More Snow

April 26, 2008
Bemidji, Minnesota
Overnight there must be at least 8 inches of new snow. Right now, snow is still falling at a good clip. I know the Robins are a little mixed up-Nancy and I had already did most of the yard work and I was hoping to start tilling the garden this weekend-Not any more!

Vacation

Well, I officially went on my first vacation as a grown up by myself. I was a little bit nervous about the whole navigating through airports by myself, but I did pretty good, I didn't miss any flights and I made it home safe and sound with my luggage and everything. I went on a vacation to North Carolina for about 5 days to visit one of my friends from nursing school who moved out there. It was fun and relaxing. I had never really been out to the East Coast, so it was nice being out there. We spent a couple days on the beach and then spent the rest of the time sight seeing and just relaxing. I definitely needed to relax because I moved to a new apartment a couple days before I left on vacation. So, when I got home from vacation, I had to clean my old apartment from top to bottom and unpack all of my stuff at my new apartment. I finally finished cleaning my old apartment today and I'm slowly unpacking at my new place. My goal is to have the majority of my stuff unpacked and put away before I go back to work on Monday night. I took 36 hours of PTO and I had a total of 12 days off in a row. It's been wonderful and it will probably be hard to go back to work. But, I just thought I'd put up a lil update on my life and a couple pictures from vacation. Hope everyone is doing well. I don't know if anyone is planning on making a trip down to Rochester for Grandpa's recovery, but I'm planning on going to Rochester next Friday and staying the weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to see some of you!!

Wild Vermilion, Who Knew?

Wild Vermilion, Who Knew

In the March/April issue of Volunteer magazine, the article "Vision for Vermilion," caught me by surprise. They (DNR) are proposing a new state park on land currently owned by US Steel. The funding for the 3,000 acres is being debated in the current session of the Minnesota Legislature and time is running out because the DNR has until sometime in July to reach an agreement. The other alternative is for this shoreline to be a subdivision with approximately 150 homes.

What an opportunity for us and future outdoor enthusiastists! Log on to

www.mndnr.gov/volunteer to view the slideshow and learn more about this wonderful proposal.

I'm Back (again)

As some of you may know our computer took a dive again-but we're back in business again. When we go it backed and checked e-mail, there was a laptop on Tiger direct for $399-our repair was $250?????
Anyway it was a nice break but I am happy to be back on line.

Art Show

Morgan had her first art showing last Saturday afternoon. She made a storyteller statue in her art class with her student teacher, Mrs. Edwards. Mrs. Edwards is a student at St. Catherine's, where both Carol and Nancy S. went to school.

The storyteller is just that, a sculpture of a person telling a story.

Here's Morgan with her storyteller:

Morgan chose to mold her storyteller after her Nana. The orange and yellow areas on the sculpture are Nana's cats.



Of course, Nana and Papa Tom had to attend the opening, and we all had a great time. After the show, we went to Snuffy's Malt Shop to celebrate. Here are some of the other students' artwork we saw as well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Star Wars

I think my favorite part of this entire video, which is great for so many reasons, is the fact that they sang the theme song through the entire thing. Great continuity!

Brooke Social Experment

Nancy was looking to buy Broke a nice little gift. I suggested we try something a bit different. I think we should open a Roth IRA (or something similar) in her name and we could all send her $$$ into this account instead of cute little outfits. Pete do you have any suggestions? How can we make her a millionaire?

How to use masking tape when you are drunk

Hoppy Easter!

Matt & I are adjusting well to parenthood and enjoying every second of it! It's hard to believe Brooke is already over 2 weeks old! We had our newborn pictures taken yesterday and she was a queen! She was wide awake and didn't even wimper once until the last picture. We can't wait to get the pictures and share them with you. We hope to make a visit to Bemidji sometime in April for you all to meet her. Hope you are all doing well! Take care,

Matt & Mandy

Introducing Brooke Adyson Saunders

2-23-08 11:40 p.m

6lbs. 15oz. 19 inches long

To Matt

lunar eclipse

Anyone venture outside tonight to view the lunar eclipse? I stepped out a few times and realized how nice it was to have clear skies.

The eclipse was pretty cool, in my opinion. The moon had an orange-ish tint to it as the sunlight was bent through the Earth's atmosphere.

Grandpa Bryce-FYI

Dad got out of the hospital today-Don came to town and brought him home on Saturday-Good news!

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - pet nose height.

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - pet nose height. Dear Dogs and/or Cats: The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run. I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm. For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not required. The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough! To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door: To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets: 1. They live here. You don't. 2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it "fur"niture. 3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. 4. To you, they are an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly. Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they: 1. Eat less 2. Don't ask for money all the time 3 Are easier to train 4. Normally come when called 5. Never ask to drive the car 6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends 7. Don't smoke or drink 8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions 9. Don't want to wear your clothes 10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and... 11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

Late Winter

I always liked February for a couple of reasons. You can see spring from here and the sun gets a bit higher each day and stays out a little longer. It feels like there may be some heat in the sun again. In the last few days its been a bit colder but there was at least 30 degrees difference from the time I got up to the mid afternoon. I was scraping some snow off my roof on Sunday and by the time I got some scraped off-there was snow melting and water dripping off my roof.
The fish houses have got to come off in sometime Feburary too...and then breakup...I like late winter because I really like spring, summer and fall!

Emma & Morgan's 1st Motorcycle Ride

Back in September 2007 the girls enjoyed their first motorcycle ride with Uncle Matt. Here's the video of them enjoying their rides! (I hope I'm doing this right. This is the first time I've uploaded video!)

Tubing

Here's a quick little video of me tubing in Kimball, MN. Enjoy!

Ground Hogs Day Feb 2nd

What does a sleepy, furry marmot have to do with seasonal change? According to fans of Punxsutawney Phil, everything! Their enthusiasm for Groundhog Day is undeniable, but to discover how it all fits together, we'll have to do a little digging.
Groundhog Day is a direct descendent of Candlemas, which, for early Christians, was a day to bless and distribute candles—a hot commodity in the days before electric light, especially during the cold, dark winter. Seasonal Affective Disorder notwithstanding, the early Christians found a way to make the dismal season a bit cheerier: they decided that clear skies on Candlemas Day meant a longer winter. There may have been some wagering; there was probably a certain amount of partying. By the time this tradition reached Germany, the groundhog and his shadow had entered the story. When the Germans came to Pennsylvania, they brought their traditions—including the marmot—with them. The quirky fun developed into what we now celebrate as Groundhog Day. But where does Punxsutawney Phil fit in?
In 1887, a spirited group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney dubbed themselves "The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club." One member of the club was an editor of Punxsutawney's newspaper. Using his editorial clout, he proclaimed Punxsutawney Phil, the local groundhog, to be the one and only official weather prognosticating groundhog. He issued this proclamation on, appropriately enough, Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney Phil's fame began to spread, and newspapers from around the globe began to report Punxsutawney Phil's Groundhog Day predictions. Today, 20,000 fans come to Punxsutawney on Groundhog Day to experience this unique—and fun—tradition. For more information about the evolution of Groundhog Day and the story of Punxsutawney Phil, visit Punxsutawney's official Groundhog site
And by the way-6 more weeks of winter-(Dah-we live in Northern Minnesota!