Wishes...

I was reminded of this by an email from a friend who very much needs such real and true encouragement as her young son has been facing a battle with cancer:

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

I wish you enough!

It's Oktoberfesting Time.....

I had a nicer picture of Steve, but this was much more appropriate to the occassion!

We started this past weekend by volunteering our time from 1-4 pm on Friday...before you assume that this was for purely selfless reasons, though the event raises money for a great cause (The Variety Club - Children's Charity), it was for the Downtown German Restaurant's Oktoberfest and had its' perks. Steve, myself, and our friends Beth and Myra joined us as beer pourers, and drinking on the job was encouraged! Several other friends joined us toward the evening. Beth, Myra and I tried a little Polka-ing in the grand German tradition (if you could call it that;) and we proved again that we are not afraid to look like fools in the name of fun silliness! A good time was had by all! (I am sure especially by those watching us try to dance)

Miss Myra and I

Beth and I

We also ran into some old friends......

We ran into Beth who is a friend that is married to Steve Diers (for those of you who remember him) and she had with her their son Jacob. They live in NE Iowa, so this was a surprise. His sister Krissi, mom Elaine, and cousin Jeri was with them - all of which are also friends from the past.

Beth, Beth (Steve's), Jacob and I

We also ran into Dave whom Myra, Steve and I went to school with....

Myra, Dave and I

Busy Saturday...stopped by our friends J.P. and Becky's to say a quick hello as they were having their yearly cook out, and then it was off to Newton to have dinner with Steve's Dad and his wife Georgia. Steve and I, Steve's Bro Tim and Nicolle, and sister Deb all went to "Christen" their new grill, (which included the guys assembling it before cooking on it:) and celebrate Georgia's Birthday.

My niece Leah had eye surgery at the end of last week, and it sounds like it went well and was hopefully successful in restoring additional strength her left eye. Below is a new picture Brett sent of the kids....It is a great picture of them!

Ben, Alex, Jenna and Leah

We are off to the start of a busy week of work and school....Have a great week!

Little "Drinking" Humor for the day

explained by Cliff Clavin, of Cheers.One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm.

Here's how it went:

"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."



I think I subscribe to that theory..... It definately suites my purposes:)

What a beautiful day!

Hi everyone!

Today was a gorgeous day and I hope everyone had the chance to spend at least some of it outside!

We have been pretty busy over the past week and weekend. We have that class that is 2 nights a week and since it is a "Fast Track" class, we already had our mid-term which seemed to go alright for both of us.

Thursday we had a little deck party for out sand volleyball team (THE JIBLETS) at our house to commemorate the end of the season. That was a lot of fun as our team-mates are all a lot of fun, and though the weather tried not to cooperate and was quite cold and windy, the rain held out, so we just enjoyed a nice night outside with warmer clothes, and at least no bugs. How did our season go, you ask? I am not sure you could find a single on of us that knows for sure. I know we won some, and lost some, but as far as I am concerned - not knowing how many of each is the sign of an enjoyable season:)

We took it easy on Friday night and got the opportunity to see my best friend Gretchen, since she had a weekend class at Drake and needed to crash. The visit was short, but getting to see her was nice, even if for a short time.

Saturday we kind of had a slow day. Some or our neighbors had put together a block party, so we thought we should make it to that. We drug ourselves up the block shortly before 6pm. We were probably there for about 20 minutes when we got some pretty good rain.....which oddly enough, really didn't matter. We had a good time, and most everyone stayed as we commandeered some tailgating tents and one of the neighbors' garages. It was a good chance to meet people we never have on the block, and see others we've only met a time or two.

Today, Steve and I went to the zoo. Wells Fargo (my employer) gave out free tickets for today, and we are usually too lazy to take advantage of such offers, but thought it was such a good day to be outside. While we were there I was telling Steve that if there was one thing that I would want if I had just a ridiculous amount of money at my disposal, would be an otter habitat! Of course, Steve looked at me like I was crazy, as he often does;) They are just so fun to watch!

I am adding a few pictures of my hummingbirds....I thought since I have been talking about them, I would share.


I ended this beautiful afternoon doing some reading for class outside, while simultaneously try to give our two knuckleheads, Zeus and Ollie some exercise.....I think at least half of my mission was accomplished....and I read a little too;)

Hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Monday!

Quote of the day: "The most wasted of all days is that during which one has not laughed" - Nicolas De Chamfort

I thought Labor Day weekend was for rest...and fun?

Quote of the day:
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." - Herm Albright

I don't really have all that much exciting to report, but we've been so busy that it seems I would be missing the whole point of this blog to just share the most fun and exciting things.

This past week didn't really give us a chance to breathe after the Buddy Walk. We started class last week again. For those of you who don't know, Steve and I have been slowly trudging along to get our Bachelors in Management at Simpson College. We both have our Associate of Applied Science degrees, and have jobs we are fairly happy with (most of the time....), but thought it best to have that additional 4 year piece of paper for safety's sake in the future. So far we have taken all our classes together which has worked out well. Especially to have someone to commiserate with. We are taking fast track classes, and right now we are enrolled in Western Civ. It is a nice change from the accounting that we have had more recently, but never-the-less an unwanted burden on our free time. Our class is Monday and Wednesdays from 5:30 - 9, though we are fairly sure our Professor thinks class is scheduled until 9:30. He is a great speaker, but a bit long-winded. Reading expectations for this class are definately going take a serious chunk of free time from us :( This weekend was - PLATO - The Trial And Death of Socrates! Whoo hoo!

We had our second to the last game of volleyball on Thursday for our summer sand league. We will miss the fun, but probably won't miss the additional night of "Plans" during the week. The season always ends right when we start to get pretty good, then we start all over the next time.

Then came our weekend - where did it go? It started nice since I met Kerry and Cameron to say hello and pick up their kind delivery of beer from Colorado on their way through town. Thanks guys we made sure to enjoy a few throughout the weekend - your picks were all winners!
I had to work (for work) at home on and off all weekend and we did a ton of yard and house projects that have been neglected for too long. We both kind of feel like we didn't sit down all weekend - I don't really think we did. Caught up on laundry, cleaned house inside - upstairs/downstairs, Lawn work outside, Steve painted the inside of the garage, installed new front screen door - (Come on Fall!), the list goes on....you get the idea - busy - doing boring things that need to be done. It was nice to get caught up.
Our new house has kind of turned us into bird nerds. We have 7 various bird feeders scattered around the edge of the ravine in the backyard, and just added our 3rd hummingbird feeder aorund the house. We get the prettiest birds, and have about 4 resident hummingbirds - that are really facsinating to watch. Yes, we are nerds.

Tuesday Morning:

We recently found out that we are the new Bus Stop in the neighborhood (litterally - our driveway). As if running late isn't annoying enough, imagine waiting for 10-15 kids to clear the way, all the while looking at you like you do not belong there, so you can back out of your garage. Worse yet, we had done a quick lap around the house before leaving to find the cat who frequently hides for long periods of time, but had been missing just a little too long - with no luck. We had given up and left for work, but before we reached the edge of our little suburb, Steve remembered having a closet door in one of the spare rooms open the night before and closing it.......if you know our cat - if she was near by, she was in that closet. So we went back. Deciding not to make the kids move, we parked on the side of the street and I ran in - she was there, I opened the door and she sauntered right out like, "I knew you would come, slave - I was fine in there". CATS!

At least it is a short week! Have a great one!