gone well despite all of us having colds.

Thanks to everyone who responded with ideas for recipes and links to more ideas (Don't know why I did not think of that!!!)

This weekend we plan on purging stuff in the basement and I have more shredding to do with documents. This is the last weekend we can bring coats for the 'coats for kids' program so we plan to drop off several coats that we have accumulated over the years and hopefully this will give us some more closet space.

So far, the new van has remained clutter free. A whole week....this is a record for our family. We are really happy with the vehicle.

I will end with a Luke story. Breanna came downstairs and asked how her clothes looked. Before I could say anything, Luke being the brother said, "It looks baaaaaad." I said "Luke!" and he said, "Breanna, you look beauuuuuuuuutaiful!"

Have a good one! -Lori

2005-10-31T18:27:00.000-08:00

I had a nice day today. Read some notes on my blog about car salespeople and now I do not feel so bad. Read Pat's blog and had a good laugh about Elijah's kicking skills.

Breanna and Luke got dressed to go trick or treating and Pennie showed up in her Cat in the Hat costume which I thought was a pretty good costume. Pete came home and he and Pennie took the kids out while I stayed home and handed out treats. We had at least a hundred kids and ran out of candy so we do what we always do when we run out and that is turn off the lights and jump in the car to go see my dad and then to my mom's house so they can see the kids in their costumes.

Got a call from the doctor and Breanna's tests were all normal which we were not surprised because she is feeling better...whew!

Pete's got a pretty good cold and I keep hoping it will get better but the poor guy sounds and looks like he has a cold. He said he had fun taking the new van to work and then to Best Buy on his lunch to buy printer cartridges for my printer. (Did not buy anything else...good job, Pete!) He also thought about how much money we could save if he did not eat out for lunch to help pay for the car and I am going to try to make him a lunch to take to work. Breanna and I are going to make menus for supper so we know what to have for dinner rather than going out on impulse. I need to learn how to cook more things besides tacos, parmesean chicken, meatloaf, chili, french toast and hamburgers so if anyone has any good ideas for a quick and good dinner, let me know.

Well, I know this is a boring blog so I will end it now before your head hits the keyboard from falling asleep and you wake up with the letters 'qwert' on your forehead.

Lori

Loseing a freind by brea

2005-10-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

hello its been a while but I'm writeing again . This time i'm writeing about a freind
who's been with us for along time. I'll give you some hints on who it is . Its brown
holds lots of people and everyone has at least seen or been in it. ITS our car we got a new one. The new car is so cool I can't belive its ours. ITs a light light blue.On the way back home I thought about our old car and how its waiting for us to come back but we're not comeing back that was sad. the crazy object breanna

Searching and shredding

2005-10-30T16:28:00.000-08:00

Well, guess what I did most of this weekend? You guessed it, shredding papers in the shredder.

This all started because we could not find the note from the bank in Crystal saying we paid off our van five years ago and we spent all night looking through boxes of documents. Finally, Pete called the bank and they are sending us the document we need. Meanwhile, we decided to start shredding because we do not need bank statements from eight years ago, health statements from the last 12 years or insurance statements or work statements from whom we are no longer with. So, I watched the Packers lose while shredding documents with the new shredder Pete got for me because we could not find the electical part for it to plug it in (it is probably with the bank document).

Then there was the whole deal we spent at the car dealership. Things were going well (sat through and listened to every thing they wanted us to buy and I said "no") until the financial lady showed up and ignored me. My biggest pet peeve, umfortunately for her, is snippy sales people. I got a little snippy with her (she did it first) and finally we cooled down but she totally ignored me the rest of the time and the next day even though she said we were all set and could leave before we gave her the down payment. I asked if she wanted the down payment and she said, "Oh, well, we would have realized it by the time you got home anyway."

I feel bad about stooping to her level and being snippy and have decided I do not need to do that and could have walked out and will do so in the future (which is what I normally do but I couldn't let this one go). Poor Pete was stuck in the chair in the corner and had to watch the whole thing unfold.

Tomorrow Luke gets to wear his costume for Halloween to school and the parents are invited to watch the costume parade before class starts so that will be fun.

Now, where did I put that costume???

Lori

Carving pumpkins

2005-10-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

We did a lot today. First we went to Sam's Club where we bought the usual and I checked to see if we could put mom on our account but she can only be on it if she lives with us so that did not work out. We also bought Halloween candy we do not like to eat ourselves so we won't be tempted to eat it as we have done in past years.

Then we went to Perkins where we had to wait forver for the food but Luke ate his pizza, Pete had breakfast and Breanna and I each had the salad bowls.

Then we headed over to Steins so Pete and I could pick out our pumpkins since the kids already had theirs. There was not a good selection left. Pete's would not stand on its own and mine has a huge scar in the back but a good front for carving. We also picked up some gourds and a corn stalk bunch to put around the lamp post. THis is the only Halloween decoration we have.(I'm not big on halloween decorations and technically, the stalks and gourds are "Fall decorations".)

Then we decided to go to the car lot to see what was there. Back home, Pete called around for loan rates and the credit union in Crystal definetly has the best rate.

We carved our pumpkins. It took Luke and Breanna about two hours to get all the seeds out. (Luke's pumpkin is the size of a grapefruit but it kept him busy). Pete cut out the face for Luke's pumpkin and it turned out pretty cute. Breanna has a cat on hers which she did all by herself. Pete's looks like a scared bald man(The painting 'The Scream' comes to mind) and mine has the name "Linna" carved out with a spider and a web and it is not very good. I then roasted the seeds in the oven and they turned out pretty good.

Finally got around to making supper. None of us were all that hungry so we just had sandwiches....whew!

It was nice to have Pete home on a weekday and he is home tomorrow as well. We are taking the van in to see what the dealer will give us for it. Pete is checking the bluebook on the internet for it now.

Read John's blog and wished we could have gone up to visit today to make his day a little better.

I keep checking Pat and Pennies blogs but they have not blogged lately....I miss them!!! Chrissie, if you read this, I somehow am not able to respond to your comments but do know you will be here for Thanksgiving.

Have a good one...Lori

2005-10-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to meet the family of the girl we are ride sharing with for Luke's preschool. It went well...they are such a nice family. This morning was the first time we picked up Anna, Luke's classmate, and went to the school. We waved to Breanna, who was on patrol duty at her school, as we drove past.

Later, Anna's mom picked me up and we went to get the kids and the first thing Luke said was, "I do not want to go to school!" I asked him later what happened and he said school was fine and they had Jello for snack. They learned about how God takes care of people when they are scared.

Tonight Pete took the kids to Breanna's school for the fall fest. They wore their costumes, Breanna as a princess and Luke decided to wear the cow costume and we could not talk him out of it. (In fact he is still wearing it and it is bedtime).

I talked to Pete about going to Crystal and his dad sent a note saying Betty would not be there Sat. so he decided we should stay home so he can finish putting up the Christmas lights.

We are not doing well on our family exercise program since Breanna has had homework or we had errands to run. We will try tomorrow night. I have done well so far this week on my Weight Watcher points. I read Betty was the biggest loser in her TOPS group so I am glad someone is doing well in that department.

Pete and I have been watching the World Series except last night I finally went to sleep after the tenth inning...it went 14. Tonight they showed Barbara and George Bush in the stands and Barbara was keeping score. I asked Pete if she was really doing that and he informed me that true fans keep score. Learn something new everyday.

Have a good one...Lori

Luke says grace at dinner

2005-10-25T06:13:00.000-07:00

Last night at dinner I asked "Who wants to say grace?" Luke says he wants to and says the following, "Before we eat, we have m&m's...Amen"

Pete, Breanna and I all chime in, "Noooooo..." tryin not to laugh.

He does end up saying, "Dear God, thank you for the food.Amen."

Pete broke his mask last night and therefore had a terrible night of sleep. I think he was waking himself up everytime he started snoring. I hope he gets a new one today otherwise it will be rough until he does get a new one.

We are trying to decided if we should go up to Crystal so Pete can help with the laptop or stay home and clean the house. Breanna is off Thursday and Friday so Pete took those days off as well. If we can get enought of the house clean, maybe we will go up afterwards.

The other thing we want to do is check out car prices since the end of October is supposed to be the best time of year to purchase a car. Pete also found on the internet that there were a couple of used '05's that are quite a bit less than a new '05 (plus they are blue!) and that is the route we would have to go since a new one is out of the question. It is always fun to go car shopping and dream.

This past Sunday we went to my mother's house because her sister and family were in town for a visit. I made my lemon roll cake and it went over well. Then Pennie came and took Breanna to a movie (Dreamer) and Pete and I watched the first game of the World Series.

Pete went to the doctor yesterday and got a couple of prescriptions to help his tummy. The poor guy has had it rough lately expecially now that the mask is broken...uff da!

Have a good one...Lori

I don't want to talk about owls!

2005-10-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Since Breanna was home today, Pete took the morning off. They both picked up Luke from school. As soon as he came out, he said, "I don't want to talk about owls!"

Pete thought, "Alrighty then" and they went to lunch before coming home. Pete then went to work and got a lot done because most of the people were gone and he could get things done.

We watched the show, "Three Wishes" tonight. One of the wishes was about a woman who wanted to find her birth mother and she got her wish. (Both her adoptive parents had passed away). I have never had the desire to find my birth parents and feel lucky I do not have the desire (mom did something right!). The story I was more impressed with was about a guy who stuttered and was fitted with a hearing device that delayed his hearing so it stopped his stuttering...it was pretty amazing and he was so happy.

Tomorrow is Make a Difference Day and I am trying to figure what we could do as a family to make a difference. I already put out the food for the Boys Scout food drive which they will pick up early tomorrow (I never seem to get it out early enough). Hopefully we can come up with something and I blog about it later.

Have a good one!

Lori

Good Deed for the Day

2005-10-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

So far, this week has gone fairly well except neither Pete or I are getting sleep but that is not unusual.

Tuesday, my dad took Luke and me out for my birthday lunch. Afterwards he stopped at a store. As he walked in, he grabbed a cart someone had left in the parking lot and brought it up to the store while Luke and I stayed in the car. I said, "Grandpa is doing his good deed for the day". Luke asked what a good deed was. I told him it was when you do something nice to help someone out without asking. He said, "Like when Breanna helped me pick up all the dominoes?" and I said, "Yes". He then asked me what my good deed for the day was. I had to think for a moment but said, "I put the root beer in the fridge so it would be cold when daddy came home."(whew!) We then decided his good deed would be going to bed without crying that night and he did not cry (whined a little but not too bad).

After we stopped at the store, dad took us for a drive to look at the fall colors. He used to do this a lot when I was a kid and it was nice to do it again. Luke fell asleep and had a nice nap. We got back home around two in the afternoon. I was proud of Luke for behaving well at the restaurant (Dad took us to a supper club!).

Breanna has the day off from school tomorrow but Luke still has preschool. I am starting to think about what to get people for Christmas and I am not doing well.

We have done four family workouts since last week. We skipped the last two nights so we need to make sure we do it tomorrow night.

Have a good one....Lori

Three strikes, you're out!

2005-10-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

What a crazy weekend. I hit my head three times...once Luke and I bonked heads, then I hit it on the cupboard door (which I left open by the way) and then Pete was up on the roof and I ran right in to the ladder with my face! I thought I broke my nose but it just turned very red.

The whole reason that happened was because I was talking to my neighbor and our kids were in the back yard when she heard crying so she took off. I was holding Maya and she took off after my neighbor and I walked right into the ladder. Luke comes running around the other side crying because someone was on the swing and he walked right in front of her and got hit in the mouth so he was bleeding and I am trying to focus and check to see if my nose is bleeding and put the dog in the house. Pete is wondering what the heck is going on and mutters "I told him a million times to not walk in front of the swing!" as he went inside to get a cloth for Luke.

Meanwhile, one hearing aid is in the shop so I keep being annoying by asking everyone "What?" a million times. Pennie was nice enough to take Breanna and I to the mall. I was looking at sweaters and pulled one out to look at it and could not see the detail on it...did it have a zipper, buttons, what? Another adjustment I am going to have to get used to.

I was glad to see Monday come.

Breanna did well at her parent teacher conference. She needs to work on math and penmanship and is doing great in everything else. Her teacher says she likes how Breanna works hard and keeps working to try to get something done and does not give up easily so that was nice to hear. We also talked about how next year she will have to be in school at 7:30!!!! Now she does not have to be there until 9:00. This will be an adjustment for all of us.

Pete was up on the roof putting the Christmas lights up so he won't have to do it when it is too cold and slippery like last year. He also did some fall cleaning around the yard, applied some more insect "remover" and put up some plastic on some of the bigger windows.

We went to church on Sunday, watched Notre Dame lose at the last moment and Wisconsin win at the last moment.

I will end with a Luke statement. he had his picture taken at school and I asked him the name of the photographer and he said, "Mr. George like George Bush!"

Have a good one, people, and watch out for that ladder!

A New Plan

2005-10-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot new today, but that is ok. Luke and I had a good day at home. He had a bath and helped me make banana bread. He likes mixing and pouring in the ingredients.

I came up with a family exercise plan which we are starting tonight and the reason I am writing this blog early. We are going down to the basement, Breanna, Pete and I are going to spend 20 minutes doing either the treadmill, the bike or the weights/stretches and then we will switch to another station for 20 and switch a third time to get a total workout for one hour. I'll let you know how far we get. Breanna is going to make a chart for us to keep track of how we are doing. Luke does enough bouncing around, he is exercising all the time. Tonight we will do it while we watch'Survivor'. I have done well on my watching my Weight Watchers points this week so far.

Turns out Pennie did stop in last night and left the information I needed in the mailbox which we did not find until today. Too bad we missed her but we were out longer than we thought we would be.

Tonight I helped Breanna with her spelling words and she is now taking a bath. I made noodles for supper and it all went. Luke ate all his meal and also ate well during lunch (this info is for Grandma and Grandpa - they were a good influence on him while we were gone.)

Pete mowed the front and side lawn and will put insect treatment on it tomorrow after work. He will mow the back Saturday. We also plan to do some fall clean up this weekend since there is no Packer game.

Have a good one!...Lori

We have a leopard in our house

2005-10-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight when Pete got home we dropped off a stamp it up order before heading to the mall to get Breanna a leopard print vest.She now has a black shirt with leopard print, a jacket with leopard print, a pair of jeans with leopard print belt and patches, and now a vest. I sure hope this print is not out of style soon because she is wearing it until she goes to college!

We also found some tap shoes (usually this feels like a treasure hunt but this year we found them at the first place we looked) and also slippers for her to wear with her princess costume. We also picked up a couple of shirts and pants for Luke since the ones we bought before for winter are too big.

Speaking of Luke, he did much better in preschool today and even got a paper apple with a note on it from his teacher saying he played very well today...whew! He is not going on Friday to class since they have a field trip to Heritage Hill and not enough parents are allowed to go so we are keeping him home rather than send him with someone we do not know. I am not sure how much a four year old cares about old buildings anyway.

Talked to my friend from Fond du Lac today who told me her parents had moved to the area but were not able to get into their apartment until Nov. 1 and would have had to rent a furnished place for a month...sounds familiar to me. Her parents ended up driving all the way to California and are spending a couple weeks with a relative. Somehow I do not think John and Betty want to travel for three months out of the year! We keep telling them they can stay here but they are not sure what they are doing yet. (The house across the street from us went up for sale!)

We have not heard from Pennie yet so maybe I misread her e-mail and she is not coming tonight.

Pete and I are going to walk 10,000 steps every day and whatever we need to do before the end of the day, we will walk it together. We really need to focus on our health. I started lifting arm weights, using the Weight Watchers point system and walking more.

Have a good one!...Lori

Florida trip and more

2005-10-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

Pete and I are back from Florida where it rained every single day. I felt bad for the people who brought their families for actual vacation. I spent most of my time going to get candy, refilling my soda, and fighting off the mean saleslady at the Disney store in the hotel. Actually, I thought about fighting her but decided not to. (She took a Ariel figurine out of my hand and said another customer wanted it. Wouldn't you know it was the last one and we cannot get them online because they are only for purchase when you are on Disney property. I wrote them an e-mail and wonder if anything will happen. The Weed Man story is happening all over again!)

We sure missed the kids but as soon as we got home and gave them their shirts, they spent the rest of the night with grandma and grandpa so now we know where we stand with them!

Breanna was in an art show and Luke and I went to see it after school. She did not place but I am proud of her for entering the show. I saw some other parents I have not seen in awhile so it was good to catch up with them.

Breanna tried on her princess costume for me and I inserted a cardboard cone to make her hat stand up and it worked out pretty well. I sent the picture to every one and my cousin sent me a note saying her five year old son said, 'Wow, what a pretty princess'. Grandma did a great job on the costume, now we are looking for shoes to go with it.

Luke had a rough day in preschool but we hope he does better tomorrow after both of us talked to him. He did well with me at home today and we played outside for awhile even though it was raining a little (can't get away from the stinkin'rain!)

I sent Pat an e-mail asking how he and Alex did on fantasy football this week. Pennie sent a note she is stopping in Wed. to drop off some information.

Have a good one, people! Lori

someone get mickey a boat

2005-10-08T05:19:00.000-07:00

We have been here 5 days and no sun. I feel like the guy who has a black cloud over his head. I learned a lot and have more work to do when I get back. We can't wait to get back but are not looking forward to the plane rides and the waits in the airports. I feel sorry for Lori who got stuck at the hotel almost the whole trip. It is a good thing that we did not bring the kids they would have been bouncing off the walls. Well see you soon

PJL

Mickey is very wet.

2005-10-06T04:26:00.000-07:00

Well nothing like being in Florida Between two Tropical storms. My class went okay. Going to opening session now. We are missing the kids.

PJL

Weedman vs scotch tape

2005-09-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

What an interesting day yesterday. I woke up and got up and both of my legs were stiff so I immediately thought, 'Yep, I'm forty.'

Earlier this week, Pete and I sent a letter to our lawn service requesting a full refund because the front lawn is ruined due to insect infestation that they said treatment would help an it has not. There is much more to this story but I am not going into detail except to say that I am not good at confrontation and I am expecting "Weed Man" (the lawn care service " to call or stop over to discuss the matter by yelling at me.

Anyway, everytime the phone rang yesterday, my immediate thought was, "It is the Weed Man!". Normally I am lucky to get one phone call if any, but yesterday I had several. Pete called before lunch to see if I had any last minute ideas for what I wanted for my birthday (nope), Mom called at noon, my dad called around one (close to the Weed Man), then my sister-in-law, Laura, called just as the doorbell rang (this is when I thought the Weed Man is at the door! It is a good thing I am on the phone with someone who can call 911 in case the Weed Man decides to spray me) but it turns out it was my mother who thought I should have a cake and did not want me to make one so she dropped off a cake and some cookies. Then Pete called again before coming home and my brother called as did my cousin. Basically, I spent the whole day worried about the Weed Man instead of enjoying the day!

I need to get a life.

Well, there were many good things about yesterday. Luke gave me his present which was a four pack of scotch tape. When Pete asked me what I wanted the day before, I said I wanted tape because we never seem to have any and Luke got some for me that night when we went to Target. I got four birthday cards which is a record for me, we went out to dinner, had cake and opened gifts when we got home. (Scrubs dvd from Breanna, Pretender dvd, Packer and Badger shirt from Pete and a book from Luke...the tape was earlier in the day).

Then I helped Breanna with her math and spelling, watched 'Survivor' and 'The Apprentice' before going to bed.

All in all, not a bad day...I wonder if I will hear from the Weed Man today? I am not going to waste any more time thinking about it! I am going to make something with my tape and have some cake!

Have a good one!

Lori

The end of September

2005-09-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

For some reason there are times when my computer will not let me blog and some times it will....finally it is letting me through this time.

We have had a busy couple of weeks with the kids in school. Breanna is on patrol duty in the mornings to keep those crazy parent drivers in line or to tell kids to "WALK". Luke calls her the 'boy stopper' as he and Pete wave to her on the way to his school. She is also starting flute lessons this week and dance starts in two weeks.

This past weekend we had a mother/daughter stamping party where we invited a few of her friends and their moms/grandmas. We had a good time and Pennie gave her first demonstration. I thought she did a good job.

Sunday was our 12th anniversary and we took Breanna to the Packer game. Luke stayed home to play with Aunt Pennie. There was a downpour as we were driving to the game, but then it just sprinkled off and on the rest of the day. We all wore rain ponchos and were dressed fine so we were not too hot or too cold. We had a good time despite the loss.

Last week Luke's class went to the apple orchard where he picked the 'biggest, juiciest apples' and also saw some animals...a llama, a peacock, a big brown pig, and some kittens.

This weekend I am going to a wedding with my mom to Chippewa Falls. My brother and his family are going as well. Pete and the kids are heading north to evacuate the city of Pigeon Falls before the winter hurricanes come.

Have a good one...Lori

Magic of the gold chain

2005-09-14T05:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Again, It has been so long that I posted I all most forgot the password. Had an ok night. After two nights ago anything would be better. Luke visted our room many times resulting in me taking my mask off and putting him back in his room. The next day I went looking for the largest gate I could find. I could not find one. Lori asked if we had any door locks. I found a gold chain lock and installed it last night. Luke did well but not so sure about Lori. I have set his radio to sleep mode so we can hear him. Might have to set up one of our x10 cameras for peace of mind.
Got my Dad's wish list. It's very strange that all he wants is tiny houses. Well I gotta go get ready to take Luke to school and go to work.

PJL

bule as th ocean by brea

2005-09-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Once I looked at the date today I almost cryed ! I remember this day perfectly as I watched the second plane crashed in to the world tradcenter . Thinking about this makes me realize all the thing this contry went throgh . Like these huricanes charly,
iven,jean,frances and now katrenea . All these tornatos in wisconsin! I woulden't
be surprized if mount st.hellons blowes ! In the summer they said she was rumbleing.
hysas(hope your safe and sound! the crazy objet breanna! bebupbe be beep!

Luke's First Day of Preschool

2005-09-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today Luke had his first day of preschool. He seemed to like it a lot and met another boy named Luke. They went on a treasure hunt, made spy glasses, ate a snack, sang songs and played. Pete took a picture with our old digital camera since the other one is still in Crystal since the Chicago trip and we have not been able to go get it yet. Seems like we had a million uses for it when we do not have it but when we do have it we do not take many pictures...go figure!

Breanna brought home information on playing the flute and also becoming a
crossing guard. She also helped the kindergarteners at recess and said they were a handful and they are all like jumping beans. Today in the mail we got her confirmation for her dance class which she will have every Monday night. She thinks this will be her last year of dance and will try something new when she goes to junior high next year.

Pete had a flashback on the way home from work because he had to stop and get milk after work and it was raining hard and he thought he might get stuck in a rain puddle (which is exactly what happened a few months ago and we had to get a new engine) but he made it home safe and sound....whew!

Not much new with me or Maya but no news is good news!

Have a good one....Lori

Labor Day Weekend

2005-09-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

We had a nice relaxing weekend. I managed to clean the family room and kitchen floors, Pete worked some more on the garage by hanging the pool and a wagon and also swept it out which I was going to do but could not because it was too dark. THANKS PETE! We also had some great meals which included some excellent corn on the cob.

Saturday Pete went to church to donate blood and witnessed a guy pass out. Sunday we went to the mall and stood in line for autographs of several Packer players including Bubba Franks, Robert Ferguson, Aaron Kampmann, Grady Jackson, Craig Noll and more. They were all nice and seemed to be interested in Luke who answered all their questions. We gave our donation to the Red Cross while we were there.

Today we went to my nephew, Max's, birthday party and it went well. Luke spent the whole time dressed in a knight costume and I was princess mom until a five year old blond girl showed up and was the new princess and I was a nobody. Already I am no longer my son's favorite lady.

We are preparing for another week of school and Luke's first day in preschool will be on Wednesday.

Have a good one...Lori

First day of school

2005-09-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

Today Breanna started schoo. Here it is noon and I miss her already. Yesterday she met her teacher and she seems nice so that made her feel better. She wore her new outfit today as we all walked her to school.

At ten, we took Luke to meet his preschool teachers. All he wanted to do was play so after we introduced him to the teachers and showed him where to hang his coat and bag, he headed for the construction table. Later he checked out the computers and the house and fed the baby. We met another mother who had seen our name and address on the parents list and wanted to know if we would be interested in carpooling since we live near each other. We were looking for someone as well since Pete will be taking Luke but I was going to walk to pick him up and it will be very cold in the winter not to mention dangerous crossing Hwy 172 especially since someone was recently killed crossing the intersection of 172 and the road where the school is located. So we hope this will work out with Pete taking the kids and the other mother picking them up and dropping Luke off at our house after class.

We then went looking for the church office to see about signing the kids up for Sunday School and they suggested we do so on Rally Sunday which is September 11 so that is what we will do. Breanna needs to start confirmation classes this year as well.

One more thing before I sign off is a Luke story. Yesterday I took all the toys out of his room because he was not staying in bed to go to sleep at night. Last night he came into our room (for the fifth time) and said, "Mom, you have a choice." I said, "What is the choice?" and he said, "Put my toys back in my room and I will play with them!" I had to laugh but probably should not have and sent him back to bed. He finally went to sleep around 10:30 p.m.

Have a good one...Lori

judge judy or trudy by brea

2005-08-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

today we watched judge judy .On the amanda show its judge trudy and the kid always is found not guilty! One time the parent made the kid take a bath and was found guitly and then the danceing lobsters gave her a yucky bath! The danceing lobsters always come in at the end of the trial.

Brewer game

2005-08-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

Now I can finally say I have been to Miller park to see the Brewers. Luke kept thinking we were going "to play at the park". We picked up Pennie and met Pat and the boys.(We had Elijah's birthday persent but left it at home!) It was perfect weather and we sat way up high but I liked it because I could see the whole park and I was grateful we were not sitting in the sun.

The only bad part was Pete missed both Brewer home runs because he had to take Luke to the bathroom and we all missed the first one because we did not get to our seat in time. We sang 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' and 'God Bless America' where I got goose bumps. The Brewers lost to the Braves. Time goes by faster when you are at the game than it does watching the game on tv.

After the game we went to eat at Fuddrucker's, one of our favorite places to eat. We got home just after eight so it was a good day. Luke talked the whole way home so he would not fall asleep. The one thing I remember is him asking Pete, "Dad, did you know three toed sloths are slow?"

And all is right with the world.

Artstreet and more

2005-08-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

This morning Pete dropped me off downtown so mom and I could take in Artstreet. I always feel inspired after seeing all the artists and want to have a booth there someday and I will when my 'mom duties' do not require so much of my time. While we were there, Pete and the kids went to the library and Breanna checked out three books.

It was VERY crowded at Artstreet and I was ready to go home by the third booth but I took a deep breath and concentrated on why I was there and once I settled down, it went better. Thanks to mom for putting up with me and my crowd phobia. I get to go through it again tomorrow when we go to the Brewer game.

Pete and I did a great job cleaning the garage (yes, it continues). I offered to help and Pete had me sit at a table and go through bins. It just so happened that where I was sitting, I could not see how he was cleaning so I could not 'suggest' and there was no bad language and it all went well. We worked for two hours Friday and a few hours today. We took some boxes to Salvation Army which upset Luke because we donated the baby swing. Pete asked if I wante a receipt and I said yes. Breanna asked why we needed a receipt if we were not buying something but giving something which I thought was a good question. (I told her for tax purposes and she asked why do we have to pay taxes if we are GIVING it and I explained further. She will be hired at H & R Block next tax season!).

Tomorrow we will see Pat and the boys and the kids are excited about it. Go Brewers!

Have a good one.

Lori

time is as time go by brea

2005-08-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

finaly Mackenzies letter came ! I finneshed my story the war of the aunt and june bugs ! the crazy object breanna!

the weekend by Lori

2005-08-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty good weekend here at the Linna household. Pete mowed the grass with the riding mower and the kids said it looked like he was having fun. He also trimmed some bushes and trees in the back so he wouldn't get hit by the branches as he rode through at fifty miles an hour. I think for Christmas I will get him a helmet.

We went shopping at Target and bought Luke some school clothes which included new shoes, some jeans and a jean jacket which Luke thought was "way too cool" and actually wore it in the store before we checked out. I hope he does not ask for a motorcycle next! Breanna already has school clothes but we did pick up a couple items and new shoes for her as well which are a lot like last years shoes. Pete bought water and soda and I bought some clear pie plates to put in my two tier pie plate holder which has been empty for two years (it takes me awhile). I put fruit in the pie plate holder thingy and the kids and Pete all commented on it and thought it was cool. (We do not get out much so these little things are exciting to us).

I taught Breanna how to play cribbage and wouldn't you know, she beat me! She wants to learn canasta, but I will leave that job to Pete since he is much better and has more experience than I do. Plus he loves the game sooooooo much!

We watched the Packers lose although Brett looked good. We are trying to come up with a new slogan for the famous fence on Lombardi which has a new slogan painted every year. The winner get their bedroom painted so we are all thinking hard but not coming up with anything clever. While the Packers were losing, I painted a new sign with flowers on it for my sister-in-law as her birthday is this week.

Luke fell asleep on the couch during the day on Sat. so Pete and Breanna went grocery shopping. We are going to try to eat at home all week although the weather looks cooler so the kids and I may walk down to McDonalds one more time before school starts.

Haven't heard from Pat and we are wondering if the Brewer game is still on for the 28th. I imagine Pete will call him as we get closer to the date to find out what is going on. We are looking forward to it.

Pennie stopped in last night and had tacos with us and I dumped my glass of soda all over the table...hate when that happens! Luckily everyone was already done eating.

Have a good week!

Love, Lori

long talk by brea

2005-08-19T22:04:00.001-07:00

kenzie needs to get a stamp from her mom yet! Grampa I can't e-mail soon cause my e-mail is what I call sick . my dad might fix it soon though! the crazy object breanna

long talk by brea

2005-08-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

kenzie needs to get a stamp from her mom yet! Grampa I can't e-mail soon cause my e-mail is what I call sick . my dad might fix it soon though! the crazy object breanna

wait wait waiting by brea

2005-08-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for ever for the so called letter that mackenzie said she was going to send ! The first time she sent it there was a pencil in it so they sent it back. The last thing I heard from her is that her mom needs to put stamp on it ! That was last week thursday ! I have a letter waiting for her all I need is her letter for her address! Oh yes grandpa I will be you e-mail pal once i get my e-mail just right and I get your address! BFN (BYE FOR NOW) the crazy oject breanna

Don't hit your sister with the cheese by Lori

2005-08-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

Luke and Breanna were eating cheese sticks and Breanna told me some of the sticks were too hard and she hit the table with it to show me. Luke saw this and hit Breanna with his own cheese stick and that is when I said, "Don't hit your sister with the cheese!" and we all laughed because it sounded so ridiculous.

Today we walked down to the school to see if they posted the classes yet and they had not. We then went on to the playground area where Luke played and Breanna tested her roller skates. She is getting better but still has trouble stopping. We went back home and Luke had a bath while Breanna redecorated her doll house. I agreed to host a jewelry party on October 19 as a favor to a neighbor and will be the one party I host a year otherwise Pete will leave me because I go nutty getting the house ready. I do have Merry Maid gift certificates from my mother and Pennie from Christmas and I will use it for that purpose. I am hoping to get some more painting done before then.

Luke made up a new joke today. "What does a mom alarm sound like?" Give up? "MAMAMAMAMAMAMMAMAMAMAMAMAMMAMAMAMAMA"
I thought that was pretty good for a four year old.

Have a good one!

Lori

Happy 75th by Lori

2005-08-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Today is my dad's 75th birthday. I invited him and Helen over but Helen had to go to Atlanta because her sister passed away this past weekend from cancer. Dad came over and so did my brother and his kids. I made the family favorite, hamburger sandwhiches which are made with french bread and baked in the oven. The last time I made them I think was when the Packers were in the Super Bowl. Anyway, dad always liked them when my mom made them and hasn't had them for at least 13 years. The kids had a blast blowing out grandpa's candles.

Pete wanted me to tell the goose poop story. Luke,Breanna and I were watching a show where they were showing a house for sale for 4 million dollars. (I would have bought it for the parents but it has too many stairs for John and probably for most people). Anyway, it was gaudy, had a lot of stuff and there were a lot of geese leaving their droppings all over. I said I would not buy this house because it was gaudy. Breanna said she would not buy it because it had too much junk. Luke said he would not buy it because there was "too much goose poop!" Breanna and I agreed with him.

Got the bushes trimmed this weekend finally. Pete cleaned the kids bathroom. It must have been really bad for him to clean it! I also paid the bills (took a hour and a half) and we are not allowed to spend any more money until the beginning of the month, which month is the question.

We went to St.John's this weekend and Luke answered a question at the childrem's message. The pastor asked what she had (it was a loom) and Luke answered, "I know, it's a thing!" He was the only kid to answer. The two assoc. pastors know of John and have been to the church in Crystal Falls. Their names were not in the bulletin. We will find out next week when they have the service outside and BBQ.

I liked several things about this church. They had a nursery and gave parents a vibrating pager in case they were needed. They had similar songs as United, the pastors all had microphones so I could hear them all clearly at all times, they baptized the baby (a real cutie) right away so the parents do not have to sit through the whole service waiting and could relax after it was over, there were a lot of young families. Breanna liked it because they knew grandpa. Also, they brought the kids from the nursery out for the children's message so it surprised us to see Luke.

Have a good one!

Water Water Water

2005-08-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

Pretty good weekend. We went to church. We went to St. Johns. It was a good service. I learned about Peter bringing someone back from the dead. We went to Breakfast at Mcdonalds.
Luke was not feeling well. He slept the whole day. He started to feel better at 10:00pm. Breanna and I went Grocery Shopping and then played football. On Sat I cleaned the kids bathroom and Lori trimmed the bushes. We went to the Denny's for supper and the went shopping at the Mall. We were looking for a birthday gift for grampa Starks. Breanna said we could get grampa a candy apple . Luke said we can't a candy apple because Grampa does not have teeth. He thought we were talking about Grampa Linna. Lori will have to tell you about the Goose poop story. Three days with no soda. I have not got better yet.I will try for a whole week. All I have been drinking is water. Well
I better go to work.

PJL

new pen pal by brea

2005-08-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

mackenzie my best freind moved away but not to far ! she's going to be my new pen pal ! thats all I have to say today bfn (bye for now) the crazy objet breanna

Our Walk to McDonalds by Lori

2005-08-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

All summer the kids have been waiting for it to be cool enough so we can walk to McDonalds which we had done several times last summer. This week was supposed to be cooler so I asked Pete for $10 in case we decided to go on the walk.

First thing Wed. morning, Breanna asked if we could go. I said I would rather wait until Thurs. because it is supposed to be cooler. She asked when I would make the decision and I made the mistake of saying when Luke woke up, I would check the weather. A short time later after Breanna had disappeared, Luke came down, yawning, and asking if we could go to McDonalds. I asked if Breanna woke him up and told him to ask me and he said yes. Well, we decided to go and try out the jogging stroller. So far, I do not like the stroller because it wants to go to the left all the time and I am fighting with it all the time. It also has the rubber handle that makes your hands smell like burnt rubber. Breanna took her scooter and away we went. We are both out of shape because we had to pause at the top of each hill and catch our breath. We finally get to the place and the stroller is too long to try to get through all the doors but there were some nice people who helped us out and got us all in.

I wanted breakfast but the kids wanted lunch.It just so happened they were serving both when we arrived so we lucked out there. The total came to $10.55 so I was going to change the order but the nice lady said she would take care of it. We fight our way to the play area (note I am only fighting the stroller) and there are no other kids so the kids had it all to themselves. I went to refill my sods and there was a worker with Downs Syndrome who informed be that the next day was Thursday. I said, "Yes, it is, you are right" She said, "I am going to see the Packer game!" I said, "You are? How did you get tickets? They are very hard to get." She said her brother gave them to her and I asked her who her favorite player is and she said Brett Favre and I said, "Me too! His number is four" and she was happy I knew the number.

Breanna went to the restroom and found 26 cents in her jeans and gave it to our cashier to help cover the 55 cents. We fought out way out of there and walked home and it was much hotter, but we made it and we were glad to be home.

We met a lot of nice people on our trip.

The Weekend by Lori

2005-08-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

Pete and the kids were up early Sat. so they went to Shopko for the early bird sale. On Sunday, we went to the church down the street from us. They did not have air conditioning so we baked. Luke piped up after the entrance hymn and asked, "Is it over yet, Dad?" He was squirrely during the whole thing but made it through. I had a strong urge to stand up during the sermon (which was about the lesson of Peter not having faith when he started to sink after walking on water to meet Jesus) and shout, "Wrap it up, pastor! I'm sinking! I get it!" but I didn't and saved the family from another embarrassing moment. Pete wants to go and try the other church where Luke will be going to preschool. I really like the pastor at this first church and I suppose the sermon only seemed long because Luke was so squirrely and we were roasting.

Then we met my mother for brunch at the Holiday Inn. Afterwards,she and I went to the JC Penney sale and Pete and the kids went to Best Buy where they purchased a roller coaster game for the computer.

When we got home, we all took naps and Breanna played the new game while Luke watched and Pete and I watched 'Heaven Can Wait' one of my favorite movies even though I am not a fan of Warren Beatty.

Pete has been spraying a bee hive that is on our hous, and he thinks he finally got all the bees. Now he just has to get rid of the nest. There is another nest that is being built so he is going to spray it next. I am glad he is around to take care of those things because I would not and did not even know about either one.

We tried to wake up to watch the space shuttle land last night but it was delayed and neither one of us slept well not to mention all our allergies are causing havoc. Is the heat ever going to end? Thank goodness for central air!

Have a good one!

Lori

Chicago trip Pete

2005-08-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

I think the trip was great. I do think you need at least two days to see the park. I had fun swimming and watching the kids swim. I got to teach Breanna a little about the crawl and the pool was warm. Luke did some swimming even after getting a full face of water. The driving was not bad even though I took us on some scenic routes. I liked the hotel except the mattress. It's fun having breakfast with Brea in the morning. The train show was fun seeing Dad make his way all around the show was great. He was like a kid at christmas morning. My favorite part was going on the roller coasters with Breanna. She was scared but did it for me. That means a lot. I did not get to ride on one with Lori but when the kids get older we will all ride them. To Chris we will ride the Raging Bull Someday. Thanks to all, I went a vacation and did not get sick. Well I better go get ready for work. I better not take a sleeping pill now.

PJL

Chicago trip by Lori

2005-08-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on our trip. We all got there and back home safe and sound. Pennie and I think we should invent computer chip bracelets to rent at the parks so we can locate runaway kids and grandparents. After hearing what they went through in Las Vegas with the grandmas, seems like a good idea. I asked the family what their favorite part of weekend was. Breanna said it was seeing her cousins. Luke said it was being in the boat. Pete said it was going on the Whizzer roller coaster with Breanna, Pat, Alex and Chrissy. My favorite part is a three way tie between swimming, hearing Pat's contagious laugh, and drawing the seventh card TWICE to get red canastas (a first for me).

Another good thing that happened was Luke went to sleep for the first time at the same time as the rest of us at the hotel. Now we can go and stay at hotels more often and not deal with the situation of him not sleeping.

Maya was happy to see us and glad to be home as well. Today I made choc. chip cookies for the first time in a long time and Luke helped. You would think this was the highlight of the day, but the highlight was Breanna shaving her dad's back...always an interesting moment. Pete was at the district meeting today and won an award. I am so proud of him and the work he does providing for our family.

Luke's question of the week came yesterday when he was taking his bath. I told him I was going to make the bed and be right back. When I went back into the bathroom, he asked, "Mom, what kind of bed did you make?" FUNNY!

Have a good one...love, Lori

2005-07-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

Luke at Lambeau Field

2005-07-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Luke's first day at camp.

Go Pack Go

2005-07-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

Had a good night? I don’t know. Luke ended up in our bed. I don't know when. I took Luke to camp. He was a tired boy feel a sleep on the way. I then went to the Packers shareholders meeting. I waited for Pennie at the parking lot. We had the business meeting. We then walked over to Lambeau Field. It is hard to complain about free food but the way they set it up was crazy. A lot of people no set lines no way to get out when you get your food. I was lucky I didn't have a panic attack. Pennie and I got separated. I called her on the cell phone but her cell phone was in her car. I found her in the stands. I went and got Luke. The lady said he did much better today.
Luke and I went to Lambeau Field. We found Pennie. We watched the rookies practice.
We went Luke fell a sleep and hard. Pennie fell a sleep and I also took a little nap. Lori cleaned the house while we were gone. We went out to eat at Texas Road house. There was a clown there he made Luke a balloon animal. We then did some shopping. Well I better go take my sleeping pill.

PJL

Another one bites the dust.

2005-07-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

I can't beleive it I broke another pedometer. I realy liked it. I bought another one but it not as nice. Yesterday was my first day of vacation. We took Luke to camp.
We then went shopping 8+ stores. It was strange not having the kids. We bought a jogging stroller. We picked up Luke from camp. We went to eat at Old country buffet.
Luke said he does not like carrot cake he likes cheese cake. I hope he does not change his mind about me. Today we brought Luke to camp. We got home in time for the space shuttle launch. I watched praying there would be no problems so far so good.I then worked on the Garage and Lori worked upstairs. I think when I am done it will be functional. We picked up Luke at camp and they said he had a rough day. He was put on two time outs for hitting two kids. We talked to him and said we will take him out of camp if he hits again. I had a rough day had a lot of muscle cramps.
Last time I checked Lighting can't hurt you on a wireless phone(unless your outside standing by a tree). If Pennie want's she can take Mom and Dad to the train show and we will meet at six flags on Sunday then Dad can take the big O2 tanks.
My head is spinning trying to figure out what Pennie wants. Dad was trying to make it easier on Pat and also on Pennie so she didn't have to drive. What am I missing?
I will do whatever go not go drive not drive.
I better stop I am in a bad mood. I will go take a sleeping pill.
Pete

What Luke put in his backpack by Lori

2005-07-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Luke wanted to pack his own backpack for Kamp Kermit. Here are the contents: A bottle of water (which was already in there from the Fourth of July. I offered him a cold bottle but he wanted the same one), an airplane, and his Spiderman gloves. I'm not sure what he thinks camp is, but apparently he will be ready.

The house is too quiet without him and Breanna.

about time

2005-07-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

Had a bad night Luke decided to sleep in our bed. We are getting ready to take him to camp. I will Write more about that later tonight. I just had to tell you about the guys night out. Luke and I had a guys night out last thur. We went to old country buffet. After we were done with our main meal we had desert. Luke said to me I love carrot cake. Before I coulld say anything he said and I love you to dad. Priceless. We went to Office Depot and Sears were Luke told me to focus. I had said earlier that I needed to focus on what we were looking for. Brea is up north and we miss her and hope she is having fun. I better go get ready to take Luke to Camp.

PJL

long time no write by brea

2005-07-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

hey everyone ! Sorry but I been playing games on the computer so thats why I did not write since along time ago! I can't wait till I go up to grandma and grampas house!
today I'm going to grandma starkes house to sleep over ! But going up north for a week will be much more fun than one night at grandma starkes house ! Dad put big table in my room with moms old doll house on top!I am very greatful of him for doing that THANKS DAD! If you have any doll house things left over may I use them. For anut pennie and dad the light thing I bought at lifefeast makes a great lamp for the doll house. hyhast (hope you have a save thursday) the crazy object breanna