faMiley ties

Red River crests

2010-03-22T09:30:00.002-05:00

an understatement...

you can see all of the cars ahead of us driving thru the water

Water lapping against a northbound I-29 bridge

the water actually got a little deeper than this at one point

splish splash!

We drove home from Grand Forks on Sunday, the 21st, the same day the Red River crested in Fargo.

Grand Forks Hockey Classic 2010

2010-03-21T20:56:00.002-05:00

Jackson using the crab claw to feed himself...they could pull a tendon and make the claws move and actually hold things. So much so that they wanted to take it home (not in a million years!).

Carter and Ryan trying to crack their crab legs.

These three couldn't get over the little forks that came with the crab legs.

Waiting for the food.

This past weekend we headed up north to Grand Forks, ND, for the boys to play hockey. This tournament is a popular one and attended by teams from Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa and Canada. Unfortunately we came away with a 1-2 record, but all of the boys had fun and that's what counts. Plus, we stayed at a hotel with a waterpark which added to the good times. We had a couple of extra boys with us so our room was cozy, but all 4 boys got along great and we're happy to have them along anytime.

2010-02-21T19:08:00.005-06:00

Patiently waiting his turn.

Retrieving the arrows.

Alex taking aim with his new bow.

He hit the deer in the face.

...and now it's the antler's turn to take the abuse.

Tim helping Ryan with something...

Unfortunately these aren't arrows from Alex and Ryan, Tim took his turn.

We had somewhat of a break in our hockey this weekend with only Ryan having two games in Huron. He and Kevin were back by 2pm yesterday and I believe the original plan was for Tim to then take the boys ice fishing in the new ice house his dad bought this year (it has a television with a satellite....that doesn't sound like roughing it). Apparently the fishing isn't good right now so Tim offered to shoot with the boys instead. They set up the deer and a couple of other targets in our snowy backyard. The snow is fairly deceiving and doesn't look too deep, but it was up to our knees in some areas and it made looking for arrows a challenge. We're missing a couple that we'll have to look for when the snow melts, but I didn't think that was too bad considering the targets were missed 75% of the time. :)

2010-01-23T16:51:00.002-06:00

Kyle, Carson, Alex and Ryan. We dominated these two runs during our stay...don't let the names fool you, they're brutal (that Chipmunk is feral). :)

Alex taking a break from boarding and consuming his $4 brownie and $5 hot chocolate...hehe.

Almost a full moon

Just off of Chair 6 getting the boards strapped on.

2010-01-23T16:35:00.002-06:00

Alex, Carson and Ryan

I like the lighting in this one with the sun hitting the trees on the mountain.

Catching one of the last runs of the day...Ryan and Carson are on the chair on the left and Alex is 3 chairs ahead of them.

On the way to Big Mtn.

Christmas Eve 2009

College Hill sledding

2010-01-20T10:08:00.002-06:00

...and he scored!

Ryan shoots...

Check out the size difference...we didn't get the memo to bring our varsity players...

skate Alex, skate!

Note: it's been so long since I posted pics that I forgot I need to upload them in reverse order, so when looking at them go from bottom to top.

This past weekend we traveled to Redwood Falls, MN, for a hockey tournament. It was a tad bit lopsided with Alex's team losing all 4 games (one of them 13-0...ouch!) and Ryan's team winning 1 and losing 3. For the most part all of the teams we were playing were giants...I guess they grow them differently in MN! That didn't really have anything to do with the losses, though. We were quicker than most teams, but they were just better.

I'll post more later...this was just to keep Kathy happy...lol!

If Blogging Were a School Subject I'd get an F

2010-01-18T20:44:00.002-06:00

I know, I know...I've been slacking on the blogging front. The boys brought home their report cards over Christmas break and it occured to me that if I were being graded on my blogging efforts, I would most certainly earn an F. I'm downloading pics as I type so check back soon!

Pierre Tournament

2009-12-13T22:13:00.005-06:00

The boards came up to our players' chests (on the rights) and as you can see they're up to the opposing team's waist. I think there's something lacking in the Brookings water!!

Ryan giving a teammate some love after scoring a goal

Alex (#4) getting after the puck

Alex on defense

Al 'angling' an opponent
(my understanding of angling is that it's this age groups version of checking, but you don't actually hit the player against the boards)

...and he's successful in getting the puck away from this Pierre Capital

Alex

the temp inside the arena

(ok, I think it was actually the temp outside, but we didn't have any heat in the rink so I'm thinking we were fairly close to this number)

A salute to Tyler Wilcox, a former Pierre player diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2002. He passed away in 2005 and this weekend's annual tournament is organized by his family to honor his memory.

Squirt C team (Ry's team)

Squirt B team (Al's team)

This weekend we traveled to Pierre for tournaments for both boys (seven games in all). Their respective teams came away with the trophies and each one is undefeated. Alex and Ryan played really well and as you can imagine they're pretty tired (and so are we!). When we got up this morning I couldn't remember which child was playing the early game or what teams they had already played/were going to play today. Alex seems to thrive at defense and Ryan at offense. Since they are polar opposites with everything else, I guess this shouldn't come as a surprise. :) One of the main things we noticed this weekend was how little our Brookings teams are...the Pierre coach even commented on our size. After we beat them he commented on how fast they are. I guess you've got to make up for that somehow.

The boys will finish up their school on Friday at noon and we are leaving for Havre on the 22nd. I need to finish my Christmas shopping and was even thinking today that it would be nice if I had a personal shopper to do that for me. That way I could just give a thumbs up or down and not have to fight the crowds...haha.

You should see the other guy...

2009-11-04T17:50:00.003-06:00

Alex and another kid hit heads during gym class today and you should see the other guy! Well, not really...I guess Al looks the worst of the two. Both are fine but Alex will probably come away with a couple of black eyes after the blood disperses.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:50:00.003-05:00

Murder at the Deadwood Saloon

Minnie Money...East Coast debutante

Kevin's character was a cheatin' poker player

A clone trooper and hunter

I wonder who would win this battle?

Happy Halloween to you all! All 4 of us got dressed up for the occasion, although not on the same day. Last night Kevin and I attended a murder mystery party, something our friends host every year. It was 'Murder at the Deadwood Saloon' and you can see all of the shady characters in attendance. Tonight the boys got dressed up and went trick-or-treating, however I will say I do believe this may be our last year...we only went to 4 houses!! I would imagine soon they'll want to be attending Halloween dances instead.

Could it be...H1N1?

2009-10-23T21:53:00.004-05:00

Yes, you read that correctly...we believe H1N1 has struck the Miley household. There are so many widespread cases here that they aren't even testing anymore. Most of those tested thus far have been positive for Influenza A. After confirming it's the 'A' strain it goes on to be tested for H1N1 and the majority of those have come back as H1N1...hence the assumption that we have it too. It hit Ryan last weekend and Alex last night. I didn't dare tell Ry he had it or he would've completely freaked out. The good news is that it isn't too bad (from a parent/healthcare perspective...now ask me how I feel about that statement after I have it..haha). It lasts about 3 days and brings a high temp, headache, nasty cough, fatigue, etc. Our neck of the woods also has a shortage of Tamiflu so unless you're in a high risk category you'll just have to tough it out. Alex has asthma but until he was positive for symptoms he didn't get the med (and that in itself is another story. Let's just say that for $100 it had better work!). At least we're getting this out of the way prior to the holiday season. Kevin made the comment last weekend that if we're going to get this let's just get it over with...lol. I did get my H1N1 vaccine yesterday due to the population of patients I work with, but it isn't available to the general public in our area yet.

So...we stocked up on Gatorade and Children's Tylenol/Advil, dusted off the nebulizer and made a nice bleach/water solution and wiped down EVERYTHING. With any luck we should be good to go by Monday. I think that's true for the general public as well. As long as you can stay well hydrated and aren't short of breath you should be good at home. Besides, when you go to the clinic it's just filled with a bunch of sick people and who knows what else you could pick up. :)

Winter is here

2009-10-12T21:59:00.003-05:00

Alex's 'crest'...he calls it a shield

Whatever he wants to call it I say it's impressive! An arrow and fishing rod adorn the upper portion and that's a fish on the bottom.

Ryan braved the cold and did a little shooting this afternoon.

The boys had some friends over on Friday. They all got together and made a pile of leaves and then jumped in them.

I do believe winter has arrived. It snowed on Thursday evening and then again Saturday night with a small amount of accumulation. It was warm enough today (all 37 degrees) to melt it so there wasn't any shoveling to be done but I'm sure that's in the very near future. The boys had a long weekend due to Native American Day (Columbus Day to the rest of the US) so on Friday they had some friends over and today we did our homework early so we could enjoy the day. As you can see Ryan braved the cold and did a little practice shooting with his bow and arrows. We borrowed some arrows that have sharp tips so they penetrate the target much better...you can see how pleased he is with the result. Alex had to make a shield for art class and I think he did a wonderful job! He came up with that all by himself and I think it suits him perfectly.

We've started the furnace and pulled out the flannel sheets. Seems like I just put those away. Hope everyone is staying warm and have a great week!

Bones and arrows

2009-09-26T20:53:00.004-05:00

They finally hit the target!

Retrieving arrows

Alex shooting, Ryan scouting

Ready, aim...

Our new target

It's been so long since I've posted I forgot that I have to upload my pics in reverse order. Today the boys and I went to Walmart and bought a target for them to shoot at with their bows and arrows (for some reason Ryan can't say 'bows and arrows' and calls them 'bones and arrows'). Well, it was the best $25 we've spent in a long time as the boys spent well over 3 hours shooting at it. They're even planning on heading out there tomorrow morning at 9am. The target we got has thick skin so alot of the arrows would hit it and bounce right off but a handful of them did pierce it. :)

2009-08-31T21:38:00.002-05:00

First day of school, 8/19/09

new school....Camelot Intermediate

This is what a couple of hockey games will do to ya!

As you can see the boys started school a couple of weeks ago. They are both in the new Intermediate school and switch classes for 3 or 4 subjects. I guess the idea with that is to try to get them ready for middle school. So far it's going well and we haven't met any resistance from them as far as getting up and heading out. This new school most certainly meets any post Columbine safety requirements...the side doors automatically lock at 8:05 and you must enter through the office after that. All of the main classrooms are located on one side of the school (over 400 4th and 5th graders) and if it ever needs to be locked down there's a bullet-proof glass partition that will separate that portion of the school from everything else. Ryan explained all of that to me tonight when we went to his 'back to school' classroom meeting.

We're also keeping busy with soccer and, believe it or not, hockey. The boys have the opportunity to attend 4 on 4 twice a week and so far we've been there 6 or so times. Yesterday they played a double-header with a team from SF and won both games. You can see what it did to Ryan...he was tuckered out!

Hope you all have a great week!

Camp Foley 2009

2009-08-16T23:25:00.007-05:00

I don't know if you can tell but this is a Bald Eagle. I believe there's a nest near Camp.

Alex decided to give fencing a try this summer

Ryan earned a 'Robin Hood' award for highest score of all campers for 3 consecutive days

This particular day was too windy for the Mangos so they brought out a bigger sailboat and the kids went for a ride instead.

At the Marina with the Mangos. Ryan is the kid on the far right.

On guard!

a little kayaking during free time.

'Mom...he's a mini gangsta!'

Alex and another camper sailing a Mango. The kids start on these and then move up in size when they're ready. He was really good at this and was whipping around the lake like a pro.

Alex (left) canoeing on the first day. I like how the counselor is just enjoying the ride. :)

Ryan gave wake boarding a try...

....and he's off

almost out of the water...

oh no!! lean back, lean back!

Face plant! Nice try, though.

Once again we had a fun time at CF. The weather was beautiful for 3 of the days we were there and I didn't have any major injuries or illnesses. Alex and Ryan tried a couple of new things this summer and for the most part really enjoyed them (Ryan wasn't too fond of the wake boarding after this little splash). Who knows, we may find ourselves there for 2 weeks next year. :)

more Lake Superior pics

2009-08-16T22:50:00.004-05:00

This particular day on the lake it was hard to see the difference between the sky and water. You can see a boat to the left of the boys to help differ between the two.

Alex thinks he's an eagle :)

on the shore of Lake Superior

Lake Superior fishing

2009-08-16T21:47:00.006-05:00

ore boat in the distance

docks for the ore boats in Two Harbors

lighthouse in Two Harbors

apparently it doesn't matter what lake we fish in...the boys still act the same!

we used this 'herbie' to take the lines down 150-180 feet!

Alex you've got a bite!!

Keep reeling Al!

'But Tim, my arm is tired'...that's what he told him and tried to give him the pole.

(Unfortunately for Al, Tim had to reel up the downrigger and couldn't help.)

At this point Alex was 'skiing' the fish in

Nice netting Ryan!

Alex, Tim and Ryan with the end result

Our fishing on Lake Superior was great! It was a beautiful night and the water was calm...very cold though. I guess it's in the 40s (I didn't stick my hand in but the boys did) and stays like that all summer long. We fished in water that was 150-180 feet deep and used something called a 'herbie' to take the hook to the bottom of the lake (I think of it as a very large bottom bouncer :)). We were successful and caught the 3 fish you see in the last picture. I do have to say I thought someone was going to end up in the lake when they were trying to get the fish in the boat. One of the boys was reeling the line up, Tim was reeling the downrigger up and the other child was netting the fish. Then Ryan decided he wanted to drive the boat while trying to net a fish. Needless to say we were all over the place :) Unfortunately my camera battery died right after they netted the first fish...go figure! I'm glad we got these, though, and maybe we can go back another day.

Hudson, WI and Lake Superior

2009-08-16T21:06:00.005-05:00

Waiting in line for the slide. It's 4 stories high and pitch black inside. I would only go down the tube slide...the body slide looked much too scary!

yes, that's really a cat!!

a friendly game of basketball with the Krogman brothers

Carter, Ryan, Jackson and Alex

firepower!!

Prior to heading to Camp the boys and I traveled to Hudson, WI and the North Shore of Lake Superior. We hadn't seen our friends Steve and Diana for a couple of years (we met them in Brownwood) so we spent our first night with them. The cat you see (Ricky) is gigantic...I just don't know what else to say about him. Alex was intrigued even though he's allergic to cats. I have to admit I was too! Our second night was spent in Duluth at a waterpark where we enjoyed the slides and lazy river. Some friends of ours from Brookings were also there so the 4 boys played a little 'basketball' too! As I had mentioned before we went fishing on Lake Superior and had a great time. Lake Superior reminds me of the ocean and I thought it was so beautiful. I'd love to go back there some time and just be a tourist for a couple of days!

Greetings from Camp Foley!!

2009-08-13T19:56:00.004-05:00

The boys and I are at Camp for a few more days and I just thought I'd stop in and say hi! They're having a great time. Our trip started on Sunday with a trip to Hudson, WI, to visit some friends. The next day we went to Duluth and traveled up to Two Harbors and went fishing on Lake Superior with Tim. We were successful and caught 3 lake trout. Pics to follow. Btw...don't feel bad for Kevin...he's golfing and fishing while we're gone!!

2009-08-05T09:37:00.002-05:00

We went fishing last night with some coaches from Northern Edge Hockey School. They are back in town for a couple of weeks and enjoyed fishing at the pit so much they asked if they could go there again this summer. Well, the end result was the same as last year...Alex out-fished everyone and has retained his title of 'Bass Master.' I believe he caught 5 or 6 last night and they were all good sized. We actually stopped counting (or lost count) because it seemed like he was the only one pulling them in. The coaches each caught one, though, and did enjoy the time spent outside. Funny enough, Al caught all of his fish on Kayla's Barbie pole even after they all made fun of me for fishing with it. Alex needed to switch with me after he messed up the line on his pole.

He's pretty proud of this one!

We had a visitor last night at our peaceful pond

Ryan skipping rocks
(he didn't do alot of fishing....mostly rock throwing)

Alex took the hook out all by himself, all while holding the fish!!

and he also managed to track down this toad.

Parent/Child Golf Tourney 2009

2009-08-02T19:04:00.004-05:00

Alex and Ryan with Ryan's good friend, Dylan

Ryan was giving me pointers on where to aim. I missed the putt and should've listened to him and aimed to the right just a little more!

Alex teeing off on #1

Where did your shot go dad?

Today we played in the annual Parent/Child golf tournament at the Country Club. I was paired with Ryan and Kevin with Alex. Next year we're going to pay someone to play with Alex because he's so critical of every shot you take. :) Neither one of the boys placed but we did have fun and it was a nice day to be out.

The boys start school on the 19th so we've got a bit of work to do with buying school supplies and
new clothes. Luckily they don't need much for clothes - just jeans, khakis and maybe a new pair of shoes.

I've only got to work 2 days this week so that should give us some time to hit the pool a tad bit. We haven't exactly had the best weather for going to the pool but I hear August could be a little warmer...just in time for school!!

Ryan's 9th birthday party (part II)

2009-07-18T23:24:00.003-05:00

Alex's self portrait

A little birthday cake in the face!

Apparently if you lay down on the ground after throwing the ball you get a better result ;)

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

from L to R: Austin, Mason, Tim, Alex, Ryan and Hunter

What a whirlwind these past couple of days have been! Yesterday we brought the boys home from hockey camp. They had a great time and are even talking about heading back there next year. They did call home each night saying they missed us and wanted us near, but apparently were able to work through that quickly. :) Yesterday as the camp was wrapping up Alex asked Dave Hakstol (UND head coach) if he could take his picture with him. That is the photo you see in the previous post. Ryan Duncan was also in the training room and Alex wanted to have his pic taken with him as well, but I told him he had to wait for his brother to get out of the locker room. Well, Ryan Miley took too long and Ryan Duncan left just a couple of minutes before our Ryan got out of the locker room. I feel really bad that he missed that opportunity, but they did get to see him and he did sign their hockey sticks earlier in the day.

Today was the start of the Brookings Soccer Tournament and the day we held Ryan's birthday party. The boys won both of their games and will play the third and final game tomorrow. This evening we went to the bowling alley for Ryan's birthday party. We bowled, ate pizza and cake and now we have 3 boys sleeping over. They are playing Nerf gun war right now and I hope to get them to bed fairly soon...wish me luck with that!!

...and they're home!

2009-07-17T23:24:00.005-05:00

The starting line ups

Nice game bro!

Alex and Coach Hakstol next to a photo of the NCAA championship trophy.

The boys with the MacNaughton Cup (the WCHA regular season champion cup)

Walsh Hall

2009-07-13T22:12:00.002-05:00

Ryan and Alex in front of their dorm. Luckily they got a first floor room so it's not so hot, plus we left them a fan so that should make them more comfortable too.

Roommates!

the boys are off to college...

2009-07-13T21:19:00.003-05:00

...well, for a week. On Sunday, Ryan's 9th birthday, we took the boys up to Grand Forks to attend UND's hockey camp. It took us about 4 hours to get them completely checked in. We started at the Ralph where they received their locker room assignments. Everyone had a name tag above their locker and a jersey hanging in it...very cool! They decided to change into their gear and skate a bit since they haven't been on the ice for 3-4 months. They chose to do a little shooting instead of scrimmaging. The shooting happened to be on the 'big' ice (the sheet of ice the UND players use for games) so they were pretty excited about that. Unfortunately it wasn't painted with the logo - just white ice with the lines - but still a neat experience. We ended our time at the Ralph in the Sioux Shop purchasing a couple of caps and a sweatshirt and as we were walking out of the arena a Sioux player was walking in. Ryan knew who it was and was grinning from ear to ear. Then it was off to Walsh Hall to get settled into the dorm. Upon walking into their room Ryan's first question was "where's the tv?" We had to break the bad news that there wasn't a TV in every room and that they'd have to go to the commons area. He was baffled by that but eventually got over it. After the beds were made and the room set up we took the boys out to eat. After supper it was a final look over the room to make sure nothing had been forgotten and then Kevin and I had to hit the road. I got the boys to go to the commons area as we left so they could try to meet some of the other players. They have fooseball, ping pong, a TV and some other games to keep them busy in the evenings. I have a feeling they're going to be pretty wiped out as their day starts at 7:30a and they go until 6:15 at night. After that they eat supper and then it's back to the dorm to finish out the night. Ryan called earlier today and told us lights out is at 11p. A tad bit late in my opinion but obviously the University has done this before and is well aware of what does and doesn't work. Hopefully they'll have a great time and learn a thing or two while they're there!

moving in

a future Fighting Sioux player?...you never know

Alex was sick of me taking pics

Ryan on the NHL rink

"Really mom? I'm trying to get on the ice here!" Needless to say he wasn't impressed about yet another photo. Notice Ryan in the back. He wouldn't come forward for the picture.

Happy 9th Birthday Ryan!!

2009-07-13T21:05:00.002-05:00

Mom and the birthday boy.

Everyone say 'cheese'

On Ryan's birthday we dropped the boys off at UND's hockey camp. Here we are settling them in to their dorm room. We'll be having his birthday party on Saturday at the bowling alley.

Montana Summer 2009

2009-07-08T10:51:00.003-05:00

Alex pulled a croppie out of Fresno....a rare catch!!

Fireworks and a full moon.

Our skateboarder

Home sweet home!!

I'm back in business!!

2009-06-14T21:06:00.005-05:00

I got my new laptop today and have finally recovered my iTunes so it's all good now. It took a while and I was beginning to think that it wasn't going to work but my patience paid off...yay!

Alex and Ryan played soccer in SF this weekend. They came away 1-2, not the best start to the season but everyone had fun. They'll miss the next tournament because we'll be in MT. I think they'll choose that destination over soccer any day. :)

Time to get back to playing with the new computer. Hope everyoone has a great week and I'll post some new pics soon.

2009-06-06T21:18:00.003-05:00

This fish looked like it swallowed a golf ball. If you look closely you'll see the left side looks like it has a tumor. It wasn't hard...felt like it was filled with air and it's actually located on its spine.

Alex with his fish

The catch of the night. He jumped off the hook and Alex and I had to chase him down because he was flopping all over the place. I'm sure that was an entertaining sight!

Here are a few snapshots from our latest outing to Lyle's on Tuesday night. The water was so clear you could see the fish swimming right up to the shore.

2009-06-06T18:14:00.004-05:00

Ryan ran the last mile of the Brookings Marathon with the Boys and Girls Club in May.

Alex is in the navy blue and white striped shirt acting out a song during his Spring concert on May 11th.

My new laptop should be here in the next week or so and my camera lens has been repaired so it looks like I'm almost back in business! The boys finished up their school year on the 27th and we've been hanging out since then. On the first day of summer vacation we journeyed all over town on our bikes. My thought with that was to wear them out and keep them busy so they didn't fight, but I was the one worn out and they still managed to find the time to pick on eachother. We've done a little fishing at the pit and I've introduced the boys to the Farmer's Market. They really like the buffalo sticks and jerky. Summer soccer is in full swing and we have our first tournament next weekend. After that it's just a couple of weeks and then we'll be heading to MT. Hope everyone's summer is warmer than ours and off to a great start!

2009-05-20T20:59:00.002-05:00

Obviously I haven't posted for awhile...not because there isn't anything going on but because my laptop died. What a mess and lesson learned. From now on I'll back up all my pics, files, iTunes, etc. I'm hoping we can salvage the pictures off of it. I do have a handful on disk, but none of the more recent photos. I have no idea what will happen with my iPod. I've gotten a few suggestions and will try them out once I get my new computer. I also have all of my Treo (cell phone) info and contacts that were synched with the phone itself that are gone, so now if my phone dies I'll literally be lost. My entire schedule (and the boys' too) and contact list is on that thing which is sad, I know. And then my nice camera lens broke the day the boys went fishing. Thank goodness it's under warranty, but it could take up to 6 weeks to get it back! I did save the lens the camera came with so I've been using that for now, however you won't be seeing any of those photos because I don't have the program on this PC to download the pictures. Technology...it's great when it works but really sucks when it doesn't.

Anyway, the boys are winding down their school year. Lots of field trips and a spring concert. Spring soccer is done and now summer soccer is here. Alex and Ryan are officially signed up for the UND hockey camp in Grand Forks so they'll be looking forward to that in the very near future. We're heading to 'Night at the Museum' on Friday and that looks like it should be pretty funny. Other than that no big plans for the Memorial Day weekend. I'm sure there will be golf involved at some point and time. ;)

more fishing pics

2009-05-03T22:38:00.003-05:00

From one engineer to (most likely) another. Al's studying Mike's filleting technique.

and Tim is looking for ....

apparently fish guts to chase Ryan with

Success!

Alex gives this day a thumbs up

fun, fun and a couple of fish

2009-05-03T22:00:00.003-05:00

Al driving the boat

Ryan taking his turn behind the wheel

Alex, Tim and Ryan (note it's not Ry holding the fish...lol)

Mike, Alex, Ryan and Tim 'before'

Today was one of the nicest days we've had in a long time so we started it out at the golf course. The boys and I teed off in front of Kevin's group and played the front 9. Alex is a very consistent golfer and decided he'd lend some of his knowledge to me. It's kind of irritating to have your 1o year old critique your golf swing, but he means it in the nicest way possible. Ryan played some holes and picked up on others. That's about par for the course for him. :)

Then it was off to the house to work on a little homework prior to their fishing trip. It was still up in the air when they went to bed so it was literally the last thing they asked about before going to sleep and the first thing they asked when they got up this AM. Tim (their coach and family friend), will be leaving this week for the summer so I guess you could say this was their 'last hurrah' for a few months. The other guy you see in the pic is Tim's dad, Mike. Mike also works at 3M so we've gotten to know their family fairly well. As far as the pics are concerned I think they're fairly self explanatory. I did learn that Alex pouted for awhile because Ry caught the first fish. And Ryan wouldn't hold his fish, so Tim did it for him. No surprise with those actions by either child. I'm just glad that both of them caught a fish or I'm sure there would've been tears and accusations flying around the boat.

Tomorrow we start our week with soccer and allergy shots. Alex gets 3 shots 2x a week. He does really well with them and doesn't think they hurt at all! The school year is quickly coming to an end and the boys are looking forward to their summer. It's filling up fast with vacations, camps and summer soccer. Next thing you know I'll be typing about us getting ready for school to start up again. ;)

a couple more pics

2009-04-29T00:05:00.001-05:00

Jeff, Kevin, John, Alex and Ryan

Tracey, John, Kevin, Ryan and Al

more weekend pics...

2009-04-28T23:57:00.003-05:00

Sunset

Ry's idea of fishing

First catch of the day

piranhas

can you find the seahorse?

Showcase II

2009-04-28T22:15:00.004-05:00

the agony of defeat

SCORE!! You can see Ry celebrating in the left hand side of the photo.

GOAL! Once again that's Ry celebrating in the lower right-hand corner of the pic. He scored the only two goals during this particular game.

Deep in thought prior to the game.

Let's play hockey!

This past Saturday we traveled to the Cities for our final Showcase weekend. The team played well and came away 2-2. We played the same team twice and those two were the most exciting of all the Showcase games. We won the first game (3-2) and lost the second (5-2) with one of those goals being an empty netter. I think the picture I captured of Ryan speaks for itself (and the rest of the team members). I'm told it's a good experience for them to lose...hmmm. We also got the chance to visit with Kevin's uncle (John) and cousin (Jeff) for a bit. We went to dinner and then took the kids to Underwater Adventures in the MOA. The boys thought it was SO cool to walk in the tunnel and see sharks, stingrays, carp, piranhas, etc. swim all around them. Now they want to go back to do some rides and hit up the zoo and Children's Museum. Yet another summer adventure. :)

We've been fishing a couple of times...last Wednesday and then tonight. Last week was somewhat fruitful with Alex catching a bass and me a 'snot rocket' (that's what Al calls a northern). It was a beautiful night and I caught a pic of the sun setting. With a little imagination it almost looks like it's setting over the mountains (in reality it's actually a bunch of dirt piles...lol). Tonight's outing wasn't productive at all and ended up as just getting out of the house. It's supposed to be rainy the next few days so I wanted to get out a bit and that's what was accomplished.

Soccer is in full swing with the boys playing on Mondays and Saturdays. Unfortunately they're on different teams so we usually split our time between the two. On Monday they played eachother with Al's team coming out on top. Ryan took it pretty well...much better than had it been the other way around! :)

First fish of the season!

2009-04-19T20:55:00.003-05:00

Some of Alex's friends that came to his bday party.

Nice job, Al!

We share our space with these geese.

Just waiting...

The big 1-0! See all the smoke? They were the candles that you can't blow out. They produced so much smoke that I was concerned our smoke alarms may go off!

We went back out to The Pit today and after about an hour had a smidge of luck. Actually, it was Alex that had the luck and he was so happy to catch the first fish of the season with his new pole. It was a beautiful day and we spent about an hour and a half there. It abruptly came to an end when Ryan discovered he had a tick on him. He threw down his pole and started bawling and ran to the van all the while screaming "I'm never coming out here again!!" After getting the first one off he found another as we were driving out of Lyle's and I actually had to stop the van to get it off him because he was screaming. Then while at Lyle and Marcia's house, he came in bawling because he had found another one on his pants. Needless to say as soon as we got home he was in the bathtub without me even having to suggest it. :)

Alex is 10!

2009-04-18T20:46:00.002-05:00

Last Friday Alex celebrated his 10th birthday. Because it was Easter weekend we didn't have a party, but he did go golfing with Kevin and then we all went out for dinner that night. The next day we went fishing at Lyle's but didn't have any luck. Last night we had some of his friends over and they played the Wii and Nerf tag and then we took them to 'Monsters vs. Aliens.' It was a much better movie than I was anticipating so I was pleasantly surprised.

Soccer started this past week and keeping with what seems to be tradition, it was cold and rainy this morning. At least with hockey you know it's going to be cold and you don't have to deal with the wind or the possibility of rain!

Ryan has one final weekend of Showcase left and then we are officially done with hockey for the season. We will have almost 3 months off before next season begins...crazy, I know! We are considering sending the boys to camp at UND instead of here in town. We would have to send them away for a week and they'd stay in the dorms, but they seem to be fine with that. The thought is that it would be a neat opportunity for them to play in the Ralph and get to meet some of the players and coaches they see on TV. I guess time will tell.

I do believe spring is finally here and Medary Acres is open for business. The boys and I walked through Easter Monday and picked out several items we would like to have. I'll probably buy them soon so they're not so picked over, but won't actually plant for awhile because it still gets fairly chilly here at night.

We hope you all have a great week!

2009-04-08T19:16:00.003-05:00

line change

Good game

Ryan playing a little defense

When he grows up he wants to be like Ryan Duncan

I'm open!

Here are the pics I took from this past weekend's Showcase Tournament.

Showcase

2009-04-06T21:46:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we traveled to Edina, MN for the first of two weekends of Showcase hockey tournaments for Ryan. They played really well and came away 4-0. That was a bit of a surprise as they struggled the weekend before in Sioux City. We'll head back there 4/25-26 for the second round.

We also had a chance to see Chris (Ry's godfather) and his wife Amy. They came down for the second game on Saturday and then we went out to dinner at Famous Dave's (an Alex and Ryan favorite). After that it was back to the hotel for some downtime. We had to be back at the rink for a 9am game. I had all of an hour and a half to shop at the Galleria so next time that will be on the top of our list...lol.

I can't seem to upload the pics I took from this weekend but will try again a little later. Have a great week!

Allergic to everything but girls and video games

2009-04-02T21:50:00.002-05:00

Today I took Alex to SF for an appointment with an allergist as we have not been getting satisfactory relief from our current regimen of meds. Al had the skin test done on his back...all 56 mini shots. He said it hurt a little but itched worse. The Dr. walked in about 7 minutes into our 15 min. time wait time and said "wow...he's definately got some allergies!" by the end of the 15 minutes he had huge wheals on half of his back. He's allergic to mold, mites (not the hockey kind...lol), cats and several other environmental items. He had also been using his inhaler twice a day which I thought was normal. Turns out if his asthma was well controlled he should only have to use his inhaler 2-3 times/week. So now we're trying a different regimen of meds for the asthma and he'll start allergy shots next week. Twice a week for 4 months, weekly for 3 months, every other week for 2-3 months and then he'll be re-evaluated to see if the shots are working. Hopefully he'll get a little bit of relief from the shots this summer/fall, but he said that we'll see the true results next spring. Poor guy! But he did get a new game for his Nintendo DS so he thought it was worth it. ;)

Hockey and a Lewis and Clark Expedition Memorial

2009-03-29T21:25:00.004-05:00

Warming up before the game

Alex and Carter at the monument

Ta-da!

We went to Sioux City yesterday for hockey and found some history as well. As soon as we pulled into town, Alex started telling us about some member of the Lewis and Clark expedition that died there (or something like that...I'm not into history so I kind of tuned it out) and that there's a memorial/monument to honor him. He just HAD to see it, so after lunch he and Kevin found it and he took these pictures (our friends' son Carter rode with us to Sioux City so that is who you see in the pic with Al). That was the highlight of his day! As for the hockey, Ryan's team lost both games and I'm afraid our Showcase Tournament in the Cities will more than likely be painful. We're trying to view it as more ice time, but keeping up with the competition is a nice thing too.

On Friday night the boys had a sleepover birthday party to attend so Kevin and I were kidless. We didn't really know how to act, but somehow managed to find our way downtown with some friends for the night. It was nice not having to worry about a sitter or wondering if the boys were behaving for him. :)

A whole lot of nothing

2009-03-22T21:48:00.003-05:00

Not much to report these past couple of weeks. It's been nice not having hockey to get to after school. On Saturday the weather was gorgeous so the four of us played a little tennis. I teamed up with Al and we beat up on Kevin and Ryan (well not really but it sounds good). Then that evening we went over to a friends house and had pizza and played a little baseball. It's sad that I was winded from running to bases that are about 15 feet apart. Plus with my advancing age and all I somehow hurt my knee so we had to call it a game. Still a little sore today but am thinking I'll make a full recovery. ;) Today it rained so we had to stay inside. Hopefully this is the beginning of our spring. We're looking forward to the pit thawing (aka Lyle's Lake) so that we can do a little fishing. Alex has already asked about that and is ready to roll. These next few weekends hold a couple of hockey tournaments in the Cities and of course Alex's 10th birthday. He's excited and I do believe he's settled on having his party at the bowling alley. That should be easy enough and I don't even have to clean up afterwards! Hope you have all have a great week.

Ryan's pride and joy

2009-03-08T20:27:00.005-05:00

Apparently Ryan feels that if hockey players smile it means they're not tough :)

On Friday I received a phone call from some friends of ours asking if Ryan would like a new hockey stick. Their son plays hockey for the SDSU Jacks and broke his stick during his last game of the season. The break was high enough that it could be cut off and a child could use it. LJ happens to be one of Ryan's favorite players (he was on the ice for the boys' very first practice 5 seasons ago and we've followed him through his hockey career) so of course he wanted it. Plus, LJ is left-handed like Ry so he thinks that's especially cool as well. LJ had only used the stick for a week of practices and about 15 minutes of a game. Ry was so excited I thought he was going to sleep with it. So thanks, Lyle, for thinking of Ryan...you certainly made his day!

Tomorrow Kevin and I will celebrate our 13th anniversary. The boys are going to hang out with Tim's mom and dad (thanks Mike and Marcia!) for a bit so that we can go out to eat. Other than that we don't have any big plans. If time allows this summer we may try to get away for a long weekend to the Cities or Duluth. We had planned on doing that last summer but just ran out of time.

This weekend we didn't have anything scheduled (it was so nice!) so we spent all day Saturday at home just lounging around. Today I took the boys out to the ice arena and we watched the Girls Varsity State Tourney. The championship game was a thriller but Brookings came out on top 5-4...congrats Rangers!

2009 Brookings Squirt C Champs!

2009-03-01T20:04:00.006-06:00

(and yes, Ryan is really that much bigger than Alex)

I think these pictures are fairly self explanatory. As you can see it was smiles all around. The game was close the first period, but the players were able pull away the second period so it wasn't quite so white-knuckled for the parents. :)

Yesterday's pics

2009-03-01T19:23:00.002-06:00

2nd intermission

This isn't the best quality picture but it's all I could get. We were sitting up in the gallery and I happened to look down and this is what I saw. These four players were supposed to be watching the game, however they decided to sync their Nintendo DSs and play Mario Kart instead.

The coaches dads re-living their glory days by helping with the clock and announcing.

oh yeah...

2009-02-28T21:27:00.000-06:00

...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother, Kyle!

On to the championship game!

2009-02-28T21:07:00.003-06:00

The boys made it into the championship game that will take place tomorrow at noon. The teams they played weren't too challenging, although our boys did make the second game a close one towards the end because they were slacking off. Their coaches told them they need to bring their 'A' game tomorrow.

Both of our coaches fathers were re-living their hockey days today by announcing and running the clock. They were a huge help and we thank them for making it fun for the kids. Tommy's dad used to announce for the varsity games, so it was great to have him there and fun to listen to him.

I did take a few pics but am having difficulty uploading them so I'll have to try it another time.

2009-02-25T21:23:00.002-06:00

Good evening! Turns out our sore throat the other night was strep throat so Al missed two days of school. He must not have felt well at all because he napped and he NEVER naps. And wouldn't you know I had to work Monday and Tuesday (the days he missed school) so Kevin took all day Monday and Tuesday morning off to stay at home with him. We were fortunate enough to have a friend stay with him Tuesday afternoon and by that time the meds were working and he was almost back to normal :)

Tuesday was quite the news day at the hospital as they announced that we were all taking 5% pay cuts, plus vacation earned is being cut by a certain number of hours. Yikes! I feel bad for some of my co-workers as this 5% will have quite an impact on them. The vacation doesn't apply to me because I am per diem and that makes me ineligible for earning any of those hours. We're also somewhat slow this time of year so I'm spending more time at home and less time working. That gives me plenty of time to tackle some projects around the house.

The boys are getting excited for their home tournament this weekend and especially looking forward to having Kevin's parents come out to watch them. We're supposed to get 4-8" of snow tomorrow so hopefully the teams won't cancel. Check back on Saturday for some updates and pictures!

2009-02-22T19:26:00.004-06:00

Alex bringing the puck up the ice.

Ryan fighting off a defender to gain control of the puck.

Sorry for the lack of posts. Not a whole lot to report here. The boys were idle this weekend. This coming weekend is our home tournament and then we're finished for the regular season! I'm actually looking forward to some down time.

We've been discussing our summer plans and this is what we've got so far....7-14ish days in MT for the boys. Not all of us at once and the number of days aren't set in stone. I believe Kevin and the boys will be there the week prior to the 4th of July, and I may drive the boys out the last week in June, depending upon when my brother will be coming home. Kevin and I will more than likely have to split our time with me driving the boys out first and staying for a few days and then Kevin driving out and me going home. The reason for that is I cannot take 2 weeks off from work and the same holds true for Kevin. THIS IS JUST A PLAN...NOTHING IS SET IN STONE! The remainder of our summer holds two weeks of hockey camps the last week in July/first week in August and then Camp Foley for the boys and myself the second week in August. Camp Foley is a 'fun camp' in northern MN. I'm the camp nurse and my compensation is the boys attending for free. No need to worry about Kevin while we're at camp...he's taking the week off to golf! Of course, we'll need to squeeze in soccer and golf lessons during this time as well. The boys are going to try summer soccer this year. I believe they travel a bit to some tournaments so it'll be a new experience for all of us.

Tonight we seem to have one child under the weather. Sore throat and a fever. Let's hope we get this cleared up before the weekend! We've been extremely healthy this winter so I really can't complain. :)

2009-02-11T21:59:00.002-06:00

Yikes! I didn't realize it's been that long since I've updated. We traveled to Wahpeton this past Saturday to play a double header up there. It was supposed to be a tournament but at the last minute it was canceled due to lack of teams. And instead of scrapping the entire weekend we opted to just play them. We lost both games, 9-1 and 3-2 in OT. I'm not sure if the kids were still in Lala Land or what, but Wahpeton scored 6 goals within the first 7 or 8 minutes of the first period. I was sitting there thinking 'this is going to be horrible...the score's going to be 21-0' but they snapped out of it and started playing much better the second and third periods. The second game we played was alot of fun to watch and the kids played really well. Alex scored a goal from behind the blue line of our defensive zone. He was just trying to clear the puck and the goalie must have thought it was going to go wide because he didn't even try to stop it. The puck slid right by him and into the net. It was pretty comical to watch and even funnier to listen to the Wahpeton parents. Of course if you ask Al about it, he made it because of the 'spin' he put on the puck. ;)

This weekend we're at home for one game on Saturday and that's it. Then we've got our home tourney the last weekend of Feb. and then our season is finished. Ryan has been asked to play in a Showcase Tournament in the Cities April 4-5 and the 25-26 at the Mite level. That is a level down from what he is currently playing. For those of you that aren't familiar with his situation, he has a July birthday which bumps him back a year in hockey and this really should've been his first year of Mites. However he's already played 2 years as a Mite and we felt it would benefit him to move up a level (I'm not gonna lie, it benefits us as well because the boys are on the same team and it just makes it that much easier for us). Anyway, because of his age, he is eligible to play with this group and the Mite coach was kind enough to think of Ry when putting a team together. I think it'll be fun for everyone and if nothing else, a new experience for all of us. So...if you're in the Cities for those dates and are interested in watching some hockey feel free to join us!

Watertown Tournament

2009-02-01T19:33:00.005-06:00

Brookings Rangers 'C' team

The boys and their teammates came away from the weekend 3-0. They can be seen in these pics with their 1st place trophy. It was a round robin type tournament so I believe that means they went by points (or something??). As you can see they didn't really care how they got the trophy...they were just excited to get it. And since you have pictures to look at that also means I was able to go along today. The census at the hospital was low and I happened to be the first one up for VTO (time off without pay) so I jumped at the chance. The team played really well and actually listened to the coaches...a surprise for everyone!

White Coat Ceremony

2009-01-28T20:54:00.004-06:00

Tim (one of Al and Ry's hockey coaches) is in Pharmacy school at SDSU and invited us to his 'white coat ceremony' which took place last Friday evening. Tim and his family are also 3M transplants and the boys have spent many hours fishing with him. He'll make a great pharmacist and we wish him the best!

Speaking of hockey, the boys play in Watertown this weekend. Unfortunately it's my weekend to work so I'll be unable to watch. :( This is the only weekend I'll miss so I can't really complain. We'll face Sioux Falls for the 3rd time this season and are hoping to come away with a win (the last two games have been close but the Flyers have always come out on top). GO RANGERS!

Luverne Tournament

2009-01-25T19:30:00.004-06:00

Alex during the shootout competition...unfortunately it didn't go in :(

Al fighting for position

Ryan takes a shot

We traveled to Luverne, MN this weekend for a hockey tournament and came away 1-2. I think the players all had fun even though they came away with a couple of losses. The two games they lost were the most fun to watch as they were the closest in ability. We opted to spend the night there so the boys did some swimming and we also brought the Wii. The Wii won't be accompanying us again...it didn't turn out to be as great as I thought...too much fighting. I think we'll choose a boardgame or two for our next out of town trip.

I'm still working on the closets. I needed to get a few more drawers and some of our friends were going to the Cities so they are bringing them back tonight. I will post pics soon, though, I promise :) I know some of you can hardly wait...lol! As a side note, I've had a handful of Kevin's coworkers make comments or give me a bad time about 'investing' so much money into closets. I'd just like to say that at least we'll use these 365 days out of the year unlike the $10,000 ice house that someone wants to buy. ;)

We're still alive :)

2009-01-19T21:50:00.003-06:00

We haven't fallen off the face of the earth...just busy with the daily things. This past weekend we DIDN'T have any hockey so it was nice to stay at home. On Friday I ran to the Cities to visit The Container Store and pick up some shelving for 3 of our closets, so I've spent the last 3 days working on that. There was a small mistake in my order but luckily a friend happened to be up there visiting her son so she was kind enough to stop by and pick up the missing components (thanks Marcia!).

The boys had today off from school so it was spent skiing and fishing on the Wii. I believe I heard someone say they caught an 18 pounder and unlocked another lake or two. If it were only that easy in real life!

Have a great week and I'll get some pics of our new closets up soon!

First hockey tournament

2009-01-11T16:51:00.003-06:00

This weekend we traveled to Sioux Center, IA for our first hockey tournament of the season. Unfortunately it was pretty black and white. Yesterday we lost 0-5 and 2-6 (we finally scored those two goals with about 4 minutes left to go in the game or it would've been another shut out) and today we won 18-0. As you can see, none of the games were really exciting but we had a nice time. Tim (one of the coaches and former Bkgs. Rangers) rode with us this weekend so last night we stopped in SF and ate at Famous Dave's (a family favorite). Today Tim's parents also made the trek to Sioux Center so on the way home we all stopped at HuHot and had a late lunch. It's nice to have friends that will come and watch the boys play since our families are so far away. Now we're idle until the 24th when we go to Luverne, MN for a tourney. We're really hoping that the teams will be a little more even because it's no fun watching your kids get beat down and vice versa.

Other than that we've just got the usual going on....work, school and practice. We hope you all have a great week!

Brookings vs. Big Stone in Morris, MN

2009-01-04T18:48:00.003-06:00

The picture frame Kevin's parents got me for my birthday. It has something like 38 openings with sizes ranging from 3x3ish to 5x7. Most of the pics in it are recent, but a few are from when the boys were Termites, which was 4 seasons ago.

The Rangers before their game vs. Big Stone

Ryan shoots!
(Unfortunately he didn't score)

The boys played Big Stone today but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and we couldn't play outside as originally planned (it was -10 on our way to the rink) so we traveled an additional 30 minutes to play in Morris, MN. They allowed us to use their ice which was very nice of them or we probably would have had to reschedule this game. The boys were still in 'Christmas break' mode and were caught out of position a few times, Ryan more so than Al. But they came away with a win and they had fun which is what it's all about.

We're home!

2009-01-01T20:25:00.003-06:00

This was the scenery on the way back from Whitefish

(I believe this was in Glacier Ntl. Park)

We finally made it back around 5 o'clock this evening. The roads yesterday were ugly to say the least. The Odyssey could've used a pair of ice skates for the trip from Havre to Circle. The road was literally a sheet of ice - yuck! But, we made it and are now faced with the challenge of unpacking the van, putting everything away and that mountain of laundry that accompanies us wherever we go. What a wonderful problem to have! It means that we are healthy enough to travel, have great families that spoil us rotten and that we haven't worn out our welcome at our parents' homes (yet). ;)

This Sunday the boys play a hockey game in Big Stone, MN...and it's at an outdoor rink! It should be fun and a new experience for all of us. Have a great weekend!

Big Mountain pics (please see below for post)

2008-12-30T00:41:00.003-06:00

beneath the Easy Rider

night skiing

Ryan on the left, Alex on the right

more Big Mountain pics

2008-12-30T00:29:00.003-06:00

Ryan catching some air

Mom and Al waiting for the lift to open. We were the second in line!

Big Mountain

2008-12-29T23:02:00.004-06:00

Now that's what I call a snow blower! We saw this as we drove through Glacier.

The east side of the Rockies as seen from US Hwy 2

Our trip to Big Mountain was successful once again. We had tons of snow (something like 28 inches in the 2 days we were there) and a good time was had by all even though Ryan thought he was going to die on the top of the mountain. You can read more about that later but let's start from the beginning.

We did indeed get out of the house by 7am which gave my mom and I enough time to stop at Herberger's to grab a couple of after-Christmas-sale items and a new coat for Al. The zipper on his broke just as we were heading out the door (literally). On our way over we had to listen to the boys bicker some and got to hear a few 'Ryanisms.' We saw several herds of cantelope (that's antelope to the rest of us) and drove through death towns (we know them as ghost towns), but the best was when he declared he wasn't going to wear his croc (also known as a gaitor) to cover his neck. Ahh...the world according to Ryan. What would we do without him?

It started snowing as we left Browning and pretty much didn't stop for our entire trip. At times the flakes were so big and heavy it felt like it was 'raining' snow. The first day on the mountain we decided we'd start out on a few of the 'bunny' hills to get our skiing and boarding legs back. Because there was so much powder it slowed us down a bit and the boys wanted to head up a lift to something a bit more challenging. A couple of runs later and they were feeling confident so we decided to have lunch and then head up to the summit and work our way down. We had looked at the map and had chosen our route and all three of us were excited. We caught Chair 6 from the Base Lodge up to the Big Mountain Express (a high speed quad lift) and got in line. It was snowing (of course) and you couldn't see the summit but I figured that once we got up there the visibility wouldn't be that bad. Somehow the three of us got separated and Alex and Ryan ended up getting on a chair by themselves. This lift moves much faster than the other ones we had been on and it just seemed to whisk them away....quickly. I followed them up in the next chair and was praying that they weren't going to fall off as they didn't bother to put the bar down in front of them. Once we reached the summit it was time to bundle up even more than what we had been. It was blizzardish up there and our cheeks were instantly frozen and red. The visibility sucked and we couldn't even see the marked runs. By the time I realized we were on the wrong run it was too late so I decided we'd just take the other run marked "easiest run." By this time Ryan was bawling and kept saying "I'm going to die up here!" After that he took off his board and declared that he was walking down and that "Big Mountain sucks!" Not the best start at the summit. I will have to say that the run was a little steeper than I had expected but I think it was a good thing the visibility was so poor because if Ry had seen how high we were I'm afraid he would've completely freaked out. I did get him to put his board back on but he slid down on his butt for a good portion of the steep areas. An hour and a half later we arrived back at the Base Lodge. We had ended up on the opposite side of the mountain but all in one piece. I'm pretty sure we set a new time record for longest run!

After that excitement we stayed on the two runs the boys were familiar with. In fact, they went up so many times they got to know the "lifties" by their first names! It was also nice because the grandparents were able to watch them as it was right in front of the Base Lodge. We finished our trip with night skiing and boarding last night. That was fun and there weren't many people there so we felt as if we had that part of the mountain to ourselves.

Today we did a little shopping in town and then headed out. The roads were so bad that it took us 6 1/2 hours to get back to Havre. We're grateful we left when we did because now the road between East Glacier and Browning is closed due to poor visibility.

I'll post some of the pics I took but it will probably be in several entries as I'm having difficulty uploading them. I hope these pics can convey the beauty, serenity and fun that we had because it's something I know we'll always remember.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-25T11:51:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas and safe travels to all!

Just a few pics we've taken recently.

Here we are with my Grandpa. We stopped to visit him for a few minutes on our way to MT. He's 91 and still lives on his own.

I just had to add this one. Alex got his first penalty last week and had to do some 'time.'

Eagerly awaiting to open gifts

Merry Christmas!

(Kevin's parents are in the middle and my parents are on the right)

Living so far away from our families we've come to realize that just because you aren't related doesn't mean you can't be 'family.' So to all of our relatives that can't be here in MT with us, we hope you're celebrating Christmas with your other 'families' and we hope to see you here next year. To all of our 'families' in Brookings we wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Alex and Ryan will be making their way back to Brookings with just a couple of new toys. They received a Wii (I was personally really hoping they'd get one. Nothing like beating a couple of kids at a game to make yourself feel better), bows and arrows (can anyone say ER trip..lol), Nintendo DS (now they won't have to fight over the one we've got), electric guitar and hockey sticks just to name a few. I don't have enough room to name them all, but they are certainly spoiled and loved all of their gifts.

Tomorrow we'll be heading to Whitefish to for a little skiing/snowboarding. I proposed we leave at around 9. My dad thought earlier, like 8. And then he said we'd compromise and leave at 7:30am. So...7:30 it is. I'm still not really sure how that's a compromise, but the term 'shopping' was thrown into the mix and I was on board for that. They've had plenty of snow and it's supposed to be above zero so a good time will be had by all. :)

Half way there

2008-12-23T22:25:00.002-06:00

Today we left Brookings for our annual Christmas trip home. We stopped in Rosholt for a while to say hello to my grandpa and then hit the road again. We ran into some challenging road conditions along the way and 11 hours later we pulled into Glendive. We were surprised to find that the snowplows hadn't been out west of Bismarck and the snow had drifted so much that the driving lane was completely useless. We have high hopes that tomorrow's roads will be better, but we're also realistic and are aware they'll probably be worse. :)

We hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and everyone reaches their destinations safely! I'll be updating throughout our trip so check back for some pics of our trip to Big Mountain. This year the boys and I will be going to the summit (at least that's the plan) and you can bet I'll have my camera in hand!

St. Thomas More Christmas Program

2008-12-17T22:24:00.003-06:00

How does that go...hear no evil, speak no evil..

all program participants

Ryan's class

Ryan giving Mason a little massage to loosen him up prior to singing. What a great teammate!

Tonight the boys had their Christmas program at church. As you can see it is a very large group (grades 1-5). I was impressed with how organized it was and how well the children listened and behaved. Guess they know Santa is watching!

And yeah...I still haven't figured out how to rearrange the photos. I really did try to upload them in reverse order but that didn't work for me either.

Blizzard #2 this year

2008-12-14T20:46:00.002-06:00

We've been hit with our second blizzard of the year and school has been called off tomorrow. That's the second day this year that we will have missed school because of the weather. We may very well end up making up some days this year! I had to venture out this morning to go to the grocery store and was surprised to see that even the churches had cancelled worship! It was really ugly out with white-out conditions. As of right now I-29 is closed from Brookings to the Canadian border. I have a feeling I'll be taking Kevin to work tomorrow so that I can have the 4 wheel drive vehicle to make it around town. I'm thinking that a trip to Cancun sounds really good right now! Warm weather wishes to all! :)

See you at the rink!

2008-12-07T21:35:00.005-06:00

Listening to Coach Magnuson

...and he SCORES!!

the puck is to the right of the goalie's shoulder

Ryan shoots....

you can see the puck leaving his stick

Ryan with the break-away and Alex following him

Goalie...are you ready?

Ryan is facing off and Alex is in the other white jersey behind the ref

First of all I would like to make the disclaimer that the pictures are uploaded in reverse order, so you need to look at the last one first and then work your way up. I don't know how to rearrange them and I've uploaded these twice. If I have to do it again, it's not going to happen.

Anyway...our season officially kicked off today and it was a great start. We played Watertown this morning and came away victorious (yes, we actually keep score this year). Ryan had a hat trick and Alex had a goal and a playmaker (3 assists) so they were both happy. I think it was nice for the boys to finally see what their hard work is for. They are now idle until the weekend before Christmas.

Other than hockey we've just been trying to keep warm. I realize I sound like an old lady, but OMG it's cold and we still have ALOT of winter left. Good thing gas is a $1.59 because we are certainly using plenty of it keeping our vehicles warm!

We're back!

2008-11-29T22:53:00.002-06:00

On Friday we traveled to Grand Forks to watch a hockey game between the Fighting Sioux and Cornell (?s). We were able to see much more than we had expected, as when we were registering the boys for the REA Kids Safe program a lady asked them if they'd like to ride on the Zambonis during the first intermission. Alex was all over that, but Ryan chickened out. All of a sudden he had a bellyache. That shouldn't surprise us, but we tried to coax him onto it anyway...he wasn't having any of that. The lady said Ryan is the first kid to ever turn down a Zamboni ride! Anyway, with about 10 minutes left in the first period, we met an escort and he took us to the 'belly' of the REA. We watched the game at ice level and they made room for the boys to stand next to the glass.
We saw a Sioux goal scored and got to see some up-close checking action. We also got to see the bus area under the REA where the players are picked up. Talk about pampered! Anyway, I had taken two cameras to GF, my digital SLR and a 'pocket' digital camera. I had contemplated which one I should take to the game and chose the small camera. A mistake I will never make again! Then, of course, my batteries died after two pics. I must have had the look of sheer panic on my face because a professional photographer with Cornell promptly gave me a couple of batteries. He also offered to take a few snapshots of Al as he was coming off the ice. I just need to email him and he'll send them to me. I'll post those when I get them.

We also saw the smiley-face-on-one-side-winking-on-the-other water tower and I just had to take a picture of it. That is one of the few things I remember about living in GF (and getting stuck in the elevator at UND and thinking I was going to die in it). I had forgotten about his bow tie but he looks just the same. I hear there's talk of tearing him down. Let's hope that's just a nasty rumor!

Enjoy the pics! And as you can see, I have no idea how to control where my text is typed, so I apologize for the messy post. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-27T18:41:00.002-06:00

A Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We had an early meal today (noon) and by 1:30 the tryptophan kicked in (for Kevin and myself...somehow the boys seem to be immune to it) and we've been holding down the couch ever since. I miss the days when I was a child and just had to show up at the table. My only responsibility was not eating the pickles and olives (or at least not getting caught sneaking them). The boys really need to work on their sneaking ability as they were caught red-handed every time.

Last night Kevin and I went to 'Four Christmases' and we laughed so hard we cried. We're even thinking about going again. Both of us love Vince Vaughn and he certainly didn't disappoint in this movie.

Tomorrow we're heading up to Grand Forks to take in a Fighting Sioux hockey game. This is an annual event for Kevin and the boys and this year I decided that I'd tag along as well. I haven't been to Grand Forks for years, and it's been 30+ years since I've been to a UND hockey game. The last time I was there a player got hurt and there was a large spot of blood on the ice. When he skated off, I saw the blood and thought his arm had fallen off! Let's hope there aren't any severed limbs this time.

We hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and wish you good luck if you're heading out for Black Friday!

Just a glimpse of our 2008

2008-11-25T22:25:00.003-06:00

In February, Kevin and I traveled to Cancun with a great group of friends for 5 days. I was introduced to the Leapin' Lizard drink and was immediately hooked. We all had a wonderful time and are looking forward to our next trip in 2010.
This summer the boys were introduced to shore fishing by one of their hockey coaches. We are fortunate enough to have a friend that will let us fish from his property just a couple of miles from our house. The boys and I spent hours and hours out there and we were successful most of the time. They also learned how to bait their own hook (huge time saver) and towards the end of the summer they were warming up to the idea of actually holding a fish. Alex would've pitched a tent and spent the entire summer at the pit if Lyle would have given him the OK. Now that winter has arrived there is talk of ice fishing. Brrr is all I can say!

Rink rats

2008-11-23T22:24:00.005-06:00

Alex We spend the majority of our weekends at the ice arena. This is a glimpse as to what the boys do out there. Today was an especially fun day as there was a Hockett there too. The Hocketts are identical twin brothers that played hockey in Brookings and are now employed at the B/G Club and ALL the kids absolutely love them!

Alex and Ryan with the State Championship trophy in 2005.

Maybe we'll see them with these trophies again in a few years!

Alex

Ryan the wild child

I can't help but notice...

2008-11-22T23:09:00.003-06:00

It's ice blue. The color of font I have chosen is ice blue. But I can't help but notice that it looks very similar to baby blue. For those of you who knew my late uncle, Kevin, he apparently despised the color baby blue. He even made some poor client of his cry because he ranted and raved about how he hated the color, only to see her drive away in a baby blue VW bug. So...it's definitely ice blue.

In the beginning...

2008-11-22T21:49:00.003-06:00

I'm going to give this whole blogging thing a try (after a little coaxing from my best friend) to keep family and friends updated on our lives. Since we all live in front of a computer, I figure it won't hurt anyone to check out yet another website before logging off at night. You'll have to bear with me as I'm not the most computer-savvy chick out there (it's taken me like an hour to get this all set up). Check back often and be prepared to laugh out loud...with children like ours, sometimes there's really nothing else you can do!