Welcome Home Soldiers!!

Back in June, we had the honor of being invited to welcome home some soldiers coming home after serving for a year or more over in Iraq. This was an opportunity given to us thru the Boy scouts and Girl Scouts organization. Jacque was the only girl from her troop to go since it was during the week during school hours for the other girls....we had already gotten out of school for the summer.

Jacque and Ben made their posters and we headed to the St. Paul airport. The children lined the street where the buses drove thru before they unloaded at the hanger. It was a great opportunity for all to be involved with, and in honor of today being 9/11, not only is our family remembering all those involved with the events of that day, but the soldiers as well that have and continue to protect our freedoms............ Thank you.



Out side the hanger.....




On the airstrip behind the hanger.....



Here comes the police escort, buses are coming around the corner



Jacque and Ben in position :o) They created their own posters.....sitting at a McDonald's chowing down on fresh french fries....it was a good morning :o)


The families reuniting with their loved ones just after they were dismissed

Just outside the hanger....the picture doesn't do it justice, but this was really really cool to see, with the flag suspended so high in the air by the ladders of the firetrucks. There were about 50 men and women from a motorcycle group standing at attention with the American Flags thru out the entire ceremony.

Here's the backside of them, looking into the hanger

This is looking thru the fence before we could get to the hanger. The buses had already pulled up and you can see the American Flag hanging already from the firetrucks.

A special treat we didn't know we would get to see!

The end to a great afternoon! A day we will always be thankful we could be a part of.

A peek at a recent vacant staging.....

Well, back in July, my business partner and I worked on a home with a real estate agent we do a lot of work for. We have worked out a staging deal with him for vacant homes he has where we use his furniture, but our accessories. It's a win win for everyone.....he pays us our time and rents our accessories for only 30 days, he moves in his heavy furniture he owns--so his staging costs are a lot less......and every time we do this with him, he calls us to come get our stuff well before the 30 days is up. This particular property was under contract in 5 days, with 35 showings and 5 offers--over asking. Usually in these properties, there is quite a bit of work to be done prior to staging, so really these pictures don't capture what all went into it. But, we come in and help determine what definitely needs to be done based on budget....flooring, paint colors, cabinetry, hardware, light fixtures, etc. The final staging part can be a little "trying" since some of the furniture may be dated (i.e. basement furniture), a little ruff around the edges (i.e. kitchen table, not to mention it had no chairs!)...however, he did purchase a newer couch and chair for this property we were much pleased with. You can't understand the seriousness of that until you see the pictures of the living room furniture he had us use in the first property! We learned from that first property, that we can even make "crap" look good...well, that will have to be another posting!! But, even that property was under contract in less than 2 weeks...but it just goes to show, not everyone has "showy" furniture, it's all in how you arrange it and present it (or in this case, how many throws and pillows you can use to hide the flaws in the couch!!!! :o) ) Not all properties can be brand new rehabs or new model homes or the budget isn't there for a full out staging with all the brand new furniture. But, this property is another perfect example that Staging helps to sell properties of all values.......it's all in the merchandising! (and don't forget price too.....can't forget that.)

By the way, I'm still searching for my before pictures of the outside of the house and the living room.....those are just as dramatic, but you can't tell that now...so just enjoy the shots!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Girl Scout Camp memories

Well, what can I say, it's September 9 and I'm updating you on girl scout camp from June......it's been a busy summer, but yet I couldn't even begin to tell you what made it go by so fast either!!!

Jacque has been in girl scouts for 3 years now, with the same group of about 7 girls. This was their second year to go to camp, and my second year to go with them as a chaperon. Being the troop's cookie mom comes with it's privileges--I'm a registered Girl Scout myself, so I get to attend these events!

We went to camp over by Forest Lake, MN--only about 45 minutes from home. Our cabins this year were without all forms of electricity---and the toilet outside by us had a glow necklace hanging around it at night so you could find it. You can only imagine how much the girls looked forward to that!!! At the other end of the camp, however, there were some really nice shower houses with really nice, fully functioning toilets complete with all the lights you wanted.....we just had to hike to it :o) So, in the middle of the night, we were hiking....even though the glow in the dark toilet was only about 100 ft. from our cabins :o)

We had 2 cabins...attached with a deck and picnic table between them. So we were up on a platform basically. My one picture below may not show that very well. We were at camp for 3 days and 2 nights and the girls had a blast......especially after I showed up from a "sneak" trip to the local walmart in town for a battery operated lantern :o)

The girls got to pick out activities as a troop they wanted to do....canoeing, pottery, archery, swimming, and the last one I just can't think of, it is September, not June......the mind has a way of just forgetting things!

I stayed in the cabin with Jacque and 2 other girls, the 2 troop leaders and the other 4 girls stayed in the other cabin. We had a blast and are looking forward to next summer already!! We have our eyes on the Yurts (circular tent) for next year, one huge round tent on a platform with 6 bunk beds all around the edge--sleeps 12 girls/moms. Hey, now we won't have to take turns with my battery operated lantern at night! One for all, all for one!!!!




Jacque and her bunk mates, Maddie and MacKenzie

The troop!

The troop leaders and cookie mom :o)

Only in Minnesota do you go swimming with your stocking cap on, and it really doesn't bother you or anyone else!!

Before Jacque and her bunk mates board their canoe........

Off they go........................

Hard to tell, but they kept getting stuck in the weeds, and this is about the 4th time they were getting pulled out...................

Jacque and Mom in Pottery class

Our cabins, home sweet home......

The girls just hanging out inside one of the cabins

Jacque in Pottery Class.....she loves anything crafty

We had no idea how good Jacque would be at Archery, she loved it!!!!! Now she practices at home....at a target, not her brothers :o)

The troop and their leaders on the last night....heading out for S'mores in their PJ's!

The Cutest Cake Ever!!!

This summer, our neighbors had a niece visiting that lives in Canada, and the girls in the neighborhood really took a liking to her and played quite a bit with her while she was here for a few weeks. The day before she went back home, Jacque and another friend wanted to have a going away party for her.....and look what we found at our local Walmart bakery!!! Yum!!!! It was a hamburger made out of cake and frosting.....and it was as good as it looked! As soon as the boys came in, the cake was gone before the sun set!!!!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!