Family Reunion Photos are here officially

Fun shot only




They look pretty good.

Hormel Girls at Riverland

Gunnar is in the middle, he played Jay Hormel and the paper wrote that he played the part of a business owner with new ideas, who had a soft spot for his girls.
MacKenzie and Gunnar. She played one of the girls, she and Gunnar have a love hate relationship. Its almost like they are related the way they snipe and tease each other.

The musical was very cute and I even felt a tear at the end when they were saying goodbye to each other. "You can't have a new beginning unless you have an ending." I really enjoyed the show and of course watching Gunnar perform is always a treat. Most don't believe this giant is only 16 after all. A favorite line, "Who speaks Woman like a woman, its a foreign language after all." Another, Bud Johnson is telling Jay that the board of directors is not going to be happy about his idea for the Hormel Girls and he asks Bud, "Do they think I'm 18% crazier than last quarter?" He had great ideas that is for sure.

The Vampire Diaries Books 87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95, 96 and 97

David and I watch this show and so to see a book that is actually part of the TV series I had to read it.
The third book in the series. It is quite violent, but its main character is a kick-butt girl who has found she has magical powers. Zeke loves them and is begging us to order the next one because our library doesn't have it. When we run out of other things to read then we order books, but I think we can all wait. So many things to read and so little time.



The show is so Soap Opera like that I decided to read the books instead, but they are nothing like the show so that didn't help. The names of the characters and the town are all that is about the same in the books as the show. They were quick to read and not bad. The ending was a bit too sappy, but they were fast to read. You need to read them all they really don't each have a separate ending.

Also I read an older Linda Howard, After the Night, and a trilogy by Nora Roberts about vampires, Morrigan's Cross, Dances of the Gods and The Valley of Silence. The first was not great, the trilogy was good. Pretty Little Liars number 2 Fabulous.

I've hurt my knee, jumpers or runners injury so I have to rest it up on a pillow with ice a few times a day. Reading is so much better then TV. I also have to exercise it lightly. The worse position is sitting in a chair, standing, laying and just about any other position is better then sitting.

Summer fun with Cenny

Pretty dress
Where does she sleep?

Summer vegetables at the Farmers Market

The kids are in a garden class this summer and now with the harvest coming they all voted to sell their bounty at the Farmers Market, on Thursday's downtown. Two weeks now and they have raised over $50 for the new shed the garden group would like to purchase. The kids love it and we keep trying interesting vegetables and other goodies we get at the Market.

Book 86 The Passage Cronin WOW

This is huge, 766 pages of dense words and no breaks for chapters, they start at the last paragraph of the last chapter. I read The Stand back about 16 years ago and I read the unabridged and loved it. This reminded me of that, but I think I love the charaters more. Peters, Lish, Amy, Theo, Maus, etc. Loved this, long book, but I read it in three days, less if I hadn't been so busy the 2nd day. The world is ending and everyone is dying from an attack of creatures that are man made in a lab to help in the war. 2019 maybe, he is never really clear on the dates. I will be thinking about this one for awhile. This is the first of a trilogy which is good because it didn't really have an ending.

Saturday morning surprises are not always good ones.

Before: this is what we found on our way to take Gunnar to work.
After: WD40 and a lot of Magic erasers and this is what we have now. Just a slight pink tinge here and there that should wear off in time. It took two hours to clean it. Out neighbors car has the number 14 on the door in the same paint and down the block a few other house and garages suffered a similar fate. GET A JOB YOU LAZY BUTTS!!!!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and cabin in Pepin Wisconsin

I think this is bigger then the real thing, this is from Little House in the Big Woods
Inside the cabin, kids are sitting where the girls would have slept.

Cenneidigh in the little school house room in the museum.

We traveled across the river to Pepin Wisconsin and stopped at the museum and then drove 8 miles to the Little House Wayward stop. Cenny enjoyed seeing the books come alive.

Book 85 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I loved this book, it is a collection of letters and at first I was like, Oh come on, but it was very well done. I can see why it was named one of the best books of the year by Time magazine. I would recommend this to everyone. A great story set right after the war(WWII) in England. A writer is researching material for a new book and finds a group of readers on the small island of Guernsey which was occupied by the Germans for five years. Read this book you will love it, its a feel good read. Rad the last few pages over and over, loved it!!!

Opinions

I've read those in the paper on-line and it was mentioned that I was negative with my attitude saying "It was a waste of time." I guess it is negative, but true. If they thought this would happen then it was a waste of time. I've also had many people tell me to keep going so they can't just put in anyone, we will see I guess.

School Board interview on the news

Video from the news.

School Board troubles

http://www.kimt.com/news/default.aspx?articleID=6735

Austin school board can't agree on new board member

Updated: Jul 20, 2010 5:11 PM CDT

AUSTIN, Minn. (KTTC-DT) -- What could have been the final chapter in the saga surrounding ousted school board member, Curt Rude, now won't come to a conclusion until possibly early fall.

Tuesday afternoon the board interviewed four finalists to fill Rude's seat and planned to select a new member the same day.

However, after several rounds of voting, the board couldn't break a 3-3 tie between candidates, Jeff Ollman and Lisa Peters.

The board will now refer the issue to a personnel committee for further review.

School Board chairman, Richard Lees said the board will revisit the issue, likely within the next three months, but for right now they will continue on with the six members they have.

"We can get along very nicely with the six we have, but it's a matter of state policy, Minnesota School Board policy, so we will have to keep trying," says Lees.

Lees also said that the district has never been in this type of situation before so it's unclear what exactly will happen or what the next step will be.

Rude was dismissed from the school board after he was convicted of drug possession in November of 2009.

Board Fails to Pick Rude’s Replacement

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- Five votes, but still no final decision on who will be the newest member of the Austin School Board.

Tuesday, board members should have selected a replacement for Curt Rude, who was voted out back in March because of a conflict of interest.

Four finalists for the open spot on the Austin School Board were supposed to find who landed the job, but after 5 rounds of voting, deadlock.

"This is not that unexpected. We've been working along well with 6 and so this is something that the Minnesota School Board Association is sort of forcing on us, but this isn't something we're going after or desire," says Board Chairperson Richard Lees.

But after a month long selection process, some would like to see a decision.

"Let's just choose someone because otherwise it sort of seems like a waste of time if we don't get a choice," says finalist Lisa Peters.

And are left wondering what's next.

"I don't know what they're going to do. I don't know if they're going to stick with the 6 or if they're going to just start the process over again," says Peters.

Lees says that decision is up to a personnel committee, but for now 6 is a balanced number.

"It's working out well, it's not going to make any difference basically except that we all have to pick-up a little more work on committees and things like that," says Lees.

It may be working now, but some worry Tuesday's indecision is a forecast of things to come.

"When you've got a board of only 6 members you're going to have a deadlock like we've had today, probably several times, where that 7th person's going to be able to come in and you know we're not going to have a tie vote any longer," says Peters.

Legally, the board doesn't have to find a seventh member.

However, the Minnesota School Board Association is pushing for one.

A personnel committee is set to take up the issue next month.

The school board was dead locked three to three, me against Ollman and then they decided to not decide. What, you can do that? Four of us interviewed for the position Tuesday and it was a huge waste of time. Decide not to decide, how can that be. A waste of a month is what I think it is and if they cannot decide on a replacement how do they decide on important decisions for our district?

Hormel Girls opens tonight at Riverland

Gunnar is playing Jay Hormel in this production opening tonight. I'm really excited to see it, he is singing the songs all over the house. I hope if you have time that you can all get a chance to go see it. Tonight through Saturday at 7 PM. There is a reception at the Hormel house for some of the original Hormel Girls Saturday afternoon you can call the home for details.

My interview with the school board is today and I don't know how that is going to go. Heres hoping not to sound like an idiot and to let happen what is suppose to happen. The kids are the ones who are important in this decision and I hope the best person for them is chosen.

Drug test

I'm actually up to post this one. I didn't eat any protein for dinner, so I'm shaking, inside and out, and stuffing my mouth with peanut butter to get it to stop so I can go back to bed. I really hurt my knee and so I'm off of P90X for a week(last week), but I guess I still need to eat protein. Back to the protein shakes tomorrow. I will start with the workouts for my upper body tomorrow. Ice and Advil are helping, but my knee still hurts, Sliding down the hill was not a good idea, I guess.

Here is the actual post. I had to pee in this cup for Hormel the other day. WHY? I've had the same taste testing job for 14 years off and on, and now they want a urine sample?(I make a few hundred bucks a year, very part-time.) It took about an hour to figure out where to go(that is another story on its own, it is like another world out there behind the tall fences of the plant, I much prefer the front door to the back.) I filled out four long forms and then had an interview about my answers and then the test that you wait for the results. If I had known how long it was going to be and the problems I would have finding the place I would have told them to keep their ham and the few bucks I get and forget it. (If I have to do that again I will) I've had a drug test before, for some job, but this took forever.(You cannot wash your hands until you hand the sample to the person, pee in a cup and not hit my hand? HOW? YUCK!!! Zeke thought it was funny I hit my hand, he's glad to have something to aim with. HAHA)

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Christmas 1972 Dad, Mom, Me, and Kristi and Button on the side.
All the grandkiddos
1979-1980
The grown-up kids


Utah 2001
Happy Birthday Dad!!!! Have a fun trip.

Family Shots from the Reunion

Cropping some of the photos for fun.
The young and the beautiful, yeah!
The whole group of us all 33

I took these from Ashley's site this morning. They look pretty good. http://hawkeyephoto.blogspot.com/

Hiking at Whitewater State Park

Sandstone, the kids loved how it turned to sand when you touched it.
The leader of the pack
Sitting pretty on a few bugs she later discovered
A view from the top of one of the hikes
The lost trail slide
Chimney Rock
The stairs were helpful we should have realized that the trail would be better marked when it started like this. How we lost it I have no idea.
We drove up to Whitewater on Saturday and hiked for, forever. It was hot and at one point we lost the trail and we slid down the hillside on out rumps. We made a picnic and after the hikes we rested with lunch and then a nice drive home. David and I took an hour long nap each when we got home. I was tired.