Wordless Wednesday: Merry Christmas!

Snow Fun

The weekend was perfect for sledding and we took advantage of it! 

 

 

 

65 Years

My maternal grandma passed away in August and just two months later we lost grandpa.  Today would've been their 65th wedding anniversary.  65 years.  It's almost hard to even imagine living with someone for that long.  It's really an amazing feat these days.  I don't know all of the struggles they had to endure during their marriage, but losing two children, fighting in a war, the Great Depression, Alzheimer's.... those things couldn't have been easy to go through.  They faced every obstacle and they faced them together.  They came out on the other side, maybe missing a small piece of themselves, but as a unit, they were whole. 

It's been difficult for us, the family left behind, to deal with having both grandma and grandpa gone, but I like to look at it as they wanted to celebrate their anniversary together.  They spent 64 anniversary's together and they weren't going to have the 65 be any different.  If it couldn't be here on earth with us, at least they are celebrating with their parents, siblings, two children and other loved ones that they lost along the way. 

Today, I will toast to them and the time they shared.  Happy anniversary.  We love and miss you everyday! 

Wordless Wednesday: 21 Gun Salute

We'll miss you grandpa!

Senior Pictures

Wow.  I can't believe it is September already.  Where did the summer go?!  I think I've been so busy that I completely missed the month of August.  Between work and family obligations, I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off!  I was able to carve out a couple of hours to take some senior pictures of this pretty awesome young man.  If everyone was as easy to photograph as Bobby, I might actually do it a lot more! 

Happy Birthday Daddio!

Happy birthday to the greatest dad on the planet! Without him, I wouldn't be me... he taught me what a hard days work is, how to fight for what you believe in, how to love, when to keep your mouth shut and when to speak up and most importantly, how to laugh. Without a sense of humor life is boring! Love you Dad! 

 

Appleseed

This weekend (July 13-14) is the Holland Farm Appleseed!  If you haven't already registered, don't worry, there are still some spots available and the weather is looking to be beautiful! 

If you haven't done an Appleseed before, there is no reason to be shy, take a look here to see how you can prepare yourself.  And if you'd like to participate but aren't a rifle owner, that's okay too, shoot an email to John Naese at johnnaese@comcast.net and he can help you out. 

Hope to see you there!

Happy Independence Day!

URGENT ALERT – YOUR ACTION REQUIRED

GOVERNOR QUINN’S SOFT SPOT FOR CRIMINALS RESULTS IN VETO OF CONCEALED CARRY

As many of you know by now, Governor Quinn today issued an amendatory veto of HB0183, otherwise known as Concealed Carry. In issuing his veto, Quinn renders HB0183 essentially worthless from a self-defense perspective. Under Quinn’s amendments to the bill, most public locations would be “off limits” for concealed carry. Furthermore, firearms would have to be carried in a closed container out of the view of the public. Making concealed carry even more impractical is Quinn’s restriction limiting licensees to one firearm and no more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Quinn’s amendatory veto contains a whole host of other restrictions that are aimed not only at hindering concealed carry, but also at suppressing the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms in general. Although Quinn claims his veto is in the interest of public safety, the truth of the matter is that Quinn is using HB0183 as a vehicle to punish firearm owners. Quinn’s motives were made abundantly clear by his decision to surround himself with anti-gun extremists as he announced his veto. Quinn even stood side by side with Fr. Michael Pfleger, the Catholic priest who has openly called for gun shop owners and pro-gun elected officials to be dragged into the streets and murdered. The bottom line is this: if Quinn’s amendatory veto of HB0183 is not overturned, law-abiding gun owners will have fewer rights than they had before HB0183 was even drafted. Yes, that’s right; HB0183 has been transformed into a gun control bill. HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO SAVE CONCEALED CARRY AND SAVE YOUR GUNS 1. Immediately phone your State Representative AND your State Senator and politely tell the person who answers the phone that you are a law abiding firearm owner who wishes to see Governor Quinn’s amendatory veto of HB0183 overturned. Phone lines will be busy, but keep trying until you get through. If you do not know who your Senator or Representative is, the Illinois State Board of Elections has an interactive search page here: www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx If you know who your state legislators are, you can find their contact info here: www.ilga.gov/house/ and www.ilga.gov/senate/. 2. Pass this alert on to your friends and family and ask them to call too. 3. Post this Alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you belong. 4. Take the time to sign up a new ISRA member. ISRA needs the continued support of Illinois gun owners. If you remain silent, you are giving Quinn tacit approval of his gun control folly.

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Bird

Wordless Wednesday: Can't Keep a Good Girl Down!

 

Doesn't matter if she does have cast on, you can't stop her from having fun!

Happy Father's Day!

Here's to the men that have shaped my life, I love you all!

Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones But Trampolines Will Too!

We went to my sister's house on Saturday to celebrate R turning 7 years old.  She got a trampoline for her birthday and they had a blast playing on it.  Uncle Buck even took part....

But.... apparently adults aren't supposed to jump on trampolines with children, especially young children.  Their bones can't handle the force and poor little L found that out the hard way!  We had to make a trip to the ER, first time for L!  She was pretty nervous, but was such a brave little girl and did so good.

Laying perfectly still for x-rays.

M&M's make almost everything better!

 

It turned out that she broke her left tibia AND fibula.  The doctor explained it as when like crushing a pop can, that's what her little bones did.

"If I have to have a cast, it at least needs to be pretty!"

 Being in a cast isn't any fun, ESPECIALLY in the summer, but at least my little trooper still has a smile on her face! Can't keep a good girl down, right? 

Thoughts and Prayers for Oklahoma

Fat Ass 5K

This year I was able to convince the hubs to head down to Springfiend for the Fat Ass 5K... did he run it?  No, but he came along for the street party portion.  We had so much fun, can't wait until next year!

The whole gang...

Wordless Wednesday: Binoculars

L and I went on a ranger ride with Grammy over the weekend, just to get out and enjoy the weather and see what kind of wildlife we could find.  L was prepared with Papa's binoculars. 

Funniest part was that L was constantly looking thru the binoculars and was afraid that Grammy was going to run into the trees that were WAY off into the distance.
  

We saw squirrel nests, trees that beavers had chewed on, deer, hawks, an owl... but the favorite of the day?  Calves of course!

Who Intimidates You More?

Thousands of violent crimes are ended every year by CCW permit holders, without ever firing a shot, simply because the intended victim was armed.  And thousands of crimes are enabled every year by the creation of "gun free zones".  Disarming the potential rape victim protects just one person.  The rapist.

The legislators of Illinois have essentially made the ENTIRE state a "gun free zone".  Watch this video and tell me, how does rendering me defenseless protect you against a violent crime?

Wordless Wednesday: Dirt

Bird's Nest Take Two

A few years ago, I made these tasty Bird's Nests for Easter.  This year I was a bit of a procrastinator and didn't go grocery shopping to get all the necessities for Easter dinner.  Including the chinese egg noodles that are needed for those nexts.  So instead, I scrambled and altered the recipe a bit by using Cocoa Krispies (6 cups).  I must say, I actually PREFER them this way!

 

I hope you had a great Easter, we certainly did!  

 



Taste Test

We joined the other millions of people taking the Lays taste test last night.  I've heard of these flavors, they are hard to miss when 1/2 of the social media world is talking about them, but I hadn't really paid that close of attention.  While I was in Walgreens yesterday, they were next to the checkout, so I thought we'd give them a shot and see what we thought of them. 

 

Side note: The Sriracha flavor was submitted from an ISU student (my alma mater) and from what I understand, whichever flavor wins, the person that submitted it gets one million dollars!  I think I could've came up with some interesting flavors for that prize... maybe Buffalo Chicken with Ranch, Fried Pickles, Fried Green Beans with Wasabi, or Bruschetta... YUM! 

 

And the taste test begins....

And the winner is..... *DRUMROLL*

Chicken and Waffles! 

 

 

Of all three of the flavors, I really thought Chicken and Waffles would be the worst.  I was surprised that it really wasn't all that bad.  I think my favorite would've been the Cheesy Garlic Bread, but I'd really like to see some of my flavors on the store shelf!

HE Has Arrived!

Evan Dean Garrett joined us on Friday morning!!!  He's absolutely adorable!

He already has more hair than his Daddy.... and it's red!

L was a bit disappointed they didn't take her name suggestion and name him Jimmy Buffett, but I think he's already got his nickname... and two older cousins to get him in LOADS of trouble :)

Thursday Thirteen: Randomness

1.  My little sister STILL has not given birth to my niece/nephew.  She was due last Thursday and the baby just doesn't seem to be in any hurry. 

2.  I'm ready for spring.  When I say ready, what I really mean is past due.  Kinda like Bonnie.

3.  I'm doing my first race of the year on Saturday... I haven't ran in MONTHS.  It's not going to be pretty, but at least it's a St. Patrick's race and the goal is to end up at an Irish pub.  Motivation people, that's why I run.

4.  The weather was pretty crummy over the weekend, so Saturday afternoon I took L to a movie.  She's been wanting to watch Oz and it looked like one I would enjoy as well.  It was great!  The best moment was at the beginning when Oz was in the circus and made a lady disappear, and then made himself disappear.  Once he's in the balloon and he sees the tornado, L yells to the screen, "Can't make that disappear, can ya!?" 

5. By the time Sunday afternoon came around, we were tired of being cooped up in the house and bored.  I decided to make some cookies.  L wanted one, but since we had been couch potatoes all day, I told her she'd have to be a little active before she could eat one.  I proposed that if she ran out to the shed and back she could have one... but only if she went in what she had on, which was just her unders!  Like her mother, she's not one to shy away from a dare, so off she went!

6.  I've discovered a new author.  New to me anyway, and I'm loving her.  Diane Chamberlain.  She's known as the Jodi Picoult of the south.  So if you are a Jodi fan like myself.  Check her out.  Right now I'm reading Breaking the Silence and it's hard for me to put it down!

7. Speaking of books, my two favorite websites are PaperBackSwap and Goodreads.  If you have a lot of books lying around the house PBS is the answer.  You literally swap books with people and you only have to pay for shipping yours out.  It's awesome.  If you'd like a referral, let me know! 

8. L's birthday is next month and she is constantly telling us stuff to put on her birthday wish list.  She recently grew out of her cowboy boots so that is one of her top priorities right now.  The other day, I had her sit at the computer with me to look at some boots and see if there were any that she liked.  She picked out a pair of Anderson Bean boots.  Now for anyone that knows boots, knows that those aren't cheap!  What can I say, the kids got good taste!

9. I don't think I shared any photos from the last time we had a good snow.  It was one of those perfect winter days where the sun was shining, there wasn't any wind blowing AND the snow was just right for packing.  So we headed outsidie to play and make a snowman!

10. My favorite picture to date of JC was taken that day as well.... Love him!

11. Tegan is still doing phenomenal and is growing like a weed!  Just check out the cute lil munchkin...

12. Shelly is having some difficulties the last two weeks, prayers will be appreciated!

IGOLD 2013

Yesterday was Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day in Springfield.  Were you there?  If not, you really missed out and should plan on going next year!  Even with 6 buses being cancelled because of weather, the turnout was exceptional once again. 

Here is a rundown of media outlets that covered the day:

News Channel 20

KPLR St. Louis

The State Journal-Register

Chicago Tribune

WMAY

Not Your Average 13 Year Old

I saw a video of Katie Francis a few weeks back at a 3-gun event.  She was quite an impressive shot.  But to then watch this video and hear more of her story... she's not just an impressive shot, but a pretty phenomenal girl. 

Florida & Wedding

We went down to St. Pete Beach this past weekend for JC's sister Becky's wedding.  It was such a great weekend, we didn't want to come home!  It was wonderful to spend the weekend with family and to top it off, Shelly and Tegan got the go ahead from the doctors to join us! 

The beautiful couple!

Shelly and Tegan

Making use of the dance floor

Visiting aquarium



Enjoying the beach

 



42 Years

After 42 years, 4 kids, 2 grandkids (it will be 3 very soon!), my parents are still rocking it.

Happy anniversary to the best set of folks a kid could ask for, love you!