Casper Capers

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

2010-01-10T17:16:00.004-07:00

...from me....late, of course! :O)

Hello All!

Here are some pictures from the Holiday Season. Kindrid and Brennen both participated in the "Bethlehem Project" which was the theme of our church Christmas program this year. Kindrid is bottom, left in the first picture, and Brennen is top middle in the second.

Kindrid with one of several school projects to celebrate the season...
Between the blizzards, we snuck in a trip to Minnesota for Christmas with our families. We got in a quick visit to the Mall of America so Kindrid could [finally] get her birthday gift - a new American Girl doll. Brennen had fun at the Lego store! We also got to see my Grandma Huber and then headed up to Brainerd for a too-short visit with both our extended families. Here's me with my niece, Kallie. Can you tell how much she LOVES her Auntie Christy??
Auntie Carleen helped her three nieces with making hors d'oeuvres for the Amerud Fam Christmas. How could she go wrong with these great helpers?

The pictures I took at Todd's family home didn't come out right. Sad...I would have had some great ones of the gang playing our new Wii and of Pa Ben and Uncle Matt carving the prime rib! It was spectacular. :O) We also had the pleasure of attending Lakewood E. Free's Christmas Eve service in Baxter. Lovely worship, lovely music, lovely view of the snow falling on the north woods through the windows!

After a round of migraines lasting a couple days on my part and a long week back to work on Todd's, we elected to spend New Year's Eve with just our little family. We watched TV, played Apples to Apples Junior and celebrated in the New Year with those little popper things - and were in bed by like 12:01!

We've enjoyed having the kids off school for three weeks. They head back tomorrow. I'm ready for there to be a bit more routine in our lives, but will miss them and the leisurely pace of these past weeks.

Hope your New Year is off to a great start!
Love,
Christy

Signs of the Season...

2009-12-02T08:45:00.006-07:00

Hello All!

Just some pictures to share today. Here are the kids with our completed Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. We were able to do five this year. We went shopping for the enclosed items as a family and had a blast. The kids are very selective with what their child gets. I love watching them considering each item and discussing its merits. Want to know more about this ministry that is a hands-on demonstration of the love we are to be sharing as Christians? Check out this link: www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/index

Thanksgiving was a very busy day for our family. We were up early and it was all hands on deck to get the turkey prepped and stuffed. Kindrid was in charge of sauteing the onions and celery for the stuffing...Todd was in charge of cleaning and prepping the bird - can you see by the look on his face how much he loves raw poultry? I like it even less which is how he got stuck with the job! Brennen actually did a good share of it too, but I didn't get that on film. Tearing up the toast and mixing the stuffing. My sister and I always did this job when we were kids...it's so fun to see my own doing it now!About the time we got the turkey in the oven and cleaned up the kitchen, it was time to head up to "Daddy's hospital" to serve the patients and their families Thanksgiving dinner. Our friends, Brandi and John, and their two daughters bravely came to lend a hand and, later, to share Thanksgiving with us at home. Todd and Brennen were on carving duty:Here is Kindrid with her friends, Paige and Shelby. The girls were able to help out a little with dessert, but mostly were very good girls and kept themselves happily busy while the adults worked had to serve well over 100 people! After we were done at the hospital, we all trooped (well, trooped implies energy...we were quite tired after our exertions at the hospital so "dragged ourselves" might be a better term!) back home to have our own feast. Brandi and John were super-troopers and worked tirelessly at the hospital! We are thankful for our friends, our families, our home, the abundance we enjoy and the freedom to live and worship as we believe in this amazing country we call home!

Um...here's a picture of the spread. The blurry form at the end of the table would be John...it looks to me like he's trying to sample dessert first! Oh my goodness! Have you ever seen anything so cute as Paige and her wing? She was so thrilled with it! And so the Season of celebration has begun for the Sandbergs. We know it has for you too. We pray it's blessed with joy, quiet moments and the knowledge that the little baby's arrival that we celebrate now was truly the greatest gift ever given.

Love yous,

Christy

PS GOOOOOO VIKINGS!!!!!!

For the Beauty of the Earth...

2009-11-13T10:31:00.009-07:00

Dear Ones,

It's been a long week. A lovely soul went to be home with Jesus after a hard battle with cancer. She leaves behind a husband and three children. My soul rejoices that she is in heaven now and whole and joyful and at peace. My mother's heart breaks for the family she leaves behind. The grandmother of a very good friend also went home this week. I pray for my friend and her family as they miss a grandmother and friend. Another friend struggles through the beginnings of divorce and all the changes that means for his life. My heart aches for his sadness and the loss of a relationship. My darling niece celebrated her first birthday. She brings joy to all around her. We awoke this morning to still air after a very windy week and to one of the most lovely snows I've ever seen. I spent time this morning with three women that encourage me, make me laugh and help me keep my feet on the ground.

It's called LIFE. It's full, it's up, it's down, I couldn't live it without the faith I have in a God who loves us, who sent His Son for our sin so we can draw near to Him. Click the link, let the music play while you look at my sorry attempts to capture on "film" God's glory in His creation today. I pray it blesses you as it did me with the knowledge that "it is well with my soul" because of Him.
May you have a blessed weekend!
With love for you, my friends and family...
Christy
www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/b/fbeautye.htm

Halloween...

2009-11-04T16:26:00.003-07:00

Friday night...carving pumpkins...Brennen did his own carving this year! (yikes!)

Kindrid just loves the goop!

Our results: One ballerina...One Luke Skywalker (again):We had 60+ trick or treaters this year. Todd took the kids around in the truck as the wind was really howling. Most of the kids that came around were older - too yucky for the little ones. Brennen and Kindrid had fun - and are busy consuming a ridiculous amount of sugar! :O)

And with this blog post...I am now caught up! Happy Reading! (and thanks for reading!)

Christy

Denver Zoo...

2009-11-04T16:12:00.003-07:00

Hello Again!

Todd's folks left on Wednesday, the 21st and headed to Denver for a visit with Matt and Carrie (Todd's sister). We attended the kids' conferences on Thursday morning and then headed to Denver for a visit too.

First, I have to report how wonderfully the kids are doing in school! Both teachers were full of praise for their work. I'm thankful for how easily it seems to come to them and the pride they both take in doing a good job. We have two excellent teachers this year and, so far, it's been a much more peaceful year, particularly for Brennen, than last year was.

I didn't take many pictures in Denver, but we had a wonderful time. Auntie Carrie had set up a tent for the kids to sleep in, and we were enthusiastically welcomed to Camp Leiner. They said that, although they looked like dogs, they were actually bears and not to feed them. :O) There were other posted rules, like no parties after 2:00 a.m., which both kids tried very hard to break.

We shopped some, ate out some, and went to the zoo. It was a gorgeous day and around 60 so cool enough for the animals to be moving around. Most impressive were the lions. They were active, roaring and eating. The male would roar and the females answer him. They were mesmerizing, and we spent a good deal of time watching them. We also had to chuckle at the baby Cape Buffaloes named: Barack and Obama. What an honor the keepers bestowed upon our president by naming these two critters after him!! :O)

It was hard to say our final good-byes to the in-laws after such a nice visit, but the stay at the Leiners helped ease us all into it.

Almost caught up...just one more post! :O)

Christy

Kindrid Turns Six...

2009-11-04T15:26:00.005-07:00

Despite all the rules against getting older that Todd and I have made, our little girl keeps having birthdays. Her actual birthday was October 7th, but, as that was a school and AWANA day, we celebrated on Saturday, Oct. 10th instead with 7 of her girl friends. This is a milestone for all of us since last year her birthday was so soon after moving here that she really didn't have any little friends to invite. She wanted a simple party and thought of most of the games herself. Here the girls are doing hopscotch in the garage (Todd and Brennen looked up online exact specs and worked together with sidewalk chalk to make a nice one for the girls.) We also had a rousing game of "Keep the Balloon in the Air." Another game involved the girls thinking up uses for unusual objects. Here the two teams are, deep in thought. :O)

And of course, there were gifts. Autumn gave Kindrid a soccer ball - a girly one!!
Sisters, Shelby and Lauren, gave Kindrid a Lite Brite! (which has a whole new look since I was a kid!)

Valerie gave Kindrid a darling soft horse:

Sisters, Shelby and Paige, gave Kindrid a Barbie Mermaid doll:

I had to include this shot of those two girls, too. Cute!

And a patient Bryn waited politely until the end for her gift to be opened. She gave Kindrid a "fairy hut" as Kindrid calls it:

Six years we've been blessed by our happy girl who delights in songs, smiles, beauty, cuddles, stories and love. Thank you, God!

Blessings to you,

Christy

PS I just have to add a thought about how much quieter and easier this little girl party was than, oh, say, perhaps a little boy party!! :O)

Bighorn Day Trip...

2009-11-04T10:02:00.003-07:00

The forecast looked amazing for September 26th so we decided the elder Sandbergs should see our favorite mountain range, the Bighorns. Some very kind friends let Brennen stay with them for the day so he wouldn't miss a birthday party. The rest of us headed out very early in the morning. Our first goal: The breakfast buffet at Bear Lodge near Burgess Junction on the north end of the range featuring Big Mike's made-to-order omeletes, biscuits and, of course, Big Mike himself. The buffet closes at 10:00 a.m. and we made it just in time. The omelets lived up to our enthusiastic praises and Big Mike spent a considerable amount of time at our table visiting. He was charming, the food amazing and the day off to a great start.

What can I say? We are still in awe that we live so close to this much beauty! The mountains in fall are spectacular. Due to hunting season, we saw no moose or elk. This was the first time we've been in the Bighorns without seeing any. My in-laws were troopers! In case you care to see how much mileage we put on (more than 500 miles!), trace this route: Casper to Sheridan, west to Burgess, loop around north of 14, back to alt 14, down through Shell Canyon to Greybull, Greybull south to Worland, east to Tensleep, east to Powder River pass, southeast down Crazy Woman Canyon and then back to Casper. Wow!

Here are some pictures that just don't do the scenery justice:

Smoke from a controlled burn the Forest Service was conducting:

Picnic spot above Meadowlark Lake on the southwest side of the range:

Take one of me, Mommy:

One very brave deer in Crazy Woman Canyon:

What a satisfying day full of beauty, warmth and the gold aspens holding the sunshine in their leaves!

Christy

And The Next Day Brought....

2009-11-04T09:45:00.002-07:00

...Snow.
Here is our view of the mountains the day after the thunderstorm. Yep. Snow on September 21st! We've had two storms already, bringing a total of more than ten inches altogether. The last storm shut down some of the interstates and interrupted lots of services. Wal-Mart's produce section was almost empty making me realize once again how we take for granted this amazing, abundant, blessed country in which we have the privilege to live!

During this first week with us, my father-in-law, Ben, reached quickly for a falling bottle from the fridge and tore a tendon in his right shoulder. The doctor he saw assured him it needed surgery. He scheduled an MRI and said that he could not see Ben again until two weeks later due to a vacation he was taking. We all immediately adjusted our thinking that their visit would be a month-long visit to thinking it would be one of three months or more. Having the surgery here would mean I could help care for Ben as he recovered and be there for my mother-in-law, Mary, to help with any of her needs.

It was a long two-weeks-waiting for my in-laws. During that time, we found out my dad, Tim, was also going to have surgery on his shoulder. In visiting with him about that, my father-in-law found out that they don't do surgery on this type of torn tendon anymore. (My dad's injury is different). After some Internet research, he was convinced he likely did not need surgery after all. When the time for the follow up appointment finally arrived, Ben was ready to ask the doctor if he really did need to have this surgery (unless the MRI showed even more damage). The doctor showed them the MRI, talked a lot about the damage and, finally, much to Ben's relief, said he didn't think surgery was needed at this time. **Whew!** My in-laws were so relieved and happy!!

More to come...
Christy

A Storm To Welcome Them...

2009-11-04T09:21:00.002-07:00

Howdy Folks,

On September 19th, Todd's parents arrived for an extended visit. On the 20th, we had one of the worst storms that we've experienced here in Casper. It was the darkest wall cloud I've seen in Wyoming. After our years in Tornado Alley, we've learned that a cloud like that usually means only one thing! The sirens did go off and we took shelter in the basement, but no damage was done. There was an impressive amount of hail, though! Here's our patio table:And the deck, looking like it's covered in snow: And here is The Promise:

I have set my rainbow in the clouds and it will be a sign

of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13

Have a great day!

Christy

Lego-Mania!...

2009-11-04T09:11:00.003-07:00

Hi,

So, in getting caught up, we have to step back in time to August. Just before school started, Brennen entered a Lego building contest at a local toy store. He didn't win, but really enjoyed the experience and talks about what he might do for next year's competition. His creation was a farm scene with a road going by. I've been reading the Little House series aloud to the kids for several months now, and some of the farm part was inspired by those stories. Brennen received a t-shirt, a selection of two items from the store's treasure bin, a certificate and a boost in his self-confidence for entering. He is all about Legos, Legos, Legos and has been for years now. We were in Denver for a visit at Todd's sister's home two weekends ago. Brennen forgot to bring any Legos along. That three-night trip is the longest he's gone without Legos since he was in kindergarten!

That's our boy!

Christy

This One's For Ken...

2009-11-04T09:02:00.003-07:00

Hi Everyone! Remember me??

Quite a few weeks ago now, our friend, Ken Stewart reminded me that I used to blog once. A long time ago. Faithfully.

Well, I have reasons (reasons, not excuses, as Prof. Annie Henry used to say). He suggested I list them for you the way I did for him. So, here they are:

Excuses, er, I mean REASONS!....
1. School started for both kids (lots of homework supervision)
2. Started attending women's Bible study Tuesday mornings - homework!
3. Chairing Staff Support Committee @ School
4. Member of Welcoming Committee @ School
5. AWANA started Wednesday evenings (supervising memory work)
6. Small Group started Friday nights
7. Began attending Mom's In Touch Thursday mornings
8. Began co-superintending Sunday School
9. Mother and Father In Law here from Sept. 19th - Oct. 21st.

Anyhow. I do have stuff to say and intend to say it in the following posts. :O) Hope all is well with you all,
Christy

Playing With Dolls...

2009-09-04T09:42:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone,

We had the privilege of taking care of the youngest daughter of our friends, The Huberts, whilst they attended a Bears (boohiss) game in Denver on Sunday and Monday this week. I felt like I was "playing house" and she was my little dolly for the couple of days she was with us. She's a very sweet, obedient, happy girl. I had to take some pictures to share with you. My "other dolly" had a lot of fun playing with little Savanah, too. I'm sorry about the blurriness. Although one can tell her mommy takes lots of pictures (she instantly posed and smiled when I got out the camera), holding still is not part of her M.O.!! :O)

My "other dolly...."

We also had the great honor of hosting my KINDERGARTEN classmate and friend, Doug Durant. and his nephew, Sammy, and godson, Jaydon, on Wednesday night as they passed through on their way back to Minnesota from their tour of Yellowstone/Tetons. We enjoyed a cookout and a great visit!!

Yesterday afternoon, my Uncle Steve called and said he was in town on his way from MN to his newly purchased mountain property in Colorado. He spent last night with us and is now on his way to CO.

It's been a full week, but one that makes me appreciate all the connections and relationships that we are blessed to have and that help define the parameters of our lives. I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend full of relaxation and filled with the love of those in your lives!!

Christy

First Day of School...

2009-08-21T19:13:00.003-06:00

Hello,

Well, this one is pretty self-explanatory so I will let the pictures do the talking...

Kindrid loved her first week of kindergarten and loves her teacher, Mrs. Brown. Brennen had a smooth week, and, although less profuse in his sentiments, likes his teacher, Mrs. Nanneman, and class as well. He is VERY blessed to be in the same class as his buddies, Brennan and Matthew along with several other kids from his last year's class. All in all, a great week. And am I ever glad it's done! Not used to that ol' alarm clock yet!!

Enjoy the weekend!!

Christy

A Long Time Gone...

2009-08-12T08:56:00.010-06:00

Hi All,

Ok, ok, I know I'm so far behind on blogging! We were in Minnesota for two and a half weeks. We got back almost two weeks ago. Guess it has been awhile!

The kids, the two dogs and I drove out to MN and it went great. The kids are awesome travellers and so are the dogs. We stayed two nights at my sisters, 6 nights at my mom's, 8 nights at my in-law's and one night on the way home in Rapid City. Todd had a meeting in Albuquerque, then flew to Denver for a night with his sister and brother in law and then flew to our hometown in MN. He was in MN a day and a half before leaving with his dad for their Canada fishing trip.

*enjoyed a visit with my niece, Kallie

*met college friend, Becky, and her two kids at a lake/beach for fun, picnic and chatting

*enjoyed a meal with my Grandparents Amerud

*was reunited with some cousins/aunt at a dinner at my sister's

*drove up to the North Shore of Lake Superior for a day with Mom/kids (my favorite place in the world)

*visited my Grandma Huber

*grilled steaks...all by myself (they were only a little burnt in only one little place...)
*toured a lighthouse

*explored a waterfall and did some hiking (way to go, Mom!!)

*had a great visit with junior high friend, Shelly, her kids

*visited my uncle's grave

*enjoyed a day with my sister-in-law, Heather, and my two other nieces

*celebrated my 39th birthday (for the first time!!)

*visited my Dad's log home and enjoyed seeing all his projects

*spent some time on a dock on a lake listening to the water sounds

*spent a day sick to my stomach

*went to several parks/picnics with the kids

*visited with the wonderful "old" friends from Brainerd Medical Center

*tossed rocks with the kids to see who could land one on a lily pad

*met my "birthday present" (my god sister's new baby - so sweet and born on my birthday!! Very cool gift but they wouldn't let me take her home...)

*had a mini-reunion with old high school friends at a coffee house (thanks for coming, guys!!)

*Drove through Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills on the way home and encourage you to do the same if you are ever there.

And so much, much more. I'm sure I left out some really cool stuff. What's sad is that I still only got to do about half the things I wanted to do! There are so many folks there we love and wanted to get to see. Well, maybe next time...

Thanks to our families for hosting our little circus and for all the great meals and memories and love!!

Jackson and Claire Wallerick with my kids:

Mom and kids at the Ariel Lift Bridge, Duluth:Gooseberry Falls, upper falls, North Shore:Cave near the upper falls:Brennen in the red shirt perched on the rock mid-photo:Split Rock Lighthouse museum, North Shore:Split Rock Lighthouse:Funny tree photo shoot with my kids and nieces, Cierra and Rhiannan...they are the cutest and sweetest kiddos!:

"Old" friends - new memories (borrowed your photo, Doug, hope that's OK!):

My "birthday gift" -welcome, Caiden!! (I borrowed this picture from Kay - thanks, Kay!!)Sorry, Todd took 0, zippo, nada, zilch, zero pictures in Canada. So, all we really have is his word for it that he actually caught fish! :O)

Also, no pictures from Grandma Mary's house, either. :O(

And that was my trip....coming soon...First Day of School!!!

Love yous,

Christy

A Short Cut...

2009-07-21T17:27:00.003-06:00

Hello!

Kindrid has been thinking on having her hair cut shorter for a while now. She mainly dislikes having it combed out in the mornings as it gets so tangled. It's been cut a time or two before, but it's been quite some time. So, here she is before.... And here she is today, first having her hair braided. She had enough to donate to Locks Of Love.

Here is the braid before...

Snip, snip and then, snip, snip, snip and then some more! Kindrid's hair is thick!!

Ta Daa!!

When given the choice to have it washed or not, she went for the works! I love this part best too!

After the cut, she had it styled. Her face pretty much says how she feels about blow dryers!

All done!

And one last good-bye to the braid that will, hopefully, help make some little girl very happy! Please see the link if you aren't familiar with this neat charity: www.locksoflove.org

Have a great week-ending!!

Christy

PS Boohoohoohoohoo! My baby's hair....wahahahawaaaa!! She looks so grown up.....sob, sob!! (Just so you didn't think I was cold about this!!)

Six Days, Five Nights...

2009-07-16T12:00:00.012-06:00

Dear Ones,

We spent this last Friday through Wednesday in the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming. This continues to be our favorite mountain range. We spent the first two nights at Dead Swede campground and the last three at Tie Flume.

Day One: We left around 1:00 and headed north to Sheridan and then west into the mountains. We found an awesome site at Dead Swede in the pines overlooking a river. The kids played "harvesting," an activity that involves digging shallow trenches and loading them with things like pine cones, stones and various size sticks. We walked the campground, explored around the river and came within a short stones throw of several deer. The mosquitoes are relentless and abundant!

Day Two: Looking for a lake for the kids to fish brings us to Park Reservoir on the east side of the range. Brennen caught this funny looking fish....some kind of sucker fish. He was pretty impressed with himself!

The life!!Todd sneaking in a few moments of his own fishing between helping the kids with theirs.

His big catch...good thing we'd packed sandwiches!!
Brennen learned to cast today. He's a natural!Kindrid fished some and enjoyed playing among the rocks and driftwood. This was her "paddle" for her rock boat. Note the orange-drink mustache!The view we enjoyed across the water.Day Three: We enjoyed Sunday buffet at Bear Lodge, especially Big Mike's biscuits and made-to-order omelets. If you ever visit the Big Horns, be sure to do this buffet they have on the weekends in summer and every day in winter (snowmobiling is HUGE here). We switched campgrounds as the one we were at had tree removal and some construction commencing the next day. In search of another lake to try fishing, we sought out Adelaide Lake in the center of the range. Um, you know what they say about getting there being half the fun? Well, it was. The roads were really rough! We (Todd) persevered and were rewarded with a gorgeous mountain lake and LOTS of mosquitoes. Kindrid found some flowers...

The water near shore was very shallow and begged for little feet to come wading. Which led to wet pants. Which led to wet underwear. :O)Kindrid (with some help from Daddy) caught this fish. Yep, Brennen is in his skivvies...trying to dry out. He was able to wade out quite a ways and then cast this way. His little legs got very numb from cold mountain lake water which was a good thing as it helped dull the pain from all the mosquito bites he got!

Day Four: We took a drive through the high country hoping to find places cold enough that mosquitoes would shun them. We did! Although I have no pictures, we enjoyed a romp with the dogs in a high field full of wildflowers, a picnic in a valley near a river, Brennen learning to "drive" some more and so on.

Day Five: We spent most of the day in camp. The kids played in the woods near our site and were in the woods on their "adventure" most of the day! They had Starbursts and some sugar wafer cookies that we found they were rationing at the rate of one half cookie every hour. They made beds, houses and rock walls. We came to "visit" them and they were thrilled when we left them a back pack to use. In the evening we took a drive and were rewarded with sights of much wildlife. Here is my effort at a moose when it was almost dark. We also found ourselves in a herd of sheep, viewing elk and deer and walking into the sunset on a high meadow surrounded by flowers. It was a lovely evening!!
Please forgive the dirty windshield!!

Day Six: The last day of a wonderful trip like this is always so sad. :O( We could have stayed much longer but real life calls. We did try one adventure this morning in trying to cross "Woodchuck Pass" but ended turning back as the road became fit for only four-wheelers. On the way out of our campground, the kids insisted we pull over and take Daddy's picture laying in a field of flowers that PROVES God loves the Vikings best (note the color of the flowers). (These pictures are for J.O.'s benefit...I know she will print them off and hang them all over her house!)

Todd's going to be so happy I put these on the blog. I could hardly get him to pose and he jumped up very quickly when a car drove by!! I love you, Babe!!!

And that's our trip. Hope you have a great weekend! Love,

Christy

Trip to the Tetons...

2009-07-06T11:03:00.006-06:00

Hi!

We travelled to the Grand Teton National Park, Jackson, Jackson Hole, South Yellowstone, Dubois and Wind River Range part of Wyoming over the weekend. We stayed in a camper cabin near Lava Mountain on the Togwotee Pass but weren't "home" much. We did a lot of driving and poking around. I tried to do better about taking pictures this trip. Blogger isn't letting me move my pictures around as easily as it used to (likely my error but can't figure out what it is.) I'll try to put them in order, hopefully it will work:

The Grand Tetons were shrouded in storm clouds that made them even more stunning and mysterious than usual.

These little birds were so lovely and this one in particular actually posed for me (ask the family...he came hopping right up and stood still as if to say, "Mountains are all fine and well, but I am just as amazing." :O)

The wildflowers were as pretty as I've ever seen. The whole area looked as though it was a never-ending Eden. I couldn't resist taking some pictures - well, OK, a LOT of pictures - of them.

Buffalo! We also saw a mama moose and her calf and some elk. Deer and antelope are almost a given on any trip in Wyoming. We also got to see a REAL cowboy on his horse moving a herd with the help of his two dogs. Todd tried some more fly-fishing but still no luck. On our way through the western end of the Wind River Range, we found several places we'd enjoy re-visiting to camp and fish. I have to say again that words just can not describe how vast and gorgeous these wilderness areas are. I encourage you to come see for yourselves someday.
Kindrid skipping up the trail...
I love my family....

We ended the Fourth with fireworks in Dubois. We followed some locals up to a ridge, parked where they parked and waited to see what would happen. The whole of this small town was spread before us. Let me tell you....these folks LOVE their fireworks. It turned out they were setting off the official ones just a few hundred yards from us while the townsfolk gave their best to compete with one another and the official fireworks by sending off MANY of their own. It was a WILD experience and one we will likely try to repeat next year. Kindrid just couldn't get enough. She repeatedly declared this to be "the best day of her life" and being "unable to wait for next year's!" Of course, showing you in a picture how this looks was really hard but we tried.

We dove a lot. Todd got tired after a while so Brennen helped out.

Hope you have a wonderful week! Thanks for reading and especially for leaving comments as they encourage me to keep on blogging. Blessings...
Christy

Reuniting, Awe-Inspiring and Creeping Me Out...

2009-06-23T20:02:00.007-06:00

Dear All,

What a busy few weeks we've had! VBS was the 8th-12th and went great. Again, see the Hubert Family link if you want to see pictures of that. There are some of Kindrid, Brennen and me mixed in. Thanks again, Jodi!!

Three hours after VBS ended found us on the road to Denver to hook up with Mike, Robin, Andrew and Collin Fiedler, friends from Illinois. I didn't take many pictures, but we had a fabulous time. The kids swam in the hotel pool, we enjoyed several great meals at restaurants, a drive through the mountains above Boulder and a trip to the zoo. Here's a shot Kindrid took of me at the zoo: And one of the kids feeding the lorakeets (sp?) little cups of nectar:

The weather in CO had been pretty unstable and threatening clouds began to gather while we ate lunch at the zoo. It was leave or get soaked so we left a little sooner than we'd have liked. As we were driving away, Robin noted something like, "That's an interesting cloud." The object of her attention was a funnel cloud! Yikes! It didn't touch down, but lingered long enough to make much of Denver very nervous and made the evening news. Brave Mike drove through pounding rain and hail. The hail was heavy enough to cover the ground like snow in the area around our hotel. We met Auntie Carrie and Uncle Matt at the Cheesecake Factory downtown for a great meal followed by a stroll and bus ride back to our parking area. It was hard saying good bye after having such a wonderful time with the Fiedlers.

We arrived home Monday night and left on Wednesday afternoon for five nights up around Yellowstone . What can I say? If you've never been, you should go. There is no way to describe how gorgeous it is there. Every time I go I am struck anew by God's amazing power and creativity in His Creation. Breathtaking. One day we took the Chief Joseph and Beartooth Pass scenic drives. Wow! Go there...do that!!

Here is Kindrid in the snow in which she insisted on getting out to play:

The following day found us at Yellowstone National Park. We got to see Old Faithful this time (missed it last time due to my interest in seeing just "one more thing" first). Brennen wanted a picture so here it is.

My plug for the day...

Did you know that all National Parks are free for three weekends this summer? One was this past Father's Day weekend but there are two more coming on July 18-19 and August 15-16. Taking advantage of this saved us a $25.00 entrance fee to Yellowstone. Find a park near you and go visit!!

I never take enough scenery pictures in areas like this as I feel overwhelmed in trying to capture in a frame or two so much beauty. I can only say again to go see it for yourself if you've never been.

We took both dogs with us on the camping trip and they did great. We dry-camped (no electric/no other hook ups) for four of the five nights. Considering we still have soft beds, heat and water, it's not really roughing it, but we were impressed again at how great the trailer performed. If you plan to camp around or in Yellowstone, be sure to check ahead as many places require hard-sided units and don't allow tents. Grizzly bears. Enough said.

Brennen learned to ride his bike without training wheels on Father's Day. I love seeing his confidence increase each time he conquers something like that. Once he believed he could do it, the hard part was done. Convincing him he can is the whole battle with my little boy!

One more happening of note, and I'll wrap it up. Last night I watched "I Am Legend" with Todd. I looked it up online first and read all about it, even the spoilers. I just don't do scary movies. I know for you hard-core folks that this movie is probably not all that scary, but for me it's about as far as I can stand to go. Suffice to say there were creatures in the movie that "went bump in the night." Nasty, creepy, horrible, blood-loving, only-come-out-in-the-dark-of-night kind of creatures. The movie was actually pretty good - Will Smith has come a long, long way since Fresh Prince!! However, I went to bed with the lamp AND tv on (until Todd made me turn off the lamp) and just couldn't relax enough to sleep. I channel surfed. About 15 minutes later, Todd was in a deep sleep and I heard "a noise." And then more noise. Finally, I sat up and got serious about figuring out what it was as I was pretty sure even my over-stimulated imagination was not imagining this. It was coming from the attic-access panel above our dresser. It was getting louder. And you know what?? On this night of all nights, a HUGE BAT crawls out of the way tiny little narrow crack at the edge of that panel and begins flying about the room. Wish I could say I stayed perfectly calm. Not hardly. As it was coming out I hit Todd to tell him I thought a mouse was coming through. As the words were coming from my mouth, the "mouse" turned into the bat and all words were lost in the squeal!! Poor Todd was sound asleep and came hurtling out of the bed. That was the last I saw as the blanket was pulled up tightly around my head. Todd got it out of the house...my hero!!!!! Within minutes, despite my pathetic pleas, he was back asleep. I think I finally was able to sleep around 2:30 a.m. So, heed my warning. If you haven't seen this movie and would like to, just be aware that it brings out the creatures of the night!

Hope you have a great week!

Love,

Christy

Piggy Back...

2009-06-10T06:53:00.001-06:00

VBS is going great this week. No pictures of my own to post, but check out the Hubert family link to see some great ones my Right-Arm-For-The-Week posted. :O)

She Loves Us, She Loves Us Not...

2009-06-01T14:06:00.006-06:00

Hello!

We finally choose a name for the new addition to our family...

...Welcome, *D*A*I*S*Y* !!

Have a great week!

Christy

Before And After...

2009-06-01T07:55:00.005-06:00

Hello Family and Friends,

My brother-in-law, Jeff, and his dad, Myron, travelled all night Thursday night and arrived here around 6 a.m. Friday. They came to pick up Carleen and Jeff's new puppy. They spent the day resting, visiting and joined Todd for an arena football game in the evening. After our Saturday morning usual, pancakes and bacon, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work staining our deck. My heroes!! What awesome house guests!! :O) Thank you so much, guys! Come back anytime! Ha!

Here are the before and after shots....

Before:After!
Before: After! Before:
After:

We'll sure enjoy lots of cookouts and family time out here! Thanks again!

Christy

"People Are Going To Think I'm A Real Fairy, Mommy!"

2009-05-31T22:27:00.003-06:00

Hi,
Yesterday was Kindrid's spring recital. She and her friend, Shelby, danced to "Rainbow Connection" all by themselves. Kindrid and I stayed for the whole thing...FORTY FIVE numbers! Whew! It took three hours!! :O) Here is Kindrid waiting her turn...
I know it's hard to see (we weren't allowed to take flash pix or video), but Kindrid is on the right doing her little toe points at the beginning of the dance...

Daddy gave her flowers. Here she is on the lawn outside the auditorium. I know you think she is a real little fairy, but, really, it is Kindrid Beth! :O)

I wasn't a super "girly-girl" as a kid and never did anything like this. She just loves it! It's a joy for me to get to experience it through her eyes. I know I say it on the blog all the time, but...

...I Am Blessed!!

:O) Christy

I Need A Hero...

2009-05-28T14:22:00.005-06:00

Dear Ones,

Today was Hero Day at Fort Caspar Academy. The day started with a parade throughout the school halls so the kids could all check out each others' costumes. Brennen's hero was Ulysses S. Grant. Although we couldn't figure out a beard idea that we could agree on (Brennen said he would just say he shaved today, and Kindrid wondered why I didn't just let Brennen grow a beard this one special time!) , we did come up with a coat that was similar to the one worn here by Ulysses S. Grant...

The kids were all assigned classrooms of mixed ages and got to listen to reports on heroes ranging from Shakespeare to Annie Oakely from kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. Here is Brennen reading his report...

And here is the report he wrote...

Ulysses S. Grant was an American hero because he served our country as the 18th President of the United States. He was brave, courageous and never gave up.
Ulysses S. Grant was born in Ohio on April 27, 1822. As a child he only went to school three months out of the year. His nickname was "Lyss." He joined the army when he was 17-years-old.
In his older years, Ulysses S. Grant was a General in the Civil War. His last job was being our 18th president.
Ulysses S. Grant died normally on July 23, 1885. He is remembered for defeating many armies who attacked the U.S.A.

Have a great evening!
Christy

Has It Really Been a Year?...

2009-05-25T17:53:00.002-06:00

Hi Friends and Family,

My blog description claims "a recent cross-country move" as the reason for blogging. I'm going to have to strike the word recent though as today marks the one year anniversary of the children's and my arrival to Casper. A couple weeks ago I got to thinking about this day coming up and why this year seems to have gone by so very, very quickly. In true Christy-fashion, I had to pursue it by reviewing our calendar for the year. And here are a few reasons why the year seems to have passed so blurringly fast.

In the last year we've...

...spent 39 nights living in the camping trailer while house-hunting.

...had 59 nights of house guests.

...spent 34 nights away from home travelling.

...had seven puppies for 57 days (and nights!!).

...said good-bye to Daddy for six business trips.

In addition, the following items have been broken/needed repairs: the Expedition's transmission, the water softener, two leaking toilets, the grill, the microwave, the dishwasher, various windows, a leaking sink, a screen door, two fireplaces, the instant hot-water maker, the evaportive cooler, the water heater, and two nail punctured tires. (That I can recall!)

Wow!! No wonder my head spins a little when considering our first year here in Wyoming. But! What number to put on...

...finding a lovely home that suits our family's needs and feels very much like home to us?

...joining a church where folks are sincerely trying to follow Christ with love, fellowship, outreach and a firm, Biblical foundation?

...enrolling in a public school that is as close to a private school in its mission and excellence as it can be (and NO tuition!!)?

...being welcomed into the homes of new friends and getting to know some really warm, wonderful, Wyoming people?

...welcoming a new niece into the world just hours after her birth?

...being allowed to spend a lot more time with Uncle Matt and Auntie Carrie than has ever before been possible?

...sharing our gorgeous new state with lots of friends and family that bravely made a very long journey to visit us?

...having mountains and places to explore within hours of our home in every direction?

...having some great quality time with Todd's folks for the month they came and having my father-in-law fix so many of the annoying things that were broken around the house?

...learning to love our new dog and sharing as a family the wonder and magic of having puppies?

And so on. We are blessed! So, how about you all? Go back and look at your calendars for the year and comment here on what your year's summary looks like! It's pretty amazing when you condense it into numbers!!

I'm grateful today to the people that gave their lives that we can live free, worship free, say/read/write free, vote free, raise our children free!! Let's try not to take it for granted and remember to be thankful for our one nation, under God!!
Love you all,
Christy

Has It Really Been A Month?...

2009-05-18T17:40:00.005-06:00

Hello Everyone,

I really don't think it can have been a month since my last post. Really. Where did the month go?

Well, for starters, it went to the circus! In order to get good seats (we got great ones) we went right after picking Brennen up at school to wait a little over an hour for the show to begin. A few snacks (gotta have cotton candy and popcorn at the circus) helped the time go by quickly! Doesn't everyone do their school homework at the circus?? Well, I guess if you attend Fort Caspar Academy you do! :O(

This circus had it all...note the white tiger!!Kindrid almost got sick she laughed so loud and long at these cotton-candy-colored poodles and their antics...She was truly delighted with them!
It wouldn't be a circus without the dancing lady on the elephant! (This picture is in loving memory of my Uncle Otto who took my sister and me to see them set up the circus tent long ago in Brainerd...he never could quite answer the "how many elephants were there?" question! I pray my kids' memories of this circus are as sweet as mine of that one!)

And, lo, Kindrid was sitting eating lunch and calmly states, "Mommy, I just lost a tooth." And indeed she had. Her first one. And we didn't even know it was loose. :O) The one next to it is going to come out any day now! She was in total awe and sooo thrilled about it!

The puppies turned 8 weeks last Thursday so Todd took out a month long ad in the paper offering them for free (we did ask folks to cover the first shots). We thought it would take forever to find homes for all of them. It didn't. It took ONE DAY. Friday was one of the most bittersweet days I've ever had as we said good-bye to five puppies out of seven (we are keeping one and holding one for my sister and brother-in-law). Poor Brennen...he went to school without even saying good-bye to them only to come home to find half of them already gone. He handled it well, though. I think us keeping a puppy has made that easier. Anyhow, here they are one last time...

This one went to an older gentleman who has never had a dog and excited to get her....

This one went to Denver to a friend of Todd's sister, Carrie....We hear her new name is Lola! Cute!!

This was one of our most favorite pups...he was the only male and we came very, very close to keeping him ourselves. The family that took him also took the next little golden colored one...

Here is our new little girl. We still don't have a name although Sofie and Lucy are in the running...

This one went to a family that wants to train her to play with their ferret (!)...

And this one is my sister's new doggie...Cute!...

And one final picture of the whole gang...or most of them, anyhow!! :O)

Let's see...what else?

...Kindrid asked me a while back why airplanes don't have turn signals.

...We hosted a cookout last night of folks from Todd's work. We had 21 people here. It was so fun to see the deck full of people. It was a gorgeous evening!

...We've done a bunch of work in the yard lately. We got rid of some ugly shrubs by the front door, mulched a bunch of gardens that were just dirt and planted lots of flowers on the deck. I'm going to wait on several gardens until after the house is painted (which will hopefully be done in the next couple weeks. My brother-in-law is coming in a week to help do that huge job. This also means my sister and NIECE are coming too...hooray!)

Well, that's all there is time for! Hope your day, er, week, er, MONTH is going great!

Love to you all,

Christy

Never A Dull Moment...

2009-04-18T14:07:00.008-06:00

Hello All,

You might want to get your second cup of your hot beverage of choice before reading this one. I've waited far too long to post and we've had a lot going on. :O) As always, I'll just give it to you as it comes....

We had quite a March, and so far April has been the same. Each week brought at least one, and sometimes two, winter storm warnings. The "last day of school" keeps getting pushed further into June due to school cancellations. Here is the deck in one of the last storms. It comes fast and then melts fast. This week, however, it looks like Spring might finally win the battle. Time will tell!

Brennen got part of his wish and lost one front tooth on his birthday!

My mom was here the whole week before Easter and over Brennen's birthday. He turned 8 this year. For his actual birthday, he requested a steak dinner. We made his favorites to go with it: corn, cornbread, and cantaloupe. He opened gifts from family. We were proud of how gracious he was about each gift, and how much attention he gave each thing. Here he is playing with a racing engine sounding birthday card. To celebrate with his friends, Brennen asked if he could take a few bowling. The four boys had a great time bowling and then on to Pizza Hut for supper, gifts and cake. It was a simple party, but one of the best ever for Brennen. Bowling looked so fun that Mom, Todd and I even joined in. Of course, this would have been a great time to show you some pictures, but I didn't have my camera. :O( After Grandma left, we colored eggs.

Easter was pretty quiet for us this year, especially considering the busy-ness it represented the past few years in Peoria when the entire kids program at church was moved off-site to the high school in order to do a huge community outreach service. I was grateful for the quiet this year, but it did make us miss our Peoria "family."

While Mom was here, she did some research to find out what the big birds that visit our yard are called. Last fall I posted some pictures of an entire flock of them in our back yard. I'd been calling them prairie chickens, but Dad was pretty sure I was wrong about that. However, he didn't know what they were either. Mom found it. They are "chukars," imported from the Middle East. http://sdakotabirds.com/species/chukar_info.htm Cool! They are very striking birds. As I've been unable to get a decent photo, be sure to visit the link. (We must learn something each day, remember. Here's your chance!) :O)

A month or so ago, Kindrid insisted we all try Brussels sprouts. I was thrilled to comply as I'm always trying to get us to eat more vegetables. I'd read somewhere that kids need to try things at least 10 times before they learn to like them. Well, one down and NONE TO GO. In our first, united family campaign against any food, we are unanimous in this: This horrific vegetable will never again be allowed on our table. Seriously, WHY would anyone eat this? It was even in a butter sauce. We loaded it with salt and pepper. Gagging was heard. It's the first time in decades that I actually used my water to swallow something whole rather than chew it. Sorry to you sprout lovers...ain't gonna happen here!

Kindrid told me a while back, "Mom. I really want to own a gas station when I grow up."

Last week was "clown night" at AWANA. I was so stressed about how I was going to get homework, dinner and clown paint done between school getting out and AWANA beginning. I decided the best way to manage was to do some before they ate. First time I've fed a couple o' clowns at supper (well, on second thought....).

Here they are at church in all their glory...

Brennen's birthday (April 7th) marked Todd's one year anniversary with his company and last week his one year anniversary here at the hospital. His co-workers surprised him with a "disciplinary" meeting where they greatly encouraged him with lots of positive feedback and support. I'm so proud of him and thankful for the great folks with whom he works. Census has been way up the past couple weeks which makes for some stress, but it's a wonderful thing for "business." Mom was able to be at the hospital for a tour at the time several patients were discharged. A special "code" is sounded and every available employee gathers round the door and cheers the patient as he leaves. These folks have worked so hard and almost always leave far better off than when they arrived. What a blessing to work in such a positive, helping environment!! Here is the link to his facility: http://www.ernesthealth.com/hospitals.html

Uncle Matt and Auntie Carrie came to visit over the weekend. We like to think they came to see us, but I suspect the puppies were the main attraction this time. Carrie, brave soul, brought a fairy-sugar-cookie-decorating kit for her and Kindrid to do. Big fun...serious artists!!

The kids have been practicing for a long time for a church play called, "It's Cool In The Furnace." It's about the Old Testament book of Daniel and touches on the highlights of Daniel and his friends' adventures. Brennen got to be a guard that pitched the three friends (notice I'm doing everything I can to avoid having to look up how to spell their names!!) into the fiery furnace. The book of Daniel relates that those guards died in the process. Brennen said he had to die, too, "but, don't worry, Mom, I just crawl out the back and sneak back around to the choir. I don't really die."

Kindrid was part of the choir. She was groovin' in this shot:

The puppies are Growing Bigger Every Day. It's time to consider what the next enclosure for them should be. We have about four weeks to go before we'll let them go to their new homes. Puppy number 1 is claimed already. Any takers for puppies 2-7???? :O) Uncle Matt took some amazing shots of them this weekend that I hope to share with you soon.

If you've visited you know we have a huge deck with lots of patio furniture badly in need of new cushions. Hooray!!! Found some at Wal-Mart that we love, bought 'em and I get to put them on today. I'm so excited as the others were so nasty one couldn't sit on them any more. This week promises such fine weather that I know we'll get to eat dinner outside - yay!!!

Oh! My fingers are getting tired...I never type this much! Hope all is well with you. I sure enjoy keeping in touch with so many through blogs, Facebook, email, house guests and phone. Wyoming is pretty far from everyone we love, but it doesn't feel that way with all the means we have of staying close. What a blessing!!

With love,

Christy

Puppy Post...

2009-04-10T12:58:00.004-06:00

Hi...I have other stuff to post soon, but wanted to get some new pictures of our ADORABLE puppies up quick. They really changed a lot this last week. They are three weeks old now with their eyes open. They are walking but fall down about every fifth step, have started play-fighting with each other and will come over to us for attention when they see us. They are now just out in the big box so Bailey can come and go as she likes to feed them and I DON'T HAVE TO GET UP IN THE NIGHT WITH THEM ANY MORE! :O) They have darling little "rrrruuuuffff" barks and little growls. They grow a LOT every DAY - that part has been simply amazing to see. The coloring is changing on some of them. They had their first softened puppy food today and loved it. These pictures are in the same order as the ones previously posted.

Puppy 1: Female, white stripe, brown eyebrows and "socks," white "shoes," medium size puppy

Puppy 2: Female, mid-brown color, black white collar, white "shoes," this was one of the medium puppies at first but is now the biggest by far

Puppy 3: Female, golden color with black and white places, looks most like the mother, gentle, one of the smaller puppies

Puppy 4: Female, mostly white with one big "black eye," black ears. In the last couple days, this puppy has had some brownish spots coming through on its head and back...should be interesting to see what color it ends up!

Puppy 5: Male, white puppy with blackish ears, the only male

Puppy 6: Female, mostly black with some brown, smallest of the puppies, very sweet and gentle

Puppy 7: Female, this one started off as mostly black and has gradually gotten more of a dark brown color

Aren't they so much cuter than they were?? :O)

It's Good Friday...have you had a chance to spend a quiet moment remembering the great sacrifice made for us on this day so long ago?

Love,

Christy

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves...

2009-03-26T20:07:00.005-06:00

The dwarves spoke with each other for awhile and then said,

"If you will keep house for us, and cook, make beds, wash, sew,

and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly,

then you can stay with us, and you shall have everything that you want."
"Yes," said Snow White, "with all my heart."

For Snow White greatly enjoyed keeping a tidy home.

-From Grimms Fairy Tales

Yup...Snow White...that's me!! (C'mon...you know what I mean!) :O)

Who knew that being the grandmother of seven little puppies would be so much work?! There's bedding to be changed, boxes to be wiped clean, giving them to Bailey to feed, moving them back to their box again, getting up in the night for feedings, coming up with progressively larger boxes for them, making sure Bailey's not squishing them and keeping their momma in food so the milk keeps coming! There is a certain new, subtly pervasive smell in the air at our house that, no matter what Snow White tries, lingers on. Ah, well, unlike Snow White's dwarves, these little ones are growing REALLY FAST. Today marks their one week birthday so I thought I'd put some pictures up. I don't know if you can compare to the previous ones and see what I mean as I didn't zoom as close, but you get the idea. I'll put them in the same order as I did the last ones.

Their eyes are not yet open, but they look less like rats each day and are stronger, quicker and seem more aware of one another and us.

Have great weekends!! Love,

Snow...er...Christy

AWANA Games...

2009-03-24T12:22:00.007-06:00

Hi Everyone,

On Saturday, Todd, Brennen and Kindrid travelled with some friends (thanks, Huberts!!) to Scottsbluff, NE so Brennen could compete in the AWANA games. It's sort of an Olympics for this region of AWANA clubs. The games are all played on a circular court. There is an identical court at our church where Brennen plays these games each Wednesday as part of his time at AWANA. Brennen played on both his own age-group team, Sparks, and on the next older team as they needed extras, T and T (3rd-6th grades). Both teams took first place!!! As I wasn't there (someone had to stay home with the babies), I can't tell you much about the pictures, but this must be opening: Brennen is just in front of the ref:This is Brennen's good friend from school, Brennan. :O) Brennen invited him to AWANA several months ago and he's continued to come. What a great kid he is!!Kindrid went along to cheer in my place. Here she is with her friend, Chloe:

A winning team!

Another winning team:

They arrived home after 10:00 p.m. Brennen was wiped out but super proud of his first place ribbon and medal!!

And what did I get? I had a whole day home alone!! I took care of puppies, worked on Vacation Bible School and napped. I can't remember the last time I had a day at home alone. What a blessing!

Love you all,

Christy

Puppies Close Up...

2009-03-20T18:04:00.005-06:00

Hi! I'm posting these at the request of several folks interested in the puppies. There are two shots of each puppy. They are kind of tough to photograph right now. :O) They are cute now, but in a few weeks, will be even cuter and more photogenic! Also, I'm not totally sure about their sex yet, so take that with a grain of salt.

Puppy 1: Female. Black and white. White stripe nose to shoulders and then across shoulders. White tip on tail. One of the larger puppies.

Puppy 2: Female. Hard to tell it in the picture, but it's a really dark brown puppy, not quite black. Stripe from neck down left shoulder. White paws. White tip tail. White blaze on forehead. One of the medium puppies.

Puppy 3: Female. Mainly golden brown. Darker face. 1/2 white stripe down right shoulder. White blaze on face. White paws. White tip tail. One of the smaller puppies.

Puppy 4: Female. Mostly white. Brownish ears. Big black patch around left eye. One of the larger puppies.

Puppy 5: Male. Almost completely white with exception of brownish ears. One of the larger puppies.

Puppy 6: Female. Almost all black with white chin, tummy. Tip of tail is white. One of the smaller puppies.

Puppy 7: Female. Mostly black. Some white on face, tummy, chin, feet. White tip tail. One of the smaller puppies.

Those are our babies!

:O) Christy

Todd, Christy, Bailey, Kindrid and Brennen Plus Seven....

2009-03-19T11:12:00.003-06:00

We have SEVEN new family members! Bailey was pretty cute last night. You know how I've mentioned that she doesn't play at all? She never goes and gets her toys or really even pays them any attention? Well, last night she went and got her white "bear" and carried it up to her bed and anywhere else she went. She didn't eat. She was resting a lot. We were pretty sure her time was near. She had an extremely restless night and at about 6:30 a.m., puppy number 1 came along.

Here is proud Grandpa with the first black and white one:
The next puppy was all white:

There are now two white, one lighter brown, one darker brown and three black. Each has unique markings (like brown ears or white tip tails.) They are darling!! Bailey seems to know just what to do. She's had breakfast and been out. She's busy nursing and licking. What a good girl!
I did break the placenta of one that was having trouble getting its head out and had to tie of the umbilical cord of another one as it wouldn't stop bleeding. Other than that, so far, so good. :O)

The kids got to see a number of puppies born right in front of them and witness how Bailey cleaned them up and took care of them. I don't think Brennen is going to be very focused at school today! :O) They LOVED seeing the puppies! Kindrid is already on a major lobby to keep at least one. Uh huh. This would NOT be the day for me to think about that! :O)

Bailey is back to as thin or even thinner than when we got her. We'll be giving her plenty of food and lots of love these next few weeks.

Happy Puppy Day!!

:O) Christy

Their Home On The Range...

2009-03-18T09:22:00.010-06:00

Hi Family and Friends,

Our realtor (that helped us find the perfect home in Casper) and her husband invited us to spend the afternoon with them last Saturday on their ranch in nearby Glenrock, a town about 15 minutes away. As pictures are worth a thousand words, I'll let them do most of the talking today.

Their property has an older house our friends are restoring. At some point long ago, someone carved this at the beginning of the sidewalk:
Flat Stanley is once again visiting us, this time from our friend, Anna, in Minnesota. Stanley thought the cows and horses were pretty cool! The kids both got to pet a newborn calf. The calves were so fun to watch as they frisked around on this gorgeous Wyoming spring day.Our hosts, Stan and Karen Mitchem. They have a lovely little river running through their property with many rock beaches and even a few little sandy ones.
The beavers have been as busy as, well, beavers (pathetic...I know...but I couldn't resist). Here is a stick to show how they leave the ends of branches through which they've gnawed:
They (the beavers) have several dams on the river. Here is the larger of the two:
The dam is behind us here:My favorite part of the day was just watching the kids explore as they threw rocks in the water, floated sticks downstream, walked through the thick mud and got wet feet despite rubber boots. What a great place to be a kid!

We stayed to dinner and were treated to delicious "home grown" steak! It was a wonderful visit with warm, kind friends. Thank you, Mitchems!

Love,

Christy

PS...No puppies, yet! :O)

Watch Out! That Puppy is Loaded...

2009-03-17T20:19:00.002-06:00

Hello Dear Ones,

If you aren't a Facebooker, then you haven't heard...

I took Bailey to the vet yesterday for her check up. The last thing he said to me was, "Congratulations, Grandma!"

Yep. Our sweet, gentle doggie is going to be a mommy. She came to us this way and is likely due any day. Mixed feelings on my end, of course. I L*O*V*E puppies and am so thrilled the kids get to have this experience. However...well, you can guess at the "howevers!" Go back a blog or two and read about how happy I was to get a DOG and not a PUPPY and then chuckle amongst yourselves! :O) At least we know why she never plays and just sleeps all the time! :O)

Love yous,
Christy

Life Lately...

2009-03-11T09:21:00.008-06:00

(Hi All, I actually typed this last week but it took me a while to get the pictures attached so it's "old news." I'll post some newer stuff in the next couple days.)

Brennen was on the Lego.com website fascinated by all the available sets. I commented that some day he could go to work for the Lego company and design sets and how cool that would be. Kindrid interrupted me and said firmly, "No, Mommy. Me and Brennen have a plan. We are going to work at restaurants and gas stations when we grow up."

Bailey is doing great. She's about as quiet as she was when she first came and plays very, very little for such a young doggie. The vet wants her to gain about 12 pounds - she's so thin it's sad. She goes back to see him on Monday. If he's happy with her progress, that's good. If not, he's going to run some tests and see if maybe she has an infection of some kind or something. She had some problems the first few times we left her alone but has since been just fine when left. (The first times involved a downed shower curtain/rod, pictures off the wall, nose marks on the bathroom mirror - accessible only by getting onto the counter - and several areas of chewed door trim. Needless to say, I'm thrilled she's over that!!) She joined us on our trip to Denver last weekend and did OK with Matt and Carrie's dogs. She didn't play with them and wanted her space, but there were no fights. I can't even tell you what a calm, sweet, gentle soul she is. The kids love her and are very sweet to her. I'm very happy to have skipped the whole puppy stage, love that my kids are so happy with her and enjoy having her company around the house.

Brennen is on Spring Break this week. We spent the weekend in Denver with Auntie Carrie and Uncle Matt. Everyone (except me) skied on Saturday morning at Arapaho Basin - this meant crossing the Loveland Pass (at 11,990 feet) over the Continental Divide above the Eisenhower tunnel - fun! Carrie and Matt are so patient with the kids. It was Brennen's second time and Kindrid's first. Brennen skied at the beginner's area for a while and then tried the big hill (including the lift) a couple times. He fell some, but mostly did great! I thought that Kindrid would give up almost as soon as she began. Boy! Did she prove me wrong! She had a rough patch right at first, but Carrie talked her through it, and then she did great. She even went down the little hill once without assistance! On the way home, she told us that, "I'm going to be a skier-girl when I grow up!" Thank you, Matt and Carrie, for helping the kids get started on this and for your seemingly inexhaustible patience!!!

(I'm not sure why some pictures are smaller but you get the idea)

Brennen on the "Magic Carpet:"

Kindrid looking like a little pro practicing her "pizza" skills:

So, Saturday we are up in the mountains bundled up against the cold...Sunday finds us at the Denver Zoo in short sleeves eating ice-cream at a picnic table! The zoo was super fun. We've been to number of zoos, but the kids are always so excited to see all the creatures. Their enthusiasm makes it new again for all of us.

Yep...it's official! The milestone to which EVERY parent looks forward...Kindrid is now about the same size as an Emperor Penguin!!

Thank you, Uncle Matt and Auntie Carrie for a fabulous time and the great pictures!!

Todd's had a cold for a week now that is making sleep and work harder. Please pray he starts to feel better soon. (update here...he is much better since last week)

Love,

Christy

A New Family Member...

2009-02-22T13:14:00.006-07:00

Introducing....

Bailey!!!

I've mentioned us thinking about getting a dog a couple of times. Yesterday Todd and the kids went to two shelters to see what they could see. They found Bailey. I went back with them, agreed that she is a lovely dog and so she is now part of our family!

She came to the shelter from a rancher along with three other dogs. He listed her as being about two years old and having some golden retriever in her. I think she weighs about 35 pounds but needs to gain a little weight as she is pretty gaunt. She is so sweet and mild-mannered. One hardly knows she's there. She's housebroke! She'd been at the shelter for three weeks, and they'd never heard her bark. Neither have we. She's great with the kids and is eating up all the attention she's getting. We think she'll be a little more spunky once she gains some weight and settles into our home. She responds to some commands and has already shown herself to be VERY bright in learning new things. Of course time will tell, but I think we've found the perfect doggie for our family.

She has kennel cough and will need to be "fixed." We'll take her to the vet this week and make plans to take care of both those things. And she's getting a bath. Today. :O)

Kindrid has such a heart for dogs and just keeps saying over and over that she can't believe we now have one! She was very taken by surprise that we just found her and went and got her. I wish you could have seen her smiles!!

Brennen said on the way home with her, "I have a big thing of happiness in me, Mommy, because we got a dog."

They each got to pick out a toy for her and can't wait to take her for walks and teach her stuff etc. Their joy and her sweet spirit are providing much satisfaction in our decision to get her for Todd and me.

Welcome home, Bailey, welcome home!!!

Have a great week,
Christy

Update...

2009-02-17T15:52:00.002-07:00

Hi,

I just have a couple minutes but wanted to share with you about Brennen. As the weeks went on in third grade, he began doing better and better academically and worse and worse in happiness. So today he once again began in second grade. Since last week when we made the decision to move him back, we've seen him relax so much more and become a much happier kiddo. He got B's and A's on the third grade progress report which was awesome, but he felt very pressured to keep up and was very lonely. The one friend he'd made began ignoring him a couple weeks ago. By the beginning of last week he was begging to go back to second grade. We visited a lot with his third grade teacher and with Brennen. His third grade teacher said he'd likely be at the top of his class by the end of the year should he stick it out but he just was so miserable. At seven years old, we decided that our son's happiness was more important than him being challenged academically. He was thrilled to get to go back to his "real" class today. I can't tell you how tough these past weeks have been for us as parents. We know Brennen is capable of so much and want him to have those opportunities, but the cost was just too great. Thank you to all of you that prayed for him and gave me wise counsel as we struggled with this decision. :O)

We spent the last weekend at an indoor water park in Rapid City, South Dakota. They have a Chili's in that town...hmmm....maybe we'll be moving again?? :O) Ha! We went to celebrate our sixteenth anniversary and Valentine's Day. The kids had a great time. It was wonderful to be in a warm, humid environment in the middle of winter! :O)

Not much else is going on here. The whole "to stay in third or move back to second" decision loomed so large for the last couple weeks that it feels wonderful to be done with it!

Love you all,
Christy

All Good Things Must End...

2009-02-02T19:32:00.003-07:00

Hi Everyone!

After a month-long visit, Todd's parents left us for greener (well, maybe not greener, but hopefully WARMER) pastures down Denver way for some time with Todd's sister and hubby. Here is a list of the things - that I can remember, anyhow - that my blessed father-in-law accomplished while he was here:

1. Covered hole in coat closet ceiling with an access panel where toilet from upstairs had leaked and been repaired.
2. Fixed closet door handles so they stay put.
3. Fixed the broken seal around the front door.
4. Replaced broken ceiling fans in the both kids' bedrooms.
5. Covered hole in attic vent where wildlife was free to come and go.
6. Fixed two shades in our Pella windows that wouldn't open.
7. Fixed a garage door brace that had fallen off.
8. Hung yard tool organizer in the garage.
9. Supervised plumber when toilet number two leaked and had to have hole cut in basement bathroom ceiling in order to be repaired. (!)
10. Repaired ceiling vent in basement bathroom (that I broke when trying to sop up water from said toilet leak).
11. Solved problem of "broken" (improperly vented) water heater and ran better venting.
12. Vented my previously-vented-to-the-closet-under-the-stairs-dryer to the outside.
13. Ordered and installed a turntable to replace the broken one in the microwave.
14. Ordered and installed a detergent cup to replace the broken one in the dishwasher.
15. Reattached several annoying pieces of trim that would come off each time I cleaned floors.
16. Covered outside opening to bathroom vent that was previously just open to whatever would like to use it as a home (think BIG Wyoming snakes and you come close to what I imagined might have entered my home through that hole!!)

I've surely forgotten a few things - and, no, you can't have him!!! He's all mine. Well, mine and Carrie's, I guess. :O) I told him I could hook him up with lots of friends in need of a handyman and he and my mother-in-law could travel all over the USA with free room/board as long as he wants!! :O) Thank you, Pa Ben, for all you did!!

Kindrid and Brennen enjoyed unlimited attention from Grandma Mary and the doggies. They both feel a little lost without their grandparents here.

Todd and I had a wonderful, relaxing time in Vegas with Carrie and Matt. We got to see the Blue Men (very funny), eat a lot, walk a lot, have breakfast with my Uncle Doug and have lots of highs and lows at the very scary, high rolling, penny slots!! :O) Todd did try a Texas Hold 'Em tournament and placed 5th out of 21. Not too bad for his first shot! It was so fun to hang with Matt and Carrie, enjoy warm air and palm trees and see all the surreal stuff (like living statues at the Venetian and those amazing fountains at Bellagio and walking under lionesses at MGM) that Vegas has to offer. I loved sleeping in, staying out late and just having time with Todd to have uninterrupted conversations. Thank you to my in-laws for staying with our kids and making our trip possible.

Brennen has settled into his class, seems to be doing alright for his first two weeks and is catching on to cursive. He learns any new stuff the teacher presents just fine. I'm working with him on some stuff they did earlier in the year. He has one friend he mainly plays with and comes out of class with a smile. Homework takes a bit longer as we have to add cursive and reviewing stuff they did earlier in the year to the nightly assignments. Please keep him in your prayers if you think of it.

Hope you are having a good start to your weeks! Love,
Christy

Catchin' Up...

2009-01-16T09:38:00.014-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I finally have a few minutes to get caught up on the blog.

First of all, by popular demand (!)....here is my gift on which Brennen spent his hard-earned AWANA $35.00: He knows how I love shower gels and lotions!! I know I need to use them some day, but right now they make me so happy in their little bag with the price tag still on it! :O)

Here are some pictures of Brennen's last soccer game. He's the one with the ball in the first picture. His team, the Cardinals, were the "home" team and did end up winning. I didn't get a shot of the scoreboard before they cleared it at the end but it was either 3 or 4 by then.

Having a celebrity in the house for a few weeks was pretty cool. Here is Flat Stanley about to autograph his book just before he travelled back to Illinois. :O)

Fort Caspar Academy had an alll-school, standing room only Christmas program. The entire second grade recited "A Visit From Saint Nicholas" by Clemet Clark Moore (aka...The Night Before Christmas) from memory. Brennen is top row, fifth from the right. Some wonderful folks at our church also worked very hard with the kids on a funny and meaningful Christmas program called "A Christmas County Spelling Bee." Here are some shots of the kids doing their thing. We had a fantastic, two-week long trip to Minnesota over the holidays. Todd drove out with us, flew back to Casper for a while to work, then flew back to MN, then drove back to Casper in our new-to-us Dodge Durango that we purchased from his folks. The kids and I caravaned with Todd's parents out to Casper a few days later. In MN we got to spend a lot of time with family and see a few friends -although never as many as we wish we could see. :O( We spent a lot of time with Kallie Jo - I even had the opportunity to get up with her in the night for feedings a few times. I loved those peaceful moments that brought back memories of my own babies' first few months. And getting up in the night with a baby is a much more fun ball game when one knows it's only for a few nights and not a few months!! :O) The kids also got to spend lots of time with their older cousins, Cierra and Rhiannan. During our time in MN, it was mostly WAY cold but we did have some great snowfalls and a few warmer days when the kids could play outside. Here are the cousins in my mom's old flowering crab tree.
It's been around 50 degrees here the last week or so...we sure don't miss the bitter cold the upper mid-west has been dealing with!

As I mentioned, my in-laws came back to Casper with us for an extended visit. A week after they came, Carrie and Matt came for a night so we could have Christmas with them. As my father in law was walking outside to help them carry in luggage, he slipped on some ice and cracked his head when he fell. A trip to the E.R., four staples, a few headaches and he is back to normal. He's getting the staples out as I type. Here's the most creative gift we received. Carrie made it for our upcoming trip with Matt and her to Vegas:

They are right. Money doesn't grow on trees. It grows on plants!! :O)

Kindrid and Mary....gone to the dogs, I'm afraid:

Finally, we have some news to announce. A few days before Christmas break, Brennen's teacher and principal approached us with the extraordinary offer to move Brennen up a grade. His school is very challenging with excellent curriculum and a year ahead in math (his second grade class is doing the third grade Saxon math curriculum.) Brennen had to learn an entire new approach to phonics and language and conquered that within the first weeks of school. We knew he was doing very well, but on the computer testing they do on a regular basis and in comparison to other students at the school, he is apparently doing exceedingly well, especially in math and reading. His name came up at a meeting, they took a closer look and decided to talk to us. We agreed to have him tested by a third grade teacher. Of course, we secretly hoped he would do a good job on the test, but they'd say he wasn't ready for third. However, he did wonderfully on the test. We agonized over this decision, telling Brennen we thought he should move up but we wouldn't force him. He was in so much pain over leaving his newly-made friends in second grade. He and I observed an entire afternoon in third grade last week. That helped him tremendously. The kids were super friendly, and he saw he was capable of the work. So, Friday was his "last day of school," he has a three-day long "summer vacation" and tomorrow marks his "first day of school" in the third grade. We pray we made the right choice to be good stewards of the fine mind with which God has blessed him. As his mommy and daddy though, we are struggling with the obvious...youngest kid in class (he won't be 8 until April), late to get his driver's license, youngest kid in college etc. We know he is going to be put in situations in junior high and high school now sooner than he would have before. So we aren't looking at this as carved in stone. We'll see how it goes and make adjustments as needed. Please pray for him to be able to get caught up and to make good friends quickly. And, please, supportive comments only!! :O)

That's news with us. I'll try to post more often in the next months so the entries don't take your whole morning cup to read through!! :O)

Love,

Christy

My Heart is His For $35.00...

2008-12-11T09:33:00.006-07:00

Last night was AWANA night for the kids. They earn AWANA bucks for memorizing their verses, having their vest, bag and book and participating in special events like "bring a friend night" etc. Periodically they are allowed to go to the AWANA store and spend their hard earned bucks. This is an event that Brennen eagerly anticipates. He keeps careful count of how many bucks he will earn each week and his running total. Last night was Store Night.

When we picked them up after AWANA they were so excited with their purchases. Brennen's first words when he got in the truck were, "Mommy! I bought you a present with some of my money." He was so pleased with himself, and I was a bit surprised. I asked him something about it and he was quiet a moment and then burst into tears. He said through the obvious pain that the decision to do this for me was still causing him, "It cost $35.00, Mommy, but I really wanted to get it for you, Mommy. Because I love you."

I was speechless. You know, these days, Brennen is really kind of "all about Brennen." For him, this was an ENORMOUS sacrifice to make. I don't have words to tell you how deeply it moved me. I'm so blessed!

He came home and insisted on wrapping it and placing it under the tree. The tag reads: "To Christy From Brennen I love you very much."

I've no idea what it is. Will it matter? It will be one of my most treasured possessions because the sacrifice he made to get it for me reveals the depth of his love for me.

Sound familiar? As you go about making it Christmas for your family, consider the great sacrifice God made for us by sending His Son...his most treasured Son....because of the great depth of love He has for us. Have you accepted this original Christmas gift from Him? His gift tag reads, "To You, From God...I love you very much."

A former student used to hug me and say (and I say to you),
"God loves you....and so do I."
Consider yourself hugged...
Christy

FYI...For her big purchase, my sweet, girlie, beauty-loving little Kindrid got a huge snake that one soaks in water and will increase 600% in size over the next four days. Huh...I'm sure there's a whole symbolic "fall of man" vs. "God's plan for our redemption through His love for us" story in here somewhere with one child sacrificing and the other getting a snake but I'm not sure I have the time or inclination to figure it out. I think taking it at face value and marvelling at the choices BOTH children made is plenty for this post! :O)

Kindrid's Dance Recital...

2008-12-06T21:02:00.010-07:00

Here is Kindrid's big stage debut! She is fifth from the left. They got a little crowded, so it was hard to do some of her "moves," as she calls them, but you get the idea. :O) I was so proud of her for just getting up there in front of a HUGE audience and doing her thing. She was breathless as she watched some of the older dancers and the number her teacher did. I think it's the first time she's ever seen a real ballerina. It was really fun getting her hair, nails and make up done before the recital. You know me, I'm not much interested in any of those areas for myself, but doing it for Kindrid is like having a live dolly to do it for! :O) She wore her tights, leotard and skirt the rest of the evening and danced all over the house when she wasn't eating (or talking- and sometimes even then!). :O)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhNBmdLHisc

Have a great day!

Christy

Random Sample...

2008-11-29T20:52:00.006-07:00

Hello, Family and Friends,

Since our move, I've been able to post about some pretty cool stuff like sky-scrapers, wild animals and adventures all over Wyoming and the surrounding states. But, as it should, life is now settling into a more sedate pace. In my opinion, without the drama of the above-mentioned items, my posts are becoming, well, not quite as interesting as they were! So if I wait longer between posting, at least I have a few things of interest! (All this to explain my lack of posts lately.) :O)

I'm going to give you a random sampling of what's gone on in the last couple weeks...

All by themselves, Kindrid and Brennen completed the Puzzibits project Pa Tim started with them when we were in MN. They were adamant that I put this picture on the blog so Pa Tim can see it. Great gift...thanks to the Nic Amerud Fam!! :O)

Kindrid came downstairs after she woke up a few days ago and cuddled up on my lap. She said sleepily, "Mommy, I had TWO bad dreams last night....and one of them was PG!!"

Brennen worked very hard at school on the following paragraph that came home all typed on the computer by Brennen himself:

"My Pet

I had a pet Golden Retriever named Murphy. He was a very nice dog. He was orangish-gold. He died about a year ago, but I am still very happy he was my dog. I loved Murphy very much."

Uncle Matt and Auntie Carrie came up from Denver along with Bodie (BIG doggie) and Macie (little doggie) to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. It was so fun to have them here. We didn't do anything, really, but hang out, eat and hang out and eat. :O)

Uncle Matt has been Way Out West way too long!! :O)

Daddy taught Brennen how to use the electric knife and carve the turkey!

Of course, Carrie and I made enough food for at least twice the people, but it was an awesome meal!

The other day Brennen got a letter from his Peoria friend, Will P., asking him to help with a Flat Stanley project. Before Matt and Carrie left, we thought Flat Stanley should get his photo op! That's him in Brennen's hands. What the heck is a "Flat Stanley", you ask? Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley
Thanks for making the trip up, guys...we loved having you!!!

After completing the application and interview (mild), we will be officially recognized next Sunday as new members of Cornerstone Evangelical Free church here in Casper!

Email me if you didn't get our new cell numbers and would like to have them.

Other than that, our lives are full, like everyone elses', of daily-ness: soccer, ballet, homework, church, cooking, Facebooking (yeah...it's important!!), hanging with the kids, etc. :O) Some things have happened to different folks I love lately that have made me want to step back, breathe, and really appreciate how this daily-ness is really what life is made of. It's not all the big adventures we have, but the quiet compilation of morning cups of coffee, hugs good-night, warm laundry neatly folded, the rush to get to events on time, the sound of my kids playing in the next room, the excitement of Daddy getting home from work and so on. One of our pastors quoted this verse in his newsletter article this week and it struck a chord with me and so I leave you with it....

Revelation 21:3-4 (New International Version)
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

What a lovely thing we have to look forward to!! Until then, I pray you are finding those simple, everyday times that bring joy to your soul and peace to your spirit!!

Blessings!

Christy

PS...just an update on Brennen and his tooth...he just can't part with it so, after checking with us many times to make sure the Tooth Fairy is OK with it, he's decided to keep it a while longer. It lives in a bag on the desk in his room. His two top, front teeth are now loose. I suppose I need to brace myself for an entire collection of old teeth gracing his desk for who knows how long! :O)

Dear Tooth Farie(s)...

2008-11-16T11:30:00.003-07:00

While in MN last weekend, Brennen lost a bottom tooth that has been loose for several months. It's only his third. Last year, when the other two fell out within a day of each other, the new teeth had already grown in behind them so this is the first time we've seen Brennen with a gap. Here's the note our conscientious child wrote while at the hotel and left under his pillow - he has no desire for the Tooth Fairy to think he's trying to cheat her (him??) of her due. :O) He wanted to be able to take it to school and share with his lucky classmates...sorry it's sideways!

The lost tooth gap is on the bottom. He has wide spaces naturally on either side of his top two front teeth. The dentist is very pleased with those spaces as they will provide room for adult teeth when they come in. All three teeth he's lost so far have been from the bottom.

This week's Headlines...

...Christy Agrees To Take On VBS Next Summer!

...Date Night For Todd and Christy to Attend Church Building Fund Committment/Celebration Dinner!

...Goalie Brennen Blocks Several Attempts As Cardinals (his team) Face Strongest Opponents Yet!

...Much Touted Wyoming Winds Begin To Blow In Earnest!

...Grout and Caulk Repairs Completed in Main Floor Bath!

...Kindrid Cleans Room - Finds Floor!

:O) Have a great week!

Christy

For S.I.L. Heather (because she thought it needed one)...

2008-11-12T20:09:00.002-07:00

Here is a picture of my new niece...thanks for letting me use it, K.!

How Sweet She Is...

2008-11-08T20:48:00.002-07:00

Hello All,

I'm an Auntie once again!

Kallie Josephine Ostby

was born today and weighs in at 4 pounds, 14.25 ounces!! She's 19 inches long and every inch a sweet LITTLE love!!! Mommy Carleen is doing fine and so is Baby Kallie Jo!

Instead of our planned trip to Denver this weekend (we were sad not to see you, Auntie Carrie and Uncle Matt and Grandpa Don), we drove all night last night to come to Minnesota to help celebrate Kallie's arrival. It was a long drive through Northern Nebraska as I-90 was closed in South Dakota due to the huge blizzard that hit that region earlier in the week. We finally tumbled into bed in a Minneapolis hotel this morning around 5:00. We got up around 9:30, the kids swam and then we met Uncle Nic, Auntie Heather and Cousins Cierra and Rhiannan at the Mall of America so the kids could play at Lego Land. While at the mall trying to peek in the windows of the new-not-yet-opened-to-Kindrid's-dismay American Girl (why didn't you tell me, Pat?) store, we got the call that Kallie was here. We went to the hospital, surprised Carleen, Jeff and Grandma Marge very much and got to see our new niece/cousin. A supper at Famous Daves with family and a trip to REI (if we couldn't do it in Denver, Carrie, we were determined to get it done in The Cities!!) rounded out a very full day! Tomorrow we will get to see Grandma Mary, Pa Ben and Pa Tim and visit Kallie a bit more. Then, it's drive all day Monday to return to Casper. I'm sure we'll be tired but are so happy we could be here to share this time with family and meet this precious little gift!

Have a great rest of the weekend!
Christy

A New Look for Todd...

2008-11-02T11:22:00.002-07:00

Todd's glasses arrived late in the week. Now my husband is not only handsome, he's handsome AND distinguished looking! :O) Love you, Babe!!!

PS...Go Vikes!!!!

Trick Or Treat...

2008-10-31T19:22:00.004-06:00

Indy and the Halloween Fairy wanted you to see their costumes...

Todd dressed up as a fisherman for work today, too. We went to his hospital after school to trick or treat. Here's a lovely family shot! :O)

Like my costume? :OP

Todd and kids are out in the neighborhood right now getting their loot while I man the candy bowl on the home front. We've had maybe a dozen or so visitors so far. :O)

Have a great weekend!!

Christy

That's Good! That's Bad!

2008-10-30T07:42:00.007-06:00

Hello Friends and Family,

I know it's been a little longer than I usually wait to post, but life has been busier this week and kinda got away from me. We've had lots of ups and downs since I last posted....nothing serious and "ups" outweigh the "downs!"

Both Todd and I continued to have sore throats last week causing sleepless nights and much snoring on Todd's part. :O) (That's Bad!)

We got a very heavy, sloppy, fast-falling snowstorm on Tuesday (That's Good!) that all melted away the next day (That's Bad!). (You see, my whole classification system of good vs. bad is based on lots of scientific research and data...no one can accuse me of it being purely my own opinion!) :O)

Here is Kindrid watching the onslaught of fat flakes coming down....

When adjusting his arm length ceased to be enough to focus his eyes, Todd went and had them checked. (That's Bad!) His New Glasses will be arriving sometime next week! (That's Good!)
His blood pressure has been elevated (That's Bad!) but he's going to the doctor next week to get it figured out. (That's Good!)

The census has been up at Todd's hospital. (That's Good!) Todd was Administrator On Call for the last week. He's been AOC before with minimal activity after work hours in the past, but this week was pretty different with lots of calls and unique situations. He was on the phone a lot in the evenings and over the weekend. (That's Bad!)

Brennen came home from school on Wednesday with a full-blown case of hives again. (That's Bad!) They lasted until Monday (That's Bad!) and caused him a lot of discomfort/sleeplessness with the itching. (That's Bad!) I still have no idea what causes them. (That's Bad). At least they are gone for now. (That's Good! - I had to figure out a way to get one "good" in this paragraph!) :O)

Brennen didn't have school on Thursday/Friday last week due to parent-teacher conferences. (That's Good!). We thought about taking a trip somewhere, but decided to stay put for a change which was wise considering the sore throats and hives. (That's Good!) Brennen loves having days just to stay at home! (That's Good!) Brennen's conference was wonderful...he's doing great in school with all A's and high class rankings. (That's Good!) His reading level is significantly above average and, best of all, he likes it. (That's Good!) His teacher did share that she will be moving to Colorado over Christmas break, and they currently seeking a replacement. (That's very, very Bad!) Brennen took the news OK, but, in typical Brennen fashion, we noticed his behavior got worse over the next few days. (That's Bad!) Poor guy! The transition to a new school with all new friends and new writing and phonics program was a big deal for him. The good news is that we know God is working for Brennen's good all the time and we put our trust in that. (That's Good!) We know it will all work out. Please pray for Brennen and his class!

For the last few months, Todd and I have been unable to use our bathroom shower as it needed to be re-grouted and caulked. (That's Bad!) Todd had time to get to that project this weekend. (That's Good!) I got to use it yesterday...so nice not to have to traipse through the house for a shower anymore! (That's Good!)

Last week the senior pastor from our new church called and asked if I would do the devotion talk for the 3rd-6th graders at last night's AWANA club meeting. (That's Good!) I was totally OK talking to the kids but wasn't thrilled that their adult leaders would also be in the room. (That's Bad!) I'm just more comfortable with kids! Anyhow, considering what week it is, I spoke about "fear." It went smoothly, the kids seemed engaged, and I got that ol' "I love teaching" thrill that comes from doing the one thing I always come back to feeling I'm fairly decent at. :O) (That's Good!) I will do lots of other stuff with pleasure, but this one thing brings such deep satisfaction!

Todd has been in Albuquerque most of this week for meetings. (That's Bad!) He's due to come home this evening. (That's Good!)

I say that so you can understand how big a deal it was that I took Brennen to his first soccer practice by myself. (That's Bad!) Wish you could have seen Brennen and me trying to get his shin guards and socks on while the team waited to begin practice! (That's Bad!) Turns out Brennen instinctively knew how they went on (That's Good!) as I was clueless!! He LOVED it! (That's Good!) We were a little frustrated as they'd asked Todd to coach and he'd decided to do it. Brennen was Over The Top (!) thrilled at the prospect of having Daddy as a coach - if you know Brennen, you know he seldom gets very exited about much but this news caused him to grin and jump around and shout with joy! There was some phone tag, and, by the time we touched base with the leadership, they'd found a different coach without calling and letting us know. (That's Bad!) That news, combined with his teacher moving, made for a few bad days for Brennen. (That's Bad!) Anyhow, the coach says he could use some help so hopefully Todd will still get to be involved. (That's Good!)

We had "make your own" pizzas Saturday night (That's Good!) - so that's what this random picture is about...Monday, after school, the kids and I went to Wal-Mart to get pumpkins. When we went to carve them, Kindrid's was really, really disgusting on the inside. (That's Bad!) We had one really sad little girl so, Knight Daddy went out on his trusty white horse to exchange the pumpkin. (That's Good!) He ended up having to go to a couple places but finally returned with his trophy and pumpkin carving commenced. (That's Good!)

Note the Indy hat...

Kindrid's ballet class was invited to dress up on Tuesday...here is my little ballet-fairy girl! (That's Good...and Cute!!)

And in other news....

...Congrats to my friend, R.F, on her new job! Way to go, girl!! (That's Good!)

...A great joy in my week was to hear from my friend, J.O., that she is back to normal and as feisty as ever after a bout with cancer...you are my hero, J.!!! (That's Good!)

...Although we forgot to call or email (That's Bad!) we still wish Cousin Cia a very happy birthday!! (That's Good!) We love you, Cia!!!

...We are sad to miss it (That's Bad!) but we sure hope Auntie Carleen has a wonderful time at her shower on Saturday! (That's Good!)

...my in-laws re-listed their house with a new realtor this last week...buy it so they can move here!! See it at: http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?loc=Brainerd%2c+MN&mnp=140000&mxp=150000&bd=4&bth=2&sid=74160bd0451d4fd9972bdebd6a9f53c2&lid=1104142754&lsn=3&srcnt=18

(That would be very, very Good!)

Hope all is well with you and that The Good and The Bad all work out for you as they do for us...we are blessed!

Love,

Christy

Week in Review...

2008-10-19T13:06:00.004-06:00

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been a long week here in Casper.

This is how our deck looked last Sunday...we ended up with 10-12 inches. By Thursday it was all gone.Last Sunday... Today...What a difference a week makes!!

It was a full week. Here's news:

*Brennen had strep this week and missed a day and a half of school. He's feeling much better now. (Doctor visit number 1.)

*Kindrid began ballet on Tuesday morning. She had a great time and is really looking forward to the next class. She will be in a Christmas and Spring recital. It's a whole new scene to Mommy as I've never had anything to do with dance other than having some great friends and one lovely sister-in-law that were Kixters.

*I went to the doctor this week to get my prescription for Imitrex (my migraine happy pills!) renewed amongst other things (routine). :O) Please pray...when we went to pick up the Imitrex prescription, it was more than $25.oo PER PILL! We didn't get it, and Todd is going to call our new insurance company and find out if that's really the case. I'm staying calm about it for now until he talks to them. Considering I use at least 5 or more a month and the HUGE difference these little pills have made in the quality of my life, this could have a really big impact on me. I'm hoping for the best. (Doctor visit number 2.)

*I filled out A TON of forms this week. Some for Kindrid's ballet class, some for my doctor visit, some for Brennen's walk-in clinic doctor visit, some for both kids for the new family doc we'll see, some for Brennen for soccer he'll start soon, some for Brennen's school conferences next week and some for membership at our new church. Yikes!!

*On Thursday Todd's throat started to hurt. By Saturday it was bad so he went to the walk-in clinic...negative for strep so he just has to get over it, Poor Guy! (Doctor visit number 3!!)

*We are still vehicle hunting. We've tried lots of cars and today tried a mini van. I don't really want to be a Mini Van Mom (OK for others...just not my thing) but can really see the practical aspects of having one. The kids are really comfortable and the space is great. We are comfortable with great space now in the Expedition, but mileage is awful. We'll see what happens. Todd's going to do some more research on line.

*MY throat began to hurt yesterday...hmmmm...could I be headed for doctor visit number 4? Tough to tell when one family member was positive for strep and the other negative. Why is it always so hard to decide when to go in???

*Todd and I watched August Rush the other night. If you like happy endings and love music, this is a must see!!

*This little flock (covey? group? pod?) of prairie chickens visited our back yard yesterday. We've seen them here and there around the neighborhood, and it was fun to have them come see us. Bad picture as I was trying very hard not to scare them. Their visit was just one more reminder of how this country we've moved to belongs to the wild things. In the middle of town on Tuesday the kids and I saw five antelope eating bushes in someone's yard, and a doe passed in front of the car with a buck close behind her near the mall when Kindrid and I were on our way to small group Friday night.
*The kids began practice for their church Christmas Program this week. It's on the many names for Christ. It feels strange to not have a thing to do with it but making sure my own kids know their lyrics. :O) My detachment from the children's ministry here is not to last long though, I think. A pastor approached me this morning and mentioned needing a VBS Director for the coming summer and thought I'd had a little experience with that...guess he read my forms!! Busted! ;O)

*Todd joined Facebook! Check it out! We'd love to have you be our friend!! :O)

Well, that's us this week. We love you all,
Christy

Bring On Christmas...

2008-10-11T11:27:00.006-06:00

We are ready!

There is about 3 inches on the ground and more to come, they say. The kids had a blast (I think Daddy did, too!) Thanks, Uncle M. and Auntie C.!! I was nice and warm today!!

A nose by any other name...

Doll Dreamz...

2008-10-08T20:32:00.002-06:00

I dozed off on the sofa for a bit this afternoon and woke to find Kindrid on the floor (!) next to me. Keep in mind we have 3 sofas and 4 beds in our house so it's not like she was hard up! Still, it makes me think we need carpeting in the living room! :O)

She and Felicity were together all day. Kindrid cried when we left the house to walk to pick Brennen up at school (it's less than a mile one way - we've been trying to walk it as long as the weather holds out) as Felicity had to stay home!

Have a good evening!

Christy

Simply Celebrating...

2008-10-07T20:37:00.004-06:00

Hi Everyone,

We celebrated simply today. My baby girl turned 5. As a reward for stopping her nail biting and to celebrate her birthday, we both got manicures this morning. Here are our glamorous hands! :O) Since Beth S. isn't nearby :O( to make Kindrid's adorable birthday cakes as in bygone Peoria days, Kindrid decided we should have a go at making one ourselves. She picked the mix (Chocolate), the frosting (Chocolate), the sprinkles (Multi-colored flowers) and the candles (Balloons!). Here she is doing some smoothing of the frosting. Note the tongue - she always does this when concentrating...And, of course, you have to eat the evidence!! I think all those years at Jessica's turned my child into a choco-addict!!Kindrid styled her own hair to go out to a "fancy" dinner at Hometown Buffet! Five barrettes...you know...one for each year! She was thrilled with the gift Brennen got her! :O) He choose a Little Petshop pencil sharpener, the just-re released-today Sleeping Beauty DVD and a Disney Fairy book.Stylin' in the super warm, much needed, 3 in 1 coat Auntie Carrie and Uncle Matt got her... (My apologies if your gift wasn't shown...means nuthin' except I was distracted watching her open her gifts!)

I'm somewhat sorry to say, but, as it should be, Mommy and Daddy stole the show by giving Kindrid her heart's desire tonight...an American Girl Doll (are you reading, P.R.??) named Felicity. She's longed for this doll for a llllooonnngggg time but had read somewhere they were for kids "8 and up" and so resigned herself sweetly and patiently to waiting until then before she could get her. She often talks about how "when I'm 8 and can get my American Girl doll." No words I have can describe her delighted and grateful heart when she opened this gift. At one point she asked us with a frown of concern, "But, I'm only 5...I'm supposed to be 8...what if I break her??"

Felicity is already the recipient of many hugs and kisses and even now lies sleeping next to Kindrid.
Brennen lit the candles...
Kindrid blew them out.......Todd, Brennen and I ate cake while Kindrid went back to her doll. She said she was too full from supper, and could she please wait and have hers tomorrow! :O)

Thanks to all of you that called, sent cards, left messages, gave gifts, posted comments and emailed - Kindrid didn't have a big party with balloons and games and lots of friends, but she had a day full of love of family and friends and things she loves doing. I'm sure by this time next year we'll be overrun with little girl friends giggling and swatting at a Barbie pinata (oooo - I like that idea - is it my turn yet??!!) but for this year we were content to celebrate simply!

With love,

Christy

Black (and Gold) Hills...

2008-10-06T19:45:00.006-06:00

Dear All,

Well, it's been a while since my last post and I apologize to all my faithful readers struggling to get through a day not knowing what the Sandbergs are up to!! ;O)

We have had some sickness in the last week. Kindrid had some nasty fever-vomiting thing over the last weekend and early last week and I've had a bout of shingles. Not fun, but for a while I thought it was something considerably worse - most of you readers are ladies, indulge me for a moment men, - namely, breast cancer due to the location of the numbness and rash. I got pretty worried and therefore was RELIEVED to say the least that it was ONLY shingles. I'm not sure what brought it on and it wasn't much fun, but the fact that's all it was greatly lessened my discomfort!! So, now that's on the great World Wide Web for all to read....let's get on to the fun stuff...(Kindrid is better, by the way!!)...

We spent this last weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It's such a great place to visit anytime and was especially gorgeous this time of year. We went to Bear Country USA on Saturday. It's sort of a drive-through zoo where WE stay in the cage (truck) and the animals wander free. Of course, entranced as I was to see the animals, this is the only picture I took! We saw LOTS of bears, wolves, mountain goats, big horn sheep, elk, buffalo etc. but the biggest two thrills were the mountain lions (we actually saw one climbing around in a tree - gave me a whole new perspective on things-that-go-bump-when-I'm-hiking-in-the-woods) and the bear cubs. They were born in Jan. and are taken from their mothers in March. They keep them all together in a huge enclosure. Their antics wrestling, playing King Of The Tree and fighting over who got to play with the sticks drew deep belly laughs from the kids. I highly recommend this place if you should ever travel through the Black Hills.

After a drive into Rapid City and lunch at Qdoba (don't have one of these in Casper, either), we headed to The Heads - I mean Mountain Mushmore (as Kindrid persisted in calling it). What can I say about this place? If you don't get teary eyed or at least one bout of goosebumps while you are here, you are a cold American indeed. :O) I know we have our faults and disagreements and major political differences, but I'm so proud to be an American! We are incredibly blessed to live in this country that the men represented here and others like them gave so much for! In our little weekly paper that comes to our mailbox free is a list each week of the Americans that died in the line of duty. I read it every week. I never know any of them. But someone does and calls them Dad, or Daughter or Husband etc. I pray for their families with a grateful heart that these military people were willing to pay such a huge cost for the freedom of MY children. These huge sculptures bring all that and more to mind. It's an amazing place!

This is George Washington's likeness. As a side note, while we were in the Black Hills, someone gave Todd a one dollar bill in change with http://www.wheresgeorge.com/ stamped on it. I checked it out today, registered the bill and will spend it for B.'s lunch next week. As it travels, folks that are so led can register the bill and I can see where it goes from here. Kinda neat. Yep, this is what I do as a Stay At Home Mom! :O)

So, in my title I referred to the "Gold Hills" and that is how it was this weekend. We didn't plan it or ever think about it when we decided to go there, so it was an amazing surprise to see how lovely it was. The first weekend in October or last in September is definitely the time to go for peak color!! WoW!! My pictures never do it justice, but here's a small sample...

No trip to the Black Hills is complete without driving the breathtaking Needles Drive culminating in the trip through the Eye of the Needle. On our way out of the Black Hills on Sunday we drove through Custer State Park in hopes of seeing wildlife. We weren't disappointed when we ran into this wild donkey herd. Look at the cute little guy!Brennen and Kindrid were reduced to jello laughing at these guys as they poked their heads in looking for handouts. You'd think they'd at least offer to wash your windshield, the beggars. They did, however, slobber all over the doors under the windows...Kindrid and I saw those marks on the truck today! :O) I'm sure it's frowned upon, but everyone feeds them. Todd and I gave them a few chips but Brennen and Kindrid wanted nothing to do with those yellowed teeth!!

Once a year they round up all the buffalo (who does that???) at Custer for branding and selling off some to keep the herd to a size the park can support. Most of the buffalo were in the corral area in the southern part of the park so we didn't get to have them all around the truck as one usually does at Custer. Here is one big fellow by the fence...

We drove a lot of the back roads in the park and saw a few lone buffalo, lots of antelope and lots of wild turkeys - Todd turned off the truck so we could listen to them. We took a back way out of the park and ended up driving through one corner of Wind Cave National Park where there were a lot of open range buffalo about. One forgets how HUGE these creatures are until all that separates one is what moments ago seemed a solid truck door!! We escaped uncharged and unscathed and had an uneventful drive home. We did see another full rainbow on the way back. As we stumbled in so tired and having to unpack, Todd grumbled that three day weekends should be mandatory!

Oh yes, I forgot...we stayed in a cabin at this place http://www.highcountryranch.com/slideshows/Black_Hills_Cabins_campcabins/Black_Hills_Cabins_campcabinslideshow.html and loved it! They were clean, each had their own bathrooms and mini-kitchen, nice covered porch with picnic table, beautiful views, a playground so close we were comfortable letting the kids go there on their own and the Mickelson Trail winding right behind the cabins http://www.travelsd.com/thingstodo/biking.asp?utm_source=GooglePPC&utm_medium=PPC&utm_content=MickTrail&utm_campaign=BHDS2008 making us wish we had our bikes. We are excited to stay there again!! There was a dog that must have belonged to the resort and seemed to be a labradoodle. We all fell in love. Kindrid cried when we had to say good-bye to it and Todd and I almost did, too. I'd get a dog again in a heartbeat if I knew it would be so cute, well-behaved and fun.

One last thing...

Tonight ends an era (well, if you can call it that). Tomorrow Kindrid will be 5 years old. Our little kids aren't so little anymore. Five years ago tonight we were in Virginia, MN. We ate at the clubhouse at the golf course for supper, and I got my hair cut after. By around 4:30 the next morning we were parents of a sweet little redhead girl. What a blessing she has been to, I venture to modestly say with no parental pride or blindness in place, most everyone she meets. :O) Well, certainly to us. Thank you God!

Also, Robin F. got me started on Facebook today. Thanks for all of you that are now "my friends." Glad it's official so I can start saying things like, "I have 9 friends." I've no idea what I'm doing on it or how to really use it, but I will learn. Fun! Thanks, R.!!

Have a wonderful evening, morning, day, week, weekend - guess it depends on when you read!!

Love,

Christy

Have Tent, Will Travel...

2008-09-21T16:38:00.005-06:00

Hi Everyone,

We took a very spontaneous camping trip to the Big Horns Friday night. We tried out a new tent. We've been trying to decide what to do for camping for the next few years. We want something smaller with a lower profile than our Outback camper. We've looked at lots of really small trailers and some pop ups. We talked about going back to tent camping so this weekend was a kind of test. I think we came away convinced we'd still like to have some kind of trailer - perhaps a hard-side pop up or a regular tent trailer. It was EXTREMELY cold Friday night and we didn't get much sleep just worrying about the kids being warm enough (they were!).

Still, it was an amazing time to be in the mountains. We hiked some, drove some, heard elk calling, heard owls in the night, found a hidden pond and where the deer sleep by surprising them there, had a spectacular moonrise in a star-spangled sky, trout fished, roasted hot dogs and were breathless at the sight of the mountains in fall...something we've never seen.

Here is our campsite at Sitting Bull...Dad and Mom A., you'll recognize this one! :O) Drove into Tensleep for a fishing permit...Todd got us enormo cones from Dirty Sally's. The waffle cones were made fresh that day and were the best we've ever had!:

Brennen...what can I say? He is so much fun right now and has a fantastic immagination, especially when it comes to Legos and Star Wars. He thought he looked pretty funny with his chocolate 'stache! And the mountains...Wow! Wish the photos could do God's creation justice!

8 Let the rivers clap their hands,

Let the mountains sing together for joy;

9 let them sing before the LORD,

Psalm 98

After a day of playing outside on the rocks and logs, fishing, hiking, eating ice-cream and being so adorble we can't hardly stand it (she asked us on the way home if "Jesus was God's only forgotten son" and told us at one point she wasn't asleep but was "fast awake."), this is what our little angel did on the way back to camp after looking for wildlife:
Our tent worked great, but we hadn't sealed it, and thunderstorms piled up all around the campground at dusk so we decided to head home rather than risk another cold night that could get wet as well. We are still so grateful to live in a place where going home is an option! It means we can do one or two night trips like this with memories that will last forever!

Love,

Christy

It's a ____________...

2008-09-17T20:24:00.002-06:00

Hi All,

Just a quick note to tell you that, after several failed attempts to find out due to modesty on the baby's part, my sister and brother in law, Carleen and Jeff, today found out that I am going to be the

Aunt of a Niece!!!

Hooray!
:O) Auntie Christy

Read the post below this one first...

2008-09-12T13:47:00.004-06:00

Well, I went back to watch him some more but trouble was brewing...a squirrel (the first I've ever seen in our neighborhood - we have oodles of bunnies, though) of questionable sanity decided to attempt a raid on the hawk's dinner table! You can imagine the hawk's reaction to that! And, more trouble for what had been a peaceful dinner for the hawk, while he was defending his hard earned lunch from the squirrel, along comes another, slightly smaller hawk to try to take advantage of First Hawk's distraction with Mr. Squirrel and get himself a little free lunch! First Hawk successfully defended his dinner, but apparently has now abandoned the remains. (Waiter, can we get this table bussed, please!!) The two hawks, First Squirrel and yet another squirrel continue to keep a wary eye on one another with lots of posturing and action. Kindrid and I are enthralled! :O)

Theses next few were taken from the back garage door on the main level looking out to the deck.

I think Mr. Squirrel had an early Happy Hour today...what else could make him so stupid??? :O)

OK...unless there's some more major action, I'll leave it at this! Hope you have a great weekend!!

Christy

PS Here is Kindrid's picture of the hawk. Don't know why it came out sideways but you get the idea. :O)

The Circle of Life...

2008-09-12T13:12:00.005-06:00

I know, I know...two posts in one day! But, I couldn't resist sharing what happened here a few moments ago. I came into the kitchen and noticed outside the patio door there were feathers floating down from somewhere up above. Crouching down and trying to see above the lathe stuff that shades part of our deck I could see this big guy enjoying a lunch of what appears to have been a morning dove (don't feel too sad for the morning dove, Mom S...there are dozens and dozens of them here). I snapped these shots from a window in our bedroom upstairs. Kindrid and I enjoyed watching him literally tear into his lunch with cautious gusto. Though I know he heard and likely saw us, he apparently decided we were worth the chance to finish his main entree! :O)

What a cool Close Encounter we had with nature today!

:O) Christy

PS Likely this kind http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_Hawk although I can't tell for sure...he's still sitting out there contemplating the dessert menu...perhaps I shall go and ask him!!

Rash action...

2008-09-12T09:13:00.002-06:00

Hi...
Brennen came home from AWANA on Wednesday evening with an all-over, itchy body rash. We think it's hives due to an allergic reaction as it responds to Benadryl. However, we have no idea what it was that caused the reaction. He's had no fever and feels fine except when the Benadryl wears off and he gets swollen and itchy. He missed school yesterday but woke up clear this morning so I sent him off to school. Hope that is the last we see of it, poor guy!!!

In other news...

The kids had a great time at AWANA. It's nice for them to have something familiar that transferred from what they knew in Peoria to here. Want to know what AWANA is? Follow this: http://www.awana.org/

We had a good visit with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Theresa. They came Tuesday evening and left early yesterday morning. We visited Lou Taubert's, or what the kids call, "The Cowboy Store." http://loutaubert.com/ Come visit...we'll take you there! We feel pretty blessed that we've already had four sets of house guests come visit us in the very short time we've lived here.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Christy

Go Vikings!...

2008-09-08T19:55:00.002-06:00

Taken Saturday... I was informed they weren't actually Vikings but some sort of Indiana Jones duo. Kindrid, with her pink, fuzzy slippers is especially terrifying, huh? And Brennen's whip is actually a floral, silk-textured belt that came with some pants of mine. Still, they are pretty tough...hope the team their shirts depict are this year, too! Life is always much better at the Sandberg House when the Vikings have a good year! :O)

BTW...save your breath, J.O. from Peoria...if the word "bears" appears in any comment without reference to actual wild animals, we automatically delete it without reading it. :OP

Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!
Love,
Christy

Diving into Denver...

2008-09-05T15:43:00.005-06:00

Hi Y'all,

After our building tour, we headed over to the aquarium. http://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumdenver/flash_content/index.html
It was very nice and the kids really enjoyed it. Here they are panning for: gems on Kindrid's part and minerals on Brennen's. They each got about 8 stones and a chart to identify them. They thought this was pretty cool!

Apparently if you work at the aquarium, you DO do windows!! This gentleman has the privilege of cleaning the fishies' side! All the better for them to see the people, I guess. :O)
The kids took these next few pictures...

After the aquarium we headed back to the apartment to exercise the doggies, Bodie and Macy (sorry, Girl, if I spelled your name wrong). Brennen had a blast using the thrower to toss out tennis balls for Bodie. The "get a puppy" itch grew stronger. :O) After we'd rested some, we headed over to a gorgeous "retail resort," as this beautiful mall is termed, to put our name on the list at Cheesecake Factory - Todd's choice for his birthday supper. While we waited - and waited - and waited, we shopped a bit. Carrie took us over to a little pet store. Can't say the puppy itch subsided at all after that! :O) We had a fantastic supper, opened birthday gifts and rolled home full and tired!
http://denver.citysearch.com/profile/1816543/littleton_co/park_meadows_shopping_center.html

Sunday we went out for breakfast, hit REI for some winter coat shopping, played for hours at the apartment pool and then headed into the mountains for a pizza dinner at Beau Jo's in breathtaking Idaho Springs. If you are going to Colorado...EAT HERE!! Excellent pizza, cool old building, lovely views. http://www.beaujos.com/ The kids got some more pretty polished rocks at a tourist shop there and later amazed me by identifying them with the charts they got at the aquarium. My kids are so smart...must get that from Daddy!! :O) Oh yes, on the way up the mountain we saw a full, gorgeous rainbow. It was amazing!! Of course, I didn't get a picture, but we all agreed it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of rainbow!

Not sure why Todd took this one of Kindrid, but here it is for your viewing pleasure! :O)Alas! We had to say good-bye on Sunday after a great breakfast at The Egg and I. Wyoming was not to be outdone by Colorado and shared another amazing rainbow with us for a good share of the drive north of Cheyenne. Wow! Two rainbows in two days. No flood worries for us here Out West!

Some observations and snippets...

...Denver was emptied of its DNC crowds by the time we got there on Friday, but signs of it were everywhere. Much graffiti had been cleaned up, a mural of Mr. Obama graced the side of a building downtown and huge "welcome DNC" signs hung on the walls of big hotels. It was strange driving past the quiet stadium Friday night after watching the Big Show from our family room Thursday night.

...Kindrid is into asking me questions these days that have no easy answer. Things like, "Is today yesterday, Mom?" have me pausing to try to think out a rational reply.

...School is going great. Brennen is rapidly catching on to the totally different phonics program and has really changed over his handwriting with an almost unbelievable speed. Despite his protests, I think he actually likes school. Ft. Caspar Academy encourages parent involvement. Today Kindrid and I told him at breakfast we intended to get McDonald's and bring it to eat with him at his lunch time, thinking, of course, he'd be pleased. Instead, he replied, "but then I won't get to eat with my friends." It Begins. :O(

...Todd got rear ended in the Corolla last week. He is fine and was not at all at fault. We have a nice check to get it repaired but haven't decided if we are going to do that or not. Since we've been looking at changing up, this may actually be a blessing in disguise.

...now that the Olympics are done and both DNC and RNC are over, whatever shall we watch on TV?? Anyone know when LOST starts???

...Word has it that it snowed on the south side of Casper Mountain last night. Don't know if that is true or not, but the point is that it COULD have since it was cold enough and we had precip. Cool!

...Kindrid and I attended a play group on Thursday. I got to meet some other moms, many of who attend the church we've been going to. Kindrid had so much fun playing with other little kids...she really hasn't got to do that very much since we moved.

...We re-enrolled both kids in AWANA at the church we've been attending. It kicked off with a carnival on Wednesday and begins in earnest next Wednesday.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading and for the comments you leave. They encourage me to keep this up! :O)

Love,

Christy

Up High in the Mile High City...

2008-09-02T19:35:00.008-06:00

Hello Everyone,

Our Labor Day weekend adventures were too numerous to include in just one post so I thought I would split it up. Our trip down to Denver was fine - we stopped and ate at Famous Dave's which the kids loved. Well, so did the grown ups! I know the couple will never read my blog, but I want to acknowledge this super nice lady who, by giving us their table in the not-very-bar-like-bar prevented us from having to wait 45 minutes for a regular table. Wasn't that nice? They had kids and she said someone had done it for them when they were waiting. Love that whole "pay it forward" thing! Anyhow, we got to Matt and Carrie's pretty late and enjoyed a visit before bed.

Saturday morning, our lovely hosts made us pancakes and bacon as is our Saturday morning tradition. :O) Yummy, Carrie!!

Carrie and Matt are both in property management and have a friend who manages one of the BIG downtown buildings. We were so thrilled that she was willing to give us a tour. Here we are in a corner office on something like the 27th floor. This is looking west, and, though hard to see, the mountains loom on the far horizon. The kids loved this area as the entire floor is currently unoccupied. We visited all four corner offices - closest I will ever get! Then, she took us through the mechanical floor...think huge, noisy, mysterious!!! Then we stepped through a door to walk around a parapet that wraps the entire building. Staci was so gracious to give us her time, and we have some pretty cool memories for which to thank her!!

Kindrid, mountains, breathtaking view!! Yeah, yeah, yeah...Uncle Matt's pix will sure to be better than mine. That is, if he can get the camera to work. :O) Remember what I said? Think Big, Noisy, Mysterious here!And so, on to the Parapet...
Please don't do it, Honey....41 is going to be a great year!! (BTW - this day was Todd's birthday! Isn't this tour a cool way to celebrate??)

Even up here there is wildlife, and Brennen found proof!!
After our eyes drank their fill of the views, we went down so we could see the view from the bottom. The building we toured is the US Bank building. You can make out the sign at the top...the parapet is just below it.
My beautiful sister in law... ...and her friend, Staci, our lovely and generous tour guide! Told you I would make you famous, Staci!! :O)
Now of course, I always have to hone in on something educational! And, there are links in man's creations and God's. I found these stalactites[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalactite ]growing in the parking garage under the building. How cool is that?! Staci thinks they are ugly and is arranging to have them removed, but I think they are amazing. It's from salt coming from the parking floor above, she said. Wow! Love it! Who knows? Maybe Carlsbad is just an ancient parking garage!!! :O)

And with that profound thought, I bid you good night! I will post more about our trip soon!

Love,

Christy

Middle of Nowhere...

2008-08-25T06:57:00.009-06:00

Hello....Happy Monday!!

One week of school done, and all is well. Brennen did great last week! He has already more or less switched his printing from the D'Nealian he was taught in Peoria to the more traditional printing this school uses. This is huge as it was one of his greatest fears about attending a new school. He played each day with the other "Brennan" and a few other boys so he feels like he is making friends. He does mourn the loss of his days of play time, but that would be at any school! The school seems very strong academically, very organized. I think it's going to be a good fit for him.

Friday and Saturday morning we spent doing things around the house. Saturday right after lunch we left for Buffalo, a city on the eastern side of the Bighorn Mountains to the north of Casper. We dropped our stuff at a hotel and headed up the mountain to see what we could see. Brennen had fun using a sling shot to plop rocks into Meadowlark Lake and we stopped to visit with lots of cows. No deer, elk or moose to be seen however. On our way back down to Buffalo, Kindrid was sick to her tummy. She seemed totally fine after that, and she wasn't too happy with us that we made her lay low for a while. Later in the evening the kids swam and we had pizza in our room while we watched the Olympics. We all slept great!

Sunday morning we had breakfast and swam some more until check out time. I'd been studying the map and found some back roads that would lead us from the southern part of the Big Horns through some country we haven't seen before and, eventually, down to Casper. We stopped first to explore Middle Fork campground which my bro and sis-in-law said was an awesome place. They were so right! We played by the water for a long time and climbed on the hill for a little bit until we saw this fellow watching us from the top! It was a magical place with sounds of bubbling water, cool, shady places beneath the pines, and stones and logs in and across the stream just perfect for climbing around. We definitely want to camp there some time soon! Thanks, Nic and Heather!

Now, the route I choose for us to get home was, as Kindrid says, through the Middle of Nowhere. Really. It was good that it was dry as it would have been impassable in parts if it had been wet. It was rocky, bumpy, up and down, dusty, muddy and a GREAT drive! I loved it. Brennen complained that his Lego creations kept breaking due to the huge bumps. We did this for hours - a lot of concentration for Todd. We had lunch on the top of the world with views to the west of mountains across a basin, to the east of rolling, pine-covered hills and snow capped mountains to the north. Brennen built a cairn to remind us of this place.

We drove and drove, seldom seeing anyone. Here and there were sheep wagons (follow this link if you don't know what a sheep wagon is...sort of an early RV used by, you guessed it, sheep herders when in remote places), http://www.wyomingsheepwagon.com/gallery/sale.htm a few cabins, RV's seemingly used by the ranchers that lease grazing rights to tracts of this public owned land. We saw just a handful of other vehicles and none the further south we went. Late in the afternoon we did see a truck parked off to the side of the road with no one around. We commented aloud, wondering where its owner was as there was no one in sight. Three miles later we came to a major junction and paused to consult the map to make sure we took the correct fork. We decided on the fork to the right and got a block or so down it when we saw a man and woman walking. Remember what I said Kindrid calls this area? Well, to see folks just ambling along with no packs, no vehicle, like it's a Sunday stroll is very odd indeed. We stopped to ask them if all was OK. The man in his hat calmly said, "Nope, it's not." They were the owners of the truck we'd passed miles back They had taken their 4-wheeler out to check on fences and their cattle. The 4-wheeler died and they'd been walking for an hour and a half seeing no one and with only a bottle and a half of water between them. It was beginning to get late in the day, and they were glad to see us!! Todd left me with the lady (wish you could have seen us sitting by the side of the road in the M. of N. in camp chairs chatting away like old friends) while he took the man back to his truck.

When they came back, we followed them back all the way they'd walked so Todd could help the man load the ATV. We felt like we had backstage passes getting to go through gates and on the OTHER side of the fences!! Turns out the man really didn't need much help as he had (DAD, are you paying attention??) a COME ALONG!! This device is one of the world's greatest inventions allowing one person to move huge weights with a sort of ratchet/winching motion. http://cvfsupplyco-store.stores.yahoo.net/hanpowpulcom.html It's long been one of my dad's favorite tools, and he's used it along with patience to move some pretty amazingly heavy things all by himself. (Of course I put a link to it...once a teacher, always a teacher!!)

Soon the ATV was loaded and we were all on our way once again. We hope to meet up with Sonny and Marlene Hoburka some time again. They were jolly and fun and friendly and chalked this up as just one more adventure in their world of ranching. It was an adventure for us too. Nice people, beautiful country, a hand lent, memories made!!

Oh yes, and rush hour traffic on the range...

After this small hiccup, we still had hours of going left before we finally hit a "real" road and got back to Casper far later than we'd planned. It was a day full of images of beauty and remoteness. We know yet another part of this incredible state we now call home.

We stopped at a campground for a quick picnic supper...the kids climbed the rocks...

Have a great week!

Christy

Back to school...

2008-08-19T10:00:00.004-06:00

Dear Everyone,

Our guests left last week on Wednesday. The house seemed very empty and lonely for days after they were gone. :O( They made it back home safely...thanks for coming, Fiedlers!!

We went to the state fair last week in Douglas which, I'm sorry to say, was a really big disappointment compared to our high expectations of state fairs. We did enjoy looking at lots of cows, pigs and sheep and this fair had a WHOLE room full of hay bales that were judged, not just a few bales like the fair in Casper. We had good food and the kids got to ride lots of rides. However, we will probably pass on this fair in years to come and focus our fair energies on the Casper fair.

Speaking of fairs...it's been a roller coaster ride for the Sandberg family for the past few months, but I think we are finally to a quieter, more routine time once again. With Todd being in Casper for six weeks before us, packing, selling the house, moving out here to the camper, buying a house, unpacking and having house guests life has been pretty nuts. But yesterday something happened to slow it all down and force us back into a more "normal" lifestyle...school started for Brennen. My "little" boy is in second grade!!
It was crazy at the school yesterday morning! Todd was able to come with us, and we all parked a couple blocks away to bring Brennen and all his supplies in. The parents were welcome to stay for the first half hour. It was good to get to see the other kids in his class and meet his teacher briefly. Some thoughts from Brennen and Me:
1. Dress code requires shirts to be tucked in and belts to be worn if there are belt loops present. This was a struggle for Brennen - we have to fight with him just to get him to wear a shirt with a collar. He really doesn't like stuff being "itchy." (Bad)
2. Unlike his previous school, he is allowed to wear camouflage here (note what he picked to wear for the first day). (Good)
3. Two seats away, there is another child with the same name only with an "a," B-r-e-n-n-a-n (Good)
4. He played with the other Brennan at recess and was happy to have made a friend. (Good)
5. There was no opening prayer or scriptures posted anywhere (obviously not since it's a public school, but a big change for all of us and kind of hard). (Bad)
6. His teacher was super organized which works great with Brennen's personality. (Good)
7. The new facility is top notch and gorgeous. How fun to be the first kids to get to use the gym, library, playground, cubbies etc.! (Good)
8. Kindrid's days just got a lot longer with no Big Brother to play with. (Bad)
9. Mommy's days just got a lot longer in some ways and shorter in others. (Good and Bad!)

Letting go is a major theme of parenting that starts for mommies the day the baby is born. Suffice to say I'm not getting any better about it! :O(

BTW...Kindrid is on a waiting list for pre-k where I'm really hoping she gets a place.

Todd's in Albuquerque for today and tomorrow so I'm hoping to get a few projects done. We've had quite a few things go wrong with the house since we've moved in. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about it because I adore this house, but it really has been a lot of things. The latest involved a plumber, a part of a closet ceiling being removed and yet another repair bill. (This was the plumber's third visit - we've also had visits from the window repair guy - he'll need to return to fix few more - and from the evaportive cooler guy). Dad, when are you moving to Casper??? :O) Anyhow, now the closet really ought to be painted so I hope to do that and the garage remains an absolute disaster that I need to attack.

During the final days of the Fiedlers' visit, we visited the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center here in Casper. What a cool museum! When you come visit, we'll take you there!
http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/NHTIC.html
I got caught up on my friend's blog, "Chez Wilkes," earlier this morning and nothing I post can possibly compare with the history and adventures she and her family are enjoying in Europe, but I am content that we live in a pretty cool place in the good ole USA right now. There is much to see and do here, and we love house guests...hint hint to all you potential visitors! :O)

To my friends J. and J. who nag, nag, nag...thanks for reading!! Glad I keep you hanging from time to time. Really, though, now that we've been here a while, there just isn't as much to report. I refrain from posting as often as I did before more out of a desire to not bore you than from laziness. :O)

Hope all is well in Peoria, Fort Smith, Minnesota and beyond!!

Love,
Christy

Wild, Wild West...

2008-08-09T21:20:00.004-06:00

Hello Fam and Friends,

Wow! Didja watch the Opening Ceremonies last night? It just blew our socks off! Kindrid, Collin, Brennen, Andrew, Todd, Robin and I gathered around Todd's Big Ole TV last night to watch with great interest what the Chinese would come up with. If you saw it, I'm sure you felt, as we did, that nothing quite like it has ever been seen before. What a great time to celebrate our cultures and the unity that sports brings among widely diverse peoples. Those of you that know me know I'm definitely not a sports kinda girl, but I do like this time every couple of years when it brings together so many different people and provides the media an opportunity to do some positive reporting. From brushing up on rusty geography to learning about the struggles so many of the athletes face, the Olympics are a chance for the world to become a little smaller. I think I am more fascinated by the "human interest" pieces they do than by the incredible physical feats the athletes exhibit! More than politics and the interests of nations as a whole, I think the experience is about individuals with dreams - isn't that realization much more likely to draw us together than drive us apart? Anyhow, that's my two cents! I know not everyone agrees, but it's my blog so there! :O)

We've had a good week here with the Fiedlers. Mike made it safely back to Peoria early in the week, and Robin is picking him up tomorrow in Ft. Collins - they'll spend the night there and explore Rocky Mountain National Park on their way back. I'm jealous! They might find me hiding away in their suitcase!! Not that one would see much from a suitcase! I digress...

Yesterday we visited the Paleontological museum in Glenrock. http://www.paleon.org/about_us.htm

If you plan to come visit us, you can be sure I will be dragging you there! We had a personal tour from a paleontology student and, although the museum is small, we saw some totally rockin' stuff! WAY old bones, the lab where they are cleaned, and we even got to take home some bits of dinosaur bones to keep. The kids loved it. So did the grown ups!

Today Robin and I got to do some shopping - big hug to Todd who watched all four kids. We bought them hats at the dollar store:

Kindrid, in true Diva Form, considers a purple princess dress, turquoise water shoes and a cowgirl hat totally hip. (Her mommy considers words like "hip" totally fine to use despite it being the new century and all) :O) Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Love,

Christy

The Red Road...

2008-08-05T10:05:00.004-06:00

Hi,

We had a full weekend of exploring with the Fiedlers. We visited Garden Falls:

Had a picnic where the kids had a blast playing on the rocks:

And so did Robin and I:
It was my birthday on Saturday and I wanted to go down this rutted, red track we'd seen before south of Casper Mountain. Todd can't refuse me on my birthday so we did a little of what Andrew called "off-roading." It was his first time doing a little 4-wheeling and he loved it! On the way back, we saw this Big Fella who obviously wanted to cross but wouldn't due to the cattle guard. It's a good thing he couldn't as Mike marched right up to him to get this shot. He (the Big Fella, not Mike) very theatrically pawed the dirt (probably more in an effort to rid himself of several hundred flies than to scare Mike but the effect was pretty awe-inspiring to those of the wiser of us observing from the safety of the Big Blue Truck).On Sunday we headed to the natural bridge for a day of picnicking and playing in the water. Andrew floated around the entire bend many times (that's him in the blue tube), and the kids really had fun splashing around.We ended the day with a fantastic meal at Sanford's Grub and Pub where Mike found yet another Big Fella to photograph. See the kids on his feet?

Mike made it safely back to Peoria and will re-join us early next week.

Have a great Tuesday!

Christy

Waiting...

2008-08-01T22:12:00.005-06:00

and waiting...
...and waiting... ...and waiting...
Finally around 4:45 our friends from Illinois, the Fiedlers, arrived! Brennen was so happy to see his friend, Andrew ('course I don't have a picture of their reunion)!

Here is Robin after two days in the car with her kids!

Here is poor Mike, having to whip up his own steak sauce from scratch since I completely forgot we'd given all our fridge stuff away before we moved and staples like A1 and Heinze 57 don't just magically appear without restocking! :O)

It's wonderful to have "old" friends here and share food and conversation with them. We had a great time visiting over dinner on the deck. Andrew isn't feeling too great tonight - tummy problems - but we're hoping he is much better tomorrow. Lots of adventures await us at the beginning of this visit - it's so fun to share this with our friends!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Christy

Feels more like home...

2008-07-27T20:39:00.003-06:00

Hi,

I don't have much to report...we're kind of in the calm between the "storms" of our summer visitors. We had so much fun with Auntie Carleen and Uncle Jeff. We got to share with them some favorite spots and explore some new ones. Our new home already has happy memories of their visit! We are very much looking forward to the Fiedlers coming to stay at the end of this week.

I've been thinking so much about Richwoods (our IL church) and their dedication service this morning in their new building. I pray it went great and parking was a HUGE problem - a good problem to have!! http://www.richwoods.org/

I'm planning to enroll Brennen in a public school this week - it's a unique charter school with a brand new building a few blocks from our house. http://www.fortcasparacademy.com/ The photo on their homepage shows their old building. After a long visit with their principal, I think this is a good choice for us...my fine print always has to read, "time will tell!"

Kindrid came and woke me in the middle of the night a week or so ago to tell me she couldn't sleep "with the crickets on" and wondering if I could turn them off. :O) I closed her window a bit and she immediately went back to sleep.

We visited an Evangelical Free church for the third time today. I think another visit or two will find us seeking info on membership. It's a growing church with a contemporary service. We feel pretty at home there, and folks have been really friendly.

Todd surprised me on Friday with A NEW LAPTOP!! He knows how much I've missed "mine" from work, and I'm sure he is tired of me borrowing his! I'm so excited as it's little and just the kind I like.

Have I ever shared that my in-laws are hoping to move to Casper when their house sells? It's for sale in Brainerd, MN if anyone knows anyone looking! :O) We'd love to have them here - Kindrid sweetly prays for it to sell often. Here's the link: http://www.positiverealty.com/listings/detail.php?lid=24425800&limit=0&offset=0&&&posc=7&post=16&cfq=searchtype%3D1%26radarea%3D0%26startnewsearch%3D1%26searchtypesent%3D1%26property_category%3D1%26searchtype%3D1%26state%3D27%26state%3D27%26county%3D35%26city%255B%255D%3DBrainerd%26pricemin%3D155000%26pricemax%3D160000%26resident%3D1%26yb_l%3D0000%26yb_h%3D2008%26restype%3D1%26vtycount%3D2%26limit%3D10%26sort%3D1%26b.x%3D17%26b.y%3D11%26SRSearchDate%3D1217214704%26SRRecordCount%3D16%26SRPage%3D1%26SRPageCount%3D2%26SRPageLinks%3D6

Wow! Now that's a link!! I suppose there is some neat way to shorten it and give it a cute name but copying/pasting is the limit of my technical abilities. :O) Anyhow, buy it and let Grandma Mary and Pa Ben come live near us!! :O)

Brennen is currently reading his ninth Hardy Boys book of the summer - I think those and the Indiana Jones Legos Playstation game will define the summer of his 7th year when he looks back on this time of his life! He's so excited to have his friend, Andrew, come visit!!

So, that's news from here. Hope all is well with you all! Thanks for taking the time to read!!
Christy

Ayres Natural Bridge...

2008-07-23T17:53:00.002-06:00

Hello!

Todd took off for a meeting in Albuquerque today and Carleen, Jeff, the kids and I headed east about 40 miles to check out the Ayres Natural Bridge park. Cool place!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayres_Natural_Bridge

The kids had fun wading in the very cold water - the river was full due to overnight storms last night. Some pix:

Hope all is well!

Christy

Family, Fun and Flight...

2008-07-21T10:49:00.005-06:00

Hi!

We met with Carleen and Jeff in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon and headed up through Sheridan to the Big Horns. Almost to the top, we ran into this guy of questionable sanity! Todd was enthralled and we stayed at least an hour to watch the gentleman set up and take off. Crazy! :O)

We had a great time seeing moose, driving around, picnicking, visiting etc. It was fun to show them the house when we got back to Casper last night. Here are a few more pix - have a great week!

Christy

Back in the saddle again...

2008-07-17T13:26:00.007-06:00

Wow! Long time, no post! Thought it was about time to catch you up. Going to take it randomly like it comes at us!! Here goes...

...our last morning in the camper (two weeks ago) I awoke to a mouse attempting to dine on the remains of the angel food cake we'd served the previous evening at the dinner we did for our campground hosts. He woke me because he was having a bit of difficulty obtaining his breakfast due to its tough plastic container. Not that he wasn't trying his best. He's had his way in the empty trailer for a couple weeks but his days are now numbered due to a recent trap purchase! Glad he came BEFORE I cleaned it thoroughly after our prolonged stay.

...our stuff all arrived more or less safe and sound on the big truck a week and a half ago. Three very diligent and tireless men hauled it all in. An old friend, Tim Bailey, once commented on how one never knows how much stuff one has until one goes to move it all - this while helping us move from apartment to house in Fort Smith. It's true! It's hard for me to believe that we need all this junk but it all fits and I've gotten rid of a lot of it during this move. I still have another huge pile by the front door and in the garage to take to Salvation Army tomorrow. Crazy!!

...we went to the county fair last week which was a quite usual fair affair with the exception of two things. One, there was hay bale judging. Two, cowboy boots with shorts were OK attire. :O) Oh yes, and the folks directing traffic in the parking area were on horseback!

...we had a snake visit our deck Tuesday evening. No rattles on it's tail, thankfully. My guess after some brief Internet searching was that is was a bull snake (gopher snake). I don't mind snakes so much and will hold/pet them when they are handed to me, but they are most definitely not welcome on my deck! Hope he was just passin' through!

...Todd had late meetings last night so I told the kids they could pick out their supper at Wal-Mart when we were there. They love Lunchables and only get them as special treats so that is where they headed. While walking in I asked them what kinds they were going to get and Brennen said, "I don't know, my tummy will decide for me when we get there."

...A week or so ago I was pouring my morning coffee when I heard what sounded like a small explosion and Niagara Falls all at once in the basement. The water softener blew up. Well, not exactly blew up but it was A LOT of water blowing out the top where a pipe broke. It couldn't have been going for more than half a minute before I found the shut-offs but A LOT of water can come out in a half minute! SO GLAD it was when I was home!! REALLY BUMMED that it was SO SOON after we moved in. We've also had a leak under both the kitchen sink and basement bathroom sink. The plumber fixed one and told us what to do for the others. Ah! Home ownership! :O)

...Other than those observations, my life has been very full of unpacking and organizing. I'm almost there! It's a good thing since my sis and bro-in-law are coming for a visit this weekend. I'm excited to get to show the house to someone! :O) Here are some before/after pix so you can see my progress. We ended up painting both kids' rooms. After Kindrid realized we were going to do B.'s room, she decided hers should be pink, not orange, after all! All in all, I'm so pleased with how our stuff fits in this house, and I'm still so very happy to get to live here! The children are enjoying having their own rooms again and becoming reacquainted with their toys. We're slowly settling down into a routine and are quickly feeling at home. We've eaten on the deck several times and can't believe what a mini-paradise that feels like. The nights are so cool and humidity-free here. What a blessing!

Living room before our stuff:

Living room with our stuff:

Brennen's room before:

Brennen's room after: (I still would like to find some orange/blue curtains for him.)

Kindrid's room before:

Kindrid's room after:

I would show you more rooms but they are all still in various states of being unpacked and wouldn't look all that great! :O)

I would like to send out congrats to the Kurtz fam on their new grandson! Hooray for babies!! And, a "Way To Go!" to my friend J.O. after her surgery - you are a hero!!

Love to all my fam and friends!

Christy

Raindrops on Roses...

2008-07-03T07:41:00.003-06:00

Hi All,

It's been a busy couple of days at the new house. I've been cleaning and prepping the kids' rooms for painting. I love getting to know a house and making it our own. These are some of "my favorite things" about it:

His and her closets in the master!

This darling row of built-in flower pots along the deck! Having a laundry sink again!
This large counter for folding laundry and SCRAPPING!
This tile detail above the kitchen stove!

The kitchen planning center!
The built in wine rack and all the wonderful kitchen cabinets!
The island dining counter in the kitchen - I can already see this is going to be the center of our home! (Note Brennen's Hardy Boys book and my book - he's taking after my questionable habit of reading while eating his lunch.)
The character the dormers lend to the upstairs bedrooms!
You can see it's kind of a mess and will be even more so once our stuff gets here but it's a happy mess and there's method to our madness. :O)

Some random things:

1. Sam's Club carries ground buffalo meat here. :O)

2. Kindrid saw a fly the other day in the camper and asked if she could get the "fly swapper."

3. The poor waitress at the restaurant we went to on Tuesday night dumped a huge glass of ice-water all over me....now I know how the coaches feel when the Gatorade comes over them!

4. Kindrid was wondering something the other day about when a "bride marries the broom."

5. We are making dinner tonight for the folks that run our RV park. There are two couples that do it and they are really fun. One of the men is going to grill steaks Todd bought on the big grill they use for the Buffalo Grill for the weekends meals they do and we will have our meal there. Brennen is really impressed that "just us" get to eat in the little restaurant with "no one else there."

6. God Bless America! Happy Independence Day to you all!

Love,

Christy

There's No Place Like Home...

2008-07-01T09:12:00.002-06:00

I should have posted yesterday but the day just got away from me. I'll post a short one now and a longer one later...

Yep! We are now home-owners again! The closing went very smoothly and we enjoyed visiting with the former owners. The kids and I spent the afternoon at the new house and, later when Todd was done working, we hauled several loads over to the house from our storage unit here.

I'll be there most of today cleaning and putting away the stuff we hauled over last night. The bulk of our belongings comes Saturday. That is when we will begin to "live" at the house.

Fun stuff!
Christy
PS Can I just say one more time how much I like this house!! :O) Thank you, God!

Quieter Week...

2008-06-27T18:32:00.002-06:00

Hi Folks,

I don't have much to report for our time this week and, sadly, no pix or fun links so you are stuck with the following:

We did get the truck back after having a new transmission put in it. Todd's following up with the people that put one in a year ago in Peoria. It's a bummer about how much it cost, but at least we have it back again so the kids and I have a vehicle again. :O) The feeling of freedom a car brings is renewed!

I checked out two private schools this week. We're going to have to weigh pros and cons to make a decision. Please pray we have clear leading on the wisest choice for both children. Either school has pre-k for Kindrid 3 days a week for at least 3 hours...whatever will I do with no children at home?? Hmmm.....laundry? Nooo! Scrub floors? Uh-uh! Dishes? No way! Guess that just leaves....SCRAP!!! :O)

We joined Daddy at work today for the every-other-Friday free cookout they do for patients/employees and families. It's my third time to visit his hospital and I just can't believe how lovely it is! Todd may be staying the night at the hospital tonight to help with a challenge that came up. The buck stops at him! That's ma' man!

One final thing...our time and the weather and the right balance of chemicals/temp all came together this week for the kids and me to spend a significant chunk of time at the RV park pool. It's amazing to see their confidence in the water just take off when we have repeated exposure like this.

We close onthe house Monday, carpets cleaned on Wednesday and our stuff comes from IL on Saturday. One week from tomorrow we'll be sleeping in our own beds again! Woohooo!!

Blessings for a wonderful weekend!
Christy

It's A Small World After All...

2008-06-23T20:23:00.002-06:00

...no, we're not talking Disney here! :O)

If anyone saw Jessica's comment on the last blog, you might be wondering and I thought it worth explaining. Jessica called on Friday to tell me that she was bringing dinner to someone from her mom's group that had just had a baby. She and this lady are friends and have been for a while through the mom's group. Jessica knew the couple had just moved right before Baby was born but she didn't know where. Sure enough, when she got directions she quickly realized it was to 318 West Northridge Lane - our "old" house in Peoria! Keep in mind Jessica and her family stayed with us for over two weeks just a few months ago before their baby was born when they were between houses. So, tonight Jessica took a meal to a house that was once her house for a while.

Isn't that bizarre? :O) She says the folks are happy in their new home for which I am glad - we loved that home and are happy they do too.

TTFN!
Christy
PS Jessica, if I got the finer details wrong a little I apologize! :O)

Big Time in the Big Horns...

2008-06-22T19:20:00.006-06:00

Hi All,

We're "home" safe and sound. Had a great trip! The cabin was really rustic but we really weren't there all that much. Yesterday was just your perfect day with the kids in the mountains. We made breakfast on the cabin porch, drove some, picnicked, hiked a little, built a "fort," saw tons of wildlife and just had an awesome time.

Todd made us bacon and pancakes on the griddle. NOTHING is better than the smell of cooking bacon mixed with the mountain smells of pine and woodsmoke! For lack of chairs, the kids made use of the cooler. :O)

We drove around for a while before finding our dream picnic spot. There was a little stream running to the right and a great view! A nice fire pit had already been dug and lined with rocks. In addition to traditional campgrounds, you can camp pretty much anywhere in the Big Horns. There are a lot of well developed "unofficial" campsites that are gorgeous. This one also included a lot of down, dry wood and dry cow pies. (Lots of "open range" country here.) For you Big Horn buffs, this site is a little north and east of the visitor center near Burgess Junction. Random thing of the day: Just down the hill on the other side of another little stream was a sporadic line of runners. They were doing the final leg of a ONE HUNDRED MILE race they'd started the day before. http://bighorntrailrun.com/

We had a fire, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and the kids had a blast at the stream. Brennen was so proud of himself when he figured out how to cross the stream on this fallen pine. He and Kindrid insisted on using the stream to wash hands - especially nice after the marshmallows! They also ran back and forth filling water bottles and pop cans with water to put the fire out when we were ready to leave. On the way out of the area where we ate, Kindrid took a little rest. We stopped to watch some mule deer a long ways off across some fields right near a ranger station when, before we knew it, Brennen was out of the car with his "spear" and running across the fields toward the deer. Before we left on the trip, we had had this conversation:
Me after being on the phone with Todd at work talking about going out of town: "We should have an adventure this weekend, don't you think? Do you wanna see a moose?" Brennen says with his earnest little face, "Do we get to go hunting?"
He kept talking about hunting something or trapping things the whole time we'd been there so we let him go ahead and run knowing the deer wouldn't hang around to find out what he was all about. Or so we thought. When he got about 150 feet from the closest one, the deer took a few steps toward Brennen. Hmmm. Maybe these deer are not as shy as we think. Oh dear, or "oh deer." :O) Todd took off in the car after Brennen hollering for him to stop. The deer starts running and so does Brennen right after it brandishing the stick. He runs a losing race with his whole heart and finally stops, panting and watching deer butt disappear over the hill. He turns back toward us too far away for us to see if he's upset. Todd grabs the binoculars and says after a bit, "He's not upset but he is tired!"

Shortly after that we saw this big fellow having a rest in the grass:
He was so tired that he tried just eating from where he lay. When he could no longer reach anything edible from that position, he decided to stand. :O)
He was just one of many, many moose we saw!

A bit later we stopped to let the kids play with their balls in a meadow along the tree line. Lots of downed wood here and some wood-cutting too. Brennen and Daddy made a "fort." It turned into quite the production and we even went back to see it today and added a little more. We will remember where it is and go back someday to, "see if anyone is living there, Mommy." Again, with the earnest little face!

This morning we had breakfast buffet at Arrowhead Lodge where we were staying (Bear Lodge is buying them out). Big Mike, the Bear Lodge pie-maker, makes the biscuits for the biscuit and gravy and, oh man!, were they amazing!

Here are the kids on the porch of Cabin Number 3 - note we drove the Corolla for this trip - can't believe Todd packed bedding, cooler, food, suitcases, folding chairs, towels etc. all in the teeny trunk!

After breakfast we set out to meet our next goal which was to find the elk herd. We found them high on the hillside about 5 miles west of Burgess.

These next pictures are for my dad. This is the road into Porcupine campground!

And this is Porcupine! The bars you see are the cattle guard at the beginning of the camp ground!! If you read the first announcement part on the link about the 100 mile race above, this is what they were talking about! Highway 14A had some snowbanks well over the roof of the car next to the road. We saw some folks doing a little back country downhill skiing! Can't imagine how much snow they had this winter for there to be this much still on the ground at the end of June. We tried to go down out of the Big Horns a new way on the east side on some back roads today but had to turn around due to snow covered roads (too bad the Corolla doesn't have 4-wheel drive!). We ended up coming down the west side on 14, heading south at Greybull and going through Thermopolis and the Wind River Canyon before turning east at Shoshone.

Random Kindrid comment (she's full of "out of the clear blue" stuff like this): "Mommy, do you remember when I had an ear confection?" To which Brennen replies, "No silly, you mean ear CONFETTI!" So then Kindrid asks, "Mommy, do you remember when I had an ear confetti?" So, I patiently explain that it's an ear INFECTION while laughing behind my hand and then ask her why she wants to know if I remember - of course, she has no idea...just random!!

The Big Horns, our favorite mountains, are practically in our backyard...unbelievable to just go see them for the weekend!

Love to all of you,

Christy

College National Finals Rodeo...

2008-06-19T21:36:00.004-06:00

We took the kids to their first rodeo tonight.
http://www.cnfr.com/

Couple of observations...

Simon and Garfunkel music as a prelude to the rodeo is surreal as is the Scooby Doo theme song during bull riding.

We need boots.

"Goat tying" as an event is a little, well, weird. (First time we've seen this event.) For more on this see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat_tying and for video see: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/goat-tying-championship/3000625042

We need hats.

I'm back in the land of Frito Pie!! Haven't had it since our Texas days. (Fritos, chili, cheese, onions - wow!!)

We need Wranglers.
Bull riders and rodeo clowns are insane. I think this every time I go to a rodeo. :O)

Good night and a yeehaw to ya!

:O) Christy

But it's a dry heat...

2008-06-17T15:23:00.005-06:00

Current outdoor temp: 88 degrees

Current humidity: 13%

Winds: 15-20 mph

As the Stewarts lament, the Sandbergs like it COLD in the summer. Our a/c runs overtime! But today I have the trailer windows open and it's fairly comfortable inside! We have no shade in our site, but the difference between humid heat and dry heat truly is remarkable. The evenings cool off beautifully and the bugs, so far, have been minimal. Wow! (Just so you don't worry, Jeannie, we have a/c in the camper that works great - I won't let it get too out of control!) :O)

The kids spent some time at the pool today.

Current pool temp: 64 degrees

Brennen would stay in until he was blue, get out, wrap up in his sun-warmed towel and walk around and around the pool to warm up. I think Kindrid actually got her whole suit wet once but mostly she played with "Little Lady," her new pet ladybug. (Lady bug, Asian beetle - whatever). Pictures were taken at lunch - Kindrid is a bird in the second one...oops, I mean an EAGLE...sorry about that!

I know, maybe not the greatest pix of Brennen, but trying to get a shot of him these days when he isn't hamming or eating is a challenge. You all will just have to take what you get! :O)

While the kids played by the pool, I read almost half of another book from the TWO BOXES Wendy W. gave me before I left Peoria...thanks, Wendy!! :O) I still struggle with feeling guilty that I'm not doing more. I'm trying to make myself just enjoy it as I know these weeks are fleeting and busy-ness will enter again soon. What a blessing this time of long, slow, quiet days has been!

Hope you have some peaceful moments today, too!

Love,

Christy

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-15T19:57:00.002-06:00

Hi Friends and Family and especially Fathers,

We hope you had a great day! We appreciate our fathers, Pa Tim and Pa Ben, so much for loving us and raising us and being wonderful grandfathers! Blessings to all you dads out there!!

We visited this church this morning. Kindrid went to class and enjoyed it while Brennen, Todd and I went to service. http://www.hpcc.cc/

Daddy got to choose lunch so we visited a Chinese Buffet - the kids love that! :O)

After that we went and explored a nearby state park. We hiked a little, the kids played on the playground and we hope to go back to try out the swimming pond soon. It's along the river in an old rock quarry - lots of wonderful song birds! Fun! http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Parks/Wilkins/index.asp

The "Buffalo BBQ" was open at the campground tonight and serving up some smoked ribs that were calling Daddy's name!
Here is Kindrid at the RV park playground visiting on the cell with her Peoria friend, Collin. Not sure how much of each other they understood, but it was fun for them to connect! Collin's family is planning to visit us in early August, and we are excited about that!! :O)
We are expecting some estimates on the new house for the repair work the inspector recommended (thanks to our hard-working realtor, Karen, for arranging all that!!) this week and hoping to finalize how the repairs will be done. We still have to get the truck fixed but are going to seek a second opinion first.

We hope you have a great week!
Love,
Christy

Thank you, Uncle Matt!

2008-06-14T10:11:00.004-06:00

Some pictures Uncle Matt took when he was here last weekend...isn't he wonderful?? :O)

Transmission Trouble...

2008-06-13T21:49:00.002-06:00

Yep. The mechanic says it's the transmission on the Big Blue Truck that is bad. You know, the same one we had replaced just a year ago? Twice. Yep, that's the one!

We are going to ask for a second opinion, I think, since Todd thinks this mechanic didn't have a computer diagnostic thingy. I'll "keep you posted" on how that works out. For now, we are a one car - one very old Toyota Corolla car - family! :O)

Wish I had some fun news or cute pix to post but I don't so I'll keep it short and wish you a great weekend!

Love,
Christy

Inspection Day...

2008-06-12T13:11:00.004-06:00

Hi Everyone!

The inspection this morning went well. It took not quite three hours! He said it seems to be a very good house with one of the better foundations he's seen. There were a couple things we'll ask the homeowners to address and the radon test won't be done until next week, but there were no major issues. The current owners are very obviously packing and there was even one room that was totally emptied. I'm so excited to get them out (in a nice way) and us in!! I love so many things about this house and look forward to making it a home for my family.

Here we are, happy family!

While we were there, some snowy/sleety/slushy/haily/icy stuff fell from the sky!!

View from front yard:

Kindrid - she loves flowers:

In other news...

...Remember how I said that Todd is in car-hunt mode and we test drove a lovely Avalon night before last? Well, on his way "home" from work yesterday, the Expedition started acting very odd. It's going to the doctor today and we'll await the news. :O( We may end up having to look for TWO new vehicles! :O(

...The College National Rodeo Finals will be here all next week. Not sure if we are going to get to go this year or not. It will be a "must do" for next year, though! Plan a visit and join us! :O) http://www.cnfr.com/

...The kids and I have been working on these two verses:

Kindrid's: Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 11:24

Brennen's: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up acoording to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

They caught my attention during a sermon Pastor Jim did a few months ago. Memorization, easy. Implementation, not so much. :O)

...Closing is still scheduled for June 30th. That's 18 days from now. Well, that is if you are counting. But people living in camping trailers don't count down days. They enjoy family time and reading mysteries and naps and watching lots of Weather Channel and going for walks around the storage units while the kids ride their bikes etc. etc. :O)

Hope your week has gone great and you are looking forward to a relaxing weekend!

Love,

Christy

PS I just went to spell check and it's not working for some reason. The teacher in me says to turn it into a challenge instead...like, "Class, how many of Mrs. Sandberg's misspelled words can you find in the above sentences?" :O) Guaranteed there are a bunch!! ;O)

I'm dreaming of a white 4th of July...

2008-06-11T10:22:00.002-06:00

Well, it could happen. It did last night. The mountains were white this morning and here is tonight's forecast:

Tonight
Breezy. Mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers and snow showers in the evening...then partly cloudy with isolated rain showers and snow showers after midnight. Lows 35 to 38. West winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Yep. For a Weather Channel FREAK like me, this is the PERFECT part of the world to be living in. So far, never a dull moment!

News...
...Tomorrow morning is the home inspection. I'm excited to see the house again and, of course, we are hoping the inspector doesn't find anything major. The kids are anxious to check out the closet under the basement stairs for their gold-mining operation. :O)

...Todd's in car hunt mode. The Toyota Corolla has served us well for about 12 (or is it 13?) years but is rapidly declining and our constantly elongating children are struggling for leg room. Needless to say, gas prices are discouraging us from driving the Expedition as much. Todd's current favorite for a car is the Toyota Avalon. We test drove a 2004 last night - wow!!

...Things are going great for Todd at work. He's enjoying the challenges and census numbers are up - always a good thing from an administration standpoint. He is the "Administrator On Call" all this week so our exploring this weekend will be limited to what is close to Casper.

Hope you have a good day!
Christy

More Exploring...

2008-06-09T08:49:00.006-06:00

Hi!

The Expedition brought us east to Glendo Reservoir yesterday. http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Parks/Glendo/index.asp

It was on Matt's and Carrie's way back to their Denver home and we wanted to check it out as a possible meeting place for camping with them. It's a pretty big lake with lots of different kinds of camping - wide open on the shore with no trees, up on cactus strewn, rocky cliffs, high above the lake on piney hills and deep in cottonwoods on sandy banks. Due to an unusually rainy season, the lake was flooded and lots of campsites were under water. We saw antelope, mule deer and some really big white water birds with long bills. (Maybe this: http://www.lumen-perfectus.com/l-p/bird_white_pelican.htm although they seemed bigger as we saw them from quite a ways off. Either way, the poem on the above link is worth the read! My Grandpa H. would have liked that one!) One doe had a very new fawn with her that didn't even come up to her knees. The kids thought that was "so cute." :O) Here is a shot of most of us near shore - it was really, really windy!

This is where we said good-bye to Auntie Carrie and Uncle Matt, Bodie and Macie. Our family then went on to find a snack at the marina and for some more campground exploring. We also stopped above the dam and TRIED to get a good picture of some very uncooperative children...here is the result of that:

Frustrating for parents, but you all probably think THAT is "so cute." :O) (I do like the part where Kindrid's little hand is hooked around Brennen's elbow.)

After a great weekend with Matt and Carrie, the kids and I have a day of chores lined up. Look out laundry room...here we come!

Love,

Christy

House, check...now on to the fun stuff!!

2008-06-07T16:03:00.009-06:00

Hi,

Auntie Carrie and Uncle Matt arrived last night for a two-night visit. After a FANTASTIC breakfast at Eggington's, we drove by the new house and then up to the Rotary Park to see the waterfall and hike.

After the hiking we headed out to explore some mountain roads, me in the Jeep with Carrie and dogs and Todd and Matt in the Expedition with the kids. Wish you could have seen Carrie 4-wheelin' through mud holes, steerin' over deep ruts with just one hand and just as calm as she could be. She went places even the guys wouldn't follow! Go, Sista, Go!

We came back to watch Big Brown at his shot for the Triple Crown - sort of anticlimactic to say the least!!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Christy

PS Want to give a shout out to "my best friend, Kay!" Glad to know we can keep up this way! ;O)