News Archive 2005

Anyhow, since there is no waiting period in California, we want to have the ceremony as soon as possible. We know it's fast but we are ready and feel no need for delay. We are happy and excited and I couldn't wait to share the good news.

Love,
Tricia, soon to be Mrs. Tricia Miller

Hurry-cane Rita 09/25/05
By Susie Devries
Hi Everyone,

Guess Rita thought better than to 'mess with Texas' didn't she? :) As for Arkansas, well there are simply too many hillbillies here to mess with, they wouldn't care! :)) We had no damage from storms that went through. We do have a bunch of downed tree branches and leaves, but no major ones. Tomorrow will be rake the yard day and all will be well. A tornado was reported close to my son's house. (Michael & Nancy) Bill went out there, and all was well. He did encounter a big tree that had fallen across the road on the way to their house and the fire department was there trying to get things in order so people could pass. Thankfully no real damage.

Bobbie, I hope you fared well with this storm, it got to be a bit rambunctious for awhile. Don't blame you one bit for not battling the traffic that was on it's way out of Texas. I've read that the normal drive time was twice as long, which would be one huge headache.

I had the twins from Thursday Eve, through today. (Sunday) We thought Nancy was going into labor, she had been having contractions. After some much needed rest she is feeling much better and we are thinking she was simply exhausted. Gee I can't imagine why can any of you? A 27 month old child with energy to spare, twins who are 14 months but only about 4-6 in age, not one single night of a solid 8 hours sleep and 36 weeks pregnant on top of that. Oh help!

OK, that's it. All is well, no major damage to report from here. I am tired after having the babies, but I would not trade this tired for all the tea in China as they say.

Love to all,
Susie

Back Home 09/25/05
By Barbara Lawrence
I stayed all night at Minerva's last night and then went to church with them this morning. I got home close to 1 p.m. and the front gate was closed. I could hardly get it back so that wind was strong yesterday. The metal tie was broken so I need to find something to tie it with because what is out there won't reach around anymore. It is still pretty windy today but more like a stiff breeze. Both of the rain gauges say we got about 1/8" below 1-1/2" and all the new trees are fine.

We do have a few limbs down out back but nothing to speak of. The skirting was all out on the east side Daryl's bedroom as far as the hose container and from the north corner on the front of the house all the way to the hose bib so I put that back almost first thing. I still have to get my stuff out of the car but it's too hot to do that after all that I have been doing outside - I'm going to try and cool off a little first as my hair is so wet the water is running down my back and I'm sweaty all over so have to change my clothes. It was 84 inside the house when I turned the a/c on (I turned off the circuit breaker before I left). I forgot to check the pond but will be going back out - I doubt there's much water in it if we only got 1-1/2 inches. I got the humming bird feeder back out, the birds fed and fresh water out for them so guess everything is back to normal.

Quilts 09/23/05
By Judie Riggen
Hi Everyone;

One of the girls that I graduated with makes quilts. My first thought was so do I, then I went and looked at the quilts she makes. She also writes books for children. I thought you might like to have a look see at the talent that was sitting right next to me and I had no idea! Her web site is www.aghines.com. I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Judie

Hurricane Plans 09/21/05
By Barbara Lawrence
Even though Susie (my cousin) was sweet enough to ask me to come to Little Rock to stay with her until the hurricane is past, I have decided to go stay with my friend Minerva who lives about 15 miles north of me in a huge brick home - 4 or 5 bedrooms so there is plenty of room there for me. I have decided I don't really want to be on the highway going to Little Rock with as many people as there might be driving to get away from the storm. Our news now says that the worst of the winds and rain will be going further west than north but that our winds might be up to 50 mph gusts with lots of rain. Living out here on the prairie in a trailer is something I don't want to live through in the end of a hurricane even if we don't have any problems. Jan told me I could come stay with her but Minerva had asked me before I talked to Jan so I told Minerva I would come stay with her. I am the luckiest mother-in-law to be because I couldn't ask for a better wife for Daryl than Jan will be - when they get married next year.

Thought you might like to know what my plans are come Sat. as I will go out to Minerva's Sat. morning and the news said we will have this storm through Sun. Minerva claims me as her best friend and I feel the same way about her. She got married two years ago this last July 5th (she is 73) and her husband is one of the nicest men I've met - she is very lucky and they are the perfect couple. In case some of you don't know my cell phone number, it is: 903-466-1443 if you want to reach me over the weekend. If nothing else, I will have a weekend away from home.

Luv ya all,
Barb

Elvis To Wed 09/20/05 By Daryl Lawrence While on location in Ocala, Florida with my job, I was able to arrange a weekend for my girlfriend Jan Cason to come for a nice weekend visit. It was a few days of vacation relief for her. We had a very relaxing time during her visit, and saw a few sites in this area. I surprised her Sunday afternoon with an engagement ring! We had discussed it in the past, but it is NOW official!

File Photo Elvis & Jan

We are both very happy about it, and looking forward to our future together, where I am no longer "on the road" with my job. The date is still pending, and will most likely be a private ceremony, somewhere...

Catalpa Tree 09/19/05
By John Schmit
Earlier this month, Cheryl and I planted a new tree in our back yard. We were not happy with the existing tree, as it was a left over from the developement. The new tree is a Purple Catalpa. The tree has very big leaves and hopefully will provide plenty of shade in the Summer. This tree should grow to a total height of 30 feet. That should take some time.

Click here to see the new tree pictures.  

This Week 09/16/05
By Heidi Schmit
This week I took my Final Exam for my American Government class and I received a 220 out of 250 which is really good. So my final grade for the class is 906 out 1000 which is an A-. In two weeks or so I’ll be starting my next class which is part two of American Government. Hopefully I’ll keep my GPA in the 3.0’s. Next week is going to be a busy week, Chloe goes in for surgery on Tuesday to get declawed and spade. Poor Chloe is going to hate me. I’ll be picking her up on Thursday. I’ll let you know how it goes.  

Moonshadow Passes 09/13/05 By John Schmit Moonshadow, one of our cats, passed away Monday night at about 10:15pm. He died quickly, quietly and in comfort. Both Cheryl and I were with him in the end. Moonshadow had been a part of our family for the last 13 years. He was a true "Garfield" cat - controlling, demanding and always ready to eat and sleep. He was a curious cat and would usually check out visitors.

File Photo Moonshadow

Moonshadow eventually became John's cat and would sleep in his right arm at some point, every night. His loss is felt deeply. We know he is more comfortable now.

Please enjoy these favorite pictures of Moonshadow.  

Yard Work 09/06/05
By John Schmit
The end of season rush is here. We are trying to finish up our work on the yard before the weather breaks. Following the pour of concrete, we needed to level the ground between our neighbor's yard and ours. We both decided to replace the dead grass and found concrete sludge under the sod, which we removed. We put down some good dirt and replaced the sod.

Cheryl and I now are finishing the plantings. A little here, a little more there. Soon it will be time for indoor projects!

Click here to see the pictures.  

Trees 09/01/05
By Barbara Lawrence
I'm sending you the pictures of the three trees that lived. The middle tree was a 5 gallon bucket and the other two were in 1 gallon buckets. Stacey came over and cut off the other two at ground level (that looked dead) and they now have new growth coming up.

Daryl planted these trees on 8/3/05 and the middle tree wasn't even up to the top of the posts so that gives you an idea how fast these trees grow. I'm sure the little ones have grown at least 2 or 3 inches but I'm so disappointed that the middle tree will always be taller. Oh well, as fast as they grow it shouldn't be long before we have some good shade out front.

Thought you might enjoy.

Click here to see the pictures.  

Sod Removal 08/31/05
By John Schmit
It was a long afternoon as what started out as a little sod removal turned into a complete removal. We decided to remove grass that was not growing well by the driveway and discovered concret slag underneath the sod. Along with lots of rocks, the slag had to go. Keith, our neighbor, came home from work and began helping. The next thing we know, we're finding concrete under his sod as well. By this time Cheryl had arrived with Allen and with all this muscle power, we decided to remove it all.

Taking the sod and the concrete out took about four hours. Everyone was exhausted by the time we finished. Next we'll put fresh topsoil down and new sod to level between the two properties. New trees are being delivered today as the home improvement saga continues.

Click here to see the pictures.  

Seniority Pays! 08/29/05
By John Schmit
This pick for my fall work was the best ever! I was able to achieve all of my core requirements AND get some overtime. I do NOT have to go to downtown Seattle. They are closing the bus tunnel, which currently allows busses to bypass traffic on surface streets. The closure will be for two years as they retrofit the tunnel to include light rail. With all the extra busses on the surface, I didn't want to be there for the holidays.

My next hope was to NOT cross any bridges. The two major bridges between the Eastside and Seattle get very congested and busses get way behind schedule during rush hour. I will be staying on the Eastside and do not have to cross the bridges.

At the same time I was also able to get almost three hours a week built in overtime. That sure helps the paycheck. As I've said to others, this has been my best pick yet. I am truely watched over! I still will be working "nights", but will be home by 9pm on all but one evening. Life is good!

Visiting Heidi 08/21/05
By Daryl Lawrence
The visit with Heidi was short and nice. She took me to the Air Force Base where she works and showed me around. Of course I took my camera with me, and forgot to take even one picture... Sorry about that. A very nice Base too, RIGHT on the water of Tampa Bay on a Peninsula, with walking paths and little piers for the service people to fish from. Heidi tells me she has seen several Dolphins swimming right there in front of her too. Of course an excellently groomed golf course there too.

We ate at Church's Chicken (make mental note -stick to KFC in the future), then back to her apartment. Got to play with her new kitten, Chloe. Kittens are always cute, lots of jumping around and "I want to chew on your fingers", very cute cat though.

Major thunderstorms on the way back to Ocala, so had to slow to around 40mph quite a few times, couldn't see anything on the road, and lots of puddles to hydro plane in...

When it rains... 08/19/05
By Chris & Erin Lawrence
When it rains it pours!!! This time around it's all good news. We're praying that it stays that way!!

Click here and read the whole story.

Project Finished! 08/18/05
By John Schmit
The South side of the yard has it's main work completed. The retaining wall and fence are done. Tonight we just sat outside and enjoyed our new privacy. The concrete walk around the house will be appreciated when the rainy season starts (next week, I think). Looks like the worst of the summer is over here. Those first two weeks in August can be rough! Still, plenty of near 80 to keep that summer feeling for a while.

With all the yard work, we decided to skip planting this year. We will get fresh winter plants for the front and back gardens. We are also looking at trees. In the Great Northwest it's hard not to. But we would like to plant a nice shady tree for the patio in the back. We've seen a few we liked at the nursery, but still have to make a decision. Next, we have to put the plants back in the front garden and get the North side rock and junk dirt removed so we can plant there. Yard work pictures were recently added to our picture pages.

Allen was with us last Wednesday and was saying that too many people in the family have had computers crash lately. First Frank, then us, Susie got the Slows and even Allen had a motherboard burn up. MMMMMMM! We just went and replaced ours with a new, multi-media machine so we can easily burn family movies to DVD's. We even got a new printer to print right on the disks for that cool, professional look. At least the neat stuff is getting cheap enough we can afford it.

Keep sending those wonderful news items for the website. We all enjoy keeping in touch!

The Monster 08/18/05
By Susie Devries
Hi There,

We are still in the slow mode of computers but email is useable. A bit on the slow side, of course, but it could be worse.

Summer is going in all it's glory giving us terribly hot days with a bunch of humidity. Thankfully we are about 1/2 way through August, September will be hot also, but not like August. Oh man!!

Here is a picture of The Monster. Every year I put that plant outside and it just goes nuts! In the fall I trim it way way back and put the cuttings in a bucket out front with a sign that reads: FREE!! TAKE ALL YOU WANT!! People see that, take some starts and go on their way. I will do the same with my spider plant. The little red begonias grow so well here but do not over winter. This year I put them in the strawberry pot. Squirrels eat my strawberries so I didn't bother with them this year.

Hope all is well for all of you in different parts of our world. Take care.
Susie

The Slows 08/12/05
By Susie Devries
Hi Everyone,

We have the slows. Our nice fast computer got sick and died. It needs a new motherboard which will be here some time next week. In the mean time we are using the 'old' computer and dial up Internet. Oh man is it ever slow. Judie, I don't know if we will be able to chat or not!! In the meantime, please don't think I am ignoring anyone, I am simply not willing to waste so much time with dial up. Please be patient with us, this computer has a mind of it's own.

John and Cheryl, Michael and Bobby went to Mansfield MO. last week to visit Grandpa and Grandma McWilliams. Bobby has pictures on his digital camera that we are going to load on our computer when we get the new mother board. We will then send some pictures of their trip. They loved every minute of it and I think one of the highlights was Grandma's cooking.

It's hot here in AR. Today at 5:25 PM it was still 101, and that was actual temp, not a heat index figured in. Needless to say, I've stayed in quite a bit. I've had to water due to lack of rain, but that is to be expected in this area at this time of year.

Hope all is well with everyone. We are doing OK, the family is doing OK, kitties are doing OK. the twins are now 13 months old. Baby Michael had a hearing test on Wednesday and he passed it. That was good news. Apparently they have a special machine to test a baby's hearing when they cannot verbally respond. Fascinating what they can do now. Praise God, the babies are still here and growing.

Will let you all go for now. Take care. I hope to be back in the running again soon with the new mother board. Until then------well, it's the slows. You know, it's hard to soar with eagles when you fly with turkeys. :-)

Love to All,
Susie

Daryl Plants Trees 08/07/05
By Barbara Lawrence
Daryl just planted these five trees - 3-5 gallon ones in the middle and a 1 gallon one on each end. They grow from 8 - 10 ft. a year and if they do good this year, Daryl is going to buy five more next spring and stagger them with these but put them just a little further out towards the west. With the strong winds we have here, we can't take a chance of them blowing over on to the house. Daryl put "bubblers" on each tree but I felt so sorry for him because it was 102 when he was digging the holes for these trees and then planting them - with no breeze. Now the wind has come up and looks as if it could rain any minute - which we're supposed to have this afternoon.

I will take pictures the first of each month because once the freeze comes, they lose their leaves for the winter. The leaves on these trees are HUGE so once they get some height, they should be some good shade for the house - at least eventually and also once he plants another row of them further out.

See the picture here.

Busy Summer 08/07/05
By Cheryl & John Schmit
Daryl visits, yard work begins, many HOA Board meetings, and a major computer crash were some of the exciting events of just the last four weeks. Some we enjoyed, some we wanted, and others just happened. While there is still much to do, things do seem to be getting better. A very active Summer so far.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Information 12/27/07
By Susie Devries
This really isn't family news, this is some helpful information. I just returned from my doctor appointment. All's well, and this is what my information is based on. Click here for the rest of the story.
 
Doug & Joni's House 12/12/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I finally downloaded all my pictures (and renamed them) so thought I would send you this one. It is the front of Doug & Joni's house facing the beach (across the road) and the junk in front of the pool is the stuff the pool men hadn't taken yet. Click here for the rest of the story and the picture.
 
Autumn 12/11/07
By Susie Devries
Here are some pictures of Autumn helping her Papa replace the kitchen faucet last week!! She was quite interested and offered many suggestions!! Also here are pictures of Autumn helping us rake the leaves. She played hide and go seek behind the trash can and just really had a great time! The kitty lounging in the tomato plants inside is Ralphie!! Click here to enjoy these pictures.
 
Home 12/10/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I made it back home by 2 p.m. today with no problems any part of my trip. I drove a total of 1,690 miles, round trip, and enjoyed every minute of the drive. I had an excellent time while I was in FL so it was a good experience. I stayed last night in a casino hotel in Vicksburg MS right on the Mississippi River - real neat place and it only cost $55 per night - for everyone as it was advertised along the interstate. I ate at the buffet in the casino and it was very good.
 
Airplane Ride 12/08/07
By Barbara Lawrence
When I arrived here, Doug & Joni told me they had a surprise for me for my Christmas present and did I want it last Sat. or today. I said today. Click here for the rest of the story.
 
Laundry 12/07/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I've been sitting here laughing because of a stupid mistake I made. I laid my laundry on the laundry room floor because Joni said she would start it because her new washer is so different. Click here to enjoy the rest of the story.
 
Traveling 12/06/07
By Flat Stanley
I'm Flat Stanley and today I am leaving the great north woods of Michigan to start my trip. My first stop will be Little Rock, Arkansas. Click here to follow my adventures.
 
Pool 12/06/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Here is a picture of the pool as it finally got filled today. The pool men have to come back and finish hooking it up and all that has to happen there. I wish they would come tomorrow because I would like to see the thing operating before I leave. The picture of the bridge is going over the water between Panama City Beach (where Doug lives) and Panama City. Even though it's been cool here and windy, it's amazing how low the humidity stays. Most of the time it has been in the 30% and 40% except at night, which is normal for it to be higher. Click here to enjoy the pool and bridge pictures.
 
Pool & Lucy 12/05/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Here are three pictures taken today. The one of the pool was taken right after the men finished the inside today and Doug can't start putting water in it until 5 p.m. tonight. The other picture is of their bird Lucy. Click here to enjoy the pictures.
 
New Desk 12/04/07
By Heidi Schmit
Well here is what my new desk looks like. It is a Queen Anne Desk with three working drawers and it is made of cherry wood to match everything else. I think it opened up my room a lot. Click here to see the desk.
 
White Stuff 12/03/07
By John & Cheryl Schmit
Our fall colors are gone! Over the weekend we got our first snow of the season. Nature was kind and washed it all away before the work week started. Cheryl documented the snow shower for those that don't often see the white stuff. Click here to enjoy the pictures.
 
House 12/01/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I'm attaching three pictures Doug took with his camera. The one he took from the road which shows the front of the house and the pool (when it's finished this week), one is taken from the front door looking out and the other one is a sunset picture Doug took last night. Once Doug gets the fence in around the pool and all the planting done, this whole area will be beautiful. We are going to have another "hot" day - supposed to get close to 80. Click here to enjoy the pictures.
 
Florida Trip 11/27/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I made it to Doug's house by 11:30 this morning - total of 733 miles - and it was a very good and beautiful drive. I drove I-20 to Jackson MS, took 49 down from there to Hattiesburg and took 98 out of there all the way in to Mobile AL where I stayed last night. Click here for the rest of the story.
 
Our Thanksgiving 11/27/07
By John Schmit
Allen joined us for dinner and we had a great time together. Cheryl cooked a wonderful meal and, of course, I over ate! We also took our annual picture with the Birch tree in front. Click here to enjoy these pictures.
 
Update 11/25/07
By Robert McWilliams
Click here to check out the new pics. Some old, some new, all put together on one page!!!!! Well, how is everybody? Click here for the rest of the story.
 
Thanksgiving 11/23/07
By Susie Devries
Here are some pictures of Autumn helping Grandpa stuff the turkey. It made her so hungry, she had to chow down on the turkey neck to 'tide' her over till dinner!! Click here to see the pictures.
 

1st Place 11/18/07 By Erin Lawrence We took 1st place in our Regional Soccer Tournament!!!! We played 5 games in 2 days. Todays games were all only 2 hours apart! We tied 1 and won 4. It was so great. Click here for the rest of the story.

Ally Lawrence

 
Brade 11/15/07
By Erin Lawrence
O.k. so Braden made his own lunch for school today. He came in and told me he was going to make his lunch. I told him to go ahead. I started to check his lunch box before they left and Chris told me he made it, it's done. Click here to read the rest of the story.
 
Drew 11/14/07
By Allen Manese
Thank you "Our Times" website. You could say my relationship with my father was a little strained for the last 20 years or so. So as a consequence I haven't talked with his other children, what would be my half brother and half sister. Click here to read the rest of the story.
 
2007 Vacation 11/13/07
By Daryl & Jan Lawrence
We started out at 5am to get a jump on the longest leg of our journey, ended up having breakfast in Weatherford TX, about a 4 hour ride west, Cracker Barrel to be precise. As we got further west we enjoyed the new speed limit of 80 MPH!! Ye-Ha, ate up those miles fast that way. Click here to read the rest of the story and see the slideshow.
 
Battle Of The Leaves 11/12/07
By Susie Devries
I've been raking and blowing leaves in my yard. I have a huge pile out back, just from the decks, which are not completely done. Then there is the back yard, which isn't done. Click here to read the rest of the story and see the pictures.
 
Mowing 11/10/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Daryl just got through shredding the pasture grass on the south side of the road that leads into the carport. It's the first time it's been mowed since Daryl bought the property. It really looks nice so thought you would like to see pictures of it. It's a beautiful day outside today - just a little warm but it's breezy so it feels good. Click here to see the pictures.
 
Deer 11/07/07
By Susie Devries
William has just called me, it's a little after 8 AM. He is so excited!! Just shot his first deer! He is so tickled he can hardly talk! He is still in the woods with it, has to field dress it before doing much else. Too bad he doesn't have a camera, I'd be sending a picture along too!
 
Soccer 11/06/07
By Erin Lawrence
Soccer season is just about over! Woo hoo!! It's the first season that I am done before the season is. Click here to read the story and see the pictures.
 
Tomato Plant 11/02/07
By Susie Devries
My tomato plants are inside now. There are about 18 green tomatoes on the vine. I'm hoping they will ripen up inside. I have the netting around them still to support the plants and to keep my kitties out!! Click here to see the picture.
 
School Picture 11/02/07
By Erin Lawrence
We only ordered a few of Ally's school picture this time, and of course it's when it turns out so pretty. But I just remembered our scanner- so now you can see it and I don't have to order more! : ) Click here to see the picture.
 
Halloween 11/01/07
By Susie Devries
Here are some pictures of Autumn and our neighbors little girl Madison. Madison is just one year older than Autumn and by some stroke of luck both girls were dressed in similar outfits. The big 'cary' thing is in our neighbors front yard. Autumn loved it but would hold my hand so tight and say 'cary gama, cary' Click here to see these pictures.
 
Simmons Football 07 10/29/07
By Roger Schmit
Here are some football video clips. The first one is Ryan's game saving tackle. The second will be Aaron's interception and run back for a touchdown. The third will be Ryan sacking the Quarterback. All of the videos were shot by their dad, Matt Simmons. Click here to see the videos.
 
Promotion 10/25/07
By William Foster
I have some great news for you. My wife, Christina, just got a promotion to a lead position at Cabelas and she got a raise as well. I did shoot a deer but it went on private property and I could do nothing about it. I felt so bad and almost quit hunting all together, but I'm not giving up. I will let you know when I get one though, I promise you that!
 
Update & Pics 10/25/07
By Robert McWilliams
I have lost touch recently, been very busy and a lot going on in my life. Click here to read the rest of the story and see the pictures.
 
No Butterfly 10/23/07
By Susie Devries
Well, I guess I killed the caterpillar. It's dead, don't know what I did, but it's dead for sure. Dang it, I was looking forward to a beautiful black swallowtail in the spring. Maybe next time.
 
School 10/22/07
By Heidi Schmit
Just wanted to let you know that I got an A in both of my classes which brought up my GPA to a 3.2. YEAH! Today I'll be starting my next 2 classes which are Business Law and Catholic Tradition one is on Monday and the other is on a Friday.
 
Green Acres 10/21/07
By Daryl Lawrence
Probably the last cut of the season, everything is going to start turning brown again, just in time for wintertime. The pastures needed shredded so we can see the deer walking across them easier, this time compliments of Jan's daddy's 1947 Farmall tractor, still works like a champ. You'd never know it's a 60 year old tractor, works better than I do! You can just hear me singing it now can't you??? Click here to see the pictures.
 
Caterpillar 10/21/07
By Susie Devries
I was outside yesterday looking at my plants on the front deck. I looked at the parsley and it was only sticks! Come to find out a big ol caterpillar had a fine breakfast. Click here to read the rest of the story and see the pictures.
 
Ava Grace 10/16/07
By Susie Devries
Here are new pictures of Ava Grace, my sister's grand baby. She is 5 months old now. Dianna and Ava, Ava on Judie's lap and Judie, Ava and Jim. Click here to see the pictures.
 
Pets 10/10/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I'm sending two pictures I just took with my new camera I received on 10/08/07. It's a GE 7 mega pixels and I bought it because my 5 year old camera wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. Click here to see the pictures.
 
Wolverines 21 - Falcons 18 10/05/07
By Ryan Simmons
My football game was my best football game EVER! We played against the Falcons (undefeated team). We were down two scores, then we scored plus the extra point. They scored again, and then we scored again plus the extra point. The score was Wolverines 14 - Falcons 18. We recovered a fumble and scored. I had to go in for Brian on offense for the extra point play. I blocked the best player on their team and we scored the extra point. The Falcons had the ball with 47 seconds to play. They slowly marched down the field. They were on about the 12 yard line, second and seven, with 6 seconds to go. For the last play they ran a bootleg with their best player and he got around the corners with no one in front to stop him. I ran him down from behind and tackled him. I saved the game!! We won 21-18. My team mobbed me at the end. The coaches and parents made a tunnel for us to run through. I felt more than excited and proud. Click here to see my football picture.
 
Mineola, TX 10/04/07
By Barbara Lawrence
We drove to Mineola TX (about 40 miles one way) again today so we could eat at a buffet there that we saw yesterday and take these pictures. I decided, and Dee agreed, that we needed to take some more pictures being it was her last day to take advantage of this. The weather was much nicer as we didn't have near as much humidity as we had a couple of days ago. Note the "Missouri Pacific" sign on the end of the caboose - the line where Cleo worked. Click here to see the pictures.
 
Texas Vacation 09/30/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I picked up Dee at DFW on 9/24/07 to start a driving vacation of TX. We left Dallas on 9/25/07 and drove towards Austin. Decided to go to Killeen (Fort Hood) and stayed there that night. Went to Austin the next day and my camera battery died but got three pictures. We left there on 09/26/07 and drove through the countryside towards Galveston and stayed in Texas City that night. Got up on 09/27/07 and messed around Galveson for quite some time - pictures attached - and then drove as far as Jaspar TX where we stayed all night. Neat little town and had a good small supper in a real home cooking restaurant. Got up on 09/28/07 (Dee's birthday) and drove home but took a lot of back roads to get home. We arrived home about 5:30 on 09/28/07. Click here for the pictures.
 
Vegas Trip 09/24/07
By John Schmit
This year's trip to Las Vegas was totally different, we drove. It was a two day drive down and back. Cheryl and I took turns at the wheel. Originally, Cheryl had planned to fly back, but after the drive down, we decided she needed to help drive back. She called her boss and got an additional day off.
Click here for the rest of the story, the video and the pictures.
 
Guess Ally's tired of doing homework! 09/21/07
By Erin Lawrence
She just brought her homework to me with a question. I asked her 'he bought what?'   She looked at it then finally realized she forgot the "r". I told her the answer was incorrect, and she was bummed that Chris wouldn't get to see it. That was a good laugh. :) Have a great day! Check out the homework picture.
 
The Great Michigan/Wisconsin Golf Challenge 09/18/07
By Roger Schmit
On Tuesday, at The Four Seasons Resort, the great Michigan vs. Wisconsin golf challenge took place. After a hard fought battle for 18 holes, with a break after 9 for lunch, of course, The Mighty Michigan Ladies eked out a one hole victory over the Wisconsin Wonder Women. Click here for the rest of the story and the pictures.
 
Tuesday Afternoon 09/18/07
By Lisa Lawrence
Well I have an email address again but still no computer. I am using the one at my Mom's house right now. Just want to say hello to you guys and thank you so much for keeping us up to date with the family. I love it! Good to hear you're all doing well. Click here for the rest of the story and the pictures.
 
Allen's Picture Pages 09/18/07
By John Schmit
Everyone is inveted to check out our latest addition to the picture pages. Allen has a space and sent two pages now - "Important Things" and "New TV". Enjoy these new pictures.
 
Parelli Conference - Colorado 09/07/07
By Daryl Lawrence
Nice surroundings for this shindig we went to in Pagosa Springs, Colorado on Thursday and Friday. We went to dinner in Durango the night we got there, to a "Fransisco's" Mexican restaurant, DON'T EVER go there if you're in that town, worst meal I've had in ages!! Of course for this time of year the streets weren't too awfully crowded, being the tourist town that it is. No school aged kids, only retired people walking around. Click here for the pictures.
 

At The Beach 09/04/07 By Andrew Duron Wesley just helped me send some pictures I took at the beach with my camera. It's been really hot here! Ok, Bye  Click here to see the slideshow.

File Photo Andrew Duron

Aunt Vi's Birthday 09/04/07
By Roger Schmit
We went down to Milwaukee last Wednesday to celebrate Aunt Vi's 91st. birthday. Suzanne came from Grand rapids and Nancy and Frank came from Savannah. We were also joined by Frank's sister Judy.

We went to dinner at a restaurant on the lakefront called "Coast". The food was very good and the cocktails were even better. It was a very nice visit and Aunt Vi really enjoyed it. I have included a few pictures.
 
Spiders & Kitties 09/01/07
By Susie Devries
Not really sure how many of you are interested in spiders. They are not my favorite critter, but I do like to watch them. Also, here are a couple pictures of my three kitties. Click here for the rest of the story and the pictures.
 
Ryan, Wendy & Zoe 08/30/07
By Blanche Gleaser
Ryan and Wendy sent a note with pictures. They had a wonderful time here in Las Vegas. They included pictures of their anniversary at the Mirage and their dog, Zoe. They are still working on an adoption and hope it won't be much longer. Click here to see the pictures.
 
My Turn! 08/29/07
By John Schmit
It has been a very busy time and I guess it's my turn to tell the story. From getting the car in and out of the shop to staying up all night for the eclipse of the Moon, the schedule has been tight. Click here for the rest of the story.
 
Home Cams 08/24/07
By Susie Devries
If you look at my home cam after dark you can see my new outdoor accents. They are hummingbirds that change colors, from red to blue to green. They have a light sensor that comes on at dusk and goes off at dawn or whenever it gets light enough. They are sure pretty and Autumn just loves them. She points up to them and says Petty. When Janae came to pick her up she looked at Mommy said bird-petty and pointed to the birds. Then she told her Mama later cycle and Janae looked at her, all of a sudden here comes a motorcycle down the street and Autumn says cycle!!
 
Autumn In The Pool 08/24/07
By Susie Devries
Here are some pictures of Autumn in her pool. She is having a blast learning how to slide down the slide! With her floatie swim suit, she is more interested in sliding down since she has realized she doesn't go under as easy. Also she is very happy trying to catch bubbles!! Also, here is the result of all the fun in the pool!! Click here to see the pictures.
 
Telling On Myself 08/22/07
By Susie Devries
I have to tell on myself. I know all of you will get a good laugh out of this.
This morning I had a 9 AM appointment to get my hair cut. My truck is out of commission, (fuel pump) so I had to walk to my appointment. No big deal, the place I go to less than a mile away. Click here for the rest of the story.
 
Bella 08/21/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I had to take Bella in again yesterday to have another claw taken out - the third time since I had her declawed. The vet said yesterday that she must be a "freak".
When I got up this morning at 6:15, she wasn't in bed with me so I checked in the front room and didn't see her. I had to go to the bathroom and there she was, laying curled up in the sink. When she lived in the trailer, she loved to sleep on the bathtub seat so I guess she missed that. I tried to get a picture but when she sees the camera, she gets out of the way fast, unless she is asleep and can't move as fast. She is some cat!!!!!!
 
Bedroom Complete 08/19/07
By Heidi Schmit
I took these pictures today, everything is complete in the bedroom. I finished it with the plant in the corner. Click here to see the bedroom pictures.
 
Misty Sleeps 08/19/07
By Blanche Glaeser
I thought you'd like to see one of my Misty's favorite places to sleep. You can see she's taken over here. Click here to see the kitty.
 
Commuter Train 08/19/07
By John Schmit
This last week Cheryl started taking the train to downtown Seattle. They are doing major work on the freeway causing big delays, even for the busses. Even though it's pretty crowded, the train does arrive on time. It is a nice alternative to have. Click here to see the pictures.
 
Vacation At Grandma & Grandpa Schmit's 08/17/07
By Ryan and Aaron Simmons
We drove up north in our van with my mom after the Brewers game on Sunday. My dad drove up by himself because he could not stay as long as we could. - Ryan
We did lots of fun things like swimming, fishing, driving the gator to the haunted house in the woods. We went golfing, watched tv, and we went to the movies to see Underdog. - Aaron
Click here for the rest of the boy's stories.

 
New Pictures 08/15/07
By Heidi Schmit
Here are new pictures, I had to get new batteries for the camera. The first two are my new nightstands. As you can see Mom, I moved things around a little bit. The next two is me and Brandi getting to know each other, and the last one is Brandi and Chloe cleaning each other. Awwww!!! Click here to see the pictures.
 
Kids Up 08/15/07
By Roger Schmit
Last week we had Jeanne and the boys up for for the whole week. I think that everyone had a good time as we managed to tire everyone out each day. Click here for the rest of the story.
Click here to see the pictures.     Click here to see the video.
 
Summer 08/14/07
By Andrew Duron
I finally got to write. I have had a fun summer so far. I am glad to be home though. I start school soon. Right now I'm in summer camp. It's fun. Today I went on a field trip to the park, but it was really hot. We got to eat pizza too.
 
Happy Grandpa 08/12/07
By Cliff Chamberlin
Here are some new pictures taken last week while I was in Denver. Rebecca Louise, Matthew and me - a fine bunch and a happy grandpa. Click here to see the pictures.
 
Cottage Front Room 08/09/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I finally emptied the front room of the cottage of all boxes etc. so thought I better send you a picture while it looked like it should. Daryl has a mirror he's going to put up for me in the "living room" part (west wall) but he's been pretty busy to get that done. At least now you have an idea of what the front room looks like. I haven't got my bedroom done yet but when I do, I will send a picture. The kitchen is on the northeast wall of the same room as the "living room". Click here to see the pictures.
 
Hunting 08/05/07
By William Foster
I went hunting on the first of August. To start things off, I was blessed to see two baby raccoons, 5 turkeys, and some deer. I ended up with 1 squirrel for the day. I shot 2 but one got away and I was unable to retrieve it. It made me feel sad that I could not find that one, but it was still a good day. The best part of the day was knowing that I could bring something home for the family. It made me feel really good inside.
 
New Front Gate 08/04/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I just went out and took these two pictures of the front gate Daryl & Jan installed yesterday. It is a real light gate and very easy for even me to open. Daryl can't find his camera as it got misplaced somewhere in all the moving so that's the reason I took these pictures. Click here to see the new gate.
 
School Grades and Kitties 08/01/07
By Heidi Schmit
Well, one more semester is behind me. Its been a long semester of writing and reading and well a lot of tests but in the end it was worth it. In my Essential Bussiness class I received an A and in my Quest for Wisdom class I received a B. I'll take that. Now I have 3 weeks off before the next semester starts and i'm going to take advantage of every minute of it. Also, here are some new pictures of my kitties....THEY ROCK!! Click here to see my kitties.
 
Vow Renewal 07/29/07
By Blanche Glaeser
Recently we had a Wedding Vow Renewal service at my church. I normally don't take pictures in church but a friend of mine was participating, so... It was a fun and romantic experience. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Rebecca Louise Mohrbacher 07/26/07
By Cliff Chamberlin
Welcome Rebecca Louise Mohrbacher, Born 7/26/07, 11:44a, 9# even and a long baby (they have not measured her yet)(Now measured - Rebecca is 21 1/2 inches!). Everybody is fine and all have smiles on their faces. Mugsy, Dan and Candy showed up at the hospital last eve at 9pm and they induced labor. It was the same nurse mid-wife that delivered Matthew 19 months ago, that got the job again today. Mugsy works the system just right, brought her own suport team, Dan, with her and also her own ICU nurse, Candy, along for good measure. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Trip to Harrison 07/23/07
By Susie Devries
Here are some pictures of our trip to Harrison, AR. to see Grandma and Grandpa McWilliams. We had a great time! Autumn was not sure about her Great Grandma and Grandpa. Click here for more story and to see the pictures.

 
Granddaughter Visits 07/23/07
By Blanche Glaeser
Over the Fourth of July holiday, my Granddaughter Wendy and her husband, Ryan came to visit. They raise and train show horses in Middle Tennessee, besides their full time jobs. They came out to Las Vegas to celebrate their anniversary. We all had a great time. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Moving 07/21/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Daryl got most of us moved today with Jan's brother's help. We had a "moving sale" this morning at Daryl & Jan's in town and we did real good with that. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Visiting Jumpy 07/18/07
By Blanche Glaeser
Early last month, Jumpy's grandson, Ronnie J., his wife and family came to visit. They traveled here to Las Vegas from Wisconsin. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Wedding Party Pictures 07/18/07
By Erin Lawrence
My brother got married. Here are a few we were able to get on our camera. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Pictures 07/16/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I'm sending you a picture I took of Bella yesterday afternoon. She is always laying like this but I usually can't get my camera in time to take a picture. I know that anyone with cats think theirs are the cutest but I still thought you would enjoy this. Also here is a picture of our new "wireless tower" (or whatever it is called). Thought you might like to see how different it is and also it is faster than the old one. This one can even "see" through the trees and our old one wasn't able to as easy without cutting branches down that were in the way. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Party Pictures 07/14/07
By Sue Fisher
The group picture was from Mom's 90th party in Savannah, The only one missing was Terry and I sent a picture of him with Cameron. The party was a lot of fun and all the kids had fun seeing each other. I'll send more as soon as I get some taken. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Bird Nest Slideshows 07/11/07
By John Schmit
Many checked the Special Events Cam page during the month of June to watch activity in a birds nest on our front porch. Both the web cam and our bigger camera took many pictures. We've created two slideshows of some of the best images. One has an image every second and the other an image every three seconds.
Click here for the one second slideshow.
Click here for the three second slideshow.

 
Home Again 07/09/07
By Susie Devries
Here I am, home again after a wonderful trip to Nebraska and Missouri. I was lucky enough to be able to spend quality time with my son, William, & his family. We had a great time. Click here to read the rest of the story.
Click here to see the pictures.

 
Keys 07/05/07
By Erin Lawrence
We got our keys to our new home July 3rd! We are so excited. And relieved. We were beginning to think the day would never come! Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
4th of July Celebration 07/05/07
By John Schmit
We visited with our friends, Jim and Mira Bergsma for the holiday. They live on Lake Tapps and invited several friends and relatives over. There was good food and plenty of fun in the sun. Click here to see a video of our visit.

 
Pigs On Parade 07/02/07
By Cheryl Schmit
The Pike Place Market in Seattle is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. On my lunch breaks I have been walking around downtown taking pictures of their mascot, the pig, decorated many different ways. Click here to enjoy these pictures of Pigs On Parade!

 
Brandi 07/01/07
By Heidi Schmit
Saturday was another awesome day for me, I got another kitty! Her name is Brandi and she is about six to eight months old. I got her from my girlfriend Theresa, who found her around her house. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Empty Nest 07/01/07
By John Schmit
At three-thirty yesterday afternoon the baby birds left their nest. Cheryl happened to be on the porch when all four birds flew up and out into the yard. Mom and Dad birds were right there prodding the birds to hop and fly to safety in the bushes. Four healthy babies are on their way! Click here to see pictures from the last day in the nest!

 
New Tree 06/30/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Daryl just planted a new Red Oak tree today to replace the one that snapped off last week in the storm. From the looks of it, we are probably going to lose the other four trees also if they keep on as they are now. We both think they just got too much rain on their roots because the paper work that came with them said they can't take too much water. And..................we've had more than our share of rain!!!!! Click here to see the tree!

 
Re-Enlistment 06/29/07
By Heidi Schmit
Thursday was a big day for me as I decided to re-enlist for three more years in the Army. That will put me at 10 1/2 years. With this re-enlistment I get to stay here at JCSE in Florida for at least two more years. That should be long enough for me to finish my Bachelor's degree. Stay tuned for pictures of the ceremony soon.

 
Church Merger 06/28/07
By Blanche Glaeser
A few weeks ago our church, Good Samaritan Lutheran, merged with New Hope Lutheran, here in Las Vegas. I attended the ceremony and enjoyed the time with our newly expanded church family. We also had a service at the location of our new grounds, where the new church will be built. We then went back to Good Samaritan for more celebration. Enjoy these pictures of the events. Click here to see the celebration!

 
New Washer & Dryer 06/27/07
By John Schmit
On Tuesday our new washer and dryer were delivered. Allen works on the delivery truck for Fry's, so he was the one to bring them and install them. Click here to see the new machines (and Allen).

 
Gator/ATV Ride 06/26/07
By Roger Schmit
On Monday we got together 14 people, 4 Gators and 6 ATV's and went for a ride. We all met at The Four Seasons Resort and headed for the woods. I think the object became finding the most difficult terrain to ride through. We went through deep woods, forded a few creeks and went up some pretty steep hills. Everyone made it back very dusty but in fine shape. Jumping in the river at the end felt very good. Click here, I've included just a few pictures.

 
Tree Down 06/26/07
By Barbara Lawrence
The tree that you usually saw in the middle of my west web cam view was snapped off at the root yesterday because of the high winds we had. Daryl thinks he's going to buy a Maple or something else to replace this tree. It was a real loss to us being we've been babying these trees for so long.

 
New Clock! 06/22/07
By Susie Devries
Here is a picture of my new clock. It chimes music on the hour and turns off automatic at night. There are also Christmas songs for the holiday time. Click here to see the clock.

 
New Car! 06/21/07
By Daryl Lawrence
We traded in Jan's Durango. I will be driving this one to work, we figure it will save about $130 a month just in gasoline alone... Of COURSE we kept the pick up truck, with all the construction and hauling stuff from one house to the other... And of yeah, check out the last picture, NO key needed to start it, just push the button... what will they think of next... Click here to see these pictures!

 
Alexxis-Rae Olivia Torres 06/20/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Congratulations to Daryl's daughter Lisa and her fiance Ray Torres on the birth of thier daughter Alexxis-Rae. She was born this afternoon at 4:30pm Pacific time. She weighed eight pounds, nine ounces and is 20 inches long. Click here to see the new baby!

 
Wedding Pictures 06/20/07
By Cliff Chamberlin
Here are 2 pictures from the wedding. The first of the bride and groom on our driveway at the start of the reception and the second of Candy and her 3 sisters and their Uncle Lee, singing their Danish toast song, sang in Danish. Craig had already shed his coat off and Tammy had a size 99 smile on. Click here to see these pictures.    Click here to see Joy's pictures.

 
A New Car & No More Smokes! 06/19/07
By Robert McWilliams
Well, I've done it again! I put my self in debt a bit more. Last Friday Janae and I took Autumn to a doctors appointment, which by the way doctor says she is doing great, anyway, we went to Crain Dodge in Little Rock and spent about four hours there. I traded in my 2002 Ford Explorer 4x4 for a 2007 Dodge Charger and my goodness it's an awesome car. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Great Wedding 06/18/07
By Cliff Chamberlin
This past Saturday Craig and Tammy had a great wedding and a fine day. The wedding service was really special and the reception here at our place was one fine party. We had about 130 people at the reception and all had a fun time. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Kids & Garden 06/15/07
By Susie Devries
I sent some pictures I took with my camera phone today over at my son's house. There is a picture of a tomato plant. It's ONE plant and it's huge. The other two pictures are of Chloe (in the sundress) and Angelique. Click here to see these phone pictures!

 
House Update 06/15/07
By Chris & Erin Lawrence
Our house finally closed in Lancaster. The original closing date was May 5th- a 45 day escrow. It ended up an 89 day escrow! At the very end ( a few days ago) the lender, knowing how desperate we are, added points to the buyers loan. The buyers refused to pay it and said they would walk away from the whole deal if they had to pay it. It was $6,000. So we paid the 6 grand. Click here to read the rest of the story!

 
Ava Grace Herrera 06/14/07
By Susie Devries
Here are the most recent pictures of my Grand Niece, Ava Grace Herrera. Ava was born May 10, 2007. In these pictures she is 3 weeks old. I see a lot of both her Dad and Mom in the pictures. Proud Grand Parents: Jim & Judie Riggen!! Click here to see!

 
Grandma's New Toy 06/10/07
By Roger Schmit
Barb went to a rummage sale Saturday. This is what she came home with. Click here to see!

 
We Moved! 06/10/07
By Robert McWilliams
Janae & I , her little sister Jamie & her boyfriend recently moved into a new house. It's about 5 miles from where we were, still in Jacksonville, but it's 3 bedrooms, 2 full bath, laundry room, and a big deck, which Autumn loves. Autumn also has her own room now & is very happy about that. This house is a lot bigger & better than what we hade. We have a huge front yard also.

 
Take Your Cat To Work! 06/04/07
By Heidi Schmit
Friday and Today I had to bring Chloe into work due to plumbing maintenance in my apartment. She had an absolute fun time. Everyone that came into my office just had a blast with her and had to pet her. She's had the most lovin' since I had her. She's been great help getting things done around the office. Click here to enjoy these pics!

 
Braden 06/02/07
By Erin Lawrence
Braden's b-day is tomorrow. He will be 4! We are going miniature golfing during the day, then visiting Chris at his new store, since he has to work. The kids love going to see him at work. We'll bbq for dinner. Chris got him the Superman cake he's been wanting. It's not the big party the kids usually have for their birthday, but there will be balloons, cake and presents- so I think he'll be just fine. : ) Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Update... 06/01/07
By Lisa Lawrence
Just wanted to give a quick update on the baby! I have been in early labor for a week and a half now. Last week I was in the hospital 3 times. My contractions were 2 min apart but not strong enough, and I was only dilated to a 2. So they kept sending me home. Now I saw my Dr. on Wed and I am a 3 now and completely thinned. So she is sooooo ready! But nothing yet. It is so frustrating, I am just waiting for my water to break. The Doc says any minute any day now. Ray is out of town for the weekend and won't be home until Sunday night, so I am praying she waits til then. Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Love, Lisa

 
Garden Project 06/01/07
By John & Cheryl Schmit
Our Memorial Day weekend project was to plant more around the water fountain. We wanted to plant climbing plants behind the pond. To get enough dirt there, Cheryl built a custom box to hold both the plants and the trellis. We finished the project by adding some plants to hang over the front of the box. Enjoy these pictures.  
Patio Flowers 05/30/07
By Heidi Schmit
Well it's Spring time so I decided to plant some new flowers, don't ask me what kind I just go by colors. Click here to enjoy the pictures!

The Spring II semester is over and I received a B in the Physical Science class. Not to bad I think. I'll be taking two more classes starting on 5th and 7th June, one will be Philosophy and the other Business essentials. Wish me luck.

 
Cottage Interior Complete 05/28/07
By Daryl Lawrence
The interior of the cottage is now complete, except for the addition of the shower to the bathroom. That can be completed anytime and still be able to use the cottage and come in to the house for a shower. After finishing the paint job on the exterior, then I will continue with the shower addition. Underground drain pipework already done, and is also the same line the kitchen sink runs in.

More exciting news to follow when able... John, I could use some help with these 90 pound bags of concrete when I do the floor in the bathroom, stop by for some fun... Click here to see the pictures.
Editor's Note: That's OK, I'll send Allen.

 
Moving Update 05/23/07
By Erin Lawrence
Hello everyone-
I apologize for the delay in our update.... Here is what's going on- Our house in Lancaster is taking FOREVER to close and because of that we have lost our house we were in the process of buying. SO! we are currently looking for homes- again. The good news- we are in Paso Robles, we got our kids out of the Antelope Valley and we are staying with Jody and are welcome here until we find a home. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Busy Times 05/15/07
By Roger Schmit
I'd like to say that things are finally settling down, but they're not and I don't know when they will. Click here for the rest of the story and to see the pictures.

 
Home 05/13/07
By Frank Bingham
Just one last e-mail related to our trip to Bowser, B.C. -- We are home safe and sound. We left Anderson, CA this morning at 6 A.M. looking at a 660 mile run to home. We simply kept coming South with all due haste and made it home at 5:05 P.M. today. No traffic, no close calls, no fighting, and no tomato throwing at the driver !!!! Click here for the rest of the story and to see the picture.

 
Camping 05/13/07
By Will Foster
We went camping for a little bit and enjoyed the whole time. Jasmine caught a bluegill. Daddy didn't catch anything. Jasmine really enjoyed the time out there. Izaya was so excited that all he would do was make me chase him all over the place. He loved the fish, campfire, and everything about camping. He even got to feed the geese and goslings. He really enjoyed that alot. It was a great time for the whole family. I am hoping we can do that again very soon.

 
Last Posting from Bowser 05/10/07
By Frank Bingham
Time is growing short before Ralph and I leave to return to the desert. Tomorrow will be filled with clothes washing, packing up and a few little things here. Then we will get up very early on Sat. morning to drive back to the ferry terminal and take the 5 A.M. ferry to the mainland. Once there we will cross the Canadian border to the U.S at the Peace Arch entrance. Then on to Bellingham, Wa. to pick up Slim. We should arrive there about 8:30 - 9:00. Click here for the rest of the story and to see the picture.

 
Monday Activities 05/07/07
By Frank Bingham
Monday arrived right on time this morning so I did not miss anything. It was cloudy and wet this A.M. but that burned off and left a beautiful day to look at the wonders of the world I am surrounded with. Click here for the rest of the story and to see the pictures.

 
Eagle 05/05/07
By Frank Bingham
Sometimes we are able to get a special picture quite by accident. Such is the case with the attached photo. I was walking along the beach above the high tide line looking for clams. I had my camera a ready in case I saw anything that caught my fancy. Click here for the rest of the story and to see the picture.

 
Scenic Pictures 05/04/07
By Frank Bingham
Ralph and I drove up to Courtney today [abt. 60 km North of Bowser] to go to Home Depot to get flower basket frames. On the way there and then returning we drove off into a rain forest on a dirt trail in 4 wheel drive. Once in the forest we gathered tree moss to make the flower baskets with. Attached are some of the pictures. they are: Trees in Bloom, Interesting store sign found along the way, Beautiful flower just growing in a forest clearing, The forest itself, and finally new plants coming up in a small clearing where sun light gets to the ground. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Picked Summer Work 05/04/07
By John Schmit
Seniority is paying off! This Summer's work will be the best yet. My schedule is changing for the better. From June 2nd until September 21st I'll have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. I will no longer be driving the small (and uncomfortable) van busses. All my work is in a 40 foot coach. My weekday work will be on a route I really like and my weekend work will continue what I have now, and like. The bonus is almost 5 1/2 hours of overtime built into each week. It will be a very nice Summer.

 
Baby Birds 05/03/07
By Susie Devries
I went to one of my favorite quilt shops today and was talking with Betty. Last year they had a Robin who decided to make a nest in the wreath on the front door of the shop. Very gingerly, they moved the wreath to a window so mama Robin could continue her nesting. She did, and had 3 babies. This year no Robin's made a nest. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Bella On Wheels 05/02/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I was getting ready for bed last night and after walking around in my walker, with Bella, I decided to take pictures of her. She is so funny as she rides on my walker seat most of the time when I'm walking. If she's not on top she's trying to play with the wheels while I'm moving - very hard for me to move while she's chasing the wheels. She is the best thing that has happened to me in years because she keeps me smiling and/or laughing all the time. She has grown so much more since I got her on 2/17 and the vet seems to think she's somewhere close to 10 months old by now.

I took the stroller out on the back porch just as my neighbor stopped by with my mail. We watched Bella go in and out of the stroller and I was able to snap pictures both ways. I thought I might be sitting there for hours to catch her doing this but she seems to love the stroller because when it's in the kitchen, she sleeps in it. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Morning Pictures 05/02/07
By Frank Bingham
I promised not to send lots of stuff but the attached pictures were a look at my morning here on the island. It was quite rainy last night and very cloudy this morning but that is OK. Ralph and I are going to drive up to Courtney, a nice town about 45 minutes North, and go to Wal-Mart of all places. So far all is well here. I am trying to see if this attachmant will go as the provider has allowed larger files now. Click here to see the pictures.

 
We've Arrived! 05/01/07
By Frank Bingham
Carol and I have gotten to our respective destinations without any serious matters arising. We left home yesterday at 3 A.M. and drove to Olympia, Wash. by last night late. The drive was fine as all three of us drove for a few hours at a time. We had a great time on the way. Somewhere far up North, this way, it began to rain and has not stopped since. It is no small wonder that everything is so green. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Going Away 04/29/07
By Frank Bingham
Carol and I are going on a new adventure up to Washington and Canada. We are leaving at 3 A.M. this morning driving with our friend Ralph and should arrive in Bellingham, Wash. about 10 o'clock on Tuesday morning. Carol is getting off in Bellingham to stay with her girl friend while Ralph and I are proceeding on to his house in Bowser, Vancouver Island, B.C. We did this last year also so in that respect this is a repeat. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Doug & Joni Visit 04/29/07
By Barbara Lawrence
All four of the kids went to a winery in Pittsburg yesterday (probably close to 35-40 miles each way). Deanna and I went there when she was here two years ago and the kids said that they REALLLLLYYYY enjoyed themselves while they were there.

Daryl & Jan got here about 9 a.m. this morning and Jan and Joni fixed breakfast for all of us which we ate on the back porch. Doug & Joni left at 10 a.m. so they would have time to stop at Dean's before they go to the airport. The thermometer on the back porch says it's almost 90 when I left the porch 1/2 hour ago. Daryl put the grout on the tile this morning so is taking the time to wash it all off the tile before it dries.

 
Promotion Celebration 04/26/07
By John & Cheryl Schmit
Last Tuesday evening we finally got to celebrate Cheryl's promotion. We had a special dinner out on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train. We were seated in the City Of Renton dome car and had a large table to ourselves. It was nice to spend the relaxing evening together. After some wine tasting at the Columbia Winery, we walked through the gardens for a very romantic evening. Click here to see the pictures.

 

New to the Website! 04/26/07 By William Foster Hi! My name is William Foster. I am Susie Devries son. My wife's name is Christina and I have a two year old boy, Izaya and a six year old girl, Jasmine. I play on a dart league every Wednesday night and I love to hunt. I use both rifles and bow and arrow. This year I got a rabbit and a squirrel. They were very yummy! I'll be sending in stories and pictures to the website soon.

William Foster

 
Cottage Work 04/22/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Here are the newest pictures. Daryl & Jan just about did themselves in this weekend. I went to Lowe's first thing this morning and bought the paint I wanted. The pictures don't really show the true color but I bought the lightest beige I could get (had to have it mixed) as I wanted all white trim, accessories etc. The door and screen door were such a pretty white that I wanted a contrast in there and did not want all white. I bought a very light baby blue for the north and east wall of my bedroom but that will get painted on down the road a little. Daryl is ready to put the tile on the floor and will match what is in the bedroom. Then come the cabinets which all of us are waiting for. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Garden Pictures 04/21/07
By Frank Bingham
I am sending you a few more pictures of the garden production plus a photo of a extremely beautiful Hibiscus. Remember the tomato picture of the other day - well attached are the same tomatoes a few days later. It is amazing to me how fast these vegetables grow and ripen in the soil.

I'll pick the tomatoes today to have in a salad tonight. I have also included a couple of yellow squash pictures. The little squash plants were about the size of a saucer a couple weeks ago -- quite large. One photo shows the tiny squash forming. These will be ready to eat in a few days. Finally, There are two pictures of our Grape Fruit. One as it is picked and the other when sliced open. Slim and I ate the fruit and it was so juicy and sweet. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Weekend Time 04/17/07
By Susie Devries
It was great to be gone and away from every day life here in Little Rock. But at the same time it was great coming home too. I really did miss my husband, kids, grand kid and kitties. Everyone was happy to see me too, which made me feel really good. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Award Winner 04/16/07
By Lisa Lawrence
Andrew received two awards this morning at school! One for Student of the Month, and the other for Most Improved for second semester. We are so proud of him! Click here to see the pictures.

 
Cottage Work 04/15/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Here are pictures of what Daryl & Jan did this weekend with all the "mud" and taping. I also took a picture under the steps which is behind the kitchen sink wall. Daryl is going to make this into a closet and if a tornado comes, that's where I will go if I'm home. If a tornado hits, and the building falls in on me, they will know where to find me....... but I am rarely without my cell phone so that would help. I have to make this as fun because there is always the possibility of a tornado where we live - but rare. Next weekend is mowing as part of the work but it's supposed to be 82 by next Sat. so it will be a "hot" one to be mowing. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Bar-B-Que 04/14/07
By John Schmit
I spite of the few rain showers that moved through the area yesterday, I went ahead and cooked the chicken on the grill. Allen came over and we had a salad and baked beans with the meal. The season premier of SG-1 and Atlantis were on, so it was a big TV evening.

 
Thunder Storms 04/14/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I stayed at Daryl & Jan's last night, with Bella, because the storm was supposed to be so bad. The tornados were all south and west of us but were supposed to come further north which was too close for my comfort - therefore, Daryl's. Everything was fine here when I got home this morning except I had to reset the wireless. Daryl has inside work to do in the cottage but is planning on doing some more burning in the barrel also. We only had 1/2" of rain last night but sure could have used more.

 
Easter In Joplin 04/13/07
By Susie Devries
Have not been looking at the Family Web Site for a little while now. I've been in Joplin, MO. with my sister, Judie. We had a great time and the weather was everything from almost 80 all the way down to 19!!! It snowed, but didn't stick the night of April 5th. There was some light snow Friday too, but it was almost so light that you had to look at a dark spot to see if it was actually snowing! Everyone was saying we'd have snow for Easter. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Easter Weekend 04/12/07
By Heidi Schmit
Last weekend was an exciting weekend for me, My friend Justin and I went to Orlando to visit his family. We left Saturday afternoon from Tampa to Orlando, a trip that took only 1 hour and 15 minutes. We spent the evening with his parents, talking about everything from the military to his mom's sewing. We finally went to bed around 4 in the morning. We woke up around 9 am and got ready to go over to his sister's house where the festivities were being held.

We arrived at his sister's where I got the grand tour of her house and then met the rest of his family, like his brother-in-law and the rest of his brother-in-law's family who came from Nottingham, England. It was a smorgasbord of food and people having a great time. We finally left to go back home around 6pm to play Army again on Monday.

 
New Home 04/07/07
By Erin Lawrence
We found a home!! It's in Paso Robles. It's a 2 story town home in a gated community. It's almost 1400 square feet with a tiny back yard. Next door to us is the 'tot lot' play ground. Two streets over is the pool and spa. It's 2 minutes from the freeway so it'll be easy for Chris going to and coming from work. Click here to read the rest of the story.

 
Neighbors Roots Planted 04/06/07
By John Schmit
Our neighbors finished planting the rest of the street trees today. The nine trees represent the first long string of street trees in our complex. It was an investment of over $1000 for our small group. Along with the trees are support poles that will stay for at least one year. I had a great time working with both my neighbors on this project.

 
AirFest 2007 04/02/07
By Heidi Schmit
This weekend there was an Air Fest at MacDill Air Force Base for the first time since September 11. I had the chance to go on Sunday with my good friend Justin and his sister's family who live in Orlando. We arrived early and parked our cars at our work due to traffic and walked through the private entrance for military personnel only. We spent the whole day looking at all the different versions of fighter and cargo planes as well as helicopters. Around 3pm the Blue Angels came out and did a little show that really please the crowd. After a long day in the hot Flordia sun it was time to call it a day. By the way, we ALL got pretty sunburned. Click here to see the pictures.

 
Planting More Roots 04/01/07
By John Schmit
We planted more roots in our Northwest front yard today. We got together with our neighbors and joined in buying a total of nine Cleveland Select Flowering Pear street trees. Our two trees join our Himilayan Birch already there. Click here to see the tree pictures.

 
Cottage Drywall 03/31/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I asked Daryl if he could put a cabinet above the frig and he said yes but not now as he wants to get the room and shower done first. He is going to "tape and pucky" the walls tomorrow - I think. He and Jan are going to Lowe's in the morning to get paint and pucky so he can put the trim around the outside of the door. Click here to see the rest of the story and pictures.

 
Rain 03/31/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I just went out and checked the rain gauge and it showed a very scant bit under 3 inches just for last night during the night. Lots of lightning and thunder accompanied with heavy winds. The tornado watch just went to Sulphur Springs when I went to bed but I wasn't sure it would go further east during the night. All turned out well and the pond and stream are full again. Bella didn't like the storm at all and was so frightened she wouldn't settle down and during the night when the storm was the worst, she meowed real loud which woke me up before the storm did. All in all, it was some night!!!!!

 
Roger & Barb Visit 03/30/07
By Blanche Glaeser
The pictures from the visit have finally been developed. Roger & Barb came to visit in early February and Jumpy and I had a great time with them. The visit went by too quickly as we enjoyed each others company. Roger even spent some time working on my computer. Click here to see the pictures.

 

Promotion 03/26/07 By Cheryl Schmit Back in December I applied for a position in the Accounts Payable department at King County to be a Senior Accountant. I finally heard back from them in late February and went for an interview on 3/1. About a week later they made me an offer for the position and I accepted. Monday, 3/26 is my first day. Click here for the rest of the story and the pictures.

Cheryl Schmit

The Cat & The Cottage 03/25/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I started letting Bella be on my computer desk because it was easier than fighting her and also this desk will be the only place where she can see outside once I move to the cottage. Daryl had to mow all three properties yesterday so he was pretty busy. He did come back out somewhere around 3 p.m. but was working on the plumbing in the cottage.

Daryl said that Chris and his family might be here about 2pm. Daryl is working over here today and already has the old doors off their hinges (in the cottage) so he's now getting ready to do what he has to do in order to get the new door on. Click here to see Bella's pictures.

 
Family Pictures 03/21/07
By Susie Devries
Here are the new family pictures of Robert and his family, Janae, and Autumn. Also, here is my older son, William, and his wife Christina, Jasmine, and Izaya. Click here to see the pictures!

 
Move/Birthday Party 03/21/07
By Erin Lawrence
Well we accepted an offer yesterday on our house! It'll be a 30 day escrow. It's a full offer but they want us to pay closing costs. Apparently a week after we listed our house the guy around the corner dropped his price $40,000. Ian's birthday party is April 14th, Saturday. It's here at the house. Probably at 1:00. Also we are driving out to Texas to see Chris's Dad and Jan and Nana on the 23rd of March- this Friday. Click here for the whole story.

 
Cottage Work 03/18/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Here are a couple of pictures I took last weekend and two pictures I took today of the progress in the "cottage" and one of Bella asleep on her bear. Click here to see the pictures.

 

Autumn's Birthday 03/09/07 By Susie Devries Here are some pictures from Autumns 1st Birthday. Oh boy did she love her cake!!! Click here for the pictures!

Autumn McWilliams

Growing Belly 03/08/07
By Lisa Lawrence
New Picture of my growing belly... 26 weeks along now. Getting bigger everyday! Ray and I are getting married! Either April 28th or May 12th. We'll know for sure by the end of this weekend. New last name will be Torres. :)   Click here to see the picture.

 
Wildflowers 03/07/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I took this picture this afternoon (March 7) of some wildflowers in our yard in front of the back porch - and it's only the first part of March! Click here to see the picture.

 
Bella 03/02/07
By Barbara Lawrence
Bella sleeps on the foot of my bed on a huge towel during the day - if I'm in my bedroom. I let her use my small bear to play with but she likes to lay her head on it to sleep. Of course as soon as I moved, she woke up so I couldn't get the picture with her sleeping against the bear. It's amazing how well this cat has done from her spaying on Wed. - like she'd never had it done. Click here to see pictures!

 
Flowers 03/02/07
By Susie Devries
My one Daffodil bloomed. Also the Camellia bush is beginning to bloom. Just one month ago, we had a bit of snow on the ground. Nothing like Roger, but a bit!! :) Click here for the pictures!

 

Promotion 03/01/07 By Heidi Schmit Today there was a small ceremony outside where I received my Sergeants promotion. My unit was there including my Commander. Afterward they even had a cake. Tonight we party! Click here to see the pictures.

SGT Heidi Schmit

New Record Set 03/01/07
By John Schmit
Our family website has achieved a new record on the last day of February. We had 22 unique visits to the website on Wednesday. We generally average 17 to 18 unique visits a day. Last year about this time we had 7 to 9. It's great to see the wonderful participation.

 
 
Moving News! 02/26/07
By Erin Lawrence
About a year ago Chris told his upper management to let him know when a position opened up in the North District (we found out a position did open up up there and he wasn't told because his district doesn't want to lose him. Selfish ***tards, but looking back, it's o.k. because he wasn't ready then and you know that everything happens for a reason). Click here for the rest of the story.

 
Winter Trip 02/21/07
By Roger Schmit
We returned Sunday from our trip out to Green Valley Arizona, Las Vegas and Lake Havasu. We started in Milwaukee with the birth of our granddaughter, Lauren Simmons, on January 26th. Click here for the rest of the story and pictures!

 
Phone Pictures 02/20/07
By Robert McWilliams
Here are some new pictures I took with my phone. Click here for the pictures!

 
New Kitty - Bella 02/17/07
By Barbara Lawrence
I now have a new "baby" in my house. She is a short hair female with kind of a tabby coloring. She is a young kitten probably between 3-6 months old and came as a stray to Sheila's (the gal who brought the cat to me). Click here for the rest of the story and pictures!

 
New Pictures of Laney Rae 02/17/07
By Lisa Lawrence
One is her foot, you can see all the bones even in all the little toes. The other is her face, with her hands right below her chin. They are folded together. If you look on the top side of her face you can see her eye is open. She has grown a lot in the last month. She's over a pound now. We are both doing wonderful and I no longer have to see the specialist for preterm labor! The cyst that was on her brain is gone now, thank goodnesss and she is very healthy! Click here to see the pictures!

 
Promotion 02/16/07
By Heidi Schmit
It's been a long time coming but I finally made it to SERGEANT (SGT). Due to the reconstruction of the Army and the discontinue of the 25M series in the Air Force, the points required have gone down. I was promoted to SPC in 2001 and was promotable on 1 MAR 2003, exactly 4 years later I will be at SGT.

 
Baby News 02/13/07
By Lisa Lawrence
We found out the sex of the baby at the end of last month. They said there were some possible problems so I didn't want to write yet. We found out last week though SHE is in good health! Yes, it is a GIRL this time. Thank goodness beacause I am done. Three is just perfect. Everything is pink. She already has a quite a few outfits and 2 pairs of shoes. They are so cute. I could shop all the time for her. We are very excited.... and the boys can't wait. Chance reminds me all the time that I am getting big. :)

 
Amaryllis 02/11/07
By Cheryl Schmit
I bought an Amaryllis bulb in early November and planted it thinking maybe it would bloom by Christmas. The box said blooms would appear in 7-10 weeks. Mine took just a little longer.

Click here to read the rest of the story and see the pictures.

 
Job Update 02/05/07
By Allen Manese
Ha,

I can come home for lunch. I get a 1 hour lunch break for the first time in years. Going to love Fry's.

 
New Job! 02/04/07
By Allen Manese
Monday afternoon I start training at my new job, Fry's Electronics. My first interview was last Monday and I had a second one right after that. I had a third interview with one of the store managers on Tuesday after which they sent me to Bellevue to get my drug test. They called me late in the afternoon on Friday and told me to start Monday afternoon for training. They have me scheduled in the Appliance Department to start with.

 
Arkansas Snow 02/02/07
By Susie Devries
Snow in Arkansas! Click here to see these pictures.

 
Texas Snow 02/01/07
By Barbara Lawrence
It started snowing earlier this evening and the flakes were huge but it's now been snowing for over an hour. The temperature is still in the mid 30's but with the wind chill, it feels lower. Click here to enjoy the picture.

 
Michael Jr. Update 01/23/07
By Susie Devies
I think this will be the last update on Michael Jr. We took him in for a CT scan yesterday and he got the stitches out of the back of his head. All went according to plan. He was not the least bit happy at getting the stitches out, we had to hold his head still and oh boy he doesn't like that!!! Results of the CT scan will be available today (Tuesday 1/23) but I don't think the results will be negative. He is doing pretty good. Tough little boy that's for sure.

 
Space Fun 01/22/07
By Cheryl Schmit
From now until February 1, 2007, The Planetary Society is collecting names, which will travel to Mars on the Phoenix DVD. When the Martians of the future find and decode our message to them, your name will be there too, a permanent record of your part in the story of space.

Click here to add your name.

 
Update on Michael Jr. 01/16/07
By Susie Devies
Word on Michael Jr is getting better. He is being observed this week. Still has the EVD (drain tube) in his head. And it's still draining puss. YUCK! I spoke with a doctor on Sunday and he said that they want to observe this week. There is still a possibility that they will have to go in and remove the abscess as originally planned.

He gets Tylenol and morphine on a regular basis, has only the PIC line for an IV now and is back on regular feedings. Two different broad spectrum antibiotics of course. Until they figure out what is causing the infection, they are giving the broad spectrum medication so he's pretty well covered. Will keep you informed.

Susie

 
Michael Jr. Update 01/13/07
By Susie Devies
I've got some more good news on Michael Jr. He was released from the PICU Saturday and is now on the 4th floor in the ITU (infant/toddler unit) Doctors have removed one of his IV lines.

Click here for the rest of the story.

 
Michael Jr. Update 01/11/07
By Susie Devies
Good news concerning Michael Jr. He was in surgery for about an hour and a half today. Doctors were considering cutting out a portion of his skull and removing the abscess, but decided against that. Instead they drilled a small hole in his skull and put a drain in his head. It is in the back of his head and secured so the abscess will slowly drain. He will be in the hospital 3-5 days, in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit).

Click here for the rest of the story.

 
Michael Jr. 01/11/07
By Susie Devies
Most all of you are familiar with the event's concerning the pre-mature birth of my grand-twins Chloe and Michael McWilliams. Michael Jr. is currently in the hospital and waiting for brain surgery today.

Click here for the rest of the story.

 
Another Storm 01/10/07
By John Schmit
I saw the big black clouds as I headed North on my trip from Factoria to Kirkland. This is normally a one hour trip. About half way through the trip the tiny hail started to fall. Down it came so fast that two blocks later the street was covered with the ice balls. This brought the early rush hour traffic to a crawl. Then the bigger hail hit as we listened to them thump the bus. Now the streets were turning to sheets of ice.

Click here for the rest of the story.

 
Eleven Days & Fifteen Hours 01/10/07
By Cliff Chamberlin
Most of you know that we and 1000's of people around us have been out of electircal power since Saturday morning - Dec 30 at 2am. The power came back on today at 5:25p, a very welcome relief. We ran a generator to keep the freezers and put our refrigerator stuff in clothes baskets, on the garage floor. Lost very little and no treasures, so the cold game worked just fine. The weather cooperated and did not get to cold, lows of 18 - highs of 40 at best.

Click here for the rest of the story.

 
Happy New Year 01/01/07
By Bill & Susie Devries
Dear Family and Friends;

Happy New Year! Hope all is well with all of you. Click here for the rest of the story.

 
Cook Book 01/01/07
By Cheryl Schmit
The addition of a Cook Book to the website has been a long time in the making. Each holiday seems to bring lots of phone calls asking each other for the family favorite dishes. I thought it would be a good idea to have a place where we could all share these recipes. I would like to encourage everyone to contribute your favorite recipes and if possible send along a picture. To visit the new pages, use the Cook Book link in the menu on the left.

 
Address Change 06/30/05
By John Schmit
If you are reading this, you now know about the new address. Unfortunately, we needed to make the change in order to prevent unwanted and malicious guests from viewing our pages. Our door is no longer open to uninvited visitors. Members of this website are still encouraged to share this place with those they feel appropriate. Without this ability to share, the site is worthless. Our main problem was a few homeowners in the complex we live in. I'm sure there is some groaning as bookmarks will now need to be changed. As non-functional links on the website show up, please let me know. Thanks.

Issues Resolved 06/28/05
By John Schmit
Just to let everyone know, the issues regarding our homecams has been resolved and they are back online. For the next few weeks our Mt. Rainier cam will be focused on our next landscaping project, after which it will return to providing those spectacular views of the mountain. There will be no address changes to our website and we will continue with our open door policy. We encourage all visitors to let us know they were here and how they liked the website. Feel free to use our Contact form.

Uninvited Guests 06/27/05
By John Schmit
Recently I was asked to assist the Trovitsky Park Homeowners Association in establishing a website for the purpose of diseminating information. Glad to be of help, I used the tools available to set up a site for them. For technical reasons, some files for that site were stored on our websites locations. After the homeowners site was made public, several homeowners found the links that led to our site and decided to investigate where they were not invited. As a result of this hacking, controversy arose as to our activities, especially over the purpose of our home cams. While we have always tried to be good neighbors, for some, that seems not to be enough. Cheryl and I are working to resolve these issues, but don't be surprised if we have to change a few addresses in the future. At this time, please continue to use the links provided and, as always, thank you for your contributions to our family website.

Moonshadow Investigates Exercise 06/22/05
By John Schmit
With the new equipment in the house for a couple of weeks now, it was only a matter of time before Moonshadow would try to take over. I had seen him watching out of the corner of his eye, pretending to be napping while I was working out. Now, today I found him actually snuggling and trying to move the weights himself. Then the real surprise as Moonshadow steps up onto the treadmill. He looked like he was ready for a true workout. Check these pictures to see Moonshadow at his best!

Andrew's Birthday Pictures 06/20/05
By Tricia Schmit
Hi! Here are the pictures we took on Andrew's 8th birthday. He had a lot of fun with his friends from the neighborhood. I hope you enjoy!
Click here to see the birthday pictures.

Flowers 06/16/05
By Susie Devries
Hi Everyone, Have any of you ever seen a Mother-in-Law Tongue bloom? This is only the second time I have. Thought you all might enjoy some of my plants. All these plants come in for the winter and my kitchen becomes a jungle. I have 3 windows along the back of my kitchen, all 5 ft square, so they get lots of good sun during the winter.
Click here to see these pictures.

Color Guard Ceremony 06/15/05
By Heidi Schmit
On my Picture page you'll find some new pictures of the Color Guard ceremony that I was apart of on Tuesday June 14, 2005 for the 230th Birthday of the Army. For my participation, I recieved another performance coin. Enjoy these 'latest' pictures!

Don Garlitts Car Museum 06/14/05
By Daryl Lawrence
I just got back from the "Big Daddy Don Garlitts Museum and car collection" next door to my hotel. A very nice selection of cars, and looks like ALL the dragster cars are retired here after they are done racing!? All the big names in racing were there dating back to 1957 or so. Check out the pictures on the Picture page!

Golf Winner 06/10/05 By Heidi Schmit Mike has been in a couple of golf Tournaments lately and he's come in first place with 2 other guys. He's been on a winning streak. Right now he just wants to keep playing while it lasts. Here is a pic of him and the 2 other guys from the tournament.

File Photo Golf Winners

Weather Delay 06/10/05
By Daryl Lawrence
Hold the presses, I ain't gonna fly through THAT stuff today!!!?!? I will live another day. Merlin must be SO confused. I am staying put.

Off To Ocala 06/9/05
By Daryl Lawrence
Okay, I'll be heading for Florida in the morning, just ahead of the worst of the rain coming up from the tropical depression. It WILL be to Ocala also, so quite a bit north of Heidi still. The 10 day forecast says t-storms every day there, as well as here.... oh well, I can sit in that motel just as easy. It's gonna be a "Sleep Inn", has high speed and micro fridge, so everything I need for a comfortable stay.

Click here to visit the "Where In The World Is Elvis?" page.

My Visit With Heidi 05/31/05
By Cheryl Schmit
I had a very nice visit with Heidi in Florida from May 14-22. The days were hot and muggy but her apartment and car have air conditioning, so weather was not really a problem. Most of the evenings we had a little rain. One night, we even had a pretty good lightning show off to the east that we watched while visiting out on her deck.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Click here to see pictures from the visit.

Company News 05/24/05
By Daryl Lawrence
Thought you might be interested in the latest news from the "other" side of my company, Pictometry. They just signed a 5 year deal with Microsoft, to provide imaging for them. BIG thing for us, and a year round job for them most likely. Traditionaly lately, they only use our planes from September to May, then take a couple of months off. NOW with this, looks like a year round thing. Check out the news article below.

Click here for the Press Release!

New Pictures Arrive! 05/11/05
By John Schmit
I thought I'd let everyone know that we have just gotten in new pics from both Chris & Erin and Wes & Tricia. Be sure to check the Picture page and see the newest pictures on the website.

New Summer Work 05/09/05
By John Schmit
Today I picked the bus routes I will be driving for the Summer. I'm glad to say, I'm happy with most of my choices. The work available to choose from on Thursdays wasn't the best, but...

I will have more time at home in the evenings and weekends with Cheryl, while at the same time getting an additional hour per week of overtime (that's the good stuff!). My late Sunday nights and early Mondays will again limit my activities those two days, but with Tuesday and Wednesday off, I'll catch up! I was successful in my main goal to pick work that did not go to downtown Seattle, as they are closing the bus tunnel and traffic will grow worse there over the summer.

Only 39 more picks (three a year) to go till retirement. I'm ready now!

Elvis On The Move 05/06/05
By John Schmit
Elvis (AKA Daryl) has moved on to another area of the United States to work. He'll be flying around the Gulf coast of Louisiana for a while. Click on the "Where In The World Is Elvis" image on the left to go to his page and learn more about what Elvis is up to. Check the Elvis area cams to see places where Elvis is flying near.

Welcome Robert McWilliams 05/03/05
By John Schmit
I'd like to welcome a new participant to our family website, Robert McWilliams. Robert is the son of Susie Devries and he has a special interest in his 1973 Roadrunner. To begin his participation, Robert has sent several pictures of his car for us to enjoy. Please take some time to check out these new pictures and to welcome Robert to our site!

Weekend Fun 05/03/05
By Daryl Lawrence
Here's some pictures of last weekend, where Jan's son and daughter in law, came up to go camping at Cypress Springs lake using grandma and grandpa's fifth wheel trailer. They had a great time Sea dooing all weekend, although Kendryl got pretty bruised up from wiping out... mostly when she took her friend for rides.

We bar b qued Saturday night, VERY peaceful and relaxing time at this lake. Just wait till this summer though, it will be PACKED with people then.

Baseball Fun 05/02/05
By Susie Devries
I thought I'd send along these pictures that were taken over the weekend. Our friends, Mike and Jamie have been host to Pavla, a Czech Republic exchange student for the past year. We invited them to go with us to the Travelers Baseball game at Ray Winder Field. It was so much fun even though the Travs lost the game!

It's Florida Time! 04/29/05
By Heidi Schmit
I have arrived in Florida. Actually, I'm staying in some temporary housing at MacDill Air Force Base. It has been a busy two days since I arrived. I actually went out apartment hunting the first day I was here. My boss took me! We went to several nice complexes (and one not so nice). Today, I applied for a one bedroom apartment at a complex just 15 minutes from the base. Late this afternoon, I found out I was accepted. I move in on May 6th. Next is arranging utilities! Can't wait for mom to get here to help decorate!

I've seen the office where I will work. It's a casual atmosphere with everyone on a first name basis. I know I'm going to enjoy this change. The base is right on Tampa bay and the views are beautiful.

Cheryl Elected To Board 04/25/05
By John Schmit
This evening, Cheryl was one of three members of the Trovitsky Park Homeowners Association elected to the first Board of Directors. About 200 people were present for the first meeting of the association and Cheryl was one of nine members running for the board. This is a wonderful opportunity for Cheryl to once again get involved with her community. Cheryl looks forward to this new challenge.

New Home Cam Online 04/24/05
By John Schmit
I'd like everyone to check out Wes and Tricia's webcam on our homecam page. They are the newest members of our Family Home Cam Network. Wes and Tricia (and Andrew) live in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Enjoy the views from another family members cam!

Wes and Tricia have also sent pictures and are now added to our picture page! Enjoy!

Albuquerque Golfing 04/24/05
By Roger Schmit
We had a real good time in Albuquerque. Got to golf twice. The hotel pictures were taken outside of one of our rooms that was set up with our traveling bar. We had 18 guys from Milwaukee down there but you could never get them all together at the same time. It was kinda like herding cats. We packed the bar, golf clubs and limo in the back of a 55' semi that one of our members owns and he drove it to New Mexico.

The Ladies Party is an annual event that we have for our unit down at Tripoli. Good food, good libations, good entertainment and good company.

Vacation Fun 04/24/05
By Barbara Lawrence
Dee & I have been having a great weekend. Friday, we went to the movies, Saturday, we went to a winery, to dinner and then to the Pleasant Jamboree (Opry House in Mt. Pleasant) that is really great. This is an avenue for amateurs to possibly be recognized as the next stars. Lee Ann Rimes got her start at this theater before she became popular.

This morning we got up and went to my church (which she really liked), went to my friend Kim's house on the lake and then to lunch at Tall Tree Marina on the lake. Even though both Dee and I feel as if we look 5 ft. wide, at least we have pictures taken together. I am also sending a picture I took of Dee's hair because she never let's it stay naturally curly so I talked her into keeping it this way.

Germany & France 04/21/05
By Heidi Schmit
My vacation to Germany was short and quick. I left Fort Bragg on Monday 11 April, 2005 and arrived Stuttgart Germany on the morning of 12th. Mike picked me up from the airport and we went back to his apartment to drop my stuff off and to just rest from my long trip. We visited many places including the Alps, Luxembourg, and Belgium. The highlight of the trip was Paris, France. I stayed just over a week, but it went by way to fast.

Click here for the rest of the story and click here for the pictures.

Texas Tour 04/20/05
By Barbara Lawrence
We had a great vacation but always either a day late or a day early to see some of the things we wanted to see. Of course, I didn't make any reservations thinking places would be empty this time of year - what a mistake in assuming. I picked Dee up at DFW last Wed. and we went to Applebee's to eat after we had checked in to our hotel - stayed mostly in Comfort Inn Suites.

Click here for the rest of the story.

MGM's FIRST STARGATE CONVENTION 04/19/05
By John Schmit
This past weekend Cheryl and I attended the very first Stargate convention hosted by MGM Studios in Vancouver, Canada. The three day event included talks, interviews, autographs and photo opportunities with the stars and producers of both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. The big event of the convention was a first ever tour of the studios and sets where the two shows are produced. The convention was fast paced and filled with activities that kept us busy throughout the weekend.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Weekend Project 04/16/05
By Susie Devries
Thought I'd show you pictures of what I've been up to this weekend. Last year Bill got me a power washer for my birthday. Talk about a nifty 'toy.' Oh man. You can see what it did for the back yard fence. On one side, the fence looks old and worn, on the other side, it looks much better. The power washer is what made it look so nice. And easy, oh man, is it ever easy! If you do not have one, I'd strongly advise getting one. They are so useful, cleans about anything you want clean. I know our fence has not been cleaned in the 3 years that we have lived here, nor have the decks. The deck in front of the garden area is now clean and we put some Thompson's Water seal on it.

The other pictures are just of my back yard, one is the Azalea on the side of our house, which I do nothing to but look at the beautiful flowers! Another picture is of a bud on my new plant. It's called an Angel Trumpet. The flowers are 8-10 inches long and about 8 inches across when opened. As you can see from the picture, the flower is not yet open but is already huge. I have two, one is yellow and the other one is the one that is getting ready to bloom and I think it's a white one. When the flower opens I will send a picture.

Grandtwins 04/12/05
By Susie Devries
Hi Everyone, here are the newest pictures of my Grandtwins. It's so good to have both home and doing so good. Michael weighs 11 pounds, Chloe weighs 12. They are 9 months old.

Welcome Blanche Glaeser and Jumpy 04/12/05
By John Schmit
Everyone is invited to check out the new pictures from Blanche Glaeser. Blanche is John, Roger, and Richard Schmit's mother. She lives with Jumpy Millard in Las Vegas, Nevada. Enjoy the newest additions to our picture page!

New Jobs! 04/11/05
By Tricia Schmit
I now work at Living Spaces Furniture. It's a small company. We only have one store so far, but we do very well. We take in about 4 to 5 million dollars a month. At first I thought that the numbers couldn't be right, but if I myself am selling thousands of dollars worth of furniture and there are 60 other employees, you can imagine then, that the numbers are real.

Wes now works for Soyo Group. His company is known for their motherboards. Now they are expanding to computer peripherals. He is an account manager and works with distributors across the nation.

So finally we are getting back on our feet and we both are enjoying our new jobs.

Moonshadow Gets Steps 04/06/05
By John Schmit
Moonshadow, our cat, has been having difficulties getting into bed at night. This 13 year old cat has arthritis and is very over weight. The surface of the bed is 24 inches off the floor and Moonshadow could no longer jump up that high. Cheryl decided to build Moonshadow a set of stairs to help him get into bed. The steps were painted to match the pedestal Cheryl made for the bed. Moonshadow is real happy with the steps and uses them all the time now.

Other News & Pictures 04/5/05
By Susie Devries
Here are some current pictures of the twins. Chloe was in her Easter Best, while Michael was busy being asleep.

Starting to plant my garden now. I have all my houseplants out front on the deck and have planted some flowers out front also. Can't wait for some to come up, like Lily of the Valley. I know they will, but I get anxious. Nice thing is, once they are established, they are a perennial so come back year after year. Of course each year the spread out a bit more which will be great! I also have 3 Amaryllis coming up out front. My sister, Judie, planted hers outside and they come up year after year. It's colder in Joplin than it is here in the winter so I figured if hers would grow, so would mine. Sure enough they have sprouted! Color me happy.

It's getting nice and warm out so I am outside more than I am inside. This summer I want to take my oldest granddaughter, Angelique, to the Zoo a few times. She will be 2 on June 6, and I know she will enjoy that. I may take the twins also to give Mama a break for the day, since she is pregnant again. Not due until November, but man oh man, are the kids close.

Up North & The Birthday 04/5/05
By Roger Schmit
We got home yesterday from Michigan. What a great week. Matt, Jeanne and the boys were up for the Easter weekend. A great time was had by all. There was still enough snow left for tubing and the weather was perfect, cold in the morning so the snow was good, then it would warm up into the 40s. Aaron didn't care what the weather was, he just wanted to golf. He made a hole in the snow and just had at it.

Saturday afternoon we all colored eggs in anticipation of the large rabbit showing up, he did, later that night. When we were done coloring the eggs we threw the dye out in the snow. The colors looked pretty cool except for the yellow which looked like the bunny had already been there! Check out the pictures.

They all left Sunday afternoon and grandma and I had a nice quiet rest of the week.

We came back [to Milwaukee] Sunday, the 3rd, for Aarons birthday party at Chucky Cheese. A place with 900 screaming kids running around having a great time while there parents try to figure out where they ran off to. Here are some pictures from the party.

Wednesday I'm leaving for Albuquerque for a Shrine convention. In this context the word convention means "Lets drink and go golf" or "Lets golf and go drink". I might have some pictures when I get back if I remember to take some.

Good News! 04/4/05
By Susie Devries
Good news from Little Rock! Baby Michael is finally coming home tomorrow, April 5th! He will be just two days shy of being in the hospital for 2 months. The twins will be 9 months old April 11 and out of that 9 months baby Michael has spent 7 of them in the hospital. This baby has to be a fighter to have endured all he has and is still here.

I will have Angelique and Chloe tonight and part of tomorrow. You all know I am thrilled about that. All the prayers from everyone are deeply appreciated. Thank you so much.

Susie

Movin' On Up... 04/3/05
By Heidi Schmit
Well down for me. I'm in my last week of clearing and checking out here. It's quite a process with all the different departments to get signed off. I turned in all the gear I signed out and now have only the Command to clear. Friday, April 8th, will be my last day on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Then on Monday, April 11th, I'll be leaving to spend a week with my boyfriend, Mike, in Germany. When I come back I'll be loading up the car and driving down to my new home in Florida. So much stuff going and so exciting. Can't Wait!

New Baby Update 03/26/05
By Frank Bingham
I just got back from the hospital where I was visiting with my new Grand Daughter Mabel. She is aging very fast as she was already 2 Hrs and 8 minutes old when these pictures were taken. She is not very talkative at this point but certainly has a BIG voice in that tiny body. She has let it be known a couple of times that she wants to sleep.......

She and her Mama were just about to be moved from the birthing room to a regular room so I thought this was a great time to scoot home and send a few pictures. All is well with the baby and Mom.

Love to all ............. Frank & Carol

New Baby! 03/25/05
Frank & Carol Bingham are new Grand Parents today. Our youngest son Jeffrey's wife Corey delivered a perfect little girl this morning at 9:45 A.M. She was 8 lbs 1 oz., 19 1/2 in. and has a lot of straight dark hair. They have named her "Mabel Frances Bingham".

Mom and baby are doing well and dad is tired from the experience. We, the grand Parents, are thrilled with the new addition and feel blessed to have a healthy baby born into the family.

Love to all in the family ....... Frank and Carol Bingham

Hawaii Trip 03/24/05
From Frank - Carol and I have been gone on a 16 day cruise to Hawaii. We left from LA and went to the islands on the Island Princess, spent a week there going to all the islands and then cruised back to LA via Mexico. We had a wonderful time as we had a cabin on the top deck with a great Veranda.

The islands are beautiful and different from each other. I have included some pictures. I have over 500 pictures so these are but a tiny sample.

Baby Update 03/23/05
Susie let's us know - Just a little update on Baby Michael. He has his feeding tube in his tummy now. Nurses refer to it as a button. He is given 100 CC of formula every three hours. 100 CC is about 3.3 ounces. It is put into a large syringe and pumped into his tummy over a one hour time span. during the night he is given 40 CC an hour on a continuous basis.

No word on when bottle feeding may begin again and still no word on when he will get to come home. He is improving though and no longer is light as a feather when you pick him up. :)) He will come home with the feeding tube but we are not yet sure if he will also have the pump. I guess it all depends on how well he does and if he is able to take a bottle and swallow correctly. Only time will tell. I will keep you updated.

Elvis On The Move 03/20/05
Daryl has quickly packed his bags and made a mad dash for Dayton, Ohio. Daryl tells us - Today's flight was half in IFR conditions, with structural icing the last half hour.....geeeeeeesh! Hurry up to get here, and will no doubt be sitting here in the motel for a long time. Weather.com's 10 day forecast, says crap every day... Oh well, that's what they pay me for, sitting in motel rooms.

Nice motel here also, a 3 year old 4 story Howard Johnson Limited, the high speed bandwidth speed test said 3.1 meg on the connection, so VERY fast!!!! When it turns light in the morning, will try to get a new picture on the web cam, and will look for stuff to take pictures of...

Click here for more information about where Elvis is, and Click here to see the latest pictures.

Update - Elvis is now in Lansing, Illinois 03/24/05  

St. Patrick's Day Parade 03/15/05
Roger tells us - I marched in the St. Patrick's Day parade last Saturday. The weather was not exactly parade weather, 18 degrees and windy, kinda cold blowin' up the old kilt. A little Irish whiskey after the parade sure did take the chill out of the old bones. Barb stuck with hot chocolate and Baileys. I've put up a couple of pictures from Saturday.

We're going up north next week for Easter. Matt, Jeanne and the boys are coming up for the weekend and we're staying up for the week. I don't think we'll be doing any golfing but I'm sure the kids can go snow tubing. We'll probably watch a few movies and crank up that surround sound.

Baby Update 03/14/05
Susie writes - Michael has been in the hospital since February 7. He may get to come home this week. He continues to have an eating problem, and that is going to be taken care of by putting a \'button\' in his side. Actually its a feeding tube. Michael will be allowed to nurse from a bottle for 20 minutes. What he does not take will then be given to him trhough the feeding tube. After 20 minutes the baby uses more calories to nurse than what he can take in. Hopefully this little guy can come home and be with his family soon. Here are pictures of the babies and Nancy.

BRADEN PEED IN THE TOILET TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! 03/12/05 Erin writes - Now keep your fingers crossed that he does it again!!

File Photo Braden Lawrence

Elvis Works Pipes 03/10/05
While off work for the last couple of days, Daryl (AKA Elvis) has been busy installing a new jacuzzi in his bathroom. The project has taken a bit more time and effort than he expected, but, quality work is a priority, so Daryl continues to take care of the detail work. There is still a bit to be done as Elvis says "As you can see in the pictures, still needs grouted, still needs the face of it closed up too, and texture coated..." So, check out the pictures he sent.

Erin & Chris Back Online 03/06/05
Erin writes - We just got our computer back today. It had a worm. I finally got the discs today and reformatted everything. I'm proud of myself- I got through about two weeks without a computer! Amazing. We are all good. Today was a beautiful day without rain or wind! Also amazing!!

Read the rest of the story - click here!

Pool Therapy Suits Blanche 03/05/05
Blanche Glaeser started pool therapy this past week. After two sessions with her doctor at the pool, Blanche is thrilled with the progress she is making. So is her doctor. Blanche was very nervous about going to the pool in the first place, but now is anxious to continue the "very tiring" workouts.

With all the good news about the pool, Jumpy has decided he'll join in later this week. He's been looking for a new activity to work on himself. The pool therapy is at a new Senior center facility recently built near Blanche's home in Las Vegas.

Sleep-Over & Snow from Roger 03/03/05
Well the [Shriner] circus is over for another year. I always look forward to it and I'm sooo happy when it's over. ( No pictures from the circus yet ). Barb had a sleep-over with all 3 grandkids on Saturday night. I think she now understands why you have kids in your 20s and 30s when you can keep up with them.

I'm now back up north where this morning it was a brisk -12. The sound system is all tweaked and I spent yesterday hiding speaker wire. It sure sounds good. I took some pictures from the sleep-over and up here yesterday.

Got to go type up and send out the Director's Staff Newsletter. We're going to Albuquerque in April for a convention. Might post some pictures.

Daryl Visits Dad 03/02/05
Daryl drove to Rockwall, Tx today to visit his dad, Dean Lawrence. Dean says he is feeling fine lately. Daryl took some pictures and spent the day there.

Barbara's Car Hit 03/02/05
I was at the Post Office this afternoon (Tuesday), had backed up out of my space and had straightened out ready to change the gear and "wham", some lady didn't see me and backed in to my car. I was sick about that but we traded info so when I got home I called her insurance company. She had already called them so they had the claim number ready. The lady was driving a big Cadillac (a little older one so it was bigger than the Cad's of today) and fortunately I wasn't back further than I was because her back bumper hit me square starting at the back door all the way to the back. Fortunately the lady told me she knows it was totally her fault so that helps and she even told her insurance rep the same thing.

New Baby Update 03/26/05
By Frank Bingham
I just got back from the hospital where I was visiting with my new Grand Daughter Mabel. She is aging very fast as she was already 2 Hrs and 8 minutes old when these pictures were taken. She is not very talkative at this point but certainly has a BIG voice in that tiny body. She has let it be known a couple of times that she wants to sleep.......

She and her Mama were just about to be moved from the birthing room to a regular room so I thought this was a great time to scoot home and send a few pictures. All is well with the baby and Mom.

Love to all ............. Frank & Carol

New Baby! 03/25/05
Frank & Carol Bingham are new Grand Parents today. Our youngest son Jeffrey's wife Corey delivered a perfect little girl this morning at 9:45 A.M. She was 8 lbs 1 oz., 19 1/2 in. and has a lot of straight dark hair. They have named her "Mabel Frances Bingham".

Mom and baby are doing well and dad is tired from the experience. We, the grand Parents, are thrilled with the new addition and feel blessed to have a healthy baby born into the family.

Love to all in the family ....... Frank and Carol Bingham

Hawaii Trip 03/24/05
From Frank - Carol and I have been gone on a 16 day cruise to Hawaii. We left from LA and went to the islands on the Island Princess, spent a week there going to all the islands and then cruised back to LA via Mexico. We had a wonderful time as we had a cabin on the top deck with a great Veranda.

The islands are beautiful and different from each other. I have included some pictures. I have over 500 pictures so these are but a tiny sample.

Baby Update 03/23/05
Susie let's us know - Just a little update on Baby Michael. He has his feeding tube in his tummy now. Nurses refer to it as a button. He is given 100 CC of formula every three hours. 100 CC is about 3.3 ounces. It is put into a large syringe and pumped into his tummy over a one hour time span. during the night he is given 40 CC an hour on a continuous basis.

No word on when bottle feeding may begin again and still no word on when he will get to come home. He is improving though and no longer is light as a feather when you pick him up. :)) He will come home with the feeding tube but we are not yet sure if he will also have the pump. I guess it all depends on how well he does and if he is able to take a bottle and swallow correctly. Only time will tell. I will keep you updated.

Elvis On The Move 03/20/05
Daryl has quickly packed his bags and made a mad dash for Dayton, Ohio. Daryl tells us - Today's flight was half in IFR conditions, with structural icing the last half hour.....geeeeeeesh! Hurry up to get here, and will no doubt be sitting here in the motel for a long time. Weather.com's 10 day forecast, says crap every day... Oh well, that's what they pay me for, sitting in motel rooms.

Nice motel here also, a 3 year old 4 story Howard Johnson Limited, the high speed bandwidth speed test said 3.1 meg on the connection, so VERY fast!!!! When it turns light in the morning, will try to get a new picture on the web cam, and will look for stuff to take pictures of...

Click here for more information about where Elvis is, and Click here to see the latest pictures.

Update - Elvis is now in Lansing, Illinois 03/24/05  

St. Patrick's Day Parade 03/15/05
Roger tells us - I marched in the St. Patrick's Day parade last Saturday. The weather was not exactly parade weather, 18 degrees and windy, kinda cold blowin' up the old kilt. A little Irish whiskey after the parade sure did take the chill out of the old bones. Barb stuck with hot chocolate and Baileys. I've put up a couple of pictures from Saturday.

We're going up north next week for Easter. Matt, Jeanne and the boys are coming up for the weekend and we're staying up for the week. I don't think we'll be doing any golfing but I'm sure the kids can go snow tubing. We'll probably watch a few movies and crank up that surround sound.

Baby Update 03/14/05
Susie writes - Michael has been in the hospital since February 7. He may get to come home this week. He continues to have an eating problem, and that is going to be taken care of by putting a \'button\' in his side. Actually its a feeding tube. Michael will be allowed to nurse from a bottle for 20 minutes. What he does not take will then be given to him trhough the feeding tube. After 20 minutes the baby uses more calories to nurse than what he can take in. Hopefully this little guy can come home and be with his family soon. Here are pictures of the babies and Nancy.

BRADEN PEED IN THE TOILET TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! 03/12/05 Erin writes - Now keep your fingers crossed that he does it again!!

File Photo Braden Lawrence

Elvis Works Pipes 03/10/05
While off work for the last couple of days, Daryl (AKA Elvis) has been busy installing a new jacuzzi in his bathroom. The project has taken a bit more time and effort than he expected, but, quality work is a priority, so Daryl continues to take care of the detail work. There is still a bit to be done as Elvis says "As you can see in the pictures, still needs grouted, still needs the face of it closed up too, and texture coated..." So, check out the pictures he sent.

Erin & Chris Back Online 03/06/05
Erin writes - We just got our computer back today. It had a worm. I finally got the discs today and reformatted everything. I'm proud of myself- I got through about two weeks without a computer! Amazing. We are all good. Today was a beautiful day without rain or wind! Also amazing!!

Read the rest of the story - click here!

Pool Therapy Suits Blanche 03/05/05
Blanche Glaeser started pool therapy this past week. After two sessions with her doctor at the pool, Blanche is thrilled with the progress she is making. So is her doctor. Blanche was very nervous about going to the pool in the first place, but now is anxious to continue the "very tiring" workouts.

With all the good news about the pool, Jumpy has decided he'll join in later this week. He's been looking for a new activity to work on himself. The pool therapy is at a new Senior center facility recently built near Blanche's home in Las Vegas.

Sleep-Over & Snow from Roger 03/03/05
Well the [Shriner] circus is over for another year. I always look forward to it and I'm sooo happy when it's over. ( No pictures from the circus yet ). Barb had a sleep-over with all 3 grandkids on Saturday night. I think she now understands why you have kids in your 20s and 30s when you can keep up with them.

I'm now back up north where this morning it was a brisk -12. The sound system is all tweaked and I spent yesterday hiding speaker wire. It sure sounds good. I took some pictures from the sleep-over and up here yesterday.