Weekend

It is the time in January when I forget what it ever felt like to wear sandals outside and feel a warm wind and see green vegetation.  The weather has been really crappy and the driving conditions have been terrible.  However, that didn't stop me from venturing out of town for the first time since Christmas to head to Justin's Grandpa Les's 94th birthday celebration on Saturday.  He lives in a retirement home in a small town and it was a friendly place, much like the home in the town where i grew up! 

I don't know Grandpa Les very well the way I know Justin's Grandma.  Justin is the youngest of his cousins on his mom's side.  Several of his cousins have children who are the same age as my cousins!  We don't see them very often so it was fun to get together.  In an effort to know Grandpa Les better, I asked Justin what he was like when he was younger, before his retirement home days.  He recalled that he enjoyed working in the yard and that the two of them went fishing in the summer. 

Here is a family photo.  It's kind of dark...that might have happened because my camera battery was about to drain as the picture was being taken.  The residents at the home enjoyed seeing the kids playing in the common room. 

I spent the rest of the long weekend at my parents' house.  I learned that my rental Nissan is ill equipped for winter and especially winter at a farm. Driving on the snow was a problem.  That car doesn't have enough power.  I want my Fusion back! 

I was uploading my recent pictures and realized that I overlooked everything we did last weekend.  We celebrated little Cayson's 1st birthday at a hotel in MN.  I didn't mean to forget to mention it...it was the day after the accident and in my self absorbtion over that mess I bypassed the birthday party. 

He loved his cake!  Well...he loved to play with his cake.  Once he was in his high chair he dug in with his hands and began kneading the cake like it was playdough or something!  I'm not sure if any made it to his mouth!  After he had his fill he went swimming with his cousins.  It was a pretty good first birthday! 

Happy Birthday Dad!

I hope everyone had a lovely christmas weekend. Mine was hectic and full but also wonderful. I just got home about an hour ago and I don't feel like recapping the whole weekend right now but I have to mention that today is my dad's 53rd birthday!

I always thought it would be unfortunate to have a birthday right near Christmas...we always observe the day so it doesn't get overlooked in the chaos.  This year we gave him a Craftsman shop stool with adjustable height for use in the new shop he is building.  I stole the idea from Justin's parents who gave him one for Christmas.  We got the last one in Sears! 

Here are a few pictures of Tim through the years...

 This looks like he was probably somewhere between 1 and 2...Very cute. 

He said he wanted me to use a picture when he was young and skinny so I thought this one would work!  This was taken in the early 80's, definitely before I was born so probably 1981 or 1982. 

Happy Birthday! 

Oh, Allan!

I was just about to start writing about something else when I heard a noise in the kitchen. At first I thought the scrubber in the sink had fallen over but then I remembered...I had left a little tealight canlde burning on the counter. I got it as a free sample from a PartyLite saleswoman and was supposed to burn it and then answer some survey questions. Candles have proven to be a bad choice around Allan in the past because he stares at the flame and his whiskers get singed (seriously) so I haven't burned one in months.

Well, he got into this one and now there is wax splattered on the counter. I don't care about that, though. The poor kitten has wax on the bottom of his paw and I think he might have burned himself! And of course he won't let me hold him long enough to try to remove it. He is just sitting in the corner, licking obsessively. I'm sorry, kitten! You didn't know wax was hot! :(

Today was my uncle Gale's 55th birthday! Happy birthday! I thought I'd mention it because 55 is a mini-milestone birthday, and also because I have this funny picture in my stash. I mostly like how that cat is sitting and looking like it is running the show. There is a whole series of the "Skjo Bros." taken on this day and they all have this cat who is just draped over their trikes and in their arms. So cute!

I'm not sure when this was taken...probably in 1958?



Oh, look, kitty! A baby Tim!
My dad has always talked about his favorite cat from his childhood. They called him Harmon Killebrew because he would stand by 1st base when he and Gale were out playing baseball in the yard on the farm. He was white with dark "cow" spots and he must have been a good coach because they both became good players. Tim became a regular high school home run hitter and Gale pitched at NDSU after high school. I just researched the real Harmon Killebrew online and he was, apparently, a very kind and quiet guy even though he was a huge star. If that was the case, he would probably find this story amusing and cute like I do.

Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa Glenn

My Granpda, Glenn, my dad's dad, turns 80 on August 12th. Yesterday, we had a
birthday party for him, so I am going to acknowledge his birthday right now instead of on August 12th. He doesn't have a computer or know how to use one, so he most likely won't even see this, so it is mostly for the amusement of my family members who will see it!

The party was at the Gastropub, a new bar, restaurant, and billiards place in Fargo. It is about 1 block from Andrea's house, so that was convenient! This location was chosen because playing pool has been a longtime hobby of Grandpa's. When my dad was a child he even ran a pool hall in the evenings.
A few photos from the evening. . . (Some were taken by me, and some were taken by my aunt. I lifted them from Facebook.)

My parents and aunts and uncles were in attendance, as well as me and Andrea and Kirk. (Pete had to work). My cousins Kara, Kirsten, and Kendra were also there. Greg, Laura, and Courtney were missing in addition to Pete due to it being a week night.

Grandpa and his children.

Ice cream cake!

"Girls, do something silly with Grandpa!" OK, don't mind if we do!

A normal one. . .

There were some presents. Whenever there is an occasion involving presents, Grandpa always says, when presented with a gift, "Well. . .I didn't think I'd be getting anything!" This time, he got a raffle ticket in his name, some wedding photos from my cousin's wedding, and a huge bag of his favorite candy treats. His main present was a new watch from his children.

It's a nice idea and he is very hard to buy for (candy is pretty much the only sure bet) but I'm not sure about how often he will wear this watch. I was very sneaky and took this photo of his wrist so I could try to capture the cheap John Deere novelty digital watch he has been wearing since at least the mid 1990s. It will be hard to beat!

Now, I have the inevitable scans. . .I have to mention that when I was looking at my pictures I realized that I never made a Father's Day post! Sorry, fathers, I didn't mean to diminish the day. I was in Vegas that weekend and never made one. Sorry!

Anyway, Grandpa Glenn's photos are interesting to me because, of my four grandparents, he is the only one to be captured in photographs as a young child. My grandmothers' families were pretty poor and couldn't afford photographers and cameras. My other grandpa's childhood in Duluth is a mystery and there are no pictures of him before high school. If there are any, I'll most likely never see them because all of his siblings are dead and who knows where they would be. So it is pretty cool to actually have some "baby" pictures of one of them!

Awww, Glenn, 2 years. . .Imagine that! 1932! Once he mentioned that when he was growing up his birthday, being in August, was usually during harvest and his party would be attended by men taking a break from the fields. When he was old enough, he himself would take a break to have his cake. He has older cousins, the twins Judy and Opal, who have the same birthday and there is one picture I recall seeing of them together with a cake at a joint celebration.

Another birthday! That house was built in 1940 and it looks pretty new in that picture!

Glenn and his brother in a fancy professional photo. Very cute! It looks like the writing in the corner might say 1882, but I know that isn't possible.

Another year, another photo. . .

High school graduation in 1947.

You can barely see who the people in this picture are, but I think it's interesting so I'm putting it on here! I think Grandpa is the second boy from the right and this is the "boys" at his country school. There was also a picture of the "girls" and the whole group. It was called Washington #something and it looks like a pretty nice school! Once they entered high school they went to high school in town. When this time came, Grandpa became a boarder and lived in a room in the house of a town family near the school with a friend and they went home on weekends! It is hard to imagine because their house is only about 4 or 5 miles from town. The idea of 14 year olds living on their own is pretty unthinkable today, but it was pretty common in the 40's I guess. My grandma, who only lived 1 mile from the school, said she used to be jealous of the kids who got to board in town because they always seemed to have alot of fun! Grandpa once mentioned that his "roommate" died young (not in high school, but as a young adult) and he seemed sad when he talked about it.

This photo is from their wedding album. At this moment Grandpa is just realizing that his groomsmen disabled his car just as they were about to drive away! Haha.

Oh yikes. . .That beard tells me that this was 1976. . .

Oh. . .YIKES!

This is the classic "4 generation" photo. I imagine there must be one with me and my dad as well, but who knows where it is. I came across this one when I was scanning at my grandparents' house. Grandpa hasn't taken the "1st generation" place yet, but hopefully it will happen in his life!

Happy Birthday Mother!

My mom is 53 today. . .I know it's not a milestone birthday but I can't resist sharing just a few pictures, since I recently acquired this library of old photos in digital format!


She was born in the middle of the year in 1957, which I believe is the year that was the biggest "boom" of the baby boom. (I remember seeing a news story about it the year she turned 50). According to my internet research, there were approximately 4,300,000 babies born that year (another was my dad!).

I don't know what this headshot is from. I'm guessing high school. Love that colllar! Happy birthday mother! Keep reading to read my awesome post about one of the best aspects of summer. . .swimming!

Happy Birthday Justin!

I just got home and it's 11:19 and I will be at my work computer again in about 9 hours but I had to take a moment to mention the occasion...Justin's 27th birthday!

Happy birthday! Sorry I wasn't there! I wish I had some good baby pictures of him on my computer but I only have ones of myself on here! He has some from our wedding slideshow on his computer and I have them on my old computer but not this one! So you will have to settle for these. . .that is our nephew Blake in the photo above. That picture is from the tailgating season of 2008, I believe.

This photo is from when we went to Las Vegas soon after we were engaged. We left right after I finish finals my second year of law school. We saw Jack Sparrow! Haha, it was a wax figure of him, actually, at Madam Tassauds. he does look kind of orange, but the posture is accurate!

One of my readers has a special birthday. . .!

I previously haven't mentioned other people's birthdays (except my own fabulous Easter birthday!) but it might be kind of fun especially for a milestone! So tonight I am going to put my Aunt Kris on the spot. It is her 50th birthday today! For anyone that doesn't know her she is my mom's younger sister and the middle child of her family. She plays tennis, loves animals, and is a pro at finding deals online and at TJ Maxx (one day she and my mom were both ordering the same vest on clearance online at the same time while they were on the phone and mom got the last one!). She finds hilarity in everything and is a understated cancer survivor.

I have some old family photos in my scan library so I will start at the beginning. . .

"Remember when. . .the sound of little feet. . .was the music. . .we danced to week to week. . ." Who knows that verse? It's from "Remember When" by Allan Jackson. . .

Here she is when she was still "the baby"! My mother is the middle child there, and according to family legend, she cut of little Kristen's cute curl with a scissor! Someone was JEALOUS! Who wouldn't be? She was sure cute. . .

I don't know how old she is here, but I do know that she resembles her daughter Katie!

This was, I believe, her confirmation. What a beautiful outfit! Did Cindy make that for her? Haha! That is my Great-Grandpa Norris. She is quite a bit taller than him!

Aww, good old Kippi. . .I vaguely remember that dog! She was one of many of my grandpa's dogs.

Here she is in the kitchen in Red Lake Falls. . .about three styles of wallpaper ago! I don't know the story behind that union suit!

I don't know where this is taken or whose dog that is but it is a cute picture! There is a picture of my parents with the same dog and it might be their dog they had before we were all born. Not sure though.

Guess who that baby is? I'll give you a hint. . .she has red hair and was born in 1983. ME! Kris and Tom were my sponsors at my baptism (along with my aunt Karen).

Here she is in a pretty recent picture with Regan or "Reggady Ann" as she has been called. . .

This photo was taken when she was 49. . .about one month ago at my cousin's wedding.

Happy 50th Kris!

Easter Weekend

My Easter weekend included much more than just Easter! On Saturday I attended a bridal shower for my cousin, Laura, in Fargo. It was hosted my my mom, my aunt, and Laura's two aunts on her mom's side. It was at Rose Creek in Fargo where we were served the best salad I have eated that wasn't created by me. I usually dismiss salads as a main course but this one cut it! It had chicken, cashews, some kind of crunchy frito-ish things, mandarin oranges and...BABY CORN! I love baby corn and like to incorporate it at every mongolian grill I dine at. At HuHot I eat combinations that are 50% baby corn.

The shower was fun to, of course. Below is a photo of my cousins on my dad's side, minus one girl and the two boys.

I met Justin at the farm on Saturday evening. In the morning, in the old familiar place, there were Easter baskets! The Easter bunny came! He left five baskets, And also, it seems, a thermos and a bunch of bananas. And a mail order catalogue.

We went to church and had a lovely egg bake breakfast and one of my Grandma's friends made everyone there sing happy birthday to me and Annie, a 16 year old who I used to babysit and shares my birthday.

Here are some of my presents.

My Grandma made me a new quilt! She churns those things out on a weekly basis. She said if I didn't like this one I could trade it in for a different one but I like this one!

Justin gave me a new iPod! I have a 3 year old ipod that I got for my birthday in 2007. The battery barely stays charged anymore. This new one is an ipod touch and I have enjoyed downloading all of the pointless but amusing apps that are available!

Look! Signs of life after winter! The bulbs are coming back! That flower bed needs some help!

We dyed eggs after lunch. My brother and sister and I have a long running tradition of antics with the wax crayon that comes with the dye kits. This year we ended up with some real winners...

Notice that muddled blueish egg with the smiley face and some sort of hair...what the ____ is that about? I spent alot of time shrink wrapping those animal cases on eggs. They are very cute. Much cuter that that watered-down NDSU egg on the right!

These are not attractive. In the corner is a poor attempt at a Minnesota Twins egg. Nice work, Pete. The dye was supposed to be a reddish color but it was the first tablet we dissolved and we forgot you needed to add hot water to instead of cold. That green turd was Andrea's attempt at making an egg version of Jake, her "German Chocolate" mixed breed dog who is brown. I can't look at that thing without laughing.

I have to include this picture of Allan! Justin sent it to me as a picture text when he got back to Bismarck on Sunday evening. I miss this little guy!

Easter time!

Easter is in 2 days, on April 4th. Guess what else is April 4th? My birthday (27th! EEK!). I usually don't care about my birthday but on the rare occasion that it lands on Easter I like to tell everyone about it. It has happened twice before. It happened when I was 16 in 1999 and when I was really young, probably 5. I looked it up and it will also happen in 2021 when I will turn 38! So it looks like it is a pattern that repeats every 11 years.

In honor of it being April 2, I have to share this photo. . .

That is my parents holding my cousin Kara. The date on the photo is April 2, 1983. Mother looks pretty fresh for someone who is about to blow! (haha she wasn't really about to blow. . .I came several weeks early!) I love the maternity shirt! That is one area of fashion that I believe has improved over the years! I looked it up and Easter was on April 3rd that year. I like the 4th better because when you write April 4th it is "4-4"!
I think I had guaranteed some Easter related tales when I wrote about my Easter decorating a few weekends ago. My favorite Easter story took place sometime when I was in elementary school (probably 4th or 5th grade.) When we moved to the farm in 1991 our neighbors across the road had kittens and we took four of them to live with us. There were two girls and two boys. They were born in the fall and the girls didn't survive the winter due to typical farm cat perils but the two boys, Rascal and Buttons, did. That spring we took the "brothers" to be neutered at the vet in Portland. Soon, they became fat and lazy and we loved them! Rascal was "mine" and Buttons belonged to Pete, although they were our family pets. My dad pretended not to like them but he did! They became buddies with whatever dog we had and were oblivious to other cats. They hung out with mothers and thier kittens and rarely left the yard. They were constantly lounging around and cuddling together and always found the warmest and softest spot.
One spring, a few days before Easter, we realized we hadn't seen Buttons for a few days. He was probably about 3 or 4 years old at the time. My mom dismissed it and said he was fine and that outdoor cats could be on thier own for awhile. She said something along the lines of, "maybe the Easter Bunny has him and will bring him back on Easter." My cousins came for the weekend and we were awakened for sunrise church on Sunday morning. We looked at our baskets and then we went to the door. Guess who was out there? Buttons! It was so delightful. He was fine of course. It sounds outlandish that he happened to return that morning but I highly doubt my parents would have gone to the trouble of hiding a farm cat for several days to give us a magical Easter. I think the baskets of candy and scavenger hunts were sufficient!

I wish I had scanned better pictures of Rascal and Buttons because there are so many cute ones! This is the only one I have at the moment, however. Buttons is the one with more white. That fata$$ dog on the porch swing is our old retriever Penny who died in 2005. Rascal and Buttons lived quite long lives for farm cats (although the neutering, heat lamps, human food and daytime house access might have contributed to their longevity.) Buttons started getting weak when he was 9 and one day we never saw him again. I believe he died in peace somewhere in the woods around our house. Rascal lived until I was in law school (seriously!) and died in 2005 or 06 when he aquired some sort of cancer and got really weak. They were great pets to have! I think about them, especially Buttons, every year around Easter!