HAppy 4th!

Lounge About

As usual, I didn't take any pictures-so please anyone who took pictures, please post a few! We had a nice time but we missed the folks that were not there-
I was happy that Bonnie brought Hildur and Bryce down. I think they enjoy the gathering. Thanks Bonnie!
Tom and Laura and their family camped his year and that was nice to have new faces camping-I hope more new families will join us next year! Its really nice to have kids around.

Camping time

Its finally here...the Lamon Lounge About! We are looking forward to the relaxing around the fire and the family feast on Saturday.
We chose to try something a little different this year...We are going to camp light-We are going to get to the camp around 10 am Saturday Morning-work toward camp set up and the meal-then relax. No big kettles for coffee-only a single cooler-and only the food and snacks for Saturday. We will wing it on Sunday-Maybe buy something to cook or-maybe just go out for breakfast...we'll see!
See you all Saturday!

Gary Cooks

led

I made some Strawberry Rhubarb jam today as well as bottled some dark "corona" style beer. Tonight burgers on the grill, pasta salad and steamed veggies.

Happy Fathers Day!

Good 'Ole BHS

Almost Gone...Never Forgotten

Hugo

Part of the storm that hit Minnesota was in Hugo and I believe that is just a few miles (6)North of Carol and Scotts house-Did they hit at all?

"Baby's" First Game

May 13, 2008 marks a "moment in time" for a young Minnesota boy. It was his first Twins game experience. It was a game met with many memories....or some things Ryan would just like to forget. We kicked off his first game in true "high" style accommodating the 3rd row of section 213 aka "the cheap seats". Kane was in complete ahh of the "balloon" building, green grass and all of the balls being thrown around. This utter excitement lasted about....um... 4 minutes, then his true love of food came a calling. Peanuts we by far the biggest hit, but it was a labor camp for Ryan and I. Our peanut shucking factory wasn't quick enough to keep up with the consumption demand of a two year old. About the 5th inning Kane and I decided to talk a walk around the concession / souvenir stands....a trip Ryan only wishes he attended. Well Ryan expected us to return with a momentous treasure to mark this occasion, he didn't exactly expect that to be a cute little flower wearing a twins hat. We spent the remanding 6th and 7th innings practicing the "take me out to the ball game" song to insure complete and proper participation from Kane. He was rallying the crowds "READY TO SING EVERYBODY" and was very excited when they finally listened. Singing marked the end of a successful game for Kane....what else is there really to look forward to. So we packed him, his flower and the left over peanuts up to head back home. Ryan, being a fairly big Twins fan has always had a bit of bad luck attending games. This game proved to be no different. Heading W on 94 reaching the western edge of Minneapolis we were finishing our first family game listening to it live on the radio. That is when it happened. "A hit, it's going way back...way way back....this ball made it to the far right side of the upper deck" the Twins commentator spoke. That's when all I heard was "you got to be sh*tt**g me! Yep, you guessed it Jason Kubel hit a home run that ended up bouncing off the seat Ryan was sitting in 15 minutes earlier (this was confirmed by the twenty or so painful replays we watched on-line once we arrived at home). Needless to say it was a fun time had by all.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the day to remember those who have paid the price for our freedom by laying down their life for their country!

Below is a brief history of Memorial Day!

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

Our Favorite Season

Never Argue With an Intelligent Woman

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.

Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out.

She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.

Along comes a game warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"

"Reading a book," she replies (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')

"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.

"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."

"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."

"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.

"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.

"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."

"Have a nice day, ma'ma," and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

The New $5 bill and the Old Gas Pumps

Gary's post about the new $5 bill reminded me of a story I read yesterday. It seems that some of the old gas stations are living in fear of $4.00 per gallon gas. The reason is that lots of the old, pre-digital gas pumps can't handle anything more than $3.99 per gallon on their pricing mechanisms. I imagine that way back when they were building these things and gas was twenty cents per gallon, buying gas for $2.99 seemed like a flight of fancy. And yes, I said $2.99 not $3.99. Many of these pumps have already been upgraded once.

Ah, here's the story: link

So if this summer you stop at a little station with manual pumps and the price is either covered up or you think you're getting a great deal, think again. Gas is over $4 but the machinery can't handle it.

New Five Dollar Bill

added a working link....

The website for the previous post is:

www.greatamericanroadtrip.us

Great American Road Trip

Looks like a fun trip for these guys.

I'm a little jealous, but if I did something like that, I'd like to take some time to stop and check out the sights.

New blog

Somehow the link section I added went missing, so I added it back in. I'm going by memory here, so if I missed a link that used to be there let me know and I'll add it. The reason I was updating is because there is another family member with a blog out there. This time it's Aaron. He's got some pretty cool pictures up already from places he's traveled to. Go take a look, and update your feed reader.


The Key of See

Pete

Look's More Like Fun!

Here is a pic of Aaron at work...they are in Ft Myers during spring training. Looks like fun, huh?

Think Green!

April 27,2008 Snowman

We had about 12-15" of snow Friday to Saturday-So we made a snowman!

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!

Font Size

Since it is hard for me to read the blog well due to my eyesight-I am asking that you enlarge the font when posting on the blog. To do that just click on the two Ts next to the font button and select a bigger size.
Thanks for your help!
GM Hildur

Grandma Says

Hi everyone-
I went to the doctor and they took some pictures and found an golf ball sized gall stone-I'll have to get it mounted-Once I get stronger I will have it removed-I will be seeing the surgeon on the 12th of Feb-I will keep you posted!

Star Sightings in LA

Randee asked me to give you all an update on her star sighting-Hellen Hun and Dustin Hoffman-She even got one of the stars e-mail address-to send them updates on an artist. Pretty Cool!

No Way Dude

Sightings at the LA ART SHOW-Miranda left us a voice mail...

Patricia Heaton
Owen Wilson
William Shatner (Denny Crane) Carol-eat your heart out!

Emma and Morgan are selling cookies

Hi, this is Emma and Morgan. We're selling girl scout cookies! would anyone like to buy any? They make great gifts! If you don't want any you can donate to the girl soldier our Brownie troop has adopted in Iraq. And they're really yummy too!!!!!!!We are selling through feb. 3 and the cookies will come march 1. The cookies are $3.50 a box, and there are 8 kinds. Mom says we'll drive to Bamidgey to visit and give you your cookies!

Thanks! You can pay when you get your cookies! (OUr favorites are tagalongs and lemon challet creams.)

Emma and Morgan

Updated E-mail Addresses Please....

The countdown begins and exactly a month from tomorrow, our little one is due! It is really starting to get exciting and I must say if she comes a couple of weeks early -- that would be just fine with me (as long as it's after the 10th of Feb. as Carol would say).

We're trying to update all of our e-mail addresses as St. Johns, where I'll be delivering, now has wireless access so we plan to bring the laptop and download her first photos to share with everyone.

Please let us know what your current e-mail addresses are (and if you know of those who don't frequent the family blog - send those too) so we can send you all an e-mail when she arrives. You can either e-mail us directly at mmsaunders02@comcast.net or just post them on the blog.

Looking forward to planning a visit this spring so everyone can meet her!

Mandy

Los Angeles Art Show

In case you don't have anything to do next weekend you can visit Miranda at this show. She will be attending this show! See pictures below to see people who have gone before!
http://www.laartshow.com/gala.html

The Premier Art Party Of The Year
The Honorable Antonio R. Villaraigosa Mayor, City of Los Angeles
Honorary Chair
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
An evening of fine art, food, wine, and music, the Los Angeles Art Show Opening Night Gala launches the LA Art Show’s four day weekend at the Barker Hangar.
Chaired by Mayor Villaraigosa, the Gala brings together art lovers, artists, collectors, and dealers from across the globe. Proceeds from the gala benefit the ArtMuseum Council and the Prints andDrawing Council of LACMA.
Patron Donor Reception6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Opening Night Gala7:00 PM - 10:00
PM$200.00 in advance$250.00 at the door
Substantial hors d’oeuvres provided by LA’s finest restaurants and caterers
Complimentary wine, beer and select cocktails / Live Music / Festive Attire
125 gallery openings inone space, in one night
Opening Gala tickets available from theArt Museum CouncilInformation: 323.857.6149Tickets: 323.857.6501
PATRON DONOR SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
Diamond Sponsor $25,000.00
Platinum Sponsor $10,000.00
Emerald Sponsor $5,000.00
Gold Sponsor $2,500.00
Silver Sponsor $1,000.00
Bronze Sponsor $500.00

Stay in Bed Weekend

Just in case you have nothing to do-or don't want to do anything...
Its stay in bed weekend! at LMN (Lifetime Movie Network) or what I like to call the Ladies Movie Network! Click on the link on the title to see a quick commercial on Youtube.

Hot Tub Weather

Bemidji Waetherbug at 5:45 am Saturday Morning

WEATHER ALERT!
F-25.0 Current

Hi: -7° Todays High

Lo: -23° F Todays Low

Forecast
Sunny. Highs 5 to 10 below. West winds around 10 mph. Wi. more...



• Forecast• Radar• News• Cameras

Update on Carol

I just talked to my mom tonight from St. Joe's Hospital, and she asked if I would give everybody an update. A brief history for anybody who is not aware: Saturday morning while having coffee Carol had some pain in her chest that didn't go away. She ended up going to the emergency room, and after about 24 hours of tests and observations the doctors determined that she had had a small heart attack.

They did an angiogram this morning and found two small blockages in small coronary arteries. So the angiogram turned into an angioplasty procedure. The doctors widened both of the blockages, and from all reports this should help matters. Mom will be meeting with the doctor tomorrow to discuss what he saw and what it means long term in more detail, so I don't have a lot more info to share at the moment. But the news sounds good, and other than being a little crabby from lying flat on her back for 8 hours (required after an angiogram) she sounded pretty positive.

Right now the plan is that she'll be staying at St. Joe's tonight and tomorrow, and then will get to go home on Wednesday. St. Joe's has a feature similar to the Bemidji hospital where you can email a patient, and that functionality can be found here. So if you have a minute or two send an email, I'm sure Carol would enjoy receiving and reading them.

I'm Back

Did you miss me?
My HD crashed again before Christmas-and I am just now getting the computer back and running-
This time I have learned my lesson (I'm pretty hardheaded) and now I have a jump drive to back up stuff-I am also going to pick up a external HD and do an auto back up-
It was kind of a nice break...not to be the computer

White Christmas

Here in Central Wisconsin, we are definitely going to have a white Christmas. Saturday night we got hit with about 9 inches of fresh snow along with winds gusting up to 40 mph. Good thing I went grocery shopping on Saturday morning before it hit. I've attempted to leave my apartment, but there is a 3 foot snow drift right outside my door. I do have a shovel, so I could shovel myself out except the fact that it's in my garage which is on the other side of the building. It is nice not to have to shovel because I live in an apartment complex, but it's not much fun having to rely on others to shovel me out. Hopefully they will come plow me out soon because my parents and Nathan and Katie are coming over here for supper tonight before Christmas Eve service at church. Then, we'll be heading out to my parents house. Nathan and Katie are bringing the dogs with them, so it will be good to see them as well once again. Tomorrow we will be having Christmas for my mom's side of the family at our home. I was supposed to go to my mom and dad's house yesterday to make lefse for the festivities, but I was stuck at my apartment. Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hope everyone's holiday is wonderful!

Christmas Season has started

We look forward to Christmas each year. A time to reconnect with our families. This year we were short one of our family members-Miranda. She started a new job recently and felt she could not come home- And we miss her.
Our family has chosen to draw names for gifts. This is the 2nd time we did this and I am so glad we did. It is so nice no to have to worry about buying tons of stuff which most of us don't need (or maybe want) anyway. We are in Duluth and we had our Christmas yesterday. We had loads of fun, playing games, eating a great vegan meal and enjoying some drinks. We just enjoyed each other...its nice to give stuff but its so much better to just give a bit of time and spend time with our families.
I hope you all can enjoy your Christmas with your own families and I hope to see some of you over the holidays.
Merry Christmas to All!

Dog saves woman's life in house fire

The house that burned down is just one street over from where we live!

 

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) - Woman's best friend? A dog who saves her from a fire.

Cathy Minnig was exercising on her basement treadmill Wednesday night, wearing music headphones, when her Labrador puppy began jumping on and off the couch and otherwise acting strange.

Fire Chief Mike Scott said Minnig took off her headphones to hear fire alarms. She ran upstairs to find her living room engulfed in flames. Minnig grabbed the dog and ran outside, Scott said.

Both woman and dog were OK. Minnig's two sons weren't home at the time.

 

You can read the full story here:  Dog's warning credited with saving Eagan, Minn., woman from house fire

 

quilts

grandma saysi just had to show off my latest quilt. gary was here yesterday -took the pictures an put them on the blog. the colors do not show up real good but they are several shades of purple. there is a little green in the flowered part. i am using it on our bed as a soread
i finally finished my baking. i am sure all of you are only interested in the "burner" cookies.