Girls with their teachers

Addie and Mrs. Zoske


Ashley and Mrs. Tysdahl


Amber and Mrs. Nehring

First Day of School

Amber is going into 5th grade this year, hard to believe. Ashley is in 3rd grade, and now part of the upper-elementary. Addie is going to attend an all-day pre-K program this year. She was so excited about this, because she has been begging to go to school and this is for kids that are 4-5 years old. The best part is, it is FREE!!!! Yeah!
Alex wasn't so sure about taking his sister to school and leaving them there the whole day. He was very excited to go pick them up at the end of the day. The first day we drove them to school, but the rest of the time they have to ride the bus. Today when we walked to the bus, Alex was very upset that he didn't get to climb onto the bus. The whole walk home he said, "mommy soon, ride bus? mommy soon?" Very cute.

The new puppy

Well if you didn't know, we have a new puppy. Her name is Scout and she is a purebred Brittany. Larry and Suzy's dog had a litter of pups and they brought one to Canada for us to give to the kids. Needless to say they were very excited when they found out she was ours and we got to take her home.

More Canada Photos

My big northern.


Mom's first northern that she caught with Bill and I.


The berry picking group.


Bill's big northern.


The whole Canada group in front of the new cabin.

Canada 2008

This was probably one of the best years in Canada. We only took the one motorhome (mom and dad's) and Larry and Suzy drove up with Harold Munson (friend of the hunting group). Bill and I and the kids stayed in a cabin with Larry and Suzy and Harold. It was sooooo cool! I cannot tell you how nice it was. Suzy and I walked in together to check the new cabins out and our mouths just dropped open. They had new laminate wood floors, a couple couches, a fireplace with slate tile surround, a wonderfully clean bathroom and large kitchen. It was the nicest cabin I have ever stayed in. We caught lots of walleye and several large northern. Even Alex and Addie caught fish on their own poles. This year I decided to go blueberry picking with Mom, Dad, Larry, Suzy, Harold, and our three girls. Our girls did such a good job picking. They were so excited that their berries were going to go to our house for us to use, so I think they worked a little bit harder. Our family ended up picking 17 cups of berries. I have plenty to make a couple of pies and then use the others for some new desserts I want to try. The weather was perfect for being on the water, so my mom waterskied a couple times and the girls tried to also. They didn't do too well, but it was good for them to attempt it.


Alex and his first fish.


Addie and her first fish.


Ashley helping Dad drive. She didn't fish a lot, but she was a good "minnow getter".


Amber and the only bass caught on the trip.

Birthdays

This summer Ashley turned 8 and Amber turned 10. Hard to believe that we have one in double-digits now. They are all growing up too quickly. This is Amber's last year in the elementary. Next year, on to Middle School. This was their summer for a friend party, so Ashley had several friends over to play, and Amber, when it was her turn, had a sleepover. As usual we went to Canada during Amber's birthday so our family celebrated there.


Ashley's friends.


More of Ashley's friends.


Amber opening up Grandma B.'s present.


Amber's friends.


Amber's birthday in Canada in the cabin.

Black Hills

Okay folks, so this will take you back to June 2008. Our family went on vacation with Bill's parents to the Black Hills in South Dakota. We also visited the Badlands too. We had an excellent time, loved our campground, and enjoyed all the sites we saw. Other than a problem with the motorhome, everything went smoothly. But you know, when do we ever vacation and not have a problem with the motorhome??? :) Last year it was the tire blowout, this year the transmission.


On the way out we stopped at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead and the kids got to make rope the old fashioned way. They also got to make corncob dolls (even Alex) and grind flour in the mill.


We rode a wagon to the school house and the girls had to put on bonnets and aprons and attend "school". They sang songs and did warm up exercises. When school was finished they had to ring the bell.


This is the whole group at the Badlands. It was very impressive. You could see for miles in many directions.