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