55 posts tagged “brother”

Yesterday was my mom's birthday.  The whole crew got together for supper down at the 40.  This is my brother and his new girlfriend.

Today at work, we did her birthday lunch with the office crew.  We go to the Cattle-Ac and have lunch, champagne, and cake!  My mom was wearing the new coat from my dad and necklace from Ray & Amy.  We got her a scarf but it didn't go with that particular ensemble.

I sure hope I look that beautiful at 65!

 

They don't have a set age limit for when kids can begin receiving communion here.  It's just up to the parents and the there are 3 weeks of classes that the child and parents go through.  We decided to have Jace go ahead and do it.  Cody didn't get to until the end of 5th grade but it was obvious kids do it younger here.  I must say I don't think Jace got nearly as much out of the classes as Cody did and Jace was one of the oldest ones there.  I sure don't plan to have Lily do it any younger. 

The whole family went to church including my parents and brother.  It's so awesome to have them present at all of these wonderful events.  We got Jace a dog tag cross necklace and he even wore it to school today.

This was my brother's first time ever tubing! 

He also tried water skiing for the first time.  We thought he was going to make it on the first try but not quite.

Unfortunately, the wind came up and that made it difficult to water ski for a first timer.  We'll have to try it again next summer!

 

Aside from the 29 inch walleye my brother caught, the fishing was a total bust this weekend.  That's pretty typical for August.  So, the kids entertained themselves trying to catch one of the many rabbits around the cabin.  Cody made a trap and put a slice of bread in it since we didn't have any carrots or lettuce.

There was a rabbit in the trap twice but they didn't get the rope pulled fast enough either time.  Then, they decided to move the trap closer to the long grass.

Cody spent hours watching the rabbits which is incredible for him.  They finally got a big rabbit trapped but he managed to get himself out before they got there.

My brother and I taught the kids how to play the dice game Zonk (also called 10,000).  We used to play with my Little Grandma but really haven't since she died to we had to look up the rules.  The kids absolutely love it and it's something we can all play together.  We've also got my brother playing Squeak.

 

 

My brother caught this 29 inch walleye at the lake yesterday.  It was 1 inch short of mounting so he released it after taking the picture.  Unfortunately, it was the only fish caught the entire day.

Which relative - dead or alive - do you wish you knew better?

My paternal grandfather.  He died quite awhile before I was born.  That's the one who had a heart attack while flying his plane and my grandma had to land it even though she didn't know how to fly.  I don't think I ever mentioned that my dad still has the plane and flew it himself up until a few years ago.  My brother is wanting to take flying lessons, too.  Personally, I find it scary! 

20060713_ranch_011

 

We had such a wonderful weekend.  We spent Saturday morning shopping for house stuff while my brother took the kids out to breakfast, swimming, and to the Farmer's Market.  The tile for the main and master bathrooms is now purchased!  We're getting close to the end of picking stuff out for the new house, thank goodness!

Next, we headed to the Indoor Football Championship with the Billings Outlaws vs. River City Rage (think they're from Missouri).  We had awesome seats about 10 rows up.

Jace got a tshirt, Cody a hat, and Lily a megaphone.  The mascot is a horse named Gunsmoke.  Instead of cheerleaders, they have a dance team who entered on the back of Harley motorcycles.  They also have 3 "outlaws" that fire their guns whenever there's a score.  This is the quarterback making his entrance.  It was super neat that several of the players came out with their children. 

The game got off to an amazing start.  The Outlaws were kicking off and did an onside kick right off the bat and got it!  The next play was a flea flicker for a TD!!  The crowd went wild.  Arena football is done on a smaller field and there are no sidelines.  The coach actually stands out on the field and fans could reach over the barrier and break up plays which happened once.  Another time, a catch was made but the player ended up going head first over the barrier into someone's seat!  I was blown away by the fantastic catches that were made.  There's very little running game.  Because of the smaller field, there's a lot more scoring which makes it very exciting.  The Outlaws led the entire game but the Rage came within one TD a few times during the 2nd half which made it scary.  The mascot, Gunsmoke, came around and Cody got his autograph and Lily gave him a hug.

The final score was Outlaws 71 and Rage 62!  The Outlaws quarterback was awarded the Best Offensive Player and MVP for the Indoor Football League. 

We topped it off with a superb supper at the Samurai where they cook the food in front of you.  My very favorite!

Not only are the kids now clothed for school but I just might be, too!  My mom totally spoiled me with a great sale at Dillard's.  I got 2 new dresses, 5 shirts, 2 jackets, and a pair of jeans!  Nothing like some new clothes to make you feel like a million bucks. 

 

 

My parents have a very unique house.  It has an indoor pool and part of it was once a health club so there's a large, open space with His & Her bathrooms that each have 2 showers.  The kids sleep in what was once the single-stall garage and we sleep outside their room in a TV / game room area.  In this area, there is a pop / beer fridge.  At one time, this fridge was in the house I grew up in.  I'm not sure what the original color was but my mom had it painted to make it kind of fun for when my brother was a teenager.

So, this fridge is probably going on 25 yrs or more and it makes this really loud noise like a plane about to take off twice per day.............at exactly 10:47 am and 10:47 pm.  How weird is that?  Ray and I never attempt to fall asleep before 10:47 pm because it'll just wake you up!

 

We were very disappointed in the strict height guidelines on the rides here.  Lily's been going down the big slide in Jamestown since she was 3 and by herself last year.  Here, she can't even go down it with us!!  She also needs an adult for the Sizzler and Bumper Cars.  I tried sending her on them with my cousin's 13 yr old daughter whose taller than me but that wouldn't fly either. 

Jace & Katlin were brave enough to go on the Hurricane which spins around really fast and then goes up and down, but only once!

We went to the rodeo Thursday and Friday night.  We haven't been to a full rodeo in years as we only got bull riding in Jamestown.  It was so much fun!  Last night was "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" night.  Every person who went to the rodeo wearing pink had $3 donated to our local breast cancer programs.  I don't think I've ever seen so much pink in one place and definitely not at a rodeo!

Ray only went to the rodeo the 2nd night.  The kids and I went with my brother and dad the first night.  My brother insisted Ray come last night because he thinks people assume we're his wife and kids and it makes it hard for him to get chicks.  So, I made signs yesterday for him and I to wear that say "I'm not his wife" and "These aren't my wife or kids".  He thought it was pretty funny.

 

 

 

My hubby's birthday is today and my brother's birthday is Thursday so they opened some of their presents yesterday.

My parents got Ray coordinating exterior lights for our house!

My brother and I made use of his new present and headed to the golf course.  He hadn't golfed since middle school so wanted to do 18 holes. 

I've only once ever golfed 18 holes and it was only my 2nd time golfing this summer so my arms weren't quite in shape.  By hole 10, I could hardly hit the ball.  A couple behind us gave me a great pointer that I'd never heard before and it helped so much! 

 

My mom made an angel food cake for dessert.  My arms are still killing me today.