Wil and a motorcycle is one thing...but Jacque too?

Yes, now that Wil has two motorcycles...yes, two, one is his origninal dirt bike, the second one he got when he turned 16...it's just like his dirt bike, only a little bigger and is an Enduro, which basically means street legal.

Well, now that the dirt bike is not being used as much, Jacque decided she wanted dad to teach her to ride the bike in the back yard. She did a really good job, no accidents! But I can say she likes speed. I think about 30 more gray hairs popped out on my head today while videotaping her. Enough said.

First Day of School....and College!

We made it through the Summer! First day of school and Ben is in 4th grade, Jacque is in 7th grade and Wil is a Junior! For our school, 7th grade is the first year they are in Junior High and Wil is attending a local Community College full time for high school credit/college credit. A big year of changes! Ben and Jacque are off on the school bus and Wil is off on his motorcycle to college.

Reality Check

On my roadtrip to Arkansas and St. Louis with Jacque and Ben, we drove right through Joplin, Missouri. This picture was taken in Aug. 2011, 2 months after the deadly F5 tornado tore through that area. I was amazed and shocked at what I saw. Majority of the debris had been removed, the high school had yet to be touched, just fenced off. The land looked like it had been bombed and deserted. I wanted to drive Jacque and Ben through to see this. Only as a reminder, that when we complain about how much our life "sucks" because we had our iPod taken away, can't play with friends because we are in trouble, or have to help unload the dishwasher....I wanted them to see just how bad they had it. We should never take for granted just how easy we have it and our bad days or moments we have are nothing in comparison to the hardships others are going through.

Everything we have is a blessing. Every situation (good or bad) is an opportunity. Don't waste our opportunities.

Just a few of the pictures I took.......


Amazing how someone used duct tape to finish the sign that once said Joplin High School, and now it says Hope High School!


This is the gymnasium of the school, where just 30 minutes before the tornado was High School graduation ceremonies!


Everywhere you looked there was nothing.


On a hill, overlooking all the devestation was a church....was a church, but what was left standing....a cross.


Yet again, another picture of how barren the land was. My pictures couldn't catch the magnitude of how wiped out this area was, and how large of an area it was. All gone.

A trip down memory lane

When we lived in Arkansas 12 years ago at the Wal-mart home office, I had the blessing of making some life-time friends, Ms. Christy and Ms. Michelle....the sisters I never had! Moving away from them was hard, but obviously I have adjusted just fine since I LOVE Minnesota...however, the friendship I have with them has not diminished because of distance! I took Jacque and Ben on a long road trip this summer, and one of our stops was back to Bentonville, Arkansas. I had this picture of our 8 kids on my front porch back when they came to visit me for the first time after I had moved to Minnesota. In this picture, the oldest on, Tori was in 3rd grade, Bradley 2nd, Wil 1st....everyone else were ankle bitters :o)....Ben of course was a newborn, so not photographed yet! So, while we were in town, we wanted to take another picture of all the kids together. Unfortunately, Wil couldn't make this trip, he had just started his first week of work at you guessed it, Wal-mart!, as a cashier. So, Ben sat in for him. The kids tried to recreate the picture, but now the kids are: Tori, Freshman in College, Bradley Sr.in High School, Wil Jr. in High School (Ben, as seen, 4th grade) and the ankle biters are all in Junior High now...boy, do I feel old!


Our kids, 12 years ago.......



Our kids in August, 2011.....Wil wasn't with me so Ben sat in for him. We tried to recreate what they were doing in the first picture :o)

Wil teaches Buster to ride the Jetski....seriously?

Ummm, yeah, well pictures are worth 1,000 words aren't they? I know I thought it was crazy how we taught the dog to float on a raft earlier in the year, well, we have moved on to bigger and better things apparently! One day this past summer I couldn't find Buster at the cabin, and anybody that knows our dog knows that where I am, the dog is. So, I'm calling for him and calling for him and walk down to the dock. The kids had gone down there to swim and snorkel. I notice the kids aren't there, but the jet-ski lift is down and the jet-ski is gone. Wil must be pulling Jacque and Ben behind the jet-ski on the tube. Not unusual. However, I notice the dog collar laying on the dock next to the jet-ski lift. Hmmmmmmm. I go to the end of the dock, looking to the center of the lake, where I can hear a faint jet-ski sound. It is circling to pick up tubers that fell off, then stops. Faintly, ever so faintly, I can hear a muffled dog bark...yes a dog barking from the center of the lake, which is about 1 1/2 to 2 miles away. As the jet-ski zooms it way back towards our dock, here comes Wil grinning from ear to ear and Buster propped up on the front, barking. Yes, Buster loves to ride the jet-ski now with Wil, and he barks the entire time. HA!

St. Louis Arch....oh man is that high!

In August I took a road trip with Jacque and Ben to Arkansas to catch up with old friends then swung through St. Louis to see family. We were very fortunate to get to spend some time with my Aunt Marian, cousin Karrie and her family for a few days. One of the things we did while we were there was to visit the Arch. The kids loved it! The ride to the top in these litte egg-pod elevators that fit only five people is a little different, to say the least. It clanks, it creaks, it jolts a bit as it angles up to get to the top. I think that was Jacque's least favorite part! But what a great memory we made!






My cousin Karrie and I :o)

Wil is 16....and what a ride!

Yes, Wil is 16....and his ride is a motorcycle! This is his first day of school...what a change from the school bus! (Now that winter has settled in up here, he is using my car while I have started driving the Suburban again )Actually, Wil is going to a program called PSEO...Post Secondary Education Option...it is for Junior and Senior High School students that meet a high school ranking or standardized testing requirement to qualify. They can attend just about any public or some private Minnesota colleges or universities where they have residency and take college courses (full time or part time) that will count towards High School requirements and College credit as well, all paid for by the state of Minnesota. Our school doesn't offer the classes to be done on site at our building, so most of the kids that go from our school choose to go to Anoka-Ramsey Community College. He knows a lot of kids there, and attends full time. He just finished 16 hours this past semester, and is registered for another 16 hours next semester. We haven't received grades yet, but so far his first semester has been quite successful! He just may graduate high school with his Associates Degree! This is really helpful considering he is thinking about Pharmacy School and this will have most of his first two years of college finished and paid for.

Let me tell you, he has grown up a lot this past semester! Between his job as a cashier at Wal-mart, full time college load, taking care of his 2 bearded dragons...who has time for girls? ( I like that, can you tell?!!)