Grammy's diary time staying with The kids

Nov. 24th, Wed: Grampa and I arrived at 3:30 p.m., fairly nice weather. No snow , 20 degrees snow storm in behind us to the west. Didn't hit Chicago . Great to see Priya and Stephen. Met Ryan at Pin Stripes for supper and celebrated
Stephen and Priya's birthdays-----Star Wars Transport Vehicle, for Deegs and Salon chair for Pri. Fun playing til bedtime.

Nov.25th, Thurs. , Thanksgiving Day: Ry and Shoj get packed up and we all head over to the Larson's for turkey dinner. Apricot glazed turkey, dressing, cheesy potatoes, squash casserole, cranberry compote, rolls, brussels sprouts,
yum.yum. Pumpkin pie, apple pie and peacan. Delish! Enjoyed meeting everyone and the kids had fun playing. Grampa took Ry and Shoji to airport @ 1:30. Helped clean up the dinner dishes ect. Home about 4:30, took the left over
turkey home. Gramps fixed grilled cheese sandwiches. Kids ate well. Off to bed pretty much on time, pretty good for the first night.

Nov. 26, Friday: Cold today but no snow. Kids up around 7:30. Breakfast, oatmeal, muffins, toast. ; playing with kids . Went to store and picked up something (can't recall exactly) but we rented the movie 'How to Train Your Dragon' and after our chicken dinner, we all watched the movie downstairs. Off to bed. No problem getting the kids to bed. Had a little accident today. Pri and Deegs were sharing the tall wooden stool and tipped over. Deegs split his lower lip and there was some crying but that seemed to be the only injury from the accident; scared them. His lip healed up in a couple of days.

Nov. 27, Sat: Happy Birthday Priya! Watched the Dragon movie again this a.m. (Deegs watched the whole thing). Mac and Cheese for lunch . Took a drive to Cabela's this aft. Not Priya's first choice for fun but promised to go to McDonald's for supper and to get a birthday treat so she was happy. Got some pound cake and a special ice cream she picked out called, 'Happy Birthday Cake Ice Cream' ----packaged up especially for kids. she really wanted it so that was the one.
Don't buy again, they didn't like it too much; the carton was so eye catching ; too bad , fooled us. In the afternoon, Grampa went to a Buffalo Wild Wings somewhere and watched some of the Badger /NW game; came back soon cause the Badgers were so far ahead.

Nov.28, Sun: Made it to church and Sunday School. Weather cold but not snowy. Good sermon by Bill Hybels---Ruth and Naomi. Came home and ate bison burgers. Kids ate well. Grampa took the kids to the park for a little while.
Had mac and cheese tonite. Lots of playing 'zoo' in the basement among other games. Off to bed, reading American Girl Christmas book and Deegs loves the fairy tale seek and find book. Lots of fun reading at bedtime. both go to sleep with easily and say prayers so sweetly.

Nov. 29th, Mon: Burr , cold this morning, like 13 degrees. Priya up on time , took a cold lunch, had to do a little running to catch the bus but we made it. No snow yet , so didn't wear snow pants. Grampa and Stephen played downstairs all morning. Made a ramp for the cars to go down. Ask Deegs what that ramp was made of. Packed turkey sandwiches and Gramps took off for Baldwin about noon. Stephen and I played in the basement ; had P&J for lunch . Watched the movie Benji. Pri home at 2:30. Lots of playing. No home work. Finished up the chicken dinner with squash. Ate well. Played 'Lightening McQeen Bingo. Fun. Pri read some to us. Wow, the day went fast. Off to bed already. Priya coughed some during the night , gave her some cough syrup and she stopped.

Nov. 30th , Tues: Cold and windy, a little sleet. No snow pants yet. Pri took a turkey sandwich. Stephen and I went to the store this morning ( not sure might have been yesterday afternoon, no matter) He had a ham and cheese sandwich and also some Lucky Charms that he picked out at the store. Made turkey soup (might have made this Monday cause Gramps remembers making it too)?? no matter. Playing lots of 'cat and rat' , and safari game and monkey game. Pri home on time--brought a card home that showed a restaurant in Schaumburg is called 'Priya's' , her friend from school gave her the card--very exciting. She brought a traveling book home for homework. She is a good reader. Ordered scholastic books , one for each of them; should arrive around Dec. 17th.Talked to Barb Nahey and she will be driving over tomorrow aft. to stay until Friday. Looking forward to our time with her. Turkey soup and grilled bagels for supper. Pri now knows the riddle , 30 days has september ect.This was part of her homework or the green weekly sheet I think.

Dec. 1st, Wed: Cold and a little snowy. Pri off to bus on time. She is a sweetie in the morning , doesn't fuss, wears what I pick out , eats good . Took a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Deegs and I made a quick trip to Butera (sp?) and got some french bread, pickles and a couple of items. Barb got here around 3:00. So nice to see her. Brought the kids card games, also food. Had her chili for supper and also pumpkin pie, kids liked it. We played in the basement after supper then off to bed. Barb did KP while I put them to bed. No homework . Started the advent calendar today.

Dec. 2nd, Thurs: Really cold again this morning. Deegs sleeping with me. Pri up on time. Going to have hot lunch today. Barb , Stephen and I went to Target this morning. Bought birthday present for the sleepover party. Ate lunch at Wendy's. Cold and a little windy. Still no snow tho. Priya home on time. Not much homework, trying to read everyday and do the weekly calendar thing (green sheet). Barb brought the movie 'A Muppets Christmas Carol' , they love it.
Had turkey soup for supper with french bread, veggies, and more pumpkin pie. Played hide the thimble and playtime in basement. Days fly by.

Dec. 3rd, Fri: Priya up and off to school. No problem. Eating hot lunch again today. Barb and Stephen and I played games , watched the Muppets again together. Had sandwiches for lunch and Barb took off for home. Deegs and I went over to the store for milk. Pri home on time. Both had Lucky Charms for a snack. Got all her overnight and dance stuff together and took her to Teagans house. We didn't fine anyone home there. Tried calling, no answer. After 25 minutes and a bit of frustration, and some praying little Priya says maybe we have the wrong day Gramma. Awe yes Lord , out of the mouth of babes. So we head back home and check the date. Sure enough I screwed up. To recover from that mistake , we went to Wendy's for supper , Priya was happy with that and also to know that she hadn't missed anything, only had to wait now a whole week. We watche the Vegie Tales Christmas DVD and off to bed .

Dec. 4th, Sat: Oh my woke up (7a.m.) to 3 or 4'' of new snow. The kids were really excited to see it. Too much snow on van and in driveway to get to the dance class. Had mac and cheese for lunch. 32 degrees out so kids went out and played in snow. Jaden and Samuel out too. Came in had cocoa and watched vegie tales (Lord of the Beans) ?? Played out again a little before supper , played with Gavin. Had Chicken, drsg and green beans. Swept off the van and drove around a little to see a few lights (careful not to get lost). Went to Walgreens and bought a gingerbread train to make. A full day. Also discovered the 'candy bag' in the garage today; they knew it was there ,but this was the first day they mentioned it to me. Nice find, wow. Shoji's mom called to check on us today. Had a nice visit with her. Fresh air tired everyone out. Prayers are good; the Lord is really watching over us. Also keeping the kids from being too lonesome, a miracle.

Dec. 5th , Sun: Up at 8 a.m. breakfast and then jumping to make the gingerbread train. Took us awhile to get it together. The box said 'easy build'---what? Pri called ours the 'spooky Christmas Train. ' If anyone saw it, I'd take no claim in helping (but did most of it) , bad, bad, bad. But did taste good. We read some bible stories and try to everyday , at least Stephen and I do . Hot dogs and tater tots, carrots and gingerbread for lunch. Played games after lunch, then down stairs and played cars. 4 oclock we watched Charlotte's Web. Then had pizza ,peas and pop. Gave Pri a bath after supper. To bed on time. Priya says big words like imagine,actually, afirmative, and says she learns all her big words from Jaden. Rachel called today to set up a play date sometime next week. They have been sick with colds. We have about a week left before Ryan and Shoji are home , they are counting the days and literally marking off on the calendar by the computer.

Dec. 6, Mon: Crisp and cold this morning , 11 degrees. Pri wore snowpants and boots , first time. Had blueberry bagel and cream cheese for breakfast, Deegs too. Washed some clothes this morning . Stephen played outside a short while late morning with Samuel. After lunch went to Jewell for a few things---root beer and vanilla ice cream. When Pri came home she dolled all up in her ballet outfit and danced to Angelina DVD was coaching Stephen right along. Most entertaining. Had a slice of ham, cheesy potatoes and , bread, squash and carrots, and more gingerbread train. Priya did her reading , no other school work. Played games off to bed. Only five more days til Mommie and Daddy come home.
Deegs loves helping and he really likes to run the vacuum, like a toy. Root beer float for treat at bedtime.

Dec. 7, Tues: Stephen crawled into bed with me around 3 a.m. Pri off to school on time. Another cold morning, 10 degrees. Pri took a P&J sandwich today. We played lots of games this morning. He beat me 5 out of 7 match games. Made some muffins and Deegs stirred them up . We played in the basement and got so absorbed, missed meeting Pri at the bus; she was okay about it. Might have had chicken in gravy tonite, and mashed potatoes. After supper they we a little wound up and wild. Stephen says, Priya's 'wired'. Missing Mom and Dad I think. Pri read to us and the day was gone, back in bed . Deegs had a bath today. A little out of routine. At bedtime Priya said I want my daddy and mommy , (first time.) Only 4 more days to go.

Dec. 8, Wed: Sweet Pri up and getting off to school on time. Took cold lunch . Stephen and I read lots of books and bible stories this morning. After lunch went to the dollar store. He needed some things. Had fun roaming around there. Picked up 3 Christmas books and a snow globe like Priya's for him. More running around the house and 'wildness' tonight; the 'natives are getting restless' ha ha. Only 2 more days to go they are very aware and counting it down. Ate
steak bites tonite with rice and tater tots. Good eaters. Had carrots and cucumber too. Try to encourage the vegies. Stephen not so into meat. No homework. They like singing the 12 days of Christmas with the book. Such cuties.

Dec. 9, Thurs: Cold again, 11 degrees, suppose to warm up by weekend. Pri is going to have hot lunch today. Deegs is playing over at Samuel's house this morning. Home for lunch , P&J, also finishing up Grampa's Pringles. Both kids have been eating fruit , grapes, orange, apples, pears, blueberries one of them everyday. Deegs and I watched 'Lord of the Beans' again trying to get those funny names down---Randolph son of Mandolf keeper of the ???? flame. Lord FalaminyonTeraglif son of Fairabill ala Lithamon, Elder of the Raspberry Forest. A riot. Granny very entertained. After school made a trip to Dollar Tree, Pri needed something, she missed out when Deegs and I went. Got more color books, and glow sticks and I found more micro fiber towels, nail polish ect. By the time we left the snow it had started to snow. Got about an inch, light and fluffy; temp is warming up some. Had good chicken nuggets tonight and mac and cheese and corn and toast. Ate good. Watched 'Horton Who' movie before supper. Pri had a precious prayer tonight, so from the heart. Did her reading. Bedtime is a fun time for them. and they do go to sleep well. no fussing. Gave her a partial bath and got stuff ready for the 'real ' sleepover. She is excited.

Dec. 10, Fri: Sunny morning, warmer , 20 degrees or so. Pri having fun playing at recess making snow fort. She started a fort and all the girls loved helping her. Stephen and I played lots of games this morning then off to Jewell for whatever . It was close to lunch and he was hungry so bought some fresh rolls and opened right in the cart and started munching. yum,.. After school both had snack , Lucky Charms (trying to eat up before you know who comes home) hee hee.
Off to the sleep over for Priya. Deegs stuck with me. We had left overs for supper and watched the first half of 'Cars' downstairs. With the warm up outside, the flys have come to life and tonight we had the big fly chase, Deegs loved using the fly'swopper' and also we got the vacuum down there and chased them with that. Big time. Off to bed. Tomorrow is the big day, Mom and Dad coming, no more waiting, no more counting down.

Dec. 11, Sat: This morning we finished watching 'Cars'. Played games , cat and rat, monkeys, safari, match. These games have been fun. Stephen also also has a mind for chess, beat me everytime. I play like checkers. Fun to hear him say the Queen moves dianaonly or something like that. Too cute. Priya home around 12:30; had a fun sleep over but is a tad tired and cross. Mentioned a nap maybe and she said noway. Had chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese then they watched a little Vegie Tale movie. Pri was sleeping on the chairs not 5 minutes into the movie. Bless her 'noway' heart. Wasn't long and someone came through the front door. Yeah, Mommy and Daddy are finally here. Yippie!!

Here are some miscellaneous tid bits: The upstairs toilet had a little over flow when Barb was here. You see Grannies get up often during the night and don't want to flush to wake the kids so the paper piles up in there and bingo too much paper for one flush in the morning and over she goes. Plunger fixed that.

On one of our many trips to Jewell or Butera decided to gas up (Friday ). Deegs shows me right where to go. We head left on Algonquin , pass up the first station, he says "go down farther" my Daddy doesn't like this one very much, that guy isn't too nice, bad guy".
Another Deeg's quote, " My Daddy likes the Bears just a tiny tiny bit" he's holding his thumb and index finger in pinching position.

Priya says, "Mrs. Sharp's husband sometimes shocks us and brings us doughnuts".

Had some undies drying on the clothes rack , Stephen looking everything over says, " are those my Dad's?" Oh laughed a ton, they were mine.

Probably missed a few here. We had a blessed time and the Lord was more than faithful. Made some good memories. THE END

Trip to Egypt - GLS and 10 year Wedding Anniversary

Gramps and Granny had fun with the kids while we were in Egypt!

Days 1 & 2 - Nov 25th - 26th: Thanksgiving with Larson's and then departure from Chicago and arrival in Cairo via Paris, I actually slept fairly well on the planes. But I think it caused the jetlag to linger. It took me a week to finally sleep through the night - I kept waking up at 3am - just wide awake and ready to go for the day. We stayed at the Shepheard Hotel on the Nile. It is a very nice place, the street noise is crazy, all night long you can hear taxi's honking. I realized that they honk at you to get your attention. So as you walk along you hear, honk, honk, honk, honk - every taxi is honking to see if you want a ride.

Day 3 - Nov 27th - Up early and off to visit - hotel breakfast is very nice! Shoji and I brought our Daily Office book by Peter Scazzaro and it was good to start the day reading together and reflecting. Then a 5 hour bus ride to the villages of Deir Abu Hennis and Dier Abu ??? and then 90 minutes back to the town of El Minya and the Horus Hotel.

Our bus driver had major skills with the bus - he could do a 3 point turn in a cracker box - it was amazing. Also, we had to ferry across Nile to get to the villages. When I saw the size of the ferry boat (a glorified raft) and the size of our bus I thought - no way! The bus was nearly the size of the ferry. I made sure I didn't stay in the bus during the crossing just in case I needed to swim for it.

Day 4 Nov 28th - Churches preaching...

Day 5 Nov 29th - Visiting sites and ministries of Anwaar, Joni & Friends, bed bugs

Day 6 Tues. Nov 30th - pastor's conference

Day 7 Weds. Dec 1 - Back to Cairo - GLS Setup - Women's workshops - Tabloua Restaurant

Day 8 Dec 2 - GLS

Day 9 Dec 3 - GLS

Day 10 Dec 4 - GLS

Day 11 Dec 5 - Flight to Sharm el Sheihk

Day 12 Dec 6 - shark attacks

Day 13 Dec 7 - Great all inclusive resort Royal Grand Azure

Day 14 Dec 8 - glass bottom boat - lost coat

Day 15 Dec 9 - Mt Sinai - St. Catherine's

Day 16 Dec 10 - Last day at resort and return trip that night to Cairo and then Amsterdam

Day 17 Dec 11 - Home again

Stephen falls off his scooter.

Lately, Stephen has been falling off his bike or scooter with regularity. I am not sure what it is but it seems like twice a day recently. Today he was going to show me a trick on his scooter. He was zipping along and hit the brake and then went flying and landed square on his knee right on the concrete. It look awful! He screamed in pain and limped back to me and I picked him up and tried to comfort him. His leg was twitching, I thought for sure he broke his knee cap or something, it was scary. We took him inside and put ice on it but before long he hopped up and went right back outside and started playing. I was amazed.

I thought to myself, if that just happened to me, it would have been a trip to the ER and months and months of rehab! Oh to be young again!

Stephen's Sayings - on waking up

Mom tells Stephen that Priya is now getting up early for bed everyday and that he might need to get up too. And Stephen says, "I think I'll just get up when my eyes open up.."

Priya's Proverbs - did you get rained on?

I was out for a long and very sweaty jog early this moring. I came back and Priya was getting ready for school sitting on the front steps and she says, "Dad, did you get rained on?"

While the Kids were away.... the parents will play!

We were going to clean the house and work on Shoji's business, get lots of work done while the kids were gone. Well then we said forget that!! We just went out like every night - thanks to a bunch of gift cards and coupons. And also some very genenous friends (thanks John & Saray)!!

It was an anniversary week, not just a day!

Dinner at Nozumi and some interesting discussions...
Dinner at El Molino with Friends
Inter-Continental Hotel!
Breakfast in Bed!
Swimming Lessons the Hotel pool!
Water Taxi ride!
ChinaTown for Dim Sum!
Arti's 40th Birthday Party!

Summer Break in Wisconsin!

Grandma: Mon. July 5th - Here's what we have been doing. Yesterday (Mon.) we watched' Madeline Lost in Paris' video. Then, for supper we had pizza and veggies. Gramps took us for an evening ride to Hudson and we fed the ducks & geese down by the river. The river was really high and the ducks came right up to us wanting our bread crumbs. Priya did not like the big geese so close to her. They made hissing noises. We had custard at Culvers too. Just little dishes. Priya had kit-kat, Stephen had nerds, Grampa had raspberry and chocolate, Gramma had mini caramel nut. We vote Deegs and Pri's the best. Oh, forgot , Deegs loved the geese and ducks getting close to us. Priya says she loved the baby geese and the white goose most of all.

This morning we made two swings with Grampa and they are in the tree in the front yard. We filled bird feeders. We saw a small young bunny and Grampa almost caught it in his fish net but missed it. Then Priya took a sun flower seed from the bird feeder and planted it by the rhubarb
It's hot today. After lunch we are going to mow the lawn and maybe go swimming in the lake later if it doesn't rain. Tomorrow we are going to Megan and Amanda's house (might sleep over).

Grandma: Tues. July 6th - Here's what's been happening . Grampa and Stephen mowed the lawn . Deegs did lots of steering and helping. Priya and I went to the 'Treasures' store downtown. She found a cute little puppy in a case and an American Musical t-shirt. also picked out a dinasaur for the Deegs and an alligator t-shirt. the dinasaur makes noise. roar. It was really hot and muggy out . Wyatt (the neighbor boy) came over and we all played fooseball and the frog game then went outside and had rides on the lawn mower. great fun. We ate steak for supper and had short cake. Kids are eating well. Got to bed a little earlier , will go to Ann's in the morning.

Wed. July 7th - After breakfast got ready to head out to meet Annie and the girls at noon at Wendy's on White Bear Ave. Ate chicken nugget happy meals and frosty's. Ann and I had the chicken, apple pecan salad and it was really good.
So here it is Wednesday night and it's quiet around here. Forgot to mention, at Wendy's they all got a prize in their happy meals, a toy saxaphone, nice and noisey. As Ann drove off in the van with all of them, I could hear the orchestra playing. Lucky Anner.

Also , when driving up to meet Annie , Priya and Stephen and I played Bible guessing game. They are really sharp on knowing who’s who in the bible. Asked who had the coat of many colors. They got it right. Then we discussed the story and they knew a lot about it. So sweet. And they were real good little travelers. Will miss them but know they will have a good time with the cousins Megan and Amanda.

Anner: Thursday 7/8/2010 - We've been at Parker Lake in Plymouth. A very cute beach and park area. Caught alot if snails. Stephen said "smell it, it stinks!" after he stuck his head in the bucket of snails. They do stink! Haha! We are having a ball in MN, making memories for sure! We don't want it to end. I think we'll keep them one more night. If mom and dad will let us. :-)

Priya and Stephen do miss you but they are having a great time and very respectful little honeys. Love them!

Well, gotta wash off the lake and sand then off to soccer practice for Megan and Amanda.
Tootle-lou! -Anner

Friday, July 9, 2010

Grandma: Priya and Stephen coming back to Baldwin. Picked them up at early afternoon at Wendy's. Heard all the about the fun they had with Megan and Amanda and Annie and Jason. The soccer game was really talked about. Megan's team won by 4 points and it sounded like Megan made all the goals but then Priya said 'maybe not'. Love it.

Also, heard all about the new zuzu hammsters. Target has them . We stopped at the first Target we saw and they did have them , but no pink ones like Mander's has. Deegs found a great nerf gun too. On to the next Target at Lake Elmo area. This is a really nice new store. We had slushies here. The kids knew all about these , how to mix flavors ect. yum. Found the zuzu's but no pink ones here either so Pri took a black and white one and she is happy with it. These toy hammsters are cute. Pri says , 'I'm into zuzu's now not calico critters'; very funny. I wish I had invented these zuzu's.

Got back to Baldwin, made some supper then headed over to the parade at 'River Falls Days'. Thought maybe this might be stretching these little ones a bit far but they insisted they wanted to go. Almost fell asleep on the way over but made it and they had a good time getting a ton of candy and watching all the bands, floats etc. Home about 9 p.m. amazing they didn't fall asleep. wow. too much sugar?

Everything going well. PTL.

Sat. July 10th:
Grandma: Now then, this was quite the day. Stephen and Priya slept til about 8:45 this morning . Had breakfast then we all talked about what we should do today. Gramps heard that there was a carnival and pony rides at the River Falls Days so we decided to head back over to River Falls. Off we went. Couldn't find a carnival there or pony rides and no one seemed to know if that was going on anywhere. This was disappointing after the build up so we decided to head up to Como Park where we knew there were some rides. Amazing how we were blessed with a great parking spot near the rides and zoo. First thing we saw was the butterfly world then on to some animals , then to the rides also a blessing cause at 4pm you can get a special ticket deal; the kids wear a bracelet that gets them into all rides. A good deal, Priya's favorite was the Frog Hopper , will leave the details for her to tell. Deegs liked the train the best . The tea cup ride was least liked, Pri raised her hand to stop the ride. too dizzy. The weather was a tad on the hot side but had water and some juice with and found the shade and a bench to help endure.

Stopped at KFC on the way home. They loved it.(but they were starved) Ate chicken legs , corn, mac and cheese, biscuits and honey. If you have KFC by your house , recommend for it. We pulled the skin off the chicken and it was gooooood.

Had baths when we got home and watched some Toy Story (3rd time) ate raspberries and ice cream. Couldn't squeeze much more into this one. Nice!

The big excitement Sunday was going to watch the skydivers at the airport. Actually the divers stopped early due to a late afternoon storm. The sky cleared around 7:15 p.m. and it was a lovely eve. I thought I heard the airplane buzzing so we tore down there. The manager was so nice to us and he started announcing a final jump just for us to watch. The pilot of the plane took us over to the plane and let the kids go in it and check it out. We got the royal treatment. Nice. 8 divers suited up and we got to watch everything (how the parachutes were folded etc). There were no other spectators there, just us. Pri and Stephen really got a kick out of the whole deal. Me too.

Stopped in and said good by to Dave and Deb. Their Norwegians girls had arrived for the week. Real blondies. Didn't get home til 8:40 so bed time was a tad late. Started getting things organized for the ride to meet Shoji tomorrow. )o: Going to miss these little sweethearts lots.

Monday: Kids got up at 8:15 or so, still a bit tired. Had powdered sugar donuts (special because they were going) and milk . Grampa helped pack up the car and we were on our way by 9:20. They traveled really well. Put a movie in at Eau Claire. Had a little snack on the way. We played 'eye spy with my little eye' and the animal guessing game. Made it to the Dells by 11:55am---Shoji got there at the same time. Amazing. So great to see her. We all had lunch at Buffalo 'Phils'; so fun . Our food came around on an electric train that a guy in the kitchen was running. Deegs and Pri enjoyed this a lot (we all did).

After lunch we went into the arcade and Shoj and the kids had a wild ride on the roller coaster train. Wish I had a picture of their facial expressions as they whipped around on the track, priceless. Praise the Lord for all the fun, good health, safe travel, good food, a great week of memories. We're more than blessed.

xoxo Gramps and Grammie

Flordia Fort Lauderdale Fishing Trip - video

Priya's Proverbs - Not too happy about this

I had a cookie attack last night about 10pm - So I found a couple packs of IKEA cookies in the pantry and I had a couple - okay I had 4 or 5, maybe 6, with a big glass of milk. It was sooooo good.

The next morning about 7am Priya finds the pack of cookies nearly gone (evidentally Mom got the cookies for her) and I hear her stomping up the steps toward our room and I hear:

"Dad! Dad!!!"

Then she comes into the bathroom where I am shaving and she is waving the near empty cookie bag and says in a big grown up voice,

"WELL I AM NOT TOO HAPPY ABOUT THIS!!!"

Lice Treatments

We've had a bout of lice in the house - the victims shall remain nameless to protect the innocent.

Forget all the $10-20 shampoo's or prescription stuff that you have to use like 3 times only to have it not work or your kid gets re-infested.

This is a little dangerous but it really works & it is cheap: Rubbing Alcohol

Use a squirt bottle and a super fine lice "nit comb" and start at the roots and squirt and comb it through. Soak it good and put a plastic bag on the kids hair for 1 hour.

Then also dip your comb in a cup of alcohol to clean it off after every stroke. It seems to kill live ones in seconds and then just pic out the nits (I think it kills the nits but not 100% sure). Then just wash your hair and your done. Be sure to check for nits every couple days - Then repeat in 7 days.

Just make sure you keep away from any heat source and esp. any kind of flame! It'd be the end of you. But if you want lice gone - this works.

If no rubbing alcohol is available, Jack Daniels works fine...(kidding - I have no idea)

Cell Phone Ettiquette

Don't answer your phone and tell the person your not available to talk... that is why you have voice mail.

Don't leave a message saying to call me back... that is why we have caller ID. When someone you know calls and doesn't leave a message it means - "call me back." When it is a number you don't know and they don't leave a message it means - "wrong number or not important".

When you are at the grocery store and your wife calls you like 10 times and you miss the calls or don't answer - it means "don't go home anytime soon."

Learn how to manage your phone sounds & notifications, when meeting with people or a group put your phone on silent (not vi berate - it's annoying).

Everyone forgets now and again so we all need a little grace, but have you ever had someone answer their phone and then apologize to everyone for the interruption only to leave the ringer/vibration on and have the same thing happen again!! Major faux pas - turn it off!

In about 5 years this may all be obsolete as we will probably only text. I'll come up with texting etiquette then.

Statue of Liberty or Jesus

We are driving down Higgins Rd and Stephen sees this statue and says:
"Hey, hey - it's the Statue of Liberty!!"

Priya: "No it's not, it's Jesus..."

Priya's Tooth came out

Today Priya's tooth came out at school. She said the teacher helped take it out and the whole class went wild.

True Story - Baldwin to Baja

I grew up in a small town in Northwest Wisconsin called Baldwin. When I was in grade school our town had about 2200 people and I remember getting our first stoplight at the intersection of Highway 63 and Main Street. I thought "wow, we are getting big time" having a stoplight and all. In the last 30 years or so Baldwin has grown to about 3300 or so and now has like 3 stoplights! Mostly for all the Minnesotans going up to a lake in our fine State.

I moved to Chicago area after college and began working at Willow Creek Church and got the opportunity in 2002 to lead a mission trip to an orphanage in Vincente Guerrero in Baja Mexico. Vincente Guerrero was an even smaller town than Baldwin! It was rather impoverished and we stayed there for a week serving at the orphanage. It was an awesome trip!! One of our activities/jobs while there was to take the garbage from the orphanage to the dump. Everyone said you just have to experience this at least once, I wasn't sure what the big deal was but I decided to volunteer for that job one morning. So we loaded up the truck and trailer with the last few days garbage and began the 20 min drive to the landfill. When we got there the first thing that amazed me was the size of the landfill. It was huge! It felt like it went on forever. I think we drove for 10 minutes once we got inside the landfill! It look like a scene from "Terminator" or something. There was burnt up twisted metal, garbage and junk everywhere. And there were little cardboard huts here and there, not too many but very distinct. There were people living in them. There were people, including children, living at the landfill. That was a little gut wrenching. We packed some peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches for people we would met there. They would keep and eye on your truck and want to pick through your garbage right away.

We began to unload our truck and trailer and I saw a couple of Mexican guys just kind of hanging out around us and they had a nice Ford F150 pickup - it looked new and a little out of place in a dump. So we finally started talking in spanish even with my horrible, limited spanish - and the one guys (I think his name was Juan Guerrero) starts talking perfect English!! We talk about this and that, sports and the usual guys stuff and then he asks where I am from. So I tell him I am from way up north, in the midwest, and I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. I am speaking really slowly and phonetically because I figure he's never even heard of Wis-CON-sin. I explain it is kind of near Minn-E-sota sort of kind of near CAN-a-da.

He looks at me and says, oh yea "I know all about Wisconsin and Minnesota, in fact I just recently got back from there. I was working up there. So what town are you from?"

So, I tell him, it's this little town called Baldwin near the Wisconsin & Minnesota boarder, I tell him it's a nice little town. He looks off in the distance and says... "Baldwin, Baldwin? - is that the town near interstate 94 and Hwy 63? I think there is an A & W Rootbeer stand there?"

I practically faint! I told him it was.

He says, "Oh, yes - I've been there, in fact I worked there last year as a drywaller, on that new development on the Southside of town."

My mouth hits the ground! I am standing in the middle of a huge landfill, a massive, stinking dump, in the middle of no where, in the middle of Baja Mexico, 2000 miles from home, talking to a complete random stranger who has not only heard of Baldwin but worked there and likes the Rootbeer stand my friend Chad use to work at! By this time I am without speech, I am thinking this is just impossible, maybe he is my guardian angel or something... I am just waiting for him to tell me he used to shake dice for coffee with Uncle Dave at Bark's Bakery on Main or he likes to fish at "Big Jim's!"

I knew that day our world had changed forever.

Priyas Proverbs - Kindergarten Theology

Priya and Stephen are talking in the back of the van today... blah blah blah blah and then I hear Priya say, "Well that is because Jesus IS God!"

Stephen, "But he was from Mary and Joseph.."

Priya, "It's complicated..."

Big Water - Big Birthday present for Grandpa

It was windy and dangerous out on the big water. Not much for perch but we got some Salmon

The Day Stephen Rides his Bike!!

Grandma's Diary - While Shoji was in NJ

Thurs. 3/11 : Drove through the rain and wore sun glasses to help me see ; they worked great. It was raining heavy . Arrived around 5:30 p.m. Priya and Stephen were waiting to warmly greet me. So wonderful to see them. Ryan got pizza for supper. Played several games of candy land before bedtime. Visited with Ryan and Shoji and got info on house/school routine ect.

Fri. 3/12: Shoji left at 6:30 for the airport. Helped Priya get ready for school. We all walked her to the bus. Ryan left for the church. Stephen and I played more games and some Thomas train. I picked Priya up at the bus. Stephen waited at home. Weather was cool and cloudy. Cooked mac and cheese for lunch with peas and corn--Stephen helped. Watched some howdy doody. Ry home early. We fried fish and made some sweet potatoes, salad . Kids went to bed
about 7:30. Taking turns who starts out in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Sat. 3/13: Rainy and cool this morning but everyone in good spirits. We all went to get new wipers on my car. Went to Wendy's for lunch. Stopped and got crickets too. Ry went into the church around 2. We played games and then got ready for 5 p.m. church. kids had sandwiches and fruit. Good church service--about things being invented thru the centuries and how God has known all things and allowed this knowledge at just the right time in history. We have a great all knowing , all powerful, all present Lord and he knows each one of us personally. So awesome and amazing. Driving home from church, we followed Ry in the van and Priya kept her eye on the van. She said "Daddy coasts so he can save the brakes" - cute or what! Made some salads and snacks then to bed.

Sun. 3/14: slept a little later. Ate breakfast and played . time goes fast. love to hear Stephen say, "let me tell you something" . Had dinner at the Pin Stripes. So good . Kids got the buffet free. Sun is shining and getting more like spring now, warmer too. Went to Cabelas with a coin flip heads one. Priya was hoping for tails. (: Enjoyed seeing all the animals ect. Driving home noticed a note on the car thinking it was advertising , didn't look at it til later when I ran to Walgreens for bubble gum. The note said someone had hit the right rear fender. Not a bad dent but noticeable. Ryan spent an hour with the Hoffman Estate police department taking care of the report ect. Thanks Ry. Called Dad and told him and he called Dave ect. I think maybe the cute Latino family we saw in Cabelas by the fish tanks were the ones who opened their door and hit my car. I hope this won't be a hardship for them. What lesson here Lord? (got milk and good deal on pizza at Walgreens on way home from Cabelus.) Weather getting very spring like now. Praying for "Appacha" (sp) everyday. Missing Shoji. The bubble gum wasn't the best for bubbles, will try another brand. Priya is getting good at blowing bubbles. This was a fun day.

Mon. 3/15 Ryan took Pri to the bus. He left for work. Played with Stephen, likes the 'cars ' and Thomas train. Had Mac and cheese for lunch. I think we went to the park this afternoon, not for sure. Had Shoji's chicken for supper with rice and salad. yum .

Tues. 3/16 : Sunny and warm today. Ry took Pri to bus. Stephen and I played until time to pick up Priya. Had chicken nuggets for lunch and p&j sandwiches. Went to park with the bikes. (not yesterday). Shoji called and said the power was back on there and the weather was very nice too. Her Dad in good spirits. Kids played with Jaden and Samuel outside. Ry came home about 3 or so and I went to Butura for some fruit and milk. Grilled bison burgers , fried some boiled potatoes and had strawberry spinach salad and Shoji's good dress-ing , very good. Priya does her homework each day. I think it is pretty challenging for a 5 year old. Bless her. Kids go to bed early. Special to read with them and lay by them 'a couple minutes'. Such sweeties.

Wed. 3/17
Ry took Priya to the bus. It's another nice spring day , 60 degrees. After lunch(mac and cheese with corn) we went to the store in the van (Jewell) . Got some St. Patrick's day cup cakes. Priya's school really had the kids into St. Patty's day. She was excited to make it special for Daddy too. Ry home about 7 p.m. Matt Piercy took the kids on a bike ride and they loved it. We had chicken, rice and dressing for supper and cupcakes.

Thurs. 3/18
Pri off to school with Ryan. This morning Stephen and I made banana muffins and stirred up some bran muffins. didn't have buttermilk so made sour milk with lemon juice. Deegs was really into stirring everything up, lining the muffin cups ect. He has been helping make his own oatmeal too in the morning. Had strawberries in it today . Good eater. Had hotdogs for lunch. Shoji called and we all talked with her. Pri said" my mom makes the best mac and cheese, she uses butter." Went to the park, a little breezy and cool today. told them the old north wind was getting ready to send some more snow. they pondered this. Stephen's bike pedal got stuck so pushed him on his bike. Had chinese food for supper. Kids ate good. Last nite to tuck them in bed. They say the sweetest prayers , bedtime is good visiting time. I went to Target to look for scooters , found them.

Fri 3/19
Ry took Pri to the bus.. Deegs made oatmeal , said "do we make sour milk"? cute. He remembered from the muffin making. Precious boy We finished baking the bran muffins.
Ry went and got a hair cut. I packed and got ready to go. It is a gorgeous day at 60 degrees. We all went to meet Pri at the bus. They got on their scooters and were having great fun.
By the time I got to the Dells, it was 47 degrees and at Baldwin it was 37 degrees. Wow what a change. The old north wind is blowing.

Sat. 3/20
Ry called , they had snow on the ground. That old north wind did it.

Shoji's Dad's Health Condition

After a whole month of being sick, a trip to the ER and being hospitalized twice for a total of 14 days so far, the doctor is leaning toward the diagnosis of:

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

You can read more about it here:
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Chronic+inflammatory+polyneuropathy He will be starting a plasma treatment tomorrow which will keep him in the hospital for probably another 10 days. We are happy to have some sort of determination and hoping that the healing process will not be complicated by anything that might be underlying this. Just in the last 2 days, he has lost all strength in his legs and we are hoping he would be able to recover quickly and fully. He has not lost any hope or courage through this whole process except maybe yesterday when he couldn't get himself out of bed. He is in the right place and in the right hands. His attitude and faith has been amazing and he is striving to get the "best patient award" by not bothering the staff if at all possible lest he be seen as complaining. Please continue to pray for his full recovery and for his spirit. Thanks for all your support, concerns and prayers to all of us expressed in many different ways.

Shoji & Ryan

Valentine's Day - 101 Dalmatians

We went to 101-Dalmations last weds. 2/17/10. It was really great. After 10 years in Chicago area I finally got it right...

Complementary tickets to 101-Dalmatians (because we got puked on at our last show downtown over a year ago). Cost $0

Free Parking near Randolph & Peroia Str. just 2 blocks from the restaurant we went to. $0
Awesome Dinner for 2 at Sushi Pink, really good! $25 dollar coupon making the total $43
Cab ride from the Cadillac Palace theater to our car - 6$
A friend watched our kids for free - $0

$49 dollars (plus gas) - dinner, show, night out.

We had a great night, the show was amazing, very family friendly and they had real Dalmatians in the show. In fact when we got to the theater people lined the entrance like some celebrities were showing up. When I asked what was going on people were all exciting saying, "Oh, the dogs are coming, the dogs are coming!!" Only in America! I think the dogs got a bigger reception that Obama would have gotten!

Earthquake in Algonquin!

Wow my first earthquake!! I thought there was a huge snowplow in the parking lot behind my house or I was having a bad dream or something!! Then I was so sleepy I didn't even remember it until someone said there was an earthquake. I have never been in an earthquake. I started thinking about it and it was a little scary with all that has gone one in Haiti recently. Just another reminder that we are not in control!

(CNN) -- An early morning earthquake rattled northern Illinois on Wednesday, shaking an area about 50 miles west-northwest of downtown Chicago, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake was originally reported as having a magnitude of 4.3, but the USGS later downgraded it to magnitude 3.8. It hit just before 4 a.m. CT (5 a.m. ET), with an epicenter about 3 miles underground. The USGS pinpointed the quake between the towns of Virgil and Sycamore, Illinois.

Outdoors with Chris Hurta II

The Boldt Creed

We are trying to develop a saying or short memorable statement on what is means to be a Boldt. Something we can focus on and help communicate values to our children. Maybe something like, "Love God and Love People through the Love of Christ to Transform the World".

There is something I really like about Romans 12 and the ideas of:
Being living sacrifice, not conforming to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:

"It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.